For days, All Elite Wrestling (AEW) has been hyping a major announcement from Taz for Wednesday’s edition of AEW Dynamite and night two of the Fyter Fest special. On Wednesday, Taz made his announcement and it was the return of the FTW Championship, a title he carried during his ECW days, which he gave to his new protege, Brian Cage.
Taz unveils the new FTW World Championship and gives it to Brian Cage 👀
(via @AEWrestling)pic.twitter.com/h2yLll0CfR
— B/R Wrestling (@BRWrestling) July 9, 2020
The FTW Championship (back in the days when FTW stood for F**K The World and not For The Win) was created in ECW back in 1998, during a storyline brought on by injury. At the time, Taz was one of the top contenders for the ECW World Heavyweight Championship, but due to an elbow injury and sinus issues, ECW World Champion Shane Douglas was unable to compete – or defend his title – for some time. On May 14, 1998, Taz declared himself the FTW Champion in place of the absent Douglas, and that he was the true World Champion in ECW, which he proceeded to defend on ECW shows. He held the title for 219-days before losing it Sabu that December. During Sabu’s reign, Taz finally defeated Douglas for the ECW World title at Guilty As Charged in January of 1999, and at Living Dangerously in March of 1999, he defeated Sabu to unify the ECW World Title and the FTW Championship.
It’s almost fitting that Taz would reactivate the FTW title under similar circumstances, as Cage’s opponent, AEW World Champion Jon Moxley, has been unable to compete due to his presence with his wife, WWE announcer Renee Young, who tested positive for COVID. Now he’s imbued his FTW attitude into the “Machine” and Cage can carry a title into combat with Moxley at Fight for the Fallen next week.
Stay tuned to Last Word on Pro Wrestling for more on this and other stories from around the world of wrestling, as they develop. You can always count on LWOPW to be on top of the major news in the wrestling world, as well as to provide you with analysis, previews, videos, interviews, and editorials on the wrestling world. You can catch AEW Dynamite Wednesday nights at 8 PM ET on TNT and AEW DARK Tuesday nights at 7 PM ET on YouTube.
