5 Ways Dean Ambrose Could Return to the WWE 

Former WWE champion, Dean Ambrose, has been off television for what feels like an eternity. The former Shield member picked up an injury at the end of 2017 and fans have been eagerly awaiting his return ever since.

Recent reports suggest that Ambrose could finally return to our screens at this year's SummerSlam, and if that is the case, then he can expect to receive one of the biggest pops of the night.

Ambrose is one of the most popular superstars in the WWE but he was beginning to lose a lot of momentum before he picked up his injury. Since returning to Raw in mid-2017, the Lunatic Fringe had not been seen anywhere near the main-event scene and was getting by on Shield nostalgia and very little else.

Ambrose's upcoming return presents the company with the opportunity to do something different with the character, and finally establish him as a top competitor in the WWE. Let's take a look at five ways the WWE could handle Dean Ambrose's impending return.

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#1 Attack Seth Rollins

Ambrose and Rollins have a very long history together

The most popular theory surrounding Dean Ambrose's return to the WWE is that the former Shield member will turn heel on his tag-team partner, Seth Rollins.

It was a year ago at SummerSlam that Ambrose and Rollins reunited to win the WWE tag-team titles, and most fans believe that the WWE's original intention was for Ambrose to turn on Rollins and for the two to square off at WrestleMania.

Rollins and Ambrose have faced off plenty of times in the past, working an extended program throughout 2015, but the dynamic would be much different second time with the face/heel roles reversed.

Seth Rollins is set to face Dolph Ziggler at SummerSlam, and if he recaptures his Intercontinental title, then a post-match attack from Ambrose could be a very real possibility. Failing that, Ambrose could even briefly team back up with Rollins, only to turn on him in the coming months.

#2 Feud with Roman Reigns for the Universal Title

Reigns and Ambrose have never had an extended feud in the WWE

The last remaining feud between the former Shield members that we haven't seen is Dean Ambrose vs Roman Reigns. The two men have met once before on PPV, in the finals of the WWE World Heavyweight Championship tournament at Survivor Series 2015, in a match that was won by Reigns.

Reigns is expected to beat Brock Lesnar at SummerSlam for the Universal title, and with Lesnar likely not sticking around to use his rematch clause, Reigns will be in need of a fresh opponent after the event.

While most fans are expecting Reigns to feud with Braun Strowman or Kevin Owens, it would be a nice twist to have Ambrose return at the end of SummerSlam and congratulate Roman, before laying him out in the middle of the ring with a dirty deeds, setting up a feud between the two.

#3 Saving Seth Rollins

It's been a year since Ambrose and Rollins won the tag titles together

Speculation about Ambrose returning to the WWE as a heel has been so rife in the past few months that it almost seems like fans are taking it as a guarantee. While it is highly probable that Ambrose was set to turn heel and face Rollins at WrestleMania before his injury, plans can always change, and given how long he has been off the TV, the WWE may think there is money to be made from a face Ambrose returning to our screens.

Let's not forget, fans had it down as a certainty that Seth Rollins would return to the WWE in 2015 as a face, only to then be shocked when he returned and laid out Roman Reigns with a pedigree.

At SummerSlam, Seth Rollins will go one on one with Dolph Ziggler, and there is a high possibility, regardless of the result, that Ziggler and his partner, Drew McIntyre will attack Rollins post-match. Having Ambrose return to save the day would probably give the audience the biggest pop of the night, and the two former Shield member could even pick up where they left off last year and pursue another run with the Raw tag-team titles.

Of course, Ambrose could always turn on Rollins later down the line, perhaps to even set up a match between the two, or a potential Shield triple threat match for next year's WrestleMania.

#4 Return to SmackDown

Dean Ambrose had some of the best matches of his career whilst on the SmackDown brand

If the WWE really want to refresh Dean Ambrose when he makes his long-awaited return, then a move to SmackDown may prove to be the best option for him.

Ambrose has had major feuds with pretty much all of the tops guys on Monday nights, and while a heel run would provide him with something different, there are plenty of fresh opponents waiting for him on SmackDown.

Matches with the likes of Shinsuke Nakamura, Andrade 'Cien' Almas, and Samoa Joe are mouthwatering prospects, and his in-ring style and persona are much better suited to SmackDown's current product.

Ambrose may be a Raw superstar at the moment, but the WWE has always played things fast and loose with draft rules, and the company could easily have some contrived storyline about him not signing a new contract with Raw or something.

#5 Shield Reunion

Could the WWE try another Shield reunion?

As Roman Reigns haters will tell you, once Vince gets an idea in his head, there are no lengths he will not go to to get it over.

Last year's ill-fated Shield reunion left fans scratching their heads at just how things went so wrong, and truth be told, it was just plain bad luck that prevented the whole thing from working. Reigns' illness wrote him out of their original match, and the group never recovered the momentum they had lost following his return.

With Survivor Series, an event where the WWE has famously liked to cash in on nostalgia acts, coming a few months after SummerSlam, another Shield reunion might be just the kind of thing the company will want to try and build the event around.

Fans are currently speculating that the WWE may want to go with a Shield triple threat match at WrestleMania 35 for the Universal title, and a brief reunion between the trio may be the perfect way for them to set that match up.