Dolph Ziggler Credits Fans For Support As Mr. Money In The Bank In WWE
Dolph Ziggler has credited fans for his successful 2013 WWE Money In The Bank cash in.
Having secured the coveted briefcase at Money In The Bank 2012, Ziggler spent a number of months often tasting defeat before ultimately cashing in his prize on the Raw after WrestleMania 29 on 8th April 2013, defeating Alberto Del Rio to be crowned World Heavyweight Champion.
Speaking during a recent appearance on ‘Stories with Brisco and Bradshaw’, the former 6-time WWE Intercontinental Champion reflected on the memorable moment, sharing his belief that the support of the fans led to his capture of the gold:
“The reason that reaction and that moment happened was 100% the fans. Like at the time, I was the guy with the briefcase who always kept trying to cash in—would catch a brogue kick or something in the face.
It got to a point where they thought they were either going to take it off of me or when I came to cash in, that I wasn’t going to get it. I was going to lose the match or something. But the reason the crowds were so great, even leading up to that, was Vince at the time,
He said, ‘Listen, I know you lose a lot’—[I’m like] about 99% of the time—but he goes, ‘I know you lose a lot and now with this briefcase, you’re going to lose even more, and it’s going to be a bigger deal. But the next day after you finally cash this in, everything changes.’ So we did that, kept [losing] more and more.”
Dolph Ziggler Shocked At Incredible Crowd Reaction
The 44 year-old star would go on to reveal that the crowd reaction was the loudest he had heard in his career:
“I was like, ‘Man, I hope this crowd’s into it. They seem kind of lively and fun.’ I’ll never forget my music hit—it was a two-second delay—and it’s just like prickers all over my body.
I went, ‘Whoa! what’, and I still had to stay focused and be in the moment, walk down there to do it. But I’ve never heard anything like that in person ever.”
Ziggler was released by WWE on 21st September 2023, ending a 19-year stint with the company. He would go on to debut in TNA Wrestling four months later before eventually capturing the TNA World Championship at Slammiversary on 20th July 2024.
H/T: SEScoops for the above transcription.