I have to say that I’m really looking forward to this Thursday’s editon of TNA’s Impact. You can attribute this excitement to one thing- the first match of Nigel McGuinness, errrr I mean Desmond Wolf. I have to admit that I’m a lot more excited about Nigel’s first match in TNA than I was for his first match while I was booking Ring Of Honor. Looking back, it’s kind of funny that Nigel’s TNA debut was much more memorable than his ROH one. In fact, Nigel’s immediate push in TNA is the opposite of his path in ROH. Let me explain.

I wasn’t really even aware of who Nigel McGuinness was when he made his ROH debut. You see, Matt Stryker (not the WWE one) had suggested that ROH expand to Dayton. He made it very easy for us and set everything up. He also hooked us up with the HWA, his home local promotion, which was run by the esteemed Les Thatcher. I was always for working with other credible promotions. It is a theory we have taken to the next level with Dragon Gate USA and our partners like CHIKARA, FIP, AAW, Hybrid Wrestling, WSU and Jeff Peterson Cup. Thatcher suggested putting a HWA match on the show. I told him to send a match. He proved he was ahead of the curve and highly recommended that we feature Nigel McGuinness. Of course, I was going to trust his judgment. Nigel had a decent match that night, but I was far from blown away.

Fast forward a few months to our return to Ohio. McGuinness wrestled Cody Hawk. I remember it clearly because Nigel suffered a horrid gash on his head when he collided flush with the steel ringpost. McGuinness showed incredible toughness by not only finishing the match, but having a solid bout. One positive thing in the post-Benoit world is now that same injury would receive some serious attention. A few months later we needed new talent in a hurry and Nigel was right there ready to make the most of his opportunity.

However, I still didn’t see Nigel as a “top guy.” Instead, he was there to round out the undercard and hopefully develop and climb the ranks. He stood out over the prototype ROH wrestler at the time due to his height and lanky frame. I actually made the mistake of telling him he was lanky once, which he did not take as a compliment. I suggested a gimmick where he could escape any submission hold by reaching the ropes due to his early year Barry Windham physique. He didn’t like it. I don’t blame him now. Nigel patiently waited and did his best with every match and opportunity.  His big chance came when he earned a program with Colt Cabana.

Nigel and Cabana put on a fun, good, building, character defining midcard feud. This is when McGuinness really started to mature and prove that he had “top guy” potential. He was given a direction, a chance, an opportunity and he made the most of it. The Nigel push was on and he had a winning streak. Enter the Pure Title.

The original concept behind the Pure Title was inspired/influenced from a lesson I learned from Paul Heyman in 1998. It was one of those late night conversations where Paul did 90% of the talking and I just listened, absorbed and asked questions. Shane Douglas, the current ECW World Champion, was out with a significant injury and wasn’t due back in the ring anytime soon. Rob Van Dam had a tidal wave of momentum behind him as ECW Television Champion. I asked Heyman why he didn’t just strip Douglas of the belt and crown a new champion.

“Because right now Rob Van Dam is our top champion,” Heyman slyly said.

Heyman would go on to explain his plan. One part of it was that RVD could put over the importance of his belt and feature it prominently while Douglas recovered. It was taking the unfortunate circumstance of the Douglas injury to increase the value and prestige of the “secondary” title to the point that the fans would hopefully see both belts as equally important. This always stuck with me. Years later, we built off that concept by using it to create a rivalry between two champions. Those two men were originally meant to be Samoa Joe and AJ Styles.

The original idea behind the Pure Title was to give Styles a belt so that he could feud with ROH World Champion Samoa Joe over which championship had more prestige. The unique Pure rules were put in place to differentiate the titles and give Styles a platform to stand on and say his belt is just as important as the World Title. Well, we had the big tournament at the Second Anniversary Show, AJ won and then a month later he was unavailable to us, basically making the Pure Title worthless. Instead of just scrapping the concept, since the idea of a secondary title seemed to be over, we took the long road to get to the belt rivalry. We waited a few months and started things back up, this time with the idea of using the Pure Title as a midcard title to elevate some undercard talent. Then down the road we could revisit the belt rivalry. Anyway, we had bought the belt, we had to do something with it.

McGuinness and the Pure Title were both ascending on a parallel path. Samoa Joe had won the Pure Title a few months before Nigel. The idea there was that a star of Joe’s magnitude would elevate the title from midcard status. However, fans were going to pay to see Joe whether he had the belt or not. Honestly, I didn’t feel the rules clicked with Joe’s wrestling style either and what was a good fit on paper, wasn’t a good fit in reality. So in a shocker Nigel won the strap from Joe in Buffalo, NY. It was a reward to Nigel for all the hard work he put in and for being a credit to the locker room.

Nigel and the Pure Title was like peanut butter & jelly. His wrestling style was perfect for the rules. He knew how to use them to be more of a heel. His confidence grew. Nigel and the Pure Title clicked and we hit a jackpot. At the same time, Bryan Danielson was going from “great worker” to being a franchise player as ROH World Champion. The opportunity to have the belt feud was there. The result was one of the greatest rivalries in ROH history with Danielson vs. McGuinness. It was during this series of matches that it became obvious that the Pure Title wasn’t the end of the road for McGuinness. He was now definitely a “top guy” capable of carrying the World Title. Anyone who has followed Nigel since his first ROH match has truly watched him Evolve.

I was really happy to read the spoilers and see that TNA has decided to let Nigel, um, Desmond Wof, explode on the national scene. I found myself switching channels away from The Office, 30 Rock and the playoffs last Thursday to make sure I caught his debut. I’ll be sure to set the DVR for Impact this week so I don’t miss Wolf vs. Angle (hey I have to DVR it, the Phillies vs. Yankees will be an epic World Series). TNA has done what the wrestling world desperately needs now. They have created a buzz for a hot, new face. They have chosen a talent with charisma, promo ability and tremendous wrestling skill, who brings no ego and a great attitude to the locker room, and let him run with the ball. Most importantly, they have given this to a guy that has EARNED everything he has accomplished and has risen to every stage he has been put on. Knowing the quality person Nigel is, they have picked the right guy. This is very exciting and I’m looking forward to seeing what happens next.