Why Dolph Ziggler Requested His WWE Release

Dolph Ziggler's WWE release came as a shock to many fans, but the former Superstar wanted it to happen. While speaking on the "Eyes Up Here" podcast, the wrestler who now goes by the name Nic Nemeth explained that he requested his release — and he messaged Vince McMahon directly to make it happen.

"I got to a point where I really told myself, I go, 'I only have a certain window, no matter how I am with injuries, you have a certain window to where you can still be a top, somewhat of a game-changer, at a different company, at a different show, at an independent.'"

Nemeth revealed that WWE wanted him to wrestle for a couple more years before transitioning him into a behind-the-scenes role. However, he wanted to spend his remaining in-ring years testing his abilities and having the matches he always dreamed of having elsewhere. After he stopped receiving as much television time, he got in touch with the top brass and encouraged them to stop paying him millions of dollars to effectively work as an enhancement talent.

"I go, 'Vince, thanks for everything,' 20-page email. This is the greatest job in the world, and then I aired out some dirty laundry about how I was mad just in the last couple of paragraphs, but the rest was very, very positive," Nemeth revealed. His release was ultimately granted and the rest is history.

The former Dolph Ziggler has been busy since leaving WWE, appearing for companies such as AAA, NJPW, and TNA Wrestling. Nemeth also detailed conversations he had with AEW, revealing that he thinks Tony Khan is great but he was still weighing up his options at the time.

If you use any quotes from this article, please credit "Eyes Up Here" and provide a h/t to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.