10 Worst-Booked WWE Stars EVER

6. Dolph Ziggler

Triple H Shovel
WWE

How many of Dolph Ziggler's midcard title wins can you truly remember? How many defences can you truly remember? Those rhetorical questions are crucial to understanding the problem with the Show-Off - an act so profoundly over-exposed that he is the "familiarity breeds contempt" cliché writ large in 2018.

Where to start?

Having flushed the WrestleCr*p-calibre cheerleader and caddy characters of the mid-2000s, Ziggler has spent the subsequent decade as a New Generation tribute act insisting, to the point of parody, that he is a main event-level performer. At first, fans were in firm agreement: Ziggler was a big-bumping entertainment machine whose work stood out amid an army of his identikit developmental peers. As the years and years rolled by, and Ziggler typecast himself, the roster improved - and diversified - all around him. In parallel, Creative soured. Ziggler won the World Heavyweight Title on two occasions, one of which depicted him as a chancer, the other a weakling. Eventually, we reached a point, after years of stop/start pushes and a catalogue of defeats, at which Ziggler became the butt of jokes from Creative and the fandom alike. His 'Greatest In-Ring Performer In WWE History' nickname must be a cruel rib mocking his ambition.

Ziggler is perhaps a victim of the era in which he broke through; it just feels unnatural (and boring) to watch a midcard act wrestle as much as he does.

Contributor
Contributor

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!