FEATURES
[THE LOWDOWN // UK WRESTLING// PURO//INDIE //REVIEWS//COLUMNS] TEXT By DAVE QUINN
Here to Show The World
With an edgy in-your-face attitude washed with bravado and self-confidence, honing a time-tested gimmick with a touch of personal flair to make it his own, not to mention several pushes to main event status received in the past, WWE Superstar Dolph Ziggler is one of the brightest stars on the roster today. Why, then, is a wrestler with such potential languishing in mid card, jobbing for IC and US title holders?
Dolph Ziggler, at present, is a man in flux. Compared by many to The Nature Boy Ric Flair and Shawn Michaels, TW asks wheter Ziggler truly has what it takes to be the face of the WWE and, more importantly, why he has yet to be given the chance? Becoming The Show-Off Firstly, there is no questioning Ziggler (real name Nick Nemeth, formerly Nicky of Spirit Squad fame...) has the work rate and commitment, and many agree he is one of the most entertaining in-ring performers in wrestling today. He is a veteran, having worked with the WWE for nine years, on top of a successful amateur background where he earned three All-Mid American Conference Championships and holds 121 career wins for Kent State University. Ziggler’s growth as a performer can be measured on screen; think, for example, of the pop he received in 2012 when cashing in his Money in the Bank contract against then-champion Alberto Del Rio. His in-ring skill, ability to sell and put over his opponents and his almost unmatched charisma have drawn comparisons to The Heartbreak Kid Shawn Michaels and even The Nature Boy Ric Flair. While these comparisons are certainly evident in the ring, there are similarities in the development of these men’s careers, careers that Dolph Ziggler may also be emulating. The Supporting Cast
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Factions, tag teams or stables can be used as a great building block for new talent, and all these men have been a part of a group at one time in their careers. For Shawn Michaels, it was The Rockers that gave him the platform to eventually show he was good enough to go it alone, culminating in the famous Barber Shop showdown, Marty Janetty being sent through a glass window and thus giving birth to the Heartbreak Kid.
But the Rockers enjoyed tag-team success for years, squaring off against prestigious opponents such as The Hart Foundation and Demolition, and were even a part of a Survivor Series Match that included The Ultimate Warrior and Andre The Giant. One member of a tag team always becomes greater than the other, outshines and has his sights set on bigger things (sadly for the former Rocker, it’s known as The Marty Jannetty effect...), and The Showstopper certainly had that destiny. Ric Flair had already tasted success at the top, having already cemented his moniker as The Nature Boy with an NWA World Championship on his shoulder, but even after proving he could be the man on his own he was still part of possibly the greatest faction in wrestling history; The Four Horsemen. While there have been many incarnations of the Horsemen, all had one key remaining element in Ric Flair, and boasted a flash and pompous attitude that fuelled their unrivalled heel personas. As far as they were concerned, the Horsemen were the best, so they lived like the best. As noted, Ziggler has started in a similar fashion, when first introduced on WWE programing as a member of the Spirit Squad. While audiences were divided on the lasting effect the Spirit Squad left on the WWE universe, Ziggler was certainly one of the outstanding members of the group (along with Kenny Dykstra, now obscure), and no matter your opinion, they had a nice run for a while acting as hired goons for the McMahons during their 2006 feud with Degeneration X, another illustrious and popular team that HBK was a part of. To Be The Man... Michaels’ time in DX was more memorable in the beginning, as the stable containing his protégé Triple H and the Ninth Wonder of The World, Chyna. A prime example of the three tiered stable of the brains, the brawn, and the strong female, which Ziggler has also