Despite having a career year, FTR hasn't really been involved in AEW's tag-team championship picture. They won the IWGP tag-team championship at Forbidden Door on June 27. Then they brought down the house with The Briscoes at ROH Death Before Dishonor, winning that company's gold in a match-of-the-year candidate on July 23. Despite being remarkably over following that ROH bout, Dax Harwood and Cash Wheeler haven't received so much as a look at the AEW tag-team championships.In fact, the last time FTR was involved in a straight-up match for the AEW tag titles was August 12, 2021. At the time, they were heels and lost to The Lucha Brothers on an episode of Friday Night Rampage. They've wrestled in 26 matches for no fewer than eight companies since then. Still, none of them have been for their home federation's championships in AEW. Rumors have swirled about there being backstage politics to blame for this. Some journalists swear that The Young Bucks have attempted to avoid another match with FTR, while others deny those claims. Regardless of why it's happened, there's no denying that one of AEW's top tag teams and most over competitors haven't had a title shot in more than a year.Swerve In Our Glory and The Acclaimed put on one of the best tag matches in AEW pay-per-view history at All Out. It was so outstanding that some felt the time was right for The Acclaimed to go over on Swerve Strickland and Keith Lee. That didn't happen, but the bout was good enough that a rematch has been scheduled for the September 21 episode of Dynamite. It doesn't sound like FTR has an issue with that, but Wheeler wants the world to know that FTR has next on whoever comes out on top at Arthur Ashe Stadium.
Time Is Right For A Run From FTR
This puts Tony Khan in a bit of a pickle. It will be a long time before The Acclaimed has this much genuine momentum again. Remember, just a few months ago, this was a heel tag team doing mid-card comedy segments. The five-star match against Swerve In Our Glory gives them legitimacy, and AEW can crown a homegrown talent at Grand Slam.
If FTR is next in line, though, and they ought to be now that The Young Bucks are out of the picture, could AEW get away with a face vs. face feud between these two teams? It seems impossible to turn FTR heels at this point. There are too many reasons to cheer for them, and any booking to grind against the fans would generate the wrong kind of heat for AEW. The Acclaimed are on a rocket ship to the moon, though, and a loss to FTR just a few weeks after winning tag-team gold might not be what's best for them long term. It'll be interesting to see what Khan does on the road to the AEW Full Gear pay-per-view.