10 Awesome Ways Wrestling Promotions Made Titles Prestigious

10. FTR Play Mind Games

Trace FTR's run throughout AEW and - some sulky superkicks and ill-advised Photoshop comedy aside - world-building booking greatness is yielded.

FTR debuted on the May 27, 2020 Dynamite. They saved the Young Bucks from a Butcher and the Blade beat-down, but they refused the gesture of sportsmanship. This intriguing hook doubled as phase one of FTR's masterplan, and that a masterplan was required in the first place underscores the extent to which AEW elevates the prestige of its titles.

FTR had to unsettle friendships and tear teams apart just to position themselves for gold, much less win the belts.

The masterplan was thus: further separate Hangman Page from the Elite by posing as the drinking buddy his old, teetotal stablemates could not and would not be. FTR manipulated Page into securing their shot at All Out, and placed themselves as favourites by gradually isolating Kenny Omega in an extension of their in-ring strategy. They poured beer on him, but only after first congratulating the team, knowing full well that alcohol represented that which always divided the champions on a personal level.

In parallel with embarking on an undefeated streak, FTR played both sides against each for months in a sinister and meticulous plan just to earn the advantage in the match. When they won, Jim Ross and Tony Schiavone conducted separate, candid sit-downs with the former champions on the post-PPV Dynamite. They were shaken. The loss caused them to arrive at a career crossroads and make profound decisions. That's how you book a championship. They are not props.

They are extensions of identity that require more work than a one-night performance - or even a strong run in form - to obtain.