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Over the past couple of months, rumors have run rampant about the fate of former WWE Champion Dean Ambrose leaving the WWE due to unhappiness with his booking since his return from a major elbow injury last year.
With the emergence of AEW, WWE is expected to have some real competition for the first time in years. WWE responded by pushing some of its typically underused Superstars in an effort to retain their services - one example being Finn Balor's shot at the Universal Title at the Royal Rumble pay-per-view.
In turn, WWE reportedly offered Ambrose a lucrative five-year contract, which he turned down, swiftly prompting the company to make it public knowledge that Ambrose was on the way out. However, this contract situation was not infused into storyline until two nights ago on RAW, where Roman Reigns and Seth Rollins were urging Ambrose to re-unite the Shield one last time, implying Ambrose's impending departure.
The Shield did reunite, but later in the evening, Michael Cole directly addressed the prospect of Ambrose leaving the company. WWE using real-life contract negotiation in a storyline is nothing new. With gradual storyline emphasis on Ambrose leaving after WrestleMania, it is looking more and more likely that he will change his mind and re-sign with the company.
In 2011, CM Punk's contract negotiation took center stage on WWE programming, leading to one of the most memorable character arcs in the PG era. If Ambrose's contract status is made a constant feature of the narrative, it would signal a change from him 'definitely leaving' to 'undecided'.
Everything is up in the air and the retention of Dean Ambrose is a work in progress. It is possible he will end up leaving; it is also possible he has already signed on to stay long-term. But 'work' or not, with the focus firmly on his status with the company, the road to WrestleMania gets very interesting.
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