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Despite being the underdog, having Dean Ambrose pull off an upset victory may indeed be what the WWE needsAlthough much of the booking done by the WWE Creative recently has been whimsical and inconsistent, they have quite effectively plastered over the cracks by frequently serving up the “Best for Business” mantra to get away with it.And coming off their painstakingly laborious efforts to wrest the WWE World Heavyweight Championship off Roman Reigns at the Royal Rumble, the audience were yet again left beguiled as to why exactly the Authority would induce him into the title mix right after.But as it stands, Roman Reigns squares up against his fellow babyfaces Dean Ambrose and Brock Lesnar in a Triple Threat showdown at Fastlane, to decide which wrestler would earn the right to face Triple H in the main event of Wrestlemania.While it is the worst kept secret that the Samoan is being groomed as the next top babyface in the company, giving him a clean win at the pay-per-view may be counter productive, especially since both Dean Ambrose and Brock Lesnar are fervoured fan-favourites.With a feud believed to be brewing between Brock Lesnar and Bray Wyatt, and the fans a far cry from being sold on Roman Reigns as yet, here then are 5 reasons why letting a dream scenario play out and having Dean Ambrose emerge victorious at Fastlane could actually be best for business.
#5 Home Ground
The WWE can be comfortable with having Dean Ambrose win, knowing that the crowd is bound to be hot for him
The WWE has yet again underlined the impetus of Fastlane as much more than merely a stop-gap event after Royal Rumble, with the winner of the Triple Threat match procuring a berth in the main event of Wrestlemania against the Cerebral Assasin.
And although we head into the event itself resigned to the eventuality of a Roman Reigns victory, the company could still decide to pull of a swerve at the last moment by having any of the other two competitors emerge victorious.
After all, since the event is scheduled to take place in Ohio – the home state of Dean Ambrose – it is very likely that the reaction to him is bound to be vociferous to say the least; a dynamic that would indeed sit well with the WWE should they choose to have him win.
While Creative is reportedly bent upon setting Reigns up to attain the Wrestlemania moment that was soured for him last year, they would likely have to take into account that a raucous pro-Ambrose crowd may not ideally provide the most suitable backdrop for their plans.
#4 Fan Opinion
Despite the WWE’s best (worst) efforts, the crowd is still hardly sold on Roman Reigns
As much notoriety as the WWE has accumulated over the years for ‘shoving’ John Cena down our throats, they have perhaps been tad more sensitive and refrained in taking the same approach as far as Roman Reigns has been concerned.
Yes, they do seem to possess tunnel vision in ultimately achieving their ends with the Samoan, but they have nonetheless exposed themselves to the mercy of fan opinion by repeatedly putting off his much heralded coronation thus far.
John Cena, for all his percieved slights, is a master showman who can embrace the thorny reception that he receives from a polarizing audience and roll with the punches; a scenario that is still far removed from Roman Reigns, not least due to his unconvincing verbiage.
This may mean that Vince McMahon may have to, at least for the time being, recoincile himself with the idea that the tide of fan opinion is unlikely to turn any time soon, and seriously contemplate a scenario where all roads do not necessarily lead to Roman, at Fastlane.
#3 The Heel Turn
If the WWE follows through on the heel turn that was teased, it would make little sense to have Dean Ambrose lose the match
Ever since the Authority, the ultimate heel faction in the WWE, saw fit to magnanimously gift three babyfaces an opportunity to do battle for the number one contendership, the internet has been abuzz with consiparacy theories about a looming heel turn for one of them.
With a segment featuring Stephanie McMahon attempting to incite unrest between Roman Reigns and Dean Ambrose this past week on Raw, those rumours have attained a somewhat more concrete visage heading into the main event of Fastlane.
Understandably, the rumours thus far predicate Dean Ambrose as the one who would likely cross over to the dark side, while Roman Reigns ideally receives the benefit of an increased amount of traction with a sympathetic crowd.
However, in order to manufacture momentum for a subsequent heel run, the WWE have to keep in mind that booking Dean Ambrose as anything but the victor in the Triple Threat match would be highly counter productive, and serve to neither garner substantial heat on him nor to soften the stance of the audience towards Roman Reigns.
#2 Upholding the Intercontinental Championship
Having put himself through hell and highwater to capture and defend the IC Title, losing at Fastlane is simply not an option for Dean Ambrose
While the WWE would admittedly be loath to expose either Reigns or Lesnar to a clean pinfall defeat, it heavily invalidates all the work they have done to promote the legitimacy of the Intercontinental Title if Dean Ambrose was merely included in the match to be the “fall guy”.
Especially after a rollicking feud against Kevin Owens that saw Ambrose cleanly go over and retain his belt, having him take the loss to either Reigns or Lesnar would invariably infringe on both his momentum and the gravitas of his championship.
Although there is a lingering feeling that the company are in desperation mode to try and get Reigns “over” with the audience, striving to accomplish it at the cost of undercutting the brand value of one of their champions and his belt would be nothing short of folly, even for WWE standards.
It may have been envisioned that hand-picking Dean Ambrose as the third competitor meant that both Reigns and Lesnar could be protected in the lead-up to Wrestlemania, but as long as the Lunatic Fringe carries that Intercontinental strap around his waist, it seems like the WWE have backed themselves into a corner yet again.
#1 History Beckons
A Title unification bout between Triple H and Dean Ambrose would provide the WWE with huge marketing potential leading up to Wrestlemania 32
After analyzing the various reasons as to why Dean Ambrose should not come out of Fastlane looking like he did a “job” – contrary to rife speculation that he likely would – perhaps it would serve the WWE better if they were to embrace the idea of him winning the Triple Threat match instead of Reigns or Lesnar.
With just 2 months to go until D-day, and a severely depleted roster fraught with injuries, Creative has hardly conjured up sufficiently engaging storylines to merit breaking the all-time attendance records or to market Wrestlemania 32 as the grandest spectacle of them all.
However, having Dean Ambrose secure his ticket to the main event in the hope of uniting the Intercontinental Title and the World Title, a feat only accomplished once before in WWE history, could proffer one potentially major angle and storyline heading into Wrestlemania.
As it is something that has never been broached since The Ultimate Warrior unified both Titles against Hulk Hogan at Wrestlemania VI, a Dean Ambrose victory at Fastlane could present the WWE with a scenario laden with historical significance and an abundance of marketing potential.
A scenario – setting aside the WWE’s fixation on Roman Reigns for a moment – that we can concur, may actually be best for business.
