One of AEW’s premier tag teams is hitting pause. Dax Harwood of FTR announced via a heartfelt video on X that an injury sustained at the Dynasty PPV, which he initially concealed, will now force him off the road indefinitely.
Just before 9pm ET, while many were tuning into “WWE Raw,” Harwood posted a candid five-minute video with the caption, “An explanation that I feel I owe everyone. The fans, my boss, the medical team, and the whole roster. I appreciate you all, and I hope to see you soon. Top Guys, out.”
Harwood kicked off by addressing the sometimes harsh realm of social media, acknowledging, “I know [there are] a lot of people, especially in the Twitter world, who don’t really care for me too much and that’s okay but I thought this was the best way that I could talk to the fans of AEW and the fans of FTR and finally get this off of my chest.” He went on to apologize to AEW President Tony Khan, the AEW staff, and specifically the medical team for not disclosing the severity of his injury sooner.
The injury narrative began at Dynasty where Harwood revealed, “I gave Matt Jackson a Piledriver, and when I landed, it messed my lower back up really bad and caused a severe hematoma that appeared on my lower back.” Given the physical toll professional wrestling takes, Harwood tried to power through it.
Harwood’s sense of responsibility to his tag team partner, Cash Wheeler, was a significant factor in his decision to keep the injury under wraps. “I felt that FTR was on a momentum high there and I wanted to not take myself and Cash off of the road,” he explained. However, after a match against the Blackpool Combat Club on “Collision,” the hematoma swelled to “at the very least, the size of a football,” making the pain unbearable.
Feeling integral to AEW’s programming, Harwood expressed, “I felt that we were an important part to AEW, to ‘Dynamite,’ and obviously, more importantly, to ‘Collision.'” But after an X-ray on his lower back and pelvis, AEW’s medical expert, Doc Sampson, promptly pulled Harwood from active duty.
Harwood acknowledged the gravity of the situation, stating that without proper rest, he might face an early retirement. “Obviously, I don’t want that,” he admitted, emphasizing the need for transparency with his bosses and the medical team going forward. “Unfortunately,” he continued, “or maybe fortunately for some of you people that don’t like FTR, myself and Cash will not be on television for a while.”
Harwood closed with further apologies and hopes to return soon, signing off with FTR’s signature, “Top Guys, out.”