Ryan Dilbert's 10-Count: The Authority Should Be Used to Elevate Dolph Ziggler

1. The Showoff/Antihero

Dolph Ziggler left Monday's Raw without the Intercontinental Championship and without a job. He should now, though, be poised to become central to a significant story. 

The Authority's return came too soon and is likely to lead to some tiresome moments every week. Still, there's a chance to shoot Ziggler upward in a big way as the company's anti-authority figure.

Triple H and Stephanie McMahon need someone to resist them, someone to fight for justice. That couple does a fantastic job of irking the crowd. To maximize that, a rebel needs to hand them their comeuppance.

It makes little sense for John Cena to be the one to tear down the faction. That resume-booster needs to go to someone who needs it more, someone who can become a bigger star while battling Triple H and McMahon.

Cena's stardom is set.

The "Daniel Bryan against the machine" story already played out last year. Bryan already got the boost that comes with knocking off Triple H and defying the odds. 

It would be smarter to go in a new direction now.

That's where Ziggler comes in, one of the most vocal Superstars in terms of pushing back against the faction's tyranny. 

He's defiant but likable, cocky but appreciative of the crowd. Just like Bryan, he's his own brand of antihero.

There is an easy path to headliner status for him. The fight to get his job back can be a marquee storyline, one that gets him career-changing opportunities.

He can battle Triple H with the right to return on the line. He can take on Seth Rollins after he cashes in his Money in the Bank contract. Lastly, should he somehow oust The Authority for a second time, WWE would have turned a second go-round with The Authority into a star-generating endeavor.

Clearly, WWE is dead-set on having its central plot revolve around The Authority, playing out a reprise of Vince McMahon's villainous run in the '90s. Ziggler is the right man to play the Steve Austin in that drama. 

2. The Hot-Potato Title

Ziggler's latest IC title run ended swiftly. His loss to Bad News Barrett felt like it came before The Showoff's celebration had even died down.

We should be used to it by now. No title has received the hot-potato treatment like the one that Pat Patterson first held.

Ziggler's heartbeat of a reign (22 days) is not even close to being among the shortest in the title's history.

Champion	Length of Reign (in days)	Date of Title Loss
Dean Douglas	<1	10/22/95
Triple H	<1	10/20/02 (Unified with World Heavyweight Championship)
Chris Jericho	<1	10/27/03
Edge	1	7/25/99
The Miz	1	4/8/13
The Miz	1	9/22/14
Jeff Jarrett	1	7/26/99
The Mountie	2	1/19/92
Razor Ramon	3	5/22/95
Chris Jericho	4	5/8/00

Notice that half of these reigns came in the '90s and not a single one happened in the '80s. After years of greats like Pedro Morales and Randy Savage holding on to the gold for extensive stretches, WWE changed its pattern.

It's no surprise that the title has felt less prestigious as it gets passed around more frequently and more quickly.

3. Throwback Video of the Week: The Road Warriors 

On Monday's Raw, The Ascension tried to draw heat by dissing The Road Warriors. The move felt like a reach, rookies taking a swipe at Hall of Famers.

Reminding folks of just how much their gimmick is like Hawk and Animal's isn't the best idea, either, especially because it will inevitably have fans draw comparisons between the two teams. And The Ascension don't stack up to them.

Viktor and Konnor should, though, do some film study of the team they mocked. The Road Warriors mastered intensity as they showed off here in calling out Ric Flair.

Notice that the two intimidating bruisers focus their rage toward someone they can actually end up fighting. That's a smarter route than poking at bronze busts in the Hall.

4. Recommended Non-Royal Rumble Battle Royals 

The Royal Rumble is the king of the Battle Royals, but it's not the only source for chaotic, over-the-top-rope action.

WCW tried its hand at tweaking and elevating the format with creative matches like BattleBowl. None of the Battle Royal variations caught on like the Royal Rumble, but there were certainly some clashes well worth watching.

Ring of Honor has rarely tapped into this gimmick match, but it did so successfully in 2011 with a fun 20-man match that included Shelton Benjamin, El Generico (now Sami Zayn) and Michael Elgin.

• King of the Hill Battle Royal—Great American Bash 1989
• Battlebowl Battle Royal—WCW Battlebowl 1993
• 20-Man Battle Royal—Raw, Oct. 23, 1995 
• World Heavyweight Championship Battle Royal—SmackDown, Jan. 13, 2006
• Honor Rumble—Ring of Honor Southern Defiance

5. Sami Zayn Can't Hang Around NXT All Year

The NXT champ has just started a feud with Kevin Owens, a battle that brims with potential. WWE, though, should make it a priority to call up Zayn from WWE developmental.

It's better to have him bring his electric in-ring style to a bigger stage. He has already fine-tuned his game, readying himself for the next stage of his career. 

In 2014, Bo Dallas, Xavier Woods and Adam Rose all spent much of the year on the main roster. Zayn is better than all three of those wrestlers.

He's a better in-ring storyteller and has a connection with the crowd that guys like Rose must dream of achieving. Zayn has already proved he can deliver when the lights are brightest. Of the 25 bouts on WWE.com's list of the best matches of 2014, he was in three of the top 10. 

Let him try his hand at making the transition from NXT to WWE proper. Let NXT be the stage where wrestlers in need of more progress reside.

6. The Celtic Warrior, Immortals Style

The larger-than-life world of WWE is about to be even more so. WWE announced that it is teaming up with Warner Bros. to create WWE Immortals, a mobile video game developed by the same folks that brought us Mortal Kombat.

That means the Superstars are in for some intriguing, over-the-top makeovers for the game. The best of these so far is the one that highlighted Sheamus' warrior side.

He tweeted a look at how the video-game developers re-imagined him:

That should most certainly be how Sheamus comes to the ring for a future WrestleMania. 

7. The Rumble Is No Guarantee

As the Royal Rumble approaches and fans argue about whether Daniel Bryan or Roman Reigns is the best fit to win that match, it's worth noting a recent pattern in how that victor fares at The Showcase of the Immortals.

The Rumble winner hasn't gone on to become champion all that often in recent years.

From WrestleMania X-Seven to WrestleMania 23 (2001 to 2007), every single man who won the Rumble became world champ at WWE's top pay-per-view. Since then, it has not been such a lock.

Rumble winners have gone just 2-5 in their WrestleMania title matches, including four straight losses from 2008-2011.

Superstars who have lost at WrestleMania after winning the Royal Rumble since 2008:

• Batista (lost to Daniel Bryan in 2014)
• Alberto Del Rio (lost to Edge in 2011)
• Edge (lost to Chris Jericho in 2010)
• Randy Orton (lost to Triple H in 2009)
• John Cena (lost to Randy Orton in 2008)

Bryan and Reigns fans have to hope that trend changes come March 29.

All match statistics courtesy of CageMatch.net.

8. Ryback, Jaw Like a Dinosaur's

WWE has opened an intriguing path for Ryback.

On Friday's SmackDown, Big Show clocked him with his trademark KO Punch. The Big Guy, however, wasn't knocked out as much as he was stunned. The announcers played up that fact, astounded that he was able to withstand the blow. 

It then took two Curb Stomps from Seth Rollins to put him away on Monday's Raw.

Making Ryback an incredibly tough out, a guy who can take a punch better than his peers, is a smart direction in which to take him. It's an easy way to add depth to his character and make him look good even in a loss.

Rollins and Kane won that match against Ryback, but the announcers focused on how hard it was to put Ryback down. That's something WWE needs to continue to tap into.

Make him the bear for whom one tranquilizer dart is not enough. 

9. Armchair Booking: Titus O'Neil vs. Jack Swagger

O'Neil needs a story to crawl out of irrelevancy. A blown spot on Tuesday's Main Event could be the genesis of one.

Swagger had the powerhouse pinned, and as the referee's hand neared the mat for the third time, O'Neil reached for the ropes. He was too far away, though. The ref, knowing that this was not how the match was supposed to end, held up his count, creating an awkward moment that the announcers made fun of.

Imagine that O'Neil continues to get these kinds of calls to go his way. Referees count a touch faster for him and let him get away with more than his foes.

Swagger starts to get suspicious and eventually it is revealed that O'Neil has been paying the referees off. Swagger boasts that O'Neil can't beat him without help. The former Florida Gator says otherwise.

Their pay-per-view showdown then features a surprise special guest referee. WWE can then go a number of routes. 

It can have Darren Young put on the stripes to play on his and O'Neil's old feud or bring in a Swagger ally like Jim Duggan. Either way, a midcard filler feud gets a boost and ends in fun fashion.

10. Chris Jericho on His Future

Fans can be quite the demanding bunch. In discussing his future in the ring, Jericho touched on that.

In an interview with Bob Kapur of Slam! Sports, Jericho said, "I know that some fans would like to just see me wrestle until I explode in a puff of dust—that won't happen."

That sounds a lot like what Vince McMahon envisioned for Daniel Bryan and John Cena at SummerSlam 2013. 

Jericho also talked about working just a few limited dates and doing house shows. It sounds as if it's time to savor every one of his appearances; he's not going to do this forever.