Dolph Ziggler | |
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Birth name | Nicholas Theodore Nemeth |
Born | Cleveland, Ohio, U.S. | July 27, 1980
Alma mater | Kent State University |
Relatives | Ryan Nemeth (brother) |
Professional wrestling career | |
Ring name(s) | Dolph Ziggler Nic Nemeth Nick Nemeth Nicky Colonel Sanders |
Billed height | 6 ft 0 in (183 cm)[1] |
Billed weight | 218 lb (99 kg)[1] |
Billed from | Hollywood, Florida[1] |
Trained by | Florida Championship Wrestling Lance Storm[2] Ohio Valley Wrestling Steve Keirn Tom Prichard |
Debut | 2004 |
Nicholas Theodore Nemeth (born July 27, 1980) is an American professional wrestler and stand-up comedian. He is currently signed to Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA), where he performs under his real name, stylized as Nic Nemeth, and is the current TNA World Champion in his first reign. He also makes occasional appearances on the independent circuit. He is best known for his tenure in WWE from 2004 to 2023, where he performed under the ring name Dolph Ziggler.
After a career in amateur wrestling, where he established several school records for Kent State University, Nemeth signed a developmental contract with WWE in 2004 and was sent to Ohio Valley Wrestling (OVW), where he wrestled under his real name. He was promoted to WWE's Raw brand shortly afterwards in 2005, playing the caddie sidekick to Kerwin White. He was sent back to OVW shortly afterwards, being given the name Nicky and joining the cheerleading-themed Spirit Squad, who debuted on RAW in January 2006 and won the World Tag Team Championship once before returning to development.
After working in OVW and Florida Championship Wrestling, he returned to the main roster in September 2008, Nemeth was repackaged as Dolph Ziggler. Since then, he has held the World Heavyweight Championship twice, the NXT Championship once, the Intercontinental Championship six times, the United States Championship twice, the Raw Tag Team Championship twice, and the SmackDown Tag Team Championship once. His other accomplishments include becoming the sole survivor of two Survivor Series elimination matches and the 2012 Money in the Bank winner as well as headlining multiple WWE pay-per-view events. Nemeth was released from WWE in September 2023, ending his 19-year run with the company.
After WWE, Nemeth would debut in the independent circuit using his real name. In January 2024, he would make his debut in New Japan Pro Wrestling (NJPW) appearing in the crowd alongside his younger brother, Ryan at Wrestle Kingdom 18, and made his TNA debut at 2024's Hard To Kill. One month later, he won the IWGP Global Heavyweight Championship, his first major non-WWE championship, in his NJPW debut match. On April 27, at Triplemanía XXXII, he won the vacant AAA Mega Championship. Three months later on July 20, he would win the TNA World Championship at that year's Slammiversary.