Earlier this year, reports of Dolph Ziggler getting a fat new WWE contract we so convincing that even his father sent him a congratulatory message. However, the real truth is that Ziggler hasn’t signed anything, and his current WWE deal is in its final months.
Citing numerous sources within WWE PWInsider says Ziggler’s contract is set to expire this sometimes summer.
Videos by PopCulture.com
Ziggler’s WWE future has been responsible for multiple juicy headlines in the past year. Ranging from Shinsuke Nakamura broadcasting The Showoff leaving WWE for Japan, to Ziggler landing a WWE deal that let him leave shows after his matches, speculation on Dolph’s career has never been higher.
Even more, 2018 has gotten off to a peculiar start.
Dolph entered the year as US Champion. It appeared that he was heading for his first ever singles WrestleMania match, with rumors indicating it was to be a ladder match—in the same vein as WrestleMania 10’s classic showdown between Shawn Michaels and Razor Ramon.
So when Ziggler vacated his title then left the company for a few weeks, it appeared to be part of a greater story.
But that’s not what happened.
Instead, SmackDown hosted a tournament for the vacated US Championship, one that saw Bobby Roode emerge as the new title holder. We expected Ziggler to come back and claim he was the rightful Champion, but instead, Ziggler made his return truant at the Royal Rumble only to get eliminated within minutes.
“I’m going to guess that some plans that were made originally didn’t happen,” Ziggler said. “I asked to go away for a while just to let them forget that I wasn’t doing anything of too much importance. I asked for some time off. I got kicked in the head by Jack Swagger and got a concussion when I was the champ and I was out for 2 weeks and that’s basically all the time off I’ve had. Even my stand up dates are booked around when I’m not working here. So if I’m never gone, no one can hope for me to come back, ” Ziggler Chris Van Vliet in an interview.
Upon his return, Ziggler seemed to go backward as his WrestleMania moment consisted of a quick elimination from the Andre the Giant Battle Royal. However, things ticked upwards when he arrived on RAW as part of the Superstar Shake-Up. Even more, Ziggler looks to have been assigned a tag team partner in Drew McIntyre.
It will be interesting to see how this new combo works, but few would deny their talents. In a thin RAW tag division, these two could climb the ranks with ease. But if Ziggler’s contract does indeed expire this summer, he may not be around long enough to see and McIntyre reach their potential.
