Has Ziggler Peaked?

[kadroan]

Two years ago, Dolph won the MITB Briefcase, got a clean win over Randy Orton at Survivor Series in the Team Foley vs. Team Ziggler Survivor Series match and beat Cena at TLC in a ladder match for his MITB Briefcase and entered #1 in the 2013 Royal Rumble and was a threat to win.

You could say he was in the same position Rollins is in now.

Ziggler cashed in on the day after WM 29 on Del Rio but lost the title back to Del Rio. Then, got an concussion (thanks to Swagger) which caused things to go downhill as he failed to win US and IC Championships and floated around the mid card for the rest of 2013 and first half of 2014.

It wasn't until this past Survivor Series where he got the win over Rollins, his potential was realized again. He recently won the IC Championship the 3rd time this year from Harper and the commentators are hyping the win saying he won the worker's title and people like HBK and Bret Hart won it.

Although Ziggler is a two time former world champion, do you think Ziggler would ever find a place in the main event again or do you think he'll probably remain in the mid card?

 

[L@RISANO]

Based on how WWE books now, I'd have to say no, he won't really be in the reckoning for the World title anytime soon, regardless of the following he has built up.

However, IF the WWE is serious and attempts to keep things fresh and of a high quality starting post-Mania 31...then it is possible Dolph can get another shot at the World title.


Time will tell as to how the Main Event scene come SummerSlam 2015. Reigns, Rollins, Ambrose, Wyatt, Cena, Orton...then there could well be Cesaro, Sheamus, Barrett perhaps...ntm, the talent in NXT could make a splash.
If built correctly, the amount of possbilities in the Main Event next year looks brilliant. I just hope the WWE doesn't mess it all up... to keep SuperCena strong...

 

[Navi]

Ziggler made a splash this year mainly because of the injuries to some of the top talent. If Reigns, Bryan and the rest weren't out, I doubt Ziggler would have even made it to the 5 on 5 SS match.

He is a good wrestler and gives it all he's got every time he's in the ring. He also has a habit of making his opponents look good as well. But I thought the WWE saw him as injury prone and were afraid to push him because of it.

Sadly with Reigns returning to the pop he received and Barrett on the road back it would seem that Ziggler has be relegated back to the mid card title. I like the guy and wouldn't mind seeing him in the top tier, but there are just two many other new faces that the WWE is intent on pushing.

 

[Mudlup50]

I'd say yes he has peaked. The world title is in essence as high as most guys can get(aside from the face or top heel) and Ziggler has done it twice. Swagger is in the same boat minus the huge fanbase, and that's fine.

There's nothing wrong with someone like Ziggler being in the upper midcard, getting a world title shot here or there just to keep his fans happy. In that regard he's higher than Swagger, being as Swagger will never get another world title match. Keep in mind, he'll most likely be inducted into the Hall Of Fame one day. Ziggler is in an interesting position right now, until he won the IC belt back I was wondering if he'd win the Rumble but I guess not now

 

[Creepy Old Man]

He's AT his peak. He's the smart choice for the Rumble win, because Reigns needs more seasoning. Reigns is clearly still piss on the mic, and just missed a whopping three months of action. It's a major gamble to put the jet pack on him this soon.

 

[Mustang Sally]

I don't know if he's peaked or not. The guy has had so many ups and downs, so many periods where they pushed the hell out of him.....only to de-push him shortly afterward.....that I honestly couldn't say how the company sees Dolph's future.

Even when his career was in a down period, we still saw him in the ring more than anyone except John Cena. It seems almost as if WWE management loves him because of his bouncing, exhausting work ethic.....but at the same time limits how high he can rise in the rankings because he doesn't feature as a star performer.

Okay, so now they've got him winning the Survivor Series for his team.....and pinning Seth Rollins the other night.....which might indicate Dolph is on target for another title run.

But is he? History has shown how the company can pull back on the reins with Ziggy.....who's to say they won't do it again?

 

[Mighty NorCal]

Yes. About 4 years ago. Putting on title matches with Edge and US title era Daniel Bryan.

He has only gotten worse in every way since then, but the WWE's refusal to pull the trigger has gotten him more and more of a following. He may end up reaching a higher place because of how thin and overexposed the roster is, but the convergence of the apex of his abilities and proper spot on the card have long since passed by.

 

[Joseph718YaHurd]

Honestly , id rather Ziggler feuding over the intercontinental title instead of jumping in to the world title picture , not yet at least ... You've gotta admit , A feud between Himself and The debuting Neville over the title would be epic ...

 

[OYDK]

Has he hit his peak? That's tough to answer right now I think, with the way things have been going for him. As OP mentioned, Ziggler has had a similar run like this before and who knows where it would have gone had he not been injured... that's really what derailed his momentum. Now it seems as if WWE is insistent on continuing that push; whether that means he becomes a Chris Jericho and remains the face of the mid-card division with a few World title runs or whether they establish him as a main eventer, I think WWE ultimately wants to get Ziggler up to that level. It all depends now on whether Ziggler can step up his game when he has to, stay healthy, and take advantage of his opportunities... so far so good right now.

I think eventually a heel turn would do wonders for Ziggler and could possibly transition him from upper mid-card to main event, but again he would have to be able to pull it off really well. Some people, like Chris Benoit for example don't peak until the tail end of their careers. It took Benoit 18 years to win the WHC, Eddie Guerrero 17 years, Chris Jericho 11... in comparison, Ziggler has been wrestling for 8 years I believe. He's 34 years old meaning he's probably got a good 7-8 years left on him IF he can stay concussion free, and I just found out he was named RollingStones wrestler of the year, so... that's pretty cool.

All in all, it's tough to answer right now.

 

[hollowpoint]

I think Ziggler is doing what he always does and he's being rewarded for it right now. The way I see it, Rollins needs a foil right now until Brock Lesnar is no longer champion...enter Ziggler. They have good chemistry in the ring and if given a chance, they can create a good storyline. Something along the lines of Rock/HHH, but on a lower level. I don't know if "peaked" is the right word because it depends on what you are referring to. If it's his age, then no, his relevancy? again no because he still gets some of the loudest pops in the arena. As in terms of chances to be a main eventer? More than likely. If you ask me, everything is set up for Ziggler to succeed. He has to stay healthy and keep performing. By next year this time, we might be talking about Rollins/Ziggler WM...who knows with the way the write storylines these days.

 

[Jack-Hammer]

It's such a damn hard question to answer, especially right now. Dolph Ziggler's had a lot of bumps in the road in his career, some of which could have been averted and some that were just some of those "it could happen to anyone" situations. What could have been averted were the various stop & go pushes that Ziggler's been a victim of due to Vince's inconsistent, borderline schizophrenic booking. The "it could happen to anyone" happenings involved Ziggler suffering two concussions within a 6 month or so timeframe. With all the discoveries that've been made regarding athletes suffering head trauma post Benoit murder/suicide, it's easy to see WWE's reluctance to push Ziggler to the top. Ziggler's talented, he's over with the fans, and he has a genuine passion for the business; it seems he'd be someone that anyone would want to push. Yet, as far as the medical issues go, what can management do with someone who despite having all the talent in the world has had some questionable heath issues?

Ziggler's status in the IC title picture post Miz feud has been entertaining and has brought some positive attention to the title. I don't feel it was exactly necessary for Ziggler to drop the title to Harper but, at the same time, it did flow nicely with the storyline of Ziggler being someone The Authority screwed over in a significant way. His ladder match with Harper at TLC was great and he had a tremendous outing against Rollins on SmackDown!. I was honestly figuring that Ziggler would lose, albeit due to interference, or that he'd win via disqualification because Vince, for some strange reason, enjoys having mid-card champions job out in strong matches to guys who're higher up on the food chain. So I was pleasantly surprised to see Ziggler score a clean pinfall victory over Rollins.

Is it a sign of management finally deciding to get behind Ziggler with a sustained push? I honestly have no idea. Few things are certain when it comes to Vince's attention span; he might make the call this coming Monday on Raw for Ziggler to job out to Big Show just so Roman Reigns can come to save the day and look dominant.

 

[hollowpoint]

the one thing we all know is that we have no idea because they have no idea. hard to determine the bath of one Superstar over the other because you never know when Vince is gonna come in and pull the chord.

 

[BRAT]

He would have make but WWE don't want to give him a chance. For such players the world heavyweight championship is very suitable and I don't understand why they don't bring it back. Many superstars like Swagger,BNB,Big E and will have an opportunity to show their abilities

 

[BuriedByCena]

Dolph should get at least 1 WWE title reign. The guy can wrestle, he has the look, he has the fan support and he is good enough on the mic. Hopefully he gets a chance with the gold in 2015.

But WWE does the exact opposite of what fans want and will push roman reigns who CANT wrestle, has 50/50 crowd support, sucks on the mic....but he's the rocks cousin and has the look so he will be pushed. It is so dumb how WWE works.

 

[MartialHorror]

I think he has. The IC title is probably going to be best he's going to get. His style is merely too dangerous and he isn't especially young anymore. Now that Reigns is returning, Ziggler has no room to pursue the WHC championship.

 

[George Steele's Barber]

After many years of cutting Dolph down I finally see him at a point where he could have a legitimate push (which he is getting now). Every push he has received in the past has felt either secondary or poorly executed. I'll go as far as saying that I could see him being a great opponent for Brock at Mania for the belt if it is true that Brock is leaving after Mania. While I consider Orton my Rumble pick I would not be surprised if Dolph took it. With Sting and others being the main draw for the event, Dolph taking on Lesnar would draw just as well as any other options WWE has.

Anyway, Dolph used to be an IWC overrated schnook but has come around and I see better things in the future. He needs to avoid the neon and a name change wouldn't hurt.