FTR have discussed the original possibility of facing The Young Bucks at All Out and admit that they thought that was the match that would happen.
The rivalry between The Young Bucks and FTR runs back to before AEW existed and when the initial ‘FTR’ meant something very different aimed at the team then known as The Revival in WWE.
Both teams are now firmly a part of AEW, however, and their rivalry has borne out two big matches that see each team’s record against the other stand at 1-1.
On June 15th 2022 at Road Rager, The Young Bucks captured the AEW World Tag Team Championship for a second time and people thought a decider between them and FTR was brewing. Days later at Forbidden Door, FTR added to their AAA and ROH crowns when they also captured the IWGP World Tag Team Championship.
The potential of The Bucks facing Dax Harwood and Cash Wheeler with four tag team championships on the line had fans salivating but plans changed. The Bucks lost their championship to Swerve In Our Glory and will now instead chase the Trios Championship with Kenny Omega. FTR on the other hand will join up with Wardlow at All Out to face the TNA-tinged team of Jay Lethal and The Motor City Machine Guns.
Speaking in an interview with Give Me Sport, both Harwood and Wheeler discussed their path to All Out and Cash Wheeler began by saying he’s happy with the match they have in Chicago but thought the plan should be FTR vs. The Young Bucks III:
“I’m very happy with this match Sunday that we’re going to have. But I thought that was the direction to go, us versus The Young Bucks for all the marbles, as they say. I think the way things lined up kind of naturally. There was no plan in place, but like a lot of things happen that changed the title scene, like our babyface turn. Was it something that we had thought about like a planned far out in advance? No.”
“So when it started happening, we’re just kind of riding the wave with it, trying to figure it out as we go. So like the fact that it was kind of all culminating at the same time, and leading to what I thought would have been the perfect build to it, because it was just, you know, all these outside forces kind of setting it up, for what would have been a huge money match for as far as tag team wrestling goes. But I understand there’s a lot of injuries that happened. There’s a lot of moving parts in the wrestling business. And it’s not easy kind of getting everything to go.”
“But no, we weren’t told far out that it wasn’t happening. I wish you know, everything could have worked out the way we envisioned, but again, I’m very happy with how Sunday’s one is set up right now, and the potential of what it leads to afterwards with Motor City. So I’m very happy right now, but I wish we could have had that match, yeah.”
Dax Harwood added that having four championships on the line could have made the match ripe to be promoted as the biggest tag team bout ever:
“I think we expected that. As performers and individuals, and a tag team, we thought that was the right way to go. I think it could have been at least built as the biggest tag team match of all time. Four World Championships on the line, the two best tag teams of a generation going two-one-two at a big pay-per-view in Chicago. It could have been billed as the biggest tag match of all time.”
“I think our problem was, we just expected that to happen. We expected how hot we’ve gotten, and how much heat those guys were getting. I mean, they were chanting FTR during that promo, you know, just a few weeks ago, which could have got us a little trouble… Even though we didn’t get the tag team match with The Young Bucks, regardless of how we feel about them personally, you always want to work with a team that’s as talented as them. A team that you know is going to produce a money match.”
“Now on live pay-per-view, we get to team with one of our very, very good friends, Wardlow and we get to work with someone like Cash said is as effortlessly talented as Jay Lethal. And on top of that, we get to work with guys that we’ve looked to work with for years, and years, and years in the Motor City Machine Guns. So even though we didn’t get what we expected or what we thought was going to happen, this is a hell of a consolation prize.”
FTR has also discussed their views on seemingly missing out on being part of AEW’s first video game, Fight Forever.