Many WWE fans have been surprised by the recent resurgence of Dolph Ziggler since his move to Monday Night Raw via the post- WrestleMania 34 Superstar Shakeup. With the returning Drew McIntyre as his muscle and regular tag teammate, Ziggler has been on a tear as of late, and few fans were prepared for the upset he pulled off when he defeated Seth Rollins for the Intercontinental Championship. However, this seeming late-career renaissance appears to be WWE’s way of trying to convince Ziggler to re-sign with the company now that his contract is about to expire, according to a new report.
Citing a members’ only report from PWInsider’s Mike Johnson, Ringside News wrote that with Dolph Ziggler’s contract due to expire this summer, WWE is giving him a chance to “reboot his character” and giving him a good push in hopes that he’d remain with the company a little longer. While Johnson admitted that he wasn’t sure if WWE’s plans for Ziggler included giving him the Intercontinental Championship, he praised the company for “doing a good job” in resuscitating Ziggler’s flagging career and teaming him up with McIntyre, a former NXT Champion who has enjoyed his own career revival since returning to WWE in 2016.
“I don’t know how WWE will follow up on this but if they are smart, they’re well on their way of finally after so many years rebooting Dolph Ziggler and getting him into a position of prominence,” Johnson continued, as quoted by Ringside News .
“Now what’s interesting is Ziggler’s deal is up later this summer. If they are going to invest in Dolph and get him to re-up with this company, now is the time to do it.”
WWE ‘Raw’ Recap: Seth Rollins and Dolph Ziggler Push Their Limits in a Brutal Title Bout https://t.co/izOemFGiD0
— Dragonfire Nutrition (@dragonfirenutri) June 28, 2018
Considering how Dolph Ziggler has had his share of unsuccessful gimmicks and storylines that didn’t go anywhere, Johnson said that he hopes WWE will “sincerely” push the 37-year-old Monday Night Raw superstar and treat him like a true asset to the company instead of overlooking his contributions.
While it’s not clear why WWE has oftentimes booked Dolph Ziggler to lose far more often than he wins, ComicBook noted that the 14-year WWE veteran hasn’t been shy about airing out his creative frustrations. Last December, Ziggler appeared on Edge and Christian’s Pod of Awesomeness , where he said that he “hates” being booked like he often has been, and would like to be a “bigger part of the show” instead of always being asked to open shows and lose matches, especially if there’s someone from NXT making their way to the main roster for the first time.
