Cope, formerly known as Adam Copeland, delivered an emotional message to the Asheville crowd following this week’s AEW Dynamite: Fight For The Fallen. In the main event, Cope debuted his new ring name and teamed with FTR to defeat The Death Riders.
The show doubled as a fundraiser for those affected by Hurricane Helene, which tore through Georgia, Florida, and the Carolinas in late 2024. After the show, Cope took the mic to express his pride in being an Asheville resident and praised the city’s resilience.
“I live in the 828. Here in the 828, we’re tough sons of b****es. We don’t let a hurricane keep us down, do we? No, we don’t. We pick ourselves up, we dust ourselves off, we dig out, and we all come and have a good time. I cannot say enough about this community.”
Dax Harwood, also from Asheville, reflected on how far the town has come since Hurricane Helene, as he added:
“Last time I was in this building, it was bleak. We had just about 1,000 people. But tonight, you packed it out to see Rated FTR, and we love you guys. Thank you very much
Closing the post-show segment, Cope led the crowd in a spirited “828” chant, fostering a sense of unity among those affected by Hurricane Helene. Last week, he shared that his own family had been impacted by the storm, revealing they had been without clean drinking water for months and had relied on bottled water.
The Rated-R Superstar will be in action this Saturday on Collision, when he and FTR battle the Learning Tree. No matter where his journey in wrestling takes him, however, Cope will always be grateful to those in Asheville and is proud to call the town home.
Posted January 2nd, 2025 in News. Tagged: Cope, FTR.
FTR has explained the importance of AEW coming to Asheville for the first show of 2025.
Dax Harwood had previously discussed the significance of AEW coming to Asheville for their Max premiere episode on January 1. He had revealed that it was the first entertainment show coming to the city following the destruction caused by Hurricane Helene and that they’ll be donating a portion of the show’s revenue to relief efforts.
The duo of Dax and Cash were asked about the show coming to their locality during the post Worlds End media scrum. Harwood first revealed that they had initially reached out to Tony Khan with the idea of doing a live event but the AEW President decided to bring one of their biggest TV shows there instead:
“The initial plan was not to be in Asheville, right? But we, us three, met at our wrestling school, and we said, ‘Okay, what can we do to bring some hope and some joy to Asheville?’ And we had the idea of maybe doing like a live event in Asheville. Talking to Tony, and having some of the guys come out and just raising money. And Tony said, ‘I’ll do you one better. Why don’t we do Dynamite in Asheville?'”
After Adam Copeland made his surprise return to close the latest AEW PPV, the company has confirmed that the trio known as Rated-FTR will be facing the Death Riders in a six men tag match at the upcoming Dynamite episode. Cash Wheeler mentioned that there was a time he thought he’d never get to share the ring with Copeland at all, but now they’ll be teaming at such a big night in their hometown:
“I never could have imagined that if it was going to happen, that the first time we ever as a trio stepped in the ring together for a match was going to be in Asheville, That’s how I would have booked it as a 15-year-old kid. And it never would have happened. But it is happening, and it’s for the best possible reason.
It’s so we can raise money for people that lost everything. It’s to raise awareness of people that are still going through this three months later. A lot of the world’s moved on and kind of forgotten about that. And you can’t when you drive through it, and you see the destruction every day, and you see the debris. You see the tents, like it’s communities of tents camping out by a river where homes used to be because hundreds of homes were washed away.
And it’s winter, it’s the coldest time of year, and these people are living in tents. It’s heartbreaking. So to have a boss who wants to bring awareness to that, and bring his biggest show ever to that, the first one ever, simulcast on max, and the first one of the new TV rights deal. It’s going to be in Asheville and it’s going to be Rated-FTR. That’s amazing to me. That’s the kind of stuff that I do this for.”
On the post-show media scrum, Harwood praised his mentor and close personal friend.
“This man is one of the greatest of all time and his career is what everybody strives to have when they start in professional wrestling.”
Harwood also addressed the criticism Copeland faced following his injury at Double or Nothing, where a high-risk dive from a steel cage led to him being out of action for months.
“People like to criticize what we do and they ask him, they question him. This is Adam f****** Copeland. If he wants to jump off a cage, let him jump off a cage. If he breaks his leg, he breaks his leg.”
Mark Briscoe says his trilogy of matches with FTR over the ROH Tag Titles will forever hold a special place in his heart.
The ROH World Champion recently had an interview with Battleground podcast. He was there to promote his Ladder War with Chris Jericho set for the October 23 Dynamite.
During the talk, Briscoe was asked about matches from his career that still give him goosebumps. The ROH Champion mentioned how The Briscoe Brothers’ trilogy with FTR is something that he’ll never forget:
“There definitely is plenty of matches and moments, The first thing I would think that a lot of people obviously would have guessed would be having the matches, we had the trilogy with FTR that ended with that dog collar match.
That dog collar match was just something that…in my mind it would just always be a moment in time that’ll just never be….there would never be another feeling like that no matter how great of a victory I could have moving forward.”
The Briscoes fought FTR in a trilogy of matches through 2022 starting with the Supercard of Honor event in April. The brothers dropped the ROH tag titles to the former WWE stars in this bout.
They unsuccessfully challenged the duo of Cash Wheeler and Dax Harwood in a rematch at Death Before Dishonor in July. The brothers Mark and Jay finally managed to defeat FTR to regain the titles in a Dog Collar match at Final Battle in December.
The Dog Collar match was one of the final two matches Briscoes wrestled together before Jay’s unfortunate passing in January 2023. According to Mark, nothing will ever compare to the moment he got to share with his brother after their tag title victory:
“I’ve said it before, after the match once Jamin [Jay Briscoe] choked out Dax and then [they announced] the new Ring of Honor Champions and then I turned and he gave me this big hug, this big bear hug. Nothing will ever compare to that man.
Throughout the career there’s the…like I think about how much people talk about and put over the matches with FTR. We had the three matches with them. There will never be any thing like it in my career. To me it was just a real special trilogy of matches.”
Apart from this Mark Briscoe also mentioned how he and his brother had dozens of matches with The Young Bucks over the years. He recalled wrestling them in countries such as Japan, Australia, and US and said that it’s a fond memory for him.
FTR is considered one of the most talented tag teams wrestling today and has held gold in WWE, AEW, New Japan Pro Wrestling, and beyond. In 2023, the group faced a real-life obstacle, one that nearly spelled the end for the team of Cash Wheeler and Dax Harwood.
Speaking to Renee Paquette on AEW Close Up, Harwood revealed that Wheeler was ready to retire from wrestling after the arrest, as he didn’t want Harwood to get caught up in his arrest. Thankfully, Harwood was able to pull his friend away from the proverbial edge.
“He said, ‘I think I’m going to retire because I don’t want to subject you to any of this stuff that I’m going through’… . ‘I’m just going to retire. You don’t have to worry because your contract is with you. I’m going to leave wrestling.’ I had to talk him into not retiring.”
The case against Wheeler was dropped in May 2024 mere days before the AEW wrestler was due to stand trial. He has fortunately been able to avoid any more legal trouble since then and continues to cement his place as part of one of AEW’s greatest tag teams.
Former WWE Superstars Mason Madden and Mansoor will make their All-Elite debut on tonight’s AEW Collision to face FTR. The news was shared on Twitter by AEW President Tony Khan.
After a successful ROH debut, MxM Collection will debut in AEW when they collide vs the returning FTR on Saturday #AEWCollision TOMORROW! pic.twitter.com/M0GD69Jkyj
The AEW debut of Madden and Mansoor, collectively known as the MxM Collection, comes after the pair debuted for Ring of Honor at Death Before Dishonor 2024. At ROH’s latest pay-per-view, MxM defeated the Spanish Announce Project (Serpentico and Angelico) on the kick-off show.
Earlier this month, the pair’s arrival was teased during an episode of ROH Wrestling. Madden was described as the “mahogany hunk” and the “height of fashion.” Meanwhile, Mansoor was deemed the “sultan of suave” and “the man who will make you sore.” During their arrival at Death Before Dishonor, Mansoor was also called the ‘Iron Chiq.’
AEW Collision – 7/27/2024
Tonight’s AEW Collision will take place at the Esports Stadium in Arlington, Texas, as part of a multi-week deal to host AEW events at the venue. Here is what has been confirmed for tonight’s AEW Collision:
FTR Vs. MxM (Mason Madden & Mansoor)
Orange Cassidy Vs. Johnny TV
The Beast Mortos Vs. Hologram
Immediately after AEW Collision, AEW will host its eleventh Battle of the Belts show. Matches announced include
‘Timeless’ Toni Storm (c) Vs. Taya Valkyrie (AEW Women’s World Championship Eliminatior Match)
The Undisputed Kingdom (Roderick Strong, Matt Taven, and Mike Bennett) vs. Dustin Rhodes and The Von Erichs (Marshall Von Erich and Ross Von Erich) (ROH World Six-Man Tag-Team Championship)
Willow Nightingale (c) vs. Deonna Purrazzo (CMLL Women’s World Championship Eliminator Match)
Keep tuned to SE Scoops for all the latest from tonight’s episode of AEW Collision as well as AEW Battle of the Belts XI.
Posted July 26th, 2024 in AEW. Tagged: FTR, Mansoor.
After a frustrating run with WWE, AEW presented new opportunities for Harwood and Wheeler. The decision to leave WWE proved to be the right one for their careers, as they’ve cemented their legacies under the ‘All Elite’ banner. Harwood took a moment this week to commemorate their anniversary with AEW.
Thanks to the haters
Dax expressed his gratitude and also let off a few ‘live rounds’ at former wrestling personalities who have been negative about the company they’ve helped build.
“…Sometimes, online, I get a lot of flack for either defending AEW too often or being soft when it comes to criticism of the company. Mostly by ex-wrestling personalities, who now have an outlet to speak and use AEW for clicks & likes, which is completely ironic because they all hope for the very worst for the company that they monetize the most from.”
Although the AEW superstar didn’t name anyone specifically, he has recently had issues with former WCW President Eric Bischoff, and his negative comments could have been aimed at him. Regardless, Harwood took the time to thank AEW for being with them for four years and how much they meant to his career.
“…Without this company, I doubt I’d still be in wrestling. All I ever wanted was to do something GOOD for pro wrestling. That was never going to happen without AEW,” wrote Harwood
Accomplishments
Since joining the company, FTR has won the AEW Tag Team Championships twice. They’ve also added the Ring of Honor, AAA, and IWGP tag team titles to their remarkable list of accomplishments. Harwood continued to reflect on what FTR has achieved thanks to AEW.
“…I’ve become a 10(time) World Tag Team Champion. I’ve won numerous awards from internationally reputable organizations. Above all, I’ve made a living that takes care of my family(Yes, I know I say it all the time) incredibly well, all because of AEW,” Harwood posted.
He also added that he defends the company and AEW President Tony Khan out of passion for his career. On potentially their last deal, FTR seems content with finishing their career in AEW and putting on excellent tag team matches. Harwood is already looking to enjoy the rest of his time with the company and be around to see AEW succeed 40 years from now.
For this moment, FTR can appreciate four great years with the company as they aim to show why they are one of the best tag teams in wrestling every week.
YouTube Playlist: FTR’s best AEW World Tag Title defenses:
Jack Perry has not been seen on AEW television since All In, where he faced Hook in a Zero Hour match for the FTW Title. Not two weeks after AEW finally aired Perry’s fight footage with CM Punk backstage from All In, he made a shocking return during Dynasty.
Perry made his return during the Saint Louis pay-per-view to help the Young Bucks beat FTW for the AEW Tag Team Titles. The former Jungle Boy’s presence was felt near the end of their ladder match.
During the closing moments of the match, Jack Perry attempted to interfere by pushing Dax off the ladder but was halted by security. Thanks to this distraction, Nick managed to climb the ladder, grab the championship titles, and secure a win for The Young Bucks.
At the AEW Dynasty pay-per-view in the Chaifetz Arena in St Louis, The Young Bucks competed against FTR in a ladder match for the vacant AEW Tag Team Championships. Those titles haven’t had owners since Sting and Darby Allin relinquished them following The Icon’s retirement.
As the match continued, Matt Jackson pushed Cash Wheeler from the top of a ladder using Dax Harwood as support. Nick then hit a 450 splash from the top rope to the floor, sending Cash through a table. Dax applied a piledriver to Matt on a ladder, and Nick followed with a springboard into a sunset flip powerbomb.
Unexpectedly, Jack Perry, disguised in a Sting mask, tried to interfere by pushing Dax off the ladder but was stopped by security. Despite this, Nick was able to climb the ladder and retrieve the championship titles, securing victory for The Young Bucks in this challenging ladder match.
The Young Bucks spoke highly of Perry, referring to him as a Scapegoat, before they aired the CM Punk fight footage. Now, Perry is back in the AEW fold, and all signs point to a continued alliance with the heel EVP team, who are now the first three-time AEW Tag Team Champions in company history.
AEW Dynasty pay-per-view is set to go down next week and the card is stacked with some exciting match-ups. At the event, two of the greatest tag-teams – The Young Bucks and FTR will collide to crown the new AEW World Tag Team Champions. Now, the stakes have been raised as they will battle in a ladder match.
During the latest edition of AEW Collision, Tony Schiavone announced that Tony Khan has decided that the tag team match will now be contested under the new stipulation, making it a highly-anticipated bout.
BREAKING: Matthew & Nicholas Jackson will face FTR for the #AEW World Tag Team Titles in a LADDER MATCH next Sunday at #AEWDynasty!
The tag-team titles were vacated as Sting and Darby Allin relinquished them following the former’s retirement. After some high-intensity battles in a tournament, FTR and The Young Bucks remain the last two teams standing toe-to-toe. They will battle to crown the new tag-team champions in the tournament final at AEW Dynasty. This will mark their fourth outing.
New title match announced
Another title match was announced for the AEW Dynasty – Roderick Strong is set to put his AEW International Championship on the line against his former stablemate, Kyle O’Reilly.
During the Battle of The Belts X, Strong emerged victorious over Rocky Romero, who was attacked by Wardlow following the match. O’Reilly wasn’t impressed and confronted Strong. The AEW International Champ then turned on O’Reilly as he laid him out with a jumping knee.
Mark Briscoe has reminisced about the iconic rivalry between FTR and The Briscoes which he has labeled ‘special.’
The intense feud between The Briscoes (Mark & Jay Briscoe) and FTR (Cash Wheeler & Dax Harwood) is one of the greatest chapters in pro wrestling history. The two critically acclaimed tag-team went on to collide in what is labeled as the best tag-team trilogy of recent memory and with the matches, the two highly regarded tag teams cemented their legacy in tag-team wrestling.
Speaking with PW Insider, Mark Briscoe recalled the matches against the Top Guys. One-half of the Dem Boyz also spoke about how Tony Khan buying ROH and booking the matches benefitted them. Reflecting on the unfortunate passing of his brother shortly after, Mark mentioned how those matches have become even more special:
“Those matches, now especially in hindsight, not that they weren’t amazing and special when they happened, but then a month after the dog collar match when the accident happened, it’s like, it’s almost like how, I don’t know how appropriate that’s how Jerry Briscoe went out.”
Mark mentioned that they were already feuding with FTR over twitter when Tony bought ROH and put them together. After the first two matches, things came full circle with the classic encounter at Final Battle 2022:
“We come full circle to Final Battle and they’ve beaten us twice and now it comes down to this dog collar match and we get the final win and Jay Briscoe puts on a career…like one of the best performances in professional wrestling history and he’s sitting there with the crimson mask, bloodied and just…what a fitting way for him to go out. 2022 as a whole was a really amazing year, but those FTR matches, and then that last, the dog collar match specifically, yeah, they’re always, they’ll always be special.”
The trilogy between The Briscoes and FTR
The two teams competed in three matches in 2022. The first match which was a standard tag-team match saw FTR prevailing at ROH Supercard of Honor in April. Then they battled in a two-out-of-three-falls match at Death Before Dishonor in July which FTR again won. The trilogy culminated in December at Final Battle when the Briscoes finally emerged victorious in a Dog Collar match to capture the ROH Tag Team Championships.
The rivalry that ended in 2022 has raised the bar for tag team wrestling and the fans continue to cherish the hard-hitting battles that they have put on in the past.
Now, Mark Briscoe has a huge task at hand as he challenges for the top prize in ROH. Read more in detail below:
The Blackpool Combat Club hoped to channel the intensity of the Road Warriors at the AEW Revolution 2024 pay-per-view.
The much-anticipated tag-team match with FTR was the fifth match on the main card and the seventh match of the evening if you include the pre-show. The Blackpool Combat Club was represented by Claudio Castagnoli and Jon Moxley and wasted no time in paying tribute to the legendary tag team. During their entrance, the duo wore spiked shoulder pads similar to what fans had seen for years from Road Warrior Hawk and Road Warrior Animal.
After weeks of back & forth violence, the rematch goes down now as Moxley & Castagnoli of the BCC make their way to the ring.
While the action started slow between these two methodical teams, it quickly descended into a brawl, including one spot where Moxley mocked Cash Wheeler after sending him outside the ring, telling him “I don’t think you’re sh*t!”
While it was the BCC with the Road Warrior homage, FTR attempted to hit the Doomsday Device on Castagnoli, who was able to escape. The BCC duo would hit a successful Doomsday Device later on.
The finish of the match saw Mox hit the Death Rider on Dax, who was able to kick out. Moxley then slapped on the rear choke and Wheeler’s attempts to interfere were thwarted by Castagnoli. This would see the Blackpool Combat Club get the win.
Who Has Rocked the Pads?
The BCC isn’t the first set of wrestlers outside the Road Warriors to have donned the iconic spiked shoulder pads. For WrestleMania 13 in 1997, Ahmed Johnson donned the pads to team with the Road Warriors for their Street Fight with the Nation of Domination. In 1998, Droz joined the group as a third Road Warrior in a tasteless angle that saw Hawk deal with alcohol abuse and ‘fall’ off the titan tron.
It’d be close to a decade before fans saw somebody new don the pads. In 2005, Animal began teaming with Heidenreich as Hawk had passed away in 2003. Heidenreich donned the shoulder pads and the pair enjoyed a brief reign as WWE Tag Team Champions.
Cash Wheeler’s gun charge is coming back to haunt him, because the prosecutor has decided to move forward with the legal process.
Cash Wheeler is Facing Charges
Prosecutors in Orange County, Florida are proceeding with criminal charges against AEW star Daniel “Cash” Wheeler, according to PW Insider.
Wheeler was arrested in August 2023 after a warrant for his arrest was issued on July 28, 2023. He pleaded not guilty to the charge of aggravated assault with a firearm through his attorney with the circuit court of Orange County, Florida on August 3, 2023. Wheeler surrendered himself on August 17, 2023, and was arraigned the following day.
During the arraignment, the prosecution stated that the July 2023 incident leading to Wheeler’s arrest was believed to be a road rage incident, alleging that Wheeler flashed a gun at the other party. Wheeler’s attorney stated during the arraignment that he did not know the other party involved. The term “victims” was used during the proceedings.
More Background About The Case
There had been little progress on the case since the initial arraignment, but on February 1, a decision was made to move forward with the charges. Under Florida law, a conviction for aggravated assault with a firearm could result in up to five years’ imprisonment, five years’ probation, and a $5,000 fine.
A hearing is scheduled for February 20, listed as an arraignment, despite Wheeler having previously been arraigned.
An incident report dated July 27, 2023, was released by Orange County in Florida. Officer M. Bowhay responded to the scene of the aggravated assault with a firearm call and spoke to the victim, Daniel Matta.
Matta provided a statement alleging that Wheeler pointed a gun at him while driving on Interstate 4. Matta identified Wheeler from a photo lineup with 100% certainty, leading to the charge of aggravated assault with a firearm against Wheeler.
SE Scoops will have more information on this story as additional information is made available.
Tony Khan may think some wrestling legends are rooting against him and AEW, but that’s extremely far from the case. All of his critics with any sort of credibility have benefited from competition and know that AEW being a success is only better for pro wrestling, including WWE.
Randy Savage notoriously said, “the cream always rises,” and the cream was rising for AEW for the first couple of years, but many factors have put a lid on that cream. Now it’s sitting in the fridge behind a carton of week-expired egg whites.
The AEW President needs to take any assumed vitriol out of his head and take heed of what the veterans are saying, especially if he wants AEW to catch that momentum it once had.
Khan and former WCW President Eric Bischoff have gone back and forth on X which is nearly as entertaining as the Monday Night Wars (and unfortunately, more engaging than the current AEW product), but a narrative is getting spun that is pretty inaccurate.
In a recent interview, FTR claimed that Bischoff has been critical of AEW because Khan didn’t give Bischoff a job with the company. On his podcast, Eric has stated several times he never wanted to work for AEW and that his original bone of contention with Khan began back when Tony took shots at Ted Turner. On top of that, Bischoff has made clear he wants AEW to succeed. Bischoff is blunt and abrasive in his criticisms at times, but his insight is always constructive. FTR and Khan just aren’t getting a spoonful of sugar to help the medicine go down.
Another name to get arrows slung his way is Bully Ray. On Busted Open Radio, the Dudley Boy has implored Khan to put his phone down and step away from social media. Additionally, he’s been very open about his criticisms of officiating and admits that he has to look at AEW with a different set of eyes than he does with WWE because AEW offers an alternative in wrestling. He noted that Khan didn’t grow up underneath the learning tree of a wrestling promoter, therefore he’s not technically a booker, but a matchmaker.
A third legend to give some sound advice has been Konnan. Much like he does with Bischoff, Khan has a contentious social media relationship with Konnan’s K100 co-host, Disco Inferno. After Khan posted some harsh words towards the former WCW star after Disco said the company needed a “reset” the two friends discussed it on their podcast with Konnan stating that Khan needs to listen to the constructive criticism thrown his way, filtering all the helpful feedback from the negative.
One name who is genius, but one can completely understand Khan steering clear from is Jim Cornette. Cornette is perhaps the most polarizing name out of all legends critical of AEW and does so with his signature venomous vernacular. Many fans simply tune in to hear Cornette crack back at AEW, but Khan would really have to void himself of all emotion to accept what Cornette has to say. Cearly one could get something beneficial from his input, but while Bischoff offers no sugar, Corny offers a spoonful of salt (to the wound). That being said, if Khan appointed someone to listen to the show, the AEW President would have plenty to garner and harvest.
Nuance and context have never coincided with the cesspool that can be social media. Just like it’s important to anyone dabbling in the dark arts, if the very busy Khan had the time to do further dive into what gets said about him and his company, he’d learn a lot about himself and the legends who only want what’s best for business.
FTR has been a staple of AEW Collision since the beginning. The pair quickly became allies of CM Punk when Punk returned to AEW programming as part of the first Collision. Speaking to WTKR, Dax Harwood compared Collision to Dynamite.
“Dynamite could be more of your sports entertainment based show and I think Collision is more of your sports based show. On Collision, we like to feature that knockdown, drag out hard-hitting style.”
Cash Wheeler also had praise for AEW’s newest weekly TV show.
“They’re really fun shows, especially on a Saturday night. There’s plenty of time to come in, have a great time, and get out by 10:00 and still have your Saturday night.”
The Ultimate Goal
For FTR, being one of the top teams in professional wrestling is nothing short of a dream come true. In the interview, Harwood said as a kid, he dreamed of being a wrestler or a power ranger.
“I was allowed to be a professional wrestler. Living that dream on national television every single week, the greatest tag team of all time, ten time world tag team champions, those are the things that you dream about.”
Wheeler chimed in about the impact wrestling has had on them and what is the ultimate goal.
“Wrestling has legitimately saved our lives. To leave wrestling better than we found is the ultimate goal.”
Has FTR figured out the ‘real’ reason for Eric Bischoff’s criticism of AEW?
Dax Harwood hasn’t been afraid to express his feelings against his critics and he just set his sights on Eric Bischoff.
Bischoff has been blunt in his constructive criticism of Tony Khan’s AEW and it hasn’t sat well with Khan and now apparently with one of Tony’s top tag teams.
In a new interview with Jeff Snyder, Dax Harwood and Cash Wheeler didn’t hold back in what he felt about Bischoff and other wrestling personalities who have given their opinions on AEW.
“You got all these old-time, miserable podcasters like Eric Bischoff and some of the others who make a living just by going on their podcasts and burying Tony and AEW when they know that AEW is a place where business is thriving.”
Wheeler then goes on to accuse Bischoff that he holds sour grapes because Khan didn’t offer him a job with the company.
“I think he’s really mad that Tony wouldn’t give him a job the few times he was there to collect the paycheck.”
Harwood doubled down on Cash’s assessment before stating that Bischoff only criticizes AEW for clicks and publicity.
“I know there’s quite a few that glowingly talked about AEW initially, and when Tony didn’t give them a job, now all of a sudden, they’re talking crap about it? Eh, that don’t make sense to me.”
Harwood said that he takes Bischoff’s opinions personally because AEW is how he puts food on the table.
However, on previous episodes of “83 Weeks” and “Strictly Business,” Bischoff has mentioned multiple times that he hopes that AEW succeeds.
FTR (Cash Wheeler and Dax Harwood) made a triumphant return to All Elite Wrestling at Sunday night’s AEW Revolution pay-per-view.
This marks the team’s first appearance in AEW since they dropped the World Tag-Team Championships to The Gunns at Holiday Bash in December 2022. Amid speculation about the team’s future, fans have been wondering about their futures. Their contracts are set to expire in April and the hiatus has some people questioning if they’re on their way out of Tony Khan’s promotion.
The belief amongst AEW talent is that FTR have long-term deals, according to a new report from PWInsider. The hiatus and FTR’s public comments about ‘evaluating their futures’ were part of a storyline to build interest in their eventual returns.
AEW President Tony Khan has spoken publicly about FTR’s contractual status. Back in January, he appeared on the In the Kliq podcast and stated, “I think, for [FTR], we want to see them back in AEW and want to see them heal up and come back at 100%. We’re really looking forward to that, hopefully. I think they’re a great team, and we’d love to have them back.”
“That’s my news; we’re going to be away for a little while. I’m not sure exactly how long we’ll be away. It may be all the way up until the end of our contract. I don’t know yet; contract is up in April. I’m not exactly sure on the exact date, our gimmick attorney would know that. But it will be somewhere in the beginning of April.”
As it seems, FTR are on a mission to reclaim the tag-team golds. The Gunns successfully defended their AEW World Tag Team Championships against three separate teams. The teams involved were The Acclaimed (Anthony Bowens & Max Caster), Jeff Jarrett & Jay Lethal, and Orange Cassidy & Danhausen.
Dax Harwood and Cash Wheeler attacked The Gunns as the champs spoke to Renee Paquette post-match. The Top Guys issued a statement with the assault, seemingly challenging for the belts.
AEW’s Dax Harwood has opened up about some of the issues that he experienced during his tenure with WWE.
Signing with WWE in 2012, Harwood would spend time in NXT, Raw, and SmackDown, and would hold tag gold on each brand with Cash Wheeler.
In 2020, the pair once known as The Revival were granted their requested releases from WWE, and would debut for AEW in May of that year.
Superstar Attributes
Standing at five-foot-ten and tipping the scales at 223lbs, Harwood isn’t what your non-wrestling fan would consider a prototypical WWE Superstar.
Speaking to Sports Illustrated this week, Harwood opened up about his size and was well aware that he didn’t fit WWE’s mold of their usual top star.
“We weren’t blessed with superstar attributes. Look at Hulk Hogan and then look at Dax Harwood, and you see the obvious differences.”
Dax Harwood.
Despite this, WWE has had some smaller stars reach the top of the card, including Shawn Michaels (at the time the smallest World Champion,) CM Punk, and Daniel Bryan.
Backstage Issues
In the years since his WWE exit, Harwood has spoken openly about his difficulties adjusting to the main roster, after an impressive run in WWE NXT.
In the interview, Harwood said how issues affected every part of his run, right down to the verbiage he used on TV.
“There were battles backstage in WWE. I’ve been handed a script where my verbiage was, ‘I’m going to take the tracker down yonder.’ That’s not how I speak. I have two degrees, one in business communication and one in English, ones that I paid for myself.
“I had to fight for that verbiage to be taken away. If I hadn’t, I never would have reached the success I have.”
FTR’s final nail in the coffin was when they were pitched ‘Flava Flav-inspired redesigns by Vince McMahon, and the tag-team left shortly after.
Dax Harwood has teased leaving All Elite Wrestling within a matter of weeks after being snubbed by the promotion following the Wrestling Observer’s awards.
Harwood, alongside Cash Wheeler, joined AEW in 2020, one month after being granted their release from WWE.
The former Raw, SmackDown, and NXT Tag Team Champions signed over their considerable down-side guarantees in order to be released without a non-compete clause in effect.
In AEW, the pair are former AEW World Tag Champions and have also held tag gold for New Japan Pro Wrestling, Ring of Honor, and AAA.
The Snub
This week, the Wrestling Observer Newsletter shared its annual awards, and there were a lot of victories for the stars of AEW.
On Twitter, the official AEW account congratulated several AEW stars, including Bryan Danielson for the Best Technician, and MJF for Most Charismatic.
Tony Khan also received a celebratory tweet for winning Best Booker for the third year in a row, and Promoter of the Year for the fourth time.
FTR, who won Tag Team of the Year, did not receive such a congratulatory message, something Harwood vented about in a tweet of his own.
FTR may have impressed fans for years with their skills in the ring, but Vince McMahon was far from pleased with their performance in 2018.
After an impressive run in NXT, FTR (then The Revival) was called up to WWE’s main roster as part of the post-WrestleMania 33 Raw in April 2017.
Despite reigns as both Raw and SmackDown Tag Team Champions (making the team the first triple-crown tag Champions in WWE) the duo couldn’t match their NXT success on the main roster and were granted their releases in April 2020.
The Worst Match
By the 2018 Royal Rumble, The Revival had been feuding with the Good Brothers and had traded wins on TV and at live events with Karl Anderson and Luke Gallows.
Speaking with Matt Koon on his FTR podcast, Dax Harwood recalled the less than favorable feedback to the match on the Royal Rumble kick-off show.
“We come to the back and Vince (McMahon) is waiting for us, all four of us. We thought the match was good. it was like an eight-minute match. We came to the back and he said, ‘Welp, that was absolutely the worst wrestling match I’ve ever seen in my entire life.”
Dax Harwood.
Given that McMahon was closing in on fifty years in the wrestling industry at the time, Harwood joked that he takes having the worst match as a “badge of pride.”
Harwood added that McMahon was likely unaware that he and Cash Wheeler were employed by WWE for eight years.
WWE Return
While McMahon was far from pleased with FTR, WWE today is much different to the one the tag team left nearly three years ago.
Following McMahon’s retirement last July, Triple H has been appointed Head of Creative and Head of Talent, and FTR thrived under the Game’s watch in WWE NXT.
McMahon has (so far) kept away from creative meetings and WWE programming since his return to WWE last month.
It has been reported that FTR’s deals with AEW expire this May, but Harwood claimed in a previous episode of his podcast that McMahon’s return has made them question coming back.
Dax Harwood’s future with AEW remains uncertain at this time, and the FTR member sure wants fans to think that a WWE return is coming.
Harwood joined AEW in 2020 alongside tag partner Cash Wheeler, after exiting WWE just a month earlier.
The Revival signed over their downside guarantees to WWE in order to be released without the standard 90-day non-compete clause.
WWE Return
December 2022 was hardly a great month for FTR, who lost the ROH World Tag Team Championships to the Briscoes, and the AAA Tag Gold to Dragon Lee and Dralistico.
At NJPW Wrestle Kingdom 17, FTR lost the IWGP World Tag Team Titles, and are currently taking a break from all wrestling ventures.
On Instagram, Harwood shared an image from his home, and eagle-eyed followers spotted what appeared to be some WWE paperwork in the bottom-left corner.
On Twitter, Harwood shared the same image but cropped the WWE logo out.
Finally got my hands on @DrinkCazcanes! An Additive free tequila with a rich flavor profile.
FTR has stated that their AEW deals will expire this April, but it remains unclear whether this current hiatus will add time to their contracts.
The pairing of Harwood and Cash Wheeler certainly benefited under Triple H’s tenure as Head of NXT, leaving some to speculate on a return to WWE’s main roster now that the Game is Head of Talent and Creative.
What’s next for FTR?
While a return to AEW or even a return to WWE are two options, FTR’s future may take them outside of the ring, or at least off camera.
Both Harwood and Wheeler have expressed interest in possibly returning to the indies for a limited run away from TV.
Harwood has also said that he and Cash are looking at potential locations for a wrestling school, and they are considering a coffee shop project, as well as real estate ventures.
One second generation star could be a free agent soon, as his contract with All Elite Wrestling is set to expire in May.
AEW is getting into an interesting position where they must decide if they will re-sign talent. The company has had many wrestlers compete for them in their four years of operation. As we enter the fourth year of AEW, some multi-year talent contracts are up for renewal.
Spoiler Warning Ahead!
The company has several wrestler contracts set to expire soon. FTR’s Dax Harwood said on his podcast that his and his partner Cash Wheeler’s contracts are set to expire in April. They have yet to decide if they will try to re-sign with AEW. Fightful Select reported on Jan. 24 that Brian Cage’s contract would expire in a few weeks. AEW may look to re-sign him, but the report also shared that WWE could be interested in signing Cage.
However, they will have to decide if they will keep Brock Anderson, son of Arn Anderson, whose contract expires in May. Arn broke the news in an interview with Wrestlingnews.co Steve Falls on their Patreon. He also shared that his contract expires next year and is unsure if AEW will keep either him or his son after their deal ends.
“Well, Brock’s got about, I think in May his is up, and then I have another year passed that. I’m having a great time. I’m enjoying working for the company and I’m going to certainly get that last year now. What they have for Brock and I together going forward, I don’t know. I look at things and always have going all the way back to WCW when contracts came out. When you get a guaranteed contract, your wife has the luxury of planning your life because they do it anyway. To know much time and it’s not something that’s not going to change and all that, you can map your life out. That gives me another year and a half almost to help Brock every which way I can,” said Arn(h/t Angel Aramboles).
Arn and Brock Anderson
Will AEW Re-sign Brock Anderson?
It’s unclear what the future holds for Brock. He is featured only sometimes on AEW Dynamite or Rampage. AEW mostly has him compete on AEW Dark. In his AEW career, Brock’s win/loss record stands at 16-13.
Although Brock is featured a little in AEW, he is still young in his career. At age 25, AEW could look to do more with him if he re-signs. However, the company may have to review its roster and decide whether it can renew Brock’s contract. Another possibility is WWE could look to sign the young talent if he becomes a free agent.
Cash Wheeler and Dax Harwood wasted no time in seeking employment with AEW from the moment their time with WWE came to an end.
FTR, known as The Revival in WWE, was the first triple-crown tag champions, holding the Raw, SmackDown, and NXT Tag Team gold.
After a series of embarrassing segments, and an even worse plan for the two to receive Flava-Flav style gimmicks, the pair were granted requested releases on April 10, 2020.
Tony Khan
After their WWE exits, which saw the pair sign over downside guarentees to WWE in exchange for no non-compete clause, the pair debuted for AEW in May 2020.
During Dax Harwood’s FTR Podcast, he revealed that the duo wasted no time after receiving the call from the WWE Talent Relations head at the time Mark Carrano.
“The day that Mark Carrano called us, so two days before the announcement [of the Revival’s release from WWE] was made online, he called us and said ‘you don’t have to give us an answer right now, talk about it, give me a call back.’ I called Cash. We said, should we talk to Cody, or the Bucks, or Tony? He said yeah, let’s do that.
Harwood added that a text message sent to the Bucks confirmed AEW’s interest in them, and it wasn’t long before they were speaking to Khan.
“We called Mark Carrano, yes, we agree to your terms. Please give us our release, and thank you.” So he gave us our release. The following day, whenever the contracts were cut and we got the paperwork from Mark Carrano that said we were officially released, is when we started talking contracts with Tony Khan.”
FTR would go on to become AEW World Tag Team Champions, and have also held the ROH World Tag Team Champion after Khan bought the company last March.
The Future of FTR
FTR has been a highlight of AEW’s Tag division for close to three years, but their time with the promotion may be coming to an end.
Seth Rollins doesn’t sound too interested in having CM Punk back in the WWE locker room.
Rollins is currently in San Antonio, Texas for the Royal Rumble. WWE has been hosting a series of media events over the past few days, including one on Saturday to promote the upcoming launch of the WWE 2K23 video game.
Nick Hausman of WrestlingInc caught up with Rollins, who was dressed up as a “Dripping Cowboy” to honor the local heritage. The 2019 Rumble winner scoffed at the idea of Cody Rhodes being the odds-on favorite to win this year’s match.
Hausman asked Rollins about a few potential free agents, and whether or not he’d like to see them [back] in WWE.
Regarding FTR, Rollins was all about it. “Yeah, great talents, hell of a tag team,” he said. “[They’re] good guys, always had a hell of a relationship with them, I’d love to see them come back if they’d like to come back with us.”
As for CM Punk, not so much.
“Aww, Philly Phil, stay away! Stay away, you cancer. Get away from me forever.”
– Seth Rollins on CM Punk returning to WWE
Hausman was surprised by the answer, which led Rollins to double down. “I don’t like Phil, he’s a jerk. Oh, did we just figure that out? Everybody in the room is like, ‘Oh no, did he say that?’ Yeah, he’s a jerk, we figured that out over there [AEW], we knew it over here [WWE]. I don’t want him back. Go do something else. Bye-bye! See ya later!”
Rollins says the new WWE 2k23 game looks sick. The next-gen systems have the graphics looking unreal, the gameplay is incredible and he’s eager to try out the new WarGames match. Most importantly, he and his wife (Becky Lynch) look great, so “it’s all a win.”
WWE 2K23 is due out Tuesday, March 14. You can pre-order the game now at Amazon.
After 190 days on top in New Japan’s IWGP Heavyweight Tag Team Division, FTR finally met their match today.
Bishomon, the team of longtime upper midcard fan favorite Hirooki Goto and perenial underdog YOSHI-HASHI, are tag team champions once more. In a surprisingly quick 10-minute showdown, these two teams enjoyed a heated response from the audience. The crowd popped in particular for the Big Rig.
Despite playing babyface for much of 2022, FTR heeled it up here in service of NJPW’s home team. Goto and YOSHI-HASHI won the 2022 World Tag League tournament to get here. All in all, this is the second consecutive year of the well-liked CHAOS members winning the tag leagues before securing the titles in the Tokyo Dome.
The match came to an end when YOSHI-HASHI landed an upset pinfall on Dax Harwood.
FTR with the IWGP Titles.
FTR Lose Another Set Of Tag Titles
Last month, the former three promotion champions dropped their ROH Tag Titles to the Briscoe Brothers. It was the final chapter in the acclaimed trilogy of epic bouts between the two teams. After besting the Briscoes twice in 2022, FTR crumbled in a blood-soaked Dog Collar Match that garnered widespread acclaim.
FTR’s contracts with AEW reportedly come to an end in April. The popular duo suddenly losing all of the titles they’ve snatched up does appear to lend credence to the rumors they won’t be continuing with the land of the Elite past April.
The pair also lost their AAA World Tag Team Championships to Dragon Lee and Dralistico in December, essentially freeing them up for 2023.
If FTR decide against sticking with AEW, it’s very likely Triple H and co. will want them back in WWE for another run as The Revival.
Cash Wheeler and Dax Harwood will defend the IWGP World Tag Team Championships at Wrestle Kingdom 17, but the trip to the show has been far from easy.
The AEW tag team will defend their titles later today against Bishamon (Hirooki Goto and Yoshi-Hashi.)
The IWGP World Tag Championships are the only titles that FTR currently holds, after losing the Ring of Honor World Tag Titles and AAA World Tag Team Titles in December of last year.
Travel Delay
Taking to Twitter, Wheeler explained that he had intended to make the trip to Tokyo on Monday morning, but he was not allowed to board his flight.
A flight to Atlanta that would have allowed Wheeler to fly to Japan was also delayed before later being canceled.
With no alternative, Wheeler had to drive to Atlanta to make his flight to Japan, and only recently arrived at his hotel in Tokyo.
Despite these setbacks, Wheeler remained positive about the match, saying it is “can’t miss.”
7am Monday: Issue with paperwork. Can’t board my flight to Japan. Bad.
7pm Monday: flight to ATL for new Tuesday morning flight delayed. Then cancelled.
10pm Monday: drive to ATL.
4:15am: Arrive at hotel.
WrestleKingdom day: land & go straight to the Dome.
Today’s title defense will make the third for Wheeler and Dax Harwood who captured the titles at AEWxNJPW: Forbidden Door in June of last year.
The AEW tag team’s first title defense was against Aussie Open (Kyle Fletcher and Mark Davis) at NJPW Royal Quest II in October 2022.
Their second defense saw Wheeler and Harwood retain against United Empire (Jeff Cobb and Great-O-Khan) at NJPW Battle Autumn in November, the same team FTR dethroned at Forbidden Door.
