FTR's 2022, An Amazing Year in Wrestling

FTR: Dax Harwood and Cash Wheeler is my all time favorite tag team, going all the way back to their Tag Team Revival days in NXT & WWE.  Every AEW live event I attend I hope that FTR have a match so I can witness them wrestle live again and again.

In my opinion, FTR's 2022 was an amazing year to be a fan of them and tag team wrestling as a whole.

Coming into 2022 FTR were the AAA World Tag Team Champions having defeated The Lucha Brothers on October 16, 2021 on a special AEW Saturday Night Dynamite in Miami, Florida.  On December 11, 2021 at Ring of Honor Final Battle the Briscoe Brothers defeated ROH World Tag Team Champions: The Kingdom: Mike Bennett & Matt Taven to win the championships.  After the match while the Briscoe's celebrated FTR made their ROH debut and ran in brawling with Dem Boys.  This appearance by FTR was months before Tony Khan purchased ROH.

Kicking off 2022 they made an indie appearance for Big Time Wrestling in a dream match on January 22 at the Spartanburg Memorial Auditorium in Spartanburg, South Carolina⁠ taking on Ricky Morton & Robert Gibson The Rock n' Roll Express!  They picked up the win in just over 15 minutes in a classic tag team wrestling match.

  

On March 13th they traveled to Lucha Libre AAA for Gira Aniversario XXX at Poliforum Zamna in Merida, Yucatan, Mexico to successfully defend the AAA Tag Team Championships against Hermanos Lee: Dragon Lee & Dralistico.

April 1st we would get the first match in a trilogy of matches that would go on to become instant classics and matches that we will talk about in years to come.  At Supercard of Honor FTR would battled and defeat the Ring of Honor World Tag Team Champions Mark & Jay Briscoe in 27 minutes to become double champions. 

Five days later on April 6th in Boston at the Agganis Arena FTR would defend both of the AAA and ROH Tag Team Championships against the Young Bucks in FTR vs. Young Bucks II.  I was in attendance on this night, and this match was a TREMENDOUS wrestling match.  Much to my delight FTR retained their championships in just over 20 minutes.

April 27, in Philadelphia, PA Dax and Cash would wrestle each other in a qualifying match for the 2022 Owen Hart Foundation Tournament in their first ever one on one match.  In 15 minutes Dax would pick up the win.

These are not the only matches they competed in during 2022, I'm simply going over what I feel are the best matches of the run.  Through out year they would have six man tag team matches with partners such as CM Punk and Danhausen.  

June 10th FTR would return Big Time Wrestling, this time in Webster, Massachusetts at the Webster Town Hall where they would be managed by Bret "The Hitman" Hart and defeated Brock Anderson with "Enforcer" Arn Anderson and Brian Pillman Jr.

I was also in attendance at this show and was excited to see FTR be managed by one of their idols Bret Hart for the first time.  I got cards signed by FTR & Arn Anderson and got some great photos.

The next day on June 11th FTR would travel to Beckley, West Virginia for All Star Wrestling to wrestle and defeat The American Wolves; Eddie Edwards & Davey Richards in juts over 19 minutes in another dream match.  On this night FTR was managed by another idol of theirs in "Loverboy" Dennis Condrey.

June 26th in Chicago at AEW Forbidden Door, FTR would defend their ROH Tag Team Championships in a triple threat match with Roppongi Vice: Rocky Romero & Trent and the IWGP Heavyweight Tag Team Champions: United Empire: Jeff Cobb & Great-O-Khan.  FTR would walk out as the new IWGP champions making them triple champions.  The AAA titles were not on the line, because NJPW has a working relationship with AAA's rival CMLL.

On July 23rd FTR returned to Ring of Honor PPV in Lowell, Mass at the Tsongas Center for Death Before Dishonor, and I was sitting front row for this match!  Either the morning of the pre-sale of the night before they announce FTR vs. The Briscoes II in a 2 out of 3 falls match for the ROH World Tag Team Championship.  My front row seat was right next to the commentators.

This match is without a doubt the greatest tag team match I have ever seen and perhaps the best wrestling match I have ever seen live.  In nearly 45 minutes FTR retained 2 falls to 1 in a hard hitting and bloody encounter that was battled in and out of the ring.  After the match Dax went around the ring the hugged everyone in the front row wearing an FTR shirt, there were only a few of us but I got a big hug from Dax and a thank you for the support.

On July 27th AEW was in Worcester, Mass which we also attended, initially FTR was advertised to be part of the pre-show meet and greet back when these were announced day of the event.  Back in October 2021 for only $75 I purchased a meet and greet with FTR & Tully Blanchard!

  

We couldn't believe they would be part of it so soon after their very hard hitting match, and I was going to buy this one as well, however they cancelled it just before it went on sale, replaced with Jurassic Express.

October 1st FTR would travel to London England and successfully defended the IWGP championships at NJPW Royal Quest II defeating Aussie Open: Kyle Fletch & Mark Davis in just over 31 minutes.  Rated 5 stars by the Wrestling Observer Newsletter. 

October 7th in Washington DC they would successfully defend the ROH Championships against Gates of Agony: Bishop Kaun & Toa Liona at AEW Battle of the Belts IV.  

November 5th in Osaka, Japan at NJPW Battle Autumn 2022 FTR would retain the IWGP Tag Team Championships against United Empire: Jeff Cobb & Great-O-Khan.

November 9th they were back in Boston for AEW Dynamite at the Agganis Arena.  On this night the IWGP, ROH, & AAA Tag Team Champions: FTR: Dax Harwood & Cash Wheeler and AEW Tag Team Champions: The Acclaimed: Max Caster & Anthony Bowens defeated Swerve in Our Glory: Swerve Strickland & Keith Lee and The Gunns: Austin & Colten Gunn with Morrissey.  I included this show because I was also at this event and it was be the 4th time I saw them wrestle live in 2022.

November 27th at Big Time Wrestling at the Dorton Arena in Raleigh, North Carolina FTR would team with Ricky "The Dragon" Steamboat in a six man tag defeating Jay Lethal, Nick Aldis, & Brock Anderson with "Enforcer" Arn Anderson in Steamboats retirement match.

By this time FTR had competed in over 40 matches for AEW, New Japan, AAA, and numerous indies across the United States, Japan, Mexico, the United Kingdom, and Canada.  They had successfully defended the ROH Tag Team Championships 6 times, the AAA Tag Team Titles 4 times and the IWGP Championships twice.  They were pushing too hard.

On December 7th in Cedar Park, Texas on AEW Dynamite they would challenge the Acclaim for the AEW World Tag Team Championship and came up short in 16 minutes. 

Three days later on December 10th they would face the Briscoes Brothers in the final match of the trilogy in a hard hitting and stiff double dog collar match at Ring of Honor Final Battle in Arlington, Texas.  Dem Boyz with capture the titles in just over 22 minutes for a record 13th title reign.

December 28th FTR would travel back to Mexico for Lucha Libre AAA Gira Aniversario XXX in Acapulco, Guerrero, Mexico.  They would lose the AAA World Tag Team championships to Hermanos Lee: Dragon Lee & Dralistico.

Spilling into 2023 FTR would travel to Japan to compete on the annual January 4th show at the Tokyo Dome, Wrestle Kingdom 17.  Bishamon: Hirooki Goto & YOSHI-HASHI would defeated FTR for the for the IWGP Tag Team Championships ending a hell of a run.

438 days AAA World Tag Team Champions: October 16, 2021 - December 28, 2022

253 days ROH World Tag Team Champions: April 1, 2022 - December 10, 2022

192 days IWGP Heavyweight Tag Team Champions: June 26, 2022 - January 4, 2023

2022 Awards

Fightful Awards

Men's Tag Team of the Year: FTR

Men's In-Ring Wrestler of the Year: Dax Harwood

Tag Team Match of the Year: FTR vs. Briscoe Brothers Death Before Dishonor July 23, 2022

PWI Tag Team of the Year: FTR

Voices of Wrestling Matches of the Year: FTR vs. Briscoe Brothers Trilogy

Wrestling Observer Newsletter

Tag Team of the Year: FTR

Feud of the Year: FTR vs. Briscoe Brothers

5 Stars: FTR vs. Briscoe Brothers April 1, 2022 ROH Supercard of Honor XV

5 Stars: FTR vs. Briscoe Brothers July 23, 2022 2 out of 3 Falls ROH Death Before Dishonor

5 Stars: FTR vs. Aussie Open October 1, 2022 NJPW Royal Quest II

5.5 Stars: FTR vs. Briscoe Brothers December 10, 2022 Double Dog Collar ROH Final Battle

I was on Instagram one day and randomly found this FTR vs. Briscoes VHS that I just had to buy!  I've watched it a few times and it's awesome.

 

If you saw above Dax was voted the male wrestler of the year by Fightful.  On top of the stellar tag team match run they had, Dax had singles matches against: CM Punk, Adam Cole, Will Osprey, Rocky Romero, Jay Lethal, Claudio Castagnoli, Mike Bailey, Brian Danielson, and the previously mentioned Cash Wheeler.

I dare anyone to saw any other tag team, had a better 2022 than FTR, I don't think anyone can.

Thank you for reading, please leave a comment, check out my other posts, and if you want like my blogs Facebook page.  You can also head over to Amazon and pick up a copy of my book the 2024 Limitless Wrestling Almanac, or any of my other books.

Until next time!

The Undertaker: Matches I've Watched Live

At the Boneyard Match at WrestleMania XXXVI we saw a version of the Undertaker that we haven't seen in a long long time.  It was an awesome match, even my wife who doesn't care for wrestling enjoyed it.  Sunday after night 2 of Mania was over they had a First Look at The Undertaker: The Last Ride.

This leads me to believe that this will be Taker's last year in the ring, some thing the Boneyard match was his last.  Undertaker debuted at the 1990 Survivor Series so I think his last match should be at the 2020 Survivor Series 30 years later.


August 15, 1995 
WWF Television Taping, Cumberland County Civic Center, Portland, Maine

This was a marathon television taping of Wrestling Challenge, Superstars, & Action Zone.  I attended this show with my buddy Jay and his brother Scott. Undertaker appeared twice this night.  Summerslam 1995 was just 12 days away which featured  casket match between Undertaker and Kama.  The first appearance saw Undertaker at ringside with Paul Bearer and the casket he made for Kama being interviewed by Dok Hendrix.

Taker vs. Kama from SummerSlam 1995

The second time we say him that night was the main event of the evening in a dark match, and the 26th match of the night.  In this match The Undertaker defeated Kama: The Supreme Fighting Machine in a casket match.

March 1, 1996
WWF House Show, The Civic Center, Augusta, Maine

World Champion: Bret "Hitman" Hart vs. The Undertaker

I attended this show with my pal Rob and Mom & Dad.  It was a solid show with great talent like Godwins, Bodydonnas, Triple H, Owen Hart, Goldust, "Ringmaster" Steve Austin Savio Vega, Davey Boy Smith, Shawn Michaels, and more.

Surprisingly this was not the main even of the evening, that honor went to HBK vs. Smith.  Bret was out first and then Undertaker took and exceptionally long time to get to the ring.  He wasn't wearing his hat or coat and just his wrestling gear.  It was a good match and in the end Bret Hart retained his championship by count-out after Goldust ran down and gave Taker a piledriver on the floor.

I took these pictures on a film camera back in the day and then took a picture of the picture with my camera phone to post them here.

March 28, 1998
WrestleMania XIV, Fleetcenter, Boston, MA

The Undertaker vs. Kane with Paul Bearer

I really don't have to say a whole lot about this event, it's where the Austin era began!  This was my first Pay-Per-View, we had seats in the front row of the balcony, but Jay and I didn't care.  We were overlooking the entrance way so we got a great view of Taker's entrance with the druids.

This was the first epic battle between the Brother's of Destruction, this was also the first time that Kane tombstoned Pete Rose.  Undertaker defeated Kane after three tombstone piledrivers, the last one looks real bad as Kane's head was low.  After the match Kane tombstoned Taker on a steel chair.  This win seven on the Undertaker's WrestleMania win streak.

July 11, 2005
Smackdown! Brand House Show, Cumberland County Civic Center, Portland, Maine

The Undertaker vs. Muhammad Hassan with Daivari

I attended this show with my buddy Rood  Hassan was a talented wrestler who was saddled with a wrong gimmick at the wrong time.  After this match he would only have two more matches in the WWE before leaving wrestling.

On this night even with the help of Daivari and the Shane Twins in black garb Hassan fell victim to the tombstone piledriver.

I took these pictures on a film camera back in the day and then took a picture of the picture with my camera phone to post them here.

December 10, 2005
Smackdown! Brand House Show, The Colisee, Lewiston, ME

The Undertaker vs. Randy Orton with "Cowboy" Bob Orton

This was the first time WWE ever had a show at this venue, also two days before this show I bought my first digital camera and sitting in the fourth row I got some great shots!  I went to this show alone, and it was a last minute decisions because two days later my buddy Rood and I went to Boston for Monday Night Raw.  I took these pictures.

This was a super fun show with a lot of great talent on the card.  Taker and Orton main evented in a very good match that saw Undertaker get the win after a tombstone piledriver.

On the way home I stopped at Burger King on the highway in Litchfield, I used to work there.  My camera battery was beyond dead so I have no proof however, I met Sylvain Grenier, Kid Kash, Steve Keirn, and Arn Anderson!

March 30, 2008
WrestleMania XXIV, Citrus Bowl, Orlando, FL

World Heavyweight Champion: Edge vs. The Undertaker

I attended this show with my buddies Jay & Rood, we bought Silver Packages from WWE as we had heard the rumor that this was going to be Ric Flair's final match and we didn't want to miss that.

You can read all about our adventures in these two posts: this first post was written in 2008 and posted on Facebook Note.  The second post was written a few years later for a different blog of mine.  You can read all about out travels down, the hotel, going to Universal Studios, a crazy bloody indy show, The Hall of Fame, and of course Mania itself.

This was an amazing night of wrestling, we had awesome seats, and it was a truly excellent adventure!  Taker's entrance was amazing!  The best one that I have experienced live complete with flames shooting 40 feet into the air!  Beyond words.

The match was the main event and it was well deserved.  The Undertaker captured the World Championship after submitting Edge.  This was win sixteen of his WrestleMania win streak.  I took these pictures from my seat.

November 23, 2008
Survivor Series, TD Garden, Boston, MA

Casket Match: The Undertaker vs. The Big Show

I attended this show with Rood, two PPV's in one year!  This show featured a dark match, three singles matches and three survivor series matches.  I am a strong believer that Survivor Series should be nothing but Survivor Series matches.

I enjoyed this show, but if I'm being honest when I sat down the write this I had remembered every Undertaker match except this one.  I remember this show and have talked about it often, I can recall every match except this match.

Undertaker got the win when the casket was standing upright and Taker irish-whipped Big Show into the open casket which fell over and the lid fell shut.  This is probably why I don't remember the match.  I took these pictures from my seat, there are more at the bottom of the post.

All in all I have seen the Undertaker wrestle live seven times.  His record is 6 - 1 with his only loss being by count-out.  I saw his win two casket matches, compete at two WrestleMania's and watched him win the World Heavyweight Championship.

If this is Taker's last year and if I never get to see him live again I'm okay with that.  I feel very fortunate that I got to witness Taker live several times and in some significant matches at that.

Thanks for reading, please leave a comment, read my other posts, and like my blogs Facebook page and while you're at it check out my weekly podcast The Wrestling Insomniac on the Nerdy Legion Podcast Network.

Until next time