This year’s WWE SummerSlam event takes place Sunday, August 11th from Toronto, Canada at the Scotiabank Arena. SummerSlam weekend will include an NXT Takeover event, SummerSlam, RAW and SmackDown Live.
Tickets for SummerSlam weekend go on sale this Friday. Promotional material for SummerSlam weekend was sent out this week. As seen below, Dean Ambrose and Ronda Rousey are conspicuously absent from the artwork.
Wrestling fans are familiar with the phrase “card subject to change,” a term that connotes the people and matches advertised for upcoming shows are not set in stone. That said, the specific exclusion of Dean Ambrose and Ronda Rousey is noteworthy.
Dean Ambrose’s WWE Future
WWE recently announced that Dean Ambrose will be leaving the company in April. It is certainly possible that Ambrose will change his mind and decide to stay. The fact that WWE has incorporated Ambrose’s coming departure into television storylines has made some fans skeptical.
Dave Meltzer of Wrestling Observer stated this week that Ambrose has not signed a new deal with WWE and is still expected to leave after WrestleMania.
Braun Strowman is replacing Dean Ambrose in the Shield, at least for one night. Strowman is now being advertised as an “Honorary Shield Member” for WWE’s return to Paris, France on May 10th. He will team up with Roman Reigns and Seth Rollins against Drew McIntyre, Bobby Lashley, and Baron Corbin on that show.
Ronda Rousey’s WWE Future
Ronda Rousey is poised to make history at WrestleMania 35. The RAW Women’s Championship match is widely considered the most anticipated bout on the card. WWE has yet to bill it as the official “main event.”
Rousey is rumored to be leaving WWE as a full-time performer after WrestleMania to start a family with husband Travis Browne. WWE has stated Rousey signed a multi-year deal last year. This keeps her with the company through at least 2020.
The prevailing wisdom amongst wrestling pundits is that Rousey’s appearances will be more sporadic after WrestleMania 35.
WWE held a press conference in Tampa Bay, FL on Thursday to announce WrestleMania 36 is coming to the city in April 2020. Afterwards, Roman Reigns took part in a media conference call to discuss WrestleMania and more. During the call, Reigns commented on the possibility of Dean Ambrose and The Usos leaving WWE soon.
Back in January, PWTorch.com broke the news that Dean Ambrose would be leaving WE when his contract expires in April. WWE issued an unprecedented statement confirming the report. The company has since incorporated Ambrose’s departure into television storylines, a which believe is a sign Ambrose changed his mind and will be sticking around after all.
There have also been reports that decorated SmackDown tag team are also considering taking their talents elsewhere.
“I think I put a little bit more pressure on myself to be more than just a friend and a peer,” Reigns started. “The Usos… obviously they are my family. But Dean is the same way. A lot of these guys are. That’s what people don’t realize, it’s not just these names that you know, but I’m so close to so many of these guys.”
Talent Has To Do What’s Best For Them
Reigns explained that he assumes the role of one of the locker room leaders and gives advice to talent about various issues. However, at the end of the day, people have to do what’s best for them.
“That’s the hardest part for me. These situations where the business comes up and I’m always for giving advice, giving my perspective and what I might do in that situation, but when it comes down to it this is business and these men are businessmen and they’re going to have to take care of themselves and get the numbers and the years on the contracts that they want.”
He continued, “Regardless, I’m so close with this locker room, the majority of these guys are going to hear from me when I’m grey talking about the pops we used to get and the towns we used to make! That’s the most important thing for me, that we all achieve that happiness and we get that closure we need to move on.”
Reigns emphasized once again that people have to do what makes them and their families happiest. “The cool part is, when people go, some people are introduced. As some old faces leave, we have new faces and new relationships and new bonds and new chemistry.”
Dean Ambrose made the decision to leave WWE after his contract expires at the end of April. He declined to renew an improved contract by WWE, citing frustrations with the creative direction of his character.
The March 4 episode of Raw saw a Shield reunion with the recently returned Roman Reigns who also gave his opinion on Ambrose leaving the company.
Reigns says that at first he didn’t seriously believe the news of Ambrose’s rumored departure from the company.
“I think I actually read it on Twitter so I didn’t take it too seriously,” Reigns told Sky Sports. “I’ve always known Ambrose and he likes to stay unpredictable and march to the beat of his own drum.”
Reigns described the news as a “big shock.” He says he is concerned but okay with Ambrose’s decision as long as he is happy.
“It still is a big shock and we haven’t had much time to talk about it because we’ve been on the gas pedal since I’ve been back.
It concerns me a bit – the last thing I want is for one of my good friends to leave but as long as he’s happy and healthy we’ll be good.
We’ll still talk all the time but this is WWE and you never know what’s going to happen.”
WWE had issued a statement regarding Ambrose’s contract with the company which stated, “Dean Ambrose (Jonathan Good) will not be renewing his contract with WWE when it expires in April. We are grateful and appreciative of all that Dean has given to WWE and our fans. We wish him well and hope that one day Dean will return to WWE.”
As of now Dean Ambrose will partner up with his Shield brothers to take on Baron Corbin, Drew McIntyre, and Bobby Lashley in a six-man tag team match on the upcoming Fastlane PPV event on March 10 at the Quicken Loans Arena in Cleveland, Ohio.
Fans are talking after it was revealed that former WWE Champion Dean Ambrose is advertised for upcoming WWE events in May.
This is an interesting time frame considering that it’s been reported and WWE later confirmed that Ambrose would be departing from the WWE at the end of April as he has decided to not sign a new contract with the company.
Once WWE updated their event listings in May, it was made clear that Ambrose is advertised for RAW live events in the month that includes the annual tour of Europe after WrestleMania 35. Former WWE Universal Champion and fellow Shield member Roman Reigns is also advertised for several shows on this tour.
Once news broke about Ambrose’s decision to leave the company, it’s been reported that the reason behind his call to depart is due to him being unhappy with his position in the WWE for some time. He’s so unhappy that even though WWE officials offered him a five-year contract that was more than seven figures per year, Ambrose turned it down.
WWE’s statement read at the time of the news, “Dean Ambrose (Jonathan Good) will not be renewing his contract with WWE when it expires in April. We are grateful and appreciative of all that Dean has given to WWE and our fans. We wish him well and hope that one day Dean will return to WWE.”
There were recent reports that Nia Jax would be taking on Dean Ambrose at a WWE Live Event on February 22nd in Jonesboro, Arkansas. The match was recently ‘cancelled’ for that live show. The ‘feud’ between the two started on a recent episode of WWE RAW, where Ambrose lost to Seth Rollins. After the match, Ambrose began to cut a promo in the ring before being interrupted by Nia Jax and Tamina. The two had a standoff for a brief moment, before Ambrose attempted to leave the ring. However, Jax clocked “The Lunatic Fringe” with a forearm and sent him through the ropes and out of the ring.
There are apparently still plans for WWE to present intergender matches at some point in the future. The Wrestling Observer stated that “The idea of such a match at some point is still alive. It’s not as if they are dead set against it as much as it’s just not happening there and it all depends on the new creative direction with Ambrose.”
The announcement of the intergender match had caused a huge buzz. Before Jax’s involvement in the recent Men’s Royal Rumble there was absolutely no chance of seeing male and female Superstars facing off like this. The only recent exception was seen at last year’s WrestleMania, where Ronda Rousey took on Triple H to a huge response from the crowd, this came during a mixed tag match.
On Monday’s edition of WWE RAW, Dean Ambrose offered some encouragement to Seth Rollins headed into WrestleMania.
During the start of the third hour, Seth Rollins was in the ring to hype his upcoming match against Universal Champion Brock Lesnar. He was interrupted by Paul Heyman, who warned the Royal Rumble winner about what’s in store for him in the months ahead.
Dean Ambrose then came out and went face-to-face with his former Shield partner in the middle of the ring. Rollins handed Ambrose the microphone. Ambrose kept things brief and said, “I’ve only got one thing to say to you: Slay the Beast.”
According to Dave Meltzer on Wrestling Observer Radio, the script for RAW called for Dean Ambrose to say a lot more than he did. Meltzer and co-host Bryan Alvarez questioned why Rollins would simply hand the microphone to Ambrose after all they’ve been through. They jokingly asked what a lot of fans at home were probably thinking, “Are you guys buddies now?”
Apparently the Raw script called for Dean Ambrose to set up his “Slay the Beast” line by making amends and talking about their history of starting out together and their time in The Shield with Roman Reigns. For whatever reason, Ambrose kept it short and omitted the storyline explanation of why he is now supporting Rollins.
Later in the show, Ambrose went on to defeat Raw newcomer EC3.
WWE recently announced that Dean Ambrose has opted out of signing a new contract. He is expected to leave when his current deal expires in April.
As we reported recently Dean Ambrose will be taking on Nia Jax at an upcoming WWE Live event. The ‘feud’ between the two started on a recent episode of WWE RAW, where Ambrose lost to Seth Rollins. After the match, Ambrose began to cut a promo in the ring before being interrupted by Nia Jax and Tamina. The two had a standoff for a brief moment, before Ambrose attempted to leave the ring. However, Jax clocked “The Lunatic Fringe” with a forearm and sent him through the ropes and out of the ring.
The announcement of the intergender match has caused a huge buzz. Before Jax’s involvement in the recent Men’s Royal Rumble there was absolutely no chance of seeing male and female Superstars facing off like this. The only recent exception was seen at last year’s WrestleMania, where Ronda Rousey took on Triple H to a huge response from the crowd, this came during a mixed tag match.
Former Smackdown Live General Manager Paige recently took to Twitter to react to the intergender match being announced. Paige stated “Yessss an actual intergender match!! Couldn’t be happier for my girl @NiaJaxWWE killing it every damn day! You better werkkkk sis!”
It is not confirmed if we will see the match on television or if it is being kept exclusively to this Live event. There have been recent rumors that WWE are potentially considering putting this match on the WrestleMania card.
On last week’s episode of Monday Night RAW, Dean Ambrose was defeated in a bout by Seth Rollins. After the match, Ambrose began to cut a promo in the ring before being interrupted by Nia Jax and Tamina. The two had a standoff for a brief moment, before Ambrose attempted to leave the ring. However, Jax clocked “The Lunatic Fringe” with a forearm and sent him through the ropes and out the ring.
Shortly after, Ambrose was interviewed backstage to get his reaction to the situation. Ambrose said he’s going to forgive Jax and accept what he believes was an apology when Jax screamed at him from the ring as he left. Now, WWE will be using the incident at an upcoming house show.
A commercial promoting an upcoming WWE live event in Jonesboro, Arkansas on February 22nd is advertising an intergender match between Ambrose and Jax. Check it out here:
It remains to be seen if the feud will make its way to WWE TV, but the company certainly wouldn’t be against it. Jax interacted with male Superstars physically during the Men’s Royal Rumble match last month.
She entered at number 30 after attacking R-Truth and taking his spot in the match. Jax proceeded to eliminate Mustafa Ali. However, she was then attacked by Rey Mysterio, Dolph Ziggler, and Randy Orton. After eating a finisher from each man, Jax was finally eliminated.
What do you think about Ambrose being advertised for an intergender match with Nia Jax?
Dean Ambrose appeared on Zach Ryder & Curt Hawkins podcast recently and spoke about the difference between wrestlers who care about what they do and those who do it for the money.
“There’s a lot of people that are here for the money,” Ambrose said on the show. “They didn’t grow up watching it, don’t care what they do. They have no artistic care for what we do. You guys are like me, this is all we’ve ever loved.”
It was revealed late last month that Ambrose will not be renewing his WWE contract after WrestleMania.
Ambrose also spoke about how he had trouble holding down a job previously because everything in his life took a backseat to wrestling.
“I had every job under the sun,” he continued. “Six months is maybe the longest I could sustain a job anywhere because everything took a backseat to wrestling. So you work somewhere for a week, train, learn the system—a waiter somewhere, work in a factory—but then eventually, I got a show, can’t show up to work, you get fired.”
Ambrose also told a story about dealing with collectors looking for signed merchandise at airports. When he spoke about dealing with regular fans in public, however, Ambrose spoke positively.
“You’ve got to take the time for them. It’s pure,” Ambrose said. “You have to step back and think ‘I’m living the dream right now.’ But those other people do ruin it for everybody.”
You can list to the full podcast at the link below or at Podbean.com:
WWE Hall of Famer Booker T gave his take on the news that former WWE Champion Dean Ambrose would be departing from the WWE at the end of April as he has decided to not sign a new contract with the WWE.
The pro wrestling legend did so on the newest episode of Reality Of Wrestling. He started right out of the gate by stating, “I’m gonna go out there on a limb, I do not think Dean Ambrose is leaving WWE to go somewhere else.” Booker T continued by stating, “I don’t think a new company like AEW is looking for guys to get that Roger Clemens treatment.”
The former WWE World Heavyweight Champion brought up when you’re not practicing but rather throwing fastballs on game day, he doesn’t think it will be like that, and this is the perfect example of that. Instead, he thinks Ambrose needs some time off because this job can become very very stressful and depressing due to it taking you on a roller coaster ride.
Booker T would bring up how Ambrose is lucky that he’s married to someone in the business and reflected on his own situation where WWE Chairman Vince McMahon decided to bring Booker’s wife into the mix and thus creating the King Booker character.
The WWE Hall of Famer noted that this can be the best job in the world being a WWE Superstar while at the same time it is the hardest job in the world at the same time. “Dean Ambrose would be stepping away at the best time that he possibly could after WrestleMania because that’s a big check.”
WWE is still advertising Dean Ambrose for this weekend’s live events from Canada. The Raw brand is in Saskatoon tonight at the Sasktel Centre and Regina on Saturday night at the Brandt Centre as part of the annual Road To WrestleMania tour. Ambrose is also scheduled for Monday’s Raw from Portland, Oregon.
This past week, WWE confirmed that Dean Ambrose will not be renewing his contract when it expires in April. It remains to be seen if Ambrose has a prominent role in the build to WrestleMania 35. Historically, departing talent has often been used to elevate others on their way out. Others have been taken off television entirely in an effort to ‘cool them off’ before they start making money for a rival promotion.
Dean Ambrose’s Final Months With WWE
Despite being shown up by Nia Jax on Monday’s Raw, there are many factors indicating Ambrose will be portrayed in a positive light during his remaining months with WWE:
1) WWE was uncharacteristically cordial in its announcement that Ambrose is leaving. Going far beyond the borderline-snide “future endeavors” treatment, WWE’s statement reads, “We are grateful and appreciative of all that Dean has given to WWE and our fans. We wish him well and hope that one day Dean will return to WWE.”
2) Dean Ambrose’s wife Renee Young is one of the lead broadcasters in the company. She became the first full-time female announcer of WWE Raw back in September. It’s no secret that she has options outside of WWE, whether it be with mainstream sports organizations or other wrestling promotions.
3) There is a high degree of frustration amongst WWE talent. Some wrestlers are asking to be released, while others are reportedly warning their friends not to sign with the company. With companies like All Elite Wrestling (AEW) and Ring of Honor (ROH) throwing big money around, wrestlers have more leverage than they’ve had in a long time.
WWE is reportedly meeting with wrestlers with contracts expiring soon in hopes of locking them in to longterm deals. Dean Ambrose was a top star in WWE for the better part of a decade, so you can bet people are paying attention to how he’s treated in the weeks and months ahead.
The wrestling world is still reacting to Dean Ambrose’s decision to leave WWE once WrestleMania 35 has passed. Despite the money WWE was offering, Ambrose was reportedly not interested, instead wanting to explore new avenues and opportunities. Since the news broke, many within the industry have offered their thoughts on Ambrose’s decision.
One such individual is Sean “X-Pac” Waltman. Commenting on the Ambrose situation on his podcast, X-Pac 12360, Waltman would give his thoughts on not only Ambrose leaving WWE but also on Hideo Itami’s recent request, and granted, release.
Hitting The X-Factor
“You don’t abuse someone like that on their way out. You don’t shame them, or humiliate them because you want them to come back. It’s like the statement WWE made. A lot of people say, ‘Oh, this must be a work because they never come out and say this type of thing,’ this is a different time and Dean Ambrose is not a talent that you go ‘we wish you the best of luck in your future endeavors’ to because you want him back at some point.
You use him to do honors for other people on the way out but within reason. Dean Ambrose came back from his time off in shape, looking good. His whole game was on point, every aspect was on point. He’s either going to show up in AEW or he’s just gonna go out and find himself.”
Regarding Hideo’s release request, X-Pac would say the following:
“I think around the time that he signed with WWE, no one had more of a buzz in wrestling than KETNA. […] this guy is pound for pound the best in the world. That’s the kind of talk you heard about. I am just thinking [about] how he’s so great of a performer, everyone likes him too, you don’t hear anything bad about him, behind the scenes or any other matter. Just what a string of bad luck for him.”
The news that Dean Ambrose will be leaving WWE post-Wrestlemania appears to have surprised the majority of people. It is rumored he was offered a lot of money to stay but simply wasn’t interested in the offer.
Speaking with Busted Open Radio, multiple time champion, Dolph Ziggler, offered his thoughts on Ambrose’s decision.
He admitted that Dean’s decision surprised him and confessed he didn’t know too many people that are close to the situation that could offer further insight.
“I didn’t see that coming,” Ziggler said. “He’s always got something going on and is always in a prominent role, doing something great and he’s liked by the fans. He could just try to move on and do some other stuff. I can understand. It’s hard to read him sometimes. He’s a ridiculously nice guy and loves the business.”
Commenting on Ambrose’s attitude and style, Dolph said, “[He] Definitely does his own thing. Kind of in his own world a lot. I’m friends with his wife [Renee Young] and we talk all the time. But Dean and I, if we’re putting a match together, we talk, but otherwise….really friendly guy, loves wrestling, loves having a good time but definitely does his own thing. Maybe he’s looking to do his own thing some more.”
There was a lot speculation over Ziggler’s WWE career recently, with the Showoff claiming to be on ‘hiatus’ with WWE. He also stated he wasn’t scheduled to be in the Royal Rumble matchup. Dolph would eventually turn up during the Royal Rumble as the number 28 entrant. He would eliminate former tag team partner, Drew McIntyre.
As the former President of World Championship Wrestling (WCW), Bischoff is uniquely qualified to provide insight on the situation. Bischoff dealt directly with countless major league stars and more than one of them let him know, “I’m out of here” due to frustration with their creative direction.
Dean Ambrose is a huge star that WWE spent years investing in departure, but Bischoff does not see it as a big loss for them.
“No disrespect at all to Dean Ambrose … I don’t think it matters at all,” he said. “That’s not because of Dean’s abilities or lack thereof. But in WWE right now WWE is the star. Everybody else on that roster is a costar, to one degree or another. Stars are now interchangeable.”
Bischoff said it doesn’t matter how big the star is. If somebody leaves, the WWE machine will keep moving forward .. and that’s by design.
The roster is deep enough, and the pool of talent is deep enough that whether it’s a situation like Roman Reigns, as devastating as that was, WWE shifted on the fly. They didn’t even have to hit the clutch. They just kept going, right? I think that that’s intentional.”
Talent Comes, Talent Goes
Bischoff believes that Vince McMahon has made a conscious effort to make talent secondary and make the WWE brand the real attraction. Talent comes and goes. People get injured, people retire, people jump to the competition. Vince McMahon has learned this lesson many times before. At the end of the day, the wrestlers are interchangeable and it’s WWE that endures.
“If you’ve invested all of your resources, not just financial but all of your television time and all that real estate into building up a character, and through some scenario that you couldn’t anticipate that character is no longer there, you’re in a rebuild situation,” he said. “That can be devastating. WWE has gone through that before. They learned that lesson. Vince McMahon learned what happened when competition comes along and takes your talent, and I think he endeavored to build a company that was for the most part impervious to that. He did it by making WWE the star, and the talent less significant than the show that they’re on.”
Listen to the latest episode of After 83 Weeks here:
Dean Ambrose’s decision to leave WWE when his contract expires in April is sending shockwaves throughout the industry.
Late Monday night, PWTorch.com broke the news that Ambrose informed WWE over the weekend that he won’t be signing a new deal with the company. The buzz surrounding this story was so intense that WWE issued a rare statement on the matter. In an unprecedented move, WWE said, “We are grateful and appreciative of all that Dean has given to WWE and our fans. We wish him well and hope that one day Dean will return to WWE.”
Ambrose is not the first WWE Superstar to ask for his release this month due to creative frustration, but he’s the biggest name so far. WWE is very aware All Elite Wrestling is well-financed and offering big money deals to bolster their roster. They’re not taking this lightly and met with several performers this week to prevent more defections.
According to PWInsider, meetings were held backstage at Tuesday’s SmackDown Live TV taping to address the situation. More specifically, wrestlers whose contracts are coming up in the next year or two had private meetings with management to discuss signing long-term deals.
“After the Dean Ambrose news came out on late Monday/early Tuesday, there was a buzz of activity backstage at SmackDown as anybody who had a contract that was coming up in the next year or two was pulled into rooms and spoken to by management about signing longer form deals,” the report reads. All the wrestlers were sitting around looking at each other and going ‘would you look at this? this is crazy!’”
Ambrose is reported to have turned down a 5-year deal which would have seen him earn over a million dollars per year.
On Tuesday, WWE issued a statement confirming the report by PWTorch.com that Dean Ambrose will not be renewing his contract when it expires in April.
It was unprecedented move for WWE to announce the departure of a top performer so far in advance. The only possible comparison would be CM Punk in 2011, although that only became apparent around a month or so before his contract was set to expire.
On Wednesday’s Wrestling Observer Radio, Dave Meltzer described the backstage reaction to the announcement. Meltzer himself believes that the situation is legitimate, although there are some within WWE that believe it’s a work.
Meltzer confirmed that some talent were aware of the situation prior to Monday’s RAW. However, most were kept in the dark until it was announced on Tuesday. It was also noted that most of the creative team were unaware that Ambrose would not be renewing his contract.
As the Ambrose situation was unfolding on Tuesday, PWInsider reported that Ambrose declined a 5-year deal deal worth over a million dollars a year. Upon asking around in WWE, the details of their offer to Ambrose surprised a lot of people.
WWE confirmed on Tuesday that Dean Ambrose will be ending his time with the company in April. WWE’s unprecedented statement reads, “We are grateful and appreciative of all that Dean has given to WWE and our fans. We wish him well and hope that one day Dean will return to WWE.”
Reports seem to indicate that Ambrose is unhappy with his creative direction – so much so that he turned down a long-term multi-million dollar contract.
Prior to joining WWE developmental back in 2011, Ambrose had an impressive run on the independent scene under the name Jon Moxley. Moxley was for his ‘death matches’ in promotions including Combat Zone Wrestling (CZW).
With the news of Ambrose’s imminent departure from WWE, one independent star who is already thinking about the possibilities is none other than Jimmy Havoc.
Havoc is one of the most popular death match wrestlers anywhere. The former PROGRESS World Champion is also a CZW Tournament of Death winner in his own right and could bring it to Ambrose in a hardcore setting.
Havoc vs. Moxley has potential written all over it and would be a draw for any company that could sign this contest.
WWE Releases Statement On Dean Ambrose Not Renewing Contract
Dean Ambrose (Jonathan Good) will not be renewing his contract with WWE when it expires in April,” a WWE press release regarding Ambrose reads.
“We are grateful and appreciative of all that Dean has given to WWE and our fans. We wish him well and hope that one day Dean will return to WWE.”
Young commented last summer on how being in WWE effects her relationship with Dean Ambrose. She spoke about how being on Total Divas impacted her and Dean.
“It was hard, it was really hard and even now when I see the girls and they are on the road, and you’ve got a camera in your face, and you’re taking these vacations that aren’t really vacations, it’s exhausting, it’s really a lot of work,” Young said on Lillian Garcia’s podcast.
“I commend them all for doing it. For the people that it’s great for, its great for, but I think the problem that I essentially ran into was that I’m not a private person and my husband is.”
WWE has confirmed that Dean Ambrose will not be renewing his contract when it expires in April. The news was first reported by PWTorch. In a rare instance, WWE issued a statement regarding Ambrose leaving the company on Tuesday.
“Dean Ambrose [Jonathan Good] will not be renewing his contract with WWE when it expires in April,” WWE officials confirmed in a statement. “We are grateful and appreciative of all that Dean has given to WWE and our fans. We wish him well and hope that one day Dean will return to WWE.”
According to the initial report, Ambrose has been unhappy with the direction his character has taken in WWE programming in recent months.
WWE reportedly attempted to re-sign Ambrose to a new five-year worth more than seven-figures per year to stay with the company. Ultimately it appears Ambrose turned down the offer and will instead exit the WWE in April.
Dean Ambrose’s WWE Career
Ambrose has been a mainstay on WWE programming since first joining the promotion in 2011 after working the independent wrestling scene as Jon Moxley following his early days training in his native Cincinnati, OH.
Ambrose made his breakthrough on the main roster with WWE as part of the faction ‘The Shield’ alongside Roman Reigns and Seth Rollins.
While he was a constant presence on television, Ambrose never quite reached superstar status with the company despite WWE Heavyweight title reign for several months in 2016 as well as a lengthy stay as Intercontinental champion.
Ambrose was out of action for several months due to injury and then returned last year where he teamed back up with Reigns and Rollins briefly before a heel turn this past October. Ambrose turned on Rollins after Reigns took a real life leave of absence from the company after revealing an 11-year battle with leukemia that required his full attention.
More recently, Ambrose enjoyed another brief stint as Intercontinental champion before dropping that title to Bobby Lashley. Ambrose made a brief appearance in the Royal Rumble this past weekend before losing to Rollins on Monday Night Raw this week.
Now Ambrose’s days are numbered with WWE as he awaits the expiration of his contract in April where he can then begin to look towards his next opportunity in professional wrestling.
Obviously rumors will undoubtedly swirl almost immediately about the possibility of Ambrose joining All Elite Wrestling as that organization looks to get off the ground in 2019 but nothing will happen until at least after April when his WWE deal comes to an end.
Following her appearance in the Men’s Royal Rumble, Nia Jax attacked Dean Ambrose on WWE RAW. Ambrose had just lost a match against Seth Rollins and began cutting a promo in the ring. Nia Jax and Tamina interrupted Ambrose and after a standoff between the two Superstars Ambrose would try and leave the ring. Jax then connected with a forearm to Ambrose that sent him through the ropes.
WWE’s official YouTube channel caught up with the former WWE Champion after the fact for his thoughts. Ambrose stated “I have spent a lot of time and drank a lot of cocktails with Tamina over the years, Great woman. I’m going to give her the benefit of the doubt here, I don’t know why she’s fraternizing with this Nia Jax.”
Ambrose went on to say “I’m going to assume that Nia simply tripped and fell in to me, and was not trying to start some physical altercation with me, a man. Because that’s insane, right? So, I’m going to accept her, what I assume is an apology is what she was yelling at me from the ring as I was being escorted away by referees. Like I would do something. Can you imagine? I’m going to accept her apology. And we’re all good.”
Dean Ambrose is leaving WWE when his contract expires in April, according to PWTorch.com. Ambrose reportedly informed WWE officials about his decision over the weekend and met directly with Vince McMahon to discuss the situation.
Ambrose has long been frustrated with his creative direction. Sources close to Ambrose say he still has a passion for wrestling, but ultimately decided WWE is not the right environment for him. A WWE source told Wade Keller of PWTorch that Dean “hates hokey sh*t” and it is not entirely surprising that he finally hit a breaking point.
WWE offered Ambrose a new deal approximately two weeks ago. According to PWInsider, the new contract was for a 5 years worth over a million dollars per year. Ambrose turning down over $5 million gives you an idea of how displeased he’s been.
The Torch report states, “He’s indicated to WWE management this weekend he’s not interested in negotiating further and made it clear this isn’t about trying to get more money.”
Ambrose is expected to finish up with WWE shortly after WrestleMania. However, they could write him out of storylines sooner than that.
Dean Ambrose been a featured player in WWE since his debut with the Shield back in 2012, but he’s still only 33 years old. Now in his physical prime, the next question is what the future holds for him. He’s likely made a ton of money over the years and has some financial independence. With a passion for wrestling and the desire for more creative freedom, there are options.
After giving a disclaimer that he has not heard anything specific about Ambrose’s future, Keller expects Dean Ambrose will join All Elite Wrestling (AEW). He’s been giving off the impression that he wants to stay active in the wrestling business. He’s been described as ‘an artist with pent up desires to express himself in different ways.’
This is a developing story and we will have more information on Dean Ambrose leaving WWE in the days ahead.
Times are certainly changing for the professional wrestling world. Recently, The Undertaker joined Instagram. Now, it looks like “The Deadman” is on Twitter as well. Undertaker joined back on December 4th last month. However, his account didn’t get noticed and verified until this week. His first post read “Rest In Peace” along with a photo of himself in the ring:
Its been a few months since Undertaker appeared on WWE TV. He and his storyline brother, Kane, lost to D-Generation X (Triple H and Shawn Michaels) at WWE’s Crown Jewel event from Saudi Arabia in November. It remains unclear if the former WWE World Heavyweight Champion will return to compete at WrestleMania 35 in April.
Ambrose Saves Renee Young’s Phone During Match (Video)
This week, Dean Ambrose successfully defended his Intercontinental Championship on Monday Night RAW. He defeated Seth Rollins in a Falls Count Anywhere match. During the match, Ambrose and Rollins fought near the announce table. Ambrose’s wife, Renee Young, serves as one-third of RAW’s announce team.
During his brawl with Rollins, Ambrose saves his wife’s phone during the brawl, tossing it to Michael Cole for safe keeping. Check it out here:
Dean Ambrose was very dedicated to the art of selling over the weekend. The WWE Intercontinental Champion faced Seth Rollins at a live event Sunday in Fort Myers, Florida. He retained his title over “The Architect,” who he has been feuding with for the past several weeks now. However, as Ambrose was celebrating inside the ring, Rollins got the last laugh. He came back to attack Ambrose to close the show.
Rollins hit Ambrose with a Curb Stomp to send the crowd home happy. That particular Curb Stomp might have been the most powerful Rollins has ever pulled off. After the stomp, Ambrose remained laying in the ring for 15 minutes, even after the crowd begun to leave. As fans filed out of the arena, Ambrose stayed laid out in the middle of the canvas. Also, Ambrose remained inside as the crew began to disassemble the ring.
Check out some photos from Ambrose’s dedicated sell job here below:
And by epic sell job, I mean Ambrose basically laid in the ring ko’d for 5, 10, maybe even 15 minutes afterwards. Well after Tom Phillips said the goodbyes and mostly everyone had left. #WWEFortMyerspic.twitter.com/6BhbHbY7At
Ambrose turned heel on Rollins last year shortly after Roman Reigns’ leukemia diagnosis announcement. In their feud, WWE has used a lot of real-life references to Reigns’ illness to help add heat to Ambrose. They’re still working house shows against one another as the Royal Rumble pay-per-view (PPV) approaches.
WWE has taken to their social media accounts once again in order to officially announce another three entrants into this year’s Royal Rumble event.
Joining the list of previously announced superstars for the male Royal Rumble will be Bobby Lashley, Samoa Joe, and the current WWE Intercontinental Champion, Dean Ambrose.
Dean Ambrose is a champion yet again. Ambrose beat his former Shield-brother, Seth Rollins, to win the Intercontinental Title at Sunday’s (December 16th, 2018) WWE TLC pay-per-view event in San Jose, California at the SAP Center on the WWE Network.
When @TheDeanAmbrose sets a target, he knows exactly how to hit it.
Rollins won the title by defeating Dolph Ziggler at the SummerSlam pay-per-view event on August 19, 2018, in Brooklyn, New York, which made him the 166th champion in the history of the title. There have been 80 different champions with Chris Jericho having the most reigns with nine.
Two months ago, Ambrose and Rollins beat Drew McIntyre and Dolph Ziggler to win the RAW Tag Team Titles. However, after the match, Ambrose turned heel by attacking Rollins.
Now, with Roman Reigns being out of action, this feud between the RAW Tag Team Champions has been the top program on the flagship show of the company. Rollins would later lose the titles to Authors of Pain. WWE is already advertising Ambrose vs. Rollins for upcoming live events including the final episode of RAW before WrestleMania 35 that goes down on April 1st from the Capital One Arena in Washington, DC. Thus, it appears that this feud will continue past TLC.
What are your thoughts on Ambrose winning the title and this title change? Was it the right time to do this by WWE? Sound off in the comment section.
