Nick Nemeth Reveals Why He Asked To Leave WWE Early Despite Lucrative Contract

Nick Nemeth opened up about one of the toughest decisions of his career, revealing that walking away from WWE early — even with significant money still on the table — was something he felt he had to do to keep his career alive at the highest level.

During an interview with The Humble Roses Podcast, Nemeth explained that the decision came while he was still under contract with WWE and financially secure. However, he realized that time — not money — was becoming the most valuable factor in his career. Rather than staying under contract and working sparingly, he wanted to remain active and prove himself as a main event talent around the world. He explained that his mindset shifted when he thought about the limited window wrestlers have to remain believable as top stars, especially as they get older.

“Well the first one that popped in my head—I’m sure there’s millions of other ones—but the first one that popped in my head was being with WWE almost three years ago and still having a year and a half left on my contract and I could have sat on the bench and put away a couple of college funds for some people down the line.”

Nemeth made it clear that while staying under contract would have been financially comfortable, he believed it would have come at the cost of momentum in his career. Instead of settling into a reduced role, he wanted to remain visible and active across the wrestling world. He continued by explaining that his age and career timeline forced him to think differently about his future, especially when it came to maintaining credibility as a top-level performer.

“And I said—I told myself—I only have a certain window to where I could be a believable champion all over the world, no matter how great a shape I’m in… we’re starting to get into your 50s then you got to start passing the torch on to somebody else.”

That realization led to what he described as one of the most difficult conversations of his career — asking WWE leadership to release him from a highly paid contract earlier than expected. He admitted that making that request carried risk, especially considering how secure his position was at the time. Nemeth detailed how he approached management and laid out his reasoning, knowing that he wanted more opportunities rather than sitting inactive.

“So I have this window and I go, I really want to go around the world and show everybody that I can absolutely be a world champion or main eventer. And I said, do I go to the boss that told me, ‘You’re going to work here till you can’t and then we’d love to have you behind the scenes and you’re here for life,’ and I had to go tell him, ‘I would like—can you let me out of my contract a year and a half early,’ this insanely well-paid contract.”

Nemeth admitted that he struggled internally with the decision, especially knowing how valuable the deal was. However, his passion for wrestling ultimately outweighed the financial comfort of staying put. He explained that the turning point came when he realized inactivity would cost him valuable time that he couldn’t get back later.

“And I said, ‘I can’t be sitting on the bench. I’m a workaholic. I love this business. I only have a certain window,’ and he told me to let me think about it and I was like, man, I’m trying to get out of this—and then a couple days later I got out of it.”

According to Nemeth, being granted that release changed the direction of his career. Instead of remaining locked into a limited schedule, he was able to compete regularly across multiple promotions and re-establish himself as a top-level champion on the global stage. He credited that decision with helping him remain active, win championships, and continue performing in front of fans worldwide.

“So it was very nice of him to let me out of that deal because I would have been locked down for another year and a half just kind of hanging out wrestling once in a while. Now I’m out a couple days a week, I’ve been TNA champ, I go all over the world, I’ve represented AAA as champion… held the global title for New Japan… the tag titles with my brother for TNA and the world champ for TNA going around the world.”

The move ultimately allowed him to stay active on the international stage and continue building his legacy across multiple promotions.

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