Dean Ambrose Will Benefit from Chasing WWE Championship Long-Term

At Survivor Series on Sunday night, Dean Ambrose fell short of capturing the WWE World Heavyweight Championship in the finals of the tournament for the vacant title. But fans of The Lunatic Fringe need not worry; he will be champion before long, and WWE is wise to take the long-term-booking approach with him.

Granted, it can seemingly be a case of officials wanting Roman Reigns as top babyface right now and neglecting Ambrose, but there was a reason why he made it as far as he did in the tourney. They obviously have faith him to be a main event player, but the timing wasn't right for him to capture the title this past weekend.

Ambrose has had a unique path to superstardom compared to his Shield brethren. Although Reigns and Seth Rollins have won the Royal Rumble and Money in the Bank Ladder match, respectively, Ambrose got to where he is simply by virtue of being beloved by the audience.

And there's no logical explanation for it, either. He has been left off several pay-per-views this year, most recently Hell in a Cell, despite contending for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship on a number of occasions during the spring.

His booking indicates he's a midcard-caliber competitor, but because he's such a fan favorite, he's been able to maintain his spot atop the card, which is why it's only a matter of time before he is wearing world-championship gold around his waist.

Credit: WWE.com

As seen at Survivor Series, Reigns won the WWE World title only to lose it minutes later to Sheamus, who opted to cash in his Money in the Bank briefcase. It was almost identical to the ending of SummerSlam 2013, which saw Triple H cost Bryan the belt by helping Randy Orton cash in the contract.

If WWE follows that same narrative from two years ago, that would mean Reigns will be involved in the title chase through WrestleMania 32, which is a logical spot for him to be in given WWE's stunning lack of babyface stars at the moment.

That said, it's best to keep Ambrose out of the picture and build up his championship chase over the next year. He can't follow in the footsteps of Reigns, whose "grand" title win at the event fell flat because it was predictable and was the result of a thrown-together tournament.

Although Ambrose is more organically over than Reigns, he has been floundering for the better part of the past six months. He would have felt out of place in the title picture at this point in time, but in slowly working his way back up the ladder, his return to the main event will mean more.

Similar to Daniel Bryan and CM Punk, Ambrose is an underdog fans want to get behind, and the longer it takes for him to reach the mountaintop of WWE, the more special the overdue title victory will feel.

In the meantime, the former Shield standout has plenty of programs lined up through WrestleMania season. First and foremost, he will be embroiled in a feud with Intercontinental champion Kevin Owens for the foreseeable future, which should produce a strong series of matches.

From there, he has a story with Chris Jericho waiting on the back burner based on what transpired at Night of Champions. According to the Wrestling Observer, WWE may be planning on kicking that off at the start of 2016 in time for WrestleMania 32.

Lest we forget, he has an eventual rematch with Reigns waiting in the wings as well, so he'll be busy with a multitude of opponents for quite a while. There isn't a remote chance he'll be factored into the main event plans of WrestleMania, but beyond The Show of Shows, he should be prominently placed in the title scene.

The loss to Reigns at the November classic may have been a blessing in disguise for Ambrose. It allows the former United States champion to prove himself as a worthy challenger to the prestigious prize through the next six months.

That's not to say he shouldn't have spoken on the controversial conclusion to Survivor Series on Raw, however, as that reeked of lazy storytelling. Aside from that, he's on the right track to cementing his spot at the top of the card and ultimately the WWE World Heavyweight title chase by the springtime.

Graham Mirmina, aka Graham "GSM" Matthews, is a journalism major at Endicott College. Visit his website, Next Era Wrestling, and "like" his official Facebook page to continue the conversation on all things wrestling.

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