Dolph Ziggler Must Be Rewarded for His Hard Work with a WWE World Title Run

Dolph Ziggler is arguably the best hand in WWE. His ring work puts him on a different level than many of his peers, and the intensity he brings to each match is second to none.

But platitudes alone are not enough for a talent of Ziggler's caliber, and considering his years of hard work, he deserves a run with the WWE World Heavyweight Championship.

Of all the workers in the WWE locker room, Ziggler is perhaps best suited for a main event shot right now. He is the complete package, not only for what he brings to the ring but also because of his drive to be the best.

He just keeps getting better. The Showoff lives up to his name every night, as he just puts his head down and keeps fighting. The performance is what matters most for Ziggler; leaving it all in the ring is of the utmost priority for him, and fans are always left feeling as though they got their money's worth.

In that way, Ziggler is very old-school in his approach. His idea of doing business is to make his opponent look good, to sell for him like no one else could and work to get the match itself over. Ziggler understands what Ric Flair and Dusty Rhodes understood: The only way to truly become the best is to selflessly tell his story between the ropes by making his opponent shine in the process.

Like-minded wrestlers typically make up the meat of the card, which is exactly where Ziggler is right now. Cesaro and Wade Barrett are two great examples, but Ziggler is just one step above and has been for a very long time.

When a guy has been this good for this long, he should be rewarded. A world title consolation prize will not do this time. An Intercontinental or United States Championship is nice to have, but it's not enough.  

Ziggler needs the top prize in the company, the one he has worked his entire career to get, and nothing else will do now. He should be the guy on top. He should be the WWE world heavyweight champion, and it should happen soon.

Ziggler is not a loud and obnoxious talent that complains about his spot every time a mic is put in front of him. He doesn't run to Twitter or Facebook every time he doesn't get his way on the card.

Ziggler is content with just doing his job and stealing the show. He's not worried about a main event spot, and yet he is the kind of guy who should have one. He should get that break to finally prove what he can do at the top of WWE's ladder.

He makes the event better because of what he does, which is proof positive that he should get the opportunity to shine above all others. No one can do what Ziggler can do, and no one could wear the strap like Ziggler could.

He would be a fighting champion in every sense of the word. Seth Rollins is doing a fine job as champ right now and is believed by many to be the best worker in the company. He too knows what it means to lift his opponent up and does so nearly every week in the ring. If he were to work a program with Ziggler for the championship, the end result would likely be an instant classic.

Brock Lesnar is the man Rollins is worried about right now, and that feud could carry over to WrestleMania 32 next year. Lesnar could very well win the belt from Rollins at Battleground, and if that happens, then their rivalry may indeed get the opportunity to be revisited before 'Mania in 2016.

But for Ziggler, any time is a good time. Becoming the top titleholder does not necessarily mean he would become the face of WWE; it would only be public recognition that the company believes in him and supports him for what he's contributed.

Ziggler has the ability to carry the belt for eight weeks or eight months and provide some very intense drama either way. His matches speak for themselves, and his work ethic cannot be denied. Fans would get perhaps the hardest-working champion since CM Punk or even Shawn Michaels, a champion who would be the most deserving, perhaps of all time.

Mark Henry spent 15 years in WWE before finally winning the big one. Ziggler has been on the main roster in his current character for seven years, and like Henry, he should be rewarded for his efforts. Past injuries are of little consequence now. This is about doing right by the guys who work the hardest, who have put the time in to make the product worth watching.

Ziggler is more than capable of being the man and would surely work even harder once he was crowned champion. That means that not only would Ziggler win, but the fans would as well.

Tom's work can regularly be found on Bleacher Report and his podcast Tom Clark's Main Event is available on iTunes, Google Play, Windows Phone, Amazon Android and online here.