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Dean Ambrose's WWE departure has fans talking about 'what could have been' for the Lunatic Fringe. Ambrose holds a great WWE career many established and aspiring professional wrestlers would kill to achieve, but he ultimately played the third wheel to his Shield brethren: Roman Reigns - heir apparent as face of the company; and Seth Rollins, who has been consistently pushed and protected since the Shield disbanded in 2014.
Ambrose, who debuted with The Shield at Survivor Series 2012, has remained a fan favorite, but was repeatedly mishandled and underutilized by management. While he might return to the organization someday, it's clear Ambrose reached fantastic highs coupled with some baffling lows. The occurrences outlined in this article are likely to comprise some of the major reasons why Ambrose refused to re-sign with WWE.
He didn’t even receive a televised send-off, but WWE posted an exclusive video of events that transpired after RAW - the video has already reached over 9 million views.
How his 2016 World Championship reign ended
Ambrose achieved the unthinkable when he cashed in his hard-earned Money in the Bank briefcase to capture his first WWE World Heavyweight Championship against Seth Rollins at the 2016 Money in the Bank pay-per-view event.
Ambrose's run started off with a bang but flat-lined a couple months later. WWE likely would have never positioned Ambrose as champion had Reigns not violated the wellness policy that same summer. We finally got the long-anticipated Shield triple threat (which was a WrestleMania-worthy main event) at Battleground 2016. As champion and the number one pick in the modern brand split draft, Ambrose helped carry a rejuvenated SmackDown Live brand when it launched in 2016 (along with AJ Styles and The Miz), until the introduction of James Elsworth on the main roster. Fans quickly soured on the title run and Styles defeated Ambrose for the championship at Backlash 2016 after a low-blow.
His underwhelming 2017 Intercontinental Championship Title Reign
The WWE Intercontinental title is historically known as the workhorse championship, fitting of Ambrose, who worked more dates than anyone on the roster for several years. Ambrose was reported to have worked double duty some nights, traveling from one WWE live event to the next in the span of a few hours (or working multiple matches on the same show).
With little build or fanfare, he was relegated to the WrestleMania 33 pre-show against Baron Corbin. Ambrose later dropped the IC title to the Miz at Extreme Rules 2017.
The Lackluster feud with Bray Wyatt in 2014
When The Shield and The Wyatt Family locked horns in 2014, the chaotic matches and exhilarating segments made it a memorable run for both teams. However, Ambrose's rivalry with Wyatt family leader Bray didn't recapture the same magic. Both were great mic workers with distinct personalities, but the feud did not click and the matches were weak. The situation might have been different in another era of WWE, where creative limitations were not so stringent.
The One-sided rivalry against Seth Rollins
After Rollins broke up the Shield, Ambrose began feuding with him. It was the latter's first chance to make a big impression as a bona fide singles competitor. He was receiving consistently warm reactions from the crowds. But Ambrose never won any meaningful matches, instead developing his humorous persona in the middle of a revenge-driven narrative.
The feud with Rollins deserved to culminate in a WrestleMania match, with Ambrose ideally going over. This would have solidified both as legitimate main-event level talents, and as the flag-bearers of the next generation of singles stars in the company. Instead, WWE pushed Roman Reigns to the moon, who was initially booked poorly, and continues to face the lasting effects of that phase to this day.
His Long Awaited 2018 Heel Run
Ambrose was out injured for a large portion of 2018 (requiring two surgeries and later carrying an MRSA staph infection) and returned looking rejuvenated the week before SummerSlam 2018, aligning with Seth Rollins. However, It did not take him long to turn on Seth.
Many fans were excited for a heel turn due to his impressive displays as John Moxley during his time on the independent scene. It seemed like a welcome breath of fresh air, having exclusively worked as a face since the Shield first disbanded.
The heel run was officially doomed after his antics become unnecessary - a good example would be him receiving a needle in his backside, in what was an absolutely moronic segment. Ambrose was slipping back into his comedic persona.
Ambrose's departure was handled cordially by both sides, but WWE are likely sour - the Lunatic Fringe did lose matches to Corbin, Elias, McIntyre and EC3 on the Road to WrestleMania, and was not even a part of the biggest show of the year. Ambrose is still young and a valuable asset to any wrestling promotion. It remains to be be seen what the future holds for The Lunatic Fringe.
