Forget the start of the National Football League season tonight, or Nikki Bella's date with history on Monday night's Raw.
Tomorrow, Dean Ambrose's debut as a leading man action star hits theaters and On Demand.
That's right...the wait for 12 Rounds 3: Lockdown is over!
Not an escapee from the Ambrose Asylum, or a lover of the kind of smart ass shoot 'em ups that made Bruce Willis famous? You are a pro wrestling fan, right? Alright, just checking.
If you're not convinced by the exclusive scene above (courtesy of Brian Fritz over at The Sporting News), try this trailer before we hit you with some quotes from the Lunatic Fringe himself...
Ambrose had a great chat with Scott Fishman over at Channel Guide Magazine about his experience making the movie, why he thinks actor is something he can make a career of, and what it might mean for his future.
At the start, he says he wasn't going to pass up the chance to do it, but he wasn't brimming with his usual confidence:
How can you say no when someone wants you to be in a movie? It's an experience. It took me about two seconds to say yes. I didn't find out until later that I was the lead role in this. I said sign me up from the get-go. I thought I was going to be a background player like when a WWE Studios movie will have a WWE superstar in the background for like five seconds.
Upon learning I was earmarked to be this guy in the lead role. I was thinking, ‘What? You know I'm completely unqualified for this. I have no idea what I'm doing.'
Though wrestling and WWE gave him a lot of skills to lean on, he didn't want to be the same character from Raw. In comparing the two approaches, Ambrose seems to indicate that he gets a little more leeway with his promos than we think of a present day Superstar getting:
We [WWE talent] are uniquely prepared and over-prepared than we think we are for anything in front of the screen whether it's a TV show or movie. WWE is show business camp. You learn everything that goes on behind the scenes, in front of the camera, and we do all our own stunts. We are doing all our own lines in one take.
I didn't want it to be Dean Ambrose, who plays the cop. I wanted to fully become this character. It's a much different personality and character than myself. It's not the guy you see on WWE TV, which is essentially me. That's the funny part. In WWE, I'm not acting. I just kind of go out there and am myself.
In the ring, I just let all the chains off. If I have a microphone in my face, I'm just going to let my mouth run with whatever I feel or comes out. Like walking to the ring and having a bad day, I'm going to be out there scowling in a bad mood. Whatever legitimate emotions, I'm going to portray it. Whatever comes to mind or whatever ridiculous thing pops in my head, I will do.
A lot of his character [in the film] is internalized, which was a challenge because in pro wrestling it's very expressive.
Though he seems to have really enjoyed the experience, his outlook on the movie's success or failure is very Dean Ambrose:
...if it does well I could have a second career as an action star.
If it sucks, then stop asking me to be in movies.
Relax, though. If the film does well, don't expect that Hollywood career to replace wrestling immediately, though:
Right now, I'm in the thick of it with WWE. I'm not going out auditioning for roles.
But with one under his belt, his initial doubts are all gone:
I definitely have eliminated any notion that I can't do this
Who's going to order up 12 Rounds 3: Lockdown this weekend? Excited about Dean Ambrose's prospects as a movie actor?