Gabe Sapolsky comments on Dean Ambrose

by **Hero** Fri Nov 23, 2012 9:51 pm

-- Gabe Sapolsky has posted a new blog, discussing the first time he booked Jon Moxley (Dean Ambrose in WWE). Here is the blog…

I'll never forget the very first moment I worked with the man now known as Dean Ambrose. There was only one other time I experienced anything like it in my 10 year booking career and that was with Paul Heyman's current top hustler, CM Punk.

We were fortunate to have Ambrose, then known as Jon Moxley, as a building block of my Dragon Gate USA and EVOLVE promotions for almost two years. I have to admit, I was in love with him as a talent and fascinated by him as a person. We had an instant creative chemistry. It paid off with Ambrose leading Kamikaze USA of Dragon Gate standouts YAMATO, Akira Tozawa and Shingo as well as being in a violent feud against Jimmy Jacobs. The bloodbath I Quit Match against Jacobs at DGUSA Bushido: Code Of The Warrior 2010 is an ageless classic.

It all began in a back room of a small building in the out-of-the-way town of Brooksville, Florida.

My business partner Sal Hamaoui and I were set to launch EVOLVE wrestling in January of 2010. Hamaoui runs the Jeff Peterson Memorial Cup Tournament every year in Florida. We decided to use the 2008 edition as an unofficial "tryout" for EVOLVE. I watch a lot of footage, but I truly believe you can't get to know a talent until you work with them, see what drives them and are able to figure out what type of person they are. The Peterson Cup gave us the forum to get to know the new talents we were moving forward with in EVOLVE and DGUSA. We had high hopes for Ambrose, but I had yet to even have a real conversation with him.

I eagerly awaited for Ambrose to arrive at the armory for the Peterson Cup. I wanted to see what he was all about face-to-face. Shortly after he arrived, I immediately seized the opportunity to work with him for the first time. I wasn't sure what we had on our hands, but I was about to find out.

"Come on," I said to Ambrose before he had time to prepare for anything, "time to cut a promo."

We scurried into a back room, I think a janitor's closet actually. He asked if there were any bullet points. I purposely told him to just run with whatever he thought the people should know about him. He then cut an amazing, unique and distinctive promo that floored me.

When he was done my gut instincts were screaming, "PUT THIS GUY IN SOMETHING NOW!"

I didn't even care if he could wrestle. His charisma, poise and presence was one-in-a-million. The only other time I was sold on a talent before seeing how well he could wrestle was CM Punk, who dazzled me by showing a command of the audience during a simple ring entrance. Fortunately, both Punk and Ambrose are equally great talents in the ring.

As soon as the camera stopped rolling, I eagerly asked Ambrose if he could be in Philadelphia the next week for the Dragon Gate USA. Keep in mind we had the card completely booked up, all the storylines were written and we had exhausted out budget. However, Ambrose was special and we had to start him as soon as possible.

He jumped at the opportunity and said "yes," even though it was just seven days notice. He said he'd make the 12 hour drive by himself and be there for whatever we had planned. No hassles, no drama. He was going to be there. He had the self-confidence to know he just had to be given the smallest opportunity and he would "grab it by the balls" and make it work. He wasn't going to let a long car ride or low pay stop him. He was going to make his future.

We ended up having a tremendous run with Ambrose in both DGUSA and EVOLVE. He created some special promos and moments. I am very fortunate to have seen him put on several tremendous matches. I'll never forget the night he and Daniel Bryan (then known as Bryan Danielson) put on a vicious fight in an intimate theater in Milwaukee at DGUSA Way Of The Ronin 2010 or his farewell independent wrestling match at EVOLVE 7 against Austin Aries in New York City.

Now WWE is giving him a big opportunity. He started by attacking WWE's hottest new babyface, Ryback, in the main event of the Survivor Series pay per view. I'm sure he's about to take the whole WWE universe and "grab it by the balls."

by BD21 Fri Nov 23, 2012 10:17 pm

Sounds like a decent guy. You have hyped him up massively Hero. I have heard plenty of good things about him but all I have seen of him are his 3 appearances in WWE. Literally nothing else. I have done this on purpose as I don't want his previous work to cloud my judgment as the WWE is a completely different entity.

by **Hero** Fri Nov 23, 2012 10:58 pm

I know that I've bigged him up something rotten and as a result its caused somewhat of a backlash against him on this board but I don't remember a guy impressing me as much as him in a long time. It helps that one of my fave all time wrestlers though was Pillman who Ambrose is very similar to.

by JoshSansom Fri Nov 23, 2012 11:01 pm

I am interested to see him - as much to see how good your scouting is Hero!! Smile

One thought I had is are they continuing to place Regal on TV to remind the audience who he is, so that they could go for Ambrose/Regal on Smackdown as a feud?

by HitmanOwl Sat Nov 24, 2012 12:42 am

Dean ambrose is amazing,one of the best promo guys I've seen in a long time!

by **Hero** Sat Nov 24, 2012 1:07 am

Here you go Josh, this is but a teaser of his promos
http://bleacherreport.com/articles/1345889-the-top-5-promos-of-dean-ambroses-career

My fave being 'I wear a fannypack like its a thunderbolt from freakin Zeus!!'

by MtotheC Sat Nov 24, 2012 8:07 am

I must admit I'm excited to see what he can do, the stuff I've seen online has blown me away, I've always been a massive fan of the psychology of wrestling and Ambrosia looks like a master. I'm not even really that bothered if he can't go in the ring, I just wanna see the kind of promos that he's delivered throughout his career but with a wwe mic in hand.

He reminds me of a mix of piper, raven and Pillman.

by crippledtart Sun Nov 25, 2012 10:36 am

Piper, raven and pillman, that's a very good description. For me the Piper comparison in particular is accurate. Piper wasn't a great wrestler but he had an incredible command of an audience and you just couldn't take your eyes off him. He was completely unique and magnetic, in a way you couldn't quite put your finger on. Ambrose has that too. I'm not saying WWE won't mess it up, but they've got their best opportunity in 25 years to recreate that Piper magic.

by JoshSansom Sun Nov 25, 2012 11:35 am

Few questions if someone who has seen him could answer:

- Has he ever played a face character? Was it as good as his heel characters?

- How far do you think he can go in the WWE? Is he an upper level heel character who never quite makes the top belt (like Piper)? Is he rounded enough to ever become 'the man' in the company?

- Which current wrestlers in the E are you looking forward to seeing him feud with?

- How would you book him? Does he have to go over to get over? Or will he play the antagonist who will lose far more than win (i.e. CM Punk 18 months ago)?

- What does the WWE need to do in order to make him / allow him to be a success?

by Dr Gregory House MD Sun Nov 25, 2012 7:11 pm

JoshSansom wrote:Few questions if someone who has seen him could answer:

- Has he ever played a face character? Was it as good as his heel characters?

Couldn't really say, if he has I haven't seen it, that said he has spent his career in the indies, particuarly in places like CZW where people frequently straddle the line between face and heel, it has to be said though that more importantly than any face/heel divides he has a character, a character he belives in and can translate across to the fans
- How far do you think he can go in the WWE? Is he an upper level heel character who never quite makes the top belt (like Piper)? Is he rounded enough to ever become 'the man' in the company?

You have to bear in mind times have changed since Piper was in his pomp as a heel, WWE now has 10 hours of TV time per week and monthly PPV's to fill where matches between top stars, often for the belt are expected, I don't think it's realistic to think that in this day and age Hogan would have held the belt for 4 years and Piper wouldn't have been a multi-time world champion, the fact he was the heel chosen to main event against Hogan at the inagural Wrestlemania should speak louder volumes than any title reigns he may have had. Anyways I digress, personally yes I can see Ambrose being champion, he's certainally talented enough, and if you look at the list of promo's Hero posted it's shown that he's a man who can really make a belt work for him, particuarly in terms of his character. - Which current wrestlers in the E are you looking forward to seeing him feud with?

Well not Ryback anyways, personally I'd love him to feud with Punk and Bryan but thats standard, I also think a couple of years down the line he could be a good antagonist to the Undertaker.- How would you book him? Does he have to go over to get over? Or will he play the antagonist who will lose far more than win (i.e. CM Punk 18 months ago)?
- What does the WWE need to do in order to make him / allow him to be a success?

I'll answer those last two questions together, does he need to go over a lot to become a star, the answer is I don't know, he's a remarkable talent but lets face it winning your matches dosn't hurt, I think the most important think for WWE to bear in mind, and this goes for all there heels not just Ambrose, is that someone can only invest in a heel if he is percived as a genuine threat to the babyface, all too often these days WWE plays there heels as so totally inferior to the babyfaces that it is next to impossible for them to gain sympathy, which surely is the point of wrestling.

Anyways to sum up, if WWE push Ambrose hard out of the blocks I think he could really catch fire, I don't think it's essential as he's just so damn talented tha he should eventually make it in a cream rises to the top kind of way like Bryan and Punk but I just hope he's carefully managed enough that he is still percived as some sort of threat a few months down the line rather than jobbing out to the babyface at every turn (i.e Alberto Del Rio).

Those are just my opinions but I hope it was helpful

by **Hero** Sun Nov 25, 2012 7:50 pm

JoshSansom wrote:Few questions if someone who has seen him could answer:

- Has he ever played a face character? Was it as good as his heel characters?

Not as far as I'm aware but like House says the Indys blur the lines between face and heel a lot more, he's wrestled over 2000 times though across numerous Feds so he may have had a few one off face bookings but for any extended stay in a fed like a DG USA or CZW he was always a heel.

- How far do you think he can go in the WWE? Is he an upper level heel character who never quite makes the top belt (like Piper)? Is he rounded enough to ever become 'the man' in the company?

I can see him being the top heel of the company easily but no I can't see him become the man.

- Which current wrestlers in the E are you looking forward to seeing him feud with?

Punk and DB but I also think Cena would be a great opponent for him, Cena excels when he's given a great verbal opponent which Ambrose will bring to the table. Orton's intensity I could see working with him too.

- How would you book him? Does he have to go over to get over? Or will he play the antagonist who will lose far more than win (i.e. CM Punk 18 months ago)?

I'd like to see him initially be the spokesperson of the Shield (or whatever it's called) and they continue to run roughshod over a few of the faces, have it build so that a face group unites against them (Kane, DB and Miz perhaps) but allow the heels to go over by bringing in Ohno at that point. From there the group still work as one but each start to push for gold, Ohno & Rollins pair against Kane & DB for the tag belts at Mania, Reigns against perhaps someone like Kofi and Ambrose and Miz go at it for the Intercontinental belt at Mania. Rollins then splits from the group and turns face, initially v Ohno but then v Ambrose.

- What does the WWE need to do in order to make him / allow him to be a success?

Don't restrict him on the mic, allow him time and the remit to just flow on the stick, it's clear he can just naturally use it in ways that most established guys can only dream of.

by MtotheC Sun Nov 25, 2012 7:59 pm

- What does the WWE need to do in order to make him / allow him to be a success?[b]

I think it's as simple as giving him a mic and letting him do what he does best I'm not saying give him a free reign but just let him engage the audience and I think stardom will follow, he needs to be given that shop widow and as house said the cream will rise to the top! I honestly think that if he gets the freedom and opportunity to showcase his natural ability he will be a massive star and much like punk and Bryan wwe will have no other choice but to get behind him

by Kay Fabe Mon Nov 26, 2012 9:01 am

The first time I saw Ambrose (Jon Moxley at the time) I immediately thought of Roddy Piper, the similarities between him and Piper from 83-86 where obvious and subtle which unless its completely natural should be impossible.

Not very often a talent appears and can captivate you when you know so very little about him, he is that naturally talented, he's not an actor, he's not trying to be an actor, he goes out there to kick ass and it sticks out like a sore thumb, he believes in what he does and what he says and for me that's the single biggest drawing technique any Pro Wrestler can have, if he believes then he allows us to believe

Roddy Piper was an absolute master of his craft and when he was in a feud you'd actually believe it was all real, many times it was to a certain degree to be fair but he gave you the impression that it was big time, Dean Ambrose can do that if given a chance, that's not hyping him up, that's just my opinion based on what I've saw

by JoshSansom Mon Nov 26, 2012 9:33 pm

Thanks for the responses guys!

by **Hero** Mon Nov 26, 2012 9:42 pm

I'm expecting Reigns to be given the majority of the mic time now after this build up.

by Fernando Mon Nov 26, 2012 10:06 pm

WWE Hall of Famer Jim Ross published a new blog at JRSBBQ.com. Here are some highlights.

Dean Ambrose, Seth Rollins and Roman Reigns on RAW tonight: "Apparently the three men in black, Dean Ambrose, Seth Rollins, and Roman Reigns will be interviewed by @MichaelCole tonight on Raw. I hope that we get some revealing info but not too much as I feel these three can be significant contributors on RAW but I also feel that this info needs to come over time especially with WWE doing tons of episodic TV. As a fan, I don't need every question answered tonight and, hopefully, their comments will elict even more interest/questions.

"Count on this...no matter what the three, NXT talents have to say, it will be dissected and thoroughly analyzed. In today's social media crazed, info heavy world of sports entertainment, everything is under a microscope and there are more 'experts' sounding off than ever before. Don't take that as a knock and if you do... Lighten Up Francis."

Dean Ambrose: "Ambrose has a little Roddy Piper and Brian Pillman traits in him or so it seems to me. His FCW/NXT bout a few months ago with @RealKingRegal was stellar. I called it with Dusty Rhodes and we had a blast. Ambrose is a blue chip stock and is arguably the most 'unpredictable' of the three. Perhaps 'complex' is an adequate word to describe Ambrose at this point in time."

Seth Rollins: "Rollins reminds me of @CMPunk in some areas of Rollins' game or at least the formative CM Punk of a few years ago. I perceive that as a good thing. Rollins is an Iowa kid who has a sound, skill set, confidence, toughness and is the current NXT Champion. He has a natural swagger and wrestles with a chip on his shoulder which I embrace."

Roman Reigns: "Reigns is a former Georgia Tech nose tackle and has reshaped his body from 300+ to 260ish and is of Samoan decent, father is WWE HOFer Sika, and at times has reminded me of @TheRock when I first inked 'The Great One' to his WWE contract. In that I mean the obvious heritage matter but also the physical frame, intellect, and overall, natural athleticism. We can only hope that Roman Reigns can approach The Rock's accomplishments inside the squared circle some day. Only time will tell if that lofty goal can be reached but Reigns can be special. Watch someone interpret what I just said as being that JR is predicting Roman to be the next Rock. Hey, I wish."

by **Hero** Tue Nov 27, 2012 12:18 am

One I wondered that they could go with is to continue to bring in NXT guys and for the next one to be Big E Langston, as a big guy I think he'd be a great addition to the roster, like his entrance with the chalk and the 5 count is a mice gimmick that sets him apart. He could be brought in v Ryback in a real physical feud.

by Kay Fabe Tue Nov 27, 2012 12:24 am

I'm not sure about big E yet, I love what NXT does though, I enjoy watching all these guys cut their teeth and get their first real mainstream breaks without too much pressure, I think Kassius Ohno and Brae Wyatt are the next two big entrants into the WWE tho from what I've seen

by Mr H Wed Nov 28, 2012 1:54 pm

I can't believe Ambrose is only 26. Time is most definately on his side.

by Kay Fabe Wed Nov 28, 2012 1:58 pm

He looks like he's had 4 paper rounds since he was 9, old looking bassa

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