5 reasons why Dolph Ziggler returned to WWE and attacked Kofi Kingston

Dolph Ziggler made a shocking return to WWE television this past week on SmackDown, attacking and brutalising WWE Champion Kofi Kingston out of nowhere.

Paul Heyman came out to the ring after Kofi's match against Sami Zayn, and the distraction from Brock Lesnar' advocate was the perfect opportunity for Ziggler to make his return to WWE and send a message to the WWE roster and Kofi.

Ziggler has focussed on his comedy tour with his last WWE appearance coming back at Royal Rumble, where he was No. 28 in the Rumble match.

Why did Ziggler return? Let's take a look at 5 reasons why Dolph Ziggler returned to WWE and attacked Kofi Kingston:

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#5 To keep AEW at bay

Dolph Ziggler

Ziggler could be a great signing for AEW, and he himself alluded to it earlier this year in an interview with Chris van Vliet: “I wouldn’t say I’d be like a next big signing, I would be the big signing, I would have to say.

"I think it would be a great addition to that company, which seems to be for true wrestlers who love the sport and the business. It’s a great idea," said Ziggler. This must have rung alarm bells at Vince McMahon's office. Ziggler is one of WWE's own, having been raised in the WWE business and been a part of the promotion for 15 years.

Signing Ziggler would have been a huge statement of intent. He is one of the best consistently in the ring for the last decade or so, and can make any opponent of his look great in the ring.

Simply put, Ziggler is a star for any promotion, that too for a fledgeling promotion like AEW. WWE may have offered him a bigger contract and a juicier story to stave off AEW's possible offer to keep him at WWE.

#4 Set-up a Super Showdown match

Kofi Kingston will feature at Super Showdown and defend his WWE title at the PPV

Next month, on June 7, 2019, we will witness the third Saudi Arabia PPV called Super ShowDown, which will once again be a star-studded affair, with several legends, including Goldberg and The Undertaker, returning to the ring.

With Brock Lesnar's return to WWE this past week on Money in the Bank, it is quite obvious that Seth Rollins and The Beast will face off at Super ShowDown after Lesnar's Money in the Bank contract win.

That leaves Kofi Kingston, the WWE Champion, with no blockbuster match at the show. This assault by Ziggler could be WWE's way to set-up a match between Ziggler and Kingston for that show. Kofi last feuded with Kevin Owens, which culminated in a match between the two at Money in the Bank PPV where Kofi prevailed.

#3 No strong heels on SmackDown Live

Kofi Kingston faced off against Kevin Owens last

This may be a problem with both WWE RAW and SmackDown - there aren't too many strong heels on WWE television. A white meat babyface like Kofi Kingston needs to feud with a heel who is widely hated, or can at least make fans despise him. Kevin Owens was just that; Sami Zayn can be that, but he's over on RAW.

The other one that is there on SmackDown is Elias, but he's currently feuding with The Big Dog, Roman Reigns, which leaves Kofi with few options to feud with, while another feud with Daniel Bryan so soon after the previous one does not make sense at the moment for Kofi.

This could be one of the reasons why WWE brought back Dolph Ziggler. He was last seen as a babyface but that was so long ago that fans may have forgotten.

#2 Comedy tour ending

This could perhaps be the most logical reason! Dolph Ziggler's first love is wrestling, but he stepped away from the ring to concentrate on a career in standup comedy, performing at several venues across the USA over the last few months.

The tour was to end on March 21st, but more shows have been added over the last few weeks, with him set to appear twice at the end of this month. We aren't quite sure if this is the end of the tour, but if it is, it makes complete sense as to the timing of his return to WWE.

He last feuded with Drew McIntyre on RAW, following an alliance between the two which ended. The Showoff had the last laugh as he eliminated McIntyre at Royal Rumble in the men's Royal Rumble match, which was his last appearance in WWE till this week's SmackDown Live.

#1 Final run as WWE Champion

Dolph Ziggler has won the WWE Championship twice in his fifteen-year career in the business

A few of you may have forgotten that Dolph Ziggler is a Triple Crown champion. He has won the Intercontinental title, US title, tag team titles, as well as the WWE title, that too twice, and is one of the most celebrated Superstars over the last decade.

Ziggler is a Superstar that is trusted backstage by the WWE top brass, someone who can "do the job" and make it look great. He knows what makes fans tick, is a great wrestler in the ring, and can put on exciting feuds.

At 38 years of age and with around 15 years of experience as a WWE Superstar, this could possibly be the last chance for Ziggler to win the WWE title, before he finally hangs up his wrestling boots once and for all.