ECW World Heavyweight Champion Shane Douglas had a serious sinus infection and an elbow injury.

Taz and Al Snow also missed their matches at Wrestlepalooza 1998 due to health problems.

[2] ECW Owner Paul Heyman said the title suited Taz's "bad-ass, no-nonsense" attitude.

In the storyline, he was frustrated by his inability to challenge for the ECW World Heavyweight Championship due to Champion Shane Douglas' injury and refusal to face him.

This was an intentional loss, when he pulled an unconscious Sabu over himself on December 19, 1998 (he was confident that he would defeat Shane Douglas in an upcoming title bout, and thus no longer needed the FTW Heavyweight Championship).

Taz began appearing in All Elite Wrestling (AEW) in late 2019 and officially signed with the company in January 2020 as a commentator.

On Night 2 of Dynamite: Fyter Fest on July 2 that year (aired on July 8), Cage was scheduled to face Jon Moxley for the AEW World Championship; however, the match was postponed as Moxley had to self-quarantine after his wife Renee Paquette had tested positive for COVID-19.

[8] After winning the title at Dynasty in April 2024, due to the negative connotation of the "FTW" abbreviation, Chris Jericho, under his gimmick of a delusional mentor "The Learning Tree", rechristened "FTW" as "For The World" and declared that the title was for all the fans.

[11] A similar instance occurred with the current champion Chris Jericho, as after winning the title, he appeared on the April 24, 2024, episode of Dynamite with a decal of his name at the top of the belt to cover Taz's name.