Nic Nemeth Weighs In On Leon Slater: ‘I Can’t Say Anything Negative About Him’

Nic Nemeth knows he’ll have his hands full against Leon Slater at TNA Bound For Glory, as he can’t say anything bad about the guy. Nemeth, the current TNA World Champion, will defend his title against Slater at next month’s PPV. The match was set up when Slater enacted “Option C” and cashed in his X-Division Title at TNA Lockdown.

Nemeth spoke with Adrian Hernandez and was asked about his match with Slater. He acknowledged that he has nothing bad to say about his opponent but has a plan for how he’ll retain his title. You can see the highlights below:

On Slater:

“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. 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.

“There – he’s another one of those guys that he’s nice and humble too backstage, so it kind of makes me sick. So it’s like ‘Blegh, 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.'”

On His Strategy For Slater:

“Here’s what I got to do. I go — that chip on my shoulder just becomes that much bigger. Because it’s like, ‘Hey, it’s his time. He’s a young go-getter. He could be the youngest TNA champ ever.’ Does he deserve it? Yes. Does he deserve to win this year? And would I buy him as a believable, viable TNA World Champion? Yes. Will I let him beat me? Hell no. Hell no. 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. And that’s where the match is going to come down to. 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. And him being a nice guy, there’s that half second hesitation when it comes to full-on 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.”

If you use any of the quotes in this article, please credit Adrian Hernandez with a h/t to 411mania.com for the transcription.