AEW star set to go on trial for aggravated assault

A top star of AEW's tag team division is expected to stand trial for aggravated assault.

A recent report shared by Mike Johnson of PWInsider revealed details regarding the impending trial of Cash Wheeler. The FTR member was charged with aggravated assault with a firearm in July 2023, which is a third-degree felony in the state of Florida.

Wheeler was charged for allegedly brandishing a firearm in an incident of road rage. The former AEW World Tag Team Champion pled his innocence in court on August 3, 2024. Wheeler turned himself in later that month and was released under certain stipulations.

The report from PWI revealed that Wheeler was not present during his arraignment at the Orange County Court in Florida on February 20, 2024. Furthermore, the trial of the 36-year-old star is scheduled to begin on May 20, although pre-trial proceedings are expected to take place on May 7.

Cash Wheeler was determined to leave WWE before AEW existed

After a tenure of six years in WWE, the tag team known as The Revival made headlines by debuting in AEW on May 27, 2020. Since then, FTR has emerged as one of the most popular acts in the Jacksonville-based promotion. According to Cash Wheeler, the duo were ready to leave WWE even before Tony Khan's company existed as an option for them.

All Elite Wrestling has showcased tag team action since its earliest days. Teams like Best Friends, Lucha Bros, and The Young Bucks still feature regularly on television alongside rising talent such as The Acclaimed, The Gunns, and Top Flight.

In an interview with Jeff Snyder, Cash Wheeler spoke of wanting to depart the Stamford-based promotion since 2018, one year before the founding of AEW. He also revealed that both he and Harwood were confident of thriving in other promotions such as ROH and NJPW.

"So, before AEW started, we had made up our mind that we wanted to go out and try to prove our worth on our own.... So we didn’t know what that was going to look like at the time. Whether it was going to be Ring of Honor, because this was probably 2018, 2019. Whether it’s Ring of Honor, whether it was New Japan, whatever it was going to be, we weren’t exactly sure. We just had faith that we could go out there and do it," said Cash Wheeler.

Since becoming All Elite, FTR has made a number of appearances in ROH and NJPW, holding the tag team titles in both promotions.

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