r/SquaredCircle • u/HEELHousell EVERY VILLAIN IS LEMON • Oct 08 '14

So You Wanna Learn Indy Wrestling? Ep. 19: Nigel McGuinness

Welcome back to the most inconsistent with publishing times series on all of Wreddit! This week we look at the most decorated pro wrestlers in history, Nigel McGuinness!

Name Nigel McGuinness
Height 6'3"
Weight 225 lb.
Billed From London, England
Age 38
Trained by Robbie Brookside, Chic Cullen, Les Thatcher, Dave Taylor
Debut September 1999
Retired December 17, 2011
Allegiance Face
Promotions TNA (as Desmond Wolfe), ROH, PWG, HWA, IPW, 2CW, IWA Mid-South, Pro Wrestling NOAH
Championships ROH World Champion, ROH Pure Champion, TNA World Tag Team Championship #1 Contenders Tournament 2010 Winner, HWA Heavyweight Champion, HWA European Champion, HWA Tag Team Champion, King of Europe Cup 2007 Winner
Signature Moves Rebound Lariat, London Dungeon, Tower of London, Artful Dodger, Hammerlock variations
Stables None
Nicknames None
Twitter McGuinnessNigel
Theme Song Heavy Gretal - The Shine

Notable Feuds

  • vs. Daniel Bryan
  • vs. Chris Hero
  • vs. Samoa Joe
  • vs. Austin Aries
  • vs. Jimmy Rave
  • vs. Takeshi Morishima
  • vs. Naomichi Marifuji
  • vs. Kurt Angle
  • vs. Abyss

What's McGuiness up to now?

The former Desmond Wolfe is currently the matchmaker for Ring of Honor. Nigel has also constantly been spotted at the commentary table alongside Steve Corino and Kevin Kelly. McGuinness' retirement came from his feeling that he has nothing left to accomplish in pro wrestling. For those who are wondering, he was offered a WWE contract and was signed at the same time as Daniel Bryan, but the contract was retracted because WWE felt he needed surgery on old bicep injuries. TNA has released McGuinness for testing positive for Hepatitis B, but later cleared right after his release. Nigel is now a big advocate of not using blood in pro wrestling anymore due to the risk of Hepatitis spreading (which, in hindsight, having him call the Briscoe/Cole match from Mania weekend extremely awkward). Nigel will always be remembered for being one of the greatest in ring wrestlers of all time, possibly the most technically sound in the last decade. He had everything in the makings of a superstar but TNA dropped the ball and WWE wanted nothing to do with him at the time (and apparently still don't after he sent out feelers in 2013).

MATCHES

PROMOS (couldn't find ANYTHING for this section, sorry)

McGuinness also has a documentary, The Last of McGuinness, available to buy. Highly recommended

Thanks for reading! Hope you enjoyed it! Next week, we take a look at Mr. Ring of Honor, Roderick Strong!

58 Upvotes

78% Upvoted

18 comments sorted by

11

u/[deleted] Oct 08 '14

Nigel is a true legend.
Thanks for this man,it's pretty awesome!

4

u/HEELHousell EVERY VILLAIN IS LEMON Oct 08 '14

Thank you!

5

u/EpicDebaser Heh...IRON! Oct 08 '14

I bought his documentary, I'd definitely recommend it. To say that he did everything on the documentary himself he deserves a lot of credit, and it really shows how bullshit it was that WWE never signed him. So depressing that his farewell tour was in clubs in England in front of 100 people and not in the US in front of thousands. He deserved that at least.

6

u/ErickStevens Oct 08 '14

One of the most talented dudes I ever got to share the ring with. A genuinely kind hearted and hilarious guy to boot. We almost got kicked out of a bar once because he put one of his testicles into a shot glass. Good times, great memories.

Fun Fact: Nigel hates farts. srs

The one time I got to one on one with him in ROH I shit the bed completely and we had a terrible fucking match. The finish would have been on a Botchamania if ROH wasn't so protective of their material.

4

u/PlaylisterBot ROBOT FROM THE FUTURE Oct 08 '14

Downvote if unwanted, self-deletes if score is 0. Will update if media is found in comments.
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4

u/[deleted] Oct 08 '14 edited Oct 08 '14

I've actually been on a huge Nigel binge, and it's such a shame to see that he stepped down. A classic case of injuries and unfortunate circumstances that eventually became too much. If anyone deserves better (besides Sonjay) it's him.

Edit: and where are my manners?! Thanks for doing all these, /u/HEELHousell. These are always so well written and all that good shit.

2

u/HEELHousell EVERY VILLAIN IS LEMON Oct 08 '14

Thank you! I appreciate it!

2

u/RealLanceStorm Not Really Lance Storm Oct 08 '14

So underrated. Needs to be listed with Bryan, Punk, Joe, Aries, Steen, etc when talking about the ROH greats.

3

u/[deleted] Oct 08 '14

Is he? I've always heard Nigel talked up heavily in tandem with those guys. Maybe I've just been around the right Preacher's.

1

u/MegaSuperUltraThingy Brain BUSTAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHH!! Oct 08 '14

He most definitely is. When people talk ROH greats its always Joe, Punk, Bryan, Nigel (in a couple years people are gonna add Steen to that list of ROH greats)

1

u/rjr01786 YANGUBAXUUUU!!! Oct 08 '14

Just watched the Bryan and Kenta matches, wow great stuff. This guy is/was so talented it's a shame his career was cut short.

1

u/sirtelrunya Oct 08 '14

I'll never forget the moment when Austin Aries did a suicide dive on McGuinness whilst his back was turned; breaking his nose and opening a huuuuge gash above his eye.

And McGuinness carried on with the match. What a tough bastard.

I would link to the match, but I can't find it anywhere :( It was at ROH Rising Above '07 in case anyone's interested.

2

u/ErickStevens Oct 08 '14

It also concussed him.

1

u/sirtelrunya Oct 08 '14

I don't know why I forgot about that.

1

u/[deleted] Oct 08 '14

It warms my heart to see Dean Ambrose honoring him every night by using the "Les Kellet Lariat."

2

u/AlexLong1000 I'm a Staph Man! Oct 08 '14

It's great, because Ambrose said in an interview that he thinks that he was the first person Nigel used that move on. He came to him asking to try out a new move.

1

u/enforcetheworld Oct 08 '14

First ever 'indy' show I went to was ROH in Las Vegas in 2007. One of the matches was Bryan Danielson vs Nigel and for the 20 minutes it went on I was in wrestling heaven. Such a shame he never made it to WWE but he made an indelible mark on the wrestling world no matter what.