8 Ups & 2 Downs From AEW Dynamite: Fyter Fest Night 2 (Jul 8)

6. Nostalgia With Substance

taz ftw
AEW

This was fabulous: the sort of "Of course!" booking that evokes a massive smile from the face of the long-time wrestling fan.

With his ECW World Champion Shane Douglas shelved, Paul Heyman in 1998 created for Taz the FTW (F*ck The World) Championship. It represented a deserved slap in the face of the Champion's cowardice. Taz was the self-appointed "real" World Champion, and got the belt over as a more in-character take on the interim titles created in the legitimate sporting world which, by way of Jorge Masvidal's UFC Bad Motherf*cker Title, have also taken inspiration from the old Taz custom.

It's not the old custom anymore; in what was a great heel move more than it was mere fan service, Taz brought it back and declared Brian Cage the new holder. This was a tremendous subversion on what the belt once meant that services this particular storyline very well. Moxley isn't a coward.

He isn't ducking anything. He has stayed home for the most noble of reasons, and those reasons actually benefit Taz. But Taz is a miserable prick, and won't see it that way.

This was a strong, inspired segment accentuated with another outstanding Taz promo that Jon Moxley, watching it home, would have f*cking hated - and will use as fuel.

Magnificent.

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Contributor
Contributor

Michael Sidgwick is an editor, writer and podcaster for WhatCulture Wrestling. With over seven years of experience in wrestling analysis, Michael was published in the influential institution that was Power Slam magazine, and specialises in providing insights into All Elite Wrestling - so much so that he wrote a book about the subject. You can order Becoming All Elite: The Rise Of AEW on Amazon. Possessing a deep knowledge also of WWE, WCW, ECW and New Japan Pro Wrestling, Michael’s work has been publicly praised by former AEW World Champions Kenny Omega and MJF, and current Undisputed WWE Champion Cody Rhodes. When he isn’t putting your finger on why things are the way they are in the endlessly fascinating world of professional wrestling, Michael wraps his own around a hand grinder to explore the world of specialty coffee. Follow Michael on X (formerly known as Twitter) @MSidgwick for more!