Goodness. What a thread. I don't even drink but I think I need a drink now.
To address the primary topic, I enjoyed the FTW title for what it was worth - an outlaw borderline unsanctioned title that shouldn't have been recognized by management, only defended under agreements from those in the match, with no real rules aside from 'beat that guy's ass.' A good excuse to have the random plunder match halfway through Dynamite, and if I had the book (here we go again) I would've made it the gateway title between Dark and Dynamite/Rampage/Collision/etc. Course that would also mean bringing Dark back, which, again, has pretty much the core pathos of my booking ideas. I need my Tazcalibur Visual Podcast.
But I digress.
While the FTW title has been fun, I do feel like it's kinda stagnated. It's less of a title and more of a prop for Hook storylines, and you can only run the 'this piece of discount offbrand flex machine stole our family's paperweight, I'mma get it back and make him eat dirt while I do it' story a few times before it's just hitting the same beats. From Hook's point of view, he's honored Taz's title as much as he can, defended it a bunch and won it back from a big name like Jericho, so it's best to retire it on top after giving it that last hurrah in his hometown. Y'know. The 'this belongs in a museum' kinda deal, I guess.
Hook's proved he can hang when it means something for the FTW title. Now he needs to take the next step and do so without that crutch, and evolve as both a wrestler and a character. I'm excited to see where he goes next.
, went through with it behind your back.
