The Herald-Dispatch held a recent interview with Dean Ambrose discussing his “Unhinged” persona, the early days of The Shield, feelings on winning and losing title belts, and more.
On the topic of his “Unhinged” persona, Ambrose stated he doesn’t feel like he comes off as being unhinged when playing the role but because Micheal Cole kept repeating the phrase on television, he got used to people assuming he is always meant to be one.
“I feel like I’m a pretty sensible individual. I don’t feel unhinged (another characterization). It is what it is. Michael Cole (WWE announcer on ‘Monday Night Raw’ and pay-per-views) said it on TV enough times it clicked. I’m used to it. You know you get labels put on. In the ring, I don’t care. I fly by the seat of my pants, do whatever I feel like doing. Don’t worry about the consequences.”
When the interview shifted to discussing about the Shield’s early days, Ambrose stated a lot of the things they did were not planned out and instead done on the spot. He felt it played a big role in the group’s early success with crowds.
“They threw us right to the wolves. We clicked immediately. We go week to week. We’d figure it out, did a lot on the fly. It all worked out. It’s a means to an end. Three new guys come in and kick the door down. It’s very rare three personalities work like that. You could tell we resonate with people. I’ve made way more money, got a lot more things done, a lot more work without them.”
Later in the interview, Ambrose was asked his feelings when it came to winning and losing championships. Ambrose stated he doesn’t feel emotionally attached to championship reigns and cares a lot more about the toll being done to his body. Finds it more interesting to still have the desire to be a wrestler after over a decade in the industry.
“You know they’ll come and go. You long to hold a championship belt, know it’s going to leave and you work to get one again. One moment you win a battle royal, you battle with a kendo stick, whatever it is. I don’t know any other way. I’ve been doing it so long. How’s my body doing? Terrible, I feel like crap. Doing this for over than a decade, not bad.”
Other topics discussed included his early career in wrestling, the feud with Miz and the Miztourage, and loving working on house shows the most for his WWE career.