Vicki does get heat, but she isnt the whole reason why Ziggler is over as a good heel. Thats like saying Heenan was the reason Mr. Perfect drew heat. Sure it was part of it, but Perfect definitely drew some legit heat on his own do to his attitude and the way he carried himself. The 2 men are in no way being compared to as equal. Im just saying the manager plays a role in crowd response but is in no way 100% responsable.
Ziggler is smug, arrogant, cheats to win and is good (not great) in the ring. He is, however, great at selling moves and making the face look good in the matches. Thats the mark of a fantastic heel.
Being over is a combination of things, not just being placed on a poster. Being shoved down peoples throats dosent make you over with everyone, just some. Ahem, Khali... India might have cared, but the majority of the WWE fans see him for what he is- shit on the mic, slow\terrible in the ring. He is the type of person that causes me to change the channel when he is on my television.
Ziggler is not one of those people in my opinion.
Everyone I know could give a shit less about Lashley, but he was pushed hard for some reason. He really wasnt that over with anyone. Mark Henry? He will forever be remembered as Sexual Chocolate and banging Mae Young. I think we all can agree he got the title based on lack of depth on SD and Vince's love for 'monster heels' and tenure in WWE. Had very little to do with him being over. Del Rio was set to be a huge star, but wasnt as over as most had hoped. His star has slowly dimmed each week since his debut. He was pushed to the moon, but yet no-one gives a shit now. I choose to take a piss break when his music hits. That is not being over with fans.
Santino- way over. He is cheered, he is a great underdog, sells merch, great on mic and good in the ring. If he wasnt over, they wouldnt have booked him to be the last of 2 men standing at the EC as well as the Royal f'n Rumble. Santino is on the card, you bet your ass people are showing up. Now he dosent draw a crowd like, say Cena, but he is the type of face that people want to see.
Ziggler will get far in the WWE. He stuck with the company and overcame being a male cheerleader- to now being one of the top heel talents the WWE has today. Is he as over with fans as some other guys? No. But he is more over than 90% of the rest of the roster. Now being in the top 10-15 of the biggest company in your business is something. If he wasnt over with a good size % of the fans, he wouldnt be on tv\ppv as much as he is.