10 Things WWE Wants You To Forget About Dolph Ziggler

10. The Spirit Squad Replaced A Run With Kurt Angle

Spirit Squad
WWE

Kenny! Johnny! Mitch! Nicky! Mikey!

The Spirit Squad were a natural annoyance when they first showed up in 2006. As male cheerleaders with infuriatingly chirpy personas, the quintet were all blue-chip prospects with seemingly bright futures ahead of them. Things could (and perhaps should) have been so, so different for Nicky, the guy who'd go on to play Dolph Ziggler.

Originally, before the Squad was conceptualised, Ziggler was supposed to debut on the main roster as Kurt Angle's protege. On Lilian Garcia's 'Chasing Glory' podcast last summer, Dolph told how he was raring to go as an Amateur wrestling understudy to an Olympic great. Then, WWE cancelled the idea without warning.

They liked The Spirit Squad better in the end and that became their plan for Ziggler in the short term. He admitted to Lilian that he was gutted at the time; he'd been excited to link himself to one of WWE's biggest names, and knew he had the wrestling chops to make it work.

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Lifelong wrestling, video game, music and sports obsessive who has been writing about his passions since childhood. Jamie started writing for WhatCulture in 2013, and has contributed thousands of articles and YouTube videos since then. He cut his teeth penning published pieces for top UK and European wrestling read Fighting Spirit Magazine (FSM), and also has extensive experience working within the wrestling biz as a manager and commentator for promotions like ICW on WWE Network and WCPW/Defiant since 2010. Further, Jamie also hosted the old Ministry Of Slam podcast, and has interviewed everyone from Steve Austin and Shawn Michaels to Bret Hart and Trish Stratus.