As noted, last night’s Fyter Fest edition of AEW Dynamite on TNT saw Taz bring back his FTW Title belt and present it to Brian Cage. This was the big announcement that AEW President Tony Khan had promised, which he said would “send shockwaves through the world of professional wrestling.”
The FTW Title belt was designed, created and owned by Taz, and was never owned by ECW, which is why it did not transfer over to WWE’s ownership, according to PWInsider. Taz holds the copyright on the actual design of the belt, which allows him to do whatever he wants with it, including the option to merchandise the design.
Cage will be billed as the FTW Champion going forward in AEW and the belt seen on Dynamite last night is the original belt from ECW. Taz has been in possession of that belt for the last 20-plus years.
Taz noted in his promo that he wanted Cage to have some momentum going into next week’s title shot from AEW World Champion Jon Moxley at Fight for the Fallen, and that the title represents who the “baddest SOB in wrestling” is. Taz previously used the FTW Title belt in the original ECW during 1998 and 1999. Sabu was the only other wrestler to hold the belt, which was unified with the ECW World Title in March 1999. Taz is the one who came up with the original storyline in ECW that led to the reveal of the FTW Title.
Cage took to Instagram last night and commented on holding the FCW Title.
“New FTW World heavyweight champion. The baddest son of a bitch in wrestling has just been crowned. And it’s a world champion that shows up no matter what and ready to fight. And also not some special attraction that makes an appearance here and there. The Machine is here to stay and is kicking ass, taking names, and collecting one more title next week. And if you don’t like it, GFY. #machine #newchamp #ftw #taz #baddestSOB #renegadeshit,” he wrote.
There is no word yet on how AEW plans to use the belt in the future.
AEW has also released photos from a photo shoot that Cage and Taz did with the belt. You can see those photos below, along with related tweets from Taz:
Original. https://t.co/5kMXoYPTkq
— TAZ (@OfficialTAZ) July 9, 2020
#FTW @AEWonTNT @AEWrestling pic.twitter.com/iTgWO0vwAR
— Brian Cage (@MrGMSI_BCage) July 9, 2020
Hey @jonmoxley #FTW CHAMP is coming for you. #AEWDynamite @MrGMSI_BCage pic.twitter.com/9KNegZekwS
— TAZ (@OfficialTAZ) July 9, 2020
Hopefully some of you guys learned a lesson tonight. Don’t “assume” everyone reads these silly ass spoilers because MOST fans don’t read them. And more importantly just because it’s not in the “spoilers” u read online doesn’t mean it didn’t happen! #FTW #AEWDynamite #FyterFest pic.twitter.com/a4QL13x1w7
— TAZ (@OfficialTAZ) July 9, 2020
Who Betta? #FTWChampionship #FyterFest #AEWDynamite https://t.co/9wUtd0kvMN
— TAZ (@OfficialTAZ) July 9, 2020
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