Success and road blocks: Story of Nigel McGuinness

“A successful man is one who can lay a firm foundation with the bricks others have thrown at him. “ – David Brinkley

England is known to be the cradle of the pro wrestling world. Many guys who’ve come out of England became the biggest names in the history of professional wrestling. Whether you talk about the Dynamite Kid, or the British Bulldog, or our very own William Regal; the British wrestlers have always been known to be one of the best brawlers/wrestlers among their peers. One such man coming out of England is the former Ring of Honour World Champion, Nigel McGuinness, aka Desmond Wolfe.

I wouldn’t be surprised if you’ve never heard of Nigel. Considered to be one of the best wrestlers in the world, Nigel gained attention and fame during his time with Ring of Honour. After debuting for the organization, he quickly solidified the myth that most of the British wrestlers are outstanding wrestlers by winning the RoH Pure Championship and holding it for nearly a year! Nigel went on to lose the title to Bryan Danielson (Now Daniel Bryan) in a match which received rave reviews as one of the best matches ever witnessed.

Nigel was always seen as the future of the business, and he proved it when he won the RoH World title, and incredibly held the title for more than a year and a half (nod to Punk). He was also seen as one of the top heels in the world at a point, with his impeccable mic skills and unmatchable charisma. Everyone who saw Nigel knew he was destined for greatness, and that his road to bigger and better things would happen sooner rather than later. And all of that nearly came true, when WWE expressed interest in signing Nigel to a contract.

“As far as achieving my dream, I don’t think I did. My dream was to be a WWE wrestler, to be like the Ultimate Warrior, to travel around the world and for everybody to know who I was and to make hundreds of thousands of dollars and then retire and get married and have kids. I certainly didn’t achieve that and I’m okay with that.” – Nigel McGuinness

It is almost unfair that Nigel, who was considered to be the first RoH future prospect, was always thought to be the first to sign with WWE. But his peers such as CM Punk and Daniel Bryan not only signed with WWE, but went on to hold the WWE and World titles respectively, and Austin Aries went to TNA and became the TNA World Champion. What about Nigel? After his unsuccessful attempt to get into the WWE, Nigel signed a contract with TNA, and wrestled for them under the name Desmond Wolfe, where he put on great matches with the likes of Kurt Angle.

When you put two guys who’re the best technical wrestlers in the world in the same ring, it’s not surprising that they come out with the match of the year. Kurt and Desmond put on one of the best matches in TNA history, and it showed just why Desmond was held in such high regards. Things didn’t look so bleak after all for Nigel, whose dream of going to the WWE wasn’t fulfilled, but he was getting recognition at a place which was next only to the WWE. Nigel soon formed alliances with the three ‘TNA faithfuls’, Kaz, Styles and Storm, forming ‘Fortune’, the group that was formed to save TNA from Hogan and his cronies.

“He really dedicated himself to this dream and goal. So to get the rug pulled from underneath you like that, there’s not much worse that can happen as far as a wrestling career.” – Chris Scobille

When that alliance snapped, Desmond went on to partner up with fellow Brit, and a new addition to TNA, Magnus. Together, they formed a team known as ‘London Brawling’, but he was soon taken off television due to ‘personal issues’, which later was found out to be due to Hepatitis B, which was also the reason for his retirement. Nigel took some time off after being released, and as a sad reminder, worked for a Deli in down town NY. It is sad when a bright prospect ends up nowhere, but worse when an individual with the best of abilities is forced to quit. That, sadly, happened with Nigel.

Nigel made his return after a year for his retirement tour, and afterwards, became an on-screen authority for Ring of Honour. As a huge fan of Nigel, I can’t help but get upset at the sad tale of one of the best wrestlers in the world. Nigel deserved to go to WWE and make a name for himself like his peers had done. But all is not lost; Nigel has now turned to acting and stand up comedy, but you can’t help but wonder ‘What if?’.