FTR will face off in a qualifying match to earn a spot in the Owen Hart Foundation Tournament, but the duo says that it was a match they fought to make happen.
Cash Wheeler and Dax Harwood of FTR recently appeared on the Wrestling Perspective Podcast and explained the creative process of facing each other in the Owen Hart Foundation Tournament qualifier on the April 27 edition of AEW Dynamite. Asked if it was something presented to the team, or if it was an angle they pitched themselves, Dax and Cash said that it was something they wanted to do and explained how much they had to fight to make sure it was the right opportunity.
“That was our idea, totally,” explained Harwood. “We had to fight for it but that was completely our idea. We’ve always wanted to have a match but we didn’t want to have a match just to have a match, there had to be a reason and this is the perfect reason to do it. The Hart family means a lot to both of us personally and professionally, so to be able to show respect to Owen Hart and his whole family, what better way to do it then to allow the two biggest Hart family fans in the world to compete.”
Cash would then explain how Owen Hart’s tribute was long overdue and now that AEW is in the mix, the legend can finally receive his proper due. He also went on to explain that the two always wanted a singles match with each other, but they waited to pick a spot and make sure it was the right opportunity, a sentiment Tony Khan shared with them.
“There was no way for Owen to get the tribute he deserved and now we have the platform for that,” Wheeler explained. “That said, like we touched on earlier, we wrestled the one time and when we did, I never felt an electricity like when we locked up and how easy it was. We want to be the best and that includes — I think Dax is the best wrestler in the world and I’ve said that on Instagram and whatever, I said like ‘on Wednesday I wrestle the best in the world’ and I think that he is and so I wanna wrestle him. I don’t want to do a ton of singles stuff but I wanna do something that matters to me and this was one that for years we thought ‘how can we make it make sense? how can we have a singles match against other?’ Just a straight-up, back-and-forth wrestling match, in our vision and there was no way to ever really do it before because we don’t want to tease a break-up or do a break-up. No interest in that, I’d retire before I even entertain that idea and I’ll say that right here and right now. Print it, tattoo it, I don’t care, we’re never gonna do a break-up angle.
“So, when we heard about the Owen, we knew we had to go to Tony [Khan] with it, the idea of the singles match. And he did like it but he was like ‘I gotta see if I can make it make sense’ and we stayed on him about it. ‘Hey, can we? Can we? Can we?’ [laughs] And then finally, he was like ‘alright, I got a way we can make it all work, yes we can do it. We’ll announce it, you’ll do it in Philly, it’s going down’. So, yeah, he liked the idea but we had to make sure, like [keep asking to do it] ‘Please let us. please let us, this means a lot to us’ and he finally, like gave us the nod and here we are.”
Dax closed by saying he knows they know each other well and that they’re fighting for something important, so he expects that they will deliver a great wrestling match.
“With that match… I know him and he knows me, probably better than almost anybody in the world. I know he has a short temper and God knows he knows I have a short temper as well,” Dax explained, “so I would expect on Wednesday, for there to be some great wrestling but also expect there not to be a shortage of physicality and some live rounds being thrown too.”
Cash noted that the harder someone hits him, the more respect he has for them, but he already has the most respect for Dax, so he expects him to bring his best and it’s what they live for.
Related: WWE Has Interest In FTR, Update On Their Contract Status
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Check out the full interview with FTR below:
