Dolph Ziggler vs Booker T

[gasM]

So at the time of this writing, Dolph Ziggler is the World Heavyweight Champion. Booker T is the General Manager of SmackDown and recently added "Hall of Famer" to a resumé that included "5 time WCW Champion" "6 Time World Champion" and "The guy who called Hulk Hogan the N word." (Seriously, YouTube that shit. It's hilarious.)

Would you like to see them feud over the title?

Dolph's most likely opponent at Extreme Rules is Alberto del Rio, who he cashed in on to win yhe title. However del Rio is unlikely to win the title back too soon, unless Dolph isn't seen as anything other than a jobber to the stars. (The guy could make Yoshi Tatsu look like Bruce Lee with his selling, so this is entirely possible.)

Jack Swagger is involved, but he is also a heel which, coupled with his DUI case, makes a one on one program unlikely. (Plus, having an opponent who was born and raised in USA, did amateur wrestling in an American school and has held the United States Championship wouldn't give Zeb Colter an awful lot of ammo.)

Chris Jericho is an option, but he is due to tour with Fozzy and SPOILER put Ziggler over on SmackDown this week.

Randy Orton could feud with him, but he apparently is due to turn heel in the near future. Also, his star power is not as great as it was, as he hasn't been in the title picture one on one for over a year. And on top of that, he also went one on one against Ziggler at Night Of Champions just a few months ago. (WWE demonstrated its faith in future World Champion Ziggler by having him lose cleanly to Orton, who promptly gained nothing from the victory.)

Sheamus would be a good choice, but for the fact that his previous reign was not well received, and he is rumoured to be entering a program with Mark Henry soon. (http://www.wrestlezone.com/news/270...s-video-game-reveal-whats-next-for-mark-henry)

A feud I would propose, then, would be Booker T. Let's face it, Ziggler is still missing that big moment that solidifies him as a star. He can wrestle as many fantastic matches, receive as many huge pops, and make as many IWC panties wet as he likes, but until he gets that big clean win in a main event matchup, he will still seem like a second rate superstar.

First World Title reign: Lasted 11 minutes.
First huge win: Vs John Cena. Overshadowed by a Diva and then buried repeatedly by Cena.
“Breakout” moment: Cashing in to win the title...on a one legged champion. Who nearly beat him. Twice.

As much as I personally like Ziggler, these are facts. (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jdRMUrOFLpg) And whilst his arrogant “Showoff” persona fits him subsequently needing to win with cowardly tactics like AJ's heel turn or the briefcase cash in, now that he's champion he needs the occasional clean win, otherwise it's not just the title and Ziggler that's devalued: it's the person who drops it to that suffers, as well.

Enter everyone's favourite colour commentator (maybe): Booker T.

Booker, in his day, was a fantastic performer, dawg. And I personally look at his match with Cody Rhodes and think: he's still got it. (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_AisHdCzpDs) Not as good as he was, but good enough to put on maybe a four star match with Ziggler.
As for the story, Ziggler being an arrogant asshole with an interfering entourage can't be good as the representative of Booker's brand. As such, Booker could continuously throw guys like del Rio, Jericho (once he returns from the tour), even Sheamus (if they nix the Henry feud or have it wrapped up swiftly) at him, to no avail. Ziggler could get in Booker's face about how he can't get the title off him, maybe even make it personal by claiming to be a better champion than Booker ever was. (And if he brings up all that “King Booker” shit, you can't help but agree.) Then, Booker could sense he has one last spinaroonie left in him, and lace up the boots to try and get the job done himself. If Ziggler then went over clean, he'd have a successful pay-per-view defense over a former champion and Hall Of Famer on his resumé, and Booker would be forced to admit that Ziggler is just that damn good.

And so, to the questions:

1) Would you be interested in seeing this feud?
2) How good would the actual match be?
3) If not Booker T, who could you see giving Ziggler his first credible victory?

PS: Here's a parting gift -

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RfFBnoCL2qU

 

[drobs85]

No I wouldn't be interested in seeing a Booker T Ziggles feud. What would it due for Booker if he won. And what would it due for Ziggles if he beats a wrestler who wrestles less than Brock Lesnar does? Nothing. He needs to beat a regular, maybe Cena which won't happen Orton as you mentioned has lost steam. SO Ziggles is between a rock and a hard place.

 

[Jack-Hammer]

I've no desire really to see another heel champion vs. babyface authority figure feud. I've no real desire to see any authority figure feud with anyone quite frankly.

There've been too many instances in the past in which authority figures have gotten into it with top stars for whatever reason. The last instance in WWE in which it really went down was Cena against Big Johnny and the match was pure shit. I know that Booker T isn't Big Johnny but Booker, despite his past accomplishments, is a non-wrestler. In this day and age, non-wrestlers shouldn't be in feuds with wrestlers.

Right now, WWE is doing a good job of using Booker T & Vickie Guerrero sparingly. We usually see them once or twice on Raw and SD! for a grand total of a couple of minutes. They're not running around all over the show trying to be put into every other segment, nor are they being put over as the focal point of the company. It's something I wish TNA would do with Hulk Hogan. I know it's something that won't last forever, as we'll probably have a GM right smack in the middle of things again at some point.

Personally, I don't think there's money in Ziggler vs. Booker T. While I'm sure they'd have some solid matches against each other, I just don't really see an upside for Ziggler. If they want Booker T to feud with someone, the one who has the most to gain would be someone like Wade Barrett or Antonio Cesaro. Booker's feud with Cody Rhodes over the IC title a while back worked well. It wasn't epic or anything, but it was believable use of someone of Booker T's standing. Booker T is a legend, a multiple time World Champion and a brand new Hall of Famer, but he hasn't been relevant as a pro wrestler since the days of King Booker back in 2006 and 2007. As a result, he's someone that can still put over top mid-card guys. I wouldn't "hate" a feud between Booker & Ziggler, but, to me, it'd feel stale before it really even got started.

 

[jacdnwarrior]

Here's the thing, I'm not against it, I just don't think they want to go that route. Booker is solid as a heel or a face and put him with the right opponent, he can deliver pretty good work. Ziggler is okay on the mike but not all that entertaining on it. Booker can help with that. The roster has been used to a great extent, and they have a need for seasoned veterans who can help in the main event. they need fresh faces to add to/or give fans a relief from the same old matchups and champions. That being said, Booker's doing a decent enough job as a GM, that you don't want to take him away from that. He might not be interested in in being in the ring any more. Perhaps he's in lousy shape, you just don't know.

What he needs is for people who have defeated him to lose to him. Orton, Sheamus, have to put him over to make him look like a credible champion.

 

[BK Styles]

Booker T Vs Dolph Ziggler for the World Heavyweight Championship? Okay...

Would it make a good match? In all honesty, yeah probably. The few occasions Booker has stepped into the ring in the last few years he's looked solid, and would probably put on a good match with Dolph.

Do I want to see it? Absolutely not. No disrespect to Booker, but Smackdown has numerous challengers who'd be a better bet than him; Sheamus, ADR, Swagger and Orton just to begin with. Hell, even Y2J could get a run at him. Booker T, with the greatest of respect to him, is an authority figure, and I don't want him near the title in the same way I don't want Triple H back near the World title.There's just no reason other than 'he's a legend' or 'he can still go in the ring'.

More importantly though, Booker doesn't need another run at the top. 6 time World champion, IC Champion, US Champion, multiple-time Tag Team Champion, and oh yeah; Hall of Famer. Booker T doesn't benefit from it, and other than an initial nostalgia wave, WWE doesn't benefit from it.

Zigglers' First Credible Victory? Simply put, does beating a guy who, while clearly is still in fantastic shape, wrestles maybe a few times a year at best really classify as a big, title reign-defining moment? A better moment would be having him go over Orton clean at some point. Orton is still a big name and could realistically walk into the World title feud (or even the WWE title feud, to be honest) with no issues. A clean win against Orton is a valuable thing to have, and could be the big win Dolph needs.

Then there's Sheamus, who was dominant as World Champion and would be a fantastic scalp to claim for the show-off. Well received or not, he dominated Bryan at Mania, beat him two out of three falls and was completely dominant up to losing the title to Big Show.

Then there's the other solution; when in doubt; go out and have a top-class wrestling match. Pitch Daniel Bryan against him. Sure, he's currently a tag team wrestler, but he's one of the most popular WWE superstars at the moment and, more importantly, can put on a fantastic match. Or even Punk, should Ziggler turn face at some point. He went close to beating Punk around last years Royal Rumble, so having Dolph finally overcome the 400+ day WWE Champion would be a big scalp for the Show-Off.

But as far as Booker T goes, I'm sorry, but I just don't dig it.

 

[Olly]

I agree with these guys, it would be a nice little feud, and makes logical sense, but it wouldn't do much for either guy. Ziggler needs to go clean over Orton or Sheamus (Jericho would be fine but Ziggler's already "ended his career" once and they booked him like shit for nine months afterwards). Beating Bryan might help but 1) I'm not sure the casual fan would be as impressed as the rest of us and 2) I wouldn't want him going over Bryan anyway.

Here's a thought... Rocky at Summerslam?