4 Ups And 3 Downs From Last Night's WWE Talking Smack (Jan 10)
3. Up - Why Dolph, Why?
A necessary long-form explanation after his initial turn on last week's episode and follow-up steel chair attacks this week, Dolph Ziggler was finally given time to discuss what had caused his much-changed mentality after spending the last several years in the babyface camp.
Mentioning at first how he had realised that nothing was going to be handed to him on a roster of amazing superstars such as Smackdown's, Ziggler tactfully avoided the usual cliches of criticising fans or even fellow performers, appearing to take ownership for his many failures in the previous few years.
Exhibiting a level of nobility, it appeared to be less of a turn and more of an atonement, until a key moment when he related his current frustrations with the level of euphoria he felt cashing in his 'Money in the Bank' briefcase to win the World Heavyweight Title back in 2013.
Turning the screw to the shock of Shane and Renee, Ziggler coldly explained how the feeling of assaulting Apollo Crews and Kalisto with the steel chair was actually a 'sigh of relief', blindly justifying his actions as a redemptive moment and a dark turning point in his WWE tenure.