A former WWE World Champion, Nic Nemeth, known as Dolph Ziggler, recently discussed the origin of his iconic ring name, bringing Vince McMahon into the conversation.
During an episode of the Wrestling Perspective Podcast, Nemeth disclosed his initial disdain for the name he became famous for, revealing that it wasn’t even the original choice:
“Heartbroken, absolutely heartbroken [laughs], and I am heartless, but I had to get a heart and then smash it in front of myself. I hope I’m remembering this right. I get a call on a Saturday night after an OVW show. ‘Hey, you’re debuting on Monday. Your name is David Diggler,’ yeah, you thought Dolph Ziggler was bad,” he recounted.
Despite his dislike for the proposed name, Nemeth was informed that they needed a name with the “same consonant,” disregarding his real name. When he appeared on Monday Night RAW before his re-debut in September 2008, one of the names he suggested – Dolph – replaced David, resulting in Dolph Diggler.
“So I get there, it says, ‘Dolph Diggler.’ I’m kind, ‘What?’ So I find Vince for the first time in my life, I bump into him and say, ‘Sir, we just went to reality-based. We got John Cena, Randy Orton, this says David Diggler or Dolph Diggler. My name is Nic Nemeth.
You can Google my name, I broke these records. I would love to be the best possible reason that you have legitimacy in this new era.’ He goes, ‘Nope, Dolph Ziggler. It stands out. That’s it.’ He walked away, and I went, ‘Okay, here we go,'” Nemeth recounted.
Now, 16 years later, Nic Nemeth has reverted to his original name and is currently signed to TNA. He recently reunited with former WWE Champion Alberto Del Rio, with whom he created some remarkable moments during his tenure with the wrestling juggernaut promotion.
