FTR will always have admiration for CM Punk.
Dax Harwood & Cash Wheeler have made no secret of their friendship with CM Punk, who became a divisive figure in AEW after he aired his grievances with Kenny Omega, The Young Bucks (Matt & Nick Jackson), Hangman Page, and more during the AEW All Out 2022 press conference.
FTR, who teamed with Punk for a trios bout after he won the AEW World Title at AEW Double Or Nothing, have always spoken highly of Punk and how helpful he was to them in AEW.
Speaking at a Monopoly Events Q&A, FTR was asked about the best advice Punk had given them.
"He is one of my best friends in the business. He hasn't given me any specific advice, but I've been pretty forward about my anxiety issues. My anxiety issues stem from sleeping. Going to work was really difficult to me because I didn't have my wife, who is my support system, I didn't have her on the road with me. Not that Punk helped me in the way that my wife does, if you know what I'm saying. Maria, sorry, hope you're not listening. She was my support system and she was my comfort. Going on the road was really difficult for me because I was worried about sleep and I was worried about my mind wandering. Punk would say, 'come to my room, let's watch wrestling, let's hang out.' He just helped me acclimate my brain back to being on the road for my anxiety issues. I'm forever indebted to him for that," said Dax.
Cash added, "My answer is not going to get any better than that. He really hasn't given us any specific advice. The crazy thing is, he's usually just very complimentary of what we've done. If we have a match with Aussie Open and he watches it, usually it's just, 'you guys are insanely good.' To me, most importantly, we were very like minded as far as our mentality goes, wrestling-wise. That's what has kind of bonded us. He really hasn't given us a ton of wrestling advice other than, 'keep doing what you're doing,' which I think maybe more than anything gives us the confidence to know we're on the right path."
Dax concluded by saying, "An advice question you could ask anybody else in the AEW locker room who is not overconfident because he literally had his door open for everyone. He would watch every match, people would go to him and say, 'Can you watch my match and tell me what I did right and what I did wrong?' He would and he would stay from the beginning to the end. He did that because he does love professional wrestling, just like we do."
FTR is the reigning AEW Tag Team Champions. They are set to speak on Wednesday's AEW Dynamite as they respond to the challenge laid out by Jeff Jarrett & Jay Lethal.
Punk has not been on AEW television since All Out 2022.
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