Nic Nemeth Says He Agreed To Be In The Last Time Is Now Tournament For John Cena
Nic Nemeth says the brief return of Dolph Ziggler was for John Cena.
Ahead of Saturday Night’s Main Event on December 13, 2025, WWE staged The Last Time Is Now Tournament to determine John Cena’s final opponent for the event. Beyond showcasing the future of the promotion, the tournament also featured a number of faces from Cena’s past, including Nic Nemeth, competing under his former WWE ring name Dolph Ziggler.
Appearing on The Sweet Pop, Nic Nemeth revealed that he had turned down several requests to return to WWE before ultimately agreeing to come back for one night only for John Cena.
“They had asked me to come back a couple different times for some other things, and I was like, ‘Eh, I don’t know. It’s been two years. I don’t really want to.’ And then they said, ‘This is for Cena.’ We’ve had a million matches together. Incredible guy. We’ve done so much. We have a history. And I know all the good that he’s done. You could roll down a Santa Claus list of names, everything he’s done, what he’s done for us in the back, what he’s done to help the guys and girls, what he’s done granting those wishes, everything. Greatest of all time. And he’s earned so many things you’ll probably never even hear about. So now, come back for this tournament? Yeah. Hell yeah I’ll come back. I don’t want to come back. If you want me to come back down the line and we can work something out once in a while for special moments to help my friends, in a heartbeat.”
-Nic Nemeth
Dolph Ziggler would make his return to WWE during the November 17, 2025 edition of Monday Night RAW as he came up short to Solo Sikoa in the first round of The Last Time Is Now Tournament.
GUNTHER would ultimately emerge victorious following the conclusion of The Last Time Is Now Tournament and went on to defeat John Cena via submission at Saturday Night’s Main Event on December 13, 2025, bringing John Cena’s in-ring career to an end.
Elsewhere during the podcast appearance, Nic Nemeth opened up about feeling as though his selflessness both kept him in a job and ultimately held him back in WWE. You can read more about that here.
As always, we’ll aim to provide any further updates on the future of Nic Nemeth as soon as we hear more.
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