Former WWE star claims he's "retired" during AEW Collision

A former WWE personality was involved in a tense face-off on this week's AEW Collision. The star in question, Nigel McGuinness, seemingly claimed to be retired from action, although he ended up trading blows with FTR before the night ended.

Dax Harwood and Cash Wheeler have been on a rampage since snapping and destroying Adam Copeland at Dynasty 2025, following their loss in the trios title match against The Death Riders. The duo channeled their newfound aggression by attacking Collision commentator Tony Schiavone during last month's show because he had criticized their actions. Thankfully, Schiavone's colleague Nigel McGuinness saved the day for him.

FTR later solidified their heel turn by brutalizing Daniel Garcia and eventually signing Stokely Hathaway as their manager. However, the former AEW World Tag Team Champions have been under The Red Death's crosshairs since then. This week on Dynamite, Dax, Cash, and Stokely once again confronted Tony Schiavone, warning him that they would see him and Nigel McGuinness on Collision the following night.

Harwood battled Garcia in the main event of AEW Collision on May 8. The matchup eventually spilled outside and reached the announcer's desk, where Dax the Axe provoked McGuinness by slapping off the Englishman's headset. The former ROH World Champion and ex-WWE commentator tried to maintain his composure and informed Harwood that he was retired from competition, only to seemingly make a joke at Dax's expense.

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However, Harwood violently knocked McGuinness down in response, prompting the 49-year-old to march into the ring and take the fight to FTR. Although this led to the bout ending in a no-contest, the end of the show saw McGuinness, Garcia, and Matt Menard holding the ring and standing tall.

Nigel was last seen in action at ROH Final Battle 2024, where he unsuccessfully challenged Lee Moriarty for the ROH Pure Title.

About the author

Anurag is an AEW writer for Sportskeeda Wrestling. He holds a BA and MA degree in English along with a TEFL certification to teach English. Before Sportskeeda, he worked as a Content and Correspondence writer at Nayabad Titas, a theater group. He has also worked as a English language tutor.

To ensure complete accuracy, he uses internet resources, social media platforms, and especially pieces composed by his peers to find solid, verified information that he presents as objectively as possible. Thanks to his academic background, he can research different subjects thoroughly.

Anurag's interest in wrestling began as a child. He watched RAW and Smackdown frequently from age 10 or 11 and was officially hooked by the YES Movement story in WWE heading into WrestleMania 30.

As a lifelong wrestling fan and lover of stories, Anurag would read news, articles, and other content about the talent and events he enjoyed watching. His understanding of the business continued to grow with time, and his interest in the art and sport of wrestling led him to pursue a career as a writer.

Apart from writing, he loves to read books, watch movies and television programs, play and listen to music, and write poetry and fiction.

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Edited by Anurag Mukherjee