Nic Nemeth, FKA WWE's Dolph Ziggler, Discusses First WrestleMania Outside Company
Current IWGP Global Heavyweight Champion and former WWE champion Nic Nemeth, who previously went by Dolph Ziggler, was able to enjoy WrestleMania weekend differently this time around. Nemeth, who was released from WWE in September 2023, didn't take long to make appearances on the independent circuit and is now working with NJPW as well as TNA. He is also now a host on "Busted Open Radio," where he discussed his first WrestleMania weekend from the outside.
Nemeth said he experienced the event differently, explaining how even when one doesn't have a match on WrestleMania there are still a lot of media and other activities to be a part of as a pro wrestler. Nemeth mentioned he was busy during the weekend but was able to enjoy the show.
"I still had the media to do, I still had the comedy show ... with my brother and a bunch of friends, and I still did Bloodsport and another match," he said. "We did all the signings and then we had the WrestleCon show. That was an absolute blast. Got to fight Joey Janela, someone that I never would have fought had I not been out of WWE and we had a blast ... So I had a totally different vision for the first time of WrestleMania week."
He said his experience was "even cooler" because with a WWE schedule, sometimes wrestlers don't even have an extra moment to go to the gym due to the rehearsals and numerous media appearances.
Nic Nemeth on becoming a fan again
Nic Nemeth said that he was able to "crack a couple of beers" with his friends to watch WrestleMania 40 and the experience made him a fan again.
"Not necessarily watching again, but it made me a fan again of seeing everybody and just knowing everybody, there's so many companies and they're all doing things and they're all out there, and you can go anywhere. It's really refreshing to see," Nemeth said.
Nemeth said that WrestleMania 40 "rocked" business-wise, as it broke several records. While the business aspect is important, Nemeth said that what means most to him are the stories coming out of the big event, whether they're ending or ongoing. He mentioned having a big moment on the "WWE Raw" after WrestleMania means something as it usually leads to something big.
"No, the story, you got Rock and Cody shaking hands, you don't know where that's going or what that is. It's like, 'Oh, we're planting seeds,'" he said. "We're not done talking about WrestleMania, which is fantastic because story-wise, that's where it is at ... You get those special moments, but you need that story to tie the moments in and thread them in all the way down the line. I'm curious to see where they're going. I love it. I love that we're still talking about WrestleMania."
If you use any quotes from this article, please credit "Busted Open Radio" and provide a h/t to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.