Nick Nemeth has been employed by WWE since 2004. Trained (in part) by Lance Storm at Ohio Valley Wrestling, he is a WWE produced wrestler through and through. After a few false starts, first with The Spirit Squad, then as the Caddy to Chavo Guerrero's new gimmick Kerwin White, he found himself back in developmental again in 2007. He re-emerged on Raw in mid 2008 as Dolph Ziggler. He is something of a natural heir to the "bleach blonde, cocky heel" trope that has a rich history in professional wrestling, from Gorgeous George, to Superstar Billy Graham, to Nick Bockwinkel, to Ric Flair, to Mr Perfect, the list goes on and on. HBK's heel character of the late 90s was that same trope turned up to 11 and presented with a '90s edge. Ziggler has that same charisma and showman athleticism those predecessors had, he bumps like a lunatic and makes everyone in the ring with him look far better than they really are. Unfortunately for a guy of Ziggler's size, in WWE, that is the kiss of death. Ordinarily, a wrestler in that position can expect to serve out their days in the lower-midcard, putting over new stars on the rise and utilising their skill to make others look better. If Vince McMahon had his way, that is exactly what Daniel Bryan would be doing right now, and he'd be doing it forever too. But like Bryan, Ziggler has struck a chord with the audience because of his athleticism, showmanship, and his underdog stature. Your average fan today is smarter to wrestling than they were 15 years ago. People know that size is an obstacle to overcome in WWE, and that adds to the underdog aura of those guys. Ziggler has been utilised in this mechanic role for years, with occasional meaningless midcard Title wins to keep him occupied. But his constant exposure to fans in this role has only endeared him further to the fanbase, as his unique athletic charisma captures fans attention. And Ziggler has never been shy about voicing his opinion on how he feels he should be utilised. And as much as his fans love that about him, and it adds to his never say die underdog stature, it has gotten him into real life hot water with WWE's real life management. After cashing in his MITB on the post WM29 Raw (getting the loudest pop heard in Jew Jersey that weekend), Ziggler was the hot new babyface that the crowds actually loved and were 100% behind. Combined with the double turn (his official face turn) against Del Rio at Payback in June 2013, Ziggler was hotter than he had ever been before. However, an unfortunately placed kick to the head by Jack Swagger during a Smackdown taping not long afterwards gave Ziggler a nasty concussion, leading to him having to drop the World Heavyweight Title, and his push was abandoned, due to time missed recovering from the concussion. Ziggler has since been relegated back to the mechanic role, trading wins with Kofi Kingston on Superstars and Smackdown. There are also rumours that comments made by Ziggler during press interviews last September have landed him in hot water with Randy Orton and his political allies in management. Dolph Ziggler is every frustration against WWE personified. He is young, athletic, unstoppably popular and he wants more than anyone be the #1 guy in the company. So WWE responds by burying him 6 feet under. Guys like Ziggler are the real victims of the death of WCW and any true Major League competition in Pro Wrestling. There is no other place for him to go to earn the money he can in WWE, or be seen by as many eyes as WWE attracts every week. Ultimately there is no place for him, and guys like him to go and get a fair shot at being a Star in Pro Wrestling. If the handful of people who control who gets made in WWE decide they don't like something about a guy, then the glass ceiling is shut down on him and his potential success is immediately capped, thus removing any motivation a guy has to reach for the brass ring, when it will be yanked away time and time again. Dolph Ziggler has every right in the world to walk out on WWE right now, but the sad truth is that he has no place to go. He would be better off, financially at least, staying in WWE and just settling.
