Wrestling Observer Radio with Bryan Alvarez and Dave Meltzer is back with tons to talk about including Dax Harwood having to take time off, Ricochet’s status after RAW, Hikuleo coming to WWE, ratings, AEW and NXT previews for the week, RAW report from Monday, mailbag and more. A fun show as always so check it out~!
Timestamps: Start: Dax Harwood out of action 2:27: Ricochet injury angle on Raw 7:10: Hikuleo heading to WWE 8:52: Ratings 15:20: Lineups for this week 21:37: WWE Raw recap 42:49: Mailbag
Taking to social media on Monday, Harwood explained that he and Cash Wheeler are being taken off the road so Harwood can recover from a hematoma suffered back in April that he had attempted to work through without telling anyone.
In a video post on X, he first apologized to Tony Khan and other AEW staff, saying he should have been upfront about his situation for the last few months. He said that after giving Matt Jackson a piledriver at AEW Dynasty in April, he messed up his lower back “really, really bad,” causing a severe hematoma. He wanted to work through it, however, as he didn’t want to take himself and tag partner Cash Wheeler off the road.
Harwood said after his match on AEW Collison this past weekend against Blackpool Combat Club, the hematoma grew to the size of a football while icing it backstage.
“The pain has been at the very, very, very minimum, the pain has been excruciating over the last few months,” he said.
He explained he didn’t want to tell anyone as he didn’t want FTR being taken off television. But after Saturday, he informed Doc Sampson of AEW about his situation and was taken off the road, getting an x-ray on his pelvis on Monday. Sampson told him that he needed to rest the injury or it could lead to possible retirement.
“I don’t know how long this is going to last, I don’t know how long we’re gonna have to be off, but unfortunately, or maybe fortunately for some of you people that don’t like FTR, myself and Cash will not be on television for a while,” he said. “I have to rest this thing up.”
He noted that he has had a lot of sleepless nights as he can’t get in a comfortable position at night. He hopes that when they come back, FTR will be better than ever.
After he suffered a legitimate concussion at AEW Dynasty, Dax Harwood said that he is “feeling much better today.”
In this week’s Wrestling Observer Newsletter, Dave Meltzer reported that Harwood was concussed during last Sunday’s ladder match that saw FTR take on the Young Bucks for the vacant AEW Tag Team titles.
No other details on the severity of the injury, nor at what point was it sustained, was reported. Harwood was bloodied up during the match as seen above.
The 39-year-old posted on X late-Friday afternoon, giving an update on his status and that will see fans soon.
Harwood and Wheeler were attempting to kick off their third AEW Tag Team title reign and first since October 2023. The loss to the Bucks now evens their record at 2-2 in the informal series that dates back to 2020.
At the end of the match, Harwood was shoved off a ladder into the ropes by the returning Jack Perry who has joined the Bucks’ new version of The Elite along with Kazuchika Okada.
Two new matches have been added to the lineup for AEW Dynamite.
Jon Moxley vs. Dax Harwood, and a Texas Death match between Orange Cassidy and Matt Taven are now scheduled for the show.
Tony Khan revealed the news on Tuesday, writing:
TOMORROW, Valentine’s Day @HEBCenter Austin, TX Wednesday Night #AEWDynamite On TBS, 8pm ET/7pm CT
@DaxFTR vs @JonMoxley
After Saturday’s brawl, there’s no love lost between FTR/BCC! Now, for the first time ever 1-on-1: DAX vs MOX Live on @TBSNetwork, Valentine’s Day TOMORROW!
TOMORROW, Valentine's Day@HEBCenter Austin, TX Wednesday Night #AEWDynamite On TBS, 8pm ET/7pm CT
After Saturday's brawl, there's no love lost between FTR/BCC! Now, for the first time ever 1-on-1: DAX vs MOX Live on @TBSNetwork, Valentine's Day TOMORROW! pic.twitter.com/J9FGbVad6t
Following Moxley and Claudio Castagnoli’s victory over Esfinge & Star Jr. on Collision, Moxley challenged any team to “step up” to them. His callout was accepted by Harwood and Cash Wheeler, leading to a locker room clearing brawl between the two teams.
Moxley and Castagnoli are currently ranked number two in the AEW tag team rankings, while FTR are ranked number five. In the trios rankings, the Blackpool Combat Club are ranked number four, while FTR and Daniel Garcia are in the top contender’s spot.
Wednesday’s show takes place at the HEB Center in Austin, Texas. 2,788 tickets have been distributed to the show as of Monday evening, according to WrestleTix.
AEW Dynamite announced lineup for Wednesday, February 14 —
The Young Bucks (Matthew & Nicholas Jackson) vs. Top Flight (Darius & Dante Martin)
Adam Copeland vs. Daniel Garcia
Jon Moxley vs. Dax Harwood
Skye Blue vs. Willow Nightingale
Orange Cassidy vs. Matt Taven in a Texas Death match
We’ll hear from Hangman Page, Samoa Joe, and Swerve Strickland
Dax Harwood announced via social media on Thursday that he and Cash Wheeler will attend the event to celebrate the anniversary of their Dog Collar match against The Briscoes at Final Battle 2022.
Harwood wrote:
Tops Guys. Dem Boys. Myself & Cash will be at Final Battle to celebrate the 2 Year Anniversary of the first ever face-to-face meeting of FTR & the Briscoes, AND the 1 Year Anniversary of our greatest match ever, the Dog Collar match with Mark & Jay. It was the last match in our epic Trilogy w/ the Briscoes & the last time Cash & I saw Jay. Come celebrate this emotional night with us in Garland, TX on 12/15.
Final Battle 2022: The Briscoes defeated FTR in a Dog Collar match to win the ROH World Tag Team Championships (*****1/2)
Death Before Dishonor 2022: FTR defeated The Briscoes in a Best two-of-three falls match to retain the ROH World Tag Team Championships (*****)
Supercard of Honor 2022: FTR defeated The Briscoes to win the ROH World Tag Team Championships (*****)
Ring of Honor Final Battle 2023 is scheduled for Friday, December 15 at the Curtis Culwell Center in Garland, Texas. The show will air exclusively for subscribers of HonorClub.
ROH Final Battle 2023 lineup:
ROH Women’s Champion Athena defends against Billie Starkz
Survival of the Fittest finals for the ROH Television Championship: Dalton Castle vs. Komander vs. TBA
A new trios team featuring Adam Copeland, Dax Harwood, and Cash Wheeler could be forming in AEW.
Copeland and FTR filed to trademark the name “Rated FTR” for wrestling purposes on Wednesday, October 18.
The filings were done through attorney Michael E. Dockins on behalf of Wheeler, Harwood, and through the Wet Yeti Inc. company that filed to trademark several potential nicknames for Copeland earlier this month.
FTR and Copeland appeared together in the final moments of Collision on Saturday. All three wrestlers came out to save Bryan Danielson, who was being attacked by Nick Wayne, Luchasaurus, Ricky Starks, and Big Bill at the time.
During an interview with ESPN shortly after his AEW debut at WrestleDream, Copeland listed FTR as people in the company he wants to work with.
“I’ve never wrestled at Tokyo Dome. How about a match against Kazuchika Okada?” Copeland said. “That would be pretty cool. I’m pretty excited by that. How about Jon Moxley? Hell yeah. A singles match in AEW against Bryan Danielson? Miro? Claudio Castagnoli? Kenny Omega? Will Ospreay? Adam Page? Chris Jericho? Malakai Black? FTR in a tag? Teaming with Darby against the Young Bucks? Facing Darby? Facing Sting? A promo battle with Eddie Kingston? The possibilities, they’re keeping me awake at night.”
On what has been a monumental news day for AEW, the company presents their last stop before Sunday’s All Out with tonight’s Collision from Chicago, Illinois’ United Center.
Ricky Starks will challenge legend Ricky Steamboat to a strap match for All Out following Starks’ assault on Steamboat after the former’s match with the now-fired CM Punk several weeks ago.
Former NBA superstar and occasional pro wrestler Dennis Rodman will be on hand from a venue he has had countless memorable moments in.
New AEW Trios Champions The Acclaimed & Billy Gunn will defend their titles for the first time as they face Daniel Garcia, Matt Menard & Angelo Parker.
In a highly-anticipated singles match, FTR’s Dax Harwood will take on Bullet Club Gold’s Jay White.
The Outcasts, made up of new AEW Women’s Champion Saraya, Toni Storm & Ruby Soho, will face Britt Baker, TBS Champion Kris Statlander & Hikaru Shida which may set up a title match for Sunday.
*********
AEW Collision opened with Tony Khan talking frankly about the situation with CM Punk, and how the confrontation put people in danger, including production staff, himself, and others, and at the recommendations of legal council and an AEW discipline committee, he fired CM Punk. Dave’s coverage of this on Wrestling Observer Radio will be a must listen.
Ricky Starks/Ricky Steamboat segment
Tony Schiavone opened the entertainment portion of the show by bringing Ricky Starks to the ring. Starks made his entrance with a weight belt that Cody Rhodes would be proud of, and accompanied by Big Bill.
Tony Schiavone talked about Starks about challenging Ricky Steamboat, a 70 year old man, to a strap match, and asked, “Are you freakin’ insane?” Starks said that he was tired of starting over again, and that he was going to rebuild again and do what he needed to do. He looked at Big Bill, and said off the cuff that he was proud of him, and that he could do anything he wanted to do.
Starks then tied it back to the story with Steamboat, saying that he was angry because he was suspended for 28-days, and missed All In because of it, so he wanted an answer from Ricky Steamboat. Steamboat’s great 90s WCW theme hit, and he came down with a clipboard. Steamboat said that he never once complained about Starks beating him on social media, but he heard Starks wanted this match on social media.
Steamboat said that he got a contract with his name and Starks name, because he wanted Starks to put his money where his mouth is. The contract says, Ricky Starks vs. The Dragon. Methinks The Dragon in this case might be Bryan Danielson rather than Ricky Steamboat. And right on queue, Steamboat said there was another Dragon everyone in wrestling knew, and Bryan Danielson made his way down to the ring.
Leave it to babyface Bryan Danielson to return and save AEW All Out with Moxley, Orange Cassidy, and few others. The fans chanted at Starks as he crossed his heart, and I laughed. Bryan Danielson and Ricky Starks will face off in a strap match tomorrow night at AEW All Out. Excellent stuff.
–Jon Moxley cut a promo on Orange Cassidy, saying that he was a puzzle that 31 men before him couldn’t solve. He said Cassidy was the real deal, because he was on the run of a lifetime, and the chance to beat someone on a run like him only comes once rarely. Moxley said that the difference between real wrestlers and the fake ones were that when it gets hard, the fake ones look for a way out, and he hoped Cassidy wouldn’t look for a way out. This promo was awesome.
AEW Trios Tag Team Champions The Acclaimed (Max Caster, Anthony Bowens, & Billy Gunn) defeated 2point0 (Matt Menard & Angelo Parker) & Daniel Garcia to retain
This was a good opening match. Garcia and 2point0 are truly excellent. They really helped make The Acclaimed look good here.
Bowens started the match with Parker, and Bowens quickly sent Parker to the floor, who quickly tagged out to Garcia. Garcia faced off with Billy Gunn, and ducked a chop to begin dancing in the middle of the ring. He then told Billy Gunn to suck it. Gunn hit a jab that sent Garcia to his knees. Gunn then danced. Garcia was able to start getting the heat on Bowens after Jake Hager pulled Caster and Gunn from the apron.
Garica then locked on the Dragon Tamer on Bowens and Caster was held back by Parker and Menard. Gunn was able to break it up, but only after extensive damage was done with the submission.
Bowens hit an enziguri on Garcia and then tagged out to Caster, who had a brief advantage, but soon faced Menard. This was where Nigel McGuinness said, “Where did he get that name, Daddy Magic?” Kevin Kelly said he thought it was Jericho, and McGuinness said, “I thought it was prison.” Well then. Caster tagged out to Gunn, who then ran wild and tagged out for Caster to hit the flying elbow for the win.
–The Dark Order was backstage with Lexy Nair, and she asked them about their upcoming match with MJF and Adam Cole for the ROH World Tag Team Championship. John Silver complained about his friend Budge teaming with MJF, and Alex Renyolds revealed that he helped train MJF. He was proud of his success, but he was going to show his student what it meant to be a champion.
–Ricky Starks ran into Tony Schiavone backstage and said that tomorrow night was going to be no different from any other challenge he faced, and he was going to beat Bryan Danielson.
Aussie Open (Kyle Fletcher & Mark Davis) defeated Nick Wayne & Komander w/ Alex Abrahantes
Good tag match here, and Nick Wayne especially looked good, even in losing.
Aussie Open quickly isolated Komander and got some heat on him for a few minutes. Komander was able to hit a jaw breaker on Davis and back flip out of a back suplex before dodging a corner charge and tagging out to Wayne. Wayne hit a superkick on Davis, and then a Asai DDT on Fletcher and a tope con giro on Davis on the floor. Wayne followed up with a frog splash on Fletcher for a 2-count. Wanye called for an OsCutter, but Fletcher blocked it and hit a half-and-half suplex.
Davis tagged in and picked Wayne up for a crucifix bomb, but Komander flew in and superkicked Fletcher. Davis put Wayne down and caught Komander as he went for a Code Breaker and powerbombed him. He then held on and threw Komander back into the air before hitting a piledriver on Komander. Unfortunately for Wayne, he ate a forearms from both Aussie Open. Wayne then went for the OsCutter, or Wayne’s World, on both of Aussie Open, and they caught him and hit Coriolis for the win.
Tony Schiavone interviewed Wayne after the match and Wayne said that while he was frustrated he lost, he couldn’t stop thinking about how Darby Allin forgave AR Fox for what happened between them. Allin made his way down to the ring and told Wayne a story – he said that Nick Wayne was there when Darby Allin got into a fight with Buddy Wayne, and he didn’t talk to any of the Wayne family for three years. In that time, Buddy Wayne died, and Darby had to live with that for the rest of his life. That is why he forgave AR Fox so quickly, because you never know how much time left. Allin then asked Wayne to be in h is corner on Sunday.
Christian then came out and said he was going to slide into the DMs of Nick Wayne’s mom. Christian said that Nick Wayne was just Darby Allin’s personal petty project, and that Christian never pretended to be something he wasn’t. Kevin Kelly pointed out that Christian wasn’t the TNT Champion. Christian said that on Sunday that Nick Wayne should bring a towel to throw in because Allin was going to need it. Good promo from Christian here.
–Claudio Castagnoli was backstage with Wheeler Yuta, and he congratulated Kingston on beating Yuta, but said hit wasn’t that a big deal, because the BCC beat up Yuta everyday. Castagnoli then proceeded to hit a European uppercut on him every single time he delivered a line. He then talked about how he was going to beat Kingston with Yuta at the PPV.
–Eddie Kingston was with Katsuyori Shibata, and Kingston mocked Castagnoli for beating up Yuta, and Yuta for taking it. He then said that the reason Castagnoli couldn’t look at him was because he was afraid. He then asked Shibata what he thought of them. Shibata held up a phone with Google Translate opened, and it read, “You both suck!” and Kingston laughed. Two great promos again.
–Lexy Nair was with Saraya & Ruby Soho, and she talked about how great she was when she won the AEW Women’s World Championship. Soho then said she was going to win the TBS Championship tomorrow at AEW All Out. Nair asked about Toni Storm, and Soho insisted that Storm was fine, though she did just see her half naked in the parking lot throwing her shoes at birds. Soho then reiterated that she would beat Kris Statlander tomorrow, and that everything in the Outcasts was fine, and their trios match later tonight will show it.
–Dennis Rodman ws introduced by Tony Schiavone, and he made his way down to the ring. Before Rodman could say anything Jeff Jarrett and his crew made their way down to the ring. Jarrett indicated he was happy to see Rodman as they were in WCW together years ago, though they stretched them being at the NWO at the same time.
Jarrett also stretched it saying he was the leader of the NWO, but he wanted to make a deal with Dennis Rodman. Rodman said that he was glad to be in Chicago with AEW, and that he was happy to be back in front of the fans. Jarrett demanded an answer to his proposition. Rodman then said he could beatup Satnam Singh. Sonjay Dutt made the offer to Rodman, showing his new shirt with Rodman’s face on it. Rodman shoved Dutt. Jarrett, Lethal, and Singh tried to attack Rodman, but the Acclaimed made the save. The Acclaimed then challenged Jarrett, Lethal, and Singh to a match tomorrow for the trios title.
–A video aired for Shane Taylor, ending with him saying he was taking back his title as he hit the Greetings from Asbury Park on Keith Lee.
–Samoa Joe said that he was going to give Shane Taylor a reality check at AEW All Out. He said Taylor is going to hope he gives the performance of a lifetime, but he’s going to wish he was fighting someone else. He said Taylor hoped he was going to knock him out, but Joe was going to make an example of him and make him regret saying his name. This was an awesome promo too.
Britt Baker, Hikaru Shida & Kris Statlander defeated The Outcasts (Saraya, Ruby Soho, & Toni Storm)
Toni Storm started the match with Statlander, exchanging shoulder tackles, with Statlander showing more power, but Storm showing more speed. However, that speed was only helpful in running into a body slam. Storm yanked the hair of Statlander and then went for the hip attack in the corner, but wasted too much time, as Statlander recovered and hit a dropkick and tagged out to Baker.
Baker hit a sling blade and tagged out to Shida, hit nailed Soho with a hard forearm. Baker held the arms of Saraya back and Shida went for a forearm, but Saraya ducked and Shida almost hit Baker. This allowed Saraya and Soho to isolate Shida and hit some attacks behind the back of the referee. Storm tagged in and it looked like she killed Shida with the hip attack in the corner.
Saraya drove Shida into the announce table when the referee wasn’t looking, and Soho brought her back into the ring. Shida managed to hit Storm with an enziguri and tag out to Statlander, who ran wild, taking on both Saraya and Soho. Statlander hit a blue thunder bomb on Saraya that Soho broke up.
All six women exchanged moves until Saraya superkicked Baker, but Statlander hit a powerslam on Saraya. Storm tried to break up the pin but landed on Saraya. Saraya tagged out to Baker, who hit a fisherman’s neckbreaker on Soho, but soon got spray paint to the face from Saraya, letting Soho hit No Future for the win.
–Adam Cole was backstage and cut a promo against The Dark Order, saying they were a great tag team, but that him and MJF had no plans to drop their titles anytime soon. Cole then read a list of insults that MJF sent him via text, and Cole had to censor it, and refused to say the last one, because it horrified him, and the fans laughed. Excellent stuff.
–Statlander was backstage and said the only way that Soho could beat her was by cheating, and at this Soho came up and started screaming at her. Saraya cussed at her, and the promo ended there.
Powerhouse Hobbs defeated GPA
This was one of the fastest matches I have ever seen as Hobbs killed him with a spinebuster and his music just resumed playing seconds after it ended.
–Miro’s music hit and he walked down towards the ring in his ring gear and started brawling with Hobbs. The fight spilled at to ringside, and Hobbs threw Miro into the steps while Miro threw Hobbs over the railing into the crowd. Hobbs backed away slowly after this, to cheers from the crowd at the short fight we saw.
–After running down the card for AEW All Out, an awesome hype video aired for Konosuke Takeshita and Kenny Omega set to “God’s Gonna Cut You Down.” This was absolutely fantastic.
–Orange Cassidy was sitting backstage and said he didn’t want to talk right now, but he had to because this title match was nothing like what he has done before. He proved in Chicago in his match against PAC that be belonged in AEW. Then he faced Will Ospreay, and proved he could hang with the best in the world. Now, he has to face Jon Moxley, who is simply the best. Moxley was the guy that put AEW on his shoulder when AEW was down, but tomorrow, Cassidy was going to take that burden off his shoulders and carry it himself because he was the AEW International Champion. This was awesome.
Jay White (w/ Juice Robinson, Austin & Colten Gunn) defeated Dax Harwood (w/ Cash Wheeler)
As one would expect, this was a very good wrestling match.
Harwood and White started with some great classic wrestling, and even featured a funny spot where Harwood got the crowd cheering for him to grab the ropes while holding White in an abdominal stretch. White was able to get the advantage by hitting a headlock suplex into the corner. As the Gunns and Robinson were attempting to attack Harwood, Wheeler ran in with a chair to chase them off.
The referee chastised Robinson and he yelled back, “He has a chair ,you idiot!” A fair point, given the referee didn’t see anything but the chair in play. White hit a DDT on Harwood for a 2-count. Harwood hit a superplex on White a minute or so later, but missed a diving headbutt. During the break on the FITE.tv feed, JR, Nigel, and Kelly talked about who had the hardest chops they ever seen and Wahoo McDaniel was given a shout out.
Harwood tried for a slingshot suplex, but White necked him on the ropes to escape. White then came back in the ring but ate a German suplex. Harwood the hit a brain buster for a 2-count. Harwood chopped White on the floor and then went for another diving DDT, but White went to the apron. Harwood chopped White so hard he came back into the ring over the ropes. White managed to hit a dragon screw on the ropes as Harwood tried to get back in.
White hit a backdrop driver and then a Death Valley Driver for a 2-count. White hit a clothesline on Harwood, but he ate it and delivered one of his own to drop White on his head. Harwood then ducked some punches, faked him out, and hit a piledriver for a 2-count. White sent Harwood crashing into the metal post between the ropes, and then hit a uranage for a 2-count. White went for the Blade Runner, but Harwood blocked it by grabbing the ropes and White turned into a slingshot powerbomb as White screamed “No!”
Harwood put a sharpshooter on White and White made the ropes. The rest of Bullet Club Gold pulled White to the floor, and as Harwood faced off with them, White recovered and hit a Blade Runner on the floor. Harwood managed to cradle White once they got back in the ring, but as soon as White kicked out he countered with a Blade Runner for the pinfall. It looks like we might be getting Juice Robinson and Jay White one more time, maybe at AEW Dynamite Grand Slam.
The Bullet Club then laid out Wheeler after the match and started to beat on FTR. As it was looking bad, the Young Bucks ran down to make the save. The Bucks then offered a handshake to FTR, and FTR refused as a small section of fans chanted “CM Punk” but were largely drowned out.
Final Thoughts:
AEW needed to have a show like this after what happened earlier today, and they hit everything they needed to. After the show went off the air in the US, the audio could be heard from the arena, and many fans were chanting for the Elite (though some were still booing). AEW will be fine without CM Punk, but it does suck that it came to this. That said, this was still an excellent show, and did a very good job building up AEW All Out. Moxley and Orange Cassidy were key, but so was Danielson returning as a surprise. Everyone seemed they wanted to steal the show and make this PPV a success tomorrow. Great show.
New for the AEW All Out Zero Hour pre-show:
The Over Budget Charity battle royal
Athena, Mercedes Martinez & Diamante vs. Willow Nightingale, Hikaru Shida & Skye Blue
AEW World Trios Champion The Acclaimed & Billy Gunn (w/ Dennis Rodman) defend against Jeff Jarrett, Satnam Singh & Jay Lethal (w/ Sonjay Dutt & Karen Jarrett)
FTR’s Dax Harwood will face Bullet Club Gold’s Jay White on the Saturday, September 2 AEW Collision episode.
Prior to facing off on opposite sides of an eight-man tag at Sunday’s All Out pay-per-view, Harwood and White will go one-on-one on Saturday’s Collision. At All Out, it will be Harwood, Cash Wheeler, Matt Jackson & Nick Jackson vs. White, Juice Robinson, Austin Gunn & Colten Gunn.
The Acclaimed’s first AEW World Trios Championship defense is also set for Saturday’s Collision. Max Caster, Anthony Bowens, & Billy Gunn will defend the Trios titles against Daniel Garcia, Matt Menard, & Angelo Parker on this week’s episode.
Also announced for Saturday, The Outcasts trio of Saraya, Toni Storm, & Ruby Soho will face Britt Baker, Hikaru Shida, & Kris Statlander in a six-woman tag. Statlander is set to defend the TBS title against Soho at Sunday’s All Out.
The announced lineup for the Saturday, September 2 Collision in Chicago at the United Center, the go-home show for All Out:
Dax Harwood vs. Jay White
World Trios Championship: Max Caster, Anthony Bowens & Billy Gunn defend against Daniel Garcia, Matt Menard & Angelo Parker
Saraya, Toni Storm & Ruby Soho vs. Britt Baker, Hikaru Shida & Kris Statlander
FTR is hopeful that CMFTR vs. The Elite will happen eventually.
Cash Wheeler and Dax Harwood vs. The Young Bucks III will take place later this month in London’s Wembley Stadium. However, the AEW tag champions recently told DAZN that they believe the more time passes, the more likely it is that they will be able to team with CM Punk to face the Bucks and other members of The Elite.
“I think if the cards fall in the right place and, you know, the story is right and the opportunity calls for it then hell yeah, you can do it,” Harwood said about a potential CMFTR vs. Elite match.
“I think wrestling is all about making the most money for yourselves and for the company you work for and I think that everybody here all agrees with that and the more time passes, the more likely I think it is that we can get to there. But you never really know, and I don’t want to say ‘yes’ but I hope so.”
CMFTR will challenge The House of Black for the Trios titles on Saturday’s edition of Collision from the Greensboro Coliseum. It will be the third time Wheeler and Harwood have teamed with Punk since he returned.
“I think that Punk is one of the greatest wrestlers of all time,” Harwood continued. “Look at his track record, his resume, and the things he’s done in wrestling especially when, you know, the business, at one point, was completely against him and what he represented.”
Following Saturday’s match for the Trios belts, FTR will be looking ahead to All In later this month. They will defend the AEW Tag Team titles against the Young Bucks in what Harwood says could be the biggest match of their careers.
“I think it has the potential to be the biggest match of Cash and I’s career,” Harwood said. “Before we even came to AEW, all you heard about was FTR versus Young Bucks. Or, excuse me, The Revival versus the Young Bucks, what would happen if those two teams got in the ring?”
The Young Bucks vs. FTR head-to-head series is tied 1-1. The Bucks beat FTR for the tag titles at Full Gear 2020 but FTR avenged the loss on an episode of Dynamite in April 2022. The rubber match is now scheduled to take place in front of 80,000 people in London.
“It always felt like it needed the biggest platform possible and now, after all this time, we finally get it,” Wheeler said. “It really is the biggest platform possible.
“Wembley could be, and probably will be, the biggest, highest-attended wrestling event in history. And what better way to have what could be the biggest tag team match of a generation than right there?” Wheeler continued.
Harwood continued to talk about the “underlying tension” between FTR and the Young Bucks.
“I feel that there’s some underlying tension between the two teams, not saying that we dislike each other, but there’s some underlying tension,” Harwood said. “We honestly think we’re the best tag team of the generation, and could be the best tag team of all time, and I think they feel the same way about themselves.”
AEW head Tony Khan will be heard from on this Wednesday’s edition of Dynamite.
The news was revealed on Saturday’s AEW Rampage and while it wasn’t billed as an announcement, Khan will have something to say — possibly in regard to the new rumored Saturday TV show featuring the returning CM Punk.
Wednesday will also feature Kenny Omega teaming with Konosuke Takeshita against The Butcher & The Blade. Takeshita came out to aid The Elite last Wednesday during an attack from the Blackpool Combat Club.
Adam Cole will also be heard from following last Wednesday’s attack on Britt Baker by The Outcasts, aided by the Jericho Appreciation Society.
After the events of Saturday’s eight-man tag team match, Dax Harwood of FTR will take on Jeff Jarrett.
New TNT Champion Wardlow and Arn Anderson will also have some words following last Wednesday’s title win over Powerhouse Hobbs.
The new additions join the previously announced TBS and AEW International title matches and the finals of the Four Pillars mini-tournament.
Here’s the current lineup for Wednesday in Sunrise, Florida:
Adam Cole promo
Wardlow promo
Tony Khan appearance
Dax Harwood vs. Jeff Jarrett
Kenny Omega & Konosuke Takeshita vs. The Butcher & The Blade
Sammy Guevara vs. Darby Allin in the Four Pillars tournament final
AEW International Champion Orange Cassidy defends against Bandido
TBS Champion Jade Cargill defends against Taya Valkyrie
AEW Tag Team Champion Dax Harwood announced at the end of his latest podcast that he and co-host Matt Koon are ending the weekly ‘FTR with Dax’ show, effective immediately.
“I think we both feel we were causing more harm than good even though we were trying to do good. It just didn’t come across that way or portray it that way. We were more of a detriment to professional wrestling than we thought and never wanted to do that,” Harwood said.
The show was first announced last December and featured Harwood and Koon talking about the career of FTR in addition to current wrestling events and focused subjects like CM Punk and the Young Bucks.
Harwood didn’t rule out a return to podcasting someday, saying that he really loved the experience and what it meant to fans.
He took issue with how media outlets would take things he said on the show and made them seem like he was a bad human being. He apologized to his fans, those that already didn’t like him, fans of The Elite and MJF, and anyone that he may have upset along the way.
“I never wanted you to hate me so much that you would say some of the things you said to me,” he explained. He also said they while he and Koon knew the podcast would ruffle some feathers, they wanted the show to “do good for wrestling.”
“…I thought I was way more mentally tough than I am, but I admit that I am not. I don’t think I can handle some of the things that are said, and I don’t want my daughter to read things ten years from now that are said about me,” he explained.
Koon said AEW didn’t pressure them to end the show, nor did “trolls” or the media. There was also no falling out between the two.
“We really just don’t feel good about fact that that what we are doing is hurting wrestling or hurting AEW,” Koon said, adding that they “flew too close to the sun” and “made life difficult for some people.”
Harwood said some of those people included those who he works with now, those he used to work with, and fans. He singled out Cash Wheeler and Punk as those who got heat due to things he said on the podcast that didn’t deserve it.
According to Dax Harwood, CM Punk misses wrestling and wants to return.
Harwood spoke about Punk during an episode of his podcast released on Wednesday. He also expanded on his previously released comments regarding Punk & FTR vs. The Elite as a potential main event for All In at Wembley Stadium.
Harwood said:
The reason I’m fantasy booking [The Elite vs. CM Punk & FTR] is because outside of Roman Reigns, and please correct me if I’m wrong, outside of Roman Reigns and maybe – this is not including like Brock Lesnar or Logan Paul or whatever – but outside of Roman Reigns and maybe Cody Rhodes, the biggest name in professional wrestling right now is CM Punk, right? Definitely the biggest name in AEW.
So, if we want to take AEW to the next level, if we’re here to work for AEW, if we’re here to make professional wrestling better because of AEW, the way you do that is you take the biggest star that you have and one of the biggest stars in the world and you put them on the card and you make money with them.
On top of that, I will say that I talk to Punk almost every day and Punk misses wrestling, that’s your headline: Punk misses wrestling and Punk wants to come back and he wants to give back to the fans, he wants to give back to wrestling. So, I’ll leave it at that.
Last month, our own Dave Meltzer reported that a reconciliation plan had been agreed upon to bring Punk back to AEW once he is medically cleared. However, the status of Punk’s potential return may have been impacted by comments he posted to Instagram that were critical of Chris Jericho, Tony Khan, Meltzer, and his program with Jon Moxley.
Meltzer wrote that Punk’s return “was going to happen and then this happened and it still may end up happening.” He also noted that the decision to bring Punk back was made by Tony Khan.
Meltzer wrote:
The situation with C.M. Punk became a bigger story this week when he put up an instagram post where he went off on Tony Khan, Jon Moxley, myself and Chris Jericho, which he immediately took down. This came while sides were working on a reconciliation that was at least in principle agreed to, per the decision of Khan who wanted him back.
Meltzer continued:
Where things stand at this moment are unknown. There are tons of complicated issues involved and differences of opinions on the subject. But it was going to happen and then this happened and it still may end up happening.
According to comments he’s made previously, his and Cash Wheeler’s contracts with the company expired this month. However, Harwood stated on a yet-to-be-released episode of his podcast that they have re-signed and will remain in AEW.
“As I’ve said a million times. Never did I want a bidding war between WWE and AEW or to play one side against the other,” Harwood said. “I appreciate everyone that reached out to me, through other, no pun intended, endeavors or avenues and were interested in having us back, wanted to have us back, said they made a mistake in letting us go. For me, Cash, Maria (his wife), Finley (his daughter), the best course of action for us was to stick around in AEW.”
Harwood also addressed when him and Wheeler reached an agreement with AEW to return.
“Yes. We have re-signed with AEW,” Harwood confirmed. “If you think…Vince has officially been back in charge since right before WrestleMania? If you think that we put pen to paper as soon as that happened and Tony (Khan) made all the adjustments as soon as that happened. I don’t know if you understand how business or contracts work. If you think we went into the building Wednesday night with no contract signed and said, ‘we’re not going to sign unless you give us these belts.’ You’re so short-sighted. I said on the podcast months ago, we knew what we wanted to do and everything was getting fine tuned. We knew way before Vince came back in charge what was going to happen. Yes, we have re-signed with AEW.”
Harwood continued to say that his relationship with Tony Khan played a role in their decision to remain with AEW.
“I felt that, working for Vince, I was just a number. Vince has taught his minions underneath him into thinking everyone is replaceable and everyone is just an object and he places these objects where he wants to. We’re not. Maybe in wrestling we are objects, but wrestling should be just a percentage, a small percentage, of what your life is. For better or worse, that’s how Vince runs his business. I was just a number, just an object to Vince. To Tony, I am a human being. He cares about me, my feelings, my family. Working for someone like that, obviously, is going to make our decision much easier when comparing and contrasting to a person who just has us as a number.”
FTR won the AEW Tag Team Championships for the second time last Wednesday on Dynamite. Their match with The Gunns carried the stipulation that had FTR lost, they would have to leave the company.
FTR made their AEW debuts on the May 20, 2020 episode of Dynamite. Since signing with the company they’ve won the AEW Tag titles twice, the ROH Tag titles, AAA Tag titles, and the IWGP Tag tiles. They were voted Tag Team of the Year in the 2022 Wrestling Observer Newsletter Awards and their rivalry with The Briscoes was awarded Feud of the Year.
Dax Harwood has a dream match in mind for AEW All In from Wembley Stadium.
Harwood and Cash Wheeler told Uproxx recently that if the promotion wants to sell 50,000 tickets to the show then CM Punk & FTR vs. The Elite should be on the marquee.
Wheeler said:
I love that we’re going to Wembley because even if it’s not completely to the brim full, 50-, 60-, 70,000, whatever it ends up being, that’s huge for this company. As a company that’s only a couple years into its existence, you can’t play it safe all the time. The roster right now is so deep, why not go for it?”
Harwood added:
“CM Punk and FTR versus the Elite,” he said. “That’s gotta be it, right? If you want to sell 50,000 tickets and take this company to the next level, that’s it, that’s me dreaming. That’s the dream match. That six-man tag in Wembley Stadium could help launch AEW to the next level.”
Our own Dave Meltzer reported last month that Tony Khan made the decision to bring Punk back and a plan on reconciliation was agreed upon. However, it is unknown if Punk’s Instagram comments that were critical of his program with Jon Moxley caused any changes to these plans. Punk has been out of action with a torn triceps since All Out last September.
FTR defeated Austin and Colten Gunn on Dynamite last week to win the AEW World Tag Team titles for a second time. The match carried a stipulation that had FTR lost, they would have to leave AEW. In the lead-up to the match, Harwood said that the pair’s AEW contracts were set to expire in April. With the win, it appears FTR is staying with AEW and they say their relationship with Tony Khan factored into their decision.
“I think that Tony gets Dax and Cash, FTR, better than Vince,” Harwood says. “I think he understands that we are average, everyday human beings that just caught on with the fans because they can relate to us, because we’re either family men or just regular human beings. We just enjoy physicality and we enjoy fighting, and I think that they can live their lives through us. (Vince has) a business track record that proves that he is obviously very intelligent to the business, but I think he thinks he knows what the Revival was better than we did. That’s why he came up with all those cartoon costumes he gave us. In contrast, Tony understands that no one knows who we are better than us, and no one can display our characters or show our characteristics better than we can.”
Wheeler added:
“The conversations we have with Tony, the relationship we have with Tony compared to [Triple H] or Vince, we get along well with both those guys over there. Vince, to our faces anyway, was always very respectful, respected our work. Same with Hunter. But with Tony, I feel like we can have open, honest discussions with him about how we feel, where we think we need to change something or pivot. And I know that he’s receptive to it.”
