Nigel McGuinness furloughed by WWE

NXT and NXT UK announcer hasn’t been on television for WWE of late, which made sense. The latter show has been running clip shows during the pandemic, while the former has been working with a hybrid live/remote booth. With McGuinness being British*, most assumed he was overseas when lockdowns went into effect and that WWE didn’t want to attempt recording transatlantic commentary.

Not so, according to Wrestling Observer. The site reports the ROH & TNA veteran was among those furloughed back in April.

McGuinness is the latest NXT name that’s trickled out to the public, as WWE has always been quiet about roster moves that don’t involve Raw and SmackDown personnel.

The 44 year old have been a steady presence on shows like NXT, NXT UK, and 205 Live since debuting with 2017’s United Kingdom Championship Tournament. Word’s always been that Michael Cole - recently promoted to Vice-President of Announcing - is a big proponent of McGuinness’ work. It would stand to follow WWE would look to bring him back once travel restrictions loosen and NXT UK can re-start. But there remains a lot of uncertainty.

For a complete list of WWE’s profit-ensuring roster moves from April, click here.

* McGuinness lived in Los Angeles for many years, but I couldn’t find confirmation that he still does, or any information about where he was when stay-at-home orders were issued.