Reference articles on history, science, culture and more
Encyclopedia

Florida Championship Wrestling

American professional wrestling promotion

Image credit is listed at the end of this article.

Florida Championship Wrestling (FCW) was a professional wrestling promotion founded on June 26, 2007 and based on the former National Wrestling Alliance member promotion, Championship Wrestling from Florida, which operated from 1961 until 1987. From October 2007 to August 2012, the promotion served as the official developmental territory for WWE. In August 2012, WWE folded FCW into their NXT brand, which began serving as their new developmental territory, with FCW storylines and championships being discontinued.

In March 2020 a documentary was released on WWE Network titled A Future WWE: The FCW Story, about the professional wrestlers that came up through the FCW system.

01History

The promotion was started by Steve Keirn in 2007 and became WWE's second developmental territory when they ended their relationship with the Georgia-based Deep South Wrestling in April 2007. It became their sole developmental territory in early 2008 when they ceased affiliation with Ohio Valley Wrestling.

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. The next year, the Florida Heavyweight Championship was introduced, with Jake Hager becoming the first champion at a February 15 show after surviving a Battle Royal and defeating Ted DiBiase, Jr. The Florida Tag Team Championship was also introduced in February, with the Puerto Rican Nightmares (Eddie Colón and Eric Pérez) beating Steven Lewington and Heath Miller to win it in the finals of a one night tournament. The singles titles were later unified, keeping the "Florida Heavyweight" name and championship.

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. The program's ending consisted of various clips from the ending of CWF's programs, featuring Gordon Solie's classic sign-off line "So long from the Sunshine State", accompanied by Solie winking one of his eyes and waving two fingers upward.

On July 17, 2008, the FCW Arena was officially opened, and included a taping of the debut episode of FCW TV.

On March 20, 2012, it was reported that WWE would cease operation at Florida Championship Wrestling; this claim was initially refuted by both Steve Keirn and WWE executive Paul "Triple H" Levesque, though Levesque noted WWE's developmental system would be "revamped".

Five months later, WWE dropped the FCW name, deactivated the titles, and began running all of its developmental events and operations under the "NXT" banner. WWE had been using the NXT name for a television program featuring rookies from FCW competing to become WWE main roster wrestlers, though the reality television aspects of the show had been dropped earlier in 2012. A revamped WWE NXT thereafter served as the primary television program for the new developmental brand.

FCW's first logo (2007-2008)
FCW's first logo (2007-2008)
Alberto Del Rio
Alberto Del Rio

02Championships and accomplishments

FCW
Championship Notes
FCW Florida Heavyweight Championship Contested for in their heavyweight division
FCW Southern Heavyweight Championship Retired after being unified with the FCW Florida Heavyweight Championship
FCW Jack Brisco 15 Championship Contested in 15-minute Iron Man matches
FCW Florida Tag Team Championship Contested for in the tag team division
FCW Divas Championship Contested for in the women's division
Queen of FCW A crown was held by the title holder, rather than a championship belt that is primarily used in professional wrestling.
Dean Ambrose
Dean Ambrose
Kofi Kingston
Kofi Kingston

03Notable alumni

The following is a list of notable FCW alumni that were called to the main roster of WWE.

Ring name Real name
AJ Lee April Mendez
Aksana Živilė Raudonienė
Alberto Del Rio José Rodríguez
Alex Riley Kevin Kiley Jr.
Alicia Fox Victoria Crawford
Brad Maddox Tyler Kluttz
Bray Wyatt Windham Rotunda
Brie Bella Brianna Danielson
Brodus Clay George Murdoch
Big E Ettore Ewen
Cameron Ariane Andrew
Cesaro Claudio Castagnoli
Curt Hawkins Brian Myers
Curtis Axel Joseph Hennig
Damien Sandow Aron Haddad
Daniel Bryan Bryan Danielson
Darren Young Frederick Rosser III
David Otunga David Otunga Sr.
Dean Ambrose Jonathan Good
Dolph Ziggler Nicholas Nemeth
Drew McIntyre Andrew Galloway
Epico Orlando Colón
Evan Bourne Matthew Korklan
Ezekiel Jackson Rycklon Stephens
Fandango Curtis Hussey
Heath Slater Heath Miller
Jack Swagger Donald Hager Jr.
Jason Jordan Nathan Everhart
Jey Uso Joshua Fatu
Jimmy Uso Jonathan Fatu
Jinder Mahal Yuvraj Dhesi
Justin Gabriel Paul Lloyd Jr.
Kaitlyn Celeste Bonin
Kofi Kingston Kofi Sarkodie-Mensah
Maryse Maryse Ouellet
Michael Tarver Tyrone Evans
Naomi Trinity Fatu
Natalya Natalie Neidhart
Nikki Bella Stephanie Garcia-Colace
Paige Saraya-Jade Bevis
Primo Colón Edwin Colón
Ricardo Rodriguez Jesús Rodríguez
Richie Steamboat Richard Blood Jr.
Roman Reigns Leati Anoaʻi
Rosa Mendes Milena Roucka
Rusev Miroslav Barnyashev
Ryback Ryback Reeves
Serena Deeb Serena Deeb
Seth Rollins Colby Lopez
Sin Cara Jorge Arias
Sheamus Stephen Farrelly
Summer Rae Danielle Moinet
Tamina Snuka Sarona Snuka-Polamalu
Ted DiBiase Jr. Theodore DiBiase Jr.
Titus O'Neil Thaddeus Bullard Sr.
Tiffany Taryn Terrell
Tonga Loa Tevita Fifita
Tyler Reks Gabbi Tuft
Tyler Breeze Mattias Clement
Tyson Kidd Theodore Wilson
Wade Barrett Stuart Bennett
Yoshi Tatsu Naofumi Yamamoto
Sheamus
Sheamus
Wade Barrett
Wade Barrett
Watch videos about Florida Championship WrestlingExplainers and documentaries on YouTube (opens in a new tab)

Sources and credits

This article is adapted from the Wikipedia article Florida Championship Wrestling, written by its contributors and licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Fathomly has changed the layout, removed citation markers, navigation and maintenance notices, and adjusted punctuation. This adapted version is shared under the same license. For references, see the original article.

Images, from Wikimedia Commons:

Fathomly is not affiliated with or endorsed by the Wikimedia Foundation. Spotted a problem? Tell us.