Taz Owns the FTW Title, ECW Never Did

Jul 9, 2020 - by James Walsh

As previously reported, last night’s AEW Fyter Fest saw Taz bring back the FTW Championship, and he gave it to Brian Cage. Taz used to have this title in his ECW days in the late 90s and said that the title represents the “baddest S.O.B. in wrestling.” PWInsider released a report with more details on AEW bringing back the title.

If you were wondering how AEW was able to use a title that used to be part of Extreme Championship Wrestling, which is now technically owned by WWE. PWInsider noted that ECW never actually owned the FTW Championship or title belt, so it didn’t actually ever fall under WWE’s ownership after WWE acquired ECW. Taz himself actually designed, created and owned the FTW Title when he debuted it in ECW back in 1998. ECW and then-owner Paul Heyman reportedly never actually commissioned the belt.

Additionally, PWInsider noted that Taz still holds the copyright on the belt’s design and IP, so he’s able to use it at his discretion in the realm of professional wrestling. That also includes merchandise such as belt replicas, t-shirts, etc.

As Taz himself noted on Twitter today, the belt that appeared on last night’s AEW show is also the original FTW title belt. Previously, the belt was retired at ECW Living Dangerously 1999 when Taz beat then-FTW champion Sabu in a title unification match. Since that time, the belt has remained in Taz’s possession for over 20 years.

You can check out some more photos of the belt and Taz and Cage posing with it below. Brian Cage stated on his social media accounts on holding the title:

“New FTW World heavyweight champion. The baddest son of a b**** 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 #renegade***.”

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