How AEW Broke The WWE Royal Rumble Curse

Dean Ambrose
WWE

Ambrose advised WWE of his decision not to re-sign over Rumble weekend. We know, from the events of the following Monday Night RAW - in which Nia Jax squared up to and assaulted the Lunatic Fringe - that WWE attempted to humiliate him on the way out. Did WWE attempt to curse him, also?

That he emerged from #14 is poetic, but a total coincidence. Probably. And in any event, Dean Ambrose - or more accurately Jon Moxley - broke the curse by completely reinventing his career in the aftermath of it. He left, and announced the rebirth of Jon Moxley. The actual return of Jon Moxley took place at AEW's inaugural show, Double Or Nothing, at the thrilling climax of which he built a dream match in minutes by attacking Kenny Omega. It was an inspired angle performed brilliantly, and AEW expertly leaned on the idea that Moxley was a star who had been wasted to get it over. It was barely audacious, in that respect; the reality is that those fans were always going to receive the former WWE punchline as a star because WWE was the evil empire. The scene was a stark illustration of just how poor WWE's perception was among the hardcore audience. They could have debuted Swoggle in Las Vegas, and they'd have taken him more seriously than Ambrose in that f*cking gas mask.

Moxley was even better in New Japan.

CONT'D...(4 of 5)

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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!