Dolph Ziggler Says World Title Win Over Alberto Del Rio Was Not The Biggest Moment Of His Career
Ahead of tonight's Raw in Chicago, Dolph Ziggler participated in a media call in which Akhilesh Gannavarapu of Wrestling Inc. was a part of. Ziggler was asked by Gannavarapu about the favorite moment of his career, and surprisingly it wasn't when he cashed in the Money in the Bank contract and won the World Heavyweight Championship on Raw.
"No, it's not [my favorite] safe to say that," Ziggler said about taking the title from Alberto Del Rio. "It's a cool moment, and the reason it happened was because of the fans, and how we all worked to make it come together. It was a pretty awesome thing, I will never forget it. But a lot of moments that have been bigger for me are being hurt, and having a pulled groin or separated shoulder, and still going out and doing 30 or 45 minute matches, and setting the bar for everyone else even when I'm not a 100 percent."
Ziggler infamously won that Money in the Bank contract just two days after being involved in a car crash along with Zack Ryder and Justin Roberts. He's avoided major injury during his 13-year WWE run, but that doesn't mean he hasn't performed while banged up.
"So those matches, and I openly talked about it. Live events, when I have the free rein to do whatever the hell I want, and I take advantage of it," Ziggler stated. "Those are the moments that I think about the most, and they will be great in my book. But of course, on paper, the world title match? it was awesome man. The reactions were there, the story was built for years, someone who hadn't gotten his due, and finally because of the fans and hard work, it all came together that night."
Ziggler's World Championship reign lasted just two months before Del Rio won the title back at Payback in 2013. It appears WWE just gave him a token run as champion with no real long-term plans for him to hold the belt.
"Sadly there was no other plan after that," said Ziggler, "so, what are you going to do?"
Ziggler hasn't tasted World Title gold since then but he has still won multiple championships. Since 2013 he's won the US Title once and the IC title five times. Alongside Drew McIntyre, Ziggler is currently in his first reign as a Raw Tag Team champion.