Nigel McGuinness has set the record straight on the reason he stepped away from the ring for more than a decade.
Previously a competitor in Ring of Honor and TNA, the British star initially competed in his final match in 2011 for promotion APWA. Making the transition to commentary in WWE and AEW, fans assumed that McGuinness’s time in the squared circle had come to an end due to injury. However, in one of the most shocking moments at All In, Nigel McGuinness donned the trunks one more time to compete in the Casino Gauntlet match.
Not content with just having one match, the former ROH Champion will be back in action on September 25th as he faces former rival Bryan Danielson at Grand Slam.
Speaking with Scott Fishman of TV Insider, McGuinness was asked if previous concussions and injuries played on his mind when he started to take bumps again. In response to this, McGuinness stated that there was no issued in regards to that and added that he stepped away 13 years ago as he couldn’t make money as an active performer, not due to concussions or hepatitis:
It didn’t really. There is a lot of confusion and misinformation. The truth of the matter is when I stepped away from wrestling, it was purely because I couldn’t make a living as a wrestler anymore. I could have gone back to Ring of Honor and wrestled that style, but I wouldn’t have made enough money to even afford health insurance, let alone save for the rest of my life. That style in Ring of Honor just wasn’t doable.
WWE wasn’t interested in me because of an old arm injury, even though it was perfectly healed. I didn’t want to go back to TNA given what happened there. That was it. There was no AEW or anywhere else to make a living wrestling. I had no choice.
When I retired and did that documentary The Last of McGuinness, it was partly because if I could get my story out there, perhaps someone would catch on to it and tell the rest of the story. Little did I know it would take until now with Tony Khan and AEW. I didn’t step away because of concussions. I didn’t step away because of hepatitis. I was perfectly okay to wrestle.
So it’s all not a factor going in. You obviously are cognizant of the possibility of injuries and stuff like that, but you try to keep it out of your head. It’s just like anything else in life. There are risks involved, but the rewards outweigh them.
Will There Be More Nigel McGuinness Matches?
McGuinness has made it very clear that the Bryan Danielson match is the one that he has always wanted to have if he made a return to action. With this match finally set to happen, fans have speculated as to whether or not there could be an extended run from the British wrestler. Also in the interview, Nigel McGuinness addressed this possibility.