5 Biggest Winners & Losers From WWE Battleground 2016
2. Winners - Dean Ambrose
Where one man loses-out, another triumphs: the Roman Empire has fallen, and the Ambrose Asylum has ascended in its place. Dean Ambrose is now thoroughly established as “The Guy”, and after years of questionable booking and character direction, WWE are finally throwing their complete trust behind The Lunatic Fringe.
All signs pointed towards a Seth Rollins victory last night. His status as the first Draft pick appeared to position him as the company’s poster boy, and WWE’s recent history of 50/50 booking suggested that his pinfall loss to Ambrose on SmackDown would surely be repaid at the weekend. The Architect would take the big belt back to Raw, and SmackDown would be left ailing.
That never happened. Instead, Ambrose put the final nail in Roman Reigns’ coffin with a Dirty Deeds and a 1, 2, 3. It’s a huge symbolic victory, and one that not only establishes him as a credible WWE Champion, but a real leader in the company for the first time in his career.
It can be argued what WWE should have pulled the trigger on Ambrose a long time ago, but it’s better late than never. With the “Roman Reigns babyface experiment” apparently out of WWE’s system once and for all, nobody in the company can match Ambrose’s current popularity, even in SmackDown’s top-heavy main event scene.
This is the peak of his career thus far, and long may it continue.