The November 17, 2025 edition of WWE Raw at Madison Square Garden featured Solo Sikoa advancing in the “Last Time Is Now” tournament after defeating a surprise opponent — former World Heavyweight Champion Dolph Ziggler (Nic Nemeth), making his unexpected WWE return for one night only.
Speaking with Jonathan Coachman, Ziggler revealed that WWE originally planned to announce his involvement in advance, an idea he strongly opposed.
“A few weeks ago when I was told, it’s like, ‘Hey, we’re gonna have you in this thing and we’re gonna announce it ahead of time. They’re going to show brackets’ or something, and I go, ‘Oh my God, that’s such a bad idea.’ I go, ‘Is there any way we’re not doing this?’ They go, ‘There might be something they’re gonna put out today. It’ll be on social media. Maybe retweet or something.’ I’m like, ‘Oh my God, I hope this doesn’t happen’ and nothing happened.”
(quote courtesy of Fightful.com)
The unannounced nature of his appearance mirrored Zack Ryder’s one-night return on SmackDown earlier this month. Like Ryder, Fightful reports that Ziggler has not signed a new WWE contract and remains under contract with TNA, where he serves as the reigning TNA World Champion.
Despite the loss to Sikoa, WWE officials were said to be pleased with Ziggler’s performance at MSG.
