Why Pete Dunne vs. Nigel McGuinness needs to happen at WWE NXT UK TakeOver: Cardiff

What’s stopping WWE from bringing Nigel McGuinness out of retirement for one more match against the face of NXT UK, Pete Dunne?

Since watching “The Nigel McGuinness Story” on WWE Network earlier this year, I have wanted nothing more than to see the former ROH World champion compete in a WWE ring, and I’m sure I’m not alone in feeling that way.

While watching the phenomenal documentary, you couldn’t help but root and feel for McGuinness, who has experienced countless hardships over the course of his career.

From barely missing out on his opportunity to wrestle in WWE to losing his spot on the IMPACT roster, he’s gone through quite a bit, more than anyone ever should.

On the bright side, the special ended with McGuinness signing with the company he grew up watching in 2017 to work as a color commentator for the NXT, NXT UK and 205 Live brands. He’s finally living out his dream (somewhat), but I still strongly believe he deserves to have at least one match under the bright lights of WWE.

I was always under the impression that he had to retire abruptly because of medical reasons, but the documentary made me realize that wasn’t the case. Rather, he hung up his boots because he didn’t have much of a choice professionally, and opted to have his last match at an independent wrestling show in late 2011.

It was a disappointing way for him to close out his career considering he was one of the greatest wrestlers in the world for a good stretch of time in the late 2000s. However, he made the most of it by returning to Ring of Honor a short time later to serve as their on-air matchmaker and a commentator.

With that in mind, after “The Nigel McGuinness Story” aired, I was stunned that there wasn’t any talk from fans regarding WWE allowing McGuinness to have one more match in NXT UK. Unless I’m missing something, I see no reason why that can’t come to fruition.

Nigel McGuinness has been tied to NXT UK since its inception, so obviously, that is where it would have to happen. Plus, as fate would have it, their next TakeOver is scheduled to take place on August 31 in Cardiff, and that’d be a perfect place for him to return to the ring.

As far as a possible opponent goes, Pete Dunne would make the most sense because of his top star status on the brand. Dunne debuted in 2007, but didn’t become the well-rounded wrestler he is today until years later, so a bout between them was never in cards.

I put the thought out there into the Twitter-verse and received an interesting response from the Bruiserweight himself, one that may seem to imply that he’d be on board with the bout.

https://twitter.com/PeteDunneYxB/status/1139154027755782147

Short of winning the NXT UK Tag Team Championship, Dunne has done it all in NXT UK. He reigned as WWE United Kingdom champion for nearly two years and faced everyone who was anyone during that time, from Zack Gibson to Joe Coffey to Noam Dar to Tyler Bate.

Lately, he’s been attempting to regain the gold from WALTER, but has already fallen short once on NXT UK TV. Throw in a loss he and the rest of British Strong Style suffered at the hands of Imperium on this week’s show, and it’s clear that the end for him is near in NXT UK.

Dunne has been main roster ready for years, but he’d actually be a better fit on NXT considering how much of a mess Raw and SmackDown Live are at the moment. Either way, he should bow out from the brand at TakeOver: Cardiff, and what better way to do so than by facing McGuinness in a dream match for the ages?

I’m not sure how far NXT UK is into their build for TakeOver: Cardiff in terms of their taping schedule, but there’s enough time left to make this a reality.

After all, WALTER will likely defend against Travis Banks, meaning Dunne is without an opponent for the event unless he were to challenge someone such as McGuinness to face him in his farewell match on the brand.

Of course, it’d benefit from being hyped up for months as well as having a traditional babyface vs. heel dynamic (lest we forget Dunne is at his best as a bad guy), but no matter what, the marquee match-up would be an attraction.

There’s no telling if McGuiness would be able to perform at the same level he could when he was in his prime, but worst case scenario, Dunne could carry him to an absolute spectacle.

Dunne deserves a proper sendoff from NXT UK while McGuinness should be given the chance to live out his dream. This anticipated encounter would accomplish both of those things, so make it happen, WWE.