Ryan Dilbert's 10-Count: Dean Ambrose Looking Comfortable in the Main Event Slot

1. The Spotlight Suits The Lunatic Fringe 

With Roman Reigns and Daniel Bryan out of action, WWE was forced to turn to Dean Ambrose as its top babyface behind John Cena. The results have to be beyond anything the company could have expected.

Ambrose has caught fire with fans.

Whether he's been confronting Cena or commandeering a hot dog cart, he has been one of the best parts of WWE TV each week. That continued on Monday's Raw, where he won the right to battle Seth Rollins at Hell in a Cell.

It wasn't a great match, mostly due to the Contract on a Pole stipulation and the overbooked finish, but Ambrose looked right at home on the same stage as Cena. 

Fans often demand that an emerging star get a push that signifies he belongs on the big stage. Sometimes it turns out to be true as it was for Bryan, but sometimes a midcarder is exposed as being unable to move beyond that point.

It's clear that Ambrose has the "it" factor required to be a marquee star.

He has been piling up reasons for WWE to keep him where he is on the card even when Reigns and Bryan come back. Since returning at Night of Champions, he has been involved in both the opening segments and closing matches of four straight editions of Raw.

The show has often sagged in between those moments, but WWE has to be thrilled with that it has seen from The Lunatic Fringe.

2. RKO of the Year

Rearranging the list of Randy Orton's greatest RKOs is in order. In a standout match on Monday's Raw, Orton defeated Dolph Ziggler in impressive fashion.

Gif from WWE.com

The Viper caught his foe in mid-attack, hurled him into the air like something out of a video game and nailed him with an RKO that deserves to be rewatched.

Eventually, he'll run out of innovative ways to deliver his finishing move, but that clearly hasn't happened yet.

3. Carmella is Coming

A ball of fire is headed for Full Sail University in the form of Carmella. The NXT Diva who calls herself the "Princess of Staten Island" impressed William Regal enough last week to earn a tryout on Thursday's NXT.

In the little we have seen of her, Carmella has shown much of the same spark that made allies Enzo Amore and Colin Cassady such a hit. So far, she's displayed flashes of athleticism, a sterling dropkick and plenty of chemistry with Amore and Cassady. Look for her to leave an imprint on the Divas division right away.

With Charlotte likely headed for the main roster before long and Alexa Bliss still a work in progress, Carmella has an excellent chance to jump right onto the top rungs of the division.

4. Big E's Big Slump 

In the constant whirl of new stars rising and wrestlers receiving pushes, there are bound to be those who are pushed aside. For now, Big E is in that category.

His recent record, courtesy of CageMatch.net, points to WWE considering him a low priority. In his last eight singles matches on TV, the powerhouse is just 2-6 with five straight losses on his resume.

Opponent	Event	Date Aired	Result
Rusev	Main Event	10/14	Loss
Battle Royal Field	SmackDown	9/26	Loss
Seth Rollins	Main Event	9/16	Loss
Rusev	SmackDown	8/8	Loss
Battle Royal Field	Battleground	7/20	Loss
Cesaro	Raw	7/14	Win
Titus O'Neil	Superstars	7/3	Win
Rusev	Money in the Bank	6/29	Loss

Big E's just 1-5 in pay-per-view matches in 2014, his last victory coming back in February. More troubling is that he hasn't even been able to make a pay-per-view card lately. Failure to compete at Hell in a Cell will mark his fourth straight show on the bench. 

A young emerging star like him shouldn't be headed to Jobber Town so quickly. His slide is one of the many reasons for WWE to go full-throttle with the Xavier Woods-led faction it teased earlier.

Putting him in the middle of a powerful group is a far better use of his talents.

5. Throwback Promo of the Year: Jake Roberts

A pair of the greatest talkers in wrestling history were backstage on Monday's Raw. Inexplicably, neither Ric Flair nor Roberts were handed a live mic on the air.

Roberts did get a chance to speak in a WWE.com exclusive interview with Eden. 

Seeing him grinning and discussing his health issues, one can't help but think back to all the great promos he had during his career. WrestleMania VI was home to one of them.

"Wallowing in the muck of avarice" has to be among the best single lines to ever come out of a wrestler's mouth. 

The way he infuses a dark aura into his speech despite playing the babyface here is a blueprint for a potential Bray Wyatt face run. It's hard to imagine The Eater of Worlds as anything other than a monster, but if WWE decides to go in that direction, Wyatt should watch this promo on repeat as a learning tool.

6. Damien Sandow Still the Highlight of WWE Programming 

Better wrestlers and better stories surround him, but Sandow is the most fun part of WWE right now.

He continues to make his stunt-double shtick more entertaining than the in-ring action he's mirroring. On Monday's Raw, he rolled on the ground and headlocked the air as The Miz battled Sheamus. You can't blame the crowd for chanting "We want Sandow" after that performance.

The former Mr. Money in the Bank then topped himself by donning a Sheamus costume and playing The Celtic Warrior's shadow.

Constantly being this funny and captivating is going to lead to positive dividends for a man who was recently struggling to remain relevant. WWE can ride this current dynamic for awhile, but eventually there's destined to be a Virgil-vs.-Ted DiBiase-type feud between Sandow and The Miz.

"Mizdow" is getting far too over not to make use of him as a babyface.

7. On a Pole, a History of Letdowns

Has their ever been a great Object on a Pole match? The short answer is a definitive "no." Cena vs. Ambrose couldn't change the bout's poor lineage.

The long answer requires viewing these matches and deciding for yourself:

• Jimmy Snuka vs. Col. DeBeers-March 29, 1987
• Hulk Hogan and Kevin Nash vs. Roddy Piper and The Giant: Spring Stampede 1998 (Baseball Bat on a Pole)
• Buff Bagwell vs. Kanyon: New Blood Rising 2000 (Judy Bagwell on a Pole)
• Trish Stratus vs. Terri: Raw-April 1, 2002 (Paddle on a Pole)
• Dolph Ziggler vs. Damien Sandow: Raw-Dec. 23, 2013 (Christmas Present on a Pole)

The cringe-worthy aspect of these offerings makes one wonder why any wrestling promotion would return to this gimmick. It's not as if sliding up a pole has ever created a highlight.

Why not just hang the object from the center of the ring and have a Ladder match?

8. Booking Suggestion: Zack Ryder

WWE should make Ryder's struggles narrative fodder.

The fact that he can count his TV wins in 2014 on a single hand should come up on screen. Triple H should approach him and say that he's not sure that Ryder is main-roster material. Long Island Iced-Z should insist that he is and just wants a chance to prove himself.

Triple H should offer him a way to keep his job. He can book three matches on consecutive editions of Raw and announce that Ryder must win one of them or be fired. Ryder would then face the daunting challenge of having to beat Rusev, Cesaro or Orton—and fail to do so.

Credit: WWE.com

Each of those matches would normally be skippable fare, but the stakes would be far higher this time around.

After getting fired, Ryder could convince William Regal to take him at NXT. He can say he has to start from the bottom and work his way back up into the spotlight.

At NXT, he'll find the competition just as tough. He could lose to Sami Zayn and Bull Dempsey in consecutive weeks.

Amore could approach the frustrated Ryder, offering to be his manager. The former U.S. champ could join Cassady, Carmella and Amore in a New York/New Jersey faction. Ryder could then begin his climb back up with a win over Aiden English with "The Realest Guy in the Room" cheering him on.

9. A Quiet Return 

Brad Maddox may be ready to rejoin the roster after a long hiatus. 

He's already done so on house shows and on the WWE App. WWE tweeted a video of him stepping into the ring in Macon, Georgia.

As noted by Mike Johnson on PWInsider, Maddox appeared on the App, "where he cut a promo saying he has been waiting for his chance and everyone is going to have to stop ignoring him."

Maddox is too talented to go unused. He has a good look, is solid in the ring and is charismatic enough (in an awkward way) to get people to pay attention to him. With over six hours of programming a week, there's got to be slice of the pie to hand to Maddox.

10. Advice From The Macho Man

We end with Lance Storm relaying some words of wisdom from Randy Savage:

That's one of the many things CM Punk doesn't have to worry about anymore.