Dean Ambrose
Hailing from the mean streets of Cincinnati, Ohio, Jonathan Good spent his early days in public housing, riddled with crime and violence. An avid fan of pro wrestling, which he saw as an escape, Good started his training at Heartland Wrestling Association in 2004. He was employed by his trainer Les Thatcher as a popcorn seller and cleaner of the HWA arena on account of being underage.
Once he turned 18, Good took to learning the ropes of this sport before making his debut in June 2004 and winning the HWA Tag Team Championship in 2005. From here, Good would flit between singles and tag team wrestling, eventually becoming the HWA Heavyweight Champion some time later.
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Wrestling under the name Jon Moxley, he had moved to Insanity Pro Wrestling in 2007, becoming their World Heavyweight Champion in the process. However, Moxley’s most definitive fights were performed at the Combat Zone Wrestling. Perhaps his time spent in this ultra-violent promotion contributed in some degree to the formation of an unconquerable character, which was to be one of the mainstays of the Dean Ambrose persona in WWE.
From CZW, Moxley proceeded to Dragon Gate USA with moderate success. Meanwhile, he intermittently wrestled for Ring of Honor, Evolve, Jersey All Pro Wrestling and Full Impact Pro, winning the vacant FIP World Heavyweight Championship.
WWE’s developmental brand FCW was not Moxley’s first brush with the company. Earlier in his career, he had fought MNM in a tag team match on SmackDown! to disappointing results. Failing to secure any considerable titles in the developmental, Ambrose broke onto the main roster as a member of the Shield. This faction’s path of destruction sent waves around the WWE, making its members stand out in their title pursuits.
Whether in a team or as a singles wrestler, Ambrose became a spirited competitor whose cool outside the ring was only matched by his unorthodox offense inside it. He would go on to win the IC Title and the US Title during this time. Yet, booked to lose against top tier WWE superstars, Ambrose cut a figure of inadequacy until Money in the Bank, 2016 where he won both the contract as well as the title.
Ambrose has often incorporated his turbulent past into his gimmick. Having put his grisly history and personal traumas behind him, Dean’s rise to glory despite these circumstances is the foil that makes every fan root for his fallible human element in this flamboyant world of WWE.
