By Chris Vetter, ProWrestling.net Contributor (@chrisvetter73)
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Future Stars of Wrestling “Survival of the Fittest”
Streamed on FITE+
September 10, 2023 in Las Vegas, Nevada at Silver Nugget Casino
This show debuted on Fite+ on Friday. This show was held in a downtown casino, not in their training center like many of their other shows. It appears the crowd is 250-350.
1. Jimmy Jack defeated Ricky Tenacious, Rickard King, Davion Scott, and Robbie Lit in a five-way at 10:03. These guys all appear to be students/recent graduates. Rickard wears a long road and he’s arrogant and smug. Tenacious sang his way to the ring in an ugly lounge singer outfit. Jimmy Jack is dressed and looks like Luke Harper, but he gave high-fives to fans and got a huge pop. Davion Scott is Black with shoulder-length dreadlocks. Lit has his hair in tight braids. Everyone beat up on Ricky Tenacious at the bell; I would, too!
Lit hit a plancha to the floor at 6:00. Rickard King hit a flip dive to the floor. Jimmy Jack hit a shoulder tackle that knocked everyone down. Jack hit a second-rope crossbody block to the floor on everyone at 9:00. In the ring, Rickard hit a German Suplex. Jimmy Jack hit a Jackhammer on Davion for the pin. Adequate opener.
2. Nic Zander defeated Jai Vidal via disqualification at 12:10. Nic wore a colorful skeleton outfit, and with his curly reddish hair, looks a bit like Blake Christian. Jai stalled on the floor and was not impressed with his competition. They immediately brawled to the floor. Vidal was in charge in the ring and beat Zander down. He hit a lungblower-style move on the left arm at 4:30. Zander put Vidal on his shoulders and rammed him head-first into the top turnbuckle. They traded punches on the ring apron. In the ring, Vidal hit a running kick for a nearfall at 8:00. Jai applied a crossface on the mat, but Zander escaped and applied his own crossface, and Jai teased tapping out but eventually reached the ropes. Zander hit a twisting sideslam; as he went for the cover, a heel manager hit the referee to stop the count. Zander hit the heel manager, causing the DQ.
* A promo shot outside showed Remy Marcel accepting a challenge for a six-man tag.
3. Graves, Remy Marcel, and Douglas James defeated “The Billionaire Boys Club” Jordan Cruz, C.L.A.S., and Devin Reno at 11:49. James is a mystery partner on Marcel’s team. Remy is dressed a bit like NXT’s Tony D’Angelo. James and Cruz opened. Reno is thick and bald; think Eric Young. Graves is muscular and built like a tank; think a shorter Braun Strowman. The heels worked over Graves in their corner. Cruz hit a flip dive to the floor. In the ring, James hit a running double knees on Cruz at 8:30. Remy hit a tornado DDT on CLAS. Cruz and Reno hit a team faceplant move on James. James hit a top-rope frogsplash to pin Cruz. Good match.
* Danny Limelight cut a promo backstage, saying he’s back in FSW, and he’s going after the biggest dog in the yard, Alexander Hammerstone!
* Up next is a women’s gauntlet match with four wrestlers (so essentially three mini-matches.)
4a. Brittnie Brooks defeated Zamaya at 5:41. Zamaya has her hair straight up like Bull Nakano. Brittnie is the pretty Barbie-type in bright pink. Zamaya has a size advantage and she stomped on Brittnie early on. She hit a release German Suplex at 5:00 for a nearfall. Brittnie hit a hard spin kick, then an inverted DDT for the pin! I’ll call that an upset.
4b. Brittnie Brooks vs. Zoe Dubois at 4:21. My first time seeing Zoe Dubois and this is her debut here. She is “the Black Swan” and she danced to the ring, looking quite macabre. The commentators say she’s from Texas-based Mission Pro Wrestling. Zoe kicked Brittnie in the face and stretched her legs, showing her flexibility. They brawled to the floor at 2:00. In the ring, Zoe applied a Camel Clutch. Brittnie got a rollup out of nowhere for the pin, and Zoe was shocked she lost.
4c. Viva Van defeated Brittnie Brooks to win the gauntlet at 5:27. Van is Vietnamese and she’s TV-ready; she’s a star. The good news for Brittnie is her first two matches went about 10 minutes even. An intense lockup to begin. Viva applied a bow-and-arrow at 3:00. Viva hit a Lungblower, then an Electric Chair drop for the pin.
* A backstage promo where Alexander Hammerstone accepted Danny Limelight’s challenge.
5. Alexander Hammerstone defeated Danny Limelight at 10:11. Needless to say, Hammerstone has a massive size advantage. Limelight hit Hammerstone with the microphone as Alexander entered the ring, and they immediately brawled to the floor. In the ring, Danny hit some kneedrops on Hammerstone’s left knee, and he was in charge. Hammerstone hit some Exploder Suplexes at 5:00. Danny hit a German Suplex off the second rope, then a clothesline for a nearfall at 7:30, then a mid-ring Spanish Fly for a nearfall. Hammerstone nailed a Mafia Kick and a German suplex, then a standing powerbomb, and he turned it into a Boston Crab, but Limelight reached the ropes. They traded rollups when Hammerstone suddenly got the three-count. Very good match, especially considering the size difference.
6. Jakob Austin Young defeated Gregory Sharpe in an I Quit Match to win the Nevada State Title at 16:52. Both of these men have appeared on New Japan Strong. With his short hair and beard, Jakob always reminds me of Drew Gulak. Sharpe is a Black man and always looks maniacal and deranged. They charged at each other at the bell, and they immediately brawled to the floor. Sharpe tied up Young at 7:00, warned him to quit or he’s break his arm. Young refused, so Sharpe snapped the arm backwards. Sharpe got a chair and slammed it over Young’s arm at 9:00. Sharpe got a kendo stick and he cracked it across Young’s back.
Young speared Sharpe through a door set up in the corner at 12:30, but Sharpe refused to quit. They got up and traded forearm shots. Sharpe nailed a brainbuster. He put the kendo stick across Young’s throat and cranked back, but Young powered out. Young now hit Sharpe with the kendo stick at 15:00. Young hit a DDT onto a folded chair, and he began hitting Moxley-style elbow strikes to the head; one commentator made a Blackpool Combat Club reference. Young pressed the kendo stick across Sharpe’s throat as Sharpe was tied upside down in the ropes, dangling outside the ring, and Sharpe said I quit! New champion! That was really good.
7. “Lights, Camera, Faction” Kenny King, Ice Williams, Action Braxton, Fresco, and Watson defeated Hero Leu, Big Fonz, Big Money Clutch, Rich Homie Shogun, and Bodhi Young Prodigy in a Survivor Series-style elimination match at 32:26. I’ve never seen Big Fonz before but he has a great physique and reminds me of a young Carlito Colon. BMC is also new to me; he’s chubby and similar to Top Dolla. Hero Leu is of Pacific islander descent and he wears traditional garb. Shogun is a Black man with shoulder-length dreadlocks. Prodigy is still a teenager and he looks like he’s 14; he’s been on a handful of GCW shows in Las Vegas or California. “Lights, Camera, Faction” came to the ring together. Kenny King, of course, is the well-known standout, but I was impressed by Ice Williams the last time I checked in on an FSW show. All 10 fought at the bell. BMC hit a dropkick on Kenny King.
Hero Leu entered at 5:00 and beat up on Ice Williams. Big Fonz entered and hit a Flatliner on Ice. The heels began working over Big Money Clutch. Fonz made the hot tag at 11:00 and hit a shoulder tackle that sent someone flying, then a spinebuster. Fonz hit a Death Valley Driver and pinned Fresco at 12:18. The four remaining heels had a discussion on the floor, so Fonz through teammate Bodhi onto them! Kenny King hit a spin kick to Fonz’ back, rolled him up with his feet on the ropes, and pinned Fonz at 14:49, so we are tied at 4-4 remaining. Bodhi, who is maybe 5’5″ and 150 pounds, entered and traded offense with King, as the commentators say he’s 16 years old. Kenny hit a backbreaker over his knee. Bodhi fired back with a Crucifix Driver for a nearfall at 18:30.
Watson hit a dive to the floor on everyone. Hero it a Flatliner on Ice, but Ice rolled to the floor to avoid being pinned. Bodhi hit a top-rope corkscrew dive onto all the heels on the floor at 21:30. Clutch and Kenny King fought into the crowd and were counted out at 22:20, leaving 3-on-3. Bodhi rolled up Action Braxton for a pin out of nowhere at 23:36. However, Watson immediately speared Bodhi and pinned him at 24:09, so it’s now 2-on-2. Watson hit a Rude Awakening standing neckbreaker on Leu as the heels worked over Leu. However, the faces hit a team move to pin Watson at 28:01. Leu set up in the corner for a finisher, but Shogun made a blind tag to get in, and Leu looked livid! Shogun hit a Sky-High powerbomb for a believable nearfall.
Leu made a blind tag back in, and the two babyfaces seemed upset with each other. A heel manager walked to the ring. Leu put brass knuckles on his hand, but he hit teammate Shogun! Leu left with the heel manager! The ref officially counted out Leu at 31:48, so it is one-on-one. Ice hit a superkick to Shogun’s head for the pin, and Ice Williams is the sole survivor.
8. “West Coast Wrecking Crew” Royce Isaacs & Jorel Nelson defeated “ABC” Ace Austin & Chris Bey and “The Unguided” Damian Drake & Matt Vandagriff and “The Regulators” EJ Sparks & Thugnificent in a four-way tag match to win the FSW Tag Titles at 12:29. ABC are the tag champs entering the match. The Unguided are previous tag champs here and never were pinned; they were stripped of the titles because of an injury to Drake. We started with just three teams, as the WCWC didn’t come out. The Regulators are two Black men; one of them started against Chris Bey. Drake made the hot tag at 2:30 and he battled Ace Austin. ABC hit some quick team moves on Drake. Bey hit a flip dive to the floor at 4:30.
Vandagriff and Drake hit a legdrop-and-moonsault combo on Ace for a nearfall. Vandagriff hit a moonsault to the floor at 7:00. The Regulators hit a team X-Factor faceplant on Ace for a believable nearfall. Thugnificient (think Xavier Woods) hit a Shooting Star Press for a nearfall at 8:30. Ace hit a plancha to the floor. Drake hit a German Suplex on Bey for a nearfall at 10;30. The West Coast Wrecking Crew finally hit the ring! Jorel hit a belly-to-belly overhead suplex, then a top-rope crossbody block. Royce hit a Death Valley Driver across Jorel’s knees. Jorel hit a stunner on Ace Austin for the pin! New champions!
Final Thoughts: Not a fan of the Wrecking Crew showing up 11 minutes into the match and being allowed to win the tag titles in less than two minutes in the ring. That feels like a bad WCW-era move. As a fan of both WCWC and ABC, this is definitely not what I wanted to see, and the fans didn’t seem too happy about it, either. Yes, it’s a heel thing to do, but I don’t like it if the fans felt they were short-changed on a promised match. So, a good show left me with a bad taste in my mouth.
So, I’m going to go with Sharpe-Young I Quit match for best match of the show. It was hard-hitting but never got too violent. I’ll go with Hammerstone-Limelight for second place and the 10-man elimination tag for third.
There are a lot of big, muscular guys who have ‘the look’ in this promotion, and I think the West Coast talent slips under the radar. But this area can boast Kenny King, Chris Bey, Hammerstone, as well as Killer Kross. I really liked a lot of the talent I saw here for the first time, and there are others (Ice Williams, Hero Leu) that I’ve seen fewer than five times. Check out FSW at Fite+.
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