WWE News: Backstage Details Behind The Spirit Squad’s Appearance On ‘SmackDown’ This Week

The build to the culmination of the feud between Dolph Ziggler and The Miz has had just about everything. Two career renaissances, a beautiful valet that’s had a significant impact on the outcome of their matches, the Intercontinental Championship, Ziggler putting his career on the line, and this past Tuesday night, the Spirit Squad.

While the possibility that Dolph’s career is hanging in the balance certainly carries the most importance and intrigue, adding the Spirit Squad was certainly a nice touch to a program that’s likely been elevated to the second biggest match on the No Mercy card this Sunday. It’s actually quite remarkable how the WWE turned a feud that its fans have seen a hundred times before into must-see television every single week on SmackDown.

More and more, the indications are that Ziggler will lose this Sunday and disappear from the WWE spotlight. We reported on Wednesday how he’s considering transitioning from an in-ring performer to a backstage producer and agent. The new role would also give him more opportunities to continue pursuing his other endeavors, such as stand-up comedy and contributions to political programming.

But, as if The Miz’s ‘Dolphumentary’ that aired this past Tuesday, high (and low) lighting Ziggler’s WWE career to this point wasn’t enough, The Miz reunited Ziggler with two of his former partners in The Spirit Squad, Kenny and Mikey. The WWE’s official website recapped the segment in what could be Ziggler’s final appearance on SmackDown.

“…The Spirit Squad members were not there to rejoice in the days of yore with Ziggler, but instead were instructed by the Intercontinental Champion to beat down their former brother-in-cheer. Yet, the results were probably not what Miz was expecting as Ziggler overcame the 2-on-1 attack and dispersed of the former Superstars. Ziggler and Miz then briefly tussled until the Intercontinental Champion retreated, leaving The Showoff standing tall…”

It was a fun, nostalgic moment for the WWE Universe with Kenny and Mikey still looking the parts, and Kenny especially looking as if he could still be a mainstay on the main roster. And according to a report from Ringside News, the WWE did contact all the members of the Spirit Squad in an attempt to reunite the entire group.

As we saw, only Kenny and Mikey agreed to the appearance, as Johnny (Johnny Jeter) could not commit to the show because of the responsibilities of his other job. Mitch (Nick Mitchell) actually now lives in Israel as he has become very religious in recent years.

Ziggler remains the only Spirit Squad member to have survived the gimmick with a career that’s spanned nearly 12 years. The Spirit Squad debuted in January of 2006 and only lasted until November of that same year. After losing a match to DX and Ric Flair, the three legends stuffed the group in a crate with a stamp on it that read “OVW, Louisville Kentucky,” an obvious reference to the developmental territory the group would be sent to.

Originally, Kenny was thought to be the star of the group with the best chance of continuing as a singles star. But four of the five Spirit Squad members, including Kenny, were released in 2007 or 2008, and only Ziggler remained with the WWE. Some combinations of the group have reunited in various independent promotions, and Kenny also appeared on a reality dating show several years back. There’s a good chance Tuesday was the last time we’ll see the Spirit Squad in the WWE, with a nearly equal chance that Dolph Ziggler will be wrestling his last match with the company for a while on Sunday.

This rivalry has brought the best out of Dolph Ziggler, but it’s also elevated The Miz to a level previously thought unattainable after his considerable slide in recent years. There’s certainly hope that he and Maryse could continue in this fashion once the dust settles on the Ziggler program.

[Featured Image By WWE]