Dolph Ziggler on losing his push and being a heel vs a face

Dolph Ziggler

As noted earlier, Dolph Ziggler spoke with The Washington Times to promote this Sunday’s SmackDown taping at the Verizon Center in Washington, D.C. Here are a couple of highlights from the interview:

On his push being derailed after getting a concussion and then losing the World Heavyweight Championship:

‘I’m sitting at home with a pounding headache, and I’m thinking I’m going to lose this one opportunity that I was basically never supposed to have. Then slowly over the next two or three weeks, my headaches weren’t going away, and then I’m [like], “Wow, let’s put that on the back burner, I need to see if I can ever wrestle again.” At week three, [still] a consistent 24-hour headache, I may never be able to get in to the ring again. If I do, I don’t know if I could fall down, be as crisp as I was, and I’m nervous about hitting my head or anything like that. Luckily, very slowly but surely, everything came back into order. I picked up right where I left off, and unfortunately the title was very shortly out of my hands. Even though you love this business, it doesn’t always love you back. It’s always about timing, [and] that was my one shot to prove to the world that I could actually be a Heavyweight Champion.’

On who’s a better kisser, AJ or Vickie Guerrero:

‘Vicky has more experience, but to be fair, I did kiss AJ way more. So, when it comes down to it, I’m going to give the nod to experience. Vicky still gives me the eye when I see her back stage. You know what I mean?’

On whether he prefers being a heel or a face:

‘No joke, my opponents have changed, a different side of the roster is now my opponents, but I haven’t changed one bit. I love to feel the crowd out there, go off them, base it out there, change things on the fly, and I call the shots out there, because I’m good at what I do. Nothing’s really changed that much, I’ve had a lot more experience as a bad guy. I did it for eight straight years. I feel like I’m a little more comfortable in that role. I’m still watching tape back, and seeing myself not in the best position where I should be [during matches]. There’s always tiny things that you need to hone and refine.’