The FTW Championship, at different times meaning both Fuck The World Championship, and For The World Championship, is a men's professional wrestling championship currently utilized in the American promotion All Elite Wrestling (AEW). It is presented as an "outlaw" or "renegade" title that is unsanctioned by officials in-storyline, and essentially serves as a hardcore championship, as many matches for the title are held under "FTW Rules". The current champion is Hook, who is in his record-setting third reign. He won the title by defeating Chris Jericho in an FTW Rules Last Chance match at All In London on August 25, 2024.
The title was originally established in the now defunct Extreme Championship Wrestling promotion, in 1998 by its inaugural holder, Taz, making it currently the oldest championship in All Elite Wrestling.
It was originally unified into the ECW World Heavyweight Championship when then ECW World Heavyweight Champion, Taz won the title from Sabu at Living Dangerously 1999. It remained inactive for 21 years, but, as it was never actually property of ECW, but of Taz himself, it was not included as the intellectual property sold to WWE during the sale of ECW in 2001, allowing Taz to reintroduce the title in All Elite Wrestling in 2020, this time awarding it to his client, Brian Cage. It was introduced in a similar matter to how it was introduced in ECW; the world champion of the promotion was inactive at the time, and unable to defend it, thus the FTW Championship was awarded to the would-be challenger.
"And, hey, everybody knows that there's no way a fuck from Pittsburgh can beat up a man from Brooklyn. So what I got right here, I am the world champion, and I have the proof. You can call it the Brooklyn Title or the Fuck The World Belt!"
— Taz unveiling the FTW Heavyweight Championship at It Ain't Seinfeld
The FTW Heavyweight Championship was designed, created, and conceived by Taz, who also owns the rights to the title.[1] The title was used to compensate for storylines that had to be dropped due to injuries. ECW World Heavyweight Champion Shane Douglas had a serious sinus infection and an elbow injury. Taz and Al Snow also missed their matches at Wrestlepalooza 1998 due to health problems.[2] ECW Owner Paul Heyman said the title suited Taz's "bad-ass, no-nonsense" attitude."[2]
Taz announced the creation of the FTW Heavyweight Championship (also referred to as the Brooklyn World Championship) on May 14, 1998, at It Ain't Seinfeld. In the storyline, he was frustrated by his inability to challenge for the ECW World Heavyweight Championship due to Champion Shane Douglas' injury and refusal to face him. Taz created and defended his own world title, billing himself as the "real" World Champion. He stated that fans appreciated the message conveyed by the title, which represented contempt for bosses and society, and said that he believed it was more appreciated than the company's top title.[3] The championship was billed as "unrecognized" by ECW.[3][4]
Taz lost the title only once, in a singles match against Sabu. This was an intentional loss, when he pulled an unconscious Sabu over himself on December 19, 1998 (he was confident that he would defeat Shane Douglas in an upcoming title bout, and thus no longer needed the FTW Heavyweight Championship).[5] Taz regained the title at Living Dangerously on March 21, 1999, where he unified the FTW Heavyweight Championship with the ECW World Heavyweight Championship (which he then held) by defeating Sabu in a title versus title match.[6][7] Taz then began using only the ECW World Heavyweight Championship, being the sole World Heavyweight Championship in the promotion, in turn retiring the FTW Heavyweight Championship.
Taz began appearing in All Elite Wrestling (AEW) in late 2019 and officially signed with the company in January 2020 as a commentator. He then began managing Brian Cage. On Night 2 of Fyter Fest on July 2 that year (aired on July 8), Cage was scheduled to face Jon Moxley for the AEW World Championship; however, the match was postponed as Moxley had to self-quarantine after his wife Renee Paquette had tested positive for COVID-19. In turn, Taz reinstated the title (as the FTW Championship) that night and awarded it to Cage, mirroring the circumstances behind the title's original inception in ECW. Just like in ECW, the FTW Championship is not an officially sanctioned championship in AEW.[8]
After winning the title at Dynasty in April 2024, due to the negative connotation of the meaning of "FTW", Chris Jericho, under his gimmick of a delusional mentor "The Learning Tree", declared that "FTW" would instead mean "For The World" and that the title was for all the fans.[9]
When the title was first created, the FTW belt was a custom ECW Television Championship belt with a leather strap painted orange, stickers partially covering the belt,[3] and a "TAZ" logo at the top. "FTW" stickers were strategically placed over the word "Television" in the middle of the belt as well as the United States and United Kingdom flags on the side plates. A few months later, in an attempt to persuade Taz to team with Sabu and Rob Van Dam against Shane Douglas and The Triple Threat, Bill Alfonso presented Taz with an original FTW belt featuring a black leather strap and orange-accented bronze plates, with a "TAZ" logo engraved in the belt's centerplate. This second design would also be used for the belt after its reintroduction in AEW. Taz stated that the concept and attitude have been replicated by other companies.[3]
According to Taz on The Rise and Fall of ECW DVD documentary, when Sabu won the title, he was legitimately upset backstage over Taz's name being permanently displayed on the belt. From then on, whenever Sabu had the belt with him, he would cover the Taz logo with athletic tape and write "SABU" on it in magic marker.[10] A similar instance occurred with the current champion Chris Jericho, as after winning the title, he appeared on the April 24, 2024 edition of Dynamite with a decal of his name at the top of the belt to cover Taz's name.
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As of September 21, 2024, there have been ten reigns between seven champions and one vacancy. Taz was the inaugural champion. His son Hook has the most reigns at three. Ricky Starks has the longest reign at 378 days while Taz's second reign was the shortest at less than a day as he abandoned the title upon winning the ECW World Heavyweight Championship in a championship unification match. Chris Jericho is the oldest champion at 53 years old while Hook is the youngest when he first won the title at 23.
Hook is the current champion in his record third reign. He won the title by defeating Chris Jericho in an FTW Rules Last Chance match at All In on August 25, 2024, in London, England.
As of September 21, 2024
