The following is a back and forth 2011 WWE Royal Rumble "Pay-Per-Review" between Chris Cash and Nick Paglino:
World Heavyweight Championship Match:
Edge (c) defeats Dolph Ziggler
Chris Cash: A great opening bout with the appropriate finish. Dolph Ziggler is an incredible talent that simply needs time to grow and develop into a bigger star. One of the main things I noticed during this match is just how good Ziggler sells. He showed signs of Shawn Michaels in that match with the flopping around he did! Edge has never looked better than he did in last night’s match and a big part of that should be credited to Ziggler’s selling. The fact that Edge couldn’t use the Spear was a great stipulation as well and people definitely popped when he used Christian’s finisher (a little foreshadowing there, perhaps?) after the Spear when the ref and Vickie were down. All in all, a good opener that made both men look better as a result.
Nick Paglino: Not being able to use the spear so instead he used the Unprettier is the kind of detail and "edginess" that makes Edge so great. There’s a reason why people like him so much; because he’s innovative and down right cool. Too often WWE pushes baby faces as cheese balls and corny Rock wannabes (see John Cena), but guys like Edge and Randy Orton maintain their popularity with the crowd because they are "anti-hero" heroes. I agree with you on the Ziggler call as well. His in-ring ability is damn near at the top of WWE’s roster ladder at this point, but he needs character depth to solidify him as a top guy. There’s only so much talking Vickie can do for him.
Chris: Vickie is one of those classic cases of a manager overshadowing the person they manage. There’s no denying the heat she’s able to draw, but she has to find a better way to transfer that heat to Ziggler. I’m afraid she may not get the time to do that. With Albert Del Rio expected to challenge Edge for the World Heavyweight Championship at ‘Mania, what do you think happens to Dolph Ziggler?
Nick: It’s hard to say, but keep in mind that the Elimination Chamber match tends to change this quite a bit sometimes. This could mean that what is a planned Del Rio vs Edge match could become a Triple Threat or even a Fatal Four Way bout. So I’ll refrain from worrying about Ziggler until after the next PPV. As for Vickie, I blame creative more than I do her. They stuck Ziggler out there right from the get-go with nothing more than a weird name and a "Hi my name is Dolph blah blah blah" gimmick. It seems that when creative can’t think of anything for anyone, they stick he/she with a voice box. They need to spend more time thinking of creative outlets for Ziggler.
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