(NWA) Florida Championship Wrestling 6-3-92

[cdw]

NWA Florida Championship Wrestling Presents: Championship Wrestling from Florida 6-3-92. Shown on the Sunshine Network at 10:30 A.M. Taped at the Tampa Sportatorium 0n 5-31-92.

The Show Opens with Gordon Solie sitting at the Action Desk with Florida Championship Wrestling behind him.

GS:" Welcome to another jammed packed show. Our main event will be for the Florida Heavyweight Title. Champion Nightstalker will face #1 Contender Dustin Rhodes. Also today we will here from NWA Rep Mike Graham. Lets get to the ring for our first match."

Match#1
The Canadian Bulldogs( Lance Storm & Brett Como) defeats Matt Hardy & Adam Copeland via pinfall. The Bulldogs live up their name. The Bulldogs win the match when they hit a double superkick on Hardy for the win.

A Promo for the 6-5-92 show at the Orlando Armory where the main event will be Jerry Lynn & Lighting Kidd will face Harlem Heat for the Florida TagTeam Title.

Match#2
Bobby Walker defeats Larry Oliver via pinfall. Walker uses his power to win the match with a powerslam. After a man jump into the ring and hits Walker from behind. Then this man hits a Hangmans Neckbreaker on Walker. The Mystery man walks to the Action Desk

GS:" I know who you are, and I do not want any trouble. I do want to know why you are here."

SA:" For those you do not know who I am i'm Stunning Steve Austin. The greatest wrestler in the world. I'm here for the Florida Heavyweight Title, its a stepping stone to the NWA World Heavyweight Title. Bobby Walker you was just at the wrong place wrong time."

Austin walks off the stage.

GS:" Well fans Steve Austin is here in Florida. Lets get to the ring for our next match.

Match#3
"The True Wrestler" Alex Porteau defeats Ace Steel via pinfall. Porteau puts on a wrestling clinic with various suplexs and drops. Porteau hits a textbook belly to belly suplex for the win.

(VTR) Of Dustin Rhodes winning the Battle Royal to become the #1 contender for the Florida Heavyweight Title.

Match#4
Calvin Knapp & Chaz Taylor & David Cash defeats Jeff Farmer & Lizmark Jr & Flash Flannagan via pinfall. this was a great fun six man match . All six wrestlers look good taking out each other with high risk moves. Knapp wins the match when he hits a face plant on Farmer for the win.

Promo for the 6-7-92 show at the Tampa Armory where Steve Austin will make his in ring debut.

NWA Rep Mike Graham walks to the Action Desk.

GS:" Right know I would like to welcome the NWA Rep Mike Graham. Mike it is good to see you what bring you out to Tampa Sportatorium .

MG:" Well Mr. Solie I have two big Anouncements. The first is we will have our first big Summer Show on 7-1-92 at the BayfrontCenter Arena, in St. Petersburg, Florida. The Main event will be World Heavyweight Champion Ricky Steamboat will face Whoever the Florida Champion is. In the upcoming weeks we will have more matchs. The next reason for me to be out here is for the announcement of the Young Lion Title Tournament. The Young Lion title is a showcase for the young wrestlers in the World today. The division will comprise of only 2nd year and Rookie wrestlers. This will be a good stepping stone for the future star to get ring knowedge. The Tournament will start next week, and the finals will be at the Bayfront show."

GS: " Thanks Mike I can not wait to see the Young Lions in action. We have one last break then I Main Event."

Match#5 Florida heavyweight Title Match
Dustin Rhodes defeats NightStalker W/ DDP via DQ. This was a great stiff match. Rhodes hits a bulldog on Nightstalker looking for the pin. DDP then gets in the ring hits the Ref with the title belt before the Three count. The Ref has to call for the bell.

GS: What a terrible way to end the show, Rhodes had the Florida Title won. Well see you next week. I'm Gordon Solie saying so long from the Sunshine state.

[Chief]

I really enjoyed this show from start to finish. Jam packed with action and I never felt bored.

I like how you showcased your talent WHILE setting up things for the future and giving us just a little to make up come back next week.

Stunning Steve is going to turn FCW inside out. I would love to just see him come back and beat people up. I enjoyed the wrong place line. Poor Bobby Walker doesn't stand a chance.

Youve got my interest super piqued for the Young Lions Cup. This could be the concept that makes FCW so different and unique from everyone else. I would suggest to use this concept similar to how Chikara does it with having a tournament each year where the winner only defends the title till the end of the year. And then you have the tournament and start all over again. It would keep you from having go into their third year with the title. Just a thought.

Kid and Lynn vs Harlem Heat sounds awesome. They are going to tear up your tag division.

The main event was great. Dustin Rhodes will do great things as your top baby face and the Nightstalker is a first good foil. DDP hitting the referee with the title belt sounds brutal. I'm sure we will get to see these two lock horns again.

Again this was a great first show. It was simple and easy to follow while showing us what you have planned. I'm psyched for the next show and the debut of Stunning Steve.

[Deleted]

Simple but effective. Great use of some of the younger talents out there. Nice bit of hype thrown to Austin, and good job hyping up coming events throughout the show.

I'm with Chief on the Chikara style concept. After all the title can still be defended throughout the year leading into the next tournament. Don't know if I would limit it to time in the business, then again that's easier to kayfabe than an age limit though.

Rhodes/Nightstalker feels like a place holder for Rhodes/Austin, nothing wrong with that though. It's off to a great start this far.

Super fun first how man.

[Chief]

To add to what Drew said, an annual tournament will give you something to build to each year. And if the concept is successful which I'm sure it will be, there is prestige in winning the tournament and being called the first YLC Tournament winner and so-on.

It's a very effective tool in promoting that star in the future plus a year or two down the road you have a ready made feud on who was the best YLC tournament winner.

[Grape Ape]

Gotta agree with above ... simple but effective format. A good start to things in Florida.

I like the idea of the Young Lions tournament which just by itself sets you up with all kinds of goodness as far as stoylines goes. Lots of things for you to draw from.

Stunning Steve is going to be your prime mouthpiece. If you don't let him talk, you will do yourself a disservice. If you don't feel comfortable writing his dialogue, by all means search youtube for some of his past work because I think you'll be able to get the character down.

While Stunning Steve is the Mouth of Florida, I think Dustin Rhodes can be your guy who gets it done in the ring.

Lots of good pieces here in Florida!

[somethingsavage]

Well I must agree with all the statements above. The format is simple but effective. The use of young talent feels crisp & keeps things at an energetic pace. The 6-man tag felt particularly exciting, and I like a lot of the talent you have lined up to perform here. The Canadian Bulldogs, huh? I'm a bit of a mark for Como, and Storm is forever a perennial favorite for me - so the combo of these two makes for stellar stuff, in my eyes. Smart move. They could really add a unique spark to your tag division.

Adam Copeland & Matt Hardy? Nice. In retrospect, seeing them paired together was just a neat touch. I know it's absolutely meaningless at the time, but I dig the subtle stuff like that. Seeing all these Canadians working down in Florida is pretty cool in itself though.

I must agree with all the recommendations & suggestions for the Young Lions tournament. I think that's the best way to go, ultimately. Kick things off with a tourney, have the winner defend all throughout the year, and then vacate it at New Year's. Then simply begin the process all over again. That keeps your whole "years in the business" format under control, without having to question how long your champ has been competing, etc.

Plus, as it was mentioned, this sets up fun possibilities - much later down the road - about who is truly the best Young Lion champion, etc. It's something I always felt like the WWE missed the boat on with past King of the Rings victors and stuff. It's basically a ready-made rivalry that you could always go to, with no problem. Either way, I'm immediately a fan of the concept. Just trying to get it set on the best track so that it'll stick around & function in the best way possible.

I'm such a mark for Dustin Rhodes. He was bringing his "A" game around this time in real life, and the kid could just WORK. He's a natural born performer, and it shows. The guy had all the tools & resources to be something bigger in the business, so you just know I hope to see him thrive here. You definitely have him set in the right spot. I instantly give you credit for that. A war between Dustin & Austin could be big business for this territory. Dustin, in general, is the perfect leading man - with tons of potential for you to call back on the American Dream's rich history in this area & all that.

Diamond Dallas Page assaulting the referee with a belt shot was a nice twist to the usual interference we're used to. It's a unique kind of cop-out finish, so I liked that small touch. Page is the kind of mouthpiece that could keep Nightstalker alive as your champ, at least temporarily. I think that's good, since it will make Dustin's eventual triumph feel bigger & more amplified as a result. Adds to the dramatic effect. And then (hopefully) comes Austin versus Dustin. ;D

Speaking of the Stunning One, I loved his initial appearance here. Our introduction to him was right on target, man. You kept it short & sweet. But I felt the impact of his words & actions immediately. I honestly hope you keep working on his dialogue. BY ALL MEANS, keep those promos coming. A lot of Austin's appeal hinges on that mic work, and I think it'd be totally detrimental to his run here if you didn't include plenty of trash-talk from the guy.

Good stuff. Looking forward to more of this promotion in the near future.

[appstorm]

Nightstalker was an interesting choice for your initial Florida champ but, seeing DDP get involved in the Rhodes match, it just may have what it takes after all. I am very excited to see Lynn and The Kid go against Harlem Heat. That should be a barnburner. Steve Austin oozed confidence even this early in his career. The Young Lions title is a concept that has a lot of promise. The details talked about in the feedback could make it even more special.

Boy, Florida just has that tridtional feel to it. Simple, yet exciting, show.

[wrestlingsickness]

I like the pairing of Lance Storm and Brett Como as the Canadian Bulldogs! It’s pairings like this of two guys who never teamed together but could (and should) have that makes fantasy wrestling the fun little hobby that it is! These two should go far in FCW, but with their limited mike skills it would make sense to get these guys a face manager to do the talking for them and make them a total package!

Oh and seeing the future best friends/bitter enemies team of Matt Hardy and Adam Copeland was a cute touch, and kudos for booking them realistically as preliminary talent!

Good debut for Stunning Steve Austin! Jumping the barricade and crashing the show is in keeping with any one of Austin’s many character personas. As good as he is at this point in real life, I’m not completely sure he’s ready to be the top heel of any wresting company, but I can easily buy him as a Heavyweight Title challenger, if not the champ just yet.

I’m cool with the limited descriptions for matches. It’s part of your style and it suits you, but there were some crucial details that were lacking. Your six man tag, for example, was a lot of fun, but I had no idea which team was the faces or heels, or if this was a face vs. face match up. Not knowing who to root for here was a glaring omission. On top of that, in your Main Event you failed to note which wrestler was the champion and it took a second read before I figured it out. All you needed was simple (c) after Nightstalker’s name or a closing sentence that said “Nightstalker retains the title.” With this board still in its formative beginnings, we’re going to be getting new readers every day who will not be up to speed with what’s going on in any given territory, and as writers we all need to make it easy for these newbies to jump on board and get up to speed. Just something to take into consideration for future reference.

I’m digging Mike Graham as your figurehead NWA Representative. The Graham name is synonymous with Florida wrestling, and it’s only fitting that Mike should end up here. While he may not have received much promo time during his career, anybody who’s watched his shoot interviews will agree that the man CAN talk. While he’s too old to be a full time wrestler, he’s still young enough to be able to step into the ring once in a while when the situation calls for it. Having Mike on hand should add a little spice to your storylines if you play him right.

I’m excited to hear that you’re bringing over the Young Lions Tournament concept that you started in WCFL over here in your new territory. As others have already echoed, with the wealth of young talent on your roster the tournament itself is rife with interesting possibilities and scenarios. As much as I love the YLT and its execution in the past, I’m hoping that you keep Lance Storm as far away from it as possible. As the winner of the previous two YLTs, I think it’s time for Storm to step aside and give someone else a chance. The other tourneys happened in a different fantasy universe, I know, but I still think you’d be better off breaking some new ground rather than covering the same ground all over again.

I’m a little torn on the Main Event. On one hand, I like Nightstalker as a member of the Diamond Exchange and Dustin Rhodes, despite his relative inexperience, is the right guy to be the top face of your company. On the other hand, the finish felt a little screwy to me. I can understand DDP trying to cause the DQ and save the title for his man, but why hit the referee with the belt and not Dustin? How is the referee even still conscious enough to call for the bell after getting walloped with a belt? To borrow some Jim Cornette terminology, if DDP hits the referee with the title belt and the referee is still alive, then that makes DDP a pussy! Good pairing, decent idea, lousy execution.

All in all, this was a decent show and a brisk read. For the most part, everything made sense and felt logical. Your no nonsense, straight laced righting approach fits in well with Florida (well, Florida when Dusty and Sullivan aren’t booking), and it’s a nice contrast to some of the more lively booking styles we’re seeing in USWA and KAW. Florida is off to a decent start, and hopefully it only goes up from here!