Cash Wheeler was once booked to wrestle CM Punk in a singles match in AEW, but the bout never happened, and the wrestler himself was the one who pulled the plug.
In an interview with LNG Production, the FTR member revealed that he talked the company out of the match because turning heel for a singles bout felt like the wrong creative follow-up at the time.
Wheeler explained the plan came together right after FTR’s run involving The Briscoes and The Young Bucks. He felt the timing was off, and everyone involved agreed with him. Punk ended up facing Penta instead, a call Wheeler believes was better for that moment.
“There’s been a couple times. Like I was supposed to wrestle Punk in a singles, but I wanna say it was right after we had the stuff with The Briscoes and The (Young) Bucks, I think,” Wheeler said. “I was like I don’t know if me wrestling as a heel in a singles match is the way to follow up on all this stuff right now, and everyone agreed. I think he ended up wrestling Penta instead, that was probably the better call anyway because I think Penta’s a great performer.”
Wheeler has been through plenty in recent years, including a high-profile legal battle that nearly ended his career. He previously revealed he had to be talked out of retiring after his 2023 arrest, before his assault with a firearm charge was dropped.
Cash Wheeler On Leaving WWE And A Missed Randy Orton Opportunity
In the same interview, Wheeler also discussed his WWE run and The Revival’s short-lived alliance with Randy Orton. He pointed to the dropped angle as the moment he and his partner knew they wanted out.
“That’s the one I miss the most as far as what could have been. I thought that we really could do something cool with him, and Randy was a big proponent of pushing for it,” Wheeler said. “I’ve said before, I think I’ve said on record before, but if not, here we go, I think that was the final straw for us when we knew we wanted to ask for our release, was when they drafted us to SmackDown and Randy to Raw at that point.”
Wheeler said the split across brands made the team’s ceiling clear. He explained that once the company killed the Orton pairing and separated everyone, the writing was on the wall.
“I’ve never regretted that decision ever, even for a second. But I do hate that we didn’t get to do more with Randy, because even today he’s still such a good friend and we still stay in contact,” Wheeler said. “He’s such a funny guy. I wish that we could have done more.”