411’s FCW TV Report 03.29.09

The views and opinions expressed herein are those solely of the author and may not necessarily reflect those of the rest of the human race.

Hey there and thanks for checking back. I know I missed last week (what else is new?); had some issues crop up I had to take care of (I repeat…), but we’re back for more from Tampa. And yes, I actually pried myself off of my Xbox 360 (Gamer Tag = MM411 if you want an easy victory online – my motto is “Enhancement talent” for a reason) long enough after dealing with all that to get this done.

I decided to do something different. You notice the date is a little far back; I figure I have 2 shows to make up, and this one, as you’ll see, is kind of important. I plan on knocking the most recent out in a couple days. Until then, though, let’s get right to the action.

FCW – 03.29.09

Opening clips play and Josh Matthews and Dusty Rhodes welcome us to the FCW Arena where TONIGHT: Joe Hennig challenges Eric Escobar for the FCW Title!

Justin Angel vs. Sebastian Slater

Angel is making his TV debut here for FCW and Edge 2.0 Slater is making his return here after 4 months out with a torn meniscus. He starts off working out some of the kinks by working Angel with a basic style. Angel responds with strikes, but Slater goes back to his more impact-based style to combat that and send Angel outside. Angel pulls Slater out with him and smartly goes after the knee.

Back in the ring, Angel keeps up the attack on the weak spot. Some simple stomps destabilize it before Angel torques it against itself. Angel makes the mistake of slowing his assault to talk some trash and Slater makes his comeback starting with a spinebuster. High back body drop by Slater (with the knee seemingly perfectly fine) gets 2 before Slater pours on the high-impact offense to weaken Angel’s torso and back for the ultimate result…

Finish comes when Slater hits Sweetness (jumping reverse neckbreaker) for the pinfall victory. Inconsistent selling of the knee hurt this one, but overall this wasn’t bad. Angel shows some promise.

Post-match, Slater takes the mic to declare that he’s BACK! He’s aiming for the top, and there isn’t ANYone that’ll get in his way. He – yeah, you can see this coming – challenges the winner of Escobar/Hennig later this evening to take us to commercial.

Back to

Drew McIntyre vs. Chris Logan

Thank God they’re spelling Logan’s first name right now. McIntyre opens up by mowing down Logan with power and daring him to do something about it. Logan does – using his wrestling acumen to spin McIntyre around into a headlock, and then continuing to befuddle McIntyre with more of the same. McIntyre turns things around by knocking Logan out of a springboard position. McIntyre, switches from cunning (now that he’s ion the lead) to power once again, going after the back and neck of Logan. Logan tries escaping once, but McIntyre is a little too big for all that quite yet. Logan goes with what he knows for a second attempt, and succeeds this time in escaping, handing out some impact of his own mixed in with his technical attack. McIntyre gets desperate with a corner splash and Logan turns the tide but McIntyre, after a bit of more back-and-forth, wraps this one up…

Finish comes when McIntyre steps out of a legsweep attempt to hit the Scot Drop for the pinfall victory. McIntyre is looking better and better over the past few weeks; hope he keeps this up. Logan, meanwhile, sho0uld keep up the “multi-move paragon” gimmick; that can take him places. McIntyre celebrates to take us to commercial.

Back to

Trent Beretta & Caylen Croft vs. Tyler Reks & Johnny Curtis (c) – FCW Tag Team Championship Match

I dearly hope that Beretta & Croft look better than they did last week. Curtis and Beretta start things off by feeling each other out. Curtis lets his athleticism and impact take him to the early lead before tagging in Reks. Reks goes after the arm, but Beretta gets to Croft. Croft in to punch the snot out of Reks, but Reks goes with his agility to escape that. Curtis back in to continue his previous assault but gets caught in the wrong corner once again. Beretta in again to take more of the same, but escapes Curtis’s attack by sending him high and outside. Oof. Beretta tags in Croft to do some more damage and bring Curtis back in.

In the ring, Beretta and Croft simply opt for beating Curtis down in their corner. No holds or moves or anything, just a lot of stomping and punching. And kicking. Woop, wait – there’s some shoulder blocks in the corner. At least their attacks seem to have a central target in Curtis’s ribs. Beretta comes off the ropes and he and Curtis knock heads and Curtis almost gets the tag, but Croft smartly cuts off Reks. Curtis, probably more resilient than Beretta and Croft realize, finally makes it to the corner a short bit later and Reks is in to clean house! Reks takes advantage of Croft coming off the ropes to hit the mid-section, but Beretta stops the pin attempt. Another similar sequence takes place and, finally, Beretta gets a little too frustrated for his own good…

Finish comes when Beretta, after Reks has Croft covered, nails Reks with the title belt, causing the disqualification. I’m really glad the title switch didn’t happen here; Beretta and Croft seriously need some work before they hit that level. They looked a little better here than last week, but still a ways to go.

The FCW Title match for tonight is hyped before we go to commercial.

Back to Steve Keirn’s plug for Metropolitan Ministries. 2002 N Florida Ave. Tampa, FL 33602.

Yoshitatsu vs. Lennox McEnroe

Yoshitatsu takes the mic (!) and tells a story about his daughter I don’t quite get. Basic point, his daughter is his life, and it’s for her that he’ll be a champion in FCW.

Yoshitatsu opens up with the martial arts to intimidate McEnroe, but wrestles him down before he truly opens fire. McEnroe responds by going after Yoshitatsu’s head, knocking him down (and almost senseless). McEnroe stays with the striking attack and Yoshitatsu keeps escaping and turning it around with strikes of his own. Yoshitatsu targets the head and does so for a reason…

Finish comes when Yoshitatsu ties up McEnroe in an octopus-esque move for the submission victory. McEnroe looked okay here; not a chance to show much. Hope they take this “dedicated to his daughter” story with Yoshitatsu – who continues to look really good – somewhere and not relegate him to a comedy act.

Our main event for the FCW Title is next – but Alex Riley doesn’t care who it is. All he needs is once chance at that title and he’s bringing it home. Riley’s promo takes us to commercial.

Back to

Joe Hennig vs. Eric Escobar (c) – FCW Heavyweight Championship Match

I keep hearing the term “big fight feel” used for matches that don’t really have it. Ironically enough, this one does – and no one says a word about it.

Lock-up to start, leading into some chain-wrestling that no one gets the better of. Both try again and Escobar takes a slight lead with his size advantage but Hennig gets the better of him with his agility, sending Escobar outside before the commercial.

Back to Hennig still in control with the rear chinlock, but Escobar escapes and hits the neckbreaker. Escobar picks the neck and Hennig’s (previously injured) right shoulder as his targets. Very smart, but not mean – Escobar seems intent on weakening the area, but also taking the oxygen out of Hennig instead of injuring him. Escobar goes for an elbow off the second rope and misses, giving Hennig a chance to regain the lead. Hennig uses a blend of dexterity and impact to keep the heat on, hoping weaken Escobar for the PerfectPlex. Escobar escapes a first attempt at the move and switches for a higher-impact style of his own, going after the body to still take the air out of Hennig. Escobar gets the superplex, but only gets 2. Hennig gets the PerfectPlex, but only gets 2! Escobar then hits his big move and only gets 2 as well. Both men trade blows at the knees, simply looking now to hit the next big move – and Hennig is the first to do so…

Finish comes when Hennig hits the PerfectPlex a second time for the pinfall victory and the FCW Title. Not a bad match by any means, but not quite the epic one would expect. Seemed to play more like a “by-the-numbers” title match, even though both men played that part well.

Post-match, Hennig celebrates with the title as many others in the locker room come out to help celebrate as well (with Slater leading the pack – nice touch). The tag champs hoist Hennig up on their shoulders to end the show.

Pretty decent outing this week. Not a bad match in the bunch, but no real standouts. Even the main event had a somewhat bland feel to it. We’ll see what next episode brings, though, with a new FCW Champion.

L8. Thanks again for reading.

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