Florida Championship Wrestling: A History

In March of 1983, Florida State Wrestling opened its doors with plans to tour the entire Sunshine State presenting the best wrestling action in the Southeastern United States.

Upon opening, they almost immediately formed a talent exchange partnership with Southern wrestling giant, Southern Championship Wrestling – trading talent back and forth for several years.

In 1995, Southern superstar Vernon Riley made his FSW debut in Tampa, Florida.

THE DEVIL CAME DOWN TO FLORIDA
On New Year’s Day 1999, Vernon Riley met the FSW Heavyweight Champion, Big Bubba Watson in a title match. After a bloody and grueling brawl, Riley won the gold with a Riley’s Roundup out of the corner in the middle of the ring. The crowd was elated, celebrating at ringside for the fan favorite when suddenly a masked man, hooded in black from head to toe, hit the ring with a fury. He laid down a violent assault on Riley, dragging him to the floor where he smashed Riley’s skull into the steel ringpost – splitting his head wide open. The bloodied Riley was battered for several more minutes before a group of his fellow fan favorites cleared the ring.

The war between Riley and the masked man raged for a few months until St. Patrick’s Day ’99 when Riley accidentally pulled off the mask of his rival during a Riley’s Roundup, revealing “The Prince Of Darkness” Anton Layton – a wrestler with rumored Satanic beliefs – who had been banned from several territories in the mid-90s for his brutal style and controversial interviews. Layton immediately tore into Riley, flooring him with a weapon he would later call Satan’s Spike, a sharpened weapon that Layton was infamous for using. The Spike busted Riley open again and again, Layton stood tall until the ring was cleared.

The following weekend, Riley defeated Layton in a Loser Leaves Town for 30 days match. After the match, Layton swore that his Master had sent him a servant to finish off Riley during that month – a former Florida fan favorite named Bo Warner. Throughout the month, Warner who shunned his former fans in favor of streaky black facepaint around his eyes and mouth showed a brutal streak unseen from him in the past. Warner’s violent side sidelined Riley for several weeks with a shoulder injury when Warner put him into the ringpost during a matchup in mid-April.

With Riley sidelined, the FSW Title was vacated and a returning Anton Layton won it in a one-night tournament on Memorial Day Weekend. Riley returned a couple weeks later and quickly regained the title with a backslide. Warner and Layton assaulted Riley post-match, flooring him with a spike piledriver that put him on a stretcher to carry him from the building.

On the 4th of July, Riley made his return alongside new FSW wrestler but longtime Riley friend, Sweet Daddy Williams, to battle Warner and Layton in a tag team Street Fight. The ensuing brawl was one of the most brutal and bloodiest matches in FSW history. Many of the promotion’s television partners refused to air footage of the match, allowing only still photos of the brawl. In the end, Layton and Warner captured the win when Layton pinned Riley with a piledriver. Riley was forced to the sidelines for a few weeks again, leaving Williams to battle both Layton and Warner.

At the end of July, Riley returned and issued a challenge to a bullrope match with Layton with both Williams and Warner in their respective corners. The match that followed in mid-August was somehow even more violent than the Street Fight and FSW officials began to become concerned that this war would bring down the entire promotion. Riley won the bullrope match, injuring Layton’s neck in the process. Layton was forced out of action for several weeks but took on the role of a manager, seconding Warner in matches against both Williams and Riley. With Warner outnumbered, Layton began delivering mysterious interviews about “someone coming from the Mist” to finish off Riley. After weeks of speculation, Layton unveiled an athletic but enigmatic grappler known as the Mist Angel at the end of September. The Mist Angel made an immediate impact by breaking Sweet Daddy Williams’ ribs with a flying kneedrop, leaving Riley all alone again.

With no one left to help, Riley made an ultimate challenge – Loser Leaves Town. Before Layton would agree, Riley had to defeat first Warner… and then the Mist Angel on consecutive nights. With those victories in his pocket, Riley got the match he wanted – a brutal, bloody, and horrific showdown that was conducted under No Disqualification rules. At one point in the match, FSW officials feared they would need to stop the match when Layton attempts to hang Riley with his own bullrope… but the fan favorite fought back, eventually hitting a Riley’s Roundup on the concrete and then one in the middle of the ring to score the victory, sending the Prince of Darkness out of Florida State Wrestling once and for all.

MR. INTENSITY SNAPS
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FCW fans were overjoyed in 2008 when Scotty Mayhem, later voted the Best Technical Wrestler in the state of Florida, jumped to the promotion after working several smaller territories in the state in 2007.

Mayhem made an immediate impact, chasing the Florida State Champion, “Dangerous” Dick Bass, alongside his good friend and ally Darius Ward. Ward and Mayhem both received several title shots throughout the summer of 2008 but had come up short time and time again.

On Thanksgiving Night, a match was scheduled between friends Ward and Mayhem with the winner receiving another shot at the title (and Bass) on Christmas night. On that night, Mr. Intensity scored a controversial victory when he hit the Jacksonville Jam on a downed Ward after Ward had suffered an apparent accidental low blow. An angry Ward questioned his friend furiously after the match but they ultimately mae peace and Ward offered to be in his friend’s corner on Christmas night.

The fans of FCW were fired up on that night – hoping to get one more Christmas gift of a new Florida State Champion in Scotty Mayhem. But it wasn’t to be as Mayhem failed to defeat Bass again. When Ward was trying console Mayhem post-match, Mr. Intensity wasn’t having it and destroyed the ringside area in a tantrum of epic proportions. While storming out of the arena, Mayhem heard Darius Ward on the mic laying down a challenge towards Dick Bass’ arrogant manager, Gran Kedamono. Shockingly, Kedamono accepted the challenge on the spot and a short time later, Ward became the Florida State Champion to the joy of the crowd…

…and the rage of Scotty Mayhem who returned to the ring and violently assaulted his now-former friend, bloodying him badly by repeatedly smashing his head into the steel ring post.

The man who once was the master of the sweet science completely fell apart, his jealously driving him to becoming one of the most irrational and unpredictable athletes ever seen in the state of Florida. The Ward/Mayhem feud headlined shows throughout much of 2009 with some of the most exciting and bloody matches that the state had ever seen.

In the end, Ward sent Mayhem packing from the promotion in a Loser Leaves Town match. But even that wasn’t enough for the volatile Mayhem who attempted to return to the territory under a mask, trying to goad Ward into another title shot.

However, it was old rival Dick Bass who pulled the mask off Mayhem during a wild brawl – an action that caused Mayhem to be banned from life from FCW.

FCW TITLE HISTORIES

Florida State Champion
Big Bubba Watson listed as champion prior to New Year’s Day 1999
Vernon Riley defeated Watson – January 1st, 1999
Riley vacated the title due to injury – April 1999
Anton Layton won a tournament to win the title – Memorial Day 1999
Riley regained the title from Layton – June 1999
[GAP IN HISTORY]
Dick Bass listed as champion during “summer of 2008”
Darius Ward defeated Bass on Christmas night 2008

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