The Carolina Wrestling Federation returned to Graham under the FWA Carolinas banner on Saturday, February 23rd with a big show dubbed 'Heartbreak.'

In the opening contest, Rob the Bull McBride and Slick Ric Converse, accompanied as always by Special K, took on the debuting Kamakaze Duo. The Duo had the crowd behind them and their antics were received well on their first night in the CWF. McBride and Ric were not amused however, and soon took over on the newcomers and eventually got the victory when Ric pinned one of the Kamakazes with a top-rope frog splash.

Up next, veteran competitor L.A. Stephens teamed with the two Canadian Assassins for a handicap match against the 7' Granite and the Amazing Sideshow, who was joined by the vivacious Enigma. Stephens interrupted Sideshow addressing the crowd prior to the match and got into a confrontation on the floor. Granite worked over his opponents early in the match with arm bars, hammerlocks, and a DDT, going beyond the realm of the typical big man moveset. Once the more experienced grapplers got Sideshow in the ring, they attempted to keep him at their mercy for as long as possible. Granite took all three men down and was able to control both Assassins while Sideshow was preoccupied with Stephens on the floor. Eventually, Granite hit both Assassins with chokeslams and got the pin for this team, to a rousing ovation from the Graham crowd.

In the first of three championship matches, FWA Women's World Champion Amber Holly defeated against her archrival GeeStar. The two ladies went at it with all the ferocity of their previous encounters, and at times it looked like Gee had the championship within her grasp. Amber battled back and was in control of the bout when Gemini Kid strutted to the ring and yanked Amber down by the hair. This caused Mikael Yamaha to hit the ring and chase Gemini back. This enabled Amber to capitalize on the distraction of GeeStar and get the pinfall to retain her title. Good match.

"Awesome" Jeff Justice and yet ANOTHER guy called Steel (gee whiz guys, give it a rest) made their way to the ring for the evening's next tag team encounter. Their opponents would be the indy dream team of Cham Pain and "The Enforcer" C.W. Anderson. Pain and Steel started off with a nice wrestling sequence that Pain got the better of, although Steel held his own. The Enforcer was on his game as well, nailing many of his signature spots throughout the bout before getting the pin on Steel with the spinebuster. Good action from the two indy superstars. At intermission, Anderson and Pain signed autographs and were bombarded by eager fans.

After the conclusion of intermission, it was time for the FWA Carolinas Tag Team Championships to be defended as the returning Storm Brothers challenged the $outh$ide Playas. The Storms were at the top of their game and controlled J-Money for much of the contest, with occasional shady tactics mixed in with good traditional tag team wrestling. Once L.A. Ca$h finally got the hot tag, he was a house of fire on both Storms. At about the ten minute mark, Ca$h prepared to nail Iceman Joe Storm with his springboard leg lariat out of the corner, but Storm pulled referee Vern Stephens into the path of the kick. The Playas nailed the 3P on Joe and had the pin, but there was no referee to count. Damien Storm slid in and cracked L.A. Ca$h with the kendo stick, putting Joe on top for the pin. Referee Charles Richardson came to the ring and made the count, awarding the belts to the Storm Brothers. Vern got back to his feet, and ordered the match restarted. The Playas fought back and nailed Damien with the tandem chokeslam and got the decisive pin to retain their titles. After the bout, the Storms attacked the Playas and left Ca$h laying following their finisher, the 3D. Good match that definitely could have benefited from more time to develop.

Up next was Gemini Kid finally getting his FWA Carolinas Cruiserweight Title shot against champion Mikael Yamaha. However, Commissioner William L. Cross threw a wrench in Gemini's plans, as he had been promised the title shot under the stipulations that he did not interfere in any other matches. Since he obviously interfered in the Women's Title match, Cross said he would keep his word and grant Gemini the shot, but he would now have to beat two people instead of one. It would be a three-way-dance, Yamaha, Gemini, and Sexton Tyler! It would be elimination style, two pinfalls to win the match. All three went at it feverishly, with Gemini pulling out the heavy artillery early on, including a Gory Special into a facebuster, which led right into an STF in a cool spot. Tyler broke up the STF before Gemini could get the elimination however, and soon all three were going at it again. Yamaha nailed his brother Sexton with the Northern Lights Bomb, but Tyler was able to drape his foot across the bottom rope. Gemini eventually grabbed Yamaha and nailed a Tiger Driver to get the pinfall and eliminate the champion. It was down to Gemini versus Sexton, and both fought hard, with Gemini at one point almost gaining a three count, until referee Charles Richardson caught Kid's feet on the ropes at the last second. In the confusion that followed the nearfall, Sexton decapitated Gemini with a vertical suplex turned into a Diamond Cutter and got the pin to win the title. After the match, Amber Holly and Mikael Yamaha came to the ring and congratulated the new champion, but the tension could be felt as Yamaha hoisted his brother up onto his shoulders in what turned out to be nothing more than a friendly gesture. Good match, it should be interesting to see how this scenario develops in future shows.

In the main event, Madd Maxx took on Otto Schwanz in a Falls Count Anywhere match to determine once and for all the number one contender to the FWA Carolinas Heavyweight Title. Both men fought all over the building, using steel chairs, trashcans, and more to pummel each other. In the end, Schwanz went for a headbutt onto Maxx, but he moved and Schwanz caught nothing but a steel chair. Maxx made the cover and got the victory, to earn his number one contender's status.

FWA Carolinas returns to Graham on March 23rd, with tensions surrounding the three FWA Carolinas championships high. The Tag Team title situation is definitely far from settled, the contention for the Heavyweight title is fiercer than ever, not to mention the challenges that will surely face the new Cruiserweight champion.

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