Dolph Ziggler: "I want to be the best"

[Hammy]

Is an extra month a decent run, or are is that pesky lil' critter going to beat Dolph again?  Say it ain't so! 

[Gnrfan]

Is an extra month a decent run, or are is that pesky lil' critter going to beat Dolph again?  Say it ain't so! 

I don't care when he wins it as long as its in 2009

[nightrain]

I agree with the above.  I'll admit that when I fIrst started watching WWE, which was only a little over a year ago, I was a bit of a Rey fan.  However, over time, he has started to grate on me and I'm hoping that Dolph takes the IC title off him at Summerslam.

[Hammy]

When Dolph Ziggler made it back to WWE's Raw last September, he counted on a one-line sales pitch to let the superstars and divas in the locker room area and fans in the arenas know just who he was.

"Hi, I'm Dolph Ziggler," the man with the slicked-back blond hair, impressive physique and quite the attitude would declare.

"That's not just an introduction. I wanted to get my name out there," Ziggler said in a telephone interview last Wednesday. "I want to be on the fast track with the fans."

That one-liner has served Ziggler well. Take away one bump in the road and Ziggler has charged up the ladder among his fellow Smackdown superstars.

Ziggler has gone from Ohio Valley Wrestling, when he signed a developmental deal with WWE in 2004, all the way to a title shot (fourth overall) at the Hell in a Cell pay-per-view last Sunday in Newark, N.J. He met Intercontinental Champion John Morrison, who won by pinfall to keep the belt.

"I've gotten a lot of opportunities," Ziggler said in the interview that came three days before Hell in a Cell. "My goal is to go above and beyond and not disappoint myself."

"You have more liberty, more time with fans," Ziggler said of house shows. "I like the crowd interaction. We're there to entertain. It's a great atmosphere."

In high school, Ziggler (then named Nick Nemeth) wrestled for St. Edward High School in Cleveland and holds the school record for pins (81). He then went to Kent State and starred on the mat for the Flashes. He was a three-time All-Mid American Conference selection and is No. 2 in career wins with 121 (2000-2003).

Long before Ziggler got to St. Edward, he said he had a passion for wrestling.

"At 5 I was a big fan," he said. "At 12, I decided I wanted to become a pro."

Nemeth got the break in 2004 when he signed with WWE.

"A lot guys go to different schools. I was very fortunate to start in the WWE system with the best," Ziggler said. "You get the training you need. I'm a hard worker. I tried to catch up as fast as possible. I worked out two or three times a day."

Ziggler went up to Raw in 2006 as part of the Spirit Squad (under the name "Nicky"). He got sent back to OVW in 2007 and starting in 2008 he tweaked his name to "Nic Nemeth" and began teaming with Brad Allen and Taryn Terrell as their valet. In March, they won the FCW Florida Tag Team championship.

In September, Ziggler got promoted back to Raw where he introduced himself as Dolph Ziggler. About a month later, Ziggler was suspended for 30 days for his first violation of WWE's Wellness Program policy.

"That was a worse case scenario," Ziggler admitted. "Be careful what you get into and who you are associated with. It can easily be taken away. I had month to think it over. I said I won't make that mistake again."

Ziggler got the call back to Raw in November and got drafted by Smackdown in April. He lost a U.S. Title match to MVP in May. Later he started a rivalry with the Great Khali and beat him at The Bash pay-per-vew. His next rival was then Intercontinental Champion Rey Mysterio, who went 2-0 against Ziggler in two pay-per-views.

"I was that close," Ziggler said in reliving the championship matches against Mysterio. "I know I was on the verge of becoming one of those guys (champion). They were good learning experiences. I knew I was getting a little closer."

Right before Hell In A Cell, Ziggler and The Miz met Morrison and Kofi Kingston in a tag match on Friday Night Smackdown. Ziggler pinned Morrison to win it for his team.

"That was huge for me. It gives me confidence I can beat him," Ziggler said.

Ziggler said getting a championship belt around his waist is one of his many goals.

"I get a tryout, a contract, a callup, a win," he said. "The Intercontinental Championship is the goal now. I want to become the best IC champion ever and move on."

What's down the road for Ziggler, who is just 29?

"A lot of guys are in their mid-30s," he said. "I need to get more solid. In the future I look to be one of the leaders in the locker room."

http://www.herald-dispatch.com/entertainment/x2075611415/Rising-WWE-star-Dolph-Ziggler-among-talent-scheduled-to-rumble-at-Huntingtons-Big-Sandy-Superstore-Arena-on-Sunday

[Hammy]

source: www.f4wonline.com

For those keeping track, Dolph Ziggler has taken part in twenty-six Intercontinental title matches at various events (televised and non-televised) within the past few months, losing all but two. He won one match via count-out with another match being ruled a double count-out. Furthermore, he has come up short in retrieving the title on television on seven different occasions including Night of Champions, SummerSlam, Hell in the Cell and four separate episodes of Friday Night SmackDown.

Ziggler was at one point scheduled to win the title from Rey Mysterio over the summer, but the high-flying Superstar vetoed dropping the title to him on more than one occasion. When push came to shove as a result of a 30-day suspension for violating the company’s drug testing policy in early September, Mysterio agreed to drop the title to John Morrison.

Now it appears that the ship has sailed on Ziggler nabbing the gold as WWE officials have reportedly “given up on him.”

On a related noted, Ziggler was voted the “Most Deserving of a Title Shot” among his peers in the “Superstar Survey” taken for the latest issue of WWE Magazine.

Say It Isn't So 

[Izzy]

Ziggler and Morrison would be the mainstay of my WWE. I'd have them in a heel faction probably with Triple H and push them like mad

they obviously have the talent and the look (and those absurd abs!)

they have proved their credentials - it's title time

[Gnrfan]

I've been impressed with Morrison and Ziggler but they have made Ziggler look weak now.

If you look at Miz on RAW and Ziggler on SD its suprising to me that Ziggler seems to be going in the other direction.

I'd really like to see Ziggler with a title as this ultra-cocky guy. Rey really screwed him by refusing to drop the title to him and i'm not sure he'll ever get as big as he could now.

One thing i would say is that there seems to be alot of guys on SD with who are looking to push on from the IC level to the top tier. Rey, Punk, Ziggler, Morrison are all on that level below Batista, Undertaker, Jericho

[Hammy]

I can understand why Mysterio originally stuffed it, he had only had it for a month, and he was scheduled to drop it before his suspension, I think the switch to Morrison was to set up a new feud and in hindsight the plan ultimately was for Ziggler to eventually get it, but I think at some point, something made them lose faith/change their minds, I'd wager the guy to take his spot and to take the title will be Drew McIntyre, being a Survivor at the weekend and also squashing Finlay in like 2 minutes, and being a Triple H favourite, he is being fast tracked to greatness...

[Izzy]

Lot of talent to be found - fire Big Show to free up some space!

...desperate need for some gimmicks though

Sheamus is Irish
MacIntyre is Scottish
Ziggler is...very, very American

C'mon, those arent gimmicks!

Give us something to get our teeth into

[D]

**** U REY MYSTERIO

[Hammy]

^ And Hulk Hogan is a Real American  

[D]

I can understand why Mysterio originally stuffed it, he had only had it for a month, and he was scheduled to drop it before his suspension, I think the switch to Morrison was to set up a new feud and in hindsight the plan ultimately was for Ziggler to eventually get it, but I think at some point, something made them lose faith/change their minds, I'd wager the guy to take his spot and to take the title will be Drew McIntyre, being a Survivor at the weekend and also squashing Finlay in like 2 minutes, and being a Triple H favourite, he is being fast tracked to greatness...

LOL@Hammy's mind games. he says this **** so someone will draft McIntrye way earlier than they should.

[D]

^ And Hulk Hogan is a Real American  

what kind of **** is that?

Hulk Hogan sold out thousands of arenas, set attendance records and made not only himself but other wrestlers millions of dollars

So please, u are smart about wrestling, don't ever put those two in the same sentence.

Hogan was drawing huge buyrates on PPV, live crowds, TV Ratings, he can keep the title as long as he pleases

[Hammy]

^^ To be honest that hadn't crossed my mind, although in WWE Game terms, the way he is being pushed at the moment, even picking him first wouldn't be crazy, wrestles most weeks, probably be on EVERY PPV and should have a title reign in the game.  

^ The point was on gimmicks or lack thereof.... 

**** U REY MYSTERIO

I'd be more pissed at creative, they should have booked him better as of late...

[Hammy]

In an interview with the Holiday 2009 issue of WWE Magazine (available on newsstands as of today), Dolph Ziggler predicts when he will become a World Champion in WWE.

“Well, my first goal is winning the Intercontinental Championship,” Ziggler responded after being asked how long it will be before he hoists a World Championship above his head. “I’ve given myself six months to do it, and right now I’m nearing the five-month mark. After that, I plan to establish myself as the greatest Intercontinental Champion ever. A year and a half after that, I will become a World Champion.”