What if Dean Ambrose turns heel?

When The Shield first launched in late 2012, Dean Ambrose was the de facto leader, largely positioned as such because he was the best talker out of the trio, and the most decisively heelish for his maniacal persona. Indeed, it was a surprise when the faction started to turn face in 2014, and as rumors brewed that they were headed for a split, the general sense was that Ambrose would be the one to stab his brothers in the back because he was the most difficult to imagine as a stand-alone face.

Fast forward four years and Ambrose has been a face ever since. Early on, his Lunatic Fringe, unpredictable face character felt like a breath of fresh air and fans couldn’t get enough of him. WWE seemed to have cooled on him for a while, only for him to get a big push as WWE Champion, which included beating Rollins more than once and winning the Shield Triple Threat Match.

However, Ambrose quickly felt stale as champion, and in the aftermath came across as directionless until The Shield reunion angles.

So what if he turns heel?

A heel turn seems to have been the original plan, to flip orientations for Ambrose and Rollins in a revived program between the two. WWE made hints of Dolph Ziggler and Drew McIntyre trying to persuade Ambrose in that direction on Raw. While we shouldn’t necessarily expect it to happen in the next few weeks, in the longer term, this does seem like a storyline development WWE has to be considering.

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#5 The anti-Stone Cold

Ambrose as a heel now could offer up a unique spectacle.

Stone Cold Steve Austin became a favorite of fans based on his “don’t trust anyone” sensibilities. Sure, he targeted his aggression toward Vince McMahon and other heel figures, but he was first and foremost his own man and an easy to get behind rebel, specifically for teenagers and young adults.

Dean Ambrose may well embrace a similar ethos, as a wild loner who does what he wants and answers to no one. Indeed, it would be a pretty big letdown if we got a Seth Rollins retread in Ambrose collaborating with The Authority or similar powers that be. Instead, Ambrose may well be the chaotic heel no one can rein in—something like WWE’s answer to The Joker. Sure, he’d target his former Shield chums and other faces, but he may also make problems for The Authority, and become an unpredictable source of violence and destruction if WWE fully gets behind him.

#4. Ambrose vs Rollins at WrestleMania

We may finally get Ambrose and Rollins in a WrestleMania showcase match.

Rumor had it that, after the original Shield reunion last year, the plan was for Dean Ambrose to turn heel to get back at Seth Rollins for turning on him years back, culminating in this storied rivalry finally getting a proper WrestleMania showcase. Ambrose went down to injury before the Shield reunion realized its potential. That not only took the Lunatic Fringe out of action but sent Rollins into different storyline directions, first with Jason Jordan, then into the Intercontinental Championship picture.

We were probably all better served with a slower burn to this angle. With another year removed, Ambrose vs Rollins feels like it could be a reasonably fresh match-up again, especially with the two reversing face and heel roles.

#3 A kayfabe split with Renee Young

Might WWE bend reality by playing off of Ambrose's real-life marriage?

In today’s WWE, with reality television to produce and fans following the real lives of Superstars on the Internet and social media, it’s more difficult than ever to keep a wrestler’s private life completely out of the public eye. So it is that even relatively casual wrestling fans are well aware that Dean Ambrose is married to Renee Young.

Were Renee Young strictly in her pre-show panel and backstage interviewer role, it would be reasonable enough for her to exist in a separate universe from Ambrose on air. Now that she’s a fixture on the Raw commentary team, some level of interaction happens every time Ambrose is on screen.

There’s a time-honored tradition of broadcasters getting drawn into their own storylines from time to time, in part to build fans’ feeling of connection to the people calling the action. As the first female full-time commentator and a non-wrestler, Young could be an awkward fit for that kind of role.

However, as Ambrose’s wife, and a generally well-liked figure, Ambrose could draw nuclear heat with a kayfabe breakup or going so far as to actively antagonize Young. To go a step further, Ambrose could ally himself with a female wrestler to bully her, and really push the envelope.

#2 Ambrose in the Universal Championship picture

Roman Reigns could have Dean Ambrose knocking on his door.

A natural place for Dean Ambrose to start his heel run would be targeting Seth Rollins and the Intercontinental Championship. When the dust settles, though, it would be a shame for this former WWE Champion, reinvigorated with a big character change, to not get a shot at the main event picture.

Dean Ambrose isn’t necessarily the most imposing challenger Roman Reigns could face, but the two never turned on one another previously, and thus there could be something particularly poignant and heated about this rivalry. Moreover, with his bigger, bulkier frame, Ambrose is now more of a believable threat to Reigns, and if his heel turn really clicks on all cylinders, it’s not so far fetched to imagine him picking up the win over Reigns.

At the minimum, we can expect the Lunatic Fringe in the title picture for a bit, and potentially for WWE to revisit the Shield alumni going at it in a Triple Threat Match.

#1 At least a year without The Shield

The Shield won't be together again soon if Ambrose turns.

As soon as Seth Rollins turned face, and all three Shield members were essentially on the same side of the WWE Universe again, it seemed like only a matter of time before the trio wound up working together again. The first reunion tour got cut short, first when Roman Reigns got sidelined by illness, then when Dean Ambrose suffered an injury that took him out for the better part of a year.

When Ambrose came back, WWE wasted no time in getting the band back together, reuniting the small faction a mere week after his surprise return. If Ambrose were to turn, we can rest assured WWE won’t take it so lightly. He’ll be a heel for a while, and though it’s possible Reigns and Rollins, too, will go bad to join him on the dark side, it won’t be until after WWE has explored feuds with Ambrose cast as the heel against them. So, for the first time in two years, we can assume we’re at least a year, and probably longer away from The Shield—at least with its original members—working together.