Dean Ambrose Validating WWE's Faith in Him as Top-Tier Star

With every opportunity the WWE gives Dean Ambrose in the spotlight comes another triumph.

He's the character actor thriving after being asked to play the lead. He's the role player on the basketball team suddenly asked to be the top scorer and delivering an MVP-worthy performance.

In and out of the ring, Ambrose is proving himself to be a main eventer. The evidence that he belongs on that level is piling up.

After headlining a handful of pay-per-views last year, the WWE went away from putting him on the marquee. He found himself at the losing end of a feud with Bray Wyatt. Next, Ambrose stood in the center of a silly storyline where challengers stole the WWE Intercontinental Championship. 

In a flash, things have changed.

Fresh off battling for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship at Payback in a Fatal 4-Way, The Lunatic Fringe is set to take on Seth Rollins one-on-one for that same prize at Elimination Chamber. 

Ambrose has made the WWE look smart for moving him up the card. When pushed to center stage, he feels like a star. Even in the crowded four-man battle on Sunday, Ambrose stood out.

His wild energy and exaggerated facial expressions helped him do so. Beyond that, though, his "it" factor becomes clearer the more times he's allowed to display it in a big spot.

Mick Foley was among the many who noticed. Of the bout, Foley posted on Facebook, "It was also a match that served notice that Ambrose belongs in these type of main event matches, and that the #‎WWEUniverse‬ absolutely buys him as a main event performer."

How right Foley is here. Never once has WWE placed Ambrose in a show-ending match or segment and the former United States champion not delivered. 

Last October, he and Rollins helped remind fans why they loved the Hell in a Cell concept so much. 

At TLC, when asked to headline the show with Wyatt, he came through once again. It was the oddness of the match's end (Ambrose done in by way of exploding TV) that had people disappointed, not Ambrose himself.

More recently, he has reminded WWE that he's among the most reliable members of the roster when it comes to ring work.

Stick him in the ring for a brawl against Sheamus, as the company did on last week's SmackDown. He hits that out of the park with the match of the night.

Pair him up with Wyatt in a hard-hitting bout with no buildup, no pre-match story. Again, he draws fans in and produces the best in-ring action of the show.

This is par for the course for Ambrose. He has looked great in the ring with a variety of foes, from Randy Orton to Cesaro to Rollins to Luke Harper. Knowing that sparks are assured for just about every collision, it's easy to get pumped about any main event he's a part of going forward.

Wrestling stardom requires more than steadily stellar ring work, though. It demands that a wrestler make a connection to the crowd, that he make a lasting impression with his character and charisma. Ambrose is doing plenty of that as well.

He has been a constant source of fun. He's nutty, funny and clearly comfortable with his persona. 

On Monday's Raw, he showed that off, capping off the night by crashing Rollins' celebration. 

The scene got most interesting when Ambrose arrived. He was the fearless hyena walking into a den of lions, and it was hard to look away. His attempt to secure himself a title match was the work of a madman, an antihero and, most importantly, a character who intrigues.

The Lunatic Fringe most certainly looked like a star here. And by the end of this, when it was clear that Rollins and Ambrose would headline the Elimination Chamber pay-per-view, buzz crackled.

That's been the case over the past few weeks as Ambrose found himself thrust into the world title picture.

It's a place where he looks mighty comfortable. It's where WWE needs to keep him. 

Elimination Chamber marks his latest opportunity to sit atop the card. Expect the screwball brawler to nail this one as well.