4 Ups & 3 Downs From Last Night's WWE SmackDown (Feb 20)

by Andy H Murray

1. Ziggler's Rebirth

Dolph Ziggler Kevin Owens
WWE.com

Mark it down, folks: after a full calendar year as the most uninspiring character in the entire WWE Universe, Dolph Ziggler has now starred in SmackDown's best segment for the second consecutive week.

His bout with Kevin Owens was great. Easily on par with last week's against Sami Zayn, it presented the best possible version of Dolph, who continues to perform with renewed vigour. Continuing along the pseudo babyface path he started on last week let him play to his strengths. Ziggler was a great heel once upon a time, but last year's character work was atrocious, and it makes perfect sense to rebuild him in a more affable role.

The finish came via distraction, but it worked. Zayn's appearance played into his ongoing storyline with KO, and losing through f***ery heaped further sympathy on Dolph, who can now use this for motivation next week.

There's still value in 'The Show-Off.' Many of us rolled our eyes when him and Baron Corbin were added to the WWE Title hunt, but Ziggler has been excellent since coming back. Long may his streak of fun television matches continue, and while another championship run seems a ridiculous prospect, perhaps he'll finally rebuild his diminished popularity.

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Andy has been with WhatCulture for eight years and is currently WhatCulture's Wrestling Channel Manager. A writer, presenter, and editor with 10+ years of experience in online media, he has been a sponge for all wrestling knowledge since playing an old Royal Rumble 1992 VHS to ruin in his childhood. Having previously worked for Bleacher Report, Andy specialises in short and long-form writing, video presenting, voiceover acting, and editing, all characterised by expert wrestling knowledge and commentary. Andy is as much a fan of 1985 Jim Crockett Promotions as he is present-day AEW and WWE - just don't make him choose between the two.