A recent episode of The Major Wrestling Figure Podcast had Dean Ambrose as the guest and some of the topics discussed involved his passion for wrestling, his initial reaction to having his own wrestling figure, dealing with his fans, and his issues with those who are only in the WWE for the money.
On the topic of his passion for wrestling, Ambrose stated his childhood hobby of collecting wrestling figures helped develop his lasting passion for the business.
“It’s easy to forget that you love wrestling and why you started loving wrestling to being with. It brought me back to my childhood.”
On the topic of having his own wrestling figure, Ambrose stated it felt like a “trippy” moment the first time he saw his own likeness made into a wrestling figure.
“It’s trippy. When you first make it to WWE, that’s one of those things where you’re like, ‘I’m going to be in a video game, I’m going to have a toy and everything,’ and it’s like, ‘whoa!’ It’s very cool.
It’s still hard to wrap my brain around it sometimes that I’m even in WWE. Because you’re so used to just walking around and seeing Vince McMahon and Triple H walking around, like I’m so used to having conversations with Vince McMahon. It’s hard to remember like, ‘whoa, you were just a kid watching this on TV. It’s like, whoa!'”
On the topic of dealing with his fans, Ambrose stated he only has a real issue if they are disruptive to him in public or try to guilt-trip him into signing autographs.
“So I’m always first introduced to this stuff by signing [action figures] at signing events…I’m all about fans, I’ve got all the time in the world for fans. I’ve done every appearance and signing that lasts 3 hours, I always wait until everybody’s done, no matter how long it takes. When being a babyface, I always stay out there and sign all the autographs at the end of the show every single night. It takes an extra twenty minutes. But, some of these people ruin it for everybody. Come to a signing! I’ll sign all your sh– at a signing. One of the worst is when they send the kid. You see them over there and the kid just walks up, ‘Can you sign this?’ And you can’t say no to a kid.”
On the topic of his issues with WWE’s locker room, Ambrose stated he feels upset that some in WWE are only there because of the money and not because they also have some passion for the business.
“You guys are like me, there are a lot of people here that are just here for the money. They didn’t grow up watching it, they don’t care for what they do, they have no artistic care for what we do. But you guys are like me, this is all we’ve ever loved, this is our thing. Toys are a part of it.”