Bryan Danielson reflects on facing Nigel McGuinness at AEW Dynamite: Grand Slam.
Over a decade after their last match, Bryan Danielson and Nigel McGuinness settled their rivalry on their terms with a match at AEW Dynamite: Grand Slam in Arthur Ashe Stadium in Queens, New York. Nigel had been away from singles competition for over a decade as well and Danielson was very complimentary of his great rival's abilities despite the long layoff from competition.
Speaking on the Nikki and Brie Show, Danielson said he thought Nigel did fantastic in their match on September 25, 2024.
"I had another really cool thing that happened on Wednesday. I got to wrestle Nigel McGuinness. A lot of people might not know Nigel McGuinness, but we helped really make each other on the independent scene and that sort of thing. He had a lot of injuries and all that kind of stuff. Then he hasn't wrestled. He hadn't done a singles match in 13 years. He's 48 years old, and we just wrestled at Arthur Ashe Stadium on Wednesday. I mean, it was really cool and really special. For somebody who hasn't wrestled in 13 years, he did fantastic. It was so neat, and it was so cool, and it was so special.
Bryan Danielson and Brie Garcia also spoke about Nigel introducing Danielson to his daughter.
"He did something we should have done," Danielson admitted. "Nigel said, 'Hey, would you mind meeting my daughter beforehand so that she can know that we're friends and that we're not actually hurting each other out there.' As soon as he told me back, I was like, 'Oh my gosh, we should have totally done that for Birdie!"
Birdie Danielson was ringside for Bryan Danielson's AEW World Title win over Swerve Strickland at AEW All In: London. Bryan has now called that moment the best of his career. Read more here.
Nigel McGuinness returned to commentary on the October 2 episode of AEW Dynamite. Learn more about his possible in-ring future here.
Should you use any of the above quotes, be sure to link back to this article, giving Fightful credit for the transcription.
