WWE World Champion Dean Ambrose will face his title at SummerSlam against Dolph Ziggler. Many people expect Ambrose to retain but that could change since the latest rumors suggest that the WWE champion has some backstage heat.
According to the latest Wrestling Observer Newsletter (subscription required), Ambrose picked up the heat during his appearance on the Stone Cold podcast last week. It was not about him dodging Steve Austin's question or his sheer awkwardness during the entire interview.
The report noted that the backstage heat on Ambrose came from his negative comments about the WWE creative team and Brock Lesnar. The Lunatic Fringe criticized the creative team which means he was taking a shot at both Vince McMahon and Triple H.
The WWE chairman and his son-in-law represent the creative team and any negative comments towards creative are negative comments towards them. As for Lesnar, Ambrose was unhappy with The Beast for his laziness in having a great match at WrestleMania 32.
Those comments added to the backstage heat since the WWE officials did not want Ambrose to go public with their plans. However, it should be noted that the severity of the backstage heat the WWE champion has at the moment is unknown.
If the heat is minor, expect Ambrose to defeat Ziggler and retain his championship. But if the heat is massive, there is a big chance that McMahon and Triple H will punish Ambrose resulting to a possible title change at SummerSlam.
According to The Inquisitr, the current plan for SummerSlam is still Ambrose retaining the WWE World championship. But it is noted that he could end up dropping the title at either the Backlash or No Mercy pay-per-view in the next couple of months.
A.J. Styles is expected to go over John Cena in their SummerSlam match and he is the next challenger for the championship. The WWE is currently high on Styles due to his in-ring work and they may make him champion as soon as possible.
However, these are just rumors at the moment and nothing has been confirmed. All questions will be answered on Sunday, August 21 at WWE SummerSlam 2016. The biggest event of the summer is going to be held at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York.
Check out the video below to see and listen to Ambrose's appearance at the Stone Cold podcast.