Dean Ambrose’s Farewell From WWE Should Have Meant So Much More

As one of WWE’s most decorated and celebrated Superstars in recent years, Dean Ambrose deserved to go out with more fanfare than he did.

Last Sunday at WWE’s “The Shield’s Final Chapter” WWE Network live special, Dean Ambrose bid adieu to WWE. After The Hounds of Justice defeated the trio of Baron Corbin, Drew McIntyre and Bobby Lashley, Ambrose said his goodbyes to the WWE Universe and embraced his brothers in arms one final time.

All in all, it was a bit of an anticlimactic ending to the former WWE champion’s run in the company, especially considering how many swan songs The Shield has had since March.

There was zero buildup for the bout on WWE programming, aside from a quick mention of the event happening this past week on Raw. Thus, if that really was it for Ambrose in the promotion, there’s no questioning how WWE could have done a much better job of giving him the farewell he deserved.

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When it was announced at the onset of 2019 that Ambrose’s contract was coming due and he wouldn’t be re-signing, there were fans who expected him to stick around. Granted, almost everything is a “work” nowadays, but not this, and barring a last minute change of heart from him, Ambrose is headed for free agency.

It’s difficult to argue that Ambrose was ever “underutilized” considering all of his accomplishments in WWE, from winning the world title once to becoming Mr. Money in the Bank, but his happiness is an entirely different story.

If he wasn’t enjoying what he was doing anymore, it’s best that he take an indefinite leave of absence to live his life instead of agreeing to a new deal and phoning in performances.

Ambrose could be back in six months to a year or he may never return. Either way, for as big of a star as he was in WWE, his departure should have meant way more than it did, and WWE’s strange booking of him this year is mostly to blame for that.

It’s rare WWE ever acknowledges a Superstar’s decision to leave the company months in advance, let alone incorporate it into a storyline. Despite outright saying on WWE.com that he had no plans to remain with the company past April, it wasn’t until early March that it was finally mentioned on Raw that he was on his way out.

In that time, Ambrose was treated like an afterthought on the flagship show. He lost to the likes of Seth Rollins, Elias, Drew McIntyre and EC3 on a regular basis, and even briefly teased feuding with Nia Jax before that angle was (thankfully) dropped all together.

Ultimately, Ambrose transitioned back into a babyface role so he could reunite with The Shield. Their last stand at Fastlane would have been a perfect way to cap off the career of ‘The Lunatic Fringe’ in WWE, but officials instead opted to have him make infrequent appearances on Raw over the next month that didn’t serve much of a purpose.

First, he was brutally attacked by McIntyre one night on Raw, leading fans to speculate whether the ambush was designed to write him off WWE TV for good. Then, he was completely left off WrestleMania, even though he showed up the next night to get laid out by Lashley.

Obviously, it wouldn’t have made sense for Ambrose to be put in a prominent program ahead of his exit and go over in the end. However, there was nothing stopping WWE from using him to elevate someone else in his final few months with the company.

It would have been cool to see Ambrose clash with Finn Balor or Aleister Black for the first time, but unfortunately, neither of those encounters came to pass. A rivalry with Roman Reigns also would have been ideal considering they have never feuded one-on-one before, but WWE chose to pass on that program as well.

It’s been a weird 2019 for Ambrose, to say the least. Nothing can be done to change how he’s been handled up to this point, but on the bright side, he’ll be in the clear soon enough and will be free to work wherever he pleases, assuming he stays in the wrestling business at all.

Ambrose might be just as content staying home and recharging the batteries while he decides what his next move will be. Of course, All Elite Wrestling is always an option (not to mention Double or Nothing will taking place not far from where he lives in Las Vegas), but it’d be equally awesome to see him pop up in Ring of Honor, New Japan Pro Wrestling and IMPACT as well.

WWE’s sendoff for Dean Ambrose wasn’t what it should have been, but he will undoubtedly be missed by the fans who have admired and appreciated him over the years and are looking forward to finding out what his future holds.