WWE SmackDown: Jinder Mahal and Dolph Ziggler are Stuck on Repeat
By Josh.0
On this week’s WWE SmackDown:Live, Jinder Mahal and Dolph Ziggler cut the same promos as last week. Have their characters hit a creative wall?
Jinder Mahal’s entire character arc since becoming champion was built on a foundation of sand. The flimsy premise that even though he was a champion, fans only boo him because they are xenophobic never had much to go on and for a while it worked in his favor. I’ve written before about how I believe Mahal’s script is both improper and tone deaf, even if it generates heel heat.
Since his return in mid-August, Dolph Ziggler has taken the approach of, “I’m back and I’m the best but you don’t deserve me so I won’t wrestle” which is odd to say the least. Instead of showcasing his talents and providing evidence for his logic, Ziggler has chosen to instead mock the over-the-top entrances of past and current superstars. It’s hard to take this angle seriously because no one would claim Dolph Ziggler is better than Triple H or even the Ultimate Warrior. Well, no one except Dolph Ziggler.
I understand the logic WWE is employing with these gimmicks. Mahal is the “foreign-born” (i.e. Canadian) champion so using his exotic look plays to the most visible of differences but continuously going to the well of “I’m great and you’re just racist” gets old pretty quickly. The irony of him making culturally insensitive jokes at Shinsuke Nakamura’s expense two weeks in a row certainly wasn’t lost on the crowd of this week’s WWE SmackDown who chanted, “that’s too far”.
Ziggler is employing a classic schtick where he demeans the accomplishments of wrestlers who are demonstrably better but heels are never bound by logic or reason. The other side to this coin is sooner or later you have to back up your claims. Ziggler is no rookie, but his last match was on July 4th where he was the first man eliminated during the Independence Day Battle Royal for the United States Championship.
By and large, wrestling fans have notoriously short memories and the question most often asked of any superstar is, “what have you done for me lately?” The episodic nature of both Raw and SmackDown means each superstar has a chance to showcase their talents on a weekly basis and if that show isn’t their best, they will get a chance to rebound in just a few days. A sustained absence from the ring is detrimental to all but the higher echelons of talent.
For the last two weeks, both Mahal and Ziggler have used their time on SmackDown to deliver the same promos, the same insults, and the same message. The problem here is obvious: their characters have nowhere else to go. Mahal won’t face Nakamura until October 8th at Hell in a Cell. Ziggler has given no indication on when he will actually compete in the ring and there are currently no superstars lining up to face him.
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Ziggler is in the worst short-term position because he’s 37 years old and few (if any) corporate suits in WWE see him as main event material anymore. Mahal is 31 and has plenty of good years ahead of him, but will be the one to suffer the long-term effects of this creative apathy since he will likely be with the company longer than Ziggler. As it stands, WWE is doing neither man any favors by curiously refusing to write new material for them to present while we patiently wait for their next match.