WWE superstar Dolph Ziggler just turned heel again on WWE SmackDown Live when he attacked Kalisto. The attack came when Kalisto saved Ziggler from a beatdown by Baron Corbin, and for some fans, it was long overdue. Wrestling podcaster and WWE panelist Sam Roberts shared an interview this week he had conducted with Dolph Ziggler that makes it sound like a match with John Cena could soon be in the works.
In that interview, Dolph Ziggler said that he legitimately hated John Cena. Dolph said he hates everything Cena stands for and that he was never able to connect to the fans the way John Cena does because Ziggler is just a great wrestler who has great matches.
“He has this awesome connection with the fans and I’m so great at wrestling and I haven’t made that great connection with all the fans that aren’t in New York. There has to be some substance to a character and we know John. We know his ‘Hustle, Loyalty, Respect’. We know he’s not going to back down. He’s the face of the company.”
Dolph Ziggler had some huge moments in the WWE, and the fans connected to him at times. There was the moment that Ziggler cashed in his Money in the Bank opportunity and won the title from Alberto Del Rio, leading to one of the biggest pops from the crowd of his entire career.
Fans also seemed strongly behind Dolph Ziggler when he faced off with The Authority back in 2015 and actually won a match at Survivor Series to force them to leave the company. Interestingly enough, it was John Cena who ended up bringing The Authority back, voiding the work that Dolph had put in.
However, Dolph has never had the same connection John Cena has with the fans, and most of that comes down to the way that the WWE books each man. The WWE turned Cena into a superhero while they make Dolph scratch and claw for everything he gets, only to knock him down again. Fans tire of wrestlers who can’t stay on top.
“He is the face of the company for a reason. He does all those Make-A-Wish [wishes] for a reason. He’s constantly in some main event, perhaps WrestleMania’s main event, because he is our poster guy. He is our guy and it’s great. That’s why I hate him. I want to be in that spot and one day I’m going to be.”
Dolph Ziggler and The Miz just had one of the best feuds in the WWE when it comes to in-ring matches as well as great promos leading up to those matches. The Intercontinental Championship match at No Mercy was the best match on the card, and Daniel Bryan said that he felt it should have been in the main event for the PPV.
John Cena vs. A.J. Styles vs. Dean Ambrose was the opening match on that show. Interestingly, the WWE called it the main event despite its placement. Randy Orton vs. Bray Wyatt ended the show.
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With John Cena now basically a part-time star in the WWE, it is time to find the men who will step up and take his place as the face of the company. While it seems Vince McMahon wants Roman Reigns as that man, there are many wrestlers who can realistically stand at the top as the best wrestlers in the WWE once John Cena retires.
Dolph Ziggler is one of those wrestlers, and he was always better as a heel. With his new change in attitude, it might be time for Ziggler to get what he has always wanted: a chance to main event in the WWE once again. A possible future feud and win over John Cena could go a long way to making that dream come true.
[Featured Image by WWE]