FTR, Greatest Of All Time (Exclusive)

In 1997, LL Cool J released a track called “4, 3, 2, 1,” an Erick Sermon-produced posse cut that could easily be the defining track of 1990s boom bap-era hip hop. It also sparked one of the most notable rap battles on wax, stemming from a misunderstood lyric from Canibus about LL’s famous microphone tattoo. LL felt challenged by Canibus’ insinuation that his famous microphone tattoo was free for borrowing, and saw his status as a top competitor in his field challenged by a hungry up-and-comer. Canibus was relentless, having proven himself to the greater rap community with precision bars and a grappling use of the vernacular.

Underneath it all, the beef was never about the microphone. It was about respect.

FTR know they have their work cut out for them at this weekend’s AEW All Out. They admit that they’re not nearly as versed in the art of the ladder match as their opponents, Cope & Cage. But much like their career trajectory, they don’t need to do it the same way everyone else does; they just need to take what they believe belongs to them.

They know the fans view them as underdogs, but they’ve spent their entire careers overcoming those obstacles and the challenges in the way of their success. History favors whoever strikes the hardest, not who strikes first, and that’s what they’re prepared to do this Saturday in their three-way ladder match against Cope & Cage and The Young Bucks.

“We’re more of a ground-based kind of wrestlers,” Dax Harwood says in our conversation for TheSportster. “That’s what’s given us the most success. I think that coming into this three-way ladder match at All Out, it puts a bit of a chip on our shoulder to make sure that we show everybody that, not just in one style, but in every style, we’re the greatest tag team of all time.”

Cash Wheeler says the duo have been considered underdogs throughout their careers, but they’ve climbed all the proverbial ladders to become one of the most decorated tag teams in modern wrestling. He says this match is the opportunity to cement themselves as truly the greatest tag team of all time, and that you’re welcome to doubt them at your own peril.

“Ladders are made for climbing,” he says, “And all you have to do is climb the ladder and take down the titles. We’re not looking to do anything spectacular. We’re not looking to fall off a 15-foot ladder. We’re looking to climb up the ladder and take what is ours. That’s what we’ve always done our whole careers.”

After stepping away from WWE in 2020, creatively frustrated and feeling the tag team division never got the respect it deserved, they joined AEW. Over the past six years, FTR helped establish the tag team division in AEW as the most prestigious and revered division in wrestling. Following their loss of the AEW World Tag Team Championships to Cope & Cage at Double or Nothing in May, the duo took a three-month hiatus to recharge, reflect, and reevaluate.

Back with fresh eyes and clear minds, the duo stands ready to be given the respect they deserve, or they’ll take it by force. FTR says the opportunity to return in such a major way is undeniable based on their pedigree and their résumés, challenging in a championship match against a team considered to be one of the greatest to ever lace up boots, and across from their contemporaries who have often been discussed as two sides of the same record in the debate over the best of their generation.

“I think for us, it’s hard to deny what we’ve done and who we are,” Wheeler says. “I also think that AEW is such a home base for the greatest tag teams in the world right now. To be able to have a featured match with three of the greatest tag teams, not just of today, but of all time, that’s a pretty hefty match to be able to promote on pay-per-view.”

Wheeler says that Tony Khan built the tag team division around teams like them and The Young Bucks, while promoting an entirely new generation of tag teams, including ProtoJet and The Bang Bang Gang. They’re excited to be back and featured so prominently, to be back where they belong, and Harwood calls FTR the measuring stick of the division.

“We don’t want to come back in our first real major high-profile match [and have it] be a ladder match. I’d rather a young tag team take our spot. But the thing is, I don’t know if any tag teams have stepped up to the plate and want to take what FTR has built, because that’s a hefty thing to take. I’m begging any tag team to take our spot.”

Such is the dichotomy of FTR: They’re not the hungry young scrappers they once were in a field of many. They’ve reached the top, but they don’t feel done, so they endure, fighting to attain a position they’ve spent their entire careers believing was theirs to begin with.

Outside the younger teams, they expressed excitement at working with two new arrivals to the company: Motor City Machine Guns and The New Level. Wheeler says they have a long history with Kofi and Austin Creed, and to see them come over here and experience the level of creative freedom in AEW is exciting. Harwood affirms them as legendary, and between them and the Machine Guns, a team he says has been emulated greatly in the modern wrestling landscape, they’re excited to add some fresh matches and shake up the division.

But the reverence and legendary status of either team doesn’t mean they can do it the way FTR does, and Harwood welcomes their challenges to prove him wrong.

“We just bring something completely different. We are our own men. We are our own team, and no one can ever emulate what we do. I would love for them to try to, but I don’t think they’re going to take the spot that FTR has filled.”

FTR has the opportunity on Saturday to cement themselves among the greats in tag team wrestling, and with a host of challengers, past and present, they’re ready to prove why they stand alone in their field. In recent interviews, Harwood discussed uncertainty about the future of their in-ring careers after their return, and uncertainty about what the future holds for them. When asked if they could sum up their legacy in one word, Wheeler was succinct.

“A**holes.”

Harwood was a bit more measured in his word choice.

“Honestly, I think it would ultimately be overachievers, and the reason I say overachievers is because both of us are 5’9”. Neither of us have great bodies. He’s a really, really good-looking guy with a great head of hair. I, on the other hand, am not. Neither of us have the greatest voices in the world, aren’t the most charismatic guys in the world, but for some reason, we made it, you know? It wasn’t because we had someone say, ‘Look at these two, they’ve got this.’ We had to work really hard to get this, and once we got it, we decided not to let it go.”

FTR never needed to borrow the mic or to idolize, and they were never supposed to be what they became in wrestling. They had to work for every bit of it, every win, every moment putting them one step closer to respect. Much like LL Cool J and Canibus, the beef was never really about the microphone or the titles. It’s about who earns the spot, and who is willing to take it.

FTR faces off against Cope & Cage and The Young Bucks for the AEW World Tag Team Championships in a three-way ladder match at AEW All Out this Saturday, September 26th, from the NOW Arena in Chicago, IL. The show begins at 8pm ET/5pm PT, and can be seen on Amazon Prime Video and HBO Max. Check your local listings for start times in your area.