FTW Championship

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.

FTW Championship
Longest reigning champion Ricky Starks with the AEW version of the championship
Details
Promotion	Extreme Championship Wrestling (1998–1999) All Elite Wrestling (2020–2024)
Date established	May 14, 1998
Date retired	September 25, 2024
Other name(s)
FTW Heavyweight Championship (1998–1999) FTW Championship (2020–2024)
Statistics First champion(s) Taz Final champion(s) Hook Most reigns Hook (3 reigns) Longest reign Ricky Starks (378 days) Shortest reign Taz (2nd reign, <1 day) Oldest winner Chris Jericho (53 years, 164 days) Youngest winner Hook (23 years, 84 days) Heaviest champion Brian Cage (268 lb (122 kg)) Lightest champion Jack Perry (167 lb (76 kg))

It was viewed as an unsanctioned championship.^[1]

History

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

Key

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]