FCW TV Report
April 15, 2012
Taped in Tampa, Fla.
Report by Matt Brummitt, PWTorch contributor

FCW opens this week with a three-man announce team of Chris Russo, William Regal, and Jim Ross. They begin the proceedings by hyping tonight’s main event, a “tapout match” between James Bronson and Dean Ambrose (Jon Moxley). Jim Ross says that tonight we’ll find out who’s really tough and wants to survive. Regal keeps silent due to his ongoing feud with Ambrose.

1 -- C.J. PARKER & XAVIER WOODS (Consequences Creed in TNA) & JASON JORDAN vs. BRAD MADDOX & COREY GRAVES & JAKE CARTER

Wasn’t C.J. Parker Pamela Anderson’s character in Baywatch? Before the match starts, Abraham Washington comes out in a suit and sporting a cane. Washington trash-talks Woods & Co. before addressing the crowd. He refers to himself as the kingpin of Florida Championship Wrestling. He says he represents the best talent the organization has to offer before introducing Brad Maddox and the new tag champs Corey Graves (Sterling James Keenan) and Jake Carter.

Woods and Maddox start. Woods gains control and there are a few quick tags in the first minute for both sides as control shifts quickly between the teams. Ross notes how Graves and Carter are talented and have potential, but their lifestyle may be a problem as they like to live life in the fast line. Parker and Jordan hit a double suplex on Carter, then Jordan follows up with some offense on Maddox. As Jordan is distracted, Carter throws him out of the ring.

Maddox is tagged in and applies a Camel Clutch on Jordan. As Jordan gets to his feet, Maddox charges at him, but a low bridge sends Maddox out of the ring. Jordan hits another low bridge, this time sending out Graves. He then follows up with an elbow on Carter, but Maddox intervenes before he can make a tag.

Jordan eventually frees himself and gets the tag to Woods (Consequences Creed), who hits the ring with some fast offense including a nice roundhouse/duck/sweep combo followed up by an Honor Roll (a forward roll spring into a clothesline) on Carter. Teams from both sides enter the ring, but everyone except Carter and Woods end up on the outside. Woods hits Carter with the Lost in the Woods (a sliding reverse STO), which is good for the three.

WINNERS: Parker & Woods & Jordan (Woods over Carter).

MATCH REAX: Standard six-man affair with the finish seeming a bit rushed. Parker didn’t get much ring time, Jordan’s still quite green, and Woods is still fun to watch albeit not really having much time to shine. Maddox, Carter, and Graves are all pretty solid and played their roles well, though it wasn’t a great advert for the new tag champs with one of its members being dispatched quite easily. However, I like the look and attitude of Graves & Carter and hope they get a good run with the belts.

Russo plugs FCW’s first “tapout match” later tonight.

2 - MIKE DALTON vs. SAKAMOTO

Mike Dalton was FCW champ for a week in what was a bit of an underdog story last month. Now, he gets to face Lord Tensai’s handler, Sakamoto. Last time I saw Sakamoto, he was kicking John Cena. I presume this taping was before Tensai debuted, as there was no mention of him during Sakamoto’s entrance.

Dalton starts on top with a grounded hammerlock on Sakamoto. The pace steps up as Dalton hits a spinning elbow. Sakamoto turns the tables by hitting some pretty loud chops on Dalton before grounding him with the headlock. Dalton briefly fights back before running into one of Sakamoto’s kicks, followed by a headbutt. Dalton again fights back, but Sakamoto responds with an inverted atomic drop and a neckbreaker for a two count. Sakamoto hits some more kicks before going to the top rope. Dalton gets his knees up and throws some shots to Sakamoto’s sternum and finally gets to his feet.

Dalton gains a bit of momentum by hitting a clothesline and a spinning heel kick. Dalton hits a running elbow to the corner, but Sakamoto blocks an implant DDT, then responds with shots to Dalton’s throat. Dalton manages to finally block a shot and hits another spinning heel kick, which is followed up by an implant DDT. This time he’s successful and picks up the three count.

WINNER: Dalton via pinfall.

MATCH REAX: This match is the default for Mike Dalton now. He takes a beating, but manages to fight back and win. When you combine this with his long blonde hair and shiny trousers he’s essentially an old-school babyface. Not that there’s anything wrong with that. It will be interesting to see if he can get back into the FCW title picture, as Tyler Black name-checked him last week when discussing challengers, and this week he got a clean win over a guy who was just called up to the main roster (albeit as a sidekick).

Russo plugs the main event again.

A vignette airs for Adam Mercer. It starts with a side profile of Mercer in dark lighting wearing a black vest and with a shaved head. He says that WWE is all about entertainment, but he’s about to change that.

VIGNETTE REAX: Short but effective vignette for Mercer, and I liked the line he used. It was not quite as cool as Husky Harris’s last week, but that’s not really a criticism. Apparently Mercer was Evan Singleton from the CZW academy.

3 -- FCW Divas champion RAQUEL DIAZ (Shaul Guerrero) vs. AUDREY MARIE -- FCW Divas Title match

Audrey Marie apparently used to be an accountant. I’m an accountant! Maybe I could be a future FCW Diva. Anyways, Marie takes Diaz down with a headlock to start, but Diaz reverses it into a head scissors. Diaz throws Marie into the corner and then pulls her head down to the mat. After a two count, she hits Marie with a baseball slide, which knocks her to the outside. The Divas trade slaps before Marie pushes Diaz into the steps.

As the Divas return to the ring, Diaz regains control and applies the second Camel Clutch of the evening. Diaz likes to scream a lot. Marie reverses and gets to her feet and attempts a scoop slam, which Diaz reverses into a cradle for a two count. Diaz hits some nice forearm shots and follows it up with a shoulder block. Diaz goes for what may have turned into a Gory Bomb, which Audrey Marie blocks. Diaz manages to execute a roll-up and grabs the tights for the 1-2-3.

WINNER: Diaz via pinfall to retain the FCW Divas Championship.

MATCH REAX: Okay Divas match. I think Diaz has potential, especially with her family links. She hit some good-looking forearm shots, too.

4 -- JIRO vs. BIG. E. LANGSTON

WWE stereotypes are ridiculous - Jiro comes out with a fan and a karate kid bandana. Unbelievable. Big E. is billed at “over 300 lbs.," and Ross duly asks what that means. Do they not have scales in Florida? They talk up Langston’s weightlifting background. Langston was the guy in the Raw segment where Cena visited a gym and cheered on Langston during a bench press.

Langston is wearing a very fetching purple singlet. Regal says he’d love to see Mark Henry mentor Langston. Ross agrees. Langston pushes Jiro about and then hits some knees to the mid-section. He charges Jiro in the corner and puts him on his shoulder before drooping out into a cutter style move (or the Big Ending as he calls it). Pin. 1-2-3. Langston wins. Very short match.

WINNER: Langston via pinfall.

MATCH REAX: Good squash for Langston. I disliked Jiro’s stereotypical character, but what else can you expect from WWE.

Russo says Kassisu Ohno (Chris Hero) is in action next.

FCW cut to a repeat of the Bray Wyatt (Husky Harris) vignette from last week. This is a great vignette worth a repeat. If you want the full breakdown of it, check out last week’s report!

5 -- KASSIUS OHNO (Chris Hero) vs. BENICIO SALAZAR

Benicio Salazar comes out wearing white boots, white pants, a white mask, and a white cape. I love capes. WWE loves stereotypes. Everyone wins! Ohno is out wearing a black zip-up jacket, in similar attire to his Chris Hero gimmick. Regal notes that he used to be “a fat lad,” but he’s got into shape. He certainly looks different to the guy who feuded with Punk in IWA: Mid South all those years ago.

Ohno opens up with a trip and some stomps. He then hits a jawbreaker and puts Salazar in the corner, where he throws some kicks and chops. Salazar fights back and hits a huricanrana followed by a corner monkey flip and a dropkick. Ohno blocks a second monkey flip and then hits the Rolling Elbow! That’s the best finisher in wrestling. And, it’s good for the pin.

WINNER: Ohno via pinfall.

MATCH REAX: Short match, but really fun while it lasted. Salazar looked like he knows what he’s doing and Ohno definitely knows what he’s doing.

6 -- DEAN AMBROSE (Jon Moxley) vs. JAMES BRONSON -- Tapout match

Bronson out first in his sleeveless hoodie. He looks like a cross between Bully Ray and C.W. Anderson. Russo says this is one for the MMA fans. Regal notes how he is a former member of Xtreme Couture.

Ambrose comes straight into the ring and unloads on Bronson, but Bronson slams down Ambrose and transitions into full mount before ground-and-pounding, Ambrose which he then transitions into a reverse armbar. They are both back on their feet as Bronson throws kicks in the corner. Ambrose reverses a suplex attempt into an armbar, which Bronson in turn reverses into an inverted cross arm-breaker. I don’t think I’ve ever seen that move before.

Ambrose escapes and briefly gets into full mount himself. As they get to their feet, Ambrose signals for a Regal Knee, but misses (a recent element of the Ambrose Regal feud has been Ambrose using Regal’s arsenal) and Bronson hits an exploder suplex.

Bronson misses a spinning clothesline and Ambrose hits the Regal Knee, then applies the Regal Stretch. Regal gets up and leaves the arena while the hold is applied. Bronson can’t hold out any longer and taps out, giving Ambrose the win.

WINNER: Ambrose via "tapout" submission.

Post-match: Ambrose seems angry that Regal left and follows him out of the arena. Ambrose is shouting, “You broke my heart,” in the back. Ambrose faces the camera and says, “I thought you were like me but you’re not. You’re just like everybody else.” He says Regal took away his re-match like the drugs that took away his mom, the cops that took his dad, and the social services that took away his little cousin.

While pointing around him, he says this is all he has and how Regal broke his heart today, so he will rip out Regal’s heart and throw it against the wall. Show closes.

MATCH REAX: This was great while it lasted, but it was too short. FCW managed to fit six matches into an hour-show, which is great, but the downside is that this match didn’t reach its full potential. Bronson has talent and I really like his MMA style.

As I’ve said before, Ambrose is gold. He was great in the ring and great in the show-closing promo. The feud between Ambrose and Regal l is really unique and both participants have been great. I just really hope that the payoff is worthy of the build.

Any comments or questions please comment below or email me at mvbrummitt@googlemail.com

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

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