It has been reported that Dolph Ziggler has been cleared to return to the ring. That means a Ziggler vs. Alberto Del Rio for the World Heavyweight Championship at WWE Payback is likely. If the match happens, WWE fans will see something that is almost as rare as a 3 Stages of Hell match. I did some research and I found out Ziggler has had only four Pay-Per-View singles matches that I would define as a main event match. I don’t mean Ziggler has been in the main event at four PPVs. By my definition, a main event match at a PPV is a match that gets one of those promo videos before the match or has a World Championship on the line. Three of those matches had the WWE or World Heavyweight Championship on the line. The other one had Ziggler’s Money in the Bank briefcase on the line and that match against John Cena at TLC 2012 was the only time Ziggler was in the main event of a PPV (not including Royal Rumble matches). Ziggler has been a WWE superstar since 2008 so I’m little bit surprised he has had so few major matches on PPV (Nick Nemeth aka Dolph Ziggler has been in WWE since 2005, but I’m focusing on his Ziggler character for this review). Whenever his PPV matches gets more than ten minutes, Ziggler usually has a great performance. Ziggler has had some really good mid-card PPV matches like his match against Daniel Bryan at Bragging Rights 2010. WWE.com posted their top 25 matches of 2010 and that match was tied for #1 with Undertaker vs. Shawn Michaels at WrestleMania 26 (I remember WWE.com breaking that tie by having a poll and Taker-HBK won so now it is the #2 WWE match of 2010). Another good Ziggler mid-card PPV match was his match against Rey Mysterio at SummerSlam 2009.

The Facts:

  • This match happened at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, California. The attendance was 17,129.
  • Rey Mysterio’s Intercontinental Championship was on the line in this match.
  • This was the opening match of SummerSlam.
  • Dolph Ziggler and Mysterio had a 14 minute match at WWE Night of Champions on July 26, 2009.
  • This match was Ziggler’s third PPV match and his first match at one of the “A” WWE PPVs.
  • Jim Ross and Todd Grisham were the announcers during this match.
  • This match is on the WWE Best Pay-Per-View Matches 2009-2010 DVD.
  • The time length of the match was 12:26.
  • This match can be seen at http://www.dailymotion.com/video/xb54z1_summerslam-2009-rey-mysterio-vs-dol_sport#.UatntpzgxvA.

The Match:

The match starts and Ziggler immediately is able get Rey in the corner. The referee gets Ziggler out of the corner. Rey kicks Ziggler and now Ziggler is being attacked in the corner. Ziggler is able to get out of the corner before the referee can break it up. Ziggler hits Rey with a Randy Orton scoop powerslam. Rey kicks out at two. Ziggler rolls up Rey and another kick-out at two. Ziggler hits Rey with kicks and punches. Ziggler tries to whip Rey into the turnbuckle. Rey reverses it and Ziggler is whipped into the turnbuckle. It looks like Rey is going for a hurricanrana, but Ziggler is able to lift Rey up and Rey flies over Ziggler’s head. Rey lands on the top turnbuckle. Rey does a moonsault off the turnbuckle and lands on Ziggler! Todd Grisham yells, “Are you serious?” Ziggler kicks out at two. Rey gets Ziggler out of the ring. Rey jumps off the ring apron and hits Ziggler with a hurricanrana. Ziggler and Rey are back in the ring. Rey climbs to the top turnbuckle and Ziggler climbs to the top too. Rey knocks Ziggler off the turnbuckle. Rey jumps off and Ziggler catches him. Ziggler slams Rey into the turnbuckles. Rey kicks out at two. Ziggler puts Rey into a submission hold. Rey fights out of it. Ziggler hits Rey with a side slam. Ziggler hits Rey with an elbow drop and Rey kicks out at two. Ziggler puts Rey in a submission hold again. It sounds like Ziggler is saying, “Ask him” to the referee. Hey that’s Jericho’s submission hold catchphrase! Rey fights back. Rey does a drop toe hold to Ziggler and Ziggler falls face-first into the turnbuckles. Rey bounces of the ropes and Ziggler hits him with a clothesline. He hit Rey hard with that clothesline. Rey kicks out at two. Ziggler does a fireman’s carry gutbuster and Rey kicks out at two. Ziggler has Rey in a submission hold and Rey fights out of it. Ziggler whips Rey into the corner. Ziggler runs at Rey and Rey gets out of the way. Ziggler’s head hits the ring post. I love how Ziggler does that spot. Rey hits Ziggler with a seated senton. Rey hits Ziggler with a Daniel Bryan kick to the head. Ziggler kicks out at two. Rey springboards off the middle rope and Ziggler hits Rey with a dropkick in mid-air! Rey kicks out at two. Ziggler whips Rey into the corner. Rey jumps off the middle turnbuckle and goes over Ziggler. Rey bounces off the ropes and Ziggler catches him. Ziggler is going for a powerbomb and Rey tries to turn it into a roll-up. Ziggler turns it into a pin attempt! Rey kicks out at two! Ziggler hits Rey with a clothesline. Rey kicks out at two. Rey gets Ziggler in position for the 619. Ziggler gets out of the way! Fameasser by Ziggler! Rey kicks out at two! Ziggler whips Rey into the corner. Rey kicks Ziggler’s face. Rey gets a pin attempt and Ziggler kicks out at two. Rey hits Ziggler with a DDT and Ziggler kicks out at two. Rey hits the 619! Rey drops from the top rope to complete the move and Ziggler gets out of the way! Ziggler tries to pin Rey for the win and Rey kicks out at two! Dueling “Let’s Go Ziggler/619” chants right now. Ziggler and Rey are both on the turnbuckles. Ziggler has Rey in a fireman’s carry and Rey turns it into a hurricanrana off the top rope! Rey pins Ziggler and retains his Intercontinental Championship.

Winner: Rey Mysterio

Rating: ***1/2

It shouldn’t surprise me that this was a good match. Rey Mysterio is a great opponent for many WWE superstars. If you look at the WWE DVDs of Chris Jericho, CM Punk and Eddie Guerrero, you will see they all have at least one Mysterio match. When Ziggler’s DVD is released, I think he will also have a Mysterio match and it will be this match. Mysterio won the match, but Ziggler had a great performance. The first time I saw this match was on the WWE Best Pay-Per-View Matches 2009-2010 Blu-ray and I was surprised at how much I enjoyed this match. Back in 2009, Ziggler was not a main event superstar like he is today. Many times during the match, it looked like Ziggler might win. The near-falls were great and it was surprising to see mid-carder Dolph Ziggler looking so good against future WWE Hall of Famer Rey Mysterio. I think this match is one of the reasons Ziggler is the World Heavyweight Champion right now. I can imagine the WWE executive officers watching that match and thinking that Ziggler was going to one of their top superstars in the future. Nearly four years later, Ziggler is getting ready to defend the World Heavyweight Championship in a PPV match for the first time in his career. I’m probably more excited about Ziggler’s match than any other match on Payback card because I think there is a good chance Ziggler is going to steal the show. I can’t wait to see what he does in one of the biggest matches of his career.