In a recent feature with Justin Barrasso of Sports Illustrated, Dax Harwood recalled one of his most cherished memories in his lifelong association with professional wrestling. Harwood teamed with his partner Cash Wheeler to face Brock Anderson and Brian Pillman Jr. (w/ Arn Anderson), and they were managed by none other than their idol, Bret ‘The Hitman’ Hart.
FTR had been clamoring to be managed by Bret Hart in a one-off, if not on a regular basis, ever since they had gotten to All Elite Wrestling. While it unfortunately could not happen in front of a substantial audience in AEW, Dax and Cash finally got their wish at a Big Time Wrestling show in Webster, MA in June of last year.
During the pre-match meeting, Harwood laid out a proposed finish. He said,
“I had this idea. People know I consider Bret to be the greatest of all time. So I said to him, ‘I was thinking, if Cash and I get Brock and Brian in sharpshooters, Arn can come to the apron and start to break it up. Then you and Arn start to tussle. Arn takes a bump, and you put him in the sharpshooter. All three of us would have the sharpshooter locked, and they’d all tap at the same time. What do you think?’”
“Bret paused and thought. He called me by my first name and said, ‘David, I haven’t done the sharpshooter in almost 10 years.’ As I was saying, ‘That’s O.K.,’ Bret said, ‘but I’m willing to try.’”
Harwood further stated that backstage, on a wooden floor in front of Brock, Brian, Cash and himself, Arn Anderson laid down for Hart to apply his signature finishing maneuver. Hart stepped across Anderson’s body with his left leg. He tied up his legs. Although everyone in the room had witnessed Bret Hart execute the Sharpshooter thousands of times, witnessing it at that particular moment caused the room to erupt in excitement.
“I felt like I was in Chicago at WrestleMania 13 and Bret was about to lock Steve Austin in the sharpshooter. There was so much emotion in my body. I could barely contain it.”
Then he took the turn to lock in the sharpshooter. Just as he was about to complete it, Hart, 64 (now 65), lost his footing and fell.
“I couldn’t get over the fact that Bret tried that for us. When I was a kid and I watched Bret wrestle, I felt like he was wrestling for me. On that day, he still made me feel that way. People question how I love wrestling, this inanimate object, so much, but I do. For me, it’s God, my wife, my daughter, and then professional wrestling. That moment reminded me of why I love wrestling with my whole body and soul.”
In the same interview, Dax Harwood discussed his new podcast, FTR with Dax. He also doubled down on his support for CM Punk. You can check out the highlights here.
