King Arthur looks to rule the ring.
And the eye drops down.
Bellator 63 hits the Constitution State.
He's down, he's down, he's down.
And we're bringing you an exclusive interview with Dolph Ziggler.
I'm 100%, I'm ready to go, I'm ready to step into the main event.
I'm just trying to find the right spot in the right time
and when I do, I'm gonna nail it out of the park.
Hey everyone, I'm Sarah Davis and you're watching Fight News Now,
where we're previewing cards from around the world,
including Bellator 63 and some boxing.
And we also can't forget that one of the biggest events in pro wrestling
is upon us, so stick around because we'll hear from Dolph Ziggler later in the show.
Now our boxing analyst, Corey Irman, will join me shortly
to break down the battle for the WBO European Supermiddleweight title
between current champion Arthur Abraham and Peter Wilczewski.
So first up, John Pollock is bringing us a look at this match
between a king looking to climb back up the ranks
after a failed attempt at the Super Six World Boxing Classic
and a relatively unknown Polish pugilist.
Widely known as King Arthur,
the formidable Armenian Arthur Abraham has been in a total of 36 brawls
and has come out on top 33 times.
He has collected a whopping 27 wins by knockout
and will once again be put to the test when he defends his WBO European Supermiddleweight title
against Piotr Wilczewski.
The Armenian stats show that he is a heavy-handed machine
that likes to establish his jab,
followed by pounding power shots that have sent most of his victims to the mat.
Oh, that was close!
What a shot!
He recently knocked out Pablo Oscar Natalio Farias
in the fifth round to win the vacant WBO European Supermiddleweight crown.
However, there has seemed to be a recent decline in Abraham's performances
and this fight will be used as a way of catapulting himself
back into the Supermiddleweight picture
after suffering horrible losses throughout the Super Six tournament.
Abraham does have talent, capability, and the requisite aspects to become a world champion
and this is his golden chance to nail an opponent of equal caliber.
Piotr, the Polish pugilist, has been in a total of 32 fights
and has come out victorious in 30.
He has collected 10 of his wins by knockout and has lost just two contests.
This will be a huge step up in competition for the 33-year-old
and will be vital in improving his popularity worldwide.
Should Abraham claim victory over his opponent,
the king will stand atop his throne
and once again become recognized as a legitimate contender
in the Supermiddleweight landscape.
Corey Erman, our boxing analyst joins me now.
Corey, obviously, Arthur Abraham is the toughest opponent
of Peter Wilczewski's career.
What does Wilczewski have to do in order to win rounds
and do you think he can actually win this fight?
I don't think that he could win this fight
but I do think that he can put up a good fight
and to be honest, anyone could win rounds
off of Arthur Abraham at this point
because he just doesn't throw a lot of punches at Supermiddleweight.
He puts his guard up and he allows you to punch until you stop
and then he responds.
I think that Wilczewski can win rounds off of Abraham
as long as he doesn't get hurt
but I don't think that he can win this fight
because this is a good matchup for King Arthur Abraham.
Wilczewski is the very definition of a crude brawler.
He is a little bit crafty in there
but he's very open to be hit
and really his defense is in his awkwardness
but he does like to brawl
and I've said this before on this program,
I don't think that anybody can really stand up to
Arthur Abraham and brawl with him
because he might be one of the physically strongest men
in all of boxing.
Now, how do you see the fight between Wilczewski
and Abraham ending?
Well, I do see Wilczewski going a couple rounds.
I mentioned that he is a savvy veteran
and he did give James DeGale some problems last time out
so I think he can stand in there a little bit
but again, he's a little bit open
and I see Arthur Abraham stopping him
in the sixth or seventh round.
Stick around after the break
as we look at Bellator 63.
They've already kicked off their featherweight,
lightweight and middleweight tournaments
and now it's time for Bellator Fighting Championships
to start their fourth tournament
of season six at Card 63.
Here's more on the talent-filled event.
Eight welterweights walk into Uncusville, Connecticut
this Friday night for the opening round
of the season six tournament.
Season five finalist Ben Saunders returns to the tournament
format for another opportunity
as the 12-4-2 ATT Orlando product
will test the undefeated Raul Amaya.
Amaya comes into the organization with lots of promise,
having stopped all nine of his opponents
with knockout and submission prowess.
Saunders is one of the most dangerous
Muay Thai practitioners within the 170-pound class
and will hope to rebound from his knockout defeat
at the hands of Douglas Lima,
which snapped his four-fight win streak.
13-4-2 Frenchman Carl Amasou enters
his first Bellator tournament following two bouts
with the promotion in 2011.
The Judica Black Belt will have to contend
with the tough 92 Chris Lozano,
who is an NCAA Division I wrestler with knockout power.
This will be Lozano's third tournament with Bellator
and first fight since his knockout loss
to Douglas Lima last season in the semifinals
and takes the spot of John War Machine
Copenhaber in the tournament.
Action continues with the undefeated David Rickles
facing late replacement Jordan Smith,
who takes the spot of Brian Foster,
who is not cleared to fight.
The caveman Rickles fights out of Derby, Kansas,
with Jingerah Muay Thai,
and is stepping into the Bellator cage for the fourth time
with his last three opponents succumbing to his triangle choke.
Smith takes the vacant spot with a 17-2 record,
including a split decision nod over Carl Parisian
last September.
Smith represents victory MMA
and will look to make a splash in his Bellator debut.
And the final two slots will be filled
by 16-3 Brian Baker and the former
Chuteau South American champion,
Carlos Alexandra Pereira.
Baker was unceded from last year's middleweight tournament
by Vitor Viana and has cut down to 170 as a result.
Baker is an inspirational story
as he was diagnosed with leukemia in 2010
and continued to compete.
Pereira is a 10-year veteran of the sport
with 22 knockouts on his 44-fight resume.
Pereira represents Dragon Fight
and the Nova Uniao Group and makes his debut
for the organization after being signed in 2011.
Coming up next, we catch up with
WWE superstar Dolph Ziggler.
Whether I was out there for 30 seconds or 30 minutes,
I'm going to find a way to do what I do best.
This segment on Fight Network is brought to you by
Iron Core Performance Training.
Welcome back to Fight News Now!
WrestleMania 28 is just around the corner
and coming up next, John Pollock is sitting down
with WWE superstar Dolph Ziggler.
WrestleMania 28 is coming up Sunday, April 1st,
7 Eastern, available on Viewer's Choice in Canada.
It's a pleasure to welcome a man that I'm sure
is going to have a big presence at WrestleMania,
Dolph Ziggler. It's a pleasure to chat with you.
Dolph, thanks a lot for this time.
Absolutely, thanks for having me.
There's a bunch of topics I want to chat with you about
because you seem to be kind of just so many things
going for you right now, but I want to go back
because early in your career,
we saw you come up to the main roster.
You were first paired with the then Kerwin White
and then the Spirit Squad.
And of all the Spirit Squad members,
a number of the members have kind of got out of the industry.
Someone moved on, but you really have came out of that unscathed.
Tell us a bit about that Spirit Squad experience.
Wow, that was a bunch of young up-and-comers,
including myself and guys that became
eventually like good friends.
We all kind of traveled together for a little while
and we were getting kind of our first break.
I had been the caddy for two or three months,
but we were kind of getting our first break and tasted WWE.
And we got to do some really cool stuff.
We got to be in the ring with legends.
We got to do months of live events and TVs
and pay reviews with DX.
And it was just amazing being in the ring with those guys.
So we got to do some really cool stuff.
We also kind of got clowned around and beat up a lot,
but we learned a lot, got our foot in the door,
and became good friends just all of us.
And even though a couple of us are kind of moved on
and out of the business,
but I think Ken Jones, Kenny Dykstra, he still wrestles.
It seems like he's been around forever,
but he's like 24 years old or something,
which blows my mind.
Mike Mondo just did a really cool match with Ringo Monner.
So he's kind of getting back going and he looks like a million bucks.
So a bunch of hard workers in that group
and we had some fun.
I'm happy to see those guys back on the main roster soon.
Was it sort of the attitude of,
okay, we've got this male cheerleading gimmick,
but let's make the most of this.
And I think you guys did when you introduced the trampoline
and the WrestleMania match with Shawn Michaels and Vince.
It was like you guys did stand out to a lot of people
who you're taking a tough gimmick, but making it work, I thought.
Yeah, it was a little disheartening when I first heard about it.
I was like, oh, cheerleader.
Okay, how can we make this work the most?
What can we do the best? How can we have everyone booing us?
And honestly, we had a really intense schedule
for like 12 straight months,
but in our two days off a week, we were at a gymnast school.
Oh, really?
Actually doing tumbling and flips and backhand springs and stuff
just to have stuff ready for the next week.
We wanted this to be as best as we possibly could
and see where we can go from here.
So we wanted...
I was doing front flips and stuff
and things that I couldn't do now.
Were you learning headstands at that time?
A little bit, yeah.
Little did I know how much they would come into play later.
No, we did everything we could.
We asked questions.
Being in the ring with Shawn Michaels and Triple H and even Rick Flair,
that was a dream come true for me.
Those are the three top guys in my mind
that I could ever possibly be in the ring with.
It was just cool to be out there with them
and just hearing the crowd love them and hate us.
It was a really cool experience.
I'm glad I got to move on and kind of make my own name afterwards,
but I wouldn't take any of that back. It was fun.
What was that adjustment like that you've been working for all these years?
You make it to the main roster and then it doesn't click
and you go back to Ohio Valley at the time.
Was that a tough adjustment going from the main roster
back to kind of retool and finding a new character?
It wasn't tough going back.
The tough part was not really knowing the business to where...
wondering if that was your only shot.
I didn't know.
Once you go back there, you can train and be ready to go
and they can say you're doing great,
but some people don't ever get a shot.
I had one and I didn't know if that was it.
It was kind of a bummer, but also they said,
you don't have to go back to Ohio Valley Wrestling,
but if you want to, go ahead.
I said, that's it, I'm going. I went back
and me and Mondo were working day in and day out.
We were going to two practices a day doing the TV show.
I go, no matter what, if I get a chance to get one more shot,
I want him to think, not like, oh, this guy can go.
We want him to go, wow, this guy's great.
We can do anything with him.
That's kind of like my reputation going here on out,
that I want to be able to work with anybody, do anything,
be in the main event or do something entertaining with Horned Swallow.
I want to be a multifaceted superstar
and I worked on every aspect I could.
And I think that really showed when you came back with the character,
Dolph Ziggler, and sort of how was that presented to you
in terms of this character that they had come up with you
and what collaboration you had in terms of developing that new character.
It was pretty much me kind of just kind of being myself.
A little over the top and goofy at first,
but now I'm kind of coming into it now where it's like the showoff that I am,
I'm actually getting to do now a little bit more control for myself.
It was you're going to be shaking hands and people are going to hate you,
be yourself, be a jerk, and I kind of am.
And I've kind of come into my own over the last couple of months and years going,
okay, I can have this gimmick, I can have people hate me,
but I can also have them respect me for going,
wow, this guy does his job better than anyone else
and that's what I want to have.
I want to be a showoff guy who wants to outdo everybody.
I want to have the best match every single night,
but I also still want to let everyone know that, hey, I'm cocky and I don't need you guys.
You know what I mean?
That kind of vibe coming off of me, which is great.
The WWE Universe eats it up and they love to boom me and I love to hear it.
And I think that's what everyone is sort of connecting with,
that you seem to just be hitting on all cylinders right now.
2011 was a huge, I think, breakout year where people saw you now as one of the next guys
to be elevated to that top mix.
Is that kind of, you have the mentality right now that you are ready for that top spot?
Yeah, in my mind, I'm ready to go.
I'm waiting for my shot and a lot of this business is about timing.
Sometimes you get a spot.
Sometimes you don't, whether you deserve it or not.
And I want to be, just like when I went back to OVW, I'm 100%.
I'm ready to go.
I'm ready to step into the main event.
I'm just trying to find the right spot and the right time.
And when I do, I'm going to nail it out of the park.
I want to also ask you in terms of what Vicki Guerrero has added to you
because she came off the pairing with Edge that seemed to benefit both tremendously.
But then you also had the Eric Escobar project where it didn't click as well.
When that was introduced to you, was there any worry that Vicki is just so hated by this audience
that I'm almost competing with her as opposed to she's going to add so much to my character?
And I think both of you have found a great balance of complimenting one another and it's really working.
Yeah, I was excited just knowing that she's been around the business for years
and the reputation she has and she was so hated by the WWE Universe
that people couldn't talk when she was out there.
And I thought that was such a cool thing because that's very rare these days to have someone hated that much.
And I was really excited about the pairing.
And it's kind of gone from over the last year, year and a half to she has dominated
and like the two of us to kind of where I've kind of taken my side now and we kind of go back and forth
and I think we do compliment each other. I love it. I love having her out there.
Any match where I can have her ring side and just having her with me makes it that much more of an exciting match.
You don't know what she's going to do. You don't know what I'm going to do.
And we both kind of help each other out.
She helps me occasionally in matches, backstage kind of things
and sometimes I can compliment her, you know, us being a team together and I've had a blast doing it.
And I like that I'm kind of assuming my own responsibilities and kind of taking the reins
with having her still by my side in my corner. I wouldn't change it for anything.
One of the segments is here that really stood out for me involving yourself was the one with Mick Foley
where everyone's seen what you do in the ring and very accomplished talker as well.
But that segment to me, it really, you were hitting a different level and I really enjoyed the interaction with you two.
What was it like working with Mick and was there any discussion of maybe that continuing onwards?
When I found out I was doing something with Mick, I go, this is great, you know, he's a legend
and believe it or not, I also kind of follow the comedy scene and entertainment scene
and he's kind of been doing some comedy shows and things like that.
So I was like, oh cool, like he's a guy who a long time ago was a friend to the Spirit Squad
when we only had a few and he was kind of a mentor back then too.
So to see this guy come back and to be able to go toe to toe in the ring with him on a microphone
which is very rare for me, I thought it was a great chance for me to get my real voice out there
to let everyone know how I think and feel.
And honestly, we had a good interaction and it was really exciting being across from him
but all I really did was kind of tell the truth to him.
But a lot of people thought it was, I don't know, exciting and fun and a great promo for me
and I was just happy to be out there having someone who has so much passion when he goes out there
for everything that he does and I feel that way about myself just I'm not as known to the audience
and it was great to go back and forth with the realistic, how real it was.
I enjoyed it.
Who are some of the comedians you're digging right now?
Oh man, Anthony Gieselnach is my favorite right now.
He's done a couple of the Comedy Central roasts and things like that.
I just saw him live a couple of weeks ago and he killed it.
I was going to say me and if you guys know Colt Cabana, we kind of talked back and forth.
I was on his podcast a couple of months ago and whenever we see somebody new in some comedy club
or something, we'll text each other and be like, hey, you got to check this guy out or something
or whenever I get a chance to go to LA, like usually once or twice a month,
maybe once every month or two now because I'm kind of busy,
get out there, I'll go to UCB or Improv Olympics or The Improv or Comedy Store.
I'm a fan of entertainment in general and I'm not just there to watch him get some laughs.
I'm there to kind of study and see what they're doing to get the crowd.
Have you seen Joey Diaz?
Joey Diaz?
I know the name.
I had to, yeah.
He does Joe Rogan's podcast a lot.
There's a group of him and Burt Kreischer which are just...
Diaz, I know the name.
I've seen him live before.
He can't get into Canada so I had to go to Buffalo to see him.
Wow.
He's fantastic.
It's got to be good if he can't get into Canada.
I would certainly recommend Joey Diaz.
All right, I'll check him out.
You'll be back for like five minutes in.
I'm just a few more minutes here but looking ahead to WrestleMania,
it's coming up April the 1st.
Tell us kind of your thought process going into this show
because I really think that this is the year that you should be kind of
in that upper echelon right now.
Tell us how you feel going into Mania right now
and what is your ideal scenario for WrestleMania?
Ideal scenario, I don't even know.
I'm trying to get...
This is going to be the biggest WrestleMania ever
and literally a couple of weeks ago I was fighting for the WWE Championship
and I would love to somehow be inserted into that match
but right now I think they're kind of focusing on a couple of different matches right now
and we're getting behind it and I'm more than happy to be a part of it.
One way or another I want to get on that card
and know that people are coming there to see Rock vs. Cena,
to see Triple H and Undertaker and Shawn Michaels,
to see Chris Jericho vs. CM Punk
and I want to be there, have them going in saying they wanted to see those matches
and have them going out saying, wow, Dolph Ziggler stole the show,
whether I was out there for 30 seconds or 30 minutes,
I'm going to find a way to do what I do best.
How did you feel last year working with Snooki and Trish coming back?
I spoke to John Morrison at the time and his big goal,
he just wanted to go out with you for 15, 20 minutes, steal the show.
How did you feel?
In the one hand, you're getting a lot of publicity with Snooki but at the other time,
you guys had to cram a lot there into a short period of time.
Yeah, me and John, we've worked almost as many times,
we've wrestled almost as many times as me and Kofi Kingston have,
literally going on hundreds of times and we have a blast.
The best matches are when people go out there and try and outdo each other
and we kind of have a friendly competition of,
he's more of a high flying guy but we want to outdo each other,
steal the show no matter where we are on the card.
We were hoping to get some kind of dolphin, Morrison,
a little more interaction in there.
We didn't get it but it's also about the more eyes on us, the better.
We can spread the message of the WWE with a bigger audience.
So Snooki being out there, Trish coming back,
it's got eyes on us that normally wouldn't be there.
I was happy to be a part of that and I'm kind of getting to the point
where after this WrestleMania, I'll no longer be happy to be a part of it.
I kind of want to be the guy.
So going forth after WrestleMania, I'm looking to take the ball.
If it's anywhere near me, I'm going to snatch it and go
and I'm looking forward to be one of the headline matches next year at WrestleMania.
And quickly, your younger brother, Ryan, he's down in Florida.
How's he coming along?
Actually, he's doing really well.
I've heard nothing but positive reports from the agents or producers
that actually go down there and kind of evaluate talent.
He recently broke his leg but it's not that bad.
He's just kind of on the shelf for a little bit but he's done really well
and I always told him I go work harder than everybody else
and you'll always have a shot at getting to the main roster.
So he's been doing that and everyone's been saying he's doing real well.
And my final question, the most famous alumni of St. Edward's High School,
is it yourself or Gray Maynard?
How can it be Gray?
You didn't win the lightweight title.
Yeah, what the heck?
No, it was really cool.
We were on a really special team for a couple of years there together.
It was me, him, Andy Robott who went to the Olympics,
Mike Holzicki and a couple of other guys who coached at Michigan
and went on to become national champions.
It's like we had such a really star-studded team
that I think three of the four years I was there,
we were national champions in high school.
So it was really cool to see all of us go off and do our own thing
and Gray's doing really well with Ultimate Fighting but come on.
Well, I very much appreciate this time, Dolph.
WrestleMania 28, it's coming up Sunday, April 1st,
7 Eastern on viewers' choice.
And I think right now, I mean, with yourself, Wade, Kofi, Cody Rhodes,
there's this great mix that I think is just ready to explode
and be the next main event talent.
And I think you're right at the front of that list.
So thanks very much for this time.
We look forward to seeing you at WrestleMania 28.
Awesome, see you guys there.
And with that, we've come to the end of Fight News Now.
On behalf of Fight Network, I'd like to thank Iron Core Performance Training
for having us in their space.
And thank you for watching.
I hope you enjoy the fights this weekend.
