AEW star reacts after Dax Harwood shares heartbreaking news - "Praying"

AEW stars are showing public support for Dax Harwood and those close to him. Fans have also sent numerous well wishes to the FTR member on social media. Harwood has checked in with another troubling update after a rough week while pointing to a cause for concern with mainstream media. Diamante has now reacted to the situation.

North Carolina has played a significant role in the history of pro wrestling. Widely known as Flair Country, the Old North State is home to legendary wrestling venues like the Greensboro Coliseum. Western North Carolina and the Appalachian region have deep roots in the sport, going back to before the Smoky Mountain Wrestling days.

Asheville is arguably the most populous city in Western NC and is home to AEW stars like FTR and Adam Copeland. Harwood took to X/Twitter this past weekend to comment on the region's shocking damage from Hurricane Helene.

Harwood took to X/Twitter this morning with an update and to share the developing narrative on how mainstream media was seemingly not covering Asheville's emergency. The city has a population of around 95,000, while the Asheville metro area has around 376,000 people.

"If Asheville, NC was a bigger city, that sounded intriguing for mainstream media, you’d all be hearing about it. Many have died. Thousands are lost. We need help," Dax Harwood wrote.

The wrestling world has rallied around Harwood, Cash Wheeler, and the rest of the pro wrestling community impacted by the hurricane and its fallout. AEW's Diamante responded to Harwood's update with a show of support.

"Praying [folded hands emoji]," Diamante wrote.

Mustafa Ali also sent prayers for Western North Carolina. The TNA star quickly shared a three-word reply to Harwood's post.

"Praying for y'all," Mustafa Ali wrote.

Wheeler also received prayers and well wishes with his post-storm update. Harwood's long-time friend and tag team partner described the destruction and said his hometown was devastated. Wheeler also called on fans and colleagues to help by donating.

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Top AEW star almost retired

Cash Wheeler had a rough time in August 2023 after he was arrested due to an alleged road rage incident. He maintained his innocence and refused a plea deal, but he could have still faced up to five years in prison if convicted. However, the charges were dropped this past May.

FTR revealed in a recent AEW Close Up interview with Renee Paquette how Cash considered retiring due to the recent legal situation, as he did not want to cast a dark cloud over his long-time friend and tag team partner, nor bring bad publicity to AEW. Dax Harwood ended up talking Wheeler out of retirement.

"I guess a week after he told me what happened—he said, 'I think I'm going to retire because I don't want to subject you to any of this stuff that I'm going through.' He knew the backlash on Twitter because it's a cesspool. 'I'm just going to retire. You don't have to worry because your contract is with you. I'm going to leave wrestling.' I had to talk him into not retiring," Dax Harwood said.

Wheeler wrestled just 27 matches in 2023, his lowest per-year count since the 27 he worked in 2012 and the 19 he worked in 2011. To compare, the FTR member has already worked 27 matches in 2024.

FTR has not wrestled since the September 21 edition of Collision. They teamed with Hook and The Outrunners that night for a loss to Rush, The Beast Mortos, Roderick Strong, and The Grizzled Young Veterans.