During Monday's RAW in New York's Madison Square Garden, Dolph Ziggler—who now goes by his real name, Nic Nemeth—made his surprise return to WWE to compete in "The Last Time Is Now" tournament. Ultimately, he fell to Solo Sikoa, though his merchandise has been added to the WWE Shop website.
Fightful has shared an update today, revealing that Ziggler is not currently signed to a full WWE contract. He has a similar arrangement to Matt Cardona/Zack Ryder, and according to TNA sources, isn't looking for a long-term contract with any company.
WWE was reportedly happy with Ziggler's performance, so chances are we haven't seen the last of the current TNA World Champion.
Appearing on Busted Open Radio, Nemeth broke his silence on returning to WWE. "Insanely fun and awesome and cool. I had to hide out all day, which was fun. Once someone comes and visits you, then a couple more people come to visit you. And then my brother goes, 'Oh, I just found out online and it’s official that it’s you.' And I’m like, 'Okay, great.'"
"So it took a solid hour of people poking their heads in to wave to put it online somewhere, but it was awesome," he continued. "[WWE] could have me back for any show in any city, and it would be cool and fun. I am very fortunate to have something like the Cena tournament and like, 'Hey, you have history with this guy,' and you don't even have to force it. We have genuine history. It's really cool."
"And then also getting to be in Madison Square Garden, getting to come back after two years, all these positions and be a surprise. All these different pieces all added up."
Nemeth added, "I was excited, but it's wrestling. We have these egos. We’re crazy. I go, 'I hope they remember 'cause otherwise, what am I doing here?' And then music hits and you get that one 1,000 of like, 'Okay, they do. Alright, let's go to work.'"
In case you somehow missed it, you can relive Ziggler's memorable WWE return in the X posts below (we've also included the full interview with Nemeth).