Dean Ambrose’s heel turn: good or bad?

Dean Ambrose's heel tun was big news. But was it the right move? — Dean Ambrose's heel

On Monday, October 22, Dean Ambrose shocked the wrestling world when he made a heel turn by attacking partner Seth Rollins. While many fans had predicted Ambrose turning eventually, the swerve seemed almost too predictable the way WWE had set the wheels in motion.

On top of that, there was the shock of Roman Reigns announcing he had to forfeit the Universal Championship and walk away from the ring earlier on the same night. Thus, even though the fact that Ambrose would turn heel wasn’t completely out of left field, it was nonetheless a big surprise at the moment when it actually happened.

But was this turn—in its timing, execution, future implications, and even its very concept a good idea for Ambrose or for WWE on the whole at this time? This article takes a look at four different dimensions of Ambrose’s recent turn to evaluate, in the end, whether this major move was a good or bad decision.

#5 Good: The Tag Division

Full-time tag teams stand to gain from Ambrose and Rollins breaking up.

Dean Ambrose and Seth Rollins are responsible for some the Raw brand’s best tag team matches over the last year and change. As such, it might seem counterintuitive to say that it’s a good thing for the tag division that they won’t be teaming anymore, particularly right after they had recaptured the Tag Team Championship.

Yes, Ambrose and Rollins are a very good team and generated some terrific outings opposite Dolph Ziggler and Drew McIntyre. However, they’re also a star team, built out of two singles performers WWE has a vested interest in pushing at or around the main event level. That dynamic creates the fundamental problem that WWE has been reticent to let any full-time tag teams really touch them.

For the immediate future of the tag titles, it might feel like a demotion for the division to lose its kayfabe top team. However, in the long run, this shift should make the tag titles less a pawn for what are truly singles division storylines, and refocus on proper teams. Pairings like The Authors of Pain and Chad Gable and Bobby Roode in particular stand to gain from the opportunities ahead.