There will be spoilers concerning the 600th episode of Smackdown, originally aired on 2/18/11, so turn back now if you haven't seen it yet. Things have finally come to a head for the long-standing feud between Vickie Guerrero and Edge, with poor Dolph Ziggler getting the worst of it. So where does our platinum-haired friend end up? Read on to find out!
On Monday Night Raw this past week Vickie Guerrero finally made good on her promise to ex-husband Edge. By using the Spear in his match against Dolph Ziggler on the previous episode of Smackdown, Edge would be stripped of the championship and it would be handed over to Ziggler. After the announcement was made on Monday night, Vickie followed through on the historic 600th episode of Smackdown. Edge was stripped of his championship and Dolph made the Heavyweight Championship.
For six minutes, anyway.
The story arc concluded with the return of Teddy Long who retook his rightful mantel as GM. Although Teddy did not simply void Ziggler's reign, he immediately put the newly crowned champion into a match against Edge in which the title was on the line. In six minutes Edge regained his title, turning him from a ten-time to an eleven-time champion over the course of a single hour. To add a final mark of indignity, Teddy punctuated Ziggler's loss by firing the superstar from Smackdown!
Backing up a bit, all of this came to fruition because Vickie had stepped in as acting General Manager of Smackdown following the attack on Teddy Long some weeks ago. It seems as though Vickie also had some hand in the attack that hospitalized Teddy, although the specifics of this were not made clear. Since Teddy's injury we have been subject to countless one-sided matches designed to place the championship in the hands of Vickie's latest boytoy, Dolph Ziggler. Time and time again Vickie placed Edge in seemingly-impossible to win scenarios yet some how Edge always found a way to prevail.
As I try to explain the back story regarding these latest developments I cannot help but notice that the story is really about two people; Edge and Vickie Guerrero. This is the same point that I mentioned in my summary of Monday Night RAW this past week. Although Vickie is a wonderful heel whose strong personality can really fuel a feud, Dolph Ziggler is fallen to the wayside. Dolph is not an active participant in this story, rather the story is happening to Dolph. In the eyes of the audience, Dolph is inconsequential to the story being told.
In the traditional ways of professional wrestling, the manager/wrestler relationship is meant to be a two-way street. Typically a manager is brought in to serve as a mouth piece for a wrestler whose mic skills are lacking, although this "lack" of skill may be a character trait in some instances. While the manager talks the talk, it is the duty of the wrestler to walk the walk. The wrestler is the brawn that must enforce the will behind the words of the manager. In the case of Dolph and Vickie, this symbiotic relationship does not exist. Vickie is serving as the mouthpiece for both herself and Dolph, but by being acting General Manager she is also enforcing her own will. Further lessening Dolph's contribution is his recent inability to win inside the squared circle. Vickie has set Dolph up in countless matches that ought to be impossible for Dolph to lose, and yet he does. Ziggler is not fulfilling his end of the Manager/Wrestler relationship. Ultimately, the man portraying Dolph Ziggler is a very talented up-and-comer in the WWE, but his character as it stands now is weak.
So with Dolph fired from Smackdown, where does he go from here? I suppose his relationship with Vickie could continue and she could find some way to get her boy rehired. Personally, I think Dolph has gained all that he can from his association with Vickie. He is a talented in his own right and perhaps this is the logical point for him to begin standing on his own. If Dolph were to appear sans Vickie Guerro as the newest member of the RAW roster this Monday night, I would be very excited to see where his story takes him.
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