"I was very nervous to go" - Former World Champion was "scared to death" following WWE release
A former WWE Superstar recently shared that he was "scared to death" after being released from his contract in September 2023. Nic Nemeth, formerly known as Dolph Ziggler, opened up about his reaction to his 19-year tenure with the company ending a few days after the TKO merger.
Nemeth achieved a lot in his WWE career, including two reigns as the World Heavyweight Champion. However, there were a lot of what-ifs during his career and he seemed to have never reached his full potential.
Following his release, The Showoff wrestled for several independent promotions before signing a contract with TNA Wrestling. He's currently the TNA World Champion amid the promotions partnership with his former employers.
Speaking on Unlikely with Adrian Hernandez, Nic Nemeth admitted to feeling scared after his WWE release. The star further stated that he was too comfortable with his job back then and it was finally great to feel "nervous" and be excited about new things:
"I was scared to death. I didn't know how. I go, ‘In this bubble, I kicked a** and I don't know anyone that was better than me.’ And it doesn't matter that I had 9,000 losses to every two wins or whatever the hell it was. I know my job and how I'm good at it. I was very nervous to go. Maybe I'm only good with these 60 people, I don't know. I didn't want to pretend that like, ‘Oh, I'll just be able to adapt to Japan to Mexico to TNA to AEW to all.’ I was very honest and scared, which made me excited again because I was very not scared the last 12 years in WWE," Nemeth said. [From 07:04 to 07:43]
Check out the video below:
In addition to the TNA World Championship, Nic Nemeth also won the IWGP Global Heavyweight Championship in Japan, the AAA Mega Championship in Mexico, and the WSW World Heavyweight Championship in Australia.
Nic Nemeth reacts to the partnership between WWE and TNA
Despite getting released by WWE, it seems like Nic Nemeth could work for them again due to TNA's recent partnership deal with the Stamford-based promotion. There has been some talent exchange last year, but both companies decided to take things further.
In the same interview with Adrian Hernandez, Nemeth opened up about TNA's collaboration with his former longtime employers:
"It's funny. I think it's cool… It's awesome. What a fantastic partnership for both sides here... The cool part there is it does open the door for Rumble appearances, for a RAW, for a SmackDown," Nemeth said. [From 10:19 to 11:11]
Other former WWE stars currently signed to TNA Wrestling include Top Dolla, Curt Hawkins, Eric Young, Frankie Kazarian, Fandango, Jeff Hardy, Matt Hardy, Sami Callihan, Steve Cutler, Zachary Wentz, Dana Brooke, and more.
While using any quotes from this article, please credit the Unlikely podcast and give a H/T to Sportskeeda Wrestling for the transcription.
