Announcer turned reactivated wrestler Nigel McGuinness dishes details about how his AEW in-ring return happened.

Nigel McGuinness will do something he hasn’t since all the way back in December of 2011: wrestle a single match. Now sure, he technically wrestled a match already this year, making his surprise return at AEW All In to make good on his childhood dream of working a match at Wembley Stadium,

Nigel McGuinness assesses his future. At AEW All In, Nigel McGuinness made a shocking return to in-ring action as he competed in the event’s Casino Gauntlet match. Four weeks from removed from All In,

McGuinness was then asked whether he saw the comeback as a one-off for the match with Danielson or if he was looking at it as a full run. He stated that he was taking a wait-and-see approach, and he was not ruling it out. McGuinness noted that they would see how the match against Danielson went, and he was focused on preparing for it.

Thirteen years of doubts and questions were washed away for Nigel McGuinness as he walked out into Wembley Stadium.

Nigel McGuinness will be facing off against Bryan Danielson on next week’s episode of AEW Grand Slam: Dynamite, and he recently spoke with TV Insider to discuss returning to the ring for the first time in 13 years at All In 2024, when he realized he was preparing to return to in-ring action, and more.

Nigel McGuinness clarifies the circumstances surrounding his original retirement. In 2011, Nigel McGuinness made the decision to step away from in-ring competition — something that many attributed to a series of health concerns,

Nigel McGuinness returned to the ring at All In on August 25, 2024 in the Casino Gauntlet. It had been 4,634 days between matches. There was often a bit of mystery why Nigel stepped away as a wrestler.