WWE superstar Dolph Ziggler missed a month and a half of action between July and August of this year. Upon his return, the WWE put him in the most boring feud on the card with Alexander Rusev. While a worthwhile and serious competitor in the ring, the result, sadly, was a mix of subpar matches, bad promo and awful direction. Now, Ziggler hhas unfrtunately been midcarded.
In his first Summerslam match returning to TV, Ziggler and Rusev both were counted out and the match was labeled a draw. Ziggler has been winning a lot of matches recently, however, beating the likes of Rusev, Sheamus, Big E, Tyler Breeze and The Miz.
Despite these victories, Ziggler seems to be buried in the midcard and there's nothing he's done recently that leads anyone to believe that will change.
That's because Ziggler is stuck wrestling new talent and contenders who are in the middle of complete character overhauls. Rusev was undefeated for an entire year before losing to John Cena at WrestleMania 31. Since then, he has appeard to be human, taking a career path very similar to the late Umaga.
Arrive, dominate, lose at WrestleMania, lose all momentum, end up in the midcard. Now, he is in a feud with Tyler Breeze, an NXT prospect with a lot of potential, but we've seen the WWE mismanage good talent upon their promotion to the main roster.
Think of Neville, for example, who debuted in an epic match with Seth Rollins on Monday Night Raw and has been stuck facing King Barrett and Sheamus on a weekly basis ever since.
Ziggler is way down on the totem pole. He's stuck in a purgatory-like limbo after his contract disputes led him to missing time in the ring. This past year's Royal Rumble saw him get the second biggest pop of the night, only after Daniel Bryan and fans nearly rioted upon his elimination at the hands of Big Show and Kane.
Now, he still gets good pops, but his matches seem different, almost as if the WWE doesn't want him to succeed. The fans are not behind him and Internet forums have lost their affectiong for the once-beloved darling.
It could be because of the emergence of Cesaro and Kevin Owens, but it seems like nobody is interested in Ziggler at the moment. Because of his lack of overall popularity, I am led to believe that the WWE is going to push him farther down the card.
As of now, it seems like his stock can't take any more of a hit if he wishes to ever rekindle the fire that led to him being one of the biggest stars in the company.
That's just one side of the coin, I have to say. For now, however, preview Dolph Ziggler and his mighty return to Raw below.
