FCW (WWE Developmental) show report
May 18, 2012
Orlando, Fla.
Report by Josh Parry, PWTorch correspondent

Christian appeared before the show for a meet-and-greet. He did not appear during the show.

(1) C.J. Parker & Adam Mercer beat Luke Harper & Benicio Salazar. Salazar was without a mask and had a good look. Mercer is only 19 and is already getting good reactions. He has good upside. I had never seen Harper before now, as he apparently debuted tonight. He dressed as a mechanic in a dirty, oily shirt. Imposing look. Parker scored the pin after turning Harper's chokeslam attempt into a roll-up.

(2) FCW 15 champion Richie Steamboat beat Briley Pierce (the younger Nemeth). Steamboat won with a spinning lariat. Good, entertaining action. Richie is so ready for the main roster. Briley had a cocky, young heel gimmick and played it well to good heat.

Divas champion Raquel Diaz (Shaul Guerrero) came to the ring and welcomed out Jude, who was celebrating a birthday. The crowd sang to Judge. Really pleasing for the kid. Classy.

(3) Bo Rotundo (who was Bo Dallas at the NXT TV tapings last night) beat Colin Cassidy with a spear that would make Edge proud. Cassidy is a 7-footer and can certainly move, but he was very sloppy throwing Bo around. It was scary seeming him land at times.

Nick Rogers came out blaring a sports whistle, flanked by two behemoths, Big E. Langston and James Bronson. He cut an impressive heel promo taking up both men who have been around working on their bodies and honing their craft. He said that while we were waiting outside for hours, they were in the gym, having a life. Rogers is a very good promo and an effective manager for big men who cna't do much on their own on the mic.

(4) James Bronson & Big E. Langston (w/Nick Rogers) beat Xavier Woods & Mike Dalton. This was a great tag match. The agile faces kept the heels moving the whole time, and they surprisingly kept up. Rogers was golden at ringside. He broke up an almost certain heel victory at one point by leaping under the bottom rope and blowing his whistle in the ref's face. After a fast closing sequence, Langston pinned Dalton after a dominator.

(5) Eli (no longer Eli Cottonwood) (w/Bray Wyatt a/k/a Husky Harris) beat Sonny Eliot with a botched double chokeslam. Again, Bray is gold. After the squash, he pitifully shook Sonny's hand and preached about changing the world, one man at a time.

[Intermission. A developmental talent who is friends with the friend I attended with talked to us about plans to pair up Briley Pierce and Colin Cassidy as an arrogant pair of New Yorkers. Awkward-sounding team to me.

(6) Sofia (Ivelise from Tough Enough) beat Paige and Audrey Marie in a triple threat Divas match. The match was surprisingly well-wrestled. I'm looking forward to seeing them on TV soon.

(7) Byron Saxton & The Ascension (Kenneth Cameron & Connor O'Brian) beat Rick Victor & FCW tag champions Jake Carter & Corey Graves in a six-man tag match. Ascension played badass faces for the night. Impressive once again.

(8) Florida Hvt. champion Seth Rollins beat Antonio Cesaro, Dean Ambrose, and Leo Kruger in a four-way match to retain the FCW Hvt. Title. Talk about a star-studded fatal four-way. Fast action and great nearfalls.

Overall, a great show. It just flew by, especially compared to the four-show TV taping last night. The future is bright indeed.

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

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