FTR Reveal They Pushed To Bring The New Level To AEW

FTR says they pushed for to AEW to sign The New Level when their WWE deals went up.

Without a doubt, one of the biggest signings in wrestling in 2026 so far has been Austin Creed and Kofi going from WWE, where many expected them to be lifers, to becoming The New Level in AEW. They had a memorable debut at All In: London and have had multiple strong trios matches since. Before their arrival, though, it was noted that multiple people inside All Elite Wrestling were pushing for them to join the roster, and we now know one set of former AEW World Tag Team Champions were in that group:

Speaking with The Sportster, Cash Wheeler discussed FTR being vocal about Austin Creed and Kofi joining AEW

“I know that he [Dax Harwood] and I were two people that were very vocal about wanting to do what we could to bring them into the company and to make them part of the tag division here because we’ve worked with those guys so much. That that was our main roster debut. Knocking over the ice cream cart with those guys. There’s so much history there. I’ve known Austin [Creed] since 2008 or 9 when we worked independent shows in Georgia together. Knowing how good those guys are and knowing that when you come over here, you have the level of tag teams that you have here, and that you get to have a lot of creative freedom, and just have fun, and kind of remember what it can be. I’m not gonna take a knock at anybody else, but it’s different when you’re more in the driver’s seat of how a match goes and how you can do this or that. It’s a lot of fun. I knew those guys would come over here, and they’re so likable. So bringing all that energy over, that positive energy, is something we need more of.”

-Cash Wheeler

Upon their arrival, The New Level became the first wrestlers to win AEW gold in their first on-screen appearance for the company. Since then, the duo, alongside Swerve Strickland, have already notched three successful defences of the titles. This Sunday, the World Trios Champions will look to defend against Hangman Page and Brodido at All Out.

While the pair are focused on trios action for the time being, many are looking forward to seeing The New Level mix it up with the company’s best tag teams. To that point, Dax Harwood said in another interview that AEW was the home of tag team wrestling. You can read more about that here.

As always, we’ll aim to provide any further updates on both FTR and The New Level as soon as we hear more.