One of AEW’s tag team champions has found himself in legal trouble ahead of one of the company’s most important times in its brief history.
The Orlando Sentinel reports that Cash Wheeler, one half of FTR, was arrested Friday morning by the Orlando Police Department on a charge of aggravated assault with a firearm. County records show he was booked in Circuit Court.
AEW responded to the Sentinel’s inquiry with a short statement: “AEW has been made aware of the charge, and we are closely monitoring the situation. (Wheeler) is fully cooperating with local authorities.”
Kiley Fuller of Fightful shared court records showing that the alleged incident took place on July 27. A warrant for Wheeler’s arrest was issued the following day, and he entered a written not guilty plea on Aug. 3.
My daughter of a lawyer training pays off 🫡 pic.twitter.com/ZasbQnHd8K
— Kiley | Fightful Overbooked (@KileyWrestling) August 18, 2023
While there’s never a good time for wrestlers to get in trouble with the law, this comes at an especially inconvenient moment for AEW. The company is less than two weeks away from All In at London’s Wembley Stadium, where the crowd is expected to near or surpass 80,000 people, making it one of the biggest shows in the history of pro wrestling.
FTR has been promoted heavily for that card, and is scheduled to defend its AEW World Tag Team Championship against the Young Bucks. The guess here is that the arrest won’t affect Wheeler’s availability for All In, but AEW now has to decide whether it wants a wrestler facing a serious legal charge to appear on its highest profile event to date.
Wrestling Junkie will have more on this story as it develops.