Aug 26, 2017 0:27:30 GMT -6

Interview: Nigel's memories of joining Ring of Honor.

From Wrath of the Racket on August 8th, 2003
To determine the number one contender to the HWA World Heavyweight Championship
Nigel McGuinness vs. Chet Jablonski w/Brock?
This was a pretty decent match. I think the interview beforehand was longer. Both guys showed some promise. The crowd was ridiculous though. It was full of the elitist of the elite wrestling nerds. Nothing but clapping, for everything. I swear they clapped when one guy stood up.
Winner: Nigel McGuinness (number one contender for the HWA World Heavyweight Championship)

From the Midnight Express Reunion on October 2nd, 2004
Nigel McGuinness vs. Homicide w/Julius Smokes
If you like submission, mat wrestling than this is a match for you. They didn't limit it to just that but that was the early focus. It was actually a really good wrestling match that I really enjoyed.
Winner: Nigel McGuinness

Interview: fear of wrestling Homicide and how that match changed the trajectory of his career.

Video package of Nigel's history with Colt Cabana.

Interview: working with Colt Cabana.

From Night of the Grudges 2 on August 20th, 2005
Soccer Riot Match for a RoH world or pure title match the following week.
Nigel McGuinness vs. Colt Cabana
This match was fucking VICIOUS. Some of the chair shots wouldn't fly today. I'm surprised people in the crowd didn't get hurt a few times too. Basically a "Soccer Riot Match" means "everything's legal".
Winner: Colt Cabana, who I can only assume chose a World Title match because:

From Dragon Gate Invasion on August 27th, 2005
For the Ring of Honor Pure Championship
Nigel McGuinness vs. Samoa Joe (champion)
This was another good match. The "Pure" three-rope breaks rule did come in to play as Joe was pinned with his foot on the ropes but he'd already used all his.
Winner: Nigel McGuinness (new Ring of Honor Pure Champion)

Interview: wrestling Samoa Joe and how great Joe is.

Interview: the Pure Championship.

From Unscripted II on February 11th, 2006
For the Ring of Honor Pure Championship
Nigel McGuinness (champion) vs. Austin Aries
This was a very good match too. As I say in every comp I watch: I don't see "it" with Austin Aries but the matches he's in are always good ones.
Winner: Nigel McGuinness

Interview: Austin Aries is a great guy and always made Nigel look good.

Video package highlighting Nigel McGuinness (Ring of Honor Pure Champion) and Brian Danielson (Ring of Honor World Champion) to hype their title unification match.

Interview: Brian Danielson "made" his career.

From Unified on August 12th, 2006
Unification Match for the Ring of Honor World and Pure Championships, contested under Pure Championship rules
Nigel McGuinness (Ring of Honor Pure Champion) vs. Brian Danielson (Ring of Honor World Champion)
This was a good fucking match, and I hate Daniel Bryant. Bryan Danielson I like though. Nigel took some sick shots to the turnbuckle towards the end and bled the hard way, lots.
Winner: Brian Danielson due to referee stoppage (new Ring of Honor World Heavyweight and Pure Champion)

Interview: taking headshots and head butts on the forehead properly, yet how it shortened his career. Also pride in his body of work and how his style set him apart from everyone else.

Interview: first coming to America, wrestling in Manhattan over the years and how much it meant to him and wrestling Naomichi Marufuji, who he feels is so much better than he was.

From Glory by Honor V Night 2 on September 16th, 2006
For the GCH Heavyweight Championship
Nigel McGuinness vs. Naomichi Marufuji (champion)
This match was just "okay" until Nigel snapped the ropes into Marufujis eyes (ouch!) then Marufuji hit a Sliced Bread #2 to the floor (double ouch!) Then it got real good. Real fucking good.
Winner: Naomichi Marufuji

From Battle of the Icons on January 27th, 2007
"I Quit" Match
Nigel McGuinness vs. Jimmy Rave
This was highlights, which pissed me off. I have no time for highlights. If I wanted highlights I'd watch Sportscenter. What was shown looked pretty good but give me full matches or don't even bother.
Winner: Jimmy Rave via referee stoppage

Interview: Jimmy Rave being unappreciated.

From Fifth Year Festival: Finale on March 4th, 2007
Fight Without Honor
Nigel McGuinness vs. Jimmy Rave
This was a good brawl with the best parts being Jimmy Rave being the punching bag/crash test dummy. Nigel was a little slower because of a groin injury he'd suffered the night before.
Winner: Nigel McGuinness



From Fighting Spirit on April 4th, 2007
For the championship
Nigel McGuinness vs. Takeshi Morishima (champion)
This was joined in progress and it seemed pretty hype. But then Nigel did a very weak rendition of his "rope thing" and it ended after three fucking minutes. What's the point in even including the last three minutes of a match?
Winner: Takeshi Morishima

From United We Stand on June 22nd, 2007
Nigel McGuinness & Bryan Danielson vs. Takeshi Morishima & Naomichi Marufuji
Again, this was joined in progress and only the last three minutes was shown. And when the crowd goes nuts at the end I know it was probably awesome. Morishima looked spent though. But what the fuck?
Winners: Nigel McGuinness & Bryan Danielson

From Live in Tokyo on April 16th, 2007
For the Ring of Honor World Championship
Nigel McGuinness vs. Takeshi Morishima (champion)
I'm very upset that they only showed four minutes of this match since it happened in Japan and was obviously the best match Nigel McGuinness ever had. Joking aside what I saw was pretty weak on both ends.
Winner: Takeshi Morishima

[Okay, before I even watch this match I'm just gonna say I like Nigel McGuinness but the Jawbreaker Lariet of the ropes is stupid as fuck. And I also find Takiehi Morishima really weak. Carrying on.]

From Undeniable on October 6th, 2007
For the Ring of Honor World Championship
Nigel McGuinness vs. Takeshi Morishima (champion)
So I guess the last three matches were abridged to show how much the two beat the hell out of each other in 2007 but I'd they show they showed one "best" match and one "something else". This was really weak.
Winner: Nigel McGuinness (new Ring of Honor World Champion)

Interview: how he didn't appreciate how much should have appreciated that point of his career and how much I [should have have noticed hovm] (I wrote this when drunk last week and I have no idea what I was trying to say).

Interview: how much physical damage to his body during his long title reign and how he never thought about how much it would effect him in the long run. They show some nasty footage from a match with Austin Aries in 2007 where Nigel got a wicked concussion.

An in ring segment from Final Battle 2007 when Nigel had to make the decision to keep the Ring of Honor title or retire due to his history of injuries. He was a wreck from the aforementioned match with Austin Aries the previous night. He didn't relinquish the title.

Interview: fans reactions to his style of wrestling.

From Take No Prisoners on March 16th, 2008
For the Ring of Honor World Championship
Nigel McGuinness (champion) vs. Tyler Black
This really wasn't too good a match. There was nothing wrong with it but nothing life changing. Nigel was playing the great heel. And a young Tyler Black did give great "never say die" performance. The last ten minutes were good.
Winner: Nigel McGuinness

Interview: Reflecting on Tyler Black.

Interview: Reflecting on Claudio Castagnoli.

From New Horizons on July 26th, 2008
For the Ring of Honor World Championship
Nigel McGuinness (champion) vs. Claudio Castagnoli
This match didn't do much for me either. It actually did less for me than the previous one. That ones ending moments were at least off the hook.
Winner: Nigel McGuinness

Interview: Reflecting on wrestling el Generico.

From Glory by Honor VII on September 20th, 2008
For the Ring of Honor World Championship
Nigel McGuinness (champion) vs. el Generico
This wasn't too bad. I'm usually just fond of seeing Generico getting his ass kicked around the ring. He did get a vicious Tower of London on the ring apron...but it wasn't enough to sedate my Irish bloodlust.
Winner: Nigel McGuinness

Interview: when it hit him that the end of his in-ring was upon him. Some highlights of his match with Jerry Lynn at Supercard of Honor are shown, which is where he lost the Ring of Honor World Championship.

Interview: going to WWE in 2008 with Bryan Danielson and their last match in Ring of Honor, which was against one another. The look in Nigel’s eyes when he gets into how much better Danielson did in WWE than him is haunting. Poor fucking guy.

From Glory by Honor VIII: the Final Countdown on September 26th, 2009
Nigel McGuinness vs. Bryan Danielson
This match wasn't too bad. I was thinking these twos last match in Ring of Honor would've had way more heat. At least Danielson bled. But the ending was bullshit.
Winner: Bryan Danielson via referee stoppage (WTF?)

Interview: being able to work for Ring of Honor in a different capacity. He closes with a great story of being stuck in a hotel with Colt Cabana and Bryan Danielson...then some sombre reflections that tore my heart out.

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I really, really…really enjoyed this comp. Going in my expectations weren’t very high but Nigel could hold his own in any style of wrestling. The first disc was by far the superior of the two but if anything the interviews on the second were worth it. And it gave me a greater appreciation for a guy who was such an integral part of Ring of Honors history but has been a little forgotten over time. But the interviews especially made me really like the guy. He was very humble and appreciative towards everyone he wrestled over his career. But it broke my heart seeing that look in his eyes whenever he reflected on how he fucked his own career up and ignored his injuries. There’s a lot of regret there, even if he’d never say it.

There’s a few matches I’m not sure why they weren’t included: the one against Austin Aries in late-2007 when he suffered that debilitating concussion and the one where he dropped the title to Jerry Lynn. But I’ve already ordered the other comp Ring of Honor has of his (Nigel McGuinness) and hopefully those matches are on there. And I was a pissed that disc two started with highlights of three matches. But at the same time: when I read the back of the DVD and saw four matches in a row against Naomichi Marufuji I was worried, because that’s a bit much.

I really don't "get" Nigel's top rope headstand move. It's great he can do a headstand, whoo-hoo, but it always left him open to anything other than his opponents stupidity. The Jawbreaker Lariat too, which I got into in my main review. But that move just LOOKED stupid. The same way that it looks stupid in 2017 when Dean Ambrose does it.

DVD Bonus Feature:
An interview prior to Glory by Honor VIII.

Before watching this I only knew the name “Nigel McGuinness”, now I am a fan.