Nigel McGuinness comments on backstage altercations taking the focus off of the successes of AEW All In.
AEW All In broke a record for the most paid attendees ever to view a professional wrestling show. The show also generated an over $10 million gate for AEW. However, a backstage altercation occurred at the event, reportedly involving CM Punk and Jack Perry, which generated most of the conversation coming out of the show.
Nigel McGuinness was interviewed by WrestlingNewsCo's Steve Fall ahead of AEW All Out and spoke about his perspective of those such events overshadowing the positives of such a grand show.
"Yeah, it's a complex situation, isn't it? That's arguably the problem with social media is that a few voices can make a lot of noise," he said. "For someone who saw how much work went into that show, the prestige and what it meant for not just me, but all the other people on the show. To be talking about anything other than the show, then it's a bit of a slight, certainly, but that's the nature of human beings. Would I prefer that if something happens backstage, it isn't immediately on the internet? Absolutely. There was an era in a time where if that happened, they'd have found out who did it, and they wouldn't be in the company anymore. Let's put it that way.
"This is a different world today," he added. "The internet is a huge part of everything, certainly. So, at the end of the day, it is what it is. People will choose to focus on what they choose to focus on. Tony Khan has one of the most difficult jobs in the world. He's got three shows, ostensibly, to write and put out every time. He's got everybody on those three shows to deal with in terms of getting people booked, not booked, and all the idiosyncrasies, the emotions, and everything else that's involved."
Nigel also revealed that he toasted Tony after the event, saying that having AEW has been a blessing in the world of wrestling because so many are able to provide for their families by doing what they love.
"I said, 'Honestly, I don't think I'll ever be able to find the words to say how much I appreciate the opportunity and the faith that you've had in me,' you know, and I'm sure there are a lot of other people that feel the exact same way. It's a blessing if you think, without Tony, without AEW, how many people wouldn't be making a living and wouldn't be able to feed their families? It's a lot, and as we all know, competition is the best thing for business, and I can't think there's been the sort of what will be called Halcyon Days in pro wrestling for a long, long time."
Tony Khan has declined to comment on the incident that occurred but did confirm that an incident took place. An investigation is currently ongoing.
Fightful Select has more information on the incident and the potential ramifications the incident had on the card for AEW All Out in Chicago.
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