Poor Dolph Ziggler.
‘The Show Off’ has spent more than a decade being very reliable, but because the world is broken, his reward for these welcome traits is nothing more than indifference from his superiors.
The man who coined the phrase “Age of Gratitude” for the company’s obsession with its own past at the expense of its future has himself become the template for what happens if you get lost in production of modern WWE content. After losing the World Heavyweight Championship in 2013 (and with the notable exception of a brief Intercontinental Title rivalry with The Miz in 2016), he’s been relegated to more programs, mini-feuds and matches that haven’t mattered than those who do Through no fault of his own, his legacy will be forced to carry this confusing label.
And that’s all if some internet idiot like your writer doesn’t say “and remember that time he cut and dyed his hair and we were all so disgusted with it that the idea was immediately abandoned?!” like that weird aesthetic bug that needs to be dredged up again. Poor Dolph Ziggler.
But there will be none of that here! She had short brown hair for a while, at the end. Oh shit, but there was also another time when…
A total curio from the Ziggler archives, “The Show Off” looked nothing like his usual self in a red, white, and blue shirt, but at least he was making a serious attempt to sync up with partner Jack Swagger when they try to dethrone Tag Team. Champions Air Boom at Vengeance 2011.
That attempt failed, as did this aspect. Ziggler was increasingly establishing himself as someone to watch moving up (or sometimes across) the card, but this wasn’t the night for one makeshift team to beat another in a division once again on life support .
It’s a real shame: Dolph’s fan training is an under-emphasized element of his career, and his vast experience on the mats was never considered in person. If that had been the case, I could have pulled up the straps and worked to score some hits. Outside of the noble failure of trying to reclaim the bedroom as a credible finisher, the former world champion never really considered himself a submission specialist.