Chachins

Championship Wrestling from Florida Episode 2 Live from the Sportatorium in Tampa Available on cable access channel 32 Gordon Solie is once again sitting at the announcing position, awaiting his cue to begin. A slight miscommunication causes there to be a really pregnant pause before he begins speaking. Solie: Welcome everyone to the second edition of Championship Wrestling from Florida! It's great to have you here for a night of great wrestling action, one in which you will witness history as we will crown our first Florida Light Heavyweight Champion.. The entire 4-man tournament for that belt will be decided in it's entirety right here tonight! Additional matches will feature the remaining bracket matches for our inaugural Tag Team and Heavyweight championships as well. And tonight we'll be joined by Florida Championship Wrestling president Jack Brisco with a few words on our present and future. So without further ado, let's get to the semi-final matches for our first Light Heavyweight Champion! Light Heavyweight Semi-final Match 1: Les Thornton vs. Brady Boone The match is competitive as Boone gets a decent amount of offense in, but at no point does it look like he is going to win. After a lot of back and forth with not many nearfalls, Thornton delivers a devastatingly stiff backbreaker for the win. He clearly plays the heel by the end of the match. Winner: Les Thornton! Solie: Les Thornton, welcome and congratulations on making it to the finals! Do you have a favorite on who you would rather face between Mike Graham and Reno Riggins tonight? Thornton: I don't have a favorite, but I sympathize with whoever wins the next match. They will forever be known as the man who failed to win the first Light Heavyweight Championship tournament. Relegated to a footnote in wrestling history. Solie: Les Thornton certainly is a confident man. Let's head back to the ring to find out who his opponent will be in the finals, which we will see tonight as our main event of the evening. Light Heavyweight Semi-final Match 2: Mike Graham vs. Reno Riggins Riggins job in this match is to make Mike Graham look like a million bucks while also remaining somewhat competitive, and he does a pro's pro job of it. It's not a squash, but Graham has an escape or counter for everything Riggins attempts, and wins it with a sudden cradle to exhibit how quickly he can pull a victory out as well. Winner: Mike Graham! Solie: We now have our finals set up for the main event this evening, we will be crowning our first champion in the light heavyweight division. It will be either Mike Graham or Les Thornton. Mike Graham is joining us now. Mike, Les Thornton stated that his opponent tonight will be relegated to a footnote as the loser of this tournament in wrestling history. How do you respond to his comments? Graham: Gordon, I was listening backstage to that interview as I prepared for this match, and it was exactly the motivation I needed. My legacy with Championship Wrestling from Florida doesn't need any explanation, and someone like Thornton needs to use that to try to get ahead, saying he beat a Graham in their home territory. I can't wait to see the shocked expression on his face when the ref hits the mat for a third time and the referee raises my hand tonight! See you tonight for the interview in the winner's circle. Solie: This is going to be a doozy of a main event, Les Thornton and Mike Graham are both ultra competitive and equally confident. And I will add that both men are capable of getting the job done tonight. Let's get back to the ring for our last match of the preliminary round of our Heavyweight Championship Tournament. To refresh, we have seen Junkyard Dog, Adrian Adonis, and Billy Jack Haynes advance to the semi-finals so far, and we're about to find out the final participant, who will be facing Billy Jack Haynes, right now! Preliminary Match for the Heavyweight Championship: Hillbilly Jim vs. David Schultz While Hillbilly Jim plays to the crowd and is clearly the fan favorite, Dr. D. is highlighted here. He watches Hillbilly play to the crowd with disdain, and then is merciless as he takes him apart. Jim gets a few licks in here and there but this is Schultz's night and he ends things with a stiff piledriver. Winner: David Schultz! Solie: Welcome in here, Dr. D, what a … Schultz (interrupting): Listen here, Solie, don't give me your compliments on a hard fought victory, don't patronize me with your predictions about what's going to happen next round. I'm here in Florida for one thing, and that is to be the champion. And to destroy anyone who gets in the way. This interview is over. Solie (A little taken aback): Well … ladies and gentlemen, he may not be the most gracious competitor we have here in Florida, but would you want to be his next opponent? Time for our last preliminary bout for our Tag Team Championship! Preliminary Match for the Tag Team Championship Rock 'n' Roll Express (Ricky Morton and Robert Gibson) vs. The Great Kabuki and Killer Khan (w/ Mr. Fuji) After getting off to a fast and hot start with slick double teams and quick maneuvering, the Khan and Kabuki get ahold of Gibson and he goes into face in peril mode, playing his beating off perfectly. This is very formulaic as the Express, after a couple false hope moments, get the hot tag done and finish things off. Afterwards, thanks to some salt in the eyes, Kabuki and Khan deliver a Fuji led beatdown. Winners: The Rock 'n' Roll Express! Solie: Folks, normally right now we would have the Rock 'n' Roll Express up here for a post-match interview, but due to the heinous activities that followed the match, we are going to allow them to seek medical attention. But you will still get an interview, as we have our founder and President, Jack Brisco, here to give us a brief state of the company address. Jack, thank you for joining us here. Brisco: Gordon, it gives me nothing but pleasure to be here in front of all of these wonderful fans and the fans watching at home. I'd appreciate you referring to me as Mr. Brisco going forward. Solie: Very well, let's get down to business, Mr. Brisco. We have seen a few of our matches ending with questionable tactics leading to victory in our tournaments, as well as what we just witnessed here after our last match. How would you like to ensure the integrity of our tournaments going forward? Brisco: Well first, Gordon, I am going to interject that I believe our tournaments integrity is holding strong. The referee's decisions are final in Florida Championship Wrestling, and what goes on between the ropes, well, frankly, unless it's blatant and obvious, then a win is a win is a win. Solie: How would you respond, Mr. Brisco, to any fans who may see their favorites on the losing end of the purse due to, say, a foreign object being used? Brisco: What did I just say, Gordon? The referee's decision is final, and we do not have any corrupt referee's here in Florida. Now what just happened to Ricky Morton and Robert Gibson after that last match was not acceptable, and fines will be issued. I am a busy man, Gordon, and I have to get going. Solie: Thank you for your time, Mr. Brisco. (Pauses as Brisco leaves, waving to a mixed reaction from the fans.) Ladies and gentlemen, I don't wish to stir the pot but I certainly do hope our officiating staff and our management team is able to hold our competitors accountable for clean, fair competition. Now then, to reset, next week we will be bringing you our semi-final and tournament final matches to crown our Tag Team Champions and our Heavyweight Champion. At the end of the show, I will share those matchups with you. But now, we head to our main event to crown our first Florida Championship Wrestling Light Heavyweight Championship! Let's head to the ring! Finals for the Florida Championship Wrestling Light Heavyweight Championship Mike Graham vs. Les Thornton Eager to make a good impression on management, these two put on a show. They work together fluidly and each man makes a great effort to make the other look good, thereby making themselves look good in the process. The storytelling is off the hook, as Thornton plays the talented heel that takes the shortcut and gets in cheap shots when he can, and Graham plays the stoic face, not backing down from Thornton's attacks. Thornton actually gets more offense in the match, about 60/40, but Graham gets his share in, too, so it doesn't look like a fluke when he gets the flash pin win with a schoolboy at almost the 24 minute mark. Then the capper is after the match, which the crowd is giving them a lot of love for, Graham and Thornton shake hands and Thornton reluctantly raises Graham's arm, only to, of course, level him with a clothesline. Thornton leaves as Graham recovers, staring him down, and Thornton slaps fans hands away from him as he heads to the locker room. Winner and NEW Florida Championship Light Heavyweight Champion: Mike Graham!! Solie: Welcome in here Mike Graham, and congratulations on being the first champion crowned in the rebirth of Championship Wrestling from Florida! Were he here today, your father would be beaming with pride, no question! Graham: (breathing heavy, exhausted) You are right and wrong, Gordon, my dad is here, he is always here as long as Championship Wrestling from Florida exists! I could not be more humbled to be the first champion in this great wrestling organization and I intend to make the fans proud to … Thornton: (stepping in, grabbing the microphone) Listen here, Graham. You got lucky. A schoolboy? You won a title with a schoolboy? Pathetic. Don't get used to that belt once you get it, because you are just keeping it warm for me. Graham: (As Thornton storms away) I won a title with a schoolboy … that means someone had to LOSE a title to a schoolboy. Now who's pathetic? Solie: I apologize for that, Mike, congratulations again, and enjoy savoring this huge victory! Graham: Thank you so much Gordon, and just to let Les Thornton know, I'm not going to be a hard champion to find. Anytime he wants to take a crack at the title, let me know! Solie: Mike Graham, our first ever Light Heavyweight Champion, and the crowd seems to love it! Folks, that is all the time we have for today, and what an appetizer for next week where we will crown two new champions! Our semi-final matches for the Heavyweight Championship will feature Junkyard Dog versus Adrian Adonis and Billy Jack Haynes versus David Schultz. And our Tag Team Championship semi-final matches, which will be our flagship championship in Championship Wrestling from Florida, will feature the Rock 'n' Soul Connection of Tony Atlas and Rocky Johnson taking on The Blackjacks Mulligan and Kendall Windham, and the Rock 'n' Roll Express against The Axis of Iron Sheik and Ivan Koloff. And we will see those tourneys finish up in their entirety! We'll see you next week folks, so long from the sunshine state!

Championship Wrestling from Florida Episode 1 Live from the Sportatorium in Tampa Available on cable access channel 32 We open to Gordon Solie sitting at a desk set up inside the small arena, where a few hundred fans are in their seats, awaiting the rebirth of their beloved Florida Championship Wrestling promotion. Solie: Ladies and gentleman, it gives me great pleasure to welcome you to the first show of a new era of Florida Championship Wrestling! We thank you for tuning in here in the sunshine state and we have a great show jam-packed with some of the most talented wrestlers in the world today! And we are going to get things started today with our preliminary round of our tournaments for our titles. We will be featuring a tag team title, heavyweight singles title, and a light heavyweight singles title. There will be an 8 team tournament for the tag title, and also an 8 man tournament for the heavyweight title, and we will feature a 4 man tournament for the light heavyweight title that will take place in it's entirety next week! As an added bonus, I will be conducting post-match interviews with each winner today. So without further ado, let's kick things off with our first tag title tournament preliminary round match! Tag Team Title Preliminary Round match 1: The Axis (Iron Sheik and Ivan Koloff) w/Classy Freddie Blassie vs. The Fantastics (Tommy Rogers and Bobby Fulton) In a very competitive match, Sheik and Koloff wind up winning after a cane shot from Freddie Blassie. Sheik puts Fulton in the Camel Clutch and that is all she wrote. Winners: The Axis! Solie: I want to welcome The Axis up here to our interview area, victors over the high flying Fantastics, although there were some questionable tactics that went down towards the end of the match. Do you care to comment on that, Mr. Blassie? Blassie: The only thing questionable I see in this arena is that suit you are wearing, Solie, did you get that at a thrift store? What was it, $1.99? You paid too much. Solie: Freddie, The Axis, regardless of how it came about, is now advancing in the tournament. What will happen if your other team, The Heavenly Bodies is victorious later today and winds up meeting The Axis? Blassie: I have a plan for that, and that is exactly what is going to happen, because they are the two best tag teams in Florida and they will be the two teams vying for the championship. And it's none of your business what's going to happen. Ivan, Sheik, let's get out of here. Iron Sheik: Iran number one! Russia number one! America … (hocks and spits). Solie: Well there you have it, wrestling fans, like them or hate them, The Axis is moving on. Tag Team Title Preliminary Round match 2: The Blackjacks (Mulligan and Kendall Windham) vs. Los Leones (Manny Fernandez and Al Perez) In a sloppy, potato-filled brawl, the Blackjacks emerge victorious after a Mulligan lariat on Perez. Winners: The Blackjacks! Solie: Blackjack Windham, Blackjack Mulligan, welcome and congratulations on a big win tonight? Mulligan: I don't know what the big deal is, we got in a fight, and we did what we do, we won it. We ain't here to wrestle, although we can do that, too, we're here to fight. Windham: Let me correct you, partner, we're here to kick people's asses. Those two punks thought they were going to stand toe to toe with the Blackjacks. They thought wrong. Solie: From my perspective, it certainly seemed like Los Leones was definitely in that fight … Mulligan: They were in the fight, but they lost it. As will the rest of these so-called teams that are in our way to being the champions. Solie: Pound for pound, the Blackjacks might be the two toughest hombres we have in Florida today. Let's head back to the ring for our first match in our tournament for our singles championship! Florida Heavyweight Championship Preliminary Round match 1: Junkyard Dog vs. Matt Borne Matt Borne tries to instill a little workrate into this match, but only manages a few small offensive bursts as JYD stifles him with headbutts, basic power moves, and crowd pleasing antics. It's not a squash, but JYD is clearly positioned as a dominant force. Winner: Junkyard Dog! Solie: Junkyard Dog, welcome, and congratulations on your first win! A lot of people are saying you are a favorite to win the whole thing. JYD: You got that right, people say I am a favorite, then I must be! Ol' Matt Borne out there put up a good little fight but just like everyone else, they ain't got what it takes to hang out in the junkyard with the dawwwggg! Solie: Yes indeed, a man of just the right amount of words. JYD victorious here tonight. Florida Heavyweight Championship Preliminary Round match 2: Ken Patera vs. Adrian Adonis This is Olympic hero Ken Patera, face to the nth power, working the afro like a champ. This is also biker tough guy Adrian Adonis, heel to the hilt. They have a good back and forth, Patera hits some clumsy power moves and Adonis fights back with brawling, but his fantastic selling is the highlight of the match. The story has Adonis hanging on to survive throughout the match, and he winds up winning with a spiked brass knuck shot when the ref's back was turned. Winner: Adrian Adonis! Solie: Adrian Adonis, welcome, and congratulations on your win tonight. Would you care to comment on the ending of the match? Adonis: No, get out of my face. Blassie: Who's hand was raised, Solie? Solie: Well, it was Adrian's, but … Blassie: Then that is all you need to know, you pencil necked geek. This interview is over. Solie: Interesting that neither of them cared to comment on the ending of that match and the chicanery involved. Florida Heavyweight Championship Preliminary Round match 3: Billy Jack Haynes vs. Steve Keirn This one is a pretty color-by-numbers heel/face exchange, Keirn playing the heel role well. The only significant thing worth mentioning is Keirn gets a little annoyed and clearly takes a quick liberty with Haynes while he has him locked in a slightly too real abdominal stretch. Haynes gets the submission win with the full nelson. Winner: Billy Jack Haynes! Solie: Welcome in here Billy Jack Haynes. On a night where we have seen some victories come through, shall we say, interesting circumstances, it was nice to see a nice, clean win against a game Steve Keirn tonight. Haynes: You got that right, Gordon, the only way to win is the fair way, and Billy Jack Haynes stands for doing things the right way. Steve Keirn is one tough guy, no question about it, but he wasn't the best man in the ring tonight. That was me! Solie: Nice to have a standup kind of guy here in Florida, Billy Jack. How do you plan to handle your next opponent if it happens to be someone with the propensity to bend the rules? Haynes: Gordon, I will handle it the way I handle everything else. With respect, dignity, but also, I won't take anyone's guff! If they try to cheat, it won't work against me. And I won't be afraid to call them out! Solie: Thanks for your time, Billy Jack, and good luck to you! Tag Team Title Preliminary Round match 3: Rock 'n' Soul Connection (Rocky Johnson and Tony Atlas) vs. The Heavenly Bodies (Jimmy Del Ray and Tom Pritchard) w/ Classy Freddie Blassie The Heavenly Bodies get their offense in spurts, but this is clearly a showcase for Johnson and Atlas, who look like they are having the time of their lives, playing to the crowd and having fun. However, they also get a chance to show they can get busy when they have to, after Blassie tries an ill-fated cane shot to Johnson. After that, the Connection mops up the Bodies and we have our winner. Winners: Rock 'n' Soul Connection! Solie: Rocky Johnson, Tony Atlas, boy, you two looked astonishingly sharp in the ring tonight! Johnson: We come prepared, Gordon Solie, prepared to do what we have to do to win every night. Ain't nothing Heavenly about those boys tonight, and that blowhard manager of theirs! Atlas: We saw the rest of the matches tonight and we saw what kept happening, this is Florida, the wild west, and we ain't going to let anybody cheat to win against us. Johnson: That's right we are going to go straight to the top and nobody better step in our way! Solie: So much energy between these two stallions, so much power, and so much potential. Good luck next round, gentlemen! And that does it for our first episode of the return of Championship Wrestling from Florida! If you thought this show was great, wait until next week! We will have the rest of the first round matches in our tag team and heavyweight championship tournaments, as well as the entirety of the 4-man light heavyweight championship tournament! In addition to that, we'll be joined by our president Jack Brisco. Until then, so long from the sunshine state!

Hey fellas, sorry for the long delay for my debut show, but it's coming tonight! Hope you enjoy it!

Eddie Graham. Jack Brisco sat in the office of his and his brothers body shop one evening thinking about his long time friend and mentor. The wrestling industry had taken on a boom lately, with WCW and the WWF going toe to toe. He had even heard of a promotion in Australia ... AUSTRALIA!! ... that had not only top line talent, but was prepared to play upstart to the WWF and WCW. Jack took the time over the next couple days to compile a list of available wrestling talent. While WCW was geographically nearby, he was forming a vision of an upstart promotion of his own. Once the list was compiled, he made a few phone calls, and almost all of the feedback was positive. He got ahold of Eddie's son, Mike, and filled him in. Most importantly, he made a phone call to the one man who would be integral to this happening. Without him, it wouldn't get off the ground. 1988 was a time when contracts and the business side of wrestling was becoming more formalized and corporate, but some guys were still old school and wouldn't let the old school go. Luckily, Jack's old friend Virgil Runnels was one of them. Big Dust liked what he heard. While he might be accused of tampering by today's standards, it would be a false accusation, as Dusty made it clear to Jack he had commitments and he would not be breaking them, even if it meant Jack's grand idea went under before it started. Brisco respected that, and wouldn't have it any other way. However, they devised a way that Dusty could help finance Brisco's operation while not breaking from his commitments to his current employer. In addition, Brisco faxed Dusty his roster list, and Dusty came up with a great idea to help set Florida apart from the others and carve out it's own little niche. And so Florida Championship Wrestling was reborn! Jack took Dusty's idea to heart and crafted a roster in which the headliners and main eventers would originate in the tag team division. Nearly every wrestler he contacted signed up eagerly, wanting to get their hands on some of the money the wrestling industry was generating, thanks to the WCW, WWF, and Australia. One thing Brisco was aware of was that this was the minor leagues. These guys were hungry, old school grapplers who were willing to embrace this unique approach. What Florida might lack in flash and glamour, they will make up for with grit and raw realism. The last conversation between Brisco and Rhodes before Brisco made his intentions public went like this ... Brisco: We'll be the minor leagues, but we are going to steal the show. Once word of mouth gets out, the big boys are going to start feeling the heat. Rhodes: Little fish in a big pond, baby! But that little fish is a piranha, you hear what I'm sayin'? Brisco smiled, and hung up the phone. He knew at that moment, biding his time and crafting quality small time shows for now and setting the foundation, once Dusty was on board full time, bizness was gonna pick up, baby! Jack knew he was going to do Eddie proud.

Hey guys, I am in the process of sorting out my roster and figuring out who are going to be in each division (I am planning a tag team, singles, and light heavyweight division) and how my tournaments (because I love tournaments) are going to shake out to crown my first champs. In discussions with Rav, I have decided I am going to emphasize tag team wrestling at the top of my cards, with the singles titles being my secondary titles. It will be unique and fun and presents an interesting challenge for my roster. More info coming this week, and I hope to have a show posted by this time next week! This is going to be a small time promotion for now, armories and high school gymnasiums, old school (even by 1988 standards) with an emphasis towards realism over flash, but with coherent rivalries and storylines.