The Legacy of Dean Ambrose

Last Sunday, Dean Ambrose made his final WWE appearance during Shield’s Final Chapter.

Dean did not renew his WWE contract with reports stating that he will retire as opposed to joining a competing promotion.

If I had to define Dean Ambrose in one word, it would be misused.

Before we look at some of his career highlights, I wanted to go over a few trivia facts along with accolades

• As a youth, Dean Ambrose idolized Bret Hart.

• Dean appeared as a part of the Undertaker’s entrance at the 2006 Royal Rumble. He was a druid.

• As Jon Moxley, he had a tryout for TNA back in 2009.

• Dean Ambrose wrestled William Regal in the final episode of Florida Championship Wrestling (FCW) television.

Best Moments and Matches

• In November 2012, Ambrose made his main roster debut at the Survivor Series pay-per-view alongside Roman Reigns and Seth Rollins. In their turtlenecks, they triple powerbombed Ryback through an announce table during the triple threat main event for the WWE Championship. This allowed CM Punk to retain.

• Dean’s first singles championship was WWE United States Championship when he defeated Kofi Kingston at Extreme Rules (2013)

  • Dean would hold the WWE United States Championship for 351 days though he really never defended it much.
    

• The Shield faced off against the Wyatt Family at Elimination Chamber 2014. Arguably the best of their many matches.

  • The Wyatt Family would win the match after Bray hit Sister Abigail on Reigns.
    

• Seth Rollins, Dean Ambrose, and Roman Reigns vs Triple H, Randy Orton, and Batista – WWE Payback 2014
  

• On the June 2nd edition Raw, Rollins betrayed Ambrose and Reigns and aligned himself with The Authority. Ambrose immediately started feuding with Rollins.
  

• Dean Ambrose vs Seth Rollins from the August 18th, 2014 edition of Raw. This was a Falls Count Anywhere match. Rollins won the match via referee stoppage. Kane interfered.
  

• Dean Ambrose vs Seth Rollins – WWE Hell in a Cell 2014
  

• Dean Ambrose vs Bad News Barrett vs Daniel Bryan vs Dolph Ziggler vs Luke Harper vs R-Truth vs Stardust at WWE Wrestlemania 31 in 2015. The opening match of Wrestlemania 31 was a Ladder match for the WWE Intercontinental Championship. Daniel Bryan ended up climbing the ladder for the victory.
  

When you look at 2016, one could make the argument that Dean Ambrose was the MVP of WWE.

• Dean Ambrose vs. Kevin Owens Last Man Standing Match for the Intercontinental Championship at Royal Rumble 2016
  

• Dean Ambrose vs Brock Lesnar vs Roman Reigns WWE Fastlane 2016

  • To determine the #1 contender for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship at WrestleMania 32.
    

• Triple H vs Dean Ambrose at Roadblock in March 2016 (I was in attendance)
  

• Dean Ambrose won the  2016 Money In The Bank ladder match and then cashed it in later on in the evening on Seth Rollins to win the WWE Championship. Seth had just defeated Roman Reigns with two Pedigrees.
  

• Dean Ambrose vs Seth Rollins vs Roman Reigns WWE Battleground 2016. This was a Triple-Threat match for the WWE Championship. Ambrose retained after pinning Reigns with Dirty Deeds.
  

• Arguably Dean best singles match was against AJ Styles for the WWE Championship Backlash 2016
  

• Dean Ambrose vs AJ Styles WWE TLC 2016  This was a TLC match for the WWE Championship. Styles picked up the win to retain the Title. 

• Seth Rollins and Dean Ambrose vs Sheamus and Cesaro – WWE Summerslam 2017 (For the Raw Tag-Team Championship)

  • Upon winning the Raw Tag Team Championship, Ambrose became the 27th Triple Crown Champion and the 16th Grand Slam Champion.
    

• Dean Ambrose & Seth Rollins vs. Drew McIntyre & Dolph Ziggler for the RAW Tag Team Championship Hell In A Cell 2018 (This was Dean’s first match after an 8 month absence)
  

• Dean Ambrose, Roman Reigns, and Seth Rollins vs Baron Corbin, Bobby Lashley, and Drew McIntyre at WWE Fastlane 2019. The Shield reunited for a match at Fastlane in 2019. This was Roman Reigns’ first match back after his battle with leukaemia.   
  

Final Thoughts

Dean Ambrose should go down as one of the most dependable stars of the modern era. Also, when fans rejected Roman, the majority turned to support Dean.  

While he suffered from a lot of bad booking, Dean really attempted to make the most of it and aside from his recent time off rehabbing multiple injuries, he never missed any dates.

Despite the fact he was undeniably popular, I believe he would have been an even bigger star if WWE just allowed Ambrose to be himself.