(NWA) FCW Young Lions Tournament 7-1-92

[cdw]

(NWA) Florida Championship Wrestling Presents: Young Lions Tournament. Live from The Bayfront Center, St. Petersburg, Florida. Bell Time: 7:30 P.M.


Match#1 First round match Young Lion Tournament
Erik Watts vs Ace Steel

Watts comes to the ring with a UWF T-shirt. The crowd goes nuts with boo's. Watts wants nothing to do with Steel. Every time Steel got a good move Watts leave the ring. After two times of this Steel gets mad in fllyes out of the ring onto Erik. Steel goes for a few pins getting a couple near falls. Ace climbs the ropes and goes for a moonsault, but Watts moves out of the way. Watts then hits a spinebuster. Erik then puts Steel into the SFT for the win. Winner of the match and advancing to the Semi-Finals Erik Watts.

Match#2 First Round of Young Lion Tournament
Bobby Walker vs Chaz Taylor
This is a good match with both men looking good. Walkers power over takes Taylor. Walker hits a powerslam on Taylor for the win. Winner of the match and avancing to the Semi-finals Bobby Walker.

Match#3 First Round of The Young Lions Tournament
Lizmark Jr vs Brett Como W/Lance Storm

Jr starts off fast, but Como was with him at every turn. Jr hits a couple of textbook dropkicks to take control. Over the next couple of minutes Jr stomps on the Leg. Jr hits a small package but Como counters after a couple near falls. Both men get to their feet. Como hits a wicked spinning heel kick for a second near fall. Commo puts Jr in a roll-up and held onto the ropes the three count. Winner of the match and advancing to the semi-finals Brett Como.

Match#4 First Round of the Young Lion Tournament
Doug Basham vs Rey Mysterio Jr
This was a quick match with the young Mysterio hitting a hurricanrana on Basham for the pin. Winner of the match and advancing to the semi-finals Rey Mysterio Jr.

-Intermission- At the intermission World Champion Ricky Steamboat is out signing pictures and program guide.

Match#5 Semi-Finals of the Young Lion Tournament
Erik Watts vs Rey Mysterio Jr

Watts comes out with the house Mic. Watts tells the crowd that his daddy the owner of the true wrestling promotion UWF says that Rey is not a wrestler. He says that Rey is a flying punk. Rey starts off like a bat with a vary of big moves. Rey makes one mistake and Watts take control with his power. Watts hits Rey with a spinebuster for a near fall. Watts goes for a suplex, Rey counters with a small package for the Win. Winner of the match and advancing to the finals Rey Mysterio Jr. After the match Watts hits Rey from behind. Watts then hits a powerbomb on Rey leaving in the middle of the ring.

Match#6 Semi-finals of the Young Lions Tournament
Brett Como vs Bobby Walker

Bobby Walker takes out the Como with his power. He hits a Powerslam for the pin. Winner of the match and advancing to the finals Bobby Walker.

Match#7 NWA World Heavyweight Title Match
Ricky "The Dragon" Steamboat vs Nightstalker W/ DDP

Steamboat wins the match with a crossbody. It was the good match and the big Nightstalker puts some good moves. Steamboat in the end proved why his is the best wrestler in the NWA. Winner of the match and still NWA World Heavyweight Champion Ricky Steamboat.

Match#8 Finals for the Young Lions Tournament
Rey Mysterio Jr vs Bobby Walker

Mysterio comes to the ring limping to the ring. Walker hits a big boot as soon as the bell rings for a near fall.Walker then hits another powerslam. Rey was two close to the ropes and puts his leg up . Bobby goes for another powerslam, but Rey counters with a arm drag. Rey gets his second wind using his speed to take control. Rey hits a crossbody off the top rope for a near fall. Both men get to is feet Rey hits a hurrucanrana for the 3 count.
Winner of the match and New Young Lions Champ Rey Mysterio Jr.
When Rey grabs the medal and starts playing to the crowd. As he walks to back Erik Watts comes out and jumps Rey Mysterio Jr again. Watts takes the Medal.

[somethingsavage]

Solid show. I really liked the appearance by Steamboat. Booking the World Champ to come in & face your top titleholder is the right way to go, especially this early on in your tenure. Neat way to have him out signing autographs & stuff during intermission, too. It's just a small detail, but I dig it.

Loved the story you told with the tourney. Rey battling against all odds & still coming out on top really puts him over in a big way with the fan base. He's the ultimate underdog after all, so he simply thrives in this role. The story with Watts taking exception to Rey being more of an acrobat than a "true wrestler" was just neat. I like the premise there. Watts feeling entitled (because of his name & his daddy's promotion) is just a cool idea to pursue.

All around, this sets up things nicely for the Young Lions concept. Rey as champ is fitting. It's a great springboard for his career & the title itself. Oh, and bonus points for making the title actually be a medal. I always liked that. It's not overdone, so it still feels unique when it's used from time to time.

I sort of wish more would have been done with Brett Como, but that's strictly my personal preference. Walker didn't seem to be the "right" guy to put in there against Rey at the end though. Can't place my finger on it, but I felt like giving Rey the "right" opponent in the finals would have really enhanced the drama of the whole thing.

In any case, great job. Looking forward to the future shows from Florida.

[Chief]

Super fun show. The Young Lions division is off to a fantastic start.

Rey Mysterio Jr. winning was the best possible outcome. The YLC could be his platform to get him noticed in the US and as it is, is a great springboard to introduce him.

The one thing that will be difficult for you is giving Rey opponents. I equate Rey to Sin Cara coming to the WWF. The Rey of 1992 was all speed and lucha craziness. He hadn't mastered the little guy vs. big guy match yet. To really showcase him you are going to need guys who can work the lucha style. That way he's able to get over the shit he does that no one else can do.

I feel like the right opponent for his first match would've been Lizmark Jr. I think patnering up with wrestlingsickness to get some Lucha guys sent up to you to feed to Rey would be a great thing. With all the great young talent you have, his style, his move set will set apart, he just needs the tools to show it.

With that being said, I think him vs. Erik Watts will be a fun feud. I'm loving the story you have going on with Watts so far. The kid always came across like an ass hole to me, so it's nice to see him play one for a change.

How Watts deals with Rey's speed will be fun to watch. I hope their feud is a slow burn feud because I'd really like to see Rey get more established with the American audience.

No shame in Stalker losing to the World Champ. Ricky Steamboat vs. Rey Mysterio would be hella fun to watch also.

This show accomplished a lot. I can't wait to see how you follow up on it.

[Deleted]

Great stuff. Pretty much agree with all the comments left here. Nice to see the Dragon with a big win here man. Seriously. dig it dude.

[shellshock]

Good tourney - 8 man field on one show is nice and tidy. Good spot for the Steamboat match. I liked the feel of the field, it had some randomness and unpredictability to it.

Where I was guessing a little bit having not checked any other shows is what drama and emotion was in the air. At the end, the obvious conclusion is Rey was the crowd favorite and Erik was not. I would not guess if any of the early matches were face vs. heel.

As far as springboarding Rey forward, I would say Lizmark Jr. and Como would make for good matches to come rather than the very rangy stiffs like Basham and Watts.

A good show that might have had been improved a bit with the fans being engaged either on this page or in the building. Rey winning was a good call, it was my only guess heading in.

[1wattsfan]

Throughly enjoying what you are going in the Sunshine State. And making Erik a heel is excellent.

[appstorm]

Watts feeling of entitlement to respect has been a nice way to generate his heat. Him taking the medal from Rey is a great way to generate and keep going a rivalry with Mysrerio, Jr. Great win by Steamboat. Can't wait to see how you deal with Basham.

Great stuff.

[Grape Ape]

Enjoyable show. Most of it is short, sweet and to the point. The Rey Jr. outcome was probably the way to go with the feud with Erik Watts being what is coming out of this tournament. Should be loads of fun because you've got a good handle on Watts that has been very entertaining. Good stuff coming out of the Sunshine State.