Dax Hardwood talks FTR possibly taking a year off from mainstream wrestling, CM Punk, more

[Chris]

Dax Harwood says FTR has considered taking a year off from wrestling on television.

Harwood spoke to Fightful recently and noted that he believes FTR's AEW contracts expire next April. He also said he has loyalty to both WWE's Paul "Triple H" Levesque and AEW's Tony Khan.

"Hunter took a chance on us in 2015 and he put the tag belts on a relatively unknown, relatively unproven tag team and he let us run with it, and then he gave us American Alpha, and he gave us Enzo & Cass, and he gave us DIY, and he gave us that platform," Harwood said. "Then we went to the main roster and things happened. When we were ready to go, Tony Khan picked us up. So, I have loyalty to both of these guys for what they have done for me and done for my family."

"Cash and I have talked, our deals come up at the end of April, I would have to talk to my lawyer, Mike Dockins, but I think that's right, the end of April. And we've even thought about, 'What if we took a year off TV wrestling?'"

"Take a year off TV wrestling, maybe, and do things that excite us. We've been able to do that quite a bit this year starting with the Rock N Roll Express match," Harwood continued.

"If we do take a year off of TV wrestling, I don't think you'll not see us, you might not see us mainstream but it would be so Cash and I can, one, rest our bodies, and two, we can do things that make us happy and bring joy to us."

As noted in Wednesday's Daily Update, Harwood also spoke about CM Punk during the interview.

"A man who obviously has his detractors and sometimes the detractors, and not just in AEW – around the wrestling world, and sometimes the detractors are louder than him and get their news out more than him. But again, it all comes from a place of passion. When he first came into the company, I remember talking to Cash (Wheeler) and I said, ‘if this motherf—er comes in and if he says something to me about how I dress, dress code or whatever, we’re going to have a problem’ and he came in, and he was the complete opposite. He had his door always open, invited people in, watched matches of the young wrestlers that asked him to, stuck around until the end of the show and anybody that had questions, he would answer the questions. He loves wrestling. Just like me, unabashedly is a professional wrestling fan. Just like Sasha (Banks), I talk to him every day and whatever he decides to do, I hope it brings him happiness and joy because he deserves it."

AEW's Dax Harwood says FTR have considered taking a year off 'TV wrestling'

Harwood says he's under the impression his AEW contract ends in April 2023.

www.f4wonline.com

 

[Comrade Khan]

I can go find it but the interview is up for free on youtube. CM Punk stuff makes a lot more sense when you realize it was during the shooting softly segment when you say nice things about people.

 

[Comrade Khan]

 

[Death By Looch]

Would be hard to go a year without FTR in the mainstream, but I get it. They had such a big one this year and when their contract is up, do a year of whatever the fuck you wanna do and see what comes around in early 2024. Who knows if not even going back to the WWE at that point would be a good thing to do. Guess it all depends on how the Wrestling mainstream goes 2023 and they coming back after a year (or up to a year) onto a bigger stage would make them be immediately over af.

 

[Cwalker]

If that’s the route they choose to go, I support it. They’ve gone super hard this year and really turned around a run that I thought was very underwhelming at the beginning.

They could use the rest. And they’ll be a hot commodity when they do return to TV and sign somewhere.

The old adage applies: “How can I miss you, if you never go away?”

A year off TV might be great for them

 

[Comrade Khan]

If that’s the route they choose to go, I support it. They’ve gone super hard this year and really turned around a run that I thought was very underwhelming at the beginning.

They could use the rest. And they’ll be a hot commodity when they do return to TV and sign somewhere.

The old adage applies: “How can I miss you, if you never go away?”

A year off TV might be great for them

I'd even argue that while ppl say theyve been cooled off, they get more pops by showing up here and then and not every week. they are a special attraction atm.

Don't get me wrong, Id love to see more FTR matches on tv, but I was one of the few who was against making them triple champs because putting 6 belts on 2 dudes is not actually that great when all it takes is one half to get injured to screw up 3 angles

 

[Finishline]

I live in North Carolina and have seen FTR at a local indy show and have met them through WrestleCade meet and greets (both in 2021, Dax in 2022). I also got to sit in on Dax Harwood's appearance on Jeff Jarrett's podcast during WrestleCade weekend a few days ago.

When I tell you FTR absolutely love doing this... they do, and it shows. Every interaction I've had with them, I've come away impressed. You can tell they genuinely enjoy wrestling around the Carolinas, doing these indy appearances, and meeting all the fans.

Thankfully, AEW allows this... WWE does not.

From my perspective, it feels as though FTR is open to a WWE return now there's been a regime change, but they're loving the extra stuff a deal with AEW offers (indys, meet and greets, family time, etc). And AEW has admittedly dropped the ball on FTR creatively the last few months.


Either way, I'm rooting for these guys. They made it big from NC and they're down to earth human beings. I absolutely love FTR and want them to do anything that makes them happy because when their careers are finished, we'll likely look at this team as a Top 4 tag team all-time.

 

[Alexa]

FTR in the Indies and Japan, maybe, is my dream. FTR in NOAH would fit like a glove.

 

[Roy Mustang]

I think this means they stay with AEW. Could even see AEW offering them a deal to only do big shows for a year and letting them go NJPW/indies