What's the story?
In the past several months we have seen a number of WWE Superstars tease a heel turn, only for it to never really happen. That's why, when Dolph Ziggler made an unpredictable heel turn on the latest episode of SmackDown, many questioned the legitimacy of the switch.
If the reports from Ringside news are to be believed, what we witnessed was a real and much-needed character change for him. As noted in the latest rumour roundup by the site, we can expect to see more of the heel Ziggler on WWE TV in the upcoming weeks.
In case you didn't know...
After coming short in the triple threat match for the WWE Championship last week, Dolph found himself on the losing end once again in his match against Baron Corbin on this week's episode of SmackDown Live.
After the match got over, the former World Champion snapped and delivered a superkick to Kalisto, who had come to the aid of Ziggler when Corbin tried to attack him with a chair. Following it, we also saw the former Intercontinental Champion getting involved in a locker room fight with Apollo Crews, cementing his heel turn.
It's worth noticing that we saw Dean Ambrose acting as a semi-heel during his short feud with Dolph Ziggler last year but he never really turned completely. The New Day also used heel tactics in the final days of their title reign but have revised their roles as crowd favourites ever since losing the Tag Team Championships.
The heart of the matter
When Dolph Ziggler lost the Intercontinental Championship just 37 days after winning it from the Miz back in November, many complained that WWE did not have a long-term plan for one of the best wrestlers on their roster. His losses in big match situations following his short title reign only made this belief stronger.
However, with the memorable feud between Dolph Ziggler and The Miz and now with this heel turn, SmackDown's matchmakers have once again proved that they have a plan for every Superstar on the blue roster.
What's next?
His heel turn has put quite a lot of possibilities on the table for the former Money In The Bank holder. Given that Dean Ambrose won the Intercontinental Championship from the Miz on the same night, Ziggler could emerge as a contender for the coveted title once again with a renewed attitude.
Or on a long shot, a heel Ziggler could also open the road for the much-anticipated face-turn of AJ Styles if he doesn't lose his title at Royal Rumble.
SportsKeeda's take
It's been a long time since we have seen the Show Off’s heel tactics on WWE programming. Fans hope that this character renewal will open the door for some more interesting rivalries for the former United States Champion, allowing him to take a more central stage in the blue brand of WWE in 2017.
Send us news tips at [email protected]
