If anyone thought it was a little odd that Dolph Zigger was aligned with The Resistance then they'd be on the money. The Free Agents surely would have been Ziggler's first choice if he had been paying attention the night The Authority made their ultimatum to the company moments before forming the Neo Authority.
When Stephanie and Triple H said "you either stand with us, or against us" and the factions of the Rebellion Era were formed, the Showoff was glued to his iPhone, flirting with fans on his Twitter. He absentmindedly followed whoever was standing in front of him and the only thing to pull him from his social media distraction was Ryback giving him a hearty slap on the back and saying that he made the right choice.
Choice?
It takes a while for Ziggler to realise the monumental changes that had been made to the WWE while he wasn't paying attention and that makes him sick to his stomach. For the first few weeks he kept to himself and contemplated crossing the border in the middle of the night to join The Free Agents. However, as he watched from outside the limelight, he saw Cesaro's boys become exceptionally violent as The Legion continued with their own agenda, steamrolling through any and every who opposed them. After some thought, Ziggler decided it might be better to keep his head low and let everything sort itself out.
Only, everything didn't sort itself out.
Ziggler finds himself in an odd limbo. He fought on command for The Resistance while simultaneously not always agreeing with their methods of "bringing normality" back to the WWE. Sure they went about things more righteously compared to the other factions by comparison but it felt like they were stomping out small embers on sticks while the whole goddamn forest was on fire.
Weeks passed and Ziggler felt increasingly at odds over his purpose in the company. The Legion threat wasn't slowing down, The Free Agents were building a serious faction and the Divas Division didn't even exist anymore. His schtick, "The Show Off", didn't really have a place in this new WWE. The solid foundation of his personality and what made him Dolph Ziggler began to slip through his fingers and he panicked, compensating by being extra facetious, extra flirtatious, extra vociferous.
With the void that was his sense of self, Ziggler craved a partnership to take his mind off things. Worrying about someone else's problems for a little while would be a nice little vacation from his own anxiety. Only, there weren't many people in The Resistance he had much in common with. If Zack Ryder didn't have his head shoved so far up Cena's ass, Ziggler might have had someone to party with. As he took mental note of who else was in his faction, he struggled to find any attractive names that jumped out at him.
Before a Smackdown, The Resistance are huddled in their budget locker room for a pre-show meeting. In reality, it is actually a bordered off section of a hallway (all the other factions get the nice locker rooms). Roman and Dean are going over their plan for the night and a need arises for a tag team because The Miz and Bo Dallas have been trying to get interviews (see: probe for information) with anyone they can get there hands on. The Dudleyz are taking a well deserved night off and the Lucha Dragons already need to hold down the fort against other established tag teams. Neville puts his hand up and suggests him and Dolph team up. They've proven to have good teamwork, a long time ago they partnered for a small while against the likes of Sheamus and King Barrett.
Dolph agrees, offering a tongue-in-cheek reply to mask his frustration. Neville was nice and all but Ziggler always found him incredibly frustrating in a way he could never put his finger on. Something about the kid's boundless optimism and he was almost certain Neville worshipped him for helping him out the few weeks after his debut. Ziggler didn't have the heart to tell Neville he was offered a bonus with his next paycheck if he showed the newcomer the ropes. It had been well over a year since that time, perhaps Neville had matured a bit.
To Ziggler's genuine surprise, the two of them beat Miz and Bo real easily and he's reminded of the in-ring chemistry he has with Neville from all those months ago. In a post match promo Ziggler comments how the kid has improved a hell of a lot from over a year ago. Neville, who once praised Dolph and said he would always thank him and never stop, seems silently offended that Ziggler is still treating him like a rookie. "Thanks Dolph," he says finally, tone firm, before walking off.
Neville avoids Ziggler from that night on and three weeks go by as Dolph realises he might have pissed off the only reliable ally he has in The Resistance. Instead of apologising to Nevile, Dolph instead distracts himself by challenging Kevin Owens for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship. Most would say he's crazy but at this point he's so out of touch with who he was, he's desperate to own something of worth again- even if it's for the last time.
Owens repeatedly turns down Ziggler's challenges, saying the Show Off isn't even on his level to deserve a title shot. Ziggler keeps pestering Owens until the Legion leader orders Sheamus and Barrett to deal with Ziggler, making it extremely difficult for him to get close to the WWHC.
Meanwhile, The Neo Authority's control over Dean and Roman begins to waver. Cracks form in The Resistance when Dean betrays Roman over a chance to exact revenge on Seth, essentially abandoning their faction. As Roman panics, doubt spreads within The Resistance whether he's fit to lead. The Neo Authority turn damage control on, trying their best to quell fears and instill faith into the cause.
The tables turn after Owens' PPV backfires on him where the Legion leader not only goes through a car door but gets beaten to a pulp by the Wyatts. Ziggler figures his time to strike is Raw the next night. As he is backstage, waiting for Owens to make his way in ring, Ziggler is approached by Sasha Banks who says that she can get him a WWHC title match that night. Dolph is confused but figures he has nothing to lose. Agreeing that he owes the UWA one, Ziggler signs a contract for a title match.
Owens enters the ring to introduce Raw for the night, pretending the PPV from the night before didn't even happen. He is flanked by Seth Rollins who has a bandage around his head after a devastating tombstone from The Undertaker. Despite his injuries, Owens maintains that the Legion has never been stronger and that it doesn't matter who's side The Undertaker is on. Sasha Banks' theme hits and Owens looks positively miffed, having had a lot of trouble with the UWA since its creation.
"What now," Owens growls over the mic, "Don't you have a womens championship to be avenging?"
"Oh, I'm sorry Mr. Owens," Sasha smirks from the stage, holding a clipboard close to her chest, "I only wanted to come out to inform you of your title match tonight."
"Title match?!" Kevin roars, "There is no title match unless I say so!"
"Oh no, no, no~ See, Mr. Owens," she opens up the clipboard to show the audience, "You already signed the contract last night? So tonight, in the main event, you will be facing Dolph Ziggler for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship and all your little Legion friends are barred from ringside."
"What are you talking about?!" Seth jeers, voice picking up from Owens' mic, "You have no right.. You have no right!"
Sasha bows her head to laugh, "But Seth, I have every right and I'll show you why…"
She turns to look up to the titantron, which shows footage of Owens in a stretcher from the night before being rushed towards an ambulance. "Kevin!" Sasha's voice can be heard behind the camera before she appears, running to catch up with the stretcher, "Kevin!"
Owens weakly reaches out and grasps Sasha's hand, "Why did I do that?" he slurs, seeming to be heavily drugged on painkillers, "I hate organising things, why… Why did I-"
"Why don't you let me run things?" Sasha pauses before asking, a smile growing on her lips as she pulls out a waiver and a pen.
"Sure.. whatever," Kevin mumbles, taking the pen and scribbling on the dotted line, "You deal with this bullshit."
The camera cuts back to Raw, showing Owens and Seth with their mouths agape. "Nononononononono," Seth yells, grabbing his partner's mic, "What have you done, Sasha?!"
"That's General Manager Banks to you, Mr. Rollins," Sasha snaps back before relaxing, a smile returning to her lips, "Yes, you heard that right. Last night, Mr. Kevin Owens, leader of the Leigon of Ruination, signed over all WWE operating rights to me."
"I WAS DRUGGED," Owens screams over the mic, "You can't do that- it's ILLEGAL!" He takes a few steps forward but is forced to hunch over by the weight of his injuries. Seth runs forward to help support him and they both stare up to the stage flabbergasted.
Sasha clicks her tongue, "Actually.. you weren't. The paramedics didn't inject any painkillers into your system until after you had entered the ambulance." She pulls out a piece of paper, "I have witnesses to sign off on it." A shadow casts over her eyes as the smile returns, "No, Mr. Owens, you, in sound of mind, willingly handed over power of the company to me and there's nothing you can do about it. I am The Boss of WWE and I have finally taken over." She turns to walk backstage because pausing and throws a wink over her shoulder, "Enjoy your match tonight, Mr. Owens."
To be continued...