Major star breaks silence on shockingly coming out of retirement after almost 13 years at AEW All In
All In 2024 lived up to the hype as fans in attendance thoroughly enjoyed the show. Championships were exchanged, moments were made, and most importantly, there were returns nobody expected.
AEW color commentator Nigel McGuinness made his in-ring return at All In, after a staggering 13 years. He was the third entrant in the Casino Gauntlet match. Had he won the whole thing, he would have received an opportunity to face Bryan Danielson in the future for the AEW World Championship. Other competitors in this showdown were Killswitch, Christian Cage, Ricochet (AEW debut), Jeff Jarrett, 'Hangman' Adam Page, Kazuchika Okada, Orange Cassidy, and more.
McGuinness's All In return received a massive ovation. Not only were people in the arena delighted, but fans across the world expressed their happiness on social media. After the show concluded, the 48-year-old was interviewed backstage by Alicia Atout.
During the interview, he candidly spoke about his career, the All In at Wembley Stadium experience, and also hinted that fans will see him again in the ring, soon.
"What you saw tonight was a long time coming you know what I mean? 13 years since I was in the ring and 32 years since I was in this stadium and first had that dream, and that epiphany that somehow I was going to be a professional wrestler. And there was a good portion of my life, after I had retired 13 years ago that I just had to put that to bed, you know? You get some things and you have to look at the positives, and you know when we first found out we were coming to Wembley and that was a possibility, you know, like I said what you saw tonight was only a short part of it," he said.
Why did All In returnee Nigel McGuinness retire from wrestling?
Nigel McGuinness retired from in-ring action in 2011 due to numerous medical complications. He reportedly did sign a contract with WWE in 2009, however, since his body could not keep up with his spirit, he hung up his boots two years later.
In a 2023 appearance on AEW Unrestricted, the 48-year-old revealed how he decided to become a commentator after his in-ring retirement.
"No one would hire me as a wrestler, to be perfectly honest with you. I had a good run in Ring of Honor. I was a world champion there for a long time. Had a lot of great matches. I got the clam Bryan Danielson over as best I could... So I was pretty banged up by the end of my Ring of Honor run. I knew I had to go somewhere else," he said. [H/T Wrestling Inc.]
Nigel McGuinness is adored all over the United Kingdom. He has won various championships such as the HWA European Championship, the HWA Heavyweight Championship, the New Breed Heavyweight Championship, the 1PW Openweight Championship, and more. He is also a former ROH Pure Champion and a former ROH World Champion.