Last summer, Dolph Ziggler briefly set the wrestling news and rumors world a-flutter when he was considering not re-signing with WWE. He had reportedly long been frustrated at that point, and speculation abounded as to where he might end up signing (if at all). Ultimately, he returned to WWE on a multi-year deal, but his recent career vs. title match against The Miz at No Mercy started that speculation all over again. Is Ziggler thinking about walking away? Is he ever not?
In a new interview with The Mirror, Ziggler talked about how long he’s been seriously considering quitting wrestling for good, and what he would do instead of put on tights for a living.
I’ve been genuinely thinking [moving on] for about two years now. You know, whether your contract is up, paperwork wise, and whether it timed with how this all worked out or not, WWE is a business but [WWE chairman] Vince McMahon is still a human being and if I went to him and said I need to leave because I can’t be here anymore because I can’t go any higher on the card, I believe he would understand that and let me go. I could go and do other things – I have been very fortunate to build a small, stand-up little set and any chance I get I have been very fortunate to be on shows I don’t deserve to be on, but it’s fun and I’ve been a student of it for 20 years. Also in the last six months or so going on Fox News and Fox Business, being able to talk politics, which I know like the back of my hand because I study it, I write about it every day and I have lots of ideas about, I have things in my back pocket. But I am still prepared to be the best WWE Superstar I can be. If I cannot be the best or operate at the best highest level, then I need to go away.
Ziggler also felt that his match against The Miz at No Mercy should have closed the show, given the storytelling and emotion involved. We all agree!
We’ve also known for a while that Ziggler has been considering moving on, but he’s seemed to be a bit more up-front about the reality of the situation as of late. And his increased presence on political commentary shows and the Los Angeles comedy scene certainly speaks to that. There have been plenty of other wrestlers (Ryback, anyone?) who have shown that they can walk away from WWE when things get too glass ceiling-y.
But things seem to be going well for Ziggler at the moment. He describes his current relationship with Vince McMahon as “very positive” and is currently working to bring prestige back to the Intercontinental Championship. For the time being, Ziggler isn’t going anywhere. BUT DON’T CROSS HIM OR HE SWEARS TO GOD.
