Is this Ziggler's last stop on the way to the main event?

[TakersBroski987]

*Moderators - please feel free to move this thread if need be.

This is my first thread...

On Sunday at No Way Out, Ziggler turned in an impressive performance against the World Champion, Sheamus. This past Monday, Ziggler faced Swagger (and won).

Is the impending feud between Ziggler and Swagger, the last stop for Ziggler on the way to the main event? With the current lack of main event players, could Ziggler fit comfortably at the top? Would you like to see Ziggler as a face or heel? Are they heading down a route, which would shed all of the baggage that Ziggler has accumulated of late, in order to showcase him as a man who performs on his own?

Please discuss.

 

[Richard Blonoff]

I am going to say no. Not because I dislike Ziggler, I love watching the guy, but because he is still better suited for the upper midcard. He is improving on the mic but he lacks that it factor at this point that the other main eventers seem to have. I do think that Swagger has held him back and this will help him but Ziggler has only been in his current role for a ittle over a year and he has a nice niche carved out for himself where he is.

I think the biggest problems are his gimmick and his selling. The whole show off thing just screams generic cocky heel, which isn't going to do him any favors. He needs to slowly phase away from that. It works in his current role but it probably won't help him gain main event status. About his selling, now Ziggler could sell ice to Eskimos, hell he could probably sell Punk a bag of crack but a lot of guys who make others look good with their selling seem to get stuck in a jobber to the stars role, basically where he is now. I think he should stay a heel and given another year or so he could transform himself into a poor mans Shawn Michaels and still be a main event player but at this point he isn't there yet

 

[IT Factor]

That match on RAW showcased why both Swagger & Ziggler should be main eventing. Both are great in-ring and its simply time that WWE start putting more emphasis on the future. Because in the next 3-5 years, I'm quite confident that the WWE landscape will change drastically and they will need new stars. Ziggler has been having great matches lately and a face turn may be needed to really show everything he has. With WWE's lackluster type of ratings, it couldn't be any worse to take a chance on someone new instead of always depending on guys like Triple H or Cena to save the day.

 

[rge2010]

I dont get the obsession with Ziggler Main Eventing. Isnt it like 18 months he has now flirted with the main event? The guy wont draw a dime. He's great in the ring, but so is Tyson Kidd.

Ziggler should stay mid/upper mid until he finds a personality. I can't take the guy serious as a main eventer and a challenger to a Title. He loses more than he wins.

 

[Fire Marshall Bill]

I dont get the obsession with Ziggler Main Eventing. Isnt it like 18 months he has now flirted with the main event? The guy wont draw a dime. He's great in the ring, but so is Tyson Kidd.

Ziggler should stay mid/upper mid until he finds a personality. I can't take the guy serious as a main eventer and a challenger to a Title. He loses more than he wins.

I know. This thread is created at least once a month. I almost feel guilty for making a Ziggler thread last week, though it was about something else.

Dolph Ziggler might make it to the main event soon, he might not. The point is if they do it without changing his character he's going to fail. He's been floating up and down the card for the last like 2 years now. He hasn't developed his character one bit in that whole time and he's just gotten stale. Yeah, he can go in the ring, but his mic skills are boring and underdeveloped. He's been hanging on Vickie's coattails and heat for way too long now and it begins to make me wonder if he can do anything on his own. I've said it a million times lately, the WWE needs to shit or get off the pot with him because he's getting old fast.

 

[GameOver]

Ziggler has a character and personality, more then his sidekick Jack Swagger who lost the plot soon as they dumped him as champion and get rid of Vickie, she serves no purpose to anyway anymore, surely they see that.

Ziggler has all the tools to be a main eventer, he's proven that, considering what gimmick he came from he's far surpassed other people on the roster that were mainstays.

as for if Ziggler could be a long running champ then i'd say no, but he would be fine winning the title and then having Sheamus chase him down much like when Christian won the title. Just hopes he doesn't become a woosy champ, he deserves to be a fighting champ who either wins by sheer luck or by being good enough not by cheating all the time or weaseling out of matches.

Anyway it seems the Hogan er full time Cena era has passed and we are on the verge of the New Generation again where they are finally giving other people a chance to run with the ball, Ziggler can do it if given a chance i'd say.

 

[Mustang Sally]

Interestingly, I thought the match between them last night was pretty bad. Both have done better work against other opponents. It's odd, since they're both adept at working good matches against less technically oriented foes than they were against each other; yet they missed two spots outright ....and the finish seemed forced and stilted. Weird.

I think the company might be trying to break Dolph loose for another top-of-the-card effort. Given the way they've pushed this guy all along, I've wondered why his last push stalled. Honestly, I never saw him as a main eventer and could never figure why the company apparently did.

Perhaps a face change would be in line now. They might bring it about by having Ziggler and Swagger start a true feud, forcing the fans to root for one of them. If that's the case, I think it would be Dolph who turns. Having him then campaign as a good guy might provide a better impetus for his rise to the top, since WWE already knows he didn't make it there as a heel.

On the other hand, a Dolph-Swagger feud hardly gets the blood boiling, does it?

I've never seen Dolph at the top, but if WWE does.....then that's where he's going.

 

[Cabana]

I'm usually *VERY* opposed to recycling/spinning off gimmicks, but if ever there was a fit...

Ric Flair is an FA and, regardless of the TNA suit, will be in WWE soon enough. Ziggles' natural disposition (cocky, smooth talking, better than you and I can back it up heel) lends itself to Flair. Flair himself is the 2nd Nature Boy. Can we skip Buddy Landell and call Ziggler the 3rd Nature Boy?

The trick would be to purposefully avoid rehashing the 80's Nature Boy gimmick and to update it thoroughly and quietly. Yes, Ziggler keeps the moniker and is generally a limosine-riding, jet flyin', son of a gun but he doesn't have to SAY that. There's a whole new generation of fans who have never seen a Nature Boy in their lifetimes. Let Ziggler reinvent the gimmick (he's a very smart guy) for the 21st century and tailor it to him. Let Flair be his manager. If it starts to take off, bring in 3 other stablemates (Ohno & Cesaro as the Tag entrants, figure McGillicutty as the enforcer + IC/US title contender) and you have the Horsemen.

Much like Evolution was an updated but very conscious homage to the Horseman, this new Horsemen (and you don't have to call them that) would have to be booked as a main event tweener-heel faction. They're not evil: they just want to be the best because they want to get paid. Ziggler is their leader as a guy who can go in the ring and on the mic with the best of them, and Flair is their insurance policy: the most seasoned hand alive teaching them all his tricks so he can live the life of a champion one more time, albeit vicariously.

Easy, simple booking. Put 'em on Smackdown and give Ziggler a lengthy WHC title run (4+ months minimum, and really more like 9 months) to really get him over a the dominant player on the show. Let the group assemble gold. Keep Sheamus at bay through chicanery. It's basic pro wrestling, and it'll work. Eventually, the group falls apart, Flair gets the shaft, and Ziggler is standalone as the new Naitch, but a totally different one than the last one.

If it can work for Doctor Who, why not Nature Boy?

 

[George Steele's Barber]

Watch that match again last night and it's aftermath. Ziggler was a wounded puppy who overcame his injury to beat the bigger, stupid guy.

In the end he wins the affection of the mean girl to the point he even gets her to smile and show weakness. They share a heartfelt kiss.

I don't know if the Vicki-Dolph relationship stays, Vicki could turn on him in the end. But what I do know is that Dolph's performance last night was clearly a giant effin' FACE performance.

Sweeptheleg was spot on in his assessment of how they are changing Dolph. I don't think this propels him to the main event too soon since it is already filled with face champs (Punk, Sheamus) and the top guy (Cena) but it could lead to some entertaining feuds with guys like Rhodes, Kane, ADR, Bryan, Show and Jericho.

I'm guessing that Jericho will be used in his return to establish a feud with Ziggler (they need to get rid of that name) and get him over as a face.

 

[Fire Marshall Bill]

Watch that match again last night and it's aftermath. Ziggler was a wounded puppy who overcame his injury to beat the bigger, stupid guy.

In the end he wins the affection of the mean girl to the point he even gets her to smile and show weakness. They share a heartfelt kiss.

I don't know if the Vicki-Dolph relationship stays, Vicki could turn on him in the end. But what I do know is that Dolph's performance last night was clearly a giant effin' FACE performance.

Yeah, it was definitely a face type performance from Ziggler's end. And of course everyone is going to root for him over Swagger. However, I'm not sure I see a full fledged face turn with Vickie as well. She's easily one of the top heels in the WWE. Would they dare try and ruin that? Granted, maybe something new for her wouldn't be too bad. But she was boring as hell as a face when she first came in.

 

[George Steele's Barber]

Yeah, it was definitely a face type performance from Ziggler's end. And of course everyone is going to root for him over Swagger. However, I'm not sure I see a full fledged face turn with Vickie as well. She's easily one of the top heels in the WWE. Would they dare try and ruin that? Granted, maybe something new for her wouldn't be too bad. But she was boring as hell as a face when she first came in.

Indeed, it makes the turn (or fake turn) more compelling. It adds a layer of questionability to the story. I thought he may shun her advancements but he actually embraced them in a touching moment. I've been hard on Ziggler over the past year but this story is currently the second most compelling they have going right now behind the "What the hell is AJ doing?" Story. I am interested to see where it goes. It's certainly possible that it is also time for Vicki to drop the angry annoying teacher-type gimmick or she may be stepping away from WWE.

We will see.

 

[Fire Marshall Bill]

Indeed, it makes the turn (or fake turn) more compelling. It adds a layer of questionability to the story. I thought he may shun her advancements but he actually embraced them in a touching moment. I've been hard on Ziggler over the past year but this story is currently the second most compelling they have going right now behind the "What the hell is AJ doing?" Story. I am interested to see where it goes. It's certainly possible that it is also time for Vicki to drop the angry annoying teacher-type gimmick or she may be stepping away from WWE.

We will see.

Yeah, after last night, I'd say it's finally getting really interesting to see where they're headed with this. It seems clear that a face turn or not, Ziggler is headed somewhere different, which is a much needed change. But you're very right in saying that nothing is more intriguing than what's going on with AJ. She is pulling off the crazy chick so well. And it was almost creepy to see her wearing that mask last night.

 

[thesquaredcircle]

I think he will probably have a feud with swagger until about summerslam and then go on to face the world heavyweight champion again. I would like it if he would just stay a heel because wwe are lacking quality heels. I might be a little biased though because he is one of my favorite superstars at the moment.

 

[sharu7]

He needs to have a CM Punk type of moment.

Before Punks promo last year, I didn't give 2 shits about him...

But he won me over with that Promo...And the weeks later.

He got himself over with the fans that weren't his fans.

Thats what Dolph needs to do...Not specifically a promo, but something that makes us go wow.

 

[Trill Co$by]

Considering that EVERY time Ziggler comes out, he gets the loudest if not one of the loudest pops in the night, I have no idea why people hate Ziggler. In fact, I can honestly say you're stupid if you don't. There's a time where opinions don't matter, and for Ziggler, he's one of those moments.

Ziggler comes out night in and night out and puts on the most amazing matches on the show. He works the microphone like nobody's business, and he's very over with the crowd. Last night's Raw proved that when his music hit and the crowd exploded. Ziggler deserves to be in the main event, and I think that he's the perfect "Jericho" style main eventer. He's very believable for a world champion, and putting the US or IC title on him while you wait for a spot in the Main event for him also helps bring credibility to the title.

I think Ziggler's moment will come from Money in the Bank. Does he need the briefcase to get the world title? No. But that doesn't mean that I won't be happy when he cashes it in and rises to the WWE title. To be honest, I think Ziggler can make a great foil for stopping CM Punk and if given the chance, he can do very well in the main event scene.

 

[Steamboat Ricky]

The main event of Smackdown? Maybe.

If you consider vying for a world title in WWE to being "in the main event," then you are mistaken...especially when it is the World Heavyweight Championship. The last time the WHC was on the line in the final match of a ppv was October 3, 2010 when Kane fought Taker @ Hell in a Cell. That was almost 2 years ago.

Cena is the main draw and the only match that is going to supersede that will be Triple H v. Brock Lesnar at Summerslam. Dolph might continue to get a run with Sheamus, but that is hardly being in the "main-event" these days.

 

[Ryberg]

Ziggler AGAIN??? Every week he has a match there's a Ziggler Main Event thread. He's a midcarder plain and simple. He doesn't have the mic skills or the size to be anything. Yeah he's a great worker but as I have pointed out MANY TIMES that's what he's supposed to do to put others over.

Ziggler is getting a midcard push. How many times does the WWE have to try and push him and no one reacts or cares??? He's been in main events A LOT over the past few years and NO ONE CARES. Wow he beats people like Swagger!!!!!!!! When the WWE has him beat a real wrestler in the main event arena then I'll start believing they believe he's a future main eventer.

His pushes remind me a lot of the ones John Morrison got. Always teased to be a main eventer, put in a few title matches, but never put over because they knew he wasn't a real draw.

And come on are all you people missing WHAT WWE ISN'T???? Vicki is with him BECAUSE without her he's just another Tyson Kidd. All skills but no heat. Everyone always forgets WHY she was put there. If you pull her away he will flame out fast!And for the love of GOD no Flair with him. You want the guy to shine correct??? Flair will be the one fans want to see and Ziggler will just be an afterthought. Put aside my lack of care about the guy and wonder of what the internet world loves about him so much. DB has turned A LOT OF people into fans in less than 6 months. Ziggler has been in the fold for over 18 months and still can't get the heat or pop of some of the jobbers.

 

[Jatkuva]

I think hes pretty over with the crowd, besides the cm punk chants and the yes chants the ziggler chants were the only ones I remember from last night(Piper aint there weekly), which they need to pull the switch and make him a face he's far from a heel that everybody loves to hate or we wouldnt be having this weekly discussion, or have him win money in the bank.

I don't see him winning the WWE championship anytime soon, but thats because I don't see CM punk losing it anytime soon(He's got to be the one to introduce the new design after all) and i don't see them taking it off sheamus(trips loves the guy). If they bring in Flair as his manager, it will be only a matter of time though.

 

[Fansince1992]

And you're probably the same guy that's ok with John Cena and Sheamus main-eventing. *Facepalm* I'm sure as hell not.

The Difference is Cena and Sheamus don't act like a Rag Doll in the ring. All this over the top selling Ziggler does just wouldn't look right in the main event. People bash Triple H for coming in and stealing the likes of Zigglers spotlight, and say Triple H is only feeding his Ego. These so called young studs who should be pushed over the likes of Triple H and Cena isn't going to happen.

 

[DANIELBRYANrealwrestler]

Ziggler AGAIN??? Every week he has a match there's a Ziggler Main Event thread. He's a midcarder plain and simple. He doesn't have the mic skills or the size to be anything. Yeah he's a great worker but as I have pointed out MANY TIMES that's what he's supposed to do to put others over.

How is a win over a jobber goin to put anyone over?You have to be somebody to put someone over.Someone like HHH,Cena or Orton.Ziggler losing every week is just burying him even more rather than putting anyone over

How many times does the WWE have to try and push him and no one reacts or cares??? He's been in main events A LOT over the past few years and NO ONE CARES.

You obviously have hearing problems because the "Lets go Ziggler" chants get louder every week.This guy has supporters and people DO care so dont be an ignorant.

 

[The Crock]

I'm thinking that this probably is Ziggler's final stretch before the main event. He's still got a lot to improve on, but the WWE really needs someone to step up right now -- Ziggler fits the bill. I've never been a big fan of Ziggler, but the guy has been growing on me, and I can see some main event potential there. He made Sheamus look really good at No Way Out and I'm sure the WWE is very happy that they basically struck gold with a replacement opponent. I mean, that was supposed to be your standard defense for Sheamus, but Ziggler made me believe. Ziggler -- who does oversell, at times -- actually did a really good job of selling Sheamus' offense, making a believable comeback. There were a few points in time where I actually doubted if Sheamus would go over -- the WWE couldn't have asked more of Ziggler, and I would think that renewed their confidence in him.

As of right now, I'm seeing Ziggler as a potential Money in the Bank winner. He may be on the way to turning face, but I hope not. He's an excellent heel and I think he'd be a great MITB briefcase holder, especially as a heel. That would help the WWE fill a hole in their main event scene and give them a younger guy to build off of, in Ziggler. Ziggler probably needs one more feud before his main event ascent begins and I think that either Chris Jericho or Rey Mysterio (who are both supposed to return soon) are both suitable opponents, depending on which direction (face/heel) WWE wants to take Ziggler.

 

[The ShIT Factor]

Yes, because right now I think the WWE has finally realised how good Dolph can be. He is supposed to be the heel and people cheer him. Why? Because they know he is a great wrestler. He has shades of Ric Flair and Shawn Michaels in him. IMO the WWE has finally seen his potential.