Dean Ambrose vs. Bray Wyatt at TLC Will Fuel Feud into Royal Rumble

When Dean Ambrose steps into the ring with Bray Wyatt at the TLC pay-per-view this Sunday, it will be carnage.

With tables, ladders and chairs in abundance, alongside a distinct lack of self-control, fans are all but guaranteed to see these two loose cannons provide one of the most action-packed and entertaining matches of the night. It will be brutal, it will be thrilling, and it will end with one winner—but it will not be the end of this rivalry.

As has been the case with many of Bray Wyatt’s enemies to date, there was a somewhat arbitrary nature to the manner in which their feud began. With Ambrose finally getting his hands on The Shield defector Seth Rollins at Hell in a Cell, The Eater of Worlds was unexpectedly the last man standing after a bizarre interruption involving a haunting hologram.

Pitting two superstars together almost at random can sometimes result in a meaningless feud but, in this case, it only adds to the fire.

The Lunatic Fringe’s character is built on an edgy unpredictability and lack of restraint, so being robbed of the chance to take revenge on Rollins by a random attack gives him the leeway to redirect all of that anger—and more—onto the latest person to wrong him. A character such as Ambrose doesn’t so much seek answers to being attacked as look to deliver, to quote his old stable, “justice”.

From Luke Harper and Erick Rowan to Daniel Bryan and John Cena, this storyline is nothing unusual for Wyatt on a fundamental level. He has been largely unsuccessful in recruiting cult members to date and often moves on, but this feud has already shown strong signs of longevity.

More than any other star to date, Ambrose has proven he has the ability to get into Bray Wyatt’s head, culminated most poignantly in the destruction of his iconic rocking chair. These two former-NXT stars are hungry, talented, popular and unpredictable enough to work off each other and keep things fresh for a long time to come.

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The vast majority of rivalries revolve around a desire for championship gold, but now and then, there is a hatred so intense that it is able to thrive with nothing but pride at stake.

The Undertaker enjoyed exactly this kind of rivalry with Mankind, sparked in 1996 and providing us with some of WWE’s most iconic moments of all time. With the demonic Deadman up against a WWE Hall of Famer, who made a career out of putting his body on the line like few others ever have, the fans lapped up every encounter the two endured. There was no title or wacky stipulation required—just two great wrestlers providing a hell of a show.

Sunday’s match is not irrelevant by any means. The build-up has been given plenty of airtime recently and the fans have great expectations for what could easily be the penultimate match on an exciting card.

Everybody watching will be expecting a fierce affair that should really steal the show. However, the overall winner of the match will hold very little impact in the rivalry. Dean Ambrose alluded to this himself in a post-Survivor Series interview which can be seen below.

Regardless of the winner, this feud will continue clear into January’s Royal Rumble pay-per-view in Philadelphia and beyond. Whilst it may take a backseat from time to time, these two are likely to lock horns for many years in what could well become one of WWE’s all-time best rivalries.

It would be no surprise to see Ambrose come around to Wyatt’s way of thinking and join forces for a time. Every lengthy feud needs to stay fresh and the likes of The Undertaker/Kane, Steve Austin/Vince McMahon and even The Rock/John Cena have teamed up in spells.

These two are both top performers, and their characters are so extreme that there is no chance of them becoming rational in spite of face or heel turns, meaning the rivalry will endure regardless of their personal character plots.

This is a conflict destined to stand the test of time. TLC is just the beginning. If you still have any doubts, just listen to Wyatt himself. As covered by Louis Tully, Wyatt was quizzed on his rivalry with Ambrose on Chad Dukes Versus the World, and his answer was conclusive: “I think it will go on forever. As long as we both can walk and survive after TLC.”