Dolph Ziggler Talks If He’ll Cash In MITB Soon, The Rock vs. John Cena, His Losing Streak, More

Dolph Ziggler recently spoke with CBS-19 entertainment reporter Chris Van Vliet. Here are some highlights from the interview.

On cashing in the money in the bank briefcase at WrestleMania: “Cashing in at WrestleMania has never been done before and no matter what I’ve done in this business, whether I win or lose, I’ve always done things my way and come out in the most entertaining way possible. So I would really like to cash this in at WrestleMania. I’m not even guaranteeing that that’s happening, but it would be so like me to do that… I think on April 8th, I will have something else [other than the Money in the Bank contract] in my hand.”

On starting off 2013 with a string of losses: “Ever since I was 5 years old and started wrestling, I lost once. And I hated it and never wanted it to happen again. And all through my life, it wasn’t just about being a great wrestler, it was about proving myself… Right now, I am not winning very often and it disappoints me and it disappoints my fans.”

On whether the style of the Attitude Era will ever return: “It can’t. We have a different product now. I grew up in that Attitude Era and I loved it. I used to go to parties on Monday nights with my friends, but it’s a different product now. I enjoy working for this product. Maybe in that environment I might have never been on the roster, I might have never been anything. I might have never been in a match… But I’ve embraced it. I’m someone who would like to be anything but PG because that’s where my head is always at. But I can focus it down and take some discipline and make it for everyone to enjoy and be entertained. We are giving out a family show and a PG product that just opens the doors for everyone.”

On whether he feels that being with AJ and Big E Langston holds him back: “I feel like you can see it that way, or you can try to see it in a positive way. As in two younger talents who haven’t been around as long as I have who can totally benefit from being around with me… It’s almost like teaching these two to be as great as I am, as they are younger in the WWE and building their careers.”

On The Rock vs. John Cena not actually being “Once in a Lifetime”: “I would like to think that maybe things changed and they weren’t planning this. Maybe they were hoping for a triple threat or a different option. And I think there was such crowd involvement last year that maybe they though we deserve to give these fans back another match where 80,000 people can be cheering and booing and the same time. And it is a special thing to see. These two guys are the top guys in the business and you have to go with them. The Rock is a legitimate movie star and he is booked in this match and that’s awesome…. No matter how you see it, I’m looking forward to hearing 80,000 people voicing their opinion whether they want to see it or not.”

On The Rock being the WWE Champion: “The Rock having the notoriety that he has brings a crazy amount of eyes who would not normally be on our product. That’s what WWE is about, spreading the word out to everybody. When it comes to WrestleMania… he has the build up, he’s out there promoting movies… so I understand that we are trying to get all eyes on us. So when fans come there, they are there to see The Rock and Cena. They’re there to see the movie star, The Rock. And when they leave, just like my entire philosophy has been my whole life, they go ‘I can’t wait to tune in on Monday to see what that Dolph Ziggler is going to do’.”