Florida Championship Wrestling

Florida Championship Wrestling’s roots stretch back to Championship Wrestling from Florida (CWF), a promotion founded in 1949 by “Cowboy” Clarence P. Luttrall in Tampa. In 1971, Eddie Graham took over and built the company into a major force in the National Wrestling Alliance, showcasing top stars like Dusty Rhodes, Jack and Jerry Brisco, Ric Flair, Barry Windham, the Funk brothers, and André the Giant.

Legendary announcer Gordon Solie became the voice of the promotion, signing off each show with his trademark, “So long from the Sunshine State.” CWF remained a fixture in Southern wrestling until it closed in 1987. Nearly two decades later, in 2006, WWE purchased its video library.

In June 2007, WWE revived the Florida wrestling tradition by partnering with former wrestler Steve Keirn to launch Florida Championship Wrestling (FCW) as its official developmental territory. Based in Tampa, FCW replaced Deep South Wrestling and later Ohio Valley Wrestling in WWE’s talent system. The first show took place on June 26, 2007, at the Dallas Bull, featuring a Battle Royal to crown the inaugural FCW Southern Heavyweight Champion.

Over the next five years, the promotion introduced several titles, including the FCW Florida Heavyweight Championship (first held by Jake Hager), the FCW Florida Tag Team Championship (won first by The Puerto Rican Nightmares), and the FCW Divas Championship (with Naomi Knight as the inaugural champion). Other accolades like the Queen of FCW crown and the Jack Brisco 15 Championship were also part of the mix. FCW debuted its weekly television show on October 5, 2008, airing on Bright House Sports Network from the newly opened FCW Arena.

By August 2012, WWE rebranded its developmental system as NXT, retiring all FCW championships. The FCW Arena continued to host NXT events until December 19, 2013. In 2020, WWE released the documentary A Future WWE: The FCW Story on the WWE Network, highlighting the promotion’s critical role in shaping future stars like Seth Rollins, Roman Reigns, Bray Wyatt, and many others.