WWE: Match with Shawn Michaels is the only way to make Dolph interesting

The July 23 edition of WWE SmackDown saw an outstanding Miz TV segment featuring Shawn Michaels and eventually Dolph Ziggler that could be leading to a bigger moment in the near future.

Last night’s WWE SmackDown had its ups and downs, but the best part of the show came courtesy of Miz TV with special guest, The Heartbreak Kid, Shawn Michaels just 24 hours after the Raw Reunion that brought dozens and dozens of WWE legends back to Monday night, including HBK.

The Miz introduced Michaels last night and the two would have a brief interaction as host and guest, but that all changed dramatically when Dolph Ziggler came out and interrupted the proceedings.  Ziggler was not in a good mood and he took it out on Michaels and the other legends that showed up for the Raw Reunion.  He said he’s sick of seeing these so-called legends, but he took it even farther when he took a shot at Michaels.

Ziggler said he used to idolize Michaels, but after his comeback match at Crown Jewel last year, he said Michaels threw that all away and it was an embarrassing performance that tarnished his legacy.  HBK was heated about what The Showoff said, but he responded by saying Ziggler was right, it was embarrassing and not up to the standards of what Michaels used to be, which was arguably the greatest in-ring talent in the history of the business.

However, the brash HBK came back out and he told Ziggler what’s more embarrassing is working your whole career, only to be viewed as “a second-rate Shawn Michaels wannabe.”  Tensions boiled and Ziggler tried to take a shot at Michaels, but he missed and hit The Miz as well, who had plenty to say to Ziggler during this segment as well.  But with HBK checking on Miz’s condition, Ziggler hit Michaels with a huge Sweet Chin Music-like superkick.

This was an outstanding segment that was much better than it probably should have been.  The most important factor about the segment, however, could be what it does for Ziggler moving forward.  How many times over the years have we wondered when Ziggler would break through the glass ceiling and become a bonafide main event talent?  Yeah, too many times to count.  And let’s be honest, that ship has probably sailed years ago.

No matter how talented Ziggler is and how good he has been for a decade-plus, he just will never reach “that” level.  Part of that is because of the powers that be, but he just hasn’t completely connected with the fans as a true main event superstar.  That’s why this segment could be just what the doctor ordered for The Showoff, who’s in desperate need of something big to help create interest in his career again.

Could last night be setting up a potential Ziggler vs. Michaels match sometime in the future?  Could it happen at SummerSlam even?  Nobody quite knows and for all we know, last night’s segment could be just a one-off and nothing more.  However, it just feels different than that and it feels like something should come out of it.  Michaels did say he was embarrassed about his performance at Crown Jewel, so this could give him a chance to make amends for that.

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But most importantly for Ziggler, it could give him something big to do that would generate much-needed interest.  No matter how many world title matches Ziggler gets moving forward, nobody will actually believe he’ll win the title.  And no matter how many mid-card titles he ends up winning or competing for, it’s been done to death already and fans just won’t care enough.  That won’t be the case if he would take on HBK in a match.

This feels like the only way to realistically create buzz surrounding The Showoff at this stage in his career.  The Miz was involved in this issue last night too, but nobody will be excited to see Ziggler vs. Miz, a match that has happened countless times over the years.  Ziggler vs. Michaels writes itself at this point, especially given how Ziggler has legitimately been viewed as a superstar that has modeled his career after HBK.

And with the recent seed planted last night with Michaels sounding regretful about his comeback match, this would kill two birds with one stone.  Ziggler would get a marquee match that would genuinely create interest in his floundering career and Michaels could make amends for a comeback match he apparently feels came up short.  It just makes sense, but only time will tell if this match will happen or not.

The Showoff vs. HBK could be in the works, maybe even for SummerSlam, and that match might be a necessity for the career of one of the most talented superstars the WWE has seen in years.