| Nigel McGuinness |
| Nigel McGuinness
Height: 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) Weight: 220 lb (100 kg) Hometown: London, England Pro debut: September, 1999 Finishing move: Rebound Lariat / Jawbreaker Lariat, Tower of London (Rope hung cutter) Career highlights: ROH Pure Champion, HWA (Heartland Wrestling Association) Heavyweight Champion, HWA (Heartland Wrestling Association) Tag Team Champion (2) (w/Human Time Bomb), New Breed Heavyweight Champion, HWA (Heartland Wrestling Association) European Champion , ROH World Champion Trained by: Robbie Brookside, Chic Cullen, Les Thatcher, Dave Taylor Nigel McGuinness was a wrestling fan from the age of twelve, particularly enjoying The Hart Foundation and The British Bulldogs, and attended SummerSlam 1992 while wearing Ultimate Warrior face paint. After attending Les University, McGuinness relocated to America in the 1990s in order to attend Kent State University, and graduated in 1997 with a degree in chemistry. In September 1998 McGuinness began training under Les Thatcher in the Heartland Wrestling Association (HWA) in Cincinnati, Ohio, incurring large debts in the process. After debuting in September 1999, defeating GQ Masters III in a match that was featured on ABC's 20/20, he spent a year wrestling in the mid west. McGuinness returned to England where he worked two full time jobs to earn enough money to be able to return to the U.S. to wrestle, and wrestled for All Star promotions between September and December 2001, where he learned from wrestlers such as Robbie Brookside. McGuinness developed a heel character which he described as "a punk rock soccer hooligan...Billy Idol meets Johnny Saint." On July 10, 2001, McGuinness defeated Dean Jablonski in a singles match with the HWA Tag Team Championships on the line (the co-holder of the titles, Chet Jablonski, was indisposed), claiming the titles for himself and his partner, The Human Time Bomb. McGuinness and The Bomb held the titles until August 7, when the Jablonski brothers regained the titles. McGuinness and The Bomb would become champions for a second time on July 23, 2002, defeating the Jablonski brothers once more. They lost the titles to Southern Breeze later that year. In 2003 McGuinness introduced the HWA European Championship to HWA. He held the title until September 30, 2003, when he lost to Hoss. He regained the title on November 4 and promptly retired it. McGuinness won the HWA Heavyweight Championship on September 6, 2003 in Batavia, Ohio, defeating Chad Collyer, He held the title until January 3, 2004, when he lost the title to Hoss. McGuinness defeated Hoss to begin a second heavyweight title reign on January 6, and held the title until March 17, 2004, when he lost to El Temor. McGuinness debuted in Ring of Honor (ROH) on August 9, 2003, wrestling Chet Jablonski. He wrestled for ROH throughout 2004 but had limited success. In March 2005, McGuinness and Colt Cabana teamed together to challenge for the ROH Tag Team Championship, but lost to the incumbents, Dan Maff and B.J. Whitmer. Cabana and McGuinness then began fighting one another, with McGuinness defeated Cabana for a shot at the ROH Pure Championship. He challenged the champion, Samoa Joe, on June 12, 2005, but was defeated. He faced Joe once more on August 27, and defeated him to win the Pure Championship. He is currently the longest reigning Pure Champion in the championship's two year history. |
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