Nic Nemeth Reveals Reason Vince McMahon Paid $500,000 Fine For John Cena Match

McMahon paid fine to give fans their money's worth

In a recent interview with KVIA ABC-7, Nemeth, now a member of the TNA roster, revealed details of one of his favorite matches from his professional wrestling career: a Steel Cage Match against Cena at a WWE live event at Madison Square Garden in December 2012.

Nemeth also added details about how McMahon paid a $500,000 fine to ensure the match met fan expectations.

“There is a curfew with MSG and if you don’t hit that curfew, the building becomes a half of a million dollars more,” Nemeth recalled. “We’re down to the main event with the steel cage and there’s eight minutes until — after this, it’s a half of a million dollars on Vince’s tab. I’m like, ‘What are we doing, we can’t shortchange these guys?’ He went, ‘Absolutely not, we’re going.’ Talked to the boss, boss goes, ‘Give them their money's worth.’ We went out there for 30 minutes.”

Cena and Nemeth last wrestled each other on the October 12, 2015, edition of WWE Raw. Nemeth was released by WWE in September 2023 after 19 years with the company.

Cena’s WWE Farewell Tour

Cena announced in July 2024 that he would be retiring from in-ring competition at the end of 2025, and thus has been a primary focus of WWE television this year.

He made a shocking heel turn to align with ‘The Final Boss’, The Rock, back at Elimination Chamber in February, before going on to defeat Cody Rhodes for a record-setting 17th World title win at WrestleMania 41.

Cena has revisited rivalries with some of his top WWE opponents, including Randy Orton, CM Punk, AJ Styles, and more.

The next match on Cena’s retirement tour is rumored to be against current Intercontinental Champion Dominik Mysterio on November 29 at Survivor Series.