At AEW Double or Nothing, Adam Copeland and Christian Cage won the AEW World Tag Team Championship for the first time, defeating FTR in an I Quit match.

Following the match, FTR have been absent from AEW television, with recent reports emerging about their contract status with the company.

Dax Harwood Addresses FTR’s AEW Absence

Taking to Instagram, Dax Harwood provided an update on he and Cash Wheeler’s absence from AEW television since Double or Nothing.

He noted that the pair are taking time off for themselves for the first time in 12 years, and that he isn’t sure when they’ll be back or how much longer they have.

He wrote:

Since the summer of 2014, The Revival, FTR, Dawson & Dash, Dax & Cash, whatever you want to call us, we’ve had the pedal to the floor. Aside from my bicep tear in 2017, we’ve taken no time away from the job we’ve dreamed of having. Physically & mentally, we both became exhausted.

We were two of the very few talents that traveled and worked on both Collision & Dynamite. I’ve fought through 3 hematomas on my lower back, another bicep tear I decided not to have surgery on, labrum tear from my groin to my hip, a shoulder that needs replacement, and probably a laundry list of other things I’m too afraid to get checked out haha.

For the first time in 12 years, we’ve decided to step away and take some time for ourselves & for our families. I’m not sure when we’ll be back, what we’re going to do, how much longer we have, or if we even need to prove anything at all anymore.

However, we will see some of you on August 22nd for @appalachianmountainwrestling as we take on The Good Brothers in Corbin, KY & the following week August 29th for the @revprouk Undisputed British Tag Team Championship as we take on The Young Guns in Wembley Arena.

Which Company Would FTR Fit Better In; WWE Or AEW?

With FTR set to enter the option year on their contracts, there will be speculation on which company that they would be better off in.

While FTR have already reigned as multi-time AEW Tag Team Champions and faced every possible team in the company, the tag team division in AEW continues to thrive, with the arrivals of the New Day and Motor City Machine Guns also potentially on the horizon.

With WWE, the company is reportedly looking to bolster it’s tag team divisions in the coming months, with FTR’s addition obviously being a big boost to it should that be the case.

However, tag team wrestling in WWE has always been an afterthought, with WWE likely losing interest in the divisions even if their attempts to bolster it come to fruition.

With tag team wrestling a benchmark of AEW, that would be the best place for FTR to remain.

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With over 20 years of experience under his belt, Wheeler made a name for himself on WWE and AEW TV as a tag-team specialist, alongside his tag partner Dax Harwood of FTR.

Speaking with LNG Productions, Wheeler noted that he will probably have more singles matches on an independent run after FTR eventually disbands.

Explaining that he only plans to step away from TV rather than wrestling as a whole in the future, the AEW star said:

“I do wanna do some singles here and there but I also think that’ll probably be like an indie run once I’m done, we’re done as FTR.

“Because, I don’t know if I’ve ever said this online, so if I have sorry for repeating. But I don’t think I’ll ever officially retire from wrestling, but I will officially retire from TV wrestling.

“Because I just want to go back to doing shows that feel like Philadelphia, where it’s just for the sake of wrestling, just for the heart and love of wrestling and pick and choose those, and do those matches as singles, some tag too.

“But if there’s a friend I want to wrestle in England like Nathan Cruz or Rampage Brown or something like that, it’s like ‘Hey, yeah I’ll go do this match and I’ll do it because I want to.’

“So yeah, there’s always a little bit of times where I’m like ‘Uh’ (thinking about wrestling in singles). But Dax is also such a great singles wrestler too. Like he’s tag and singles, but he’s such a great wrestler. I don’t think I’m gonna even hold a candle to that honestly. I think you’re getting the better option with Dax.”

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Noting that he has always had a soft spot for tag-team wrestling, Wheeler continued:

“Maybe with the right opponent there’d be more like, ‘Oh, I’m going to do this singles match.’ But for the most part I love tag team wrestling, I love coming in and doing my thing and that’s enough for me honestly. I don’t really need a whole lot of spotlight. I think that’s why I always had such a sweet spot for tag team wrestling because you get to share that responsibility and share the spotlight. I can drift back into the shadows whenever I feel like it and not have to be front and center…

“Wrestling it requires a lot and I think I appreciate my privacy more these days, to the point where, overall I just kind of shy away from too much publicity or too much spotlight, too much focus. So, it’s like, ‘Hey, you have that singles match because you’re gonna kill it and I don’t have to be the guy.’”

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In a world of wrestlers retiring and un-retiring, Wheeler’s take about retiring from TV wrestling is refreshing.

Having a TV wrestling retirement feels like the best of both worlds, allowing the wrestler to have a definitive moment where they reflect on their career, while also allowing them to continue doing what they love.

On the topic of singles matches, Cash Wheeler recalled scrapped plans for a match against CM Punk, explaining why these plans were changed. 

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Former AEW World Tag Team Champions, FTR have been a unit since debuting in the company back in May 2020, having formed a tag team with the star now known as Dax Harwood in WWE some around six years earlier.

Speaking to LNG Productions, Cash Wheeler would be asked why he rarely competes in singles matches, revealing that one against CM Punk was scrapped, saying:

“There’s been a couple times. Like I was supposed to wrestle Punk in a singles, but I wanna say it was right after we had the stuff with The Briscoes and The (Young) Bucks, I think.

“I was like I don’t know if me wrestling as a heel in a singles match is the way to follow up on all this stuff right now, and everyone agreed.

“I think he ended up wrestling Penta instead, that was probably the better call anyway because I think Penta’s a great performer.” 

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Punk notably defeated Penta in their one singles encounter, on the April 13, 2022 edition of AEW Dynamite.

Wheeler has occasionally competed in singles action, facing PAC on the April 2, 2025, episode of AEW Collision, along with beating Dax Harwood in the Owen Hart Foundation Men’s Tournament 2022 Qualifier on Dynamite, as just two examples.

Known as The Revival in WWE, the duo would part ways with the company in April 2020, with Wheeler revealing that splitting from Randy Orton was “the final straw“, leading to Wheeler and Harwood asking for their release.

Singles Competition For Tag Team Stars

A tag team is often presented as a single unit, with two stars focused on a shared goal, typically seeking championship opportunities somewhere down the line.

For successful tag teams, they’ll often be associated with each other in the mindset of the fans – The Hardys, Edge & Christian/Copeland & Cage, The Dudleys, to name just a few who have gone on to legendary status.

This isn’t to say that they will always stick together, with their fortunes dictated by a number of factors that can lead to either member of the team undertaking a singles run.

For some, singles success leads to glory, as was seen with the rise of Shawn Michaels after he put his Rockers teammate Marty Jannetty through a window to bring their tag team to an end. Matt and Jeff Hardy have both gone on to notable singles careers, as have Edge & Christian, continuing that legacy in AEW as Copeland & Cage, recently reuniting and becoming World Tag Team Champions.

It’s no surprise that Tony Khan has described Copeland and Cage as “red hot“, but they very much were so in both their singles runs in AEW thanks to the upsides of both stars for any booker.

Being able to see that upside in a tag team as singles competitors is no doubt a reason why some creatives will toy with the idea of splitting up a successful pairing, relatively safe in the knowledge that they can be brought back together again at a later date.

Perhaps there’s a future in AEW where Tony Khan will see how Harwood and Wheeler fare individually for a period of time, although seeing FTR together and dominant, champions or not, still has plenty of mileage to explore.

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In 2019, FTR – known at the time as The Revival – and Randy Orton formed an trio as Orton was looking to challenge New Day’s Kofi Kingston for the WWE Championship, who of course had Big E and Xavier Woods to back him up.

After the feud had ended with Kingston retaining the title against Orton, WWE drafted Orton and FTR onto separate brands, ending their partnership just a few weeks in.

Now, Cash Wheeler has named that decision as “the final straw” that ultimately led to FTR requesting their releases from WWE and going on to join AEW.

In a new interview with LNG Productions, Wheeler said:

“That’s the one I miss the most as far as what could have been. I thought that we really could do something cool with him, and Randy was a big proponent of pushing for it.

“I’ve said before – I think I’ve said on record before, but if not, here we go – I think that was the final straw for us when we knew we wanted to ask for our release, was when they drafted us to SmackDown and Randy to Raw at that point.

“I think he’d just lost to Kofi or something along those lines but we still thought we were gonna get a chance to do stuff together. And we knew if they killed that, that they didn’t really have any expectations or plans for us.

“And when they drafted us to separate shows, we were like, ‘Alright yeah, I think that the writing’s on the wall here, as far as what our ceiling is ever gonna be.’

“I’ve never regretted that decision ever, even for a second.

“But I do hate that we didn’t get to do more with Randy, because even today he’s still such a good friend and we still stay in contact. He’s such a funny guy. I wish that we could have done more.”

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A Second Chance For FTRKO?

While the original FTR and Randy Orton partnership was short-lived, there’s a possibility it could be revived in the future.

It emerged recently that FTR’s AEW contracts are approaching their option year, and there’s “preliminary interest” from WWE in signing them.

FTR’s AEW stint has been largely successful, but now that WWE is under different management than their first tenure, there’s a chance they’ll at least be weighing up their options, and potential reunion with Randy Orton – and/or another former partner in CM Punk – could be one of the pitches from WWE to persuade them to return.

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At last night’s AEW Double or Nothing pay-per-view event, Adam Copeland & Christian Cage captured the AEW World Tag Team Championship for the first time in their career, defeating FTR in an I Quit match.

FTR joined AEW back in 2020 after their WWE release earlier that year, with them signing a contract extension to remain with the company, with them reigning as three-time AEW World Tag Team Champions.

FTR Entering ‘Option Year’ On AEW Contracts, ‘Preliminary Interest’ From WWE

In an update on Dax Harwood and Cash Wheeler’s contract status from Bodyslam.net, AEW sources familiar with the situation, the deal FTR signed back in 2023 was a four-year agreement.

Sources noted that the pair are now approaching the option year of their initial agreement, which has brought more focus on the long-term future of FTR within AEW.

Sources close to the situation have described FTR as believing their value and consistency over the last several years should put them among the top-tier acts in AEW financially.

There has also reportedly been at least preliminary interest in the pair from WWE, which has been communicated to Bodyslam through mutual contacts as the situation draws more attention within the company.

As of now, there is no indication that FTR’s potential departure from AEW is imminent, though their future beyond the current option year remains unclear.

Which Company Would FTR Fit Better In; WWE Or AEW?

With FTR set to enter the option year on their contracts, there will be speculation on which company that they would be better off in.

While FTR have already reigned as multi-time AEW Tag Team Champions and faced every possible team in the company, the tag team division in AEW continues to thrive, with the arrivals of the New Day and Motor City Machine Guns also potentially on the horizon.

With WWE, the company is reportedly looking to bolster it’s tag team divisions in the coming months, with FTR’s addition obviously being a big boost to it should that be the case.

However, tag team wrestling in WWE has always been an afterthought, with WWE likely losing interest in the divisions even if their attempts to bolster it come to fruition.

With tag team wrestling a benchmark of AEW, that would be the best place for FTR to remain.

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Like their first bout against each other in Toronto at AEW All Out 2025, FTR will be in hostile territory with Dynasty taking place in Vancouver, however, with the AEW World Tag Team Titles on the line, the stakes have certainly been raised.

While Cope and Cage are considered favorites by many fans due to the home field advantage, and the fact that they haven’t held tag team gold together since 2001, it was FTR who stood tall on the go-home episode of AEW Dynamite on Wednesday night (April 8).

Speaking with The Sportster, Stokely spoke up the “personal” stakes of the match, and how he feels a win for FTR solidifies them as number one on the greatest tag teams of all time list:

“We feel pretty prepared, as you said, we’ve done this once before last year. Things did not go our way, but it is what it is. And we have studied tape, we’ve done research and this is pretty personal.

“I would say all of our careers are on the line, because FTR, they are the greatest tag team alive today and they have a point to prove.

“Christian and Cope, they’ve been going around telling people how they are the greatest and they want to talk about their legacy and everything they’ve done in the past. But we don’t care about that.

“We’re worried about the future, and at Dynasty when we beat C & C, FTR will be number one as far as the greatest tag teams of all time. And that’s what we’re trying to do. And those guys, they’re going to have to go to the back of the line, or I mean, really, they could quit and that’s what we want.”

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Stokely Speaks About “Wild, Surreal Experience” Of Working With Adam Copeland & Christian Cage

While there’s certainly no love lost between Stokely and Cope & Cage, the 35-year-old has admitted that being a centrepiece of a storyline involving the legendary duo is “unbelievable,” something he feels will make FTR’s eventual victory over them at Dynasty even sweeter.

Stokely said:

“It is unbelievable I would say, I don’t really think about it when I’m at TV, Dynamite, Collision or whatever, but once I come home, or once I get on a plane, reality kind of hits and even though I hate Cope & Christian, they are legends in their own right. So to be able to really stand toe-to-toe with them and to quote unquote work with them. It means a lot and it’s just such a wild, surreal experience.

“And it’s going to mean even more when we destroy them on pay-per-view. And I can have that as the part of my legacy and the history book of Stokely and FTR.”

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During the same interview, Stokely discussed taking Christian Cage’s watch on AEW Dynamite and how he “filed a complaint to HR” following the former TNT Champion’s personal comments regarding his and FTR’s mothers – click here for full details.

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Seven months on from their first encounter at AEW All Out 2025, FTR will do battle with Adam Copeland & Christian Cage at tonight’s AEW Dynasty pay-per-view.

Ahead of their big rematch, Christian Cage, did what he has become known to do and took things to a personal level on the go-home episode of AEW Dynamite on Wednesday night (April 8).

AEW’s “father figure” said he “paid a visit” to the mothers of Dax, Cash, which me made sure to spell out meant he “banged them both” before promising to do the same to Stokely’s mother, only when he does he will be one half of the AEW World Tag Team Champions.

Following this, Cage and Copeland were attacked by FTR, Stokely and The Don Callis Family’s Rocky Romero and Trent Beretta.

Just before ‘Pillmanizing’ Cage’s arm with a steel chair, Stokely stole the former TNT Champion’s watch, something he revealed he has no intention of giving back.

Speaking to The Sportster, Stokely said it feels fantastic to have gotten one over on Cage & Cope, but he did file a complaint against the former for his comments towards he and FTR’s mothers.

Stokely said:

“First of all, it feels fantastic (to get one over on Cope & Cage). I do not plan on giving the watch back, it belongs to me now.

And what he said about all of our mothers was just incredibly disrespectful and after I took his watch I actually went to HR and filed a complaint.

“Of course I left the watch in the locker room so they didn’t see me with it. So I hope there’s some course of action over the next few days. But yeah it feels great getting my lick back and just sticking it to Cope and Christian.”

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Cope & Cage Chasing An Eighth World Tag Team Championship Crown Together In Vancouver

Adam Copeland and Christian Cage have won plenty of tag team gold with a variety of partners in their careers, but it has been 25 years since the pair last reached the top of a company’s tag team division together.

In the span of just over one year Cope & Cage won seven WWE World Tag Team Championships, with their most recent reign ending on April 17, 2001.

An eight tag team title triumph at AEW Dynasty would make for one of the most memorable reunion stories in recent pro wrestling history, especially given the uncertainty both faced with their in-ring careers a decade ago.

With The Young Bucks likely waiting in the wings to challenge whoever wins, the AEW tag team division is in a very healthy position heading into the Summer.

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FTR captured the AEW World Tag Team Championship from Brodido back at AEW Full Gear in November, beginning their third reign as champions.

FTR took out Beth Copeland back at All Out in September, which led to Adam Copeland and Christian Cage’s return at this past weekend’s Revolution pay-per-view to avenge FTR.

The second clash between FTR and Cope & Cage is set to take place at the upcoming AEW Dynasty event.

FTR File Trademark On Logo

Ahead of the show, Dax Harwood and Cash Wheeler of FTR have filed to trademark their logo, per the USPTO.

You can see the logo below, along with the following description with the filing:

Providing wrestling news and information via a global computer network; Entertainment services, namely, wrestling exhibits and performances by a professional wrestler and entertainer; Entertainment in the nature of wrestling contests; Entertainment services, namely, televised appearances by a professional wrestler and sports entertainer; Entertainment services, namely, personal appearances by a professional wrestler and sports entertainer; Entertainment services, namely, live appearances by a professional wrestler and sports entertainer; Providing online interviews featuring professional wrestler and sports entertainer in the field of professional wrestling and sports entertainment for entertainment purposes

Shirts; Sweatshirts; Hooded sweatshirts; Hats; Bandanas; Socks

Will WWE Legends Edge & Christian Become AEW Tag Team Champions?

After Copeland officially joined AEW back in October 2024 at WrestleDream, a slow build story to reunite himself and Christian Cage in AEW began.

FTR would turn on Copeland back at last year’s Dynasty event, which would end seeing him return at AEW All In Texas to help Christian as he was attacked by FTR, as well as Kip Sabian and Nick Wayne.

When FTR won the titles at Full Gear, most AEW fans naturally assumed that the pair’s latest reign was to eventually get to the rematch with Copeland and Cage, with the legendary duo finally capturing the AEW World Tag Team Championship for the first time.

With the Young Bucks now also in the mix, it seems a big three-way TLC match for the titles will take place later down the line, and for the story to naturally progress, Copeland and Cage will need to unseat FTR to win the titles at Dynasty.

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From The Young Bucks to The Rascalz, these pairings have given Dax Harwood and Cash Wheeler a hard time as of late.

With so many tag teams gunning for them, FTR would be wise to assemble a faction around them with some stars from the AEW roster.

Here are seven AEW stars to potentially join a new faction with FTR.

7. Wardlow

If FTR were to create a faction, it would be the second time that they would be part of a group during their run in All Elite Wrestling.

Back in 2021, FTR joined forces with MJF to form The Pinnacle. Besides those three champions, the stable also consisted of Shawn Spears and Wardlow.

The time in this faction led to FTR developing a friendship with Wardlow that stayed intact for some time.

While the former three-time TNT Champion is sidelined with injury right now, FTR could open the door for Wardlow’s return through this new potential stable.

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On a pay-per-view lineup with four title matches, the first one of the night has resulted in a title change.

FTR – Dax Harwood and Cash Wheeler –  are the new AEW World Tag Team Champions as they defeated Brody King and Bandido, collectively known as Brodido.

Brodido had been champions since AEW Forbidden Door in London back in August, where they won a three-way that also featured FTR and then-champions Bobby Lashley and Shelton Benjamin of the Hurt Syndicate.

Tonight’s win marks the third AEW World Tag Team Championship reign, tying the record for most reigns with the Young Bucks, Matt and Nick Jackson.

FTR have previously held the AEW World Tag Team Title in 2020 and 2023.

So far at Full Gear prior to the title change, Pac defeated Darby Allin, and the team of Toni Storm & Mina Shirakawa won a four-way tag team match against the teams of Julia Hart & Skye Blue, Harley Cameron & Willow Nightingale, and Marina Shafir & Megan Bayne.

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The November 5 episode of AEW Dynamite saw FTR’s Dax Harwood and Cash Wheeler speaking to Bandido’s grandmother.

Initially, the interaction was heartwarming, with Harwood calling to the fans to support the family member of the AEW World Tag Team Champion.

It would take a turn, however, with Harwood mocking Bandido’s grandmother, calling into question her age and cutting her off before she could express her pride for her grandson.

Harwood would end the humiliation by suggesting he could adopt the grandmother as FTR’s own abuela.

Bandido has now broken his silence after the segment on last night’s AEW Dynamite, sharing the importance of his grandmother in his life, tweeting:

“Because she’s my strength, my reason, and my heart. ❤️

“I WILL FIGHT FOR HER!!!”

The AEW World Tag Team Championship will be on the line when Brodido face FTR at Full Gear on November 22.

It was recently revealed that Tony Khan put Bandido and Brody King together as a tag team after witnessing a backstage interaction.

Because she’s my strength, my reason, and my heart. ❤️
I WILL FIGHT FOR HER!!!#AEW#ElMasBuscado #themostwanted https://t.co/2yMzAPxgZl

— Bandido🔫🌵 (@bandidowrestler) November 6, 2025

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During the September To Remember episode of AEW Dynamite, a brawl broke out thanks to Christian Cage as he launched an attack on FTR.

Dax Harwood would suffer an injury during the attack, with Taz noting that the FTR member’s nose may be broken as a result.

Harwood shared an image of his bloodied face from AEW Dynamite, and has now provided an update of his own on his status.

In the update, Dax Harwood provided a distinctly unsurprising update and confirmed his status for AEW All Out, posting:

I had an X-Ray today. To the shock of no one, I have a severely broken nose.

Unfortunately for Christian & Copeland, I’ll still be there. No way I’m missing out on this match. I’m going to embarrass you. #AEWAllOut

Adam Copeland & Christian Cage reunited as a tag team in August at AEW Forbidden Door, defeating Kip Sabian and the returning Killswitch.

Both former members of The Patriarchy, Sabian and Killswitch’s short-lived alliance has come to an end, as seen on AEW Dynamite.

Dax Harwood has confirmed that he suffered a “severely broken nose” on AEW Dynamite, but thankfully he will still be able to compete at All Out this Saturday:

“I had an X-Ray today. To the shock of no one, I have a severely broken nose.

“Unfortunately for Christian & Copeland,… pic.twitter.com/hXaIYLz74a

— WrestleTalk (@WrestleTalk_TV) September 19, 2025

Fines or not, THE FIGHT IS ON!

Watch #SeptembertoRemember LIVE on TBS & HBO Max pic.twitter.com/RpK3cNv7z3

— All Elite Wrestling (@AEW) September 18, 2025

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