Anyone that knows me even a little would probably be absolutely shocked that the first post I’m making in my brand new blog about telling stories is about wrestling. And you know what? I deserve that. I’ve always been fascinated with wrestling, mostly because it combines the choreographed action of the old kung-fu movies I grew up on with the stylized drama of soap operas that my mother loved so much. When its good, it’s great, and when it’s bad, it’s awful, and really, it’s hard to hate a product like that; good or bad, there’s always something to watch. But I wanted to write specifically about one specific performer, and what rings with me about him and his character.

“The Shield” was a renegade, justice obsessed trio that ran roughshod on the WWE in its time. It went from a evil, backhanded, mob-style group of thugs into a vigilante group of anti-establishment heroes, comprised of three future champions Seth Rollins, Roman Reigns, and my favorite and the subject of this post: Dean Ambrose. Ambrose was the mouthpiece of the Shield, and by the man’s own admission, gave rambling, nonsensical promos about “justice”, “order”, and many other clearly hypocritical things. Compared to the big spots, impressive size, and power of Roman Reigns and the high-flying athleticism of Seth Rollins, Dean Ambrose was easily the underdog of the trio, which probably plays into why I liked him the best. But bits of what stuck with me were his mannerisms; Ambrose always performed with a chip on his shoulder, a lackadaisical sway in his movements, a taunting swagger, and an eccentric exaggeration to every blow he threw. When the group eventually splintered, each character got their own gimmick; Seth Rollins became known as “The Architect”, Roman Reigns “The Big Dog”, and Dean? Dean was saddled with the title “The Lunatic Fringe”.

Dean’s origins as a wrestler go back to his indie character “Jon Moxley”, a rough and tumble backyard brawler who was never afraid to bleed and would go to any lengths and put himself through hell to win. But something about “The Lunatic Fringe” as a title never set right with me, and I don’t think it ever set right with Dean as a character either. Even early on, he had moments of looking at his merch questioningly, “How dare they call me unstable?” and mocking the concept that he didn’t have plans. Dean was fierce, capable, and driven, determined to do things his own way; traits people mistook for being crazy, being unbalanced. And I guess, if I’m being honest with myself, that’s what speaks to me about the character. People writing off your eccentricities and efforts, simply because they don’t fall “in the norm” as you being crazy, you being wrong.

I don’t know if Dean is meant to have that depth to his character. Maybe he really is meant to be an unbalanced, borderline crazy person in the fake reality where you can solve problems by beating up someone else. Maybe he is meant to be beyond the understanding of those who don’t know the reasoning for his actions. Maybe the writing didn’t think that far through it. But whatever the case, it connects with me; and I can’t help but wonder if it connects with other people too.