WWE Superstar Dean Ambrose Hates The Word "Selfie"

I recently met WWE superstar Dean Ambrose at a WWE 2K16 event, and the first thing I noticed was just how alike he was in demeanor to his larger than life, on-screen persona. It's much more muted, of course--there's little outward sign of the 'Lunatic Fringe' here--but I was struck with how easily I could correlate the real person in front of me to the WWE performer and athlete. They say wrestlers are best when they play themselves, only with the volume turned way up, and Ambrose certainly fits that bill.

In our brief conversation we chatted about being a gamer, and what his thoughts were about being under constant scrutiny in the 'Reality Era' of wrestling. His responses were, to put it simply, perfect Ambrose.

You're wrestling in an era where secrets are much harder to keep thanks to the internet. There's a lot of constant scrutiny on you guys. How do you cope with all that attention all the time?

Dean Ambrose: It's the way of the world today. A lot of people bring it on themselves--I'm not a social media guy, I don't go on social media at all. If you don't know me personally then you don't get to talk to me ever. As far as I'm concerned what you see on the screen, on Monday night RAW, is the only access you get to me. So I live a pretty stress free scenario as far as that's concerned. The internet, it is what it is. As far as letting secrets go, I find it very easy keeping secrets. I just don't tell anyone if I don't trust them. And the circle of people I trust is very, very small. I just keep it real like that and it makes it easier for me.

It's a wider issue that affects the WWE in general, though. For example, someone sees Undertaker at the airport, takes a picture, and then suddenly the finish for a match that night is ruined. Do you think think this overall scrutiny makes it harder for you to present a product?

Yeah, a lot of fans kinda take the magic away. But it's been like this for years now, where they dig and search for every little bit of info and spend so much time deciphering everything and overthinking things. That's just an outlet for their passion for wrestling, but it does take away the magic sometimes, so I almost wish people would stop doing that. But if you take a picture of somebody and post it online, you're an asshole.

I hate having my picture taken in general. And if I'm not allowing it… and it's just gotten worse over time. I don't understand pictures at airports. And I hate the word selfie. Any man that uses it needs to reevaluate a lot of their life.

I can't imagine, I can't get in the mind of a wrestling fan who wants to break news that spoils a surprise for somebody. Would you want a surprise spoiled? Say you saw Sting at the airport and tipped everybody off that Sting was going to make an appearance that night, and then you ruin the surprise for people who went out of the way not to get the surprise ruined. Would you want your surprised ruined? I'd be, "Don't tell me, don't tell me who you saw at the airport." I like to live a spoiler-free life.

If you take a picture of somebody and post it online, you're an asshole.

Does it ever make you wish you wrestled in a different era?

Oh yeah. Professional wrestling as I imagined it when I set out to be a pro wrestler is not the same thing as sports entertainment today. There are times I wished I was in 1983 in the Crockett territory. But the WWE today is also something that's never been done before. Everything from the WWE network to video games, to be part of something like that and all the craziness that is the WWE today, is also cool to be a part of.

It's not just a wrestling business now. WWE is an institution in entertainment. It truly is now like the NFL, the brand is there with them. It's on a level it's never been before.

So are you a gamer yourself?

I'm not a gamer in the traditional sense, but I've played almost every wrestling game there was. To be a part of this one--I mean, the fans are going to love it. It's very cool to be a part of that--you can play this game at such a realistic level, and it's such an encompassing WWE experience for a fan, that you can play this for hours and hours and never get sick of it.