Wwe dean ambrose vs chris jericho

Comments

Trending videos on WWE.com

via WWE.com

Dean Ambrose thrived in the hardcore environment Sunday night at Extreme Rules as he defeated Chris Jericho in WWE's first-ever Asylum match.

Ambrose hit Jericho with the Dirty Deeds into a pile of thumbtacks to register the win. WWE Universe got a shot of Jericho after he landed on the pile:

WWE Universe @WWEUniverse
That is NOT something you ever want to feel... #ExtremeRules #AmbroseAsylum @IAmJericho https://t.co/23cn7CssKS

WWE Universe @WWEUniverse
THUMBTACKS!!! @IAmJericho just got nailed in the #AmbroseAsylum! #ExtremeRules https://t.co/VEkieSN4rj

Bleacher Report's Ben Axelrod and Questionable Critics' Kevin Berge both ripped the match for a lack of excitement:

Ben Axelrod @BenAxelrod
WWE may have just followed its best match of the year with its worst.

Kevin Berge @TheBerge_
Even if this match wasn't been shown as silly with its set of weapons, it would still be a slow mess of a hardcore match. #ExtremeRules

With many tacks in Jericho's back, Aaron Oster of Rolling Stone wondered if that was the original plan:

Aaron Oster @TheAOster
Man, Jericho did not take that as well as he could have. There should not be tacks in his arm. #ExtremeRules

Ambrose defeated Jericho at Payback in the first chapter of a feud that began primarily because The Lunatic Fringe interrupted Y2J's The Highlight Reel and attempted to replace it with The Ambrose Asylum.

The rivalry seemed to be lacking, and it led to a match at Payback that wasn't as good as most expected, considering the quality of the competitors involved.

After that, however, the angle started to pick up steam. Jericho broke a potted plant over Ambrose's head on the following episode of Raw, and he made it clear that he meant business, per WWE Universe:

WWE Universe @WWEUniverse
"When I smashed that 20 lb ceramic, blunt object over his back, there ain't nothing funny about that" #SmackDown https://t.co/K55dq5g2un

Ambrose countered by stealing Jericho's $15,000 light-up jacket and cutting it to shreds the next week. Not to be outdone, Jericho put the former Shield member in a straitjacket and made him pay for destroying his property.

Shane McMahon gave Ambrose the power to attach any stipulation to his rematch with Jericho at Extreme Rules, so he opted to create the Asylum match, which is essentially a steel-cage match that includes the use of weapons.

Considering the exchanges between Ambrose and Jericho in the weeks leading up to Extreme Rules, getting some hardware involved in the bout made plenty of sense.

Ambrose rose to prominence on the independent scene by excelling in death matches, so the stipulation seemed to favor him at Extreme Rules.

While Sunday's match was a crash-and-burn spot-fest in some ways, it came off more effectively than the Payback encounter and was befitting of the manner in which their rivalry has escalated.

Ambrose was the favorite, since he is a full-time roster member who will be with WWE over the long haul, but another school of thought suggested that Jericho could win to set up a rubber match.

The creative team ultimately decided to put Ambrose over again, which may spell the end of the feud.

Jericho and WWE are usually secretive when it comes to his stints with the company, but a second consecutive loss may mean that his current run has reached its conclusion.

If that is the case, he did Ambrose and WWE a service since the unstable Superstar now has a ton of momentum and may be trending toward some involvement in the WWE World Heavyweight Championship scene.

Jericho has never been shy about putting over younger talent and doing everything possible to make them look good, and that is precisely what he did with Ambrose on Sunday.

For more wrestling talk, listen to Ring Rust Radio for all of the hot topics or catch the latest episode in the player below (some language NSFW).

Follow @MikeChiari on Twitter.