Dolph Ziggler Provides Update on WWE Status

Dolph Ziggler hasn't appeared on WWE television since entering the Men's Royal Rumble match in January. But in a new radio interview with Wrestling Inside the Ropes, the former world champion assured his fans he's still "technically" with the company.

"Technically, I am, yes," Ziggler said. "It's weird because for the last two years I've had somewhat of a handshake agreement, kind of behind closed doors deal with WWE. I've been able to do a lot of things, on my own, not at WWE, just because of the relationship we've had for the last 14 years. I have a bit of a handshake agreement right now, but we'll know some more details in the coming months."

Ziggler's ventures outside the wrestling ring include a budding comedy career. His ongoing tour has him booked to appear in Cleveland and Toledo on March 20-21.

The two-time former World Heavyweight Champion was moved to Monday Night Raw the week after WrestleMania 34, and quickly aligned himself with former NXT Champion Drew McIntyre (who turned heel after being called up). In June he defeated Seth Rollins during an open challenge match for the Intercontinental Championship. The two would go back and forth feuding over the championship until SummerSlam, where Rollins won in back thanks to Dean Ambrose preventing McIntyre from interfering.

The night after SummerSlam Rollins and Ambrose reformed The Shield with Roman Reigns, and it wasn't long before they were being opposed by Ziggler, McIntyre and Braun Strowman. The Shield took on "The Dogs of War" in a six-man tag match at the Super Show-Down event in Melbourne, Australia and won.

Ziggler and McIntyre, who had won the Raw Tag Team Championships back in September from the B-Team, wound up dropping the titles to Ambrose and Rollins on the same night as Reigns' leukemia announcement and Ambrose's heel turn. McIntyre turned on Ziggler shortly after that, saying the veteran was merely a "mean's to an end" for him. Ziggler managed to pull off an upset win over McIntyre once their feud kicked off, but was beaten in dominant fashion in a cage match on the New Year's Eve episode of Monday Night Raw.

In a recent episode of Busted Open Radio, Ziggler spoke on Ambrose's reported upcoming departure from the company.

"I think he heard about my hiatus and he was just trying to one-up me, that's what it sounds like," Ziggler said. "No, that's very surprising to me. I don't know too many people who are too close to him to have any insight and I really wouldn't wanna guess anything.