I GOT NOWHERE ELSE TO GO
Dolph Ziggler re-signed with WWE despite what amounts to a half-decade of an anti-push. His reasoning likely boils down to what Richard Gere famously said in “An Officer and a Gentleman”: I GOT NOWHERE ELSE TO GO!
When WCW got bought by WWE in 2001, some WCW wrestlers were dumb enough to see it as a good thing. “There’s only one guy left, but at least he knows what he’s doing,” said one talent. “It’s got to be better than this.”
He doesn’t, and it isn’t.
The monopoly makes a legit talent like Ziggler wipe the excrement off his head, squat down, and get ready for another blast. WWE isn’t a meritocracy. The creative process has no accountability. Ziggler’s push got kiboshed so often, it’s impossible to push him. He got put with Lana, and they both mean less.
But Ziggler got nowhere else to go.
I guffaw when people say I’m bitter because I can’t get a job with WWE. I don’t want a job with WWE. My radio career pays better than any of their announcers, and all but about 20 percent of their wrestlers. The monopoly makes the boys into marks. You do it to be on TV and get recognized. The money is meh.
TNA isn’t a viable option. It won’t be around after its TV contract expires. Dixie Carter will have her reality show, and that’s all she wanted, anyway.
ROH isn’t a viable option. If that’s your job, you need a second job.
Ziggler got nowhere else to go. For him, wrestling is a job. If his passion still burns, that’s because of incredible effort on his part. Or stupidity. Either way, I don’t blame him. A deflated WWE paycheck is better than a delayed TNA paycheck (which is meager in the first place, if it ever comes at all).
Some have fashioned good careers through using limited current TV exposure and past TV time (preferably in WWE) to get choice indie/overseas work. Matt Hardy is the best example, followed by AJ Styles. The Young Bucks, too.
But, boy, that’s tough to do. Hardy has lots of WWE money left over. That makes it easier. But when that’s the path you choose, the clock is ticking.
Anyway, hats off to Ziggler. He’s doing what he loves.
He’s just not getting all that much to do it, nor does he get the push he deserves. Cue the Richard Gere soundbite.
