WWE has undergone a number of changes since Paul “Triple H” Levesque took over creative responsibilities. Dozens of past stars have been brought back to the company in varying capacities while the premium live event calendar has been slightly shaken up. One of the bigger changes came across WWE’s announce teams, as Fall 2022 saw numerous broadcasters get reassigned. Wade Barrett left NXT for WWE SmackDown, Cathy Kelley returned for Monday Night Raw backstage interview duties, and Kevin Patrick was promoted to lead play-by-play commentator for the red brand. While most of the announce team changes were just trades, a couple of names ended up being cut entirely.
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Both play-by-play man Jimmy Smith and color commentator Nigel McGuinness were released from WWE in October 2022, as neither man was given a role in the new announce team assignments. McGuinness’s release came quietly, and the London native made no mention of it in the subsequent months.
Now, McGuinness has broken his silence. Taking to Twitter, McGuinness shared a brief message of gratitude while also teasing a big 2023.
“Appreciate all the kind wishes,” McGuinness wrote. “Good year ahead.”
McGuinness spent six years in WWE, mostly working on WWE’s developmental shows. He debuted at the WWE United Kingdom Championship Tournament in January 2017, sharing commentary duties for that event with the man that recommended him to WWE, Michael Cole. Alongside Mauro Ranallo, McGuinness found his biggest WWE success at the NXT announce table, lending his voice to dozens of now-iconic black and yellow brand moments. Upon NXT’s restructuring, McGuinness spent most of his final WWE days announcing for NXT UK and 205 Live.
Before joining WWE, McGuinness was a well-traveled wrestler in his own right. He made a name for himself in Ring of Honor, reigning with both the ROH Pure and ROH World Titles on one occasion. McGuinness is close with a number of wrestlers that he shared an ROH locker room with, including Kevin Owens, Sami Zayn, and Adam Pearce.
As for what the future holds, it’s currently unclear as to what companies have interest in McGuinness. The relaunch of ROH could mean McGuinness returns to that commentary table, the start of NXT Europe could provide a homecoming for the former Desmond Wolfe, or he could find a place for himself at an AEW booth.
Stay tuned to ComicBook.com for updates on Nigel McGuinness’s professional wrestling future.
