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Nic Nemeth, known to WWE fans as Dolph Ziggler, had reached the zenith of WWE as World Heavyweight Champion twice. But after years in the system, he felt there was more to prove. Nemeth requested and was granted his release in September 2023. Now at 44, "The Showoff" is enjoying a career resurgence in TNA, where he's achieved World Champion status once more.
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Appearing on "Sports Guys Talk Wrestling," Nemeth explained why he wanted to continue wrestling outside WWE's billion-dollar empire.
"I wanted everybody to know that not only was I as good as I said I was ... [but] I could win championships," Nemeth said. "And you can put a company behind me. And I feel like [WWE] knew that already, but they never saw it in practice. So it was only fair, I go, 'I owe it to myself. I think I can do it. I think I can do it, legitimately, main eventer, world champion, until I'm 50 years old.'"
Nemeth praised fellow WWE alum Matt Cardona for his philosophies on thriving beyond the WWE machine's confines. Nemeth debuted with TNA at Hard to Kill in January 2024, just a few months following his release, and at Slammiversary in July, he captured the TNA World Championship. Reflecting on his nearly 20-year WWE career, Nemeth took pride in his "Cal Ripken-esque" streak, noting that he made himself available for all but a handful of dates.
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"I think in 19 and a half years in WWE, there were three or four TVs that I was unavailable for," he said. "And I wasn't showing up and getting pat on the back and getting, 'Hey, great job, champ. You're winning again.' This was me fighting from underneath, not being able to talk half the time, and most of the time losing matches to people I was ten times better than."

