Nigel McGuinness surprisingly namedrops SmackDown star on AEW Collision

During the latest episode of AEW Collision, Nigel McGuinness namedropped a top WWE SmackDown star, as a former distinction of his was referenced during one of the matches. This would be Shinsuke Nakamura.

The King of Strong Style, who is currently signed with WWE, has made a name for himself across the industry and in Japanese wrestling as a whole. Before signing with the Stamford-based promotion, he worked with New Japan Pro-Wrestling, where he created a massive resume as a multi-time world champion and holder of several major accolades within the promotion.

Earlier tonight on Collision, Katsuyori Shibata competed in tag team action with Daniel Garcia against The WorkHorsemen. At the start of the match, Nigel McGuinness talked about Shibata's history. He mentioned that, alongside Shinsuke Nakamura and Hiroshi Tanahashi, they were coined as The New Three Musketeers in 2004, a distinction given to wrestlers who were said to be leading Japanese wrestling into the future.

Currently, all of The New Three Musketeers compete for different promotions. Shibata signed with AEW, Nakamura remains with WWE, and Tanahashi is the President of NJPW and competes in-ring for the promotion.

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Hiroshi Tanahashi recently appeared in AEW

Hiroshi Tanahashi recently made an appearance in All Elite Wrestling. Last week on Collision, he emerged as a surprise partner for Claudio Castagnoli and Daniel Garcia to face Lance Archer & The Righteous (Dutch & Vincent).

He was last seen at 2023 Forbidden Door, where he faced MJF in a singles competition for the AEW World Championship.

With this year's edition of the pay-per-view coming up soon, the proverbial forbidden doors have now opened with Tanahashi's arrival, and it remains to be seen who else he'll bring along this year.

The NJPW President was also seen at the media scrum after Double or Nothing, answering questions alongside Tony Khan about the pay-per-view.