Rumors surfaced Tuesday morning about Dean Ambrose telling WWE that he would be leaving the company when his contract ran out in the spring. On Tuesday afternoon, WWE confirmed those reports.
“Dean Ambrose (Jonathan Good) will not be renewing his contract with WWE when it expires in April,” WWE said in a statement. “We are grateful and appreciative of all that Dean has given to WWE and our fans. We wish him well and hope that one day Dean will return to WWE.”
PWTorch was the first to report that Dean Ambrose would not be renewing his contract when it ended shortly after Wrestlemania. The report said that Ambrose has been frustrated with his character direction, and that this weekend he told WWE that he would not continue negotiating with them. PWTorch indicated that it wasn't about money, but simply about how he's being used, and that he reached a breaking point recently.
Ambrose's on-screen use had been questionable since his heel turn in October. His heel character immediately took on a bit of a comedic tone, including vignettes in which he would get a chance to shield himself against the fans. He suddenly lost the intercontinental title to Lashley after a short run, and had a rather inconsequential Royal Rumble, losing to Aleister Black while not doing much else. It culminated this week after Ambrose lost to Seth Rollins on Raw, seemingly ending that feud. As he tried to cut a promo after the match, Nia Jax came out to interrupt him, before attacking him from behind and tossing him from the ring.
It's worth noting that WWE does not normally comment on superstar contracts while they are still active.