Nic Nemeth Details Motivation For WWE Departure
Nic Nemeth has explained why he decided to leave WWE.
The former Dolph Ziggler ended his 19-year tenure with the Endeavor-owned promotion in September 2023. Entering the independent circuit for the first time in his wrestling career, Nemeth has since made it a mission to prove that he can still be a top guy for any promotion in the world.
The current TNA World Heavyweight Champion spoke to Daily Star recently to promote the 2025 Genesis event. He discussed things such as the growth of TNA in 2024, the progression of his Genesis opponent Joe Hendry, and more.
When asked if leaving WWE has reignited his passion for wrestling, Nic Nemeth revealed that he had more than a year left on his deal with the company. The 44-year-old noted how he was being booked very rarely during the last couple years of his stint with the company and that he wanted to spend whatever prime years he had left to prove that he could still go:
“WWE was so great. I had a year and a half on my contract still, and I said, ‘Please.’ I go, ‘I’m not doing anything here. I’m just hanging out and doing cold five-minute matches.’ I said, ‘I don’t know how much longer I’m a believable world champion for any other company. I might have five more years, I might have two, I might have ten, I don’t know.’
But I go ‘Sitting here collecting a paycheck and working for five minutes a week is not helping WWE, and it sure as hell is not helping me.’ So luckily, they gave me the chance to get out of there because I had some time left on my contract.”
Nemeth said that he was still giving his full effort to whatever position WWE put him in. Now he is able to do a lot more of it as a center figure of TNA roster with a lot more opportunity to talk and then back his words up in the ring. The current TNA World Champion also claimed that he would have given up the title long ago if he felt he couldn’t back up what he was saying with his performance.
The former WWE star won the TNA title at Slammiversary in July and his reign stands at 154 days. Joe Hendry won a fatal four-way match at Final Resolution this month to become the #1 contender for Nemeth’s title.