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WWE Needs Seth Rollins vs. Dean Ambrose to Carry Raw Through Holiday Season
November 20, 2018
As WWE enters its notoriously slow and boring holiday season of programming, the company will be leaning on the feud between Dean Ambrose and Seth Rollins to carry Raw into the new year.
WWE officials know Ambrose and Rollins are two of the most popular Superstars on the roster, and letting them battle against each other for the next several months will result in a money feud that generates excitement during a down period.
Wrestling fans know the history between the two former Shield brothers, and the storyline involving their growing hatred for one another is polarizing the WWE Universe. No matter who you are backing in the battles, most fans will be emotionally invested in the promos and the matches.
One reason people will be able to fully get behind this storyline is the change in Ambrose's character, which fans have been asking for since he returned from his injury. The Lunatic Fringe has always been a better heel, and with the perception that the Shield was holding him back, the resulting feud should be predicated on bad blood.
And wrestling fans love blood feuds.
For the members of the WWE Universe who were indifferent toward the storyline initially, Ambrose mentioning Roman Reigns and essentially saying he deserves his cancer diagnosis should ensure that everyone watching WWE programming now has a vested interest in the program.
As great as the storytelling will be on the mic, Ambrose and Rollins are two of the most gifted in-ring workers in the world and know each other like the back of their hands. The result should be a series of Match of the Year contenders, especially considering how weak the remainder of the Raw feuds will be heading into the holiday season.
With Rollins providing the high-flying and speed and Ambrose showing the unpredictability and hardcore element fans love, the result should be a contrast of styles that provides the WWE Universe with everything they could ask for in a feud.
The timing of the program couldn't be better for WWE as well. While the holiday season is slow and plodding at best on WWE programming, Rollins vs. Ambrose will make up for the lack of excitement around other key storylines on Raw, including Braun Strowman vs. Baron Corbin, Nia Jax vs. Ronda Rousey and Authors of Pain vs. Bobby Roode and Chad Gable.
Add in the fact that Brock Lesnar and the Universal Championship aren't on television, and the battles between Rollins and Ambrose for the intercontinental title become the most important segments on Raw each week.
Raw may have swept the matches at Survivor Series, but SmackDown continues to be the superior brand. With a down period approaching, company officials will lean heavily on two-thirds of the Shield to once again carry the brand into 2019.
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