"I don't wanna be like Dolph" - Current WWE star wants to be the opposite of Ziggler
Kevin Owens has revealed that he never wanted to become frustrated with his WWE booking in the same way Dolph Ziggler has over the years.
While Ziggler is widely viewed as one of the company’s most talented in-ring performers, many believe he has been underutilized throughout his 18-year WWE career. The 41-year-old recently began working in NXT, where he held the NXT Championship for 26 days before losing it back to Bron Breakker.
Speaking on Corey Graves’ After The Bell podcast, Owens explained why he wanted to receive better opportunities than Ziggler:
“He’s a guy I respect a ton. I don’t think I’ve ever told him this, but he’s one of the guys that I would look at and think, ‘Man, I don’t wanna be like Dolph.’ In the sense that he’s so good, and I would see him so frustrated because he’s so good and he feels like he should be doing more, and he was right.”
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Owens recently sent a text message to Ziggler praising one of his promos on NXT. He believes the two-time World Heavyweight Champion is currently producing some of his best character work in years.
Kevin Owens understands why WWE stars become frustrated
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Kevin Owens referenced Dolph Ziggler after explaining that he battled through his own frustrations with his WWE position before signing a new contract last year. Since then, he has become more confident as a performer and feels less pressure to constantly prove himself.
Elaborating on Ziggler’s past creative issues, Owens acknowledged that everyone is bound to become frustrated at points in their career:
“This was 2015, 2016. I was like, ‘I don’t wanna be like that. I wanna come to work and I don’t wanna be frustrated all the time.’ But guess what? When you’re passionate and hungry and you know you’re good, which is what he is, it’s inevitable. It’s gonna happen to everybody.”
Owens lost via count-out against Cody Rhodes in the main event of RAW this week. Meanwhile, Ziggler has not competed in a match since losing the NXT Championship to Bron Breakker on the post-WrestleMania 38 episode of RAW.
Please credit After The Bell and give a H/T to Sportskeeda Wrestling for the transcription if you use quotes from this article.