Dolph Ziggler did an interview with Sports Illustrated to promote Saturday’s WWE NXT Stand & Deliver special. Here are the highlights:
Being serious about his craft in between the ropes:
“Realistically, 16 or 17 of my past years with the company haven’t worked out,” says Ziggler, who could—or perhaps should—have enjoyed a lengthy run as world champion at some point during the past decade. “Let’s not even discuss my win-loss record. But I know who I am. I’m barely six feet tall and barely 200 pounds, but I am constantly growing as a performer.”
Not being used:
“Sometimes I’m not on TV for weeks. Sometimes I’m in quick matches. But I’m always ready to go 30 minutes in the main event for the world title. And now that I’m the champion, I’m not in a position where I need to do a little more cardio and get in even better shape. This was already my life. I was ready and I still am ready. I’m not here trying to turn it up. I’m shredded as hell and already ready turning it up.”
Robert Roode:
“If this were Impact, I would definitely be cornering him, and I would be happy to do it,” Ziggler says. “He has my back, and I have his. When he was in Impact, Roode was doing much better than me. I complain all the time I don’t have a great win-loss record, but he is taking so many losses for me. He doesn’t get nearly talked about enough, and WWE has so much talent that it’s easy to slip between the cracks. But he’s better than me. He’s more ripped than me. He’s extremely smart, too. At some point, I hope he throws me through the barbershop window and we get to beat the hell out of each other.”
His ability:
“You could tell me at 8:01 p.m. on Raw that I’m going out there against an opponent I’d never seen in my life, and I could still make it happen,” Ziggler says. “There about five others who can do that. No one else can. As much as people might say they have potential or that they’re good, they can’t. That’s why I’m still here.”
