Byron Saxton goes one on one with Kenneth Cameron in our opening match. Connor O’Brien follows Cameron and stands at ringside during the match. Saxton and Cameron wrestle back and forth for about three minutes before O’Brien makes a taunting pose and yells out while standing next to the ring. The lights go out and this segment is apparently over.
^I’m not sure what happened here, because the next segment starts up with a match and nothing is said of it. Perhaps this is a possible kidnap angle? Saxton and Cameron are both guys that look good in the ring and are both young enough that they have bright futures ahead of them in FCW. We’ll have to see how this plays out next week.
Rick Victor and Paige are teaming up in a mixed tag match. They are accompanied by Sofia Cortez. Audrey Marie and Aiden English are their opponents. Raquel Diaz attacks Audrey Marie when the two males are the legal men in the ring. Victor is able to get the upper hand on English and hit a running back elbow before getting the three count.
^I love that the FCW divas have a purpose on this show. It’s nice to see a real storyline be carried out every single week for these girls. English looked somewhat green but I suspect he might be a newer talent in the business. Victor is a guy that was trained in the Hart Dungeon and is now 31 years of age. I would think he’d be on his way to main roster sooner rather than later with how good he looked in this match.
The Florida Heavyweight Champ, Seth Rollins, cuts a promo. He talks about having a high ankle sprain after defending the title successfully against Leo Kruger. Rollins says there are a lot of deserving competitors of a title shot, but he says one match in particular that he has his eyes on is the special 20 minute time limit match tonight for the FCW 15 Championship between Antonio Cesaro(formerly Claudio Castagnoli on the independent circuit and his real name) and Richie Steamboat. He says the winner of the match deserves serious consideration for a shot at his title.
^Rollins is magic on the mic. At just 25 years of age, his level of experience is really proficient compared to his peers. Rollins is another guy I see making his way to the main roster at some point this year. He will flourish when he does.
Backstage segment with Summer Rae. She tells Bronson he has the first ever tap out match with Dean Ambrose next week. He says he will make Ambrose tap, and then leaves. Williams Regal comes in and Summer asks him when he will face Dean Ambrose. Ambrose comes up behind Regal and they exchange words. Regal leaves after telling Ambrose the best things come to those who wait.
^Ambrose and Regal is going to be a match to watch out for. Summer Rae should be a model. Oh wait, she was.
Kassius Ohno(formerly Chris Hero) cuts a promo regarding the FCW 15 and talks about guys like Steamboat, Sandow, and Cesaro. He rhymes about the beatdowns that he gives his opponents and says they will be screaming “oh no.”
^Kassius Ohno is amazing on the mic. I’m excited to see him hold and defend the FCW 15 championship eventually.
Husky Harris cuts a promo with his new gimmick. He acts like Forrest Gump and talks about his dad. He says he is better than everyone and will take pleasure in watching everyone burn.
^I’m so confused, but I think that was part of the objective. Apparently this gimmick is that of a crazy man? Good to see Husky Harris back.
Jim Ross comes out to call the main event with William Regal for the match between Richie Steamboat and Antonio Cesaro. The crowd starts a JR chant. Steamboat and Cesaro go one on one. Cesaro is billed as being 6′ 5” tall, and 235 pounds. Cesaro gets the first decision during a commercial break. He’s up 1-0 with nine minutes to go and dominating the match. With two minutes and ten seconds to go, Steamboat scores a schoolboy rollup three count to even the score at one decision apiece. Cesaro gets the upper hand and looks to be on a roll for another decision but he knocks Steamboat so hard that he bounces to the outside with only ten seconds to go. The time runs out and Richie Steamboat remains the FCW 15 Champion. Out of anger, Cesaro nails a running dropkick on Steamboat after the match.
^I can’t say enough for either one of these two in regards to their level of talent. This was a really solid all around wrestling match that had some brawling and some technical moves featured. Overall, the entire roster is loaded with talent that looks hungry and eager to move up to the big time of the company. Great show with very little complaint from this viewer. I’ll be back with NXT for my next column. Until next time, you’ve been ThunderStruck!
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