AEW announcer Nigel McGuinness has shared some very good news.
Competing in his final match in 2011, McGuinness made the transition to commentary previously called the action on WWE TV before signing with AEW in 2023. Along with calling the action on Collision on Saturday nights, the former Ring of Honor World Champion continues to take shots at Bryan Danielson at any given opportunity.
Discussing his relationship with The American Dragon on Wrestling Weekly, McGuinness admitted that it was difficult to be an announcer while Danielson was an in-ring competitor:
All the time that I was in WWE, how difficult it was for me, and I think a lot of the… I don’t want to say the jealousy and the bitterness, but those sort of emotions that certainly existed between me and Bryan and the success that he’s had. When I was in WWE, seeing so many of my peers coming up and having that level of success, and that level of fame and fortune was very difficult for me, certainly, to sort of accept.
McGuinness continued, noting that he could still compete today and revealed that he recently stepped back in the ring. The former Ring of Honor Champion stated that he felt “perfectly ok” when he stepped back in the ring but admitted he wouldn’t be able to do certain moves if he were to return:
Especially when I could still wrestle today. I got in the ring last week and just felt perfectly ok. Sometimes, people say it’s a lot easier if you choose yourself to quit and I don’t think that it’s the case. Given my history in terms of concussions and various other things, I do watch a lot of matches and go, ‘couldn’t do that anymore.’
Nigel McGuinness Discusses Scrapped All In Plans
The British wrestler spoke with Inside The Ropes prior to AEW’s debut show in the United Kingdom to discuss his legendary career and the promotion’s first show inside Wembley Stadium. While many fans in the UK were hopeful that they would see Danielson compete when the event was first announced, The American Dragon suffered a broken arm 2 months before the event and was not cleared to compete. When discussing the injury, Nigel McGuinness stated that there were plans for him to face Bryan Danielson at All In before injuries derailed those plans.
H/t to F4WOnline.