The Pride is (Ry)Back!

Dolph Ziggler is finally being pushed not just the way he deserves, but the way he needs to be. Being the showoff has saddled him with having to try to have the best match on the show every night. Which, sure, that sounds great in theory. But in practice? It’s the WWE equivalent of “hero ball”: nobody wins if everyone is trying to look good. It appears he’s finally found his groove, however, in the last few months as IC champion. His overness among smart fans is starting to finally manifest itself in fully grown adults with the ability to make decisions for themselve outside of the hive mind.

Also helping him — and every other young star looking to make a name for himself, like Seth Rollins and Brock Lesnar — is that the top rung of the ladder is currently off the show, and not surprisingly, it  is working the same way an injury does: the space gained by no longer having the burden/temptation of a centerpiece title to worry about internally it allows other people to shine because it forces the WWE to work like an old-school territory by not allowing the belt to be used as a crutch. And, if you don’t think they belt is used as a crutch, lest we forget eight-time World’s Champion, Abeyance.

This brave new world where the title isn’t vacant as much as hidden lets guys like Seth Rollins, who, despite being Mr. Money in the Bank,  isn’t really a WWE title contender just yet. All signs point to him doing so someday, but for now, just being allowed to play at the big boy’s table is the best thing that could be happening to the WWE right now. Thank god for Paul Heyman/small favors from giant men.

Things your correspondent didn’t like about the schmoz that ended Monday Night Raw: the Dust Brothers attacking faces even with a deep-rooted hatred of the McMahons, Heath Slater AND Bo Dallas taking Attitude Adjustments, them not using the Stooges to make the save on Rollins. Things your correspondent did like about the schmoz that ended Monday Night Raw: literally every other part.

Join the Kayfabemetrics Institute on Patreon!