The May 13 edition of RAW was lacking, highlighted mainly by the absence of World Heavyweight Champion Dolph Ziggler. Suffering a concussion during Smackdown the week before, thanks to a stiff kick from Jack Swagger, the WWE is definitely feeling the loss in many ways.
Without the few minutes of promo and 15-minute match Ziggler has made customary over the past few years, RAW was reaching for quality content. Other quality workers the likes of Antonio Cesaro, Daniel Bryan and Kofi Kingston aren’t enough to deliver a quality program. They need guys that appeal to both women and men and that can be used in a variety of ways. While Bryan is entertaining and solid on the mic, he’s not Ziggler. The same thing goes for Kingston and Cesaro, who are more amazing workers than entertainers.
In the longer term, Ziggler’s injury eliminates the three-way ladder match for an already weak card at Extreme Rules. Those who were on the fence about purchasing the pay per view may have made up their minds thanks to Ziggler’s injury.
The injury also addresses a thin roster in terms of charismatic heels. With CM Punk on hiatus, the WWE relies heavily on Ziggler as a cool bad guy that can wrestle. Who replaces Ziggler in the wake of the injury?
No one.
Although Dean Ambrose has that kind of ability, he’s not quite there yet. Ryback will never be a viable heel and even Mark Henry, easily the top heel in the company, doesn’t fill Ziggler’s niche.
The faster Ziggler comes back, the better. There isn’t anyone on Smackdown that can carry his load. While Swagger and Alberto Del Rio are entertaining, they’ve proven what they can do with the world title. Already more charismatic than the both of them and a better performer, Ziggler hasn’t reached his potential ceiling yet. That’s perhaps the worst thing about his injury. With an already lack of content, the last thing the WWE needed was to lose someone who cannot only eat up valuable minutes, but someone who is developing into a possible mega star in the process.
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