Controversial line about Bryan Danielson and wife Brie Bella was stolen from Twitter, confirms AEW rival

AEW commentator Nigel McGuinness recently opened up about his controversial one-liner on Bryan Danielson and Brie Bella during an episode of Collision earlier this year. Nigel and Danielson had an epic rivalry in Ring of Honor during the second half of the 2000s.

Nigel McGuinness has called some iconic matches in NXT and is now a part of AEW, where he occasionally keeps kayfabe alive by roasting The American Dragon. Bryan competed in an eight-man tag team match during the June 15, 2024, episode of AEW Collision. During the match, Nigel made a controversial joke when he said that ''Bryan used to be vegan but couldn't give up eating Brie!''

During a recent interaction on INSIGHT with Chris Van Vliet, Nigel McGuinness was asked to comment on his controversial jibe at Danielson. The former ROH star revealed that he stole it from Twitter (X) and noted that it made some people upset in France.

"I wish I could take credit for that one, Christopher. But unfortunately, no. The beauty of social media—I think someone must have posted it on Twitter about a year or so ago. Something like that. Well, that sounds like a fun line. I wasn't sure whether I could use it because I've had a lot of lines that I always run everything by Bobby Cruise before the show because he's a good sort of barometer of whether this is politically correct enough or not. That one got through the Cruise-ometer. There were some upset people in France, but [I] can't please everyone," he said. [46:38-47:16]

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Nigel McGuinness wants to beat AEW star Bryan Danielson

During the same interaction, Nigel McGuinness spoke about the possibility of his in-ring return. The AEW commentator revealed that he had no desire to leave the commentary desk for in-ring duties. However, the 48-year-old claimed he wouldn't mind stepping inside the squared circle to beat Bryan Danielson, as they have history and a great story to tell.

"I've been like, wow. Getting back in the ring, I felt like, 'Wow, it is so strange realization when you figure out that the only thing stopping you from being a wrestler is you.' Now, having said that, I've certainly got no desire to step away from the announcing booth. I don't want to become a full-time wrestler. I don't really want to wrestle anymore, to be honest with you. Other than beating Bryan, obviously, because that’s our story. There's our history,” he added. [H/T: CVV]

It will be interesting to see if AEW revisits the rivalry between Nigel McGuinness and Bryan Danielson in the future.