Nigel McGuinness heading to WWE!, If you thought ROH was boned before...

[SamoaRowe]

From 411:

- ROHWrestling.com has posted the following, announcing that Nigel McGuinness has agreed in principle to a contract with World Wrestling Entertainment:

Nigel McGuinness has agreed in principle to a contract with World Wrestling Entertainment.

Nigel has been a tremendous leader in the Ring of Honor locker room and, without question, a wonderful performer. His merits, both in and out of the ring, are extraordinary and any locker room with Nigel McGuinness in it is better for it. We couldn't be happier for Nigel as he takes the next step in his stellar wrestling career, and we extend our heartfelt gratitude to Nigel for all he's worked for and through.

Nigel has pledged to fulfill his scheduled Ring of Honor commitments. Please join us in Philadelphia, Boston, and New York as we bid an extremely fond farewell to another member of our family.

Everyone at Ring of Honor is extremely proud to have called both Nigel McGuinness and Bryan Danielson their own; and we looking forward to seeing their stars shine brighter than ever. Like many of the wonderful sons of Ring of Honor that have written new chapters in their wrestling annals, we will look on with a bittersweet smile to the future where we have no doubt that Nigel and Bryan will amaze the masses – just like they've done so many times in Ring of Honor.

With the closing of this chapter a new one opens in Ring of Honor. We now look to an exciting time where new stars will blaze their own paths, while looking back in reverence to those who came before them. Who will seize the opportunity and carry the torch for ROH? We only hope that whoever it is will carry it with the same respect - the same honor - that Bryan and Nigel have.

[Mad Dog]

I'd say RoH is officially dead in the water now.

[Scrooge McSuck]

So, is Vince pulling his signature "sign away ANYONE he can just to fuck with another company" move? I don't see Vince using either Danielson or McGuinness in a prominent way.

[Mad Dog]

McGuinness has the look for the WWE. A little small but he wouldn't look out of place. Danielson has ties to the HHH camp due to being a graduate of Shawn Michaels' school and being trained by Steven Regal. So he might be benefiting from backstage politics.

[Scrooge McSuck]

Follow up question:

Do they get ridiculous characters, introduced a la John Cena (and others) with the "rookie pins upper card guy in 1st match" and gets pushed that high too soon, or just floats in limbo for a while?

[Mad Dog]

McGuinness has a better chance of just getting a more amped up version of himself. A cocky British heel. A possible spot with say the Hart Dynasty. Danielson, they'll feel a greater need to do something with him. He's bland on his own.

[The Swigg Lebowski]

McGuinness will end up in a program with Regal. Danielson, too, since Regal had a hand in training him

[Klossing]

Haven't enjoyed ROH since early 2007. I kinda feel bad for Nigel not for getting signed but because ROH seems to be caring more about Danielson's departure than Nigel's. I know Danielson is the man in ROH, but Nigel pretty much carried the company for more than over a year.

[dynamite kido]

ROH acts that way because that's what the majority of their fanbase thinks. Nigel has been great for ROH, but Danielson has been there since nearly the beginning.

I'm thinking they would make an interesting tag team in WWE. But I doubt we'll see that.

[SamoaRowe]

In a surprising move, former ROH world champion Nigel McGuinness has signed with TNA and is backstage in Orlando today at the TNA tapings. McGuinness had reportedly agreed to a deal with WWE some time ago, but had never signed.

Credit: Pwinsider.com

[Scrooge McSuck]

I haven't watched in two years, but is TNA good, yet? I read somewhere an episode of ECW (30 minutes of wrestling, but is it 1 hour still?) had more wrestling than Impact (2 hours) a few weeks ago

[SamoaRowe]

It seems like TNA turned a corner in the quality department in the last year, but it's still not what I'd call "good." In other words, I watch about one episode of Impact every two months and that's enough for me.

Oh, and here's an update:

According to Pwinsider.com, it is believed that Nigel McGuinness signed a two-year deal with TNA. TNA approached McGuinness when WWE pulled their initial offer to McGuinness. The reason the offer was pulled was due to the results of McGuinness' pre-contract screening. That screening turned up several injury issues that led to the company backing off on their interest in signing him. This reportedly happened 5-6 days ago, and McGuinness was instructed to keep quiet when asked about his WWE status.

TNA president Dixie Carter is a big fan of McGuinness, and wanted to sign him some time ago. McGuinness had signed with ROH, when the company made the jump to PPV, and TNA instead hired Doug Williams. McGuinness is the one that came up with the Desmond Wolf name, this was done so that he could keep the McGuinness name and so TNA could trademark the new name.

ROH did not know that McGuinness signed with TNA until he showed up in Orlando yesterday. According to sources in WWE, Bryan Danielson passed his pre-contract screening and is expected to start shortly with the company.

[Scrooge McSuck]

How fucked up can his body be that WWE declared he failed a physical? I know they have their phantom wellness crap, but still... didn't they hire Scorpio a few years back, despite being injured, and held him under contract for months, before releasing him just as he was healthy and working dark matches?

[SamoaRowe]

Yeah, I'm not surprised if Nigel is in rough shape. There were at least three instances during his ROH title reign that he got hurt and worked through it. Finally, he dropped the belt to Jerry Lynn before taking some time off, which IIRC he didn't get any surgery or treatment, just took time to heal (and even then, he was still working matches here and there for other companies).

Gotta love TNA. Too hurt to work for Vince? Don't worry!

[Viceroy Virus]

Interesting move. But TNA's touring schedule would probably be better for him. As long as everything was on good terms with the E, hopefully he'll get another offer down the road.