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{{Infobox Wrestler
{{Infobox Wrestler
|name=Nick Nemeth
|name=Dolph Ziggler
|image =Dolph Ziggler Milwaukee 090908.jpg
|image =Dolph Ziggler Milwaukee 090908.jpg
|names=Nick Nemeth<ref name="OWOW"/><br />Nicky<ref name="OWOW"/><br />Nic Nemeth<ref name="OWOW"/><br />Nick Metro<ref name="May 12-08"/><br />'''Dolph Ziggler'''<ref name=WVreturn/>
|names=Nick Nemeth<ref name="OWOW"/><br />Nicky<ref name="OWOW"/><br />Nic Nemeth<ref name="OWOW"/><br />Nick Metro<ref name="May 12-08"/><br />'''Dolph Ziggler'''<ref name=WVreturn/>

Revision as of 02:39, 7 September 2009

Dolph Ziggler
Born (1980-07-27) July 27, 1980 (age 43)[1][2]
Cleveland, Ohio[1][2]
Professional wrestling career
Ring name(s)Nick Nemeth[1]
Nicky[1]
Nic Nemeth[1]
Nick Metro[3]
Dolph Ziggler[4]
Billed height6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)[1][5][2]
Billed weight221 lb (100 kg)[5]
Billed fromHollywood, Florida[5]
Trained byLance Storm
Al Snow
Mike Bucci
DebutNovember 2004[1]

Nicholas Theodore "Nick" Nemeth[1] (born July 27, 1980)[1][2] is an American professional wrestler, currently working for World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) under the name Dolph Ziggler on the SmackDown brand.[4] He is also known for his performances with WWE as Spirit Squad member Nicky in 2006.

Nemeth signed a development contract with WWE in 2004, and was sent to Ohio Valley Wrestling (OVW). He was brought up to the Raw brand in 2005 as Kerwin White's sidekick. He was, however, sent back to OVW shortly afterwards, where he joined the Spirit Squad. They debuted on Raw in January 2006, and won the World Tag Team Championship before returning to OVW that November. In September 2007, Nemeth was assigned to Florida Championship Wrestling, where he formed a tag team with Brad Allen. He returned to Raw as Ziggler in September 2008.

Nemeth is a former World Tag Team Champion as a member of the Spirit Squad, and has also held the FCW Florida Tag Team Championship twice; once with Brad Allen, and once with Gavin Spears.

Early life

Nemeth attended the Roman Catholic 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.[2] After graduating, he attended Kent State University, and joined their wrestling team, eventually setting the record for most career wins in the school's history.[2]

Professional wrestling career

Ohio Valley Wrestling and Raw (2004-2006)

Nemeth signed a developmental deal with World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) in 2004 and was assigned to their farm territory Ohio Valley Wrestling (OVW), debuting as "Nick Nemeth".

After working for nearly a year in OVW, Nemeth was called up to the main WWE Raw roster, making his TV 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 gimmick and going by the ring name of "Kerwin White".[2] As such, Nemeth became White's caddy.[2] 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.[6] After the death of Eddie Guerrero, Guerrero dropped the "Kerwin White" character, and Nemeth no longer played the role of his caddy and tag partner.[2] After a few months of wrestling in dark matches and at house shows, he was sent back to OVW.[2]

The Spirit Squad (2006)

Main article: Spirit Squad

In OVW, he became a part of The Spirit Squad (under the name "Nicky"), who were eventually called up to Raw. On January 23, 2006, they had their television debut, appearing on Raw and helping Jonathan Coachman win a Royal Rumble qualifying match against Jerry "The King" Lawler by performing cheers for the Coach and distracting Lawler.[7] They later became a part of the on-going feud between WWE chairman Vince McMahon and Shawn Michaels. The heel McMahon brought in the Squad to attack Michaels on numerous occasions, including placing them in multiple handicap matches.[8][9]

File:Spirit-Squad.jpg
Nemeth as Nicky, with Mikey and Johnny in The Spirit Squad

They also wrestled in the tag team division, and on April 3, on Raw, won the World Tag Team Championship when Kenny and Mikey, with outside help from the other three Squad members, defeated Kane and The Big Show.[10][11] After winning the titles The Spirit Squad defended the titles under the Freebird Rule.

Three weeks later, McMahon signed another Handicap match, with the Spirit Squad facing Michaels. The Spirit Squad instead attacked Michaels before the match had started, and Triple H came out to help them, Kenny disrespected him, leading to Triple H helping Shawn Michaels instead.[12] This led to Triple H and Michaels reforming D-Generation X (DX) and they began a feud with the Spirit Squad.[13][14] DX played various sophomoric jokes on the Squad and the McMahons, as well as defeating the Spirit Squad in handicap tag matches at Vengeance and a clean sweep in an elimination handicap match at Saturday Night's Main Event.[14][15][16][17]

At the same time as their feud with DX and their alignment with McMahon, the team also wrestled other teams in Raw's tag division over their World Tag Team Title, successfully defending the championship against the teams of Jim Duggan and Eugene, Charlie Haas and Viscera, and Snitsky and Val Venis,[15] They then entered a lengthy feud with The Highlanders, whom they eventually defeated to retain the titles at Unforgiven.[18][19]

The Squad as a whole later began a losing streak with separate members losing singles matches to Ric Flair on consecutive episodes of Raw.[20][21] After two consecutive losses to the debuting Cryme Tyme, Kenny attacked Mikey and announced that he was going to defeat Flair, since no other member was able to do it; he succeeded, despite Flair attempting to even the odds by bringing other WWE Legends,Dusty Rhodes, Sgt. Slaughter, and "Rowdy" Roddy Piper, to the ring with him.[22][23] It was then decided that Flair and one of the legends would wrestle the Squad at Cyber Sunday for the Tag Team Championship.[23] The fans chose Piper, and he and Flair defeated Kenny and Mikey to win the title.[24]

The group was "killed off" on the November 27 Raw after they were defeated in a 5 on 3 match by DX and Flair. Then, in a backstage segment that night, DX put all the members into a crate stamped "OVW, Louisville, Kentucky".[25]

Return to developmental (2007-2008)

Nemeth appeared at the January 17, 2007, OVW taping along with Mike Mondo as the "Frat Pack" and teamed with Mike Kruel in a match against Seth Skyfire, Shawn Spears, and Cody Runnels.[26] The team disbanded in the early parts of 2007, before teaming up again in August.[27][28]

In September, Nemeth and Mike Mondo were moved to the Florida Championship Wrestling (FCW) developmental territory and in his debut there defeated Hade Vansen.[29] At the beginning of the year 2008, he tweaked his name to "Nic Nemeth" and began teaming with Brad Allen and Taryn Terrell as their valet. Nemeth and Allen started a frat boy type gimmick with Terrell as a "sorority chick". On March 22, Nemeth and Allen won the FCW Florida Tag Team Championship by defeating defending champions Eddie Colón and Eric Perez.[30] On May 12, 2008, he wrestled and lost in a dark match to Ron Killings.[3] Soon after, however, he returned to the name "Nic Nemeth".[1] He then added the nickname "The Natural" in front of his ring name while also changing his look.[1]

Dolph Ziggler (2008-present)

Raw

On September 15, 2008, Nemeth re-debuted on Raw, introducing himself in a backstage segment, with a new image, under the name "Dolph Ziggler".[4] On October 10, 2008, Nemeth was suspended for 30 days for his first violation of WWE's Wellness Program policy.[31] He returned to Raw on November 17 in a backstage segment with Rey Mysterio and Shawn Michaels. In his first match on Raw under the Ziggler name, he lost to Batista, getting a deal of offense in the form of high impact moves, on the December 1 episode.[32] The next week he got his first victory as Dolph Ziggler, by countout, against R-Truth.[33] The following week on Raw, he picked up his first televised pinfall victory as Ziggler, when he beat Charlie Haas.[34]


Smackdown!



This file may be deleted after Sunday, 13 September 2009.

On April 15, 2009, Nemeth was drafted to the SmackDown brand as part of the 2009 Supplemental Draft.[35] He made his debut on the April 17 episode of SmackDown, defeating the United States Champion, Montel Vontavious Porter (MVP) in a non-title match, and, as a result, the following week he demanded a match for the championship.[36][37] On the May 1 episode of SmackDown, however, he failed to win the championship, after he was pinned by MVP.[38] Ziggler started a rivalry with The Great Khali, losing by disqualification after attacking him with a steel chair. Over the next few weeks, however, Ziggler defeated Khali by countout and disqualification after making it look like Khali had struck him with a steel chair. At The Bash, Ziggler defeated Khali by pinfall, after Kane returned and attacked Khali.[39] Ziggler then entered an on-screen relationship with Diva Maria, while starting a scripted rivalry with Intercontinental Champion Rey Mysterio, who defeated Ziggler at the Night of Champions and SummerSlam pay-per-views to retain the championship.[40]

In wrestling

Championships and accomplishments

See also

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k "Dolph Ziggler Profile". Online World Of Wrestling. Retrieved 2008-04-27.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Milner, John M. (2006-12-19). "Nick Nemeth". Slam! Sports. Canadian Online Explorer. Retrieved 2006-12-19.
  3. ^ a b "WWE Raw Results - May 12, 2008". Online World Of Wrestling. 2008-05-12. Retrieved 2008-05-12.
  4. ^ a b c Martin, Adam (2008-09-16). "Dark match from Raw in Memphis, identity of wrestler, The Condemned". WrestleView. Retrieved 2008-09-16.
  5. ^ a b c "Dolph Ziggler". World Wrestling Entertainment. Retrieved 2009-07-26.
  6. ^ "WWE Raw Results - October 17, 2005 - Internet Heat Tapings". Online World Of Wrestling. 2005-10-17. Retrieved 2008-08-09.
  7. ^ "Ready to Rumble". WWE. 2006-008-08. Retrieved 2007-12-26. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  8. ^ ""Big Time" Pedigree". WWE. 2006-02-20. Retrieved 2008-08-08.
  9. ^ "Sneak Attack". WWE. 2006-03-13. Retrieved 2008-08-08.
  10. ^ "The Champ bows down to the "King of Kings"". WWE. 2006-04-03. Retrieved 2008-08-08.
  11. ^ a b "History Of The World Tag Team Championship - Spirit Squad". WWE. 2006-04-03. Retrieved 2008-08-09.
  12. ^ Dee, Louie (2006-05-22). "Apology Accepted?". WWE. Retrieved 2008-08-08.
  13. ^ Dee, Louie (2006-06-19). "DX breaks it down". WWE. Retrieved 2008-08-08.
  14. ^ a b Dee, Louie (2006-06-26). "It happens". WWE. Retrieved 2008-08-08.
  15. ^ a b Williams III, Ed (2006-07-03). "Stolen Championship". WWE. Retrieved 2008-08-08.
  16. ^ Dee, Louie (2006-06-25). "DX breaks down the Spirit Squad". WWE. Retrieved 2008-08-08.
  17. ^ Zeigler, Zack (2006-07-15). "DX dismantles the Spirit Squad". WWE. Retrieved 2008-08-08.
  18. ^ Zeigler, Zack (2006-07-24). "Samoan Sabotage". WWE. Retrieved 2008-08-08.
  19. ^ Zeigler, Zack (2006-07-31). "HBK gets smoked". WWE. Retrieved 2008-08-08.
  20. ^ Zeigler, Zack (2006-09-18). "Winning the war". WWE. Retrieved 2008-08-08.
  21. ^ Zeigler, Zack (2006-10-09). "Cyber Sunday Blockbuster". WWE. Retrieved 2008-01-21.
  22. ^ Zeigler, Zack (2006-10-16). "Let the voting begin". WWE. Retrieved 2008-08-08.
  23. ^ a b Zeigler, Zack (2006-10-23). "On the same page?". WWE. Retrieved 2008-08-08.
  24. ^ Zeigler, Zack (2006-11-05). "Golden Legends". WWE. Retrieved 2008-08-08.
  25. ^ Dee, Louie (2006-11-27). "R-K-Anarchy". WWE. Retrieved 2008-08-08.
  26. ^ "Ohio Valley Wrestling (2007) - January 17, 2007". Online World Of Wrestling. 2007-01-17. Retrieved 2008-08-09.
  27. ^ "Ohio Valley Wrestling (2007) - March 24, 2007". Online World Of Wrestling. 2007-03-24. Retrieved 2008-08-09.
  28. ^ "Ohio Valley Wrestling (2007) - August 10, 2007 – OVW Six Flags". Online World Of Wrestling. 2007-08-10. Retrieved 2008-08-09.
  29. ^ "Florida Championship Wrestling (2007) - September 15, 2007". Online World Of Wrestling. 2007-09-15. Retrieved 2008-08-09.
  30. ^ a b Fenwick, Adam. "FCW Florida Tag Team Title History". Solie's Title Histories. Retrieved 2008-08-09.
  31. ^ "Dolph Ziggler suspended for 30 days". World Wrestling Entertainment. 2008-10-10. Retrieved 2008-10-10.
  32. ^ Tylwalk, Nick (2008-12-02). "Raw: Enemies of Jericho's enemies become his friends". Slam! Sports. Canadian Online Explorer. Retrieved 2009-03-26.
  33. ^ Bishop, Matt (2008-12-08). "Raw: A night of Slammys, solid matches". Slam! Sports. Canadian Online Explorer. Retrieved 2009-03-26.
  34. ^ Tylwalk, Nick (2008-12-16). "Raw: Legacy building in Pittsburgh". Slam! Sports. Canadian Online Explorer. Retrieved 2009-03-26.
  35. ^ "2009 WWE Supplemental Draft results". World Wrestling Entertainment. 2009-04-15. Retrieved 2009-04-15.
  36. ^ McNamara, Andy (2009-04-18). "Smackdown: Batista takes a bite out of Legacy". Slam! Sports. Canadian Online Explorer. Retrieved 2009-04-18.
  37. ^ Burdick, Michael (2009-04-24). "Bedlam beckons Backlash". World Wrestling Entertainment. Retrieved 2009-05-02.
  38. ^ McNamara, Andy (2009-05-01). "Punk wins, but Hardy stands tall". Slam! Sports. Canadian Online Explorer. Retrieved 2009-05-02.
  39. ^ Elliott, Brian (2009-06-29). "Mysterio & Jericho save The Bash from wash-out". Slam! Sports. Canadian Online Explorer. Retrieved 2009-07-27.
  40. ^ Elliott, Brian (2009-07-26). "Night of Champions: Punk loses title, but keeps star performer tag". Slam! Sports. Canadian Online Explorer. Retrieved 2009-07-27.
  41. ^ Tedesco, Mike (2009-07-17). "Smackdown results - 7/17/09". WrestleView. Retrieved 2009-08-20.
  42. ^ Shannon, James (2009-07-03). "WWE Smackdown TV report". Wrestling Observer/Figure Four Online. Retrieved 2009-07-04.
  43. ^ Waldman, Jon (2009-07-25). "Smackdown: Hardy gets Punk'd". Slam! Sports. Canadian Online Explorer. Retrieved 2009-07-25.
  44. ^ "Pro Wrestling Illustrated Top 500 - 2006". Wrestling Information Archive. Retrieved 2008-08-05.

External links

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Dolph_Ziggler&oldid=312295996"