Ryan Nemeth has opened up about the hesitation that nearly kept him from joining TNA Wrestling, explaining that his decision to initially decline the company’s interest was rooted in negative personal experiences connected to the wrestling business.
Nemeth has been part of TNA since 2024 and is now one-half of the TNA World Tag Team Champions alongside his brother, TNA World Champion Nic Nemeth. The brothers have become a central part of the promotion’s on-screen landscape, but Ryan said his path to the company was far from automatic. Before accepting the opportunity, he was seriously considering stepping away from wrestling entirely.
Speaking with Death Arts Xiii By Ash, Nemeth said TNA reached out more than once, only for him to politely turn down the overture. He stressed that the company itself was not the issue. Instead, he was in a difficult place personally after what he described as painful experiences behind the scenes in wrestling.
“I had politely said no thank you a few times because I was a little turned off by everything in wrestling, in my personal life,” Nemeth said. “It’s just so brutal, you know?”
For more background on this topic, read Moose Says a TNA Exit Will Come Someday, but His Immediate Focus Remains on Unfinished Goals.
Nemeth did not go into specific detail about the incidents that caused his frustration. He acknowledged that fans may be able to find speculation and incomplete information surrounding the situation, but made clear that the full reality involved “really horrible things” continuing to happen to him in wrestling. Those events, he said, made him want no involvement with the industry.
That distinction is important when looking at Nemeth’s eventual TNA arrival. His reluctance was not simply about choosing one promotion over another or holding out for a better contract. He described a much broader loss of enthusiasm for professional wrestling, to the point where even a promising opportunity was difficult for him to embrace.
When TNA first contacted him, Nemeth said he felt the promotion looked good and that the proposed concept had potential. However, he was upfront that he did not want to return to a wrestling environment unless there was a clear purpose behind it. The initial conversations continued over a period of weeks or months as both sides explored whether there was a role that made sense.
For Nemeth, the key issue was avoiding a situation in which he would simply fill out cards without direction. He explained that he had no interest in being dropped into arbitrary multi-man bouts with no meaningful character development or long-term value. The concern was less about taking losses and more about becoming a disposable supporting player without a defined place on television.
“I don’t wanna be put into random eight-man tag matches on the internet that nobody watches and be a meaningless person who’s there to get beat up,” Nemeth said.
That candid position led to the conversation that changed his mind. Rather than offering only a generic roster spot, TNA pitched an idea tied to Nic Nemeth. Ryan said the company proposed a storyline and expressed interest in testing the concept, while being honest that no guarantees could be made about where it would ultimately lead.
The approach resonated with him because it presented an actual creative direction. Nemeth said there was a meaningful difference between being asked to participate as background talent and being told that a company had a specific plan for how to use him in its television stories. After time had passed and the idea developed, he decided it was worth taking the chance.
“To have a company have an idea versus, ‘Would you like to be cannon fodder for the people we really care about?’” Nemeth said. “It was a company saying, ‘You are special and we’d like to utilize that in our TV storylines.’”
Ryan characterized the early arrangement as something of a mutual tryout. TNA had the opportunity to see how he fit within its locker room and creative structure, while Nemeth was also evaluating whether the company would be the right place for him after the disillusionment that had pushed him away from wrestling. In his view, the gamble has worked out well for everyone involved.
That assessment is backed by the position Ryan and Nic currently occupy in TNA. Nic Nemeth is the reigning TNA World Champion, while the brothers hold the TNA World Tag Team Championship together. The pairing has given Ryan a role with stakes and visibility, directly addressing the concern he had before accepting the offer.
The situation also illustrates why a clearly defined creative pitch can matter as much as the opportunity itself for talent considering a return. Nemeth did not say that TNA guaranteed championship success or a specific destination. In fact, he noted that the company made no such promise. What made the difference was the willingness to present an idea, build around an existing family connection, and give the partnership a chance to develop.
For Ryan, joining forces with Nic offered a natural foundation for that experiment. The brothers brought an established relationship to the screen, and their current championship status shows that TNA has continued to invest in them after the initial concept was put into motion. It has also allowed Ryan to be involved in a top-level act without being defined solely by his connection to his brother.
Recent TNA television has kept the Nemeth brothers heavily involved in championship-related stories. On the September 17 edition of Thursday Night iMPACT, Ryan Nemeth faced Leon Slater in singles competition and was defeated. The result has direct relevance to the TNA World Championship picture, as Slater is set to challenge Nic Nemeth for the title at Bound For Glory.
Ryan’s loss to Slater gives the challenger momentum heading into one of TNA’s biggest annual events, while also placing additional pressure on Nic as he prepares to defend the company’s top prize. With Ryan and Nic holding tag team gold as well, the brothers’ position in TNA ensures that any development involving either man can have implications across multiple championship scenes.
Slater’s upcoming title opportunity creates a significant test for Nic Nemeth, but it also continues the broader story of the Nemeths as a prominent championship unit. Ryan’s comments add another layer to that journey. What is now a successful title run and a major television role began with a wrestler who was not sure he wanted to be involved in the business at all.
Nemeth’s openness about that process does not erase the difficult experiences that caused his initial resistance. It does, however, explain why the TNA offer needed to be more than a standard invitation. He needed to see a reason to believe that the experience could be different, both creatively and personally.
For now, Ryan Nemeth believes that decision has been validated. TNA offered a concept rather than a placeholder role, Ryan accepted the risk, and the result has been a championship partnership with Nic Nemeth at the center of the promotion’s programming. As Bound For Glory approaches and Leon Slater prepares to challenge Nic for the TNA World Championship, the next chapter for the Nemeth brothers will play out with both their individual and collective status on the line.
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.