Backstage Report On Injury Suffered By Nigel McGuinness On AEW Collision

The first ever AEW Continental Challenge Cup is in full swing, with Continental Champion Jon Moxley, CMLL World Heavyweight Champion Hechicero, Eddie Kingston, Claudio Castagnoli, Kyle O'Reilly, Orange Cassidy, Jay White, and Nigel McGuinness all moving on to the quarterfinals. But there appears to be some serious questions regarding McGuinness' status going forward after Dave Meltzer indicated McGuinness was hurt on the latest edition of "Wrestling Observer Radio."

"I heard that he's injured, and that he's out," Meltzer said.

Towards the end of "AEW Collision" this past Saturday, AEW announcers Tony Schiavone and Excalibur did hint that McGuiness had suffered an injury during his tournament match with Katsuyori Shibata earlier that evening, and that AEW would be making his status clear during a Monday YouTube special, when the blind draw for the quarterfinal matches would take place. It's not confirmed when McGuinness suffered an injury, though he was shown noticeably grimacing after blocking Shibata's PK kick with his leg in the latter stages of the match.

If McGuinness is unable to compete going forward, it's unclear whether AEW would replace him with another competitor, or if they would continue on with just seven names, potentially leading to one of the remaining participants receiving a bye. An injury would also take McGuinness out of this Friday's ROH Death Before Dishonor event this Friday in Philadelphia's 2200 Arena, where he was scheduled to challenge Lee Moriarty for the ROH Pure Championship. If McGuinness were to lose to Moriarty, he would never be able to compete in Ring of Honor ever again.

If you use any of the quotes in this article, please credit "Wrestling Observer Radio" and provide a h/t to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription