Pinnacle was a popular but relatively short-lived group in the history of AEW. Dax Harwood of FTR believes it may have been the most mishandled thing in all of modern wrestling. The FTR recently had an interview with Joseph Staszewski of the New York Post. Among other things, they talked about the rise and fall of The Pinnacle.

Cash Wheeler first talked about the recent controversy involving the former leader of the group, MJF. He said that he hopes the young star gets what he wants:

“With Max right now, I don’t really know. I try to stay out of all the office business because I’m not very good at it and I’m not very good at hiding my emotions as it is. It’s just, I hope he gets what he wants. I know what it’s like to be in a spot where you don’t feel like where you want to be. So I hope he finds that.”

Most Mishandled Thing In Modern Wrestling

Discussing the end of the group, Wheeler said that he feels like they could have done things differently. Dax Harwood then shared his belief that it could have been one of the biggest angles in the modern wrestling history before claiming that he didn’t always see eye to eye with MJF on the plans for the faction:

“You called us to talk to FTR. I’m not here to talk about Max. I don’t care what Max does. I will say this, I think the Pinnacle may be the most mishandled thing in modern wrestling history because that could have been one of the biggest angles in the world, one of the biggest groups in the world. Max and I always didn’t see eye to eye and I’ll leave it at that.”

Apart from this, the duo talked about things such as the upcoming Forbidden Door PPV and what it would mean for them to win the IWGP tag team championships. The ROH tag team champions are set to compete in a triple threat match against the IWGP tag champs United Empire and Roppongi Vice in a winner takes all match at the show.

Following the June 8 episode of AEW Dynamite, Rampage was taped.

The show was taped inside Cable Dahmer Arena in Independence, MO. Fans got to witness a grudge match between Eddie Kingston and Jake Hager.

Also on the card was a tag team match featuring Jay Lethal and Satnam Singh taking on Davey Vega and Mat Fitchett.

Red Velvet went one-on-one with former ally Kris Statlander.

Also featured was a six-man tag team match. Will Ospreay, Mark Davis, and Kyle Flecther of United Empire took on FTR and Trent Beretta.

AEW Rampage Spoilers (6/10/22)

Here are spoilers for the June 10 episode of AEW Rampage.

• Eddie Kingston def. Jake Hager
• Jay Lethal & Satnam Singh def. Davey Vega & Mat Fitchett
• Kris Statlander def. Red Velvet
• FTR (Cash Wheeler and Dax Harwood) & Trent Beretta def. United Empire (Will Ospreay, Mark Davis, & Kyle Fletcher)

There was also a segment with both HOOK and Danhausen that was said to be humorous.

CM Punk doesn’t officially have his own stable but it definitely seems to be heading that way.

Punk, the reigning AEW World Champion, aligned himself with FTR, the ROH World Tag Team Champions, on the June 1 episode of Dynamite. They defeated Max Caster and The Gunn Club.

Before that episode of Dynamite went on the air, FTR celebrated with CM Punk after his world title win over Hangman Page once Double or Nothing went off the air on May 29.

CM Punk & FTR Have A Group Name?

Taking to his Twitter account, Punk seemingly named his supposed faction with FTR, “CMFTR.”

“One day I road my schwin bike to some dirt hills I used to jump and ride when I was a kid. When I got there, there were two kids on their bmx bikes. They told me to leave. I didn’t. We scrapped. Black eyes. Bloody lips. Next day and the whole summer we rode bikes TOGETHER. CMFTR.”

You certainly won’t hear Dax Harwood complaining about the name.

“CMFTR MOTHER F***ER.”

Following his victory against Hangman Adam Page at Double Or Nothing to win the AEW World Championship, CM Punk celebrated with the ROH and AAA Tag Team Champions, FTR, after the pay-per-view went off the air.

CM Punk & FTR Possibly Could Go After AEW Trios Titles

A user on Twitter brought up the possibility of FTR and CM Punk working together as a tag team in the highly anticipated trios division. CM Punk responded to the user with his thoughts on the idea.

The AEW World Champion responded, “Just give us the straps so we don’t have to hurt your favs.” You can view that exchange below.

Just give us the straps so we don’t have to hurt your favs. https://t.co/6K3NKg55Wh

— player/coach (@CMPunk) May 31, 2022

The Future Of The AEW Trios Tag Team Championships

Tony Khan, AEW’s President & CEO, recently confirmed that the AEW Trios Tag Team Championship belts had been made.

He also previously implied that he wanted to wait until Kenny Omega was back to introduce the titles.

Neither Khan nor AEW have announced how or when the new champions will be crowned. 

AEW Double or Nothing is in the books and we have a new world champion.

The event emanated from the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada on Sunday night (May 29). In the main event, CM Punk challenged Hangman Page for the AEW World Championship.

After a referee bump, Hangman teased nailing Punk with the gold. He had second thoughts and instead went for the Buckshot Lariat.

Hangman’s hesitation cost him as Punk countered with the GTS to pick up the win. He is now the new AEW World Champion.

After The Show

When AEW Double or Nothing went off the air, CM Punk addressed the fans. He thanked his wife, April Mendez (AJ Lee). He also said he couldn’t have been a world champion in pro wrestling again without the fans.

Dax Harwood and Cash Wheeler of FTR made their way to the ring to celebrate with Punk.

SEScoops was on the scene and you can check out footage of what transpired with the cameras stopped rolling below:

SEScoops had you covered throughout the event. We provided results throughout the evening, which you can check out here.

Mick Foley will be cornering FTR for one night.

Foley made the announcement on his Twitter account. He’ll be managing Dax Harwood and Cash Wheeler for a Patriotic Wrestling Federation event. The action will be taking place inside York Comprehensive High School.

The event will be taking place on May 14. Back in March, FTR announced that they would be taking limited independent bookings. The move has seemingly opened the door for them to be managed by the likes of Bret Hart, who is believed to have signed a deal with WWE that doesn’t allow him to appear on AEW TV.

Bret will be in FTR’s corner for a Big Time Wrestling event on June 10. That show will take place inside Webster Town Hall in Webster, MA.

As expected, FTR paid homage to wrestling royalty during their Owen Hart Cup Tournament qualifier match.

Dax Harwood and Cash Wheeler were in action on the April 27 episode of AEW Dynamite. The two have insisted that this was the first and last time they will wrestle each other and it lived up to the billing.

In the end, it was Dax Harwood who got the pinfall and he will move on to the opening round of the Owen Hart Cup.

Promo Joe has put together the tributes made by FTR. While the two honored Bret Hart and Owen Hart, they also paid homage to Scott Hall and Mr. Perfect.

FTR members Cash Wheeler and Dax Harwood will square off in an Owen Hart Memorial Tournament qualifying match next week on AEW Dynamite.

Shortly after the match announcement, Dax Harwood tweeted about the significance of this match. He revealed this will be the, “First time. Only time.” that the partners wrestle each other.

The reigning ROH & AAA World tag team champions appeared on the Wrestling Perspective Podcast to discuss the unique matchup.

According to Harwood, they’ve always wanted to have a match. Interestingly, they had to “fight” in order to get the match booked in an AEW ring.

“That was our idea, totally,” said Harwood. “We had to fight for it, but that was completely our idea.”

Harwood said they’ve always wanted to have a match, but it had to be under the right circumstances.

“There had to be a reason and this is the perfect reason to do it,” he continued. “The Hart family means a lot to both of us personally and professionally. So being able to show respect to Owen Hart and his whole family, what better way to do it than allowing the two biggest Hart family fans in the world compete?”

Convincing Tony Khan

Dax Harwood says FTR will never break up so there hasn’t been a chance for them to wrestle each other.

“I’ll retire before we ever even entertain that idea,” said Harwood, about FTR breaking up. “I’ll say that right here right now. Print it. Tattoo it. I don’t care. We’re never going to do a breakup angle.”

When AEW announced the Owen Hart tournament, FTR went straight to Tony Khan and pitched the match idea. Khan liked the idea, but wasn’t immediately sold.

“[Tony Khan] did like it, but he was like, ‘Okay, I gotta see if I can make it make sense.’ We just stayed on him about it, ‘Hey, can we? Can we? Can we?’ Finally, he was like, ‘Alright, I got a way where we can make it all work. You’ll do it in Philly. It’s going down.’ So yeah, he liked the idea, and he finally gave us the nod, and here we are.”

Elsewhere in the interview, FTR spoke about their rising popularity. They acknowledged that fans are starting to “take to them” because they’re not “playing wrestler” or working a gimmick. They eat, sleep and breathe pro wrestling and fans are smart enough to know you can’t fake that.

Listen to FTR on the 300th episode of the Wrestling Perspective Podcast:

The finals of the Men’s and Women’s Owen Hart Foundation Tournaments will take place in May at AEW Double or Nothing 2022.

FTR has some options when their contracts with AEW are up. Fightful Select reported today that Dax Harwood and Cash Wheeler’s deals are technically available to expire this summer, but AEW retains an option year on the tag team. 

The belief is the option will be exercised by AEW or the two sides will come to terms on a contract extension soon. It was added,

“WWE has expressed interest internally about possibly bringing back the team formerly known as The Revival.”

– Fightful Select

FTR: From WWE, back to WWE?

After finding success in NXT and on the main roster, FTR became unhappy in WWE because of the lack of focus on the tag team division. The company had offered them $850,000 each, with Mark Carrano even mentioning that he could possibly get them to $1 million each. They turned the big money down and left for AEW. Because FTR is still under contract with AEW, WWE is unable to approach FTR directly.

As of late, FTR has been getting a bigger push and their recent matches with The Young Bucks and The Briscoes have been highly praised. Some even think their ROH bout with The Briscoes is a contender for Match of the Year.

Harwood was asked as recently as last month if he would ever return to WWE. He responded with, “Yes, if the money and circumstances were right…”

FTR has been having an incredible year so far with amazing matches. It appears that things are only going to get better for the AEW stars with the involvement of Bret Hart.

The two have been teasing Hart becoming their manager in recent weeks. Big Time Wrestling then made the following announcement on Saturday:

“FTR will FINALLY get their chance to be managed by Bret Hart when they take on the team of Brian Pillman Jr & Brock Anderson with Arn Anderson! It happens on Friday June 10th in Webster, Ma! Tickets on sale now!”

Cash Wheeler reacted to this announcement on Twitter. He joked that someone should go check on his partner Dax Harwood.

Meanwhile, Dax Harwood dubs this match “Hart Foundation vs. The Horsemen” and says having Bret Hart in FTR’s corner will make this one of the most special nights of his life.

“My mentor, Arn Anderson, leads the Sons of the Horsemen against me, my best friend, & my hero, Bret “The Hitman” Hart. 2022 is wild.”

FTR In 2022

FTR has been having a dream year so far. They have gotten the chance to compete against teams such as The Rock ‘n’ Roll Express and more in the last few months.

The duo also won the ROH world tag team championships for the first time in their career earlier this month. They defeated The Briscoes at Supercard Of Honor.

There is no word yet on if this pairing between Hart and the ROH champions will be a one-off or if we are going to see more of it in the coming times.

• MLW Offers To Host FTR vs. The Von Erichs

FTR have been invited to walk through another forbidden door that leads to Major League Wrestling (MLW).

Earlier this week, earlier this week, Twitter account “Luchablog” noticed that FTR recently racked up four wins over tag team comprised of brothers:

• Dragon Lee and Dralistico
• The Gunn Club (Austin & Colten Gunn)
• The Briscoes (Jay and Mark Briscoe)
• The Young Bucks (Nick and Matt Jackson)

Dax Harwood of FTR asked, “Isn’t there a pair of Von Erich’s running around or something?” In fact, there are. Ross and Marshall Von Erich have been carrying on the family name as they hone their craft in MLW.

Marshall Von Erich saw Harwood’s tweet and replied, “Challenge accepted! My brother and I have never run from a fight and we want to face the best in the world.”

FTR vs. The Von Erichs

The exchange got the attention of MLW CEO Court Bauer, who offered to host this interpromotional tag match at an upcoming show.

Bauer is ready for the Von Erichs to step up against FTR at one of MLW’s upcoming shows, either May 13th from Philadelphia or the next time MLW returns to Dallas (“Von Erich country.”)

FTR has been on a tear as of late. The reigning ROH and AAA World tag team champions are hell-bent on proving they’re the best team in the world. They’ve shown their willingness to wrestle top challengers no matter what promotion they call home.

MLW returns to Philadelphia’s 2300 arena with Kings of Colosseum 2022 on Friday, May 13th. This is an MLW Fusion taping, with a double main event featuring:

• MLW World Champion Alex Hammerstone vs. Richard Holliday
• Jacob Fatu vs. Mads Krugger in a Weapons of Mass Destruction match

If you’re in the Philly area, tickets are now on sale at MLW2300.com.

AEW has been scrutinized for the high number of free agents they’ve signed over the past year. Some people have questioned if the AEW roster is too large, but Cash Wheeler of FTR says that’s nonsense.

FTR, the reigning Ring of Honor and AAA tag team champions, recently spoke with the Dallas Morning News and defended the growing number of performers on Tony Khan’s payroll.

According to Cash Wheeler, AEW is still in its infancy and should sign the most talented performers they can. Khan also just purchased Ring of Honor and now has two rosters to fill.

“When AEW started, they had to build from scratch,” said Wheeler. “And you don’t know who’s going to work on TV, who’s not going to work on TV, who the fans will accept and who they won’t.

“So, you’ve got to just sign everybody and hope after a couple years you’ve kind of got a better read on everything – what’s established, what isn’t.”

Wheeler added that you can’t plan for huge names to become free agents. If people like Bryan Danielson, Adam Cole, Jeff Hardy and Samoa Joe become available, you sign them and have time to figure everything out.

“You can’t plan for things that are completely unexpected. So, some of these names that became available to him, he never could have foresaw that coming. None of us could. So, when it was available, he would be a terrible businessman to not pursue that because it’s going to make his company better. And it’s going to make his talent better because now they have another brain to pick.”

Wheeler added that AEW has a lot of young talent on the roster and they don’t need to be on television every single week. They should be working independent shows and developing their characters before they’re on national TV week after week.

There’s much more to this interview, which you can check out at DallasNews.com.

Tony Khan has announced an ROH World Tag Team Title match between champions The Briscoes and FTR.

Supercard of Honor is set to take place on April 1. This will be the first ROH card with Khan at the helm.

“2 weeks from tonight, @ringofhonor Supercard of Honor. ROH World Tag Team Champions BRISCOES @jaybriscoe84, @SussexCoChicken vs. @LuchaLibreAAA Tag Team Champions FTR @DaxFTR, @CashWheelerFTR. Friday April 1, 2022, Dallas Metroplex. Tickets @ http://rohtix.com, on @FiteTV PPV.”

SEScoops exclusively reported that it was unknown whether or not The Briscoes would be able to make the show due to working for Impact Wrestling that same night. As it turns out, Jay and Mark will be making their way to the PPV.

Reports have surfaced claiming that WarnerMedia doesn’t want The Briscoes to be brought onto AEW TV. If that report holds true and if ROH programming is seen through a WarnerMedia platform, it’ll be interesting to see if The Briscoes will have any place under the Tony Khan umbrella long term.

FTR continue to hold tag team championship gold in Mexico.

Dax Harwood and Cash Wheeler retained their AAA Tag Team Championships at a show on Sunday in Merida, Yucatan, Mexico. The bout was originally set to be against the Lucha Brothers (Pentagon and Rey Fenix), however FTR instead wrestled Dragon Lee and Dralistico. FTR won the belts from the Lucha Brothers last October.

The match against the Lucha Brothers was cancelled after Rey Fenix suffered a gruesome arm injury on AEW Dynamite in early January. The Lucha Brothers had been feuding with Dragon Lee and Dralistico, also brothers, recently in AAA as well.

Vickie Guerrero accompanied FTR to ringside on Sunday. During the match, Pentagon came out as Vickie was being ejected from the ringside area. Pentagon attempted to attack Harwood, but Dragon Lee got involved. As Pentagon and Lee confronted each other, Harwood was able to roll up Lee for the pinfall victory.

We would expect the Lucha Brothers to challenge for the titles in the not too distant future, based upon Fenix’s availability of course. FTR has now defended the titles on three occasions, previously on an episode of AEW Dynamite in November and at TripleMania in December.

Sunday’s match did not air live and should air at the end of the month or in early April on Space TV in Mexico.

H/T to Wrestling Inc. for the report.

Check out the Top Rope Nation wrestling podcast for your weekly dose of pro wrestling talk featuring interviews, analysis and exclusive news: Apple – Spotify – YouTube. 

• Scott Hall On Life Support Following Heart Attacks, Surgery Complications (Report)

Dax Harwood is hell-bent on making FTR the greatest tag team in wrestling history. Being a perfectionist can drive you to greatness, but it can also leave you feeling unsatisfied.

Harwood held a Q&A session for his Twitter followers on Saturday night and answered a variety of questions about his career.

Interestingly, Harwood says he’s not satisfied with his AEW career thus far and would consider going back to WWE under the right circumstances.

Dax Harwood on FTR’s Future

The following are some highlights of what Dax Harwood said about:

His dream match for FTR:

“Rematch vs Young Bucks. Who really is the greatest tag team of this generation?”

Who he’d want to face in FTR’s final match:

“Chad Gable & Jason Jordan.”

FTR’s ladder match against the New Day:

“I told all the guys involved, I can’t do the athletic stuff most ladder matches have, but we can tell a story and we can be BRUTAL. I love that match and I love those guys.”

A fan questioning if we’ll see Dax vs. CM Punk:

“You guys tell CM Punk that.”

Wanting to work for New Japan Pro Wrestling: 

“Cash and I want to win the NJPW Tag team titles. We’ve talked about it on many 4 hour road trips.”

If FTR would return to WWE:

“Yes, If the money and circumstances were right.”

Is he satisfied with his AEW career so far?

“No. Okay, back to normal Twitter shit. Thanks y’all!”

(Author’s Opinion: I wouldn’t read too much into Harwood’s comments about being dissatisfied with how they’ve done in AEW up to this point. Dax Harwood has set very high goals for himself and rightfully so. FTR is always striving for greatness. Dax is a perfectionist. FTR has held the AEW World Tag titles, but are they considered the greatest tag team in AEW history? Have they dominated the division and proven they are the greatest beyond a shadow of a doubt? Not yet.)

FTR never wanted to quit the wrestling business but there was a time when they had some second thoughts.

Dax Harwood and Cash Wheeler have been praised for their old-school style. While they are a team reminiscent of the 1980s, FTR can work well with just about anybody.

They’ve proven that with some sensational matches against the likes of The Lucha Bros, who are known for their fast-paced, high-flying style.

FTR has enjoyed success in WWE and AEW but there was a time when the two did have some things to consider when pursuing the wrestling industry.

FTR Discuss Early Considerations

The folks over at the Elite POV spoke to FTR and asked if at any moment they had doubts about their wrestling aspirations. Harwood admitted he didn’t think he’d ever get a fair chance.

“I just didn’t think I was ever gonna get an opportunity because of my stature and the sound of my voice and things like that. It just happened that William Regal came across one of my matches and I got a call and it’s just happenstance.

“But after we got the opportunity there was never ever a time I ever thought about — even the time we were most frustrated, never did I think of throwing in the towel.”

Wheeler then shared his experience and said there was a time when money was tight due to the sacrifices he had to make pursuing wrestling.

“I think for me maybe 2012-ish would be the only time here where I was like maybe — and I didn’t wanna give up on wrestling.

“I just wanted to start being a more responsible adult cause it wasn’t that I didn’t wanna keep wrestling and keep trying to pursue it but I wanted to stop feeling like I couldn’t provide my half of everything or that I couldn’t be relied on to be providing for myself.”

FTR has become a decorated tag team over the past seven years. They’ve won tag team gold for WWE and AEW. They are also the current AAA World Tag Team Champions.

Please H/T SEScoops with a link if you use any quotes from this article

Dax Harwood of FTR has invited ROH and GCW Tag Team Champions the Briscoes to Wednesday’s Dynamite. After FTR attacked Jay and Mark Briscoe at ROH’s Final Battle recently, Harwood took to Twitter to say that the Briscoes should come to next week’s AEW Dynamite in the Greensboro Coliseum.

“Hell no. We came in their house, beat the shit out of them, and made them more relevant in 4 minutes than they’ve been in the last 4 years. They should come the Greensboro and give us their payday from Final Battle. I’m sure I could almost pay my light bill with that money,” Harwood Tweeted.

FTR have a scheduled match for the show. They are set to team with their Pinnacle stablemate, Maxwell Jacob Friedman. They’ll face Sting, Darby Allin, and CM Punk in trios action.

FTR recently appeared on Barstool Rasslin‘ with Brandon F. Walker. During the discussion, they spoke in regards to some of their plans for 2022 and mentioned the Briscoes specifically.

“I think we are going to be the first-ever two-time AEW Tag Team Champions. In 2022, we are going to get the titles back. We are going to have the title run that we should’ve had the first time,” said Wheeler. He continued, “…We are never going to lose those again. Rematch with the Young Bucks. Beat the sh*t out of The Briscoes. Hold titles everywhere.” 

All Elite Wrestling tag team FTR have shared their plans for what they want to achieve next year.

FTR appeared on Barstool Rasslin‘ with Brandon F. Walker to discuss future opponents and plans for 2022. They mentioned unfinished business with teams like the Young Bucks, Proud and Powerful, and the AEW Tag Team Champions The Lucha Bros. FTR also revealed that they want to go to New Japan Pro Wrestling to try to win the IWGP Tag Team Championship.

When asked what 2022 holds for them, Cash Wheeler responded with two opponents in mind.

“I think we are going to be the first-ever two-time AEW Tag Team Champions. In 2022, we are going to get the titles back. We are going to have the title run that we should’ve had the first time,” said Wheeler. He continued, “…We are never going to lose those again. Rematch with the Young Bucks. Beat the sh*t out of The Briscoes. Hold titles everywhere.”

FTR’s Dax Harwood Thoughts for 2022

Dax Harwood followed up after Wheeler shared their plans for next year. Harwood talked about how he wants FTR to prove they are one of the best tag teams of all time.

“I think ultimately for 2022, for me specifically, a legacy is something that I’ve wanted to leave, and I talk about it all the time in our interviews. Ultimately that’s what I want to do is continue to build on legacy,” said Harwood. He continued, “I know for a fact that I can’t do things like Ray Fenix or Nick Jackson, and because of my limitations, we can’t have the athletic matches that they can. There is a difference between having great tag team matches and being a great tag team. And I think 2022 going forward just proving that we can be in that same conversation as Arn and Tully, Midnight Express, Rock and Roll Express, that’s my goal for 2022.”

FTR’s AEW Contract Status

Harwood expressed urgency in accomplishing his goals because of FTR’s AEW contract status. FTR signed a multi-year contract with AEW on July 29, 2020. While Harwood didn’t say, their AEW contract could expire in 2023.

“…We don’t have much longer on these current contracts. I don’t know what’s going to happen from there. But we have a short amount of time to accomplish what we want to accomplish,” said Harwood. He continued to list goals, “…Like the IWGP Tag Team Championship, obviously two-time AEW Tag Team Championship. Proving that we are the best.” He also boasts that FTR is the only tag team that has faced great tag teams from WWE and AEW but wants to challenge more.

FTR is currently in a feud with Sting and Darby Allin, and they are still chasing the AEW Tag Team Championship. It’s also unclear if NJPW has discussed bringing in the tag team for future events. Regardless, FTR has made their plans clear that they want to defeat the best tag teams in AEW and accomplish many goals in 2022.

The Briscoe Brothers have called out Tony Khan and FTR ahead of this Wednesday’s Winter Is Coming special of Dynamite from the Curtis Culwell Center in Garland, TX.

The current ROH tag team champions posted a video message earlier today on Twitter. They told FTR that they made a mistake by confronting them at Final Battle.

The duo then called out AEW president Tony Khan as well to send them plane tickets, and told the AEW stars that they don’t know the danger they have put themselves in:

The Briscoe Brothers defeated Matt Taven and Mike Bennett at the Final Battle PPV this past Saturday to become the new ROH tag team champions.

After the match, they picked up the mics and laid out a challenge for any tag team in the world. In response, FTR made their ROH debuts and confronted the newly crowned champions.

The AEW stars picked up the ROH tag team titles. They then got out of the ring to brawl with The Briscoes to end the segment.

Tony Khan has teased new AEW debuts in the coming weeks. After this latest promo, the only question that remains is when exactly we will see The Briscoe Brothers making their AEW debut.

Tony Khan is in awe of two top-tier AEW tag teams and their names likely won’t come as a surprise.

AEW has plenty of highly-regarded tag teams. There’s of course The Young Bucks, there is also Proud N’ Powerful, Men of the Year, Private Party, and many more.

For Khan, however, there are two AEW tag teams that he simply can’t take his eyes off of. They are the current AEW Tag Team Champions The Lucha Bros and FTR.

Lucha Bros & FTR Hailed As Two Tag Team Greats

Tony Khan appeared on Busted Open Radio and he gushed over Lucha Bros and FTR, who had a tag team title match on the Dec. 10 episode of Rampage.

“The world tag team championship match is one of the biggest things we’ve ever put on Rampage.”

Khan went on to praise both teams for being able to click despite having different in-ring styles and personalities.

“They’ve built a great rivalry and I really honestly believe those are two of the great tag teams in recent history. They obviously have very different styles. They represent different things in a different company but in this case, they’ve both come to AEW and worked their way to the top.”

Lucha Bros ended up defeating FTR to retain the AEW Tag Team Championships. FTR still holds the AAA World Tag Team Titles.

FTR wasted little time picking a fight following the loss. They were joined by Tully Blanchard in attacking Sting and Darby Allin backstage at Rampage.

Please H/T SEScoops with a link if you use any quotes from this article

Old school tag-team wrestling will be on display January 22nd when FTR take on The Rock N Roll Express. Big Time Wrestling recently announced that Dax Harwood & Cash Wheeler vs Ricky Morton & Robert Gibson will main event their show next month from the Spartanburg Memorial Auditorium in Spartanburg, South Carolina.

It will be the first time the two tag-teams have ever squared off. Also scheduled for the show will be a match between Jerry “the King” Lawler and George South. Matt Hardy is scheduled to be there as is Scotty 2 Hotty, Arn Anderson, Brock Anderson, Lex Luger, and Magnum TA.

Dax Harwood released the following on Twitter:

FTR Wants To Challenge For The NWA Tag Team Titles?

The Rock N Roll Express are 2x NWA World Tag Team Champions. This summer, Harwood mentioned on Twitter that FTR would like to have a chance to challenge for those belts.

The NWA responded to Harwood’s comments.

It was also noted during this back and forth on social media that the NWA has the Crockett Cup tournament that FTR could compete in.

The NWA recently confirmed that the Crockett Cup tournament will return this year. More on that story is available in the link below:

All Elite Wrestling Tag Team Champions The Lucha Bros successfully defended their championship against FTR at Full Gear. However, the match didn’t go as planned, according to Fightful Select.

AEW President Tony Khan shared after Full Gear that Dax Harwood received an injury. Fightful Select reports that Ray Fenix hurt Harwood ten minutes into the title match. The report also shares that AEW planned for Harwood to factor into the storyline that he was the legal man at the end of the match

“Fightful Select was told by AEW sources that Dax Harwood was either knocked out or nearly knocked out about ten minutes into the match by Rey Fenix and was sidelined for a good portion of the remainder of the match,” said the report.

Dax Harwood Injury at Full Gear

It is unclear what move caused the injury to Harwood. The report also shares that Fenix is known to work stiff and didn’t check up on Harwood after the match. Khan also didn’t share an update on Hardwood after the event.

“Rey Fenix has been known to work stiff in the past, and some talent on the roster took issue with him not checking up on Harwood after the match, said the report. It continues, “We’re told this wasn’t considered major heat, but the talent we spoke to said it was common courtesy to check-in.”

The injury to Harwood is unfortunate for FTR, as they have a history of dealing with injuries. On July 30th, Wheeler suffered an arm injury in a tag team match against Santana and Ortiz. The injury kept FTR from competing in AEW until they made their return on September 1st.

AEW didn’t advertise the team for this Wednesday episode of AEW Dynamite. AAA is promoting a AAA World Tag Team Championship match between the current champions FTR and the Lucha Bros. for December 4th. However, it is unclear if the team will have to take time off from wrestling.

FTR were the latest challengers to step up to take on AEW Tag Team Champions Lucha Bros. 

This was the second match on the main card of the AEW Full Gear pay-per-view event in Minneapolis, MN at the Target Center. The champions had the early advantage. Lucha Bros did a double submission spot at one point. Fenix hit a double cutter on FTR. Fenix walked the top rope to do a head kick spot. Wheeler hit Fenix with a title belt for a near fall when the referee wasn’t looking.

These two teams previously shared the ring on the October 16th episode of Dynamite when Cash Wheeler and Dax Harwood won the AAA Tag Team Championship from the Lucha Bros while being dressed as luchadores. 

The storyline was that Andrade El Idolo paid Pinnacle leader MJF for their services so they could take the titles away from Penta El Zero M and Rey Fenix. Thus, FTR dressed up as unknown luchadores.

The Lucha Bros beat The Young Bucks to win the Tag Team Titles this past September inside of a Steel Cage at the AEW All Out pay-per-view event in Chicago, IL at the NOW Arena. 

What are your thoughts on Lucha Bros retaining the Tag Team Titles? Was this the right call by AEW officials? Sound off in the comment section.

AAA has announced the full card for TripleMania Regia II. The show will take place December 4th from the Estadio de Beisbol Monterrey in Monterrey, Mexico.

Kenny Omega will defend his AAA Mega Championship on the show against El Hijo del Vikingo. Cain Velasquez will also make his return to AAA as he teams with Psycho Clown and Pagano to take on the team of LA Park, Rey Escorpion and Taurus.

The feud between FTR and the Lucha Bros will also continue on December 4th. Dax Harwood and Cash Wheeler will defend the AAA World Tag Team Championships against the team they took the titles from, the Lucha Bros. At Full Gear this weekend, the Lucha Bros will defend their AEW World Tag Team Championships against FTR.

TripleMania Regia II Lineup

• AAA Mega Championship
  Kenny Omega (c) vs. El Hijo del Vikingo
• Cain Velasquez, Psycho Clown & Pagano vs. LA Park, Rey Escorpion & Taurus 
• AAA World Tag Team Championship
  FTR (c) vs. The Lucha Brothers
• La Empresa (Sam Adonis, Puma King & DMT Azul) vs. Monster Clown, Murder Clown & Dave the Clown
• Dragon Lee & Dralistico vs. Laredo Kid & a mystery partner
• Vipers (Psicosis, Abismo & Arez) vs. Poder del Norte (Mocho Cota Jr., Tito Santana & Carta Brava Jr.) vs. NGD (Sanson, El Cuatrero & Forastero)
• Marvel Lucha Libre match
  Leyenda Americano & Gran Mazo vs. Venenoide & Enganso
• Faby Apache, Lady Shani & Sexy Star vs. La Hiedra, Flammer & Lady Maravilla

AAA Tag Team Champions FTR will appear at the Lucha Libre AAA taping in Mexico without Tully Blanchard as their manager.

Wrestling Observer Radio’s Dave Meltzer reports that Vickie Guerrero will act as FTR’s manager on the November 4th AAA taping. It is unclear why Blanchard will not manage the team for the show.

Meltzer also shared that AAA wants FTR in a tag title match against The Lucha Bros and Dragon Lee & Dralistico. The promotion intends to have the match take place at Triplemania Regia On December 4th. However, AAA hasn’t confirmed the match will happen.

FTR Feud with the Lucha Bros.

FTR is in an ongoing feud with the AEW Tag Team Champions, the Lucha Bros. The rivalry started when Andrade El Idolo challenged the Lucha Bros. to defend the AAA Tag Team Championship against his “masked friends.” Idolo’s friends were FTR in disguise, and they defeated The Lucha Bros at AEW Dynamite on October 16th. On October 27th, The Lucha Bros. challenged the FTR to an AEW Tag Team title match at Full Gear on November 13th.

AEW Full Gear 2021 Card

Besides the AEW Tag Team Championship match, AEW announced two confirmed matches for the Full Gear card. The World Title Eliminator Tournament will also take place at Full Gear. However, it’s unclear who will be in the finals. AEW World Champion Kenny Omega will defend the title against Hangman Adam Page in the main event. Page earned the title opportunity after winning the Casino Battle Royal at AEW Dynamite on October 6th. The other match confirmed that AEW is advertising is Tayconti will challenge AEW Women’s Champion Britt Baker.

It’s unclear if FTR’s AAA Tag Team Championship will also be on the line in their match against the Lucha Bros at Full Gear. However, FTR will have the opportunity to claim both the AAA and AEW Tag Team Championship in two weeks.