WWE Developmental Television Report
Florida Championship Wrestling: Week 2 Recap
By Michael C. Grimaldi of http://www.carltonprescott.com

I apologize for not getting a report up last week for the Week 1 show. I've been busy with some overhauling of the site that you will soon see (hopefully by this weekend) as well as my massive 2008-2009 NHL Preview, which is currently on the main page of the site and I encourage you to check it out. So anyways, I am going to try and make this a staple of the site as long as I have access to the show. Unlike Smackdown recaps, I'll do more analyzing of the overall talent I see in the guys on the show and hope my 15 years of attending indie shows all up and down the east coast from Maine to Delaware as well as the few midwest trips I have made. So let's get to Week 2 of the new Florida Championship Wrestling.

-The open is mix of clips from the olden days of FCW showing guys like Flair and Dusty, voiced over by the WWE voice over guy...who doesn't try and sound like a famous voice over guy and then cuts to a quick and quite slick shots of the name and logo for FCW and palm trees. So far, the production is way up over what OVW had.

-The announcers this week are Todd Grisham and Dusty Rhodes and they intro the show with all the usual "these are the future" lines.

1. Sheamus O'Shannesy vs. Ricky Ortiz- Sheamus is a very pal Irishman who was signed about a year or two ago when they were toying with the idea of brands in Europe and Mexico. We all know Ortiz and what he can...or more like, can't do. We get an old fashioned shoving match to begin the match...Ortiz showed some athletic ability by nipping up and then skinning the cat after he was tossed over the top rope. I guess WWE doesn't trust him yet and wants him to actually be moderately bland in the ring to contrast his outside the ring, over the top character. Ortiz his a single leg dropsault type move that won't make Paul London jealous...the fact that Ortiz has a push should though. Sheamus backdrops Ortiz over the ropes in the corner and Ricky hits the floor and ring steps. Sheamus quickly pitches Ortiz back in the ring and starts pounding on him with punches. Sheamus hits a running leg drop for a 2 count and then mounts Ortiz and throws some punches. Sheamus double underhooks Ortiz and delivers 3 knees to the chest/midsection and follows it up with a pin attempt but only gets 2. He then locks in a tighter pin attempt, but again, only 2. Sheamus catches Ortiz with a bearhug with Ortiz bites the head of the Irishman to get out of. They trade punches which Ortiz gets the better of. Ortiz drops kicks Sheamus back into the ropes and then hits a running cross body. Ortiz goes for a leg drop off the middle rope ("The Paradise Valley Jam?) but misses. Sheamus gets up and delivers a sit-out chokeslam and gets the 3 count.

After the match, Sheamus is interviewed at ringside by...I think that's Miss Angela...I'm still not totally up on the females in FCW. Anyway, Sheamus mocks Finlay and says that he's an embarrassment to real Irishmen. He says Finlay says he likes to fight, but Sheamus, "likes to win."

2. Evan Bourne vs. Afa (Manu)- Obviously these tapings are a few months old and the didn't update any of the announcing to correct the continuity issues. Afa showed a lot more here than he has so far on RAW. More agility such as nip ups and ability to work a faster pace. That, other than speaking, should be how they sperate him from Umaga once Umaga is back. Bourne starts out the match quickly with some take downs, but Afa eventually grabs a hammer lock on Bourne. Afa goes to kip toss Bourne but Evan lands on his feet. Bourne hits and drop kick and then a jumping back kick that gets him a near fall. Bourne then locks in a Fujiwara armbar that Afa breaks by getting to the ropes ("The Cerebral Samoan?"). Bourne goes to the top rope but gets crotched. Afa gets in the mount position and rains down some punches. Bourne is then hit with a sling shot driving his throat into the bottom rope. Afa hits a "Samoan Leg Sweep" and nips up showing his agility. He then hits the running/diving headbutt to the downed opponent Bourne. Bourne backs into the corner and Afa misses a Stinger Splash. Bourne breaks him down with a drop kick to the knee and then 3 kicks to the outer thigh and one across the chest/face of Afa. Bourne snaps off a rana and then hits a deja vu takedown (normally leading to the armbar) but Bourne decides it time to go high risk. He goes for the Shooting Star Press but Afa moves. Afa regains himself, picks Bourne up in a fireman's carry and then spins him out into a faceplant slam for the 3 count and the win.

4. Chris Jericho Promo- Jericho makes his way to the ring and gets a nice pop as he hadn't fully heeled 100% yet when this was taped. Also, he lives there so...Jericho immediately goes into calling the fans hypocrites and liars and how everyone in the FCW locker room are full of themselves and selfish like Shawn Michaels is...except one man...Nick Nemeth (glad you hitched you "true and honest" human being tag to a guy that just got suspended). Jericho calls out Nemeth (now Dirk Ziggler...at least, he was). Nemeth says what an honor it is to be in the ring with Jericho and that he has embraced the Jericho way of doing things (doh!) as opposed to guys in the back like Evan Bourne and TJ Wilson. Jericho then calls out Joe Hennig (Curt's son). Joe is a pretty big man and I've read decent things about his skills...but his mic work is awful. Jericho asked which way Joe wanted to go...the Jericho way or the HBK way. Joe said he didn't know what path he was going to take, but he wasn't going to follow a "loud mouthed punk like (Jericho)!" He has this delivery that sounds like he wants to have a deeper voice than he does. Jericho shoves Hennig who then shoves Jericho to the mat. Nemeth and Jericho than double team Joe and leave him laying. Wow...Why try and give a guy who is on his 3rd really bad gimmick in WWE (remember, he was "Kerwin White's" caddy) who went from being in shape to being ripped??? Hennig is greener than Tommy Noe's grass, but is said to be decent in the ring for how short of a time he has been there. He's a year away at least.

5. Brad Allen, Tyrone Jones and Jack Gabriel vs. Johnny Curtis, Gabe Tuft and Kevin Kiley- Well, Allen is gone from developmental, so I won't spend time on him. I know and like Johnny Curtis...but if Charlie Haas can't just be a regular wrestler, no way they'll have Johnny Curtis up. Curtis is so skilled on the mat and makes things look easy...he's just not flashy. He also is, and this counts for something in my book, and very good person. Allen and Tuft started the match...an armdrag, hiptoss combo into a quick one count. Curtis tagged in and had some well technically executed hip tosses and take downs on Tyrone Jones, who also tagged in. Dusty to us that Jones has "bad intentions." No idea what that means. Kiley and Gabriel tag in. They fight for a backslide and Kiley gets it but for only a one count. Kiley is caught in the corner 3 on 1. He fights out but Gabriel hits a dead lift sling shot german suplex and gets a two count. Allen tags in and enters the ring with a sling shot hilo onto Kiley for near fall. Kiley takes the heat for a minute or two longer and finally makes the hot tag to Curtis. Curtis comes in on fires throwing punches and takes down Allen with a big back drop. Thing break down and the illegal men brawl to the outside. Curtis nails a spinning heel kick and gets to cover for the win.

6. FCW Diva Twist-off hosted by Kelly Kelly- Not much to say, One of the Bellas was out there and she apparently got into it with (I think) Angela...then the other Bella came out to the surprise of the announcers that there was a twin (maybe at Smackdown Grisham should clue Tazz and JR in). The Bellas and Kelly did some more twisting. Ugh.

7. Florida Tag Team Title Match: "The Empire" Stu Sanders & Drew McIntyre (Florida Tag Team Champions) vs. Eddie Colon and Eric Perez- McIntyre still looks the same from his brief stint on Smackdown, but Sanders is MUCH smaller than he was in OVW. He's a tall guy from England who while in OVW was just chiseled. He's still in good condition, but there is a noticeable difference (He's also now listed as Stu Bennet on FCW's site). We know Eddie (Primo) Colon and Eric Perez is...well...the drizzling shits. Before the match, "The Empire" cut a promo to get heat and a USA chant (against the Puerto Rican team) and at this point they were already pushing the "ashamed of Carltio's actions deal with Eddie. To the match, Eddie and McIntyre started off. Drew got control and laid in some kicks that put Eddie down in the wrong corner. Sanders came in and applied a neck vice which Eddie got out of and made the tag to Eric Perez. Perez hit an ugly side suplex and then a version of the complete shot. Perez made a cover that was broken up by a distraction by McIntyre. Drew got tagged in and went to work on the less talented of the opposing team. Drew hits a snap suplex on Perez. After a short armbar, McIntyre tags Sanders back in and the deliver a double headbutt to Perez and Sanders makes to cover and gets a two count. Sanders applies a cravat to Perez to wear him down. Perez fights up and hits a slam and a lazy elbow. McIntyre comes in the knock Eddie Colon off the apron so he can't tag in. Finally Perez hits a game changing leg lariat and is able to make the tag to Colon. Colon comes in with his left handed punches and fiery offense. He hits a reverse cross body off the ropes for a two count. McIntyre gets Colon up to the top for a suplexplex but gets shoved off. Colon hits a tornado DDT off the middle rope and goes for a pin, gets two but is then stopped by Sanders breaking it up. Perez comes in and knocks Sanders over the top. McIntyre clotheslines Perez over the top; when McIntyre turns around, Colon hits him with The Code Breaker and gets the pin and Colon and Perez become Florida Tag team Champions again.

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