"You guys are really making this hard" - Former WWE Champion on why he didn't sign with AEW

AEW is a proving to be a top destination for free agents in professional wrestling, boasting a lighter schedule than WWE, alongside equal or sometimes even higher pay. However, there are still plenty of other options throughout the industry, as demonstrated by former WWE Champion Nic Nemeth (fka Dolph Ziggler).

Nemeth was released by WWE last September after a staggering 19-year tenure with the company. Some expected him to show up in AEW sooner or later, but The Showoff surprised everyone by making his NJPW debut at Wrestle Kingdom 18 in January.

Nic Nemeth went on to debut for TNA and is now scheduled to wrestle for AAA as well. Speaking on the latest edition of Keepin' It 100, the 43-year-old discussed his options in free agency, revealing that he had spoken with AEW.

"In the past, some [talks], but I had a plan that I’ve been working on for probably the last year and a half. I didn’t want to go anywhere. I appreciate that several companies reached out immediately. I [said] I have this one plan, I want to do this on my own, and even so, Scott D’Amore was so insistent because the locker room was so strong, and somebody in the locker room of TNA reached out and I go, 'Man, you guys are really making this hard,'" said Nic.

He further stated that he didn't want to be locked down in any one place, as he was in that position for almost two decades with WWE.

"[I said] let’s do some dates. I’m not gonna sign for three years, but I said I just wanna bounce around and be a hired gun. I’ll go with anybody and do anything. [I said] I just got out of a long-term relationship, 19 years. I don’t want to sign a paper that says you can’t do this. I can still represent companies; I am a great brand ambassador. I just don’t want to be locked in. I did it for too long." [H/T - PWMania]

Nemeth went on to say that he might continue bouncing around the industry for a year or more before settling down.

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Nic Nemeth discusses Mercedes Mone's AEW debut

Nic Nemeth's debut for NJPW came exactly one year after Mercedes Mone's. While Mone is now with AEW, Nemeth is getting the most out of his time as a free agent. He even joined Busted Open Radio recently as a co-host.

Speaking on the program, The Showoff reviewed the former Sasha Banks' All Elite debut at AEW Dynamite: Big Business. He claimed that his years of WWE experience made the prospect of Mone kicking off the show unthinkable:

"I have 20 years of that New York experience from TV in my mind going, 'They won't bring her out first, right? Because then after that, there's no reason for extra viewers who are just tuning in to stay,' but also, there's the fan in me that goes, 'We're already chanting for her and this beautifully, terribly-kept secret... Maybe, she's back out in the main event.'"

Nemeth further stated that he would have liked for her to debut towards the middle of the program with a tease for the main event.