.jpg) Wheeler in 2022 | |
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Born | Daniel Marshall Wheeler (1987-05-17)May 17, 1987 (age 38)[4] |
| Professional wrestling career | |
| Ring name(s) | Brett Storm[1] Cash Wheeler[2] Daniel Wheeler Dash Wilder[3] Steven Walters |
| Billed height | 5 ft 10 in (178 cm)[3] |
| Billed weight | 223 lb (101 kg)[3] |
| Billed from | Asheville, North Carolina Kill Devil Hills, North Carolina[3] Toronto, Ontario, Canada[1] |
| Debut | 2005 |
Daniel Marshall Wheeler (born May 17, 1987)[6] is an Americanprofessional wrestler. He is signed toAll Elite Wrestling (AEW), where he performs under thering nameCash Wheeler and is also one-half of the current and record-tying three-timeAEW World Tag Team ChampionsFTR withDax Harwood. As FTR, Wheeler and Harwood also wrestle for AEW's sister promotionRing of Honor (ROH), and appeared in AEW 's partner promotionsLucha Libre AAA Worldwide (AAA), andNew Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW), where they held those promotions' respective tag team championships once each.
Wheeler was previously known for his time inWWE under the ring nameDash Wilder. In WWE, he and Harwood (then known as Scott Dawson) under the team name of The Revival held theSmackDown Tag Team Championship, as well as both theRaw Tag Team Championship andNXT Tag Team Championship twice, making them the first WWE Tag Team Triple Crown winners. They also jointly held theWWE 24/7 Championship.
Wheeler made hisprofessional wrestling debut in 2005, wrestled extensively on theindependent circuit under thering name "Steven Walters". He most notably appeared for NWA Anarchy, where he won both the NWA Anarchy Television Championship and the NWA Anarchy Tag Team Championship, and for numerous other promotions such asOMEGA Championship Wrestling,Resistance Pro Wrestling andDragon Gate USA. He also wrestled internationally for promotions such asAll Star Wrestling, Preston City Wrestling, andPro Wrestling ZERO1.
Wheeler signed with WWE in 2014 and reported to theWWE Performance Center, taking the ring name Dash Wilder.Dusty Rhodes gave Wheeler the ring name, Dash Wilder; Wheeler wanted to call his character "Cash" instead of "Dash", but Rhodes preferred the latter because it reminded him of his sonCody's nickname, "Dashing", while Wilder was chosen due to its similarity to Wheeler.[7] He immediately formed a tag-team withScott Dawson, with the two performing extensively atlive events under the name The Mechanics. The duo made their debut on the July 17, 2014 episode ofNXT, losing toBull Dempsey andMojo Rawley. The duo made only one further televised appearance in 2014, losing toEnzo Amore and Colin Cassady on the October 23 episode ofNXT, but continued to wrestle extensively at house shows.
Dawson and Wilder's team resurfaced and picked up their first televised win on the July 29, 2015 episode ofNXT, defeating Amore and Cassady. The duo were involved in an 8-man tag-team match that was taped prior toNXT TakeOver: Brooklyn. AtNXT TakeOver: Respect, Dawson and Wilder were defeated in the semi-finals of theDusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic by eventual winnersSamoa Joe andFinn Bálor. On the October 21 episode ofNXT, The Mechanics' ring name was changed toDash and Dawson. The duo would go on win theNXT Tag Team Championship fromThe Vaudevillains on the November 11 episode ofNXT. They subsequently defended the titles against Enzo Amore and Colin Cassady atNXT TakeOver: London. Beginning in February 2016, the duo began performing under the team name The Revival.[8] The two made their main roster debuts on March 12, 2016, atRoadblock, again successfully defending their championships against Amore and Cassady.
On April 1 atNXT TakeOver: Dallas, The Revival lost the NXT Tag Team Championship toAmerican Alpha (Chad Gable andJason Jordan)[9] but the two won back the titles from American Alpha two months later atNXT TakeOver: The End.[10] AtNXT TakeOver: Brooklyn II, The Revival retained the titles againstJohnny GarganoandTommaso Ciampa. In a rematch atNXT Takeover: Toronto, Tommaso Ciampa and Johnny Gargano won the NXT Tag Team Championship in a 2 out of 3 falls match. AtNXT TakeOver: Orlando, Wilder and Dawson lost to TheAuthors of Pain in a triple threat match for the NXT Tag Team Championship, also involving DIY.[11]
On the April 3 episode ofRaw, The Revival answered an open challenge issued by The New Day. The Revival would defeatThe New Day, and afterwards attackedKofi Kingston, who was not participating in the match. On April 14, Dash Wilder fractured his jaw during an NXT match inSpartanburg, South Carolina againstHideo Itami andShinsuke Nakamura which required surgery and would keep him out of action for eight weeks.[12] Wilder returned to in ring competition on the June 26 taping ofMain Event aired on June 30, teaming with Dawson to defeatKarl AndersonandLuke Gallows by pinfall. On the June 25, 2018 episode of Raw, Wilder pinnedRoman Reigns in a tag team match. OnSummerSlam pre-show, The Revival lost to The B-Team (Bo Dallas andCurtis Axel) in an attempt to become theRaw Tag Team Champions. AtSurvivor Series, they were part of Team Raw, but lost to Team SmackDown in the 10-on-10 Survivor Series tag team elimination match.[13]
Following this they began a feud against Lucha House Party (Kalisto,Gran Metalik andLince Dorado) and suffered various losses in handicap matches. On Raw, December 17, 2018, they defeated Lucha House Party, The B-Team and AOP in a Fatal 4-Way Match receiving a title shot for the Raw Tag Team Titles. During the next two Raw episodes they challengedBobby Roode andChad Gable for the titles but Dawson and Wilder were unsuccessful to win the matches in controversial fashion.Dave Meltzer ofThe Wrestling Observer reported that the duo asked for their release from their WWE contracts following their match against Lucha House Party on the January 14, 2019 episode ofRaw.[14] On February 11, 2019, episode of Raw, Dawson and Wilder defeated the team of Roode and Gable to win the Raw Tag Team Championships.[15] AtWrestleMania 35, The Revival lost the titles to the team ofCurt Hawkins andZack Ryder.
On the August 12, 2019 during a scheduledtag team match atRaw (the episode post-SummerSlam) in which The Revival were facing Lucha House Party (Lince Dorado andGran Metalik, withKalisto),R-Truth ran out from backstage, being chased by several wrestlers. The match was called off and The Revival performed a "Hart Attack" on Truth and simultaneously pinned him to become the first co-champions of the24/7 Championship. However, in the same night R-Truth pinned Dawson, with the help of Carmella, and regained the title.[16] The Revival began to align themselves withRandy Orton in a feud againstThe New Day. On September 15 atClash of Champions, The Revival defeatedXavier Woods andBig E for theSmackDown Tag Team Championship, making them the first team to hold the Raw Tag Team Championship, SmackDown Tag Team Championship, andNXT Tag Team Championship.[17][18] The Revival was drafted to SmackDown as part of the2019 WWE Draft.[19] On April 10, 2020, both Wilder and his tag team partner Dawson were released from their WWE contracts.[20]
On the May 27, 2020 episode ofDynamite, Wheeler and Harwood made theirAll Elite Wrestling debut as FTR, savingThe Young Bucks from an attack byThe Butcher and The Blade thus establishing themselves asbabyfaces in the process, ande began going by the ring names Cash Wheeler and Dax Harwood.[21] They made their in-ring debut on the June 10 episode ofDynamite, where they defeated The Butcher and The Blade.[22] During the following weeks, FTR had interactions with The Young Bucks and the AEW World Tag Team ChampionsKenny Omega andHangman Page, including a match atFyter Fest where FTR and The Young Bucks were defeated byThe Lucha Bros and The Butcher and The Blade in aneight-man tag team match.[23][24] In July 2020, after appearing on AEW television for two months without signing contracts, Harwood and Wheeler signed multi-year contracts with AEW.[25][26]
On the August 12 episode ofDynamite, FTR hosted Tag Team Appreciation Night where they invitedArn Anderson and Tully Blanchard andThe Rock 'n' Roll Express to the show. However, after a scuffle between Tully Blanchard and Ricky Morton, FTR attacked Rock 'n' Roll Express thus turning heel in the process.[27] The following week, FTR recruited Blanchard as their manager as they defeatedPrivate Party.[28] On the August 27 episode ofDynamite, FTR defeatedThe Natural Nightmares,Best Friends andThe Young Bucks in a Gauntlet match to earn anAEW World Tag Team Championship match atAll Out.[29] At All Out, they defeated Omega and Page to capture the titles, making them the first team to have held tag team titles in both AEW and WWE.[30]
On September 16, 2020, FTR defeated Jurassic Express membersLuchasaurus andJungle Boy in a non-title match following interference from Blanchard.[31] On September 30, 2020, FTR successfully defended their tag team titles onDynamite againstSCU membersFrankie Kazarian andScorpio Sky.[32][33][34] On October 7, 2020, FTR retained their titles after defeatingHybrid2.[35][36][37] On October 14, 2020, they again successfully defended their tag team titles, this time against Best Friends.[38][39] On November 7, 2020 atFull Gear, FTR lost their titles to The Young Bucks in a match which saw manager Tully Blanchard banned from ringside.
On the March 10, 2021 episode ofDynamite, FTR and Blanchard attackedThe Inner Circle along withMJF,Wardlow, andShawn Spears, with their new group being namedThe Pinnacle.[40] On the October 16 special episode ofDynamite, FTR - disguised as luchadors calledLas Super Ranas (The Super Frogs) - defeatedThe Lucha Brothers to win theAAA World Tag Team Championship for the first time. After The Pinnacle dissolved FTR turned face, after siding with MJF's rivalCM Punk.
FTR made a surprise appearance atROHFinal Battle, attacking the newly-crownedROH World Tag Team ChampionsThe Briscoe Brothers and setting up a match between the two teams, which took place atSupercard of Honor XV. FTR won the match and becameROH World Tag Team Champions for the first time, and with their AAA Tag Team Titles, became double champions. On June 26, 2022, FTR added theIWGP Tag Team Championship fromNew Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) when they won aThree-wayWinner Takes Alltag team match against IWGP ChampionsUnited Empire (Great-O-Khan &Jeff Cobb) andRoppongi Vice (Rocky Romero &Trent Beretta) atAEW x NJPW: Forbidden Door, making them triple champions (AAA, ROH, IWGP). AtDeath Before Dishonor, FTR defended their ROH Tag Team Championships against The Briscoes, in a two out of three falls match.[41] They made another successful defense in October atBattle of the Belts IV, defeatingGates of Agony.[42] They made another successful defense defeating Top Flight (Darius andDante Martin) on the November 23rd edition of ‘’Rampage’’.[43] On the December 7th edition of ‘’Dynamite’’, FTR faced The Acclaimed for the AEW World Tag Team Championships, but lost.[44] This loss resulted in a losing streak for the duo as three days later atFinal Battle, FTR lost the ROH World Tag Team Championships to The Briscoes in aDog Collar match, ending their reign at 253 days.[45] After the match, FTR were attacked by rivalsThe Gunns, but were fended off by The Briscoes. On the December 22 edition ofDynamite, FTR lost to The Gunns.[46] Two weeks later, they lost the AAA World Tag Team Championship toDralistico andDragon Lee atAAA Noche de Campeones, thus ending another title reign at 441 days.[47]
FTR made their return since losing all of their titles, atRevolution, confronting The Gunns, who had just retained their AEW World Tag Team Championships.[48] On the following March 8 edition ofDynamite, Harwood and Wheeler stated their intentions of capturing the AEW World Tag Team Championships.[49] FTR confronted The Gunns on the March 22 edition ofDynamite, seeking a title shot, but were continuously refused. The title match was finally granted upon Harwood's proposition that if he and Wheeler were to lose to The Gunns, they would quit AEW.[50] The title match took place on the main event of the April 5 edition ofDynamite, where FTR defeated The Gunns, capturing the AEW World Tag Team Championships for the second time.[51] FTR would go on to successfully defend their titles against various teams such asJay Lethal andJeff Jarrett atDouble or Nothing,[52] The Young Bucks atAll In,[53] andAussie Open atWrestleDream.[54] FTR lost the titles toBig Bill andRicky Starks on the October 7 episode ofCollision, ending their second reign at 185 days.[55]
Going into 2024, FTR would feud withJon Moxley andClaudio Castagnoli of theBlackpool Combat Club, with Moxley and Castagnoli defeating FTR at theRevolution event in March.[56] In April 2024, FTR would participate in a tournament to determine the next AEW World Tag Team Champions. They defeated The Infantry in the first round,[57] Top Flight in the semi-finals,[58] but lost to The Young Bucks in aladder match in the finals atDynasty on April 21, due to interference from a returningJack Perry.[59] FTR would go to feud with The Young Bucks from the rest of the summer facing them in May atDouble or Nothing in anAnarchy in the Arena match, and in August atAll In in a three-way tag team match for the tag titles, also involvingThe Acclaimed, both ended in defeat for FTR.[60][61] In late 2024, FTR once again began feud with the Blackpool Combat Club, now known as theDeath Riders. On December 28 atWorlds End, FTR along withAdam Copeland appeared after the main event and took out the Death Riders. The trio of FTR and Copeland were named "Rated FTR".[62]
On April 6, 2025 atDynasty, Rated FTR unsuccessfully challenged the Death Riders for theAEW World Trios Championship. After the match, FTR attacked Cope, turning heel in the process.[63] On the April 23 episode ofDynamite,Stokely was revealed as FTR's new manager.[64] On May 25 atDouble or Nothing, FTR defeatedDaniel Garcia andNigel McGuinness.[65] On July 12 atAll In Zero Hour, FTR defeatedThe Outrunners. On the main show, FTR sat ringside during the AEW World Tag Team Championship match betweenThe Hurt Syndicate, JetSpeed, andThe Patriarchy. After the match, FTR joined The Patriarchy in attackingChristian Cage, but would be fended off by a returning Adam Copeland.[66] AtAll Out on September 20, FTR were defeated byAdam Copeland and Christian Cage.[67] AtFull Gear on November 22, FTR defeated Brodido to win their record-tying third AEW World Tag Team Championships.[68] AtWorlds End on December 27, FTR successfully defended their titles againstAustin Gunn andJuice Robinson of theBang Bang Gang.[69]
After winning theIWGP Tag Team Championships atAEW x NJPW: Forbidden Door, FTR made their first appearance forNew Japan Pro-Wrestling, at Music City Mayhem, where they teamed withAlex Zayne, in a losing effort toUnited Empire's,Aussie Open andT. J. Perkins.[70] After the match, Aussie Open challenged FTR to a match for the IWGP Tag Team Championships.[71] FTR made their first IWGP Tag Team Championship defense on night one ofRoyal Quest II, defeating Aussie Open in the main event.[72] On January 4, 2023 atWrestle Kingdom 17, FTR lost the IWGP Tag Team Championships toBishamon (Hirooki Goto andYOSHI-HASHI), ending their reign at 192 days.[73]
Wheeler made hisvideo game debut as playable character Dash Wilder inWWE 2K17,[74] and has since appeared inWWE 2K18,[75]WWE 2K19,[76]WWE 2K20[77] andAEW Fight Forever.[78]
Wheeler stated in a May 2020 interview that out of all his matches up to this point in time, his favorites werelive event matches between The Revival andAmerican Alpha during their NXT days. He stated that his favorite on-screen match was the match between the two teams atNXT TakeOver: Dallas, as, while he believed that the match between The Revival andDIY atNXT TakeOver: Toronto in 2016 was better, NXT TakeOver: Dallas had "a special magical atmosphere".[79] In a November 2020 interview, Wheeler described FTR's upcoming match withThe Young Bucks atFull Gear as a "dream match", and added: "Dream match label or not, I think Dax and I always put a lot of pressure on ourselves, to go out there and perform at the highest level and to be the best. So, the match with The Young Bucks notwithstanding, we always have a lot of pressure on our shoulders."[80]
On August 18, 2023, Wheeler was arrested inOrange County, Florida, and charged with one count of aggravated assault with a firearm, a third-degreefelony, after turning himself in when an arrest warrant was issued following an alleged road rage incident.[81] He was released from custody shortly thereafter when he posted $2,500bail.[82] On May 14, 2024, the charge against Wheeler was dropped.[83] Wheeler opened up about the arrest and the circumstances surrounding it in a September 2024 interview withRenee Paquette. He asserted his innocence, claiming police had no evidence of any kind, not physical evidence nor video of the alleged incident, just the complainant's accusation. He also stated he was adamant in telling his attorneys he would not accept aplea deal, despite facing a 5-year maximum prison sentence if convicted. Wheeler would also reveal he contemplated retirement following his arrest, not wanting to cast a dark cloud over Dax Harwood, nor give AEW bad publicity as a result of his criminal charge, but he was ultimately talked out of retiring by Harwood. Wheeler has since relocated from Florida back to his home state of North Carolina.[84]
1 Wilder andScott Dawson simultaneously pinnedR-Truth to become co-WWE 24/7 Champions.
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