History Wrestling / DeanAmbrose

[[quoteright:300:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/8q7fuy59wh031.jpg]]
[[caption-width-right:300:JON.\\
[[PrecisionFStrike FUCKING.]]\\
MOXLEY.]]
->''"This is what you call a Paradigm Shift."''

Jonathan David Good (born December 7, 1985) is an American {{professional wrestl|ing}}er best known for his eight-year run at Wrestling/{{WWE}}. As the psychotic {{heel}} Jon Moxley, he has participated in multiple indie promotions, perhaps most prominently in Wrestling/{{WCW}}'s former farm league Heartland Wrestling Association, Insanity Pro Wrestling, Wrestling/{{CZW}}, Wrestling/DragonGate USA, and as of 2019, Wrestling/AllEliteWrestling.

He signed a developmental contract with World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) in 2011, and was assigned to Florida Championship Wrestling (FCW), WWE's developmental promotion, with the new ring name Dean Ambrose. The next year, he debuted on WWE's main roster alongside Wrestling/RomanReigns and Wrestling/SethRollins as part of the [[{{heel}} villainous]] stable Wrestling/TheShield at that year's ''Survivor Series''. The group--Ambrose included--[[HeelFaceTurn turned face]] in March 2014, only for Rollins to betray and attack them that June.

Outraged by his teammate's treachery, Ambrose began a [[ItsPersonal deeply personal]] feud with his former Shield partner. During his tenure there, he became a one-time United States Champion, with his 351-day reign being the third-longest in history and the longest within WWE (who acquired the title in 2001), a three-time Intercontinental Champion, the 2016 Wrestling/MoneyInTheBank winner, a one-time WWE Champion, and a two-time Raw Tag Team Champion (with Wrestling/SethRollins). He is the youngest Grand Slam Champion at 31 years 8 months old, edging out Wrestling/TheMiz by ''one month''!

Ambrose would depart WWE in April 2019 following CreativeDifferences, making him the most sought-after free agent in wrestling until signing a deal with Wrestling/AllEliteWrestling the next month. He made his AEW debut under his pre-WWE ring name Jon Moxley at the company's inaugural event ''Double or Nothing'', laying waste to Wrestling/ChrisJericho and Wrestling/KennyOmega. Shortly thereafter, he made his first NJPW appearance a memorable one, winning the IWGP US Championship in his first match with the promotion. Moxley's AEW contract allows him to work international and indy shows that don't conflict with AEW.

At AEW's ''Revolution 2020'', Moxley defeated Wrestling/ChrisJericho to become AEW World Champion.
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!!Mox Tropes:
[[foldercontrol]]

[[folder: In General]]
* ActionDad: On November 18, 2020, Jon casually (as in, "''dropped it nonchalantly in the middle of a wrestling promo''" casually) revealed that his wife Renee was pregnant. Their daughter Nora was born in June 2021.
* AllGirlsWantBadBoys: Despite being a face, he fits the archetypal "bad boy" role well enough, and it no doubt played a large in his popularity with the female demographic.
* AmbiguousDisorder: There's ''something'' wrong with him, but precisely what that something is might be impossible to discern. Aside from being violent and angry, which could be attributed to his traumatic childhood, he also exhibits paranoia, hears "voices" occasionally, and swings wildly between despair and begging his opponents to "put him out of his misery" to being a ranting near-psychotic with a God complex. Perhaps the closest diagnosis would be Borderline personality disorder, but he doesn't fit well into any diagnostic criteria.
* AntiHero: Probably the stand-out example in wrestling for the 2010's. A ''self-aware'' anti-hero on top of that. He's called ''himself'' a "scumbag" in face promos, and is a CombatPragmatist of the highest order. Take away all of that, and he ''still'' wouldn't be a straight hero because he's not sane enough. And yes, he's self-aware about that too.
* ArchEnemy: Ambrose/Moxley seems to have an issue with Bullet Club members no matter where he goes, having already feuded with AJ Styles in WWE, Kenny Omega (and by extension, the Young Bucks and Good Brothers) in AEW and Kenta Kobayashi in NJPW and AEW.
* AxCrazy: Either as Jon Moxley on the indies or as Dean Ambrose on FCW/WWE.
* BadassBoast : Watch any Moxley's or Ambrose's, chances are, either he will deliver deliver oone of these or just make an ''entire'' segment out of it.
* BloodKnight: Fits this either as Ambrose or Moxley, but is much more open about it as the latter. Especially after leaving WWE, where he's picking fights with people like Wrestling/MinoruSuzuki and Lance Archer.
--> '''Jim Ross''': Some men were just born for conflict.
* BoringButPractical: His recently new submission hold, the Bulldog choke, is just Moxley putting his arm around his opponents neck. However, despite not very impressive looking, the move is one of the most effective holds in MMA and considering that the one doing it is a guy like Moxley.. it is ''very'' effective.
* TheBusCameBack: He made a surprise cameo in a March 2020 episode of ''WWE Backstage'' when he crashes his wife Renee Young doing a video call to Wrestling/BookerT and Wrestling/XavierWoods. This marks his first appearance in WWE television since his departure in April the previous year.
* TheCameo: He makes one in a March 2020 episode of ''WWE Backstage'' by appearing in Renee Young's screen due to him chasing their pet dog.
* DisappearedDad: Brought up by [[Wrestling/WyattFamily Bray Wyatt]] during their first feud in WWE.[[note]] According to him Ambrose's father's been in jail since Ambrose was a kid. He also [[MissingMom implied his mother drowned herself.]] [[/note]] Also mentioned funnily enough by [[Wrestling/LukeHarper Brodie Lee]] upon their first confrontation in AEW.
--> '''Brodie Lee:''' I don't know what you are. Or if you're just a scared little fatherless boy from Cincinnati!
* DidYouJustPunchOutCthulhu: In his WWE days, he made Bray Wyatt suffered a VillainousBreakdown and made Brock Lesnar staggered with a low blow. He also gave Minoru Suzuki ''two'' deathriders, before eventually '''defeating''' him.
* FinishingMove: In his early WWE career, he used a headlock driver called Dirty Deeds, later changed to a snap double arm DDT. In his first match as Moxley post-WWE, he debuted an even more brutal lifting version of the Dirty Deeds called the Death Rider. He also uses both Dirty Deeds and Death Rider interchangeably in AEW... both under the same new name, being called the Paradigm Shift.
** After leaving WWE, he also started to use various submission holds to win matches, with the Bulldog Choke being the most commonly used among them.
* EarnYourHappyEnding: From enduring hell growing up like being picked on, forced to sell drugs, orcatrized, and not to mention watching his own mother being abused, into becoming one of the most famous and successful wrestling names in the world today. Needless to say, Mr.Good deserves every bit of it.
* {{Foil}}: Can be seen as this to Wrestling/CMPunk if you think about it. Both were [[EnsembleDarkHorse hugely]] [[PopularityPower popular]] during their peak times in WWE only to be bogged down by bad booking and exhausting schedules eventually causing them to leave the company. With Punk [[RageQuit walking out]] after one bad creative decision too many and Moxley/Ambrose leaving once his [[{{Determinator}} contract ran out]]. And both went on podcasts after they left the company to discuss their grievances publicly. But the difference between them is Punk let his experience taint his overall love for wrestling and didn't step foot in a ring for seven years. Mox/Ambrose made it clear his grievances were mostly creative and that he still loved wrestling and debuted in a [[Wrestling/AllEliteWrestling new company]] not 2 months later and continues wrestling. Even going to Wrestling/NewJapanProWrestling and competing in the G1 Climax that same year which is more grueling than the usual WWE schedule.
* GutturalGrowler: Just about every instance where he has the chance to talk he's this speaking in a very scratchy, raspy way. In both WWE and especially in AEW take the [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7xFaEkZaWkA first promo]] he cut for the company as an example. Probably best illustrated when he's [[SuddenlyShouting cutting a promo]] in the ring. He's usually always screaming roughly into the mic about something.
* HairTriggerTemper: The one thing that's consistent about his erratic personality is that he's liable to snap at a moment's notice.
* HappilyMarried: In 2017 to Renee Young.
* HiddenDepths: Despite his passion for wrestling, Moxley had shown that he is a great actor, having played both a hero and a villain in seperate movies, and got praised in both of them for his acting.
* HistoryRepeats: Ambrose/Moxley lost his first WWE and AEW world championships to former leaders of the Bullet Club.
** He also lost both titles in a non-clean fashion (being [[GroinAttack low blowed]] by Styles and hit with a microphone by Omega) and in wrestling events held in a -ber month and on years divisible by 4 (The former is on Backlash, a WWE PPV held in September 2016 and the latter is on Winter Is Coming, an AEW Dynamite special episode held in December 2020).
* ImportantHaircut: Upon returning to WWE in 2018 after recovering from injury, he possessed a full beard and a much shorter haircut, which he kept after he returned to being Jon Moxley.
* JackOfAllStats: He has neutral strength, speed and resistance but, for better or worse, doesn't stick out as extraordinary in any one area... unless you're counting bat-shit insanity as a stat.
** He also possess submission skills, even before he expanded it post-WWE. Having an effective submission game doesn't require much power nor speed.
* MeaningfulName: Jonathan '''Good'''is, despite being rough around the edges, ultimately a good man.
* OneDegreeOfSeparation: He, as Jon Moxley, and Seth, as Tyler Black, have wrestled and/or tagged with a ''lot'' of the same people. Perhaps their strongest connection is Wrestling/JimmyJacobs, who Mox had a major feud with that ended in a "I Quit" match, and who Black used to be best friends with in Wrestling/WrestlingSocietyX and the Age of the Fall up until their relationship degenerated. In spite of all that, and although Good and Lopez had probably met prior before, the two hadn't wrestled each other or worked together until they met up in FCW. There, they soon found out they were "wrestling soulmates". (Incidentally, Jacobs would later work for WWE for a while as a writer.)
* RatedMforManly: The guy is a hardcore badass with a lot of hardcore matches, incredible in ring skills, an awesome talker on the mic, and also ''very'' popular with the ladies. He is probably the poster boy for this trope.
* ScrewTheMoneyIHaveRules: His character towards the end of his WWE run and expressed on screen in AEW as Jon Moxley. He didn't even [[https://www.iwnerd.com/more-on-the-contract-that-dean-ambrose-turned-down-from-wwe/ look at]] the new WWE contract he was offered before leaving.
** He expressed this toward the end of his final sit down interview with Wrestling/TheShield...
-->'''Ambrose:''' Eight years ago, I walked into this casino. Now I'm cashing my chips and I'm walking away from the table. I won the game. And what I do with the rest of my life, from hereon out, is my business. I answer to no one. This time [[Wrestling/VinceMcMahon the million dollar man]] didn't get what he wanted, cause ''I can't be bought.''
** ...'''and''' said it directly to Wrestling/ChrisJericho when he attempted to recruit him into the Wrestling/InnerCircle.
-->'''Moxley:''' I didn't come to [[Wrestling/AllEliteWrestling AEW]] because someone backed a truck full of money up to my house. ''I CAN’T BE BOUGHT.''
* SelfMadeMan: From growing up poor in the cruel streets of Cincinati, Ohio, to becoming one of the most popular and badass wrestler the world has ever known.
* SociallyAwkwardHero: As a face, and definitely in RealLife, he qualifies, whether he's rambling, being oddly quiet, or (as Dean Ambrose) [[InnocentlyInsensitive insulting Canadians to]] Wrestling/SamiZayn's [[YouKnowImBlackRight face]].
* TrueCompanions: Played ''wonderfully'' straight throughout the end of 2013 and into 2014. There was so much tension between Ambrose and Reigns that just about any other team/stable in WWE history would have long since imploded on itself -- [[SubvertedTrope it seemed painfully obvious]] that WWE's creative team was setting up a team-wide split (possibly to turn Roman Reigns face and give him a push). Seth Rollins, being the [[ManipulativeBastard manipulative]] [[TheChessmaster chessmaster]] that he is, gave the two something to confront as one when he walked out on them, then used the situation to convince them to put aside their issues, resulting in The Shield becoming stronger than ever and making a HeelFaceTurn.
** Sadly, after making it perfectly clear that The Shield were Evolution's superiors, Rollins stabbed Reigns and Ambrose in the back and would go on to claim that the brotherhood he presented the Shield as was just a lie that they believed in; to him they were nothing but business partners. However, once again the two responded only by banding closer together, and while they may have decided to split up and operate on their own, they still remain brothers and are after the same targets.
** Years after the breakup, Rollins turned face, and, having regretted his actions, tried to make amends with Ambrose. Ambrose was not receptive to the idea at first, but on some level he still saw Rollins as this, enough that he started to flip-flop over it. On Rollins' part, he was sincere in his efforts and desperate enough to win Ambrose's forgiveness that he was willing to take a steel chair to the back for it, which Ambrose ultimately couldn't go through with. After that, the reconciliation was inevitable. While Ambrose himself snapped from all the angst and issues he'd dealt with in WWE and turned on Rollins a year later, this time it took only a few months for him to come back to the fold one more time before leaving the company with The Shield's brotherhood intact.
** Speaking of leaving WWE, if Jon Moxley's interview on Chris Jericho's podcast is any indication, this friendship goes beyond the screen and beyond the three men's ties to the company. While he'd already made the decision to leave and wrestle elsewhere months ago, the moment that sealed that decision for good was when Vince tricked him into disrespecting Reigns' then-ongoing second bout with leukemia for heel heat one week after his FaceHeelTurn against Rollins, then tried to tell him to do it again but much worse the next week, which he refused. While Rollins and Reigns, or more to the point, Colby and Joe, both pleaded a few times with him to reconsider his departure, Jon was able to confirm that things were still good with them, as they understood why he did what he did, having been there with him and seen much of what troubled him with Vince's creative process.
* WildCard: He fits this to a T. Just read all the character related tropes.
* WoobieDestroyerOfWorlds: Whenever his past--which is all legit, mind you--is brought up in storyline, both as Mox and Ambrose. The man grew up in low-income housing and was even homeless a few times. His mother worked as a prostitute--who was frequently abused by her clients--to put food on the table, while his father is in prison. He was forced to sell drugs in high school, had his baby cousin- actually his sister; he doesn't tend to mention her, for privacy- taken away from him by child protective services, and dropped out of high school at age sixteen to attend Les Thatcher's wrestling school. A wrestling school he couldn't legally attend until he was ''eighteen,'' so he paid his dues by cleaning up the building all by himself every night while observing the workers in the ring and practicing his promos to himself--a talent that ended up making him famous. And he's woven all of that seamlessly into his characters, using wrestling as a form of therapy, [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yu9sCMVqzg4 just like he said he did]].
[[/folder]]

[[folder: As Jon Moxley]]
* AbortedArc: His run in the AEW World Title Eliminator Tournament came to an abrupt end when he took a hiatus from wrestling to enter an inpatient alcohol treatment program. Before his departure, he was clearly being set up as the tournament's WrestlingMonster, squashing [[Wrestling/TheDarkOrder 10]] and displaying a level of brutality that put him on the edge of a FaceHeelTurn. The reports are that he was actually supposed to win against Wrestling/BryanDanielson in the finals at ''Full Gear 2021'', which would've cemented his heel turn and set him up to tear through the rest of the Dark Order on his way to "Hangman" Adam Page. [[Wrestling/RusevAndLana Miro]] took his place in the tournament and filled a similar role as the heel who tore through the babyfaces on the way to the finals, but Danielson was ultimately given the win and the subsequent campaign through the Dark Order's members.
* TheAce: In AEW so far he's the one with the longest winning streak. For more than an entire year he was '''never''' defeated, and he did it not by beating no-name jobbers, but taking out the top wrestlers in the company like Kenny Omega, Chris Jericho, Brodie Lee, PAC, Sammy Guevara, Jake Hager, Brian Cage, Darby Allin, and MJF. And he managed to hold the top championship in All Elite Wrestling for 277 days, defeating all challengers without cheating or interference. The ''only'' wrestler who's been able to defeat him since the foundation of AEW is Kenny Omega on their first "official" match[[note]]their first match against each other, which Moxley won, was a savage no-holds barred match which AEW refused to sanction[[/note]] and even Omega ultimately had to cheat to overcome Moxley.
** Not to mention in 2020, He became the Wrestling Observer Newsletter Wrestler of the Year as well as the number 1 pick of the PWI 500. This just cemented how great of a wrestler he is.
* AGodAmI: In a Wrestling/{{CZW}} promo just before a triple threat title match with Egotistico Fantastico and Nick Gage, he's a god of wrestling (not because he's champion, because he has a fanny pack and he's capable of getting away with wearing it).
* AlliterativeName: Known as "Moxley Moxx" when he was a part of International Wrestling Association's cruiserweight division and participated in the series for their hardcore title at the 2006 {{Christmas|episode}} in Puerto Rico.
* AntiHero: Moxley in AEW is technically a {{Tweener}} rather than a face or a heel- he loves to fight and beat the crap out of people, gets off on inflicting pain, has no respect for anyone who hasn't actually earned it from him the hard way, and will do whatever he has to in order to win, but he's fearless, despises cowardice and cheating, and is basically a decent human being despite his mental damage. However, he's just ''way'' too over with the fans to really be a proper tweener. His first major feud in the company was a brutal one with the 100% face Wrestling/KennyOmega based around Moxley simply wanting to make a name for himself by destroying the biggest target he could find, but the fans cheered for him just as much as (if not more than) Omega. The only time he's ever been booed is when he briefly pretended to join the Inner Circle- which only got them even ''more'' behind them when he revealed [[{{Troll}} he was just kidding]].
* ArchEnemy:
** From the very moment of Moxley’s debut at AEW, he attacked Wrestling/KennyOmega and continued to do this in subsequent weeks. Its pretty clear that Moxley's main goal is to topple AEW's golden boy and to make an immediate name for himself. In response, Omega chatised Moxley for his insanity as well as his tenure at WWE especially in the last few months. A match between them was initially scheduled at ''All-Out'' but was postphoned due to Moxley suffering from MRSA staph infection. At ''Full Gear'', the two fought in a brutal unsanctioned Lights Out match with Moxley coming out the victor. A year later, the feud continues with Omega ended Moxley's undefeated streak at ''Winter Is Coming'' to capture the AEW World Championship with the help of his long time friend, Don Callis. Furious over his loss via cheating (and remembering how the last time it occurs in 2016 with AJ Styles), Moxley continues his feud with Omega into 2021, with Omega getting the help of his Bullet Club brethens (the Young Bucks, Good Brothers and Kenta) while Moxley getting the help from various allies.
** Aside from Kenny Omega, Moxley also attacked Wrestling/ChrisJericho on his debut. Once Moxley's feud with Omega has ended, he set his sights on Jericho and the two even brought up their 2016 feud while they were in WWE. Jericho attempted to recruit Moxley into the Inner Circle to which Moxley pretended to join before admitting he's only lying and is aiming for Jericho's AEW World Championship.
** During his reign as AEW World Champion, Moxley has been feuding with Taz for several months. Moxley made it personal when he broke Brian Cage (Taz's client) undefeated streak. Now having both of Team Taz at his back, Moxley ally himself with Darby Allin, another man Team Taz is feuding with.
* BashBrothers:
** With Wrestling/SamiCallihan, especially in the German westside Xtreme wrestling promotion, where they were tag team champions.
** With Wrestling/EddieKingston in AEW once they'd repaired their damaged friendship.
* BerserkButton: Never call him "a different type of cat." And don't make his match unsanctioned, because it'll just make him go even crazier to compensate for the match not officially counting.
** Cowardice and bullying seem to be even bigger ones. Despite his brash, crude and violent nature, Moxley has his own morals and views people like Jericho and the Inner Circle with contempt.
* BloodKnight: Moxley loves to fight. No, we don't think you quite get it yet, Jon Moxley '''''loves to fight!'''''
* BoisterousWeakling[=/=]BigBadWannabe: He came into NEPW, of the Bone Krusher Academy fame, with the announcement he was going to "destroy everyone". Guess how well that worked out? Here's a hint, one of his first targets and his first opponent was half his size Tiny Tim and he still needed help from Cry Baby to pull it off.
* BrokeYourArmPunchingOutCthulhu: Literally, his victory over Minoru Suzuki nearly costed him his right arm, why? because Minoru Suzuki place a chair around it and ''hits it with another chair.''
* CallBack: Post-WWE, Moxley has taken to making his entrances through the crowd as in his days with the Shield.
* CombinationAttack: Moxley and Eddie Kingston have the " Violent Crown" - a brutal combination of a lariat by Mox and a half-and-half suplex by Kingston.
* CradlingYourKill: After finally crushing Darby Allin by choking him out, hitting him with a Gotch Piledriver and a Paradigm Shift before pinning him to retain the AEW Championship, Moxley pulled the unconscious Darby into his arms and [[WorthyOpponent whispered consolations into his ears]].
* CutShort: He had to vacate the Full Impact Pro Heavyweight title, due to defenses conflicting with his new FCW schedule. He was the second longest title holder after [[Wrestling/NelsonErazo Homicide]] at that point too.
* DefeatEqualsFriendship: Darby Allin was one of Moxley's first opponents during his open challenge after defeating Kenny Omega at Full Gear. He would also become one of Moxley's closest allies during his feud with Jericho and the Inner Circle and later again when both of them find a common enemy in Wrestling/{{Taz|z}} and Brian Cage. Moxley would also step in to help Darby should he be outnumbered in an attack, as would Darby if Mox was in a similar situation.
* DefeatingTheUndefeatable: Him beating [[Wrestling/JackSwagger Jake Hager]] in a 30 minute match on Dynamite is this since Hager was up until that point unbeaten in AEW and in MMA. Since then he has also beaten previously undefeated wrestlers like [[Wrestling/LukeHarper Brodie Lee]], Brian Cage and MJF.
** This was finally visted on him after being completely undefeated for ''over a year'' when Kenny Omega finally upset him for the World Championship.
* {{Determinator}}: Just might be the stand out example in AEW at the moment. Beating challengers that other top AEW stars haven't been able to. Never backing down from a fight even when he's outnumbered or already [[EyeScream injured]]. He's been able to defeat all [[Wrestling/ChrisJericho challengers]] [[Wrestling/KennyOmega and]] [[Wrestling/JackSwagger their]] [[Wrestling/InnerCircle all]][[Wrestling/LukeHarper ies]] having never been pinned or submitted. Especially prevalent in his Revolution 2020 match against Jericho where shortly into it he was busted open above the eye and bleeding throughout the rest of the match. He was able to endure numerous cheap shots from an interfering Santana, Hager and Sammy Guevara who struck him with the championship title and still managed to defeat Jericho to become new AEW champ quickly afterwards.[[note]] he was also wearing an eye patch the entire time from a previous injury via the Inner Circle [[/note]] Moxley seems to have a definite knack for beating the odds.
** This was also shown in his match againts NJPW veteran Minoru Suzuki. It is very clear from the beginning that 1) All of Moxley's attacks have little effect on Suzuki 2) All of Suzuki's attacks have a really painful effect on Moxley. Suzuki even very nearly broke Moxley's right arm. But again, this is ''Freaking Jon Moxley'' and staying down is not in his book. The Wrestling Observer that reviews the match sums it up very accurately, that Jon Moxley is just "too insane to die".
* DontMakeMeDestroyYou: In the [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fgMKybtC3PE promo]] Moxley cut on young up-and-comer Darby Allin before their AEW Championship match on the 5th August 2020 episode of ''Dynamite'', Moxley admitted that Darby was his favourite guy in AEW, partly because he reminded him of his younger self, but with the title on the line he'd still do whatever it took to retain it. And he ''really'' didn't want to be the man who ended Darby's career early, but he knew that Darby would never quit.
-->'''Mox:''' Now I'm not gonna try and talk you out of anything. But I have to ask you please, ''please...'' when it's time to stay down, ''[[PunctuatedForEmphasis just. Stay. Down.]]'' Even though I know you're not gonna listen. Because I wouldn't.
* EvilerThanThou: So why was El Illegal Chicano cheered in IWA? Part of it was not being a pair of arrogant, aggressive "anglos"(Hade Vansen was the only one from the UK but Mox sided with him so...)
* EveryoneHasStandards: While Moxley does uses a lot of environment help and a brutal style of wrestling, he ''never'' resorts to cheating or cheap tactics. That is until his opponent tries it on him first, evident in his match with Wrestling/ToruYano where Mox tries to used the tape on him after Yano does.
** As much of a badass Jon Moxley is, even he shows ''fear'' when faced with the maniacal and sadistic Wrestling/MinoruSuzuki... and with [[AxCrazy good reason]].
* EyeScream: Was stabbed in the eye by Chris Jericho as revenge for declining to join the Inner Circle and hitting him over the head with a champagne bottle.
* {{Foil}}: To his longtime rival Wrestling/KennyOmega, the first wrestler ever to defeat him. Both of them are dominant singles wrestlers who are often portrayed as mentally unstable, but Mox is a [[IWorkAlone loner]] who's known for his cold and taciturn personality, he generally shuns the limelight and enjoys fighting [[BloodKnight for the simple thrill of fighting]], his gimmick plays up his background as a humble working-class street fighter, and he prides himself on fighting fair. By contrast: Kenny is backed by Wrestling/{{the Elite}}, he's known for his flamboyant and quirky public persona, he tends to relish the celebrity status that comes with his success in the ring (often letting it go to his head, which contributed to his [[FaceHeelTurn heel turn]]), and he isn't afraid to use underhanded tactics.
* GameChanger: Pretty much the essence of his [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7xFaEkZaWkA 'Paradigm Shift']] promo. He himself is this as well for [[Wrestling/AllEliteWrestling AEW]] being the first main event star in his prime to 'jump ship' from WWE to AEW and prove that you can be a star without being in the WWE.
* GeniusBruiser: Everyone dismisses Moxley as some brainless thug who only knows how to brawl. Moxley turns out is well versed in submission style wrestling as shown in his match with Brian Cage where he breaks down Cage's body with submission holds attacking the arms. He's also smart enough to read a contract signing before agreeing to it and also add stipulations of his own to it.
* GimmickMatches: Lost the Insanity Pro Wrestling Heavyweight Title belt to Wrestling/JimmyJacobs in a Dog Collar match. Being a CZW Alumni, he's also been in Triple Threat "fans bring the weapons" matches and Ultra Violent three-ways. He defeated Brain Damage in a Dining Death match. There's also an infamous barbed-wire deathmatch in Germany between him and Wrestling/SamiCallihan that left a pair of huge scars on his shoulder from getting tangled in the wire.
* GoodIsNotDumb: While not a traditional babyface Moxley is closer to the hero side of the moral spectrum. He's shown a great deal of ring intelligence but also an [[GenreSavvy abnormally clever awareness of his opponents]] since joining AEW. Especially since becoming champion. He's managed to not only outwrestle his opponents but ''outwit'' them as well. When facing Jericho he managed to bluff an eye injury for months until the reveal would be advantageous for him. It won him the championship at AEW Revolution.[[note]] He'd been fighting with an eyepatch for the entirety of their match and managed to withstand interference from Jericho's Inner Circle pals Hager, Santana & Ortiz only to be attacked with the title belt from Sammy Guevara ''and then'' thumbed in his good eye by Jericho. As Jericho's setting up the Judas Effect for what he thinks is a completely blinded Moxley Mox ducks the attack and then reveal's he's been healed for quiet sometime and had been waiting to exploit Jericho's tendency to underestimate his opponent due to superior numbers. [[/note]] He managed to defeat a much larger and stronger opponent in Brian Cage by relentlessly targeting his arm which Moxley knew had just recently been surgically repaired. He understood that if he couldn't beat Cage via pinfall or submission he could frighten Cage's manager Taz enough to throw in the towel rather than have his investment on the shelf again when he was locked into an armbar in the middle of the ring. He beat MJF who'd relentlessly proclaimed that he was a better in-ring performer than him in their match where the [[FinishingMove paradigm shift]] was banned because he realized MJF planned on cheating first [[note]] MJF's muscle Wardlow had distracted the referee throwing MJF's diamond ring into the ring and when MJF scrambled to grab it to knock Moxley out Moxley caught him red handed. [[/note]] and beating him to the punch by giving him his finisher while the ref had his back turned. Before he was champion Moxley managed to defeat Kenny Omega in their Lights Out unsanctioned match by bringing Omega out of his comfort zone to a situation he's unfamiliar and into a match where Moxley had a clear advantage being more experienced in [[ContinuityNod death matches.]] Moxley certainly knows how to not only defeat an opponent in the ring but beat them mentally as well.
* GoodIsNotNice: Sure Moxley is abrasive and violent. He also never hesitates to say what on his mind and is known to turn on his tag team partner but he holds himself to a code of honor and absolutely despises bullies.
* GoodOldFisticuffs: He reasoned Team Chikara were just a bunch of fan pleasing performers who would fold the moment he started punching them, even Wrestling/{{Jigsaw|Wrestling}} and Wrestling/{{Hallowicked}}, but he singled out Wrestling/MikeQuackenbush, as only wanting to fight Moxley because he didn't want to look like a punk and expressed desire to know what Quackenbush's blood smelled like, figuring he would learn at the same time as Quackenbush himself.
* GrievousBottleyHarm: On the January 8, 2020 episode of ''Dynamite'', Moxley smashed a bottle of "a little bit of the bubbly" over Chris Jericho's head after refusing his offer to join The Inner Circle.
* HearingVoices: He used this--which he suffers with in RealLife--as a facet of his Moxley character.
* HeroicSpirit: While not a hero per se Mox definitely has this. He just '''won't stay down'''. Even when all seems lost, even when he's outnumbered, even when he only [[EyeScream has one eye]] he just won't give up. Being undefeated in singles competition and holding AEW's top champion illustrates this.
* HollywoodToneDeaf: Singing about CZW Cage Of Death with Tan Drake to Rich Swann's guitar, played like the joke that it was.
* HonorBeforeReason: Going into Revolution 2021, Mox recognized that the Exploding Barbed Wire Death match was a trap laid for him by Kenny Omega but because of the way Omega had stolen the AEW World Championship from him he was honorbound to agree to the match so he could end Omega even if it meant the end of his career.
* ILied: He pretended to join Chris Jericho's Inner Circle faction, even accepting the keys to a new car and boasting about how they as a group would take over AEW. He waited until Guevara and Hager left the ring before telling Jericho he was lying and that the group is dumb before laying them all out one-by-one[[note]]well, he laid out Jericho and Guevara, but fled from Hager when [[GrievousBottleyHarm the bottle he tried to hit him with]] [[SpecialEffectsFailure shattered in his hand]][[/note]]. He still took the keys to the car as he walked out through the crowd, by the way.
* IWorkAlone: So far seems to be his character in [[Wrestling/AllEliteWrestling AEW]] Mox doesn't seem to have any interest in teaming or relying on anyone else on the roster besides himself, just ask [[Wrestling/AdrianNeville PAC]]. Interesting because AEW is in the midst of a turf war between [[Wrestling/TheElite The Elite]] and [[Wrestling/InnerCircle The Inner Circle]] warring for control over Dynamite and the top Championship while Mox himself is the top ranked [[https://twitter.com/AEWrestling/status/1205597549480022016 single's competetitor]] and shows no allegiance to either party.
** Pushed even further as time went on because Mox was the one to eventually win the title off of Jericho and has individually beaten [[DefeatingtheUndefeatable every member of the Inner Circle]] despite pretty much going against them alone. Time will tell if this factors into future feuds against Wrestling/TheElite.
** Subverted after he mends his friendship with his old buddy Wrestling/EddieKingston with the two of them becoming BashBrothers. They've also teamed up with Wrestling/DarbyAllin and his mentor Wrestling/{{Sting}} on occasion, simply because they like young Darby and because even hardcore ass-kickers like them [[{{Squee}} can't help but idolise]] Sting.
* {{Hunk}}: As he gets older, Moxley becomes this with shorter hair, beard, and a more muscular body frame.
* IWasBeatenByAGirl: [[TeenGenius A literal case]] and a ''rookie'' girl at that when La Amazona knocked him out of the International Wrestling Association's cruiser weight title tournament.
* InTheHood: He was often shown wearing hoodies during his days as Jon Moxley.
* ItWillNeverCatchOn: Thought taking a Sawzall to the face was too phony for CZW's Tournament of Death 8 as the Sawzall was rendered harmless beforehand. The blade's motion moving the blood already on his face coupled with his selling made it one of the more infamous spots of the event and of Moxley's pre-WWE career.
* JerkWithAHeartOfGold: Is very brash and outspoken, but acknowledges these faults and holds himself to his own code of honor. He also has a strong distaste for bullies and cowards, namely Chris Jericho and the Inner Circle. Seemingly backed up when he steps in to stop the Inner Circle's relentless assault on Darby Allin.
* ManBitesMan: He will often bite his opponents during his matches.
* MrFanservice: Jon Moxley was promoted this way for ''years''. That's right, the self-important braggart prone to pulling his hair and scratching at invisible objects is totally accessible! Astonishingly it often worked.
* NoHoldsBarredBeatdown: Most of his matches tends to be this, taken up to eleven with his match against Minoru Suzuki, Tomohiro Ishii, and Lance Archer.
** His lights Out match with Wrestling/KennyOmega is this from beginning to the end.
* ObfuscatingDisability: After he rejected Wrestling/ChrisJericho's invitation to join the Wrestling/InnerCircle, the Circle attacked him and Chris Jericho [[EyeScream stabbed him in the eye with a spike]]. Moxley would wear an eyepatch over this eye for weeks as he secured his position as #1 contender to Jericho's World Championship, but at ''AEW Revolution,'' at the climax of the championship match, Jericho blinded Moxley in his remaining eye, only for Moxley to pull the eyepatch off an reveal to a shocked Jericho that he wasn't as blind as Jericho thought.
* OlderAndWiser: Seems to view himself as this. Being on a roster with a younger average age than the last place he worked probably emphasizes this. He definitely considers himself as being more mellowed out with age than anything else especially when he was preparing to [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fgMKybtC3PE face Darby Allin for the AEW championship.]]
--> '''Moxley''': In an ironic twist I have become the advocate. I have become the voice of reason. I have become the person concerned for somebody's health.
* OneManArmy: Where the Elite has trouble facing foes like the Inner Circle or The Dark Order Moxley was able to beat them both. By himself. And his list of enemies he's defeated just keeps growing.
* OhCrap: Yes, even a badass like Mox is not immune to this. After his ''Wrestle Kingdom 14'' match with Juice Robinson, Moxley takes his title and prepares to leave... until a very familiar music plays. The crowd went ''nuts'' and Jon Moxley realizes that he had just got the attention of a brutal, sadistic NJPW veteran: ''Wrestling/MinoruSuzuki''. And while he did manage to triumph over the most-feared man in Japanese wrestling in a ''savage'' encounter, the same thing happened ''again'' after Moxley defeated Wrestling/SatoshiKojima at ''All Out 2021'', with Suzuki coming out, smiling and laughing as he confronted the man he'd [[BloodKnight had so much "fun" with last time]] like an old friend. Moxley's eyes almost bugged out of his head when he realised what his open challenge to the NJPW locker room (which he'd previously thought Kojima had been the only man to accept) had brought to his door.
* OOCIsSeriousBusiness: Moxley rarely shows fear to any opponents he face, no matter how big, or how dangerous they are. But when he realizes that a psychotic [[Wrestling/MinoruSuzuki veteran]] is coming for him with a ''terrifying'' SlasherSmile. He briefly shows a ''very'' rare OhCrap reaction.
** In his promo before their match, Moxley admits that he ''does'' fear Suzuki, but Moxley being Moxley, he chose to face his fears rather than run away from it.
* PayEvilUntoEvil: Reason why he attacked [[Wrestling/InnerCircle Inner Circle]] member Santana by [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jigSqx0xlss stabbing him]] in the [[EyeScream eye as]] [[Wrestling/ChrisJericho Chris Jericho]] had done to him weeks before.[[note]] doing so with the [[CoolCar Ford GT]] car key that he stole from Jericho after proclaiming he wouldn't join the Inner Circle as well.[[/note]]In Moxley's own words:
--> '''Moxley''': An eye for an eye!
* PerkyFemaleMinion: As Mox became more and more lost, Wrestling/ChristinaVonEerie and Trina Michaels brought some much welcome pep to his segments.
* PowerCopying: Ever since he defeated Minoru Suzuki, Moxley has added the Gotch Piledriver as one of his signature moves.
* PowerStable
** Moxley's own "Crew" with Pepper Parks, Wrestling/SamiCallihan, Dick Rick and Eric Darkside in Heartland Wrestling.
** KAMIKAZE USA with Akira Tozawa, Wrestling/GranAkuma, SHINGO and YAMATO in Dragon Gate.
* PrecisionFStrike: After winning the AEW World Championship, Moxley got one in, when the sound guys thought he had finished after a long pause to soak in a reaction and hit his music prematurely:
-->'''Moxley''': I'm gonna--''[music hits]''-- 'ey, what the fuck?!
* ReallyGetsAround: Mox bragged pretty constantly about being this.
* RedBaron: Known as '''The Death Rider''' in New Japan Pro Wrestling.
* RedOniBlueOni: The passionate, wild and intense Red to [[ArchEnemy Kenny Omega's]] strategic and cold Blue whenever they faced off.
* TheRival:
** Even though Pepper Parks was part of Mox's crew, they still fought over the HPW Heavyweight Title belt. Mox and tag team partner King Vu were also frequent opponents in Heartland.
** Has consistently opposed Jimmy Jacobs wherever the two should meet up.
** Slash Venom(otherwise known as Flash Flanagan) and La Zona Ilegal (Jumping Jeff Jeffrey [[TagTeam y]] Chicano) in IWA Puerto Rico.
* ShoutOut: Using "Wild Thing" by Music/XUSBand as his theme in AEW is a double homage: The original version by The Troggs is known in wrestling for being the entrance music of [[Wrestling/{{FMW}} Atsushi Onita]], while the cover by X is specifically known as Ricky Vaughn's entrance theme in ''Film/MajorLeague''.
* SirSwearsALot: If he is allowed to swear then by Sonny Jim, he will. See: His match with Wrestling/MinoruSuzuki in Wrestling/NewJapanProWrestling on February 9th, 2020. Combines with ClusterFBomb.
* SnarkToSnarkCombat: He's starting to show shades of this against MJF. Best shown at their contract signing where he lets Freidman talk for the majority of their time speaking up after one insult too many responding with a zinger of his own.
--->'''MJF''': I'd appreciate if you practiced social distancing. Kind of like your hairline, Jon.
---> '''Moxley''': Don't worry dude you'll get there one day. You just gotta hit puberty first.
* TheSocialDarwinist: Professional wrestling is about survival of the fittest and Moxley will light your very CZW arenas ablaze till they're all nothing but ash if that's what it takes to prove it!
* SonOfAWhore: Something Jimmy Jacobs is not afraid to remind Jon Moxley of.
* SuddenlyShouting: His famed line from his 2010 promo against Wrestling/BryanDanielson while still wrestling as Jon Moxley.
--> '''Moxley''': What I want…is '''BRYAN DANIELSON'S HEAD'''…''on a'' '''''STICK.'''''
* TagTeam:
** Necessary Roughness with Jimmy Turner in the Heartland Wrestling Association.
** The Heartland Foundation with Ric Byrne.
** Royal Violence with King Vu, also in Heartland.
** Briefly teamed up with Brian Kendrick in Dragon Gate USA but would quickly be dropped by [[Wrestling/LondonAndKendrick Kendrick, so he could reunite with Paul London.]]
** Switchblade Conspiracy with Wrestling/SamiCallihan.
** British Militia with Hade Vansen in the Puerto Rican branch of the International Wrestling Association
* TakeOverTheWorld: Boasted to Team Wrestling/{{Chikara}} while he was in Dragon Gate USA (presumbably he expected the rest of KAMIKAZE to help him somehow). No, this was not some elaborate Chikara plot, Mox was being driven (more) insane by Jimmy Jacobs.
* TakeThat: One of the more subtle shots Jon Moxley took at his WWE run after his release came at the climax of his brutal debut match in NJPW against Juice Robinson where he finally managed to connect with his WWE finisher Dirty Deeds (now only called the double-arm DDT), only for Robinson to kick out. Instead of being shocked, Moxley only [[SlasherSmile grinned]] as if to say "Oh, that was too ''weaksauce'' for you, huh?" before pulling Juice up and hitting him with his devastating ''new'' finisher, Death Rider (basically Dirty Deeds ''elevated''). Before long this became a staple of his in long drawn-out intense matches, with Death Rider securing the wins that Dirty Deeds can't.
* TechnicianVSPerformer: Highlighted pretty well in his feud with Kenny Omega. With Omega as the universally acclaimed wrestling savant Technician considered better in ring-wise than Moxley. And Moxley as the emotionally charged passion driven Performer who is consistently seen as Omega's superior on the mic bringing more eyes to the product.
* TookALevelInBadass: Ever since AEW's TV debut he's been an absolute beast. Tearing through every opponent he's faced, going against competitors that outnumber him, overpower him, have more experience or are just much bigger and coming out on top. Since becoming AEW champion he's shown a much smarter side not being just a brawler but also a very knowledgable technician focusing on submissions and mat wrestling.[[note]] This could come from him learning a [[ContinuityNod thing or two]] during his time in [[Wrestling/NewJapanProWrestling New Japan]] as well as him having a more technical style in {{Wrestling/CZW}}. And he's said to been training in MMA for a number of years. [[/note]]
* {{Troll}}: Tricking Chris Jericho and [[Wrestling/InnerCircle The Inner Circle]] into believing he would join them. Dramatically unzipping his hoodie to reveal he was wearing an Inner Circle shirt and spending around 10 minutes dicking around drinking and celebrating with [[MemeticMutation a lil' bit of the bubbly]] only to stop the festivities abruptly smashing one of the bottles over Jericho's head and leaving through the crowd. He could have easily just said no.
--> '''Moxley''': Chris my friend... I was just kiddin'.
** Bonus points for Moxley because Jericho had promised him a [[CoolCar Ford GT]] worth $750,000 if he joined them and he specifically asked for the keys from Chris while they were celebrating. When he escapes into the crowd he taunts the Inner Circle with the keys in hand. So, Moxley doesn't join the Inner Circle and stole a very expensive car right out from under Jericho.
* VersusTitle: ''EVOLVE 7: [[Wrestling/AustinAries Aries]] vs. Moxley''.
* VillainOfAnotherStory: Jon Moxley got to be a referee at some events where his girlfriend was wrestling. Pure cronyism, but a referee Mox is a better behaved Mox.
* WhamShot: AEW's first PPV ''Double or Nothing'' 2019 ended featuring one. Wrestling/ChrisJericho is gloating on the ring after defeating Wrestling/KennyOmega, demanding a thank you from the fans, before the camera cuts to [[Wrestling/DeanAmbrose a very familiar, very lunatic man]] pacing through the crowd and heading to the ring (a man who had become famous in another company for [[Wrestling/TheShield entering the ring through the crowd]], no less).
* WeUsedToBeFriends: With Eddie Kingston, going back to their younger days in the indies before Mox left for WWE. They reunited again in AEW and fought for Moxley's title. Their intentions are very opposite though, While Moxley is pissed about Eddie's attitude, he hopes that he could bring his old friend back, Eddie on the other hand wants Moxley to pay for leaving him behind. They eventually mended their friendship when Eddie risked his life to save Mox from being blown up by Wrestling/KennyOmega's exploding ring at ''Revolution 2021'' (although [[SpecialEffectsFailure the ring didn't explode]], the thought was enough) and they teamed up again [[BashBrothers to beat people up together]].
* WorthyOpponent: Anyone who can give Moxley a good enough fight without having to stoop to dirty cowardly cheating will earn his respect. Notably, he [[FlippingTheBird flipped off]] Wrestling/SatoshiKojima when he tried to offer Moxley a friendly handshake before their match at ''All Out 2021,'' but after he'd pinned Kojima following a stiff-as-hell slugfest he knelt beside his opponent's prone body and bowed politely to him. For Moxley, respect comes ''after'' the fight.
* WouldHitAGirl
** As Jon Moxley, there were very few backstage interviewers for CZW and IPW whom he didn't manhandle.
** His glee for beating on the Lovely Lacey kicked off his feud with Wrestling/TommyDreamer in Dragon Gate USA. Then there was Jon Moxley's (in)famous best five with Traci Brooks. At first the most eventful thing were Mox's comments making it [[FoeRomanceSubtext sound like something else entirely was going on]] but then he got pinned and this trope came into play.
** The Switchblade conspiracy targeted [[Wrestling/HunterJohnston Delirious's]] TranslatorBuddy Wrestling/DaizeeHaze in the International Wrestling Cartel.
* YouGottaHaveBlueHair: He had [[RealMenWearPink pink]] hair for a time in the Heartland Wrestling Association.
* YouRemindMeOfX: "Myself" in the case of Darby Allin, his favourite WorthyOpponent and off-and-on ally in AEW. Specifically "You remind me of myself when I was younger ''and that's why I'm worried about you!"''
[[/folder]]

[[folder: As Dean Ambrose]]
* AlwaysSomeoneBetter: Despite his poor track record with feuds, Dean was this to Wrestling/KevinOwens, who has yet to beat him clean or otherwise in a one-on-one match.
** His Shield mates were this in many ways. Both having much more notable accomplishments (such as beating Wrestling/TripleH and Wrestling/BrockLesnar") and even in the Raw vs Smackdown Survivor Series match where Roman and Seth stood opposite Dean the crowd gave Dean no reaction whatsoever while Seth and Roman were more positively reacted to.
* AnguishedDeclarationOfLove: During a handicap match against Seth Rollins and Kane on the August 1, 2014, edition of ''[=SmackDown=]'', Ambrose dropped this heartbreaking Star-Wars inspired line just before beating the hell out of Rollins.
-->'''Dean:''' I loved you, Seth! You were my brother!
* ArchEnemy:
** Wrestling/SethRollins, going back to their FCW days (in fact, Rollins was Ambrose's ''first'' enemy in FCW). They apparently mended their fences long enough to form The Shield and become "brothers," but their rivalry has re-ignited, twice as bitter as before, with Seth's betrayal. Ambrose is now obsessed with beating the tar out of Rollins. The mere sight of him seems to throw Ambrose into a mindless rage. After Ambrose finally got his revenge at ''Money in the Bank 2016'', things cooled off a bit, and a year later the two buried the ratchet and reunited as a tag team (though not until after ''weeks'' of bickering), winning the RAW tag titles together, which eventually led to reuniting The Shield in full. Unfortunately, Ambrose got injured a few months after, and when he returned his relationship with Rollins began to fray again, culminating in ''him'' betraying ''Rollins'' the same night Reigns was forced to go on hiatus to battle his leukemia, ending The Shield once more (and quite possibly forever), and restarting their rivalry once again.
** [[Wrestling/KevinSteen Kevin Owens]] managed this distinction with only two months of serious feuding. Unlike Rollins, there's NothingPersonal about it besides the Intercontinental Championship; the two just plain don't like each other.
** Wrestling/AJStyles is shaping up to be this as well, in a half-serious half-SitcomArchNemesis sort of way. Confirmed on the 11/1/16 edition of ''Talking Smack'', in which Dean compared himself and AJ to [[WesternAnimation/FamilyGuy Peter Griffin and the chicken]].
** Wrestling/TheMiz from Wrestling/WWESmackDown until July 2017. Their wives were even involved at one point. After that point, Miz decided to antagonize Rollins and Reigns as well, which led to the Shield finally reuniting.
* AxCrazy:
** [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1b-q0cAkboc His rematch]] with Wrestling/WilliamRegal in FCW has him beating Regal so badly that Regal's bleeding and confused, and ''the entire locker room'' has to come out and restrain him, and even then he breaks away and tries to go back for more. Within the WWE scope of affairs, this one actually warranted him being "banned" from the new NXT both in and out of kayfabe: in-universe, it was due to the brutality making him unsafe for the rest of the developmental roster to work with, in reality, it was because [[ToughActToFollow creative struggled to find a proper way to follow up on it with the transition to NXT]].
** Until, of course, enter Wrestling/TheShield. Early it seemed to have been reined in somewhat since hitting the main roster as part of the stable, but even then he still showed signs of being off his rocker. Ambrose's eccentric tendencies when The Shield was interviewed (ask Wrestling/MichaelCole) or in match situations made clear that he was by far the most violent, erratic member of the trio. His mannerisms only add to it: he constantly twitches, flinches and seems to talk to himself when he's not on the mic, like he's just waiting an excuse to fly off the handle and beat the hell out of someone. He's licked his hand before slapping Sheamus; actually stroked Wrestling/RandyOrton (who is no stranger to AxCrazy behavior himself) on the shoulder, basically ''petting him as if he was his pet'', in a backstage vignette, and at least one occasion, ''foamed at the mouth'' during a match.
** During the promo where The Shield calls out the Wyatt Family, Rollins and Reigns actually do most of the talking, mainly because Ambrose is completely flipping out in the background to the point where he can't put sentences together.
** The day after Seth Rollins turned on the group, [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=exDkCIZHzXg Ambrose went into excruciating detail about how he would rearrange Rollins' face]]. After twitching the entire time, he smacked the mic out of his own hand, only for Reigns to give him a smile (almost in a friendly, "How the hell am I supposed to follow that?" manner), and Ambrose to gingerly bend over and hand Reigns the mic.
-->'''Ambrose:''' When I get the opportunity to rearrange your face, which I will... your nose isn't gonna be over here anymore, it's gonna be over here... ''[slides finger from his own nose towards his ear]''... by your ear. I say "ear" because you're only gonna have one left. I'm gonna rip your dirty, stinkin' hair out by the roots, and I'm gonna stuff it in your mouth-- there'll be plenty of room ''where your teeth used to be.''\\
Seth Rollins... ''[begins to hyperventilate and beats his own chest while smiling maniacally]''... [[SarcasmMode my brother]]... we want you to stand out here in front of the whole world, and we want them to hear Triple H's words comin' out of your mouth. We're gonna listen to every word of it, '''''[[PreAssKickingOneLiner and then we're gonna beat the hell out of you.]]''''' ''[slaps microphone out of own hands emphatically]''
* BadassBoast: "Only three things survive a nuclear explosion: Twinkies, cockroaches, and Dean Ambroses."
* BashBrothers:
** With Roman Reigns, especially after the breakup of The Shield.
** When he and Seth Rollins finally buried the hatchet and became a team again, it was like they hadn't lost a beat.
* BeatThemAtTheirOwnGame: Attempted to make John Cena tap out to the STF, and at ''No Mercy'' 2016, did the same to AJ Styles using the Calf Crusher.
* BerserkButton:
** Wrestling/BrayWyatt has found out (or, to be honest, already knew) that bringing up Ambrose's erstwhile father (who's in prison and was apparently either neglectful of Ambrose as a child, or simply absent from his adolescent years) is the most volatile of any berserk buttons that Ambrose has. The look on Ambrose's face whenever the subject arises, which can only be described as one of murderous fury and [[WoobieDestroyerOfWorlds child-like sadness]], proves just how dangerous pushing this particular button can be.
** Wyatt lampshaded the trope on November 14, 2014, during an episode of [=SmackDown=]:
--->'''Bray Wyatt:''' Now Dean, I don't know if you realize this, but... how predictable ARE you?! I mean... every time I want to see your shining face, all I have to do is push your buttons or pull the strings, and out you come, fueled with rage!
** Up until Wyatt showed up, Wrestling/SethRollins (post-Shield betrayal) was a ''walking'' berserk button for Ambrose, to the point where the only way for Rollins to get through a week of television shows without Ambrose trying to beat the shit out of him was for Ambrose to [[RealLifeWritesThePlot go shoot a mov-]]er... get his head stomped through cinder blocks.
** [[NobodyCallsMeChicken Nobody Calls Me "Nerd"!]]. [[Wrestling/SethRollins Seth]] [[https://youtu.be/IpMQNlu6a88?t=5m46s tried to warn them!]]
** Anyone who messes with Renee Young is going to answer to him. One episode of ''Total Divas'' has Dean chasing a man who stole Renee's hat. Unfortunately, this is used by Wrestling/BobbyLashley against him on his final apperance on Raw.
* BestServedCold: Wrestling/SethRollins betrayed the Shield back in 2014 by planting a steel chair into Ambrose's back - a fact that Ambrose never quite got over. For a while, the mere sight of Rollins would drive Ambrose into a blind fury. As the months passed, though, he learned to control and harness some of that anger, probably so much so that Rollins didn't think Ambrose was a serious threat to him anymore (especially after Bray Wyatt interjected himself into Ambrose's sight). When Rollins spent half a year in rehab for his injured knee, his first thought was to come back, go after Reigns, and recapture the title he never lost. He did; and it was only in that moment, when Rollins had achieved a goal he'd been going after for months, that Ambrose, fresh off a Money in the Bank briefcase win, cashed in for the title and pulled it all out from under him. And unlike Seth's act of treason, Dean told everyone ahead of time this was coming.
* BewareTheNiceOnes: On a meta-level, Dean Ambrose was one of the hardest working team players on WWE’s roster. But after being loaded down with too many bad gimmicks, written promos stifling his creativity, a botched micro-managing of his long awaited heel turn, and some downright depressing scripted insults towards one of his true best friends, Dean Ambrose left... and Jon Moxley returned to set the wrestling world on fire in AEW and NJPW, and bury the WWE’s creative process on Wrestling/ChrisJericho's podcast.
* BitingTheHandHumor: Anytime he acknowledges the "Lunatic Fringe" handle and [[AxCrazy general reputation]] he's been given, {{lampshad|eHanging}}ing the fact that they mainly wear out "crazy" synonyms on him in order to sell T-shirts.
* BitterSweetEnding: How his WWE career ended. His heel turn flop bad, he lost a couple of matches, and his last match ended in him getting put through a table by Bobby Lashley, who had insulted his wife before the match. However, he gets to have a proper goodbye at the end of the show accompanied by his Shield brothers, Seth Rollins and Roman Reigns, and seems to be on good terms with most of the guys (except for Vince) in WWE.
* BoisterousWeakling[=/=]BigBadWannabe: Was starting to become this towards the tail end of 2013. After Rollins and Reigns lost the WWE Tag Team Championship, Ambrose started boasting of being the only member left with a championship (the WWE United States Championship), but from then on Ambrose was frequently the one pinned during The Shield's matches.
* BrassBalls: There are few who would be more than happy to stare down Wrestling/BrockLesnar in the middle of the ring, and Dean Ambrose is one of them. On the February 22, 2016 edition of ''Raw'', Ambrose showed that he might have the biggest pair in the company. After Lesnar attempted to hospitalize him before the show started in retaliation for (arguably) costing him the triple threat number one contender's match the night before at ''[[Wrestling/WWEFastlane Fastlane 2016]]'', Ambrose hijacked an ambulance ([[RunningGag again]]) and drove back to the arena to confront Lesnar. Once there, he tore off his neck brace and quite literally dragged his body towards the ring, where Wrestling/PaulHeyman and Lesnar had just cut a promo. The [[RedBaron god of violent retribution]], perhaps feeling the slightest tinge of mercy, simply stepped on Ambrose's head and over his body towards the ramp, only to turn back when Ambrose told him to '''''kiss his ass''''' and challenged to a No Holds Barred Street Fight at ''Wrestling/WrestleMania''. Lesnar, perhaps a bit impressed, promptly gave him an F-5 and told Heyman to tell Ambrose that his challenge had just been accepted. Ambrose's reaction? To ''smile''.
* BringIt: In his feud against Brock Lesnar going into ''[[Wrestling/WWEFastlane Fastlane 2016]]'', he asked Brock Lesnar to be the monster he is: to beat him so bad that he can't stand up. On the February 8, 2016 episode of ''Raw'', Brock beat him pillar to post with suplexes and F5s…and he still got up laughing!
* BrokenPedestal: This was mutual with Wrestling/TheShield, post-FaceHeelTurn in 2018. From the perspective of his once-brothers, he was the team's heart in their reunion run, as it was his continued solidarity with Reigns and his forgiveness of Rollins that brought the team back together. When he fell to injury in 2017, they defended him from insults by both ally and foe alike, and refused to accept any replacements. For his part, if his ''WWE Chronicle'' edition is any indication, he believes that Seth never cared to check on him during a time in which he was dealing with a potentially life-threatening medical issue related to his shoulder injury, until such a time as he knew Dean would be back and ready to go so he could call him back to action.[[note]]To hear Rollins' perspective, he did try to call Ambrose over his recovery time but Dean never answered the phone.[[/note]] Weeks after his turn he claimed that he once believed The Shield made him strong, but now came to see backing up Rollins and Reigns as a burden holding him back, and also accuses the three of them of having been "rotten to the core" behind the scenes.
* ButtMonkey: If something bad is going to happen to a member of Wrestling/TheShield, more often than not it's going to happen to him. Even his post-Shield career isn't great when compared to Roman and Seth. Whereas the two are immediately thrown into the main event card, Dean spends nearly a year and a half fightning meaningless feuds that he eventually lost and was stuck as a midcard most of the time. While he eventually wins the WWE Championship, he only held it for three months before losing both the championship and his status as a main eventer. From then on, Dean's WWE run took a big step down, from being put into ''[=WrestleMania=] XXXIII's'' pre-show to losing all his single feuds. Even a FaceHeel turn did nothing to his character and he eventually leaves the company in 2019.
* CainAndAbel: Him and Seth Rollins were this for nearly the entire time they worked in the same company. Though they weren't really considered brothers until The Shield came onto the scene. They always ended up at odds with each other eventually switching between each brother role depending on which time they were feuding. After the initial shield split Dean was the Abel then after he snapped in 2018 he was the Cain.
* CallBack: Prior to a Fatal 4-Way Match for WWE Payback 2015, He, Roman Reigns and Seth Rollins were inovlved in a backstage brawl, ending with Seth running away without the WWE Championship. Dean picked it up from the ground, placing it on Roman's shoulder and said, "Don't worry. I'll take it on Sunday". Flash forward a year later prior to Triple-Threat Match at Battleground between him (current WWE champion), Reigns and Rollins, Ambrose confronts Reigns at a Live Event as the latter is holding the championship belt before he tossed it back to him, silently emulating the same words he was told.
* CharacterDevelopment: Ambrose has grown significantly from his debut. Initially he started out as the hotheaded [[WildCard Wild Card]] member of The Shield who frequently went overboard with beatdowns against the Shield’s enemies and showed hints of being the one to turn against his teammates. Becoming jealous of Reigns and fueled by revenge towards Rollins. But overtime and on his own after The Shield’s dissolution he learned that that behavior doesn’t often lead to him [[SanityHasAdvantages winning matches]]. And he grew into a more collected and trusting person able to depart the company and parting ways with Rollins’ and Reign’s as friends.

** Never was this more apparent than his storyline between [[Wrestling/SethRollins Seth Rollins]] in 2017 where he ended up learning to forgive his former teammate. When Rollins sold out The Shield in 2014 Ambrose became obsessed with [[RoaringRampageOfRevenge getting revenge against]] Seth for what he did never missing an opportunity to beat the hell out of him. But by 2017 he’d mellowed out significantly getting his revenge against Rollins [[Wrestling/MoneyintheBank by winning the WWE Championship from him]] and finding his own way after getting drafted to Smackdown. When he returned to RAW and found himself face to face with Rollins again who’d undergone [[CharacterDevelopment character development]] of his own and apologized to him for past actions Ambrose forgave Rollins’ for what he’d done. Rollins even going as far as offering to take a steel chair to the back just as Seth had done to him all those years ago and Ambrose declined. Something that never would have happened 3 years ago.

** Also reflected in his relationship with [[Wrestling/RomanReigns Roman Reigns]] though more understated. During the original [[Wrestling/TheShield Shield]] run around 2013 and going into early 2014 Ambrose started to become insecure due to Reign’s standout performances. Being the sole survivor for one example at [[Wrestling/SurvivorSeries Survivor Series 2013]]. He became jealous and increasingly hot headed even attempting to throw Reigns out during the [[Wrestling/RoyalRumble Royal Rumble 2014]] to only get thrown out himself. But their relationship changed when Rollins’ turning against them instead of severing their bond it strengthened it and they became closer no longer under the pressure of competing against each other and at the [[Wrestling/RoyalRumble Royal Rumble 2015]] one year later in the final four against Big Show and Kane with a [[HeadbuttofLove Headbutt of Love]] Ambrose fought together with Reigns not even attempting to toss Reigns out. Their relationship remained strong all throughout Ambrose’s tenure in WWE and they continued to trust each other completely, never feuding. He’s come a long way from the guy everyone thought would be the first one to turn on The Shield.

* CombatPragmatist: And not in the heroic "defensive" sort of way, either. Irritate him enough ([[HairTriggerTemper doesn't take much]]) and he will willingly go outside of the rules to cause you as much pain as possible. He's lost a match or two by DQ by going to town on people with chairs at random.
** Other than that, Ambrose's gameplan during a given match seems to be "run full speed at anyone not on my side and hit him repeatedly." As [[Wrestling/JohnBradshawLayfield JBL]] constantly mentions regarding his standing elbow drop [[IHaveTheHighGround from the top rope]], Ambrose doesn't care if what he does is a traditional wrestling move or not, as long as it hurts his opponent.
* ConfusionFu: Seems to be a character point with Ambrose. While his other former Shield brethren had pretty clearly defined functions and styles in the ring (Seth as the high-flying technician and Roman being the muscle), Ambrose is a lot more random, and it shows up in his ring psychology. Unlike other well-promoted faces, he doesn't seem to have a standard FiveMovesOfDoom. His hard-hitting Pendulum Clothesline is set up by a rebound off the ropes, which probably happens about twenty times in your standard wrestling match. His "Dirty Deeds" Double Arm DDT doesn't seem to have a tell until he actually locks the arms. It's often said on match commentary that opponents don't know what Ambrose is going to do next primarily because ''Ambrose himself'' doesn't know what he's going to do next.
** Extends to his high-flying moves as well. While the suicide dive can be hit from out of nowhere, it's also equally as possible that he'll go for the dive, stop before he hits the ropes, and then plancha his opponent instead. Or do a turnbuckle-assisted elbow drop. Or simply roll out of the ring and simply punch his opponent in the face faster than his opponent can counter.
* CoolLoser: Ambrose is no doubt one of the more entertaining, charismatic superstars on the roster and has put on some hard-hitting, entertaining matches with the likes of Wrestling/SethRollins, Wrestling/WadeBarrett and Wrestling/BrayWyatt... but he didn't win a single PPV match or come out on top of a feud in between the Shield dissolved in June 2014 (or, if you count his time as a singles competitor in The Shield, since ''Night of Champions 2013'', where he beat Wrestling/KofiKingston to retain his United States Championship) until ''Extreme Rules 2015'' in April 2015, where he defeated Luke Harper in a Chicago Street Fight. Granted, a few of those PPV losses have been due to being screwed at the end somehow. Only Wyatt really ended their feud clean. Finally, officially, subverted at ''TLC: Tables, Ladders, and Chairs 2015'' when he won the Intercontinental Championship from one [[Wrestling/KevinSteen Kevin Owens]], his first championship since he held the United States Championship while still in the Shield. This was further subverted after he won the WWE Championship and pinned both Roman and Seth clean in the space of the week to retain the title and win the blowoff to Wrestling/TheShield break-up storyline that had been going on for two years.
* {{Corpsing}}: On the January 6, 2014 edition of ''Raw'', if one looks closely, they can see Ambrose cracking a smile when [[Wrestling/JakeRoberts Jake "the Snake" Roberts]] has his snake lying on his (Ambrose's) "unconscious" body. Either the licks were ticklish, or [[TheKnightsWhoSaySquee Mr. Good]] was trying to quell his inner fanboy.
* CueTheFlyingPigs: His title win was this to some, since after so many near-misses, many were convinced that the company would never pull the trigger on him.
** It was safe to say that ''no one'' expected Ambrose and Rollins to ever willingly team up again, much less reconcile, win the Tag Team Championships, and re-form the Shield with Reigns.
* CutShort: The second Shield run and his tag team with Rollins, as of 12/18. Ambrose's elbow injury acquired at TLC finally caught up with him, and he was pulled from the show and sent for surgery. He ended up being out for nine months.
* ADayInTheLimelight: Ambrose had this for some time after the Shield's debut (he was the first opponent Wrestling/TheUndertaker faced in singles competition on ''[=SmackDown=]'' since his part-timer status).
* DeadpanSnarker: If he's in a relatively stable state of mind, he has a tendency to make sarcastic jabs at anyone and everyone.
* DefiantToTheEnd:
** As a {{face}}, he plays this trope straight often. At one point, he caught a serious beatdown at the hands of Wrestling/SethRollins, {{Wrestling/Kane}} and Wrestling/RandyOrton, and when the assault was seemingly over, he snarled at the three "Is that all you got?", despite the fact that he couldn't stand on his own. The smart remark got Ambrose [[FinishingMove Curbstomped]] by Rollins for his trouble.
** In a match against Cesaro on ''[=SmackDown=]'', the latter mercilessly attacked Ambrose's severely injured shoulder with a kendo stick, and while writhing in pain and gritting his teeth, all Ambrose had to say was "We can do this all night, Cesaro!" Ambrose, in his face incarnation, can sometimes give even [[Wrestling/MickFoley Mankind]] a run for his money in the "More pride/guts than brains" department.
* {{Determinator}}: As part of his AxCrazy personality, it's become apparent that he has an absurdly high pain threshold and a refusal to stay down while he's still conscious. When Wrestling/TheAuthority's three-man squad cornered him in a boiler room, it took them several minutes to beat him down, and it was only after a Chokeslam from Wrestling/{{Kane}} ''and'' a Curb Stomp from Wrestling/SethRollins that Ambrose finally lost consciousness. To say nothing of the fact that Ambrose has sold an injured shoulder for well over a month and keeps wrestling in matches anyway.
** At Hell In A Cell, he took a near ''20-foot drop'' off the cell through a table, along with Wrestling/SethRollins, only to practically ''tear apart the stretcher'' he was being wheeled out on to get at Rollins and throw him in the cell to finish their business once and for all. ''That'' is why Wrestling/MickFoley, who knows all too well about going beyond his limits (ESPECIALLY in the Cell), picked Ambrose to come out on top at HIAC.
** The 2016 Wrestling/RoyalRumble. Ambrose wrestled [[Wrestling/KevinSteen Kevin Owens]] in a Last Man Standing match for the Intercontinental Championship to open up the PPV, where both men went through absolute hell. After Ambrose retained by pushing Owens off the turnbuckle and into two stables stacked on top of each other, both men proceeded to pull double duty and enter the Rumble later that night. Ambrose entered two-thirds of the way through and made it to the final two, outlasting several major stars such as Wrestling/BrockLesnar, Wrestling/ChrisJericho, Wrestling/TheWyattFamily, and even his best friend Wrestling/RomanReigns. He was also ''very'' close to throwing out Wrestling/TripleH and winning the whole thing altogether if he hadn't been fatigued by the Last Man Standing match. His stellar performance got him (and Owens) universally declared as MVP of the night.
* DoNotTauntCthulhu: Regardless of how much of a bad idea it is, him calling out Brock Lesnar usually ends with him getting suplexed and/or F5ed.
* DramaPreservingHandicap: Ambrose went on a losing streak during his initial feud with Seth Rollins. This was mostly due to the fact that he was selling a shoulder injury from the week after Rollins betrayed the Shield all the way through the night Rollins curb-stomped him out of comission for a month. That shoulder injury was pretty much the [[WorfHadTheFlu only reason]] Ambrose would ever lose to Rollins, who was by that point a cowardly heel who never hesitated to run a way from a fair fight.
* DudeWheresMyRespect: In the weeks leading up to his Heel turn on October 2018, Dean complained that since the Shield reformation, its always been about Rollins and Reigns. He on the other hand has no single titles, being out of action for almost a year and during this period, Rollins replaced him with Jason Jordan as his tag team partner.
* EarlyBirdCameo: Ambrose makes a quick cameo in Wrestling/CMPunk's DVD ''Best in the World'', backstage and talking with Punk.
* EarnYourHappyEnding: The ending of ''Money in the Bank 2016''. After a heartbreaking betrayal, seemingly endless hardships, and years of effort, Dean Ambrose ''finally'' became WWE Champion. Nobody in the company deserved it more than him, and the fans loved every moment of it.
* {{Expy}}:
** Ambrose has quite a bit of Creator/HeathLedger's [[Film/TheDarkKnight Joker]] in his mannerisms and voice. The Joker comparisons even been made ''in-universe'' by way of an offhand comment from Wrestling/JohnCena.
** He's also drawn more than a few comparisons (especially with his promo style) to Wrestling/BrianPillman or even a young Wrestling/RoddyPiper. Regarding this, Ambrose has said that he's watched so much wrestling in his life, from everywhere and from every time period, that more often than not, he has no realization that he's seemingly channeling any one wrestler. So he's gotten comparisons to, besides the aforementioned Pillman and Piper, Wrestling/StoneColdSteveAustin, Wrestling/TerryFunk, Wrestling/JakeRoberts... it's an almost endless list because of his natural charisma, intense promos, and eclectic in-ring style. You could even call him the closest thing that the WWE's ever had to [[DistaffCounterpart Mayumi Ozaki, the "Queen of Hell"]].
** There are increasing parallels being drawn in-universe between Ambrose and Wrestling/MickFoley, as an EnsembleDarkhorse brawler who veers toward hardcore wrestling (as much as possible in modern WWE, anyway), has a ridiculously high threshold for pain, and (depending on when you approach him) falls somewhere on the sanity scale between "a few sandwiches short of a picnic" and "''short of the whole damn picnic''". Ambrose also uses a double arm DDT as his finisher just like Foley did, and in the March 14, 2016 episode of ''Raw'', [[TakeUpMySword was gifted the trademark]] [[BatterUp barbed-wire-covered bat]] that Foley used during his heyday for his match against Brock Lesnar at ''Wrestling/WrestleMania 32''. To top it all off, [[https://www.facebook.com/RealMickFoley/photos/a.150133228350157.28288.126269440736536/1330183007011834/?type=3&theater Foley himself]] drew parallels between Ambrose's title win at Money in the Bank and his own back in 1999.
** In looks and personality he is one for John Bender of Film/TheBreakfastClub.
* FaceHeelTurn: In the main event of the October 22, 2018 episode of Wrestling/WWERaw, after winning the Raw tag team championships for the second time, Ambrose attacked Rollins, thus turning heel for the first time since 2014, and officially ending Wrestling/TheShield's second run. And it was on that same night, their best friend Roman Reigns relinquished the Universal Championship to battle his returning leukemia.
* FightingWithChucks: Dean surprisingly knows how to use one during his match against Chris Jericho in the first ever Asylum match. He even teaches Renee how to use it on her birthday.
* {{Flanderization}}: Back in his Shield days he was portrayed as a mercenary type character who was able to put on a normal face, but was obviously unhinged and just waiting for an excuse to hurt somebody. After The Shield broke up and he didn't bother with that normal facade anymore, he began devolving briefly into a "lunatic" character who frequently costs himself matches by trying to perform pointless stunts that only end up hurting himself. Fans are pretty split on which portrayal they prefer.
* {{Forgiveness}}: Without a doubt, the hardest thing Dean Ambrose ever had to do in his entire career was forgive Seth Rollins. It became clear early on that it wasn't because he didn't want to -- on the contrary, more than once it was implied that it was the one thing he wanted to do, more than anything else. It was because Dean was scared of doing so and being betrayed again, causing him to lash out when Seth tried to make amends. On Seth's end, he completely understood Dean's anger and refusal and was willing to take his verbal and even physical abuse, but it didn't stop him from being frustrated about it, especially since Dean wasn't innocent either (though admittedly more justified). Eventually, both realized that in order for to reconcile, Seth had to forgive Dean as well.
* {{Foreshadowing}}: On the last ''Raw'' before ''Money in the Bank 2016'', Ambrose holds an ''Ambrose Asylum'' segment with his former partners Wrestling/RomanReigns and Wrestling/SethRollins on their upcoming championship match. Near the end Ambrose interjects that since he's part of the Money in the Bank match at the PPV also, he could win the contract and cash in his opportunity that same night on whoever wins between Rollins and Reigns. He proceeds to do exactly that and win his first WWE World Heavyweight Championship.
** In one of his last WWE promos before the Shield's match at ''Fastlane 2019'', Ambrose said "Eight years ago I walked into this casino and now I'm cashing in my chips and I'm walking away from the table." After leaving WWE, he would make his return to the wrestling scene when he showed at the end of AEW's casino-themed ''Double or Nothing'' PPV, with his debut climaxing in him fighting Wrestling/KennyOmega up to the top of a stack of giant poker chips that decorated the set and hurling Omega off.
* GenreSavvy:
** Making it a point that Rollins will not cash in his Money in the Bank briefcase.
---> '''Ambrose:''' Every time you ever think about cashing in that contract, I’m gonna be there. I’m gonna haunt you. So go and make all the plans you want, 'cause that briefcase you’re holding doesn’t have a contract inside. It’s loaded with TNT, and every time you try to cash it in, it’s gonna blow up in your face, Seth. Believe that.
** How right did he turn out to be? Rollins had to wait until WM 31, when Ambrose was completely debilitated and damaged in the IC Title Ladder match, before he could think to cash in his MITB contract in the main event.
** Historically in wrestling, there are two ways to guarantee one's calculated plan will fail: if it gets leaked on camera in advance or if it's a repeat of something they've already done. Furthermore, the Money in the Bank ladder match takes quite a toll on every competitor involved—there's a reason Wrestling/{{Kane}}'s the only one who ever cashed in MITB the same night he won it. So naturally, on the go-home ''Raw'' to ''Money in the Bank 2016'', Dean Ambrose, the same guy who's either come up short or got screwed countless times in world title situations, attempts at revenge on Seth Rollins, and competitions against Roman Reigns alike, took it upon himself to host ''The Ambrose Asylum'' with Reigns and Rollins as his guests and outright tell them that he would win the MITB ladder match and then cash in on the winner of their title fight that same night to walk out the WWE World Heavyweight Champion. On its face it looked like Ambrose had just screwed himself into coming up short in the title picture yet again, either by painting a target on his back by slighting the physical stake of the ladder match or by [[JustBetweenYouAndMe openly scooping the champ in on his move in advance]] and giving them time to prepare for it. Even Rollins dismissed the possibility out of hand in an interview later in the week, it was so blithely stupid. '''[[IGaveMyWord Except it wasn't.]]'''
** Even after taking a hellacious beating from Wrestling/BrockLesnar, he wasn't about to let Wrestling/KevinOwens get the drop on him.
--->'''Ambrose''': Hey Kev! There's a giant TV screen right there, I can see you from a mile away!
%% GettingCrapPastThe Radar: Due to overwhelming and persistent misuse, GCPTR is on-page examples only until 01 June 2020. If you're reading this in the future, please check the trope description to make sure your example matches the current criteria.
* GimmickMatches: He's often put into different types of No Disqualification matches. In 2016, he introduced a variant of a Steel Cage match which befits his Lunatic Fringe gimmick, an Asylum Match.
* GrandFinale: The main event of Fastlane 2019 with Wrestling/TheShield was treated like this for Ambrose. Both to pre-existing Shield storylines with [[Wrestling/SethRollins Rollins]] and [[Wrestling/RomanReigns Reigns]] and to his WWE career and story arc as a whole since he was leaving the company. [[note]] That is until WWE ran another PPV about a month later entitled 'The Shield's Last Chapter' though their last match at Fastlane was more definitive.[[/note]] A lot of emphasis was put on this being the [[EndofanAge end of and era]] with Reigns begging for Rollins and Ambrose to repair their relationship [[note]] Ambrose had turned heel during Reigns' absence to battle leukemia and upon his return many things were still in the air with there being a lot of confusion on whether Ambrose was truly leaving the company and if plot threads were going to be abandoned or not since he was still a bad guy and had turned on his friends. But if he was leaving the company many believed closure for Ambrose's story was needed on his and the rest of The Shield's account.[[/note]] before Ambrose left so they could [[PuttingtheBandBackTogether get the band back together]] one last time. With commentary putting it over as the match ended and Ambrose, Rollins and Reigns hugging together in the ring.
--> '''Corey Graves''': And finally, everything ends up exactly how it should be.
* TheHeart: Seems to have become this to the Shield in their second run, especially after his injury. Every time someone mentions Ambrose's injury, expect Roman Reigns to go ballistic (particularly at Samoa Joe, who injured his "brother") and Seth Rollins to DeathGlare. It makes sense, as out of all three members, Ambrose is arguably the one who took the break up the hardest. It was only because of his forgiveness and reconciliation with Rollins that the reunion run was possible in the first place.
* HeelFaceTurn: When Wrestling/TheShield collectively turned face. After the split, Ambrose is still a bit psychotic, but still a face. In 2019 Ambrose reunited with Rollins and the recently returned Reigns on the March 4 episode of Raw, after they assisted Ambrose from an attack by Elias, Baron Corbin, Drew [=McIntyre=] and Bobby Lashley the previous week, reverting Ambrose into a face again.
* HellBentForLeather: A leather jacket became part of his "street brawler" outfit ensemble since June 2014.
* HesBack: At Night of Champions 2014, Seth Rollins offered an open challenge to anyone in the locker room since Roman Reigns [[SurprisinglyRealisticOutcome had to undergo emergency hernia surgery a few days before the event]]. Cue Dean Ambrose rolling up in a cab and beating Seth up and down the arena.
** In the last moments of the 8/13 Raw before ''Summerslam'', Seth Rollins came out to announce that he'd have backup for his Intercontinental Championship match against Dolph Ziggler (who had Drew [=McIntyre=] in his corner ready to continue his recurring beatdowns of Seth)... a returning Dean Ambrose, fresh off eight months of rehab. The roof blew off the building when Dean appeared (looking like he'd been in ''prison'' lifting weights, not rehabbing a triceps injury).
* HeterosexualLifePartners:
** Him and Roman are this both onscreen and in RealLife, exemplified by his [[HonoraryTrueCompanion honorary Samoan]] status.
** Him and Seth also shared a similar a dynamic while they were still in the Shield, which is partially why Dean took Seth's betrayal so badly. They returned to this dynamic when they made up and became tag team partners in 2017.
* HistoryRepeats: Dean wins his first and third Intercontinental Championship at ''TLC'' at the same month.
* HomoeroticSubtext: With Seth Rollins, in a deep contrast to his relationship with Roman Reigns. While mostly everyone sees him and Roman as bros, by mid-2017 everyone, including those who usually ignore the homoerotic aspect of wrestling, were starting to view his relationship with Seth in a decidedly non-platonic light. It certainly seems to be intentional, seeing as WWE centered their reconciliation storyline around the question of "[[DoesThisRemindYouOfAnything Are Seth and Dean getting back together?]]", and considering that [[PortmanteauCoupleName Ambrollins]] is THE FanPreferredCouple of Wrestling/TheShield (some might even say its the most popular pairing in modern wrestling fandom), a person wouldn't put it past the company to milk that for all its worth.
* HonoraryTrueCompanion: To the Anoa'i family in kayfabe, though it's also been implied to be RealitySubtext. He's been so heavily associated with them that it's often joked that Dean is the only Samoan other than Wrestling/SamoaJoe in the company that's not blood-related to them.
* HostileShowTakeover: Has done this twice through his own show, ''The Ambrose Asylum''. First was during his feud with Wrestling/ChrisJericho, when Ambrose hijacked the latter's ''Highlight Reel''; the second was against Wrestling/TheMiz and his own show ''Miz TV'' (after the latter also hijacked ''The Highlight Reel'' ''[[UpToEleven on the very same night.]]'')
* HypocriticalHumor: Prior to their match against Kevin Owens, Chris Jericho and Alberto Del Rio, Ambrose warns Cesaro and Sami Zayn to watch out for the former two because they are Canadians, in front of his own Canadian tag team partner Zayn. Oh, and guess where his girlfriend comes from?
* IJustWantToHaveFriends: An underlying current of Dean's character is his desire to be a part of family/unit, in relation to his DarkAndTroubledPast, which has only been alluded to onscreen. For all his claims of being a lone wolf, Dean never tried to push Roman away after the Shield's initial break up. To say nothing of how ''badly'' he took Seth's betrayal; part of why Dean was so reluctant to forgive Seth is because he ''wanted'' to, but was also terrified of being burned by him again.
* InTheHood: In 2014, Dean Ambrose started wearing a hoodie during his entrance.
* {{Irony}}: In {{Kayfabe}}, one of the main reasons why authority figures are so against him becoming WWE Champion is because his insanity and general unpredictability makes him a potential risk for scandal should he ever become the face of the company, hence why they support the other members of Wrestling/TheShield (they picked Wrestling/SethRollins to pull a FaceHeelTurn on the group and become the face of the company, and shortly after Rollins got injured, Triple H said that they considered Wrestling/RomanReigns for that spot, but that he put his morals and convictions first rather than selling out). Out of Kayfabe, Ambrose is the ''only'' member of the group to ''not'' have scandal attached to his name. Rollins got caught having an affair behind his fiancee's back when she posted NSFW images of him and his lover on social media, and has been plagued with injuries to his opponents during his title reign, culminating in he himself getting injured to end said title reign. The aforementioned lover also got fired six months after their affair was revealed for something completely unrelated to the incident -- someone dug out Neo Nazi artwork that was posted on her Twitter and Instagram, and it reflected ''badly'' on Seth, who was still dating her at the time. Reigns has had his controversial mega-push where he was clearly projected to be the next face of the company, despite the ardent and vocal resistance of fans all across the country, and then his suspension for a wellness policy violation. Ambrose, being an incredibly private person (he virtually has no personal presence on social media), a safe and decent worker, a company man, ''and'' an EnsembleDarkhorse, proved to be the most reliable of the three as the potential next face of the company, especially after all the work he put in during the 2016 Road to ''Wrestling/WrestleMania'' when the other two were out of commission. That's probably part of why they decided to finally pull the trigger on him at the 2016 ''Wrestling/MoneyInTheBank'' PPV.
* ItsPersonal: Ambrose's feud with former Shield teammate Wrestling/SethRollins, whom Ambrose had considered a brother. Keep in mind that, at the Shield summit following Rollins's RageQuit, Ambrose had said that the one thing he couldn't stand was being lied to by somebody he trusts.
* JerkassHasAPoint: Make no mistake, Ambrose was an absolute prick to Dolph Ziggler in their Summerslam feud, putting down his abilities as a wrestler and mocking him for not having what it takes to be a world champion. However, he was right about one thing. As Dean put it so delicately to Dolph, even if Ziggler did win and become the world champion, it doesn't mean his problems will magically disappear overnight and his life will become complete. On the contrary, his life as a world champion will become even more stressful as pressures will mount for him to carry the company on his back. Not only that, but wrestlers, management, and even fans themselves will watch him like vultures and just wait for him to slip up and fall. Basically, even if Dolph does win, his critics, doubters, and personal demons will still be there but as world champion, he has an even bigger target on his back for all the doubters and naysayers. Pretty much, Ambrose gave Dolph the straight scoop and told him that he'd better have "ice water running through [his] veins" if he wanted to be world champion.
* LampshadeHanging: On the March 3, 2016 episode of ''[=SmackDown=]'', [[Wrestling/KevinSteen Kevin Owens]] tried to jump Ambrose from behind while Ambrose was facing the ramp. After dodging the attack and sending Owens scurrying with a chair shot to the back, he casually informed K.O. that he saw him coming a mile away because "There's a giant TV screen right there" while motioning to the large [=TitanTron=] display.
* LighterAndSofter: Jon Moxley, both pre and post-WWE, is known for both his serious character and for taking part in some brutal hardcore matches; it comes with being a CZW alumnus. Dean Ambrose by contrast rarely got to take part in those kind of matches, and was also given the occasional comedy angle to work through.
* LongHairedPrettyBoy: Ambrose's 2010s hairline is in... let's say, famously rough shape. On the other hand, Moxley in his very early career had a flowing mane past his shoulders. This can be seen in an [[EarlyBirdCameo appearance]] he makes for ''WWE Velocity'' in 2006, barely 20 years old.
* LoveIsAWeakness: Saw his time with Wrestling/TheShield as this post his 2018 heel turn. [[spoiler: He got better.]]
--> '''Ambrose''': The truth is Wrestling/TheShield made me weak. [[Wrestling/SethRollins You]] made me weak. [[TearJerker/TheShield Roman made me weak]]. The burden of being your [[TrueCompanions brother]], the burden of having to watch your back made me weak.
* MadeOfIron: In defiance of WWE's incredibly grueling physical schedule, Ambrose had, up until December 2017, been their resident Ironman. This status includes a streak of over 900 matches wrestled, fewer than 40 consecutive days off at a time, and no major injuries.
* MasterOfDisguise: How he normally ambushes his enemies. So far, he's been a hotdog vendor, a cameraman, a pizza deliveryman, a hockey player, the Mountie, the Miz's security guard and a bear costume.
* MessyHair: To go with his personality.
* MidSeasonUpgrade: Sort of an example in ProfessionalWrestling. After the break-up of The Shield, Ambrose went from using a headlock driver called Dirty Deeds as his FinishingMove to start using a double underhook DDT as a new finishing move, which is also called Dirty Deeds. It has easier and faster setup and execution (in and out of kayfabe) and is more damaging (kayfabe-wise) than the original headlock driver version (In reality, it is because 1) nobody in the current roster uses the double underhook DDT and 2) the original Dirty Deeds greatly resembles Adam Rose's Party Foul and Ambrose probably decided that he should be the one who must change his own finisher).
* MirrorCharacter: With Wrestling/RandyOrton, who was also pushed well and truly over the deep end by a [[Wrestling/TripleH friend's]] betrayal and has leaned to channel that madness into his wrestling and promo styles, although he's a little more crazy than Orton. Randy may hear some voices in head, but it's his rage that really makes him dangerous -- unprovoked, Randy can at least assume the ''appearance'' of someone with sound mental faculties (if a little bit ruthless). With Dean, you can tell right off the bat that the man is not right in the head, unprovoked or not.
* MotiveDecay: His 2018-2019 FaceHeelTurn suffered this in short order as WWE could not commit to a reason for his turn. First he claimed to have realized that backing The Shield weakened him rather than making him stronger as he initially thought; then he vaguely alluded to the trio having secretly been "rotten to the core" while implying that Reigns' bout with leukemia was his penance for this; then he called Rollins a posturing false hero for his TheReasonYouSuckSpeech against Wrestling/BaronCorbin[[labelnote:*]]as the proxy for WWE Creative[[/labelnote]] and claimed it was no different from Seth's earlier manipulation of both Roman and himself; and this was ''before'' WWE stopped mentioning Reigns after getting wind of enough fan backlash.[[labelnote:*]]plus Ambrose refusing to say a certain line Vince wanted him to say about Reigns during this time which he felt would've done catastrophic damage to the company's image as well as been thoroughly disrespectful to his actual friend[[/labelnote]] Once that happened, WWE gave him a ComicBook/{{Bane}} gimmick with a SWAT team, which not only completely undercut the scene of him burning a tac vest after betraying The Shield, but also effectively reverted him back to the "wacky Dean" antics of his face run except with a weird germaphobic fixation for CheapHeat. This destroyed his heel run and set him up to go back to being a face and reunite The Shield as soon as Reigns returned both in-universe[[labelnote:*]]as the vast inconsistency fit with his character's madness and could effectively be portrayed as him getting all his frustration out of his system[[/labelnote]] and in RealLife.[[labelnote:*]]with Ambrose being so sick of how terrible this booking was that it contributed to the creative burnout resulting in him deciding to leave the company after ''Wrestling/WrestleMania 35''[[/labelnote]]
* MrFanservice:
** During the tail end of the Shield's heel run, Wrestling/SethRollins actually once got on the microphone and gender-flipped Wrestling/{{Sable}}'s CatchPhrase to describe Dean Ambrose as a way of getting CheapHeat in the middle of an Ambrose match.
** Dean is arguably the most popular member of the Shield with teenage girls, if not women in general. While he isn't a PrettyBoy like Seth or a conventionally handsome {{Hunk}} like Roman, he ''is'' good-looking in his own right and his charisma combined with the "[[AllGirlsWantBadBoys bad boy]]" vibe he gives off gives him more sex appeal than both.
* NoHoldsBarredBeatdown:
** What he did to Wrestling/WilliamRegal. Holy ''God'', what he did to William Regal...
** He also gave numerous beatings as a part of Wrestling/TheShield.
** Took one from Seth Rollins and Kane at the conclusion of an epic no DQ match on the ''Raw'' after ''[=SummerSlam=] 2014''. He wasn't seen since then... until ''[[HesBack Night of Champions 2014]]'' happened.
* NoSenseOfPersonalSpace: He's ''very'' fond of kissing his opponents in the middle of matches. [[WomanScorned Particularly]] [[HoYay Seth Rollins]]. Subverted during his feud with Wrestling/BrayWyatt. After a table spot, Ambrose kisses Wyatt (keep in mind that Wyatt himself kisses his opponents in the forehead before hitting his finishing move), who returns the favor by beating the shit out of him.
* NoodleIncident: On the 9/22/14 episode of ''Raw'', Ambrose (for about the tenth time) tried to jump Seth Rollins, only to be apprehended by Wrestling/TheAuthority's security goons, who would have escorted Ambrose out of the building until Wrestling/StephanieMcMahon, in a moment of cunning, had him thrown into a locked storage closet and set 5 guards in front of the only door. He reappears at the end of the episode in a box that, given Seth Rollins' dialogue, was probably ''supposed'' to be full of several cinder blocks. It's never explained where Dean would have put the cinderblocks... or, more importantly, how the hell Ambrose managed to escape a locked closet with five very burly men guarding the only door... His explanation for how he escaped from that closet? "There was a backdoor."
* ObfuscatingInsanity:
** Make no mistake, Dean Ambrose is eccentric and unpredictable and tends to wear his heart on his sleeve. But don't think for a second that the man isn't smart. In the build-up to the 2014 MITB, Ambrose used his established loose-cannon status to secure a place in the match. When he got the news that Seth Rollins literally begged that he be put in the match, Ambrose's initial reaction was to laugh and say "I knew he would." In short, Ambrose played him like a fiddle. Who's the chess-master, again?
** Taking advantage of Cena's tendency to [[HotBlooded take on]] [[HonorBeforeReason all comers]] by causing the rest of the Authority to get involved in his and Cena's No-DQ Contract-on-a-Pole match for Hell In A Cell against Wrestling/SethRollins. Cena predictably started trading blows with Rollins, Orton, and Kane. Meanwhile, Ambrose snuck around behind the action and by the time Cena had cleared the ring, Ambrose already had the contract in hand.
** He did this for ''Money in the Bank 2016''. Starting with the go-home show, he just made the most idiotic mistake you could make with a master plan in wrestling by blatantly announcing the plan to its intended victims, Wrestling/SethRollins and Wrestling/RomanReigns, in front of the whole world before even getting [[YourPrincessIsInAnotherCastle the pieces in place]] (which in itself would be a doozy of a task). But that's just it. ''He did it blatantly.'' To get said victims to [[TemptingFate completely underestimate him and dismiss the idea of it working]]. The result? He walked out of ''Money in the Bank'' the WORLD HEAVYWEIGHT CHAMPION.
* OhCrap:
** The February 10, 2014 episode of ''Raw'' saw Ambrose claiming that the reason nobody was challenging him for his title was, simply put, because no one had the guts. This spurs him to issue an open challenge to the locker room later that night. Cue chanting and hip-hop beat... yep. It's Wrestling/MarkHenry. Ambrose was visibly ''terrified''.
** His knee-jerk reaction to Rollins hitting Reigns with a steel chair was equal parts disbelief, confusion, and this trope.
* PermaStubble: There was a time when he did wrestle without hair below his eyelashes, believe it or not. Though in 2016 he grew a full beard.
* PopularityPower:
** A lot of people perceive this to be the reason why Ambrose got relegated to being just "Roman Reigns' best friend" during the Wyatt feud, though Ambrose got his own push towards the Intercontinental Championship eventually. The truth of the matter is, Ambrose was pretty much the only male singles face that was completely over with the audience by the end of 2015, especially since the injury bug went nuts around that time and [[Wrestling/BryanDanielson Daniel Bryan]] had been a non-factor for most of the year. Reigns, who the company ''desperately'' wanted to get over as the next top face even though the fans made it blatantly clear that they wanted Ambrose if Bryan was no longer an option, was partnered up with him as a result. Not that it didn't make sense, thanks to the Shield and all, but it didn't make the fans any less resentful, and the Intercontinental Championship was an attempt to compromise. Further complicating the issue is the fact that the man Ambrose eventually took the title from was [[Wrestling/KevinSteen Kevin Owens]], who was popular himself. Many considered this to be a blessing in hindsight, since Ambrose and Owens proceeded to have a critically-acclaimed feud that many fans stated was the most interesting thing on WWE programming for its duration.
** When Ambrose finally won the WWE Championship, the crowd absolutely '''''exploded''''', and the following night they were hot for him, chanting his name and "YOU DESERVE IT!", and hanging on to every word of his championship promo. A lot of people have remarked that Ambrose's reign is refreshing, since he's arguably the first true {{face}} champion since [[Wrestling/BryanDanielson Daniel Bryan]]. Everyone who has held the title since Bryan was forced to vacate it were either heels (Rollins, Lesnar, Sheamus, Triple H) that had issues getting heel heat from the crowd,[[note]]Rollins is majorly popular with the hardcore crowd, Lesnar has transcended traditional face/heel dynamics, very few people cared about Sheamus, regarding him as irrelevant, and Hunter's usually successful mega-heel antics fell flat and instead gave him face-like heat thanks to a combination of nostalgia, NXT, and the face he was feuding with[[/note]] or faces (Cena, Reigns) that were from divisive to universally disliked.[[note]]while people have warmed up to Cena in recent years the base is still split over him holding the title again, while Reigns was on the fast track to becoming the most hated wrestler in modern-day WWE thanks to his terrible mega-push until he was temporarily sidelined by a recurrence of leukemia in 2018[[/note]] Ambrose is the first champion in a while to get a reaction that isn't disingenuous.
** Ambrose was so popular that every time he teased a potential FaceHeelTurn in 2018, the fans ''cheered'' for him. WWE was only able to successfully turn him on the ''one'' night that the fans would've never accepted it: the night Roman Reigns was forced to vacate the Universal Championship and take a hiatus from WWE due to his leukemia returning. It was the night that him and Seth Rollins needed each other more than ever, the night they won the ''Tag Team Championships'' together in Reigns' name, the night that ''everyone'', from the fans to Ambrose and Rollins themselves, needed a feel-good moment to end on. Hell, it was the night that finally managed to band the world behind Reigns. Instead, the fans watched Wrestling/TheShield implode for a second time, and this time, not from an unexpected, calculated betrayal, but from one that had building for a long time, and had boiled over in a extreme fit of emotion. And even then, people sympathized with Ambrose even though they hated what he did, as they understand on some level why it happened.
* PowerStable: In much less flattering role, The Shield were brought under Triple H and Stephanie [=McMahon=] in WWE and made to protect Randy Orton.
* PowerTrio: Wrestling/TheShield, Rollins being the high flier and the strategist, Reigns being the muscle and Ambrose being the unpredictable brawler and talker.
* PrecisionFStrike: [[https://youtu.be/SWLU0MWMR-w?t=47 When Seth Rollins turned his back on The Shield]], you can see Dean Ambrose mouth what appears to be "The fuck...?"
* PsychopathicManchild: Would you believe Dean Ambrose believes himself to be on the side of justice? At least he did when he was in The Shield, where justice apparently meant "Ruin the show for the faces by any means necessary." To be fair, given that this is Ambrose we're talking about, it's not hard to believe that this is how his inner sense of morality works.
* PutOnABus: After being Curb Stomped through a pile of cinder blocks by Wrestling/SethRollins the ''[[Wrestling/WWERaw Raw]]'' after 2014's ''Wrestling/SummerSlam'', Dean was last seen being stretchered out of the arena. Off-screen, he refused medical treatment and went missing, leading commentators and Wrestling/TheAuthority to speculate as to his state until he returned a month later.
* RageBreakingPoint: Ambrose's FaceHeelTurn is interesting in that it was simply treated as an inevitability. Even years before it finally happened, the fans knew that, one way or another, Ambrose was going to turn heel. It was the most logical direction of his character; Ambrose was never the most stable of individuals to begin with, and with the endless number of misfortunes he's had to endure since the Shield broke up (not least of which was one of his two closest friends betraying him and his other friend), he was going to snap one day. When that day came, at the expense of Rollins (the friend who betrayed him and whom he had seemingly forgiven a year before), the act itself wasn't a surprise to anyone -- it was the timing that made it such a shock.
* RealLifeWritesThePlot: The real reason for the above example in PutOnABus is that he had to be written out of storyline temporarily so that he could film a WWE Studio movie.
* ReallyGetsAround: Subverted with Ambrose's "Titty Master" meme — it began when pictures of Ambrose with "Titty Master" written on the tapes of his hands during a European tour became viral, and Roman Reigns confirmed this was actually in reference to Ambrose frequently wrestling the wide-chested heavyweight Big E during that European tour (and Big E was in fact part of the match from where the pictures came).
* RedBaron: Wrestling/MichaelCole has dubbed him "The Lunatic Fringe" of Wrestling/TheShield.
* RememberTheNewGuy: All the members of Wrestling/TheShield were introduced as ''[[Wrestling/{{WWENXT}} NXT]]'' invaders despite Ambrose never actually appearing on the show.[[note]]He did however wrestle on NXT house shows and dark matches.[[/note]] [[AllThereInTheManual His WWE.com bio]] justifies this by saying his closing match of ''NXT'''s developmental predecessor FCW against Wrestling/WilliamRegal was so brutal he wasn't allowed to compete on ''NXT'' as a result.
* RevengeBeforeReason:
** Ambrose didn't take his "brother" Rollins' betrayal well. At all. In fact, he would abandon a match in order to get his hands on Seth if the latter happened to appear at ringside. One of those times was when Ambrose was in match to qualify for the ladder match for the vacant WWE World Heavyweight title at Money in the Bank. Whoops. To add injury to insult, Ambrose was so blinded by rage that Rollins was able to lead him right into Wrestling/BrayWyatt's arms and escape without a scratch. Cue Sister Abigail to Ambrose as Rollins watches and laughs.
** This actually comes back to bite Rollins in the ass somewhat, as Ambrose's assaults show he will pursue him ''endlessly'' until he gets his hands on him and Dean actually admits as much on the 6/23/14 Wrestling/WWERaw, saying he'll go so far as to sabotage the MITB match and the PPV itself unless he's put in the match alongside Rollins and the others. Rollins ''[[AxCrazy knows]]'' Ambrose isn't just speaking hyperbole and forces Wrestling/TripleH to put Ambrose in the match so he "can control Ambrose."
** Backfired at Battleground 2014 when Ambrose compromised his match with Rollins by his inability to wait for a chance to get his hands on him and jumped him before the match began, resulting in him getting banned from the building. Not that it stopped him from showing up twice to come after Rollins.
** Came up again at Wrestling/SurvivorSeries 2016 after his scuffle with ''[=SmackDown=]'' teammate/rival Wrestling/AJStyles and Styles' non-attempt to break up an ensuing pinfall led to Ambrose being eliminated from the 5-on-5 Men's elimination match. Later, after it came down to Styles and the Wyatts versus Rollins and Reigns, cue Ambrose storming the ring, assaulting ''Styles'' (his teammate, mind you), and ''even joining in'' on a Shield reunion to beat up security and put Styles through an announce table, leading to the WWE World Champion's elimination. All of ''[=SmackDown=]'''s announce team, who typically don't always get along with each other, {{lampshade|Hanging}}d just WhatAnIdiot Ambrose was for nearly[[note]]''[=SmackDown=]'' ended up winning with Bray and Orton remaining, but still...[[/note]]costing ''[=SmackDown=]'' the match and leading to a ''Raw'' sweep[[note]]''Raw'' had won the first two of three traditional SS elimination matches[[/note]] of Survivor Series.
* SanityHasAdvantages: Sure, his unpredictability is what fans love about him, but his character's lack of emotional control seemed to be portrayed as causing him more problems than it solves. Wrestling/BrayWyatt has even called Ambrose out on it a couple of times, and while Wyatt [[{{Cloudcuckoolander}} isn't a hell of a lot more sane than Ambrose himself]], and thus his statements ring somewhat hollow, there's some legit reasons to back this up: During his TLC match with Wyatt, Dean Ambrose discovered a small monitor under the ring and saw that it was projecting his face and the crowd behind him on the jumbotron. He clowned around with it, and that let Bray recover and attack him. But far more damningly later was Dean's decision to try to smash Bray Wyatt's face with the monitor. [[spoiler: The monitor exploded in his face when it reached the end of its cord, and Bray Wyatt hit Sister Abigail for the pinfall.]]
* ScrewThisImOuttaHere: On the 10/6/14 edition of ''Raw'', he was scheduled to team up with Wrestling/JohnCena against The Authority (Orton, Rollins, and Kane). During a promo building up to it, Ambrose decided (as they were in Brooklyn), that pissing off down to Coney Island and grabbing a hot dog was a better use of his time than teaming with Cena.[[note]]A sentiment that got the Internet Wrestling Community's approval[[/note]] Subverted; he [[BigDamnHeroes later came back]] with ''a hot dog cart'' to wreak havoc on the Authority.
* SignatureMove: Rebound/Jawbreaker/Pendulum Lariat, adopted from Wrestling/NigelMcGuinness. In WWE, he's also known for being the one guy that can and will drop the elbow on a standing opponent.
* SignificantWardrobeShift: After the first Shield split Ambrose's outfits shifted to a simple [[https://tjrwrestling.net/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/Dean-Ambrose-wwe-fist-e1533584375977.jpg tanktop]] [[https://www.uhjackets.com/image/cache/1men/WWE%20DEAN%20AMBROSE%20JACKET%20/daen%20amvrose-800x800-800x800.jpg* jeans]] [[https://s3.amazonaws.com/image.buymoviejackets/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/25202625/Dean-Ambrose-WWE-Grey-Jacket-1.jpg jacket]] combo with very little variation for ''years''. When he [[HeelTurn turned heel]] on Seth Rollins in 2018 he put a lot of effort in trying to look as [[https://d1i5hut471lhig.cloudfront.net/819ae6625d8d7c9c538c6be56e3ce461b3d7f5df.jpg different]] as [[https://pbs.twimg.com/media/DuuWb6qWkAEuGdn?format=jpg&name=large possible]] [[https://gmsrp.cachefly.net/images/18/11/20/e7366dc7a21dc1c0ce4043f75f5ccb7e/960.jpg seeming]] to [[https://statics.sportskeeda.com/editor/2019/03/9a09d-15517489530319-800.jpg show up]] in a [[https://i.ytimg.com/vi/aiTVRz79bkc/maxresdefault.jpg different outfit]] every week to reflect the change in himself. Then when Roman returned from illness he reverted back to The Shields [[SignatureStyle original style]] but would maintain his more distinct style every now and again before departing the company.
* SpotlightStealingSquad: By necessity. During the build between ''[[Wrestling/WWEFastlane Fastlane 2016]]'' and ''[=WrestleMania=] 32'', Ambrose was effectively the only full-time main event talent active as Wrestling/RomanReigns had to get facial reconstruction surgery for a deviated septum and would be out for at least a couple of weeks, while the rest (Cena, Orton, and Rollins) were rehabbing serious injuries. With the rest of the main event talent available being part-timers, [[Wrestling/BrockLesnar two]] of [[Wrestling/TheUndertaker whom]] only being booked for a couple of shows, Ambrose and Wrestling/TripleH had to carry ''Raw'' by themselves.
* StartOfDarkness: His WWE Chronicle episode, which reads less like a documentary and more like his gradual descent into psychopathy.
* TalkShowWithFists: ''The Ambrose Asylum'', which interrupted one of Chris Jericho's ''The Highlight Reel''s.
* ThisIsForEmphasisBitch: To Wrestling/RandyOrton during ''Extreme Rules 2014'':
-->"[[CatchPhrase Believe in the Shield]], bitch!"
* ToThePain: His speech following Rollins' Shield betrayal, in which he goes into gruesome detail about how he plans to beat and mutilate Rollins's face to the point of permanent disfigurement. Yikes.
* TookALevelInBadass: Not that he wasn't badass before (being a former world champion and all), but when he came back from injury he looked noticeably buffer and had gotten a new haircut, and, as the following week showed, a less "wacky" in-ring style. Combined with a more serious attitude, [[PrisonsAreGymnasiums many fans commented that he looked like someone who had just gotten out of prison]].
* {{Tsundere}}: To Wrestling/SethRollins during their reconciliation storyline in 2017, which only added to the HomoeroticSubtext of the entire situation.
* UndyingLoyalty: To Wrestling/RomanReigns. Where one is, the other isn't far behind, and one will usually try to make the save if the other is in trouble. It's even to the point that each is totally supportive of the other becoming champion.
* WhyDidItHaveToBeSnakes: He ''really'' doesn't like them. Unfortunately for him, he pissed off [[Wrestling/JakeRoberts Jake "The Snake" Roberts]] himself on an episode of ''Old School Raw'' and ended up knocked out with a snake draped on his chest. He was not very happy when he found this out after the fact, and threw a fit about it the following ''[=SmackDown=]''.
* WillTheyOrWontThey: The bromantic version with Wrestling/SethRollins, in which they spent the summer of 2017 teasing whether or not they would get back together as a team. The fact that they both acted like major {{Tsundere}}s to each other during that storyline laid on the HomoeroticSubtext real thick.
* WorkedShoot: [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IW2GVQlTdBg This]] entire promo, post-''[[Wrestling/WWEFastlane Fastlane]]''.
* WorthyOpponent: Wrestling/SethRollins considers them "wrestling soulmates", as stated in ''The Destruction of Wrestling/TheShield'' DVD. This is especially apparent during their feud over the FCW 15 title, which is defended in fifteen minute iron man matches. They went the first two matches without falls, and the second match had five-minute overtime. Even their third match, which was thirty minutes, ended in a draw with two falls a piece, forcing them to go into sudden death overtime, which isn't really much of a victory for either man. That series of matches is considered to be among the best in the history of FCW prior to its repackaging as NXT, and really highlights their inability to have a bad match against each other.
* YouGottaHaveBlueHair: In his early WWE appearance ([[OlderThanYouThink around the time of WWE Heat]]), [[https://goo.gl/images/a2S3HS he had pink hair]].
[[/folder]]
----

At AEW's ''Revolution'', Moxley defeated Wrestling/ChrisJericho to become AEW World Champion.

* {{Foil}}: Can be seen as this to Wrestling/CMPunk if you think about it. Both were [[EnsembleDarkHorse hugely]] [[PopularityPower popular]] during their peak times in WWE only to be bogged down by bad booking and exhausting schedules eventually causing them to leave the company. With Punk [[RageQuit walking out]] after one bad creative decision too many and Moxley/Ambrose leaving once his [[{{Determinator}} contract ran out]]. And both went on podcasts after they left the company to discuss their grievances publicly. But the difference between them is Punk let his experience taint his overall love for wrestling and hasn't step foot in a ring since. Mox/Ambrose made it clear his greivances were mostly creative and that he still loved wrestling and debuted in a [[Wrestling/AllEliteWrestling new company]] not 2 months later and continues wrestling. Even going to Wrestling/NewJapanProWrestling and competing in the G1 Climax that same year which is more grueling than the usual WWE schedule.

He signed a developmental contract with World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) in 2011, and was assigned to Florida Championship Wrestling (FCW), WWE's developmental promotion, with the new ring name Dean Ambrose. The next year, he debuted on WWE's main roster alongside Wrestling/RomanReigns and Wrestling/SethRollins as part of the [[{{heel}} villainous]] stable Wrestling/TheShield at that year's ''Survivor Series''. The group--Ambrose included--[[HeelFaceTurn turned face]] in March 2014, only for Rollins to betray and attack them that June. Outraged by his teammate's treachery, Ambrose began a [[ItsPersonal deeply personal]] feud with his former Shield partner. During his tenure there, he became a one-time United States Champion, with his 351-day reign being the third-longest in history and the longest within WWE (who acquired the title in 2001), a three-time Intercontinental Champion, the 2016 Wrestling/MoneyInTheBank winner, a one-time WWE Champion, and a two-time Raw Tag Team Champion (with Wrestling/SethRollins). He is the youngest Grand Slam Champion at 31 years 8 months old, edging out Wrestling/TheMiz by ''one month''!

* BaldOfAwesome: Starting in 2021, probably thanks to his rapidly-thinning hairline, Mox has gone in for shaving his head. Given [[BloodKnight the kind of man he is]], it arguably suits his image even better.

* ButtMonkey: If something bad is going to happen to a member of Wrestling/TheShield, more often than not it's going to happen to him.

* AbortedArc: His run in the AEW World Title Eliminator Tournament came to an abrupt end when he took a hiatus from wrestling to enter an inpatient alcohol treatment program. Before his departure, he was clearly being set up as the tournament's WrestlingMonster, squashing [[Wrestling/TheDarkOrder 10]] and displaying a level of brutality that put him on the edge of a FaceHeelTurn. The reports are that he was actually supposed to win against Wrestling/BryanDanielson in the finals at ''Full Gear 2021'', which would've cemented his heel turn and set him up to tear through the rest of the Dark Order on his way to "Hangman" Adam Page. [[Wrestling/RusevAndLana Miro]] took his place in the tournament and filled a similar role as the feel who tore through the babyfaces on the way to the finals, but Danielson was ultimately given the win and the subsequent campaign through the Dark Order's members.

* AbortedArc: His run in the AEW World Title Eliminator Tournament came to an abrupt end when he took a hiatus from wrestling to enter an inpatient alcohol treatment program. Before his departure, he was clearly being set up as the tournament's WrestlingMonster, squashing [[Wrestling/TheDarkOrder 10]] and displaying a level of brutality that put him on the edge of a FaceHeelTurn. He was almost certainly intended to go to the finals against Wrestling/BryanDanielson at ''Full Gear 2021''.

* BadassBeard: In 2016, he grew one.
** BeardOfEvil: After his heel turn in 2018.

Jonathan David Good (born December 7, 1985) is an American {{professional wrestl|ing}}er best known for his eight-year run at Wrestling/{{WWE}}. As the psychotic {{heel}} Jon Moxley, he has participated in multiple indie promotions, perhaps most prominently in Wrestling/{{WCW}}'s former farm league Heartland Wrestling Association, Insanity Pro Wrestling, Wrestling/{{CZW}}, and Wrestling/DragonGate USA.

As usual, [[Wiki/{{Wikipedia}} The Other Wiki]] has more [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jon_Moxley information]] about his career.

* EyeScream: [[spoiler:Is stabbed in the eye by Chris Jericho as revenge for declining to join the Inner Circle and hitting him over the head with a champagne bottle.]]

* GrievousBottleyHarm: On the January 8, 2020 episode of ''Dynamite'', [[spoiler:Moxley smashed a bottle of "a little bit of the bubbly" over Jericho's head after refusing his offer to join The Inner Circle.]]

* ILied: [[spoiler:He pretended to join Chris Jericho's Inner Circle faction, even accepting the keys to a new car and boasting about how they as a group would take over AEW. He waited until Guevara and Hager left the ring before telling Jericho he was lying and that the group is dumb before laying them all out one-by-one. He still took the keys to the car as he walked out through the crowd, by the way.]]

** As much of a badass Jon Moxley is, Even he shows ''fear'' when faced with the maniacal and sadistic Wrestling/MinoruSuzuki... and for good [[AxCrazy reasons]].

* OhCrap: Yes, even a badass like Mox is not immune to this. After his Wrestle Kingdom 14 match with Juice Robinson, Moxley takes his title and prepares to leave... until a very familiar music plays. The crowd went ''nuts'' and Jon Moxley realizes that he had just got the attention of a brutal, sadistic NJPW veteran: ''Wrestling/MinoruSuzuki''.
* OocIsSeriousBusiness: Moxley rarely shows fear to any opponents he face, no matter how big, or how dangerous they are. But when he realizes that a psychotic [[Wrestling/MinoruSuzuki veteran]] is coming for him with a ''terrifying'' SlasherSmile. He briefly shows a ''very'' rare OhCrap reaction.

* RealSongThemeTune: "Wild Thing" by X

* WeUsedToBeFriends: With Eddie Kingston, going back to their younger days in the indies before Mox left for WWE. They reunited again in AEW and are fighting for Moxley's title. Their intentions are very opposite though, While Moxley is pissed about Eddie's attitude, he hopes that he could bring his old friend back, Eddie on the other hand wants Moxley to pay for leaving him behind.

* ArchEnemy: Ambrose/Moxley seems to have an issue with Bullet Club members no matter where he goes.
** In WWE, he and AJ Styles clash for the WWE Championship in the last 4 months of 2016, with Styles winning the championship from Ambrose at Backlash. Following confrontations have John Cena and James Ellsworth getting involved in the mix, with Ambrose helping the latter defeating Styles several times.
** From the moment of Moxley's debut at AEW, he and Kenny Omega went to war with each others, cultimating in Moxley defeating Omega at ''Full Gear'' 2019. A year later, the two feuded again, with Omega defeating Moxley at ''Winter Is Coming'' 2020 and capturing the AEW World Championship. The feud continues in 2021 with Omega this time having the help from Bullet Club members from three different promotions.
** Around the same time in 2021, Moxley also has issues with Kenta Kobayashi at NJPW for the IWGP United States Championship.

* HistoryRepeats: Ambrose/Moxley lost ist first WWE and AEW world championships to former leaders of the Bullet Club.

** His Shield mates were this in many ways. Both having much more notable accomplishments (such as beating Wrestling/TripleH and Wrestling/BrockLesnar") and even in the Raw vs Smackdown survivor series match where Roman and Seth stood opposite Dean the crowd gave Dean no reaction whatsoever while Seth and Roman were more positively reacted to.

* ScrewTheMoneyIHaveRules: His character towards the end of his WWE run and expressed on screen in AEW as Jon Moxley. He didn't even [[https://www.iwnerd.com/more-on-the-contract-that-dean-ambrose-turned-down-from-wwe/ look at]] the new WWE contract he was offered before leaving. '''And''' said directly to Wrestling/ChrisJericho when he attempted to recruit him into the Wrestling/InnerCircle.
-->'''Moxley:''' I didn't come to [[Wrestling/AllEliteWrestling AEW]] because someone backed a truck full of money up to my house. ''I CAN’T BE BOUGHT.'' [[note]] He said the [[ExactWords exact same]] thing towards the end of his last [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2eNQ8BGKFgg sit down]] interview with Wrestling/TheShield.[[/note]]

* NotSoDifferent: From Wrestling/RandyOrton, who was also pushed well and truly over the deep end by a [[Wrestling/TripleH friend's]] betrayal and has leaned to channel that madness into his wrestling and promo styles, although he's a little more crazy than Orton. Randy may hear some voices in head, but it's his rage that really makes him dangerous -- unprovoked, Randy can at least assume the ''appearance'' of someone with sound mental faculties (if a little bit ruthless). With Dean, you can tell right off the bat that the man is not right in the head, unprovoked or not.

* ActionDad: On November 18, 2020, Jon casually (as in, "''dropped it nonchalantly in the middle of a wrestling promo''" casually) revealed that his wife Renee was pregnant.