http://www.rohwrestling.com/news/article.aspx?id=1733
An Emotional Time For Nigel (McGuinness)
Sunday, January 06, 2008
One moment after this – ROH World Champion Nigel McGuinness walked through the curtain, crumpled into a corner of a dark hallway and had tears fill his eyes. Nigel’s World Title reign has been a roller coaster of frustration and all the emotions came crashing down on him in Manhattan on December 30th after his in ring promo. Here is what led to that moment:
-October 5th: Nigel McGuinness wins the ROH World Title to a phenomenal response from the crowd that must be seen. Nigel’s dream of hearing the words “NEW World Champion” is interrupted by a display of disrespect by Bryan Danielson.
-October 19th: Roderick Strong continues the disrespect by interrupting McGuinness’ first promo as World Champion in front of the live crowd.
-Mid-October: Nigel’s left biceps tear putting the World Title reign he dreamed of his entire life in jeopardy. All the sacrifices throughout the years might be for nothing.
-Nov. 2nd & 3rd: Nigel must miss the two biggest shows of the year. He ends up wrestling Chris Hero on Nov. 2nd, but Nigel wanted to do much more that weekend. This was an opportunity to make his reign in both the United States and Japan. Some fans begin to question Nigel as World Champion when he is unable to defend the belt on 11/3 in Manhattan.
-Nov. 3rd-Dec. 27th: More fans begin to have doubts about Nigel as World Champion. The criticism reaches Nigel. However, McGuinness concentrates on rehabbing his left biceps and letting all his other bumps and bruises heal. McGuinness is focused on the Manhattan doubleshot at the end of December. He knows he can shut up any doubters then.
-November 30th & December 1st: Two more shows pass and Nigel can only wrestle a short, non-title match. To add insult to injury, Chris Hero lays out Nigel on each night with the Hero’s Welcome. Doubt continues to grow among the fanbase, but Nigel stays strong and focuses on Manhattan at the end of December.
-Dec. 28th: Nigel says goodbye to his family in England and gets on a plane for Manhattan. Nigel is excited and ready to quiet any doubters with two big World Title defenses. However, he is feeling a little warm and not in a good way.
-Dec. 28th eight hours later: Nigel wakes up as his flight lands, but a sick feeling aches from head to toe. Nigel discovers he has a 102 degree fever. He informs ROH officials of being ill, but insists he will be ready to wrestle. Nigel finally reaches his hotel room and hopes to feel better after a long sleep. Anxiety fills Nigel as he drifts off because he knows he has to be 100% to get through this weekend as Champion and prove his critics wrong.
-Dec. 29th: Nigel wakes up after 12 hours and feels somewhat better. He figures he’ll be good enough to wrestle. He has to be. Nigel and Aries tear down the house with a dramatic World Title Match. McGuinness retains, but there is no joy after the match. He knows that he is injured. After seeing the commission doctor he heads to the hospital. 35 stitches, a concussion and broken nose later, Nigel calls ROH officials at 6:30am and informs them of his situation. There is no way he can wrestle on the Sunday show.
-Dec. 30th: After a morning of terrible sleep, Nigel wakes up around 11am and prepares to head to the building. He still has a temperature, his head is throbbing, his eye stings and he is in a foggy cloud. Nigel gets himself together as best he can and heads over to the Manhattan Center.
-Dec. 30th two hours later: ROH officials and Nigel McGuinness have a meeting. The physical, mental and emotional pain are all taking their toll. McGuinness is heart broken that he can’t wrestle. He wants nothing more than to perform in front of the NYC fans and give them their money’s worth. The idea that he can’t is hurting him worse than any stitches or any pounding in his head.
-Dec. 30th three hours later: The event starts. Nigel listens as Bobby Cruise announces that Nigel won’t be able to compete. McGuinness hears the boos. He sees some fans throw up their arms in disgust and disappointment. He has never felt worse.
-Dec. 30th ninety minutes later: Intermission is coming to an end. Nigel has sat in his locker room alone for close to an hour. He feels the pressure building in him. He is being assaulted on all fronts. Mentally, he wonders if deserves the belt. Emotionally, he feels like he has let everyone down. Physically, he is still in a cloudy, achy state. As the second half starts Nigel leaves his locker room and hunts down ROH officials. He tells them that he is going to the ring cause he has something to say. Nigel doesn’t know if he’ll be champion when he comes back through the curtain.
This all brings up to Nigel’s 12/30 promo which can be seen by clicking the link at the top of this article or by going to ROHvideos.com. Nigel McGuinness and his World Title reign have become the most controversial thing in ROH. Now he’s finding out what being the top man in a promotion entails. All this is just making him more determined than ever to build his legacy as ROH World Champion.
footnote: Nigel McGuinness will defend the belt on 1/25 in his old stomping grounds of Dayton inside a Steel Cage against Chris Hero.
footnote: If McGuinness makes it past Hero, he will defend the belt on 1/26 in Chicago against Roderick Strong. McGuinness vs. Strong will take place even if the World Title is not on the line.