3 Ups & 4 Downs From AEW: Battle Of The Belts

2. The FTW Title Made It In?!

Ricky Starks FTW Title
AEW

Ricky Starks is a fine up-and-coming talent in AEW circles, but neither he nor his FTW Title deserved to be on the show ahead of the World or Tag-Team straps. FTW is the least-essential belt in this promotion, and it's literally presented as a championship that's not married to any one organisation.

Yet it was on the line up for a card all about AEW belts. OK?

On the whole, Starks vs. Matt Sydal was a solid-if-unspectacular match. There was never any real threat of a title switch, and the post-match shenanigans involving Dane Martin, Lee Moriarty and Powerhouse Hobbs kinda made the latter look like a tool who can't handle business.

Back to the original complaint; FTW shouldn't have been leap-frogging other, more prestigious championships at BOTB. AEW got this one wrong. If nobody wants to admit it, fine, but don't pretend that Taz's made-up prize is more important than officially-recognised titles.

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Lifelong wrestling, video game, music and sports obsessive who has been writing about his passions since childhood. Jamie started writing for WhatCulture in 2013, and has contributed thousands of articles and YouTube videos since then. He cut his teeth penning published pieces for top UK and European wrestling read Fighting Spirit Magazine (FSM), and also has extensive experience working within the wrestling biz as a manager and commentator for promotions like ICW on WWE Network and WCPW/Defiant since 2010. Further, Jamie also hosted the old Ministry Of Slam podcast, and has interviewed everyone from Steve Austin and Shawn Michaels to Bret Hart and Trish Stratus.