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What's the story?
Dolph Ziggler's new gimmick hasn't exactly gone over well, and The Showoff has taken to social media to respond to fan criticism of the segments.
In case you didn't know...
Dolph Ziggler signed with WWE 13 years ago and has been performing on the main roster in his current guise since September 2008. In the near 10 years since, Ziggler has won multiple world championships, secondary titles, Slammy awards and other accomplishments, including the Money in the Bank briefcase in 2012.
Dolph's career has stagnated in recent years, however, as a new generation of superstars seem to have passed the former World Champion by. Ziggler turned heel again at the beginning of 2017, his first turn in almost four years. After months of doing very little, Dolph promised a gimmick change in August.
That led to Ziggler impersonating many iconic gimmicks and entrances of the past, including Shawn Michaels, The Undertaker and 'Macho Man' Randy Savage.
Last week on SmackDown, Bobby Roode came out to interrupt Dolph, leading to a match being booked between the two for Hell in a Cell.
The heart of the matter
The entrance impersonation gimmick hasn't been particularly well received, with many referring to them as the worst segments of the year. One fan said that he hasn't seen Ziggler's creative this sad since 'Dog Ziggler' back in 2015. Dolph decided the time was right to hit back.
Dolph has been known to bait fans online for a number of years now, and that isn't likely to change anytime soon. The Showoff may well have a point.
What's next?
Ziggler's entrance impersonations came to a head last week on SmackDown when the former five-time WWE Intercontinental Champion was interrupted by former NXT Champion Bobby Roode. A match between the two has now been booked for WWE Hell in a Cell, which takes place this coming Sunday.
Author's take
The segments have been utterly dreadful, but the age-old pro wrestling argument will say that that has always been the intention. Ziggler is a heel after all, and the aim of his character has openly been to expose the hypocrisy of the fans.
Roode became a major star in NXT partly due to his entrance too, so the whole story does make a lot of sense. It hasn't been must-see TV, but WWE has booked worse feuds in recent memory.
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