ironworks
08-10-2012, 12:43 AM
Source: Bleacher Report
Up until a couple of weeks ago, every Money in the Bank winner went on to successfully cash in his briefcase and become either the WWE or World Heavyweight Champion.
But that streak was snapped on the 1,000th episode of Raw when John Cena became the first person to walk away titleless following a cash-in match.
This has many wondering if the same fate lies ahead for the “other” 2012 Money in the Bank winner, Dolph Ziggler.
The Money in the Bank streak was always going to end at some point to make things less predictable, but now that Cena just snapped it, it’s safe to say that the next man to cash in a briefcase will indeed win a World title that same night.
That next man is, of course, Dolph Ziggler.
Although “The Showoff” is technically a former World Heavyweight Champion, that reign lasted about 15 minutes, so many fans are anxiously awaiting what will—assuming he successfully cashes in—be his first genuine run as World champion.
Ziggler has gotten a big push lately and is viewed by a large portion of wrestling fans as one of the best all-around talents in the business.
But as we all know, that certainly does not guarantee a successful World title run once he cashes in that briefcase, whenever that may happen.
In a perfect world, Ziggler would go over a top star like Sheamus or Randy Orton to win his first real World title and then follow that up with a lengthy and successful title reign.
Yet, there is not much that should make us believe that Ziggler will win the World title and go on to do just that.
We all have faith that his matches will continue to be fantastic like they always are, but the history of the Money in the Bank briefcase tells us that the WWE could easily screw up everything else about his upcoming World title reign.
Past MITB winners like Jack Swagger and The Miz—both rising heels—went on to have relatively lackluster title reigns that were tainted by poor booking in which they hardly ever went over baby faces strongly.
It really worries me that that’s exactly what could and will happen to Ziggler as well.
It’s no secret that the WWE has unfortunately shifted to a booking philosophy in which its main-event-level baby faces either dominate their heel opposition or only lose in cheap and dirty fashion.
So, if Ziggler wins the World Heavyweight title and then ignites a feud with someone like Orton or Sheamus, why are we to think that anything different will happen?
I hate to get so far ahead of myself and to be rather pessimistic, but the recent post-cash-in title reigns of MITB winners leave little to be optimistic about.
The Miz had a lengthy WWE title reign, but he was often booked weakly and generally lucked his way to victories.
Jack Swagger somehow managed to be a glorified jobber during his World title reign.
Alberto Del Rio lost the WWE Championship roughly a month after successfully cashing in last year.
Even Daniel Bryan had only a so-so post-cash-in title reign that did less for him than his WrestleMania 28 loss wound up doing for him in the long run.
While only time will truly tell how well Ziggler will fare as World champion compared to those others, there isn’t a whole lot that leads me to believe that “The Showoff” will end the trend of poor title reigns following Money in the Bank cash-ins.
Were he a baby face (which is still a possibility), this would be a totally different story.
But—and this isn’t always the case—the general booking philosophy of the WWE is to make the top baby faces look strong at the expense of the main-event-level heels.
Ziggler is on fire right now, especially when it comes to his incredible feats in the ring. But even an amazing superstar like Ziggler may not be able to combat the face-centric booking philosophy.
Although I know that Ziggler will deliver in his matches and even on the mic, it’s going to take a minor miracle for him to have a title reign that does more good to his character than bad.
Chances are that he’ll only hold the belt for anywhere between two to five months, and that his title reign will be remembered because he either cheats or lucks out to pick up his victories.
And in the long run, will that do much to help Ziggler’s character? I say no.
It will be nice to see such a hardworking and talented wrestler get recognized for those talents by becoming World champion.
But in all likelihood, it won’t be nice to see his reign as World champion play second fiddle to the pushes of the WWE’s top baby faces.
Up until a couple of weeks ago, every Money in the Bank winner went on to successfully cash in his briefcase and become either the WWE or World Heavyweight Champion.
But that streak was snapped on the 1,000th episode of Raw when John Cena became the first person to walk away titleless following a cash-in match.
This has many wondering if the same fate lies ahead for the “other” 2012 Money in the Bank winner, Dolph Ziggler.
The Money in the Bank streak was always going to end at some point to make things less predictable, but now that Cena just snapped it, it’s safe to say that the next man to cash in a briefcase will indeed win a World title that same night.
That next man is, of course, Dolph Ziggler.
Although “The Showoff” is technically a former World Heavyweight Champion, that reign lasted about 15 minutes, so many fans are anxiously awaiting what will—assuming he successfully cashes in—be his first genuine run as World champion.
Ziggler has gotten a big push lately and is viewed by a large portion of wrestling fans as one of the best all-around talents in the business.
But as we all know, that certainly does not guarantee a successful World title run once he cashes in that briefcase, whenever that may happen.
In a perfect world, Ziggler would go over a top star like Sheamus or Randy Orton to win his first real World title and then follow that up with a lengthy and successful title reign.
Yet, there is not much that should make us believe that Ziggler will win the World title and go on to do just that.
We all have faith that his matches will continue to be fantastic like they always are, but the history of the Money in the Bank briefcase tells us that the WWE could easily screw up everything else about his upcoming World title reign.
Past MITB winners like Jack Swagger and The Miz—both rising heels—went on to have relatively lackluster title reigns that were tainted by poor booking in which they hardly ever went over baby faces strongly.
It really worries me that that’s exactly what could and will happen to Ziggler as well.
It’s no secret that the WWE has unfortunately shifted to a booking philosophy in which its main-event-level baby faces either dominate their heel opposition or only lose in cheap and dirty fashion.
So, if Ziggler wins the World Heavyweight title and then ignites a feud with someone like Orton or Sheamus, why are we to think that anything different will happen?
I hate to get so far ahead of myself and to be rather pessimistic, but the recent post-cash-in title reigns of MITB winners leave little to be optimistic about.
The Miz had a lengthy WWE title reign, but he was often booked weakly and generally lucked his way to victories.
Jack Swagger somehow managed to be a glorified jobber during his World title reign.
Alberto Del Rio lost the WWE Championship roughly a month after successfully cashing in last year.
Even Daniel Bryan had only a so-so post-cash-in title reign that did less for him than his WrestleMania 28 loss wound up doing for him in the long run.
While only time will truly tell how well Ziggler will fare as World champion compared to those others, there isn’t a whole lot that leads me to believe that “The Showoff” will end the trend of poor title reigns following Money in the Bank cash-ins.
Were he a baby face (which is still a possibility), this would be a totally different story.
But—and this isn’t always the case—the general booking philosophy of the WWE is to make the top baby faces look strong at the expense of the main-event-level heels.
Ziggler is on fire right now, especially when it comes to his incredible feats in the ring. But even an amazing superstar like Ziggler may not be able to combat the face-centric booking philosophy.
Although I know that Ziggler will deliver in his matches and even on the mic, it’s going to take a minor miracle for him to have a title reign that does more good to his character than bad.
Chances are that he’ll only hold the belt for anywhere between two to five months, and that his title reign will be remembered because he either cheats or lucks out to pick up his victories.
And in the long run, will that do much to help Ziggler’s character? I say no.
It will be nice to see such a hardworking and talented wrestler get recognized for those talents by becoming World champion.
But in all likelihood, it won’t be nice to see his reign as World champion play second fiddle to the pushes of the WWE’s top baby faces.