Vince McMahon’s Backstage Reaction To AJ Lee’s “Really Gross” Kiss Spot

In late 2012, Vince McMahon booked ex-WWE star Dolph Ziggler (aka Nic Nemeth) in a major romantic storyline with AJ Lee. During the storyline, the creative team booked The Geek Goddess and The Showoff for multiple promos that involved a lot of kissing.

Recently, Ziggler reflected on that period during an interview with Chris Van Vliet, mentioning a memorable moment from behind the scenes. He revealed that Vince McMahon personally instructed him to make a kissing scene with AJ Lee as gross as possible, a request he followed.

“With AJ [Lee] too, he wanted, like, gross, and I’m like, ‘I’ll give you gross, brother.’ I said, Are you cool with this? Yes. I’m cool with it too. We are going into where he said this. We’re going to make them come in the back and go, take back a notch,” Nemeth said.

Dolph Ziggler Explains How Vince McMahon Reacted to His Kiss With AJ Lee

He also revealed McMahon’s backstage reaction to the kissing segments with AJ Lee during the podcast episode.

The first time, he was like, “That’s exactly right.” I was like, “Oh my god, really?” And then we got there was like a couple of weeks later, where we got really gross. Like I was like a hair pull and like I’m like, “Where are we stopping this?” And then he was like, “Take it down a notch.” I went, “Finally, thank God.” Okay, now we know where the line is. (From 4:39)

Dolph Ziggler was released from WWE in September 2023 after nearly two decades with the company. The departure wasn’t due to budget cuts or backstage issues. It was actually his own request. Ziggler explained that he asked for his release, feeling that his time as a full-time WWE performer had run its course.

Since leaving, he has reinvented himself on the global wrestling scene. In 2024, he debuted in NJPW and AAA, capturing both the IWGP Global Heavyweight Championship and the AAA Mega Championship. He later joined TNA Wrestling, where he became TNA World Champion and later captured the tag titles alongside his brother, Ryan Nemeth. As of now, he continues to compete in TNA and has said he’s open to a one-off WWE return only if it benefits TNA.

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