BG Says: FIP Melbourne Meltdown

May 26, 2007 – Melbourne, Florida

When we last left FIP
Roderick Strong and Erick Stevens successfully defended their belts in the best matches of the night. The Black & the Brave and the Briscoe Brothers traded wins in singles matches. Lacey turned on the Heartbreak Expressed and joined the ever expanding female entourage of the YRR. Also, Jimmy Rave defeated Trik Davis and demanded an FIP World Heavyweight Championship match.

Dave Prazak and Lenny Leonard handle commentary on this DVD release.

Prazak comes out with Jimmy Rave and Mr. Milo Beasley to start the show. He says that several months ago they let Delirious into DP Associates, but lately he’s been very disappointed in him. Last night he didn’t pay attention to his advice and thus he lost his match. Prazak starts getting personal, calling Delirious a moron and then fires him from DP Associates. If Delirious decides to look for revenge for his termination Prazak has secured a bounty hunter to protect DP Associates. Rave then promises to win the FIP World Heavyweight Championship tonight. He calls out Strong, so Strong comes out and hits Beasley with the Sick Kick.

VS.
They lock up and Wayne powers Clark to the corner. He keeps Clark in the corner for a while and then stands strong through shoulder tackle attempts. Clark finally takes him down with a head scissors takedown. He hits a pair of armdrags and a dropkick. He dropkicks Wayne’s knee and puts on a headlock. Wayne throws Clark across the ring to escape and hits a big boot. He hits a bodyslam and an elbowdrop for 2. He tosses Clark to the floor and beats him up a little. Back in the ring Clark avoids a vertical suplex and gets a roll up for 2. Wayne cuts him off with a dropkick for 2. He chokes Clark in the ropes and then hits a guillotine legdrop off the top onto the apron for 2. Clark dodges a blind charge but his springboard DDT is countered to a northern lights suplex. That gets 2 for Wayne. He goes to the eyes but Clark blocks a blind charge only to botch a move off the top rope. He rebounds with a dropkick for 2. He hits a forearm, a clothesline and a leg lariat for 2. Wayne slams him into the corner but Clark stays in control with an enziguiri. He hits the handspring moonsault for 2. Wayne comes back with a vertical suplex and an elbowdrop off the top for the win at 11:01. Wayne and Tomko could probably switch places without too many people noticing. They had a lot of trouble down the stretch, hurting what was looking to be a solid opener (although the real opener was a match between Rex Sterling and Mike Booth that got cut from the DVD).
Rating: **

Danny Daniels comes out to the ring to talk about how disappointed he is in himself. He was very excited to debut with FIP, but after driving through Florida he isn’t excited anymore. He calls the kids in the crowd ugly and longs for Chicago. Before he can go home he has to have a match, so he challenges any Florida wrestler to a match. Erick Stevens answers the call, because the Florida Heritage Champion has to defend Florida’s good name. Daniels will wrestle him if the title is on the line.

VS.
Daniels attacks Stevens from behind to start. Stevens comes back with a forearm, a back elbow and a chop, sending Daniels to the floor. Back in the ring they knuckle up and Stevens overpowers Daniels. He hits a bodyslam and an elbowdrop for 2. He hits a vertical suplex and a side slam for 2. Daniels dodges the avalanche and sends Stevens’s shoulder into the post. He follows Stevens out with a dive from the top and rolls him back into the ring. He climbs the ropes again and hits a knee kick off the top. He hits a big boot for 2. He works on Stevens’s arm with an armbar but Stevens gets to the ropes. Daniels hits a stunner on the arm for 2. Stevens fires up so Daniels pokes his eyes. Stevens comes back with a powerslam. He hits a back bodydrop and the avalanche. He hits a shoulder tackle but can’t hit a one-armed powerbomb. He can hit the uranage for 2. Daniels uses the referee to regain control and hit a side suplex. He hits a senton for 2. He hits another off the second rope for 2. He goes for the piledriver but Stevens blocks it and hits the TKO and the Doctor Bomb for the win at 11:46. Stevens was able to hit his signature moves despite all the arm work, rendering all of Daniels’s offense useless and making me think this should have just been a squash.
Rating: **¼

Damien Wayne comes out and challenges Stevens to a title shot. He says Daniels didn’t deserve a shot and that Stevens doesn’t deserve to be the champion. That’s enough goading for Stevens to accept the challenge.

VS.
King clotheslines Waltman down before the bell. Waltman comes back with a clothesline of his own and kicks King down in the corner. King dodges the Bronco Buster and hits an elbowdrop. Waltman blocks a blind charge but runs into a belly-to-belly suplex. King puts on a chinlock and hits a back elbow for 2. He hits a double knee kick in the corner and a side kick for 2. He hits a bodyslam and climbs the ropes. He misses an elbowdrop and Waltman comes back with right hands and a roundhouse kick. He hits a leg lariat but King goes to the eyes. Waltman no-sells it and hits the Bronco Buster. King hits a clothesline but Waltman blocks a back suplex and hits the X-Factor for the win at 5:12. This was even lazier than most Waltman matches.
Rating: *

The YRR swoops in and Waltman gets a beat down after the match. Steven Madison and the Heartbreak Express make the save and clear the ring. Sean Davis gets on the microphone and challenges them to a six-man tag right now, stating they didn’t settle anything in the brawl last night. Sal Rinauro accepts the challenge on the condition that they have a straight wrestling match. Rance doesn’t want to see a single weapon used in the match and wants two referees to make sure everything stays kosher.

VS.

The second referee officiates from the floor. Madison and Rinauro start. They trade slaps and Rinauro backs off. Sean tags in and slaps Rinauro down. He works over Rinauro’s arm and tags to Phil. Phil stays on the arm and tags to Madison. Madison stays with the game plan but Rinauro goes to the eyes and tags to Rance. Madison hits a hiptoss and tags to Sean. Sean works the arm and tags to Phil. Phil drops an elbow on the arm and puts on an armbar. Madison and King tag in and Madison puts on a wristlock. Sean tags in and slugs King down. Madison tags in and gets hit with a bodyslam. Rinauro tags in and gets hit with an armdrag. Rinauro bites the face to come back but Madison blocks a hiptoss and throws Rinauro across the ring. Phil tags in and things break down. The YRR gets stacked in the corner and Sean hits them with an avalanche. He hits a butt splash on Rinauro for good measure. Lacey trips Phil and Rinauro kicks him to the floor. Back in the ring Rinauro fights dirty. He hits a fistdrop and tags to Rance. Rance chokes Phil in the corner and slams him to the mat for 2. King tags in and whips Phil hard into the corner. Rinauro tags in and hits a double axe handle off the top. He hits a dropkick for 2. He stomps on Phil’s face but Phil blocks a blind charge. Rinauro keeps him from tagging out with a dropkick and tags to King. King hits an elbowdrop for 2. Rance tags in and hits mounted forearms. He hits a bodyslam and tags to Rinauro. Rinauro misses an elbowdrop and accidentally collides with Rance. Madison tags in and forearms King down. He sends Rinauro and Rance to the floor and hits a bulldog on King. Rinauro sends Madison to the floor but Sean slugs him down. Sean blocks a sunset flip by sitting on Rinauro’s chest for 2 when Rance saves. Rance sends Sean to the floor but Phil hits him with a clothesline. King hits Phil with a double knee kick and Rance and Rinauro get in on the fun. The Davises hit a double flapjack on Rinauro and hold him for a top rope legdrop from Madison. That’s enough for King and Rance as they hit everyone with chairs, drawing the disqualification at 13:29. Weird finish aside (why does Bayless distract her own team?) this was actually pretty solid for a Heartbreak Express match.
Rating: **½

After the match the Rance, Rinauro and King hit their spike piledriver on a chair. Clark and Stevens make the save after the fact. Sean Davis gets on the microphone and challenges the YRR to a Melbourne Street Fight next month when FIP returns. With Stevens and Madison in the ring together I was hoping for a Miracle Violence Connection reunion but it didn’t happen.

VS.
The FIPPER is answering an open challenge from Vega. If I was going to guess I’d say that this FIPPER (#15) was Trik Davis, but I could be wrong. At any rate he’s doing Boogie Woogie Man gimmick. Vega hits a low blow to start. He hits a boot to the face and a neckbreaker. He hits an elbowdrop and poses for the camera. #15 comes back with forearms but Vega cuts him off with a clothesline. He lifts #15 up at 2 and pulls on his mask. He blocks #15’s strikes and hits a capture suplex before finishing #15 off with a flying headbutt for the win at 2:11. #15’s entrance was longer than the match.
Rating: ¼*

VS.
Strong goes after the arm to start. They trade holds until Strong forces Rave to the corner and Rave bails. Back in the ring they knuckle up and Strong stomps on Rave’s hands, prompting him to bail again. Strong pulls a kid from the crowd and puts him on the apron and Rave cowers in fear of the boy. The match gets back underway when Strong puts on a hammerlock. They trade wristlocks and Strong stomps on Rave’s elbow. After more stalling Rave gets a headlock takedown. He slugs Strong and hits a clothesline in the corner. Strong comes back with a chop and Rave bails again. Back in the ring Strong keeps the pressure on with chops. He keeps Rave from bailing and tosses him across the ring by his hair. That allows Rave to take another powder. This time Strong goes out after him and chops him some more. Rave bleeds a little from the chest and collapses on the floor. Strong drops Rave’s chest on the apron and rolls him back into the ring. He hits a delayed vertical suplex for 2. He hits another hard chop and a bodyslam. He hits an elbowdrop for 2. Rave throws him into the corner and Strong rolls to the floor. Prazak hits a cheap shot so Strong wheels Beasley into the barricade. He chases Prazak too but Rave catches him with chops. They fight to the apron where Rave hits the STO. He rams Strong’s back into the barricade and the post. He rolls back into the ring and tries for a count out victory but Strong gets back in the ring at 4. THE REFEREE SPOT OF DOOM takes place so as always there will be no more play-by-play for the rest of this match in protest. It’s a shame too because I didn’t get to call Strong’s first chokeslam in context. Actually I’m going to resume play by play with a spot that saw Strong accidentally take out the referee with the Sick Kick. My rationalization is that the guy who performed the spot I hate got wiped out. Rave hits Strong with a low blow and then slugs him with a chain wrapped around his wrist for the win and the title. Delirious runs out and somehow tells the referee what happened and the match is restarted after the referee finds the chain. Strong comes from out of nowhere with the Sick Kick. He hits the half nelson backbreaker and the Razor’s Edge for the win at 22:19. Both guys worked really hard here and put on a Ring of Honor style and quality match. Rave’s cheap offense was put to great use in this match, and the finish should lead to another title match for Rave.
Rating: ***½

After the match Prazak demands a rematch for Rave. He shouts at Delirious, telling him he shouldn’t have stuck his nose in DP’s business and now he’ll pay. Necro Butcher runs out and beats him against the barricade. He drags Delirious around the building, beating him as he goes. Delirious keeps from getting put through a table and throws many chairs at Necro. Necro comes back with an atomic drop on the back of a chair and a big boot. Delirious gets in the ring but Prazak trips him to keep him from diving onto Necro. Necro beats Delirious down. He hits a bodyslam but Delirious comes back with the Neverending Story clotheslines. He hits the soccer kick and the Panic Attack. He hits the Shadows, which is enough to bring Rave back out. Rave and Necro beats Delirious down and Necro knocks him out with ether. Strong makes the save after the fact and says their title rematch will have no rules! This segment was listed as a match on the DVD box but it wasn’t actually a match. As a brawl this was fine, but nothing to get excited about.

An ad for Unfinished Business 2007 plays, and honestly I can’t recommend that DVD enough. The main event between Stevens and Madison is fantastic and heads up a very well rounded card.

VS.
Everyone brawls to start. Black hits Mark with a dropkick but Mark comes back with a leg lariat. Mark hits a double knee kick as Jay hits Brave with a hurricanrana. Brave tries to return fire with a clothesline but Jay clotheslines him to the floor. Black dives out onto Jay with a suicide dive so Mark dives out onto everyone with a moonsault off the top. Back in the ring the Briscoes hit Brave with the double shoulder tackle. They throw Black across the ring and he bails. Mark hits Brave with a Russian legsweep and chokes him. Jay tags in and hits a back elbow. He hits a clothesline in the corner and a basement dropkick for 2. Mark tags in and hits a Manhattan drop. He slaps Brave across the face and Jay hits a neckbreaker. Mark hits a vertical suplex and kicks the back. Black and Jay come in and the challengers take control. Black distracts the referee as Brave hits cheap shots on Jay. Brave comes in illegally and gets 2 after Black hits a leg lariat. Black tags back in and hits a knee to the gut for 2. Brave tags in and comes off the top with a double axe handle for 2. Mark makes a blind tag and hits a chinbreaker after Jay hits a stunner. He hits a clothesline for 2. He hits a dropkick in the corner and Jay hits a Yakuza kick. That gets 2 for Mark. The Briscoes hit Black with a double uranage. They hit Brave with a guillotine split legged moonsault for 2. Mark puts on a horizontal abdominal stretch but Black makes a blind tag and dropkicks him into the Complete Shot from Brave. That gets 2 for Black. He hits a back elbow for 2. Brave tags in and hits a bulldog. Black hits a standing moonsault, getting 2 for Brave. The challengers take turns raking Mark’s chest and back. Mark fights back but can’t make the tag. After being choked for a minute Mark hits a forearm off the second rope and tags to Jay. Jay hits a dropkick on Jay and knocks Black to the floor. He hits a superkick on Rave and the DVD on Black. The Briscoes hit a Hart Attack leg lariat on Brave for 2. They go for the Doomsday Device but when Black knocks Mark to the floor and tries to help his partner Brave falls awkwardly on his neck and starts clutching his back. It’s never a good sign when a guy injures one body part but a different one hurts. The fall is truly cringe worthy. Brave continues the match but he looks very out of it. Black powerbombs Jay into the corner and hits a frog splash for 2. He hits a springboard clothesline but Brave is having trouble just standing. Jay hits Black with a neckbreaker and tags to Mark. Mark hits Black with the yelping splash for 2. Black hits a huge low blow and a big boot. He hits a running shooting star press for 2. He goes for the Small Package Driver but Mark blocks it and hits an exploder. Jay tags in and the Briscoes hit Black with an elevated Ace Crusher for the win at 20:17. The injury changed the match but not so detrimentally that it ruined anything. The finish was a little weak but I think they made due with what they had quite well. A very good match, all things considered.
Rating: ***½

The 411:  I had a tough time getting through this show. The World and tag title matches are both good but the show leading up to those matches is rather dull. Nothing is bad but nothing is really worth seeing outside of the top two matches. Couple that with the fact that the advertised Delirious vs. Necro Butcher match isn't actually a match and you've got a bit of a disappointment. Like I said, Strong and the Briscoes deliver, and if that's enough for you then you can pick up this show at ROHWrestling.com or FullImpactPro.com.

Final Score:  7.0   [ Good ]