In a recent interview with Stephanie Chase of Digital Spy, Nigel McGuinness discussed several topics, including the potential of him coming out of retirement to work the AEW All In: London event at Wembley Stadium this August.
“It’s certainly the event and perhaps a final chapter to my career, to my journey, so Wembley Stadium certainly springs to mind. There are a number of factors, I’m at an age now and at a place in my life where I certainly don’t want to harm the rest of my life, I don’t want to get any injuries or anything serious that’s going to impinge my ability to enjoy my life as a parent, or to travel, so that’s certainly a concern.
You’ve also got to understand that at a show like Wembley, there are so many guys that are super talented and deserve those spots as well, so to take one of those spots for myself, I think would be pretty hard. I think if we sell the place out, maybe I’ve got no argument but to go dust the boots off, but it’s so many things, it’s the event, it’s the opponent, it’s the timing and it’s hard to know, I can’t give you a definitive in that regard.
In terms of dream opponents, obviously it would have to be someone like Bryan Danielson, given our history and the true story that’s there. I think the best stories, the best angles in wrestling always have that undercurrent of reality and it’s just so real there, it’s just so real and it’s so honest and authentic and nuanced as well in the sense that it’s not just as simple as there’s a good guy and a bad guy, you can understand and you can identify with both of our journeys, we were once going in the same direction, and now, we’ve gone in completely different paths, but there’s a lot of emotion there to establish and even if that means me just being on commentary for a match of his as well.
There are guys like Jonathan Gresham or MJF as well, those sort of guys that you go, yeah I think I could really have a great match with them, but then you think to yourself, well the old Nigel McGuinness could really have a great match with them, I’m not sure about the Nigel McGuinness now. Someone said a while ago, I bet you could get in the ring tomorrow couldn’t you and I said I’m sure I could, I’m just not sure I could get back out afterwards, that’s the reality of it.”
The full interview is available at this link.