Dean Ambrose’s TLC Matches: Ranked From Worst To Best
In-ring debuts, match of the year contenders and exploding monitors.
The TLC gimmick and pay-per-view has been a hugely important event in the career of Dean Ambrose. It has seen him headline numerous times, steal the show on more than one occasion and is also the pay-per-view in which he made his official WWE in-ring debut as part of The Shield. This year, fresh of a momentous heel turn, he will lock horns with Seth Rollins in a match that could cement him as Smackdown’s new top bad guy.
Despite his consistent solid output, Ambrose is a wrestler that doesn’t quite get the props he deserves. With Roman Reigns and Seth Rollins’ main event statuses more or less established, there is something that still feels a bit mid-card about the Lunatic Fringe. This wasn’t helped by WWE’s booking of him upon his return, when fresh after months out injured he was merely scheduled to be in Rollins’ corner at SummerSlam. If anything, the motivation behind his heel turn feels entirely justified.
Thankfully, WWE has finally shifted gear with Ambrose’s push, and it’s excitingly happening just in time for WrestleMania, which will hopefully see him in a high profile story or feud heading into the showcase of the immortals.
Here's hoping that his performance this Sunday will be another in a long line of memorable matches at TLC, giving WWE no option but to keep him rooted in the main event scene long term, and not just for a season.
6. 2014 – Bray Wyatt Vs. Dean Ambrose
Even though this feud lacked any logical sense (Wyatt’s rocking chair, and Ambrose destroying it wasn’t exactly the crème de la crème of professional wrestling storytelling) there was still an immense feeling of excitement at the fact that these two were headlining a PPV over the likes of John Cena.
As the match lacked stakes, with no title on the line, and people not really understanding why they were fighting (oh yeah, the rocking chair) it meant the crowd never fully engaged with the action. However, that's a shame, as there was something quite attitude-era-esque about a fight that saw two eclectic characters brawl throughout the crowd and pummel each other with weapons in the most reckless of ways, with barely a wrestling move in sight; in a good sort of nostalgic way.
More than anything, the match will be remembered for the hokey ending involving an exploding TV monitor, which given the attitude-era feel and the ridiculous story heading into the bout, was actually quite apt.