Nic Nemeth reveals WWE contacted him for return multiple times before John Cena tournament
Nic Nemeth opened up about WWE reaching out to him for a return on numerous occasions before his participation in The Last Time Is Now Tournament.
Nemeth told That Sweet Pop about his tenure on the independent circuit extending longer than he intended too. He discussed Matt Cardona’s quest focusing on a WWE return which eventually happened six years after his release.
“Yeah, because there’s people out there like one of my best friends, Matt Cardona, he goes, ‘My goal is to be the best independent wrestler and get to WWE at some point.’ He said that for years and he accomplished that goal. My goal was I’ve been here for 19 and a half years. I overstayed my welcome by a few years, but that’s fine. I’m going elsewhere. I want to see if I was in this bubble with just this certain amount of talent or I’ve talked a lot over the years. Can I back it up in other places where I don’t know the opponents?”
Nemeth stated he had no ill will towards WWE. He reflected positively on his time there and expressed gratitude for his learnings during his 19 year tenure.
“And so they (WWE) let me out. I didn’t go ‘Oh, can I come back in two years?’ I go ‘Thank you for everything. This is the greatest job I’ve ever had. Not even close. So many moments. Thank you for this. Now I have to go somewhere else because I have to prove to myself that I don’t just fit in WWE that can adapt everywhere.’”
He revealed WWE reached out to him on several occasions for a comeback but the special request for The Last Time Is Now Tournament was unmissable.
“They had asked me to come back a couple different times for some other things, and I was like ‘I don’t know. It’s been two years. I don’t really want to,’ and then they said, ‘This is for Cena.’ They said, ‘We’ve had a million matches together. Incredible guy. We’ve done so much. We have a story. We have a history, and I know all the good that he’s done.You could roll down a Santa Claus list of names of everything he’s done, what he’s done for us in the back, what he’s done to help out the guys and girls, what he’s done granting those wishes, everything else on the like, come on. He’s the greatest of all time. We get to call him that. And he’s earned so many things that you’ll probably never even hear about. So now come back for this tournament, ‘Yeah, hell yeah.’”
On the November 17 edition of Raw in 2025, Nemeth returned to WWE for one match against Solo Sikoa – the first round of the tournament. The spectacle also led to Cardona’s full-time return to the main roster after feuding on TNA and NXT’s crossover matches.
The tournament was designed to determine John Cena’s final WWE opponent in his retirement match. It featured a mix of former and current WWE wrestlers from the roster, including future prospects to compete on the main stage.
Rosanne Raphael is a wrestling writer with over three and a half years of experience covering all things related to the industry. From a kindergarten teacher to PR Associate to turning her lifelong passion for the industry into a career, Rosanne is currently writing for F4W Online where she focuses on wrestling news, analysis, and storytelling.
Rosanne previously contributed to Sportskeeda as an Assistant Content Manager.
When not consumed by wrestling, Rosanne is a musician and an aspiring artist.