#ftw belt

[fly-guys]

What we really need to discuss is the fact that the FTW Belt got used to a life of luxury, fun excursions and dates while Jack was taking care of it. Is the belt going to be sad now that it’s back shoved in Hooks luggage??? Will hook have to do something to win back it’s heart???

I’m completely serious 

[nicklloydnow]

“On May 14th, 1998, Taz introduced the ECW fanbase with what would be known as the FTW Championship (also referred to as the Brooklyn World Championship). It was created after months of frustration as then ECW World Champion Shane Douglas refused to give him a shot at the title. Injuries would also hinder Douglas from facing Taz at the time.

The letters FTW manifested that frustration, meaning: “F*** The World.”

(…)

According to Taz, the title was a way to symbolize the rebellious nature of the ECW fanbase, which accepted Taz as the top star of the promotion and wanted to see him as the world champion instead of the highly protected Douglas.

“[The] FTW Championship has always been renegade, anti-establishment, and unconventional,” wrote Taz in an October 2020 tweet. “That has never changed, and that will never change.”

Upon the title’s arrival in ECW, it was made clear that it was a championship that the management had not officially sanctioned. Instead, it was a prize legitimized by the fans.

(…)

The FTW Championship was briefly seen in Xtreme Pro Wrestling in November 2002 when Chris Chetti declared himself the champion before losing the title to Danny Doring, who once again unified it with the promotion’s world title. However, these defenses are not considered a part of the title’s lineage.

The championship would then stay retired for almost two decades to follow. However, this changed on Night 2 of All Elite Wrestling’s Fyter Fest Dynamite special on July 2nd, 2020, where Taz brought the FTW Championship back and awarded it to his client Brian Cage.

(…)

PWInsider revealed that Taz owns the trademark to both the FTW Championship and its related logos, allowing him to do as he wishes with the design, thus allowing him to bring his ECW legacy to his new home in professional wrestling”

“Although the FTW Championship is consistently seen in All Elite Wrestling, it is referred to as not officially recognized by the company. The champion may be announced as such and have a custom black-and-orange chyron, but the FTW Championship exists in a world of its own. Even since its first day, the FTW Championship has been an outlaw title, unable to be contained by any promoter or company. It stands as a manifestation of The Human Suplex Machine's twenty-plus year's path of rage.

'FTW' had been a part of Taz's branding for quite some time before it became forged in gold. Standing for 'F*** The World', the three-letter initialism encompassed what Taz was all about. He was a one-man wrecking crew that trusted nobody, liked nobody, and hated everybody. Taz was the meanest monster in all of ECW, routinely suplexing people into oblivion and choking them out, surviving only if he let them. Taz was a major fixture of ECW programming, holding the ECW World Television Championship for 267 days. As one of the promotion's marquee talents, it was only a matter of time before Taz entered the world title picture.

(…)

On May 14, 1998, Taz unveiled the FTW Championship, arguing that if Douglas would not face him, then he would crown himself the world champion. The first iteration of the belt was a modified version of the company's Television Championship, with the leather strap painted orange and 'FTW' stickers placed over the plates. This would soon be replaced by an all-new belt, changing the FTW Championship into the design seen today in AEW.

(…)

Taz emerged victorious, regaining the championship he had created months ago, and unifying it with the ECW World Championship. Now merged, the FTW Championship was effectively retired. It took over twenty years for the belt to return, doing so under very similar circumstances to its origin. At the 2020 edition of AEW's Fyter Fest, with Jon Moxley unable to defend the AEW World Championship, Taz awarded his client Brian Cage with the very same FTW Championship. Its return brought the title back to professional wrestling's spotlight and to a bigger audience than ever before. The belt has retained the same combative and rebellious spirit that it was conceived with, with Team Taz carrying on the legacy of their namesake and ensuring that the AEW audience understands what an FTW lifestyle looks like.”

[allelitewrestlings]

HOOK AEW Battle of the Belts X • Apr. 13, 2024

[heishook]

HOOK

Battle of the Belts • Saturday, April 13, 2024

[shawtys-things]

[iam-57311]

girls in red

help I've had These Two brainrot for days

[homoeroticgrappling]

Big fan of wrestlers posting pictures of their ring gear with blood stains after an intense match

[dustinslovehandles]

Not gonna lie, I was crying a bit too, Taz.

[doctapuella]

since i'm already being whiny and shouting my opinions into the void:

i think bryan keith should win this 3way match because we JUST saw jericho v hook and jericho v shibata recently. plus it would be way more interesting for everyone involved.

[renee-ckstrong]

Jack Perry is now MY GUY! I haven't liked Jack Perry for quite a while, but if he retires the FTW Title he will become my favourite wrestler. I've wanted that belt gone for so long.

I don't know what it was like in ECW but in AEW the thing infuriates me. IT'S NOT A RENEGADE TITLE IF TONY KHAN MAKES OFFICIAL MATCHES FOR THE THING AND IF IT'S NOT A RENEGADE TITLE THEN WHAT THE HELL IS IT.

[samixayn]

so who's breaking hooks undefeated streak 🎤

[tacodemuerte]

also my thoughts on the hook and samoa joe match last night is that, it was good! fun! it went as it should have!

i think this can lead for hook to become something more than an invincible hero who can suplex anybody. now we just need hook to do more than two moveS...then we r cookin with gaS

[heishook]

HOOK will challenge Shane Taylor for his FTW Championship following AEW Collision TOMORROW NIGHT!!! 🙌🏼❤️‍🔥

[aerodaltonimperial]

Me @ everything that happened last night lol

[littlemagicalstardust]

After retaining the belt, HOOK announced the FTW championship will now be retired and then presented the belt to his dad, Taz <3