Dean Ambrose Will Turn Heel. Not At SummerSlam.

It’s been a tough year for Cincinnati sports. Their two major college basketball teams had spectacular regular seasons, only to flame out in the second round of the NCAA Tournament on the same night in the same arena. The Reds have spent the season in the cellar of the NL Central with no real hope of getting out, while their top prospects have gotten season-ending injuries while playing in the minor leagues. The Bengals have yet to start their season, but we all know that will only bring some form of tragedy.

The only positive aspect of the year has been FC Cincinnati getting into Major League Soccer. Even that has a downside though, as one imagines the transition to MLS from the United Soccer League won’t immediately lead to Supporters’ Shields & MLS Cups. FCC will likely struggle early in their MLS tenure, and it’s fair to wonder if Cincinnati fans will hang with the squad through the tough times.

Cincinnati’s main contribution to modern-day sports entertainment has seen some tough times in 2018. Dean Ambrose has yet to wrestle a match this year due to a triceps injury. The original hope was that he would be back not long after WrestleMania.

Apparently Dean needed the extra time off to get all swole.

It was perfect timing as far as Dean’s best friend was concerned. Seth Rollins has had some problems getting backup since Dean’s injury. Roman Reigns has been busy getting beat up by Brock Lesnar. Kurt Angle tried to make Seth & Jason Jordan a thing, but Jordan done broke his neck like he was actually an Angle. All of this has left Seth to deal with Dolph Ziggler & Drew McIntyre all by his lonesome. Ziggler’s sneakiness & McIntyre’s brutality pose a deadly combination for anybody in their path.

A healthy Lunatic Fringe evens the score. But what does his future hold?

The most popular prediction for Ambrose’s future is a heel turn that some folks have been waiting for since he became a babyface. Back when Dean first arrived in Florida Championship Wrestling, he got all kinds of hype for his promo ability as a bad guy. He made it there in the first place largely based on his work on the microphone, which was miles ahead of almost everybody in independent wrestling at the time.

Dean’s never become that revolutionary figure that a lot of people were hoping for. He isn’t the top guy. What he’s become is a solid character that can be booked in main events & not seem out of place, but can also feel at home in the mid-card or wherever else you want to book him. There’s a lot of value in a versatile guy like that.

There’s a good chance Ambrose will turn on Rollins at some point. The Kingslayer has never been more popular with the WWE Universe & could use an opponent like Ambrose that’s on his level. There’s certainly plenty of backstory between the two. Makes sense for a WrestleMania. That’s why the turn isn’t going to happen at SummerSlam.

The fans aren’t ready to boo Dean Ambrose. He just came back. It’s not like he was one of those good guys that was losing steam either. He’s been successful at getting cheers since the Shield turned against The Authority. Some higher-ups & wrestling legends might not appreciate his act, but the people have been cool with him since the start. As crazy as he might be, he’s proven to be more trustworthy & a better guy than most of WWE’s babyfaces.

WWE doesn’t tell fast-paced stories these days. Brock Lesnar & Roman Reigns have been circling each other for nearly four years now. What once upon a time would have been an easy breakup between Bayley & Sasha Banks has gone on for months & has no end in sight. Rollins’ feud with Dolph Ziggler has gone twice as long as anybody would have predicted when they first faced off.

On one hand, it feels like you can miss Raw for months at a time and not miss anything. On the other hand, taking time to tell these stories makes for a more logical show. There’s good & bad with every style of storytelling.

Expect Anbrose & Rollins to be a slow burn. I think Rollins wins the Intercontinental Championship on Sunday with Ambrose & McIntyre getting involved. Then of course there will have to be the series of tag team matches with Rollins & Ambrose vs. Ziggler & McIntyre. That blowoff will be on a WWE Network event, and then Ambrose makes the big turn and gives the Internet the heel they’ve been wanting for five years.

Besides, if Ambrose is smart, he’d wait for Rollins to win a championship before turning against him. You can’t rush these things. You have to wait for just the right moment. SummerSlam has enough stuff going on already that a big Dean Ambrose heel turn would get lost in the shuffle. The last thing a returning star like Ambrose needs to be is lost in the shuffle after less than a week.