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Florida Championship Wrestling

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This is an old revision of this page, as edited by 70.119.142.53 (talk) at 03:29, 14 October 2008 (→History: MINOR EDIT, "They're" replaced with "Their" in sentence about television program). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

This article is about the WWE developmental territory. For the promotion that operated from 1961-1987, see Championship Wrestling from Florida.
Florida Championship Wrestling
AcronymFCW
Founded2007
StyleProfessional wrestling
HeadquartersTampa, Florida
Founder(s)Steve Keirn
Owner(s)Steve Keirn
ParentWorld Wrestling Entertainment
WebsiteFCWwrestling.com

Florida Championship Wrestling (FCW) is a professional wrestling promotion based on the former independent, Championship Wrestling from Florida promotion, which operated from 1961 until 1987.[1] Currently, the promotion serves as the official developmental territory for World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE).[2][3]

History

The promotion, in its current form, was started by Steve Keirn in 2007[4] to be WWE's second developmental territory when they ended their relationship with the Georgia-based Deep South Wrestling in early 2007.[5] It became their sole developmental territory in early 2008 when they ceased affiliation with Ohio Valley Wrestling.[3]

FCW logo (2007–2008)

FCW's debut show was on June 26 2007 at Tampa, Florida's Dallas Bull. A 21 man Battle Royal was held during the show, to crown the first ever FCW Southern Heavyweight Champion.[6] The next year the FCW Florida Heavyweight Championship was introduced,[7] with Jake Hager becoming the first champion at a February 15 show after surviving a Battle Royal and defeating Ted DiBiase, Jr..[8] The FCW Florida Tag Team Championship was also introduced in February, with the Puerto Rican Nightmares (Eddie Colón and Eric Perez) beating Steven Lewington and Heath Miller to win it in the finals of a one night tournament.[9] The singles titles were later unified, keeping the "Florida Heavyweight" name.[10]

FCW currently runs shows every Tuesday at Bourbon Street nightclub,[11] as well as spot shows on other nights at other venues in and around the Central Florida area. Their weekly television program debuted on brighthouse networks sports channel as of October 5, 2008 and can be seen every Sunday at 6 PM.[12]

On July 7 2008, WWE confirmed that FCW was based on the original independent, Championship Wrestling from Florida promotion, which operated from 1961 until 1987.[1]

Champions

Championships Current champion(s) Date won Date aired
Florida Heavyweight Championship Sheamus O'Shaunessy September 18 2008 N/A
Florida Tag Team Championship Sebastian Slater and Joe Hennig September 11, 2008 N/A
Florida Women's Championship TBD

Defunct championships

Championships Last champion(s) Date Disbanded Notice
FCW Southern Heavyweight Championship Jake Hager 2008 Unified with FCW Florida Heavyweight Championship.[10]

Former Personnel

  • Afa, Jr.(Afa Anoa'i, Jr.) - Moved up to RAW brand.
  • Jack Swagger (Jake Hager) - Moved up to ECW brand.
  • Brie Bella (Brianna Garcia) - Moved up to SMACKDOWN brand.
  • Ricky Ortiz (Richard Young) - Moved up to ECW brand.
  • Big Rob (Rob Terry) - Left the WWE quietly.
  • Gavin Spears (Ronnie Arniell) - Moved up to ECW brand.
  • Scotty Goldman (Scott Colton) - Moved up to SMACKDOWN brand.
  • Evan Bourne (Matthew Korklan) - Moved up to ECW brand.
  • Charles Evans - Released from developmental contract
  • Jamie Tucker - Released from contract (Was referee)
  • Maryse (Maryse Ouellet) - Moved up to SMACKDOWN brand.
  • Primo Colon (Eddie Colón) - Moved up to SMACKDOWN brand.
  • Natalya (Natalie Neidhart) - Moved up to SMACKDOWN brand.
  • R-Truth (Ron Killings) - Moved up to SMACKDOWN brand.
  • Nic Nemeth - Moved up to RAW brand.
  • Chet Douglas (Neil Bzibziak) - Released from developmental contract
  • Ryan Braddock (Brad Bradley) - Moved up to SMACKDOWN brand.
  • Silas Young - Released from developmental contract
  • Apollo (Germán Figueroa) - Released from developmental contract
  • Val Venis (Sean Morley) - Went back to RAW brand.
  • Chris Gray - Released from developmental contract
  • Tommy Taylor (Steve Taylor) - Released from developmental contract
  • Shawn Osborne (Shawn McGrath) - Released from developmental contract
  • G-Rilla (George Murdoch) - Released from developmental dontract
  • Robert Anthony - Released from developmental contract
  • Kevin Keenan - Moved up to ECW brand.
  • Ted DiBiase Jr. - Moved up to RAW brand.
  • Derrick Linkin (Derrick Neikirk) - Released from developmental contract
  • Aaron Davis - Moved up to SMACKDOWN brand.
  • Matt Cappotelli - Contract expired and left WWE.
  • Balls Mahoney (Jonathan Rechner) - Went back to ECW brand, but got released from contract on April 28, 2008.
  • Dave Taylor - Went back to SMACKDOWN brand, but got released from his contract on April 28, 2008
  • Timmy Baltimore - Contract expired and left WWE. (Went back to OVW)
  • Rycklon (Rycklon Stephens) - Moved up to SMACKDOWN brand.
  • Brad Allen (Mariusz Puczko) - Released from developmental contract
  • Daniel Rodimer - Released from developmental contract to pursue a separate career.
  • D-Lo Brown (Accie Conner) - Went back to RAW brand.
  • Brian Cage - Never debuted and left the WWE.
  • James Curtis (Kurt Sellers) - Was moved up to ECW brand, but got released from his contract on August 8, 2008.
  • Reid Flair (Reid Fliehr) - Never debuted and left the WWE.
  • Kofi Kingston (Kofi Sarkodie-Mensah) - Moved up to RAW brand.
  • Chris Harris - Was moved up to ECW brand, but got released from his contract on August 7, 2008.
  • Amy Hennig - Never debuted and left the WWE.
  • Johnny Jeter - Left the WWE quietly.
  • Stevie Richards (Michael Manna) - Went back to ECW brand, but got released from his contract on August 15, 2008.
  • Mondo (Michael Brendli) - Released from developmental contract following DUI arrest.
  • Chris Rombola - Never debuted and left the WWE.
  • Nick Patrick - Released after several months of inactivity.

See also

References

  1. ^ a b "Florida Championship Wrestling unveils new arena in Tampa, Fla". World Wrestling Entertainment. 2008-07-07. Retrieved 2008-07-08. From the birth of the promotion in the 1960's, until 1987, "Florida Championship Wrestling" was regarded as one of the premier wrestling territories in the country...Florida Championship Wrestling is now an official developmental territory of World Wrestling Entertainment. FCW and the WWE are proud to bring back Florida Championship Wrestling.
  2. ^ "About page". Florida Championship Wrestling. Retrieved 2007-10-24.
  3. ^ a b "WWE Ceases affiliation with Ohio Valley Wrestling". WWE Corporate. 2008-02-06. Retrieved 2008-02-06.
  4. ^ Fox, Geoff (2007-09-08). "Area Wrestling Will Continue Under A New State Banner". The Tampa Tribune. Retrieved 2007-10-24.
  5. ^ "WWE ends relationship with DSW". WWE. Retrieved 2007-10-24.
  6. ^ "FCW 2007 results". Online World of Wrestling. Retrieved 2007-10-24.
  7. ^ Wojcik, Alan J. "Results from Florida on 2/5". Online World of Wrestling. Retrieved 2008-04-06.
  8. ^ Wojcik, Alan J. "Results from Tampa on 2/15". Online World of Wrestling. Retrieved 2008-04-06.
  9. ^ Wojcik, Alan J. "Results from Florida on 2/23". Online World of Wrestling. Retrieved 2008-04-06.
  10. ^ a b "FCW Southern Heavyweight Title". Wrestling-Titles. Retrieved 2008-04-06.
  11. ^ "Events". Club Bourbon Street. Retrieved 2007-10-28.
  12. ^ Wrestling with the future (News report). Tampa, Florida: WTVT. 2007-12-06. Retrieved 2007-12-07.
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