I finished listening to that Nigel interview, and apparently there is a scene in his doc where he is working behind a deli meat counter. Meltzer thought it was just some wacky analogy to The Wrestler, but Nigel said that he really was briefly working in a supermarket between gigs when he retired.
I was gutted by that. It really bothers me because this is a guy that literally destroyed his arm to the point that he lost his WWE gig, because he didn't want to miss ROH bookings when he was champion. I remember the KENTA match in NYC where both of Nigel's arms were taped up like a fucking mummy, and worked just as hard as if he was 22 and healthy. Same in Houston when he dropped the title to Jerry Lynn. He was in obvious pain, and little did he know he was blowing his shot to make big money.
In hindsight, those fucking animals who booed him out of buildings when he first hurt himself and was making non wrestling appearances come off a thousand times worse now, and if you recall, I posted here about how disgusting that was. And he rushed back to the ring to satiate those same people.
And make no mistake, he would have succeeded in WWE. Just like Punk, Daniel Bryan, Claudio, Ambrose, etc, Nigel was a upper level talent who at minimum would have spent years on the upper mid card making a very very good living. There was a reason that era of ROH was so fucking great. Punk, Danielson, Samoa Joe, Austin Aries, Claudio, Nigel, Hero, Kendrick, even the guys who haven't gotten a fair shot yet like the Briscoes, Generico, etc. these guys were all major league talents on par with anybody, and every time one has gotten a fair shot they have succeeded.
He's got his ROH announcing gig, and now he's the on screen "GM", plus he has landed some acting gigs, and this movie will presumably make him some cash if he gets a buyer on the film festival circuit. I'm willing to bet that when the film runs its course and finds itself in the NETFLIX cycle of its lifeline, Nigel comes back for either TNA or WWE now that he says he's healthy.
