Dolph Ziggler Needs to Tone Down In-Ring Style for the Sake of His Career

Dolph Ziggler's intense, high-risk style and penchant for big bumps put him on the map in WWE—but now it's time for the performer to curtail his antics in order to protect his future in the business.

Ziggler's bout with Luke Harper on Sunday highlighted the need for the wrestler to tone things down.

The ladder match was undoubtedly fantastic. It was filled with some amazing and bewildering spots—and the star's home crowd in Cleveland lapped it up. Frankly, it was so good that it set a standard the rest of the show simply couldn't live up to.

Credit: WWE.com

However, the question of whether it was worth it hangs overhead. Certainly, some of Ziggler's brutal landings in the bout would make even the most desensitized viewer wince.

At his age—he's 34—these big and risky bumps aren't wise anymore. There's only so much anyone's body can take. And we've seen what happens to other wrestlers when they don't calm down.

This was the year Daniel Bryan finally reached the top of the industry, as he was a main eventer at WrestleMania and walked out with the WWE World Heavyweight Championship.

Horribly for Bryan, he fell to a serious neck injury just a few weeks later—and there are shoulder problems too. He was stripped of the title and has been on the bench ever since.

Bryan worked for years to make it to the top, only to have it all snatched away as soon as he grasped the big prize. It's hard to argue that his hard-hitting style wasn't at least a factor in his various injuries.

He should have toned things down after he left Ring of Honor and signed with WWE, but he didn't.

There’s also the glaring fact that WWE simply can't trust someone with a major main event push if he's at risk of taking a big bump and getting hurt.

Credit: WWE.com

WWE has been inconsistent with Ziggler’s push over the last few years. He sank into the midcard after his troubled run with the WWE World Heavyweight Championship and has just started to regain his momentum.

No one is quite sure why this is. Maybe he’s not big enough, or maybe management just doesn't think he has the right look to succeed on top.

Regardless, the last thing the star needs to do is give them another reason to doubt him and his abilities. 

Ziggler should learn from Bryan's plight and resolve to adapt to a safer style going into 2015. He’s too talented just to fade back into the midcard again.