Nigel McGuinness says he got back in the ring again recently, ‘felt perfectly ok’

Nigel McGuinness says he recently got back in the ring.  

The 48-year-old hasn't wrestled since 2011. He debuted as a commentator for ROH later that year and now works on the AEW Collision broadcast team, where he can frequently be heard making derogatory comments about Bryan Danielson on Saturday nights. 

McGuinness appeared as a guest on Wrestling Weekly recently and while discussing his attitude toward Danielson, mentioned that he got back inside a ring again and felt "perfectly okay."  

McGuinness said:

All the time that I was in WWE, how difficult it was for me, and I think a lot of the... I don't want to say the jealousy and the bitterness, but those sort of emotions that certainly existed between me and Bryan and the success that he's had. 

When I was in WWE, seeing so many of my peers coming up and having that level of success, and that level of fame and fortune was very difficult for me, certainly, to sort of accept. 

Especially when I could still wrestle today. I got in the ring last week and just felt perfectly ok. Sometimes, people say it’s a lot easier if you choose yourself to quit and I don’t think that it’s the case. 

He continued:

Given my history in terms of concussions and various other things, I do watch a lot of matches and go, 'couldn't do that anymore.'

In 2018, McGuinness posted to Twitter to clear up misconceptions that his retirement was due to injuries. He wrote, "Just for the record, as some people seem misinformed, I was always ok to wrestle, I never retired because of injuries."

Danielson and McGuinness' rivalry took place primarily in Ring of Honor from 2006 to 2008. One of their most notable matches took place at 2006's ROH Unified in Liverpool. Danielson defeated McGuinness that night to unify the ROH World and Pure titles. Our own Dave Meltzer gave the match four and three-quarter stars.