Just like the Kenny Omega to the WWE rumors every January, the ongoing debate of whether Dolph Ziggler remains with the WWE has become a regular occurrence within WWE and pro wrestling fans, more often than he appears on WWE programming. On Saturday, Dolph Ziggler – an Ohio native now living in Phoenix, Arizona – was interviewed for the Chris Van Vliet YouTube show about his status for the Royal Rumble in his new adopted hometown, rumors of his WWE status and offers, and his thoughts on the new All Elite Wrestling. Here are some tidbits of Dolph’s comments.
On if he’ll be at the Royal Rumble on Sunday night:
“Technically, I am still under contract but I am not scheduled to be at the Royal Rumble…I have a show afterward at (Phoenix comedy club) Stand Up Live…as of now, my booking (Sunday) will be at Stand Up Live.”
On changing his Twitter handle to his real name Nic Nemeth lately:
“I’m doing more and more and more, and say I were to do, next week in LA, go do a show on a network I would be doing that not because they saw the dropkick that I did, it would be because of me earning a position in that job, so more and more things will be not Dolph Ziggler related, gotta do a little business on the side.”
On having a Pro Wrestling Tees shop now:
“Once again with that name clarification, Dolph Ziggler is not selling bootleg WWE merchandise out of his trunk, Nic Nemeth and his brother Ryan Nemeth are selling T-shirts to support different comedy causes and different things on the side.”
On his WWE status:
“I can’t really answer that. And I don’t want to make some fake thing or some sly thing…for now, I am on a hiatus with the WWE….we’ll see where it goes. It’s very interesting. There’s a handshake thing different than what’s on paper. I’ve given everything, and we’ll see, if there’s more for me to give, I’ll be happy being a part of it.”
On maybe taking a Producer/Agent role backstage instead:
“If WWE wanted to keep me around, it would be to be in the ring for now. Producing, I could see happening 10 years down the line, but I don’t know why I wouldn’t be doing some other stuff first. It’s a great thing, there’s a lot of people who are good at teaching and giving back, and I love pulling people aside, or if they come up to me at work – doing that full time, being in the basically the best shape of my life, I wouldn’t be able to do it, I don’t think.”
On All Elite Wrestling:
“That is fantastic news. Everybody seems like fans at heart that are coming up with everything going into that company. I don’t know too much about it, but everything so far shows that they are trying to give another option for fans who love wrestling, people who want something new. And even if you somehow didn’t like them, or didn’t like the idea, or are pro-WWE, the fact that this is happening and may create a little back and forth, or some people to step up their game, or some people to have a second place to go when it’s not the end-all-be-all, that is so much good for competition and business and all the Superstars together already, that if that becomes successful and they’re going back and forth then it’s good for everybody, the fans and the wrestlers.”
On signing with AEW:
“You never know, I think it would be great. I think I would be a great addition to that company, which seems to be for true wrestlers who love the sport and the business, that’s a great idea…”
You can check out his full interview below:
