Dolph Ziggler hasn’t had the best of times of late in WWE, how could those woes be used to create a unique storyline?
Dolph Ziggler is something of a veteran in WWE. It seems like he’s been around forever, has been used in a spot that has seen him put others over before himself, but at the same time has held World Championships. Right now he finds himself in the midst of a strange losing streak, but he’s one of the best all-rounders in WWE and could potentially be part of one of the best storylines in the history of the company. If WWE used a little imagination.
As part of the 2016 WWE Draft, Ziggler found himself as part of the SmackDown roster. Immediately becoming a part of the main event scene, he faced Dean Ambrose for the WWE Title at SummerSlam, coming out on the losing end of the match. Following that match, Ziggler was goaded by AJ Styles, the pair had a match which could have seen enter the main event of Backlash to challenge for Ambrose’s title again. Again, he lost.
Ziggler then went on to face The Miz for the Intercontinental Championship, losing out at Backlash then on SmackDown for The Miz’s title. Following that loss, Ziggler cut a dejected figure backstage, couldn’t bring himself to answer any questions and left the arena.
In the last couple of months, Ziggler has been on the top of his game and this losing streak he’s on can be career-defining for him. Whilst many may not be massive fans of him, Ziggler has so much to offer the company in the next decade, this is how he can become one of the most talked about guys in the entire world of professional wrestling.
Credit: WWE.com
1. Drop into NXT
Whilst Ziggler hasn’t been able to get a win for a while on the main roster, his cocky character should see him think he’s too good for the talent in NXT. But maybe that’s easier said than done.
After walking out of SmackDown last week, Ziggler spent the next seven days wondering what his next approach should be. Coming to the conclusion that he needs to get himself back in the W column desperately, he makes a call to William Regal to enquire as to whether he can make a trip to the Performance Centre, and perhaps get a match or two in NXT.
The following few weeks see pictures pop up on social media of Dolph in the ring with some of the rookies of NXT at the PC. No mention is made of Ziggler on SmackDown, until it is announced that Ziggler is set to appear at the next set of NXT tv tapings.
On those tapings, with Regal in the ring making a couple of announcements, Ziggler’s music hits. Out walks the SmackDown star, and the crowd wonder why he’s here. Ziggler talks about how he was struggling on SmackDown, but being in the Performance Centre has made him remember what made him love wrestling so much. He tells Regal he wants a match, any match with anyone on the NXT roster.
Regal tells him that if he wants to have a match in NXT it has to be against one of the best in the company. Then tells him he’ll face Hideo Itami. Ziggler seems to think he can get the win easily, but after a brutal fight against the Itami, Ziggler eats the GTS and is pinned clean.
Credit: WWE.com
2. The Release
“WWE has come to terms with Nick Nemeth (Dolph Ziggler) on his release from the company. We wish him all the best in his future endeavours”
The shock news comes via a short tweet on the official WWE twitter. With the WWE Universe shocked, Ziggler himself tweets “After what has been a lot of soul searching, I decided it was time to go.This isn’t the end.”
WWE makes no more statements on the matter, only the fact that they didn’t want Ziggler to leave, but it was his choice.
What follows is a month or so of speculation, rumours and silence from Ziggler himself. Then he starts to tweet about making an Impact. Fans around the world assume this means he’ll turn up in TNA in the near future, but that never comes to fruition.
Ziggler was one of the best in WWE, but the fact he couldn’t seem to scrape any kind of win made him determined to walk away and make himself great again elsewhere.
WWE.com
3. Turning Up Unexpectedly
A few months after his WWE release, Ziggler hasn’t really been heard of a great deal. In fact, people had started to forget about him, then he pops up and makes that big impact he talked about.
During the Christmas period, he begins to take to Twitter and talk about how he couldn’t get a win in WWE, but he was still good enough in the ring to make himself the mega star he knew he could be.
During the main event of NJPW’s Wrestle Kingdom event in early January 2017, the match pitting IWGP Heavyweight Champion Kazuchika Okada and number one contender Kenny Omega, Ziggler jumps the guard rail and stands at ringside. With the fans in the crowd, and the commentary team at ringside wondering why he’s here, we find out.
During a hard fought match, with Okada and Omega going back and forth, Ziggler trips Okada from the outside as he has the ropes. Okada looks perplexed, then walks straight into the One Winged Angel from Omega, to see him lose his title. Omega’s Bullet Club friends make their way out to the ring to celebrate with him. Ziggler climbs into the ring and unveils his Bullet Club t-shirt.
Bullet Club is the hottest thing in the wrestling world, and they have just added the man who is potentially the hottest free agent in professional wrestling to the crew.
WWE.com
4. Another Surprise
Only a few weeks after making his mark in NJPW, Ziggler is telling the world on social media that he’s back and will continue to shock them all. It would come to happen in the most dramatic of ways.
In the run up to the Royal Rumble, we have no mention of the much sought after number 30 spot. That usually means that something special is set to happen, and this year it’s no different. With the Rumble match coming down to the final few men in the ring, we’re left with Dean Ambrose, Randy Orton, Seth Rollins and Roman Reigns, the countdown begins for the 30th entrant. Some familiar music hits, and the crowd react with complete amazement.
Your number 30 for the Rumble match is Dolph Ziggler.
On commentary, we have absolute incredulity from Michael Cole. He talks about Ziggler walking away from the company and turning up in Japan. Ziggler is here and he’s representing The Bullet Club. What’s even more incredible is that Giggler gets down to the final two…and eliminates Dean Ambrose to win the match!
We have the unique situation where Ziggler signed his release but kept a clause that he could appear at the Rumble if he wanted too. WWE allowed him to have that clause, but never in a million years did they expect him to take it up.
Ziggler returns to Japan and isn’t seen on WWE tv. He makes his mark in NJPW, winning several high profile matches and becoming one of the biggest gaijin stars in NJPW history. But there’s still that Rumble win lurking in the background.
Then Ziggler jumps the rail at Raw and announces that he wants to take up the WrestleMania match clause that he won for winning the Rumble. He doesn’t want the champion, though, he wants a bigger test. He wants Brock Lesnar.
As quick as he appeared, Ziggler disappears again.
Courtesy of WWE.com
5. The Mega-Match
So we have a man who isn’t really a member of the WWE roster, taking on the biggest star in the company.
Lesnar vs Ziggler. WWE vs Bullet Club on the grandest stage of them all.
Lesnar has spent the weeks leading to WrestleMania treating Ziggler as an easy opponent. Ziggler has spent it plotting his big route back to WWE. He’s spent the time since he left WWE becoming the most talked about guy in the entire world of professional wrestling.
The Mania match goes as you’d imagine. Lesnar throws Ziggler around like a rag doll, giving him a great trip to Suplex City. The Ziggler hits him with a barrage of vicious strikes and takes the big man down. Lesnar shrugs it off, but is then attacked at ringside by the former Bullet Club members Gallows and Anderson.
They leave Lesnar destroyed and bloody, before rolling him back into the ring. Ziggler makes the cover and gets the pin on Lesnar. The crowd falls silent. They can’t believe what they have just seen.
Dolph Ziggler couldn’t buy himself a win in his previous months in WWE, but had spent several months building himself as a megastar in Japan. He had now beaten one of the most important members of the WWE roster, it may not have been pretty but a win’s a win.
Dolph Ziggler needs something massive to make him one of the most talked about men in wrestling. This is just one scenario, I’m sure WWE will have many of their own, it’s yet to be seen if it will be anything like interesting or not.
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