Dax Harwood Announces End Of FTR Podcast, Says There Was No Pressure From AEW Or Tony Khan

Dax Harwood is ending his podcast. 

In December 2022, Dax Harwood launched his FTR podcast with Matt Koon with the idea to reflect on his career and discuss the various happenings in wrestling, past and present. 

On April 19, Harwood announced the podcast is coming to an end. 

“When we started this podcast, we just wanted to do good wrestling. I was looking forward to, and I still do and did, looking forward to bringing my thoughts n psychology, in-ring action, what I thought was good wrestling, my love for Bret Hart, and breakdown some of the things we had done in our career and some of our biggest moments. I knew that we would probably ruffle a few feathers. I know that I can,” Hardwood said on the final episode. “The only thing I should apologize for is how the journalists and the new sites took a section of something I said and made it seem like I was such a bad human being. I want to apologize to, not only my fans, I want to apologize to the people who already didn’t like me and fans of, for example, the Young Bucks, fans of Kenny Omega, fans of MJF, or anybody else who I may have upset. I want to apologize to them because I never wanted you to hate me so much that you would say some of the things you said to me. Going into this podcast, I never thought that would happen. I hate that happened. I thought I was way more mentally tough than I am, but I admit that I’m not. I don’t think I can handle some of the things that were said, and I also don’t want my daughter to read some of the things that were said to me. Ultimately, we all wanted to do good for wrestling, and I don’t think, as much as we tried, the podcast wasn’t reflecting that.”

Harwood and Koon said there was no pressure from AEW or Tony Khan to end the podcast. 

Harwood shared a text from his FTR partner Cash Wheeler that was sent after fans online were bashing Harwood and wanting him to lose his job for some of his comments. The text read, “‘That sucks. I’m sorry, brother. I want you to know, history is going to remember this very differently when it’s all said and done. By the time we’re retired, the truth will come out and you’ll be one of the ones people respect for actually being transparent and honest. Add to that, you have more integrity than pretty much anyone else in wrestling and are one of the few not afraid to speak the truth without hiding behind a source.’ That meant more to me than almost anything else that we’ve had in our ten-year friendship. I, to a fault, have stood up for what I believe in, and to a fault, I speak my truth. Never, have I pointed out or singled out one person and talk shit about them, except for Road Dogg. I feel I owed him that. I probably should not have said a word, but that’s not how I operate. I had the opportunity to spill my heart on how he made me feel, how he made me feel so small. Other than that, I never talked bad about anyone I worked with.”

Harwood continued, “A lot of the time, doing the right thing is not perceived as doing the right thing. Sometimes, what we perceive as the right thing, is not the right thing. We toed that line, toed it too much. Being a detriment to wrestling, wrestling fans, co-workers, people who used to be my co-workers, people that I respect and love. I got Cash so much heat because I said CM Punk was my friend and I wanted to wrestle him. I got Cash heat. I don’t want that. He’s my friend. He doesn’t deserve that, I don’t deserve that, Punk doesn’t deserve that. It was all because of me.”

Harwood and Koon both noted that the podcast could return at some point and in some form, but for now it’s time to end things. 

Harwood is one half of the AEW Tag Team Champions alongside Wheeler. They are set to speak on Wednesday’s episode of AEW Dynamite. 

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