THIS Is The Top Heel In Wrestling Today

It's not Randy Orton.

by Michael Sidgwick
FTR AEW
AEW

When FTR debuted on AEW Dynamite, on May 27, 2020, they immediately asked a question of the Young Bucks: can you trust us?

This was incredibly important to the events to come because it was never really a message intended for Matt and Nick Jackson: it was always intended as the first, indirect strike in a months-long campaign to unsettle - and ultimately, unseat - AEW World Tag Team Champions Kenny Omega and Hangman Page. That campaign was successful, for at All Out, Dax Harwood and Cash Wheeler captured the gold. That it took such meticulous planning - as part of a plot that materialised with beautifully deft episodic TV booking - put everything it strived to get over over. With, and this is stunning pro wrestling promotion, one incredibly audacious and deliberate exception: the dream match teased on day one, and about four full years before that.

But let's circle back to the start.

On May 27, FTR saved the Bucks from a Butcher and the Blade attack as part of an awesome angle with so many intricately arranged moving parts. After warding off the heels, FTR refused to shake the tentative, outstretched hands of the team they were always destined to wrestle, in one company or another. That was all but confirmed as much in reality, what with Dash Wilder's since-deleted "One day we'll wrestle The Young Bucks & everyone will rejoice" tweet.

But in the fictional universe of All Elite Wrestling, that dream match has been passed off as a mere projection on the part of the fans.

CONT'D...(1 of 6)

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Contributor
Contributor

Michael Sidgwick is an editor, writer and podcaster for WhatCulture Wrestling. With over seven years of experience in wrestling analysis, Michael was published in the influential institution that was Power Slam magazine, and specialises in providing insights into All Elite Wrestling - so much so that he wrote a book about the subject. You can order Becoming All Elite: The Rise Of AEW on Amazon. Possessing a deep knowledge also of WWE, WCW, ECW and New Japan Pro Wrestling, Michael’s work has been publicly praised by former AEW World Champions Kenny Omega and MJF, and current Undisputed WWE Champion Cody Rhodes. When he isn’t putting your finger on why things are the way they are in the endlessly fascinating world of professional wrestling, Michael wraps his own around a hand grinder to explore the world of specialty coffee. Follow Michael on X (formerly known as Twitter) @MSidgwick for more!