Nigel McGuinness was legitimately dealing with a foot injury during the AEW Continental Challenge Cup.
The injury became a significant part of McGuinness’ story as he worked his way through the tournament and ultimately reached the finals at AEW All In: London on Sunday at Wembley Stadium.
McGuinness would come up short against Jon Moxley in the tournament final, tapping out to an ankle lock. It turns out the foot issues that played into the finish were not simply part of the storyline.
Bryan Alvarez of F4WOnline.com reports that McGuinness legitimately injured his foot earlier in the tournament, with AEW incorporating the injury into his matches on the road to Wembley.
“So as it turns out, Nigel legit hurt his foot in the tournament and they turned it into a storyline to get through to Wembley,” Alvarez wrote.
The injury reportedly occurred during McGuinness’ first-round match against Katsuyori Shibata at the August 12 AEW Collision taping. The match aired on August 15.
Despite the injury, McGuinness continued through the tournament, defeating Hechicero in the quarterfinals on the August 19 edition of Dynamite in Baltimore.
McGuinness then defeated Kyle O’Reilly in the semifinals on August 26 in Glasgow, Scotland, setting up his tournament final against Moxley at All In.
