What has Dolph Ziggler done to deserve year after year of stop-and-start pushes? He began as a caddy to Kerwin White (Chavo Guerrero), then graduated to a cheerleader in the Spirit Squad. After that he was given the role of man who introduced himself to everyone. Most people would have been gone years ago if they were given those gimmicks. But WWE saw a lot of talent in Dolph. They knew he was something special. They just havent ever figured out what that is. Dolph is one of the great bump takers in the history of the business. He makes his opponents look like gold, but other men are rarely asked to return the favor. Youd have to put him in the same league of Shawn Michaels and Mr. Perfect for making others look like stars. Ziggler isnt pushed anywhere near as well as those guys were, though. His current act is actually a bit confusing. Being a babyface showoff makes no sense. Why is he standing on the middle of the stage wiggling his butt for everyone? Thats not exactly a likeable trait. Maybe Dolph needs to turn it down a bit, and not try to show off so much. As it heel it worked well for him, but as a good guy theres just nothing to connect with. WWE has not helped matters by giving up on him so soon after he lost the Heavyweight Title. Ziggler will be turning 34 in a few months, which is still relatively young in wrestling...unless youve taken untold flat-back bumps throughout your career. Michaels and Perfect learned that lesson the hard way. Hopefully Dolph still has enough left in him to get another shot at the top. For all hes done for the career of others, he should get a few more chances.
As Rust Cohle from True Detective said "Life's barely long enough to get good at one thing. So be careful what you're good at."
Sadly, I can't solve a murder like Rust...or change a tire, or even tie a tie. But I do know all the lyrics to Hulk Hogan's "Real American" theme song and can easily name every Natural Born Thriller from the dying days of WCW. I was once ranked 21st in the United States in Tetris...on the Playstation 3 version...for about a week.
Follow along @AndrewSoucek and check out my podcast at wrestlingwithfriends.com
