WWE

There is little doubt Dean Ambrose is tossing the character in the bin and reverting back to Jon Moxley.

Everything else about his situation—including his future with WWE—is up in the air.

Wrestling fans by nature have to be cautious, especially in this era when everything and anything can be used as a means to work a storyline or character development. Some Superstars tweet in character. Each video interview is a guessing game as to whether it's in character. Bray Wyatt just announced videos from years ago contain unscripted lines that form a cohesive, secret message.

It's hard out here for fans from this standpoint. Topping the list is the Ambrose/Moxley situation, which really skyrocketed in fans' collective mindshare with this one video:

Fans could go for days and days with the symbology in there. He's escaping a prison, the barbed wire is a callback to Moxley's deathmatches at other promotions, there's a Big Dog (Reigns) chasing him out of the prison yard. Etc. Etc.

But one overarching thing stands out: the production value. It still screams professional in a WWE sense. Moxley could go out and hire someone or his new promotion could as well, but the value plus how it plays with his final months in WWE seems...odd. Never mind the aforementioned symbology could have a ton of double meanings (WWE wasn't the prison holding him back, the Ambrose character was).



Really, wrestling fans haven't seen much like this before, and WWE's treatment of Ambrose was curious, to say the least.

WWE was too incredibly nice to Ambrose on his way out the door. There was the whole getting hit by Nia Jax thing and taking a loss to EC3, but that was rather tame. Just look at what WWE is doing to The Revival on a nightly basis to see how it really treats stars who have decided to leave the company.

With Ambrose, WWE went out of its way to issue a press release on the fact he wouldn't be reupping with the company. They mentioned it consistently on air. They did final special moments with The Shield once Roman Reigns returned.

It is all unusual for a company that is often seen locking performers into contracts, keeping them longer or not granting releases. Provided someone like Sasha Banks is really leaving, she'd probably be getting The Revival treatment right now, too.

But not Ambrose, which raises the question: Is it a work?

Maybe, just maybe, Ambrose is taking some time off and coming back. It sounds silly, but we are talking about the world of wrestling. And his flirtation with other promotions at a time when fans love to speculate every wrestler might jump ship to AEW because of WWE's bloated roster would be some sleek modern storytelling.

WWE

It wouldn't be an exaggeration to say the Ambrose character is irreparably damaged. Ambrose returned from injury physically bigger than ever to a huge pop and immediately fell into a downward spiral.

He betrayed Seth Rollins on the night his good friend Reigns had to step away to fight leukemia, then his character spiraled way out of control to the point he was cutting corny promos while a doctor stuck a needle in his butt and coming out in a gas mask and "pee-yewing" the crowd.

It was terrible, awful work for whatever reason, and the damage has been done. Not that Ambrose's character ever made a ton of consistent sense. He was a Lunatic Fringe who spent a long stretch of time as a face joking around with someone like James Ellsworth, and his heel work was never allowed to be very...fringey.

So maybe this is a chance to let Ambrose be who he wants to be. Maybe it even came up when discussing the future and the realistic threat of an AEW move brought WWE around on the idea of Moxley and more creative freedom.

It would be unlike WWE to let go of the Ambrose name. Merchandise, casual recognition, all those things suggest WWE wouldn't let Ambrose go permanently to Moxley. But the sendoff was unlike WWE as well.

But WWE clearly isn't afraid of massive character reboots. Look at Bray Wyatt right now. From a credible, Undertaker-style supernatural threat and world champion to a ranting Duck Dynasty knockoff, Wyatt has kept his name but hardly anything else in his recent return.

Remember, competition has brought out the best of WWE in the past, not to mention increased its willingness to take risks. The presence of AEW helps these theories. But consider the competition in a ratings sense right now, too, because Raw and SmackDown are suffering in a big way.

Also, thank competition for Vince McMahon and Co. coming to terms with the fact those miserable ratings aren't going to cut it when SmackDown switches over to Fox in the fall.

Trying something new, weaving in social media and the speculation of a superstar leaving while actually repackaging a literal Grand Slam WWE champion into what he wants to be isn't too far outside the realm of wrestling's ecosystem.

In the end, two camps will form among fans. One will say he's gone no matter what. The other will say he isn't. Somewhere in between is where the world of wrestling normally operates, and when this is leveraged well, wrestling is at its best.

It's something to keep in mind as the days and weeks march closer to a revelation of what is next for Moxley, who under the unpredictable umbrella of wrestling could make an appearance on WWE television sooner than most would expect.