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When “Stone Cold” Steve Austin began his ascension to the top of the sport, he was never what you would call a “traditional babyface”. He didn’t play to crowds, he wasn’t looking for friends and allies, and he made it blatantly clear from the beginning that he was only out for himself. Those aren’t very face-like attributes, but it mattered none, as his popularity grew to astronomical levels

Fast forward to the here and now, and we have Dean Ambrose. Ambrose has many of the same qualities that Austin brought to the table. He does damn near everything a heel does, but crowds love him for it. He’s “cool”, he’s “hip”, and he brings an “edge” to the business that really stands out in the TV-PG era. Even when he was a part of The Shield, he had that “lone wolf” thing going on that made him the candidate everyone thought would turn on Roman Reigns and Seth Rollins, ending the group at some point. Now that he is a singles wrestler, he has already been at odds with faces like John Cena while he battles the heel Authority regime. He’s not out for friends, but that’s what everyone loves about him. He’s so different from the average face wrestler in 2014.

The fact that he’s a bit unhinged, willing to do whatever it takes to destroy his target… which just so happens to include a McMahon and that McMahon’s heel brigade… furthers the Austin comparison. Think back to the Attitude Era, and you’ll remember Austin going to the hospital, going to jail, and going anywhere it took, as long as it meant that he got a shot at Vince McMahon and whichever crony Vince had by his side at the time. That singular focus is eerily present in Ambrose, who will literally fling his body into a group of people just to punch someone like Rollins in the head a few times.

The Attitude Era was must-see, at the time, largely due to the antics of Steve Austin. You just never knew what he would do on a weekly basis, so you had to tune in and watch. With Ambrose, you feel that you need to tune in, even if it’s just for his segments and matches, for those same reasons. WWE may have caught lighting in a bottle with the man they have dubbed the “Lunatic Fringe”, and it would serve them well if they built around him for a while.

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This article was first posted on November 25, 2014

Columnist/Podcaster/Director at LordsOfPain.net for nearly seven years, with nearly 2000 total columns written. Interviewed and/or involved in interviewing the likes of Tyler Black/Seth Rollins (twice), Diamond Dallas Page, Jimmy Jacobs, Christopher Daniels, Uhaa Nation and more.