My brother and I attended a Florida Championship Wrestling house show in Melbourne FL on June 9th, 2010. This was the second show FCW has run this year in Melbourne. For those don’t know, FCW is the developmental promotion for the WWE, based in Tampa, FL. My brother and I enjoy watching the weekly TV show and house shows, as it gives us an early look at the future Superstars of the WWE.
Before the show, fans had the opportunity to meet WWE Superstars The Miz and Christian, as well as NXT Rookies Daniel Bryan, Heath Slater, and Justin Gabriel. The NXT Rookies were wearing the “N” armbands they sported on Monday Night RAW. When I asked Bryan if their faction had a name, he said, “You’ll have to keep watching to find out.”
The crowd had high energy for most of the evening, even during the undercard matches. The event was held at the Melbourne Auditorium and I estimate there were 400-450 fans in attendance.
The Matches:
Yoshi Tatsu d. Drake Brewer. Yoshi got the crowd into the match by announcing that his opponent was a “Stupid Head”. Yoshi wins with his Buzzsaw Kick.
6 Man Tag Team Match: Curt Hawkins, Vance Archer, and Mason Ryan (a Batista-sized wrestler) d. “Showtime” Percy Watson, Johnny Curtis, and Michael Magillicutty (aka Joe Henning, son of Mr. Perfect). Hawkins pins Curtis after an elbow from the top rope.
Donny Marlow d. Bo Rotundo. Marlow (son of Haku) was accompanied by Brodus Clay (400 pounds, formerly known as G-Rilla, the son of Dick Murdoch). Marlow announced on the mic that he and Clay are known as the Colossal Connection and will be the next FCW Tag Team Champions.
Rotundo wins with a roll up after throwing Marlow into Clay, who was interfering on the ring apron.
Divas Tag Team Match: Liviana and Tamina (daughter of Jimmy “Superfly” Snuka”) vs. Naomi Night and Aksana. Tamina missed her “Superfly” slam from the top rope and Naomi gets the pin.
Special Challenge Match: Jamie Noble d. Tyler Reks. Noble is billed from Melbourne FL (though Wikipedia says he resides in Orlando). But he’s treated as a hometown favorite and gets a huge pop from the crowd, with lots of “Jamie Noble” chants. Noble wins with a moonsault from the top rope.
FCW Tag Team Championship Match: New masked champions Hunico y Epico (Tito Colon) vs former champs Jimmy and Jack Uso (accompanied by Tamina). Hunico gets the pin after a Swanton Bomb.
During the intermission, my brother and I spoke to Heath Slater’s father, who sat next to us. He described Heath as a “good boy” and said he’s actually quite shy when he’s not wrestling!
FCW Heavyweight Championship Match: Current champ Alex Riley vs Jason “Lucky” Cannon. When both wrestlers end up outside the ring, and as the ref count nears 10, Riley pulls Cannon to the floor and makes it back into the ring to win by count out.
There was a giveaway for a “Great American Bash” ringside folding chair signed by Rey Mysterio. I didn’t win. :(
Main Event: Was scheduled to be Christian and his NXT Rookie Heath Slater vs. The Miz and his NXT Rookie Daniel Bryan. Christian comes out and announces he wants to talk to Heath Slater about the events on Monday Night RAW (where the first season NXT rookies beat down John Cena). Slater comes out and distracts Christian, allowing Daniel Bryan to blindside Christian from behind. The Miz comes out to rescue his fellow Pro to a huge crowd pop.
The Pros challenge the Rookies to a tag bout. A great match follows, and at the end both Pros prepare their finishing moves on their Rookies. But then the rest of the first season NXT stars come out (Wade Barrett, David Otunga, Justin Gabriel, Skip Sheffield, Darren Young, and Michael Tarver). All 8 Rookies proceed to beat down on Christian and The Miz, then tear up the ringside area and personnel (basically what they did on Monday Night RAW). There was big heat on the Rookies, who pose onstage before finally leaving. FCW officials come out and help Christian and Miz to the locker room.
During the show, it was announced the next FCW show in Melbourne on July 2nd will feature an appearance by Dusty Rhodes! “The American Dream” is the creative head writer and occasional announcer for FCW.
Adam Schultz
Satellite Beach, FL
Email: [email protected]