Nigel McGuinness Details Journey Toward Wrestling Return In AEW

After 13 long years in retirement, Nigel McGuinness dusted off his old boots and made his in-ring return at AEW All In during the Casino Gauntlet match, and later rekindled his old feud with Bryan Danielson for one more match at the Grand Slam edition of "AEW Dynamite." 

McGuinness had transitioned into a role on commentary so seamlessly, that during a recent episode of "Talk is Jericho," he explained that he didn't know whether he'd wrestle again. But once he heard about AEW running Wembley Stadium in 2023, the cogs started turning, and he revealed a conversation he had with AEW CEO Tony Khan that set it in motion.

"As we were taking off, he said, 'Keep this to yourself but we might be running Wembley,' and I was like, 'That was where my dream began.' I sort of said tongue-in-cheek to him, 'You know what? If we sell out maybe I'll have to dust off the old boots,' and there was a spark in his eye and he said, 'Can you wrestle then? Are you okay to wrestle?' I said, 'Sure, absolutely.' But I didn't really know at that point whether I was mentally and physically," the AEW commentator said.

Fate decided to take one more thing from McGuinness, a match with Danielson at Wembley, as he was reportedly ready to go for one more round. Danielson broke his arm at that year's Forbidden Door event and the match was scrapped. Khan didn't forget about McGuinness being medically cleared and found a different use for him when AEW returned to Wembley in 2024. 

"I just feel blessed to have stepped in the ring again, and so when that opportunity came around with the Casino Gauntlet, it made sense, because if I was gunning for Bryan, I would have to get a title opportunity against him. So it made sense from that regard," said McGuinness.

Please credit "Talk is Jericho" when using quotes from this article, and give a H/T to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.