“The Showoff” Dolph Ziggler may soon be taking his show off of WWE’s “SmackDown Live,” and where the former Kent State standout says he might take his Zig-Zag and Superkick will surprise the hell of out you.
The WWE Superstar guested on the “E&C’s Pod of Awesomeness” podcast Friday, when Ziggler told retired pro-wrestlers Edge and Christian that he’s unsatisfied with his role at Vince McMahon’s wrestling promotion.
“I hate it,” the former world champ said of his one-note losing ways lately. “But also I’m someone who — I hate that I’m not the champion. I hate that the show’s not about me, because that’s the mentality you should have if you’re in the business.”
Ziggler, considered one of the best in-ring workers in the business, has been more of a “gatekeeper” in recent years — he’s primarily used to “put over” young talent. In non-wrestling speak, that means Ziggler’s mainly there to make those promoted from WWE’s minor league system NXT look strong — he’s currently doing exactly that in a program with Bobby Roode.
Not a whole lot of (predetermined) winning comes with such a gig — especially not on TV. The somewhat-undersized Ziggler isn’t against the construct, but match producers and management are going about it all wrong, he said.
“If I lose for eight consecutive months before [the new guys] show up, they’re no longer getting that pat on the back from me to go up a notch,” he told the hosts, who certainly know what Ziggler’s talking about.
That lack of “credibility” (Adam “Edge” Copeland’s word) has Ziggler considering an exit — something he was very close to doing two-and-a-half years ago. Back then, ownership asked Ziggler to stay and “help out,” and he agreed.
After all, “I love it, they treat me well, they pay me well … I travel comfortably,” Ziggler explained.
Those little airline bottles of Tito’s vodka he referenced in the conversation may not be enough for the rare talent to ink another contract extension, however — a decision looming over Ziggler like the holidays.
“I have a very short amount of time left to figure out if I want to do that again or if there’s something to reach for,” Ziggler told his old pals. “All I could reach for is having fun-a– matches and tearing it down on the [non-televised] weekends, because there doesn’t seem to be a specific, great prize to reach for here that I can attain.”
“It’s really weird that I can’t get more,” he added, “but trust me when I say that every day I’m knocking on the door and demanding more.”
So, where would Ziggler go? New Japan Pro Wrestling? Impact? Ring of Honor? Try Fox News.
“I’ve been doing things with Fox News and Fox Business that I really enjoy,” the former Political Science major said, adding that he’s “about to have a recurring segment” on the latter.
That last part is up for debate, however. Though he’s appeared roughly six to eight times this year as a guest on the cable channel’s “Kennedy,” a Fox News and Fox Business Network insider denied to TheWrap that either cable channel is in talks with Ziggler as a contributor. WWE did not immediately respond to our request for comment on this story.
Listen to the Edge and Christian podcast with Ziggler via the YouTube link above.