– WWE United States Champion Dolph Ziggler recently spoke with Metro.co.uk. Here are some highlights:
Why have you found success with this persona?
A lot of it was about learning. When I started, I just wanted to get as much ring time as possible. You don’t get the full grasp of it until you have a few years under your belt, know how to listen to the crowd and look like you’re having fun – then the crowd has fun too.
What’s been your most embarrassing gimmick?
I was in the Spirit Squad, which was a group of guys with a cheerleading theme. I told myself no matter what the persona is, get your foot in the door and run with it.
There’s the perception that wrestlers are all hooked on steroids – is that a source of irritation?
It is because we’ve gone from the big burly guys who eat hotdogs and live a rough lifestyle to wrestlers who are all health nuts and work out every day. We’re constantly tested and there are measures to make sure we’re all safe and healthy. I hope that perception changes because we’re highly tuned athletes.
What’s been your worst injury?
I’ve been very lucky. I’ve had two concussions in six years and broke my nose a couple of times but a lot of people have constant injuries. Edge is amazing, he was a very positive influence on me and helped me out backstage but he had to retire recently because of back injuries.
