Cesaro, Dolph Ziggler And The Curse Of Consistency In WWE
That might seem like an odd thing to say, but it's true and not without precedent.
How many times have we seen a talented guy (or girl) work their backside off week after week producing great match after great match only to end up, well, nowhere really. Someone like Rob Van Dam is a prime example of this. He was a guy that was arguably one of, if not the, most over guy on the roster in late 2001/early 2002. He was fresh and unlike anyone else on the WWE roster at the time. He was over and wrestling the matches of his life agains the likes of Jeff Hardy, Chris Jericho and The Undertaker.
Despite this, he never managed to cement himself on top alongside the Stone Colds and Rocks of the world. He got a token WWE Title shot every now and then, sure, but he was never viewed as a serious threat. He was the guy who got the crowd on their feet and had a good match and then went on to the next one, never looking like he would rise above Intercontinental Title level.
Sound familiar? It's a scenario we've seen play out time and time again with guys like Chris Benoit, Eddie Guerrero and even Daniel Bryan. Those three (and Rob Van Dam, for an all-too-brief period) managed to win the 'big one' eventually, but they were never seen as anything other than transitional champions and their title reigns were often positioned as being secondary to other storylines. Dolph Ziggler too had a short run as World Heavyweight Champion in the spring of 2013, which was cut short due to concussion issues. Had he remained champ, I sincerely doubt it would have been for very long.
Because that's not Dolph Ziggler's role, no matter how many four-star matches he puts on or how many times he steals the show. Whenever he does find himself in a position that looks like it could give him serious momentum, WWE either get cold feet or it transpires that he was never supposed to be there in the first place.
Just look at the end of TLC 2012, when he defeated John Cena in the main event for possession of the Money in the Bank briefcase, or the 2014 Survivor Series, where he was the sole survivor for Team Cena against The Authority. They were great moments, sure, but where did Ziggler end up as a result? Right back on Raw and SmackDown and being instructed to 'go out and have a good match, kid'.
The truth is, guys like this are viewed as being a 'hell of a hand' and their having great matches regularly and on free TV is, in a way, hurting them.
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