Nic Nemeth is not downplaying the threat posed by Leon Slater ahead of their TNA World Championship match at Bound For Glory. In fact, the reigning champion believes Slater has the athleticism, intelligence, charisma, and temperament to become one of professional wrestling’s defining names for years to come.
That respect, however, is not translating into any willingness to surrender the title.
Nemeth will defend the TNA World Championship against Slater after the X-Division Champion invoked Option C following TNA Lockdown. Slater had just regained the X-Division Championship in a high-stakes bout, one in which a defeat would have erased his original record-breaking reign from the history books. With the title back around his waist, Slater immediately shifted his focus toward the biggest possible prize in TNA, announcing that he would cash in Option C for a World Championship opportunity at Bound For Glory.
For Nemeth, the upcoming defense presents more than a routine championship match. It is a collision between an established champion who considers experience and in-ring strategy his decisive advantages and a rising challenger whom he sees as capable of defining the business for the next two decades.
For more background on this topic, read AJ Francis Declares TNA World Championship Goal as He Says He Is Reaching His Wrestling Peak.
Nemeth’s praise for Slater is unusually direct
Speaking about Slater, Nemeth acknowledged that there is little he can genuinely criticize about his Bound For Glory opponent. He noted that, as a villainous champion heading into a major title defense, he will find reasons to target Slater in the weeks ahead. But away from the expected promotional antagonism, Nemeth made his real view clear.
“I can’t say anything negative about him, and in the next few weeks, I’m going to because I have to, and I’m a bad guy, and that’s pro wrestling,” Nemeth said. “But I’m going on two and a half years of singing his praises. He’s smarter than he should be. His ring IQ shouldn’t be as high as it is right now, and it’s already high. Plus the athleticism and the things that he can do that no one else can.”
The champion’s comments frame Slater as more than a spectacular high-flyer or a promising young talent. Nemeth specifically highlighted Slater’s ring IQ, stressing that the challenger’s decision-making and awareness have developed to an unusually high level at this stage of his career. That assessment matters as Slater moves from the X-Division title picture into a TNA World Championship main event.
Slater’s athletic ability has been central to his ascent, but Nemeth’s evaluation went beyond physical gifts. He presented his challenger as a complete package: someone who can perform extraordinary feats in the ring while also understanding the strategic demands of high-pressure matches.
Nemeth also pointed to Slater’s personality behind the curtain, though he did so with the sarcasm expected from a champion determined to create an edge before a major defense.
“He’s another one of those guys that… he’s nice and humble, too, backstage, so it kind of makes me sick,” Nemeth said. “So it’s like, ugh, we get it. You’re nice and a good guy. Oh, cool, and you’re charismatic, and you’re going to be running pro wrestling for the next 20 years. Blah, blah, blah. Nobody cares.”
Even with the dismissive tone at the end, the message underneath was emphatic. Nemeth sees Slater as a wrestler with rare long-term potential. The champion did not merely describe Slater as a viable challenger for one night at Bound For Glory; he described him as someone who could be a leading figure in pro wrestling for the next 20 years.
Option C has moved Slater into TNA’s biggest match
Slater earned this opportunity by recapturing the TNA X-Division Championship at Lockdown and then declaring his intention to use Option C. The decision puts the X-Division title in a familiar position as a route to the TNA World Championship, but the stakes around Slater’s Lockdown victory made the moment especially important for him.
His original X-Division Championship reign had been record-breaking, and the terms surrounding the Lockdown bout meant that a loss would have removed that reign from the historical record. Slater avoided that outcome, regained the championship, and immediately chose to pursue the promotion’s top prize.
That sequence gives Slater momentum heading to Bound For Glory, but it also creates an enormous challenge. Cashing in Option C is a statement of ambition. It puts a champion in direct pursuit of an even greater championship, and it forces the X-Division titleholder to prove that success in that division can be converted into victory on the world-title stage.
Nemeth openly conceded that Slater has a legitimate case to become champion. Asked whether Slater deserves such an opportunity and whether he is believable as TNA World Champion, Nemeth did not hesitate.
“He’s a young go-getter. He could be the youngest TNA champ ever,” Nemeth said. “Does he deserve it? Yes. Does he deserve to win this year? Would I buy him as a believable, viable TNA world champion? Yes. Will I let him beat me? Hell no.”
That is the central tension of the match. Nemeth is not trying to argue that Slater is unprepared, undeserving, or incapable. The champion’s argument is instead that being worthy of the moment and actually defeating him are two very different things.
Nemeth identifies experience as the dividing line
Nemeth’s confidence rests on the belief that he can adapt to Slater’s unique style and use his own accumulated experience when the match reaches its most important moments. He expects the challenger to bring explosive offense and unpredictability, but he believes the championship will be decided in the details rather than by a single highlight-reel maneuver.
“There has to be some aspect of me wanting to outdo everybody and being able to adapt to his style and because of the years that I have in the background, because of my ring general and ring IQ, I got him beat there,” Nemeth said. “That’s where the match is going to come down to.”
Nemeth described a vision of the contest in which the final minutes matter most: ring positioning, split-second counters, transitions between moves, and the ability to think ahead while under pressure. In his view, those are the areas where he can neutralize Slater’s athletic advantages.
“Those last couple of minutes with those things that happened in between the moves, the ring positioning, my brain being ready to play chess at the end to counter everything he’s got, that’s the only difference in the two of us,” Nemeth said.
The champion also suggested that Slater’s positive demeanor could become a competitive weakness when the stakes are at their highest. Nemeth argued that the challenger may possess a brief hesitation when a match requires an absolutely ruthless final act.
“Him being a nice guy, there’s that half-second hesitation when it comes to full-on and ending it, this is the final shot, this is the final blow, and you have that half hesitation, that’s the difference between the two of us,” Nemeth said.
Whether that claim proves accurate remains to be seen. Slater’s decision to invoke Option C after winning the X-Division Championship shows decisiveness and ambition, while his Lockdown victory came with significant personal and historical consequences. Still, Nemeth is making the case that championship-level experience is not only about executing difficult moves or surviving punishing matches. It is about knowing exactly when to press an advantage without hesitation.
A major test for both champion and challenger
Bound For Glory now carries major implications for both men. Slater can validate Nemeth’s glowing assessment by converting his X-Division success into a TNA World Championship victory. A win would make his Option C decision an immediate success and establish him at the very top of the company.
For Nemeth, retaining the title would reinforce the position he outlined: Slater may be a future centerpiece of professional wrestling, but the present still belongs to a champion who trusts his instincts, preparation, and in-ring command under pressure.
Nemeth has given Slater about as strong an endorsement as a looming opponent can offer. He sees a charismatic, humble, athletically gifted wrestler with advanced instincts and the potential to run pro wrestling for decades. But he has also made a promise. At Bound For Glory, admiration ends when the bell rings, and Nemeth intends to prove that potential does not outweigh the champion’s experience.
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.