Top AEW star almost retired after major controversy - "I'm going to leave wrestling"

A top AEW star found himself knee-deep in a major controversy last year. As a result, he even considered retiring from the business.

Since joining AEW, FTR's Dax Harwood and Cash Wheeler have established themselves as one of the best tag teams in professional wrestling. They have competed across multiple promotions and won several tag team accolades. As a duo, they are as tough as they come.

However, this tag team's run together nearly ended prematurely. Last year, Wheeler found himself in difficult times when a warrant was issued for his arrest. He was charged with aggravated assault with a firearm, which is a third-degree felony. This happened after he allegedly pointed a gun at another driver in a road rage incident.

The charges against him were dropped which allowed him to continue as a professional wrestler. During a recent edition of AEW Close Up, Wheeler's partner, Dax Harwood revealed that Cash had wanted to retire after the controversy surrounding his arrest but that the 40-year-old managed to talk him out of it.

"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," he said.

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AEW star Dax Harwood sent a message to Bret Hart following his RAW return

Bret Hart recently made his return to WWE RAW when the red brand visited Canada. During the show, he was involved in a segment alongside Gunther and Sami Zayn. The fans in attendance were excited to watch The Hitman make his return again.

Dax Harwood, who is a big fan of Bret Hart, took to his X (fka Twitter) account to post a photograph with the legend and sent a jovial message to The Hitman.

“Did this mean nothing to you?! Why Bret Why?! Guys…relax. I’m jk’ing here,” he wrote.

You can check out his tweet below:

In hindsight, it appears that it was wise of Dax Harwood to convince his tag team partner not to retire, as that would have disappointed wrestling fans around the world.