Roman Reigns' Friendship with Dean Ambrose Must Continue to Dominate His Future

One of the biggest factors in The Shield becoming a hugely popular stable in WWE was arguably the relationship all three men had with each other.

In this era where reality is almost becoming as important as kayfabe, the fact that Roman Reigns, Seth Rollins and Dean Ambrose had come through the ranks together and the fact that WWE played on that as a big part of their development instantly made them more relatable and, ultimately, more popular.

So after a lean few months in terms of his relationship with WWE fans, it should come as no surprise that those involved with Reigns' booking are leaning back on his friendship with a former Shield stablemate lately.

Reigns and Dean Ambrose never went their separate ways on bad terms—far from it in fact. But what we've seen lately is WWE utilizing Ambrose as Reigns' close friend again, perhaps for a number of reasons. But whatever the main reason is, Reigns and Ambrose's budding relationship needs to continue for a good few weeks, or even months, yet.

First and foremost, if WWE is committed to pushing Reigns into the main event scene after all this time, having Ambrose by his side would be a solid way to help get him over.

Ambrose's quirkiness and unpredictability on the microphone are starting to morph over into Reigns, and that's visible in the promos they're cutting together. Although Reigns still isn't quite at the level of the company's top talkers just yet, gone are slow, stunted promos like these:

The humor and the interaction between Reigns and Ambrose should help to at least make Reigns more interesting to WWE fans and not just the guy who always picks up predictable wins almost every week.

As well as that, fans are starting to see more and more flashbacks to Reigns' most successful days: his time as the defacto leader of The Shield.

What was a clever friendship at first that made fans smile is now turning into a Shield reunion between Reigns and Ambrose. The promos have gone backstage into the similar kind of area where Reigns, Ambrose and Seth Rollins used to tell the world to "believe," and that's not the only similarity.

Reigns has slowly turned back into more of a ruthless aggressor rather than a clean-cut babyface. Take his unsanctioned attack on Wyatt a few weeks ago before he was scheduled to have a match against none other than Ambrose. By quietly and subliminally rehashing The Shield and the components that made it such a big hit, Reigns is gradually benefiting from his alliance with Ambrose more and more.

WWE even took the time out this week to have Michael Cole's weekly sit-down interview with Reigns and Ambrose. Their body language was again strikingly similar to how they used to act in The Shield; Ambrose was unpredictable and generally off the cuff, while Reigns was completely different.

His body language was somber, aggressive and with all the intentions of a man on a mission. That's exactly how Reigns should be; his whole demeanor is of someone who doesn't suit the clean-cut look. When alongside Ambrose, the two bounce off each other really well.

That increasing push of how Reigns and Ambrose are more "family" than anything else was put over well in the interview again, too. Reigns detailed how Ambrose helped him provide for his family, and even on Raw this past week, Ambrose admitted Reigns has been his only real friend. It's the clever overlap between real life and kayfabe again, and it will only help Reigns in the future. 

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And really it makes sense if Ambrose turns on Reigns. Plus, it gives them both a storyline that'll make them look strong!

— Brian. (@CRhodesSupport) August 12, 2015"

And if it didn't completely end up with a full reunion of The Shield? Well, the longer Ambrose and Reigns stick together, the more chance there is of one of them turning on the other. Whether it be Reigns or Ambrose, having that surprise element always waiting to happen makes the need for the two to stay best buddies even greater.