Bron Breakker defeated Dolph Ziggler to win back his NXT Championship on Monday’s WWE Raw. This came after Breakker lost to Ziggler in the main event of the Stand & Deliver event in Dallas, Texas.
Bryan Alvarez stated on today’s Wrestling Observer Live that people close to NXT told him that Ziggler would be WWE NXT Champion for “a while,” indicating a longer title run. This was on Saturday.
Fast forward to Monday afternoon, he heard from several people that we’re gonna have an NXT Title change on the show
He pointed out how later in the show, WWE aired a commercial for Tuesday’s NXT 2.0 where it was all about how Ziggler beat Breakker at Stand & Deliever to retain the title and they would have the fallout from it on NXT. Thus, WWE made the late decision on Monday to have the title change as the original plans were for Ziggler to remain champion.
Alvarez speculated Breakker didn’t win the title on Saturday because they had plans to move him up to the main roster. However, plans changed and they decided to put the belt back on him.
Bron Breakker got his rematch for the WWE NXT Title against Dolph Ziggler in the main event of the Stand & Deliver event in Dallas, Texas, but didn’t walk out victorious.
Early on, Bron went for a spear, but Robert Roode grabbed his leg so the referee tossed him from ringside. Ziggler was in control for a few minutes to slow down the big man. Bron with a powerslam, but Roode pulled Ziggler out of the ring on the pin attempt. Bron with a spear then the powerslam finisher, but Ziggler blocked and hit a superkick for the win. Ziggler retained the title.
Ziggler pinned Tommaso Ciampa in a triple threat match also involving Breakker to win the NXT title on the March 8 edition of NXT 2.0. On the March 15th edition of NXT, Bron challenged Ziggler to this title match after Ziggler defended the title against LA Knight.
Breakker won the NXT Title from Ciampa at New Year’s Evil in January, which was the second match between them after Ciampa previously beat him last year. Breakker made his first and only title defense as NXT Champion against Santos Escobar in the main event of Vengeance Day.
WWE reportedly is using main roster talent, mainly from Raw, to help boost NXT ratings.
Dolph Ziggler has been with WWE for over 15 years. He has seen the highs and lows of being a talent in the company and has become well versed in dealing with the infamous WWE creative. The NXT champion appeared on After The Bell podcast where he talked about dealing with all the sudden plan changes.
Ziggler who recently revealed that his NXT title win was a last-minute decision as well, mentioned that you rarely get what you want in the company:
“It’s not even, ‘You don’t always get to do what you want to do.’ It’s, ‘You rarely get to do what you want to do.’ You might be a champion one day, and then the next day, you’re not on the show.”
Dolph Ziggler noted how you can go from being one of the hottest acts to not being on the card the next day. According to him, it’s not always personal:
“It’s like, ‘We need to get this Roman-Brock story on. This is the part, and we need you to do this, this, and this, and you’re gonna have to sacrifice a few other pieces.’ A lot of times, two thirds of the roster is being sacrificed. and you go, ‘That’s going to be you no matter whether you’re new or old.’”
With all this trouble many wonder why he has not quit the company yet. Ziggler answered the question saying that “They never missed one check, so I appreciate that.” Though elsewhere he also claimed that you get a high once in a while which almost makes it worthwhile because you trucked around.
How do you feel about Dolph Ziggler’s assessment of the WWE creative? Let us know your thoughts in the comment section.
Dolph Ziggler surprised everyone by becoming the new NXT champion during this week’s Roadblock special of the development brand.
The triple threat match where Bron Breakker defended his title against both the Show Off and Tommaso Ciampa main evented the show.
It looked as if Breakker will retain his title when he hit Ziggler with a big spear. Though Robert Roode came to the aid of his partner and he pulled the referee out of the ring to make the save.
The final moments of the match saw Ciampa going for a running knee on the champion but Roode pulled Bron out of the way. Dolph Ziggler took advantage of the distraction and he delivered a superkick to Ciampa for the win.
The new champion was interviewed backstage after his big win. He mentioned how he screwed up the plans for everyone with his victory:
“Just when you thought, you all had WrestleMania weekend all figured out. Good old DZ, screwed it up for everybody.”
There is no word yet on what the officials are planning for the title now. WWE has announced NXT Stand & Deliver for WrestleMania week. It’s likely that Dolph will defend the NXT championship against Breakker on the show.
Bron Breakker made his second title defense as NXT Champion when the odds were stacked against him in storyline when he took on Tommaso Ciampa and Dolph Ziggler in the main event of Tuesday’s episode of NXT 2.0, titled Road Block.
The match had some near fall moments including submissions that were broken up at the last minute. Ziggler hit the Zig Zag at one point for a near fall on Ciampa. Bron hit a powerslam on Ziggler, but Robert Roode pulled out the referee. The finish saw Ciampa go for a running knee strike, but Roode pulled Bron out of the ring and Ziggler hit a superkick to Ciampa for the win. We have a new champion.
Originally, this was supposed to be a singles match as Ziggler beat Ciampa in a #1 contender’s match last month on NXT. However, that was changed when Ciampa and Bron joined forces to beat Ziggler and Robert Roode last week on NXT. Ciampa was added to the bout and it made for a three-way bout.
Breakker won the NXT Title from Ciampa at New Year’s Evil in January, which was the second match between them after Ciampa previously beat him last year
Breakker made his first title defense as NXT Champion against Santos Escobar in the main event of Vengeance Day.
“…There’s a lot of people online, who, if you saw them in real life, they wouldn’t say exactly the same thing. I mean, I think it’s Tyson or somebody, Mike Tyson probably has said, everyone runs their mouth until you see him in person. And they shut the hell up, or you punch him in the face, and that changes everything,” said Ziggler.
He continued, “…A lot of people ask me after matches like this, ‘Dolph, you good’? And I go, not good. I’m the best MFer we got. So maybe one of these days, those people that run their mouths online have to deal with me in person. So maybe, Breakker and his title, maybe I take it away from him. Maybe I stop by. Who’s to say?”
Dolph Ziggler Teasing NXT Appearance
Ziggler comments about Breakker isn’t the first time WWE teased his appearance on NXT 2.0. Alongside Bobby Roode, Ziggler confronted NXT 2.0 superstar LA Knight and hinted at competing on the developmental brand.
Ziggler isn’t the only WWE veteran that wanted to challenge an NXT 2.0 rookie. The company had AJ Styles involved in a quick feud with Grayson Waller and make appearances on NXT 2.0. Waller also showed up on Raw to promote his feud with the veteran and get fans interested in watching their match. The feud ended with Styles defeating Waller at NXT 2.0 on Jan.11.
It’s unclear if WWE will allow Ziggler to challenge Breakker for the NXT Championship. However, the company hints that Ziggler will appear on NXT 2.0 at some point.
You don’t usually think about dying in the ring when you are wrestling somebody. That is, unless you are wrestling Goldberg, According to Dolph Ziggler.
The show-off recently had an interview with XeniaDidThat. He discussed things such as his stand-up comedy career, whether he sees himself leaving wrestling and becoming a full-time comedian, and more.
During the interview, Ziggler said that he wants everyone to think that he made the most of the time when he goes out. This prompted the question of if he has ever thought about dying while being in the ring. To this he replied:
“A lot of times you don’t [think about dying in the ring] but maybe if you’re in there with Goldberg, you think about it a lot more.”
Apart from this, Dolph Ziggler also discussed how he has won the trust of WWE officials over the years where they now allow him a lot of freedom during press tours.
The former world champion started his WWE career in 2004. At this point, he has been with the promotion for over 17 years where he has won over a dozen titles.
Ziggler got the chance to face Goldberg in a singles match at SummerSlam 2019. The former Universal champion won this match in a quick fashion.
Ryan Nemeth, AEW star and brother of WWE Superstar Dolph Ziggler, recently appeared on Chris Jericho’s Talk Is Jericho podcast. The former FCW star discussed several topics on the podcast, including how his brother may have run into issues after ‘anti promoting’ AEW a few months ago.
“I think he got in trouble for tweeting so much”, Ryan Nemeth revealed on the show, discussing how his brother would tweet some ‘encouragement’ for his AEW debut matches.
“He would always anti-advertise for Dynamite by posting ‘do not watch this show, this guy sucks’ and it’s (a picture) of me”, Nemeth continued. “‘Don’t tune in to TNT at 8 pm tonight.’ I think, after a few months, maybe he got a talking to.”
Jericho himself then revealed that he actually wanted Dolph Ziggler to be part of his cruise. ‘Le Champion’ didn’t want Ziggler to appear to wrestle; he wanted him on tour as a comedy act.
“I was going to book him on my cruise at one point, and it was like, ‘You can’t book him on your cruise.’ ‘Why? He’s coming as a comedian,'” Jericho stated on the podcast.
With Chris Jericho having an affiliation with AEW for the first cruise and then having signed with the company for the second, it’s easy to see why WWE would chose not to let Ziggler make an appearance.
Celebrity appearances in WWE are becoming a more common occurrence. One in particular lives on long in the memories of the WWE universe. In 2011, Hugh Jackman was a guest on RAW. Brought into a segment with Dolph Ziggler and Zack Ryder, Jackman had one job to do. Punch Ziggler in the face as hard as he could.
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The rest, is WWE history.
Speaking recently on the Out of Character podcast with Ryan Satin, Dolph Ziggler reflected on that moment.
“Backstage, he’s a sweetheart guy,” said Ziggler. “He was so nice, and he was a fan. … He was like, ‘How can we make this awesome?’ And again, that is rare.”
In the interest of putting on a good show, Dolph Ziggler made the decision that he wanted Jackman to punch him. Giving the Hollywood star very clear instructions not to half-ass the effort and punch him as hard as he could.
“I go, ‘Don’t worry, you can go by the jaw, I can take a pretty good punch.’ So right before we went out, I said one last time, I go, ‘Listen man, if you think you’re gonna halfway do it, [or] miss, let’s switch this right now. Because I need you to punch me in the face with my hands down.’ And he goes, ‘I promise you, I won’t let you down.’ And he cracked me in the face pretty damn hard, it was great.” Ziggler said, recalling the events.
The rest is history, with Dolph Ziggler continuing to claim that the shot fractured his jaw. Whether this was true is open for debate, but one thing is for sure, it created one of the most memorable moments in RAW history.
Dolph Ziggler is one of the longest serving WWE wrestlers having signed with the company seventeen years ago. In that time, he has won fourteen different championships as well as being the sole survivor in two different Survivor Series matches and a Money in the Bank contract winner.
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In short, his professional career has been just as successful as his amateur wrestling career. Now however, he finds himself in a rather special position. Working with younger talent, helping them learn the ropes and hone their craft. Not backstage, but upfront, in the ring, before an audience (or in the Thunderdome).
Dolph Ziggler: Mentor
This is a role far-flung from the main event man he was for so long. Yet Dolph isn’t bitter about this change in his career. In fact, he finds it an honor, and embraces the role with all seriousness.
Ziggler recently appear on Out of Character with Ryan Satin, where he covered this topic with a very gracious response.
“I love passing that on. I really do. There’s no reason to be a negative bitter A-hole and then not give back to everybody else. I know what I’m doing better than almost everybody in the business, and I can give out lessons.”
Ziggler further talked about his relationship with Vince McMahon and how it has ebbed and flowed over the years. He has learned the hard way that respect from the boss is earned. It is earned, lost and re-earned again.
“You gotta re-earn it every day, and I do. If I mess up, which I do all the time, I say, ‘I screwed this up. It’s on me. I will fix this for next time.”
Whether in the main event or supporting a young superstar, there is no denying that Dolph Ziggler is a talented wrestler. There are few active wrestlers who could be a better teacher than Dolph.
Ryan Nemeth wrestled Hangman Page on Dynamite this week. Nemeth is the younger brother of WWE’s Dolph Ziggler. The Nemeth brothers have been sharing a few interesting interactions on social media relating to Ryan’s AEW debut over the last few days.
It started when Dolph requested that people not watch his brother’s match:
CEASE AND DESIST!!! DO NOT WATCH this Paris to my Nicky Hilton DEBUT TONIGHT, 8pm! pic.twitter.com/KYhA184hIa
Then when someone remarked to him that his brother “killed it” on Dynamite, Ziggler had the following response:
Oh, the business??? Agree. Not only did he blow it by getting pinned, He even had a haircut that I Kind of had, at one point in my life! What a LOOSER! #BoycottHollywoodHunk @HotYoungBriley pic.twitter.com/sxVhqsVSGL
“I have no problem with you (even tho Mom & Dad play favorites) but I do have a problem with deranged Dolph Ziggler “fans” who are too stupid / mentally dense to know if they’re supposed to like me or hate me, stumbling over their own shoelaces to defend you. THAT is pathetic,” he Tweeted at his brother.
Ryan also noted that he will delete Twitter if he receives any more messages calling him “Baby Dolph.”
“If one more person calls me Baby Dolph I will delete this app from my phone,” Ryan Tweeted. “Not playing.”
can’t believe Ryan’s brother Nic’s brother, “The Hollywood Hunk” debuted on aew dynamite! amazing job! + he had a hell of a match, better than I did on smackdown! Congratulations @HotYoungBriley (can I borrow some money?) #BoycottHollywoodHunk#boycottrobinhood
One-half of the current SmackDown tag team champions Dolph Ziggler recently appeared on WWE’s The Bump where he talked about things like winning the tag titles with Robert Roode and more.
With the Royal Rumble event being less than two weeks away, everybody is talking about the event and sharing their predictions and memories of the show.
During the interview, Ziggler also revealed his own favorite Royal Rumble moment and he recalled the time he challenged Edge for the world title at the event in 2011:
“There was a Royal Rumble where I fought against Edge for the World Heavyweight title once; we went one-on-one to open up the Royal Rumble. I went in knowing and the entire audience knowing that I had no chance of winning.
Because Edge is so awesome at what he does because that rivalry became so great because I learned so much in the past from traveling with him,” said Dolph Ziggler, “[I knew] I was a formable opponent to him at the time.”
The former world champion continued by saying that the entire crowd started realising that there was a star in the making in that match, 10 minutes into the bout.
According to Dolph Ziggler, they stole the show with the opening match and he doesn’t even remember who won the Royal Rumble afterwards. You can check out his full interview in the video below:
WWE decided to do a title change on the Friday’s episode of SmackDown.
As seen on this week’s episode, The Street Profits defended the SmackDown Tag Team Titles against Dolph Ziggler and Robert Roode.
Ziggler and Roode dethroned Montez Ford and Angelo Dawkins to win the straps. This is the first blue brand title reign for Roode and Ziggler.
During this year’s Draft in October, The New Day was drafted to Raw while The Street Profits were drafted to SmackDown. At the time, WWE official Adam Pearce had the two teams trade championships.
As a result, there was never an official title change, but rather the titles were renamed and the champions followed suit. The Street Profits had been champions since winning the titles from Murphy and Seth Rollins on the March 2nd episode of Monday Night Raw.
The Hurt Business (Cedric Alexander and Shelton Benjamin) dethroned The New Day (Kofi Kingston and Xavier Woods) to win the Raw Tag Team Titles last month at the WWE TLC pay-per-view event.
Historically, WWE doesn’t have tag team champions defend their titles at the Royal Rumble, which is the next pay-per-view event on tap for the company as it takes place later this month.
The unique clash between Drew McIntyre and Dolph Ziggler is in the books.
McIntyre was able to successfully retain the WWE Championship in his latest title defense at the WWE Extreme Rules pay-per-view event on Sunday night in Orlando, Florida.
After weeks of build-up to what the exact stipulation would be, it turns out that it was an Extreme Rules Match only for Ziggler. Thus, it saw Ziggler use any weapon he wanted while McIntyre tried to fight him in an actual wrestling match.
One of the highlights of the match saw Ziggler hit an elbow drop off the top rope onto McIntyre through a table on the floor.
Ziggler brought the fight to the champion but in the end, it was McIntyre standing tall by hitting the Claymore Kick for the win.
This championship match was booked back on the June 22nd episode of RAW when Ziggler made a surprise appearance on the show where he revealed that due to the trade involving AJ Styles being moved to Friday Night SmackDown, RAW was able to select two SmackDown stars. It ended up being Ziggler and Robert Roode being moved as a result.
Ziggler had been hyping the stipulation as a first-ever type of match.
Dolph Ziggler has a chance to become WWE Champion and if it was a decision left up to Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, it would happen.
Of course, Ziggler will challenge WWE Champion Drew McIntyre for the strap this Sunday at the Extreme Rules pay-per-view event in Orlando, Florida.
WWE has yet to confirm the stipulation for the contest as Ziggler is supposed to pick it. However, he has gone on record by stating that he doesn’t plan on revealing it until the PPV.
WWE’s Instagram account shared a photo of Ziggler holding the WWE Title. Once the photo was posted, The Rock commented on the post where he gave his thoughts on the possibility of Ziggler becoming WWE Champion.
“I’d co-sign this decision [one-hundred percent],” Rock wrote. “Talented dude and always has a spark in his presentations.”
This led to McIntyre seeing the comments made by the former WWE Champion and responded by using one of Rock’s signature lines, “It doesn’t matter what you think.”
It should be noted that the future WWE Hall of Famer has given high praise to McIntyre as well. In fact, he stated last July that he thinks McIntyre could be the next big WWE Superstar. Fast forward to 2020, McIntyre is the top champion on the RAW brand.
Dolph Ziggler would love the opportunity to compete against Edge one more time. Speaking with Sports Illustrated, Ziggler reflected on their previous matchup at Royal Rumble 2011.
Ziggler recalled how he was a guy “that lost 99% of the time.” Back then he wouldn’t cut promos, and instead relied on Vickie Guerrero. He stressed how their Rumble matchup had “no cool backstory” to it.
Instead, “we built this up for a couple weeks and maybe, maybe, I had a 1% chance of winning, which I’ve made a career out of over the past 15 years. I learned so much from Adam on the road during the live events we did together.”
Reflecting on their 2011 bout, Ziggler remembered how they opened the show with their World Championship match and that the crowd was hot throughout. According to Ziggler, “everyone knew I was losing that match for the first 10 minutes” but stressed how they successfully turned their bout into a back-and-forth affair. “People weren’t sure what was going to happen, and no one sat down during those last 10 minutes.”
He joked how he tries to take credit for everything he does, but admitted that this match was him “trying to hang with Adam.” Ziggler stated how he used to think he was great back then, but can now re-watch his older matches and find a million things he did that annoys him. Leading the crowd to believe he could actually beat Edge is something he fully credits to the “Rated R Superstar.”
Dolph Ziggler continued his praise for Edge, sharing that their Royal Rumble match is one of his “absolute favorite matches” and that “If there is a chance where him and I get to go toe-to-toe in the ring again, I would love it.”
RAW Superstar Dolph Ziggler has revealed that he hasn’t watched Edge and Randy Orton’s recent Backlash bout. Advertised as “The Greatest Wrestling Match Ever,” Ziggler explained that, although he was backstage for the recording of their matchup, he didn’t actually watch it because he doesn’t “watch wrestling.”
Speaking with Justin Bassasso of Sports Illustrated, Ziggler shared how it was “friggin’ amazing” to be backstage. Despite not watching them perform, Ziggler had high praise for Orton:
“I don’t have any ass to kiss here, I have no horse in the game, but these two are two of my favorites. One, because I know a lot of people hate Randy because he’s so damn good. It’s amazing.”
Dolph Ziggler continued, “I’ll be watching RAW, and say, ‘Dammit, he does this better than anyone.’ It makes me so mad. There are only a handful of true naturals, and he is one, and I hate that.”
Ziggler pointed out how if Orton makes a mistake, he isn’t afraid to call him out on it. He noted how most people are too intimidated to give Orton feedback, but “he won’t hear the end of it from me.” He then stressed how no one is as good as Orton, and that it’s something that really bothers him.
Dolph Ziggler is scheduled to compete against Drew McIntyre at WWE’s Extreme Rules pay-per-view. The two will face off in a WWE Championship matchup.
Dolph Ziggler is now a RAW Superstar having recently been moved to WWE’s red brand. In an interview with SI.com, Ziggler reflected on being traded to Monday nights and his recent COVID-19 test results.
Ziggler revealed that he didn’t pitch to be moved to RAW. He noted how his feud with Otis had “run its course” and left him ready for something new. He shared how he really enjoyed working with Otis, Mandy Rose, and Sonya Deville for their storyline.
“If this were the old days and we were going five days a week and doing live events, we would have had even more chemistry and a really special thing,” Ziggler explained. “In this day and age, where it’s just a TV show in a closed studio, as young superstars, they came along very quickly. But I don’t know where else we could go with that, so I completely understand the move to Raw.”
Dolph Ziggler On His COVID-19 Testing Experience
Regarding his recent COVID-19 tests, Ziggler mentioned how “you will absolutely see me on Raw.”
He stressed how WWE has been “really cautious” with everything, before detailing the company’s process.
“[WWE has been] washing down the ring and keeping everyone isolated. When we go to work, we’re tested. If we get a negative test, then we go to work. Even several months ago, when we weren’t exactly sure what we were being told to do by the CDC on a day-to-day basis.”
Ziggler shared how he wanted to “play it safe” and so has been wearing a mask whenever he can, whether that’s in the gym, walking into a CVS, or even for a short walk outside.
Multiple WWE Superstars recently tested positive for COVID-19, forcing last-minute changes to their recording schedule.
Dolph Ziggler is scheduled to compete against Drew McIntyre at WWE Extreme Rules. They clash in a WWE Championship match. WWE Extreme Rules takes place on July 19 from the WWE Performance Center in Orlando, Florida.
The first match has been announced for the upcoming WWE Extreme Rules PPV.
During the opening segment of Monday’s episode of RAW, WWE Champion Drew McIntyre came out for an in-ring promo only to be interrupted by Dolph Ziggler.
This is where Ziggler revealed that due to the trade involving AJ Styles being moved to Friday Night SmackDown, RAW was able to select two SmackDown stars. It ended up being Ziggler and Robert Roode being moved to the flagship show of WWE.
Later in the promo, Ziggler brought up how he’s owed a title match, and McIntyre redeeming himself after being fired from the company a few years ago. Now, the former friends turned foes will face off in a match.
In this same segment, Ziggler challenged McIntyre for the WWE Championship, which McIntyre accepted on the spot.
As a result, they’ll wrestle at the Extreme Rules pay-per-view event on Sunday, July 19, 2020 in Orlando, Florida at the WWE Performance Center.
Since moving to the SmackDown brand, Styles not only won the United States Title by beating Daniel Bryan in the tournament finals but also got into a new program.
He just lost to the debuting Matt Riddle on last week’s show and the expectation is that they’ll be feuding going forward.
Ryback was with WWE from 2006 until 2016. Ziggler has been with the company since 2004. Their paths crossed several times in the ring but according to recent comments he made, Ziggler was not a fan of working with the Big Guy. During a recent Twitter back-and-forth, Ziggler noted that he would do whatever it took to avoid getting in the ring with Ryback.
“I did whatever I could to get out of a Ryback match, only getting hit once. It was the safe thing to do & not breach my contract. Plus they said being in the ring with you, counted as community service. ps: feel free to google the word ‘safe,’” Ziggler Tweeted.
Ryback started the thread when he tagged Ziggler in the following Tweet:
“Woooo the “random diva” even complimented your massive forearms! well the one, anyway,” Ziggler responded.
“Had to have been the one that knocked you out when you “forgot” to duck. Still baffles me to this day a guy with your neck width crumbled so easily, but shooters all have their weaknesses,” Ryback then Tweeted.
I did whatever I could to get out of a Ryback match, only getting hit once. It was the safe thing to do & not breach my contract. Plus they said being in the ring with you, counted as community service. ps: feel free to google the word “safe”
Ryback recently noted on his podcast that he believes we are seeing the fall of Vince McMahon.
“I honestly think we’re seeing the fall of Vince McMahon” Ryback stated. “He is truly being tested now, and I think he’s going to go down in flames. He’s going to go down swinging. Regardless, I could see him…he’s the type that will lose everything in the battle. And it’s the fact that there, it’s so public this, it’s right in your face what’s going on. And it’s almost like well ‘what do you guys gonna do about it?’ Okay, that’s worked in the past. The coronavirus is the one variable that he can’t control, and all it’s gonna take is one superstar dying, or their family member dying.”
WWE Superstar Dolph Ziggler has reflected on his momentous Money in the Bank victory back in 2012. Speaking on WWE show The Bump, Ziggler looked back on his victory and his experience competing in the ladder match.
Ziggler shared how it was “amazing” to be in there, especially when he was a “pretty young up-and-coming go-getter.”
He pointed out how it was such a learning experience to be in there with Christian, stating how he learned so much both mentally and physically from him. He then spotlighted Tyson Kidd, sharing how he is still such a huge fan of his.
“The Showoff” added how he doesn’t know of anybody else that has continually set the bar over 15 years in the way he has. Ziggler stressed how he keeps “setting the bar, knocking it down and stealing the show.”
Dolph Ziggler Cashes In
Dolph Ziggler would cash in his Money in the Bank briefcase on the Monday Night RAW following WrestleMania 29. It was a successful cash in as he defeated Alberto Del Rio. This victory saw him claim the WWE World Heavyweight Championship. It was a win he credited to the fans. He believes their faith in him convinced WWE’s top brass to pull the trigger with him.
“It wasn’t me cashing it, it was an entire fanbase getting behind someone who they could tell had it. Who they could tell could put the time in, and who they could tell was getting the shaft left and right backstage and continues too.”
He recalled how he wanted to be 100% business. However, when his music hit and he stepped out, the moment him like “10,000 bees stinging me.” He referred to his match with Del Rio as a “thing of beauty” and stressed how, no matter your experience with pro wrestling, “you watch those four minutes, you live and die three different times.”
Dolph Ziggler isn’t sure if that could happen for anybody else but remains thankful to the fans for helping allow it for him.
In the build-up to WrestleMania, Otis, Mandy Rose, Dolph Ziggler, and Sonya Deville were involved in a tangled romantic storyline. Otis and Mandy Rose were the couple everyone wanted to get together but Dolph Ziggler and Sonya Deville conspired to keep them apart. Then on the second night of WrestleMania 36, Otis defeated Dolph Ziggler and then he and Mandy Rose embraced.
Rose was recently interviewed by SI.com. During the interview, she detailed pitching the storyline to Vince McMahon and his reaction.
“It’s hard to get in Vince’s office, but I finally got in and I pitched this story,” Rose said. “He loved it, he had some ideas, and then Sonya and I had a lot of say in the creative, which was really cool. We were able to write a lot of it. We all worked together, and that’s one of the reasons it’s worked so well. Everyone’s been really passionate about it.”
Rose would continue to talk about what Otis is like in real-life when he’s off-camera.
“Ever since we met in NXT, we’d always joke around together,” she continued. “He’d call me ‘Mandy Candy’ and cut different promos, and it was really cute. He’s just so charismatic, even when he’s not on camera. He makes us laugh the same amount when he’s off-camera. He’s funny and super sweet, and he’s so kind, which is one of the best qualities.”
In many ways, the angle has helped propel Rose, Deville, and Otis further up the card in WWE. Deville’s emotional promo on the Smackdown following WrestleMania has also been heavily-praised by many. As for Ziggler, the match against Otis was his first single’s match at WrestleMania.
Arn Anderson has revealed that WWE did not Dolph Ziggler to use the Superkick. Anderson spoke about it during a recent episode of his ARN Podcast. During the episode, the WWE Hall of Famer also broached why Ziggler has never been “the top guy” in WWE.
Anderson explained how WWE wants “blind devotion” from their Superstars. According to him, Ziggler had a long-standing opinion regarding Superkicks that he would actively voice. Anderson shared how WWE expected the Superkick to be retired after Shawn Michael’s stopped performing. It was a decision Ziggler took issue with.
“You can’t retire moves. How many Superkicks do you see today for God’s sake? Probably one in every single match, in every company,” Arn Anderson said. “So, that was a heated issue years ago, but Dolph, he had an opinion and he would voice it. The guy was never a question amongst all the producers. He worked his ass off and once we got to Gorilla, no matter if he agreed to what’s going on or not, he would go out and give you 100 percent.”
Arn Anderson On Dolph Ziggler Being A Top Guy
Arn Anderson confessed he was a big fan of Dolph Ziggler. He noted how some people may have complained about him when he was on the card, but argued that Ziggler is a performer that “made everybody better than what they were.”
This forced the question: why wasn’t he one of the top guys? Anderson confessed he doesn’t have an answer as to why upper management has never viewed Ziggler as a top talent. He explained how Ziggler is a wealthy man who, he feels, may have been smart with his money. Anderson shared how he wouldn’t be surprised if Ziggler eventually got tired of how he is viewed or treated by WWE.
Arn Anderson believes, if that day comes, Ziggler will “[…] thump down the steps and take off his boots and walk out the door and you’ll never hear from him again, and he will have accomplished what he wanted to in the business. Left on his own terms.”
Heavy Machinery’s Otis is reportedly still set to compete against Dolph Ziggler at WrestleMania 36. The matchup has yet to be officially announced. It is expected that their clash will be confirmed during this week’s episode of SmackDown on FOX.
According to Wrestling Observer Radio, their planned clash has not been changed and will still be a part of WrestleMania 36. Their feud was a significant part of last week’s SmackDown. The show was performed in front of zero fans at the WWE Performance Center out of coronavirus concerns.
It has been speculated that WWE had considered plans for a mixed tag team match involving Heavy Machinery. Otis and his tag team partner Tucker Knight would have teamed with Sonya Deville. They would have faced the team of Dolph Ziggler, Robert Roode and Mandy Rose.
WrestleMania 36 Changes
Originally intended to be hosted at Raymond James Stadium, WrestleMania 36 now takes place from multiple locations on April 4 and April 5. The show will be pre-recorded to try and combat the further spread of the coronavirus.
Orange County officials recently issued a “Stay at Home” order. This order will go into effect for two weeks from Thursday, March 26. It includes the locations of the WWE Performance Center and Full Sail University. It is unknown at the time of writing how this will impact WWE’s current production cycle and recording process, post-WrestleMania 36.
WWE Hall of Famer Goldberg spoke with Justin Barrasso of Sports Illustrated to talk about a wide range of topics. During the interview, he talked about his latest match under the WWE banner and what his future holds with the company.
The legendary pro wrestler made short work of Dolph Ziggler in a singles match at SummerSlam.
Goldberg stated that he appreciated what Ziggler did for him in that match and for being professional about it.
“I’m never happy with any of my performances, and I’d lost my mojo, I felt like,” said Goldberg. “But the reality is, the older you get, the more you’re going to lose your mojo because you can’t do it like you used to.”
When it comes to his future in the business, Goldberg stated that he doesn’t see the match as his last performance and that there’s a good chance that he will wrestle again.
“It’s by no means my farewell performance, nor was it my best performance, but you have to be realistic and take all things into consideration,” said Goldberg. “It’s a very good possibility I’ll be back, but you don’t know it until it’s done.”
Goldberg did bring up how being able to stay in such great shape to portray his character gets lost in the shuffle when fans talk about wanting to see him wrestle again. He stated that he doesn’t know of a power wrestler that’s been able to come back after a 12-year hiatus and still be that guy.
This is why he has found that it’s been a tough time to keep on weight to look like he did back in his prime. That’s why he thinks he needs to reinvent himself by losing 20 pounds.
Goldberg worked the WWE Super ShowDown pay-per-view event in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia back in June against The Undertaker. At the time, it was reported that Goldberg had agreed to do more matches.
Visit SI.com to read their full interview with Bill Goldberg.