Is He Ready??

[TJ Matics]

Do you think Dolph Ziggler is ready to step out on his own?
Some people think that it is high time Dolph leaves Vickie, but I'm not sure if Dolph can consistently get heat from the crowd. We all know that Ziggler is a great wrestler, but this is the best I've heard from him on the MIC:

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And that's mediocre at best. So what I'm asking is:

Is Dolph ready to leave Vickie behind?

If so, When?

Whenever this does happen, will he be able to get and maintain heat on his own?

If during the split he gets turned face, will it have MVP like consequences?

 

[LitasRevenge79]

Granted, I've never been a big fan of him personally. But, when they came through and I saw him perform live, he is AMAZING to watch live. I really am quite perplexed as to why he still gets held back with the albatross around his neck, being Vickie. Granted, we all know she gets him AWESOME heat reaction, but, there has been a few cases where he's been able to generate good reaction on his own. I would think he should've shown the creative that he's more than worthy enough by now that he's an up to par person that is worth taking a shot at letting him go it alone. Given the events in the last week, on both RAW and Smackdown, where Vickie got him into the match with Cena, and then cost them the match, you'd think this should be BEGGING us that he's a formidable enough person to be on his own. I think this IC belt has plateaued in my opinion, let him try something else, something new, I think he does need a breath of fresh air at this point. Either let him take the plunge and go it alone, or this is going to get old SO fast that people will almost wish for a Spirit Squad reunion.

 

[Tech N9ne]

It's a pretty tough question. No one can predict the future. All anyone can really do is guess.

My guess would be he COULD do it on his own. I am not sure if he WILL though. Ziggler is definitely super talented. But he lacks charisma. His physical ability is better than probably 90% of everyone else in WWE and probably a good 95% better than most on SD.

But the OP is correct as far as questioning Ziggler drawing heat without Vickie. I am not sure if he can keep relevance without her whether he is Heel or Face. If they split and he turns Face, he will probably get his best pops opposing Vickie or her next "BF" or wrestler she manages. Other than that, I don't see him being cheered by the whole arena versus the likes of Cody Rhodes or Drew McIntyre or even someone who is beyond over as a Heel, like Kane.

I will give Ziggler props though, where it is deserved. He deserves A LOT of credit for shaking the Spirit Squad "gimmick" or time frame of his career. He is definitely a great wrestler, but I am not sure how far that will take him in this day/time.

To be honest, my problem with the guy is somewhat biased. But, oh well, my opinion is my opinion. He reminds me way too much of Billy Gunn. His look and even his moves. Even his lack-lusterness on the mic reminds me of Gunn. To me, that works against him and is pretty much the reason why I do not think he will succeed, as far as being a World Champion goes!

 

[The Eighties]

I wouldn't split them yet, let Ziggler get another couple of feuds under his belt where he can try and progress his mic work, until then it would be foolish to split his outstanding in-ring talent from Vickie's molten heat.

 

[Tequila Dave]

Vickie Guerrero, tied with Michael Cole, is the biggest heat magnet in wrestling today; and that obviously rubs off on Ziggler. Could Ziggler make it without Guerrero? Sure, but why risk it? There is no harm being caused by having the pair stay together, but there is a potential risk if the two are separated. Plus, there's the added risk that the pair splitting up may lead to fans getting behind Ziggler, turning him face. In the long term, a face turn might be detrimental to Ziggler.

I say leave things as they are, it's not doing any harm.

 

[LSN80]

Ziggler had been largely hit or miss to me, until he won the Intercontinental Championship. He showed some decent technical ability and good aggressiveness, but he failed to generate legitimate heat unless he's been with Vickie. And that's the Catch-22 right now for Ziggler. He's been associated with Vickie for so long and has used her as an out to defend his championship so much that we've never seen him be truly successful any other way. His attempts to win the IC title in the past from both Rey Mysterio and Kofi Kingston were unsuccessful until he became associated with Vickie. The same goes for his ability to draw heat, as it was quite non-existant until Vickie became his manager.

But what gives me hope that he can truly strike out on his own has been the fact that he's main evented the past two Smackdown's and has looked darn impressive in doing so. He matched John Cena move for move and counter for counter, and gave the impression that he could win each match even if the outcome was inevitable. Im not a fan of triple threats, but the Ziggler/Kofi/Swagger match that main evented Friday's Smackdown was tremendous. The heat Ziggler drew when he rolled up Kofi for the pin was tremendous, and more importantly, it was his own. Turning him face at this time would be a bad move because he's finally been able to generate his own heat, so a split where both remain heels would be best. He really doesnt have the gimmick, look, or mic skills to work as a face right now, and it would be a waste of the heel momentum hes gained.

I do think Vickie's done all she can do for him as his manager. Much of the heat he's received as a result of his association with Vickie has been transferred to Dolph as a result of his more prominent role in both his series with Cena, as well as the matches with Swagger and Kofi. While he still displays tepid mic skills as evidenced by his opening promo on Smackdown Friday, I believe the time is now for Ziggler. The heat he's garnered, on his own, is at an all time high. We'll never know if he can truly sustain it if he continues his association with Vickie, because she'll draw the heat automatically. Its time for Ziggler to truly test the waters on his own, and attempt to build on the momentum he's gained from his recent performences. He's ready, and more importantly, it's time.

 

[Ferbian]

I wouldn't necessarily say that Dolph is. Sure Dolph is doing fine, and could continue to do fine on his own. However Vickie Guerrero is his heat magnet, much like Drew McIntyre's heat magnet was Vince McMahon and his orders / letters. Dolph won't be one to get super hot by himself, he currently needs Vickie Guerrero to do it.

With Vickie, not only does he maintain great heat, but he gets time to do what he does best - Work in the ring, he's not the best on the microphone or at getting heat, but he's great in the ring. With Vickie he's allowed to get a bit of microphone time, without him being the focus and therefore showing that he isn't that strong at it.

So for now, I don't see him being quite ready to leave Vickie. He could, but he wouldn't be able to keep the consistent basic of awesomeness outside of wrestling that he has been able to showcase with Vickie.

 

[moneymaker90]

I truly believe that Ziggles will be sucessfull in talent eating monster that is WWE. Dolph and Vickie are a good match and I don't see any need for splitting them up. Ziggler in 6 months to a year, with some good feuds in the middle (Taker comes to mind), will be world championship material and he could do this with Vickie by his side. I still believe that people with managers can (and should) be champions and Ziggler is a perfect example.