WWE: Dolph Ziggler – Transitional champion or a fluke?

Dolph Ziggler

Dolph Ziggler – The one name that was on every fan’s lips after RAW ended the night after WrestleMania. After winning the Money in the Bank ladder match to earn a shot at the World Heavyweight title at any time he chose, Dolph Ziggler waited for the right moment, and cashed it in on RAW at NY-NJ the night after WrestleMania, against an injured Alberto Del Rio.

As Ziggler hit the Zig Zag and crawled over to cover Del Rio, the entire crowd counted till three, and the arena exploded as Dolph Ziggler, along with AJ Lee and Big E Langston celebrated in the middle of the ring. Ziggler worked for nearly three years to earn this opportunity, sometimes performing twice in one night and being the work horse of the organization.

Thus, when Ziggler finally got his hands on the World title, people were genuinely happy for him, and thought Ziggler’s moment in the WWE has finally arrived.

WWE were impressed with Dolph for a long time. He reminded the management of legends such as Mr. Perfect and Ric Flair, being charismatic and talented in the ring. He was given managers while he worked on his mic skills, and by the beginning of this year, he was the total package.

All WWE had to do was show a little faith in him and put the World title on his shoulder, and as it looked like they finally did so, Ziggler received a legitimate concussion which put a dent on the management’s plans for him.

So what did they do? They took the title off Ziggler and put it back on Alberto Del Rio. Although, everything wasn’t lost; ADR turned heel in the process while Ziggler turned face, reminding the fans of the famous double switch between ‘Stone Cold’ Steve Austin and Bret Hart at WrestleMania, about decade and a half ago.

Things were looking up for Ziggler, with the fans getting behind him and a long feud was set between Ziggler and Del Rio for the World title. That was until management changed their plans.

With WWE creative planning to push Big E Langston (He’s big and muscular, so that came as no surprise), they wanted to put him in a program against Ziggler, which only meant that the Ziggler-Del Rio feud would be cut short.

Now that AJ Lee and Big E Langston turned on Ziggler, they are reportedly set to feud through the summer, which would essentially mean that Ziggler would be going back to the mid card till his feud with Big E and AJ ends.

So this puts a question in fans’ minds if WWE looks at Ziggler as a transitional champion, to put others over, or as a fluke, something to tease the fans with and then turn a complete 180, going back to their original ideas, to the performers who’re not over with the fans, but still get their undeserved push?

This wasn’t the first time WWE did something like this with Ziggler. During his feud with Edge, Ziggler and Vickie tried to find ways to make Dolph Ziggler the World champion. This resulted in Vickie firing Edge and putting the title on Ziggler, which lasted for a whole 11 minutes! Edge was rehired, and he quickly defeated Ziggler to become the new World Heavyweight champion.

Although Ziggler became the hottest superstar in the WWE during ’11, making his presence felt online and also playing the villainous role on Zack Ryder’s ‘Z! True Long Island Story’, receiving praises from the fans for his entertaining monologues and promos, he was never given his due credit until he won the Money in the Bank ladder match last year.

Ziggler held the briefcase for a long time before cashing it in, becoming the new World Heavyweight champion, but lost it back to Alberto Del Rio at the very next PPV!

One wonders if Ziggler will ever get his due in the WWE, and what his role in the organization will be going forward. Dolph Ziggler is one of the most entertaining superstars in the WWE and is talented in the ring.

With the ability to make anyone look good in the ring, Dolph Ziggler is one of the most promising stars in the organization, and unless WWE shows complete faith in the superstar, things don’t look great for the “Show off”. One can only hope that WWE puts him back in the title picture once his feud with Big E and AJ ends, and makes him the world champion again soon.