That’s gotta be Kane! Or is it?
It has been said that imitation is a form of flattery, which is also true in the wrestling world. Many have paid homage to their in-ring heroes in various ways, such as Kevin Owens using Steve Austin’s Stunner as a finishing manoeuvre or R-Truth borrowing moves from his childhood hero John Cena.
However, there have been times when imitation has been used by smaller wrestling companies to attempt to trick the audience to come to their show by promising big name wrestlers will be performing. One victim of this promotional tactic was Nigel McGuinness.
Former WWE Commentator Parodied Kane While Wrestling On British Independent Scene
Prior to becoming an established name on the independent scene, McGuinness would wrestle at Butlins holiday camps. Speaking with Metro, the former Ring of Honor World Champion revealed that the Superstar he was chosen to imitate was none other than Hall of Famer Kane, despite being nearly 1 foot shorter than The Big Red Machine:
I used to do Butlin’s camps. Every now and again to spice it up, they’d want us to do parody wrestlers. So there was one time I got to the venue and they gave me a Kane mask, the whole gear. I had to go out and wrestle as Kane for 15, 20 minutes – with a bad back as well!
Continuing in the interview, McGuinness admitted that he did not enjoy portraying The Devil’s Favourite Demon at Butlins, stating that it was not a career highlight.
‘It was just absolutely the lowest point of my career, at that point at least,’
Nigel McGuinness would go on to wrestle for TNA and Ring of Honor before being signed to WWE as a commentator in 2016, predominantly commentating on NXT and NXT UK matches until October 2022. McGuinness is currently signed with All Elite Wrestling.
H/t to Metro for the use of transcriptions.