What's the story?
According to a report from dailywrestlingnews.com, there are some officials in the WWE who felt that putting the Intercontinental Championship on Dean Ambrose, who previously was in a feud with AJ Styles for the WWE World Championship, would hurt him as a main event superstar.
Bringing Ambrose from the top card to the upper mid-card was seen by some as a demotion for Ambrose.
However, Vince McMahon, who made the decision to put the title on Ambrose, has full confidence in him. He thinks that Ambrose can keep the IC title relevant in the same way as The Miz, who's been pleasing the officials with his stellar performances.
In case you didn't know:
On the January 3rd edition of SmackDown LIVE, Dean Ambrose faced The Miz in the main event for the Intercontinental Championship, where he beat the Miz clean for the title.
The heart of the matter
After failing to capture the WWE World Championship from AJ Styles at TLC, Ambrose faced The Miz on the following episode of SmackDown LIVE for The Miz's IC Title. However, he proved unsuccessful after James Ellsworth interfered and unintentionally cost him the match, allowing The Miz to steal the win.
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On the December 20 edition of SmackDown, after a successful title defense against Apollo Crews, The Miz ridiculed Renee Young in the post-match interview by talking about her real life relationship with Dean Ambrose.
This incident kickstarted a feud between Ambrose and Miz, with Ambrose attacking The Miz backstage on the subsequent edition of SmackDown LIVE, securing a rematch for the IC Title.
What's next?
On the January 10 edition of SmackDown, Ambrose announced that he would be participating in the Royal Rumble match.
Sportskeeda’s take
It is quite easy to see why the officials are concerned regarding Ambrose’s title win; first, Miz was already doing a stellar job as a champion, and Ambrose just came from the main event scene against Styles. Putting him in a feud below the main event probably does hurt him.
However, looking at the reactions from the fans tells otherwise. Everyone in the WWE Universe is really positive of Ambrose holding the title, and if the fans are happy, then there is nothing to worry about.
The video below shows Ambrose facing The Miz for the IC Title on the SmackDown after TLC:
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