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Dolph Ziggler recently made his return to WWE television, costing Theory and Seth Rollins a tag team match in the main event of Raw. Dolph Ziggler then proceeded to drop Theory with a superkick, presumably turning face for the first time in quite a while. Aside from a brief appearance in the Last Chance Money in the Bank battle royal on June 27, Ziggler hadn't been seen on television since dropping the NXT Championship to Bron Breakker on the April 4 Raw.

Dolph Ziggler

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Ziggler is a heck of a talented wrestler, but unfortunately, his career has lacked consistency, often taking two steps back following a step forward. He has turned from heel to face and vice versa many times in his career, although he has certainly been a heel more often than not. However, perhaps his best feud, and one that put his career back on the map, was as a babyface against the Miz over the Intercontinental Championship in the latter part of 2016.

Dolph Ziggler Had Been Middling After Dropping The Intercontinental Championship In 2015

It's hard to believe Dolph Ziggler has been in WWE since 2004 when he signed a developmental contract. He has come along way since his days being Nicky in the Spirit Squad, but he has never truly broken through to the top of the card. He is a two-time world champion, but the first was a gift from then on-screen girlfriend and SmackDown General Manager Vickie Guerrero, who awarded Ziggler the title after Edge used the spear, which had been banned by Guerrero. His second world championship victory was easily the highlight of his career when he cashed in his Money in the Bank contract to defeat Alberto Del Rio in front of a raucous crowd during the Raw after WrestleMania 29 in 2013.

Dolph Ziggler Cashes In

RELATED: Dolph Ziggler's 10 Best Matches, According To Cagematch.netZiggler would win the Intercontinental Championship three times (including once against the Miz at SummerSlam 2014), and have his "sole survivor" moment at Survivor Series 2014. But after dropping the Intercontintental Championship to Bad News Barrett on January 5, 2015, Ziggler got a bit lost in the shuffle, including winning a "Kiss Me Arse" match against Sheamus. He participated in the IC title ladder matches at both WrestleMania 31 and 32 but failed to pick up the victory in either. Ziggler was then on the losing end of a feud against Baron Corbin, before getting drafted to SmackDown for a bit of a fresh start.

Maryse Helped The Miz Defeat Dolph Ziggler In The First Two Matches Of The Feud

Dolph Ziggler and The Miz are both from the Cleveland area and had history battling each other for the Intercontinental Championship, but The Miz was in the midst of his "never ending Intercontinental Championship tour," and he made it personal by constantly berating Ziggler for always losing.

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They would square off at Backlash 2016, with The Miz narrowly escaping with the victory due to Maryse spraying some sort of substance in Ziggler's eye. Ziggler would challenge The Miz again nine days later on SmackDown, and yet again Maryse sprayed Ziggler in the eyes leading to another Miz victory. The Miz would refuse to give him another title shot, but Ziggler cut an impassioned promo offering up his career for one more shot at The Miz's Intercontinental Championship. This greatly piqued The Miz's interest, and he accepted, so the stage was set for No Mercy.

RELATED: 10 Times WWE Could Have Made Dolph Ziggler A Star (But Didn’t)

The Miz Vs Ziggler Match At No Mercy 2016 Is The Best Match Of Their Careers

While the in-ring action was definitely strong, the strength of this match was its storytelling and drama. The Miz dominated the contest early and was constantly taunting Ziggler. The tension increased as Miz began working on Ziggler's leg, who sold it expertly throughout the match. There were so many great near falls down the stretch on both sides, and the hot crowd was fully behind the underdog babyface Ziggler.

Like clockwork, Maryse sprayed Ziggler in the eyes leading to The Miz's Skull Crushing Finale finisher, but Ziggler got his foot on the rope. Maryse then called out Dolph's old group the Spirit Squad, who'd recently returned to WWE. Ziggler was able to superkick one of them, but the distraction led to Miz hitting another Skull Crushing Finale, this time in the center of the ring, but Ziggler kicked out. The referee would eject Maryse and the Spirit Squad, and the Miz turned around as Ziggler nailed him with a superkick for the 1-2-3 in what was easily one of the highlights of his career.

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Unfortunately, Ziggler would drop the IC title back to The Miz 37 days later on the 900th episode of SmackDown -- of course with the help of Maryse and the Spirit Squad. The feud would culminate in December 2016 at TLC in a ladder match, as The Miz would retain his title after hitting Ziggler with two low blows. This feud helped put some prestige back on the Intercontinental Championship while resurrecting Ziggler's career in the process.