Every WWE Gimmick Match And The Wrestlers That Defined Them

18. Lumberjack Match - Dean Ambrose

The Undertaker HIAC
WWE.com

An enduring standard, for reasons unfathomable, WWE every now and then, for often arbitrary reasons, puts its babyfaces into the way of harm by engineering a situation in which several heels are within their rights to put them through a gangland assault.

Dean Ambrose subverted and elevated the premise in 2014 as a means of allowing Seth Rollins no escape from his vicious retribution. In one promo, Ambrose, by referring to the outside goons as a "human cage", added a dangerous edge to the daft premise. This stipulation, so mundane as to be baffling on the surface, nonetheless locked in the sh*thouse heel and created a platform on which for Ambrose to risk a monumental beating, purely to exact his vengeance.

Great character work and an improbably effective spectacle.

Contributor
Contributor

Michael Sidgwick is an editor, writer and podcaster for WhatCulture Wrestling. With over seven years of experience in wrestling analysis, Michael was published in the influential institution that was Power Slam magazine, and specialises in providing insights into All Elite Wrestling - so much so that he wrote a book about the subject. You can order Becoming All Elite: The Rise Of AEW on Amazon. Possessing a deep knowledge also of WWE, WCW, ECW and New Japan Pro Wrestling, Michael’s work has been publicly praised by former AEW World Champions Kenny Omega and MJF, and current Undisputed WWE Champion Cody Rhodes. When he isn’t putting your finger on why things are the way they are in the endlessly fascinating world of professional wrestling, Michael wraps his own around a hand grinder to explore the world of specialty coffee. Follow Michael on X (formerly known as Twitter) @MSidgwick for more!