Dax Harwood discussed the differences between AEW and WWE, the AEW locker room, and competing with the Young Bucks on the first episode of his new podcast, FTR With Dax Harwood. Here are the highlights:
If there is more or less communication in AEW compared to WWE:
“I don’t think there’s less communication than with WWE. I think there have been times when some of the wrestlers have leaked that to the dirt sheets for whatever reason, but they’ve never experienced wrestling outside of independents. I have. In WWE, at the time when I was there, could have changed now, there was no communication. At all. Even up until the start time of the show, communication was very hit or miss. I don’t think there is a lack of communication there.”
The politics on both companies:
“As far as politics go… The political game in WWE was not bad at all. The boys got along great. I think the girls got along great, as well. There was no real political maneuvering in WWE. The problems were between the office and the boys. At AEW, I don’t think there’s a lot of politics either, to be honest.”
The camaraderie in the AEW men’s locker room:
“The boys have a male locker room, and the people who share that male locker room share a bond and kinship. Every single Wednesday, I think you could ask anybody, every single Wednesday, myself or Cash, we bring a bottle of tequila and we have drinks with the guys just to make that camaraderie even stronger. I don’t think there’s any political games as far as that goes.”
Looking out for your best interests:
“When you’re in a position of power; even when you’re not in a position of power, you’re going to look out for your best interests. No one else is going to look for your interests the way you are. But when you’re in a position of power, you’re allowed to look out for your best interests, and more often than not, you’re allowed to get it. Again, playing politics… I don’t know if that’s what you call it. There’s going to be competition.”
The competition between FTR and the Young Bucks:
“I’ll just say it. There’s going to be that competition between us and the Young Bucks. I think it’s a healthy thing. That’s why our 2022 was so great. We didn’t know what opportunities were going to come our way, but we had made a promise at the end of 2021 that whatever we got, we were gonna kill it, and we were gonna have fun doing it. Whenever you have competition, I guess some things could be misconstrued as political agendas. More often than not, you’re just trying to compete and be better than someone else.”
You can listen to the complete podcast below:
(h/t 411mania for the transcription)
