5 Best Dean Ambrose WWE superstar moments

Following reports yesterday that Dean Ambrose is heading for the exit after WrestleMania, WWE confirmed the news themselves by releasing a statement saying that the former WWE champion would not be renewing his contract after it expires this April.

The news came out of nowhere and surprised many fans, but when you think about it, it perhaps isn't as shocking as first thought. While Ambrose has been one of the most popular Superstars with fans over the past 6 years, it's safe to say that WWE hasn't utilized the former Shield member to his full potential. Turning a lunatic into a goofy joker, stagnant mid-card feuds and a heel turn that was long overdue, Ambrose hasn't had the best time outside the Hounds of Justice.

Although that isn't to say the Lunatic Fringe hasn't had his good moments, there are some diamonds in the rough to be found when looking back. So, here is a list of Dean Ambrose's 5 best moments as a WWE Superstar.

#5. His WWE debut

I wanted to comprise this list of moments with Dean Ambrose after his Shield days, focusing more on his solo run, but this is one of the standout moments of his WWE career. In one of the most impactful debuts the WWE has seen, the three members of a turtleneck-clad Shield threw themselves straight in at the deep end and interfered in the WWE Championship match between CM Punk and Ryback at the 2012 Survivor Series PPV. By hitting the first of what would become many of their signature triple power bombs, driving Ryback through the announce table, The Shield made their mark on the WWE landscape instantaneously. They were here, and they were going to be big. At least, they ditched the turtlenecks.

#4. Winning the US title

Ambrose still holds the record for the longest reign as United States champion

Dean Ambrose won the United States Championship at Extreme Rules 2013 by defeating Kofi Kingston. He went on to hold the title for the next 351 days, which remains as the longest United States championship run in WWE history. While the title run itself was mainly uneventful, it is still an impressive record to hold.

Having Ambrose win the US title while his Shield brothers Roman Reigns and Seth Rollins held the Tag-Team championships gave the impression that at the time WWE saw the Lunatic Fringe as the standout member of the Hounds of Justice, positioning him as the leader of the group and giving him the singles title. But as recent years suggest, WWE must have changed their mind on who was going to be the top star out of the group, with both Reigns and Rollins having more success following the end of The Shield than Ambrose.

#3. The heel turn

This time it was Ambrose turning on Rollins

A heel turn was something many fans were hopeful of, myself included, for the past couple of years. Ambrose's character had grown stale, and the goofy antics the WWE had him getting up to were far from the lunatic they were trying to portray him as.

A heel turn was needed to hopefully give the Ambrose the seriousness and edge that had been missing. Finally, the turn came. And what a night to do it on.

On October 22 episode of Raw, Ambrose stabbed his tag-team partner Seth Rollins in the back. On what also happened to be the same night their close friend and Shield brother Roman Reigns had earlier revealed to the world that he had to leave WWE to fight leukemia. At the start of the night Ambrose and a tearful Rollins had gone out together to embrace Reigns, then at the end, Ambrose was brutally attacking the Kingslayer, shocking fans as he hit Rollins with a Dirty Deeds. "Not tonight" screamed Michael Cole. In reality, this was a perfectly timed heel turn made all the more effective by the news heard earlier in the night. It made Rollins the most sympathetic figure in the company and Ambrose the evil, sadistic lunatic he should have been all along.

#2. Cashing in Money in the Bank on Seth Rollins

Ambrose finally gets a much-deserved title win

Ambrose was the last member of the Shield to get his hands on the biggest prize in the WWE, and he did so on a night where all three members of The Shield were at one point the WWE champion.

He was finally able to put the gold around his waist at the 2016 Money in the Bank PPV, the main event that evening was Roman Reigns defending his WWE title against a returning Seth Rollins. Earlier in the night, Ambrose had competed in the Money in the Bank ladder match and won. The Lunatic Fringe didn't take long to cash in his contract either.

The crowd was going crazy after Rollins pinned Reigns clean to win the WWE championship. Rollins had just come back from a knee injury which had kept him out of action for several months and while Rollins celebrated his victory, Ambrose made his move to cash in on the man who was responsible for the ending The Shield.

Ambrose slid into the ring, smacked Rollins on the back of the head with the briefcase, cashed it in, hit Rollins with a Dirty Deeds and that was that. Ambrose was champion for the first time. The same fans that had just been cheering Rollins victory over Reigns were now going crazy for Ambrose's long-awaited revenge.

#1. Winning the Shield Triple Threat match

Ambrose's victory brought the WWE Championship to Smackdown

A Triple Threat match between the three former members of The Shield was something fans had wanted to see for a while. The match finally took place at Battleground in 2016. Ambrose was to defend his WWE Championship against his two former allies in a match which had even more implications.

The WWE had just had its brand split and the resulting draft lead to Rollins and Reigns being chosen by Raw while Ambrose was heading to Smackdown. This meant Triple Threat match would also decide the show on which the WWE Championship would be placed. This made the match even bigger, and the promo created for it is also one of my favorites, hyping it up as the best of the best, three former brothers, the future of the company fighting for it's the biggest prize.