WWE: Dolph Ziggler’s Bitter Words Take Home Promo of the Week

Dolph Ziggler’s searing words from Tuesday’s WWE SmackDown take home this week’s best promo.

Counting his training in Ohio Valley Wrestling, Dolph Ziggler has been with the WWE for close to 14 years. Starting off his main roster career as a member of The Spirit Squad named Nicky, the now 37 year-old superstar was seen as the top prospect from that group.

With good looks, a great physique, freak athleticism, and off the charts selling ability, the Cleveland native had a host of possibilities in front of him. So when the group disbanded in November and 2006 and he was subsequently repackaged as Dolph Ziggler in the Fall of 2008, most people predicted huge success, and for the most part, the predictions were accurate.

Since his re-branding, Ziggler has won nine championships in the WWE, two of them being world titles. He’s won a Money In The Bank, was the last man standing in the epic 2014 Survivor Series main event, and has put on mat classics with the likes of The Miz, Daniel Bryan, Rey Mysterio, and Alberto Del Rio. Sure, the comparisons to Shawn Michaels may be a bit over the top, but no one can doubt the man’s talent.

However, in the past few years something just hasn’t been right with Ziggler. He seems lost. He swapped back and forth between baby face and heel more times than Randy Orton and it always seems like he can’t seem to win the big one, coming up short countless times in big moments.

This led to a very strange 2017 for Dolph, specifically the second half of it. In August, with seemingly nothing better to do, he began coming to the ring mocking others ring entrances. His impersonations of Shawn Michaels, John Cena, The Undertaker, and Randy Savage were funny for about a second but as seen time and time again, mockery gimmicks don’t get you very far. Just ask Curtis Axel and Damien Sandow.

So when Ziggler attracted the attention of the newly main roster debuting Bobby Roode, things looked to be getting better. Two guys with the resume of Roode and Ziggler along with their in-ring ability ought to put on a solid program, right? Well unfortunately, no. The month-plus long feud between the two was painful as the matches were average at best and the back and forth promos were borderline cringe-worthy.

credit: wwe.com

But just when it looked like Ziggler had no where to go, he somehow managed to get himself inserted into the United States title match at Clash of Champions. Most people figured (this writer being one) that Ziggler’s inclusion into the match was just so he could eat a pin from current champion Baron Corbin thus salvaging a future Corbin/Roode one on one showdown. So when Ziggler pulled off the shocking win in what turned out to be a surprisingly good match, his career script was completely flipped.

On Tuesday night’s SmackDown Live, it was Ziggler’s turn to have his words understood by the WWE fans. He came to the ring, did some slight gloating but made sure to remind everyone of just who he was and what he had accomplished before last Sunday night. Here it is:

It was the type of promo that had everything yet still left fans thirsting for more. Ziggler has always been a good talker, but Tuesday night, he stepped that game up another notch. His words were confident yet bitter, his facial expressions angry yet surprisingly hopeful, and he looked like a guy that we haven’t seen since he cashed in his Money In The Bank Briefcase and won a world title back in April of 2013. The videos of almost all of his title wins was a nice touch and it reminded the wrestling world that “The ShowOff” might not be done quite yet.

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However, the segment ended in bizarre fashion with Ziggler leaving the belt in the center of the ring leading to speculation of his imminent departure. With the title win, that scenario seems unlikely but it could lead to multiple men staking their claim as champion which can always be an entertaining type feud. The jury is still out on Ziggler’s actions Tuesday night, but one thing is for sure. His title win at The Clash and his angry follow up promo has ignited more intrigue in Ziggler than anything else has in years. Let’s hope he keeps it up.