FTR on How the Pandemic Affected Their Work, What They Want to Accomplish as Wrestlers

– Speaking to reporters in a press conference after their title win at ROH Supercard of Honor XV, FTR (Dax Harwood and Cash Wheeler) discussed their philosophy as wrestlers. Below are some highlights from FTR (via WrestlingInc.com):

Cash Wheeler on how the pandemic made him a better wrestler: “I think especially coming out of the pandemic, you appreciate things so much more. I had fun wrestling during the pandemic era, I think it made me a better wrestler, I think it made him a better wrestler. It made everyone a better wrestler. Because you don’t have the crutch of the crowd sometimes to know when something is good or bad. Or, if something is bad and the crowd is good, they can cover that up for you. So, I think wrestling during the pandemic when you don’t have that, and it’s you just having to rely on yourself, thinking, ‘this is good, this feels right.’ Coming back to a crowd like this where it’s 2,000 but it seems like 20. I would rather wrestle in front of a crowd like that every night than a crowd that just sits on their hands and they’re 20,000 deep. Because I want to feel the energy, every single night. When I am in there, I get goosebumps talking about it, you can literally feel the reverberation of the crowd through you, there it is again.”

Dax Harwood on how he thinks the pandemic didn’t really change things: “I don’t think it changes anything. If we change anything, the fans would not want to cheer us. I think they respect us, and I think that they see the passion that we bring to wrestling. I don’t know if there are babyfaces or heels, I think there’s guys and girls that the fans attach themselves to emotionally. And that’s what I am here to do, I am wearing a Bret Hart shirt. He made me feel a certain way, for 38 years, he made me feel. He hated America, so did I dude, I don’t care.”

Harwood on what he wants as a wrestler: “That’s what I wanted as a wrestler, I want to make you feel something. I am not comparing myself to one of the greatest of all time, what I am saying is, I want to make you feel a certain way. I can’t do a tope, but god dang, I will work as hard as I can to make you feel a certain way about me, and about who I am wrestling with, to the point where you can’t deny it and you either love me or hate me. If you love me, that’s cool, and if you hate me, that’s cool too. Because at the end of the day, I work my ass off, and I earn my check. And I get to go home and take care of my family. If you like that, you f*cking like it, and if you don’t like it, you don’t like it, and that’s okay. I don’t consider us to be good guys or bad guys, we are just f*cking guys. So, new territory, we are still locking up, we are still snatching a headlock. It’s the same thing. Do I appreciate the fans? I f*cking love them, I love them, and if they love us back, that’s cool. And if they don’t, I’ll be okay.”

At ROH Supercard of Honor XV, FTR beat The Briscoe Brothers to capture the ROH Tag Team Titles.