Dolph Ziggler could have been an unhappy camper. In a surprise move, he was recently dropped from the Team Smackdown vs. Team Raw tag-team match-up at this Sunday’s Bragging Rights pay-per-view, but the Smackdown star in a straight-to-the-point interview with SLAM! Wrestling remains unnerved and will in fact be at the show. And if the past few weeks are any indication, anything can happen in the WWE, even at a pay-per-view.
After the television taping on Tuesday, it has widely circulated that the main event for Bragging Rights changes tonight on Smackdown. Instead of the Raw team of Triple H, Shawn Michaels, Big Show, Mark Henry, Cody Rhodes, Jack Swagger, and Kofi Kingston facing SmackDown’s Chris Jericho, Kane, Dolph Ziggler, Cryme Tyme’s Shad & JTG, Eric Escobar and Drew McIntyre, the Friday night team will be made up of Matt Hardy, Fit Finlay, R-Truth, David Hart Smith and Tyson Kidd.
Ziggler has moved on. “Either way, I’m going to be at the pay-per-view at Bragging Rights, because it’s something all the brands are involved in,” he said matter-of-factly. “One way or another, I’m going to try and get in there, and make my presence felt.”
It’s not like the WWE hasn’t had its share of shockers lately.
Smackdown announcer Jim Ross recently revealed that he will not be able to call Bragging Rights due to a recent bout with Bell’s Palsy. “I heard for some reason he had some kind of a medical issue, he wasn’t in top shape, but our thoughts always go out to him,” Ziggler said. “He’s the best announcer to ever call wrestling, that’s what they always say. We’ve got to keep them in good shape.”
As well, Ziggler revealed his thoughts on the sudden resignation of WWE Executive Vice-President of Global Media Shane McMahon, tendered October 16 and effective January 1, 2010. He also talked about the recent passing of Captain Lou Albano.
“It was a shock to most of us. He’s [Shane] been a really great guy all the times I came in contact with him. An awesome guy. He was always trying to go above and beyond for our product, so I’m sure whatever he’s moving on to, he’s going to be great at it and blow it out for the water,” he said.
“One of the first memories I’ve had of MTV was watching the old wrestling cartoon [Hulk Hogan’s Rock ‘n’ Wrestling]. I remember Captain Lou Albano being in the music video with Cyndi Lauper. He was loved by everybody and no one’s ever said a bad thing about that guy.
“That’s always unfortunate, you know.”
One event that was not a shock to many fans was Triple H’s victory over John Cena on this past Monday’s Raw. Asked to assess the match, Ziggler pondered carefully before revealing his thoughts.
“Well, it’s two of the top guys in the business and it’s something everyone wants to see,” he began. “I think a huge part of that entire match was showing that John Cena can go in a long match with one of the best in the entire business. I think that match really showed two stars that stood out in terms of guys that can go, and it seemed like a warm-up for that 60-minute Iron Man match [between Cena and Randy Orton at Bragging Rights]. I think it was actually a really good move. It established those two top guys that they can go, if they have to go for a while.”
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