Dolph Ziggler Needs To Step Up In John Cena's Absence

When Dolph Ziggler and Alberto Del Rio pulled off a double-turn at WWE Payback in June, big things were expected of the new face Ziggler. Many thought that he would go on to take the World Heavyweight Championship from Del Rio and become one of the top faces in the company on his way to doing so.

As we all know, that never happened, and Del Rio is still the champion. He’s actually moved on from Ziggler, and Dolph hasn’t done much without that feud. He had a rushed rivalry with ex-girlfriend AJ Lee and her bodyguard Big E. Langston, but outside of that, he hasn’t been involved of anything of note.

That could all be changing with the face of the company, John Cena, going down to a torn triceps. He is scheduled to be out anywhere from four to six months, so now is a better time than ever for Ziggler to assert himself. In fact, it might be his last opportunity to do so.

He has been World Heavyweight Champion twice in his career to date, but neither of these were extended runs, and he apparently didn’t do enough for the company to have faith in him to carry the title again. The cause of him dropping the belt the second time was due to a concussion, so that certainly can’t be blamed on him, but it’s safe to say that it was an inopportune time for him to get injured.

With the recent tension that has been shown between Ziggler and Triple H over his actions towards Daniel Bryan, there’s not a doubt in my mind that he will find himself involved in this situation in some way, shape, or form. He has already had to take on The Shield in a handicap match, and it is pretty clear that he is going to face Dean Ambrose for the United States Championship at Night of Champions. So if he can prove himself there, we could see much more involvement from him in this feud.

It is perfect reasonable that this new Corporation angle will last through at least Survivor Series, where you can assume that Triple H will handpick a team of five to go against a team of Daniel Bryan’s choosing in a traditional Survivor Series match, so if Ziggler is included in this, you will know that he is succeeding in the eyes of the WWE.

If you didn’t hear, Ziggler recently did an interview where he bashed the WWE and Triple H for constantly backing WWE Champion Randy Orton. While this was clearly done in character, it could be a foreshadowing of a match between the two. It’s obvious that they can’t have Bryan and Orton square off at every pay-per-view, so Orton will need a challenger.

It’s up to Dolph Ziggler to assert himself and prove to the WWE that he belongs in that caliber of a match. It’s pretty imperative that he does so; it could be his last chance at main event stardom.

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