Dax Harwood discusses FTR making the decision to put their AEW careers on the line against Austin and Colten Gunn and what truly matters to him when deciding the next move to make in his career.
Following a brief hiatus, FTR (Dax Harwood and Cash Wheeler) returned to All Elite Wrestling at AEW Revolution and immediately targeted The Gunns and the AEW World Tag Team Championship. On Wednesday, March 22, FTR agreed that if Austin & Colten Gunn agreed give them a title shot, they would leave AEW should they lose the championship match.
Now, Dax addresses this move on the latest episode of his podcast and says that no matter what, this outcome is meant to entertain professional wrestling fans.
"I guess in kayfabe and in real life, it's one of those moments where like it's coming to fruition, it's getting there," said Dax. "For the first time ever, we put our careers on the line in a wrestling match. [That] allows me to look back and say, Okay, if we were going to leave AEW, right, I look back at the things we've done and things we've accomplished and how much we have given to professional wrestling, but also, I look back at what professional wrestling has given to me. This year will be my 19th year in professional wrestling, and I look back at my very first match. I had my very first match on August 13, 2004. It was outside this shitty old gas station. Right then, I thought, 'Oh my God, I've made it. I love this. I love this, and I need more of this, always. "
Continuing on, Dax emphasized it doesn't matter how the upcoming match with The Gunns plays out. He made it clear that be believes that half of the audience will be upset and half of the people are going to be happy. Either way, Harwood stated that he hopes the fans understand that both he and Wheeler are trying to entertain them.
"Fast forward 19 years later, and we have an opportunity to put our careers on the line, and also have an opportunity to become two-time AEW Tag Team Champions. Whenever everything plays out, and everyone sees what's going to happen, it doesn't matter what the outcome is. Half the people are going to be mad, and half the people are going to be happy. Half the people are going to be okay with what we've decided. The other half are not going to be okay with it. I just hope that they understand us putting our careers in line, and the outcome of that is all just to entertain all the fans and professional wrestling."
Addressing criticisms of the storyline and the public discussion of FTR's contractual status, Dax says that at the end of the day, he is weighing the options that are best for his family, and he is thankful that Cash Wheeler is standing beside him.
"Never have I ever tried to say, 'Who's gonna get FTR first, and is it going to be [WWE]? Or is it going to be AEW?' Never have we said that. I'm talking about on television or any other kind of media outlet venture. We've never said, 'Oh, who's gonna get us?' I've always said we're not trying to play one company against the other company. All that I've got to do, and Cash is following with me, because he's an incredible human being, is I'm weighing my options for my family. I'm weighing what's best for me [and] for my family," said Harwood. "There was a period of time, man, for six years where I left my daughter, and I left my wife even longer than that. I left them every single week to fend for themselves, to stay by themselves, most of the time in a state where they had no family and no friends. I had to leave, and I came home for a day and a half [per] week, and that was it. I miss my daughter's first dance recital. I miss her losing her first tooth. I miss so many gymnastic meets. I missed so much stuff. I missed birthdays.
"There's more to life than what you see in the wrestling bubble," Dax added. "All I've said is that I'm weighing my options for my career, according to my family, and what I want to do to my family, not if WWE is gonna give me $2 million a year, not if AEW is gonna give me $2.1 million a year. I don't give a shit about who can offer me more money. What I give a shit about is how I'm going to make my wife and my daughter feel [in] the time that I get to spend the time with them."
The bout between FTR and The Gunns will take place on the April 5 episode of AEW Dynamite.
Dax Harwood recently spoke with Sean Ross Sapp about CM Punk, the nickname "FTR Bald," and more. Fans can check out that full interview here.
Dax Harwood, along with Matt Koon, will present the first-ever live FTR podcast on Thursday, March 30, 2023, featuring guests such as Powerhouse Hobbs, Danhausen, Cash Wheeler, and more. Learn more here.
Fans can check out this week's full FTR podcast when it releases on Wednesday, March 29, 2023, on all podcast platforms and on YouTube.
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