Point being?

Two years ago, Punk was so far away from Rock. He was nothing more than a guy with potential. They gave him the ball and let him run with it, and what happened? They gave him an honest push, some creative control, and what happened? They used him as the vehicle to break Ryback into a legit star, a platform to raise The Shield, an amazing Muse for The Rock, and ultimately, a solid redemption story for Cena. Add to that a title reign that actually meant something for the first time in ages that added tremendous weight to the titles importance.

All five of those things could have happened without Punk. With him, however, those things have all become intriguing, artfully accomplished milestones. He showed he belonged. He went out and snatched respect out of the hands of pretty much everyone involved in pro wrestling, from Vince to down to the fans. He took it.

Still, two years ago, he was so far away from Rock. Now he's a legit entity. Is he on level though? No, of course not; The Rock was and is lightning in a bottle. Hogan, Rock, Austin, are arguably the biggest names to ever hit pro wrestling and nothing else really comes close. Cena is in that mold, to be sure, but he's something a shade below that level. It's asking more than is reasonable for anyone to be on that level. That's the stratosphere. Sure, you have your great technicians, the guys that are truly their superiors in terms of their actual in ring, big match abilities- HBK, Flair, Bret, Angle, Benoit, Guerrero, etc.

Truth be told? Those guys aren't even on par with Savage, who may well be the perfect blend of in ring talent+persona and mainstream marketability in a way nobody else I named quite meets. Still, Rock, Austin, and Hogan are Stratosphere Superstars. Game changers. It's unreasonable to expect anyone to hit that mark because they are flukes- the right guys in the right place at the right time with the right opportunity. You don't replicate that.

All snark aside, that's the one major issue I have with your perspective on the state of things today. You look at Rock and Austin as the bar, and anyone who doesn't measure up to that is boring, not good enough, etc. Your standard of quality sits at 'Phenomenal', as though the fact that the list of guys to meet that mark in the last three decades can't be counted on one hand.

Ziggler is ready for that push. He's ready to be given the opportunity to try his hand as an Alpha Dog, same as punk was before he sat on that ramp and talked that good shit for 10 minutes. Punk wasn't anything like what he is now; he was merely a guy who needed a shot to prove himself, and he did.

Guys have to be given the shot to run with the ball. It's easy to say they aren't on level with Rock, because literally nobody but two other guys are on that level. That's like making Michael Jordan the standard for a good basketball player. The Rock isn't the standard, he's the exception to the rule, and using him as the measuring stick for anyone is unfair. Perhaps Dolph will wind up a spectacular failure and be just another guy to hold a title for a little while, but I doubt it- and even if he did, he'd still have had a chance to prove himself before people say he's not there.