WWE Rumors: Dean Ambrose Could Turn Heel Before ‘Wrestlemania 33,’ Potential Wrestlemania Plans Revealed
Dean Ambrose is at a crossroads on WWE programming right now. Since the brand extension back in July, he’s been featured as SmackDown’s top face and was the WWE World Champion until October when he lost it to AJ Styles at WWE No Mercy. Their feud continued, and after WWE TLC, Ambrose failed to reclaim the WWE World Championship thanks to interference from James Ellsworth, who turned heel in the process.
Now, it seems The Lunatic Fringe may be out of chances at the WWE title, or Ellsworth will continue to be the thorn in his side like he was during SmackDown this week. As 2016 ends, the WWE fans remember the great year Ambrose had, but his character is at a turning point heading into the next year of WWE television and the WWE Royal Rumble PPV next month. A lot of people feel Ellsworth is destroying Dean’s character.
As of this writing, Dean Ambrose is SmackDown’s top face on the roster, and that likely won’t change just because he’s being taken out of the WWE title picture for the time being. However, there are some rumors making the rounds right now about what WWE has planned for The Lunatic Fringe on the grandest stage of them all next year in Orlando. Simply put, Ambrose’s character could be undergoing some big changes soon.
Dean Ambrose has thrived on WWE television as the anti-hero or marching to the beat of his own drum. In many ways, his persona clashing with authority is what got him over as one of WWE’s top faces. However, he hasn’t been featured in a big anti-authority angle the same way his brothers in The Shield have been over the past few years. According to a recent report, that could be changing for Ambrose heading into next year.
WWE could be building to a match at Wrestlemania between Dean Ambrose and Shane McMahon. A feud between those two men doesn’t seem like a strong possibility, but WWE creative is apparently planting the seeds subtly on SmackDown to test the waters with the WWE Universe. For example, Shane attempting to keep Ambrose out of the arena and being defied is said to be the beginning of tension between the two.
It was reported that Shane O’Mac could be facing Brock Lesnar in Orlando next year, but Goldberg signing on for more matches left WWE officials to book something else for Shane. If WWE creative is going to pull the trigger on Ambrose vs. McMahon for Wrestlemania 33 next year, there will be a lot of story to tell over the coming months. From a fan’s perspective, you have to wonder how WWE will make the feud work.
On paper, both Ambrose and Shane McMahon could remain faces, but the feud would have a much bigger impact on WWE TV and SmackDown if one of the two men was heel. Shane has experience as a heel, but he’s going to be the second choice behind Ambrose if WWE officials want to make any character changes.
Shane is the natural authority figure on SmackDown, so Ambrose will naturally want to go against him, but there is a difference between The Lunatic Fringe playfully defying Shane’s authority and forcing a match at Wrestlemania and becoming ruthless in spite of Shane’s authority because he won’t play by his rules. A heel turn for Ambrose seems more likely than Shane doing it, especially with Dean at a crossroads on WWE TV.
Of course, plans can change, and this is just speculation. As of this writing, the WWE Universe doesn’t know what’s next for Dean Ambrose on SmackDown, let alone four months away at Wrestlemania next year. But, it remains a possibility, and WWE officials are likely just looking for Ambrose to do better in Orlando than he did with Brock Lesnar in Dallas earlier this year. The point is that Dean will remain a major player.
[Featured Image by WWE]
