[10][11][8] In promotion of the release, As Friends Rust toured the United States, Canada, United Kingdom and Europe several times between August 2001 and November 2002, accompanied by such bands as Brand New, Coheed and Cambria, Thursday, Strike Anywhere, Sick of It All, Further Seems Forever, The Movielife, Shai Hulud, Planes Mistaken for Stars, Open Hand, Shelter, Keepsake, Hotwire, Fairweather, The Sainte Catherines, This Day Forward, Bloodlet, The Reunion Show, The Stryder, Liars Academy, Garrison, Vangard, Clark, Running from Dharma, Prevent Falls, The Remedy Session, Durango 95 and The Copperpot Journals.

Prior to recording the album, the band lost three of its five members, leaving only lead vocalist Damien Moyal and guitarist Joseph Simmons.

Vernon was then replaced by Zachary Swain and Amador by Thomas Rankine; this line-up completed the writing of the album and participated in the recording of Won.

[13] The band had previously released three extended plays; The Fists of Time, a split with Discount (both in 1998) and As Friends Rust (in 1999), and had been touring in promotion of that material since June 1998.

[14][15] The band again planned to work on a full-length album in late 2000,[16] having written a handful of songs described as "calmer and more depressing", but this material was eventually abandoned due to line-up changes.

[8][29] As Friends Rust was one of only five bands selected by Doghouse Records for the Fan Series, the others being Chamberlain, River City High, Favez and Moods for Moderns.

[18][32] Moyal, Simmons, Beckham, Swain and Rankine spent sixteen days in early July 2001 tracking ten songs for Won.

[33][34][35] The recorded material included new versions of "Morningleaver" and "This Is Me Hating You", newly-written songs "We on Some Next Level Shit", "Fourteen or So", "Austin, We Have a Problem", "Won't Be the First Time", "Perfect Stranglers", "Laughing Out Loud" and "Last Call", as well as "Ten" and an unlisted hidden track, both of which Moyal improvised lyrics to in the studio.

[18] Former As Friends Rust drummer Matthew Crum contributed additional percussion to the session, while backing vocals were provided by Beckham, Wisner and Further Seems Forever bass guitarist Chad Neptune.

[33][34][35] Won was originally scheduled for release in the early summer of 2001, but it was first pushed back to give the band more time to polish the songs and to book a two-week recording session at Wisner Productions.

[37] The artwork and layout for Won had already been designed by Moyal and Jason Page, with photographs by Nicholas Forneris, in June 2001, prior to the recording session.

[37][42][43] The band first hit the road with a ten-day East Coast United States tour, spanning from August 4–12, 2001, accompanied by Gainesville, Florida-based punk rockers Vangard.

[18] A month into the tour, Moyal suffered a back injury while setting up for a show at the Wild at Heart in Berlin, Germany, leaving him with limited mobility for the last week of European concerts.

[54] Less than two weeks after the recording session, Moyal quit As Friends Rust, citing dissatisfaction with touring and wanting to focus on school and his then-girlfriend.

[54][55] In retrospective interviews, Moyal reflected that the new members, Beckham, Swain and Rankine, were taking As Friends Rust in a more mainstream and polished, radio-friendly, direction, which in turn led to his loss of interest.

[21] In an interview conducted shortly after Moyal's departure, Rankine revealed that frictions with the lead vocalist had become increasingly problematic, especially since the band's recent European and British tour from October–December 2001.

[54][55] Moyal went on to form Damien Done, a solo project which eventually expanded into a full band, and would later reform As Friends Rust in 2008 with members from the 1998–2000 period.

[54] This was immediately followed by a week-long American East Coast tour with Coheed and Cambria, This Day Forward, The Stryder, Fairweather, Liars Academy and Prevent Falls, which spanned from March 4–12, 2002, as part of the Equal Vision Records Presents: Spring Showcase 2002 Tour, and a one-off date opening for Agnostic Front on Long Island, New York.

[54] Adam D'Zurilla (formerly of Short Order, Esteem, Die Tomorrow and Kumité) was finally welcomed as Moyal's replacement in late March 2002, allowing Beckham to return to playing guitar.

[54][65][66][67] The entire tour was originally to be shared with Montreal, Quebec-based punk rock band The Sainte Catherines, and covered nearly all of the country, but due to last minute changes, As Friends Rust ended up playing mostly newly-booked shows in Quebec and Ontario.

[54][12] As Friends Rust travelled as a four-piece, with Simmons as sole guitarist, for its month-long tour of Europe and the United Kingdom, which spanned from August 8 to September 11, 2002.

[76][77] Although As Friends Rust officially played its last show on September 11, 2002 in Amsterdam, Netherlands,[73] the band would continue to be billed under its old name as additional tours had been booked well-in-advance for the remainder of 2002.

[73][78] As such, Salem continued to play As Friends Rust songs and tour in promotion of Won and A Young Trophy Band in the Parlance of Our Times for several more months.

[54] Salem officially played its first show on September 28, 2002 at The Factory in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, opening for Further Seems Forever, though the band was billed as As Friends Rust.

[54][78] Salem was again billed as As Friends Rust during a tour with Fairweather, Liars Academy, Open Hand and Codeseven, and another with Shelter, Keepsake and Running from Dharma, which both covered the South Eastern United States and together spanned from October 7–21, 2002.

[54][78][76] It was only once touring began with The Movielife, Brand New and The Reunion Show, which spanned from October 28 to November 16, 2002 across the United States, that the previously-booked billing was corrected to feature the band's new name.

[86] Shortly before to the album's release, The Independent Florida Alligator highlighted As Friends Rust in their August 2001 list Gainesville's Best Bands - The Hot 21.

[1][99] Other comparisons were drawn to Samiam,[100][101] Dag Nasty,[102][103] Avail,[101][102] Good Riddance,[104][91] Gorilla Biscuits,[83][105] Waterdown,[104][93] Stretch Arm Strong,[80][106] and Turning Point.

[107][80] Some reviewers found that As Friends Rust's new sound came close to Shades Apart,[83] AFI,[2] H2O,[108] Radon,[109] Spoke,[109] Snapcase,[98] Armchair Martian,[102] Green Day,[110] The Jam,[110] The Clash,[110] and had elements of Depeche Mode.

[96] As Friends Rust's style on Won was described by critics as matured,[81][84] and a big step forward from its earlier releases, both in songwriting, sound and production.