Nothing against Darren Young, who is already in the midst of a career resurgence at the moment, but perhaps now is as appropriate time as any for WWE to make Dolph Ziggler great again.
SmackDown Live on Tuesday night saw a Six-Pack Challenge held in the main event to crown a new No. 1 contender to the WWE Championship following Dean Ambrose's successful title defense in the main event of Battleground.
The combatants included John Cena, AJ Styles, Bray Wyatt, Dolph Ziggler, Apollo Crews and Baron Corbin. There wasn't one obvious victor, but most fans assumed Wyatt would emerge victorious, or perhaps one of the NXT newcomers.
Alas, it was Ziggler who stole the victory with a scintillating superkick to AJ Styles to advance to SummerSlam to contend for the gold against Ambrose.
Needless to say, the upset took everyone by surprise, and although he was the last person I expected to be going for the gold at the biggest blockbuster of the summer, it's a decision I like a lot more than I thought I would.
For years, Ziggler has been a fairly stagnant character. His popularity peaked when he cashed in the Money in the Bank briefcase in April 2013 to win his second World Heavyweight Championship. But his Cinderella story and world title reign were short-lived, sadly, and he was pushed back down the card shortly thereafter.
Despite fans still rallying behind The Showoff, officials never accepted him as a main event player.
Granted, he came out on top in the main event of Survivor Series 2014 to put The Authority in exile and he once again appeared to be on the verge of superstardom, but it didn't take long for WWE to rip the rug right from underneath him for seemingly the thousandth time.
He has been floundering in the near-two years since, but this WWE title opportunity could be exactly what he needs to rejuvenate his stale persona.
Monday's Raw featured two Fatal 4-Ways, an exceptional main event and the emergence of a new star named Finn Balor, who will do battle with Seth Rollins at SummerSlam to crown the inaugural WWE Universal champion.
SmackDown followed suit by creating a star of their own in Ziggler, and while he isn't as fresh of a face as Balor, it has been years since he was last prominently featured in the world title picture, and even then he wasn't given a fair shake.
Personally, I have long considered Ziggler damaged goods, simply because he's been around for so long and I stopped believing WWE would give him his just due a while ago. He remains an extremely talented hand in the ring and an underrated talker, but his character development has been virtually nonexistent.
It might have been wise to transform him into a fan favorite when he was hot back in the summer of 2013, but he has always been a better heel than a babyface.
That said, this feud with Ambrose would provide WWE with the perfect opportunity to flip the switch with him.
Ambrose is another individual who could flourish as a villain down the line, but he has plenty more in the tank as a face than Ziggler does. The bleached-blonde Superstar needs a massive shake-up of some kind, and no, I'm not solely referring to his outdated attire.
Rather, he is in desperate need of an all-new attitude.
What better way to turn fans against him than by having him attack the most beloved babyface on the blue brand, Dean Ambrose? They could hold off on doing the turn until SummerSlam or even execute it prior to that point, but either way, he is destined to be a heel again.
That is where the real money is with him at this stage of his career, and is the only way he is going to maintain the momentum he has hot off the heels of his monumental win on SmackDown.
SummerSlam can't be a “one-and-done” type deal for Ziggler. From what it looks like, SummerSlam will be a stacked show. Randy Orton vs. Brock Lesnar has already been confirmed, Rollins vs. Balor in a first time ever encounter will occur, and John Cena vs. AJ Styles II is also likely to transpire.
Ambrose vs. Ziggler for the WWE World title is an excellent addition to that star-studded card, but if Ziggler comes up short and that's it for him in the main event scene, it will become painfully apparent that WWE was merely trying to cater to the “hardcore” fans in Brooklyn for one night only.
Ziggler has experienced every up and down you could possibly imagine during his lengthy WWE tenure, and should be rewarded in the form of one more world title win at the August extravaganza.
Ambrose is riding high at the moment, but he would be better in chase mode versus the former two-time world champion. Not to mention the series of matches they will contest should be stellar given their track record of having awesome chemistry together.
It is high time Ziggler reclaimed his spot as SmackDown's lead heel, and regardless of whether he walks out of the Barclays Center on August 21st with a world title around his waist, Tuesday proved he will undoubtedly be among the biggest beneficiaries of the Brand Split.
Graham Mirmina, aka Graham "GSM" Matthews, is a Digital Journalism major at Endicott College."Like" his official Facebook page to continue the conversation on all things wrestling.
