Erick Stevens 3.10.07
The Florida Territory
A legendary hotbed for wrestling
From the early 1970s
To the mid-1980s
Championship Wrestling from Florida
Laid the foundation
To how mainstream wrestling became
A who’s who
Came in to the Sunshine State
And came out
More polished
Just better
Then when they arrived
All developed
All nurtured
By the Godfather of Florida Wrestling
Eddie Graham
March 10, 2007
A night which celebrated Florida wrestling
A night which was hosted by
Full Impact Pro
A fledgling Florida independent
The First Annual
Eddie Graham Memorial Battle of the Belts
The winner would become the first ever
Florida Heritage Champion
Awarded the prestigious title by Mike Graham
The son of the tournament’s namesake
Champions were in the tournament already
FIP World Champion Roderick Strong
FIP Tag Team Champions Jay & Mark Briscoe
ICW/ICWA Texarkana Television Champion Larry Sweeney
ROH World Tag Team Champion SHINGO
½ of the first ever FIP Tag Team Champions Jimmy Rave
The Champion of Insanity Delirious
But on this night
One man
Destined for greatness
The cusp of the next level
A mohawked warrior
With the strength of 3 men
And the passion of an army
Stepped up to the plate
And ran the gamut
The one and only
Erick Stevens
Round 1
Stevens faced SHINGO
A week earlier
The Japanese Strong Style brute
Won the ROH World Tag Team Titles
From the Briscoes
First defense spoilers
And shook up the world of honor
With momentum on his side
Dragon Gate’s monster
Brought the heavy artillery
But the Florida Powerhouse
Persevered
Like a freight train
Smashed with a Choo Choo
And dominated with a Doctor Bomb
After giving SHINGO a 3-second tn
Stevens advanced
One step closer…
Round 2
Stevens faced Delirious
Earlier in the night
Dave Prazak DEMANDED a battle royal
To determine the champion
Mike Graham told the DP Associates CEO
To eat crow
The masked lizard man
From the swamplands of rural Florida
Did everything he could
Used underhanded tactics
Used Mr. Prazak
Used Mr. Milo Beasley
A man who was physically disabled in a wheelchair
Became “healed”
Delivered a high risk dive off the apron
And then became disabled again
“Selectively” injured, as it seemed
It all seemed out of reach
But the Florida Powerhouse
Persevered
Like a freight train
Smashed with a Choo Choo
And dominated with a Doctor Bomb
After giving Delirious a 3-second tn
Stevens advanced
One step closer…
The Final Round
Stevens faced Roderick Strong
His trainer
His mentor
His friend
An all-out war
Transpired in Crystal River
Strikes
Suplexes
Backbreakers
Submissions
Both men dominated one another
It seemed over
Death by Roderick
Fireman Carry Double Knee Gutbuster
Jumping Yakuza Kick
Gibson Driver
One…
Two…
THRE...NO!
The mohawked warrior kicked out
The FIP World Champion went in for the kill
But the Florida Powerhouse
Persevered YET AGAIN
Like a freight train
Smashed with a Choo Choo
Overhead release german suplex
Devastating lariat
And dominated with a Doctor Bomb
After giving Strong a 3-second tn
Stevens WON
Made history
The first ever Florida Heritage Champion
There can be only one first
And Stevens was it
Mike Graham came out to the ring
Awarded him the title belt
And the celebration was on
Standing room only
Standing ovation delivered
Belt over the shoulder
This was the career-defining night
It helped propel him to
Ring of Honor
Made him
A man of Resilience
A powerhouse in the land of technical wrestling
A Full Impact Pro World Champion
But on this night
3.10.07
Erick Stevens
The man who honored history
The man who honored Florida
The man who won the Battle of the Belts
The man who became
The first ever Florida Heritage Champion
Jon Harder
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