Dolph Ziggler Speaks Out On His Amateur Background, More

The Pittsburgh Tribune-Review conducted an interview with Dolph Ziggler promoting tomorrow night's SmackDown! live event in Pittsburgh, PA. The Intercontinental Champion says his amateur wrestling background comes in handy for him inside the WWE ring.

"In high school and college, I worked hard as hell to be in great shape, to be good at what I did. A lot of that translates over, or at least helps with the mindset — constantly wanting to be better," he says. "Also, because of my wrestling background, I've been able to apply a lot of moves that a lot of people haven't seen in a long time — stuff I've actually used in college to win matches.

"I used to do this 'crucifix pin,' where you get a guy's arm between your legs and another arm between your arms and you roll him on his back. I used to use that as a finishing move in high school and college. Now I actually use it almost every match. It's really comfortable for me to go to place like that really quickly."

Ziggler also feels that being able to entertain a crowd is just as, if not more, important than looking the part of a WWE Superstar.

"You have to differentiate yourself from other people," he says. "There's a million guys out there who are athletic. There's a million 6-foot-8 guys who played football. It's (about) being able to relate to the fans."