9 Ups & 3 Downs For AEW Collision (22 July)

2. Solid But Steady

AEW Collision Cash Wheeler Dax Harwood
AEW

FTR's in-ring promo was fine in setting the stall for next Saturday's AEW Tag Team Titles defence against MJF and Adam Cole; hitting the necessary points without being anything particularly spectacular.

Here, Cash Wheeler and Dax Harwood made it clear that they're not fans of seeing Cole and MJF doing skits and having dance-offs. Ever the no-nonsense pro wrestlers, FTR don't want a mockery of a thrown-together tag team holding the belts which they hold on such a pedestal.

The story about a young Dax being laughed at by some other kids because he had to get a job at 15 years of age, that felt a little convoluted and unnecessary, but the bones of the promo were solid. The central message was Wheeler and Harwood have put their bodies through too much over the years to let a joke tandem take their titles, and also a warning to Cole that the Salt of the Earth cannot be trusted.

It was also nice to see FTR namedrop Aussie Open, the Acclaimed, and the Young Bucks as tag teams who they have unfinished business with. It was only a fleeting line in the overall segment, but by mentioning those pairings, that sows the seeds for what could be in FTR's future - that being if they can overcome Adam Cole and MJF, of course.

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Senior Writer
Senior Writer

Once described as the Swiss Army Knife of WhatCulture, Andrew can usually be found writing, editing, or presenting on a wide range of topics. As a lifelong wrestling fan, horror obsessive, and comic book nerd, he's been covering those topics professionally as far back as 2010. In addition to his current WhatCulture role of Senior Content Producer, Andrew previously spent nearly a decade as Online Editor and Lead Writer for the world's longest-running genre publication, Starburst Magazine, and his work has also been featured on BBC, TechRadar, Tom's Guide, WhatToWatch, Sportkskeeda, and various other outlets, in addition to being a Rotten Tomatoes-approved film critic. Between his main dayjob, his role as the lead panel host of Wales Comic Con, and his gig as a pre-match host for Wrexham AFC games, Andrew has also carried out a hugely varied amount of interviews, from the likes of Robert Englund, Kane Hodder, Adrienne Barbeau, Rob Zombie, Katharine Isabelle, Leigh Whannell, Bruce Campbell, and Tony Todd, to Kevin Smith, Ron Perlman, Elijah Wood, Giancarlo Esposito, Simon Pegg, Charlie Cox, the Russo Brothers, and Brian Blessed, to Kevin Conroy, Paul Dini, Tara Strong, Will Friedle, Burt Ward, Andrea Romano, Frank Miller, and Rob Liefeld, to Bret Hart, Sting, Mick Foley, Ricky Starks, Jamie Hayer, Britt Baker, Eric Bischoff, and William Regal, to Mickey Thomas, Joey Jones, Phil Parkinson, Brian Flynn, Denis Smith, Gary Bennett, Karl Connolly, and Bryan Robson - and that's just the tip of an ever-expanding iceberg.