Dolph Ziggler, a former World Champion, has just made his 500th appearance as a singles wrestler since his WWE debut as pointed out by f4wonline.
Ziggler was a participant in the Battle Royale for the Intercontinental Championship on last week’s Friday Night SmackDown.
Ziggler is now the first person to have 500 single matches on television in such a short amount of time. The only two stars ever to have come close to this record are Randy Orton and The Miz, who have 400+ appearances each.
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Dolph Ziggler – The unsung hero
Dolph Ziggler debuted on January 23, 2006, on RAW as The Spirit Squad. He had a slow start in the company. The Spirit Squad didn’t last too long and was disassembled soon. The superstar debuted as Ziggler two years later in 2008.
He got his first win as a heel against R-Truth. WWE failed to utilize his talents even after a year. He was part of the 2009 Royal Rumble but got eliminated just under 20 seconds by Kane. Ziggler’s first taste of gold came when he won the Intercontinental Championship.
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He was then part of a storyline that saw him in a relationship with Vickie Guerrero. He proceeded to go on title runs for the next three years.
His big call to action came in 2012 when he won the Money in the Bank ladder match. Ziggler successfully cashed in his contract and won the World Heavyweight Championship.
Although Ziggler did have many more title opportunities, he was never the main man. The Showoff had great charisma in the ring and the ability to cut some good promos.
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WWE, however, never gave him the space to be at the top. He has been with the company for over a decade but is yet to receive the recognition he deserves. With Superstars such as Kofi Kingston getting some stardom in recent times, we can only hope Ziggler makes the cut as well.