For a fleeting moment, it looked like the WWE World Heavyweight Title was headed for the Ambrose Asylum. Challenging Triple H for WWE’s most prestigious prize at WWE Roadblock, Dean Ambrose proved he is capable of pinning The Game’s shoulders on the mat for three seconds.
Tonight, however, fate intervened.
With an Ambrose victory threatening to send the WrestleMania card into utter disarray, The Game fought tooth-and-nail to protect his championship gold. He appeared totally composed at the start of WWE Roadblock’s huge main event, while The Lunatic Fringe did everything in his power to rattle the 14-time WWE World Heavyweight Champion. The characteristically defiant Ambrose slapped Triple H on the head as he controlled him with an armbar, then took a breather, mocking The Cerebral Assassin the entire time.
See photos of Dean Ambrose and Triple H's title clash at WWE Roadblock
Sensing the huge stakes, Ambrose — perhaps for the first time in his WWE career — even abandoned his normal brand of unpredictable lunacy and employed an actual gameplan, zeroing in on the left leg of the increasingly frustrated Game. The strategy worked at first, until Ambrose made a misstep outside the ring and Triple H’s viciousness took over. After shoving Ambrose back-first into the steel ring steps, The Cerebral Assassin began a methodical assault on Ambrose’s ribs and spine. The King of Kings dropped The Lunatic Fringe stomach-first on the ring barricade and shot hard knees into Ambrose’s mid-section before garnering a near-fall off a spinebuster.
Throughout the back-and-forth brawl, Triple H attempted one Pedigree after another, with Ambrose averting the danger each time. Ambrose punctuated one such comeback with a rebound clothesline that almost detached Triple H’s head from his body, and before long, the method to Ambrose’s madness — targeting The Game’s leg — became evident as he put the champion in an excruciating Figure-Four Leglock. As Ambrose screamed, “I’ll break your leg,” Triple H mustered the strength to reach the ropes and break the hold.
Then, it happened. To the disbelief of many, Ambrose landed Dirty Deeds and referee John Cone’s hand seemingly slapped the mat three times, sending the Ricoh Coliseum into a frenzy. The catch? Ambrose’s right leg was extended below the bottom rope, causing Cone to call off the pinfall and let the match continue.
Undeterred, Ambrose continued the fight, and the head games, catching Triple H with an elbow drop from the top rope to the floor and then parodying the crotch chop made famous by The Game’s former stable D-Generation X. The Lunatic Fringe then went for broke, leaping off the barricade in an ill-fated attempt to elbow drop Triple H through the announce desk.
The Game rolled off the table at the last second, sending Ambrose crashing through the wood. The WWE Universe cheered Ambrose on as he courageously returned to the ring, beating the referee's count. Unfortunately for the Ambrose Asylum, Triple H was waiting on his challenger and pounced the moment he climbed through the ropes, drilling Ambrose with a match-sealing Pedigree.
Ambrose fought bravely and intelligently, but tonight, Triple H showed it’s rarely a winning proposition to challenge authority, let alone The Authority.