Road Dogg has a lot of pull in WWE as Senior Vice President of Live Events. He was also the lead writer for SmackDown for a long time. During that run, he also apparently had some beef with two Top Guys on the roster.
After their WWE departures, Dax Harwood and Cash Wheeler made their AEW debuts together in 2020 under the moniker FTR. They immediately became one of the top tag teams in the world after joining AEW. Now, on the Gentleman Villain podcast‘s final episode, Harwood recently revealed his brand-new show, “FTR with Dax Harwood.”
Co-host Matt Koon quizzed Harwood on a variety of wrestling identities, including “Road Dogg” Jesse James, who is a podcaster on the Ad-Free Shows network. Uncle Daxy was very clear about how he felt about Road Dogg.
Dax Harwood admitted that he didn’t see eye-to-eye with Road Dogg from the very beginning. He said that Road Dogg had disliked him from the day they first met.
“I think from the day Road Dogg met me, he didn’t like me. [FTR] had a match against American Alpha at NXT Dallas. That’s one of my favorites of all-time. I had in my mind what that match was. I had the story I wanted to tell, I knew the false finishes I wanted, I knew exactly how I wanted the front half to go, I knew exactly what was gonna work. [Road Dogg] offered an idea one night, the night before Dallas, and [Cash and I] were talking with [Jason] Jordan and [Chad] Gable. I was explaining to them the story that I wanted to tell, and he offered and idea. I didn’t shoot it down; I just didn’t think it fit into the story that I wanted to tell.”
Dax Harwood also talked about the time when Road Dogg buried him in office. Apparently, Road Dogg went to an unnamed source in an effort to sabotage Dax’s career.
“He went to an unnamed source, who is a very big part of the WWE office, and he proceeded to bury me, tell that person that I thought I knew everything, and I would never try to learn anything, and all this stuff. So I had my own reservations about him.”
Moving forward, Dax was questioned on the tweets from fans suggesting that FTR would make its Smackdown debut. He addressed the supporters’ excitement while offering his thoughts on the incident.
“Then come later that year, right around December, there was a gauntlet tag team match on Smackdown. For some reason, the fans thought The Revival was gonna make their debut there. The fans were tweeting and freaking out over it. We were heels, so I went on Twitter and said “you fans thought that we were gonna debut on the main roster in a stupid gimmick gauntlet match? You’ve lost your mind.” Something like that.”
Dax Harwood also talked about Road Dogg tweeting about him that he would “never make it.” While speaking on the subject, Dax said Road Dogg took offense from a statement Dax made earlier.
“At the time, Road Dogg was booking [Smackdown]. He took offense to that, because I said “stupid gimmick,” and he proceeded to write on Twitter that if I kept it up, he would make sure that I would “never” make it to the main roster.”
Dax Harwood was then questioned on how he intends to support himself, if he doesn’t make the roster. He admitted that if he is never selected for the main roster, it affects his financial situation and it has bothered him.
“If I never make it to the main roster, that cuts into my money. Which cuts into the money that I make for my family, so I can provide for my daughter and make sure my wife has food on the table. That’s what bothered me.”
Dax Harwood then discussed his views on Mark Carrano and Road Dogg’s efforts to sweep it under the rug. He accused them of “covering their tracks.”
“Right after he put that tweet out, I got a call or text from Mark Carrano that led to a call from both of those guys to make sure they were covering their tracks. Because Road Dogg basically said he was gonna make sure I would never have any advancement in the company. Legally, they’re not allowed to do that because they’re in positions of power in the office. For him to say “I’m gonna make sure that you’re not gonna move up, and you can’t advance your money”… legally, he shouldn’t be able to do that. So they were trying to cover their tracks.”
“Fast forward, we’ll talk about this one day, RAW 25. I had to go in there and make sure Shawn [Michaels] and his friends looked like a million bucks. We got to the back, Road Dogg passed right by me, didn’t say thank you after we bumped around for him. The only person who said thank you was Sean Waltman.”
Despite all that, Dax Harwood still respects Road Dogg, despite their long-standing feud. He acknowledged that he admires Road Dogg for the contributions he has made to the industry.
“Listen, as a wrestler I respect everything he’s done for the business and the path he’s paved for us. As a person, I don’t know how much respect I have for him.”
There is obviously a lot to unpack in this situation between Road Dogg and FTR. Meanwhile, you can check out the whole podcast right here. Stay tuned to Ringside News for more.
What’s your take on this story? Sound off in the comments.
December 28, 2022 8:13 am
ncG1vNJzZmivp6x7s7XNoKqinJWjsri%2FjZympmdiZX9ze5BrZmtwX6e8orCMnaagn12drqV5wZ6cn2WnnsGpecWoqaadomLEuLGMrZigZaSarq55wqGYpqiZpLu0ew%3D%3D