BG Says: FIP X Factor

October 7, 2005 – Crystal River, Florida

When we last left FIP
Homicide made it through his first year as FIP champion by fending off Jimmy Rave of DP Associates, but was attacked by Rainman after the match. Tony Mamaluke continued to shock me by having a great 2/3 falls match against Roderick Strong. The Heartbreak Express retained their belts after defeating a pair of jobbers, but the tag team scene is getting thick and it’s going to be tough for them to stay on top.

Your hosts are Dave Prazak and Jared Davin.

Lenny Leonard brings out Sean Waltman of all people to start the show. Waltman is excited to be on the show, and seems pretty knowledgeable about the roster. He’s going to enjoy the show along with everyone else. Why does he keep touching his chest like that? Dave Prazak comes out and reluctantly announces that Mr. Milo Beasley won’t be able to attend the show because Homicide hurt him on the last show. He calls Waltman a has-been and then announces that Bryan Danielson has signed a full-time contract with FIP and has joined DP Associates! That’s a big one. Waltman comes back out and tells Prazak that he didn’t plan on wrestling but he did bring his gear and is willing to get in the ring with Jimmy Rave.

VS.
I guess altar boys wear graduation gowns now. I like his music by H2O at any rate. Suicide looks like the guy who changes my oil. He slaps Luke to start. Luke takes him to the mat and puts on a front facelock. Suicide hits a nasty head scissors takedown but Luke comes back with a roundhouse kick for 2. They trade chops and Suicide hits an ugly leg lariat. He hits an ugly Stinger splash but Luke comes back with a spinning crossbody for 2. Luke hits a wrist clutch burning hammer and a top rope legdrop for the win at 2:20. Suicide was awful and Luke using finishers like that in a throw away match like this is insane.
Rating: ¼*

VS. VS. VS.
This is under Four Way Fray elimination rules. Blanco is a lot fatter here than he was when he tried out for ROH a while back. Moore and Starsmore start. Moore puts on a wristlock but Starsmore comes back with crossface forearms. More hits a hiptoss and a leg lariat. He hits emerald frosion but Blanco breaks it up. Blanco hits a standing moonsault but Rainman sneaks up behind him with a lariat. Starsmore attacks Rainman from behind but none of his offense has any affect. Rainman eliminates him with the Spine Splitter at 1:48. Moore has the same amount of success with his offense on Rainman and gets clotheslined down. Rainman hits a big boot on Moore and a powerslam on Blanco. Moore goes for a hurricanrana but Rainman catches him, powerbombs him into the corner and then hits a sit out powerbomb to eliminate him at 2:32. He hits Blanco with a cobra clutch Bubba bomb and keeps the hold on for the submission victory at 4:00. This made Rainman look very strong going into his title match, but it was one of the more boring squashes I’ve seen.
Rating: ½*

VS.
They lock up and Mamaluke powers Azrieal to the corner. Azrieal puts on a wristlock but Mamaluke reverses to his own. Azrieal comes back with a half crab but Mamaluke slips out. Azrieal puts on a headlock and then grabs an octopus hold. He hits a dropkick and Mamaluke bails. Mamaluke dodges a dive and tosses Azrieal back into the ropes. Azrieal goes for a hurricanrana but something goes wrong and both men splat against the floor. Back in the ring Azrieal hits a back elbow for 2. He hits a tilt-a-whirl backbreaker and a back suplex for 2. He hits a vertical suplex and climbs the ropes. Mamaluke dodges the elbowdrop and puts on a wristlock. He kicks away at Azrieal’s arm and then boots him to the floor. He rams Azrieal’s arm into the apron and the post. Back in the ring Mamaluke gets 2 and then goes right into the cross armbreaker. Azrieal rolls Mamaluke up for 2 to escape. Azrieal blocks a blind charge and goes for a crossbody but Mamaluke catches him with a dropkick, in theory. Azrieal comes back with a back suplex and a side suplex. He hits another back suplex for 2. He goes for another but Mamaluke reverses to a crossbody for 2. That series of suplexes looked pretty bad. Mamaluke comes back with a side suplex of his own. He hits another and another but Azrieal fires up. They both go for crossbodies and collapse on the mat. Back on their feet Azrieal hits the Demon driver for 2 when Mamaluke grabs the bottom rope. Azrieal goes for a bodyslam but Mamaluke grabs his arm and puts on an armbar. Azrieal tries to roll out but Mamaluke holds on and Azrieal taps at 11:32. They churned out some decent action near the end but the bulk of this match was pretty abysmal.
Rating: **

Jimmy Rave and Dave Prazak attack Azrieal after the match. Sean Waltman makes the save causing the rats in the front row to lose their minds. Why is it that the ugly girls are always the ones who almost fall out of their tops? Waltman warns Rave that if he gets involved in another match that he’ll be dealin’ with the X Factor.

Phil and Sean Davis go to the merchandise table to hit on the girl working behind it. So Cal Val comes out and tells them to ignore the local trash and pay her some attention. Sean thanks her for saving them from a mutant hook up as Dunn and Marcos once again come out too early. They feel they’ve earned a tag title shot. Sean says that they haven’t earned it, but they can have a shot if they get through Steve Madison and Erick Stevens. Jerrelle Clark and Jay Fury come out and want to be a part of the contenders’ match.

VS.
VS. Madison attacks Clark from behind to start. He hits a hiptoss and a back elbow. He hits a leaping shoulder tackle but Clark responds in kind. Clark hits a Japanese armdrag and a leg lariat. He hits a dropkick and Madison bails. Dunn comes in and gets knocked down. He comes back with armdrags and puts on an armbar. He dumps Clark to the floor where he hits a hurricanrana on Stevens. Madison throws Clark into the wall as Fury beats on Dunn in the ring. Madison bodyslams Clark on the floor. He and Stevens sandwich Dunn with clotheslines and boots to the head. They hit a clothesline/legsweep combo for 2. Fury comes in and hits a dropkick on Stevens. Clark hits a DDT on Madison. Fury kicks away on Marcos and swings Clark into a dropkick. They hit Stevens with a flatliner/handspring moonsault combo for 2 when Madison saves. Clark dumps Stevens to the floor and Fury hits an avalanche on Stevens. Madison hits Clark with the Ax Bomber and Fury with a piledriver. Dunn and Marcos hit a double backdrop on Madison. Marcos hits Stevens with a big DDT and the Stacker Senton for 2 when Madison saves. Stevens and Madison hit a modified doomsday device on Dunn. Clark and Fury hit enziguiris on Stevens and Madison and Dunn rolls Madison up for the win at 6:15. This was just a whole mess of spots, some of which looked nice and some of which did not.
Rating: *½

Clark and Fury brawl to the back with Madison and Stevens. Phil and Sean decide that now is as good a time as any to have the tag title match.

VS.
Sean and Phil start things off with a double backdrop on Marcos. Sean hits a splash on Dunn after a drop toehold from Phil. They slam Marcos to the mat and Sean drops Phil onto Marcos with a legdrop for 2. Sean puts on a chinlock but Marcos fights away and goes for a sunset flip. Sean tries to sit on him but Marcos dodges it and hits a dropkick for 2. Sean comes back with a Michinoku driver but misses an elbowdrop. Dunn and Phil tag in and Dunn takes over with an armbar. He hits a back bodydrop and a clothesline to the back. Marcos comes in and drop toeholds Sean into some forced air guitar. Sean tags in legally and hits a clothesline. Phil tags in and they hit a double back bodydrop. Sean makes an illegal tag and helps Phil ram Dunn into the turnbuckle. He puts on an abdominal stretch and uses the ropes for leverage. Phil makes a phantom tag and puts on an abdominal stretch with assistance from Sean. Back to Sean with the same approach and then back to Phil once more. Dunn escapes but knocks heads with Phil in the middle of the ring. Sean and Marcos tag in and Sean goes to the eyes. Marcos comes back with a sunset flip for 2. He climbs the ropes and hits a crossbody on Phil for 2. He hits the assisted Sliced Bread for 2. Dunn hits a superkick on Phil and they go for the Stacker Senton but Val distracts them. The Heartbreak Express uses the distraction to hit a double springboard back suplex on Marcos for the win at 9:08. Kind of impressive that the Heartbreak Express won a match without much cheating, but the match itself was nothing special and the distraction at the end was poorly executed.
Rating: *¾

VS.
The winner here gets a tag title shot on the next show. Sal and Strong start. Strong grabs a wristlock but Sal takes him to the mat. Strong hits a suplex to take control and puts on an armbar. Milano tags in and stays on the arm. He ties it around the middle rope but the referee calls for the break. Sal puts on a surfboard stretch and tags to Cabana. They hit a double snap mare for 2. They knuckle up and Cabana remains in control. He puts on the body scissors and floats into a headlock. Milano comes back with a victory roll for 2. Cabana baits him into a roll up for 2. Milano slugs the post by mistake and gets dropkicked down for 2. Strong and Sal tag in and Sal puts on the Mark Nulty Special. Strong slips out and puts on the leggy nelson before rolling Sal over for 2. He puts on a chinlock but Sal fights out and hits a dropkick for 2. Cabana tags in and they hit a double hiptoss. Cabana puts on a front facelock and tags to Sal. Sal comes off the top rope with an ax handle and tags to Cabana. Cabana hits a hiptoss and shoves Strong down for 2. Sal tags in and hits a double ax handle. He hits mounted punches in the corner for 2. Strong comes back with a gorilla press slam into the turnbuckle for 2. Milano tags in and climbs the ropes. He hits a double ax handle and puts Sal in the Paradise Lock before dropkicking him free. It gets 2. Strong tags in and hits a huge powerbomb for 2. He hits a dropkick for 2. He hits a powerful side slam and tags to Milano. Milano hits a double stomp and puts on a camel clutch. Strong comes in and punts Sal in the face. Milano pulls Sal up and Strong hits the Sick Kick for 2. Strong holds Sal over the second rope and Milano hits him with a dropkick from the floor. Very impressive. Back in the ring Milano goes for a Boston crab but Sal get to the ropes. Cabana gets the hot tag and cleans house. Milano elbows Strong by mistake and Cabana stays in control. He hits both opponents with an Asai moonsault for 2. He hits a head scissors takedown on Strong for 2. Sal tags in and gets hit with a backbreaker and the Sick Kick for 2. Milano tags in and hits a senton for 2. Sal goes for a springboard move but Milano cuts it off with a kick to the head for 2. Strong and Cabana tag in and Cabana clotheslines him down. He hits Milano with a suplex but he’s not legal. Strong catches him with the gutbuster and hits Sal with the half nelson backbreaker. Milano hits the Armani Shoe Exchange for 2 when Cabana saves. Strong holds Sal for Milano but gets booted himself and Sal catches him with Sliced Bread #2 for the win at 20:30. The first thirteen or so minutes of the match didn’t come together well, but it was quite entertaining down the home stretch. Still, I expected more from these four.
Rating: ***

After the match a frustrated Strong kicks Milano’s invisible dog, prompting some appropriate anger from Milano.

Austin Aries comes out for his FIP Championship match against Homicide. Dave Prazak comes out and offers Aries a spot in DP Associates, noting that he has experience in fighting Homicide. He whispers a financial arrangement into Aries’ ear and he accepts. So now DP Associates includes Jay Lethal, Austin Aries, Adam Pearce, Bryan Danielson, Samoa Joe and Jimmy Rave. That’s quite a loaded stable.

VS.
These two wrestled in a really good match for the ROH title about six months prior to this, so hopefully they can put on an equally solid performance here. Aries kicks things off with a highly celebrated armdrag. He hits a bodyslam and struts around some more. Homicide grabs a headlock and hits a series of armdrags. Aries gets a headlock of his own but Homicide catches him with a Manhattan drop. He hits an atomic drop and Aries bails. He pulls Homicide to the floor but gets beaten around ringside. Rainman comes to ringside as Homicide takes the action back inside. He hits a monkey flip but misses a high knee in the corner. Aries dropkicks the knee and then focuses his offense on it. He hits a back suplex and goes low. They fight to the floor where Homicide goes for a piledriver but Aries reverses it to a backdrop. Aries hits an elbowdrop and takes the fight back into the ring. He goes back to work on the knee, hitting a dragon screw leg whip and putting on a half crab. Homicide gets to the ropes. Aries puts on a sleeper hold but Homicide escapes with a chinbreaker. He comes off the second rope with a swinging DDT and slugs Aries down. He hits a hiptoss and a back bodydrop. Aries climbs the ropes but Homicide catches him with a shot to the gut on his way down. He hits a bulldog for 2. Aries goes low after blocking a dragon suplex and goes for a figure 4 leglock. Homicide reverses to a roll up for 2. He misses an enziguiri and Aries hits a shinbreaker. He puts on the figure 4 leglock but Homicide rolls over. Aries gets to the ropes. He goes for a tiger driver but Homicide reverses to the Ace Crusher. He goes for the lariat but Aries shoves the referee in the way. Rainman takes the opportunity to attack Homicide and the match gets thrown out at around the fifteen-minute mark. The camera was on Rainman entirely too much, making it very hard to get into the match. It didn’t come close to their match from April, but it was technically sound and probably Homicide’s best match in FIP since the end of the CM Punk feud.
Rating: ***

Homicide fights off Aries and Rainman but Jimmy Rave joins in the beat down. Sean Waltman stays true to his word by making the save and telling Rave to get ready for a match against him. Rave accepts and Waltman gets changed.

VS.
Not surprisingly, Rave stalls forever to start. Waltman gives Rave a crotch chop when they go to knuckle up and Rave cries foul at it. Waltman grabs a headlock and hits a shoulder block, sending Rave to the floor. Back in the ring Waltman rides Rave on the mat and Rave bails again. Back in the ring Rave nails a cheap shot to take control. He gets a headlock takedown but Waltman fights out and hits an armdrag. He goes for the Bronco Buster but Rave blocks… sort of. Rave hits a snap suplex for 2. He puts on a chinlock but Waltman fires up and fights out. Rave cuts off his momentum with the running knee for 2. He hits Ghanarrhea for 2. He hits a bodyslam and climbs the ropes. He goes for a splash but Waltman avoids it. Waltman hits a pair of roundhouse kicks for 2. He hits a back heel kick and the Bronco Buster. He hits the X-Factor for 2 when Prazak pulls the referee out of the ring. Waltman goes after Prazak and Rave rolls him up for 2. Rave hits a superkick for 2. He goes for a hurricanrana but Waltman reverses to a powerbomb and climbs the ropes. Prazak crotches him and Rave climbs up to meet him. It proves to be his undoing as Waltman goes low and hits the X-Factor off the top for the win at 12:42. Waltman looked completely blown up, but he struggled through it and put on a decent enough match with Rave. There was nothing too embarrassing here. Waltman puts FIP over after the match.
Rating: **½

The 411:  If this show had come along when I started doing FIP reviews I’d see it as a solid outing. As it is it disappoints after recent shows showcased at least one really good match and half-decent under cards. If you’re a big Waltman fan you should pick this up to see that he can still put on a solid match, but otherwise this is skipable. You can pick up this DVD at ROHWrestling.com.
Final Score:  6.0   [ Average ]