10 Worst Title Reigns In AEW History

8. Chris Jericho (April 21st 2024 - August 25th 2024

Private Party Tony Khan
WWE

The FTW Championship being brought into All Elite Wrestling as a serious title to fight for was always stretching the gold beyond its original premise, but Chris Jericho getting hold of it in 2024 to allegedly help move Hook up to some mythical next level was a case of the idea completely eating itself.

'The Cold Hearted Handsome Devil' was the latest to get caught in the Jericho Vortex (not the gimmick kind, if the gimmick is even a gimmick because it's a shoot), but the fact that the entire story of Hook being robbed of the gold only to win it back at Wembley was one that had been done with Jack Perry a year prior seemed to have escaped Jericho's attention as he went through loads of the same motions. A series of themed weapons brawls on television did nothing to justify the spot both the Champion and Championship commanded over a miserable few months before he predictably lost it back in a sequence of events he pretended was star-making. 

One only need to look at the retirement of the title in the immediate aftermath to see how ineffective it was - upon reclaiming the belt, Hook handed the strap to Father and originator Taz, and back on the mantlepiece it went.

Contributor
Contributor

Michael is a writer, editor, podcaster and presenter for WhatCulture Wrestling, and has been with the organisation over 8 years. He primarily produces written, audio and video content on WWE and AEW, but also provides knowledge and insights on all aspects of the wrestling industry thanks to a passion for it dating back over 35 years. As one third of "The Dadley Boyz" Michael has contributed to the huge rise in popularity of the WhatCulture Wrestling Podcast and its accompanying YouTube channel, earning it top spot in the UK's wrestling podcast charts with well over 62,000,000 total downloads. Within the podcasting space, he also co-hosts Benno & Hamflett, In Your House! and Podcast Horseman: The BoJack Horseman Podcast. He has been featured as a wrestling analyst for the Tampa Bay Times, Fightful, POST Wrestling, GRAPPL, GCP, Poisonrana and Sports Guys Talking Wrestling, and has covered milestone events in New York, Dallas, Las Vegas, Philadelphia, London and Cardiff. Michael's background in media stretches beyond wrestling coverage, with a degree in Journalism from the University Of Sunderland (2:1) and a series of published articles in sports, music and culture magazines The Crack, A Love Supreme and Pilot. When not offering his voice up for daily wrestling podcasts, he can be found losing it singing far too loud watching his favourite bands play live. Follow him on X/Twitter - @MichaelHamflett