Key findings
- The FTW Championship had its place in AEW for several years, but is now causing damage and no longer serves its purpose in the AEW program.
- The title reigns of Brian Cage, Ricky Starks and Hook illustrated the evolution of the FTW Championship over time in AEW storylines.
- The continued focus on the FTW title with ongoing feuds like Hook vs. Chris Jericho negatively impacts wrestlers and other AEW championship titles.
The FTW Championship is part of AEW Taz brought it out of retirement for over four years and passed it on to Team Taz member Brian Cage. Although the belt is not an officially recognized AEW title, it has been a very present on AEW programming over the past few years. However, there are many good reasons to finally retire this title, as it has served its purpose in AEW and is now doing more harm than good. Whether that’s due to the title, the booking, or the champions, we’ll take a closer look at why this title needs to be retired.
The FTW Championship has been well used for several years
Taz created the FTW Championship in ECW
|
FTW Championship reigns in AEW |
Duration of rule |
|---|---|
|
Brian Cage |
377 days |
|
Ricky Stark |
378 days |
|
Hook |
357 days |
|
Jack Perry |
39 days |
|
Hook |
238 days |
|
Chris Jericho |
126 days |
|
Hook |
3+ (current) |
After a brief stint with ECW in the 1990s, AEW brought back the FTW Championship. Taz dropped the title to Brian Cage, who was frustrated that he had not yet won his world championship match against Jon Moxley. At the time, the title was more of a prop and was used in the same way it was in ECW. The belt was rarely defended, as it was an unsanctioned title that was more for making a statement than being defended regularly. During his reign, which lasted over a full year, Cage only had five title matches before finally losing it to Ricky Starks. This made perfect sense, as Cage was now a babyface and Starks remained on Team Taz, so the belt stayed with its creator.
Starks defended it more often, but still not too frequently, and it still felt like a mainstay for the next year. This all led to Hook winning the title in an open bout, which included a great moment when Taz’s son held the belt he created. At the time, Hook was still getting into his stride in squash matches, so putting the FTW title on the line gave his young career and matches more meaning. After nearly a year, Jack Perry defeated Hook to take the title, and the feud became just about Perry wanting to destroy the title and end his legacy. The feud was decent, as Hook tried to protect his honor and legacy and eventually won the title back. Up until this point, the belt was booked pretty perfectly, taking the wrestlers to a higher level, but by no means going too far.
The FTW title was featured far too often last year
The feud between Hook and Chris Jericho ruined the belt
- Hook has regained the FTW Championship from Jack Perry.
- Chris Jericho won the title from Hook.
- This FTW title feud was given more time than some other AEW championships.
Problems arose for the FTW Championship when it started to have a major presence. Instead of being a background element, the championship began to be defended more regularly and in larger spots in 2024. It became the central point of a feud between Hook and Chris Jericho. Jericho won the championship, changed it to the “For The World” Championship, and insulted its legacy. The problem with this is that the feud went on and on, spanning months of AEW programming.
The quality of this feud was low as Jericho’s recent momentum was non-existent and fans turned away from everything he did. The “Learning Tree” gimmick was a bust and the rivalry was devoid of any real fan engagement. On paper, this should have been a feud that would make Hook a star, but instead it exposed his lack of quality on the mic and the amount of improvement he still needs to become a star in the ring. The FTW Championship, as it is held by Jericho, has been prominently featured on Dynamite and PPVs, which has caused titles like the Continental and TNT Titles to take a back seat in recent months. This was a completely wrong decision by AEW. The FTW Title is hurting other titles as it is slowly becoming more of a “real” prize in AEW.
Hook’s career is negatively affected by the FTW Championship
If Hook wants to advance in AEW, he must lose the title
- Hook has been stuck in the same place for ages.
- Without Hook/Taz, the FTW title doesn’t mean much.
- The FTW Championship has a limited lifespan, and it has now come to an end.
One of the main reasons the FTW Championship needs to be retired is because it no longer serves Hook any benefit. Perhaps it was beneficial in his first reign, but in his second and third reigns the title has lost popularity and prestige and Hook hasn’t budged either. He should climb the ranks, fight more opponents and develop in the ring, but keeping the FTW Title around his waist means he currently has a ceiling on what he can do – it feels like that has been the case since last year. Taz hinted with an ominous post that the title could run its course at X.
Hook could, of course, lose the championship and move on to bigger things, but then where does that leave a title that only really matters when it revolves around Taz and Hook? Because of this, AEW no longer needs the championship. At this point, Hook is the only person it could benefit, but since he no longer does, it no longer needs to exist.
