Deadspin article about Nigel McGuinness

[Rican]

deadspin.com/5984273/how-one-mans-hard+luck-journey-through-the-indie-wrestling-circuit-ended-behind-a-deli-counter?utm_campaign=socialflow_deadspin_twitter&utm_source=deadspin_twitter&utm_medium=socialflow

Wow. Hell of a read.

[Crusty Ruffles]

I just came here to post this. It is an absolute must read. I teared up during a few parts.

There is no way I could imagine being what he's been through. God damn. If I ever get to bump into him again, I know the first words out of my mouth are going to be "Thank you."

[anticonscience]

wow. I had no idea that ROH banned blood from being used in the matches. I know that it couldn't be used on their syndicated show but I figured that it was still fair game in house shows and PPVs

[Andrew is Good]

Yeah, his documentary is an amazing story and showed him at that Deli.

[Mr. Socko's Brother]

I'm about halfway through it, at the part where WWE tells him he needs surgery which he can't afford, if he's going to wrestle for them.

And I'm thinking "Vince was willing to piss away $90 000 000 on Linda's campaign, but wasn't willing to invest $6 000 in the health of a wrestler like McGuinness, who could've been a big star for him."

This is one of the many reasons I consider Vince an asshole.

EDIT: Oh, and the part where it tells about how the reason Hogan got Nigel depushed was because he believed that heels shouldn't be able to outwrestle babyfaces like Nigel was? That's rich, coming from Hogan of all people. You know, the guy who didn't know a wristlock from a wristwatch, as Gorilla Monsoon once said?

[Jimmy]

[froggyfrog]

The one thing I didn't get from his documentary is why didn't he have a kickstarter to fund his surgery? I'm sure people would come through for him, plus he's not wrestling atm so his point about not being able to work isn't really valid anymore. Worst case scenario he doesnt get signed, but at least he'd still have a shot.

[Mr. Socko's Brother]

Feb 14, 2013 19:55:49 GMT -5 froggyfrog said:

The one thing I didn't get from his documentary is why didn't he have a kickstarter to fund his surgery? I'm sure people would come through for him, plus he's not wrestling atm so his point about not being able to work isn't really valid anymore. Worst case scenario he doesnt get signed, but at least he'd still have a shot.

Was Kickstarter around in 2009?

[tgabeast]

"Shelton Benjamin holds a bag of Chipotle. Terry "Rhino" Gerin chugs a Red Bull. Matt Hardy sips from a Dunkin Donuts cup."


I found that amusing.

[543Y2J]

Feb 14, 2013 17:30:00 GMT -5 Andrew is Good said:

Yeah, his documentary is an amazing story and showed him at that Deli.

I really need to get around to buying that

[froggyfrog]

Feb 14, 2013 19:57:47 GMT -5 Mr. Socko's Brother said:

Feb 14, 2013 19:55:49 GMT -5 froggyfrog said:

The one thing I didn't get from his documentary is why didn't he have a kickstarter to fund his surgery? I'm sure people would come through for him, plus he's not wrestling atm so his point about not being able to work isn't really valid anymore. Worst case scenario he doesnt get signed, but at least he'd still have a shot.

Was Kickstarter around in 2009?

Why cant he do it now?

[mjolnir]

Nigel's gone on record to the effect of that if he couldn't get a job with WWE, he doesn't see the point. That was his dream, and now his dream's been all but crushed. He doesn't seem to think TNA would want anything to do with him and I doubt he wants to go back, given how they've treated him and what he's said on the matter.

Considering the laundry list of injuries he suffered throughout his relatively short career, and all of the concussions he dealt with, I say the man has the right to relax if he chooses to. He knows better than anybody how his body is and he spent several years pushing it through injury after injury to a fault. Man doesn't owe the fans a thing. Even if I wish he'd have had a happier ending to his career.

[Death by Pickles!]

God, what a great article. I'd always wondered why Nigel never made it into WWE. I knew he was possibly coming in w/ DBD, then he just wasn't, then he was in TNA.

Feb 14, 2013 18:43:40 GMT -5 Mr. Socko's Brother said:

I'm about halfway through it, at the part where WWE tells him he needs surgery which he can't afford, if he's going to wrestle for them.

And I'm thinking "Vince was willing to piss away $90 000 000 on Linda's campaign, but wasn't willing to invest $6 000 in the health of a wrestler like McGuinness, who could've been a big star for him."

This is one of the many reasons I consider Vince an asshole.

While I would've liked to have seen Vince/WWE help with the surgery, he's not obligated to do so (I don't think). Plus, Linda's not just some random person, it's his wife.

[sportatorium]

I read this when I woke up this morning- scanning Deadspin & was completely captivated. I can't begrudge Vince for not paying for the surgery, I can only imagine how many times he and his people have heard "if you only...then this guy will make you so much $$". The Hogan thing is hilarious considering that TNA had Angle, Jeff Jarrett, AJ Styles, Roode, Storm & Flair in addition to Nigel working heel and out wrestling Abyss & Sting who are Punch, Kick, Pose guys. This is the same guy who wanted Tomko in main events & Abyss as a main event babyface.

The story is a cautionary tale- even if you can't save enough cash flow, don't destroy your credit, so you can at least use a cc for the surgery & pay it off. I love Nigel & hope his new pursuits work out.

["Gentleman" AJ Powell]

Damn, that's some pretty sobering stuff. Unfortunately, I didn't really become a Nigel fan until he'd started at TNA, so I didn't get to live all the ROH stuff as it happened, but he's a damn good wrestler nonetheless!

[aaronslip]

Thanks for sharing this.

[thetimetraveler]

Feb 14, 2013 18:43:40 GMT -5 Mr. Socko's Brother said:

I'm about halfway through it, at the part where WWE tells him he needs surgery which he can't afford, if he's going to wrestle for them.

And I'm thinking "Vince was willing to piss away $90 000 000 on Linda's campaign, but wasn't willing to invest $6 000 in the health of a wrestler like McGuinness, who could've been a big star for him."

This is one of the many reasons I consider Vince an asshole.

EDIT: Oh, and the part where it tells about how the reason Hogan got Nigel depushed was because he believed that heels shouldn't be able to outwrestle babyfaces like Nigel was? That's rich, coming from Hogan of all people. You know, the guy who didn't know a wristlock from a wristwatch, as Gorilla Monsoon once said?

So Vince is the asshole for not paying for a guy's surgery that has never worked for him, but ROH and other groups that used him are in the clear? The people that paid him $100 and watched his body fall apart while making money off of his likeness on DVDs are good people and Vince is the devil here?

That's a really weird way of looking at it.

[theryno665]

That's a great article, but also sad because it reminds you that there's plenty of people out there who are super-talented and deserving but they still don't "make it", even though they should.

[Mr. Socko's Brother]

Feb 15, 2013 13:17:03 GMT -5 Death by Pickles! said:

God, what a great article. I'd always wondered why Nigel never made it into WWE. I knew he was possibly coming in w/ DBD, then he just wasn't, then he was in TNA.

Feb 14, 2013 18:43:40 GMT -5 Mr. Socko's Brother said:

I'm about halfway through it, at the part where WWE tells him he needs surgery which he can't afford, if he's going to wrestle for them.

And I'm thinking "Vince was willing to piss away $90 000 000 on Linda's campaign, but wasn't willing to invest $6 000 in the health of a wrestler like McGuinness, who could've been a big star for him."

This is one of the many reasons I consider Vince an asshole.

While I would've liked to have seen Vince/WWE help with the surgery, he's not obligated to do so (I don't think). Plus, Linda's not just some random person, it's his wife.

In response to this and to thetimetraveler's post, Vince's net worth is listed as 1.1 billion dollars.

So six thousand to him is like a nickel to you or I. Just as a visual aid, I'm going to type out the two totals here with all of the zeroes.

$1 100 000 000.00

vs.

6 000.00.

Vince has been willing to spend what to him is chump change before. He was willing to give money to ECW just to ensure that it continued to be a thorn in WCW's side.

It would have been very, very easy for Vince to have helped Nigel out here.

But instead, he and his cronies said to Nigel "We want you to be a WWE superstar. Here's all of this money you'll be making and...oh, WHOOPS, looks like you've got a torn bicep! Well, we want you to get that fixed, and we want you to pay OUT OF YOUR OWN POCKET! No, we won't pay for it and, no, we won't be content to just take it out of your future salary. Either YOU pay for it, or we don't want you, and you can hit the bricks without even an apology from us about getting your hopes up!"

[________ has left the building]

Feb 16, 2013 2:08:52 GMT -5 Mr. Socko's Brother said:

Feb 15, 2013 13:17:03 GMT -5 Death by Pickles! said:

God, what a great article. I'd always wondered why Nigel never made it into WWE. I knew he was possibly coming in w/ DBD, then he just wasn't, then he was in TNA.



While I would've liked to have seen Vince/WWE help with the surgery, he's not obligated to do so (I don't think). Plus, Linda's not just some random person, it's his wife.

In response to this and to thetimetraveler's post, Vince's net worth is listed as 1.1 billion dollars.

So six thousand to him is like a nickel to you or I. Just as a visual aid, I'm going to type out the two totals here with all of the zeroes.

$1 100 000 000.00

vs.

6 000.00.

Vince has been willing to spend what to him is chump change before. He was willing to give money to ECW just to ensure that it continued to be a thorn in WCW's side.

It would have been very, very easy for Vince to have helped Nigel out here.

But instead, he and his cronies said to Nigel "We want you to be a WWE superstar. Here's all of this money you'll be making and...oh, WHOOPS, looks like you've got a torn bicep! Well, we want you to get that fixed, and we want you to pay OUT OF YOUR OWN POCKET! No, we won't pay for it and, no, we won't be content to just take it out of your future salary. Either YOU pay for it, or we don't want you, and you can hit the bricks without even an apology from us about getting your hopes up!"

It happens a lot of times in life. The NFL pull contract offers from players because a college recruit's physical and mental test show that that person is a risk. Roger Goodell isn't going to spend any of the NFL's money on that hot running back from Southern Cal with a bad knee to get surgery. They are going to tell him sorry about the injury and contact us after you get it fixed. Meanwhile, Goodell is looking at the next prospect to sign. Even though Vince is worth millions, he's not obligated to spend his nor WWE's money on someone who hasn't even signed a contract. It's one thing if the ink was signed on the contract. It's another when you aren't signed and doing the physical in order to get approval. It's a contract offer not a contract deal. That the cold hard truth about Corporate America.