Hotseat: FTR
FTR
DAX HARWOOD AND Cash Wheeler, formerly The Revival, are now The Revitalized. They walked away from WWE, WrestleMania, unparalleled exposure, and tremendous financial security in exchange for the challenge of proving themselves all over again, the opportunity to forge an even greater legacy, and the risk of losing everything.
A few months since appearing on the May 27 edition of AEW Dynamite, it seems as if Harwood and Wheeler—now known simply as FTR—made the right decision. They are the AEW World tag team champions, and, as you’ve learned from this issue, they are number one in PWI’s inaugural “Tag Team 50” rankings.
When news of the impending “Tag Team 50” broke on social media, Harwood tweeted that PWI was unlikely to grant FTR the top spot. Maybe Harwood thought we would hold FTR’s new heelish tendencies against them, particularly their heinous attack on the legendary Rock’n’ Roll Express during a “Tag Team Appreciation Night” edition of Dynamite. Or maybe he assumed there was an implicit bias against FTR’s more grounded, technical style.
Yet it’s hard to deny excellence, no matter the form it takes. Harwood and Wheeler became, arguably, NXT’s first great tag team in 2016, thanks to their intense rivalry with DIY (Tommaso Ciampa and Johnny Gargano) and their two NXT tag team championships. They shined on the Raw and Smackdown rosters, too, earning world tag team titles on both brands.
Harwood and Wheeler boosted the value of tag team action in WWE and are now leading the tag team renaissance in AEW. Senior Writer Harry Burkett interviewed FTR about their newly confirmed status as the sport’s number one tag team, their impact on WWE, and the prospects of a Four Horsemen “revival” in AEW during a 40-minute session.
Congratulations to both of you for being ranked number one in very first “Tag Team 50” rankings. Are either of you the least bit surprised that you’re number one?
