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Two-time WWE World Heavyweight Champion Nic Nemeth is grateful that so many other wrestlers helped him in the early stages of his career.
Nemeth worked for WWE between 2004 and 2023. Although he is best known as Dolph Ziggler, the 43-year-old initially made an impact on the main roster as male cheerleader Nicky. During that time, he shared the ring with legends such as Ric Flair and Shawn Michaels.
In an exclusive interview with Sportskeeda Wrestling's Riju Dasgupta, Nemeth credited his co-workers for giving him valuable information as a rookie in-ring competitor:
"It's amazing, man. I've had like a 98 percent loss record, but I've been the luckiest guy in the world. I've been in the ring with Ric Flair, Roddy Piper, Dusty Rhodes, Shawn Michaels, Triple H, Vince McMahon. All these people that you grew up watching, and then you come to realize how good they are. The reason I'm as good as I am today is because I got to be in the ring with those people." [0:41 – 1:11]
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Nic Nemeth was a member of The Spirit Squad in 2006. Although he appreciated the opportunity, the popular wrestler was unsure whether being part of a male cheerleading group would be good for his career:
"A really special time for me was The Spirit Squad," Nemeth said. "I was a cheerleader, I go, 'What the hell are we doing here?' and you start to realize it's a foot in the door, people were booing us out of the building instantly, and then every weekend I'm working with Ric Flair, Shawn Michaels, Triple H, and any other cast of Hall of Famers. I was so bummed out. I'm like, 'I'm not sure what we're doing here. When this ends, do I just go away?'" [1:12 – 1:40]
Watch the video above to hear Nic Nemeth explain why he left WWE after 19 years with the company.
Nic Nemeth also appreciated another Spirit Squad member's help
Kenny Dykstra, known in The Spirit Squad as Kenny, wrestled for WWE between 2006 and 2008 before returning for another short run in 2016. In recent years, he has also worked for the company as a Performance Center coach and main roster producer.
Nic Nemeth learned a lot from Dykstra even though his former Spirit Squad stablemate was a lot younger than him at the time:
"I've been the luckiest guy in the world learning from Jim Cornette, Rip Rogers. Kenny Dykstra was 19 years old and I was 25, and he was letting me know on the things behind the scenes, like, 'Watch out for this. Make sure you do this.' And I go, 'That's stuff I wouldn't have learned for 10 more years,' so I got to learn from everybody. And you don't take everything from everybody and count it. That's how it goes. But a lot of people were looking out for me, and I've been very fortunate, and I plan on giving back to everybody else for the next 20 years." [2:07 – 2:38]
Nemeth has appeared in several companies since leaving WWE, including GCW, NJPW, TNA, and WWC. While he has not ruled out returning to WWE one day, working for the company again is not his priority.
What do you want to see next from Nic Nemeth? Let us know in the comments section below.
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