Nigel McGuiness' Return To The Ring At AEW All In Was Reportedly A Closely Kept Secret

Of all the surprises over AEW All In weekend in London, England, nothing caught people more off-guard than when "F**kin' in the Bushes" by Oasis blared out over the speakers and Nigel McGuinness entered the Casino Gauntlet match. While he was unsuccessful in earning himself a shot at the AEW World Championship, the sight of the commentator wrestling for the first time in 13 years was a memorable moment.

While the fans in attendance and watching around the world on pay-per-view were shocked, the people backstage were even more surprised. According to Dave Meltzer in the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, almost nobody knew about McGuinness being in the Casino Gauntlet match due to it being such a secret. One of the only people who new about McGuinness appearing was Ibou of WrestlePurists, who noted that there would be a 'non-Ricochet' surprise planned for the match.

McGuinness had been medically cleared to wrestle for some time and had personally mentioned that he had been in the ring rolling around and getting into shape before All In, but he was at peace with the fact that he will never wrestle full-time again, as he enjoys commentating. With that said, AEW President Tony Khan teased an angle involving the Englishman down the line between him and Christian Cage. One other way to get McGuinness back in the ring, at least for one more match, is a final confrontation with his long-time rival Bryan Danielson, something that McGuinness has stated would bring him out of retirement.