The year was 2009, it was the middle of August, and I was channel surfing on a Monday night following an episode of WWE Raw because I had no intentions of rotting my brain with a show called Glenn Martin, DDS.
Despite it being a school night and my brain knowing it needed some sleep soon, I found myself stumbling upon The Fight Network where they showed an episode of Ring Of Honor TV, but it was no ordinary match that I witnessed for the first time.
It was a fight in the Manhattan Center in New York between Nigel McGuinness and Bryan Danielson for the ROH World Championship. A match that nine-year-old Rami would never forget.
Code and word of honor are everything in ROH. That’s why before these two locked horns for the ROH World Championship match at the Sixth Anniversary, Danielson had promised not to attack the head of McGuinness to avoid a concussion from happening.
McGuinness, walking into another historic day at the top of the food chain, was respectful of Danielson’s promise, only until it didn’t benefit him. I walked into this match blind as a bat, not knowing the history between these two and not knowing what I was going to expect when the thirty minutes of battle was over.
At first, I was nervous that the match would be cut short when McGuinness solidified himself as the heel by knocking the official out with a brutal forearm, however, when Kevin Steen, Roderick Strong, and Austin Aries came out from the back and ensured a championship match would be happening. That’s when I knew this was only the beginning of a special match I was witnessing for the first time in my life.
And like I said, it was a school night on a Monday, I needed the sleep, but I also needed to make sure I survived each commercial break to find out who would walk out with the gold around their waist. I was a WWE kid, I watched little bits of TNA, but never got to a point where I was able to watch it every week, so when I saw wrist-locks, and limbs were targeted for the sake of forcing your opponent to quit, it made me want to see more.
But, the one promise that Danielson made sure he did not step over was the one mistake he made when it came to trusting someone like McGuinness who’d do whatever it took to keep the Ring Of Honor World Championship in his grasp.
In the end, three battering headbutts from McGuinness and his London Dungeon were enough to have the new official call the match and name McGuinness, the winner for the first time over Danielson.
Nine-year-old Rami fell in love with what we saw, Little did he know he would become an even bigger fan of Danielson when he first arrived on WWE TV, but the only thing he could think about was the way these two had so much chemistry that you could have them fight each other on a docking yard, and it would still be a five-star classic. It was a brand new world being opened for me and I was watery-eyed at every sight I saw between these two legends.
So, fast forward to the final day as ROH World Champion for McGuinness where he lost the gold to the legendary Jerry Lynn after defending the gold thirty-seven times. Danielson and McGuinness fought in what would become the last in-ring encounter with each other for the next fifteen years.
Danielson would cement himself once again as the better man between the two before McGuinness signed with TNA as Desmond Wolfe and Danielson came over to the WWE as Daniel Bryan.
As the years went on, my love for professional wrestling led to me wanting to do everything in my power to become a professional wrestler, and when things didn’t go as planned. I’d come to find myself getting a chance to write in a whole new world about the men and women who show their passion in the squared circle.
Years later in the story of retribution, McGuinness signed a deal with the WWE where he was a color commentator alongside Michael Cole, before being moved to NXT where he sympathized with his type of people, the heels of pro wrestling.
Throughout his time, this never did lead to the two rivals butting heads in the WWE to set up a future match between them at a PPV like WrestleMania or SummerSlam. Fans did not forget, and everyone around the world waited eagerly to see what could happen next if these two were able to remind the world of how great they were separately, but also in the ring against each other. Despite this, the stars would not align for another several years.
Now, let’s talk about the years it took. Fifteen years ago, these two fought in their last match against each other.
In that span, the world witnessed three new Presidents of the United States. Oasis, the band McGuinness walked out to split up in 2009. The Walking Dead would go on to air for eleven seasons. Tom Brady retired from his legendary American Football career twice, and LeBron James is in the twenty-first season of his monumental career.
Surely enough, not a day went by for both the ‘American Dragon’ and McGuinness who knew that if they were to ever meet again in the ring, it would be just as brutal and legendary as all their classic encounters went.
Separately, if you had to choose a song to describe either man, McGuinness, for me, would be the meaning of the song ‘Supersonic’ by Oasis. In contrast, Danielson would be the meaning of the song ‘Passion’ by AWOLNATION.
However, when you put these two together, you get the song ‘Wonderwall’ by Oasis. The meaning of the word is the person you constantly find yourself always thinking about which is the best way to describe Danielson and McGuinness who, even after fifteen years are still thinking about one more match before everything is all said and done.
Retirement could not stop either man. Danielson was forced to retire due to injuries and concussions sustained in 2016, it took him two years of evaluations to step back into the squared circle and prove to everyone why he is one of the greatest of all time.
McGuinness’s career was cut short in 2011. For years, he spent it looking to keep his head in the game and find ways to reinvent himself on the commentary table, raise his family, and advocate for hepatitis B vaccinations, which was one of two reasons why he retired from his wrestling career.
There have been thirteen matches between the two, and all of them have spoken volumes to the lengths they’d go to stand right over the other fallen man.
Growing up, McGuinness always had a passion for being part of the biggest or smallest shows because of how much he loves pro wrestling, what makes it even more exciting is getting the chance to step in the ring to embarrass the man he calls, ‘The American Coward’, like he had done over sixteen years ago in the Manhattan Center, the same venue the two last fought at which is only 38 minutes away from where they will meet again fifteen years later.
Walking to Arthur Ashe Stadium would take three hours from the Manhatten Center. If you were to take the short route by taking a bike, a bus, or driving your car there, it would be no problem.
But the destination it took for these two to meet again was fifteen years of walking to the venue you’ve wanted to be at again. McGuinness unsurprisingly walked and was not afraid after he boldly stated the following. ‘If there is a God in Heaven, it will happen, if there’s not, may the Devil hear my prayer.’
Yet, when I think of these two, Liam Gallagher’s vocals in ‘Wonderwall’ start to play in my head and give me hope.
When hearing Liam sing out the words, “The word is on the street that the fire in your heart is out, I’m sure you’ve heard it all before, but you never really had a doubt.” That’s when the montage comes back to all our minds when we think about their first time seeing the battles between McGuinness and Danielson.
The birth of the rivalry created something special, but who knew it would lead to this, who knew it would lead to magic being made all over again?
McGuinness had to find ways to be content with the end of his career, but now he gets to write the new chapter that he never thought he would get the chance to see have the perfect storybook finale to one of the greatest rivalries in pro wrestling.
Danielson has experienced it all. He’s gone to war against everyone who has dared to deny just how great the ‘American Dragon’ is and at AEW Grand Slam, inside of the Arthur Ashe Stadium where pro wrestling fans get to feel blessed again when McGuinness and Danielson lock up and tear each other down, limb by limb, in a match that’s been in the making for the last 15 years as 10-20K diehard wrestling fans will get to see two legends settle the score, one, last, time.
Want to discuss wrestling further? Join our Discord community by clicking here!
If you enjoy Bodyslam’s content, you can help donate to the site here. You can also visit our PWTees store and buy Bodyslam official merchandise here.
You can listen to all of Bodyslam’s podcasts by following us on Spotify and subscribing to our YouTube Channel, Twitch, Apple, Google, or any of your favorite podcast platforms.
Follow me on X: @WhoElseButRami. Follow us on X: @BodyslamNet.
Special thanks and shout out to Hart Editing for the amazing graphic for this editorial.
