WWE Magazine:When are you not showing off, other than while sleeping?
Dolph Ziggler:I have this chip on my shoulder where I just have to do it, so I can’t think of a reasonable time or place where I wouldn’t be “showing off.” I always have to be the center of attention. I have to be the star.
WWE Mag:After winning the Money in the Bank Ladder Match in July, you shouted: “It’s about damn time!” It felt like it was not only an exclamation from you regarding how far you’ve come, but for Ziggler fans who keep waiting for everyone else to catch up with how talented you are. What was on your mind in that moment?
Ziggler:I can only speak up so much — whether it’s backstage or on Twitter and in interviews — and if I didn’t think I was this good, then I wouldn’t keep telling people to put me in these situations. I’ve been saying for years that I deserve to be there, and I value my word as something that truly means something. That’s why that came out. It’s about damn time that people woke up to what just about everyone in the world had already known.
WWE Mag:Despite your villainous, braggadocio nature, the WWE Universe still loves you. Is it hard to be a “bad guy” with so many admirers?
Ziggler:I hate a crowd getting behind me. Even if it’s just to say, “This guy deserves to win a match.” I understand it, but I don’t want their help, and I don’t need their help. But I’ll say, “I get it, now shut the hell up and let me get back to doing my job.”
WWE Mag:If given the chance to do that in one of many stipulation matches, for example, which bout would you love the opportunity to re-invent?
Ziggler:That’s tricky, because I love stipulation matches, but I also love an old-fashioned Iron Man Match. In this day and age, it would be great not only to prove that I could contest that kind of match, but also to prove that people would even want to see it. That’s a long time spent on two guys and one match. I want people to feel that they just watched a 60-minute movie and were on the edge of their seats the whole time. Again, that’s why I have that chip on my shoulder. It’s hard enough to stand out over two or three minutes, but to do it for an hour is a different story.
WWE Mag:But finally, give us a little humility for once: what’s the absolute worst thing that you do?
Ziggler:I don’t listen … to a point where if I think something’s right, I’ll go ahead and do it anyway, and it’ll be the wrong thing to do. That’s what’s holding me back. I tell myself how great I am, but sometimes I’m wrong. Some people have been here a lot longer, and sometimes they’re going to be right, and damn it, I’m going to have to pay attention to that.
To read more from this exclusive interview, including where the chip on his shoulder comes from and the Superstar on the roster Dolph feels can help him reach the top, pick up the February issue today or SUBSCRIBE HERE and save 70 percent off the newsstand sales price.