Ric Flair: Is Managing Dolph Ziggler Really the Best Thing for the Superstar?
Forget all the monikers and the ideas that Dolph Ziggler could be the “Next Shawn Michaels” or the “Next so and so.” Let’s just concentrate on the wrestler, who he is now and how someone like Ric Flair (who has been released from TNA and appears to be making his way back to the WWE) could help him win a world title.
I know that was a mouthful, and trust me, there is more where that came from, but I wonder if the move, if it were to happen, is really in the best interest of Ziggler, who appears to be ready for the next step in his WWE career.
I’m talking long-term world-title holder. Not a cup of coffee here and there, but someone, like a Michaels or a Randy Savage, who could be the next big thing in the WWE. Someone who can carry the belt (like a CM Punk) and challenge everyone on the WWE roster.
Back in the day, it was Ric Flair who traveled from territory to territory to face the best the region had to offer. And while Flair faced better talent than Ziggler will ever see in the WWE, he can still show he can go through everyone and remain the company’s champion.
Whether that happens as a face or heel remains to be seen, but I suspect it will more than likely take some getting used to by the fans if we see Ziggler (best porn name in the wrestling business this side of Matt Stryker) as a face taking on Brock Lesnar.
Also, remember that Shawn Michaels was a heel on his own, managed by Sherri Martel before he became the beloved superstar that he is today.
Flair’s antics in TNA (which led to his eventual firing) at the end of his run, where he missed arena dates and ran up huge hotel bills, were consistent with how the former NWA and WCW star has fallen from grace. Now that his daughter, Ashley, has signed a developmental contract with the WWE, Flair appears to be headed back up north in some capacity.
Personally, if he were to feud with Paul Heyman and there was a rivalry between Lesnar and Ziggler, it may be a benefit to the company and the fans.
I in no way assume that Ziggler can do for the WWE what wrestlers like Randy Orton, John Cena and CM Punk have done for it. That would be expecting too much too soon.
Also, what happens to Jack Swagger? While the combination of Swagger and Ziggler has been typical of some stables in the past, I am not sold on Swagger becoming anything more than mid-level at best.
What happens to Vickie Guerrero? She appears to be better at being a one-wrestler manager. Can she help Swagger attain world-title status again?
Wrestling is one of those businesses where we want to see the things that worked in the past, like managers and tag teams and matches that left us wanting more. Promotions—or in this case, the WWE—have gone to the well so many times that the product is not as good as the first time.
It’s hard to make the entertainment in the ring look like a first-run idea. It may have worked with bull rope matches and table matches years ago, but it is lost on us today as a new version of the old scene.
We certainly do not want Ziggler to be cast as something old in the mold of a guy who is clearly out of his element right now.
So before we all get jazzed about what may happen with Ziggler and the return of Ric Flair (if we are excited in the first place), let’s assess whether having an angle like this is the best thing for Ziggler himself, and then whether someone who appears to be on his last legs after once being the best there ever was can pull off something great instead of being an embarrassment.
