Nic Nemeth has offered Leon Slater perhaps the strongest possible endorsement before their TNA World Championship showdown at Bound For Glory, describing the young challenger as a wrestler who could one day hold world titles on 10 different occasions. Nemeth’s admiration, however, comes with a firm warning: he does not believe Slater will add the TNA World Championship to his résumé at his expense later this month.
The reigning champion is scheduled to defend the title against Slater after the former TNA X-Division Champion elected to use Option C. Rather than continuing his reign in the X-Division, Slater surrendered that championship to TNA President Carlos Silva in exchange for a shot at the company’s top prize. The decision places one of TNA’s fastest-rising performers in the most significant singles match of his career, opposite a veteran who has repeatedly positioned himself as the standard-bearer of the promotion.
Speaking with Reel Appreciation, Nemeth said Slater’s decision to invoke Option C reflects the kind of self-belief that is essential in professional wrestling. He also made clear that he respects the ambition behind the challenger’s effort to become the youngest world champion.
“Leon Slater bet on himself,” Nemeth said. “He won the X Division Championship again. He turned it over to President Carlos Silva and said, ‘I want to turn this in for a shot to bet on myself to become the youngest world champion.’ I respect the hell out of that.”
For more background on this topic, read The Hardys Set for Full Creative Control of October 13 TNA iMPACT Taping.
Option C has long represented a unique opportunity within TNA. It gives the X-Division Champion a path to exchange the division’s title for a world championship match, turning a successful run in one of the company’s defining divisions into a direct gamble for the biggest prize available. For Slater, using that option is more than a strategic move. It is a statement that he believes he is ready to leap from standout prospect to the center of the company.
Nemeth understands that kind of mentality. His own career has been defined by a relentless drive to prove himself at the highest level, and he has entered this title defense with the confidence of a champion who believes his experience remains the deciding factor. The champion did not diminish Slater’s ability. In fact, his assessment suggested that Slater’s ceiling could be extraordinarily high.
“He can do anything,” Nemeth said of Slater. “The world is his oyster. He’s got 20 more years of running this place.”
Those comments underline the contrast at the heart of the Bound For Glory match. Slater represents the future that TNA has been building toward: a spectacular, fearless athlete with time on his side and an opportunity to make history. Nemeth represents a decorated and battle-tested champion who sees himself as far more than a transitional obstacle on that road. He is not approaching the bout as a veteran merely looking to test the next generation. He is approaching it as a reigning champion determined to demonstrate that his position was earned through years of work.
Nemeth’s Confidence Comes From His Championship Record
Nemeth pointed to his standing in TNA and his record in major matches when explaining why he expects to leave Bound For Glory with the title still in his possession. He referred to himself as a two-time TNA World Champion and emphasized the consistency he believes has made him a featured attraction for the company’s biggest events.
“There’s a reason that I’m two champions right now,” Nemeth said. “There’s a reason I’ve been TNA world champion for a second time. There’s a reason I’m the main event every time TNA has a pay-per-view or a television.”
The wording reflects the swagger that has become central to Nemeth’s presentation, but it also speaks to his larger argument. Slater may possess the raw ability, momentum and upside to become one of the defining talents of a generation, yet Nemeth believes potential does not automatically outweigh championship-tested experience. The champion views his own longevity and high-pressure résumé as advantages that cannot be fully measured before the bell rings.
Nemeth said he has spent years putting in the work necessary to stand out, describing a career built on consistently delivering when expectations are highest. In his view, Slater will need to establish the same level of sustained excellence before he can truly claim to be on Nemeth’s level.
“The day that Leon Slater can do what I do for as long as I can, I will tip my cap to him,” Nemeth said.
That is not necessarily a dismissal of Slater. If anything, Nemeth’s remarks frame the challenger as someone capable of reaching a rare level over time. But they also reveal the champion’s belief that one major title match, no matter how historic it could become, is not enough to overturn the hierarchy he feels he has established.
Slater’s Option C Gamble Raises the Stakes
Slater’s choice to relinquish the X-Division Championship dramatically changes the stakes of Bound For Glory. Had he stayed with the title, he would have remained at the forefront of a division synonymous with innovation, speed and career-making performances. By taking Option C, he has put that security behind him for a chance at something larger.
It is a move that invites substantial pressure. Slater now enters the event without the championship he chose to surrender, facing a world champion who is openly confident that he will be unable to finish the job. A loss would not erase Slater’s accomplishments or his future, but it would mean that his first Option C gamble did not produce the immediate breakthrough he sought.
At the same time, the upside is undeniable. Defeating Nemeth would make Slater the TNA World Champion and validate the belief that he is ready for the top spot now, not years down the line. It would also mark a defining moment for the X-Division’s continuing role as a launching point toward the company’s main-event scene.
Nemeth acknowledged that Slater has the talent to collect world championships repeatedly over the course of his career. Still, he drew an unmistakable line between appreciating the challenger’s long-term prospects and accepting him as the man who will end Nemeth’s current reign.
“I’m rooting for him every step of the way,” Nemeth said. “He’s probably going to be a 10-time world champion when it’s all said and done, but there’s no way in hell he’s beating me.”
Respect Does Not Mean Concession at Bound For Glory
The tone of Nemeth’s comments gives the match an intriguing dimension. This is not simply a champion mocking an inexperienced challenger or refusing to recognize the threat in front of him. Nemeth has been direct in his praise of Slater, including his belief that the challenger may spend the next two decades at the forefront of professional wrestling.
Yet that respect has not softened Nemeth’s message. He believes Slater’s time will come, but not in this match and not with Nemeth surrendering the TNA World Championship. It is a classic championship dynamic: a rising talent seeking to turn possibility into achievement, against an established titleholder who insists that greatness has to be proven under the lights of the biggest match.
For Slater, Bound For Glory provides the clearest opportunity yet to show that his trajectory is not limited to future projections. He has already demonstrated enough to win the X-Division Championship again and to make the bold decision to use Option C. Now he will be tasked with defeating a champion who has made his confidence in victory part of the story.
For Nemeth, the defense is an opportunity to reinforce his claim that he remains TNA’s premier main-event performer. He is not only defending a championship; he is defending the idea that Slater’s ascent, however inevitable it may appear, must wait until the champion is finished making his own mark.
Bound For Glory will determine whether Slater’s gamble creates an immediate historic breakthrough or whether Nemeth’s experience and conviction carry him through another marquee title defense. Nemeth has already made his position plain: he expects Slater to become a major champion many times over. He simply does not expect the first TNA World Championship reign to begin against him.
Darryl Polo
Darryl Polo is a passionate wrestling fan covering WWE, AEW, TNA and beyond. He loves great rivalries, breakout stars and the moments that keep fans talking long after the bell. How we work.