Nigel McGuinness' In-Ring Return Confirmed (AEW News)
Nigel McGuinness is lacing up his boots at AEW Double or Nothing.
While last night's AEW Collision had some major technical issues, one huge positive to come out of that broadcast was the confirmed in-ring return of one Nigel McGuinness.
For the past several weeks, FTR and Stokeley Hathaway have mocked McGuinness and outright challenged him to once again lace up his boots. And last night, the former ROH World Champion accepted that challenge, announcing that he'll be teaming with Daniel Garcia to take on Dax Harwood and Cash Wheeler at Double or Nothing next weekend.
This tag bout will be McGuinness' fourth match since his 2011 retirement, and his first match since being unsuccessful in trying to dethrone Lee Moriarty as the ROH Pure Champion at Final Battle back in December. Of course, the Londoner made his return to the ring at AEW All In last year, being a surprise entrant in the Casino Guantlet contest and receiving a monstrous reaction from a rabid Wembley Stadium crowd. The following month, he'd finally step back into the ring with long-time rival Bryan Danielson, with the American Dragon retaining his AEW World Championship in a contest that put a smile on the face of many an old ROH fan.
Having made his debut in 1999, Nigel McGuinness spent the next decade becoming one of the very best in-ring workers on the planet and one of Britain's greatest ever pure wrestlers. McGuinness would opt to retire in 2011 after dealing with certain health issues and being frustrated at a 2009 WWE move falling through at the last minute. After hanging up his boots, Nigel would take on a commentary role with ROH before spending time serving as the promotion's authority figure. From 2016 to 2022, that commentary work would take him to WWE, and he'd then land in AEW in early 2024.
AEW Double Or Nothing 2025
With Double or Nothing 2025 now just one week away, the PPV currently has six matches announced to take place at Glendale, Arizona's Desert Diamond Arena.
As well as Nigel McGuinness and Daniel Garcia taking on FTR, last night's AEW Collision also saw it confirmed that Mark Briscoe and Ricochet will do battle in a stretcher match. Likewise, Collision saw Dustin Rhodes and Sammy Guevara pick up a win over Lio Rush and Action Andretti to earn themselves a shot at the Hurt Syndicate's AEW Tag Team Titles. Then there's the small matter of the AEW Women's Championship, with 'Timeless' Toni Storm defending that prize against Mina Shirakawa. Elsewhere, the 2025 Owen Hart Tournaments come to a conclusion, with Mercedes Moné vs. Jamie Hayter, and Will Ospreay vs. 'Hangman' Adam Page.
Rounding out the current Double or Nothing line-up, we know there's going to be an Anarchy in the Arena match, but we just don't know, as of this writing, who exactly will be involved. A mixture of the Death Riders, the Young Bucks, and Gabe Kidd will be taking on a group of top AEW babyfaces, including Kenny Omega, Swerve Strickland, Willow Nightingale, and a member of two of the Opps.