8 Wrestlers WWE Regret Making World Champion

2. Dolph Ziggler

Finn Balor
WWE

Dolph Ziggler's Money in the Bank cash-in on the post-WrestleMania 29 episode of Raw received one of the biggest pops in recent memory. After years of trying to get through that ever-familiar glass ceiling, Dolph had finally done it as he took the World Heavyweight Championship from Alberto Del Rio to a monstrous reaction.

Just over two weeks later, Ziggler received a concussion courtesy of a stiff kick from Jack Swagger. And that, sadly, would eventually lead to WWE losing all faith in Dolph.

It wasn't Ziggler's fault, of course, as injuries are part of the business and, if anything, any blame should lay at the door of Swagger. Either way, it was Dolph who felt the true repercussions of this concussion in every possible sense.

Not only did his concussion-caused two-month absence from TV deflate the huge momentum Ziggler had upon winning the World Heavyweight Championship, but his return to action saw him immediately lose the title to Alberto Del Rio and then WWE seemed to lose all faith in Dolph Ziggler as being World Champion material.

This all played out in mid-2013, and here we are now in 2020, with Dolph having been an undeniably fantastic in-ring talent throughout the past seven years, yet Dolph also having not been anywhere close to becoming a World Champion again.

Vince McMahon was hesitant to ever go with Ziggler as a World Champion in the first place, and the concussion saw McMahon regret ever doing so - as highlighted in the reports of Vince then thinking Dolph was injury prone, before the star then returned to the midcard for the following years.

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Senior Writer
Senior Writer

Once described as the Swiss Army Knife of WhatCulture, Andrew can usually be found writing, editing, or presenting on a wide range of topics. As a lifelong wrestling fan, horror obsessive, and comic book nerd, he's been covering those topics professionally as far back as 2010. In addition to his current WhatCulture role of Senior Content Producer, Andrew previously spent nearly a decade as Online Editor and Lead Writer for the world's longest-running genre publication, Starburst Magazine, and his work has also been featured on BBC, TechRadar, Tom's Guide, WhatToWatch, Sportkskeeda, and various other outlets, in addition to being a Rotten Tomatoes-approved film critic. Between his main day job, his role as the lead panel host of Wales Comic Con, and his gig as a pre-match host for Wrexham AFC games, Andrew has also carried out a hugely varied amount of interviews, from the likes of Robert Englund, Kane Hodder, Adrienne Barbeau, Rob Zombie, Katharine Isabelle, Leigh Whannell, Bruce Campbell, and Tony Todd, to Kevin Smith, Ron Perlman, Elijah Wood, Giancarlo Esposito, Simon Pegg, Charlie Cox, the Russo Brothers, and Brian Blessed, to Kevin Conroy, Paul Dini, Tara Strong, Will Friedle, Burt Ward, Andrea Romano, Frank Miller, and Rob Liefeld, to Bret Hart, Sting, Mick Foley, Ricky Starks/Saints, Jamie Hayter, Britt Baker, Eric Bischoff, and William Regal, to Mickey Thomas, Joey Jones, Phil Parkinson, Brian Flynn, Denis Smith, Gary Bennett, Karl Connolly, and Bryan Robson - and that's just the tip of an ever-expanding iceberg. Where his beloved Wrexham AFC is concerned, Andrew is co-host of the Fearless in Devotion podcast, which won the Club Podcast of the Year gong at the 2024 FSA Awards.