Dolph Ziggler

Nicholas Theodore Nemeth (born July 27, 1980) is an American professional wrestler and stand-up comedian currently signed to Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA) under his real name, stylized as Nic Nemeth.

He also makes appearances on the independent circuit and for New Japan Pro Wrestling (NJPW), where he is the current IWGP Global Heavyweight Champion in his first reign.

Nicholas Theodore Nemeth was born in Cleveland, Ohio, on July 27, 1980.

He has been a fan of professional wrestling since he was five years old, when he attended a wrestling event at the Richfield Coliseum, and he decided to become a professional wrestler at age 12.

He later revealed on Colt Cabana's Art of Wrestling Podcast that he chose his WWE name "Dolph" because that was his great-grandfather's name, and his friend suggested the surname "Ziggler".

Nemeth attended St. Edward High School in Lakewood, Ohio, where he was an amateur wrestler and holds the school record for most pins in a career with 82.

At St. Edward, he was teammates with Gray Maynard and Andy Hrovat.

During his time at St. Edward, the wrestling team won the National Championships on two occasions.

He was a collegiate wrestler at Kent State University, eventually setting what was then the record for most career wins in the team's history.

He had 121 career wins between 2000 and 2003.

He majored in political science with a pre-law minor.

Prior to his WWE tryout, he had been accepted to the law school at Arizona State University, where he was due to start his first semester.

He was a three-time All-Mid-American Conference champion, winning the 165 lb tournament in 2000, 2002, and 2003; as of 2010, he is the last wrestler from Kent State University to have won three wrestling conference championships.

He is best known for his tenure with WWE from 2004–2023, where he performed under the ring name Dolph Ziggler.

Known for his athleticism and versatility, Nemeth is regarded as one of the most talented wrestlers in the world.

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.

Nemeth signed a contract with World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) in 2004.

He was assigned to its developmental territory Ohio Valley Wrestling (OVW), debuting on November 3, 2004, under the ring name "Nick Nemeth".

After briefly teaming with Steve Lewington, Nemeth went on to feud with Paul Burchill.

He was promoted to WWE's Raw brand shortly afterwards in 2005, playing the caddie sidekick to Kerwin White.

In August 2005, he unsuccessfully challenged Ken Doane for the OVW Television Championship.

In September 2005, he unsuccessfully challenged Johnny Jeter for the OVW Heavyweight Championship.

In October 2005, he began wrestling on main roster house shows.

After joining WWE's main roster as a member of the Spirit Squad in January 2005, Nemeth conntinued to wrestle sporadically for OVW until April 2006.

Nemeth made his main roster television debut on the September 25, 2005, episode of Sunday Night Heat.

He was made the enforcer and sidekick for Chavo Guerrero Jr.., who was using a golfer in-ring persona and going by the ring name of "Kerwin White".

As such, Nemeth became White's caddie.

His wrestling debut came on an episode of Sunday Night Heat, teaming up with White in a tag team match against Shelton Benjamin and Matt Striker.

After the death of Eddie Guerrero, Chavo Guerrero dropped the "Kerwin White" character, and Nemeth no longer played the role of his caddie and tag partner.

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 OVW that November.

His record was passed in 2006; as of 2010, he stands second all-time in career victories at Kent State.

In September 2007, Nemeth was assigned to Florida Championship Wrestling (FCW), where he won the FCW Florida Tag Team Championship twice.

Upon his return 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.

Overall in WWE, Nemeth has held 15 total championships.

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 being released from WWE, Nemeth would return to 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.