FTR Feel AEW Missed Opportunities With Them During Summer 2022

Heading into Summer 2022 and FTR were the must-see act in tag team wrestling, picking up the IWGP Heavyweight Tag Team Titles at Forbidden Door to go alongside their ROH and AAA straps.

However, it’s clear to see that AEW didn’t effectively capitalise on FTR’s momentum, with Dax Harwood agreeing, explaining his feelings on his FTR podcast:

"I hate giving away the magic, but I have to get with the times, I guess,” said Harwood. “That was Cash and I's idea, the match with The Acclaimed. We wanted to have that match with them because I felt, whenever we were at our most popular in the summer, the opportunity was missed with us. I've expressed this to Tony (Khan) and we've had talks, and he has his reasons, and when he explained his reasons, they are good reasons.

“I felt like our opportunity was missed and there was a time where we could have went over the threshold and there was an opportunity to make us, not just the top babyface tag team, but maybe the top babyface act in the company. Right up there with (CM) Punk and Mox [Jon Moxley]. We should have, of course, I feel this way because we're all egotistical in some way. I felt we should have been the team to topple one of the top heels in the company. That would have set us at the top and I felt we could have helped the company in that aspect, but it never happened. Cash and I wanted to do that for The Acclaimed. We wanted to give them an incredible wrestling match. It was two babyfaces, at the same time being polar opposites. One team is full of energy and full of life and oozing charisma and rapping to the ring. The other team has this guy here [himself], a 38-year-old balding with a moustache [laughs]. I wanted to give them a great match and we wanted to make sure they were looked as the top tag team in the company."

Many expected that AEW were building to a winner takes all match between FTR and then-AEW World Tag Team Champions The Young Bucks in Summer 2022, but it never came to fruition. FTR now find themselves championship-less after losing the ROH, AAA, and IWGP Tag Titles in quick succession.

H/T: Fightful