The most athletic in-ring performer in the WWE today, and almost a modern embodiment of Curt Hennig and Rick Rude, is Dolph Ziggler. But with only a short (one episode of Smackdown) reign as the World Heavyweight Champion under his belt, many fans are worried that Ziggler will, like Hennig and Rude, never get to win the "big one" due to the fact that, well...he just makes everyone else look so damn good in the ring!

But now Ziggler, after a hard fought ladder match at last Sunday's Pay-Per-View, has the Money in the Bank contract and can cash it in at any time on an unsuspecting wearer of the "Big Gold Belt." John Cena, the other Money in the Bank winner, has already figured out a way to use his contract; challenging CM Punk to a WWE Championship match this Monday at RAW's mega-hyped 1000th episode. I talked to Ziggler about RAW 1000, winning the MITB contract, hosting and writing WWE Download on WWE.com and more!

: To be honest, it's hard to explain. Everyone in that match, and in every Money in the Bank Ladder Match I've ever been in, has sacrificed their body purely to entertain the fans. And to get a shot at the World Heavyweight Title or the WWE Championship. I'm a little banged up for it and I'm happy with my performance. But I'm never satisfied. Having that contract now only drives me to come up with an awesome, show-stealing way to cash it in. And now I'm thinking ahead to being one of the greatest champions of all time. But I'm never satisfied and I'm lucky enough to have come out of that match with that contract.: I'm a little torn about it because on one hand that means I'm not doing my job and selling myself as a bad guy. But for some reason, the people at our arena shows and our live events and Pay-Per-Views are rooting for me, I would have to say, because I'm just really good at what I do. Whether I win or lose or whether I'm a good guy or a bad guy.: I'm not really sure. I've never really thought about it that in-depth, but I just know it's there. I can hear it. And I while I've worked really hard to get myself over as a bad guy and get booed, I'm getting recognized for how hard I'm working during these matches. Just like all the Superstars do every night. I just pride myself on putting my body on the line.: [laughs] You know, all I can say is that I've always seen myself as an entertainer. I've always wanted to be a Superstar and Sports Entertainer. And a lot of people ask me when I'm going to take it easy in the ring, now that I've been around for a while and gotten some fans behind me. Or now that I've won Money in the Bank and won the contract. The answer is never. I'm never satisfied. I'm never going to tone it down a notch or just "go through the motions." That would keep me up at night. And I already can't sleep at night. I go out there to do everything 100% every time. And when I put my body on the line, it's to entertain the fans. Because I have to. I have to be the best.Ziggler: Honestly, maybe for the first five or six years, I watched tapes. But now, that we're around wrestling and matches and RAWs and Smackdowns so much, when I get 24 or 32 hours at home, I just relax. But I'll also go back and watch me performance from last week's shows and see what I can tweak and what I can do better. And every once in a while, on a long plane ride, I'll pop in a DVD of some old matches from the '70s and '80s. Because you can always learn from all the past great Superstars. And I'll always do that because I'm also a long time fan of wrestling in general. But in this day of Sports Entertainment, I don't just watch wrestling for ideas. I can watch a movie and get ideas that I can apply to Sports Entertainment too. I'll watch and movie and go "I can totally use that and apply that in a match."

Ziggler talks Jericho, RAW 1000 and WWE Download on page 2...