WrestleMania 31 and the Raw after WrestleMania

WrestleMania 31 is officially in the books and I gotta say, I was a lot more entertained by the show than I thought I would be. Maybe it’s because I went in with low expectations but I was very pleased with the way WM31 was put together. Granted, there were some finishes I didn’t like, which I’ll go over below, but that’s to be expected. Still, the set was very cool and the day time setting of the show was actually kinda cool. Kept to a once in a seldom while thing, a show in full daylight like WM31 can be a great change of pace.

Also as has been in the past few years, the Raw after WrestleMania is almost as important as the annual event itself – and this year was no exception. With lots of great matches and surprises (not to mention a hot crowd), Raw from San Jose on March 30 was one of the best in recent months.

WrestleMania 31 Pre-Show

It’s weird that a 4-hour show needs an hour pre-show, since it just feels like it diminishes whatever is on it, like it wasn’t good enough for the show proper. Regardless of that, the pre-show saw Cesaro and Kidd retain the tag titles and Big Show win the Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal.

Kidd and Cesaro retaining was the right choice, especially since one of the Usos is injured and the other teams were The Matadores (who only show up on TV around Mania season) and the New Day, who the fans actively hate with every fiber of their being. (I like all the members of New Day – Big E, Kofi Kingston and Xavier Woods – but I can’t deny the New Day gimmick is less than pointless and they’ve done nothing with it so far.) And not to be overlooked, Natalya is killing it lately with these leather, dominatrix-type outfits.

The Battle Royal came down to Miz, Mizdow, and Big Show. Miz demanded Mizdow eliminate himself and Mizdow finally fought back and eliminated Miz. Though, this was before they thought to team up and take out Big Show. Mizdow put up a good fight but couldn’t take out the giant. I really, REALLY hope they feud Mizdow against Big Show in the coming weeks/months in a David and Goliath feud to keep getting him sympathy heat, now that a feud with Miz seems to be kicking off. Because if they just kill any kind of push for Mizdow, what was the point of having Big Show win?

Sandow, you're the real people's champion

It was cool to see Hideo Itami in the Battle Royal (and swerve everyone who thought Adrian Neville was a lock to win the spot) but I think that someone like Ryback or Mizdow should’ve won the Battle Royal. Someone younger on the roster who could use any kind of accolade to propel them forward a little bit.

IC title ladder match

The show opened with a bang with the Intercontinental title ladder match. Almost everyone in the match had a good shot of winning the belt (sorry, R-Truth) but in the end it was Daniel Bryan who walked out with the gold. His first IC title win, this makes Daniel Bryan the 26^th Triple Crown Champion in WWE history, winning all the titles he’s eligible for. Not even John Cena or the Undertaker are Triple Crown winners (both needing an IC title reign).

Then Bryan had his first title defense the very next night against Dolph Ziggler. It was a great singles match, one of the best seen on Raw in a long time. Afterward, Wade Barrett attacked Bryan and Ziggler but Sheamus ran out to make the save – only to (gasp) turn heel and Brogue Kick both Ziggler and Bryan. They’ve been teasing his return for some time now and there’s been speculation that he would turn heel upon his return and it looks like he’ll be a major contender for the IC title now too.

Seth Rollins vs Randy Orton

This was a solid match but the highlight was the finish, where Orton popped Rollins into the air while he went for a Curb Stomp, only to bring him crashing down in an RKO. Orton got the win but Rollins would be the biggest winner of the day later in the show. 

Sting vs. Triple H

“Shenanigans” is the only word that comes to mind when I think about this match. The entrances were ridiculous, to start. I didn’t really get why Sting had a band of drummers open for him. I thought a small orchestra set up like in the WWE 2K15 commercial would’ve been much better and fit his character. And the Triple H entrance…oh my god the Triple H entrance. I’m still torn about it. On one hand, it was pretty cool but on the other hand it was super cheesy. But Triple H as a Terminator made a lot more sense once the match was over.

Along with the Terminators, Triple H had soldiers during his entrance, played by (from left) Enzo Amore, Scott Dawson, Dash Wilder, Buddy Murphy, Solomon Crowe and referee Drake Wuertz.

In a big surprise, the DX appeared (Billy Gunn, Road Dogg and X-Pac) to try and help Triple H but it wasn’t long before nWo (Hulk Hogan, Scott Hall and Kevin Nash) hit the scene to even the odds. Then from nowhere, Shawn Michaels appeared to Sweet Chin Music away any hope Sting had of winning. I thought it was an odd move to sign Sting and push this months-long angle since Survivor Series only to have him lose but it made more sense once I heard JBL yell, “We win again!”

It’s very apparent Vince put this whole angle together as one more “up yours” to WCW – WWE won the Monday Night War and refuse to let anyone ever forget it. I don’t know what Sting will do now but I’d hope he stays around. Coming into WWE to have one match and lose doesn’t seem like a great way to end your career. But Triple H being a Terminator made more sense after he won, seeing as how WWE likes to rewrite the past and kill any threats to their dominance that they possibly can.

AJ Lee and Paige vs The Bella Twins

I don’t remember a whole lot from this match, other than Paige’s awesome new pentagon ring gear and the Bellas losing. It didn’t make much sense for this tag match to exist – shouldn’t it have been a title match with all four of these Divas competing against each other? Granted, it would’ve been a pretty terrible four-way to shove into the barely 6 minutes they got at WM31.

The six-Diva tag match the next night on Raw was really great though as Paige, AJ and Naomi faced The Bellas and Natalya. Teaming Natty with the Bellas doesn’t make much sense but hey, anything is better than her feuding with El Torito.

Rusev vs John Cena

United States Championship

Rusev’s entrance was easily one of the best visuals of the entire night. Rusev in a tank?! It couldn’t get any more perfect for the Bulgarian Brute, the Hero of the Russian Federation.

And though I would’ve liked to have seen Rusev win, I think he still looked pretty good in defeat. Everyone knew that Cena was going to win because CENAWINSLOL. I just hope that Rusev’s previous year of domination is enough to propel him forward and that his current friction with Lana will pass because they work really well together.

The Rock and Ronda Rousey vs Triple H and Stephanie

I don’t remember the impetus for this segment (I think it was for Trips and Stephanie to gloat about beating Sting? Maybe?) but eventually The Rock interrupted them and he got a much better reaction than he did at the Royal Rumble.

What I do remember from this segment is that Steph slapped The Rock who said he doesn’t hit women but he knows someone who does – and brought in UFC Women’s Bantamweight Champion Ronda Rousey from the front row into the ring. The Rock beat down Trips and Rousey gave him a judo throw. Steph tried to slap Rousey who immediately realized she had made a huge mistake. Rousey showed restraint and didn’t obliterate Steph or rip her arm clean off, unfortunately.

I’ll be really interested to see where this goes. Rousey is a huge fan of pro wrestling, has appeared on WWE segments before (at Summerslam I think) and has been seen at PWG before. But I don’t think she has any training so it will be interesting to see what her involvement is going forward. I’m assuming this was just another way to promote the new Fast and Furious movie which she and The Rock are in but here’s hoping for more Rousey in WWE.

Bray Wyatt vs The Undertaker

This is another match I’m really split on. On one hand, I think Bray did a great job in the match itself but an even better job carrying the feud itself, since Taker didn’t show up until WrestleMania itself. There’s also the sentiment that just being in there with Taker makes him look better.

Although, I don’t subscribe to that feeling. In my eyes, Bray should have won that match. He carried the entire thing going into Mania and if he had beaten Taker, would have legitimately been seen as the new “Phenom,” the new supernatural entity in WWE. But he was booked to lose and because of that, looked even more foolish for wasting his time for so many weeks calling out Undertaker only to lose.

Bray has had enough adversity in getting to the top of the card without losing matches he really should have and needed to win. Losing a feud with Cena and getting the Family taken away from him has really hindered his advancement. He won a nothing feud with Ambrose and had he defeated Taker, would’ve immediately been seen as a main event player. But now he’ll have to pick up the pieces all over again.

Brock Lesnar vs Roman Reigns
WWE Championship

Before Mania, everyone thought Reigns was a lock to win since it seemed like Brock was on his way back to UFC. But with the announcement on ESPN that he was staying in WWE, telling who would win this match became a lot more cloudy.

Brock started out this match brutalizing Roman, hitting several F5s and numerous suplexs, taking Reigns to Suplex City. But Roman stayed in it. And despite his efforts, the crowd still hated him. Hated him like you wouldn’t believe. Then something glorious happened. Seth Rollins cashed in.

In a WrestleMania first, Rollins cashed in his Money in the Bank contract. The match turned into a triple threat and with Roman and Brock both beaten down, Rollins was able to Curb Stomp Reigns after he had speared Brock and Rollins pinned his former Shield teammate and tag partner to become the WWE World Heavyweight champion.

The night after on Raw

After a better-than-expected WrestleMania 31, the Raw crowd was red hot. We saw the debuts of Kalisto as part of the Lucha Dragons (winning an 8-man tag match with New Day against Kidd and Cesaro and The Ascension) as well as Adrian Neville, who appears to have lost his first name. I can’t get over how stupid it is that his name is just “Neville” on the main roster and will continue to complain about it for weeks to come (maybe forever if they don’t give him back his first name).

Sheamus also came back and went full heel almost instantly, though it’s fair to say that his new haircut was enough to tell everyone that he’s not gonna be a face anymore.

Brock Lesnar wanted his rematch against Seth Rollins but Rollins said no…and Lesnar absolutely lost his mind. He tore up the set, pushed the announce table on JBL and Booker T, F5’ed Michael Cole and then F5’ed a cameraman twice. Stephanie suspended Brock indefinitely (to no doubt write him off the show for a few months) but I could see this as the beginning of a face turn for Brock as he fights against The Authority and their champ, Seth Rollins.

Dean Ambrose had a really good match for the US title against John Cena but ended up losing. Whether it’s the US or IC title, I just hope Ambrose is the next guy to win gold because he really deserves it.

And the Raw crowd HATED Roman Reigns. Like, even more than the crowd at WM31. Reigns was in a 6-man tag with Randy Orton and Ryback against Rollins, Kane and Big Show. The crowd was the least into this match of the entire night and proceeded to chant anything they could think of (namely NXT related chants), did the wave (which the cameras watched for a while instead of the match) and chanted “Please retire” at Big Show. But here’s the thing – a few mere minutes after chanting at Big Show to retire, they wildly cheered him for beating down Roman Reigns. That’s how much people hate Reigns – THEY WERE CHEERING BIG SHOW.

Lots of other stuff happened too on Raw but this is running way too long and I can’t remember everything so that’s it for now. Here’s hoping that WWE can build on this momentum into Extreme Rules and that Reigns doesn’t just immediately get another match for the title at Extreme Rules (he doesn’t deserve one either – he won the Rumble, got his shot and lost), though I’m almost certain he will.

(Gifs and images were found on r/SquaredCircle and /wooo/ or from Twitter. Also, the panorama at the top was by a Reddit user whose name I took down to give him credit then lost - sorry.)

WrestleMania 31: The Intercontinental title ladder match

The treatment of the Intercontinental Championship in WWE has become something of a running joke among fans over the past few years. The way the championship has been treated in the past few years has diminished its value in the eyes of the fans thanks to it being traded between wrestlers in meaningless title changes and often times completely ignored or forgotten.

For example, take the current Intercontinental champion – Bad News Barrett. He was on the shelf from late June 2014 and returned to TV in January 2015. In his first match back, he defeated Dolph Ziggler for the IC title. That right there is a red flag – why would a returning wrestler get a shot at the IC belt and why would he be booked to win it? If you remember, it was in a 2-out-of-3 falls match where The Authority beat down Dolph prior to the match, so the title change was mired in shenanigans from jump.

Next, Dolph never got a rematch. If the belt is important and WWE wants fans to view it as important, why would the former champ NOT want or get a rematch? Makes no sense.

On top of that, Barrett has looked ridiculously weak since returning and winning the IC belt. Let me run some numbers by you.

Since returning and winning the IC title, Barrett has wrestled 39 times (including live events). Yet out of those 39 matches – he’s only won 12. If you take away live events, he’s only won FIVE TIMES. This is the Intercontinental Champion, the guy who is supposed to be a step below the World champion, who is supposed to be the gatekeeper to the main event scene, has been made to look like an utter chump while holding (what is supposed to be) the second most prestigious title in the company.

And this is only the most very recent IC title champ situation, not even touching The Miz’s several one-day reigns with the IC title or the forgetful reigns of Big E (currently a jobber) or Curtis Axle (currently a jobber – an entertaining jobber, but still a jobber).

But lately, thanks mainly to Dean Ambrose, the Intercontinental Championship is being built back up a little bit. It’s not in the greatest position yet, but it is slowly becoming more important again.

Initially, I had designs on running down the entire WrestleMania 31 card, but I think I’m going to stick with analyzing a few matches – namely the IC title ladder match and the Bray Wyatt vs. Undertaker match (in another article). The entire WrestleMania 31 (aka WrestleMania Play Button) card is so adjace, it physically pains me to think too long on the rest of the matches so I’m only focusing on the ones that interest me.

But the Intercontinental Title ladder match has the chance to be one of the brightest spots on the card – for a few reasons.

It’s a ladder match

Obviously, the stipulation alone means that we’re in for a crazy, physically intense and enthralling contest. WrestleMania has a history of epic ladder matches (Shawn Michaels/Razor Ramon, WM11; Edge/Christian vs The Dudleys vs The Hardys, WM2000; or the first Money in the Bank match at WM21) and this contest has all the elements needed to be seen among those memorable matches. Not much else needs to be said about why a ladder match with those six (spoilers - seven) wrestlers could steal the show.

The competitors

Right now, six men are entered in the ladder match – Bad News Barrett, Dean Ambrose, R-Truth, Luke Harper, Dolph Ziggler and Stardust. On Smackdown this week (spoilers) Daniel Bryan announces that he is also taking part in the match.

Now before you go crying “Burial! Bryan’s being buried!” – hear me out.

In the far away land of Japan, lives a wrestler named Shinsuke Nakamura who wrestles for New Japan Pro Wrestling. Nakamura has held the biggest title in New Japan – the IWGP Heavyweight Championship – numerous times, but is currently the IWGP Intercontinental Champion. Nakamura is one of the most popular wrestlers in the company but he is also one of the most prolific IWGP IC champions of all time. He’s brought a great amount of prestige to the title and many view it in just as high regard as the IWGP Heavyweight championship. Nakamura's matches are exciting and fast-paced and he has an odd yet magnetic charisma to him. Does that sound like anyone else you know? (I was alluding to Bryan but it could also describe Ambrose as well)

Dean Ambrose (left) bearing a striking resemblance to Shinsuke Nakamura (right).

 

It's not outside the realm of possibility that Daniel Bryan (or Dean Ambrose or Dolph Ziggler) could accomplish the same thing with the WWE IC title if given the chance. If WWE isn’t on the pulse enough to have one of their most (if not most) popular stars in the World title picture, let him use that popularity and starpower to raise the profile and status of the IC title. Who knows – maybe one day WWE fans will view the IC title the way New Japan fans view the IWGP IC title.

But let me not forget the man who kicked off the current drive among so many stars to win the IC belt – Dean Ambrose.

It was, I think, after the blizzard episode of Raw that Dean Ambrose had the sudden desire to win the IC championship and has been on the warpath to take it from Bad News Barrett. When he didn’t win it from him at Fastlane he did the next best thing – he took it. But throughout all his actions, it showed a desire and reverence for the IC title that so many champions before him never displayed. It wasn’t just another prop and he didn’t take it for granted – Ambrose has gone out of his way to take possession of the title one way or another, which is more than you can say many former champions have done to possess the title

Which brings me to my last point…

The build

Ever since Ambrose has begun hounding Barrett for the IC championship, more Superstars have joined the hunt as well. Ambrose was the first to steal it from Barrett but it’s resulted in R-Truth stealing the belt numerous times and handing it off to other contenders, as well as seeing former champions like Dolph Ziggler and Luke Harper join the hunt as well. Stardust eventually stole the title and now, former WWE champion Daniel Bryan is in the mix too.

I’ve heard lots of people complaining that this isn’t helping the profile of the title – that the constant stealing of the title and hot-potatoing it around only make it seem like a joke, like it’s the Hardcore title of the Attitude Era. But I would argue the opposite.

How long has it been since this many Superstars at once have shown interest in the IC title? How long has it been since this many Superstars have been fighting it out to try and get their hands on the IC title? It may seem a little too zany for some, but the fact alone that 7 different guys (including former World champions) have been battling over holding the IC belt and will fight in a ladder match to win it is, hopefully, the beginning of presenting the IC title as something important and worthwhile.

You could even say that the IC ladder match has had more of an interesting build than the WWE World title match between Brock Lesnar and Roman Reigns. Every week, multiple guys are at odds with each other over holding the IC title, going out of their way to take possession of it and are willing to take part in a dangerous ladder match to win it. While the World title picture literally only has Lesnar and Reigns in it and those two have barely faced off or made mention of the other. Paul Heyman is practically the only person advancing the World title picture at this point (and I’m hesitant to call it a feud because Brock is barely ever there and Roman seems to have no desire to be the champion, outside of having won the Rumble).

It goes without saying that the Intercontinental Championship ladder match at WrestleMania 31 is the match I’m looking forward to the most. Outside of featuring all the wrestlers I really want to see, it promises to deliver some of the most exciting action on the entire card.

In other words, if you can’t get excited for this match and you don’t see the hope for a better future for the IC title after WrestleMania 31, you may want to reevaluate why you’re a pro wrestling fan.

Exclusive Ring Rust Radio interview with WWE Superstar and former World Heavyweight Champion Dolph Ziggler

The Ring Rust Radio team – Donald Wood, Mike Chiari and Brandon Galvin – recently had the opportunity to speak with WWE Superstar Dolph Ziggler. The Showoff is a former two-time World Heavyweight Champion and four-time Intercontinental Champion and at WrestleMania 31, Ziggler has a chance to become Intercontinental Champion in a ladder match with Bad News Barrett, Dean Ambrose, R-Truth, Luke Harper, and Stardust. 

You can listen to the interview on the YouTube link below or continue on and read the entire interview past the video.

Donald Wood: You will be fighting for the Intercontinental Championship in a Ladder match at WrestleMania 31. Through your first five years wrestling at the WWE’s premier event, you hold a 1-4 record. How have you prepared differently for this match and how much confidence do you have that you’ll walk out of WrestleMania with the IC Title?

Dolph Ziggler:  I have a one and four record?  What match did I win?

RRR:  Was it Team Johnny?  Yea I am pretty sure it was Team Johnny.

Dolph Ziggler:  Oh that counts as me winning?

RRR: Yea that was a huge victory, what are you talking about (laughing)?

Dolph Ziggler:  I’m so proud of that team effort of all those guys I was on a team with.  Here’s the deal, ladder matches are crazy the Intercontinental title is starting to barely mean something again, not just to me, but the fans.  I’ll say what I always say going into WrestleMania:  You’re going to see Sting, you’re going to see Brock Lesnar, you’re going to see John Cena, so my goal and the chip on my shoulders goal is to have you talking about my match the next day.  I promise you, there are so many hungry guys in there who want to prove to everyone just how damn good they really are.  It’s going to be hard for me to keep up but trust me I will.

Mike Chiari: The IC title obviously has a storied history in WWE, but one of the big complaints among fans is that it isn’t necessarily prioritized now like it might have been in the past. If and when you win the title at WrestleMania what do you feel needs to be done on your end and from a company-wide perspective to restore some of that prestige?

Dolph Ziggler:  Well to restore prestige, you’d have to do something similar to what I did a couple of months ago.  I finally beat Miz for the title, and then constantly, the Authority wanted to take it off me.  So it became that much more exciting because every Monday, every Thursday, every weekend, every pay-per-view I was defending that title.  They were trying to stick it to me, and you didn’t know if I was going to win it or if I was going to lose it because the odds were stacked against me.  Or you thought that whether they are trying to take it off him or not, it’s constantly being defended and I think that was the right track in starting it to get seen as the workhorse title that gets put on the line all the time.  Brock Lesnar is not always around, this could be the up and coming title, and for a couple of months I defended that thing twenty times and that’s the absolute way to get that title more prestigious.  It’s obviously on the back burner right now, there’s other stories going on, it’s not the top story right now and I’m not going to pretend it is.  My goal is when I’m given an inch I try to take a mile.  So when I had that title I was always wanting to defend it, tell Triple H to call whoever he wants, have him at ringside, because the more I defended it, it slowly began to gain prestige as a title that wasn’t just a workhorse title, but a title that was going to be defended sometimes and that’s what needs to happen.  

Brandon Galvin: You pride yourself on being the showoff, the wrestler nobody can outperform in the ring. Who is the consensus measuring stick in the WWE now, and all-time?

Dolph Ziggler:  Oh wow, I don’t know, my opinion all time would be Shawn Michaels.  Measuring stick now?  I mean, it depends, and do you have to be in the main event scene?  Do you have to be one of the handpicked guys to talk every week, or can you be one of those guys that goes out every week whether it’s for two seconds or two minutes or twenty minutes or thirty minutes, walks to the back, and says to all the producers and talent in the back “follow that.”  If that is the case then it’s me.

Donald Wood: You are a two-time world heavyweight champion, but many fans believe you have the drawing power to return to the top of the mountain. I know you’re fighting for the IC title at WrestleMania, and that’s where your focus is now, but where does winning the WWE World Heavyweight Championship sit on your priority list and do you believe you’ll reach that level again?

Dolph Ziggler:  I’d like to think so, but also it all depends.  Obviously I have to set my sights on the Intercontinental title right now, as I do I focus on that going into WrestleMania.  Even if I wasn’t focused on that title, I would have to be because I am in no position on the card to say I am next in line for the World Heavyweight title.  I am not dumb enough to think I am.  Here’s the deal though, I can be, I have been, and I will be again one way or another.  Whether I get that chance, that is out of my hands. It is in the hands of the WWE Universe, the hands of Vince McMahon, the hands of the Authority, and however you want to view that it’s in their hands.  Can I pry it out of their hands?  Yes.  I’ve done it in the past when I wasn’t supposed to.  There’s been a lot of guys who weren’t supposed to be champs that actually were.  I will have the drive like I have had every single day since day one to be there and be the best.  If I have to prove myself without that title, I’ll continue to do that until I get the chance to get that title.

Mike Chiari: There was a lot of talk about you potentially having a singles match against Daniel Bryan at WrestleMania. You guys had a little back-and-forth going on Twitter and it seemed like a lot of fans were really excited about the possibility of it. Why do you think that ultimately didn’t materialize, and also how do you think it might have played out in terms of the build and the match itself?

Dolph Ziggler:  I randomly suggested it.  I was pissed at my Royal Rumble match, I was pissed.  I felt bad about Daniel Bryan with the entire world behind him and getting shot out after a couple of minutes.  So I thought I have this chip on my shoulder, he’s got a chip on his shoulder, why the hell don’t we show people who the real main event match should be?  If you want to pretend that there is no story, what are you kidding me?  This guy went from nothing to being the biggest chanted name in this business; he changed history in the main event of WrestleMania that he was not supposed to be in.  I on the other hand, on a slightly smaller scale, was told that I would never be champion.  I would never be Money in the Bank winner, I would never have the chance to be on top here, and damn it I earned it.  I said you know what?  Daniel without these people behind you, I don’t know what type of situation you would be in right now, maybe mine, but if you want to prove who is better, this isn’t about who can steal the show, this is about who the real main event is in this business should be.  I sure as hell wasn’t going out there to shake his hand and shake his hand after.  I was out there to kick his ass and prove that I’m the best.  It’s unfortunate it didn’t happen because there was a little buzz all based on me suggesting to him lets show the WWE universe what a main event should be and I dare someone to try and follow that.  It didn’t happen, but I don’t quit.  I come up with my own stuff on my own time before, that almost turned into something, so that means maybe next time it will turn into something.

Brandon Galvin: With WrestleMania coming up, obviously two names synonymous with the event are The Undertaker and Shawn Michaels. What do you think it'll take for you, or any other performer, to become the next Mr. WrestleMania?

Dolph Ziggler:  For me, I would have to get a singles match at some point.  We’re going on ten years of being under contract and five and a half of them being on television full time.  To become Mr. WrestleMania, it doesn’t have to be a premier match, you can just be a standout, but at some point you need to be in an important match whether you earned yourself or you got it handed to you, but you need to be in an important match, it needs to be a singles match.  Stealing the show is one thing, everyone’s going out to do that, but you need to stand out though and make your own WrestleMania moment.  Everybody’s is different, and I’ve got to find a way to stand out against 6 or 7 upcoming superstars that want to outperform each other.  I have to do that and once that happens, then I have a chance to stand out as a Mr. WrestleMania.

Donald Wood: You are widely regarded as one of the best in-ring workers in the wrestling industry. How much pride do you take in your wrestling ability and how much do you focus on keeping your matches fresh when you’re on television so much?

Dolph Ziggler: I will answer that if each of you can tell me one reason why I’m not wrestling for the championship.

RRR:  Politics.

Dolph Ziggler: You give me your own personal critique of why you think I’m not.

RRR: I think it’s politics personally.

Dolph Ziggler:  Take that part out.  Any job you will have in your entire life, even when I was a janitor had politics.  Think of something else.  What do I have that is a weakness?

RRR: I can’t think of anything conceivably.

Dolph Ziggler:  Oh come on its not going to hurt my feelings.

RRR: You’re too blonde?

Dolph Ziggler:  I’ve actually switched it out to highlights so you’re wrong.  Most importantly honestly I can’t think of anything either.  The internet has a different point because they think for some reason I can’t talk cause I say show off all the time, to be fair when I get a chance to talk candidly or however I want or how passionate I am about this business I deliver every single time.  I can’t think of anything either, so one of these days it’s going to have to break through.

Mike Chiari: Aside from wrestling, it’s well known that one of your passions is stand-up comedy. When you’re cutting a promo with WWE how much does improvisation generally come into play for you, and also what’s your preference in terms of getting a scripted promo or going completely off the cuff? What are you most comfortable with?

Dolph Ziggler:  My favorite thing to do is to go on the WWE App.  It’s not a joke or a plug because you have freedom.  It’s like the 80s all over again.  They say, “Hey, you have a match against Luke Harper at the Sportatroium, on December 13th at 7:30 for the USWA title” and you go “got it.”  They bring you on and you got the bullet points in your head and you have the passion to put over the title, to put over your opponent, to put over how great this match is going to be, how it’s going to steal the show, how you’re going to walk out of there as the champion, the peoples champion with the title over your shoulder, that’s what I love.  On the fly, no one can top me.  It comes down to a lot of improv.  In the ring, obviously it’s a television show with a script.  Some of us are allowed to deviate from the script and some are not, I am not one of those.

Brandon Galvin: You strive for perfection in the ring and professionally and it's been documented that you're never satisfied with a performance. What would it take for you to be ultimately satisfied with a match or performance?

Dolph Ziggler:  I honestly don’t know that’s a great question.  Thinking of some of my favorite matches in my entire life, like my match against Edge at the Royal Rumble for the World Heavyweight title.  I was a nobody who lost every single week.  Going into that match I lost every week for six months.  Edge is so good and he was a mentor of mine, and I held my own in that match where he took the lead.  For the last twelve minutes of that twenty five, everybody was on the edge of their seats thinking the guy who loses every single night was going to become World Heavyweight champion and damn it I am proud of that.  Whenever I see a clip of it, I always think I could have done this better, and being a perfectionist like myself, I may never be happy about it.  Is that really a problem if my entire job is to outdo what I’ve already done?  I’m OK with it.