FCW house show results
July 8, 2011
Gainesville, Fla.
Report by Chris Mullet, PWTorch reader

The WWE developmental show was pretty full, but there was plenty of general admission seating available. Estimated attendance would be around 300.

Before the show began, there was a large meet-and-greet. John Morrison was the headliner, although Melina was not there as she was advertised to be. Morrison was very nice and easy going. Others in the autograph session were Kaitlyn, "Tough Enough" winner Andy Leavine (who was very respectful and nice, but super awkward), Titus O'Neill, Ricardo Rodriguez, Husky Harris (far and away the coolest and nicest guy there), Johnny Curtis, Derrick Bateman, and FCW Tag Champions Calvin Raines and Big E Langston. FCW Divas Champion Aksana was taking pictures, as was FCW Champion Bo Rotundo in the ring (also super cool; something about those Rotundo boys!)

(1) Richie Steamboat beat Brad Maddox. Decent match. Steamboat wrestles exactly like his dad, which isn't a bad thing. It would be nice to see him try to do his own thing. That being said, he is ready to be called up. Maddox didn't really stand out and botched an underhook powerbomb spot. Steamboat won with a superkick.

Raquel Diaz (the daughter of Vickie and Eddie Guerrero) then came out and worked the mic, putting over herself and her man, Alexander Rusev. She got some heat, but had plenty of awkward moments that the crowd didn't respond to. Diaz also kept looking towards the trainers's table and Tom Pritchard, Norman Smiley, and Ricky Steamboat for approval or something.

(2) Alexander Rusev beat Desean Bishop. Rough match. One particular spot had Rusev looking to either bodyslam or stun gun Bishop and awkwardly dropping him on his head. Neither man really impressed and Diaz talking on the microphone during the whole match really didn't help. Rusev won with a modified German Suplex.

(3) Johnny Curtis beat Rick Victor. All right match. Victor just doesn't have anything worthwhile; this was the second time I have seen him and all he gets the crowd to do is chant "He's got sea horses," a reference to his tights. Curtis was over, though, working as a babyface and won with an impressive top rope leg drop.

(4) Aksana beat Naomi and Sonia in a Triple Threat Match to retain the Divas Championship. Standard Divas match spread out into a 7-8-minute match. Plenty of blown spots, but also some impressive moments. Sonia is fairly bland, Aksana has a lot of work still, and Naomi is plenty athletic and could contribute to either Raw or Smackdown right now. Good finish as Naomi used Sonia as a springboard, only to be caught by Aksana and a spinebuster.

(5) Leo Kruger defeated C.J. Parker. Blah match. Kruger got on the mic mid-match and heeled on the crowd a little to modest heat. Parker played a babyface like a guy doing it for the first time, trying to get any kind of response to no avail. Kruger won with a big lariat. Worst match on the show.

[Intermission]

The show resumed with a...singing contest! Kaitlyn and Briley Pierce (Dolph Ziggler's brother) hosted. Raquel Diaz sang everyone's favorite song, "Written in the Stars," and drew good heat. Derrick Bateman sang "Total Eclipse of the Heart" to a good reaction, almost as good as when he threw Girl Scout Cookies into the crowd. Erick Rowan sang the Norwegian national anthem and got a mixed response. Jason Mullen then stepped up and rapped "Ice, Ice Baby," which was a big hit with the children and unhip adults. Mullen won in a landslide and then everyone threw beach balls into the crowd. Yep...

(6) FCW tag champions Calvin Raines & Big E Langston defeated Donny Marlow & Roman Leakee to retain the FCW Tag Titles. Before the match, Raines and Langston cut a promo putting over Raines new braids as "the best haircut in the world." Solid tag match. Raines and Langston worked well together. Langston has some solid potential. His size may be an issue, but he has good charisma. Marlow and Leakee were your typical Samoan characters, but didn't seem to be anything different or better than the Usos. Langston pinned Marlow with an assist through the ropes from Raines.

Before the main event began, Damien Sandow, Lucky Cannon, and Dean Ambrose (Jon Moxley) came out and talked about how they were upset John Morrison's face was all over the promotion for the show and that FCW is all about "them." Sandow in particular was great at getting heel heat, really working the crowd into a tizzy. Morrison's music hit and he came out to the biggest pop of the night, naturally. He briefly put over the FCW crowd and said that, while he couldn't wrestle, he knew some guys that could. Out came Gainesville's own Titus O'Neill, FCW 15 Champ Seth Rollins, and FCW Champion Bo Rotundo.

(7) Titus O'Neill & Seth Rollins & Bo Rotundo beat Damien Sandow & Lucky Cannon & Dean Ambrose in a six-man tag main event. The heels spent a good 5-10 minutes ducking the three babyfaces and stalling in the crowd. It got great heat with the kids and parents, but the smart fans were on their hands for most of it. Once the match started, it was a good, if unspectactular six-man. Rollins and Ambrose shined in their brief encounter together to start the show. Tyler Black vs. Jon Moxley needs to happen soon in WWE! The match broke down to the heels working on Titus's leg for way too long until he got the hot tag to Rotundo. Typical six-man brawl ended with a Rollins superkick/Rotundo spear to pin Cannon and win the match.

After the match, Morrison joined the babyfaces in the ring and posed. Titus was the last one in the ring and led the crowd in a couple of Florida Gators fight songs, just like the last show in Gainesville.

OVERALL THOUGHTS: The show was okay. Nobody really stood out as every match was fairly basic and catered to the children in the crowd. No one really had a chance to show much personality or display a character that could really connect with a broad audience. The last show in Gainesville was much better from an in-ring perspective, but it was still a decent experience meeting several wrestlers and being an a PG atmosphere. That said, I will take a ROH show any day.

That's all from Gainesville. See you at the matches!

[Torch art credit Marco D'Alfonso (c) PWTorch.com]

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