What's next for Dolph Ziggler?

[Crush1]

This guy is really impressive, for a wrestler that only says one stupid line, he gets a lot of heat and can wrestle really good. Dolph is on a roll, hasnt lost and is looking good on Raw. So with that being said what's next for Ziggler? well i just hope they dont push him to the moon and afterwards dump him like old clothes. They need to let this guy build slowly. Let him win a lot of matches and then let him feud with Punk or whatever for the IC title.

I've seen a lot of young guys fall on Raw but i have a feeling IF Ziggler doesnt do something INCREDIBLY stupid he might make it. And besides who just cant hate some blond guy who constantly introduces himself in such an anoying manner? So what do you think is next for Dolph? discuss!

 

[AnthonyMango/NoFate007]

Ziggler, albeit with that ******ed name and the stupid gimmick, is of a good size where he could fit well in the midcard scene on Raw, especially once Evan Bourne comes back as I wholeheartedly think that they'll keep him on there instead. Bourne and Kofi are two guys that could work well with Ziggler for IC title feuds.

But its far too early to tell. The guy's only had a few matches so far. Lots of people want to immediately push superstars too far too fast and it usually backfires. There are people that think Jack Swagger should be ECW champion already and DiBiase should be a world champion. Whatever happened to building people up? I say, put Ziggler in the midcard and see if he can do well enough to earn himself the IC title, and then after 2 or 3 reigns with that (depending on the length), if he's successful, THEN move him up to the main event. That gives him 2 years time or so before you start fiddling with the upper midcard scenario. Patience is a virtue. If Ziggler continues to improve and doesn't get screwed over with some stupid angles, he should do fine.

 

[8five]

Some stupid angle like I don't know a male cheerleader named Nicky? Dolph Ziggler, who to me will always be Nic Nemeth will never be a main eventer. More then likely he will float around the midcard and tag division on Raw for quite awhile. In general with how the show is set up there really isn't a place for him right now. For some reason I would perfer him on any other show because I think there he would actually be able to shine and show off the wretling ability he has. His blonde ambition finisher if its still called that is good, and that hop on the apron kick move is good as well. I think he is the definition of a man in need of a manager. If you have any sort of decent manager it could get him even more heat and help him towards the main event scene. In the end though I think he has a short feud with Punk for the IC title then floats around until relative nothingness. The only possibility I can see is that he starts tagging along with Miz/Morrison cause he could seemingly fit in as he is basically an arrogant heel like the other two

 

[Rated R Fan]

I think that Dolph Ziggler might be in a feud with The Miz for awhile.
The scenario would be that Miz and Morrison break up and Morrison is the reason why because that way Morrison can feud with Shawn Michaels and finally be a main eventer. Morrison leaves the team as the heel and Miz as the face.
If Miz leaves as face then Dolph is the heel. Also Morrison is heel and Shawn Michaels is the face.

 

[LigerBomb]

While I agree its way too early to tell, I feel he'll be the next Chuck Palumbo. By that I mean a wrestler who get repackaged over and over and may perhaps get over for a little while when he gets repackaged, but ultimately won't go anywhere long term and will eventually get released. But till then he probably has 5-10 years to earn a paycheck.

 

[Thriller Ant]

I think he can definitely start moving into the Intercontinental Title picture very soon. Two weeks ago on Raw, he was in the Hour 1 main event with the World Heavyweight Champion and the Tag Team Champs. He's been able to draw heat without too much of a gimmick, and that speaks volumes for his charisma. I think he can feud with CM Punk after he inevitably wins the belt from William Regal, because Regal is on the downside of his career, while Ziggler's is just beginning. The only real midcard heel right now is Regal, since Miz and Morrison are on every show and focus on their tag team.

In time, I think that Dolph can play this Self-Centered type heel character well enough to move to the main event. The gimmick and him will take some evolution of course, but who doesn't? I would not be surprised to see Dolph Ziggler as a World Champion in a year or two.

 

[klunderbunker]

I certainly would be suprised to see him as a world title contender, at least with the current gimmick he has. He's meant to be a semi-comedy character, but he's got the moves to back it up. He would be a solid IC contender, but with the gimmick he has he's not world title material. It'd be easy to change his name and give him something more serious. He's definitely someone to keep an eye on, but as for a world title run, I can't see that. He'll get into the IC hunt, but it won't be easy to break out of that. Not many others have been able to.

 

[I_Like_All_Wrestling]

How about what's first for him? Has he done anything at all, had he been in a feud? If he has, I guess it wasn't that important to me because I don't remember it at all.

Now, I don't hate the guy, but I'm not a fan either. I can't see him becoming a "superstar" but he seems decent enough to stay around for a while and possibly EVENTUALLY contend for the IC title, not now. We've had enough instant pushes. If built right, he could he around for a while.

 

[Tastycles]

Hi I'm Dolph Ziggler and I would like to claim unemployment benefit.

Seriously, people seem to have high hopes for him, but I don't. He may get a shot at Punk's IC title, but he won't win. He'll be bigged up for a while, and then be pushed to the side when the next mid card heel comes along, in the same way that Paul Birchill was. However, unlike Birchill, he hasn't got the Katie Lea factor keeping him around.

His gimmick is already tiresome, and what else does he have? He hasn't exactly done himself any favours by getting suspended before he even set foot in the ring. Unless he ends up in a tag team fairly soonish, or at least given a real gimmick, Ziggler will not be finishing 2009 in employment.

 

[realblackhart]

Nofate007 is right, people want to push stars here and there without giving them time to develop. If this thinking existed when I was a kid then Mr. Perfect, Owen Hart, Ravishing Ric, Jake the Snake, Hacksaw Jim Duggan, and Razor Ramon would have all been multiple time champions. Some are more deserving than others. The stars that I grew up loving to watch and some still wrestle now took time to become who they became. Bret Hart, Shawn Michaels, Chris Benoit, Chris Jerricho, Eddie Guerrero, Rey Mysterio, Stone Cold, HHH, RVD, and now Jeff Hardy. There are several things these guys have in common. For one they are or were great wrestlers. Second they are all former World Champions, thirdly they all paid their dues, fourthly wrestled for several years, and lastly they all became mid-card level champions several times and they all spent years climbing the ladder to their success. When wrestlers are pushed way too early, once they are in that World Title status there is nowhere else to go but down like CM Punk who went from WC title reigns to Tag-title, and Khali who is now part of the Khali kiss cam, or out of the company, or drive themselves out ala Broc Lesner, Goldberg, Chris Masters. When you give a title too early in someone's career you take a risk. You need to slowly build them up and not give them a main-event title reign too early. The wrestlers I mentioned with the exception of HHH don't have double digit world title reigns.

In the 90's it was a big deal to be 4-time Heavyweight Champion and 3-time champion. Now WWE creative in their infinate wisdom want wrestlers to equal Flair's World title legacy. But Flair is in a league of his own; his multible title reigns make him special, and a legend and that should not be mimicked not by anyone and coincidently Vince's son-n-law is headed in that direction (12). If you give Dolph Zigler a reign at this young an age, you risk not being able to use his abilities throughout a length of time to make someone people will remember. No matter what anybody tells me Randy Orton got his World Title way too young, just to put the label of youngest World Champion. He didn't win many mid-card titles and didn't build himself to what he is. Granted Randy is a top superstar and a good one but a couple of years from now you guys will know what I mean. Years from now you'll lok at Randy different, he's ego will get him out of the WWE one day. Randy should have evolved into main-event status not thrown there.

 

[realblackhart]

Not to start a whole ECW's World Title isn't really a World Title thing here but if it is being recognized as a World Title than Dolph Zigler doesn't need to jump there either. He is not ready for a World Championship. He needs to accuulate mid-card titles, and maybe some tag-titles before he becomes anything. He has a lot to prove and I am definatley not going to be one who is comparing him to someone as good as Mr. Perfect. No guy who has been in the business for this short a period of time should be compared to the legends of this sport. Ziggler and also Swagger both have potential. Some people in this forum have similar feelings about Swagger.

My idea is a little different from what you guys have said, but you have to be patient to see the promise in this idea. 1st of all for my idea to work the brand seperation needs to continue. Swagger and Zigler both need to be built in their brands respectively. They need to wrestle at least a year with no titles and maybe some close calls like they have done with Jeff Hardy. They can accumulate Intercontinental Title and US Championship reigns and even some tag-reigns. They shouldn't do this for at least another year or more so that the IC title can regain it's prestige before their reigns. Both champions need to be fighting champions who defend their titles at least every other week and every pay-per-view. They can use the success of both guys to build a feud between the two that everyone wants to see. (Heyman did this in ECW, and he had one program not 3, with Tazz and Sabu, and the fans couldn't wait to see the two in action after more than a year because of the buildup and never been in the ring together until their match.) They can feud for their midcard level title reigns after having a couple on their waist or you could save them for the main titles based on built up and fan reaction. To make it even more interesting you can draft one to go on one show on RAW, have them have a face to face encounter between the two on the Raw Draft special, make the announcers built up the possibility of both being on the same show and then draft the other one to go on the opposite show before RAW is over.

The build up could be promissing but you can not say Zigler and World Champion in the same sentence until he has earned that right. IMO Kurt Angle earned his early WC reigns because of his Olympic success, not to be confused with or compared to college wrestling/amature (non-lolympic, like all american) success. Everyone else should earn their way to the top of the ladder like the greats who held the title did. After this they can do a lot with Zigler. Of course this is assuming that Ziger stays clean and with the company.

 

[TheOneBigWill]

Okay, with the exception of the incredibly stupid gimmick.. (for the second time in a row for this guy) I am a Dolph Ziggler fan. He has amazing talent, and just like the Benjamin's and Morrison's of the Wrestling world.. Ziggler may always be a useable talent for entertaining/high-risk type matches.

When he debuted I thought to myself he'd job without question and he'll be released before he ever becomes remotely remembered. But his debut match against Batista of all people.. was very rememberable indeed. He not only took it to Batista, toward the end of the match I seriously thought he could end up winning.

After that match is when I became a fan. It's because of his in-ring abilities that he'll ever be anything, but until they repackage him with a better gimmick, and possibly a slightly different look, he'll still never be anything important enough. I'm willing to hold out hope though.

 

[The-Legend-Killer]

I belive Dolph Ziggler dose have a good chance in the WWE. And he has a name that kinda reminds me of all the greats. Im gonna say let him win some matches let him lose some matches so he dosnt turn into vatimer cosloff (dont know how to spell) and yea i could see him winning the IC title in mid 2010

 

[truk24]

I still can't tell whether or not he is face or heel. Can someone please explain to me at some point in time what the deal is with him. I would much rather see The Natural Nick Nemeth as opposed to this gimmick. His wrestling ability is there, and I think he could have been better off with something other than Dolph Ziggler. His look is ok, but at the same time bland. White boots, and black tights?

 

[TheGreatSPAMbino]

Dolf Ziggler could maybe be good, if he was repackaged with a new gimmick. Although his current gimmick does draw some heat it will have zero longevity and so they need to give him more variety rather than just saying im dolf ziggler(although it does work for kennedy).

Hows this for an idea. Repackage him as ADOLF ZIGGLER, a Nazi. Outrageous, yes. But it will still draw more heat than anyone in a long time. Imagine if he came out to a Nazi march with a nazi uniform and the nazi flag and did the salute and the whole nine yards. It would be INSANELY over the top and controversial but he would be soo incredibly hated its unbelievable. The problem with most heels today is that they are "cool" heels and get some cheers. They dont actually do their job and arent truly hated, a nazi would be truly hated by ALL of the fans. You cannot get behind this character whatsoever.

 

[tj3000x]

Dolf Ziggler could maybe be good, if he was repackaged with a new gimmick. Although his current gimmick does draw some heat it will have zero longevity and so they need to give him more variety rather than just saying im dolf ziggler(although it does work for kennedy).

Hows this for an idea. Repackage him as ADOLF ZIGGLER, a Nazi. Outrageous, yes. But it will still draw more heat than anyone in a long time. Imagine if he came out to a Nazi march with a nazi uniform and the nazi flag and did the salute and the whole nine yards. It would be INSANELY over the top and controversial but he would be soo incredibly hated its unbelievable. The problem with most heels today is that they are "cool" heels and get some cheers. They dont actually do their job and arent truly hated, a nazi would be truly hated by ALL of the fans. You cannot get behind this character whatsoever.

I don't even know where to start with what's wrong with that. Granted it would get him major heat, it's just plain offensive.

On the other hand, I pretty much agree with everyone else here. Ziggler could use some mid-card titles or even a tag title run. Jumping to ECW or Smackdown wouldn't be best for Dolph as they're both flooded with heels. I can picture him in a good mid-card feud with the likes of someone Kofi or any up and coming face if the storyline is right.

 

[Hacksaw Highway]

I could see Ziggler in thsi year's Money in the Bank. Have him get a few close calls but iltimayely lose, but use that as a spark to get him featured more prominantly. He could have a few matches for the IC belt, and figure into midcard feuds more. A feud with someone like Rey, Punk or Kofi could be a big boost as they all have credibility but at the same time could have a competitive feud with him at this point.

 

[truk24]

A simple build wouldn't be bad either. Possibly a small, yet worthy feud with Kofi. I'm still having a hard time wondering if he is a tweener, face, heel? In all honesty I think he would interesting as a heel who then earns his "face" credibility. What I mean is that his whole gimmick right now could go that direction. He keeps telling people who he is.

Obviously no one seems to care, but at the same time it makes him angry. Maybe he feels as though no one is taking him seriously. Possibly a jump to ECW, and a feud with Jack Swagger, or even Dreamer. Wouldn't mind hearing him come out of his shell, and saying more than just a sentence. Talk about who he really is, and where he is from.

ECW could be a great place for him to let some things go. A build in his frustration would be key, but not the same old "respect" angle. Something that gives away his character, and sheds light on the kind of talent he may possess. Something tells me that if given the right "heel" to work with he could turn out to be a solid "face". A "face" with a bit of an attitude. Ziggler does show a solid sign of arrogance, but there is nothing wrong with that. Possibly a feud with former tag team partner Kenny Dykstra?

 

[Jane]

I think Dolph was up for a big push before being suspended. By big push, I mean IC title win. But anyway, he isn't coming back to that level. He screwed himself, and I'm sorry to say he won't be around much longer. The last of the Spirit Squad won't make it, and finally that pitiful team will be purged. The Rumble thing was ******ed. Like, why in HELL would you shake hands with Kane during a match? Horribly written and not funny. So we're supposed to believe this is real, but so called "up and coming stars" decide to shake hands with monsters? Ya, OK. Bye Dolph.

 

[thewrestlinghero]

well dolph ziggler is a good wrestler but i say let him have a fued with rey meysterio for a while see how he dose with meysterio if he dose well in the fued have fued him with other names like kofi kingston or santino marella make him to be that cocky i dont care what you think kinda heel then wait 6 months time to develop his character more and see if he is ready or good enough for the ic title then have him fued with guys such as cm punk morrsion miz regal kane those type guys keep builting him slowy have a ppv single match here once in a while and then give him the ic title let him run with it for a while and let him defend the belt against kofi rey kane knox regal punk santino that way you add some meaning to the ic belt and your slowy builting him for the main event

 

[GameOver]

What has he done? other than that rediculous catch phrase and having the looks of The Beverly Brothers. They need to give him more match time and work his way up, just like everyone else should have to.

I have to agree with too many new comers being shoved into a title shot too early and then if they fail or don't live upto Vince's standard they get dumped to the curb, which is in no way there own fault (in most cases).

Part of that can be put on the current generation of fans and society in general that want everything yesterday and don't want title runs to last long it seems. Long gone are the days when a fued could last over yrs. Like the Austin/Rock/HHH/Taker fued that lasted almost the entire Attitude era 6yrs or so.

as for titles well anyone who can't see that they have become just a trophy that doesn't really mean anything, specially the IC and US Titles should get glasses, or become a referee .

Oh the flip side, with lack of more than a handfull of deserving main event talent who have had air time, and the ones that are there are approaching retirement or moving on they have no alternative but to let someone else run with the ball in hopes that something will stick

Randy Orton i think was in that boat, and in hinesight it seems that was too earlt, for one thing he didn't actually best Benoit in that match he just got one move in Benoit carried the rest of the match IMO.

That and maybe Triple H didn't want to job to Benoit again but now yrs later Orton has matured in character and is a current main eventer no matter how much he bores me on the mic.

 

[hArdyPUNKmArk]

I'm sorry but i hate this guy, he is boring, not funny, lame and just not entertaining. For weeks we saw "Hi, Im Dirk Ziggler"..................... sigh.........................................

Crap.

The thing is he wasnt that bad in the ring. He should not have been introduced with a crap name and catch phrase. I really dont like him, not like a heel where i dont like them but love them really, this guy is just B O R I N G.....

"Hi Im a wanker......" _QUOTE DIRK ZIGGLES

 

[Original Sin]

Why does everyone say he's undefeated? Even the announcers say it. He LOST his first match. He kicked Batista's ass, but he still lost.

Anyway, I think he'll end up feuding with Punk for the IC title or winning the tag titles eventually.

 

[Fishburger]

If used right I can see him going far.

At the moment we are seeing this new side to Nick Nemeth who is trying to break away from being known as "Nicky!" from The Spirit Squad which all of us know he is so i dont know who Vince is trying to kid.

I personally like him because I was always a big fan of the Spirit Squad and hated the fact they released 4 of them (particular shock at Kenny Dykstra) so by keeping Nicky or Dolph Ziggler then they have some sort of plan for him i would assume.

A big heel turn would be a good move where he will stop introducing himself as Dolph Ziggler (even though I have grown used to the name) and start using "The Natural" Nick Nemeth which is what he was known for in FCW where he could feud with guys like Kofi Kingston or CM Punk

Oh and to MDPUNK you could at least get his name right, I mean we have heard it pretty much every week.

 

[andymcg]

When i first seen this guy i thought .... wow his body is perfect (btw im not gay haha). But Vince loves either huge monstor type wrestler or people that lookd chizzeled out of stone, and Ziggler looks like this.

A Part of me got me thinking , when vince returened (comin up 3 or 4 raws ago?) did anyone else notice that the first person he seen when he come back was .... well Ziggler.

I think Vince thinks this guy could be a future star , and i think so to. He showed against Batista that he can put on a match, and if he can drop the stupid gimmick and get a good fued with CM Punk or somthing it could work out very well.