WWE Network Original Review: ‘A Future WWE: The FCW Story’
A new documentary – A Future WWE: The FCW Story – has landed on the WWE Network, with a nice feature-length look at Florida Championship Wrestling, the development territory for WWE for many years before NXT took over.
This is good stuff. A big variety of talking-heads, from the owner of FCW, Steve “Skinner” Keirn, to some of the guys who worked as trainers for him, like Tom Prichard Normal Smiley, all the way to the tons of FCW alumni who would go on to bigger things in WWE eventually. We see men and women like Seth Rollins, The Bellas, Charlotte Flair, Drew McIntyre, Sasha Banks, Bayley, Big E, Curt Hawkins and others, talking about their time in FCW, about the things they learnt there and what the promotion meant to them, and still does all these years later.
It’s great to see some of the rare video footage of guys practicing promos with Dusty Rhodes, or appearing in the ring looking nothing like they do nowadays. Seeing Baron Corbin looking like a demonic hooded evil monk is pretty funny. Really, though, it’s incredible just how many talented men and women went through FCW back then, and the documentary highlights many of them, with perhaps Drew McIntyre and Seth Rollins being the main guy we focus on.
I am a sucker from hearing backstage stories from wrestlers, so it was fun to listen to many of these former FCW folks talk about the funny moments they experiences, how hard it was to work in humid and sweaty conditions in the warehouse that was the base for FCW, and it was also nice to hear about how much it means to them and their careers. Steve Keirn offers plenty of insight, which is appreciated, and talks about putting together the initial team of trainers that would help to polish and train the stars on tomorrow (or, today…). Seeing Roman Reigns, McIntyre, Flair, Seth, Dean “Jon Moxley” Ambrose, The Bellas, Daniel Bryan and other major wrestling names in the early days of their WWE careers is fun to see.
Not often do WWE present a 80+ minute documentary that goes in-depth like this one does, and I had a great time with this doc. It’s insightful, funny and offered plenty of stories and facts that I’d never read or heard before. A definite watch for fans of wrestling, especially those who have been watching the product over the past ten years.
A Future WWE: The FCW Story is available to watch now on WWE Network.
