“D*mn y'all. I kinda miss wrestling.” – with these six words, Dax Harwood of FTR drew incredible speculation from fans across the professional wrestling world, with fans of AEW and even WWE wondering if there was some hidden message woven into the 7-star champion's words.
Asked about the tweet read around the world by Matt Koon on their FTR podcast, Harwood clarified his intentions.
“There was no correlation there, none at all,” Harwood said via Fightful. “I just happened to be watching wrestling, drinking coffee, and the two times of the day where I have endorphins completely running through my body are my first cup of coffee, especially if I'm watching wrestling, and my first drink of tequila. That's all it was. Endorphins, and I really do miss wrestling. I still have to take things easy, let my body and mind rest, recuperate and be ready for, if we come back before April, I would absolutely love that. If Tony is on board with that and that's what he wants, I would love to. If that's not what he wants, it's his company and I will do whatever he says because I trust him and he's the boss.”
Oh snap, while fans knew that FTR were granted time off from AEW and that Harwood brook a bone in his behind, who knew that a return to television under their current contracts was even an option? Who knows, maybe FTR will see an easy way back into the winner's circle thanks to The Gunns' recent win over The Acclaimed for the AEW World Tag Team Championships. Harwood, to his credit, did ultimately put over The Gunns, even if his words did have a few ounces of cynicism for good measure.
“They are guys who study the craft and try to be better,” Harwood said. “They're also a couple of guys who made it to the top because of who their father is. They never had to be in the trenches or they've never had to travel to these little shitty shows to make a buck or get seen. All they know is AEW or national television wrestling. With that, they may not think it and they may not be doing it on purpose, but with that, they think that everything should be catered to them. Personally, we have different thoughts and ideologies, and that's okay, you're not going to get along with everyone. I will say, there aren't too many acts in wrestling that people absolutely despise. They despise these guys. They get the ‘a** boys' chants. When they won the tag belts, the people were mad. When you think about what wrestling is, you want people to be mad or to feel a certain way. They felt a certain way about that title change. Who knows what's going to happen in the future or where the story is going. There has been a story to this, this is a year long story that I wish people would stop and think, ‘Oh, you're right.' There is a backstory and a long history. It's another chapter in the story. Congratulations to them, their first-ever tag team championships. I look forward to seeing what the A** Boys and Acclaimed do next.”
Could The Acclaimed and The A** Boys The Gunns continue on with their feud even if neither team holds a championship, with the love of Billy Gunn effectively filling that void in a story if, say, FTR runs in and steals the straps? More likely than not, yes, but for that to happen, Tony Khan would have to bring FTR back and set them up for a storyline for Revolution, maybe Young Bucks-FTR III. Make the call TK, fans need their rubber match.
Damn y’all. I kinda miss wrestling.
— Uncle Dax FTR (@DaxFTR) February 8, 2023
Revisiting Dax Harwood's comments on their AEW break on FTR.
With a return to AEW television suddenly in the cards, it's worth revisiting Harwood's comments back in January, when he initially announced that FTR were granted time off to recover and think about what's next for their career.
“I also have the blessing of Tony Khan to talk about this and make a statement about this,” Dax said via WrestleZone. “Tony has been nothing but top-notch to me and Dan [Dax] since day one. There are things that we haven’t agreed on, as any boss and any employee, even any friend. There are times that I felt the boat was missed on opportunities for us. There were times that I was super happy with everything we were doing, but there has come a time where we are on the tail end of our career. Right now, at this point in our career, is the most important time in our career. I mean that monetarily, creatively, and personally. It is the most important time in our career. With that being said, we have asked and been granted the next few months off of television so we can sit back, reflect, decide, let out bodies heal, and figure out what we’re going to do for the next few years. Whatever we decide to do next will be the absolute last thing we do as far as wrestling.”
Though there was talk at the time of FTR taking a year off from televised wrestling to tour the indies, ultimately, it genuinely sounded like Harwood and, by extension, Cash Wheeler, weren't sure what was coming next.
“By April, we will have an answer,” said Harwood. “I have to take my health, my family, my creativity, and I have to take my personal life all in consideration about what we’re going to do next. I know what I want to do, but whatever we do, I just want to be respected. I feel we have done something so special in 2022 and most of that is in part to the fans. We deserve to continue to build on our legacy for ourselves, but also we owe it to the fans to build on that legacy because they made us this past year. I’m not sure exactly how long we’ll be away. It may be all the way until the end of our contract. Our contract is up in April.”
Has something changed in FTR that now makes them want to return to AEW TV? Has podcasting allowed Harwood to see the business in a different light? Or maybe the return of Vince McMahon to WWE has the duo worried about signing up with a company that has an uncertain future? Either way, getting FTR back on TV in one form or another would be the best thing for business, as they're just too good to be sitting at home.