It’s been a bit of a roller coaster trying to keep up with Dolph Ziggler’s WWE status over the past couple of weeks. There were insider reports, and hints from Ziggler himself, that he may not be returning to WWE in the fall, but then PWInsider reported that he had in fact signed a new multi-year contract. Now the story has taken yet another turn.
Throughout all this speculation, we haven’t heard much from Dolph Ziggler himself, but yesterday he finally opened up about his WWE contract status on the Chad Dukes Wrestling Show. Here’s what’s happening between Dolph Ziggler and WWE, according to Dolph himself.
“I’m thinking about it right now. I had a request for an upcoming contract that would start a few months from now, maybe two or three months from now, and they requested back what they would like. I countered another offer and we’re waiting to finalize some things.”
Ziggler also teased that “going away for a little bit” is an option he’s considering.
“I love WWE and I can’t picture myself wrestling somewhere else, but it’s also becoming now where that Wednesday and Thursday, I can’t just do that if I want to get some outside live events for comedy and different movie and television options, which would only be to promote myself as a WWE superstar, to make myself a bigger star so I can advance more in WWE. So if I can’t find that happy medium, I might have to go away for a little bit.”
But come on, the real reason he might leave is his lack of a sustained push, right? Well, Dolph words things carefully when it comes to that question…
“Demanding a push, demanding world titles, demanding things, what I demand is to be challenged in the ring every week and when I do it, I do it better than anyone else. Here’s the deal; somehow the 5-foot-11″ guy with the funny name and funny trunks has outlasted everybody else in 11 years here and hasn’t gone away. I’ve never been out and very fortunate with any injuries, being injury-prone or anything. I’ve sat out less than anyone I can think of in 10 years. What I wanna do is make myself a bigger asset to WWE. If it involves leaving, that would crush me, but it might be necessary.”
So there you have it, the story straight from Dolph’s mouth. Has Dolph signed and is just working us fans because he’s enjoying the attention? Could this be setting up a storyline? Or did he just figure he may be out the door soon, so he may as well be honest? We don’t have any definitive answers, but I’m leaning toward Dolph being sincere. Who wouldn’t consider leaving after that cripplingly awkward Lana segment from Raw?
(Via Wrestling Inc. and Chad Dukes Wrestling Network)
