Ex-WWE Star Says In-Ring Days Are Behind Them
Hornswoggle was one of the most unlikely stars to compete in a WWE ring in history but the star remains a fixture on the independent scene 8 years after he left the sports entertainment giant.
Hornswoggle – better known as Swoggle now – first came to prominence in WWE through his association with Finlay. Incredibly, the star’s WWE career saw him become part of DX, believed to have been Vince McMahon’s son, win the WWE Cruiserweight Championship, and be part of perhaps the greatest PPV pre-show match in history when he took on El Torito in the first-ever WeeLC match.
Speaking to Nick Hausman for Inside The Ropes, Hornswoggle was asked if there were any plans for him to return to AEW after he made a brief cameo with the company and the star noted that he thinks his in-ring days as part of a major company are over:
“Not that I know of. I mean, I would love to, but in-ring, probably is behind me, if I’m being honest with myself after my second failed back surgery. It ain’t in the cards, I don’t believe in-ring for a major company.
“But I truly believe the coaching stuff. And I’m finally like, grasping that whether I have more to give inside the ring compared to outside, and teaching and helping and that I’m okay with that. I can sign my fake name for the rest of my life. And I’m fully okay with that.
“What it comes down to is I have I love helping. I love when we when we have our school, I love teaching three times a week, and just helping the guys grasp and learn new stuff that they wouldn’t think about. Working right beside Finlay for 10 years, I picked up a lot I feel, and he would just notice little stuff that no one else would notice. And I’d hear him mention it at the monitor and it would just be like, ‘Man, how do you see that?’ And just stuff like that I’ll always kind of take with me and really hold true to myself.”