Report: Dean Ambrose to Return to Indies as Jon Moxley in June; No Word on AEW

After departing WWE last month and rebranding himself as Jon Moxley in a video released Wednesday on Twitter, Dean Ambrose is reportedly set for a run on the independent scene.

According to Dave Meltzer of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter (h/t WrestlingInc.com's Marc Middleton), Ambrose has bookings lined up with multiple promotions and is expected to begin working under the Moxley name in June.

It has been widely speculated that Ambrose would sign with All Elite Wrestling or New Japan Pro-Wrestling, but Meltzer added that there is "no word" regarding whether he is in negotiations with either company.

In Moxley's video, the longtime WWE Superstar can be seen escaping from a prison, which many have speculated is a metaphor for him leaving WWE:

WWE announced several months ago that Ambrose would not be renewing his contract with the company when it expired in April. That appeared to hold true, as Ambrose was given a send-off that had him, Roman Reigns and Seth Rollins compete one final time as The Shield in a winning effort against Drew McIntyre, Bobby Lashley and Baron Corbin.

Meltzer speculated that WWE treated Ambrose well on the way out since the company believes he will be back eventually. Meltzer added that if WWE believed Ambrose was going to sign with a competitor like AEW or NJPW, that may not have been the case.

If Ambrose takes bookings for multiple companies rather than signing an exclusive deal, it could be a lucrative move on his part. Per Meltzer, Ambrose will likely be able to command "several thousand dollars" for matches, signings and other appearances.

Perhaps the biggest piece of speculation making the rounds following the release of his Twitter video is the notion that Ambrose would be appearing at AEW's Double or Nothing on May 25.

In addition to Double or Nothing taking place in Las Vegas, which is Ambrose's city of residence, a pair of dice were shown at one point in the video with the numbers two and five in a possible nod to Double or Nothing occurring on May 25.

If Ambrose does not start making appearances on the independent circuit until June, though, involvement in Double or Nothing may not be in the cards.

Ambrose made a big name for himself on the indie scene as Jon Moxley prior to signing with WWE in 2011, and now that he is coming off a lengthy WWE run that included a stint as WWE champion, he is well positioned to call the shots and do things his way in other promotions.

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