Nigel McGuinness has commented on what the future may hold after his second match in AEW.
In one of the biggest shocks at All In, Nigel McGuinness made his return to the ring for the first time since 2011 as he was revealed to be a surprise entrant in the Casino Gauntlet match. Receiving a thunderous ovation from the UK crowd, the former ROH World Champion barely missed a step despite the fact that he had been out of the ring for over a decade.
While some may have believed that the match was a one-off and a fitting end to the British wrestler’s career, McGuinness recently announced that he would be back in action at Grand Slam and would face his greatest rival Bryan Danielson inside Arthur Ashe Stadium.
With this being McGuinness’s first singles match in 13 years, fans are wondering if the announcer will embark on a lengthy run as a member of the roster moving forward.
Speaking with Scott Fishman of TV Insider, McGuinness stated that while he will not rule anything out, we will reassess his options when all is said and done against the World Champion:
“It’s definitely a wait-and-see. I’m not going to rule it out. I think for the longest time there has been the saying of never say never and never really meaning it. I think we’ll see how the match goes. If Bryan is able to compete as he is legitimately pretty banged up. Hopefully, it comes to fruition when he honors the booking. I think we’ll see how things play out after that. People asked me after the match in Wembley how I was feeling. I felt fantastic. It will be different going into a gauntlet match like that versus a one-on-one with expectations. I feel confident about it. I don’t know.
I was looking at quotes from Arthur Ashe this morning because we’re doing this at Arthur Ashe Stadium. He said, “One important key to success is self-confidence. An important key to self-confidence is preparation.” I’ve had 18 months to prepare for this both mentally and physically. I just feel I’m ready to go. Once I’m out there, there is a legitimate emotion that comes with standing across the ring with Bryan Danielson, given his level of success and story compared to mine.”
Nigel McGuinness Fires More Shots At Bryan Danielson
Throughout his career as an AEW announcer, McGuinness has let his feelings about Danielson be known almost on a weekly basis with insults such as referring to The American Dragon as “Brittle Bryan.” Ahead of his match against Bryan Danielson, Nigel McGuinness declared that it was the start of “The Fragile Countdown.”
Also in the interview, Nigel McGuinness clarified the real reason he retired.