The time has come for Dolph Ziggler to finally become the superstar we all know he is and can be, as 2015 comes to a close there is no one more ready to once more smash through WWE’s proverbial glass ceiling than the ‘Show Off’ Dolph Ziggler.
Anyone who has witnessed Dolph in the ring knows how good he is once the bell rings, like his slogan says Ziggler can back it up, and back it up he has against every opponent he’s faced. Dolph has arguably been one of the best workers in the industry for the last five years, on every episode of Raw, Smackdown and at PPV’s he strives to be perfect. He wants to give the audience the best match and be the star of the show. In his own eyes there is no one better than Dolph Ziggler.
Although he made his original WWE debut as a member of the Spirit Squad, better forgotten if you ask me, I feel Dolph really started to get noticed when he entered into an Intercontinental title feud with Rey Mysterio in the summer of 2009. In April of the same year the repackaged ‘Dolph Ziggler’ was drafted to Smackdown and began a short feud with the Great Khali. This was an uneventful feud as it was only booked to enhance Dolph’s character and give him some credibility with the masses. Getting back to the Mysterio feud, they clashed at the Night of Champions and Summerslam PPv’s respectively, although Ziggler lost out on both occasions the matches were well received and by critics and the fans.
2010 was a more fruitful year for Ziggler and also the year in which he made his mark in the industry and started to put everyone on notice. In June ,Dolph started an on screen relationship with the always entertaining Vickie Guerrero, this partnership and Dolphs hard work led to him finally capturing his first IC title from Kofi Kingston on an episode of Smackdown in August. This was a well earned victory for Ziggler who had improved greatly since his return to the roster a year prior. Dolph with Vickie at his side had a very rewarding five month reign where he successfully defended the title at Summerslam, Night of Champions and Survivor Series. He finally dropped the title back to Kofi in January 2011.
By January 2011 Dolph’s popularity was increasing and he was also earning the respect of fans and his peers, he was quickly becoming the man the company could depend on. On the same evening he dropped the IC title back to Kofi, Dolph was thrust into the World Heavyweight Title scene partly due to the fact Vickie was Smackdown general manager and because of her ex connection with then current champion Edge. The match was set for the Royal Rumble and although a clash between the two was mouth-watering many questioned whether Dolph was ready for the opportunity just yet. At the Rumble itself Dolph was defeated by Edge, it was a very entertaining match where Ziggler proved that he could handle a big match situation. The feud last for the entirety of January and into mid February, Dolph was actually declared Heavyweight champion due to a technicality, but was only champion for eleven minutes. Teddy Long returned in the storyline to reverse the decision and ‘FIRE’ Ziggler.
After an unrewarding Wrestlemania feud which included John Morrsion, Trish Stratus and ‘Snooki’ from Jersey Shore, Dolph and Vickie resurfaced on Monday Night Raw looking to reinvigorate the character and get back on track after the lows of March & April. Much like the previous year Dolph set his sights on Kofi Kingston once more but this time round the United States title was the prize. Dolph earned himself a shot at the US title at the Capitol punishment PPV where he successfully defeated Kofi in a very rewarding match for both men, this is where I believe Dolph’s in ring displays started to step up in WWE, he was fast becoming an all round ring general capable of five-star matches every night. Following the win Dolph then defended the title the next night of Raw in a two out of three falls match, he retained and although it was via disqualification the match once more made both men standout.
Shortly after his program with Kofi came to a close Vickie Guerrero also took Jack Swagger as a client and that set in motion and started a slow burning distrust between the two. During the Summer of 2011 also referred to as the ‘Summer of Punk’, Dolph gained mainstream popularity when he was involved in a story line scrape with Hollywood actor Hugh Jackman, who actually went on to knock out the ‘Show off’ live on Raw!!! It was a great Raw moment and it certainly got Ziggler noticed inside and outside of WWE. Ziggler & Swagger then became tag team partners and unsuccessfully challenged for the Tag Team Titles at Hell In a Cell and Vengeance. It was also at Vengeance where Ziggler defended the US title against Zack Ryder in a great match and during this period Dolph would routinely participate in multiple matches on the same evening. Dolph rounded off the year on a high by dropping the title to Zack Ryder at the Tables, Ladders and Chairs PPV in arguably the match of the night. Dolph did it the right way.
2012 started more or less like 2011 for Dolph who was thrust into a World title feud with then WWE champion CM Punk. Ziggler was the pawn in the ongoing feud between Punk and then WWE General Manager John Laurinaitis and so therefore he challenged Punk on Raw and at the Royal Rumble PPV where he was obviously defeated on both instances. He was also included in February’s Elimination Chamber PPV match which he then publicly rubbished as being bad for his health. Once more after a great start to the year Ziggler fell from grace as he was included in the 12 man tag match at Wrestlemania where no one got a chance to shine and then in the post Mania season he was booked in a miserable feud with Brodus Clay, Santino Marella and Hornswoggle. After this mediocre Spring booking Dolph once more challenged for the World title this time challenging Sheamus and whenever these two lock up the result it always entertaining, these matches were no different. Sheamus ultimately won the battles but they were rewarding for the fans.
In July of 2012 Dolph captured the coveted Money in the Bank briefcase, what started then would be the rise and fall of Dolph Ziggler. During the Summer months he made multiple attempts to cash in on champion Sheamus, but he was thwarted at every opportunity. He then became embroiled in a feud with Chris Jericho whom he defeated at both Summerslam and Raw. Because of the result on Raw, Jericho’s contract (kayfabe) was terminated. Ziggler then started a feud with ring general and the most selfless WWE superstar Randy Orton, they clashed throughout September and October on TV & PPV. At Night of Champions Randy defeated Ziggler to end the feud in a very well received match. Fans were disappointed that the feud wasn’t won by Ziggler but most took it as a sign Dolph was ready for the big time. However it was at Survivor Series where Dolph’s star rose once more as he was the winning member in a traditional elimination match and he succeeded by pinning Orton.
Then in December the time came for Dolph to go toe to toe with company man John Cena, many were excited at the prospect of these two locking up as both excelled in big match situations. The feud culminated at the TLC PPV where the MITB briefcase was up for grabs. In the interim Dolph realigned himself fully with Vickie while Cena was involved in a romantic storyline with Aj Lee. The Ladder match itself excelled expectations as both men rocked it on the night in great fashion, Dolph surprisingly got the victory that night but only after Aj Lee had turned on Cena and sided with the Show off. The reaction for the turn and Ziggler winning was thunderous, many wanted Dolph to succeed and surely this match was the catalyst to Dolph breaking through the glass ceiling,
Dolph with Aj by his side strutted in to 2013 and in January he was given a bodyguard in the form of NXT graduate Big E Langston. Dolph looking confident as ever had a great start to the year due to winning a stipulation match to insert himself as number one entrant into the Royal Rumble match. He had a great showing on the evening and lasted a staggering fifty minutes before being eliminated. Following the Rumble and much like the two years prior Dolph had a quiet Wrestlemania season. At Wrestlemania 29 he teamed with Big E to unsuccessfully challenge Team Hell No for the tag team titles.
The Night after Wrestlemania however would be the night in which Dolph Ziggler finally reached the summit in WWE. On the Raw following Mania, he finally cashed in his MITB briefcase on then World Heavyweight champion Alberto Del Rio. The atmosphere that night and fan reaction to Dolph cashing in was thunderous, Ziggler’s connection with the fans had been growing but it was that night that they finally embraced him as the future. The victory however was bittersweet as shortly after the title win Dolph suffered a legitimate concussion and missed WWE TV for just over a month. Ziggler finally returned and defended the title at the Payback PPV in June, this match was like no other as at Payback a double face turn took place as Ziggler’s never say die attitude and selfless performance earned him the respect of the fans. In a rewarding high octane match Dolph dropped the title back to Del Rio in a world class performance.
He was also unsuccessful in his rematch with Del Rio at MITB as Aj Lee cost him the match by getting involved. This therefore led to an inevitable split between the lovers and subsequent feud with Big E which culminated in a match at Summerslam. As 2013 came to an end Dolph Ziggler had firmly become a white-hot fan favourite by just being an awesome talent, many also felt WWE treated him badly following his abysmal World title reign. What came next then infuriated fans and surely Dolph Ziggler, as 2014 became the most inconsistent year for WWE’s most consistent talent. At the Summerslam PPV Ziggler captured the IC Title for the second time in his career and in doing do it started the hot potato era of the IC title which lasted until Wrestlemania 31.
The treatment of Ziggler in 2014 was abysmal, that was, until WWE realised what potential they had been wasting. In an unbelievable turn of events Dolph was chosen to be the last surviving member of team Cena at Survivor Series and in winning the match the Authority was no more. Dolph ,once more ,in this match showed every one how good he is, his timing, offence and selling were spot on, he had the WWE universe in his hands. You could say that the Survivor Series win was another plateau for Ziggler, as following the PPV, WWE once more neglected to push the character and subsequently Dolph faced continuous stop/start booking which harmed and publicly forced Dolph to contemplate moving on from WWE.
2015 has been another hectic year for Ziggler, he’s had entertaining feuds with Sheamus and Rusev and competed in some excellent matches especially recently with John Cena on Raw. Just before WWE’s Summer period, word spread that he was stalling in signing a new contract with the company, the will he,won’t he, question was discussed by many, the fans and industry insiders were split on what Dolph should do. It’s pretty obvious to all now, that Ziggler re-signed with the company but one must ask why Dolph did this. Surely there were many suitors out there that Dolph could have gone to? Personally, for him to resign there must have been something guaranteed to him, surely a world title run and push was agreed?The recent high-profile feud with Rusev, Lana and Summer Rae has completely fallen to pieces in the last two weeks as news broke of Lana and Rusev’s real life engagement, this has meant that six months of storylines had to be scrapped. Surely his wasn’t the revelation Vince, Triple H or Dolph wanted?
The Show off has been embraced by the WWE universe, but I feel a return to the dark side looms large for Ziggler and the soon to happen sabbatical of John Cena should help kick-start this heel turn and return to the bright lights of the main event scene. Dolph is in need of a return to the character that brought him to the dance and I think we all want to see it happen, and there is no other foil better than John Cena. Ziggler’s performance last Monday against Cena was excellent, their chemistry is amazing and another match at the HIAC PPV should be the catalyst for Dolph’s push. With Cena going and WWE in need of full-time heel single performers, there is no better time than now for Dolph to seize the day and became the mega star we all know he can be.
@Ciaran_1986
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