8 Times WWE Completely Failed Dolph Ziggler

"Hi, I'm World Champion Dolph Ziggler...for 45 minutes!"

Dolph Ziggler Shinsuke Nakamura
WWE.com

Long before he was bleaching his hair blonde and being compared to either Mr. Perfect or Shawn Michaels, Dolph Ziggler pretended to be a golf caddy. That gimmick (one also involving Chavo Guerrero's woeful Kerwin White character) was followed by a stint as a male cheerleader in The Spirit Squad.

Anything had to be better than those two abominations, right?

Well, maybe Ziggler's near nine-year stint as the 'Show Off' would feel more special - if WWE didn't keep letting him down. Honestly, you'd think the guy had done something wrong in a past life to see how he has been repeatedly undermined and overlooked by those calling the shots in creative.

Not everyone can be a World Champion, but Dolph has been. In fact, he's done it twice, only to find on both occasions that WWE never truly believed in him as a headliner. Shockingly, those World Title duds aren't the only times Ziggler has been completely let down by those supposed to have his back...

8. Hi, I'm Dolph Ziggler

Batista Dolph Ziggler
WWE.com

Fans "lucky" enough to recall WWE's aborted ECW show will also remember Chris Harris boring the pants off everyone by introducing himself backstage with a quick knock knock joke. Remarkably enough, this wasn't the first time that idea had been used to debut a new character. Dolph Ziggler got there first.

Approaching everyone with a smile and saying, 'Hi, I'm Dolph Ziggler' was a mind-numbing way to debut Dolph on television. WWE should have known better than this for sure, and they instantly let a potential new star down by using such an uninspiring method. What was wrong with vignettes, hype packages or even straightforward promos to allow fans to get a feel for Ziggler's new gimmick?

From there, Dolph was soundly beaten by Batista in his very first televised match and continued floundering around saying hello to everyone. Clearly athletic and quite visibly choking to do more than repeat his name over and over, Ziggler's introduction was hardly riveting.

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Lifelong wrestling, video game, music and sports obsessive who has been writing about his passions since childhood. Jamie started writing for WhatCulture in 2013, and has contributed thousands of articles and YouTube videos since then. He cut his teeth penning published pieces for top UK and European wrestling read Fighting Spirit Magazine (FSM), and also has extensive experience working within the wrestling biz as a manager and commentator for promotions like ICW on WWE Network and WCPW/Defiant since 2010. Further, Jamie also hosted the old Ministry Of Slam podcast, and has interviewed everyone from Steve Austin and Shawn Michaels to Bret Hart and Trish Stratus.