There’s no doubt that Dean Ambrose is one of the top draws in WWE. He’s had some great moments in 2016, including winning the Money in the Bank ladder match and capturing the WWE World Heavyweight Championship.
However. there have been numerous occasions where his matches haven’t lived up to expectations. It’s not that the matches featured in this article are necessarily bad; it’s that they were disappointing and could have been a whole lot better.
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Of course, the quality of a professional wrestling contest strongly depends on both competitors working well together. A lack of crowd reaction, as well as the stipulation of the match, can also be of influence. That said Ambrose is the one constant factor in these disappointing matches.
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1. Dean Ambrose vs. Chris Jericho (WWE Extreme Rules)
This was meant to serve as the culmination to an intense rivalry, but instead was a complete waste of two supremely talented Superstars. The first ever Asylum match fell flat, as not even a variety of weapons could bring this contest to life.
It could be argued that this battle was doomed from the beginning given the match stipulation. A poor man’s version of TNA Lethal Lockdown, the Asylum match saw Ambrose and Jericho battle inside a steel cage with weapons dangling from above the ring.
The lack of a roof on the cage meant the bout didn’t seem as intimidating as the Hell in a Cell or an Elimination Chamber. Moreover, TNA’s equivalent worked well as it included a larger number of competitors inside the steel cage at once, making it significantly more chaotic.
Conversely, this match lacked brutality. Apart from Chris Jericho being slammed into a pile of thumbtacks, the rest of the weapon spots were silly and childish. Without a doubt, the stipulation was a hindrance, but the match itself was too slow and not particularly entertaining.
Many would’ve been expecting these two Superstars to produce a good contest no matter what kind of match it was. In the end, you could hear a thumb tack drop as the crowd was dead throughout this bout.
2. Dean Ambrose vs. Dolph Ziggler (SummerSlam)
No match had a better build heading into SummerSlam than Dean Ambrose and Dolph Ziggler. There was stellar mic work from both. The Lunatic Fringe was intense in his promos whilst Ziggler played the fired up babyface with a chip on his shoulder to perfection.
When it came to the match, it lacked electricity. The crowd never seemed to be into it and this may have been so for a variety of reasons.
Very few people believed that Ziggler was going to take the WWE World Heavyweight Championship away from Ambrose. The Show Off has been continuously booked poorly and never seemed a credible threat to end Ambrose’s title reign. Put simply, the WWE Universe were very aware that Dean Ambrose was going to emerge as the victor.
The bout also lacked standout moments. There was a nice dropkick from Ziggler to Ambrose when the latter flew off the top rope, but apart from that, there wasn’t much to write home about.
3. Dean Ambrose vs. AJ Styles (WWE Backlash)
Before we go any further, it must be emphasised that this was a good match. It was everything you’d expect from a match involving AJ Styles and to a degree both Superstars delivered. The last ten minutes, in particular, were hard-hitting, fast-paced and the ending was shocking.
So what is it doing on this list? It again comes down to that word – expectation. AJ Styles is arguably the greatest wrestler on the planet. Recent evidence of this was his series of match-ups with Roman Reigns and also his first class bout with John Cena at SummerSlam.
With that in mind, you’d expect Styles and Ambrose to tear the house down. Now while the crowd was invested, the overall contest wasn’t as good as any of the aforementioned matches. There wasn’t a huge issue with this match, but it’s what Styles was able to produce with other Superstars that makes this pale in comparison.
There were a number of lulls in the action and it started slowly once again. This was undoubtedly a solid match, but it never really lived up to the billing.
4. Dean Ambrose vs. Brock Lesnar (WrestleMania 32)
This was the first Street Fight at WrestleMania in 13 years. With Ambrose’s hardcore history and the nature of Lesnar’s matches since he returned in 2012, this should have been a bloody, intense and hard-hitting fight. Given that Lesnar seems to have free rein to use blood during his matches (just ask Randy Orton), it was disappointing we didn’t see a more brutal battle.
Moreover, the build to the bout did nothing but give fans further hope that we’d see a truly violent Street Fight. Ambrose met with past hardcore legends like Mick Foley and Terry Funk and was given a barbed wire baseball bat and a chainsaw as gifts.
Although both weapons made a brief appearance during the match, they didn’t inflict any punishment on either Superstar. The story of Ambrose refusing to stay down and being a glutton for punishment was entertaining. However, there needed to be more viciousness in order for this angle to be more effective.
This contest suffered the same fate as a number of Ambrose’s matches this year. It was good, but many thought it would be better.
5. Dean Ambrose vs. Seth Rollins vs. Roman Reigns (WWE Battleground)
Many people will seriously question why this match is included on the list. All three men performed admirably in this dramatic battle, but the problem is that WWE fans had been waiting for a match between the three former Shield members ever since the faction split.
With high anticipation comes high expectation, and why WWE felt it necessary to give away one of the most highly anticipated matches at Battleground is a mystery.
Had this taken place at SummerSlam or WrestleMania 33 it would have likely been the match wrestling fans dreamed it would be. Instead, the WWE Universe were left wondering what could have been. Simply put, the underwhelming nature of this match doesn’t fall solely at the door of Dean Ambrose.
