KEY POINTS

  • Austin Theory is set to have his biggest feud yet with Dolph Ziggler
  • Ziggler's experience can bring the most out of Theory's in-ring capabilities
  • Theory has a ton of heat on him as early as now

Creating new main event stars has been the focus for WWE in recent years and management believe they have found one in the form of Austin Theory.

There is no doubt that WWE wants to push Theory to the moon as evidenced by his Money in the Bank ladder match win at the pay-per-view event of the same name and is now poised to feud with a former World Heavyweight Champion.

Dolph Ziggler made his official return to the main roster when he helped the tag team of Riddle and United States champion Bobby Lashley defeat Theory and Seth Rollins in the main event match of the July 11 episode of Raw.

Theory was upset with Ziggler for breaking up his pin attempt on Riddle, which prompted the latter to attack him and land a perfectly sold superkick on him.

Pairing Theory with a great worker like Ziggler is a surprising yet ideal move for the former.

Fans have been enamored with Ziggler’s work ethic despite not having the same amount of push that he has had in previous years, even being pleasantly surprised when he carried the NXT Championship for 27 days to prepare Bron Breakker for the spotlight.

Ziggler is undeniably the best seller that WWE has on the roster thanks to his ability to make the simplest moves look devastating to audiences, similar to how Shawn Michaels was during his prime.

When booked to perfection, Ziggler is a must-watch performer whose charisma in the ring and on the mic is second to none.

As it stands, Theory already has a ton of heel heat behind him because of the fans’ perception and WWE can leverage it into making Theory an even more despicable heel when he mentions the stop-start push that Ziggler has had in his career and compares to his own rising stardom.

If Ziggler is given ample freedom on the mic, fans may be treated to another masterful piece of work like in his 2016 feud with The Miz ahead of their match for the Intercontinental Championship.

Theory does have quite a few ways to go before he can truly be seen as a marquee superstar, but the company may be doing something similar to Randy Orton’s star-making run in 2004.

At the time, Orton was not well-liked by fans as well before they were able to leverage it into a babyface run when he feuded with Triple H, Batista and Ric Flair.

The 24-year-old Theory has the potential in him to become a star and a strong feud with Ziggler should be able to turn him into a crowd favorite despite being a heel or babyface.

Dolph Ziggler, Austin Theory
Dolph Ziggler (right) lands a superkick on Austin Theory (left) at Raw on July 11, 2022. WWE