What is going on with Dolph Ziggler in the WWE right now?

The Showoff took a month-long sabbatical from WWE after winning the United States title in late 2017, but returned as the 30th entrant in the 2018 Royal Rumble.

The 37-year-old didn't make too much of a splash in the battle royale and then he was off the SmackDown Live show that followed it.

However, he was given a shot at entering the Fastlane main event battle between Kevin Owens, Sami Zayn and champion AJ Styles if he could beat former Money in the Bank winner, Baron Corbin.

Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn prevented that match from happening, but Corbin and Ziggler would end up facing Owens and Zayn in singles action respectively to earn their spot, with both men winning.

So, Ziggler has gone from off TV, to No. 30 in the Royal Rumble and in the main event of a pay-per-view - but why?

It's now quite common news that the two-time world champion has signed a new contract with the company, but according to Justin Barrasso of SI.com, now we know how much he's earning.

Ziggler's $1.5 million dollars-per-year means only Brock Lesnar and John Cena earn more than him as a base salary. As far as a full-time performer goes, he's the highest paid in the WWE!

Pretty crazy considering what the WWE has used him for in recent year, but as far as talent and tenure go - he's been with the WWE over 13 years - you could say he deserves the money.

It's also worth noting that when you take into account bonuses from pay-per-views and things of that nature, Ziggler would just miss out on the top 10 performers in the company with his $1.5 million. Lesnar earned $12 million, just shy of $10 million more than his base salary.

The company apparently values his ability to make stars and put people over and that's exactly what they are paying him to do. Furthermore, Ziggler can take breaks to pursue his comedic career whenever he pleases, per reports.

However, speaking to E&C's Pod of Awesomeness with Edge and Christian, he said he didn't enjoy that position in the company, saying: "I hate it.

"But also I'm someone who, I hate that I'm not the champion. I hate that the show is not about me because that that's the mentality you should have if you're in the business.

"If you're the 'Hey I want to be the opening guy who works for 10 years and saves a bunch of money,' (guy) that's great. But there's a thousand other guys in the back that say, 'I want to be the best.

"I want to main event WrestleMania, I want the show to be about me."

It doesn't make much sense for him to re-sign to a role that isn't likely to change, even if the money is great.