Throughout their time together as a team, FTR has backed up the claim that they’re the best tag team in the world with exemplary in-ring work.
But this perspective isn’t just a gimmick; in a recent appearance on the approximately titled Living The Gimmick podcast, Cash Wheeler and Dax Harwood explained that, when the cameras are rolling, they truly believe that they are the greatest duo in wrestling. They also addressed their conflict with Santana and Ortiz and described why they truly want to see which team is truly superior.
“When the red light’s on, I believe what I say,” said Harwood. “And [during the parley], I think we believe what we say. And us and Ortiz and Santana, we don’t know each other, outside of AEW, we’ve never met. But I know for years, people claim that they’re the best tag team, or people call them the toughest tag team or the baddest tag team. And stuff like that doesn’t sit well with me because I take that, and so does Cash, we take that very personal.
“So we reach down and we get that emotion and say, ‘If you think you really are better than us, then watch this.’ And that’s when I spit and he spits and we let them know that in the ring, on the mic, every single day, whether we’re breathing, sleeping, or eating, we’re better than you are.”
Likewise, Wheeler stated that he and Harwood want to face the best version of Ortiz and Santana so they can prove that they are the premier tag team of the two.
“We believe everything we say, and we believe that we are the best tag team in the world today,” said Wheeler. “And we’ve believed that since the day we set foot in the ring as a team. And we want to prove that against the very best, and we want to prove that against Santana and Ortiz because these guys, if you look at the similarities, if you look at the parallels between us, we might be polar opposites when it comes to looks and backgrounds, but we’re actually very, very similar, and so we want that.
“We want that grittiness that we know is in there….We want them to elevate their game because we want them to come in there as the best version of Santana and Ortiz that they can bring because when we do beat them, we want to cement our legacy.”
Harwood also explained that FTR’s greatness is dynamic because it can be modified to suit any match and any opponent. He teased that fans will see that argument in action during the violent Blood & Guts Match.
“We’re adaptable,” said Harwood. “So it doesn’t matter, the opponent doesn’t matter, the match type doesn’t matter, you can watch a straight-up wrestling match with #DIY, you can watch a ladder match with New Day, or you can watch Blood & Guts with Inner Circle. We adapt every single match to make sure that we get the most out of it.
“Because that’s the whole point of being a professional wrestler. Not to make everything fit and work for you, but for you to fit and work where it needs to work.”
The full interview is available here:
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