John Cena Pays Respect To Dolph Ziggler After WWE Release
The wrestling world has been rocked today with WWE releasing a wealth of talent from its roster, including the likes of Mustafa Ali, Shelton Benjamin, and Riddick Moss. Long-time WWE veteran Dolph Ziggler was also among the list of cuts made, bringing an end to his run that started back in 2004 with a developmental deal.
A number of wrestling colleagues have begun weighing in on Ziggler's departure since it was made known, one of which was John Cena. A former rival of Ziggler's, Cena paid respect to Ziggler's longevity in WWE on X (formerly known as Twitter) with a nod to Ziggler's match count throughout his WWE career.
One thousand five hundred and fifty four matches. @HEELZiggler #Respect
— John Cena (@JohnCena) September 21, 2023
Ziggler had a number of high profile bouts with Cena over the years, including a Ladder Match in 2012 at WWE TLC, where Ziggler defeated Cena — thanks to the help of AJ Lee. They'd also meet in October 2015 for the United States Championship, but Cena would walk away with the victory that night. The pair would subsequently have a few other matches against one another over time, but none that carried as much importance as those two.
A former WWE World Heavyweight Champion, Ziggler had been inactive for the better part of 2023, last wrestling on TV on the May 29 episode of "WWE Raw." Facing JD McDonaugh, the match would be ruled a double countout.