wrestling / Columns

411 Fact or Fiction Wrestling: Should Ziggler Leave WWE?

July 3, 2015 | Posted by Larry Csonka

Welcome back to the latest edition of 411 Fact or Fiction, Wrestling Edition! Stuff happened, people loved/hated it and let everyone else know. I pick through the interesting/not so interesting tidbits and then make 411 staff members discuss them for your pleasure. Battling this week are Dino Zee and Eric Palmer!

  • Questions were sent out Monday.
  • Participants were told to expect wrestling-related content, as well as possible statements on quantum physics, homemade pharmaceuticals, the Turtle Total Trip Theorem, pizza and hydroponics.

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    1. The Rock showing up at a WWE house show last weekend is the coolest thing WWE has pulled off this year.

    Dino Zee: FICTION – It was pretty cool, but I still think WrestleMania ending with a Money in the Bank Cash-In for the first time, regardless of how many people predicted it, tops The Rock showing up at a house show. This is solely opinion though – there is no way to actually quantify which is cooler, so if you think Rock showing up *was* the coolest thing this year, then more power to you. I just think doing something that benefits a larger portion of your fanbase wins out, so I’m going Fiction for this one. Short and sweet.

    Eric Palmer: FICTION – I’m sure it was awesome for the fans in attendance, but personally speaking, it doesn’t matter much to me. I think WWE putting a Japanese house show on the Network is a much cooler thing. Brock Lesnar and the NXT Championship on the same show is just way more appealing to me than Rock coming out to assault Bo Dallas. Cool for those in attendance, but not a big deal otherwise.

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    2. It would be for the best, both for WWE and Dolph Ziggler, if Ziggler didn’t re-sign with the company.

    Dino Zee: FACT – Went back and forth a few times on this one. I wanted to say Fiction. I wanted to argue that WWE losing one of its more popular wrestlers wouldn’t help them out, and Dolph disappearing for a while wouldn’t help him, either. But I recently read a Dolph interview/newsbit where he said something along the lines of wanting to leave in order to spread his wings, try out new forms of entertainment, and then, down the line, return to WWE more known than he currently is. I like that line of thought. Sure, there are lot of things that need to go right that could easily go wrong – Dolph bombs at every single thing he tries outside of WWE, for instance – but if it does go according to his plan, then having someone who is known not just by wrestling fans return to wrestling could only be a good thing. So, on the chance that Dolph’s idea works out exactly as it is laid out in his head, I’m going Fact for this one.

    Eric Palmer: FICTION – Dolph is their go-to mid card guy right now. The way they use him is really strange. He’ll get a brush with the main event once in a while to give him credibility and get the next big heel they want to push over. They did it with Sheamus and looked like they were going to do that with Rusev before he broke his leg. It’s probably better for Dolph as well, because I think he’s probably making more money now than he would on the indies. I don’t see much appeal in Ziggler going to a place like NJPW, so there probably isn’t much money out there for him in comparison to what he’s making now. He’s being used regularly and is doing a lot better than most of the roster is.

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    3. It’s only right that TNA inducts Jeff Jarrett into the TNA hall of fame.

    Dino Zee: FACT – This is what’s known as a “Slam Dunk” in the Fact or Fiction realm. Dude started the company. Multiple time champion. Multiple time King of the Mountain. I honestly don’t know how, be it in kayfabe logic or shoot logic, how one could ever argue that Jarrett doesn’t deserve a spot in the TNA Hall of Fame. He didn’t quit on the company, they dumped him. He didn’t bash them while he was gone. He didn’t get involved in some hugely disgusting criminal activity. He just kept on, kept his head held high, and kept on working. Opinions are fine, but the facts show that Jarrett absolutely belongs in the TNA Hall.

    Eric Palmer: FACT – Let’s be honest, an induction into the TNA Hall of Fame is like coming in last place in Little League Baseball and still being given a trophy. It doesn’t matter, but if they’re going to do it, it only makes sense Jarrett be in. He probably should have been the first guy to go in, I mean, he kind of started the company. It’s fine, good for him and TNA, but let’s not make a big deal out of this.

    SWITCH!

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    4. You have no faith in the rumored TNA/Global Force Wrestling invasion storyline.

    Eric Palmer: FICTION – I wouldn’t say I have no faith, but I have very little. I have a reserved optimism towards it. The rosters are talented enough to make it work, but will the booking be good enough to make it worth watching? I think it comes down to how Jarrett puts it all together. It could be interesting, but it could also go belly up very very quickly.

    Dino Zee: FICTION – I have a little bit of faith in this, but not a lot. Still, 1% faith is more than “no faith,” so I have to say “Fiction” here. Yes, there are all sorts of reasons that this could go wrong. There’s also the point that this might not even happen at all. But, if we pretend that it is absolutely going to happen, and that everything will go, more or less, according to plan, then I can muster up a little bit of faith that things will work out decently. Will it set the world on fire? No, of course not, but that hasn’t stopped all the New Japan fans from reliving DX and the NWO via the Bullet Club, and there’s no way wrestling fans will ignore one thing when a company they like does it, but jump all over it when a company they dislike does it, right? …right?

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    5. The Dolph Ziggler/Lana angle is the worst part of WWE TV these days.

    Eric Palmer: FACT – Look, I love Rusev, Ziggler and looking at Lana, but get Rusev off TV until his damn ankle is fixed. They’re all playing their respective roles fine, and Rusev is kind of hilarious as the broken Bulgarian, but Lana and Ziggler just have zero chemistry together. I’ve seen more convincing acting on Jerry Springer, and it’s just depressing. Rusev had great potential to be an awesome heel, and this angle would probably suck a whole lot less if he could walk. I feel bad for all three performers, because this should have been scrapped as soon as Rusev got hurt. Instead, I’d actually rather watch Cameron and Eva Marie wrestle instead. Yes, it’s that bad.

    Dino Zee: FICTION – Full disclosure: I missed Raw this week. My DVR conspired against me and decided not to record. I was able to catch the last hour or so, starting with Lana diving at Summer Rae before being carried off. It looked horrible. On top of that, Lana has been completely ruined since shacking up with Dolph. The story is dumb, Lana suddenly not being all pro-Russia (even though it was HER country, and not Rusev’s) doesn’t work, and Dolph just meatheading it isn’t helping. It’s definitely not fun. But, for me, the worst part of WWE TV these days is that Kane is the top heel. I mean no disrespect to the man himself, but at this point, he’s far from the idea “monster” that gets to shut down Roman Reigns, Dean Ambrose, and anyone else who fucks with Seth Rollins or The Authority. I love Kane, if I’m being honest. I don’t even mind him still being kept strong. But the mix of “Corporate Kane” in looks with the power of “Demon Kane” is just getting played out. In fact, it was played out last year during his feud with Daniel Bryan. Kane can still matter, and can still be something of a roadblock; but expecting me to pretend he’s the baddest dude on the roster? In 2015? Nah, that’s atrocious.

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    6. Kurt Angle has announced that he has a tumor in his neck (which he has had for a year according to reports) and will have to take time off to get surgery to get it removed (because it is causing atrophy in his arm). TNA was irresponsible in letting him compete in 2015 with such a serious issue.

    Eric Palmer: NEITHER – I’m going to be honest, I don’t know how to answer this one, because I don’t know if TNA knew about it or about how bad it was. On the one hand, Kurt Angle wrestled in the 90s with a broken freakin’ neck and won a gold medal. He’s also a crazy son of a bitch. I have no problem believing that Angle would withhold the injury until it got so bad he couldn’t deny it anymore. I also have no problem believing that Dixie Carter would sweep this under the rug and send him out there. This is the same promotion that let a drugged up Jeff Hardy go and try to work a match with Sting five years ago. IF TNA knew the extent of the injury, than this is an absolutely irresponsible move by them. If they didn’t know about it, or Angle himself downplayed it, then they probably weren’t too worried about it. The reports don’t tell the whole story, so I can’t really go fact or fiction on this one without knowing more about it.

    Dino Zee: FICTION – No way am I jumping on TNA for this, no effing way. Kurt Angle is, by all accounts, an indestructible robot who will insist on wrestling unless he is physically unable to get up and walk out there, and even then, he’d still fight pretty hard to wrestle. He’s also a grown man, almost 50 years of age. He’s a Gold Medal winner, and he accomplished that with a broken neck. On top of that, Angle wasn’t cleared to wrestle for a good portion of 2014. This tells me that he eventually earned clearance, and, on his own choice, returned to wrestling. Making Angle the champ in 2015? Sure, we can make fun of TNA all day for that, but placing it on TNA’s shoulders to make sure Kurt Angle doesn’t wrestle, if he passes medical exams and wants to wrestle? He’s an adult, and he made his choice. No way am I putting this on TNA.