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WWE News: Ring Of Honor Unhappy That Nigel McGuinness Signed With WWE

By Shawn Lealos
Published on: 10:29 PST, Dec 15, 2016

In 2009, Nigel McGuinness was in the process of leaving Ring of Honor for the WWE, but he failed a physical and the WWE chose not to sign him. As a result, Nigel McGuinness made his debut in TNA Impact Wrestling and had an amazing feud with Kurt Angle before he eventually retired.

In 2012, Nigel McGuinness returned to Ring of Honor and has served as the on-screen matchmaker there until this year. In December, he announced that he had resigned as the matchmaker in a storyline event. In reality, his Ring of Honor contract expired and he quickly signed a deal to finally debut in the WWE. According to WrestleZone, Ring of Honor is unhappy that Nigel McGuinness has signed with the WWE.

When Nigel McGuinness left for the WWE in 2009, Ring of Honor was behind the move because it meant bigger and better things for him as a wrestler at the time. It was the same with names like Daniel Bryan, Seth Rollins, and more. Things are different with Nigel McGuinness now.

Ring of Honor still has no problem with their talent leaving if they have a chance to wrestle in NXT or the WWE. However, when Nigel McGuinness stepped down as the matchmaker of Ring of Honor, the company believed that he was staying with them and would move into a commentary position.

The Ring of Honor color commentator, Steve Corino, also saw his contract come to an end this month and he has also made it clear that he is heading to the WWE as well. This means that Ring of Honor is losing their color commentator and Nigel McGuinness, the person they expected to replace him at the same time.

Nigel McGuinness is not wrestling in the WWE, as his in-ring career is completely over with. However, he will serve the same role that Daniel Bryan held during the Cruiserweight Classic tournament on the WWE Network. Nigel McGuinness will serve as the color commentator for the WWE U.K. Championship Tournament on the WWE Network, alongside Michael Cole.

The WWE U.K. Championship Tournament will add another title to the WWE and this one might be branched out into a unique weekly WWE Network show, much like the new 205 Live. That could be the next step for Nigel McGuinness in the WWE. The WWE sent out a press release about the tournament.

“The WWE United Kingdom Championship Tournament is a 16-competitor, two-day throwdown at Blackpool’s Empress Ballroom, airing live and exclusively on the award-winning WWE Network, featuring some of the best talent the U.K. has to offer.”

Nigel McGuinness was on-hand for the official announcement, along with Triple H as they introduced the wrestlers involved in the tournament. Major U.K. names involved include Trent Seven, Pete Dunne, and others.

Triple H spoke to Newsday about the implications of the U.K. Championship tournament.

“The hope is it becomes its own weekly show, based out of the U.K., with U.K. talent. Those talents will still be able to perform within the [independent companies] RevPros, ICWs and Progress’s. As those talents are working [in the U.K.] and moving up [in the industry], we’re helping RevPro, ICW and Progress to grow and help cultivate their talent pool as well.”

Before Nigel McGuinness was an on-air matchmaker for Ring of Honor, he was one of the best wrestlers in the world. His feud with Daniel Bryan was a true classic. Other highlights include feuds with Chris Hero, Seth Rollins, Austin Aries, and more.

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Nigel McGuinness held the Ring of Honor world title for 545 days, with 39 successful title defenses, second longest only to Samoa Joe. Nigel McGuinness also held the ROH Pure Championship for 350 days, with 17 successful title defenses, before losing it to Daniel Bryan, who retired the belt.

[Featured Image by Ring of Honor]

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