Nic Nemeth says surprise WWE return was almost announced in advance
Nic Nemeth’s surprise return to WWE was almost announced by the company ahead of time.
On Raw at Madison Square Garden this Monday night, Nemeth had his first match as Dolph Ziggler in more than two years, facing off against Solo Sikoa against in The Last Time is Now tournament. It was a one-night-only return for Nemeth as Sikoa advanced in the tournament to determine John Cena’s final opponent.
Nemeth’s appearance on Raw was not announced in advance, though — despite his best efforts — it did leak online a few hours before the show. He’s happy that it was mostly still a secret for fans, though, with Nemeth saying that initial plans were actually for WWE to announce a tournament bracket weeks ago that would have revealed the participants.
“A few weeks ago when I was told, it’s like, ‘Hey, we’re going to have you in this thing and we’re going to announce it ahead of time. They’re going to like show brackets or something.’ And I go, ‘Oh my God, that’s such a bad idea.’ I go, ‘Is there any way we’re not doing this?’ They’re like, ‘No, look.’ They go, ‘There might be something they’re going to put out today, it’ll be on social media. Maybe retweet or something.’ I’m like, ‘Oh my God, I hope this doesn’t happen.’ And nothing happened,” Nemeth said on his SiriusXM Off The Ropes show with Jonathan Coachman.
Nemeth — now a star for TNA Wrestling following his release from WWE in 2023 — and Matt Cardona were the two biggest surprises of the opening round of the tournament. Rusev, Sheamus, Jey Uso, LA Knight, Gunther, and Sikoa have advanced so far: The two remaining first-round matches will take place on SmackDown this Friday: Penta vs. Finn Balor and Bronson Reed vs. Carmelo Hayes.
The tournament winner earns the right to face Cena in his final match at WWE Saturday Night’s Main Event on December 13.
Joseph Currier is the lead editor of F4WOnline.com, directing daily news coverage and writing articles on professional wrestling. He is a graduate of the University of Massachusetts, obtaining a journalism degree in 2016. Joseph joined F4W during his time at UMass and has now been writing about the industry for nearly a decade.
In addition to his work with F4W, Joseph has previously contributed to Sports Illustrated's wrestling coverage. He lives in Massachusetts and is a diehard fan of the Boston sports teams and Liverpool Football Club.