WWE Developmental Television Report
Florida Championship Wrestling: Week 3 Recap
Aired October 19, 2008
By Michael C. Grimaldi of http://www.carltonprescott.com

Because of the Tampa Bay Rays-Boston Red Sox ALCS game 7, episode 3 of Florida Championship Wrestling was joined in progress about 25 minutes into the show. Also, even from last week, a lot of the names of the FCW talent have been changed. Many haven't been on TV yet so it doesn't matter, but some have. I'll do my best to give some info on the changes and a little note about each new guy that appears in these reports.

The show comes on the air with "Handsome" Heath Miller and Joe Hennig vs. Jake Gabriel and Mike Kruel already in the ring for a tag team match. The commentators are Josh Matthews and Virgil "The Son of a Plumber." (Long way to go for a lame "Joe the Plumber" joke...I know)

(1) "Handsome" Heath Miller & Joe Hennig vs. Jake Gabriel (w/Alicia Fox) & Mike Kruel in a non-title match. Just a quick run down of the talent and their bios. Miller has been under contract for 2 years and was trained by Curtis Hughes apparently. Hennig is...well, Curt's son, Jack Gabriel is the former Steve Lewington from England who is on his second tour of duty in WWE developmental and was part of a UK edition of the "Angle Invitational" gimmick with Kurt Angle on Smackdown in 2005, and Mike Kruel is from New York and was trained by any number of individuals from ECWA's Jim Kettner to his own father, who was an indie wrestler. Now for the name game. As I mentioned, Gabriel used to be Steve Lewington...but he also used to be JACK Gabriel. However, (purely and assumption here) with JACK Swagger now on ECW, he needed to become Jake. Miller is a more confusing situation...He was "Handsome" Heath Miller, then he became Sebastian Slater when he won the tag titles with Henning (yes, I know last week The Puerto Rican Nightmares won the tag titles, but that taping was like...two months earlier, so now Miller...er...Sebastian...er...Miller and Hennig are champs), however now he's back to being Heath Miller. I have no idea what is going on!

Gabriel and Miller start off. A lot of people say Miller reminds them of Edge in 1998 because he's kinda tall, but not quite as lean or tanned and Miller has long red hair, not blonde. Still, I can kind of see the similarities. Gabriel knows Miller down with a big shoulder tackle and then starts posing (he's a jacked dude...Chris Masters like...without the early balding). Kruel gets pissed off at this and tags himself in. Kruel tries the shoulder tackle as well but Milled hits two deep arm drags to gain the momentum. Hennig tags in and they tag champs shoot Kruel into the ropes and both hit standing back elbows that knocks Kruel down. Hennig goes for a cover but only gets a 1 count. Hennig is distracted by Gabriel or Fox and turns his back on Kruel who runs up from behind with a knee to the back. Gabriel tags in and hits a gut wrench suplex on Hennig and starts to do an even goofier pose. Kruel tags himself in again and mocks the pose and calls Gabriel stupid. Hennig takes advantage of this dispute and when Kruel turns his attention to him, Hennig hits the Perfectplex for the pin.

[COMMERCIAL BREAK]

Back from commercial, Dusty and Josh Matthews talk about the fact that we've already seen Batista on tonight's show. So I guess he was on during the first 25 minutes. They also talk about a first of two #1 contender elimination matches that will pit Johnny Curtis against Eric Escobar (who last week as Eddie Colon's tag team championship partner, Eric Perez).

(2) Sinn Bowdee vs. Scotty Goldman. Well, we already know Goldman's name was changed from Colt Cabana. Maybe it they granted Carlito his release that wouldn't have had to have happened. Bowdee, "The Carnival Freak" is apparently coming to Smackdown as "Kizarney" doing pretty much the same gimmick. The crowd still chanted "Colt Cabana" for Goldman and much like the rest of his career, he's still doing jobs to people who have no right going over on him. Cabana used a lot of his European/Johnny Saint moves to avoid Bowdee in this relatively short match. Bowdee hit a running single leg drop kick on Goldman who was down on the mat against the ropes that Josh Matthews says he calls "The Baby Leg." I don't know if that's the stupidest or funniest move name ever. Goldman then did some elbows to the top of Bowdee's head that got Dusty's attention and then added the "flip flop and fly" to an elbow that Dusty marked out for. After trying to avoid Bowdee some more with his European style, Bowdee caught Goldman with a big lariat. He then hit, what Matthews said was called, the "Talula Bell," which looked kind of like he was going for Jimmy Jacobs' "The End Times" guillotine choke (double underhooks the arms and traps the head while facing his opponent and then drops to the mat) but instead of a submission, he uses it like a double underhook DDT. Anyways, whatever it was, it got him the win.

After the match, Tiffany (Teddy Long's PA on ECW on SciFi) interviewed Bowdee asking the insightful question: "How does it feel to win that match?" Wow! Great question. Bowdee says he just turned Goldman's life into a 3 ring circus (trust me, Cabana was already living in a 3 ring circus...goof nut). Then Bowdee started speaking in carny. (Shockingly Tiffany wasn't even very good at holding the mic close to him.) To the best of my knowledge, what he said was: "The duck quacked then the duck died." Tiffany looked lost.

[COMMERCIAL BREAK]

(3) Johnny Curtis vs. Eric Escobar (winner faces Drew McIntyre next week for #1 contendership to the FCW title). Early on the in match we got what over the years has been called the "indie standoff" where the guys each go for and then counter their opponents moves with the same move and end up in a standoff, usually (and in the case) when both guys go for dropkicks at the same time. This was hardly the most crisp indie standoff I have ever seen. Last week was the first time seeing Escobar (then Perez) for me, and I wasn't impressed. This week, I'm still not that impressed. He looks kinda clunky, if that's a word, in the ring. Curtis gained control of the match when Escobar came charging to the corner and Curtis moved and Escobar's shoulder went into the turnbuckle (not the ring post...that spot is a Smackdown specialty). Curtis went to work on the left arm and shoulder of Escobar applying a bunch of different arm submission/holds including a Fujiwara armbar, a top armbar and a hammerlock. Escobar made his comeback hitting a leg lariat and then a jumping "complete shot" and a cover which got him a two count. Curtis came back with a spinning heel kick that Escobar sold even though it barely grazed hi for a two count. Curtis hit a side Russian leg sweep and the ascended to the top rope. Escobar caught him but couldn't get a move off and Curtis hit a sunset power bomb, but still couldn't put Escobar away. Escobar then countered a Curtis suplex into a full nelson slam which he calls, "The Latin Temper" (does he really?) and got the three count. Escobar wins the right to face Drew McIntyre next week for a shot at FCW champion Sheamus O'Shaunessy.

The show ends with a video montage of the show, so apparently, he's what they aired during the part of the show that didn't air:

- T.J. Wilson defeated Nick Nemeth

- Drew McIntyre defeated Gabe Tuft (this may have been the first of the two "elimination to the #1 contenders" matches)

- Batista did a promo and Sheamus interrupted asking for an apology, then Sheamus sent Black Pain (not Black Reign or Bull Pain...sadly) to attack Batista but Pain took a spear.

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