AEW Grand Slam got off to a thrilling start with the AEW World Championship on the line, but that was far from the only prize up for grabs. The second match of the night was for the FTW Championship, with Hook defending the Title against Roderick Strong, and as one would imagine, they absolutely delivered in the ring. What many didn’t expect however was what happened after Hook retained the Title. First Strong actually shook Hook’s hand in a show of respect after the loss, and then Hook announced that he was retiring the FTW Championship, handing the Title to his father Taz.
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Retiring The Title
After Hook’s win, he spoke to Tony Schiavone, who brought up that the Title was first created in 1998 by Taz just three miles from his Title defense tonight. Hook thanked Tony but then said that all good things must come to an end.
So on behalf of my family, I’d like to thank each and every wrestler who has competed for this championship right here, and on top of that, I’d like to thank each and every one of you fans out there for supporting this FTW Championship. And so now, this very moment, the FTW Championship is officially retired. Hook then handed the Championship to Taz and hugged him, and Taz was clearly emotional as he crowd chanted “Thank you Taz”.
What’s Next For Hook?
The Title is now retired, and it remains to be seen what Hook will do next. This does free him up however to jump into other Title pictures, and there’s no shortage of other Titles to contend for in AEW. Currently, in singles competition, there is the AEW World Championship, AEW International Championship, AEW Continental Championship, and TNT Championship, and while all are possible, there are two Champions that stand out as logical next steps.
Hook is a fan-favorite babyface, so it stands to reason he would be perfect for one of the two Heel Champions currently in the mix. Those would be TNT Champion Jack Perry and Continental Champion Kazuchika Okada, and facing either of them would also bring him into direct contact and competition with The Elite. It’s hard not to see a winning scenario where Hook and Perry get into a back-and-forth battle over several pay-per-views that ends with Hook becoming the new TNT Champion, though whether that happens remains to be seen.
FTW Championship History
As mentioned previously, Taz was the first FTW Champion back in 1998, and would go on to hold the Title for 219 days until he was defeated by Sabu. After another brief moment holding the Title, the FTW Championship would be vacant until 2020, and it would be Brian Cage holding the Title in AEW for an impressive 377 days. Ricky Starks was next in line, holding the Title for 378 days, and then the era of Hook began in 2022.
Hook would have his first reign from July 27th, 2022 to July 19th, 2023, coming in at 357 days. Jack Perry (see, there’s history!) would briefly dethrone him, but Hook would regain his Title and hold it for another 238 days. Chris Jericho would then become FTW Champion for 126 days, and then Hook would take him down and reclaim the Title once more.
What did you think of the FTW Title being retired? You can talk all things wrestling with me on Threads and Twitter @mattaguilarcb!
