WWE Champion Kofi Kingston def. Dolph Ziggler

JEDDAH — Dolph Ziggler came into WWE Super ShowDown believing that he should be WWE Champion, not Kofi Kingston. The Dreadlocked Dynamo’s victory in Jeddah did not change The Showoff’s mind, thanks to a timely assist from Xavier Woods, leading Ziggler to make a huge challenge in the bout’s aftermath.

Ziggler wasted no time grinding the WWE Champion into the canvas, wearing Kingston down and clawing at his eyes. The Showoff kept the match at a slow, methodical pace as he continued to brutalize the champion, but Kingston would not be denied.

The WWE Champion battled back, setting off a rapid-fire exchange of attempted pins, capped off with Kingston planting Ziggler into the canvas with the SOS. In the 100-degree heat of Jeddah, the fight spilled to the arena floor, as Kingston dove from the top rope onto the challenger at ringside. As both men scrambled to recover and get back in the ring, Ziggler shoved the champion into the steel ring steps. When Xavier Woods got closer to the action than Ziggler cared for, The Showoff clocked him with a superkick.

As the referee checked on the WWE Champion on the mat, Ziggler ran to the ropes, where Woods was waiting to deliver a kick of his own to Ziggler’s face. That blow gave Kingston the opening to connect with Trouble in Paradise to get the three-count and retain his championship.

The controversial ending to the title match sent Ziggler into a rage. In a post-match interview with Byron Saxton in the backstage area, The Showoff continued to insist that he should be WWE Champion and that Woods was the only reason he did not hold that title today. Ziggler demanded a rematch with Kofi Kingston, one-on-one, with no outside parties involved. He saw only one way to make that possible, challenging the WWE Champion to a Steel Cage Match, which will indeed be contested at WWE Stomping Grounds.