Dolph Ziggler Reveals What Name WWE Officials Wanted To Use For His Character

There is no shortage of unfortunate ring names in the history of professional wrestling. Bastion [...]

There is no shortage of unfortunate ring names in the history of professional wrestling. Bastion Booger, Damien Demento, and Shark Attack were all dead on arrival after being announced on loudspeakers. And the correlation between a strong ring name and success is no secret to Dolph Ziggler.

WWE's sitting Intercontinental Champion recently joined Lillian Garcia's podcast, Chasing the Glory and revealed what WWE originally wanted to call him.

"So I randomly got a call saying, 'You're going to TV to introduce something.'We're going into a meeting right now, we're letting you know now your name is David Diggler, what do you think about that?' In my head, I've been fired twice, this is my last shot, I go, 'I hate it, this is the Reality Era and I'm going to be David Diggler? Do I have any say in this?'" remembered Ziggler.

"They go, 'Well, we're going into a meeting right now, if you can have something in 15 minutes, but it's got to be a "D" first name and a "D" last name,'" he said.

Ziggler knew he had been saddled with a bad name and rushed to figure out a better option.

"I texted everyone I knew, and I tried to think of things," he said."I knew a great great grandfather who was Rudolph and Dolph Lundgren was from Rocky IV and I needed a "D" and I go, "Dolph?" and then I go, 'Is there any way I can not do Diggler at the end?'

Using Diggler as his namesake would have been a little too Boogie Nights for Dolph, especially considering the appropriateness for such a name was left back in the 90's.

"So then I got to RAW, and there was a little piece of paper that said, 'Dolph Ziggler' on it. They didn't really have long-term plans for me which is fine, but I go, 'Man, this might be my last chance,'" he said.

With his new name, Ziggler hunted down Vince McMahon for the approval.

"I found Vince and I go, 'Vince, its Reality Era, we're doing the stuff, you can Google my name, we can mix my name up and switch it a little bit. Dolph Ziggler sounds like a cartoon wrestling name!' And he goes, "It's different. People are going to remember it. I love it!" And he walked off before he finished the sentence. I go, 'Alright. I tried,'" recalled Ziggler.

David Diggler certainly has a dull ring to it, so good on Dolph for knowing a bad idea when he hears it. Things have worked out for Ziggler since his early days. He's a 2-time World Champion, 6-time Intercontinental Champion and is currently in one of WWE's best stories with Seth Rollins. And none it would have been possible as David Diggler.

[H/T Rajah.com]

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