Are FTR Leaving AEW For WWE?

Highlights

• FTR lost their AEW World Tag Team Championships in a surprising manner, raising questions about their future in the company.
• The loss was due to an injury to Cash Wheeler, not because they were leaving AEW or joining CM Punk in WWE.
• FTR's championship reign had lackluster character development, so the injury storyline might be a chance for them to regroup and possibly team up with Adam "Edge" Copeland in the future.

A bizarre moment took place during Saturday's episode of AEW Collision, when FTR lost their AEW World Tag Team Championships to Ricky Starks and Big Bill. While the latter are deserving of championship gold, there had been little build to this match, and it wasn't a pay-per-view. Almost six months to the day since FTR beat The Gunns for the titles on April 5, they were squashed in under five minutes, with Dax Harwood taking almost all the punishment. Did that mean FTR was on their way out of AEW? After all, Dax had been in the news for his attempt to trademark CMFTR, the name given to FTR's team with CM Punk, despite the fact that Punk is no longer with AEW.

Adding to the confusion was that Dax took to Twitter after the loss to say, "What a run. Love you all. Top Guys Out." Some fans took this to mean that FTR's AEW run was over. With CM Punk looking like he might be going back to WWE, were his friends in FTR looking to join him? This seemed unlikely, given that earlier in the year the tag team was in the news for asking to take a break, as their contracts were ending, and they were trying to decide on whether to resign with AEW or go back to WWE. FTR chose to stay with AEW, signing a new four-year deal, but maybe now they had asked for their release due to some unhappiness with their booking or Punk's release. That was not the case, as Dax Harwood later tweeted out a clarification, saying, "Guys, I say ‘Top Guys Out’ all the time. We ain’t going nowhere. This is our home."

RELATED: FTR Responds To Fans Who Want AEW To Fire Dax Harwood

Why Did FTR Lose The AEW World Tag Team Championships?

Ricky Starks and Big Bill are very deserving of their big win (it's Big Bill's first taste of gold), but the odd way the title changed happened meant something was up. Another rumor was that Cash Wheeler, who was arrested weeks ago after a reported road rage incident, was going to jail. That wasn't the case. The reason for the loss did have to do with Wheeler, however, as it turns out that he was injured in FTR's match with Aussie Open at WrestleDream.

On Wrestling Observer Radio, Bryan Alvarez said, "Cash is injured... Well, he is injured, that's the story. The story they told on television was it was at the pay-per-view when Aussie Open ran them together, they sold it like he'd injured his rib there... (I) don't know how long FTR is going to be out of action."

From a storyline perspective, the injury might be for the best. FTR were tag team champions for six months, but despite putting on great matches, they were rarely booked well from a character perspective, and seemed a bit lost since hitching their wagon to CM Punk, only to quickly lose him. The pair are great friends with Adam "Edge" Copeland, so maybe they'll team with him when they return. If you're looking to see FTR in WWE though, you have until at least 2027 for that to happen.