Nic Nemeth has remembered the moment he knew he wanted to leave WWE and what eventually led to his release.
Nemeth, aka Dolph Ziggler, had been a part of WWE for over 15 years and was seen as a dependable star who could go with anyone in the ring. In an interview with "Insight," he recalled getting a huge deal from WWE, which is when he thought he wouldn't stay there for a long time.
"Signing my last deal for an astronomical amount of money just to keep me there was cool, but I said I don't see myself staying for the full thing. I don't see you guys paying me for the full three years of this because what I'm doing right now is basically 'break glass in case of a pay-per-view match' or somebody needs an opponent for something, and that's okay," he said. "But it really was a lot of money and I was ready to leave."
The formerWWE Champion said that he wanted to get out of his comfort zone inWWE and see if he could be a world champion elsewhere, as he wasn't being used to his full potential in WWE.
"And I go, I'm not going to stayfor the full-time because I only have acertain amount of years to be looked atas a top guy, world champion at anycompany. And if I stay for three fullmore years, it's going to be likeanother year after that. And then whoknows how this works out," Nemeth said.
During his final few years inWWE, he felt that he wasn't being tested, which is when he decided to wrestle in Japan, TNA, and the indies.
Nic Nemeth stated that he wrote an email to WWE's higher-ups and pleaded with them to let him go, as he felt they were paying him more than they were using him on television.
"I wrote a really, really long email to Vince, Hunter, Bruce, Ed, and maybe one other person, and it was, you know, a compliment sandwich. 'This is the greatest thing ever. I'm the luckiest guy in the world. I will never not say that, you're using me for a role that a local would be in, but you're paying me as the WrestleMania main. This is bad for you,'" he reportedly told WWE. "And at this point, because of the timing of the company about to be purchased by someone else, that was the best bet to get out of it. Because in the past, I've been like, 'Hey, I want out.' And they're like, 'Sorry, you're signed. You're not getting out of this.'"
Nemeth said McMahon was the only one to reply to his email, after which he requested a meeting with the former WWE Chairman and aired his grievances. McMahon asked for a week to make a decision, and the following week Nemeth was included in the list of releases.
He eventually got what he wished for as he wrestled in NJPW in Japan, becoming theIWGP Global Heavyweight Champion, featured in AAA and won theAAA Mega Championship, and also inTNA, where he became the world champion. He also recently made a return to WWE, taking part in the JohnCena "Last Time Is Now" tournament, where he lost to Solo Sikoa.
