Dean Ambrose and the Best WWE Mic Mastery for Week of December 14

Just moments after winning the Intercontinental Championship at WWE TLC, Dean Ambrose got to work, pumping pride and passion into the story of that title.

At every turn, The Lunatic Fringe looked to paint that championship as the workhorse title, the belt worn by great wrestlers and tireless warriors. In the process, he helped humanize his unhinged character with backstory. Ambrose made it feel as if each interview was a peek inside him.

It began on the same night that he dethroned Kevin Owens. His pinfall victory over the bruiser led to the only title change at the TLC pay-per-view, one of the few surprising results of the show.

Ambrose celebrated by way of overflowing emotion.

Credit: WWE.com

He clutched the belt to his chest with a stunned look smeared across his face. He stood atop the announce table and lifted the gold in the air—emphatically triumphant. 

That energy and enthusiasm carried over into his first interview as champ.

Backstage with Renee Young, he listed off some of the legends who had won the IC crown, from Pat Patterson to Ricky Steamboat. He talked about growing up watching them and described himself as a fan in awe of them, an early student of the game and a "13-year-old kid who collects tapes."

"Watching these guys do what they do: setting the example, being the workhorses, being what you dream of being when you dream of being a professional wrestler," he said.

This tactic of bringing up big names who once held the gold is a well-worn one, but Ambrose came off as especially genuine. He wasn't just name-dropping; he was using them to tell his own story.

Ambrose did well to establish a distinction between him and Owens. He would be the kind of champ men like Bret Hart could be proud of. Owens, meanwhile, was in the class of dishonorable champions, the cheaters and the cowards.

While the greats may disapprove of how titleholders like Owens represent themselves, Ambrose was going to be a rule-abiding, fighting champ. 

"I will go to every nook and cranny of this country, every town in the United States, every arena all over the world, and I will defend the Intercontinental Championship like it was my own child," he told Young.

This is a smart way to make him the clear babyface. It's easy to root for a hard worker. The same goes for a courageous champion.

On Thursday's SmackDown, he spoke with Young again, repeating that same fighting-champ rhetoric.

Ambrose added more of a focus on Owens this time. He did well to showcase his own gutsiness and unhinged nature while keeping the audience intrigued by his feud with the former champion. 

In his own unique way, The Lunatic Fringe promised to keep coming after Owens:

It's hard to tell what's scripted for wrestlers and what comes from their own minds, but this sure sounded like Ambrose's doing. He was his usual oddball self—part playful, part psychotic. It's that combination that promises to make his reign such a fun ride.

His infectious energy was on display with his closing statement. He said, "Kevin Owens' master plan to drive me crazy, drive me loony, drive me up the wall, make me zany. Good luck." 

When the new champion sat down with Michael Cole, he toned down his act some. That interview was more about the honor of holding the title, what winning it meant to him.

Of the IC crown he said, "This is my life's work; this is everything I've worked for since the first time I got in the ring when I was 16 years old."

Talking of all the training, miles and matches he put in to get to this point helped add depth to his character. Too often, WWE relies on just dubbing him a nutjob and leaving it at that. The started-from-the-bottom narrative isn't tapped into enough with him. 

That's a smart place to have reality and fiction intersect. Ambrose did put in long years on the independent circuit, he did grow up in a gritty, dangerous part of Cincinnati and bust his ass since signing with WWE. Making that part of his tale as champ is a must.

With Cole, it was again clear how much the title meant to him. He talked about it as if it was just as prestigious as the WWE World Heavyweight Championship.

"This is the wrestler's championship; this is the workhorse's championship," he said.

And he called back to his earlier pursuits of it, something WWE hasn't done enough of. He had been trying to win the title from Bad News Barrett leading up to WrestleMania and lost a ladder match that put his IC dreams on hold.

Of that bout, he said, "I almost died at WrestleMania trying to get this Intercontinental Championship around my waist."

Credit: WWE.com

He made that line sound heartfelt. He made the IC title sound like his personal holy grail. And that's the way it should be.

But as convincing as Ambrose has been in relishing the gold, this isn't a sustainable rhetoric. He can't be four or five months into his reign and still be bringing up old champs and saying the same lines about how much he's overcome to get to this point.

The focus has to shift toward the future and toward his opponents. The audience can only nod their heads at Ambrose's sermon-esque speeches for so long. Personal issues will be key moving forward.

For now, his enemy list includes both Owens and Dolph Ziggler, who has wormed his way into the title picture. 

The more WWE can drum up the animosity between those three, the more thrilling the chase for the IC title will be. And it's clear the company can count on Ambrose to hold up his end of the narrative, clutching tight to the gold, preaching about its prestige.