Wrestling legend Nigel McGuinness hopes his new magic show can inspire people to ‘live for the day’, just like Jay Briscoe.
The late Ring of Honor star aged just 38 with the whole industry mourning his death , and his friend McGuinness took inspiration from the way he lived and decided to chase his dreams of becoming a magician.
His show – aptly called Celebration – blends a career retrospective with mindboggling illusions – begins with a video of him leaving a beaming Briscoe stunned with a card trick, and he exclusively told Metro.co.uk why it made so much sense.
‘Jay Briscoe’s passing, unfortunately, really was the impetus to put together the show based on living for the day. You just don’t know about tomorrow,’ the AEW and ROH star said with sincerity.
Despite that backdrop, McGuinness’ recent UK debut in the upstairs room of the Old Monkey pub in Manchester was a joyous affair, capturing the spirit of Briscoe and showcasing the wonder of both wrestling and magic.
‘It’s something that a lot of us in the business forget and don’t realise, that most fans only see us in the ring, or they might meet us at a meet and greet or whatever else,’ he said, reflecting on the video of his late friend blown away by the illusion.
He added: ‘To see wrestlers away from it all, it’s enjoyable certainly, to see that kiddish excitement in his face as well. It’s at beautiful thing!’
For the 47-year-old Londoner, who now lives in Los Angeles, his love for magic started at high school, sparked by a friend who had become an amateur magician.
‘I was so blown away, I ended up paying him five pounds to teach me some of his tricks,’ he laughed, noting that he ‘really got into it more’ once he started wrestling in Japan and wanted to find ways to entertain the sponsors despite not really speaking the language at the time.
‘I’d take a pack of cards out with me, taught myself a few little tricks and just sort of entertained the people who were good enough to take us out and buy us dinner,’ he recalled.
‘I then started doing it for the boys behind the scenes, it became a bigger deal. But it wasn’t until I parted ways with WWE last year that I decided to jump in, so to speak.’
McGuinness pointed out there are ‘so many parallels’ between wrestling and magic, both in terms of the artforms themselves, and the people involved.
‘I’ve got a lot of friends in the Magic Castle here in Los Angeles, Crow Garrett, the late great mentalist Max Maven, who was arguably one of the greatest mentalists of his generation, an inspiration for guys like Derren Brown,’ he explained.
‘He was also a big pro wrestling fan. We would always talk about those parallels, the things that held true for both industries.’
Part of what makes Celebration – which is coming to London this weekend as part of PROGRESS Wrestling’s Super Strong Style 16 weekender – so special is the way stories from his life and wrestling career guide the audience through the magic in front of them, taking inspiration from more modern illusionists.
He pondered: ‘It used to be, you just do a magic trick for the sake of doing a magic trick and it stands on its own. In this generation, there are guys like Dereck Delgado and Derren Brown, of course, who have tried to link magic into other aspects of life. So, to be able to do that was really important to me.’
The former Ring of Honor World Champion admitted it’s a ‘very emotional’ evening, with his stories including his in-ring retirement, various trials and tribulations along the way, and ‘people that have passed away’.
He paused, adding: ‘It sits deep, you know? That’s why I’m so passionate about this project.’
Nigel has a lot going on at the moment, having signed with Tony Khan’s All Elite Wrestling and being the man to announce the company’s on August 27, with over 62,000 tickets already sold.
‘Fortune favours the bold and Tony Khan, he swings for the fences,’ he smiled. ‘He’s hit a home run right now! A lot of people would have been too cautious to do that, but he took a chance!’
When it comes to his current motivations creatively, Nigel referenced his work for AEW and Ring of Honor, with the current focus on his magic – and one man at the centre of it all.
‘It’s just so personal to me, having the history with magic but also being able to tell that story as an homage to Jay Briscoe,’ he said. ‘The mere fact that we get to live this live, for however fleeting a time we do, that’s the miracle we need to celebrate.’
Nigel McGuinness: Celebration comes to Camden’s Electric Ballroom on Sunday, May 28 as part of PROGRESS Wrestling: Super Strong Style 16. Tickets available. Tickets for AEW All In London are available .
