Andrew Ravens
FTR may be approaching a crossroads in AEW, and WWE has reportedly taken notice. Dax Harwood and Cash Wheeler signed four-year contract extensions with AEW in 2023, having been with the company since May 2020. According to BodySlam, the duo is now approaching the option year on those agreements, and their long-term future with the promotion is in question.
BodySlam reported that sources say FTR believes their value and consistency over the past several years should place them among AEW’s top-tier acts financially. The report also noted that at least preliminary interest from WWE has been communicated through mutual contacts.
FTR spent eight years in WWE under the names Scott Dawson and Dash Wilder as The Revival, capturing the Raw, SmackDown, and NXT Tag Team Championships during that tenure and feuding with teams including The New Day and The Usos. They requested their release in the spring of 2020 and have since been vocal about feeling that tag team wrestling was not prioritized under the previous creative regime.
WWE is reportedly in the process of rebuilding its men’s tag team division following the departures of The New Day and the Motor City Machine Guns. The company is said to be focused primarily on pushing in-house teams, though FTR’s track record would make it a team that could anchor the division for several years.
With that backdrop in mind, here are four other AEW tag teams who could make an impact in WWE.
The Young Bucks
The Young Bucks would be a big get for WWE and a major loss for AEW. Not only would they have an instant main event tag team that should go straight to Raw or SmackDown, but AEW would lose the anchor of its tag team division.
Behind the scenes, it would be a loss for AEW as well, considering their EVP statuses. The Bucks are rumored to have their deals coming up in 2027, and with WWE’s past interest in them, their signing could realistically happen.
Divine Dominion
Megan Bayne and Lena Kross are at the top of the list for the women’s tag team division. Not only are the two of them the best workers in the world, but they are also the current AEW Tag Team Champions.
They have some name recognition and would be used as an act to draw in other teams. WWE has focused on women’s tag team wrestling in recent years. WWE also needs a fresh team in the division, and it would be a no-brainer decision.
The Gunns
Austin Gunn and Colten Gunn have developed steadily since AEW’s early days into one of the promotion’s more polished acts. As sons of Billy Gunn, they arrived with name recognition but have carved out their own identity as a cocky duo with genuine chemistry. They can also go in the ring.
WWE’s appetite for homegrown-style performers is well documented, and The Gunns fit that profile. Both are young enough to represent long-term investments, whether in NXT or on the main roster, and their heel work in AEW has shown a range that would translate in either setting. They should be among the top names on the consideration sheet if it were up to me.
Private Party
Isiah Kassidy and Marq Quen are among AEW’s original tag teams, having been part of the promotion since its earliest shows. Their style made them a standout act in the company’s early years. The only problem is they’ve never been used the way they should, according to some fans.
NXT’s tag team division has thinned considerably in recent years, and Private Party’s chemistry and work rate make them a natural fit for a division in need of new blood. Their style would translate immediately, and their track record as a unit gives them a leg up on teams still finding their footing. A fresh environment could be exactly what Kassidy and Quen need to reach the ceiling of their ability.
