Former WWE star Nic Nemeth aka Dolph Ziggler: “My last contract was to keep me from going to AEW”
During the Off The Ropes podcast, former WWE star Nic Nemeth aka Dolph Ziggler spoke with Jonathan Coachman about how much money wrestlers are making since the launch of AEW. Here was the exchange…
Ziggler: “My last contract was to keep me from going to AEW. That was it. It was winked and not said, but it was completely understood. I go, ‘I’m asking for this elaborate amount because I know you won’t pay me what I’m worth. I’m going to make a move. I’m going elsewhere.’ And they go, ‘nope, we’ll do it.’ I go, ‘What??? Okay.'”
Coachman: “If a big name gets into a bidding war as a free agent and selects AEW because of all the things that we’ve talked about today—the ticket prices, wanting fans to come to the show, all of those things—that could be a tipping point where other WWE stars say, ‘you know what, maybe this isn’t where I want to be anymore.’ Maybe watching Cody make $10 million or Roman make $15 million for showing up 15 times—and I think those part-time deals, I think TKO is going to tighten the purse strings. Can you imagine letting Roman Reigns [go], when you’re making billions? Yeah, I don’t care if he wants $20 million. Yeah, you pay him to keep him from going there.”