WWE Repackaged Gold - Dolph Ziggler

By RJ Marceau

Sorry folks, I have been busy at school with finals but WWE Repackaged Gold has returned. This WWE Superstar debuted in 2005 and has been with the WWE for over 10 years. This superstar is Nick Nemeth a.k.a. Dolph Ziggler. Nemeth made his WWE debut in 2005 as Nick Nemeth being the golf caddy/enforcer for Kerwin White (Chavo Guerrero). The act was only around for less then 2 months due to Eddie Guerrero’s death and Kerwin White switching back to Chavo Guerrero. Nemeth was sent down to OVW and his career was up in the air.

In 2006, he was called back to the main roster as Nicky, part of the Spirit Squad. Even though the gimmick was dumb with them being male cheerleaders they were involved in main storylines, having alliance with the McMahons and won the World Tag Team Championship from the Big Show and Kane. The Spirit Squad faced DX throughout the year and had mainstream attention. They disbanded in November of 2006 which seemed rushed and a waste of a year.

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Nemeth debuted his current character Dolph Ziggler in 2008. I remember when he was walking backstage introducing himself to the roster which led to the Rock stating in later program “who the hell is Dolph Ziggler”. He had programs with MVP and John Morrison but didn’t see much success until he was paired with Vickie Guerrero. He defeated Kofi Kingston to win the IC title on Smackdown in 2010. He won the United States Championship in 2011 from Kofi Kingston again. He was in the midcard title picture until winning the Money in the Bank in 2012. 

He was teamed up with AJ Lee and Big E during his Money in the Bank run which was the best he has had during his WWE career. He cashed in his Money in the Bank contract the night after WrestleMania 29 on Alberto Del Rio and won his legit 1st World Heavyweight Championship. Ziggler lost the title to Del Rio and ended his relationship with AJ Lee due to her costing him his title rematch by getting Ziggler disqualified. At SummerSlam he was in a mixed tag team match with Kaitlyn and defeated Big E and AJ. Since then he has a few bad runs with the IC Championship but won the main event of Survivor Series. The win was meaningless because the Authority returned a month later. 

Ziggler has evolved from his early Nick Nemeth character but has seen so many stop-and-start pushes it is hard for at least casual fans to support him. I consider myself a fan of Ziggler but when he does win he isn’t booked right and it’s hard to get behind him even more. A WWE World Heavyweight Championship reign in the future is possible but I don’t expect he will reach that high again. I think the WWE has done a good job with turning Ziggler into a great mid-card guy for over 5 years.

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