FTW Championship
| FTW Championship | |||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Longest reigning champion Ricky Starks with the AEW version of the championship | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Details | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Promotion | Extreme Championship Wrestling (1998–1999) All Elite Wrestling (2020–present) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Date established | May 14, 1998 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Date retired | September 25, 2024 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Other name(s) | |||||||||||||||||||||
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The FTW ("Fuck the World") Championship was a professional wrestling championship. It was fought for in Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW) from 1998–1999 and in All Elite Wrestling (AEW) from 2020–2024.
It was viewed as an unsanctioned championship.[1]
History
[change | change source]The title was introduced by Taz at It Ain't Seinfeld on May 14, 1998. Taz was feuding with ECW World Heavyweight Champion Shane Douglas but Douglas got injured and Taz couldn't challenge for the title. During the event, Taz went to the ring and cut a promo. He said that he was the uncrowned ECW World Heavyweight Champion, unveiled the ECW FTW Heavyweight Championship, and challenged Douglas to a title vs title match.[2]
Sabu won the championship by defeating Taz on December 19, 1998. Taz threw the match on purpose. Taz felt like he didn't need the championship anymore because Douglas was back. He had the ref count after dragging a knocked out Sabu on top of him. After Taz won the ECW World Heavyweight Championship, he faced Sabu again at Living Dangerously. He won the FTW Championship back in a title vs title match and retired the championship.[3]
While he was in All Elite Wrestling, Taz reintroduced the FTW Championship during Night 2 of Fyter Fest. He gave the championship to Brian Cage, who he managing at the time. He gave him the championship because his opponent Jon Moxley had to quarantine due to his wife Renee Paquette having COVID-19.[4]
On September 25, 2024 at Dynamite: Grand Slam, the FTW Championship was retired again after the last champion Hook returned the title to his father, Taz.[5]
Title history
[change | change source]| No. | Overall reign number |
|---|---|
| Reign | Reign number for the specific champion |
| Days | Number of days held |
| + | Current reign is changing daily |
| No. | Champion | Championship change | Reign statistics | Notes | Ref. | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Date | Event | Location | Reign | Days | ||||||
| Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW) | ||||||||||
| 1 | Taz | May 14, 1998 | It Ain't Seinfeld | Queens, New York | 1 | 219 | Taz introduced the championship during a storyline | [6] | ||
| 2 | Sabu | December 19, 1998 | Hardcore TV | Philadelphia, Pennsylvania | 1 | 92 | This was a triple threat match. Justin Credible was also in the match. | [7] | ||
| 3 | Taz | March 21, 1999 | Living Dangerously | Asbury Park, New Jersey | 2 | <1 | This was an Extreme Death match and it was also for Taz's ECW World Heavyweight Championship. | [3] | ||
| — | Unified | March 21, 1999 | Living Dangerously | Asbury Park, New Jersey | — | — | Taz combined the championship with the ECW World Heavyweight Championship. | [3] | ||
| All Elite Wrestling (AEW) | ||||||||||
| 4 | Brian Cage | July 2, 2020 | Fyter Fest (Night 2 |
Jacksonville, Florida | 1 | 377 | Championship was reintroduced and given to Cage by Taz. | [8] | ||
| 5 | Ricky Starks | July 14, 2021 | Fyter Fest (Night 1) |
Cedar Park, Texas | 1 | 378 | [9] | |||
| 6 | Hook | July 27, 2022 | Dynamite: Fight for the Fallen |
Worcester, Massachusetts | 1 | 357 | [10] | |||
| 7 | Jack Perry | July 19, 2023 | Dynamite: Blood & Guts |
Boston, Massachusetts | 1 | 39 | [11] | |||
| 8 | Hook | August 27, 2023 | All In: Zero Hour |
London, England | 2 | 238 | This was an FTW Rules match. | [12] | ||
| 9 | Chris Jericho | April 21, 2024 | Dynasty | St. Louis, MO | 1 | 126 | This was an FTW Rules match. | [13] | ||
| 10 | Hook | August 25, 2024 | All In | London, England | 3 | 31 | This was an FTW Rules Last Chance match. Had Hook lost, he would not have been have able to challenge for the title again as long as Chris Jericho was champion. | [14] | ||
| — | Deactivated | September 25, 2024 | Dynamite: Grand Slam |
Queens, NY | — | — | After successfully defending the title against Roderick Strong, Hook announced the retirement of the FTW Championship. | [5] | ||
References
[change | change source]- ↑ Loverro, Thom (2007). The Rise & Fall of ECW: Extreme Championship Wrestling. Simon and Schuster. p. 223. ISBN 978-1416513124.
- ↑ "Pro's from the Palace (#78) - DVD Review Today: ECW Blood Sport". WrestleView. Retrieved October 4, 2023.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 "The SmarK Retro Repost – Living Dangerously 1999". 411Mania. Retrieved October 4, 2023.
- ↑ "How Taz Was Able to Resurrect the FTW Championship in All Elite Wrestling". Pro Wrestling Torch. Retrieved October 4, 2023.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 Renner, Ethan (September 25, 2024). "Hook retires FTW title at AEW Dynamite Grand Slam". Wrestling Observer Figure Four Online. Retrieved September 25, 2024.
- ↑ "ECW TV: Fans mock Bigelow for tapping to Taz - 5 Yrs Ago". Pro Wrestling Torch. Retrieved October 4, 2023.
- ↑ "This Day in History: Sabu Defeats Taz for the FTW Title". Pro Wrestling Insider. Retrieved October 4, 2023.
- ↑ "7/8 AEW Dynamite results: Barnett's live review of Fyter Fest night two with Kenny Omega and Hangman Page vs. Private Party for the AEW Tag Titles, Chris Jericho vs. Orange Cassidy, FTR and The Young Bucks vs. Pentagon Jr., Rey Fenix, The Butcher, and The Blade, Lance Archer vs. Joey Janela". ProWrestling.net. Retrieved October 4, 2023.
- ↑ "7/14 AEW Dynamite results: Barnett's live review of Fyter Fest Night One with Ethan Page vs. Darby Allin in a Coffin Match, Jon Moxley vs. Karl Anderson for the IWGP U.S. Title, Brian Cage vs. Ricky Starks for the FTW Title, Matt Hardy vs. Christian". ProWrestling.net. Retrieved October 4, 2023.
- ↑ "7/27 AEW Dynamite results: Barnett's live review of Jon Moxley vs. Rush for the Interim AEW World Championship, Thunder Rosa vs. Miyu Yamashita for the AEW Women's Championship, Ricky Starks vs. Danhausen for the FTW Title, Bryan Danielson vs. Daniel Garcia, Sammy Guevara vs. Dante Martin". ProWrestling.net. Retrieved October 4, 2023.
- ↑ "AEW Dynamite results (7/19): Powell's live review of Golden Elite vs. Blackpool Combat Club in a Blood & Guts match, MJF and Adam Cole vs. Daniel Garcia and Sammy Guevara in the Blind Eliminator tourney finals". ProWrestling.net. Retrieved October 4, 2023.
- ↑ "AEW All In pre-show results: Powell's live review of MJF and Adam Cole challenging Aussie Open for the AEW Tag Titles, Jack Perry vs. Hook for the FTW Title". ProWrestling.net. Retrieved October 4, 2023.
- ↑ Powell, Jason (April 21, 2024). "AEW Dynasty results: Powell's live review of Samoa Joe vs. Swerve Strickland for the AEW World Championship, Will Ospreay vs. Bryan Danielson, FTR vs. Young Bucks in a ladder match for the AEW Tag Titles". Pro Wrestling Dot Net. Retrieved April 21, 2024.
- ↑ Powell, Jason (August 25, 2024). "AEW All In results: Powell's live review of Swerve Strickland vs. Bryan Danielson for the AEW World Championship, Toni Storm vs. Mariah May for the AEW Women's Championship". Pro Wrestling Dot Net. Retrieved August 25, 2024.