10 Coldest Performers In WWE Right Now

8. Dolph Ziggler

Enzo Amore
WWE.com

It's strange to recall 2013, the year in which Dolph Ziggler was poised to belatedly enter the main event picture. It didn't happen; even though the stars aligned to turn him face, a scenario many of his supporters had already schemed to engineer, by many accounts Vince McMahon just didn't see top-level potential within him. His concussion wasn't a felix culpa but reinforcement that he didn't have the stuff.

On his day, Ziggler remains a very good performer - the problem is that, face or heel, he is indistinguishable from the 2013 vintage. The vast majority, if not all, of Ziggler's matches follow a somewhat shallow back and forth template in which he looks far more convincing selling than he does on the offensive. He always has. He has never been able to balance his act, and that's likely the problem. The Dolph Ziggler shorthand is "good at bumping" - hardly headliner material. He looks and wrestles like a guy besotted with the WWF's New Generation era midcard.

Ziggler's stock in trade was fun, frenzied matches at his peak. Those are now the norm in WWE. He has been eclipsed by the post-NXT crowd, and you get the impression that his surroundings no longer inspire him. His last singles PPV singles bout, opposite Shinsuke Nakamura, of all people, was tepid.

If anybody in WWE needs to take the Cody route to renaissance, it's Dolph.

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Michael Sidgwick is an editor, writer and podcaster for WhatCulture Wrestling. With over seven years of experience in wrestling analysis, Michael was published in the influential institution that was Power Slam magazine, and specialises in providing insights into All Elite Wrestling - so much so that he wrote a book about the subject. You can order Becoming All Elite: The Rise Of AEW on Amazon. Possessing a deep knowledge also of WWE, WCW, ECW and New Japan Pro Wrestling, Michael’s work has been publicly praised by former AEW World Champions Kenny Omega and MJF, and current Undisputed WWE Champion Cody Rhodes. When he isn’t putting your finger on why things are the way they are in the endlessly fascinating world of professional wrestling, Michael wraps his own around a hand grinder to explore the world of specialty coffee. Follow Michael on X (formerly known as Twitter) @MSidgwick for more!