Dolph Ziggler on If He Still Hates John Cena, Superkicking Jerry Lawler on Smackdown, His Favorite NXT Star and the Evolution of the Brand

January 26, 2017

By Nick Paglino

WWE star Dolph Ziggler recently took part in a media conference call to promote WWE Royal Rumble on Sunday night, and below are some interview highlights via Planeta Wrestling:

I would like to start with something you said 4 years ago. On an interview with Sam Roberts you said, “I hate John Cena because he is really good and I want his spot in the company”. Are you still thinking like that?

“Absolutely. I would love to be in the position that John Cena is in with the company. Of course. To be that guy that is always fighting for the championship, to be the guy who is always giving back to the fans, doing something important in the business, absolutely. I would love to be in that position with the company and I’m not someone who says, ‘Hey, I would like to be on top of the company.’ I’m someone that works so hard everyday to get to that spot and one day I will get there or one day I will not, but one way or another, the fact that you work hard everyday helps me sleep a little bit at night.”

Can you explain why you did what you did last week on SmackDown Live superkicking Jerry Lawler in the chest?

“Well, you all know that I’m a little frustrated and of course, part time guys like Jerry Lawler coming out and having the ovation he had, I had to ask him very politely to stop doing me that questions and let me do my thing, let me find the way to win and for some reason he went out of his way and he kept bothering me and calling me a ‘loser.’ I’ve heard that from fans, I’ve heard it from other wrestlers, but to hear it from someone I just to look up to, it really bothered me and I knew that I really had to do something. Sorry, wrong place, wrong time Lawler.”

Now that we have the NXT Year End Awards, who is your favorite NXT superstar and what do you think about the evolution of the brand?

“I think it’s become a phenomenon all over the world and it is pretty amazing. It’s very cool. It’s its own brand and it feeds itself. I’m a huge Tye Dillinger guy. I’ve been a fan of that guy’s work since we worked together in Ohio Valley Wrestling 11 years ago. He works hard, he is amazing at it. I am a great fan. I love the “10”. Everything that he does is fantastic. They say, ‘he harder you work the lucky you get,’ so one of this times with all the hard work he puts in… he is gonna be lucky.”

Nick was born and raised in Detroit, Michigan, and lived there until the age of 18, when he decided to pack his flack jacket and move to New York City.

Nick attended New York University and graduated in 2001 with a degree in Drama.

Nick first entered the internet wrestling community back in 2004 when he became the co-host of The Voice of Wrestling Radio Show. From there, Nick made the transition from radio personality to editor when he began working with WrestleZone in 2008.

Nick is a member of two Off-Broadway theatre companies, Another Urban Riff, and the Drama Desk Award winning Godlight Theatre Company. Nick has appeared in over a dozen Off-Broadway plays since he moved to New York City, and has shot several short and feature length films. In 2010, he completed principle photography on a film titled "How to Score Your Life," which also features TNA Knockout ODB.

Inspiration in his life has come from many people including his family, Woody Allen, Steven Spielberg, Jack Nicholson, The Beatles, and of course, Lassie.