Dean Ambrose, Kevin Owens, Brock Lesnar Prove the Anti-Hero Is Alive in WWE

Once upon a time, Stone Cold Steve Austin saluted his employer, WWE CEO Vince McMahon, with a middle finger and knocked him into next week.

And he was loved for it.

The anti-heroes have been dormant for more than a decade. In today’s WWE, Cena and Ryback are cheered by parents and children for their positive outlooks and never-say-die attitudes. Seth Rollins, Sheamus and the New Day may be lauded for their abilities, but they are despised for their stances and actions.

But a new crop of non-traditional tweeners—Dean Ambrose, Brock Lesnar and Kevin Owens—are giving both the casual and hardcore fans alike something different to cheer. They’re the next generation of anti-hero, and they’re taking over WWE.

A Common Thread with Ambrose, Lesnar and Owens

Ambrose is a lunatic. Lesnar is a beast. Owens is a brawler. These are tropes for heels, but a common thread weaves among each: rejecting the status quo. They all do it in their own unique ways.

Ambrose is the closest connection to the archetypal anti-hero of yore. He fights for himself, as Austin did in his feuds with the McMahons. There is no greater good or talk of respecting the fans as Cena mentioned during his mini-feud against the Authority in late 2014. With Ambrose, it's about getting what he deserves.

Dating back to his main-roster introduction with the Shield, Ambrose's actions and antics have always toed the line between good and evil.

Ambrose has not only stolen the heavyweight championship belt but also the Intercontinental Championship. He orchestrated a match against Rollins at Elimination Chamber thanks to a pile of cinder blocks and a steel chair.

And all the while, he’s been celebrated.

Lesnar, in the PG Era of WWE, should never have been a babyface. He terrorizes opponents, bludgeons and lays waste to them. When a man is labeled a monster, the first instinct is to root against him.  

He is the Beast Incarnate. And he is cheered vociferously.

The part-time wrestler embodies the violence fans craved once the Monday Night Wars ended. That remains Lesnar’s draw: His unabashed ferocity makes fans stand up and notice like they did when they sat on the edge of their seats in the late 1990s and early 2000s.

Bleacher Report's Ryan Dilbert wrote back in March: “It doesn't matter what savagery [Lesnar] inflicts on the WWE world, fans are becoming increasingly drawn to him, treating him like a babyface rather than the unfeeling beast that he is.”

That’s what makes Lesnar’s matches must-see TV. Whether it was ending the Undertaker’s WrestleMania streak, recording the greatest beating in WWE championship history against then-champion Cena at SummerSlam 2014 or pounding Reigns into a bloody mess at Wrestlemania 31, fans cheered for more because it gave them a connection to yesteryear.

Lesnar’s extended absences don’t matter anymore; they make the next time he appears all the more enjoyable.

In recent weeks, Kevin Owens has become the latest anti-hero to roam the main roster. His story is different. He is a former indie wrestler who has risen his way up the ranks through WWE’s developmental arm, NXT, to a pay-per-view debut against the company’s top babyface.

But unlike others whom he has followed, such as Neville, Sami Zayn and the Wyatt Family, Owens is unique. He’s never played a character or relied on a gimmick. It’s what’s endeared him to the fans who have followed him from his early years. 

Credit: WWE.com

Kevin Owens is real. He’s one of us. He’s not fighting for respect or titles but for pride. That’s a heel’s motivation. The great Jim Ross recently said of Owens: “He's a throwback in many ways and I enjoy him not trying to be a ‘cool villain.’”

When he powerbombed Cena during his May 18 main-roster debut on Raw, the message was simple: "I am going to show you that I belong here." WWE thought they had booked the NXT champion into their perfect mold for what a heel should be.

But a funny thing happened: Most of the WWE Universe cheered. The Internet nearly broke as GIFs of John Cena lying on the mat with Owens waving his hand over his face went viral.

Today, "Fight Owens Fight" chants grow louder and louder from city to city. And they haven’t stopped. Owens has bested Cena in both of their pay-per-view matches—in victory and defeat. On the June 15 episode of Raw, Owens tossed WWE-approved recording artist Machine Gun Kelly from the stage. Fans both online and in Cleveland, Kelly’s hometown, no less, clamored for more.

"

I'm mad at Kevin Owens ... For not attacking MGK sooner. #Raw

— Kevin Sullivan (@SullivanBooks) June 16, 2015"

Anti-heroes Are Best for Business Right Now

While guys such as Austin, Triple H and CM Punk worked their way through the main roster as mid-card talent, the latest trio of anti-heroes all debuted as main eventers. And they don’t look to be giving up their perches any time soon.

Not only have each been involved in excellent matches, they have become major drawing cards. The WWE Universe buys their t-shirts. Fans in arenas across the country chant their names. The Internet wrestling community proclaims them as saviors. The WWE has no choice but to follow their consumers.

Anti-heroes have traditionally been, as Triple H would say, best for business. Once WWE cannibalized its competition and became a public-facing corporate entity, those types of wrestlers were phased out. In his excellent piece on the history of anti-heroes in wrestling, Ryan Dilbert wrote:

"

WWE is...adding more lightheartedness than some fans can stand. [WWE] has little incentive to stray away from Boy Scouts in wrestling boots. Enough of the paying audience is rooting for guys like Cena that the next Austin...isn't likely to appear for a long while.

"

In the intervening years, WWE got lazy. Stories were stale, its wrestlers were more like the caricatures from the time before the Monday Night Wars. Fans began chanting against both babyfaces and heels at live shows.

Every “Cena Sucks” or “Please Retire” chant that rained down from the seats wasn't an indictment against the man himself. It was a message to the powers that be that fans didn't want more of the same.

All it took was the right person at the right time to channel those frustrations. Instead of one wrestler, though, fans have got three. Thanks to them, the anti-hero is alive and well in WWE.