Dax Harwood Recalls Spat Between Triple H And Randy Orton Over FTR

Though it isn't one of the longer-lasting trios in WWE history, FTRKO was a dominant force during their 2019 run on "WWE SmackDown." Cash Wheeler, Dax Harwood, and Randy Orton joined forces to collectively decimate opponents like The New Day, which included then-WWE Champion Kofi Kingston, Big E, and Xavier Woods. On the most recent episode of "FTR With Dax," Harwood reflected on how Orton first took a liking to FTR following a six-man tag team match between the trio and The New Day.

"We didn't call a lot of things," Dax explained. "We called a lot of it in the ring and we got to the back and he just, you know, [Randy] was astounded at how much we talked in the ring. He said, 'Do you guys do that all the time?' And I said, 'Yeah, that's kind of – we don't like to call a lot of things in the back.' And he said, 'That's how it used to be. When I was coming up with Hunter, and with Shawn, and with Flair,' and he started naming all these people — 'Adam/Edge. We felt it and we called it in the ring.' Then he said, 'Somewhere, in the mix, it changed and a lot of guys started calling it in the back.'

From that day forward, as long as all three men were on the same brand, Orton was pushing to highlight himself and FTR as a collective force. "That's the day he said, 'There's something here. This is something that I want to do.'"

Randy Orton would then take the lead and begin the process of creatively pushing for their story to continue. "Every week, he fought. And, again, like I said, Vince wasn't there, whether he was sick or whatever," Dax Harwood continued. "Whatever it was, he wasn't there, and Randy was going to the office and he was talking to Hunter every single week to make sure this was something; to make sure we kept this up. Until, it was that they completely took him away from us."

WWE drafted Orton over to "WWE Raw" and kept FTR on the "SmackDown" roster before their eventual release in April 2020. Harwood further explained that he believes Vince McMahon and backstage officials never jumped on board with FTRKO because it happened organically and wasn't something the company came up with. "The fans were buying into it and it wasn't their idea," Harwood said.

This would actually cause some tension between Triple H, Orton, and McMahon, as "The Viper" battled for his creative ideas to be pursued. "I remember him and Hunter actually getting into a little — I don't want to say spat or an argument — but Hunter was trying to get Vince's vision to Randy and just let it be because that would be the easy way out; Vince is going to fight for who he wants. And Randy finally called Vince and said, 'This is what I want to do.' And Vince said, 'Okay, if you feel so strongly about it, let's do it.'"