Dolph Ziggler Nicholas Theodore " Nick " Nemeth ( July 27 , 1980 ) is an American professional wrestler , who is contracted to WWE under the ring name Dolph Ziggler . He is also known for his performances with WWE as Spirit Squad member Nicky in 2006 . Nemeth signed a development contract with WWE in 2004 , and was sent to Ohio Valley Wrestling ( OVW ) . He was brought up to the Raw brand in 2005 as Kerwin White ' s sidekick . He was , however , sent back to OVW shortly afterwards , where he joined the Spirit Squad . They debuted on " Raw " in January 2006 , and won the World Tag Team Championship once before returning to OVW that November . In September 2007 , Nemeth was assigned to Florida Championship Wrestling ( FCW ) , where he formed a tag team with Brad Allen . The pair won the FCW Florida Tag Team Championship once , and Nemeth later won the championship for the second time with Gavin Spears as his partner . He returned to " Raw " as Ziggler in September 2008 , and was drafted to the SmackDown brand in April 2009 . At the " SmackDown " tapings on July 28 , Ziggler won the WWE Intercontinental Championship for the first time . He held the championship for five months , until January 2011 . He was awarded , and lost , his first World Heavyweight Championship on February 15 , 2011 . That March he returned to the Raw roster , and won the WWE United States Championship for the first time three months later . Amateur wrestling career . Nemeth attended St . Edward High School in Lakewood , Ohio where he was an amateur wrestler , and holds the school record for most pins in a career with 82 . He wrestled collegiately at Kent State University , eventually setting what was then the record for most career wins in the team ' s history . Nemeth ' s record was passed in 2006 , and as of 2010 he stands second all - time in career victories at Kent State . He had 121 career wins between 2000 and 2003 . He was a three - time All - Mid - American Conference champion , winning the 165 lbs tournament in 2000 , 2002 , and 2003 , and as of 2010 is the last wrestler from Kent State University to have won three amateur wrestling championships . During his time at St Edwards , the wrestling team won the National Championships on two occasions . Professional wrestling career . Ohio Valley Wrestling and Raw ( 2004 – 2006 ) . Nemeth signed a contract with World Wrestling Entertainment ( WWE ) in 2004 . He was assigned to their developmental territory Ohio Valley Wrestling ( OVW ) , debuting as " Nick Nemeth " . He feuded with Paul Burchill and challenged unsuccessfully for the OVW Television Championship , losing a championship match against then - champion Ken Doane on August 12 , 2005 . Nemeth was called up to the Raw roster shortly afterwards , making his television debut on the September 19 , 2005 episode of " Sunday Night Heat " . He was made the enforcer and sidekick for Chavo Guerrero , Jr . , who was using a golfer in - ring persona and going by the ring name of " Kerwin White " . As such , Nemeth became White ' s caddy . His wrestling debut came on an episode of " Sunday Night Heat " , teaming up with White in a tag team match against Shelton Benjamin and Matt Striker . After the death of Eddie Guerrero , Chavo Guerrero dropped the " Kerwin White " character , and Nemeth no longer played the role of his caddy and tag partner . After a few months of wrestling in dark matches and at house show s , he was sent back to OVW . The Spirit Squad ( 2006 ) . Nemeth became a part of the Spirit Squad faction , a group of five wrestlers who used the in - ring personas of male cheerleaders , and adopted the name Nicky in OVW during late 2005 . On January 23 , 2006 , they had their WWE television debut as a group , appearing on " Raw " and helping Jonathan Coachman win a Royal Rumble qualifying match against Jerry " The King " Lawler by performing cheers for Coachman and distracting Lawler . They later became a part of the ongoing scripted feud between WWE chairman Vince McMahon and Shawn Michaels . The heel ( villainous ) McMahon brought in the Squad to attack Michaels on numerous occasions , including placing them in multiple handicap matches . They also wrestled in the tag team division , and on April 3 , on " Raw " , won the World Tag Team Championship when Kenny and Mikey , with outside help from the other three Squad members , defeated Kane and The Big Show . After winning the championship , all five members of the Spirit Squad were recognized as the champions , allowing any combination of them to defend the championship . In May , McMahon signed another Handicap match , with the Spirit Squad facing Michaels . The match never started , however ; instead the Spirit Squad attacked Michaels , and , as part of the storyline , shattered his knee with a steel chair . McMahon brought Triple H to the ring to attack Michaels with a sledgehammer ; however , after Triple H felt that the Squad had disrespected him , he attacked the group . This led to Triple H and Michaels reforming D - Generation X ( DX ) and they began a feud with the Spirit Squad . DX played various sophomoric jokes on the Squad and the McMahons , as well as defeating the Spirit Squad in handicap tag team matches at Vengeance and a clean sweep in an elimination handicap match at " Saturday Night ' s Main Event " . At the same time as their feud with DX and their alignment with McMahon , the Squad also wrestled other teams in " Raw " < nowiki > ' < / nowiki > s tag division over their World Tag Team Championship , successfully defending the championship against the teams of Jim Duggan and Eugene , Charlie Haas and Viscera , and Snitsky and Val Venis . They then entered a lengthy feud with The Highlanders , whom they eventually defeated to retain the championship at the Unforgiven pay - per - view in September . The Squad as a whole later began a losing streak with separate members losing singles matches to Ric Flair on consecutive episodes of " Raw " , until Kenny managed to defeat him on the October 23 episode . It was then announced that Flair and a WWE legend , selected by interactive voting , would wrestle the team for the World Tag Team Championship at the Cyber Sunday pay - per - view in early November . The fans chose Roddy Piper , and he and Flair defeated Kenny and Mikey to win the championship . The group disbanded on the November 27 episode of " Raw " , when they were defeated in a five - on - three handicap match by DX and Flair . In a backstage segment later that night , DX placed all members into a crate stamped " OVW , Louisville , Kentucky " , a reference to the developmental territory from which the Squad had come . Return to developmental ( 2007 – 2008 ) . Nemeth returned to OVW on January 17 , 2007 , at the television tapings , again using his Nick Nemeth ring name , along with Mike Mondo , formerly Mikey in the Spirit Squad , as the " Frat Pack " . The pair teamed with Mike Kruel in a match against Seth Skyfire , Shawn Spears , and Cody Runnels . The team disbanded in the early parts of 2007 . Nemeth then competed in several dark matches before the OVW television tapings , competing against wrestler including Chris Cage , Bradley Jay and Jake Hager , before he began teaming with Mondo again in August . At the end of August , Nemeth and Mike Mondo were moved to the Florida Championship Wrestling ( FCW ) developmental territory and in his debut there , Nemeth gained the nickname " The Natural " and defeated Hade Vansen . In November 2007 , Nemeth gained Big Rob as his manager , but their alliance was short - lived . At the start of 2008 , he tweaked his name to " Nic Nemeth " and began teaming with Brad Allen , with the pair gaining Taryn Terrell as their valet . Nemeth and Allen started a frat boy type ring character with Terrell as a " sorority chick " . On March 22 , Nemeth and Allen won the FCW Florida Tag Team Championship by defeating defending champions Eddie Colón and Eric Pérez , but lost the championship back to Colón and Pérez on April 15 . Throughout April and May 2008 , Nemeth wrestled in several dark matches prior to " Raw " , losing to Kofi Kingston and Ron Killings on several occasions . Soon after , he returned to the name " Nic Nemeth " , and began teaming with Gavin Spears . The pair defeated Colón and Pérez to win the FCW Florida Tag Team Championship on August 16 , but lost it to Heath Miller and Joe Hennig less than a month later . " Dolph Ziggler " and the Intercontinental Championship ( 2008 – 2010 ) . On September 15 , 2008 , Nemeth re - debuted on " Raw " , introducing himself in a backstage segment under the name " Dolph Ziggler " and with a new image . On October 10 , 2008 , Nemeth was suspended for 30 days for his first violation of WWE ' s Wellness Program policy . He returned to " Raw " on November 17 in a backstage segment with Rey Mysterio and Shawn Michaels . In his first match on " Raw " under the Ziggler name , he lost to Batista on the December 1 episode . The following week he got his first victory as Ziggler , by countout , against R - Truth . The next week on " Raw " , he picked up his first televised pinfall victory , when he defeated Charlie Haas . On April 15 , 2009 , Ziggler was drafted to the SmackDown brand as part of the 2009 Supplemental Draft . He made his debut on the April 17 episode of " SmackDown " , defeating the United States Champion , Montel Vontavious Porter ( MVP ) in a non - title match , and , as a result , the following week he demanded a match for the championship . On the May 1 episode of " SmackDown " , however , he failed to win the championship , after he was pinned by MVP . Ziggler then started a rivalry with The Great Khali , losing to him by disqualification after attacking Khali with a steel chair . As a result , Khali began coming out to the ring during and after Ziggler ' s matches , in attempt to gain revenge and to stop Ziggler from cheating . Over the next few weeks , Ziggler defeated Khali by countout and disqualification after making it look like Khali had struck him with a steel chair . At The Bash pay - per - view , Ziggler defeated Khali by pinfall , after Kane interfered and attacked Khali . Ziggler then entered an on - screen relationship with WWE Diva Maria and she became his valet . He simultaneously started a scripted rivalry with Intercontinental Champion Rey Mysterio , who defeated Ziggler at the Night of Champions and SummerSlam pay - per - views to retain the championship . In September , Mysterio lost the Intercontinental Championship to John Morrison , and Ziggler entered a feud with Morrison , losing to him at the Hell in a Cell pay - per - view . On the episode of " SmackDown " , following Hell in a Cell , Ziggler ended his on - screen relationship with Maria after she cost him a match against Morrison . On the February 26 , 2010 episode of " SmackDown " , Ziggler defeated John Morrison and R - Truth in a triple threat qualifying match to compete in the Money in the Bank ladder match at WrestleMania XXVI , but was ultimately unsuccessful . In June he began a romantic storyline with Vickie Guerrero , who began accompanying him to the ring . On the July 9 episode of " SmackDown " , Ziggler defeated Chavo Guerrero and Montel Vontavious Porter in a triple threat match to qualify for the SmackDown Money in the Bank ladder match at the Money in the Bank pay - per - view , where he once again failed to win the match . On July 28 at the tapings of the August 6 edition of " SmackDown " Ziggler defeated Kofi Kingston to win the WWE Intercontinental Championship for the first time . In his first title defense at SummerSlam , he retained the championship against Kingston when the match ended in a no contest due to interference from The Nexus . Ziggler was able to make a successful title defense against Kingston at the Night of Champions pay - per - view , and against Kaval at Survivor Series . In November 2010 , Ziggler was announced as a Pro for the fourth season of " NXT " , with Jacob Novak as his Rookie . At , Ziggler successfully retained the Intercontinental Championship in a three - way ladder match against Kingston and Jack Swagger . On the January 4 , 2011 episode of " NXT " , Ziggler won a battle royal to earn the right to choose a new rookie , and chose Byron Saxton . His original rookie , Novak , was the first rookie eliminated later that night . At " SmackDown " tapings on January 4 , Ziggler lost the Intercontinental Championship to Kingston after a five - month reign . That same night , Ziggler won a four - way match against Cody Rhodes , Drew McIntyre , and The Big Show to become the number one contender to the World Heavyweight Championship . Ziggler would fail in gaining the title at the Royal Rumble and before the Elimination Chamber event , would become World Champion after Edge used the spear on Ziggler ( which was banned at the time ) . Mintues after getting the title , Ziggler would lose it to Edge , and be fired from Smackdown . United States Champion , Money in the Bank , and World Heavyweight Champion ( 2011 – 2013 ) . On the March 7 episode of " Raw " , Ziggler was introduced as the newest member of the Raw roster , and defeated John Morrison in a singles match . Ziggler was accompanied by Guerrero , who had also been fired from " SmackDown " , but she was forced to earn her spot on the Raw roster . Ziggler , along with Guerrero , and LayCool then feuded with Morrison , Trish Stratus and " Jersey Shore " guest star Snooki , culminating in a mixed tag team match at WrestleMania XXVII which Ziggler and his team lost . On the April 18 episode of " Raw " , Vickie introduced the " new and improved " Dolph Ziggler . Ziggler came out with his hair cut short and brown and went on to defeat Evan Bourne in a singles match . He had re - bleached his hair by the May 23 episode of " Raw " . Ziggler beat United States Champion Kofi Kingston in a non - title match on the May 30 episode of " Raw " , leading to a championship match at Capitol Punishment 2011 which Ziggler won to earn his first United States Championship . The next night on " Raw " , Kingston invoked his rematch clause in a two out of three falls match and won via disqualification , allowing Ziggler to retain . After Jack Swagger suggested to Guerrero that she should manage him in addition to Ziggler , a jealous Ziggler teased tension with Swagger . This , coupled with Ziggler ' s concurrent feud with Alex Riley , led to Ziggler to defend and retain his United States Championship in a fatal four - way match against Swagger , Riley , and John Morrison at Night of Champions . On the September 19 episode of " Raw " , Ziggler lost a non - title match to Zack Ryder when guest star Hugh Jackman helped Ryder by punching Ziggler in the face . Although Ziggler would later claim to have a broken jaw due to Jackman ' s punch , it was reported that the supposed injury was fake . Later that night , Guerrero officially began managing Swagger , and Swagger began interfering in Ziggler ' s matches to help him win . Ziggler and Swagger unsuccessfully challenged Air Boom for the WWE Tag Team Championship at Hell in a Cell and at Vengeance , where Ziggler also successfully defended the United States Championship against Ryder . He went on to successfully defend the championship against Morrison at Survivor Series . At , Ziggler lost the United States Championship to Ryder . On the December 26 episode of " Raw " , Ziggler defeated CM Punk in a gauntlet match for a WWE Championship shot after interference from John Laurinaitis . On the January 2 , 2012 , episode of " Raw " , Ziggler received his shot at the WWE Championship , winning the match by countout , after Laurinaitis once again interfered . Ziggler would be used sparringly on TV after his feud with CM Punk . In July , Ziggler won the Money in the Bank Ladder Match to guarantee him the opportunity to challenge for the World Heavyweight Championship at a time of his choosing within the next year . Ziggler continued to threaten World Champion Sheamus with the briefcase , and would always be stopped by either Randy Orton or Chris Jericho . At SummerSlam 2012 Ziggler lost to Jericho after being locked into a Liontamer . Ziggler then started a feud with Randy Orton at Night of Champions 2012 , where Ziggler lost again after a mid - air RKO . Ziggler then started a feud with John Cena post Survivor Series 2012 . The feud would culimate in a Ladder match for Ziggler ' s Money in the Bank brief case at . AJ Lee would then turn on Cena which would form an alliance with AJ and would then end his relationship with AJ ' s rival Vickie Guererro . The next night on " Raw " during a tag match , Big E Langston debuted and attacked Cena making an alliance between Ziggler , Lee and Langston . On April 7 , 2013 , Ziggler and Langston challenged Daniel Bryan and Kane for the Tag Team Championships at Wrestlemania XXIX losing to the champions . On the April 8th episode of " Monday Night Raw " , Ziggler cashed in his " Money in the Bank " contract immediately after Alberto Del Rio ' s winning match against Jack Swagger . He won the match ; and the World Heavyweight Championship for the second time . Upon becoming World Heavyweight Champion , Ziggler began feuding with Del Rio and Swagger during the following weeks leading towards an intended triple - threat match at Extreme Rules for the championship . However , Ziggler suffered a legitimate concussion on the May 10th episode of " Friday Night Smackdown " , while involving himself in a match between Big E . Langston and Swagger . Because of his concussion , Ziggler was dropped from the triple threat , thus scheduling Del Rio and Swagger to face each other in an " " I Quit Match " " match for the No . 1 Contendership for the Championship . After spending four weeks recovering , Ziggler made a brief appearance on the June 7th episode of " Friday Night Smackdown " on the titantron screen after the match between Alberto Del Rio against 3MB . He announced during his on - screen appearance that he would return to in - ring action on the following showing of " Monday Night Raw " . Ziggler indeed appeared on Raw on June 10 , interrupting a mic - segment with Chris Jericho . He however declined to face Jericho ' s impromptu match challenge and instead chose Big E . Langston to fill in to face Jericho . During the match Ziggler distracted Jericho allowing Langston to close in on a possible victory until Del Rio suddenly appeared and attacked Ziggler allowing Jericho to regain the advantage to beat Langston . Ziggler and Del Rio would face each other at Payback for the World Heavyweight Championship . Face Turn ( 2013 – 2017 ) . On June 16 , at Payback , Ziggler lost the championship to Del Rio . On " Raw " , Ziggler attacked Del Rio after his championship match with CM Punk when he fled the ring to retain the title . On the June 21 edition of " Smackdown " , Ziggler attacked Del Rio again during the title match against Chris Jericho . For his interference , Ziggler received a " Codebreaker " from Jericho . On the " Raw " show on June 24 , Ziggler attacked Del Rio after his match with Jericho ended with a disqualification . After Jericho recovered from the assault by Ricardo Rodriguez , Ziggler struck back against Jericho with a " Zig Zag " . These events forwarded their feud for the Championship which they would later meet for at Money in the Bank . Ziggler ' s first singles match action since his return from injury was against Jinder Mahal of 3MB during the July 1 episode of " Monday Night Raw " . Afterwards , he escaped an attempted 3 - on - 1 ambush by 3MB , taking out each of the three members . Since his return from his concussion in May , Ziggler embarked on a face push , wrestling more honest matches against uneven odds as he continued his feud with Del Rio . During his return , Ziggler faced heel wrestlers including 3MB , Jack Swagger and Antonio Cesaro . On the July 12 episode of " Friday Night Smackdown " , Ziggler was ordered by interim general manager Theodore Long to leave the arena for fear that Ziggler would interfere with the match between Alberto Del Rio and Sin Cara that night . However , Ziggler , disguised as Sin Cara , faced Del Rio . Later in the night , after the match , Ziggler acted as though he was gone the entire time , only returning backstage to congratulate Sin Cara for a " great performance " in the ring . Ziggler went on to face Del Rio at Money in the Bank , for the World Heavyweight Championship , losing to Del Rio by disqualification after A . J . Lee interfered and cost Ziggler the match . On the July 15 episode of Raw , Ziggler backstage broke up with A . J . and left for his match against Del Rio . During the match , Ziggler was distracted by the bell rung by A . J . allowing for Del Rio to pin Ziggler . Afterwards , A . J . slapped Ziggler multiple times before ordering Big E . Langston to attack Ziggler . These actions effectively ended the Power Couple alliance . During the August 9 edition of " Friday Night Smackdown " , it was announced during the " Miz TV " segment , guest - starring A . J . and Langston , that Ziggler and Kaitlyn ( who later joined the segment to taunt Langston and A . J . ) that they would meet at SummerSlam in tag action , as made by SummerSlam host The Miz . At SummerSlam , Ziggler and Kaitlyn defeated Langston and A . J . After SummerSlam , Ziggler lost two title matches against United States Champion Dean Ambrose at Night of Champions and on the October 16 episode of " Main Event . " Ziggler also failed to defeat defending champion Curtis Axel for the Intercontinental Championship on the November 11 edition of Raw . In December 2013 , Ziggler lost two # 1 contender matches for the Intercontinental Championship to Damien Sandow and Fandango . On the January 9 episode of WWE " Superstars " ( taped January 6 ) , Ziggler sustained another concussion during his match with Ryback . He returned at Royal Rumble 2014 , but was eliminated by Roman Reigns . The following night on Raw , Dolph defeated The Miz in a Battle of Cleveland match where Dolph was acknowledged as being from Cleveland and was billed from there ahead of the match . On the March 3 , 2014 episode of Raw , Ziggler defeated Alberto Del Rio in a singles match with the help of RAW guest stars Aaron Paul . In return , Del Rio would distract Ziggler in a match against Christian , causing Ziggler to lose , reignitiing the feud between Del Rio and Ziggler . On the 24th March edition of Raw , Ziggler competed against Christian , Del Rio and Sheamus in a Number One Contender ' s match for Big E ' s Intercontinental Championship . During the closing moments of the match , it looked like Ziggler was going to win until Christian entered the ring and delivered the Killswitch for the win . But , the next night , WWE . com announced that Christian could not compete due to a concussion . So the next night on Main Event , Dolph defeated both Sheamus and Del Rio to take on Big E for the Intercontinental Championship later that evening but was unsuccessful . At WrestleMania XXX , Dolph Ziggler participated in the 31 man Andre the Giant memorial battle royal but was eliminated by Alberto Del Rio . Ziggler began chasing the Intercontinental Championship but lost to Bad News Barrett in a no . 1 contenders match on the April 14 Raw . On the April 29 Raw he worked with Hugh Jackman again as they took out Damien Sandow , patching up from 2011 . Ziggler took on Mark Henry in a Beat the Clock challenge for an Intercontinental Championship match on the May 19 Raw and almost won but the clock expired . Ziggler was defeated by Bad News Barrett in a match for the Intercontinental Championship on the June 23 episode of " Raw " . The same show he was announced as a participant in the Money in the Bank ladder match for a WWE World Heavyweight Championship contract . He was unsuccessful however as the match was won by Seth Rollins . The following night on " Raw " , he defeated Fandango and received a kiss from Summer Rae and on the July 1 " Main Event " , was announced as a participant in a battle royal at Battleground for the vacant Intercontinental Championship . During the match , Ziggler appeared to have made it to the final two , where he ostensibly won the match by last eliminating Sheamus to a huge ovation ; however , Ziggler was abruptly eliminated from behind by The Miz , who had earlier been knocked under the top rope and thus not officially eliminated , allowing him to win the match and the title . The following night on Raw , Ziggler defeated Miz in a non - title match . On August 4 it was announced that Ziggler will face The Miz at SummerSlam for the Intercontinental Championship . Ziggler successfully won the title from The Miz , being in his second reign . The following night on Raw , Ziggler successfully retained his title against Miz , after he was counted out . At Night of Champions , Ziggler dropped the title to Miz , only for Ziggler to win it back the following night on Raw . Ziggler then retained the championship against Cesaro on September 26 episode of SmackDown and in a triple threat match against Cesaro and Miz the following week on Raw and at Hell in a Cell against Cesaro in a 2 - out - of - 3 falls match . On the October 28 , 2014 episode of Raw , Ziggler and John Cena shook hands together backstage , which The Authority interpreted as a deal to plot against them . As a result , Ziggler was put in a match against Kane , which Ziggler won . Ziggler then announced that he would be part of Team Cena at Survivor Series . On the November 10 episode of Raw , Ziggler was brutally attacked by the returning Luke Harper . The following week , Harper was awarded a title match against Ziggler , which Harper won with assistance from The Authority , ending Ziggler ' s reign at 56 days . The 2014 Survivor Series event saw Ziggler emerging as the sole survivor for a second time . Ziggler contributed to Rusev being counted out , then after all his team - mates were eliminated , he pinned Kane and Luke Harper . Triple H twice prevented Ziggler from pinning final opponent Seth Rollins , but the debuting Sting provided an assist to help Ziggler win the match , thus ousting the Authority from power . At on December 14 , Ziggler defeated Harper in a ladder match to capture his fourth Intercontinental Championship . On the December 16 episode of SmackDown , Ziggler finally defeated Seth Rollins in a singles match after failing numerous times previously . Three days later , Rolling Stone named Ziggler as the 2014 WWE Wrestler of the Year . On the first Raw of 2015 ( dated Jan . 5 ) , the recently reinstated Authority forced Ziggler to defend his Intercontinental Championship against Bad News Barrett and he initially won . After Barrett then attacked and injured Ziggler ' s shoulder , Kane declared the match as a 2 - out - of - 3 falls match , Barrett proceeded to defeat Ziggler for the title after Kane distracted him . Later that night , Ziggler alongside Ryback and Erick Rowan received a storyline firing by the Authority . On the January 19 episode of Raw , Sting provided another assist , as John Cena won Ziggler , Ryback and Rowan ' s jobs back . Ziggler returned to television on the next SmackDown and qualified for the Royal Rumble match by beating Barrett in a non - title match . In the 2015 Royal Rumble match , Ziggler entered as the last entrant , scored two eliminations but was quickly eliminated by Big Show and Kane . At Fast Lane 2015 , Ziggler competed together with Rowan and Ryback in a six - man tag team match against Rollins , Big Show and Kane , which they lost . On the March 5 episode of SmackDown , Ziggler was announced as a participant in the 7 - man ladder match for the Intercontinental Championship at WrestleMania 31 , which was won by Daniel Bryan . After losing an Intercontinental Championship match against Daniel Bryan on the Raw following WrestleMania 31 , Ziggler was attacked and Brogue kicked by the returning Sheamus . Claming that " the era of underdogs [ like Ziggler ] is over " , Sheamus and Ziggler started a feud , with Sheamus challenging Ziggler in a Kiss Me Arse match at Extreme Rules , which Ziggler won . However , Sheamus refused to follow the stipulation , and instead made Ziggler kiss his arse . During the month of May , leading towards the 2015 Elimination Chamber , Ziggler became involved in a title feud with Rusev for the vacant Intercontinental Championship . The feud became more personal during the May 18 episode of Raw , when Ziggler was approached by Lana after his in - ring interview with Michael Cole , regarding his issues with Sheamus . Lana proceeded then to kiss Ziggler , prompting the immediate arrival of Rusev to the ring to confront her about her actions , after he had dismissed her as his manager earlier in the show . Lana then slapped Rusev , leading to Ziggler executing his ZigZag finisher on Rusev , in defense of Lana . The two then left Rusev in the ring . Rusev and Ziggler are scheduled to meet at the Elimination Chamber to face King Barrett , R - Truth , Ryback and Sheamus for the Intercontinental Championship . However , Rusev was injured and couldn ' t compete at the event , and ZIggler was fourth eliminated by Sheamus . When Rusev became healthy again , he used his crutch to attack ZIggler , injuring his throat . Over the next few weeks , Ziggler ' s girlfriend Lana was constantly embarassed by Rusev and Summer Rae . When Ziggler made his return , he challenged Rusev at Summerslam , which Rusev accepted . Rusev and Ziggler fought to a double count out at Summerslam , but defeated the Bulgarian Brute at Night of Champions . Ziggler ended his feud with Rusev by winning a 6 - man tag team match at Hell in a Cell , teaming with Cesaro and Neville against Sheamus , Barrett and Rusev . Ziggler then feuded with the debuting Tyler Breeze , culminating in a match at Survivor Series , which Breeze won . Ziggler would enter the Royal Rumble Match for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship at # 28 , but would be eliminated by eventual winner Triple H . Ziggler then feuded with Kevin Owens over the Intercontinental Championship , culminating in a match at WWE Fast Lane , which Ziggler lost . The Showoff would participate in his 2nd consecutive 7 - man Ladder Match for the Intercontinental Championship , which he lost again . Ziggler then feuded with Baron Corbin . It started when Ziggler and Corbin fought to a double count - out on the Raw after Wrestlemania . Ziggler won in their rematch at WWE Payback . However , Ziggler lost to Corbin in a No Disqualification Match at Extreme Rules . Ziggler would make his part time appearance in the announce table of WWE Main Event on May 24 , 2016 , until June 7 , 2016 and WWE Superstars on June 17 , 2016 and July 1 and 22 , 2016 as a color commentator for one episode only . Dolph would be drafted to Smackdown Live on the night of the Draft , and found himself winning a 6 - pack challenge against John Cena , AJ Styles , Apollo Crews , Baron Corbin and Bray Wyatt , and earned a title shot against Dean Ambrose for the WWE World Championship at Summerslam . Ziggler would lose this match , and entered a feud with the Miz for the Intercontinental Title . Ziggler would lose again at Backlash , and agreed to put his whole career on the line at No Mercy if doesn ' t win the IC Title . Heel Turn ( 2017 - present ) . Ziggler turned heel for the first time since 2013 when he superkicked Kalisto and attacked Apollo Crews in the locker room . The next week he faced Kalisto in a losing effort , after the match Ziggler showed even more frustration and brutally attacking him with chairshots he also did the same to Crews when he tries to help Kalisto . Later on the night on Talking Smack he confirmed his entry in the Royal Rumble match . Personal life . Nemeth has been a fan of professional wrestling since he was five years old , when he attended a wrestling event at the Richland Coliseum , and decided to become a professional wrestler at age twelve . Nemeth has a younger brother named Ryan , who is also a professional wrestler . Nemeth attended Kent State University , where he majored in political science with a pre - law minor . Prior to his WWE tryout , Nemeth was living in Phoenix , Arizona , and had applied to Arizona State University law school , where he was due to start his first semester . Nemeth is good friends with his former Spirit Squad teammates , particularly Michael Brendli , with whom he lived in Florida until 2008 . Nemeth has since returned to residing in Phoenix . Nemeth appeared on the November 3 , 2009 episode of " Deal or No Deal " with Maria Kanellis and Eve Torres . He then appeared on " Lopez Tonight " on August 9 , 2010 .