The Sad Decline of Dolph Ziggler in WWE [2008-2023] 

Sadly, his whole career is basically summed up into 4 words. It should've been him.

It's such a shame that he didn't get the chance to shine through the main event scene, Survivor Series 2014 was a perfect example, He just had one his best performance in his career and yet was still not given the title.

I still can't believe WWE released Dolph Ziggler months ago. Nick Nemeth (Dolph) could've been the Shawn Michaels or Ricky Morton of our generation. Whatever Nick is doing now, I'm sure he's proud of what he's accomplished in the WWE. I can't wait to see him back in the ring.

One of the most underutilised wrestlers of all time, The man is a complete-package, Great in the mic, Great in the ring, etc.. It's such a shame that he wasn't given the opportunity to shine throughout majority of his career.

Ziggler was whatever the WWE needed and wanted. You can't ask for better than that.

Dolph Ziggler's feud with Miz back in 2016 was something special. It elevated both guys, as well as the IC Championship, to a whole new level.

Dolph deserved better. He got the Shelton Benjamin treatment. He should’ve been World Champion much longer

When I saw this guy wrestle, I saw prime Shawn Michaels, his looks, in-ring work, promo's, etc... I just hate how WWE was always afraid to push him despite his talent and how over he was.

I still get goosebumps when he cashed in on Alberto Del Rio the night after Wrestlemania 29 winning the World Heavyweight Championship. Unfortunately he suffered a concussion and he never reached the top of the mountain again. But good god that promo he had against the Miz in 2016 Ziggler pouring his heart out and getting really emotional one of my favorite promos from recent WWE. I’m gonna really miss Dolph Ziggler in WWE most underrated guy

Feel like it's mainly due to creative not seeing him as a star and more so as a mid carder. If he was 10 ish years younger he could've been a star in WWE nowadays but I feel like he's an example of right person wrong era

Nick actually debuted in 2005 as Chavo Guerrero's caddy when Chavo was doing the Kerwin White gimmick.

I think Dolph Ziggler is a classic example of really really bad booking. This dude should have been a huge huge superstar in the WWE the way they've treated him over the years you would have never guessed he was a two-time world champion. It's literally two runs that if you blinked you missed it. I think the peak of his status was clearly when he was paired up with AJ and a very young Big E There's only two feuds I remember during his whole entire time one was the one with The Miz. The other one is when he cashed in his money in the bank. Literally one of the best cash ins of all time

Dolph Ziggler is yet ANOTHER addition to the long list of talent that WWE absolutely fumbled the bag with.

Most underrated wrestler and most safest. The guy could pull of any hit just to get someone over. He was someone that really loved the industry. I hope one day he will return. He still appreciated by the fans

I saw Shelton Benjamin's name on the lost of releases and thought; THAT is somebody who needs to be covered next! This has to be the most accurate coverage of Dolph Ziggler in recent time! Great watch 💯

I'm glad other people think this. It always bewildered me why he wasn't better used. He can work, he can talk, he had a huge personality and was an intelligent guy. Pretty much every ingredient you need to make a superstar. Around 2014, I kept thinking that the big run and main event push had to come one of these days, but it never really did. He got the title at one point, but it never really felt like he was a champ, just a footnote. At least a lot of the fans still know that Dolph was a diamond in the rough.

Even just hearing someone talk about zigglers cash in and saying “one of the biggest pops in wwe history” still gives me the chills to this day. That pop was insane and much deserved. Ziggler should have been pushed to the moon

I would say the man was the most underrated in recent history. Dolph deserved to shine :(

I think it's his concussion issues. WWE are always iffy on using anyone after their head has taken a knock. Same with D-Bry and Alexa. That's where they saw him as a risky commodity

Make a video about Mustafa Ali's underutilization

3:57 Ziggler was awarded the championship on Smackdown, not Raw.

One of my favorites of all time. I wanna see Dolph go to TNA, superkick everyone, take title and hold it for like 9months to a year.

Great video! Dolph didn't try to steal Otis from Mandy Rose though. He tried to steal Mandy Rose from Otis. Also you forgot "It Should have been me!....It should have been me!!!!" Lol😅

fans: we want him as champion wwe: aight, we are taking his belt off next moment

Dolph made a ton of money, his salary was always at the high end

Videos like these make me feel old. When I was really into the wwe as a kid I remember dolph being the new guy. Now i'm seeing retrospective videos about his career, insane.

Cool video as always Tom 💯

"He couldn't steal Otis from Mandy Rose" I didn't realize that's what was happening in the storyline

Love your videos, you do a very good job on them.

A really well done balanced review video. Your content just keeps getting better, thank you.

Watched the cash in when I was like 11 or 12. I had high hopes for him, and I quite literally grew up to watch him fail over and over again. Mostly wasn't his fault.

Ziggler, Ambrose, AJ Styles, Baron Corbin (and Ellesworth, I guess) had some really great matches together on Smackdown.

Otherwise known as the multiple dropped balls and fumbled pushes of Dolph Ziggler. Dude had every tool to be a main event guy and was super over with fans. Vince absolutely blew it, multiple times over. I hope he finds success wherever he decides to go. It's just a shame that he never got to the level he should have been at.

So many chances, moments, and opportunities to be capitalized by the managment but it just never happened. 19 years that had some ups but a lot of lows, which really irritates me to this day. Dolph deserves more and hopfully he gets what he deserves at aew in the next a few months.

One of my favorites yo. Always been since Spirit Squad even. That team move where they left the opposition to the sky then drop em, man. He moves effortlessly that dropkick, high-leap elbow drop, stalling DDT. I'd say seeing him against Mr. Perfect would be a Dream match.

Stoping someone from saying first

Another banger !

I don't remember that match with CM Punk

Dolph Ziggler's tag run with Drew was a 49 days title reign, a little longer then a month. Still short though, but we did get the best match from Hell In A Cell that year when they defended against Rollins and Ambrose

i could never take Dolph seriously after finding out he was sniffing around Trisha Paytas

Dolph ziggler best watch was survivor series, team Cena and team authority, I really loved it and it came in surprise

Remember when Dolph was off TV for a little while, then came back with short, brown, hair and kinda looked like Evan Bourne?

That pop when he cashed in was electric.

Ziggler and the miz for ic belt were some of my favorite programs!

Loved that survivor series with team cena, I remember like it was yesterday. I was always a fan of dolph

Would you make a video talking about the death of Zack Ryder, and the birth of Matt Cardona?

Dolph Ziegler was a favorite of mine growing up. He will forever be in my head as that eras ic king. He couldn’t get past consistent ic matches and runs

Vince just kept on getting jitters. Eventually Dolph became the new X-PAC. Even had a go at Sunny like Waltman probably did as well.

That survivor series 2014 was ICONIC, one of the best performances in his career, such a shame how his career went downhill

Absolutely disrespectful that they released Dolph. He was a work horse, never complained, always stole the show.

I have always said that he 'sold' moves too well. And the sad thing is that management saw that too. Bro was a workhorse tho. But his greatest asset was making others look stronger. Whether it was taking a big boot, or taking finishers, his ragdoll physics and flips made moves look devastating

Read an article from a site years ago. Unsure how true it was. The article stated when Ziggler cashed in it was not a push for him but rather what needed to happen to continue the story forward. It confused me reading it. Why give him the belt if you had no plans to push him? The powers that be (Vince) didn't see "it" in Ziggler so creative stopped caring. Ziggler realized this himself and basically became content with a paycheck and he stopped caring. We (the fans) could see his indifference and thus we stopped caring too.

#1 He never should have won the NXT Championship. The fact that he did baffles me it doesn't make any sense. He was never on NXT before (at least not when it was an actual wrestling show) and there were better options that are still down in NXT. It also haulted Bron Breakker's momentum for no reason other than to tell The Steiner Brothers "FU" one last time. #2 Dolph Ziggler was dependable but never given the chance to truly be a top star, despite winning the MITB briefcase and World Heavyweight Championship due to an unfortunate concussion, but at least he kept the title for another month. He also was technically responsible for The Authority since he was not only the sole survivor at Survivor Series in 2014, but also eliminated Seth Rollins thanks to Sting and they did nothing with him after that when he should have been pushed more in 2015, especially after Seth Rollins became WWE World Heavyweight Champion. But instead he went back to the midcard, had a great feud with The Miz, and started putting younger talent over such as Baron Corbin and Shinsuke Nakamura. #3 IMO he's decline started when he won the US Championship only to vacate it and it was never brought up again. He's partner ship with Drew McIntyre/Bobby Roode was okay but all three of them arguably deserved better than a couple of tag team reigns.

Ziegler AJ and Big E was an underrated trio

He had the ability to carry other guys to success, or lead them, or tag with them, or manage them, or put them over, male or female, he really can do it all...

Was on of my favorites during the 2010s as I was getting back into WWE, was annoyed he was released as I always felt like he was one of the few wrestlers that could've been much more then what he was.

He deserved way more than they gave him

So underrated

I remember the ziggler vs albertro del rio match

I remember shortly after the survivor series that year when Sting debuted, people were praising Dolph so much so me and a few of my friends were saying he could possibly be the next Chris Jericho…. It’s a shame what happened to his character/career in WWE

Got to do Bobby' roode next

I think that Dolph should've been the one who became the new ultimate opportunists like Edge, this new dastardly heel who would do the nastiest tricks imaginable. He was a good worker and great seller and low-key funny because how much of a tool he looks.

I just hope he comes back, the most underrated wrestler in history

i loved Dolph ziggler in my days of being a die hard WWE fan. Man the nostalgia hit different.

As a Green Bay Packers fan I loved that Clay Matthews appearance in WWE

If i remember correctly he got to sign a contract that allowed him to take time off to keep doing hes comedian gig. At a time where everyone had to show up to work even if they had no program for them he was among the few that not only didn't to ahow up but they would let him know ahead of time if he had to show up to work. He's an amazing wrestler the complete package i hope he gets better opportunity now that he's out of wwe i would love to see him going back to WWE and become a top champion and have a great run

Cant believe he never got a main event push during 2014 after that Survivor Series, bro had the whole wwe universe behind him

My legend ❤😢😢😢I love you ❤❤

Dolph debuted sometime in 2005 or 2006 as one of the spirit squad members

An odd combination of billy gunn and shawn michaels. This guy was in the wwe for way to long.

My favorite DZ is from 2011-16

Dolph was a little underrated

He's kinda like a cross between the Undertaker and HBK ... Ziggler was the measuring stick for new talent and could be a "Show Stopper" whilst doing it.

I always found Dolph to be eh, but man was I glued in 2016 during his rivalry with Miz. Such an amazing feud. One of my favorite title wins.

Dolph was one of my favourites for years, especially when matched up with the Miz 👍 he should have been used way better and had more titles and main events

13:18 lol wot m8?

Have to admit: I rly liked the gimmick where he mocked entrances😂

He was so underrated!

TNA well your right and he’s now the man there and it’s beautiful to see especially with the fact that TNA is better than ever rn

2x WHC, 6x IC, 2x US, 1x World Tag Team, 2x Raw Tag Team Champion, 1x Smackdown Tag Team Champion, 1x NXT Champion, MITB Winner, 2014 Survivor Series survivor, AJ Lee.as gf for a while. 15 titles in almost 20 yrs isn't bad at all, did he more than alot of other guys, but bro is underrated for sure, he shouldve had at least one WWE or Universal title run or two and maybe won the Rumble or something. But he career their is still respectable, so he's definitely great in my book, even if WWE cant see past his size no being bodybuilder shaped, the guy went out there and owned the ring and gave his all in every match presented to him, so he deserves his flowers and currently he has the IC title in New Japan so the ball is rolling. It wont be long before someone strapped a rocket to his back and he shoots for the stars, surprised AEW didnt snag him, but their roster is already bloated af. Anyway to better a future for our generation slept on Shawn Michaels.

I fully expected Dolph Ziggler to be a main event star. What I didn't expect is Cody to improve so much and to become the insanely huge star he is today. Cody always had potential, but damn.

59 seconds in and im mind blown that I didn’t know he was apart of the spirit squad

definitely was upset they didn't pull the trigger for him

He was on 🔥 in 2012-2013

Criminal to not mention Dolph's collegic wrestling career..on par with Angle and Lesnar.

I’ll never forgive wwe for this. I LOVE ZIGGLER. Very solid wrestler with charisma so many people were hurt when news hit he got released

At this moment, he’d be a future hall of famer, given all the past years he had competed in!!!

He should go to aew

Dolph Ziggler 🔥💯‼️‼️‼️💯🔥💯🔥

I actually found the Goldberg versus Dolph Ziggler much fun the way how Goldberg kept spearing Dolph Ziggler multiple times

Bro can you upload video about our legendary reymysterio

Loved Otis vs Ziggler

Dude drew a paycheque for nearly 2 decades in a business where your lucky if you get 12 months. That being said, he had the look, the skill set and the level headedness to be a great champion and is one of the BIGGEST dropped balls in WWE history.

Ah, the Mr. Almost Perfect. Or something like that. I remember him from 10-11 years ago.

Great performer, no doubt, I just think, he didn't have merchandise sales expected for a top star. Great in the ring but it's wwe, I think it came down to merch sales, hardly anyone was buying

Why Vince was always what was wrong with the product for the last decade or so.

Ziggler's feud was memorable as Kofi snapped after interference by Vickie and massacred Dolph. This could have been a great character as a face who despises cheaters and viciously beats them up (Kofi did a similar thing to Miz).

Ziggler is actually a rather hillarious Roaster in the Comedy Sphere. Personally I would like to see Ziggler to mod his character and stop caring while going full Sheen

Ziggler is more like a guy who was never elevated even more so when he was elevated. Beside the point: Ziggler, Morrison, Bobby Lashley, Shelton Benjamin, and in some ways even Carlito. All never used well during the time periods they were suppose to be used well. Wasted, and even though some came back and had a so and so comeback..... WWE still really did a fantastic job of trashing very good talent. Every time I look at these guys I keep feeling depressed for them because WWE wasted a good solid decade of talent.

one of the greatest of all time. some people won't agree, but that's just lack of acknowledgement for dolph.