10 Wrestlers Who Got A WrestleMania Singles Match Before Dolph Ziggler

8. Sting

Fandango WrestleMania 29
WWE

Sting's late-2014 arrival and WrestleMania 31 match six months later couldn't have been further apart in tone after a logically built and largely enjoyable feud with Triple H turned into another Monday Night Wars retread, but 'The Icon' making it into a WrestleMania singles clash before Dolph Ziggler during 'The Show Off's seventh year on the main roster spoke volumes for their star-making skills.

For those that hadn't watched TNA, Sting had been absent from the industry since WCW went under in 2001, but the gap between matches for 'The Stinger' had made audiences grow far fonder for his ilk than those forced into the weekly WWE churn.

Ziggler had been World Champion twice, Intercontinental and United States Champion more times than any individual reign was worth, but it felt by 2015 as if he'd simultaneously feuded with everybody and nobody. Sting's debut, inadvertently, was the moment that crystallised that.

When he arrived at Survivor Series 2014 to save WWE from the grip of The Authority, his interjection scored the win for Dolph Ziggler over Triple H's pet project Seth Rollins. By WrestleMania, Hunter and Sting had their blowoff, while Rollins ended the night swinging the WWE Championship high above his head.

Ziggler was an odd man out yet again.

Contributor
Contributor

Michael is a writer, editor, podcaster and presenter for WhatCulture Wrestling, and has been with the organisation nearly 8 years. He primarily produces written, audio and video content on WWE and AEW, but also provides knowledge and insights on all aspects of the wrestling industry thanks to a passion for it dating back over 35 years. As one third of "The Dadley Boyz" Michael has contributed to the huge rise in popularity of the WhatCulture Wrestling Podcast and its accompanying YouTube channel, earning it top spot in the UK's wrestling podcast charts with well over 62,000,000 total downloads. He has been featured as a wrestling analyst for the Tampa Bay Times, GRAPPL, GCP, Poisonrana and Sports Guys Talking Wrestling, and has covered milestone events in New York, Dallas, Las Vegas, Philadelphia, London and Cardiff. Michael's background in media stretches beyond wrestling coverage, with a degree in Journalism from the University Of Sunderland (2:1) and a series of published articles in sports, music and culture magazines The Crack, A Love Supreme and Pilot. When not offering his voice up for daily wrestling podcasts, he can be found losing it singing far too loud watching his favourite bands play live. Follow him on X/Twitter - @MichaelHamflett