nicholas theodore nemeth was born in cleveland, ohio, on july 27, 1980. he has been a fan of professional wrestling since he was five years old, when he attended a wrestling event at the richfield coliseum, and he decided to become a professional wrestler at age 12. he later revealed on colt cabana's "art of wrestling podcast" that he chose his wwe name "dolph" because that was his great-grandfather's name, and his friend suggested the surname "ziggler". nemeth attended st. edward high school in lakewood, ohio, where he was an amateur wrestler and holds the school record for most pins in a career with 82. at st. edward, he was teammates with gray maynard and andy hrovat.