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Dolph Ziggler Comments on Being on Hiatus with WWE, No Royal Rumble Match, Thoughts on AEW and More

By John Canton • Published 27th January 2019
TJR Wrestling

Dolph Ziggler is on a break from WWE and that’s coming from him. The former World Champion was interviewed by Chris Van Vliet in Phoenix yesterday. Chris sent along these quotes from the interview over to our friends at Rajah.com, so you can check them out below. The full video is at the bottom of this post.

Will we see him at the Royal Rumble?
“Technically I am still under contract, yes, but I am not scheduled to be at the Royal Rumble.”

What is his current status with WWE?
“For now I am on a hiatus with WWE. It took me like 10 years to get a weekend off and this is it. So we’ll see where it goes from here. Like I said we have a handshake agreement which is different from what’s on paper. I’ve given everything and we’ll see if there is more for me to give, I’ll be happy to be a part of it.”

On reports that WWE wants to keep him on as a producer backstage:
“If WWE wanted to keep me around it would be to be in the ring. For now. Producing I could see happening 10 years down the line but I don’t know why I wouldn’t be doing some other stuff first. It’s a great thing and there are a lot of people who are good at teaching and giving back and I love pulling people aside or if they come up to me at work. Doing that full time and basically being in the best shape of my life, I wouldn’t be able to do it knowing that I could be like no let me just do this for you. One day down the line that could be something, but I’m very much not interested in that.”

His response to Drew McIntyre’s comments that Dolph took advantage of him:
“The guy’s great and he’s probably going to be doing something special at the Royal Rumble and probably at WrestleMania. Who knows? There’s nothing really bad to say about that part but I guess if I took advantage of him it’s because if he was, in our world, not existing for 10 years, I was putting the show on my back over and over again and you get to a point where it’s like you have lobster every day after a week you’re like this lobster is ok, after 7 years straight you’re like ‘Bro, enough with the lobster bring in the hot dog’ and there you have it!”

His thoughts on signing with AEW:
“I wouldn’t say I would be the next big signing, I’d say I would be the big signing, I would have to say. But I have some other things going on at the moment but that should always be an option for anybody especially someone like me who has been around for a long time and as Drew McIntyre says, maybe I was riding his coattails and I gotta get the hell out of here. So you never know. I think it would be great, I think it would be a great addition to that company which seems to be for true wrestlers who love the sport and the business. It’s a great idea.”

On Twitter, Ziggler is using his real name “Nic Nemeth” although his handle is still @HEELZiggler as usual. He has a comedy show after the Royal Rumble on Sunday.

TJR THOUGHTS: Good for Dolph breaking free if that’s something he wants in his life. He has been going at it hard for the last decade and hasn’t had much time for breaks since he has been durable without any major injuries. I don’t know if AEW is a legit possibility for him or if he would prefer to be a WWE lifer. If he does go to AEW, it would be a nice boost for them when they get started. This feels like more of a break for a few months, he can rest his body, work on his comedy bookings and just have a break from being on the road. I agree with him about not wanting to be a backstage producer. He’s 38 years old and in great shape. Being behind the scenes is something he can do in his late 40s. He doesn’t need to be in that role now.