The Full Details On OVW Being Dropped For FCW as WWE Development League

John Laurinaitis, senior vice president of WWE talent relations, made the announcement concerning OVW on Wednesday during a visit to the Louisville-based facility where he thanked company officials for their partnership and for their role in developing current WWE stars such as John Cena, Batista and Randy Orton.

The move leaves Florida Championship Wrestling as WWE's lone official developmental territory. Current OVW developmental talent will be relocated to the Tampa area. WWE considered Florida, where many WWE performers and officials live, to be a more desirable, centrally located site for its developmental operations.

"The facility has four wrestling rings and approximately 35 contracted athletes, with plans to increase that number to more than 70 in the near future," WWE said of the Florida site in a press release. "The facility is now fully operational, as WWE undertook large-scale renovations to FCW in order to accommodate its training needs. The finished training facility is more than 10,000 square feet, including an arena that will seat nearly 300 fans. The new training facility will also host a weekly show in front of a live audience, to be broadcast for regional television."

FCW is owned and operated by former pro wrestler Steve Keirn. Tom Prichard oversees all talent training at the facility. WWE performer and longtime OVW trainer Al Snow was released.

A number of developmental workers were released by WWE in the days prior to the announcement. The list included Michael DiPaolo, the original Roadkill in ECW, who had worked most recently in OVW as Antoni Pulaski. Other OVW talent cut were Ace Steele (Chris Guy) and Cassidy James (former TNA worker Cassidy Riley). Released from FCW were Badseed Shawn Osbourne (Shawn McGrath), G-Rilla (George Murdoch) and Robert Anthony.

Reid Fliehr, 19-year-old son of Ric Flair, has signed with FCW. Dropped from the roster was third-generation hopeful Lacey Adkisson (daughter of the late Kerry Von Erich and granddaughter of the late Fritz Von Erich).