What’s the Story?
As reported by WWE.com, Nigel McGuinness is going to be part of the NXT: Takeover pre-show panel on the WWE Network. Nigel was recently doing commentary on the WWE Network special for the WWE UK Championship Tournament with Michael Cole. He will join Charly Caruso and Corey Graves on the panel.
Also on the pre-show for NXT Takeover, the 2016 NXT Year-End Awards will be revealed.
In case you didn’t know...
Nigel McGuinness had recently resigned from Ring of Honor and jumped ships to WWE. He had returned to ROH in 2011 after a brief TNA run, where he worked a retirement tour. He even returned to do commentary for the main event of December’s Final Battle PPV alongside Kevin Kelly and Steve Corino, who has also left ROH for WWE as a Performance Centre Coach.
The heart of the matter
ROHWrestling.com had issued this statement regarding his departure at that time:
Earlier this evening, with heavy hearts, Ring of Honor officials accepted the resignation of ROH Matchmaker Nigel McGuinness. Speculation surrounding McGuinness’ sudden resignation has begun to boil among ROH officials. While some chastised his leniency towards Bullet Club’s behavior in the summer, others believe that now McGuinness may be under extreme duress from Bullet Club’s Adam Cole for changing the stipulations of the Final Battle main event just days in advance. One of ROH’s all-time greats, the former ROH World Champion has resigned. ROH management has annoucned it is forming an executive committee to oversee matchmaking in ROH. We wish Nigel McGuinness the best of luck in his future.
He did a great job of calling the UK tournament alongside WWE veteran Michael Cole. Reports have stated that Cole is grooming Nigel as one of the main roster commentators for the future.
What’s next?
Nigel McGuinness confirmed the recent news of him being part of the panel with the following tweet:
Sportskeeda’s take
This is a great opportunity for Nigel to show what he is capable of doing. His technical know-how and his seasoned opinions would be a boon for the WWE. It will also introduce many people to him, as everyone hasn’t watched Ring of Honor Wrestling.
Given the uncertainty for the UK division, Nigel can deliver in NXT. This is seen as a great way for him to be on the main roster soon as a commentator. A replacement for Cole? We hope so.
