Earlier this week, news emerged stating that WWE has officially pulled Dean Ambrose from his WrestleMania Axxess appearance, which was scheduled to be on the same day as WrestleMania 34. This has lead to many to speculate that he could be returning to in-ring action on the show.
However, WWE pulling The Lunatic Fringe from the appearance could also mean that he's had a setback in his recovery from a triceps injury which he had surgery for back in December last year. The timing of the news release could suggest that this is the case.
The news of Ambrose being pulled from his WrestleMania Axxess signing came not long after word got out that he had visited WWE's specialist doctors in Birmingham, Alabama. According to Mike Johnson of PWInsider, this could mean the worse.
Johnson stated that because the news has been released shortly after his Birmingham visit, it could mean that something has gone wrong in his recovery and that he requires additional surgery or more physical therapy.
Johnson said according to RingsideNews: "WrestleMania is 'all hands on deck' and the fact that he’s not doing what they expected him to do at AXXESS, that to me sounds like something is wrong.
"I’m almost afraid to say this because I don’t want this to be the case but I almost expect at some point we’re going to hear that he needed an additional surgery or that he’s back to square one with physical therapy because some sort of setback.
"It doesn’t make sense to me three or four months after getting the surgery, he’s not well enough to sign some autographs for an hour or two.”
Johnson makes a good point with his last sentence. You would think someone would be able to sit down and do something for an hour or two after having surgery a couple of months ago. This sounds like it very well could be a setback for Ambrose's eventual return to the ring later this year.
The Lunatic Fringe is one of the most popular superstars in the WWE today, so hearing the news that his return to the ring could be delayed is bound to disappoint many fans. Hopefully, this isn't the case, but taking into account the recent news, it doesn't look very promising.