Dolph Ziggler vs. John Cena Feud Won't Give Showoff the Desired Results

Dolph Ziggler vs. John Cena is a match some fans likely believed they would not be seeing at this point.  However, that may change very soon, and if it does it's a shame for Ziggler specifically, because he will not get what he wants from this feud.

The real issue here is not just what he wants but what he needs.  

Ziggler needs to be shown in a favorable light, he needs to look good and he needs a real opportunity at main event stardom.  While two of the three objectives are being met with some success, it's the third that WWE just cannot seem to get right.

Every time it appears Ziggler is headed for big things, he is yanked back down to earth once again.  It's a process that fans have seen repeated more than once and perhaps should just remain where it is.

The company has shown no signs of truly wanting to do right by The Showoff, so it seems ridiculous for anyone to believe that the situation has changed.

But feuding with Cena may indeed reverse that opinion and give fans some real hope for Ziggler's future. After all, Cena is still the face of WWE and the guy around whom everything is built.  He may not be WWE world heavyweight champion, but that has not changed his status.

If he's healthy and he's there, he's the top guy, and when he's not the spot is just on loan to someone else.

There is nothing necessarily wrong with that, but the fact is that Cena has not really helped any other talents in terms of truly getting them over to the main event level.  

Kevin Owens looked good against him but floundered a bit after losing the feud.  Rusev remained in the midcard after he lost the feud to Cena. Seth Rollins may be the top titleholder, but Cena has proved with win after win that it could all change with just one three-count.

How could fans believe Ziggler will fare any better against Cena now?

The two have mixed it up before, of course, back in 2012-2013, but that rivalry saw Ziggler on the losing end as well.  While he did have a 69-day world title run and has only gotten better in the two years since then, The Showoff is still at midcard status now.

Ziggler's current spot really has nothing to do with Cena, but more with WWE itself.  But using Cena to assist Ziggler right now is pointless.

Facing Cena perhaps should not be considered a guaranteed route to the top, but the fact that so many guys have not seen their immediate situations improve afterward is alarming indeed.  Ziggler is among this number, and if this rivalry is renewed, there's very little reason to believe anything will change now.

However, Ziggler is The Showoff, and that nickname carries a lot of weight with it.

Ziggler would shine in a new feud with Cena.  There's no question he would look like the star he is and would get over with fans every time he stepped through the ropes.  Fans still have a massive love/hate relationship with Cena, and Ziggler would surely benefit from it.

Ziggler would have fun; there's no question about that either.  He always looks so comfortable in the ring and is truly in his element when he's wrestling.  He would do nothing but show off against Cena, and their rivalry could very well become the top one in WWE very quickly.

Cena's United States Championship would surely be up for grabs, and Ziggler could very likely end up winning it.  Everything seems to be fine from a distance.  But in the end, Cena will win, and Ziggler will be right back where he is now.

Even if Cena were to do the honors for Ziggler and then walk away with no return match at all, Ziggler would still not be any higher than he currently is.  While there is no shame in being WWE's top midcard talent, the truth is that he's so much better than that.  

Working Cena in the short term would spotlight that fact, but in the long term, it would do nothing.

Fans want to see Ziggler succeed, and right now.  But WWE's track record has not been a good one, and it's been so bad that if Ziggler were to rise up, fans would surely be waiting for him to be pulled back down again.

Ziggler has all the natural talent and ability it takes to get over as a main event star in WWE, and fans have always recognized it.  Feuding with Cena and believing Ziggler will get there because of it is not happening, and fans recognize that as well.  

This will be entertaining, but in the end, that's all it will be.

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.