Current AEW star discloses real reason why he retired - "WWE wasn’t interested in me"
A top AEW star recently came out of retirement at All In. This star has now mentioned why he decided to retire in the first place.
Nigel McGuinness made a name for himself in Ring of Honor, eventually becoming one of the promotion's top stars. During his time with the company, he competed against some of the best up-and-coming talent on the roster and even won the ROH World Championship.
Sadly, his in-ring skills were overshadowed by his history of injuries and concussions and he eventually retired from in-ring competition in 2011. Nigel McGuinness would then take on the role of a commentator, first for WWE and now for AEW. After several years, Nigel finally returned to the ring at AEW All In in the casino gauntlet match which came as a surprise to many people.
During a recent interview with TV Insider, Nigel McGuinness was asked if his history with injuries affected his mindset during his return. He clarified that he didn't retire due to his history of injuries but because he couldn't make a decent living as a wrestler anymore due to the lack of options available:
"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," McGuinness said. [H/T Fightful]
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AEW star Nigel McGuinness on the reaction he got at All In
When Nigel McGuinness' music hit at AEW All In, the crowd went into a frenzy since the event was in his home country. Since then, Nigel has turned heads again by challenging Bryan Danielson to a match.
During the same interview, Nigel McGuinness opened up about the huge reaction he received at All In.
"It was incredible. It was a surreal moment. The whole world seems like a different universe than it was before. When those things happen in your life, it just changes your entire perspective. I had no idea what reaction I would get, if I’d be remembered, and by how many people. When I came out, I felt a sense of euphoria and a wave of emotion as the crowd realized what was about to take place. I got swept up in it. If I had any nerves or anxiety beforehand, they were blown away once I get that reaction. They were with me for the journey. It changed my life forever." [H/T TV Insider]
It will be interesting to see how many more matches fans will get to see from Nigel McGuinness.