WWE Money in the Bank: Ziggler Winning MITB May Harm Him More Than Help Him

With WWE’s Money in the Bank PPV looming on Sunday, it looks more and more likely that Dolph Ziggler will finally ascend the ladder (pun intended) and win his first Money in the Bank briefcase, thereby assuring him of a title shot at the World Heavyweight Title whenever he wants.

After months (longer, if you count his blink-and-you-missed-it title run a year ago) of competing in the upper-midcard/main event, after coming oh-so-close to winning the title on a few different occasions, it looks like it might be Ziggler’s time after all.

History has shown that, once Ziggler wins the MITB briefcase, he will cash it in successfully and win his first real title; no one who has cashed in the briefcase has ever failed in winning the title, and I don’t doubt that Ziggler will be the next guy to cash it in and win the title.

If history is also any indication, Ziggler will cash it in on the champ (Sheamus or whoever it is at the time) when he’s vulnerable, winning the title in dubious (yet still legitimate) fashion.

This is a problem.

While I have no issues with Ziggler as a performer (I think he’s great, actually), I have issues with him winning MITB and then cashing it in unexpectedly like so many others. When Edge did it the first time around, it was shocking, original, and just plain awesome.

When CM Punk did it the second time (against Jeff Hardy), it gave Punk a whole new element to his character that turned him from an OK performer into a great one. When The Miz cashed it in, it fit his weaselly character, and he needed the element of surprise to (believably) win his first title.

But if Ziggler does it this way, it may harm his career irreparably. If Ziggler cashes it in on a vulnerable champ, it won’t make him a credible world champion. In fact, it will do the complete opposite: Ziggler cashing in the briefcase on a downed champion will actually cement his reputation as the guy who just can’t win the big one.

Ziggler has tried and come incredibly close to winning the title on his own in recent months, and for this he is starting to get incredibly over with the fans (including getting noticeable face pops here and there).

But as we know, almost only counts in horseshoes and hand grenades; a guy who keeps almost winning the title is a guy who still ends up counting the lights. You don’t win prizes in wrestling (in any sport, really) for coming really close.

Many of Ziggler’s supporters have kept harping on the fact that he’s ready because he keeps coming close and he keeps putting on good shows. I agree; I think that Ziggler is a phenomenal talent, and he is definitely someone who could be a world champion.

But at this point in his career, he needs to do it on his own, in a match where there is a build-up and where both guys are at full strength.

Think about it: how would you interpret it if a guy kept coming really close to winning a title, time and time again, and then finally wins it by doing something underhanded? Don’t lie to yourself: you would interpret it as saying, “I can’t do this on my own; I need to cheat to win.”

It would turn Ziggler, a very promising performer, into a joke. It would make him into a Jack Swagger Champion.

Now, and this is especially for those of you who are getting ready to write angry comments down below, I’m not saying that Ziggler winning MITB is a bad thing. In fact, I think he’s far and away the best candidate of anyone in the field.

But if he wins, he needs to use the briefcase to finally cement himself as a legitimate main eventer. There are numerous ways to do this:

-          Ziggler could hold onto the briefcase for a while, win some quality matches against legitimate competition, and then cash it in (he’d even be fine to do it by surprise at that point, since it would be clear he’s ready).

-          Ziggler could be the second performer (after RVD) to ever announce that he’s cashing it in at a certain time and follow through, playing up the idea that he really can win the title this time; not only would this be a good storyline, he could probably get an awesome face turn out of it (if that’s the direction WWE wants to go with him).

-          Ziggler could hold onto the briefcase while Vickie becomes enamored with another main-event level heel; that new guy wins the world title, and Ziggler could cash in the briefcase on the new heel champion to stick it to Vickie once and for all (thus, like option two, turning him into a mega-babyface).

That’s only a few options; there are more that I haven’t covered and that I haven’t even thought of at this point. But basically, my point is this: Ziggler, once he wins the MITB briefcase, absolutely must go about winning the title in a way that makes him look credible.

If he does not, and he cashing it in using the typical heel tactics, his reputation will be forever cemented as a guy who’s just not good enough to carry the company.