COLOHUE – Winner Leaves Town: Dolph Ziggler – WWE Talent Who Would Do Better Elsewhere

Indy wrestling right now is under a huge surge in popularity. There are more wrestlers, more talent, more promotions, and enough TV time to drown in. Wrestling is coming back in a big way.

The affect that this has had on the WWE is huge. Not only can WWE essentially snare ready-made talent with a good start of drawing power but those WWE talents who get lost in the shuffle have a legitimate avenue of escape. WWE might give you drawing power, but the room at the top isn’t infinite. Three members of the class of 2002, the continual returns of the Rock, even names such as Kurt Angle now are being used in favored spots because they make money.

What they don’t make is new stars, and this is where other federations stand to gain from the WWE’s business model. I’ve got fourteen names, two of which are tag teams, and I’m going to run them down one a week because I believe that these are people who would do better outside of the WWE.

I’m Tom Colohue and this is Winner Leaves Town.

Follow Tom Colohue on Facebook and @Colohue for updates.

Dolph Ziggler

So what actually happened to Dolph Ziggler?

Dolph Ziggler’s career started not so much badly as embarrassingly. As part of the Spirit Squad, Dolph’s job was essentially to get beaten up by Triple H and Shawn Michaels, repeatedly. The Spirit Squad finisher, in particular, was a sad moment for all involved.

However, Dolph Ziggler has forged a fine career for himself. He’s held many championships, been involved in many solid matches and has been the focus of many good storylines. His feuds with Cena and Alberto Del Rio were both well received, positive feuds. His battles with Zack Ryder and The Miz had a huge impact in the popularity of everyone involved.

In fact, for Dolph there was almost one perfect moment. After a long time amongst the secondary titles, Ziggler won Money in the Bank. This led to a few great matches with Chris Jericho, particularly the match in which he ostensibly retired Jericho. Afterwards there was a long term feud with John Cena. Ziggler led a stable alongside a hugely popular A.J. Lee and a devastatingly brutal Big E.

This all culminated in the cash in that rocked the world. Even as a heel, Ziggler’s first title win was a thing of beauty, celebrated by fans with absolute elation. Ziggler had made it to the top of the mountain and it was fully deserved for someone who never failed to deliver a great match.

From there, an injury unfortunately curtailed his run at the top but Ziggler was far from done. After continued good matches with people like Daniel Bryan, Ziggler had one tremendous standout performance when he lined up alongside Team Cena at Survivor Series 2014.

This was Ziggler’s big crowning moment – to be the last man on his team lining up against Kane, Luke Harper, and the undisputed future in Seth Rollins in what was a tremendous match, performing particularly well with Seth Rollins to nobody’s surprise. After being heavily involved in The Authority storyline and prominently featured for weeks, Ziggler managed to steal the show all over again.

The stage should have been set. Ziggler went from there to The Royal Rumble, where he earned an outstanding show of support from the crowd. He walked into that arena to a tremendous reception. He had a star’s welcome. In a Royal Rumble that was still suffering from fatigue after Daniel Bryan’s elimination, and in fact Daniel Bryan’s lack of appearance the year before, Ziggler could have been so important.

You can literally feel an almost nauseating sadness over the crowd for most of the Rumble match. The writing was on the wall almost from the off. Kane and Big Show were there eliminating everyone but Roman Reigns was obviously winning. It was Roman’s year and the last few entrants – and in fact most of the people in the ring as the end neared – were heels. Dean Ambrose was essentially the only person in the ring that people even liked and he had no chance.

Ziggler came in at number 30 and suddenly there was hope. There was a chance. There was maybe, just maybe a, oh no Big Show’s got him.

For one shining moment, people believed. All this excitement over Dolph Ziggler could still mean something. Ziggler vs. Brock Lesnar was a mismatch, but at least someone the crowd liked could still win. It should have been his crowning moment. The crowd was chanting “Let’s go Ziggler,” Roman Reigns won.

The idea that Reigns won because there was no other star power, with Punk leaving and Bryan injured, is laughable when you consider that WWE had built Ziggler into a top class contender and then left him for dead in this match. He’s been floundering ever since.

The most infuriating thing is that Ziggler could have been huge. He could have been one of the biggest names in the business. He had a moment ready. He was primed. The fans wanted it. WWE did not. Since then, Ziggler has been used primarily to put over the new NXT guys. Tyler Breeze beat Ziggler. Baron Corbin beat Ziggler. Nakamura beat Ziggler. Roode beat Ziggler. It’s almost sad.

Dolph Ziggler can put on great matches. Against The Miz, against A.J. Styles, Ziggler has seriously delivered. In triple threats with Styles and Corbin, with Corbin and Roode, Ziggler has seriously delivered. A couple of strategic moves to Smackdown, particularly the likes of Finn Balor and Seth Rollins, could result in Ziggler putting on amazing matches week in and week out, main eventing week in and week out.

Sadly, it seems unlikely to happen.

With Ziggler the writing seems to be on the wall, with a move to Japan most often mentioned. In reality, Ziggler is a genuine star who could improve any promotion. As with Chris Jericho recently, Dolph could go to Japan and be let off the leash to put on a great collection of matches with almost anyone there, but particularly names like Kota and Omega. Ideally, I’d have him involved in a Bullet Club hostile takeover with another name that I will mention later.

The fact is, though, that Ziggler will improve anywhere in which he wrestles. He would bring a hardcore fan base with him and draw new fans with his all-action cruiserweight-esque style. His talent is undeniable. He can fly high, he can change arenas around the world if he went to the indy circuit. There really is nothing that Dolph can not do.

A disgruntled former WWE guy will always make money but Dolph has years upon years of negative booking to draw on. A man who stole the show, who stole hearts, and who repeatedly turned himself face but was allowed to go absolutely nowhere since 2014.

Get him to Japan. Get him to Impact. Get him to Ring Of Honor. Get him to Lucha Underground. If you’re not going to use him, just get him out of WWE.

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