12 Ups & 4 Downs From Last Night's WWE SmackDown (Aug 6)

9. This Prick

Goldberg's entrance music hit as SmackDown raced through its first hour, prompting a big pop in the arena. The camera's cut backstage and sure enough, a gang of goobers were gathered around a locker-room door, but this wasn't the former WCW Champion. Instead, Dolph Ziggler burst out, pulling his second recent bait-and-switch after emerging to Shawn Michaels' theme a few weeks ago, drawing greater heat than would've been possible had he not lured the audience in first.

The imitation was supposed to lead to a match with Rey Mysterio. Instead, 'The Show-Off' pummeled the lucha legend at ringside, rendering him unable to compete. "Another legend goes down courtesy of DZ," he spat, promising that his match with Goldberg at SummerSlam would be his opponent's last, his ego filling the entire building.

In successfully playing to Dolph's delusions and putting further heat on him, this was a neat little character angle. In kayfabe, the guy legitimately thinks he's a legend on Goldberg or Michaels' level, despite his positioning as a career also-ran. This stuff doesn't work when he's being positioned as a credible title challenger, but it's great when he's being set up for an absolute crushing - which is what Sunday night will surely be.