Released star says Vince McMahon wanted him in WWE forever
Vince McMahon oversaw hundreds of WWE Superstars' storyline direction between 1982 and 2022. In a recent interview, Nic Nemeth revealed what his former boss had in store for him if he stayed in WWE.
Nemeth, formerly known as Dolph Ziggler, worked for WWE for 19 years before receiving his release in September 2023. The company's higher-ups originally wanted the two-time World Heavyweight Champion to stay before he asked to leave.
During an appearance on Eyes Up Here, Nemeth told ECW legend Francine that Vince McMahon planned for him to work backstage when his in-ring days ended. The former WWE Chairman also compared him to baseball player-turned-manager Pete Rose.
"He [Vince McMahon] said, 'Yeah when the time is right, we'll transition you in a couple of years down the road. You'll be like a player/coach, like a Pete Rose. You'll be behind the scenes in the meetings with us, then still wrestling, then eventually transition full-time. You're here forever,'" Nemeth said. [0:49 – 1:02]
Nemeth was widely viewed as underrated throughout his WWE career. The 43-year-old often competed in show-stealing matches. However, he was frequently overlooked when it came to main event storylines.
Why Nic Nemeth asked Vince McMahon if he could leave WWE
Toward the end of his WWE run, Nic Nemeth did not receive as much television time as previous years. He also started watching other wrestling promotions and decided he wanted to test himself elsewhere.
Nemeth has wrestled for AAA, NJPW, TNA Wrestling, and on the independent scene since leaving WWE. He added that the possibility of being a "gamechanger" at another company ultimately led to him asking for his release:
"I really told myself I only have a certain window," Nemeth continued. "No matter how I am with injuries, you have a certain window to where you can still be a top somewhat of a gamechanger at a different company, at a different show, at an independent where you can have these matches that you wanted to have for the last 15 years." [1:16 – 1:35]
In 2011, The Undertaker's victory over Triple H at WrestleMania 27 ran over its allotted time and lasted almost 30 minutes. As a result, Nemeth's tag team match alongside Layla and Michelle McCool against John Morrison, Snooki, and Trish Stratus got cut to only three minutes.
Nemeth believes situations like that will never happen now since he has the freedom to wrestle wherever he wants outside of WWE.
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Please credit Eyes Up Here and give an H/T to Sportskeeda Wrestling for the transcription if you use quotes from this article.