February 15, 2008
– Alan Wojcik
On Friday February 15th Florida Championship Wrestling held its biggest show to date at the 2008 Florida State Fair. The legendary
"American Dream" Dusty Rhodes was in attendance for autographs with the fans. Before the event began the FCW President Steve Keirn
informed the fans they would be witnessing history tonight.
(1) In a triple threat match, "Thee Superstar" Christopher Gray defeated Tommy Taylor and Brandon "the Greek" Groom
Since becoming "Thee Superstar", Gray has made enemies in every town and he bitch slapped both his opponents before the bell. They
returned fire with slaps and European forearms before taking each other on as Gray cleared the cobwebs at ringside. Taylor got two with
a double underhook suplex but Gray broke up that pin. But Gray’s attempted head scissor was countered by Taylor into a monkey flip
and Groom hit Gray with a dropkick. Groom got two after a Saito suplex but once again Gray had good timing to stop the win. Groom went
to the apron but Taylor suplexed him back in the ring just as Gray tripped him. With Groom on the mat Gray hit a springboard moonsault
for two just as Taylor recovered to stop the win. Gray went for a German suplex but Groom blocked it and turned into a corner. But the two
of them got hit by Taylor off the top with a flip that led to a double German suplex. Groom recovered with a backbreaker for Taylor and he
dropped Gray on the top rope. But Taylor met the duo and brought both off with a power bomb. But when Groom thought he had the
match won after hitting Taylor with a neckbreaker like hold, Gray tossed him to the floor and Gray covered Taylor for the win.
(2) In a FCW Divas match, The Bella Twins (Nicole & Brianna) defeated Nattie Neidhart & Victoria Crawford
These four ladies have been beating each other up for months in singles and tag matches so someone was going to have made a huge
mistake to lose. Neidhart tried to bully the Bella’s but they were ready to fight and took it to her and Crawford. But the momentum
stopped cold when Neidhart grabbed Brianna from her corner. That was enough to allow Crawford a kick to the gut and the double
teaming and cheating began. Neidhart and Crawford stretched the referee’s five count as far as they could and kept him busy
keeping Nicole out of the ring as she tried to save her sister. Neidhart got two with a sitout slam and her frustration began to show.
Brianna used it to slip away and tag in Nicole who was ready to fight both Diva’s. In the end it was a sunset flip pin on Neidhart that
got the Bella’s the victory.
(3) "The Thoroughbreds" Johnny Curtis & Kevin Kiley defeated "South City Thriller" Hade Vansen & Sheamus
Curtis and Kiley made an effective unit keeping Vansen and Sheamus on the defensive with armbars and leg laces, which went against
the power game. But that ended when Sheamus distracted the referee and Vansen kicked Kiley right in his package. Sheamus and
Vansen made several tags wearing down Kiley but after Vansen hit a running knee to the corner and went for a clothesline, Kiley came
out and hit one of his own. That was the break Kiley needed to tag in Curtis who went into overdrive. Kiley and Vansen fought on the floor
the referee followed and didn’t see Sheamus level Kiley with the battle axe for the pin. But Dr. Tom Pritchard saw everything and
ringside and ordered a restart to the match which ended when Kiley hit Sheamus with a top rope cross bodyblock.
(4) Mighty Mikey defeated "Carnival Freak" Sinn Bowdee
The crowd was solidly behind the man from Mikecropolis and he went hold for hold with Bowdee. Mikey took Bowdee down with an
armbar and Bowdee tried to get out. This actually happened several times until Bowdee raked Mikey’s eyes and hit him in the
shoulder. Bowdee made a bullseye on the injury at one point tying Mikey’s wrist with the corner tag rope. But when Bowdee went to
hit a splash, Mikey back dropped him to the floor. The match came back to the ring where Bowdee slammed Mikey to the canvas and
stomped on his left hand before locking in an overhand wristlock. Mikey fought to his feet and backdropped Bowdee and hit a dropkick
followed by right hand punches with a bulldog. Mikey went up top and hit a moonsault for two. But Bowdee blocked a clothesline and hit a
cross armbreaker for two. Bowdee thought he had the win when Mikey missed a cross bodyblock but Mikey got to his feet and when
Bowdee turned around he was hit with a tornado DDT which got Mikey the hard fought victory.
(5) Ted DiBiase Jr. and Jake Hager survived the 23 man over the top battle royal
These 2 men faced each other in the Main Event for the new FCW Florida Heavyweight Champion. Tampa Bay Buccaneer Defensive star
Chris Hovan was a special ringside referee and he had to get involved when Afa refused to leave after being eliminated. The following
superstars were involved in the bout: "Carnival Freak" Sinn Bowdee, Gabe Tuft, Johnny Curtis, Mr. Yamamoto, Bryan Kelly, Brandon "the
Greek" Groom, Big Rob Terry, Matt O’Neal, "Stampede Kid" TJ Wilson, Sheamus, Rycklon, "Campus Legend" Brad Allen, "Thee
Superstar" Christopher Gray, "South City Thriller" Hade Vansen, Tommy Taylor, Billy Kidman, "The Natural" Nic Nemeth, Afa , Mighty
Mikey, Ted DiBiase Jr., Kevin Kiley, Jake Hagar and 7 Ft Giant Titan (w/ "Rough House" Ralph Mosca).
(6) "The Puerto Rican Nightmare" Eric Perez & Eddie Colon defeated Rycklon & Gabe Tuft
Before the match ECW GM Armando Alejandro Estrada made his way to ringside to talk to the fans about his team and their interest in
the WWE Tag Team championship match. Along with that he took some time to insult the Florida fans. Rycklon and Tuft weren’t
interested in what Estrada had to say, they came to kick some ass. Tuft and Colon started out exchanging armbars and bodyslams,
which Tuft controlled until Colon took some personal time on the floor. When he came back in Colon got a kick to the gut in before
tagging in Perez but Perez walked into Rycklon who came in with a power attack, trying to take Perez’s left arm home as a souvenir.
Tuft came back in to keep the offense going but Perez was able to get away and tag in Colon, who walked into a hip lock and a chinlock.
Rycklon & Tuft kept control until Perez got Rycklon’s attention long enough for Colon to sneak up and chop block Rycklon’s left
knee. Estrada demanded his team dissect Rycklon’s injury to its fullest extent. Their offense ended when Rycklon leveled Colon with
a shoulder block and he tagged in Tuft, who went right after both men. Tuft went for the submission win with the Boston Crab but the
referee was distracted by Estrada who tossed his cigar box into the ring. While this went on, Colon slid in and hit Tuft in the head with
Perez’s baseball bat. From there it was easy for Perez to roll over and cover Tuft for the win.
(7) Billy Kidman & "Stampede Kid" TJ Wilson defeated "The Natural" Nic Nemeth & "The Campus Legend" Brad Allen
Both teams have seen success in FCW in recent months and were looking to get themselves in the mind of FCW President Steve Keirn
for Tag Team championship gold. Nemeth thought he was BMOC by tossing his shirt in Kidman’s face, that was until Kidman used it
to wipe his crotch. With Nemeth not in a good mood and as Kidman tried to control the match, Nemeth did everything to slow it down from
saying his hair was pulled to saying Kidman and Wilson were outright cheating when they pulled down his ring tights. Allen came in but
he didn’t fair any better, being tossed from one side of the ring to the other and having Nemeth land face first in his crotch. Both men
went to the floor so Kidman and Wilson followed with planchas. But as Kidman came back onto the ring apron, Allen threw him back first
into the ring post. Allen and Nemeth made tags working over Kidman with submission holds but they couldn’t get him to quit. Allen
went for a move but when he came off the ropes he came back into Kidman and a dropkick which allowed Wilson to come back in with a
martial arts based attack. He hit Allen with a Northern Lights Suplex for two but Nemeth came in for the save. Kidman and Nemeth fought
on the floor as Allen had Wilson down for two. Wilson fought off Allen and got the submission victory with an armbar choke combination.
After Tuesday night’s lingerie contest, FCW decided to give the fans a Diva Best Cowgirl Contest hosted by 102.5FM The Bone’s
Cowhead and Galvin. The Diva’s involved were: Taryn Terrell, Angela Fong, Beverly Mullins, 2007 WWE Diva Search Winner Eve
Torres, Nattie Neidhart, Friday Night Smackdown’s Maryse and The Bella Twins (Nicole & Brianna). Just when it looked like the Bella
Twins were going to win, Neidhart protested their choice of pink and black claiming they were colors only for the Hart wrestling family. A
full out Diva brawl broke out to the delight of the fans.
(8) WWE World Tag Team Champions John Morrison & The Miz defeated "Handsome" Heath Miller & "Sterling" Steve Lewington
To the shock of some in attendance, Morrison and Miz were greeted like conquering heroes. Morrison took some time before the bout to
insult their opponents, specifically Miller who he claimed was a rip off artist. When the talking finally ended Miz and Miller locked up.
Actually Miz slapped Miller and got a side headlock and Miller escaped only to be kicked to the floor. Miller conferred with Lewington
before coming back in to face Miz who ended up on his butt after Miller threw him down using his hair. Morrison tagged in and was ready
to take on Miller but instead he faced off with Lewington who Morrison kicked in the gut during a pose down. Lewington went after
Morrison’s arm but got bodyslammed for his effort. Morrison and Miz made several tags keeping control of the match until Miz took
his eyes off Miller and got attacked as Lewington occupied Miz’s attention. Lewington and Miller made several tags wearing down Miz
as Morrison could only watch on from his corner. But it wasn’t enough as Miz was able to get some distance from Lewington and tag
in Morrison who went after both men. Morrison hit a standing shooting star pres but got two when Lewington broke it up. Morrison went
up top but when he came off his cross body block leveled the referee instead of Miller. This allowed "The Puerto Rican Nightmare" Eric
Perez & Eddie Colon to come out and attack the champions and it almost worked but Morrison kicked out of a pin. Miller and Lewington
went to revive the referee when Morrison leveled Miller with his championship belt. When the referee came around all he saw was
Morrison on top for the pinfall win. After the match Colon and Perez had words with Miller and Lewington which led to full out fight
between the four men. It took FCW official several minutes to break the fight up.
(9) Jake Hagar became the first FCW Florida Heavyweight Champion when he defeated Ted DiBiase Jr. He was awarded the
championship by FCW and WWE Legend "American Dream" Dusty Rhodes
Being a two time All-American in football and wrestling, Hagar tried to keep the match slow but that didn’t sit well with DiBiase who
went after Hagar with a backslide for two. DiBiase tried to keep Hager mat based with a side headlock and a head scissor. Hagar got to
his feet DiBiase went right for the Million Dollar Dream and Hagar quickly went for the ropes. Hagar got in a shot to the ribs and a
shoulder tackle but DiBiase hit a hip toss and dropkick to try for the Dream once more but Hagar countered out only to be slammed to the
mat. DiBiase went up top but Hager got to his feet and slammed him off to the mat. DiBiase got to his feet and went after Hagar but got
backdropped over the ropes and crashing to the floor. Hagar followed him out and threw DiBiase into the ringpost before coming back to
the ring for a two count. Hagar went on the offense working over DiBiase’s lower back with corner whips and slams but DiBiase
fought back with chest chops. But Hagar ducked one and got DiBiase in a rolling two count pin. DiBiase fought back with a sunset flip but
Hagar spun out so DiBiase got an inside cradle for two but Hagar got up quick and hit a knee lift. Hagar locked in a body scissor
submission with the help of the ring ropes. But the referee saw it and demanded a break. Hagar broke and went up top but DiBiase met
him and came off with a superplex, but was too weak to get the cover. Both men struggled to their feet to trade punches and it was
DiBiase who hit a clothesline for two. DiBiase went for a backdrop but Hagar saw it and kicked DiBiase but when he went to the ropes he
came back to a powerslam for two. DiBiase got to his feet and locked in the Million Dollar Dream but Hagar countered out and hit a
clothesline. Hagar went for a gutwrench suplex but DiBiase countered out into the Dream but Hager countered out again and got the
gutwrench once more to get the pinfall victory.
– Alan Wojcik
On Friday February 15th Florida Championship Wrestling held its biggest show to date at the 2008 Florida State Fair. The legendary
"American Dream" Dusty Rhodes was in attendance for autographs with the fans. Before the event began the FCW President Steve Keirn
informed the fans they would be witnessing history tonight.
(1) In a triple threat match, "Thee Superstar" Christopher Gray defeated Tommy Taylor and Brandon "the Greek" Groom
Since becoming "Thee Superstar", Gray has made enemies in every town and he bitch slapped both his opponents before the bell. They
returned fire with slaps and European forearms before taking each other on as Gray cleared the cobwebs at ringside. Taylor got two with
a double underhook suplex but Gray broke up that pin. But Gray’s attempted head scissor was countered by Taylor into a monkey flip
and Groom hit Gray with a dropkick. Groom got two after a Saito suplex but once again Gray had good timing to stop the win. Groom went
to the apron but Taylor suplexed him back in the ring just as Gray tripped him. With Groom on the mat Gray hit a springboard moonsault
for two just as Taylor recovered to stop the win. Gray went for a German suplex but Groom blocked it and turned into a corner. But the two
of them got hit by Taylor off the top with a flip that led to a double German suplex. Groom recovered with a backbreaker for Taylor and he
dropped Gray on the top rope. But Taylor met the duo and brought both off with a power bomb. But when Groom thought he had the
match won after hitting Taylor with a neckbreaker like hold, Gray tossed him to the floor and Gray covered Taylor for the win.
(2) In a FCW Divas match, The Bella Twins (Nicole & Brianna) defeated Nattie Neidhart & Victoria Crawford
These four ladies have been beating each other up for months in singles and tag matches so someone was going to have made a huge
mistake to lose. Neidhart tried to bully the Bella’s but they were ready to fight and took it to her and Crawford. But the momentum
stopped cold when Neidhart grabbed Brianna from her corner. That was enough to allow Crawford a kick to the gut and the double
teaming and cheating began. Neidhart and Crawford stretched the referee’s five count as far as they could and kept him busy
keeping Nicole out of the ring as she tried to save her sister. Neidhart got two with a sitout slam and her frustration began to show.
Brianna used it to slip away and tag in Nicole who was ready to fight both Diva’s. In the end it was a sunset flip pin on Neidhart that
got the Bella’s the victory.
(3) "The Thoroughbreds" Johnny Curtis & Kevin Kiley defeated "South City Thriller" Hade Vansen & Sheamus
Curtis and Kiley made an effective unit keeping Vansen and Sheamus on the defensive with armbars and leg laces, which went against
the power game. But that ended when Sheamus distracted the referee and Vansen kicked Kiley right in his package. Sheamus and
Vansen made several tags wearing down Kiley but after Vansen hit a running knee to the corner and went for a clothesline, Kiley came
out and hit one of his own. That was the break Kiley needed to tag in Curtis who went into overdrive. Kiley and Vansen fought on the floor
the referee followed and didn’t see Sheamus level Kiley with the battle axe for the pin. But Dr. Tom Pritchard saw everything and
ringside and ordered a restart to the match which ended when Kiley hit Sheamus with a top rope cross bodyblock.
(4) Mighty Mikey defeated "Carnival Freak" Sinn Bowdee
The crowd was solidly behind the man from Mikecropolis and he went hold for hold with Bowdee. Mikey took Bowdee down with an
armbar and Bowdee tried to get out. This actually happened several times until Bowdee raked Mikey’s eyes and hit him in the
shoulder. Bowdee made a bullseye on the injury at one point tying Mikey’s wrist with the corner tag rope. But when Bowdee went to
hit a splash, Mikey back dropped him to the floor. The match came back to the ring where Bowdee slammed Mikey to the canvas and
stomped on his left hand before locking in an overhand wristlock. Mikey fought to his feet and backdropped Bowdee and hit a dropkick
followed by right hand punches with a bulldog. Mikey went up top and hit a moonsault for two. But Bowdee blocked a clothesline and hit a
cross armbreaker for two. Bowdee thought he had the win when Mikey missed a cross bodyblock but Mikey got to his feet and when
Bowdee turned around he was hit with a tornado DDT which got Mikey the hard fought victory.
(5) Ted DiBiase Jr. and Jake Hager survived the 23 man over the top battle royal
These 2 men faced each other in the Main Event for the new FCW Florida Heavyweight Champion. Tampa Bay Buccaneer Defensive star
Chris Hovan was a special ringside referee and he had to get involved when Afa refused to leave after being eliminated. The following
superstars were involved in the bout: "Carnival Freak" Sinn Bowdee, Gabe Tuft, Johnny Curtis, Mr. Yamamoto, Bryan Kelly, Brandon "the
Greek" Groom, Big Rob Terry, Matt O’Neal, "Stampede Kid" TJ Wilson, Sheamus, Rycklon, "Campus Legend" Brad Allen, "Thee
Superstar" Christopher Gray, "South City Thriller" Hade Vansen, Tommy Taylor, Billy Kidman, "The Natural" Nic Nemeth, Afa , Mighty
Mikey, Ted DiBiase Jr., Kevin Kiley, Jake Hagar and 7 Ft Giant Titan (w/ "Rough House" Ralph Mosca).
(6) "The Puerto Rican Nightmare" Eric Perez & Eddie Colon defeated Rycklon & Gabe Tuft
Before the match ECW GM Armando Alejandro Estrada made his way to ringside to talk to the fans about his team and their interest in
the WWE Tag Team championship match. Along with that he took some time to insult the Florida fans. Rycklon and Tuft weren’t
interested in what Estrada had to say, they came to kick some ass. Tuft and Colon started out exchanging armbars and bodyslams,
which Tuft controlled until Colon took some personal time on the floor. When he came back in Colon got a kick to the gut in before
tagging in Perez but Perez walked into Rycklon who came in with a power attack, trying to take Perez’s left arm home as a souvenir.
Tuft came back in to keep the offense going but Perez was able to get away and tag in Colon, who walked into a hip lock and a chinlock.
Rycklon & Tuft kept control until Perez got Rycklon’s attention long enough for Colon to sneak up and chop block Rycklon’s left
knee. Estrada demanded his team dissect Rycklon’s injury to its fullest extent. Their offense ended when Rycklon leveled Colon with
a shoulder block and he tagged in Tuft, who went right after both men. Tuft went for the submission win with the Boston Crab but the
referee was distracted by Estrada who tossed his cigar box into the ring. While this went on, Colon slid in and hit Tuft in the head with
Perez’s baseball bat. From there it was easy for Perez to roll over and cover Tuft for the win.
(7) Billy Kidman & "Stampede Kid" TJ Wilson defeated "The Natural" Nic Nemeth & "The Campus Legend" Brad Allen
Both teams have seen success in FCW in recent months and were looking to get themselves in the mind of FCW President Steve Keirn
for Tag Team championship gold. Nemeth thought he was BMOC by tossing his shirt in Kidman’s face, that was until Kidman used it
to wipe his crotch. With Nemeth not in a good mood and as Kidman tried to control the match, Nemeth did everything to slow it down from
saying his hair was pulled to saying Kidman and Wilson were outright cheating when they pulled down his ring tights. Allen came in but
he didn’t fair any better, being tossed from one side of the ring to the other and having Nemeth land face first in his crotch. Both men
went to the floor so Kidman and Wilson followed with planchas. But as Kidman came back onto the ring apron, Allen threw him back first
into the ring post. Allen and Nemeth made tags working over Kidman with submission holds but they couldn’t get him to quit. Allen
went for a move but when he came off the ropes he came back into Kidman and a dropkick which allowed Wilson to come back in with a
martial arts based attack. He hit Allen with a Northern Lights Suplex for two but Nemeth came in for the save. Kidman and Nemeth fought
on the floor as Allen had Wilson down for two. Wilson fought off Allen and got the submission victory with an armbar choke combination.
After Tuesday night’s lingerie contest, FCW decided to give the fans a Diva Best Cowgirl Contest hosted by 102.5FM The Bone’s
Cowhead and Galvin. The Diva’s involved were: Taryn Terrell, Angela Fong, Beverly Mullins, 2007 WWE Diva Search Winner Eve
Torres, Nattie Neidhart, Friday Night Smackdown’s Maryse and The Bella Twins (Nicole & Brianna). Just when it looked like the Bella
Twins were going to win, Neidhart protested their choice of pink and black claiming they were colors only for the Hart wrestling family. A
full out Diva brawl broke out to the delight of the fans.
(8) WWE World Tag Team Champions John Morrison & The Miz defeated "Handsome" Heath Miller & "Sterling" Steve Lewington
To the shock of some in attendance, Morrison and Miz were greeted like conquering heroes. Morrison took some time before the bout to
insult their opponents, specifically Miller who he claimed was a rip off artist. When the talking finally ended Miz and Miller locked up.
Actually Miz slapped Miller and got a side headlock and Miller escaped only to be kicked to the floor. Miller conferred with Lewington
before coming back in to face Miz who ended up on his butt after Miller threw him down using his hair. Morrison tagged in and was ready
to take on Miller but instead he faced off with Lewington who Morrison kicked in the gut during a pose down. Lewington went after
Morrison’s arm but got bodyslammed for his effort. Morrison and Miz made several tags keeping control of the match until Miz took
his eyes off Miller and got attacked as Lewington occupied Miz’s attention. Lewington and Miller made several tags wearing down Miz
as Morrison could only watch on from his corner. But it wasn’t enough as Miz was able to get some distance from Lewington and tag
in Morrison who went after both men. Morrison hit a standing shooting star pres but got two when Lewington broke it up. Morrison went
up top but when he came off his cross body block leveled the referee instead of Miller. This allowed "The Puerto Rican Nightmare" Eric
Perez & Eddie Colon to come out and attack the champions and it almost worked but Morrison kicked out of a pin. Miller and Lewington
went to revive the referee when Morrison leveled Miller with his championship belt. When the referee came around all he saw was
Morrison on top for the pinfall win. After the match Colon and Perez had words with Miller and Lewington which led to full out fight
between the four men. It took FCW official several minutes to break the fight up.
(9) Jake Hagar became the first FCW Florida Heavyweight Champion when he defeated Ted DiBiase Jr. He was awarded the
championship by FCW and WWE Legend "American Dream" Dusty Rhodes
Being a two time All-American in football and wrestling, Hagar tried to keep the match slow but that didn’t sit well with DiBiase who
went after Hagar with a backslide for two. DiBiase tried to keep Hager mat based with a side headlock and a head scissor. Hagar got to
his feet DiBiase went right for the Million Dollar Dream and Hagar quickly went for the ropes. Hagar got in a shot to the ribs and a
shoulder tackle but DiBiase hit a hip toss and dropkick to try for the Dream once more but Hagar countered out only to be slammed to the
mat. DiBiase went up top but Hager got to his feet and slammed him off to the mat. DiBiase got to his feet and went after Hagar but got
backdropped over the ropes and crashing to the floor. Hagar followed him out and threw DiBiase into the ringpost before coming back to
the ring for a two count. Hagar went on the offense working over DiBiase’s lower back with corner whips and slams but DiBiase
fought back with chest chops. But Hagar ducked one and got DiBiase in a rolling two count pin. DiBiase fought back with a sunset flip but
Hagar spun out so DiBiase got an inside cradle for two but Hagar got up quick and hit a knee lift. Hagar locked in a body scissor
submission with the help of the ring ropes. But the referee saw it and demanded a break. Hagar broke and went up top but DiBiase met
him and came off with a superplex, but was too weak to get the cover. Both men struggled to their feet to trade punches and it was
DiBiase who hit a clothesline for two. DiBiase went for a backdrop but Hagar saw it and kicked DiBiase but when he went to the ropes he
came back to a powerslam for two. DiBiase got to his feet and locked in the Million Dollar Dream but Hagar countered out and hit a
clothesline. Hagar went for a gutwrench suplex but DiBiase countered out into the Dream but Hager countered out again and got the
gutwrench once more to get the pinfall victory.
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