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The rivalry between North America's top two wrestling promotions, WWE and AEW, is still burning hot. But while the two will take the occasional shot, counter-book each other, and compete for free agents, things haven't gotten ugly yet. That could change if World Wrestling Entertainment begins striking at All Elite Wrestling's social media content, which seems to have happened today.
Nigel McGuinness came out of retirement at AEW All In 2024. The 48-year-old hung up his boots in 2011, but he's now back—at least temporarily—for another shot at glory. The British star will face his hated rival, Bryan Danielson, for the AEW World Championship at this week's Dynamite: Grand Slam, assuming Danielson is cleared to wrestle.
All Elite Wrestling uploaded a video last week as part of its ROH Timelines series on YouTube. The video covered the career and greatest moments of Nigel McGuinness, who was active in Ring of Honor throughout the 2000s and 2010s. However, the video briefly went down today after receiving a copyright strike from WWE.
Check out the screenshot below:
It's unclear whether this was an intentional strike from the Stamford-based promotion or simply the fault of YouTube's algorithm mistakenly detecting the content as WWE-branded. Seeing as the video has now been restored, the latter seems like a good bet.
Nigel McGuinness issues statement ahead of AEW World Championship match
This week, All Elite Wrestling will hold its fourth-annual Dynamite: Grand Slam special at Arthur Ashe Stadium in New York City. The card features several major matches, but the one with the biggest implications is Bryan Danielson vs. Nigel McGuinness.
The American Dragon has stated that when he loses the AEW World Championship, he will retire. Nigel McGuinness possesses a burning hatred for Danielson, so he'd love to be the one to end the latter's career.
McGuinness has been growing angry over Danielson's silence regarding his challenge. With their match less than a week away, he exploded in a fiery rant on Saturday Night Collision. Following that, he released a statement on X/Twitter:
"We saw Collision last night. You would have seen, I got a little emotional. The anger getting the better of me. Got a little screamy. But from the time since, I've had the chance to calm down and refocus. While everything I said was true, at least I belive it, I won't let anger get the better of me again. Bryan, if you show up, you will get the very best version of me, without any excuses. And I hope you'll have none too. Ball's in your court, Bryan," McGuinness said.
Bryan Danielson is one step away from hanging up his boots, but he's still the most dangerous opponent McGuinness has faced in more than a decade. Whether the British star will be able to retire his greatest enemy remains to be seen.
