Nick Aldis recently debuted in the WWE as the new general manager of Smackdown, ending a multi-year run in promotions like TNA, ROH and NWA. In that time, he became a world champion in both TNA and NWA, becoming the first British wrestler to win a World Championship in the United States.
Aldis’ started out his career in entertainment on the reboot of the Sky TV series Gladiators. A young Nick Aldis played the modern-day version of the iconic Wolf, being known as Oblivion in the series (which also starred a young Mason Ryan). He was the tough-talking heel of the show, and became one of the most notable figures on the show.
However, his crowning achievement was facing Cody Rhodes at the original All In show. Nick Aldis held the NWA World’s Heavyweight Championship at the time, and was in the midst of a multi-year run with the belt. While he lost the title at the precursor event to AEW, it was one of Aldis’ and Cody Rhodes’ best matches, and made the title feel incredibly important for the first time in decades.
In recent years, Nick Aldis and jumped between TNA and NWA, wrestling in many title matches and putting on some good performances. There was always talk about where Nick Aldis would go next, with years and years of speculation that he could be headed to the WWE, especially when his wife (Mickie James) was employed by the company.
It took a while, but Nick Aldis finally joined the WWE in October 2023. While many thought he would go through the NXT system (coming in as a veteran to work with the young talents), Triple H instead brought him straight onto the main roster, on Smackdown.
However, there was a catch.
Nick Aldis would not be wrestling in the WWE. Instead, he appeared on the October 13, 2023 episode of Friday Night Smackdown, being appointed as the new Smackdown General Manager. He took over from Adam Pearce, who had been doing the role on both Raw and Smackdown prior to Aldis hiring.
He has appeared on every episode of the show since, making matches and picking fights with talent like Dominik Mysterio as he books them in matches of varying difficult, against a variety of opponents.
But that hasn’t led to Nick Aldis stepping into the ring (yet). Despite being a former TNA and NWA World Heavyweight Champion, like WWE Hall of Famers Kurt Angle and Sting, Nick Aldis has not been signed to wrestle for the WWE. Like Adam Pearce, he was brought in to be an authority figure. This means the chance to rekindle his rivalry with Cody Rhodes has gone down the tube, although little is known about what will happen in the future.
Is Nick Aldis Retired?
Nick Aldis is not retiring, with the British former World Champion claiming he is his still “in his prime”.
Speaking with Nikko Knows Best, Nick Aldis discussed the rumors that he was retired from wrestling, denying that him joining the WWE is marking the end of his career. Aldis is one of the most successful British wrestlers of all time, being a multi-time world champion in a number of companies, and has finally achieved his dream of making it in the WWE.
However, this has not signalled the end of his wrestling career. The former Gladiators star denied that his 15-year wrestling career had come to an end. He warned that people “need to chill” in suggesting his retirement, noting that Nick Aldis is still “very much in my prime”.
“Because of the discussions about a different role, immediately it jumps to, ‘Oh, he’s not wrestling anymore, he’s retiring, is he done wrestling?’ Hold on. I’m 36 years old. Maybe another blessing and curse in my career is that I got started on a national/international stage very early in my career. I was signed at 21. Sometimes, I get put in the generation ahead of me in terms of age. I’m 36. I’m very much in my prime. Wait a minute, where is all this discussion about being done wrestling come from? Everyone needs to chill,”
What Was Nick Aldis’ Last Match?
While signing for the WWE was a high-point of Nick Aldis’ 15-year career, it came at the point where he was maybe at his lowest. Nick Aldis was not doing his best in 2023, having had disappointing runs in NWA and TNA since losing the NWA World Heavyweight Championship to Trevor Murdoch and leaving the promotion.
He returned to TNA for the first time in years in 2023, having a short and unmemorable run that saw him challenge for the World Championship. After winning an “8-4-1” match at Against All Odds 2023, Nick Aldis earned the right to challenge the TNA World Champion at Slammiversary (one of the company’s biggest pay per views).
At Impact Slammiversary (the promotion has since be renamed to TNA again), Nick Aldis lost in a decent match to Alex Shelley in 16-minutes. However, this was only his penultimate match in the promotion. Just one day later, Aldis lost in 10-minutes to Eric Young to say goodbye to TNA. He went on to wrestle a few more times on the indie scene before his WWE debut on October 13, 2023.
Nick Aldis’ last match ever in wrestling (as of the time of writing) was at ACW Bluegrass Con, where he wrestled in a five-way match for the vacant ACW Bluegrass WrestlingCon Title. Taking on four indie stars in Caleb Konley, Beastman, Facade and Matthew Justice, Aldis sadly lost the match when Caleb Konley picked up the win, and the title.
Little information is available about this match, as it was not televised.