When news broke that Dolph Ziggler was released alongside about a dozen or so other performers, it turned more than a few heads around the WWE Universe.

Sure, Ziggler wasn't exactly being used much by WWE on television, as he'd only wrestled 10 matches on television in 2023, but after spending 19 years in The Fed, most simply assumed that he would run out the proverbial clock with the promotion, at least getting his flowers with a special 20th-anniversary celebration a la Rey Mysterio and John Cena before him.

Fortunately for the proprietor of the “Zig Zag,” though he will not receive a huge ovation from his long-time employer, many of his coworkers, past and present, came out of the woodwork to do just that on social media, including none other than Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, who put the 14-time WWE/NXT Champion over in a huge way.

“Just seeing all these releases now,” Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson wrote on Twitter. “These days so f’n tough for the ones who gave their all to our crazy world of pro wrestling. Like Dolph Ziggler. What a decorated WWE career, and I’ll always be a supporter and fan. Can’t wait to see what he (and everyone) does next… onward.”

Another performer who wished Ziggler well into the future and congratulated him on a career well wrestled was none other than “The Nature Boy” himself, Ric Flair, who was so passionate in his message to the former champion that he wrote it in all caps.
“Shame On Me For Being So Busy That I Haven’t Kept Up With All Of The Releases At WWE,” Ric Flair wrote on Twitter.  “I Just Hope That Each And Every One Of You Know That At The End Of The Day We All Love Wrestling, But It’s A Business First And Foremost. I Still After Retiring In 2008, Remember The Day That I Had To Walk Away As Being One Of The Most Difficult Days Of My Life. And As For My Dear Friend, Dolph Ziggler, Who Has Been My Close Friend For 20 Years, You Have Been Nothing Less Than The Best Professional & The Best At Everything You Have Been Called Upon To Do. A Leader, A Champion, And A Man Of Unquestionable Character. I’ll Never Forget The Letter You Wrote Me In The Hospital. I Know You Will Be Successful In Life Because That’s Who You Are. I Look Forward To Our Next Meeting & 2 Dirty Martinis With Extra Olives!”

Though Ziggler and the rest of the WWE Universe have non-compete clauses that will keep them out of the ring until mid-December, when he is eligible to return to the ring, Mark Henry knows exactly where he should go: AEW.

“Dolph Ziggler, top of the list,” Mark Henry said. “One of the best wrestlers in this modern era, in the last 10 years for sure. His first 15 years, he was kind of cutting his teeth, getting acclimated, and then the next four [years], he started to get in the main event picture, kind of being the foil for other people. But the last 10 years, Dolph Ziggler's been one of the elite of the elite guys.”

In addition to his success in the ring for WWE, Ziggler was a regular on UpUpDownDown, which is hosted by Xavier Woods under his Austin Creed moniker. While Ziggler is likely finished with WWE, at least for now, who knows, maybe he could be playing games with Woods again in the not-too-distant future a la Tyler Breeze.
“The crowd reactions to Dolph Ziggler becoming champion were some of the craziest that I've ever heard,” Xavier Woods wrote. “One of my favorite guys to watch work & one of the guys who showed me the importance of having something else that you're passionate about. Thank you Dolph.”

And last but not least, keeping things in the New Day's house, Big E decided to show some love to the “Zig Man,” wishing him well down the road and complementing his craft along the way.

“I was so immensely fortunate to start my time on the main roster next to Dolph Ziggler,” Big E wrote. “I learned so many lessons about this craft by watching and listening. One of the smoothest workers I’ve ever been in the ring with. Thank you for everything you’ve done for me, Zig Man.”

Whatever Ziggler does next, it's clear he'll have the entire wrestling community behind him.

Booker T weighs in on why Dolph Ziggler was released from WWE.

While most current and former WWE Superstars have come out to celebrate Dolph Ziggler's career, some, like Booker T, were willing to reflect on what went wrong in the hopes of providing some context on his career.

In the opinion of the two-time Hall of Famer on his Hall of Fame podcast, Booker noted that Ziggler never changed his schtick during his main roster run, and that likely played into opportunities drying up.

“Dolph seems like he's been on cruise control for like the last ten years,” Booker T said via Wrestling Inc. “It seems like he got to a point where he just said, ‘I'm just going to pretty much ride this thing as long as I can.' Dolph is one of those guys that really never changed his look. He always was the same guy all the time. And for me, you know that saying I've always had, ‘If you don't change with the times, the times will pass you by.' You got to know how to really be able to keep up with what's going on out there in the music world, the entertainment world and whatnot. And I think Dolph Ziggler just stayed that one character throughout his whole time.”

Is Booker's opinion correct? Eh, maybe yes, maybe no, but if WWE wanted Ziggler to have a different gimmick so bad, they would have given him one; no, unfortunately for the performer now known as Nic Nemeth, his time in WWE simply ran out of steam and he can try something new elsewhere as a result.