Unpopular Opinion: WWE doesn't need Dean Ambrose
News broke earlier today that Dean Ambrose is set to leave WWE when his contract expires in April. It was reported that Ambrose is unhappy with his current booking and has rejected a raise and a new contract. Apparently, he informed officials over the weekend that he will not re-sign at any cost.
That last part is very interesting. My initial reaction when I heard the news was that Dean was just trying to get a better deal by threatening to jump ship to AEW. It seems that WWE can't fix this problem by simply tossing more money in Dean's direction. It seems that unless WWE improve his booking, Dean Ambrose will become a free agent in April. This poses an interesting question, "Will WWE miss Dean Ambrose?". I don't think so.
I believe that WWE don't need Dean Ambrose. At the moment, WWE has a massive roster and Ambrose could be easily replaced. In my opinion, Ambrose adds nothing to the WWE product at the moment.
WWE has given him chance after chance to become something special, and he has dropped the ball every time. They gave him a big match against Brock Lesnar at Wrestlemania 32 and he underperformed. The match was given a lot of build on TV and didn't live up to expectations. He was given a run with the WWE Championship where he was briefly the top star of SmackDown, but even that run was underwhelming to an extent. He eventually dropped the title to AJ Styles.
The only other time that Dean Ambrose seemed like a top star was when he was part of The Shield or feuded with his Shield teammates. The problem is, he can't feud with them all the time. Roman is out battling cancer and Seth has moved on to bigger and better things.
The WWE has a plethora of talent waiting on the main roster and in NXT for an opportunity. It's a revolving door; as one goes out, another goes in. They have plenty of guys who could fill Ambrose's spot and arguably do a better job. Take Tommaso Ciampa for example, his character is very similar to Ambrose and could fit in that role quite easily. The WWE will move on and try to fill the gap.
Let me be clear, I don't hate Dean Ambrose. Dean is a good worker and can cut a solid promo. It is probably the booking that is holding him back. He may be able to find success somewhere else, like AEW. He could do what Cody Rhodes has done; prove people wrong and blaze his own trail. You never know, he could be the biggest star in wrestling in a year's time. Maybe he needs to get away from the WWE machine and its restrictive booking.
AEW is said to have no creative team and will let the talent be themselves. Maybe that is what Dean needs to excel. Leaving the WWE could be the very thing he needs to do to succeed.