WWE: 7 Reasons Dolph Ziggler Will Be WWE Champion

Upon his debut in World Wrestling Entertainment a mere three years ago, critics of the IWC thought of Dolph Ziggler as nothing more than an under-card talent, as judged by his numerous confrontations with various Superstars and Divas backstage during Monday Night Raw. However, his debut match against Batista that December showcased his true potential inside the squared circle, following an impressive showing against the Animal.

Since then, Ziggler has gone on to capture both the Intercontinental and United States Championships respectively, even holding the World Heavyweight Championship for an extremely brief amount of time. Despite all that, Ziggler has proven in recent months that he's much more than a second coming of Mr. Perfect and is capable of being placed in a prominent place on the roster as a main event player.

Given WWE's recent lack of depth in its roster, there's no time better than the present to pull the trigger on the bleached blonde Superstar. After his tremendous performance against WWE Champion CM Punk this past Monday night, I present to you seven reasons why Dolph Ziggler will be WWE Champion sooner rather than later.

Prime Example of the Young Talent Initiative

Since 2005, WWE has made an effort to push younger talent towards the main event picture with their older stars preparing to retire. Over the past two years, the illustrious careers of Batista, Chris Jericho, Jeff Hardy and most notably Shawn Michaels have been since finished in the WWE due to a number of reasons, specifically lackluster negotiating at the hands of John Laurinaitis.

Although rising talent Sheamus, Alberto Del Rio and Jack Swagger have already captured one of WWE's top prizes, it's still not enough to replace the missing spots on the roster. With the careers of injury-prone Rey Mysterio, Undertaker, Big Show, Kane and Triple H winding down, WWE is desperate for fresh talent.

Similar to John Cena and Randy Orton, Dolph Ziggler seems to have that look that just screams World Champion, given his overall appearance is unique as well. At the somewhat young age of 31, there's still time to give the strap to Ziggler and make him one of the top faces in the company for a good while.  

Original Gimmick

When Dolph Ziggler made his first appearance on Monday Night Raw in late 2008, he developed a gimmick in which he introduced himself to everyone he came in contact with. Infamous Superstars such as Shawn Michaels, JBL, Jeff Hardy and Batista found themselves on the receiving end of these aggravating handshakes, only to deliver a well-deserved beating to Ziggler thereafter.

After this gimmick failed to get him over, it wasn't until this year that Ziggler started to act more and more like his natural self on television. Much similar to his counterpart legend Mr. Perfect, Ziggler's previous entrance theme song "I Am Perfection" was simply self-explanatory. He was perfect at everything he executed.

With WWE's craze with Twitter more obsessive than ever, Ziggler has started to accommodate his "heel" social networking handle into his promos, coming off as one of the cockiest, most arrogant superstars in the company. Here's hoping he doesn't turn babyface anytime soon, as his newest #HEEL sweatshirt very well could be a top seller in the foreseeable future.  

Chemistry with Main Event Players

Unlike some young talent on the roster these days, Dolph Ziggler has proven in the past that he's capable of a main event push. His tryout matches with the likes of Edge, John Cena, Randy Orton and CM Punk have represented the great chemistry that he holds amongst the top stars of the WWE, almost always guaranteeing an impressive performance every time he steps in the ring with a former World Champion.

At the dawn of 2011, Dolph Ziggler was immediately placed in the title scene over on SmackDown in a program with then-World Heavyweight Champion Edge. This would lead to a series of matches between the two bleached-blonde Superstars, with Ziggler ultimately capturing the golden prize at one point, even if it did indeed last only a few minutes.

If it weren't for his random move to Raw a few weeks later due to his story-line firing, I'd bet he'd still be in the title picture over on the blue brand with Orton, Henry and Sheamus. After his extremely enjoyable matchup with the WWE Champion last Monday night on Raw, it's about damn time they give him his rightfully earned spot amongst the top players of the flagship show.

Outstanding Wrestling Ability

Much like the recently released Shelton Benjamin, Dolph Ziggler is a rare wrestling breed in today's age that comes from an extremely impressive background. Hailing from Ohio, Ziggler attended Kent State University, where he set the record for number of wins in the team's history.

Not surprisingly, the United States Champion went on to capture numerous amateur wrestling championships, including three All-Mid-American Conference championships and the National Championships on two separate occasions. If you originally believed Ziggler's "perfection" moniker was only a part of his gimmick, there's no doubt that this guy is truly the real deal.

With all that being said, it's no secret that Dolph Ziggler possesses natural ability inside the ring to provide the audience with an entertaining contest, something that is difficult to find in today's batch of young, hungry talent. When you add in his excellent selling of opponent's moves, Ziggler is a threat that should not be taken lightly, or you might just find yourself on the receiving end of a vicious sleeper hold.  

Improving Mic Skills

While his wrestling skills may have always been solid, Dolph Ziggler's skills on the microphone certainly weren't nearly as good. For nearly a whole year, the only words that were muttered out of the mouth of the former Spirit Squad cheerleader were, "Hi, I'm Dolph Ziggler," a line that was infamously mocked by the returning Rock in a video package in October 2009.

Even after capturing the Intercontinental Championship last summer, Ziggler still wasn't given much time on the mic besides a few occasions on commentary, as his business associate and manager Vickie Guerrero would do most of the work for him to generate heat.

I first noticed significant improvement in his mic skills in his appearance on the Cutting Edge this past January, only getting better from there. Since then, his promos have sometimes become the highlight of the show, getting his point across while mixing in his own style of hilarity and cockiness simultaneously.

Lack of Solid Heels on Roster

Only a few short weeks ago, a relative of mine who doesn't watch professional wrestling asked me who the top "bad guy" was in today's WWE product. I was hesitant to say then-WWE Champion Alberto Del Rio, a major heel who once had potential to fill that position, but has been booked so horribly over the course of this year that all hope is lost for the Mexican aristocrat.

While World Heavyweight Champion Mark Henry fit the bill as the top heel on the roster, he'll only be around not much longer before retiring from in-ring action, not even adding to the scary fact of recent reports of him turning face sometime in the near future.

Nonetheless, WWE has done a fine job of correctly building Intercontinental Champion Cody Rhodes and Wade Barrett as legitimate threats on SmackDown. Monday nights is in desperate need of a fresh heel in the main event scene not named The Miz.

With the time period between Survivor Series and WrestleMania being quite lengthy, there's no better time than now to experiment with Dolph Ziggler in the title picture. Engaging with feuds with top stars such as John Cena and CM Punk could make for intriguing television. 

Confidence of Officials

Another critical factor is that any striving WWE Superstar that has a legitimate chance at becoming a WWE or World Heavyweight Champion must have the confidence of officials backstage, Creative and, most importantly, Vince McMahon.

Prime examples are Sheamus and Drew McIntyre, who were highly praised by the likes of Triple H and Shawn Michaels early last year. Although the latter faded into obscurity, Sheamus has gone on to become one of the biggest faces in the company today, showing how far favoritism can bring you these days.

Luckily, Dolph Ziggler has successfully gotten the attention of the powers that be in WWE, currently reigning as United States Champion for almost five months now. For two consecutive pay-per-views, Ziggler pulled off double duty in competing in tag team matches while defending his belt as well, with three of four of those matches ending with him victorious.

Following last week's stellar performance against WWE Champion CM Punk, one can only speculate that officials have finally taken notice of how ready Dolph Ziggler really is. 

Conclusion

After five long years of agreeing to campy gimmicks in order to search for the right moniker and being seasoned into a star over the past year or so, Dolph Ziggler has finally blossomed into WWE Championship material.

Without a doubt, his impressive accolades are the exact qualifications WWE is looking for in their hunt for the perfect shining star of the dying youth movement. Personally, I believe it's only a matter of time before Ziggler drops Vickie Guerrero as his manager as well as the United States Championship to move on to bigger and better things in the main event scene amongst the likes of John Cena, CM Punk and The Miz.

Although it may not be anytime in the next six months, Dolph Ziggler has proven himself worthy of a rightful shot at the WWE Championship. With the the brass ring not too far from his grasp, the future looks golden for the former World Heavyweight Champion.

Much like his most recent entrance theme boldly states, Dolph Ziggler is here to show the world exactly why.

Do you believe Dolph Ziggler has what it takes to become a future WWE Champion? Drop a comment below with your thoughts on the matter, and as always, your overall criticism and feedback of my latest piece is greatly appreciated.

GSM out.

Visit my website at Next Era Wrestling as well as my WrestleRant and Spoilers podcasts for more thoughts and writings, along with WWE/TNA news, recaps and more. Follow me on Twitter @SAVE_US_GSM.