Knowing Wheeler’s mind was halfway out the door at the time, Paquette asked FTR what it was like to come to work every day knowing it might be the last time they would work together. Wheeler admitted that it wasn’t easy, but like other times in his life, wrestling was his safe space.

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“I didn’t love it,” Wheeler said. “But at the same time it was the only chance I really had to escape from that … I literally didn’t know which match would be the last one, so every time we’re going out there, I’m like ‘Alright, let’s go out here.'”

Harwood says he was scared that FTR would be no more and everything they had built for themselves would mean nothing, especially after carving out their own legacy following their WWE departure in 2020. He claims he had to be a calming voice for Wheeler, as he knew if the roles were reversed, he wouldn’t have been able to sleep at night. However, the moment when they both knew everything was going to be okay was their match with The Young Bucks at AEW All In 2023, a match that wouldn’t have happened had Wheeler not posted bail just days earlier.

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“I was expecting the fans to turn on us, and they didn’t, they embraced us and loved us even more,” Harwood said.

Wheeler concluded by saying he knew people backstage probably talked about it, but because he knew deep down that he was innocent, he never got too stressed out about the situation, despite knowing the ramifications if things didn’t go his way legally.

Please credit “AEW Close-Up” when using quotes from this article, and give a H/T to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.