Jinder Mahal deserves to face Bryan Danielson for the AEW World Championship, says WCW veteran, more than 48-year-old star
A wrestling legend recently stepped up to challenge Bryan Danielson to a non-title match. However, a WCW veteran feels that Jinder Mahal is more deserving of the opportunity.
Konnan is the latest to comment on Nigel McGuinness challenging Bryan Danielson to a match. Nigel had retired from in-ring competition in 2011. Since then, he has been involved in different aspects of the business, especially commentary.
However, at AEW All In 2024, Nigel McGuinness made his shocking return to the ring by competing in the Casino Gauntlet Match. Although he didn't win the match, he turned a lot of heads with his performance. While many thought this was a one-and-done deal, Nigel then surprised everyone by challenging Danielson to a non-title match.
Speaking on the Keepin' It 100 podcast, Disco Inferno questioned whether Nigel McGuinness deserved a World Title match, especially after Tony Khan made fun of WWE for giving Jinder Mahal a shot at the World Heavyweight Championship earlier this year.
"Let us not forget, okay, that Tony Khan actually tweeted, okay, about a year ago....maybe a year ago that how silly it was for Jinder Mahal to think he had a claim to a world title match, okay. Let me ask you this. Who has a better claim to a world title shot? Jinder Mahal, a former World Champion that was off TV for what six or seven months or a year whatever or Nigel McGuinness. This is absurd," said Disco Inferno. [18:16 - 18:45]
Konnan agreed that Jinder is more deserving of a title shot over Nigel since the latter hasn't been active in a decade.
"I'd say Jinder. Nigel hasn't been active in a decade." [18:45 - 18:52]
Nigel McGuinness explained how he convinced Tony Khan to book this match against Bryan Danielson
When Nigel McGuinness challenged Bryan Danielson to a match, it took a lot of people by surprise. Many fans are excited to see these two men renew their rivalry.
Recently on Collision, Nigel explained how he was able to get his boss to book this match.
"When Jon Moxley convinced Darby Allin to put his title opportunity on the line, he did it out of pure speculation. Which is what I said to Tony Khan. There's no way that we can know Bryan Danielson won't be able to show up at Grand Slam. So I said, if he is, with Darby Allin no longer able to face him, I would like to," he said. [0:15 - 0:36]
Although Nigel hasn't competed in a singles match since 2011, he will give it everything against his longtime nemesis in Bryan Danielson.