Dolph Ziggler def. Intercontinental & Raw Tag Team Champion Seth Rollins (WWE World Cup Semifinal Match)

Seth Rollins took the Intercontinental Championship from Dolph Ziggler. He took the Raw Tag Team Championship from Dolph Ziggler. And, in many ways, he even took the workhorse-appreciation adulation of the WWE Universe from Dolph Ziggler. But he won’t get to call himself best in the world because Seth Rollins’ biggest “problem” followed him to WWE Crown Jewel and cut his evening short, allowing The Showoff to advance to the WWE World Cup's final round.

Yes, even though Ziggler is the one who technically punched — or kicked, rather — his ticket to the finals of the bracket, Drew McIntyre once again proved to be the deciding factor despite spending most of the match simply providing cover for his associate. Ziggler, who was still nursing a mangled ankle courtesy of first-round opponent Kurt Angle, relied heavily on his amateur wrestling background to keep Rollins from tapping into his arsenal. Each time the Intercontinental Champion started to close the gap, McIntyre would rear his head, getting in Rollins’ face and giving Ziggler time to rally.

As Rollins began to gain more consistent momentum down the stretch, however, he made a point to target the Scotsman where he could, even taking him out with a suicide dive through the ropes. It was an effective strategy that, perhaps motivated McIntyre to get involved in a more concrete sense: After trading big moves and near-falls with The Showoff, Rollins had Ziggler right where he wanted him when he pushed The Showoff off the top rope and seemingly aggravated his ankle. But when the ref went to check on Ziggler, McIntyre shoved Rollins from behind, sending the Intercontinental Champion tumbling straight into a superkick that ended the match and sent Ziggler to the final round.

For his part, The Showoff showed no remorse in a post-match interview with Byron Saxton, who raised the question of whether Ziggler's win was tainted by dirty pool. Ziggler countered he wasn't after approval, because he has always been his own biggest advocate even when no one else believed in him. And regardless of how he gets it, the title of “best in the world” is an accolade that’s always belonged to him. Ziggler’s not as wrong as the disapproving audience seemed to feel: He has always believed in himself. And at the end of the day, that might be enough. But having the 6'5" Drew McIntyre in your corner? That doesn’t hurt either.