Nic Nemeth praises TNA backstage environment: ‘This is the coolest thing ever’
Nic Nemeth is the latest TNA roster member to praise the company’s backstage environment.
Nemeth is scheduled to defend his TNA World Championship against Joe Hendry tomorrow at Genesis. He’s been champion since winning the title at Bound for Glory in July, but Nemeth recently told TV Insider that he didn’t want to hold the belt unless it came about organically.
Nemeth said:
“One of the first things I told them was I didn’t want to be the champion or in the title picture for six months to a year. If it doesn’t come to me somewhat organically, then I didn’t want it to happen. Storyline-wise three or four months in we got to a match, but still Moose remained champion. Slowly, different pieces fell into place where it felt right for the time for what TNA was doing. I think we’re all doing such great work that I’m happy to be a piece of it as champion at the moment.”
Nemeth’s first match for TNA was last January against former NXT tag champion Zachary Wentz. He says he was hesitant to commit to the promotion right away due to having just gotten out of a 20-year relationship with WWE.
Nemeth continued:
“At first, I wasn’t sure what to do. I’d just gotten out of a 20-year relationship and wanted to take a break and not immediately jump into another one. I wanted to check out the independents, go to some different countries and do things I haven’t done without the umbrella of WWE. I wanted to have a bunch of matches I never thought I would. Scott D’Amore kept saying to give them a chance, check out the locker room, and that they had something special going on over here. He wanted me to be a part of it. I got a text from Frankie Kazarian, Brian Myers, Bobby Roode, so many different people were like, “You’ve got to give it a try.” I said, “Let’s find a way where I could dip my toe here and be affiliated with you guys but still do my own thing. After the first payday, I got the locker room, the vibe and how everyone was on the same team. I thought, ‘Let’s go. Let me lock in and be a part of this.'”
Nemeth also spoke with Sports Illustrated ahead of tomorrow night’s show in Dallas. He told SI.com that one of the reasons he decided to sign with TNA Wrestling is the backstage environment and how management deals with talent.
“I’m a link in this team that is kicking ass behind the scenes,” he said. “Ariel (Schnerer), Tommy (Dreamer), Gail (Kim), kicking ass. Motivating all the talent, having a relationship with the talent where it’s like, ‘how about this? How about this,’ and then meeting in the middle. Like, whoa, that can happen. Like, this is the coolest thing ever.”
Nemeth’s full interview with TV Insider is available here, and his discussion with Sports Illustrated is here.