Nick Aldis isn’t walking into SummerSlam wearing a General Manager’s suit. After weeks of fans wondering how WWE would present him for his first premium live event match since joining the company, Aldis has finally ended the speculation himself.
When he steps into the ring against GUNTHER, he’ll be doing it as “Nick Aldis: The National Treasure,” the identity that made him one of wrestling’s biggest stars before arriving in WWE. Speaking with Chris Van Vliet, Aldis laughed off the idea that he’d wrestle in a suit and revealed he’d already made it clear to WWE exactly how he wanted to be presented.
“Yeah, of course. This is WWE. I’ve been very, very flattered and humbled by, for example, when I said like gear, attire. I want Nick Aldis: The National Treasure. So there’s a little exclusive for you because I know there’s been a lot. There’s been some speculation about like, is he gonna wrestle in a suit? Stupid. Can you imagine?”
Aldis admitted he understands why some fans had that question. Since joining WWE, he’s rarely been seen as anything other than SmackDown’s General Manager, meaning an entire generation of WWE viewers has never actually watched him wrestle as the performer who built his reputation outside the company.
“When I was a kid, nothing else outside WWF meant sht to me. I appreciated all the height of WCW and all that after the fact. At the time, I was like 10 at the peak of WCW. To me, I was like, ‘That’s not the WWF.'”
The reveal also lines up with Aldis’ mindset heading into SummerSlam. Despite speculation that a strong showing against GUNTHER could earn him more matches after the event, Aldis has made it clear he isn’t thinking that far ahead. As far as he’s concerned, there’s only one job to do.
“I am. I’m 100% fully focused on SummerSlam. I came into this with no expectations. I come out of it with no expectations. The demands are only on myself… After that, it’s out of my hands. I never thought… I didn’t know this was happening. I didn’t expect this to happen. So, I’m certainly not going to then go to the, ‘Oh, now I can do this and this and now it’ll lead to this.’ No. Now all that matters is I have to deliver at SummerSlam.”
His comments also come after reports that WWE currently views the GUNTHER match as a one-off appearance. Whether that changes will likely depend on how the match is received, but Aldis isn’t interested in discussing any of that.
He’s already made one thing clear. When SummerSlam arrives, fans won’t be seeing SmackDown’s General Manager—they’ll be seeing Nick Aldis: The National Treasure.
What do you think of Nick Aldis bringing back “The National Treasure” for SummerSlam? Let us know in the comments below.
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