Chris Jericho Thanks Terry Funk, Renames The FTW Title
Get ready for a whole new learning experience courtesy of Chris Jericho.
The pro wrestling legend defeated HOOK for the FTW Championship at AEW Dynasty on Sunday and had some words of wisdom for the live crowd in Jacksonville, FL on this week's episode of AEW Dynamite.
All with a somewhat patronizing tongue, Jericho took to the ring to thank the fans for the love and support following his victory and spoke about the controversial meaning behind the letters "FTW." Instead of the title standing for "F*** The World" he wants FTW to mean "For The World" because the championship now for all the fans.
Jericho then brought up the name of the late legendary Terry Funk and recounted when Funk told him it was time for him to start teaching the next generation of how to carry on the legacy of the pro wrestling business. He then thanked Terry Funk and thanked everyone in attendance.
Suddenly, out came former AEW World Tag Team Champion in Big Bill. What first felt like it was going to be a tense confrontation, Bill actually said that he'd love to learn under the learning tree of Chris Jericho. Chris noted that he respected the talent of Big Bill and told him that he'd very much consider that, but would like to see Bill prove it. Bill assured Jericho that he would do just that.
It's serendipitous that Jericho did conjure up the name of Terry Funk. Back in 2019, Jericho was asked about being the modern-day version of Funk, who was notorious for always re-inventing himself later on in his career which helped to put ECW on the map.
“My mission has always been to reinvent and evolve. It’s David Bowie. It’s been one of my inspirations since I was 25 years old, when you realize that you have this guy that’s a genius and who constantly changes what he’s doing, what he looks like to keep the fans guessing."
Jericho will have a tough contender to go up against next week in his hometown of Winnipeg. Later during Dynamite, Katsuyori Shibata ending up revealing that he'll face Jericho next week for that "For The World" Championship gold.
