One of the biggest talking points to come out of this week in wrestling has been the rumour that Dolph Ziggler, who has been working for the WWE for over a decade, might be finally giving the company the boot once his contract expires in the coming months.
I said it a couple of weeks ago in my Money in the Bank analysis, Dolph Ziggler has always suffered from a severe case of “always the bridesmaid, never the bride”. He comes oh so close to winning the WWE World Heavyweight Championship, between no. 1 contender’s matches, Money in the Bank Ladder Matches, the occasional title shot, but never has he reached that coveted top spot. The closest he’s ever come to being the top dog in the company was in 2013, when he cashed in the Money in the Bank briefcase the night after WrestleMania 29, defeating an injured Alberto Del Rio to become the new World Heavyweight Champion.
Despite the fact that he would still be playing second fiddle to John Cena, who had just won the WWE Championship from The Rock the night before, I think we all saw this as Dolph Ziggler’s crowning moment. Nobody deserved it more than he did, and that crowd in New Jersey erupted in one of the loudest roars we’ve heard over the last decade in WWE.
Unfortunately, Ziggler’s day in the sun would come to an abrupt halt when Jack Swagger delivered a stiff kick straight to his noggin, keeping Ziggler out of action for multiple weeks with a concussion. And when WWE saw this as somewhat of a red flag, they took the strap off Ziggler at the Payback Pay-Per-View and gave it back to Alberto Del Rio in a double turn. Ever since that moment, Ziggler has been a fan-favourite in Royal Rumbles, Money in the Bank Ladder Matches, this year’s King of the Ring, Battle Royals and despite the endless love he receives from the masses of the WWE Universe, he’s never reached a level higher than that couple of weeks in 2013.
There are a lot of people who would absolutely abhor the thought of Dolph Ziggler turning his back on the WWE, his home for the last ten years, but nobody is in the position to make that call except for him. At the end of the day, despite how big and world-renowned the WWE might be (for both the right and the wrong reasons), for a guy like Dolph Ziggler, the WWE is just a place to wrestle. Ziggler is a professional wrestler, and there are a lot of companies in the world that would allow him to do what he does best. He likely wouldn’t be able to get a salary quite as impressive as what he has now, but I would imagine he could get somewhere damn close, with probably less than half of the working dates. He’d probably land a fine position on the card as well.
There are a lot of examples of people who found themselves uncomfortable with their positions in WWE, only to leave and earn much more success in another company. Most recently, we’ve seen Johnny Mundo (formerly known as John Morrison from his time with WWE) get some good spotlight in Lucha Underground, a very popular promotion despite only opening its doors last Autumn.
It’s well-known amongst the wrestling community that Mundo and Ziggler are good friends, so I would think that Ziggler would be welcomed to Lucha Underground with open arms, were he to actually leave the WWE. And that’s excluding the fact that he has a great work ethic and his athleticism is off the charts. Who knows, Lucha Underground could give Dolph Ziggler the success he’s sought after ever since he got into the industry. Then of course there’s the likes of TNA and Ring of Honor, who I’m sure would be chomping at the bit to get a name like Dolph Ziggler on their roster, so they can treat him like royalty and give him the chances he was never afforded with World Wrestling Entertainment.
Keep in mind, however, that rumours are rumours and you should take them with a grain of salt. There’s every chance that Dolph Ziggler is happy with his position in the WWE, and he’s comfortable in knowing he probably has a secure spot in the mid-card until he’s ready to call it quits. But there is evidence, despite how ambiguous, to suggest there may be truth to the tale.
While Ziggler was feuding with Sheamus in the post-Mania season, Ziggler posted something on his twitter that seemed to imply that he would rather be overrated and overachieve in the WWE than get the treatment he does now. He mentioned something about “five months” which may be the amount of time he had left on his contract, which suggests he could be leaving the company around September, after SummerSlam.
Again, if these rumours are true, I encourage you to jog your memory and remember another man whose real-life hesitation about re-signing a contract with WWE led him to become one of the longest-reigning WWE Champions in company history.
I’m not saying things are going to happen with Dolph Ziggler as they did with CM Punk, but it’s a definite possibility that WWE won’t want Dolph to go elsewhere, so they may take this opportunity to afford him the top spot he’s been busting his ass for. I wouldn’t be against it myself, if Ziggler needs to tease the idea of him jumping ship in order to get the attention he deserves, I’m all for it. If that’s what he is doing, however, he better make his peace and say his goodbyes now just in case, because I know Vince McMahon wouldn’t want to be taken for a fool, and used for Ziggler’s own personal gain. Still though, it has happened before, so if it works out for Dolph Ziggler, then fair play.
At the end of the day, I’m obviously not to say whether Ziggler should stay or go. And for that matter, neither are the people bitching and moaning about it. It’s like CM Punk all over again, if you don’t want to keep your job, and you’re in the position financially to get by without it, you shouldn’t feel obligated to your “fans” to stay and be unhappy. It’s his life, let him live it.
Personally, I don’t really care what he does. If he does stay, I doubt we’ll see much out of him that we haven’t already, meaning a future WWE World Heavyweight Championship reign may be out of the picture entirely. If he goes, the fact that WWE is the only promotion that I watch on a regular basis (I watch when I can, but I don’t get a chance to be a full-time fan of any other promotions), means wherever he does go, I won’t be seeing him on TV every week like I usually would.
Whatever happens, Dolph Ziggler is a fantastic wrestler and no matter where he ends up, or if he stays in the WWE, any promotion should be happy to have him. For his sake, let’s hope WWE realises his true potential and finally gives him the push he’s been working his whole life for. God knows he deserves it.
That’ll be all for this week, boys and girls (and everything in between). I’ll be back next week to put someone or thing beneath the proverbial spotlight and see what’s what.
If you enjoyed this piece, join the conversation in the comments below, and don’t hesitate to share it on Twitter, Facebook, Carrier Pigeon, Smoke Signals and all other various forms of communication.
You can also follow me on Twitter @AdamOB_UTS if you want to speak with me about wrestling, my writing or anything at all!
Thanks for reading!
Self-Professed Conversational Wizard.
Admin, Editor and Writer for SLTD Wrestling.
Creator of 'Under the Spotlight'.
Studying Computing in Games Development.
Recent Comments