Nic Nemeth, formerly known as Dolph Ziggler, has credited WWE fans for his 2013 Money In The Bank cash-in.
At Slammiversary in July, Nic Nemeth was crowned the TNA World Champion for the first time after outlasting five other men in an Elimination Match. Since then, the star has successfully retained the gold against the likes of Mustafa Ali, Moose, and Josh Alexander.
This isn’t the first time Nemeth has held a World Title, though, as over a decade ago he became a two-time World Heavyweight Champion in WWE under the name of Dolph Ziggler. His first reign lasted only a week in 2011 and came about in strange circumstances. Adam Copeland seemingly defeated the star with a Spear, but the GM at the time, Vickie Guerrero, had deemed the move illegal and awarded the gold to Ziggler instead.
However, Nemeth’s second reign was more legitimate. The star won the Money In The Bank briefcase in the 2012 edition of the multi-man ladder match. Afterwards, he went on a losing streak, but was ultimately triumphant when he cashed in on Alberto Del Rio to a huge ovation from the fans.
Nemeth reflected on the memorable cash-in during an appearance on Stories with Brisco and Bradshaw and gave all of the credit to the fans for the achievement even happening.
“The reason that reaction and that moment happened was 100% the fans. Like at the time, I was the guy with the briefcase who always kept trying to cash in—would catch a brogue kick or something in the face.
“It got to a point where they thought they were either going to take it off of me or when I came to cash in, that I wasn’t going to get it. I was going to lose the match or something. But the reason the crowds were so great, even leading up to that, was Vince at the time.
“He said, ‘Listen, I know you lose a lot’—[I’m like] about 99% of the time—but he goes, ‘I know you lose a lot and now with this briefcase, you’re going to lose even more, and it’s going to be a bigger deal. But the next day after you finally cash this in, everything changes.’ So we did that, kept [losing] more and more.”
“I’ve Never Heard Anything Like That” – Nic Nemeth aka. Dolph Ziggler On Crowd Reaction To Money In The Bank Cash-In
When Nemeth did cash in, he was shocked by just how well-received the moment was, saying he’s never heard anything like the ovation he received for his victory.
“[I] finally cashed in. I was like, ‘Man, I hope this crowd’s into it. They seem kind of lively and fun.’ I’ll never forget my music hit—it was a two-second delay—and it’s just like prickers all over my body.
“I went, ‘Whoa! what’, and I still had to stay focused and be in the moment, walk down there to do it. But I’ve never heard anything like that in person ever.
“It was because they stuck by the guy who kept losing and kept failing to cash in. They said, ‘All right, we’re going to help this guy,’ and they did. We got it, and they lost their minds. It was so fun.”
For his next defence, Nic Nemeth will defend the TNA World Title against Joe Hendry at Bound For Glory on October 26th.
H/T to SEScoops for the above transcription.