In a twist worthy of a soap opera and just as emotionally charged, Cope & FTR are now united in their mission to challenge the Death Riders for the AEW World Trios Championships at AEW Dynasty—despite looking like a tag team divorce on last week’s Dynamite.
Last week, it seemed like all was lost after Dax Harwood walked out on Rated FTR following Cope’s loss to Jon Moxley in a brutal street fight. Tension was thicker than a bad marriage, with Harwood feeling like FTR had veered off track. He believed they should be gunning for the AEW World Tag Team Titles against the Hurt Syndicate—a completely reasonable thought considering Cope’s little history with Moxley.
But shockingly, the trio pulled a 180 on this week’s AEW Dynamite. Harwood sat down with Tony Schiavone in a pre-recorded segment, and like any good reality TV star, admitted his emotional decision to bail had gotten the best of him. Harwood opened up about his concern that FTR had lost their focus. “We should be going after the tag belts!” he said, like a dad who’d just been reminded he was actually supposed to pick up the kids from soccer practice.
But Cope and Cash Wheeler—acting as the glue that binds the Rated FTR dysfunctional family together—convinced Harwood that the real battle was still ahead of them. They wanted the Death Riders’ PAC, Wheeler Yuta, and Claudio Castagnoli. And after a little heart-to-heart (probably involving some deep breathing exercises), Harwood reluctantly agreed to challenge the Death Riders for the AEW Trios Titles at Dynasty on April 6.
However, don’t expect the warm and fuzzy ending just yet. As Harwood reluctantly signed off, you could still feel the tension in the air, like when you invite your ex to a wedding but still have some unresolved issues about the toaster. Not that I would know.
Meanwhile, the Death Riders—still riding high off their trios title reign—took the opportunity to send a little message of their own. In a backstage segment, PAC confidently declared that they, in fact, would be the ones challenging Rated FTR. “Survive us at Dynasty,” PAC declared, as if his neck tattoo didn’t already tell us he meant business.
So, in short:
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Cope & FTR are back together after an awkward breakup.
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They’re still looking for gold—Trios Gold.
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The Death Riders are challenging them to survive.
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Everyone is still carrying around a little bit of emotional baggage.
Dynasty on April 6 is shaping up to be the ultimate therapy session.