Nigel McGuinness

At 48 years old, Nigel McGuinness has this physical status:

Steven Haworth (born 23 January 1976), better known by his ring name Nigel McGuinness, is an English professional wrestling commentator and former professional wrestler.

He has been hired by WWE as a colour commentator for NXT and NXT UK.

He is best known for his wrestling with Ring of Honor (ROH) in the United States and Pro Wrestling Noah in Japan.

He competed in the ROH Pure Championship for a record 350 days and is a former ROH World Champion, winning the ROH Pure Championship for 545 days. Haworth competed for Total Nonstop Action Wrestling under the ring name Desmond Wolfe from October 2009 to June 2011.

This was his last run as an in-ring performer.

He returned to ROH in August 2011 as a colour commentator and left in-ring on December 17, 2011.

In December 2016, he left ROH and joined WWE shortly thereafter, as a commentator.

Early life

Steven Haworth was born in London on January 23, 1976. He grew up in Staplehurst, Kent, where he attended Maidstone Grammar School. He was a wrestling fan from the age of 12, particularly enjoying The Hart Foundation and British Bulldogs, and he attended SummerSlam in 1992 wearing The Ultimate Warrior face paint. He studied at the University of Leicester in the 1990s and spent a year at Kent State University in Kent, Ohio, graduating in 1997 with a 2:1 degree in chemistry.

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Professional wrestling career

Haworth began training in September 1998 with Les Thatcher of the Heartland Wrestling Association (HWA) in Cincinnati, Ohio, incurring substantial debts along the process. Nigel McGuinness, a ring name that was not familiar to him and defeating GQ Masters III in a match that was featured on ABC's 20/20, spent a year wrestling in the mid west after debuting in September 1999, a year ago under the ring name Nigel McGuinness and defeating GQ Masters III. Haworth returned to England, where he worked two full-time jobs to earn enough money to return to the United States to wrestle, and he competed for All Star promotions between September and December 2001, where he learned from wrestlers like Robbie Brookside.

McGuinness created a heel character who he referred to as "a punk rock soccer hooligan... Billy Idol meets Johnny Saint."

McGuinness defeated Dean Jablonski in a singles match with the HWA Tag Team Championship on the line on July 10, 2001 (the co-owner of the title, Chet Jablonski, was disqualified), winning the HWA Tag Team Championship for himself and his companion, The Human Time Bomb). McGuinness and The Bomb were in possession until August 7, when the Jablonski brothers regained the title. McGuinness and The Bomb will become champions for the second time on July 23, 2002, defeating the Jablonski brothers once more. Later that year, the team lost the title to Southern Breeze.

McGuinness introduced the HWA European Championship to HWA in 2003. He held the position until September 30, 2003, when he lost to Hoss. On November 4, he regained the role and promptly resigned it.

McGuinness won the HWA Heavyweight Championship in Batavia, Ohio, on September 6, 2003, defeating Chad Collyer. He held the title until January 3, 2004, when he lost it to Hoss. McGuinness won his second term with the crown on January 6th and held it until March 17, 2004, when he lost to El Temor.

McGuinness debuted in Ring of Honor (ROH) on August 9, 2003, defeating Chet Jablonski. He wrestled for ROH in 2004, but had little success. McGuinness and Colt Cabana teamed up in March 2005 to compete for the ROH Tag Team Championship, but they were defeated by Dan Maff and B. J. Whitmer, the incumbents. Cabana and McGuinness then began fighting one another, with McGuinness defeating Cabana on May 7 with an accidental low blow at the ROH Pure Championship. On June 12, 2005, Samoa Joe defeated him but was disqualified. On August 27, he met Joe once more and beat him to win the Pure Championship.

McGuinness's reign as champion came to an end, and Claudio Castagnoli was involved for several months in a feud with Claudio Castagnoli, who was sparked by a non-title match on October 14th, where Castagnoli was able to score a pinfall on the champion. McGuinness's underhanded tactics helped to prevent McGuinness from losing the championship belt. McGuinness defeated Castagnoli in a match billed as the latter's last chance to win the championship as long as McGuinness was champion.

McGuinness used an iron (decorated with the Union Jack) to ringside on his Pure Championship run. When asked, the most common tale was that a group of men broke into his home to assault him, but that he was able to defend himself with the iron. He began wielding the iron after a girlfriend's mother asked him why some wrestlers carried weapons to ringside, and then inquired if anyone had ever carried an iron before. He would often use the iron as a weapon to win his matches.

In ROH, McGuinness also had a mispronouncing word mispronouncing words. An example would be Survival of the Fittest 2005 in Dorchester, Massachusetts, when he said the fans adored him as much as "their favorite Boston Red Stockings."

McGuinness was largely uninvolved in the 2006 war between ROH and Combat Zone Wrestling (CZW), instead creating a new gimmick where he'll win his matches by counting out by using (often unfair) techniques of preventing opponents from returning to the ring. McGuinness took the ROH World Championship against Bryan Danielson with his own Pure Championship on the line and fought under pure wrestling rules on April 29th. McGuinness was defeated by counting out, in which only the Pure title could be crowned, but not Danielson's World championship. The victory was enough to guarantee a rematch under new conditions on 29 July, in which Danielson barely managed to keep his title. ROH arranged a unification match between the two titles in Liverpool, England, a month later, with the intention of determining who will be the winner, despite strict wrestling rules. McGuinness lost the match on August 12th, when the Pure Championship was unified and retired. McGuinness's reign of 350 days is the longest in the Pure Championship's two-year history. Danielson gave McGuinness one more shot at the unified ROH World Championship on Saturday, and as a result, McGuinness no longer qualified for the title as long as Danielson was the champion. Danielson acknowledged McGuinness's efforts and gave him the now-defunct Pure Championship belt as a trophy after the match.

McGuinness, who now stands out for Pro Wrestling Noah's GHC Heavyweight Championship, was defeated by the defending champion Naomi Marufuji on September 16, 2006. McGuinness was locked on two separate occasions during the year, first on December 8, 2006, and then on December 23, 2006, at Final Battle 2006. Rave won another match over McGuinness on January 27, 2007, this time in a "I Quit" match which he won via referee stoppage. On his first day at NOAH, McGuinness began serving as a spokesperson and tag team partner of NOAH talent Takeshi Morishima. McGuinness put an end to his feud with Jimmy Rave by defeating him with a Rebound Lariat, which then resulted in Rave's fractured jaw and earned him the nickname Jawbreaker Lariat, when in truth Rave had broken his jaw a month before. McGuinness' next feud will be with Chris Hero, who had dubbed himself the best pure wrestler in the country. McGuinness fired two times at the ROH World Championship between April and July, but was defeated by champion Takeshi Morishima during the feud. McGuinness defeated Hero in a 30-minute time limit match on June 23rd, but Hero came back and defeated McGuinness, beating McGuinness with the help of his agent Larry Sweeney and the Sweet 'n' Sour Inc. in a match contested under pure wrestling rules on August 10th.

McGuinness defeated Chris Hero, Claudio Castagnoli, and Naomichi Marufuji in a four-way match at Takeshi Morishima's ROH World Championship, which McGuinness won at Undeniable on September 15, 2007 in ROH's third pay-per-view.

McGuinness sustained a torn biceps and would be out of action until Final Battle 2007, but he will not be barred from the ROH World Championship. Chris Hero and his partner Larry Sweeney remark upon McGuinness' illness on the first night of ROH's Glory by Honor VI exhibition in Philadelphia on Friday, naming him a fluke champion. Sweeney said that Hero's victory in the Survival of the Fittest in Las Vegas earned him a championship shot at any time he desired. McGuinness, dressed in street clothes, accepted the challenge. Despite first losing the game due to the referee's failure to see McGuinness' foot on the rope, Hero made him tap out to submission, he retained the title against Hero.

McGuinness returned to the ring full-time at ROH's fifth pay-per-view, Rising Above. McGuinness sustained his head while Aries dove from the ring to him, resulting in him striking his head on the metal guard rail. McGuinness suffered a concussion, broke his nose, opened his eyebrow, and needed 14 stitches.

McGuinness put an end to his feud with Chris Hero by winning his title against him in a steel cage match on January 25th. McGuinness turned heel during his winning title defense against Bryan Danielson in February by breaking an earlier deal and striking his head, having been injured earlier in Morishima's hands. McGuinness defended his position against Tyler Black, Austin Aries, Kevin Steen, Claudio Castagnoli, Go Shiozaki, Jerry Lynn, Roderick Strong, El Generico, and Bryan Danielson on November 22, 2008, in a grudge match against Bryan Danielson.

McGuinness sustained an arm injury while playing in a tag team match on March 20. However, despite the fact that the injury required surgery, he continued wrestling at the Seventh Anniversary Show the next night and defeated KENTA to maintain his crown. McGuinness lost the ROH World Championship to Jerry Lynn in 39th battle on April 3, 2009, his ninth appearance in 545 days.

McGuinness returned to wrestling a few months later after a hiatus due to the injury. McGuinness sustained a minor injury in a four-way match on July 24th after his "spine was compacted during a piledriver" and was unable to compete the next night. McGuinness had "in principle" agreed to a World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) deal, but ROH confirmed that he would continue to wrestle for ROH until the end of September. McGuinness lost to Bryan Danielson, who was also competing for the company for the final time on September 26th.

McGuinness, who was still in ROH, continued to compete in various other independent sports, including IWA Mid-South, New Era Pro Wrestling, Italian Championship Wrestling, and American All-Star Wrestling, as well as tours in various countries.

McGuinness will appear in a number of major TV shows. McGuinness debuted in Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA), defeating Petey Williams for the TNA X Division Championship in August 11, 2004. McGuinness lost in Ohio Valley Wrestling, WWE's growing market, on episode of its OVW TV on August 31, 2005, losing to Elijah Burke. Basham will face Danny Basham on September 11, 2005, an episode of Sunday Night Heat, taped prior to Raw on September 5, 2005, losing after Basham hits an inverted DDT.

McGuinness returned to TNA at the pre-show in a losing bid to Shark Boy before heading to NOAH in November and December 2005. He competed in nine matches, seven of which he won, and teamed with fellow gaijin Doug Williams, 2 Cold Scorpion and Bison Smith. McGuinness had been supposed to compete in the TNA's 2006 World X Cup Tournament, but Team Canada had to pull them out after McGuinness and Williams were unable to arrive in Japan because both were booked in Japan.

McGuinness was a member of ROH in the King of Europe Cup in 2007. He made his way to the final and defeated fellow Brit and tag-team partner Doug Williams to win the 2007 tournament final.

McGuiness defeated James Tighe in the first round of the British National Championship held by the United Kingdom (IPW: UK), but McGuiness was disqualified for the use of brass knuckles and barred from the tournament.

McGuinness won the 1PW Openweight Championship, his first title in a British promotion, on April 19, 2009, defeating Johnny Moss.

ROH revealed on September 4, 2009, that Haworth had agreed to a WWE deal "in principle." It was revealed on October 20, 2009, that Haworth's contract with the WWE had fallen through due to him failing a pre-screening physical test, causing him to think of an old biceps fracture and that he had to go with TNA rather than TNA. On the 22nd episode of Impact, he officially returned to TNA as a heel under the ring name Desmond Wolfe. Kurt Angle is being stabbed in the attack. Following a lariat, Wolfe defeated Angle in a street fight by referee stoppage the following week. Wolfe had a third debate with Angle on November 12th, when he handed him out with a DDT. Angle defeated Wolfe by submission at Turning Point. Wolfe met Angle in a "Three Degrees of Pain" two-out-of-three falls match the following month. Wolfe managed to get the first fall by pinning Angle following the Tower of London, but even after that, he was tapped out to the ankle lock in the second fall, which made it even worse. Angle managed to finish first in the final fall, which could only be won by fleeing the cage, and the match and the feud ensued.

Wolfe continued to feud with D'Angelo Dinero, who defeated him on January 4th, 2010, a three-hour episode of Impact! Wolfe unveiled a new valet, Chelsea, later that night, and defeated Dinero in a rematch at Genesis. Wolfe entered the 8 Card Stud Tournament to crown a new top-one challenge to the TNA World Heavyweight Championship, but Dinero, the tournament's eventual winner, was disqualified in the first round. Wolfe teamed up with Ric Flair and then TNA World Heavyweight Champion A.J. on the 25th episode of Impact! Styles clashed with Hulk Hogan, Abyss, and D'Angelo Dinero. Wolfe had his first appearance at the TNA World Heavyweight Championship, held by Styles in a four-way match that also featured Dinero and Abyss, but Styles was able to keep his title by defeating Dinero via referee stoppage on March 4th. Wolfe, Wolfe, and Dinero were supposed to meet each other again this week, but the match was called off after Wolfe assaulted Dinero during an interview and re-injured his ankle. On the 29th March episode of Impact!, Wolfe and Dinero finally met together for their fourth singles match, this time with a chain, while Chelsea was distracted by the referee. In a rematch in just two minutes, Dinero defeated Wolfe. Wolfe was pinned Wolfe at Lockdown, along with Sting, Robert Roode, and James Storm, where they were defeated by Team Flair (Abyss, Jeff Jarrett, Rob Van Dam, and Jeff Hardy), when Abyss pinned Wolfe. TNA introduced a new "Championship Ranking" system on April 26, where fans could vote for the number one contender to the TNA World Heavyweight Championship. Wolfe led the first poll from start to finish, surprisingly, ahead of Jeff Hardy, Mr. Anderson, Sting, A.J. Kurt Angle, D'Angelo Dinero, and Abyss appeared on the 3rd episode of Impact! Rob Van Damo was given a shot at the title, but not before. Wolfe, on the other hand, was disqualified in the championship match. Wolfe was defeated by Abyss, who as a result won Chelsea's services for 30 days, but she was frustrated at Sacrifice. Chelsea began showing sympathy towards Abyss when he was being brutalized by Wolfe on the following episode of Impact! Wolfe was defeated by Abyss in a Monster's Ball match the next month, but Chelsea rallied with Abyss to win the match and helped the Abyss win. Ric Flair, who had joined Wolfe, Styles, Roode, Storm, and Kazarian, has revealed that he will rename the Four Horsemen under the new name Fourtune, stating that each of them will have to earn their positions in the organization and that in order for Wolfe to qualify, each of them would have to earn their positions, and that in order for him to earn his positions, he would have to become the group's Lex Luger. Chelsea reluctantly returned to Wolfe late in the evening after her 30 days with the Abyss were up. Wolfe gave her a chance to recover herself, but outside the ring caused a distraction, costing Wolfe's match against Flair's nemesis Jay Lethal. Wolfe returned to good grace with Flair by assisting Styles and Kazarian in their victory over Samoa Joe and Rob Terry at Victory Road, only to receive a muscle buster from Joe after the match. On the next episode of Impact!, Wolfe confronted Flair when he ducted Styles and Kazarian into Fourtune, insisting that they be included in the stable. On Impact!, Robert Roode and James Storm were the last two members of Fourtune, leaving Wolfe out of the equation.

Wolfe began to form a tag team with fellow Briton Magnus, and the two teams not only ended Wolfe's losing streak but but also started a winning streak, defeating teams like Amazing Red and Suicide, Hernandez and Ink Inc., who earned their right to challenge for the TNA World Tag Team Championship, but also In the process, they earned themselves the right to compete for the TNA World Tag Team Championship. The team was named London Brawling on the 26th episode of Impact! They were supposed to shoot at The Motor City Machine Guns (Alex Shelley and Chris Sabin) and the TNA World Tag Team Championship at No Surrender, but they were unable to attend due to a "personal issue" at the time. Wolfe was later revealed that owing to an undisclosed medical condition that would keep him sidelined for the next few months, the event would be postponed for a few months. McGuinness revealed on a December 2014 podcast that he tested positive for Hepatitis B.

Magnus, who said he had left Wolfe behind in an effort to become a dual citizen, had traveled to London to face Chelsea F.C. on-screen. Wolfe was close to a comeback, according to TNA president Dixie Carter on November 21, 2010. Magnus met with former tag team manager Doug Williams on December 16th and told him that Wolfe was now done with football and would return soon, as well as advising him that Chelsea had been dropped from Chelsea. Wolfe made his return in a non-televised segment on 10 December 10, 2010, during the tapings of the 6 January 2011 episode of Impact!, when he and Magnus saved Williams from Fortune members A.J. Styles and Rob Terry.

When Wolfe was announced as the new commissioner of TNA on May 16, he returned to TNA, turning face in the process. Wolfe served as the third member of the Xplosion announcing team, alongside Jeremy Borash and Taz during his time as commissioner. Wolfe had been suspended from his TNA service on June 17th, according to the website.

McGuinness would be back in the ring on November 24th at a Squared Circle Wrestling (2CW) tournament in Watertown, New York, starting a two-month series of shows branded as the "Nigel McGuinness Retirement Tour." McGuinness lost in his return match against Eddie Edwards in a humiliating effort. McGuinness resigned after WWE didn't want to keep TNA, and he couldn't continue to use the wrestling style he had in ROH. McGuinness was defeated by Chad Collyer at a HWA function in Hamilton, Ohio, the following day. Haworth, who was representing Desmond Wolfe, was defeated by Jebediah at a Main Event Championship Wrestling tournament in Alliance, Ohio, a week later. McGuinness was returning to the United Kingdom after being defeated by Eddie Edwards in a Fight Club: Pro Championship three-way match in Wolverhampton on Friday, which also included Trent Seven. McGuinness was defeated by Jon Ryan at a Westside Wrestling (WXw) tournament in Oberhausen, Germany, before losing to Joel Redman at an International Pro Wrestling: United Kingdom (IPW:UK) match in Sittingbourne on November 27. McGuinness returned to the United Kingdom for his last match, which took place at an American Pro Wrestling Alliance (APWA) event in Clarksburg, West Virginia, on December 17th 2011. When Jimmy Jacobs didn't make it due to bad weather, promoter Don West introduced McGuinness into the match, but the call was reversed due to a handful of tights, allowing him to win (and retire with) the championship. He would then become the APWA Commissioner/Associate Booker before agreeing to a sole arrangement with Ring of Honor. He would qualify in his last matches at the APWA's 3rd Annual Holiday Grand Prix, a two-night show in Clarksburg, WV.

Haworth, who recovered to his Nigel McGuinness ring name under the Sinclair Broadcast Group banner, returned to ROH on August 13 for his first Ring of Honor Wrestling tapings under the Sinclair Broadcast Group banner, serving as the colour commentator alongside Kevin Kelly. McGuinness saved Eddie Edwards from the House of Truth, bringing the tapings to an end. McGuinness was named the new "Matchmaker" of Ring of Honor on November 3, 2012, after Jim Cornette as the main on-screen authority figure. McGuinness produced The Last of McGuinness, his final days as an in-ring performer, during which he revealed that WWE had terminated his deal after determining that an old biceps injury needed surgery, although his TNA career ended after dealing with contracting hepatitis B. McGuinness travelled around the United Kingdom in late May 2013 with the shorter final cut of his film and has been a promoter of hepatitis B vaccination as well as an end to the use of intentional blood loss in wrestling. McGuinness began working in film in 2014 as an Assistant editor and Production Assistant on several television shows and, in December, he announced a Kickstart campaign for his latest experimental venture, L.A. Fights, which was described as a scripted series about "a diverse group of amateur fighters and their morally ambivalent promoter wrestling in their upstart fight league." McGuinness had resigned as the promotion's matchmaker in December 2016.

McGuinness had signed with the firm as a commentator after being recommended by WWE lead commentator Michael Cole on December 15, 2016. McGuinness made his commentary debut at the WWE United Kingdom Championship Tournament on January 14 and 15, 2017 alongside Michael Cole. McGuinness became a colour commentator for NXT on February 8, establishing himself as a "heel sympathizer." McGuinness joined the 205 Live and Main Event commentary teams on September 4th. McGuinness' career: Chasing the Magic: The Unabridged McGuinness Story on WWE. The Nigel McGuinness Story on the WWE Network chronicles his entire career, from his early childhood obsessions of wrestling to his success as a commentator for the company. McGuinness had been furloughed during April as a result of budget cuts resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic, which was announced on May 28th. On 205 Live with Vic Joseph, he appeared on NXT UK's 17 September episode with Andy Shepherd and the following night.

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