[Watch] 6-time WWE champion announces indefinite hiatus due to career-threatening injury; issues an apology
A former six-time WWE champion has revealed that he is going on an indefinite hiatus due to a career-threatening injury. The talent in question is Dax Harwood.
Dax was seen in action on last week's episode of Collision, where he and Cash Wheeler wrestled Claudio Castagnoli and Wheeler Yuta of The Blackpool Combat Club to a time-limit draw. Harwood, who had previously alluded to suffering from lower back issues, has provided an update on his health and his status in AEW on social media.
Taking to X/Twitter, Dax posted a video in which he apologized to All Elite Wrestling CEO Tony Khan, the front staff, and the company's medical team for not speaking up regarding his physical condition.
"First of all before I go any further, I want to apologize to my boss, I wanna apologize to the front staff in AEW, I wanna apologize, probably more than anything, to the medical staff too because I should have been upfront, I should have been truthful about some things that's been going on with me over the last couple of months, and I didn't, because I thought I could tough it out." [0:27 - 0:51]
Harwood revealed that he had suffered a hematoma during FTR's match against The Young Bucks at Dynasty 2024. He also disclosed that the hematoma had swelled up alarmingly after the Top Guys' bout against the BCC on Collision.
The 39-year-old former WWE Superstar then announced that AEW's Doctor Sampson advised him to go off the road to recover.
"When I explained to them what I'd been hiding for the last two months, Doc Sampson immediately took me off of the road. He said, 'You've got to rest it up, if you don't it could get worse, and it could lead to possible retirement. And obviously I don't want that. So, going forward, I gotta be truthful." [2:51 - 3:06]
Check out the tweet below:
Harwood and Cash Wheeler held the WWE SmackDown, RAW Tag Team Championship, and NXT Tag Team Titles twice, as well as the 24/7 Championship, during their time in WWE. In AEW, the duo are former World Tag Team Champions.