Techniques are provided for improving hybrid automatic repeat request retransmissions techniques in a beamformed multiple-input multiple-output wireless communication environment. At a first device comprising a first plurality of antennas, a plurality of beamforming weight vectors are applied to a corresponding plurality of signal streams for simultaneous transmission to a second device having a plurality of antennas. A determination is made whether the plurality of signal streams need to be retransmitted from the first device to the second device. When a retransmission needs to be made, an order in which the plurality of beamforming weight vectors are applied to the plurality of signal streams is switched for a retransmission attempt of the plurality of signal streams from the first device to the second device.