Freddie Prinze Jr. Recalls Dolph Ziggler Earning Approval Of WWE Hall Of Famer
On this week's Wrestling with Freddie podcast from iHeart Media's My Cultra Network, former WWE creative team member Freddie Prinze Jr. discussed his time working with Dolph Ziggler.
The I Know What You Did Last Summer actor explained that WWE was reluctant to give 'The Show-Off' a big promo during his tenure with the company. It resulted in Vickie Guerrero being assigned as his mouthpiece.
"Nobody would give him the big promo," Freddie said. "They gave him a mouthpiece, they gave him Vickie Guerrero. Vickie is a staple and foundational piece for a lot of Latino fans and fans in general because of the connection with Eddie [Guerrero], who everybody loved. No matter who you were, where you were, nobody ever goes, 'Eddie Guerrero wasn't that good.' That sentence has never been uttered outside right now, in pure jest. If I ever hear anybody say it, then I will ridicule them into oblivion.
"So, she had a lot of credibility. Chavo [Guerrero] then came with that, and they were sort of the mouthpieces for Dolph in the early goings. Every once in a while, he would get to speak a little bit. Maybe on the road, on the house shows he was getting more opportunities because there are no cameras there and that's a good place to experiment. But to my knowledge and while I was there, it just wasn't – he didn't get that much to say."
Freddie Prinze Jr. then recalled a key moment in Dolph's rise, when Ziggler was given a thumbs up from Vince McMahon backstage following a match with Edge on SmackDown.
"I'm in there [Gorilla Position] waiting to go and they're doing the big finish," Prinze Jr. said. "They probably had a good 18-minute match, something like that. Edge gets the win and he comes backstage, Ziggles is still selling in the ring, you know, from the Spear. And Edge comes back in, and he looks at Vince and Vince goes, 'well?' Edge goes, 'yeah, that kid can work.' And Vince goes, 'he's good?' Edge goes, 'yeah, he's real good,' and he walked out.
"I was like, holy crap, dude, that's a big, big deal for a top guy to just say, 'yeah, I'll wrestle this dude on TV,' even though he's going to get the win. It's a, 'let's see what you got,' so he's got to let Dolph get some action on him, right?
"So [Edge] is not in a position where he has to do this," Freddie Prinze Jr. continues. "He's just a good Canadian, awesome dude. He gives this match, then puts him over with the boss, and goes backstage. Then I see Dolph, and I think Vickie was with him. They come back and Vince gives him the thumbs up, which may not sound like much, but if you could have seen the look on Dolph's face, you knew that was the world. That was like getting told, 'hey, man, you're going to be the starting first baseman on the Yankees.'"
If you use any quotes from this article, please credit Wrestling with Freddie with a h/t to Wrestling Inc for the transcription.