Dolph Ziggler is one of the WWE‘s longest-tenured veteran Superstars; he debuted back in 2005, a few years before he ultimately became “The Showoff” that fans know today. Throughout this long run with the company, the former World Heavyweight Champion has earned WWE’s trust, as he continues to make media appearances on various platforms.
This freedom isn’t exactly commonplace for WWE Superstars, but in an interview with XeniaDidThat, Ziggler explained that the company knows he’ll represent them well because he knows how to handle himself.
“It’s weird, if you’ve earned their trust and respect over 15 years, I used to have to ask like, ‘Hey, I’m going onto FOX News, is this okay that I do this in two weeks? And I got to a point where I built the trust, they sent me on PR tours to different countries, Romania, Turkey, they sent me to different places, and they trust me,” said Ziggler. “Two weeks, I’m by myself with a handler, and I’m just constantly doing PR for WWE and over 15 years, I clearly earned the ability to be like, I don’t have to tell them I’m going to do something. Because I’m not gonna be like, ‘Vince McMahon sucks and that’s why we should get out of Syria.’
“Like there’s no reason for that. I’ll be like, I could give an educated answer, I can make a snarky joke, I can change the subject, I can do any of it. And that’s why, for 10 years, it was myself, Miz, Kofi [Kingston], Sheamus, they sent us to everything and we got so sharp at it, they would go, ‘Hey, we gotta get some other guys to get these reps in.’ So I’m allowed to have this long leash, I can do whatever the hell I want. I mean I also back it up in the ring, so like what are you gonna do?”
Ziggler acknowledged that, during these appearances on news programs, there’s always a chance that one could slip up and say something detrimental, either to themself or the company. But he described how he always makes educated guesses to avoid these blunders; as a result, he’s confident that he has earned a lot of goodwill as a WWE Superstar because he successfully represents himself and the company.
“I’m on live TV on FOX News, talking politics, I could say something that can get me in trouble,” said Ziggler. “It can be negative towards the company, it could be negative towards me, it could be negative towards the troops or the USA, like you could say anything and be like, ‘Oh no, why’d I say that?’
“But I haven’t done that. And I don’t. I don’t stop when someone asks me a question and go, here’s how I’m gonna word this and be okay. I just give my educated answer. And through the 15 years here, where I’ve built up a lot of goodwill, more than probably anybody, I can go back it up. And I feel confident to go, I know I’m representing the company well….”
The full interview is available here:
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