Local League Down For The Count With WWE

Florida Championship Wrestling will no longer promote events featuring up-and-coming WWE talent at Bourbon Street, the nightclub and concert venue on U.S. 19.

Last week, professional wrestler and local FCW promoter "Roughhouse" Ralph Mosca was told by officials with World Wrestling Entertainment, the industry juggernaut owned by Vince McMahon, that the company was looking for a "more professional setting."

"They wanted to keep their 20-foot ring - it's a WWE-style ring - and we can't fit that in this building," Mosca said.

FCW boss and former pro wrestler Steve Keirn, who runs a wrestler-training facility in Tampa, elaborated.

"It's a smoky bar scene, you know. If we had produced crowds it might be different, but we just never got a following there," he said. "We gave it almost a year to generate an audience. It's just not the style or class we want to attach to WWE superstars.

"Our business is trial and error. It's not Ralph's fault or anybody at Bourbon Street. It just didn't generate enough of an audience to keep going out there week after week. With our TV in place, it's important to us what we look like. We don't want to look like a little indie" organization.

"Florida Championship Wrestling" is televised locally on Bright House Sports Network.

FCW is the WWE's developmental territory, and several wrestlers who have graced the Bourbon Street ring, including Nattie Neidhart, daughter of former wrestler Jim "The Anvil" Neidhart, and Afa Anoai Jr., part of a famous Samoan wrestling family, have wound up on WWE's "Raw," "SmackDown" and "ECW" TV shows.

Despite FCW's pullout, there will still be pro wrestling at Bourbon Street on Tuesday nights.

After receiving the news last week, Mosca, who twice recently wrestled in FCW matches, scrambled to arrange a show under the American Combat Wrestling Underground banner.

"FCW is more of a family-oriented show," Mosca said. "You can see the guys training and coming up from scratch. ACW is more smash-mouth. Anything goes."

Mosca's ACW Underground business partner will be Dave Kocotos, who helped establish Bourbon Street as a wrestling venue several years ago when he promoted the original American Combat Wrestling. Kocotos plans to film ACW Underground shows and show them online at www.kocosports.com/combattv.

Mosca said he will continue to promote FCW shows at the Jewish Community Center of West Pasco, in Port Richey, and is pursuing other venues across the state.

He is likely, however, to take to the ring much more frequently in ACW Underground.

"I'm all about doing this for the fans and keeping wrestling in the area, especially Bourbon Street, the home for professional wrestling in Pasco County," he said.