BG Says: FIP Emergence

September 24 & 25, 2004 – Tampa, Florida

Hello, I’m Brad Garoon, and you may recognize me name from the ROH reviews here on 411. With Jacob falling a tad behind on ROH reviews, I decided to try to branch out on my own a bit with some solo stuff. We still have the ROH reviews coming in, so keep an eye out for those as well.

Full Impact Pro is a wrestling company out of Florida. They started operating in August of 2003. This is the first show under booker Gabe Sapolsky, who is the current creative mind behind Ring of Honor. This home release features a 2-night tournament to crown the first FIP champion. How a company can function for a year without a champion is beyond me, but luckily those shows aren’t the ones I’m reviewing. After looking at the cards of old shows, it’s plain to see that the new booker is starting from scratch.

Night 1

Lenny Leonard introduces us to FIP and reminds us that this show will feature the first round matches in the FIP title tournament.

VS.
I’ve only seen one Kahagas match before, so I’m hoping that he’s more comfortable in his home state than he was in ROH. I’ve seen a lot of Scoot Andrews’ work in ROH and ECWA. ROH commentators Mark Nulty and Jimmy Bower join us here. Oh I’m sorry, the man I thought was Bower is actually his illegitimate brother Matt Pike, continuing that running joke. They lock up to start and Kahagas pushes Andrews to the corner. Kahagas grabs a headlock and then kicks away. Andrews tosses him to the apron and hits a guillotine legdrop. He hits a dropkick for 2. He rakes the back and chokes Kahagas out in the ropes. He hits a leg lariat for 2. Kahagas runs to the corner but Andrews catches him with an Alabama slam for 2. He goes for a pumphandle slam but Kahagas reverses it to the Whipper Snapper for the win at 4:35. I call it that and not a stunner because it was done in a way that I’ve only seen Mikey Whipwreck do before. Anyway, this was a pretty blah opener.
Rating: 3/4*

VS.
Masters warns that a new revolution will take over FIP. He says that if he doesn’t become the FIP champion then his leader will. Ooooh, ominous. I’ve never seen either of these two wrestle before, so I’m going in bias free. Lovett pushes Masters to the corner to start. He takes him down to the mat and grabs a headlock. Masters escapes with a legvice. Lovett hits a head-and-arm suplex and a leg lariat. Masters bails and Lovett follows him out. Masters runs back into the ring and catches Lovett on the mat. Lovett comes back with a powerslam. Masters hits a clothesline for 2. He hits a vertical suplex for 2. Lovett hits a German suplex for 2. Masters goes low and gets a school boy for the win at 3:45. Masters’ look reminds me of Mideon, and his work is pretty comparable.
Rating: *

VS.
They lock up to start and Slim J takes over with a headlock. He shoulder blocks Clark down but gets caught in a series of armdrags. Slim J returns the favor and gets a legsweep for 2. Clark comes back with armdrags and dropkicks Slim J out of the ring. Slim J dodges a dive and hits a knee to the gut back in the ring. He punches Clark down and hits a brainbuster. He hits a double stomp/elbow drop combo for 2. Clark surprises him with a small package for 2. He gets another roll up for 2. He gets another for 2 but Slim J cuts him off with a clothesline. Slim J hits a powerbomb for 2. Clark comes back with a sick piledriver and climbs the ropes. Slim J dodges the moonsault but misses his own twisting splash attempt. Clark gets a roll up for the win at 6:26. The power moves were completely out of place here, and none of them were sold. This was the very definition of a lousy spot-fest.
Rating: *1/4

VS.
Punk gets on the microphone and says he’s going to accept all the outcastes and misfits of the world with open arms. He thinks he should be in the main event instead of AJ Styles and Homicide, and so he’s going to start a revolution, a new dawn if you will. Walker powers Punk into the corner to start. That makes three out of the first four matches with that opening sequence. Punk gets aggressive so Walker shoves him down. Walker hits a shoulder block and gets a roll up for 2. He hits a dropkick and puts on an armbar. He works the arm over with kicks and reverses all of Punk’s attempts to escape. A chop exchange goes Walker’s way so Punk bails and dusts off the super secret ultra special CM Punk time out. That made me really happy. He pulls Walker out of the ring where they trade more chops. Punk runs back into the ring and catches Walker on his way back in. Walker comes back with a back bodydrop. Punk tosses him to the turnbuckle and chokes him. Josh Masters comes out to ringside as Walker starts to fire back. He gets a roll up for 2. Punk hits him with a hard clothesline and wrenches the neck. He puts on a sleeper hold but Walker powers out. Punk hits a knee to the gut for 2. He hits a seated dropkick for 2. He chokes Walker in the corner and then gets into a shoving match with the referee. He puts the sleeper hold back on but Walker’s hand only drops twice. He hits a jawbreaker to escape the hold. He hits a German suplex and a spin kick. He hits a T-bone suplex and a northern lights suplex for 2. Punk hits a pair of mule kicks but gets caught by Walker’s side slam finisher. Punk gets a roll up with a handful of tights for 2. He goes to the apron. Walker tries to suplex him back in the ring but Punk lands on top. Masters holds Walker’s foot down and Punk gets the win at 13:00. Hopefully this match is a sign of the show turning a corner.
Rating: ***

Punk gets on the microphone and says that jocks like Walker made him what he is today. He says that Masters is the first soldier in the New Dawn.

VS.
Rainman grabs a hammerlock but Cross powers out. Cross puts him to the mat and walks all over him. Rainman takes over on the mat and returns the favor. He hits a hard forearm and a series of armdrags. He hits a leg lariat and Cross bails. Back in the ring Rainman hits a sit-out powerslam for 2. He misses a blind charge in the corner and gets dropkicked. Cross hits a pair of spinning neckbreakers for 2. He gets a crucifix pin for 2 and hits a leg lariat for 2. He puts on a sleeper hold. Rainman powers out but Cross hits a dropkick for 2. Rainman misses a dropkick and Cross hits a running shooting star press for 2. He hits a sunset flip powerbomb and calls for a brainbuster. Rainman blocks and hits a German suplex. He hits a back bodydrop and a dropkick. Cross goes to the eyes but Rainman comes back with an Edge-o-Matic for 2. Cross hits a brainbuster for 2. He calls for the shooting star legdrop but Rainman crotches him. He does manage to hit a second rope neckbreaker for 2. Rainman hits the Side Splitter for the win at 11:15. Well, that came out of nowhere. Solid enough match.
Rating: **

VS.
Aries gets on the microphone and says he’s mad at Florida for delivering such a sorry turnout for this show. FIP defended this by citing the hurricane as a deterrent. Strong comes out and acts all virtuous as the hometown guy. Aries powers Strong into the corner and hits a back elbow on the break. Strong grabs a wristlock and keeps Aries on the mat. Aries grabs a headlock but Strong reverses to his own. He blocks a monkey flip and hits his own. Strong gets a legvice and hits a pair of mini piledrivers. Aries dropkicks out and gets 2. Strong hits a back elbow for 2. He hits a back suplex for 2. He hits a dropkick for 1. He hits a butterfly suplex and a second rope elbow drop for 2. Aries hits the snap side slam to gain the advantage. He starts working on the back and hits a knee to the back for 2. Strong misses an enziguiri and Aries hits the shinbreaker/back suplex combo for 2. He puts on a hammerlock submission but Strong powers out. Strong puts on the Boston crab but Aries makes the ropes. He hits a powerslam for 2. He puts on a chinlock but Aries reverses to the Rings of Saturn. Strong makes the ropes and hits a leg lariat for 2. Aries hits a back kick and a neckbreaker. He hits a diving headbutt after Strong helpfully moves closer to the turnbuckle. He puts on the Rings of Saturn but Strong reverses to a roll up for 2. He puts on a cobra clutch and hits a neckbreaker for 2. He hits a kneedrop and puts on the chinlock. He hits an STO and explosive elbow #2. He ducks the running knee but gets hit with a German suplex. Aries comes back with a northern lights suplex for 2. He hits a dropkick in the corner. Strong hits a pair of backbreakers and tosses Aries into the turnbuckle for 2. He hits a pumphandle slam, and a sick one at that, for 2. He goes to the top but Aries catches him with a spinning neckbreaker for 2. He hits the Golden Gate slam for 2. Strong hits a half nelson backbreaker for 2. They dodge one another’s submissions until Aries puts on the fishhook submission for the win at 16:58. The commentators question the legality of that hold. These guys busted ass in this one.
Rating: ***1/4

VS.
Mosca attacks Credible before the bell. He sends him crotch first into the turnbuckle and pulls him to the floor. He sends him into the guardrail, which falls and hurts a fan. He takes it like a man though. They brawl through the crowd, or lack there of. They fight up the bleachers and Mosca tosses Credible down. Back in the ring Mosca hits a big clothesline for 2. He hits a falcon arrow for 2. Credible gets a school boy for 2. Mosca hits a bodyslam and climbs the ropes. Credible catches him coming off the top with a superkick for the win at 3:35. Well, at least it was different.
Rating: 3/4*

VS.
Styles mocks Homicide’s style right off. Homicide gets a roll up for nothing and then gets dominated on the mat. Styles gets a northern lights suplex for 2. Homicide channels Little John but it’s not enough to keep Styles from getting an armbar. He grabs a front facelock but Homicide goes to the corner to break. Styles grabs the arm and goes back to the mat. He climbs the ropes and hits a crossbody for 2. He hits the chinlock but Homicide gets to the ropes. Styles hits a dropkick and goes back to the chinlock. Homicide hits a kneedrop for 2. He hits a bodyslam for 2. He puts on a submission hold and Pike talks about how certain moves have been used a lot tonight. That’s not a good thing. Homicide gets a crucifix pin for 2. He dumps Styles to the floor and hits a double ax handle. He teases sending Styles into the guardrail and then tosses him back into the ring instead. He misses a dropkick and gets kicked in the head. Styles dumps him but misses a baseball slide. Homicide hangs him up on the guardrail and tosses him back into the ring. He hits a low blow and chokes him out in the corner. He hits a backbreaker for 2. He climbs the ropes and hits a diving headbutt for 2. He rakes the back and climbs the ropes again but misses the diving headbutt. Styles hits a clothesline and a powerslam for 2. Homicide blocks a blind charge but AJ blocks his attempt at a crossbody and hits a spinning backbreaker for 2. Homicide hits a tiger driver for 2. Styles hits his suplex neckbreaker for 2. He hits the moonsault DDT for 2 when Homicide gets his foot on the ropes. He calls for the Styles Clash but Homicide blocks and hits a piledriver for 2. The ref gets knocked down as Styles hits a roundhouse kick. CM Punk runs into the ring with a chair and hits both men. Styles grabs the chair away from him as the referee starts to recover. Punk bails and the referee sees Styles with the chair and disqualifies him at 18:05. It really wasn’t setting the world on fire before the lousy finish.
Rating: **3/4

Punk and Masters gloat at ringside until Homicide nails them with a tope. He brings Masters into the ring where AJ hits him with the Styles Clash. Styles tells Homicide to win the title tomorrow so that he can beat him for the belt later.

Well, if that was the main event of a show I went to I’d be pretty upset. Let’s see what the second night has to offer.

Night 2

Lenny Leonard welcomes us to night two of the tournament by bringing out the New Dawn. Punk says that there will be more members joining Masters in the New Dawn. He tells Masters to act as a roadblock for Homicide.

VS.
Masters attacks Homicide from behind before the bell. Homicide gains control with a backdrop and a T-bone suplex. Masters bails and baits Homicide around the ring. He hits him with a vertical suplex for 2. Homicide sets him on the top rope and hits an Ace Crusher. He hits the Clothesline from Hell for the win at 1:25. Total squash. Punk tries a sneak attack but Homicide fights him off.
Rating: 1/2*

VS.
Kahagas gets Rainman on the mat and stays dominant. Rainman gets a headlock but Kahagas eventually powers out and hits a back suplex for 2. Kahagas hits a seated dropkick for 2. Rainman hits a side slam for 2. He dodges a roundhouse kick and hits a the Sky High and then the Side Splitter for the win at 4:15. Not much happening in a lot of these tournament matches.
Rating: *

VS.
Aries runs down a few wrestling legends before the match. Lenny Leonard asks him about his fishhook submission and, consequently, his taped up finger. Aries says it’s just a hangnail, but we all know better. Clark pushes him into the corner to start. Aries forces Clark into the corner but Clark fights back with strikes and a back bodydrop. He dropkicks Aries out of the ring and follows him out with an Asai moonsault. Back in the ring Aries goes to the eyes and takes over. He hits explosive elbow #1 and a dropkick in the corner for 2. He hits a kick to the back for 2. He hits a knee to the back in the corner and chokes him out. Clark hits a hurricanrana into the turnbuckle and kicks away. Aries hits the snap side slam for 2. He hits a backbreaker for 2. He hits explosive elbow #2 for 2. He puts on the fishhook but Clark rolls out. Clark hits a stunner and both men are down. He blocks a brainbuster and hits a reverse DDT for 2. He hits a pumphandle faceplant and a handspring moonsault for 2. He hits a back suplex and climbs the ropes. Aries dodges the dive and hits a brainbuster. He puts on the fishhook and Clark taps at 7:55. That was a surprisingly fun match.
Rating: **3/4

VS.
Credible should never be allowed near a microphone. Punk stalls at the bell and jaws with some little kids at ringside. He gets back in the ring but runs past Credible and jets to the floor. They go to the mat where Credible gets a hammerlock. He turns it into a headlock and gets 2. He hits a hiptoss and goes back to the headlock for 2. Punk pushes out and hits shoulder blocks in the corner. Credible goes back to the headlock and gets 2. Punk’s leg gets hurt on a leapfrog and the referee annoyingly keeps Credible away. Punk miraculously recovers and hits a chop block. He stays on the knee and puts on a leglock. He goes for a figure 4 but gets rolled up for 2. He hits a clothesline for 2. Credible gets a roll up for 2. Punk gets a figure 4 leglock but Credible turns it over. Punk gets to the ropes. He dropkicks the knee but Credible gets a powerslam. He hits a tornado DDT… sort of. He hits the superkick but his knee gives out. It gets 2. He calls for That’s Incredible but Punk reverses to a roll up with rope assistance for the win at 10:51. That was probably the best Justin Credible singles match I’ve ever seen, but that isn’t saying much.
Rating: **3/4

VS.
They go to the mat where Aries grabs a front facelock. A knucklelock goes Homicide’s way and he gets 2. Homicide grabs a headlock and gets a single leg takedown for 2. Aries gets a spinning toehold but Homicide powers out and goes back to the headlock. Aries gets a legvice but Homicide reverses to a stepover toehold noselock. He puts on a sleeper hold and turns it into a chinlock. Aries gets a headlock takeover for 2. He hits a dropkick in the corner and Homicide bails. Back in the ring Homicide hits a Yakuza kick. He blocks explosive elbow #1 and dumps Aries over the top rope. Aries hangs Homicide’s arm up on the top rope and rams it into the post. He hits a slingshot splash onto the arm and then hits separation anxiety. He stays on the arm with a hammerlock submission but Homicide hits his nose to escape. Aries hits a legdrop on the arm and wrenches the hammerlock in. He turns him over and gets 2. Homicide responds to uppercuts to his arm with chops. He tosses Aries to the apron but can’t suplex him back in. He drop toeholds him on the apron and Aries falls to the floor. Back in the ring Homicide goes to town with headbutts. He hits a corner forearm with his good arm and a T-bone suplex for 2. Aries hits a hammerlock DDT and puts Homicide on the top rope. He hits the superplex but only gets 2. He gets a roll up for 2. Homicide goes for the Cop Killer but Aries blocks. Homicide blocks a brainbuster and hits a weak clothesline with his bad arm. He hits a harder one with his good arm for the win at 15:30. Solid match with a neat finish.
Rating: ***

VS.
Punk cuts another promo, complaining about the gangster society that Homicide comes from. He doesn’t think that thugs and drug dealers should be made heroes. Man, Punk sure talks a lot on this DVD. Rainman forces Punk to the corner to start. Punk bails and argues with the fans over supposed hair pulling. Back in the ring Rainman gets a roll up for 2 and Punk bails again, complaining about tight pulling. Rainman hits him with a baseball slide and fights him on the floor. Back in the ring Punk lands on his head in the corner. He bails again and Rainman follows. He rolls Punk back in the ring but gets caught off guard. He hits a flapjack and a dropkick. He puts on an armbar and pins Punk for 2. He hits a legdrop on the arm but Punk goes to the eyes. Rainman goes for the mounted punches but Punk catches him with an inverted atomic drop and a neckbreaker for 2. Punk hits a series of kneedrops and rakes the back. He chokes Rainman out in the ropes and jaws with the kids in the crowd. He hits a bodyslam and catapults Rainman into the bottom rope. Rainman gets a backslide for 2 but Punk comes back with a clothesline. Rainman goes for a Yakuza kick but gets hung up on the top rope. He crotch drops Rainman’s head for 2. He gets a bow and arrow but Rainman flips over for 2. Rainman hits the Sky High as the camera gets blurry. He hits a pair of clotheslines and a vertical suplex. Punk gets a low blow and pins Rainman with his feet on the ropes for the win at 13:35. The finish was kind of weak and came out of nowhere, but it fits the gimmick that Punk is using.
Rating: **1/2

Punk calls Homicide out for their FIP title match right now and Homicide obliges. They brawl in the ring, but Josh Masters, who was in the hospital according to Punk, comes out and helps Punk with the beat down. Rainman makes the save and the New Dawn retreats to the back.

VS. VS. VS.
This is an elimination match and all four men are in the ring at the same time. Cross gets clotheslined out of the ring and Walker and Strong hit a double-team slam on Slim J for 2. Slim J kicks Strong down but can’t hurt Walker. He hits a reverse hurricanrana and a top rope reverse DDT on Walker. Cross comes back in and hits an inverted blockbuster on Slim J to eliminate him. Strong hits a back elbow on Cross. Walker hits Cross with a spin kick for 2. Walker and Strong argue over who gets the pin on Cross like a couple of morons. Cross rolls up Walker for 2. Strong rolls up Cross for 2. Walker rolls up Strong for 2. He takes Strong and Cross down simultaneously. He hits Strong with a back suplex and hits Cross with a German suplex. Strong bails and Walker hits him with a suicide dive. Cross dives onto both of them in an extremely contrived spot. Back in the ring Strong German suplexes Walker who hits a northern lights suplex on Cross at the same time. It gets 2 for whoever. Walker nails Strong with a roundhouse kick and hits Cross with a DDT. Strong hits a rib breaker on Walker. Walker stumbles into a Cross roll up and gets eliminated. Strong and Cross trade pin fall attempts. Cross hits a brainbuster for 2. He goes for his inverted blockbuster but Strong blocks and hits a nasty backbreaker for the win at 7:31. A few awkward spots aide this was a fun little spot-fest.
Rating: **1/4

VS.
Masters attacks Homicide on the outside before the match can start, but bad communication leads to Punk hitting a suicide dive on Masters. Homicide gets in the ring and hits a tope onto both of them. He elbowdrops a popcorn bucket onto Punk’s head. Punk tosses Homicide over the guardrail and brawls with him to the bleachers. Homicide tosses Punk into the wall and hits him with a trash can. He chokes Punk out with a t-shirt and brawls with him to the entrance of the building. The fight spills outside where Homicide hits a hiptoss onto the grass. He hits a vertical suplex on the grass. Punk rams Homicide into a lamp post. The wind howls as they trade chops. Punk pulls Homicide back into the building but Homicide takes over. He sits Punk in a chair and clotheslines him out of it. Punk comes back with an atomic drop onto the chair. Eww. He rakes the back and forearms him down. They fight into a restroom where Homicide pushes Punk’s face into a urinal. They brawl back to ringside where Masters is still recovering. Homicide whips Punk with a velvet rope. Punk crotches Homicide on the post. He chokes Homicide with the velvet rope. Homicide gives a fan a chair and rams Punk’s face into it. Back in the ring Punk hits the Shining Wizard as the match officially starts. Punk goes to the top and hits a legdrop for 2. He goes for Welcome to Chicago but Homicide reverses to a piledriver for 2. He hits a belly-to-belly overhead suplex for 2. Punk hits a pair of mule kicks but Homicide gets a backslide for 2. Punk hits Welcome to Chicago for 2. He goes to the top but Homicide cuts him off with an Ace Crusher. He hits the Clothesline from Hell for 2 when Masters pulls the referee out of the ring. Homicide dumps Punk onto Masters and then pulls Punk back into the ring. Punk falls onto Homicide and Masters tries to hold his leg again but it only gets 2. Homicide blocks the Pepsi Twist and hits a lariat for the win and the title at 13:35. The actual match was only a few minutes, but the whole thing was a lot of fun and really different from usual brawls.
Rating: ***1/2

The babyfaces, including a few guys who didn’t make the DVD, come out and congratulate Homicide. Lenny Leonard announces him as the first FIP champion. Homicide says that he’ll be a fighting champion and he’ll take on all comers. He celebrates with the crowd and signs autographs too. This looks so weird to me because I’m used to his uber-heel persona.

The 411:  This two-night show gave off a very different vibe than a Ring of Honor show. The booker may be the same, but the feel of this company is very different. The matches are shorter and the crowd is smaller. Also, in a bit that I really enjoy, the heel/babyface lines are clearly defined. The promo style gave this a very old school TV taping kind of a feel. None of the matches here are must-see, but the main event of night two was a lot of fun. If you want to see how ROH workers perform in a different environment against different opponents then this company is definitely something you should check out. You can find all the FIP home releases at www.rohwrestling.com, www.fullimpactpro.com. And of course, I'd love your feedback. Let me know how I'm doing on my own.

Final Score:  7.5   [ Good ]