Nigel McGuinness has had an outstanding in-ring career, rising to prominence as one of the world’s best wrestlers during his prime. Unfortunately, injuries forced him to retire in 2011 after a successful reign as ROH Champion. Following his retirement, he became a WWE commentator, but his time with the company ended in 2022 when he was released. Nigel, on the other hand, signed with AEW in April 2023, ushering in a new chapter in his career.
McGuinness told Metro about his time performing at Butlin’s camps, where he occasionally had to portray parody wrestlers to add variety to the shows. Despite having a bad back, he was given a Kane mask and gear on one occasion. Wrestling as Kane for about 15 to 20 minutes at the time was the low point of his career.
He stated, “I used to do Butlin’s camps. Every now and again to spice it up, they’d want us to do parody wrestlers. So, there was one time I got to the venue, and they gave me a Kane mask, the whole gear. I had to go out and wrestle as Kane for 15, 20 minutes – with a bad back as well. It was just absolutely the lowest point of my career, at that point at least.”
Furthermore, McGuinness expressed his delight at being able to demonstrate his versatility. As an example, he mentioned a match involving Mad Man Manson, Dave Rayne, and Sam Bailey. He also mentioned a ROH match with Delirious that took place early in the card. These matches, according to McGuinness, were personally fulfilling because they told compelling stories, elicited strong crowd reactions, and served their intended purpose.
“People ask me about my favorite matches and oftentimes it wasn’t the big matches that got great reviews, it was the funny little matches. It was just a funny little tag match, but it was really enjoyable. The matches I had with Delirious in Ring of Honor as well, they were great matches but early on in the card. Told a great story, got a great pop and everything they needed to be.”
