Dean Ambrose Would Thrive as WWE's Hardcore Specialist

Point Dean Ambrose toward darkness, not toward WWE gold.

Rather than get lost in the shuffle in the crowded championship picture, Ambrose would be better served playing WWE's resident hardcore king. Make him this generation's Mick Foley. Let his past power his present and an alternative path be his means to stardom.

His former brethren from The Shield have gone on to nab the spotlight. Roman Reigns just headlined WrestleMania and currently hovers around the world title picture. Seth Rollins holds the WWE World Heavyweight Championship, sitting atop the company as its top heel.

As for the unstable brawler, he's not anywhere near that level. He's a mid-carder who continually fails to capture mid-card titles. 

There's a better route for Ambrose that doesn't require him to push Reigns out of the way or switch places with Randy Orton. WWE can build on what he has done in the past to highlight his toughness and have him tell his own sadistic story.

Ample Experience

Ambrose is clearly comfortable in chaos. Much of his early career saw him yank barbed wire out of his flesh and wear caked blood on his face.

He first gained notoriety as part of Combat Zone Wrestling. His resume there is littered with matches were the fans brought weapons or involved broken glass sprinkling the ring. That's where he battled alongside Sami Callihan (now Solomon Crowe with NXT) in a Tangled Web Death match back in 2009.

(Note: Video contains brief NSFW language and unsettling images.)

In these types of gory bouts, he has looked at home, using the stipulations to amplify the madness associated with his persona. WWE doesn't offer anything that violent, but so far has asked him to venture into extreme territory several times.

Event	Match	Stipulation	Result
TLC 2012	The Shield vs. Team Hell No	TLC	Win
Raw, Oct. 7, 2013	The Shield vs. Cody Rhodes, Daniel Bryan and Goldust	No DQ	Win
Payback 2014	The Shield vs. Evolution	No Holds Barred Elimination	Win
SmackDown, July 25, 2014	Dean Ambrose vs. Cesaro	No DQ	Win
Raw, Aug. 18, 2014	Dean Ambrose vs. Seth Rollins	Falls Count Anywhere	Loss
Raw, Oct. 13, 2014	Dean Ambrose vs. John Cena	No Holds Barred Contract on a Pole	Win
Raw, Oct. 20, 2014	Dean Ambrose and John Cena vs. The Authority	Street Fight (3-on-2)	Loss
Hell in a Cell 2014	Dean Ambrose vs.Seth Rollins	Hell in a Cell	Loss
SmackDown, Oct. 31, 2014	Dean Ambrose vs. Cesaro	Street Fight	Win
Tribute to the Troops 2014	Dean Ambrose vs.Bray Wyatt	Boot Camp	Win
TLC 2014	Dean Ambrose vs.Bray Wyatt	TLC	Loss
Raw, Dec. 22, 2014	Dean Ambrose vs.Bray Wyatt	Street Fight	Loss
Raw, Jan. 5, 2015	Dean Ambrose vs.Bray Wyatt	Ambulance	Loss
WrestleMania 31	7-Man Intercontinental Match	Ladder	Loss

This history is a tool WWE should use. Just as Edge was portrayed as master of the Ladder match and Undertaker was a dominant force in Casket matches, Ambrose could be a connoisseur of carnage.

Book it so that Street Fights and Steel Cage matches are his realm. That only feeds into his character, allowing him to showcase his grit.

A Perfect Fit

After growing up in a violent, dangerous part of Cincinnati like he did, it makes perfect sense to build on that. Of his hometown, Ambrose told Slam! Sports, "It was easy to get the feeling like all the garbage from the city ran down and washed up there." 

Making him a man who demands to have various hardcore bouts is an easy way to have his real-life background bleed into his onscreen persona. His gimmick would be a more sharp-edged version of Sheamus' "I love to fight" angle.

WWE has already laid the foundation for that.

The company so often talks about his unpredictability and his penchant for gutting it out through pain. It only needs to take things further.

During a Halloween-themed Street Fight last year against Cesaro, for example, Michael Cole said, "Ambrose loves this atmosphere. When there are no rules, Ambrose thrives."

That's exactly what being WWE's extreme expert would be all about. WWE can show clips of his indy matches, footage of his old neighborhood and build a mythos atop the one that already exists.

In 2014, Ambrose spoke with Anthony Benigno for WWE.com. He said of his hardcore background:

"

I may not be the biggest guy in the world or strongest guy in the world. I don't have those gifts. But I will take more punishment and I'm willing to withstand more abuse. A lot of people say, 'It takes a lot to beat him' or whatever. I'm trying to show you in the most literal terms, my body is indestructible, whether its glass or fire or barbed wire.

"

This is as compelling a foundation for a gimmick as one could imagine. It's a lot like what Foley built his WWE career around, but Ambrose could put his own spin on it.

His interviews would make this angle shine. He knows full well how to sell himself as an urban warrior who laughs at blood and pain; he did that for years.

Going with a toned-down version of who he was on the indys not only allows him to explore a character with great potential, it gives him a spotlight with no championship necessary.

Free from the Need to Contend

So many of WWE's stories revolve around its titles. Those are the easiest narratives to write. It's rare that someone can catch fire without hunting one of those down.

Making Ambrose a guy bent on wrecking havoc, a man more concerned with the thrill of the fight than what victory will net him, is the ideal path to doing just that. 

Credit: WWE.com

He can challenge Luke Harper to face him in a Street Fight, and in whipping the big man prove that this is the match made for him. Have him engage in a series of violent gimmick matches against Stardust, two lunatics going to war. Let him travel down to NXT and go a few rounds in Falls Count Anywhere matches and the like with Crowe, looking to see how tough the up-and-comer is.

It's an easy way to plug him into the product at any time. He doesn't need a complicated story, just a man willing to step into his domain.

At CZW and in the various weapon-heavy bouts he has had at WWE, Ambrose has shown himself to be adept at this side of wrestling. It's a way to amplify his character and give him a stage at all times. 

If there's no room for Ambrose to be a headliner right now, being the macabre sideshow would do him just fine.