Dolph Ziggler
I have more respect for amateur wrestlers, especially collegiate ones, than anyone else. It's a gutsy sport with no real payoff except for knowing that you were better than someone else. It doesn't have big crowds, it doesn't have big money, but it is fun going one on one.Collection: Respect
Some people are fighting much, much more important battles and much bigger battles, and if we get the chance to put a smile on their face for ten seconds, it's so worth it.Collection: Chance
Miz and I grew up a couple of minutes apart in the Cleveland area and both had dreams of being WWE Superstars and being the best.Collection: Dreams
I live to leave somebody with a positive experience when they've met me, and make someone smile for the day.Collection: Positive
Whatever you do, take pride in it and be great at it.
I go out there to steal the show every night.
When I was 8 years old, I watched 'Saturday Night Live,' and I always wanted to be on there and be an entertainer.
Go to work every day, be the first one in and the last one to leave, and you'll know that you've done everything in your power to make your life better.
I'm constantly unsatisfied with any situation, which is both good and bad, because never being fully happy drives me to better every day... but I don't enjoy the things that I do even when I do them great.
I've always wanted to be the best at every aspect of the business. Not just someone who does great moves or high flying moves but every aspect and can take control of every match in case something goes wrong.
I do what I do best - and that's take it away from every one else.
You know what, I'm out there to give 100%, and I do what I think is best. I really don't care what other people think.
I would love to make my entire career as the guy who did not get cheered. Of course, I'm still going to get cheered by people who think they're smart, and that's fine - they're acknowledging how good I am at my job - but I don't want cheers; I want the boos. I love it.
I'm a huge fan of comedy. I write material whenever I can.
I was a big fan of amateur wrestling, and I loved it and dedicated my whole life to it for 20-something years, and it's not really a glory-getting sport.
You never know the opportunity you're going to get, and you're never going to know how good anyone can be without the best opportunities, just as it goes with time.
I want to change the game and break through the nonsense without any Establishment help.
When I was 5 years old, Hulk Hogan was the world to a lot of little kids.
It's the WWE; it's Vince McMahon's show. He lays out what he wants from you. It's not always going to be what I want.
Always a big fan of the Browns, of course. No wonder how bad they lost or how much we froze to death out there, we still went to the games to watch them lose.
WWE has no issues with my stand-up. I do not miss work for any reason and will continue to work around my schedule because I'm a professional and do not allow complacency or laziness.
On a good day, I'm a bitter, angry, chip-on-my-shoulder type of guy.
I do circuit training - different workouts without stopping. I like having that stamina, where I've never been too tired to put on a match or go above and beyond.
I don't eat anything before, but I can still go kill it at the gym and be in and out in 45 minutes or an hour, even doing workouts in the sauna to get the blood and sweat flowing.
Winning the Intercontinental Title for the first time, in 2010, was a real milestone, as I grew up living off some of those Intercontinental Title matches.
If I have 30 seconds to make everyone remember what I do, I better make the most of it.
I, being the ham that I am, always want people looking at me.
I study entertainment and apply it to myself to one day become the greatest WWE superstar we have, and it's a lot of work. So I write jokes and material every day... you have to keep people's attention, one way or another.
When I was 5 years old, I wanted to be a WWE superstar.
I always kind of did my own thing, but it got me into trouble a lot, so I started listening to what people were telling me to do to show I was a team player.
If I was always doing my own thing, I would be bored out of my mind.
I have a lot of downtime in airports and on flights.
I wouldn't advocate anything to anybody - everybody's different. Some people can put on those toe shoes and think they're having a better work out than those in tennis shoes. Everybody can advocate their own way of doing something.
I hit an exercise - arms and legs, a set of curls, a set of tricep pushdowns, and then grab the bar and squat 40-20-30 and do it over again. I hit that a couple times through, then go in the sauna. I'll do a couple calf raises, then hop on a treadmill at 15 - the highest incline it can have while maintaining a fast-paced walk.
I have always gone above and beyond, whether I've been given 30 seconds or 30 minutes, but at some point, you have to deliver and go to the next level.
I am never the favourite, but I live for that.
I started wrestling when I was five. I lost my first match and cried in front of my dad, and I never wanted to do that again.
I'm a huge Jon Lovitz fan.
I've never been in the ring with The Undertaker.
They love you when you're doing well and hate you when you're the bad guy.
Some advice I would give myself from the Spirit Squad years - try and get taller.
I get cheered more and more for one simple reason: When I step in the ring, I steal the show! I will not accept anything less from myself.
I am not trying to be the next anyone - I am going to be the first Dolph Ziggler!
Any comparison to a WWE legend or someone I've looked up to is really cool, but make no mistake about it, my ego is too big to want to be a really good replica of someone else!
It's not always about wins and losses, but winning two Survivor Series matches is something I will never forget.
Even though I only get a few days off, I do not stop, whether it's getting some stage time at an open mic or flying to L.A. to watch a ton of stand-up shows.
Sting can call out whoever he wants; he's a legend in this business.
Of course, legends can call out whoever they want and do as they please, but they can't just show up and get handed matches.
Though I'm not a huge fan of The Rock, I admit that I am a fan of the fact that he does his own thing. He gets excited on the mic. He yells. He didn't listen to what people told him to do, and people responded to that.
I appreciate someone who stands out and stands up for what he believes in, because that's what I'm trying to do.