5 things you didn't know about Dean Ambrose before WWE

Dean Ambrose is no longer a WWE Superstar.

After seven years with the company, the Lunatic Fringe had his last match this past weekend, teaming with his Shield brothers Roman Reigns and Seth Rollins, defeating Drew McIntyre, Bobby Lashley and Baron Corbin.

In his tenure, Ambrose became both a triple crown and grand slam winner, won the 2016 Money in the Bank ladder match, and feuded with some of the top stars, including matches with Brock Lesnar and The Undertaker.

But with Ambrose now gone from the company, many fans are expecting him to return to the independent scene where he first rose to prominence as Jon Moxley, though there are plenty out new ventures that the former WWE World Heavyweight Champion could bring his name and star-power to.

Here are five things you didn't know about Dean Ambrose before he joined WWE.

---

#5: He dropped out of school

Despite being a high-school drop out, Ambrose has shown himself to be a highly intelligent person on the mic.

Though he was often seen as the wildcard of the Shield, it's clear to anyone who has listened to the so-called Lunatic speak, that Ambrose is a highly intelligent man.

Able to cut captivating promos in the ring, Ambrose's appearance on talk shows, podcasts and other outlets have shown that there is a brain behind his braun.

Despite this, Ambrose is actually a high school drop-out, as he decided to spend the majority of his time training to be a wrestler.

After he saw a flyer promoting an HWA show in a flea market in Cincinnati and attended the show, Ambrose contacted the Les Thatcher wrestling camp, and after a year of rigorous training and matches, chose to leave his education behind.

#4: He idolized Bret Hart

Ambrose grew up worshipping the Hitman, and would later hold several of the same titles Bret would win.

Like many wrestling fans, the young Dean Ambrose grew up idolizing the stars he saw in the ring.

And whilst there was no shortage of literally huge stars such as Hulk Hogan and 'Macho Man' Randy Savage, Ambrose has said that Bret Hart was his favourite growing up.

Much like Hart on-screen, the young Ambrose had to battle adversity and seemingly insurmountable odds just to get by, though we will get to those later.

Though Ambrose would eventually make it to WWE, many have said that his character of the Lunatic Fringe was greatly inspired by the 'Loose Cannon' Brian Pillman.

It must be interesting for Ambrose, who grew up adoring wrestlers, now knowing there are millions of people around the world who now hold him in similar reverence.

#3: He served concessions

In 2014, Ambrose busted out his concessions skills attacking the Authority.

Following your passion is great and all, but it very rarely comes cheap.

For Dean Ambrose, this passion was learning to become a professional wrestler, something that would send the future star back a lot of money.

To afford training, Ambrose would work the concessions stand at Heartland Wrestling Association, selling Popcorn and drinks to famished fans.

Not only did this net the young Lunatic a bit of money, but it also taught him a valuable lesson about paying your dues before getting into the business.

Whilst training, Ambrose would assist as part of the ring-crew, putting the ring together to make sure it was safe for those who would be competing at shows.

It just goes to show: everyone has to start somewhere, and for Ambrose, this was the start of a truly epic career.

#2: He is a former World Champion, outside of WWE

Ambrose is a former WWE, CZW and HWA World Heavyweight Champion.

At Money in the Bank 2016, Dean Ambrose truly arrived as a main eventer, when he won the titular ladder match, and cashed in the MITB contract later that night to become WWE World Heavyweight Champion.

And though this would be the Lunatic Fringe's only World title win in WWE, this wouldn't be the only World Championship Ambrose would hold outside of WWE.

Before making it big in the McMahon-run promotion, Ambrose would hold the World title for Heartland Wrestling Association (owned by his trainer Les Thatcher) three times, and would become CZW World champion twice.

Some huge wins, it's clear that both promotions had confidence in Ambrose to carry a company, something he did years later in WWE as one of the company's most popular stars in recent memory.

#1: He came from a tough childhood

Ambrose had a rough time growing up.

Going from fighting in backyards deathmatches to appearing at WrestleMania, the career of Dean Ambrose is a true rag to riches tale.

But before he laced up his boots, the Lunatic Fringe was left feeling dejected by the establishment, growing up in the worst part of Cincinnati Ohio’s East End, in an area filled with people too poor to make rent, or as Ambrose puts it:

“My neighborhood was pretty much a big stretch of government housing and all these torn up apartment buildings all owned by different people. It was easy to get the feeling like all the garbage from the city ran down and washed up there.”

It’s easy to see how such an environment would cause anyone to make poor choices, with Dean being forced to deal drugs just to get by.

The only upside, if there is one, is that such a harsh environment toughened the young Ambrose up, helping to mould the Lunatic Fringe that has entertained millions of fans for years, and has plenty of championships to hang in the very nice home he has earned