Before he and Cash Wheeler became FTR when they moved to AEW, Dax Harwood wrestled as Scott Dawson in WWE.
Speaking on his FTR with Dax Harwood podcast, the former tag team champion opened up about his relationship with the ever-popular Sami Zayn, saying that the two became good friends working together in WWE and that Sami is one of his favorite travel partners.
“Unapologetically, Sami is very detail oriented. He’s a stickler for the things he does. It’s the same as me, he’s just less abrasive than I am. Sometimes he can get a reputation because of that, because some people are like, ‘Oh, that’s not that important. Don’t think about that’, but to him, it is important. So in his mind, he could have always been there, and I think as well.”
“Sami and I are very good friends. He traveled with us a few times. He’s one of my favorite traveling partners. I knew the drive and determination he had from the beginning.”
Dax Harwood Didn’t Like Sami Zayn At First
However, things weren’t always rosy between the former Scott Dawson and Sami Zayn. Harwood went on to tell the story of a confrontation between the two during their 2012 WWE tryout, saying that the incident left a bad taste in his mouth as he didn’t like being told what to do.
“I did not like it when I first met him. We had our tryout together in June of 2012 and I told him this story. Some issues happened. We were all in a hotel together and the cops came and started knocking on our doors, all of our doors. He and I almost simultaneously opened the door at the same time. He said, ‘Do you know where this guy is?’ I said, ‘No, I don’t know where this guy is. He said, ‘Well, you need to find out where he is’, and he slammed the door.
“I’m like, this motherfu**er. You know what I mean? Like, you don’t tell me what to do. I don’t care if you’ve been Ring of Honor champion, or whatever you are. You don’t tell me what to do. So I had a bad taste in my mouth.”
Continuing, Dax Harwood recounted the time Sami Zayn expressed surprise that Harwood had gotten hired by the sports entertainment giant. However, the FTR star says that Zayn’s lack of filter comes from his intense passion for wrestling.
“Oh, and then when we both got hired, we were all out to lunch with a couple of other people, and we were talking or whatever. Sami was like, ‘You know who really surprised me that they got hired? Everyone’s like, ‘Who?’, and he looked right at me and said, ‘You. I’m really surprised you got hired’, and I was like, he doesn’t have a fu**ing filter. So we had words there, whatever. But he does have a bit of a reputation when you first meet him, I think, but that’s because he’s so passionate. Just like me, he’s so passionate about it.”
“I think he’s finally been given the opportunity to do what he’s always been able to do. Above talent is the opportunity. As long as you get that opportunity, you believe in yourself, and you’ve got the talents to do it, you can do it. If he wants to main event WrestleMania and make these people believe, if there’s one person in this world who can do that, it’s him.”
After severing ties with The Bloodline at the Royal Rumble when he hit Roman Reigns in the back with a steel chair, Sami Zayn is set to face The Tribal Chief for the Undisputed WWE Universal Championship at the upcoming Elimination Chamber premium live event in Montreal on February 18th.
h/t WrestlingNews.co