Dolph Ziggler vs. Triple H Was A Pointless Match With Nothing On The Line

In a move that didn’t end up panning out the way they wanted it to, WWE had Dolph Ziggler interrupt a mid-show promo segment featuring Triple H and Stephanie McMahon. The goal was to add a little more reason for the crowd to cheer for Roman Reigns upon his return to attack Triple H, but that certainly failed miserably, didn’t it? Instead, we were treated to a pretty good match between Ziggler and the WWE World Heavyweight Champion in a very rare in-ring appearance on RAW for The Game.

Dolph Ziggler was used in this role specifically because they know the crowd has supported him no matter what crap he has been dragged through. Indeed, he got the desired reaction for standing up to Triple H and Stephanie, so step one was successful. A victory would give Ziggler any match of his choosing at WrestleMania short of inserting himself into the WWE World Heavyweight Championship match. It was never determined as to just what a loss would mean for Ziggler. He really did have nothing to lose, so the stakes were actually pretty low for everybody involved. That probably makes step two successful, since there generally aren’t ever any real stakes involved in anything WWE does.

We already ascertained that step three (get the crowd to cheer for Roman Reigns), failed. That’s not the issue here, though. The match was pretty good, but it was a big old waste of time. Why couldn’t Ziggler have had something to lose? Wouldn’t that make him fight even harder? How about if he wins he can have whatever match he wants, but if he loses, he doesn’t get to be a part of WrestleMania? He would still lose and oh no, he won’t get to be in a 67-man match for the Intercontinental Championship that he won’t win! What a shame and a travesty! Mouthing off and winding up sitting at home on his couch instead of competing at WrestleMania in a meaningless match that he won’t win would be a far better piece of character progression for Ziggler.

He would be better off missing out on WrestleMania due to a loss to the boss/World Champion on RAW than he would be taking part in a match at WrestleMania that is forgotten in a week’s time. Chris Jericho was in the main event of WrestleMania x8. He defended the Undisputed Championship (coincidentally against Triple H) and lost that match. He went on to be completely excluded from the following month’s Backlash event. In the end, even though he would take another loss to Triple H, he wound up inside Hell in a Cell with The Game at Judgment Day in May. Missing a show was actually a good thing for Jericho, and he became a bigger star by the end of the year.

The same could be said for Ziggler, but at this point in his career it appears that they have settled him into the role where he will stay forever. Ziggler will be the dependable guy who won’t ever disappoint the company in his performances and can be relied upon to make everybody else look good at his own expense.

At least it’s job security. No pun intended.