"Take me to Suplex City, baby!": Monday Night RAW (2/2/16)

What a freaking opening. Rather than get treated to another opening monologue from The Authority, out comes Brock Lesnar and Paul Heyman. Heyman briefly mentions the Wyatt Family taking on Lesnar and removing him from the Royal Rumble. He then mentions the main even of Fastlane which sees Brother vs Brother vs Beast, that Lesnar will F5 both of them and go on to take on HHH at Wrestlemania. Heyman then proceeds to talk down about Ambrose, which prompted him to come out and stand toe-to-toe with Lesnar. He cuts the most confidant, passionate, and defiant promo, almost never taking his eyes off from Lesnar. Ambrose knows he doesn't stand a chance but it's not going to stop the "Iron Man of WWE."

And from there, RAW somewhat falls apart. The results can be found here.

The few highlights for me were:

• Stephanie planting the seeds of dissension between Reigns and Ambrose in a backstage segment, where the WWE WHC belt ("BELT!" THEY SAID "BELT!") was on display and not being carried about by HHH. WWE seems to be teasing a heel turn between the two again. Also, godammit Reigns, would it kill you to be at least UPSET that you lost your title to The Authority again?
• Kevin Owens and Ziggler had a match again. Thank to 50/50 booking, Ziggler gets a win over Owens this week. It's a great match but it felt so directionless, especially for Owens.
• The MizTV segment consisted of The Miz completely taking over and now allowing AJ to speak. He put AJ over so much that he got the crowd to cheer for him until he started talking him down. AJ gets back and beats the crap out of Miz, setting up a match for them on Smack Down.
• Team BAD officially broke up, which was odd considering the breakup happened on Smack Down last week in a backstage segment. They repeated the breakup again, this time with Naomi and Tamina getting mic time. They interfered in Sasha's match, causing her AND Becky fighting off Tamina and Naomi (and their match resulting in a DQ). This was a badly scripted but it allowed Sasha to be herself again.
• NEW DAY HAS ACKNOWLEDGED AMBREIGNS ON TUMBLR. TUMBLR MELTDOWN COMMENCE. I'm aware of this fandom and I block that smut when I tag lurk. I did laugh at the fact that Ambrose got spanked by Big E during the abdominal stretch (he usually hits them on their sides) and Ambrose looked pretty angry.

Overrall, this was an all right episode of RAW. It focused a lot more on Ambrose and Lesnar while Reigns is being significantly downplayed. It seems like WWE might be trying to cool off on Reigns a bit (he was replaced by HHH on the cover for the DVD/Blu-Ray release of Royal Rumble), which might be a good thing for now. I had no interest in the main event because it felt like it was already decided; that Lesnar would be taken out by the Wyatt Family and Ambrose will get pinned by Reigns, who would go on to face HHH. Throwing Ambrose in just adds the possibility of a different ending... or is that false hope?

BIG E SPANKING THE AMBOOTY

WWE Royal Rumble 2015 PPV

What a difference a year makes. Last year's Royal Rumble was most memorable for WWE pushing Roman Reigns, a guy who the fans felt wasn't their guy (or whoever wasn't Daniel Bryan). The PPV's outcome was so poorly received that it angered wrestling fans, and it managed to draw negative attention on the product. This year's Royal Rumble was centered around Reigns again and the results were thankfully different, making the first WWE PPV of 2016 damn enjoyable. Also, AJ fucking Styles is in the WWE.

Here are the match results:

• Dean Ambrose defeated Kevin Owens and retained the IC title
• The New Day defeated The Usos and retained the Tag Team title
• Kalisto defeated Alberto Del Rio and won the US title
• Charlotte defeated Becky and retained the Divas title
• HHH eliminated Roman Reigns and Dean Ambrose and won the WWE WH title

Ambrose and Owens kicked off the PPV with their Last Man Standing match, which went on for a solid 20 minutes. This was hands down the best match of the night and Owens and Ambrose did an awesome job in just brawling it out. There were great spots and close calls but in the end, Ambrose retained. This was the best result for both of them; Ambrose remains as a tough champ and Owens, who put up a good fight, is now free to move unto bigger feuds.

Charlotte and Becky's match was somewhat entertaining with Ric Flair shenanigans up until the ending. Sasha Banks (sans Team BAD) showed up and appeared to have formed some kind of alliance with Charlotte until she did the Bank Statement on her. While the focus was on Charlotte and Sasha (who now is gunning for the Divas title), the camera totally missed Becky, who was seen sobbing at the foot of the announcer's table. 

As for the Royal Rumble itself, it was actually well paced with some surprises:
 

• The biggest surprise was having AJ Styles making his WWE debut early at the Rumble at #3. This was absolutely mind-blowing, considering that he did a Bullet Club curtain call at a a ROH show just the night before. And he was PHENOMENAL. 
• Brock Lesnar and the Wyatt Family might have a feud developing.
• Another surprise was having Sami Zayn as an entrant. Zayn and Owens immediately started brawling, picking up where they left off 7 months ago after Zayn injured his shoulder. 
• And the biggest surprise came at the end, when HHH eliminated Reigns, leaving only he and Ambrose as the final two in the Rumble. The audience was 100% behind Ambrose, the true babyface underdog, against the Authority. 

The Rumble also had its share of disappointments, like not having Daniel Bryan or Randy Orton return and wasted spots with Mark Henry and Jack Swagger. The biggest disappointment of them all was Reigns himself, choosing to stay out of the ring after taking a brutal table spot from Rusev. Ambrose and Owens were practically limping their way to the ring and they stayed in until they were eliminated. Chris Jericho was in there for nearly 50 minutes straight. And then here's Reigns returning after 20 minutes to Superman Punch Sheamus. The only time Reigns got a pop was when HHH eliminated him.

I hope WWE took note of how the the audience reacted to Reigns. No matter how much they protected him, no matter how they make him to be the babyface underdog trying to overcome the odds, it's just not working for him. The problem with Reigns is that they're quickly booking him to be a legendary superstar like Steve Austin or HBK, and not allowing him to fully develop his character. Rollins and Ambrose went off to become different characters while Reigns is still the same SHIELD guy over 3 years after their debut. Something has to change with Reigns. The McMahons screwed him over and HHH took his title. Reigns should be absolutely furious on RAW.

WWE TLC 2015 PPV

"THANK YOU ROMAN!"

If there's one thing about professional wrestling sports entertainment, when it's good, it's fucking great. The general apathetic attitude and low expectations for the last PPV of the year resulted in a pretty decent show, at least better in comparison to the disappointing Survivor Series PPV. The changes and progress that the fans wanted happened last night and that eagerness to see the fallout is carrying over for Monday Night RAW. One thing is for sure, it got a lot of people talking in a good way.

Let me be clear: TLC was decent but the buildup for some of the matches like Rusev vs Ryback, Del Rio vs Swagger, and even Team ECW vs The Wyatt Family, were poor or rushed. Even though they had a few good matches and standout moments, the PPV was just that, decent.

Here are the match results:

• Sasha Banks (w/ Naomi and Tamina) defeated Becky Lynch
• The New Day defeated The Lucha Dragons and The Usos
• Rusev w/ Lana defeated Ryback
• Alberto Del Rio defeated Jack Swagger
• The Wyatt Family defeated Team ECW
• Dean Ambrose defeated Kevin Owens
• Charlotte w/ Ric Flair defeated Paige
• Sheamus defeated Roman Reigns

First off, let me just say that I'm scarily becoming like Vince in making mostly accurate predictions. We were able to call out what the next matches would be without looking at live reports. Vince predicted that they would start the PPV strong with the Tag Team Triple Threat match. And that was a smart decision.

I was fearful of this match, mostly because there's a lot of high flyers getting mixed up with ladders and I was afraid that someone was going to get injured. Still, it was a solid match with great spots and with Xavier Woods at commentary, who did an awesome job putting all the other teams over and calling out moves like a pro commentator. Vince predicted that the Usos would win and I said New Day would retain, and thankfully, the latter happened.

Going off from their win, I also predicted that all the heel champs (yes, even current Divas champ Charlotte) would retain their titles. And it looked like that was the trend for the non-title matches, which saw The Wyatt Family defeating Team ECW and Rusev defeating Ryback. So when Ambrose and Owens' match was coming up, I was fine with seeing another heel champ retaining their title until... until...

THIS FUCKING HAPPENED

Dean Ambrose defeated Owens via Hurricanrana to become the new IC Champ! This was truly the biggest surprise of the night. It was a long-awaited payoff for Ambrose when he first set his sights on taking the IC title away from Bad New Barrett back in January. Even though their buildup to this feud was briefly sidelined, with Owens getting sick and Ambrose siding with Reigns and The Usos, not to mention having Ambrose toss popcorn and soda at Owens' face instead of cutting a promo, this was still the only match I cared about. Overall, the match was entertaining and it even had a great moment where Owens barely made a rope break using only one finger! Ambrose was the only babyface to win a match and it was also the only title change in the PPV. This was great for both parties; Ambrose is a new champ and Owens is free to possibly go after another title and having bigger feuds.

The main event TLC match between Sheamus and Reigns was met with apathy and smark from the Boston crowd. They even chanted, "WE WANT CENA! CENA SUCKS!" and "NXT!" because they all know how the match was going to end. The match itself was quite intense, slow, and methodical, but no one was really invested in it. Sheamus was able to retain the title, thanks to Del Rio helping Sheamus up the ladder and Rusev putting Reigns in the Accolade. We were getting a repeat of Reigns looking defeated and walking away as Sheamus celebrated in the middle of the ring on the shoulders of Del Rio and Rusev. And then something miraculous happened; Reigns showed character progression.

For over 10 minutes, Reigns wrecked havoc in the ring. He wasn't just mad that he lost. He was absolutely pissed. He took a chair and started beating up on Del Rio, Rusev, and Sheamus. Several referees, Stephanie, and HHH came out to stop Reigns. HHH tried to calm Reigns down and stupidly turned his back on him, giving Reigns and opportunity to beat the hell out of him with a chair. The crowd, who was chanting for Cena earlier in the match, was now cheering for Reigns. He was finally being the silent bad-ass monster that the fans have been waiting for. And it worked. The crowd chanted, "THANK YOU ROMAN," as he walked back up the ramp, not looking the least bit sorry in taking down LON and HHH.

Now I'm eager to watch RAW tonight. The Authority (mostly Stephanie) will probably make Reigns' life a living hell to get back at him. Which is fine but they have to do a few things here with Reigns' character. Don't make Reigns talk. Don't make him cut another recap promo with a smile on his face. Make Reigns go into berserk mode and live up to his new shirt motto, "Spare no one. Spear everyone." He's not working as another John Cena or Daniel Bryan, so make him be himself. Maybe having the Lunatic Fringe as a buddy might've rubbed off on him after all.

CONGRATS, DEAN AMBROSE!

Happy Dirty Thirty Deanee

First off, it's Jonathan Good Dean Ambrose's 30th Birthday. This is a wrestler who was once part of the mysterious heel stable called The Shield, who made their debut in November 2012. He looked liked a normal guy with slicked back hair compared to the half-blonde Seth Rollins and the silent and stoic Roman Reigns. Vince showed me one of Jon Moxley's promos from 2009 and I was just floored, I couldn't believe this kind of guy was now in WWE. This was also a time when I was just a casual fan of wrestling, so I didn't know a thing about "the indies", WWE's developmental system (then called FCW, now called NXT), and the reason for their name to change once they signed on.

Ambrose was always interesting to watch on screen and I couldn't understand why at first. He didn't really share any similarities to my previous favorite wrestlers at the time, who were unique (Batista), a rebel (CM Punk), and an underdog (Daniel Bryan). And then I realized why I was starting to like him; Ambrose was charismatic. So goddamn charismatic. It was enough to make me a fan girl again. The last time I was a fan girl, it was for David Tennant, which was cut short after he left Doctor Who. I admire the guy and his work, which, sadly, I can't say the same for my first celebrity crush Jim Carrey.

Last year, Vince and I went to WWE RAW on August 18, our first WWE show in 4 years. Seeing the wrestlers in the ring is such an awesome experience and seeing your favorite wrestler performing live is just as incredible. I've also met Ambrose not once but twice this year. And there's something weirdly surreal to be a fan of someone who's nearly the same age as you. I'm actually a year older than Ambrose! This level of fandom is currently annoying Vince and I feel this might last longer due to how more immersed I've become in pro-wrestling. I have since gained admiration for other WWE wrestlers as of recent, such as Kevin Owens, Cesaro, Sami Zayn, Becky Lynch, Sasha Banks, Bayley, etc, but Ambrose remains as my reason to stick with WWE.

----------

On a side note, can I just say how awesome this is for Renee Young to do? Ever since she confirmed that she and Ambrose have been dating, she has been the subject of ridiculous and stupid comments from jealous Ambrose fangirls. These girls refuse to believe they are dating and that their fans are only "shipping" them, all because Ambrose didn't claim her. And even when he finally did, they still attack Renee for doing this for attention! Ambrose stays off social media because he's a private person and he has a small circle of people he trusts. Renee posting this pic means they're acknowledging their relationship again, which is really sweet. It's already causing Tumblr to lose their shit (I'm on the side that's happy for them).

On another side note, WWE is not shying away in acknowledging their 2nd biggest babyface's birthday. They have a section on their homepage that links to a video playlist of his craziest moments, he's leading in a silly poll on which wrestler would do great in ECW, and WWE Studios wished Dean Happy Birthday (his movie is coming out on DVD/Blu-Ray on 12/22). I'm wondering if they'll acknowledge it on RAW tonight.

Nobody wants Ambrose to turn heel?

Here we go again.

It's already known that Reigns and Ambrose would make it to the finals this Sunday. Ambrose made it clear that if it came down to just the 2 of them, even though they're brothers, it's on. To which Reigns replied, "We'll always be brothers. BELEE DAT!" Their budding friendship, where Reigns was Ambrose's cheerleader for the PPV's he headlined and vice versa for the last several months, is begging to come to an end. Basically, no one expects their match to end on friendly terms. Someone's turning heel.

And here's WWE dilemma: They need a new champion, a new top babyface, and a new top heel since John Cena and Rollins, respectively, are out. All of this pressure falls on the current top babyfaces, Reigns and Ambrose. They just can't decide who should play which role.

Reigns needs the heel turn, badly. It's the natural progression for his character who keeps overcoming the odds (ugh) and never gets close to winning the title. Joining The Authority works for him, especially since the fans are now turning against him again. He can be like The Rock and work on his character to be a full-fledged badass before becoming a a true babyface. WWE sees this as a problem (at least for them) because they don't want Reigns to be a heel and lose his fans. The older fans can't buy Reigns as a babyface when he's dressed in black tactical gear and scowls all the time. He's built and booked as a powerhouse, not as an underdog.

Speaking of underdog, the one who truly looks the part is Ambrose. He doesn't have the look of a champion but he has the tenacity and the drive to be one. He just needs to win the championship title as a babyface to vindicate his DQ win against Rollins. This is what everyone wants to see. However, if Ambrose turns heel, he would still get over with the fans (damn that charisma of his). WWE sees this as their best solution and to keep Reigns as the top babyface. The problem is that it'll completely ruin Ambrose's character as this guy who went insane after Rollins betrayed The Shield and him remaining loyal to his only brother, Reigns.

There are so many scenarios for the finals, such as Reigns winning against Ambrose and joining the Authority, or Ambrose revealing that he secretly accept HHH's offer. There's even a possibility that Owens might advance and face off against Reigns. Oh, and Sheamus might cash in his Money In The bank at some point.

The dirtsheets were hit with new rumors that the brass changed their mind about Reigns and are pushing Ambrose to be the new champ instead. Of course, WWE could've intentionally leaked this to get people interested in the PPV, just to see Reigns walking away with the title. He has a freaking video that recaps what happened in the last 7 months! One thing is certain: Reigns will be the new WWE Heavyweight Champion. All hail the Roman Empire, I guess.

Everybody wants Ambrose to turn heel

A few weeks ago, it was speculated that Ambrose would be getting a push to be the new top babyface while Cena was out. This was somewhat great news, considering the Reigns vs Wyatt program finally ended, which meant Ambrose would stop being Reigns' cheerleader. I say somewhat because it seems like Ambrose once again doesn't have anyone else to feud with. It was going to be with Randy Orton until he got sidelined with a major shoulder injury, and upcoming booking on the live events pointed to Kevin Owens for the IC Title. It looks like that's all changed when Reigns got consistently great reactions from the crowd following his victory at HIAC this week. Reigns is now Rollins' #1 contender for the World Heavyweight Championship.

And while everyone is hyped to see Rollins go against his former tag team and Shield brethren, something else seems to be developing as well. Ambrose was noticeably left out on RAW, save for a backstage segment with Reigns' before the main event. Those last few seconds where the camera lingered on Ambrose looking indifferent after Reigns' left did not go unnoticed, as evident in a slew of recent wrestling articles (all speculations of course):

From PWinsider:  

Simple foreshadowing or blatant "we know what you want, so we won't give it to you" but is Dean cryptically telling Roman, first it was Seth, then Bray, who next is going ruin your chances? Oh I know me! If this is the case who do you see put into the filler spot to challenge Seth until the ultimate Shield three way payoff? Do you see a Dean turn as to where this angle is headed? 

I talked about this a lot in the Elite section of PWInsider.com this week. They certainly left the camera sitting on Dean Ambrose long enough to make you wonder what was going through his head, although that doesn't mean he's 100% turning. The fact they teased it though, means they are trying to get the audience to wonder what could be going on...and that's a good thing. 

From Grantland:  

WWE seems complacent with Ambrose — it knows he’ll be there to step into the main event when it needs him, and that stifles him in the meantime. But the next four months will be key for Ambrose. There are rumors WWE is planning a Shield three-way match at WrestleMania, in which case Ambrose will be in a position to excel. There are also rumors his buddy-cop routine with Reigns is leading toward an Ambrose heel turn, in which case we can cross him off the Cena replacement list for the time being. 

From WhatCulture: 

There’s mounting speculation that Dean Ambrose is about to stab Roman Reigns in the back. The two have been pushed as extra friendly for months now, which is the traditional set-up for a betrayal angle. 

Furthermore, there’s seemingly nothing else for Ambrose to do on the babyface side. He didn’t feature at Hell In A Cell. He badly needs the turn to actually give him some exposure on WWE’s product. 

On both the HIAC and Raw show, he offered his support to Roman. The tease for viewers is, at Survivor Series when Reigns fights Rollins for the title, is Ambrose going to shockingly cost his friend?

Personally, I'm not looking forward to this. I would love to see him be a heel again, maybe see shades of Shield Ambrose, FCW Ambrose, or Jon Moxley. Then again, even when Ambrose is directionless and unused, there are still nice little moments that make him a great babyface. In one interview, he called himself "the loveable bad guy," and it really suits him. It all depends on how creative sets this up for it to happen as it leads to the slow build to the much anticipated (and not yet booked) Triple Threat match at Wrestlemania 32. His heel turn, should it happen, HAS to make sense.

Side note: Looks like Tonight's special Halloween edition of Smack Down is going to feature Ambrose for the main event! Even though the results were already posted, I'm still going to watch it. There was a funny end note from the F4W author who reviewed this episode:

A pretty normal Smackdown show that also had pumpkins. 

The main event was good but they should probably find something more productive for Dean Ambrose.

"If you’re really good at doing what you do, good things will come." - Dean Ambrose

Last week, Ambrose only appeared in a backstage segment and had no televised in-ring matches on Raw or Smack Down (which I skipped on watching). He appeared in a dark match with Wade Barrett that was filmed after main Event and before Smack Down. It was noticeably Ambrose-light last week.

And then, all of a sudden, all of these things happened over the weekend:

• WWEShop released a leather jacket replica of his, currently the most expensive apparel item released so far.
  
• Ambrose was featured in a short W2K16 ad for GAME encouraging international customers to preorder the game.
  
• WWE.com featured "Our 13 Favorite Dean Ambrose Quotes" on their homepage.
  
• WWE.com also released a new mini series, "Superstar Ghost Stories," featuring Ambrose retelling his weird ghost encounter in England a few years ago.

And then, this piece of speculation came from WrestlingInc via Wrestling Observer, on the heels of John Cena being granted time off until December for personal reasons:

"According to Wrestling Observer Radio, WWE live events will now feature Dean Ambrose in more headlining roles while Cena is away. It was speculated that WWE officials may be forced to finally push Ambrose to the main event."

It may just be speculation but the sudden Ambrose-heavy content can't be a coincidence, right?

Oh. Look who's being featured in the main event for RAW tonight all of sudden. Despite Reigns and Wyatt's ending brawl from last week, it marked a new low in TV ratings for them. Let's see how desperate WWE is going to get.

"I don’t look any farther than what’s right in front of me." - Dean Ambrose

There was an article that pointed out that Dean Ambrose has noticeably fallen out of the title contention recently. Ambrose headlined 3 back-to-back PPV events - Payback, Elimination Chamber, and Money In The Bank - and lost each time. He briefly enjoyed being a World Heavyweight Champion, and that was admittedly the most silliest and most fun time to be an Ambrose fan. Now he's on the backburner, or in this case, being Roman Reigns' buddy, as they resume their war against the Wyatt Family and their newest member, Braun Strowman. I was expecting him to subtly express some frustration at how he's being booked but he gave a fairly straightforward answer:

"If you’re really good at doing what you do, good things will come."

"I just go out there every day and be one of the greatest professional wrestlers that ever lived, because at this point that’s what I am."

I thought the last comment was him being over-confident and putting way too much trust in WWE. After thinking about it, it seems to perfectly describe how far he's come. He was signed by WWE after they noticed his intense promo and ring skills as Jon Moxley from the indies. He made his TV debut as Dean Ambrose on FCW shortly thereafter and was portrayed as a relentless heel against Seth Rollins and William Regal. When FCW transitioned into NXT, Ambrose was mysteriously absent from the TV tapings and only made appearances in a few house shows. Rather than make an official debut in NXT, he went straight to getting a main roster debut alongside with Rollins and Reigns, who were already known on NXT.

Some time after The Shield disbanded, Ambrose was put in several meaningless feuds that didn't really showcase him at his best. And while people would go on and on about how poor his booking is, how he's gotten silly, stupid and boring, he was still being consistently featured in RAW, Smack Down!, house shows, and sometimes in PPVs. He was written off television for a month to star in a WWE Studio movie. He was the first person to step up and answer John Cena's US Open Challenge. In WWEShop.com, he is currently the second Superstar behind Cena to have numerous merchandise with his name, including 5-8 different tshirt designs that was released within a month.

All the while, Ambrose appears to be perfectly content with going with the flow. You never hear or read reports at how he's frustrated on getting lost in the shuffle while Reigns and Rollins are getting a push. And when he does get a push, the WWE Universe responds greatly. Just look at how excited everyone got for the Payback PPV back in May, when Ambrose was added to make it a Fatal 4 Way. Listen to the pop he got when he was revealed to be Cesaro's mysterious partner against his feud with Seth Rollins and Kevin Owens on Smack Down! a few weeks ago.

No matter how much he loses in most of his matches, WWE can still count on him to be a headliner when he's needed. He's not suffering the same fate as other superstars who have limited TV appearances or have been relegated to WWE's C-Shows, Main Event and Superstars. In short, Ambrose is pretty damn confident and patient, and it looks like WWE recognizes that too. So instead of getting frustrated with WWE (something that all fans have a hard time avoiding), I'm going take a page from Ambrose's chill attitude and just go with the flow and try to enjoy the story, despite how nonsensical or sloppy it will get. There are other Superstars that need the spotlight for now. When WWE pushes Ambrose, we're going to cheer for him no matter what.

Calm down, Tumblr! Part 2

I think it's safe to say that July was unofficially Dean Ambrose month.

Exactly 3 weeks ago on what I thought would be a ho-hum Monday, I awoke to the spectacle of seeing #dean ambrose blow up on Tumblr. Ambrose's WWE movie "Lockdown", now known as "12 Rounds 3: Lockdown", got a brand new movie poster and a release date. And 2 days later, WWE released their latest Body Series featuring Ambrose as their first Superstar (strangely enough, they went back to featuring Divas instead of showing more Superstars). Today, another trailer for W2K16 was released today and despite who the main focus was, Ambrose was the biggest takeaway from it.

2K acquired the WWE series after THQ folded 2 years ago. Since then, the visual quality of the games and the trailers to help promote it have seriously stepped up, though the game quality and playability itself still had some issues. The first W2K16 trailer featured their cover boy, Stone Cold Steve Austin, digging up his old belt somewhere in the desert and it ended with his iconic theme playing. I thought the next trailer would feature another superstar like, I don't know, WWE World Heavyweight Champion Seth Rollins (who was said to be pulled from San Diego Comic Con and replaced by Kevin Owens because he had to film a commercial for 2K). What we got instead was Arnold Schwarzenegger recreating his "Terminator 2" scene with appearances from Daniel Bryan, Eva Marie (WHAT), Paige, Finn Balor, and Dean Ambrose.

I'd like to point out a few things:

• LOL on the Terminator being a pre-order bonus. I can't explain why it seems silly to see a fictional character tossed into a wrestling game. It's just like seeing Friday the 13th Jason being included in Mortal Kombat X.
• I was somewhat comforted to see that it was implied that Daniel Bryan drinks beer, even though he doesn't. I read his book dammit.
• Paige and Eva Marie clearly like the view down there.
• With the exception of Finn Balor being a recent champ, Eva Marie does not belong in this group of former champs. And what the hell was she doing to that jukebox??
• Apparently, Dean FUCKING Ambrose is slightly bigger than the Terminator (look at their eye lines). He had the most screen time out of the Superstars and Divas and he looks so bad-ass, even with the cigar smoking and his oh-so-subtle earring.

If I had to nitpick, it would be that Finn doesn't get that much screen time (being behind Schwarzenegger doesn't count for me). This trailer doesn't show anything from the game but it's doing a good job in making the rounds on game news websites like Kotaku and IGN. I'm getting more and more interested in the game and I'm now on the fence on buying it.

BUT WAIT. THERE'S MORE.

WWE also went and released the trailer for "12 Rounds 3: Lockdown" just a few hours later!

 I'd also like to point out a few things:

• It is jarring to see Ambrose use a computer. He has said in previous interviews that he grew up never wanting/owning a computer, which is why he doesn't do social media. 
• It is a very literal movie. The building is on lockdown and, for some reason, he only has 12 rounds to use on his hand gun.
• Ambrose is really tall (6'4"). He nearly towers over Schwarzenegger in the 2K16 trailer (by like 2 inches) and he looks to do the same here among regular people :D
• Curtis from "24" is the bad guy!
• This looks cliched and predictable but the fact that Ambrose is starring in it has definitely generated a lot of buzz

Now, with all of this happening, one would think WWE is going to start doing something with Ambrose. He's currently in a developing storyline where 2/3 of The Shield are going up against 2/3 of The Wyatt Family. There's that weird rumor that Sting will be Ambreigns' third guy and the Wyatt Family will also get a new member since Erick Rowan is still out. Ambrose was absent in Battleground and he's back on his losing streak again (he lost to Sheamus last week on Smackdown, where the only good match was with Cesaro vs Seth Rollins). I have a feeling that WWE has a lot more ammo to push Ambrose pretty soon; it's just a matter of pulling that trigger again like they did back in May.

WARNING: FANGIRL MODE ON

** checks WWE.com and Tumblr **

** DIES **

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Ok, all kidding aside...  I thought this Body Series would continue to show the rest of the guys. Imagine my surprise when they mention in the end that the Ravishing Russian Lana would be the next Diva to be featured in next month's series. That's pretty interesting considering that they could've started it off with Seth "Crossfit Jesus" Rollins, Cesaro, John Cena, or any other Superstar with a more cut and defined physique. Starting off with Ambrose over their World Heavyweight Champion Rollins? That says a lot.

Godammit WWE. Tumblr exploded over the "12 Rounds 3: Lockdown" movie news AND Ambrose being featured in the Body Series this week. And what's Ambrose doing? Feuding with Bo Dallas again for Smack Down! tonight.