Payne was intrigued when Crawford rattled some names of like Tom Tennant, The Nightmare Express, Scion and The Thespians, The LoS, and others...He gave Crawford a verbal agreement and when they got back to the States he signed an offical contract with the FCW, structured mostly on incentives as most contracts tend to be these days.
The federation started around January 2001, and Payne was considered to be one of the main eventers and a strong possibilty at being the first FCW World Champion. Payne started out strong and was awarded for his stellar record by being placed in a Fatal Four Way Texas Death Match for the FCW World Title at Pledge Your Allegiance...Along with him is featured Scion, Tom Tennant, and Most Holy. The match took place, and much to Payne's dismay he was the very first one eliminated, by none other then the eventual winner and first champion of the FCW: Most Holy.
Payne decided that maybe he wasn't as ready for this level of competition as he thought...So after a win over Explosion, Payne disappeared for about a month and was taken off the cards at his request...Payne really went a trained, and trained, and trained some more, until he felt like his body could take no more. He trained his mind as well...He sharpened his skills, honed them, and when he returned, spoiling the party of Shawn Michaels and Mark Paris, at Lethal Lottery. Upon his return Payne went on another decent winning streak culiminating with his getting a shot at current FCW IC Champion, Explosion along with Bad Dreams...Payne was unsuccessful in this attempt, but unlike in the past he was undaunted by the loss and continued on.
Which brings us to the almost current time...After losing a war to Tom Tennant for the FCW World Title, Tennant retired, leaving the belt vacant yet again just like it was after long time champ Deathwish had a career ending injury. So President Crawford decided to have a one night, eight man Texas Death Tournament to decide who would become the next FCW World Champion...The competitiors were Mark Payne, Sambo, Hazard, Explosion, Bad Dreams, Scion, Jean, and Shawn Michaels. In the first round we saw Payne almost end young Sambo's career with a brutal DVD through a table that enabled Payne to pick up the win. Payne's second round opponent was Jean, the upstart rookie...After a twenty minute war with the mysterious wrestler Payne emerged victorious after a Superstar Superkick that rendered Jean unconscious.
So here was Mark Payne...Yet again so close to claiming gold. All he had to do was defeat Bad Dreams in the finals. The match was very close, with both men trading numerous falls. In the end it was Mark Payne who nailed Bad Dreams with a powerbomb into a bridge and gained the pinfall. Dreams couldn't answer the ten count and just like that Mark Payne had finally won a World Title again after nearly a year since his AGW one.
As FCW World Champion, Mark Payne ushered in an era of dominance like no one had ever seen. He defended against the best the FCW had to offer and was successful in his every bid. His reign stands unmatched at 77 days, far surpassing the previous longest reign held by AGW legend, Most Holy. The Payne era of rule in the FCW might have indeed lasted even longer if not for one thing. Jean. Payne was scheduled for a one on one defense against Samson, but Jean pulled a fast one and used his promised Civil War Title shot to make it a three way dance. Payne eliminated Jean, but the damage was done...Samson came in and beat the winded Payne after a dargon suplex onto a chair that left the then champ unconscious. Payne was no longer FCW World Champ, but he made sure the one responsible for his loss would pay dearly.
Payne paid Jean back in spades when he attacked him a couple weeks later. A vicious attack on Jean's body left him with several internal injuries and forced him to be shelved to this day still. Payne, in doing this, made a clear example of what he is all about. Around this time another interesting thing occured. Mark Payne and Oblivion finally saw their feud bubble over and escalate into a all out battle. Exchanging words and attacks it was all building towards a major Pay Per View match that, in the end, saw Payne pull it out in a match that was filled with bloodshed.
After his war with Oblivion Payne found himself in the midsts of a feud with Dark Enigma, who ended up led by Lollipop, who has reverted to her alter ego: Emeraldas. Yes, after being together for a long time Payne and Lollipop ended in a rather bad way when Payne brought out his new manager: Rhapsody who has been let go by current World Champion Scion. Emeraldas managed both Scion and Dark Enigma up until recently, after deciding to leave Scion and stay with Enigma.
Anyways, Payne found himself, after starting this feud with Enigma, in something he did not want to admit to himself he was in: a slump. Sure everyone has one, but Payne refused to believe it and it showed. His frustration became apparent as Scion and Enigma taunted him week in and week out. The skid started, really started, at Survival of The Fittest and The Blonde Bastard's unsuccessful attempt to take the World Title for then champion: Scion.
Survival of the Fittest also marked the return of a foe long missing from the wrestling scene: Monarch. Anyone familiar with The King of The Rotten knew that the feud between him and Payne was inevitable when he showed up in FCW. Ironically one of Payne's few wins in his slump came over Monarch, despite a vicious beating administered by the former AGW Champion. Also around this time one could say Payne got desperate and even decided to join a stable...The H8 Club wih Hazard and Chad Phillips.
No matter what he did Payne was down...This continued until roughly February 2002. For two months Payne was written off. Then things started to change. After taking losses to Scourge, Samson, Dark Enigma, Dan Sexton, and others Payne took a different strategy to things: He stopped obessing over winning. Payne let go of the arrogance inside of him, not completely, but enough so he could refocus. The results were immediate.
Payne got back on track and was very impressive, enough so to earn himself a spot in the FCW's marquee PPV's main event. The stage was set: The World Champion Scion, Dark Enigma, Monarch, and of course Mark Payne. Four Way Texas Death Match with the biggest prize in the land on the line. The match was nothing short of greatness. These men fought for fame and legendary status in the eyes of the world. Monarch was the first to be eliminated, falling to Dark Enigma and the Sliver. Dark Enigma then got eliminated by The Blonde Bastard after a brutal crucifix powerbomb. This left only Scion and Payne...They battled with everything they had, Emmy and Rhapsody involving themselves numerous time. In the end it with a Superstar Superkick that ended it. Mark Payne was once again FCW World Champion.
It seemed that Mark Payne was now once again back on track. His title reign would end a mere twenty-one days later at the hands of "Mr. Moonlight" Darian Blaze, but you could tell that Payne had gained something back in the days leading up to his title win, and with the win itself: His confidence. Payne then embarked on a feud with Sambo, which was recieved well. It culminated at FCW's The Lottery where Payne and Sambo fought with Payne putting Sambo over in the end, enhancing both men's career with a solid performance. The real story of that night; however, would be the Lottery tournament itself. The Lottery, for those who do not know, is a tournament that pairs up wrestlers at random and then pits them against each other in tag team contests, with the winner recieving a world title match with the champion in a three way dance.
Payne was teamed with the pompous Evenkiel, a man who would become a bitter enemy of Payne's in later FCW days. However on this night they were able to run through the competition, capping it off in the finals with a win over the monsterous pairing of Explosion and Rinyth when Payne pinned Rinyth after the Moment of Clarity. Evenkiel and Payne were the winners of the '02 Lottery which meant that in two short weeks time Payne would have yet another opportunity to add another world title to his collection. The match was set for Full Contact Television and it pitted Evenkiel vs. Mark Payne vs. the new crowned champion at the Lottery: Scourge. Scourge was one of the most feared competitors in FCW at the time. Running through his competition he had been on a path that took him to the world title in a very impressive way. However he was the first to fall in that matchup, as Payne was able to surprise the powerhouse with a Superstar Superkick that laid him our for the ten count and then some. With Evenkiel and Payne the only two remaining, Payne could smell victory. It was a back and forth exchange, but in the end it was Payne who was able to defeat Evenkiel and become the world champion of FCW for the third time, an FCW first.
Payne would establish a new dominate side too him with this title reign. Taking on all comers, he impressively defended against some of the best. However, looming in the distance was the prospect of Cruel and Unusual II, a event that Payne still had bad memories left over from his war with Tom Tennant a year ago in it. Payne was confident, but he was no going to face Hazard, the One Man Riot. Payne had beaten Hazard before this, rather easily, but Payne knew it was not going to be easy. The match was short, only 17 minutes or so, but both men beat the living hell out of one another. This is when we first saw just how far Hazard was willing to go to make a name for himself, when he Flatscanned Payne off the apron and onto the box used for the Insane Death Match, leaving both men in a heap of shattered wood, metal, glass, and sharp objects...Hazard got up, barely, Payne was not as lucky. Hazard won the world title that night, but both men left that arena with a new found respect from everyone in the wrestling industry.
Payne was not slowed down though. He would, a month and a half after C + U II, win the FCW IC title from Scourge, using it to elevate himself as high as he could be without actually having the World Title, which at the time was now held by Jean who had defeated Hazard. It was time; however, for Payne to settle an old score from last year. Oblivion, the resident FCW madman, was once again squarely in Payne's path. Words can not do justice the leadup that Payne/Oblivion part 2 had. The promos they cut, the attacks they orchestrated, all of it was mind blowing as we went into the second edition of All Hell Breaks Loose. This time their match would be a Hell in the Cell encounter. Everyone knew something was going to happen that night, something that would leave neither men, nor FCW, the same ever again. In what was a classic match, it ended up with Mark Payne and Oblivion on top of the unforgiving Hell in the Cell structure. Payne hit the Moment of Clarity, but the supports for the top of the cage would not hold any longer and both men plummeted down to the mat, hitting with such an impact that both were not moving at all. Payne's arm; however, landed on Oblivion and was draped over his chest. The ref had no choice but to count, and on paper at least Mark Payne was the winner. Everyone who saw that match though, knows neither man truly won that night...All they did was take a part of the other that neither will ever gain back.
While this feud was going on, Jean was putting together what would be the most dominate single FCW world title run in it's history. All who tried to beat him failed. Of course Mark Payne thought himself different. Payne, on a string of wins ever since losing his third world title to Hazard, thought himself all but invincible, and let everyone know it. He told the world how at the second edition of FCW's Survival of the Fittest he would stop Jean's sickening title reign, and prove once again what he was the self-professed FCW Icon. Unfortunately Payne's ego, for once, got far to ahead of him. While he did score the first pinfall on Jean, the Dark Prince was having none of Payne's smart ass remarks and brash attitudes this time. Jean defeated Payne that night, and Payne had no choice but to wait for another opportunity to arise as Jean continued on with his world title reign.
That opportunity would come two months later at the third, and consequently last, installment of FCW's flagship PPV: Pledge Your Allegiance. It was set to be Hazard vs. Jean vs. Evenkiel vs. Mark Payne, with the winner taking it all home. The match was very back and forth and for a moment it looked like Mark Payne was going to win his fourth world title reign that very night, but alas it was not to be. In the end Jean did lose, which was a silver lining, but seeing Hazard with the belt was just not the same. Payne had to, once again, wait for another opportunity to come to win his fourth FCW World Title. He would not have to wait all that long though.
Darian Blaze was able to unseat Hazard, leading to at the Lottery part three a match between Darian Blaze and Mark Payne for the FCW World Title. Emotions ran high as we went into this match, as both men were looking to establish themselves as the premier athelete in all of the FCW. It was a grueling war that lasted nearly twenty minutes, but it was obvious that Payne was wearing Blaze down. Finally, after a picture perfect German suplex, Payne was able to keep Blaze down for the ten count and for the fourth time he was crowned FCW World Champion. To top things off, in the Lottery Tournament itself Payne was forced to team with his arch-nemesis Monarch. They were able to function though, and as a result Payne was able to, once again, win the Lottery Tournament making himself the only repeat winner, and also ensuring him a defense against only one opponent instead of two. Payne would successfully defend against Monarch which would start a dominate run Payne would have up until his final night in FCW: Cruel and Unusual III.
Always an event that was unlucky for the Blonde Bastard, I think in retrospect Payne knew his time was drawing to an end in Full Contact Wrestling. It was once again, for the second year in a row, Hazard as his opponent. The match was perhaps the bloodiest in all of FCW, leaving both men battered and broken at the end. But once again it was Hazard who was the victor, defeating Payne and taking the world title from him, marking the beginning of his third reign. After the match; however, it was Payne that ended up stealing the show by shocking the world and announcing his retirement from FCW. FCW consequently closed down a month and a half later, but to all who remember it, it truly was the greatest federation to ever grace us with it's presence. Currently Payne has redebuted with the AGW and all information, until it becomes to big and needs to be archived like this chunk, will be on the main page.