Nigel McGuinness’ AEW All In Return Was Kept a Closely Guarded Secret

Nigel McGuinness has been with AEW for over two years, and his work as a commentator has been a standout in the company. Although he hadn’t wrestled in a long time, that changed at AEW All In when he made a surprise return to the ring. In fact, his return was kept a closely guarded secret.

Nigel McGuinness has provided commentary for both ROH and AEW Collision, but fans wondered whether he would actually return to the squared circle. That never happened as McGuinness confirmed a match with Bryan Danielson was not going to happen at AEW All In last year due to Danielson’s injury.

Fans had almost lost hope of ever seeing Nigel McGuinness wrestle again. However, during the Casino Gauntlet match at AEW All In, McGuinness surprised everyone by entering as the third participant. Making his in-ring debut for AEW, he delivered a solid performance against top stars like Kazuchika Okada and Zack Sabre Jr., giving fans an unforgettable moment.

According to Dave Meltzer in the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, almost no one knew Nigel McGuinness would be coming out of retirement at All In. His surprise appearance in the Casino Gauntlet match was kept a closely guarded secret.

”Almost nobody knew Nigel McGuinness would be coming out of retirement at All In, as his Casino Gauntlet appearance was kept a secret.”

We will have to wait and see whether Nigel McGuinness will eventually compete in more matches, as fans were more than happy to see McGuinness come out of retirement for the first time in 13 years.

Did you ever expect to see Nigel McGuinness make his in-ring return at AEW All In last week? Sound off in the comments section below!