WWE have been thrown into a tailwind this week, because after the Triple Threat Ladder Match was announced for Extreme Rules, Dolph Ziggler seems to have received a serious injury in the form of a concussion. Okay, it’s not a totally serious injury, but since Bret Hart suffered a stroke after his concussion at the hands of the reckless Goldberg, WWE are being very careful about how it books Dolph Ziggler and how it uses him in the run up to Extreme Rules.
Having just captured the World Heavyweight Championship, Dolph Ziggler must be kicking himself that the injury has come at such a bad time. His first Championship defence is now in jeopardy and as the rules of WWE state, if a wrestler is unable to defend their Championship within 30 days they must be stripped of said title. This would be a major setback for Dolph Ziggler who has been mistreated horribly by WWE in the run up to his Championship reign. If anything, WWE needs to get behind Dolph now instead of looking for another champion. Which if the rumours are to be believed, they are.
Questions as to how serious the injury really are were put to bed when Ziggler openly admitted that he cannot remember whole days after sustaining the injury. This points to something more serious wring with Ziggler and would necessitate a Championship change before or at Extreme Rules. You Wrestling God presumes that Ziggler will need more scans on his brain and should they reveal abnormal swelling or something more serious, then Dolph will need to take extended time away from the company to recover. Of course, this will all be blamed on Ziggler by WWE who I should think will not receive another Championship shot for a very long time and may, if he has to take time out, start right back at the bottom.
So what does that mean for Extreme Rules? If Dolph Ziggler cannot compete at all, then WWE will need to either find a replacement and vacate the World Heavyweight Championship, which means Alberto Del Rio will more than likely regain the gold or, if Ziggler’s input into the company in the run in to Extreme Rules can be kept to a minimum, then maybe he could make an appearance at the event in a very minor capacity. And yes, in case WWE are short on ideas, your Wrestling God has come up with two possible outcomes should WWE fail to do so, yet again. Sometime’s I really do wonder why they bother. They’re meant to have limitless resources and creative writers who have television experience, which means they have to spin a new story on the spur of the moment if something goes wrong with scheduling or actors. These people are used to doing that, yet they can’t come up with a sensible solution for Extreme Rules.
The first solution is in the case that Dolph Ziggler simply cannot perform at Extreme Rules. On Smackdown, WWE strip Dolph Ziggler of the World Heavyweight Championship and then have the Championship at steak in the ladder match. The match would still go ahead but one on one, between Jack Swagger and Alberto Del Rio. The pair would pull out all the stops in order make up for Ziggler not being there before they were knocked out at ringside in a spectacular double move. After the pair were down for the count, Ricardo and Zeb Coulter would then enter the ring and climb the ladder together. They would both unhook the Championship at the same time and the match would be a draw, thus no new World Heavyweight Champion would be crowned.
After Extreme Rules, WWE would hold a tournament for the vacant World Heavyweight Championship over a number of weeks or even months to hype interest in the tournament. The preliminary matches would be held on Smackdown and Raw, with the last 16, Quarter Finals and Semi-Finals being held on pay-per view before SummerSlam. The final would be the main attraction of WWE’s biggest pay-per view of the summer. This would give Dolph Ziggler ample time to recover and enter the tournament and also highlight some of WWE’s lesser talent in important roles. Zack Ryder could go far in this tournament before falling in a pay-per match to some higher than himself after a valiant effort. This would do wonders for wrestlers like Zack Ryder and maybe boost their career after the tournament is over.
Dolph Ziggler would naturally advance to the finals and if WWE wanted to spread it out over Money in the Bank pay-per view they could this time hold a Money in the Bank Ladder Match where the winner would advance to face Dolph Ziggler in the final at SummerSlam. If WWE were to stage two different tournaments, such as New Japan Pro Wrestling do then Ziggler could win one and the Money in the Bank Match could settle the other. At SummerSlam, Dolph Ziggler would defeat Alberto Del Rio in the finals, igniting their singles feud for the gold. That is one option.
The second scenario is in the case that Dolph Ziggler can perform at Extreme Rules, but in a limited fashion. Before the match goes on, WWE show Dolph Ziggler in the locker room, attacked and unconscious. His mystery attacker unknown to the audience. Jack Swagger and Alberto Del Rio go on and blow the roof off of the arena, for Dolph Ziggler to stagger out at the end, climb the ladder and retrieve the gold. Yes it would make Ziggler look like a chancer but he would still be Champion whilst he’s injured. The mystery attacker storyline could then run and run before its revealed that Big E. Langston was the man who downed Dolph Ziggler because he wants AJ.
Dolph Ziggler and Big E. Langston may not have mileage in them as far as a feud goes, Langston is looking increasingly awkward in the ring and his legs seem to be stuck onto his body. Why don’t they look right? One Championship defence against Langston though would elevate Big E. And make Ziggler look like a real defending Champion, supposedly knowing how dangerous Langston can be. The match wouldn’t sell pay-per view buy rates but would be a logical ending to something which is now out of WWE’s hands.
They are just two possible ways WWE could handle this situation without truly stripping Dolph Ziggler of the World Heavyweight Championship. Because let’s be honest people, we all know that Dolph has worked very hard for a very long time to get to this moment and doesn’t deserve to have it taken away because of someone else’s recklessness.
100 and Counting
Ladies and Gentleman, our next blog which will be the Extreme Rules 2013 Preview will also be our 100th. It’s a special anniversary time for me I suppose because thus blog has been in existence for just over a year now and in that time we have managed to rack up 100 posts and more than five thousand readers. That is a very special thing for something like this to accomplish.
When I first began this, it was a way of letting off steam. I’m pretty sure the posts weren’t as good as they are now, although I haven’t gone back and looked at any of them. Maybe I should. I wanted to tell you the truth about this business because I was bored of reading bullshit which people either made up or sugar coated to the point that the fact they started out talking about had totally disappeared. Honesty has been the best policy here and its somewhere we can come to shout when the wrestling world infuriates us. There’s nothing you can’t say on this blog because that is what it is here for.
When I had the idea to do this, when I pressed the create a blog button, I really didn’t believe it would last. I had a blog on here before, but I left it and left it and left it to the point where I just couldn’t be bothered with it. I thought that may happen with this, but when I saw the response to it I knew that if you could be bothered to make the effort to log on and read what I have to say then I could make the effort to continue to bring it to you. And here we are, one year later, 100 blogs later and you’re still here. Through the bad times and the good, through things I’ve said which have most probably infuriated you and maybe brought a tear to your eye. This has all been for you.
This blog has been very good to me. It has allowed me to do many things I didn’t think possible. Opened many doors for me which I thought would remain shut forever. Without this blog I wouldn’t have been able to get the gig as WWE DVD and Blu-ray reviewer on all their latest titles so I could bring the truth about them to you. Without this blog I wouldn’t have been able to begin writing the wrestling book I am currently working on now and that I’m sure someone will publish in the near future. Not many people know this but, I don’t have that many friends or that much going on in my life that is exciting. I’m an un-commissioned writer and actor who is working his balls off every day of his life just to get somewhere. I feel like even though we don’t know each other, the people who read this blog all want the same thing. The people who all read this blog are a sort of family, in a weird way. This blog may have given me many things, but without it, without you, I may very well have gone mad with no one to talk to and I may be lonely of this had never have come about. But I’m not and for that I thank you.
You have shown incredible patience with me over the last year and last 100 posts. There have been times when I haven’t been here, when I’ve been on holiday and there have been times when I’ve said I would put a post up but for various reasons couldn’t do so. You have been patient as posts on this blog have dwindled slightly. I know I used to post two or three pieces a week and right now, thanks to the book I’m writing, the scripts, chasing the career and the DVD reviews those pieces have been streamlined down to just two per week. I have done away with the odd posts which appeared throughout the week, the pay-per view reviews the day after said event takes places and the Fantasy Warfare article, because simply, I don’t have the time to do them anymore. But I think less is more.
The pay-per view previews are still going to appear every month before the event airs and the Review Corner addition has become a real hit. You have my word that Fantasy Warfare will return later this year when I’m not so busy and should it fail to do so then it will definitely make a triumphant return in 2014. The end of the week posts are viewed by quite a few people and I believe its better this way. It saves you logging on everyday and if I was posting something everyday there would be people who would miss two or three blogs and that wouldn’t be fair. This way, it allows you to get on with your lives and come back twice a week for Review Corner and a normal post and log on one a month before the pay-per view goes ahead to read the previews. It also allows me to get a lot more done.
I’ve gone on for long enough and I don’t this humbling stuff everyday, but I just want to say that this blog wouldn’t have lasted had it not been for you guys and for that you have my gratitude and unyielding respect. You and I, we’re not going anywhere. We’re going to accomplish what we set out to do in the first place and that is change wrestling for the better, one step at a time. So here’s to the next hundred. In fact, hell, here’s to the next thousand and I hope you stay with me for every mile of the ride.
My love and thanks to you all...
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