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At the outset, I would like to apologize for not being able to do the 'Best and Worst of RAW' article, this week. I've been presented with an exciting opportunity for Sportskeeda and that will be my focus for the time being. My colleague Rohit Nath will bring you his insights and analytical skills instead. You may know him as the man who does the RAW/SmackDown Previews on the site.
Dolph Ziggler went heel at some point on SmackDown Live. He carried the mean streak all the way to RAW, where he allied with Drew McIntyre and went on one of the best runs of his entire career. And then again, on this week's episode of RAW, he seemed to turn babyface, all of a sudden.
Why this change in character for Ziggler, you rightfully ask? I shall try and answer this question before I'm called on assignment this week.
Let me know your thoughts in the comments below.
#5 To even the odds against Corbin's heel alliance
Constable Corbin has put together quite the faction of heel superstars. Comprising Bobby Lashley and Drew McIntyre, not to mention Lio Rush, he has a raging bull on either side. But then, what is an antagonist if he doesn't have a strong protagonist to compete with?
Finn Balor and Elias have let it be known that they won't succumb to Corbin's tyranny. But they have seemed outmatched at every turn because it's been 2 against 3. RAW has been very short on the babyface front because of its recent spate of injuries and illnesses.
Dolph Ziggler turning babyface allows for the good guys to be on a level playing field. And this should set the stage for some exciting developments on RAW.
#4 Ziggler can sell for Drew McIntyre better than anyone else
You create a monster by having him seem dominant. It is clear that WWE has huge plans for Drew McIntyre, going forward. But to have him seem like he's the psychopath that he's deemed to be, someone has to sell for him and make him seem super dominant. There's nobody better suited for the role than Dolph Ziggler.
Dolph Ziggler is a superstar who's built a career on selling for his opponents. He can make any move seem a million times more devastating than other superstars can. We saw how he allowed Drew McIntyre to rag doll him on this week's show.
Dolph Ziggler may have defeated McIntyre on RAW and picked up a win on the Scottish psychopath. But I'm certain McIntyre is destined to win the war.
#3 Ziggler's recent injury just upset plans all around
Dolph Ziggler suffered a foot injury around two weeks ago. Because of the same, a makeshift team of Corbin, Lashley and McIntyre was formed. It turned out that Ziggler's injury wasn't too serious. And by the time he returned, the faction was already running things on the red brand.
It was just a case of unfortunate timing for Ziggler. Maybe the unit of Ziggler and McIntyre would have carried all the way to WrestleMania 35, if the injury hadn't happened. But it did happen and what we have is what we have.
That said, maybe Ziggler can make good on his babyface run, this time. It's been a while since he was a good guy.
Because he's a WWE veteran who's entertained us for so many years, the crowd does respect him.
#2 To make McIntyre an even bigger heel than he is
Because Ziggler went babyface, McIntyre suffered the first clean loss of his singles career since he returned to RAW. And because of this, we saw him incensed and really upset. He cut a promo in the backstage area that let his intentions be known.
McIntyre is known as the Scottish Psychopath on RAW. But he really hasn't done things that psychopaths do. He works within a faction which indicates a very rational, calculating mind.
But by having Ziggler defeat him, something seemed to come alive in McIntyre where he promised retribution to both Ziggler and Balor in the weeks that will follow RAW, this week. This may be remembered as the week when the actual Scottish Psychopath came alive and embarked on a reign of terror that would last for many months.
#1 To shake things up on RAW and make the show interesting again
Last week, Dolph Ziggler and Seth Rollins had a fantastic match. However, it was a match that we'd seen so many times that it did not feel exciting at all. This week's match between Ziggler and McIntyre felt a lot fresher, even though it wasn't nearly as good as the match from last week. When you shake things up, everything just feels a lot more exciting.
RAW has been suffering from low viewership these days. One way to make the show interesting is to shake things up. By having Ziggler turn babyface, I believe WWE managed to do that this week.
I am confident that the two men will have a great feud in weeks to follow. I'm curious to see what the future holds for both men.
Let's hope that Ziggler's babyface run is just as good as his heel run was, with McIntyre as his bodyguard.
