Dolph Ziggler's Constant Losing Undermines Title Reign

0-4.

That is Dolph Ziggler's win-loss record over his last four television matches. Defeats suffered at the hands of Rusev, Seth Rollins, Randy Orton and Cesaro have cooled off his momentum significantly and have raised questions about both management and WWE Creative's efforts to truly push Ziggler as a legitimate and credible champion.

Those questions are completely warranted but unnecessary. The recent losses incurred by Ziggler have undermined his title reign and continued to do irreparable damage to the WWE Intercontinental Championship in the process.

Fans already understand that the IC title is a midcard title, the top prize for stars just beneath the main event scene. Unfortunately, WWE Creative has taken to hammering it into the minds of everyone watching by having the champion lose to those the writers perceive to be more important than he.

Credit: WWE.com

Ziggler losing matches is nothing new. Over the last year, he has lost a tremendous amount of matches but has remained over with the audience regardless, thanks to his considerable in-ring talents. He was a mechanic, a star the company could lean on like a crutch when a show was badly in need of a quality match, but he was not a guy they were willing to go all-in with, no matter how many times he had proven himself.

That appears to still be the case, title or none.

Ziggler's reign, like those of so many Intercontinental Champions before him, has been ruined by WWE Creative's willingness to feed its talented midcard stars to main event talent that simply does not need a win over a Ziggler or a Miz in order to remain over. He is allowed to win against stars in similar positions but is never allowed the opportunity to score a defining win over a top-level competitor.

Champions are supposed to be perceived as elite performers, the very best of their given class. How can that be the case when the intercontinental champion is regularly losing to guys on free television.

The worldwide exposure that comes along with those matches, not to mention the various social media platforms such as YouTube and Facebook that allow fans to relive the action of Raw and SmackDown via WWE's official pages, is key in the perception fans have of Superstars. When they tune in a see a guy supposed to be one of the elite stars in the industry losing to guys without titles, regardless of their spot on the card, they instantly see a guy they believe to be lesser than the man they lost to.

As a result, the title is devalued and Ziggler's reign is ultimately meaningless and worthless in the grand scheme of things.

Thus, both he and the title he holds are destined to be considered second-rate as long as the current regime of writers are around and the thought process in building stars is in effect.

And if that is the case, why bother having midcard champions in the first place?