FIP in Crystal River, March 28th, 2009
In actuality, it was Braden Walker that wrestled Chris Hero here, not Chris Harris.
In my opinion, Full Impact Pro (http://www.fullimpactpro.com/) has had an amazing run of shows that appealed to me, or at least met my expectations. Back when they started using Gabe Sapolsky as a booker in 2004, their first few months of that were certainly mixed; they had memorable moments-such as CM Punk fighting Homicide in that strip club… or technically, a “bikini club”-but those events were wildly uneven and they hardly drew much of a crowd most of the time. The nadir of it was that one tag tournament in April of 2005, where fair or not, most people hated how confusing the rules for it were. Immediately after that, the model changed and it became more of an old-school promotion, with shows in the middle of nowhere locations, but filled with rowdy people that went wild for the 80’s style action they saw from the locals and from many famous names that went on to bigger success (CM Punk, Colt Cabana, Jimmy Rave, Samoa Joe, Matt Sydal, Homicide, Austin Aries, etc.). It was something that just about always met my expectations; for various FIP events my expectations were different, based off of many different things, but I have a hard time remembering a show that I felt disappointed by; plus, the big shows (such as their April 21st 2007 event entitled International Impact Phase 2 on DVD or the September 29th show from the same year , entitled Cage of Pain 2*) more than delivered.
• And even now, me ripping on UXW having what looked like a horrible show with the typical angle involving MSL (meaning it’s pointless and is sure not to draw a dime)
Point is, this FIP show managed to surprise me. How? Read on.
The drive there was the usual, so I won’t dwell on that. I did get there a little later than usual, although I didn’t pull a Tuthill and arrive there late. So, when I saw how many cars were in the parking lot, I was worried, as I thought there’d be more of a crowd there. By my very rough and probably inaccurate guess, I thought there wasn’t too much more than 200 there at best.
The show started at 8:20, which was a surprise as usually they’re more punctual than that.
We started off with the much beloved on the local messageboards Shannon Rose interviewing Erick Stevens and Roderick Strong. Not much was said aside from Roderick saying that he still isn’t friends with Erick; out came The British Lions, demanding a title shot. Of course, Stevens and Strong said that they have to wait until the next show, as this show they have to face the YRR in the main event. Then, out came Nigel McGuinness, who seems to alternate between face and heel when he appears in FIP; here, he was a bad guy as he is in ROH. He called the city “Crystal Meth River” and he stated that while he sees talent in his fellow countrymen, their weakness is them seeking support for the fans. So, he challenged one of them to a match, and it was Tommy Taylor. The other Lion, Chris Gray, was added to the first match, making it a 4 Way Fray (elimination-style)
1. Chris Gray defeated Shawn Osborne, Shawn Spears, and Francisco Ciatso in a 4 Way Fray. Note that like with the Pro Wrestling Riot review, you can read Alan Wojcik’s take on the show if you want more of a move by move recap of everything that went down. As for this match, I thought it was pretty good, but in a sign of things to come, while people enjoyed booing the braggart known as Francisco Ciatso, they didn’t really boo Shawn nor cheer on either Gray or the debuting Shawn Spears, formerly Gavin Spears of WWE. Yep, another guy that WWE never gave a fair shake to, even though like Elijah Burke and Kenny Dykstra from earlier in the month, he could’ve been a big star for them in the future. Hell, all four guys in this match were in WWE developmental, the first three in FCW and Ciatso in Deep South. As I’ve said before, stuff like that is one of about 5,230,324 reasons why I haven’t been a WWE fan in years, why I still have no regrets not going to Wrestlemania 24, and I have zero desire to see Wrestlemania 25 this Sunday. But anyway… I hear that recently, Spears appeared at another show and his ring music was I Believe in a Thing Called Love , but this time he came out to Smack That , which I know caused some befuddlement from a few people in the crowd. Then again, not only am I befuddled that the now defunct The Darkness usually got torn to shreds online by Internet music douches who prefer horrible bands that most people haven’t heard of before (when in actuality, The Darkness was pretty awesome, and their lead singer looks like Sal Rinauro!), but more importantly for this review, I’m befuddled that Spears made his debut in this match, where he just looked like another guy and he was eliminated second, after Ciatso. He wrestled fine, sure, but I thought he’d have a big singles match or something. Anyhow, the last two men wrestling were Gray and Osborne, so Nigel and Brad Attitude were out, respectively, to watch those guys wrestle. Gray ended up winning the match out of nowhere, much to Osborne’s dismay.
Heartbreak Enterprises came out, and before anything happened, Phil Davis patted down ring announcer Jonathan Gold. After that, Sean, wearing his Sgt. Pepper outfit as always, bragged about how Rhett Titus would win more gold for the faction; Davey Richards was carrying around the injured Tyler Black’s FIP World Heavyweight Title (possession is 9/10ths in FIP, to use a really old line from the fed’s history). Sean then explained that Damien Wayne’s tag partner, Chris Escobar, was injured, so he would be wrestling solo here. They didn’t care who came out to face him; out stepped Brad Attitude.
2. Brad Attitude defeated Damien Wayne (w/ Heartbreak Enterprises). This was a pretty good contest and as some people in the crowd knew Brad pretty well, there was a lot of cheering for him. He had the early advantage before the Enterprises used tomfoolery to allow Wayne to have the advantage. He wore down Attitude and used a legdrop or two, but he missed one from the top rope, and that allowed Brad to regain control, and he won the match with his finisher. Heartbreak Enterprises were beside themselves with frustration over this result.
3. 2 Fast 2 Furious (Jerrelle Clark-Nooie Lee) and The Set (Lance Lude & J-Sin) fought to a no contest after Dark City Fight Club attacked both teams. It’s been awhile since 2 Fast 2 Furious (by the way, whatever happened to Jay Fury?) was in FIP, and this is the debut of The Set; I’m glad the results were put up online, as I could’ve sworn they were announced as The Sect! They’re from Virginia and that’s all I know about them. They’re billed as being 401 pounds… well, the fat guy on the team was about 300 of those pounds; they came out wearing headbands and fur coats; someone called them The Christopher Street Connection 2.0; I don’t really know what their gimmick even is supposed to be, as they didn’t act gay! All I know is that the other guy on the team was really tiny and really skinny. I mean, people like to bash on local wrestler Jason Sensation for being thin. Well, it’s much worse with the guy built like an Ethiopian in this match! You could see his ribs and I wondered if he was anorexic or maybe he’s one of the few guys in wrestling who SHOULD take steroids/HGH! As for the match, it was once again pretty good, although the crowd didn’t know what to make of The Set and they didn’t want to really cheer on Clark and Lee. It started off slowly, but then The Set (who appeared to be faces here also) did some unique double team moves and then the little guy did some unique submission holds on Clark, and the crowd got more into it. Soon after that, Kory Chavis and Jon Davis (w/ Leva) got in the ring and attacked both teams, and laid waste to all four guys. Kory then got on the mic and challenged any team to come out. Literally from the back door of the building came out Bumz R’ Us, presumably getting revenge from their match the night before.
4. In an Anything Goes match, Dark City Fight Club (w/ Leva) defeated Bumz R’ Us. This was another pretty good contest, but with a crowd that for the most part acted like the match was pish-posh, the match could’ve been rated even higher with an audience that didn’t cheer on the bad guys (yep, some people are still cheering on the dastardly heels; if they jacked somebody’s grandma in the crowd, I’m sure they’d still be supported!), although to be fair much of the audience didn’t seem to know who the Bumz were (they were making their debut here) although they should’ve at least cheered on Milo, as of course they’ve known him in FIP for a few years now. That said, it was still an entertaining brawl where they fought all over the building and among other things, Milo did a senton from the ring to the floor, where he landed on Kory… and the ring barrier, also. He later got flung into a few rows of chairs, so Milo had a rough weekend here. Ray Beez got flung into the ring post, but the Bumz dished out a good amount of punishment themselves. But, Ray got tossed onto a table on the outside, and that allowed Milo to get pinned by the DCFC’s double team finisher, the Project Mayhem. Yep, they still got cheered by some people. The Bumz at least got some cheers from the crowd.
5. Rhett Titus (w/ Heartbreak Enterprises) defeated Chris Jones to win the FIP Florida Heritage Title. Note that tonight, Heartbreak Enterprises consisted of Rhett, Sean & Phil Davis, and Damien Wayne. Sean explained on the mic that Baby Doll wasn’t there on this night as she had the night off; he also commented that she “gave a special workout” with Rhett a few days beforehand. What a mental image. Also, Sean introduced a special guest lady for this match, one who was involved with The Heartbreak Express way back when… So Cal Val! A very pleasant surprise. Titus did a bunch of hip gyrating and his thrusting and it was a sight that many guys in the crowd did not enjoy. You also had a pair of middle-aged women old enough to be Chris’s mother wildly cheering him on so finally the atmosphere was at least somewhat heated. Chris had the early advantage; there was a moment that looked bad on my side of the ring. There was a moment when Jones was supposed to hide under the ring and come out on the other side to blindside Titus; problem is, on my side, when Chris slid under the ring, the apron to the ring fell off, so the bad guys had to pretend that they couldn’t see a few feet under the ring. It was one of those nights… Titus soon took control and worked over Jones’s neck for a few minutes. Jones came back with a DDT and he had some near-falls. However, the ending came when the ref was distracted and Val used her hairspray, but not on her hair… rather, it was used on Chris’s eyes, allowing Rhett to get the victory. I was quite surprised that Rhett won, as FIP usually has long title reigns. Not that it’s bad to do something different now; I’m just interested in seeing what happens in the future with him, and hopefully Jones still does well in this fed.
Intermission time. It was at least 20 minutes long. I didn’t keep exact track of that, as I spent much of that time doing something different, and that was conversing with some people I knew out in the parking lot. Hey, it was nice out on this night, so why not chill in the parking lot? At least I know from before the show that the music selection before the show and during intermission wasn’t the same old songs you hear every single time you’re at an FIP or Pro Wrestling Riot show; I’d like to think that I’m not the only one who’d rather not hear the same old songs month after month after month for so long; even with me, I’d like to think there’s one other person who feels that way. I was amused that tunes like Electric Avenue were played.
Once the show started again… oh boy. Chris Harris came out, to barely more than a whisper. He got on the mic and stated that he wasn’t Braden Walker anymore and that he had something to prove. Out came Chris Hero, and he said some things on the mic himself, including the fact that in this first-time ever matchup, he wanted to be THE guy with the initials CH.
6. Chris Hero defeated Chris Harris. I actually did see all of the Braden Walker matches online last year, and it’s understandable why many smart mark type still laugh at that name. He was in somewhat better shape here than in his Braden days, although he wasn’t like he was in the Wildcat days. To think that at one time a few years ago, he came close to becoming NWA World Heavyweight Champion. Now, he’s wrestling random indies in the Kentucky area and after seeing this bout, I wish that these two had never wrestled each other. I have a hard time remembering a more quiet match than this one; it seemed like no one gave a good Goddamn about it and they weren’t going to cheer either guy… not even the smart marks there wanted to cheer on their Hero, pun intended. I noticed that Hero’s style was different from how it used to be; I’m not saying that’s a bad thing. It was just… different. Harris’s style, though… it WAS a bad thing. I mean, I didn’t care about the match at all and I had to look over Alan’s review to really remember anything about it, including the fact that Phil Davis came out and provided interference that allowed Hero to win with his now patented knockout punch.
Truth be told, I’ll call this “fine” but that may be charitable (although it may be better on DVD); “disappointment” is probably the best term to use, as based off of who they are you expected a lot more, but something happened with Harris and I doubt he’ll be back in FIP anytime soon. The fact that the next two matches were barely more heated than this was despite them being superior is something that I’ll blame on this contest killing the crowd.
7. Nigel McGuinness defeated Tommy Taylor. This was a non-title match for Nigel, who isn’t going to be wrestling for much longer. He either has one or two torn biceps (I’ve heard conflicting stories) so he’s either going to get surgery or rest for a few months. Will he manage The British Lions during that time? As for the match, I remember it being good, but given that the audience was mainly pish-posh towards it, it’s hard to rate it any higher. Then again, I’m just shocked that Nigel even wrestled here, given his physical condition, so the fact that it wasn’t a bad match is commendable, even though you still may question why he wrestled here. I know that the match was technical but that’s really all that I remember about it. Nigel won the match with one of his patented moves, the Tower of London. After the match, Tommy wanted a handshake from his opponent, but after what was a long and drawn out process, Nigel finally accepted the handshake, to the crowd’s total apathy.
8. Davey Richards (w/ Heartbreak Enterprises) defeated TJ Perkins. Perkins was in FIP oh so long ago as Puma, but this is his first match in the promotion under his real name. This was a quite good contest, and I believe it was this bout that you had those middle-aged ladies go wild again for the good guy, and you know that as always, the audience hated Sean and Phil Davis. As in the match the night before, I really enjoyed TJ’s unique style, but Davey didn’t enjoy it, as he was flummoxed and he attempted to kiss the feet of his opponent. Soon after that Richards took over. What I most remember from that section was Sean saying-after a springboard maneuver from his charge-“Oh, I could do that if I wanted to!”, because that is quite the mental image. Anyway, Perkins came back and the final few minutes were definitely exciting. Richards locked in the Kimura (as I know if I don’t ID the hold by name, several MMA fans would be miffed) for the submission hold. Sean demanded that Richards apply the hold again after the bell, but things changed once Jonathan Gold announced the memo he just received, which was that FIP World Heavyweight Champion Tyler Black will return at the next FIP show, and that he’ll face off against Davey Richards. Sean took off his jacket in frustration (horrifying the audience that had to see him sans shirt) and stomped around to the back.
9. Roderick Strong-Erick Stevens defeated Chasyn Rance-Sal Rinauro (w/ Mister Saint Laurent) to retain the FIP Tag Team Titles. Apparently, Chasyn and Sal are the only two members of the YRR still active in FIP. I’m not sure why the stable is still around with only those people, but anyhow, MSL’s outfit was apparently a black gi, but I’ve heard other colorful terms (which I won’t repeat) about how he looked, but for him, a gi is a much better outfit than what he usually wears! He got on the mic and stated some things which the crowd didn’t give a good Goddamn about either, but admittedly what he said here was less stupid than what he said at the Battle of the Belts event. The match itself was quite good and thankfully the crowd at least made some noise for it, although once again it wasn’t as much as you expected. It was the type of match where the pace was quick and often one guy had to jump into the ring in order to break up the pinfall attempt. There wasn’t too many chops here, but the ones that you did have mainly ended up on Rance’s chest, and afterwards you could see the effects of those chops. There was also dramatic moments in that Stevens was outside of the ring incapacitated for several minutes, allowing for Strong to get the crap kicked out of him. But, after a double team move, Strong and Stevens were able to get the victory.
Overall, this show, which was around 3 hours, give or take a few minutes, it was a pretty rare feat for me. For about the past 4 years or so, I have a real hard time remembering the last time I felt disappointed by an FIP event. Honest. That’s how I felt about this event. I don’t know if it was because of the crowd, the wildly substandard match between the guys with the initials CH, if it’s because the audience didn’t really care and/or weren’t familiar with all the newer faces in the promotion, or what it was, but it just wasn’t the same as all the FIP shows I’ve seen before, especially in Crystal River, even though there were quality matches here. Given their track record, though, I’m not exactly going to worry about the fate of the promotion, and I’ll presume that at the next event (May 2nd) there will be more people there, they’ll actually be into the event, and I’ll be able to enjoy it.
After the show I was put in a bad spot for a few minutes where I had to be around someone I would really rather not be in the same zip code as, but other than that it was un-noteworthy… oh wait, I have a rather humorous anecdote to share. You wonder why I always say that Mister Saint Laurent’s buddies are “toadies”, “acolytes”, and other similar terms? Note that one of them was at the show and I saw him carry MSL’s bag from the locker room to his car! Yes, he was the servant of MSL and Chasyn Rance! Ridiculous. What else does he do for them, clip their toenails, empty their garbage and put away their videogames?
My April will be much less zany than this month has been. In fact, I only will announce that I plan on being at WXW’s show in Leesburg on the 11th, I’ll definitely be at their huge show in Minneola the next Saturday, and that’s it. I may go to another show or two that month, but I’d rather leave that up in the air; before you ask, though, do NOT expect me at this Saturday’s Believe event, as much as everyone thinks that I will be attending it. So, check back here at least once a week to see if I unexpectedly posted anything or not.
In my opinion, Full Impact Pro (http://www.fullimpactpro.com/) has had an amazing run of shows that appealed to me, or at least met my expectations. Back when they started using Gabe Sapolsky as a booker in 2004, their first few months of that were certainly mixed; they had memorable moments-such as CM Punk fighting Homicide in that strip club… or technically, a “bikini club”-but those events were wildly uneven and they hardly drew much of a crowd most of the time. The nadir of it was that one tag tournament in April of 2005, where fair or not, most people hated how confusing the rules for it were. Immediately after that, the model changed and it became more of an old-school promotion, with shows in the middle of nowhere locations, but filled with rowdy people that went wild for the 80’s style action they saw from the locals and from many famous names that went on to bigger success (CM Punk, Colt Cabana, Jimmy Rave, Samoa Joe, Matt Sydal, Homicide, Austin Aries, etc.). It was something that just about always met my expectations; for various FIP events my expectations were different, based off of many different things, but I have a hard time remembering a show that I felt disappointed by; plus, the big shows (such as their April 21st 2007 event entitled International Impact Phase 2 on DVD or the September 29th show from the same year , entitled Cage of Pain 2*) more than delivered.
• And even now, me ripping on UXW having what looked like a horrible show with the typical angle involving MSL (meaning it’s pointless and is sure not to draw a dime)
Point is, this FIP show managed to surprise me. How? Read on.
The drive there was the usual, so I won’t dwell on that. I did get there a little later than usual, although I didn’t pull a Tuthill and arrive there late. So, when I saw how many cars were in the parking lot, I was worried, as I thought there’d be more of a crowd there. By my very rough and probably inaccurate guess, I thought there wasn’t too much more than 200 there at best.
The show started at 8:20, which was a surprise as usually they’re more punctual than that.
We started off with the much beloved on the local messageboards Shannon Rose interviewing Erick Stevens and Roderick Strong. Not much was said aside from Roderick saying that he still isn’t friends with Erick; out came The British Lions, demanding a title shot. Of course, Stevens and Strong said that they have to wait until the next show, as this show they have to face the YRR in the main event. Then, out came Nigel McGuinness, who seems to alternate between face and heel when he appears in FIP; here, he was a bad guy as he is in ROH. He called the city “Crystal Meth River” and he stated that while he sees talent in his fellow countrymen, their weakness is them seeking support for the fans. So, he challenged one of them to a match, and it was Tommy Taylor. The other Lion, Chris Gray, was added to the first match, making it a 4 Way Fray (elimination-style)
1. Chris Gray defeated Shawn Osborne, Shawn Spears, and Francisco Ciatso in a 4 Way Fray. Note that like with the Pro Wrestling Riot review, you can read Alan Wojcik’s take on the show if you want more of a move by move recap of everything that went down. As for this match, I thought it was pretty good, but in a sign of things to come, while people enjoyed booing the braggart known as Francisco Ciatso, they didn’t really boo Shawn nor cheer on either Gray or the debuting Shawn Spears, formerly Gavin Spears of WWE. Yep, another guy that WWE never gave a fair shake to, even though like Elijah Burke and Kenny Dykstra from earlier in the month, he could’ve been a big star for them in the future. Hell, all four guys in this match were in WWE developmental, the first three in FCW and Ciatso in Deep South. As I’ve said before, stuff like that is one of about 5,230,324 reasons why I haven’t been a WWE fan in years, why I still have no regrets not going to Wrestlemania 24, and I have zero desire to see Wrestlemania 25 this Sunday. But anyway… I hear that recently, Spears appeared at another show and his ring music was I Believe in a Thing Called Love , but this time he came out to Smack That , which I know caused some befuddlement from a few people in the crowd. Then again, not only am I befuddled that the now defunct The Darkness usually got torn to shreds online by Internet music douches who prefer horrible bands that most people haven’t heard of before (when in actuality, The Darkness was pretty awesome, and their lead singer looks like Sal Rinauro!), but more importantly for this review, I’m befuddled that Spears made his debut in this match, where he just looked like another guy and he was eliminated second, after Ciatso. He wrestled fine, sure, but I thought he’d have a big singles match or something. Anyhow, the last two men wrestling were Gray and Osborne, so Nigel and Brad Attitude were out, respectively, to watch those guys wrestle. Gray ended up winning the match out of nowhere, much to Osborne’s dismay.
Heartbreak Enterprises came out, and before anything happened, Phil Davis patted down ring announcer Jonathan Gold. After that, Sean, wearing his Sgt. Pepper outfit as always, bragged about how Rhett Titus would win more gold for the faction; Davey Richards was carrying around the injured Tyler Black’s FIP World Heavyweight Title (possession is 9/10ths in FIP, to use a really old line from the fed’s history). Sean then explained that Damien Wayne’s tag partner, Chris Escobar, was injured, so he would be wrestling solo here. They didn’t care who came out to face him; out stepped Brad Attitude.
2. Brad Attitude defeated Damien Wayne (w/ Heartbreak Enterprises). This was a pretty good contest and as some people in the crowd knew Brad pretty well, there was a lot of cheering for him. He had the early advantage before the Enterprises used tomfoolery to allow Wayne to have the advantage. He wore down Attitude and used a legdrop or two, but he missed one from the top rope, and that allowed Brad to regain control, and he won the match with his finisher. Heartbreak Enterprises were beside themselves with frustration over this result.
3. 2 Fast 2 Furious (Jerrelle Clark-Nooie Lee) and The Set (Lance Lude & J-Sin) fought to a no contest after Dark City Fight Club attacked both teams. It’s been awhile since 2 Fast 2 Furious (by the way, whatever happened to Jay Fury?) was in FIP, and this is the debut of The Set; I’m glad the results were put up online, as I could’ve sworn they were announced as The Sect! They’re from Virginia and that’s all I know about them. They’re billed as being 401 pounds… well, the fat guy on the team was about 300 of those pounds; they came out wearing headbands and fur coats; someone called them The Christopher Street Connection 2.0; I don’t really know what their gimmick even is supposed to be, as they didn’t act gay! All I know is that the other guy on the team was really tiny and really skinny. I mean, people like to bash on local wrestler Jason Sensation for being thin. Well, it’s much worse with the guy built like an Ethiopian in this match! You could see his ribs and I wondered if he was anorexic or maybe he’s one of the few guys in wrestling who SHOULD take steroids/HGH! As for the match, it was once again pretty good, although the crowd didn’t know what to make of The Set and they didn’t want to really cheer on Clark and Lee. It started off slowly, but then The Set (who appeared to be faces here also) did some unique double team moves and then the little guy did some unique submission holds on Clark, and the crowd got more into it. Soon after that, Kory Chavis and Jon Davis (w/ Leva) got in the ring and attacked both teams, and laid waste to all four guys. Kory then got on the mic and challenged any team to come out. Literally from the back door of the building came out Bumz R’ Us, presumably getting revenge from their match the night before.
4. In an Anything Goes match, Dark City Fight Club (w/ Leva) defeated Bumz R’ Us. This was another pretty good contest, but with a crowd that for the most part acted like the match was pish-posh, the match could’ve been rated even higher with an audience that didn’t cheer on the bad guys (yep, some people are still cheering on the dastardly heels; if they jacked somebody’s grandma in the crowd, I’m sure they’d still be supported!), although to be fair much of the audience didn’t seem to know who the Bumz were (they were making their debut here) although they should’ve at least cheered on Milo, as of course they’ve known him in FIP for a few years now. That said, it was still an entertaining brawl where they fought all over the building and among other things, Milo did a senton from the ring to the floor, where he landed on Kory… and the ring barrier, also. He later got flung into a few rows of chairs, so Milo had a rough weekend here. Ray Beez got flung into the ring post, but the Bumz dished out a good amount of punishment themselves. But, Ray got tossed onto a table on the outside, and that allowed Milo to get pinned by the DCFC’s double team finisher, the Project Mayhem. Yep, they still got cheered by some people. The Bumz at least got some cheers from the crowd.
5. Rhett Titus (w/ Heartbreak Enterprises) defeated Chris Jones to win the FIP Florida Heritage Title. Note that tonight, Heartbreak Enterprises consisted of Rhett, Sean & Phil Davis, and Damien Wayne. Sean explained on the mic that Baby Doll wasn’t there on this night as she had the night off; he also commented that she “gave a special workout” with Rhett a few days beforehand. What a mental image. Also, Sean introduced a special guest lady for this match, one who was involved with The Heartbreak Express way back when… So Cal Val! A very pleasant surprise. Titus did a bunch of hip gyrating and his thrusting and it was a sight that many guys in the crowd did not enjoy. You also had a pair of middle-aged women old enough to be Chris’s mother wildly cheering him on so finally the atmosphere was at least somewhat heated. Chris had the early advantage; there was a moment that looked bad on my side of the ring. There was a moment when Jones was supposed to hide under the ring and come out on the other side to blindside Titus; problem is, on my side, when Chris slid under the ring, the apron to the ring fell off, so the bad guys had to pretend that they couldn’t see a few feet under the ring. It was one of those nights… Titus soon took control and worked over Jones’s neck for a few minutes. Jones came back with a DDT and he had some near-falls. However, the ending came when the ref was distracted and Val used her hairspray, but not on her hair… rather, it was used on Chris’s eyes, allowing Rhett to get the victory. I was quite surprised that Rhett won, as FIP usually has long title reigns. Not that it’s bad to do something different now; I’m just interested in seeing what happens in the future with him, and hopefully Jones still does well in this fed.
Intermission time. It was at least 20 minutes long. I didn’t keep exact track of that, as I spent much of that time doing something different, and that was conversing with some people I knew out in the parking lot. Hey, it was nice out on this night, so why not chill in the parking lot? At least I know from before the show that the music selection before the show and during intermission wasn’t the same old songs you hear every single time you’re at an FIP or Pro Wrestling Riot show; I’d like to think that I’m not the only one who’d rather not hear the same old songs month after month after month for so long; even with me, I’d like to think there’s one other person who feels that way. I was amused that tunes like Electric Avenue were played.
Once the show started again… oh boy. Chris Harris came out, to barely more than a whisper. He got on the mic and stated that he wasn’t Braden Walker anymore and that he had something to prove. Out came Chris Hero, and he said some things on the mic himself, including the fact that in this first-time ever matchup, he wanted to be THE guy with the initials CH.
6. Chris Hero defeated Chris Harris. I actually did see all of the Braden Walker matches online last year, and it’s understandable why many smart mark type still laugh at that name. He was in somewhat better shape here than in his Braden days, although he wasn’t like he was in the Wildcat days. To think that at one time a few years ago, he came close to becoming NWA World Heavyweight Champion. Now, he’s wrestling random indies in the Kentucky area and after seeing this bout, I wish that these two had never wrestled each other. I have a hard time remembering a more quiet match than this one; it seemed like no one gave a good Goddamn about it and they weren’t going to cheer either guy… not even the smart marks there wanted to cheer on their Hero, pun intended. I noticed that Hero’s style was different from how it used to be; I’m not saying that’s a bad thing. It was just… different. Harris’s style, though… it WAS a bad thing. I mean, I didn’t care about the match at all and I had to look over Alan’s review to really remember anything about it, including the fact that Phil Davis came out and provided interference that allowed Hero to win with his now patented knockout punch.
Truth be told, I’ll call this “fine” but that may be charitable (although it may be better on DVD); “disappointment” is probably the best term to use, as based off of who they are you expected a lot more, but something happened with Harris and I doubt he’ll be back in FIP anytime soon. The fact that the next two matches were barely more heated than this was despite them being superior is something that I’ll blame on this contest killing the crowd.
7. Nigel McGuinness defeated Tommy Taylor. This was a non-title match for Nigel, who isn’t going to be wrestling for much longer. He either has one or two torn biceps (I’ve heard conflicting stories) so he’s either going to get surgery or rest for a few months. Will he manage The British Lions during that time? As for the match, I remember it being good, but given that the audience was mainly pish-posh towards it, it’s hard to rate it any higher. Then again, I’m just shocked that Nigel even wrestled here, given his physical condition, so the fact that it wasn’t a bad match is commendable, even though you still may question why he wrestled here. I know that the match was technical but that’s really all that I remember about it. Nigel won the match with one of his patented moves, the Tower of London. After the match, Tommy wanted a handshake from his opponent, but after what was a long and drawn out process, Nigel finally accepted the handshake, to the crowd’s total apathy.
8. Davey Richards (w/ Heartbreak Enterprises) defeated TJ Perkins. Perkins was in FIP oh so long ago as Puma, but this is his first match in the promotion under his real name. This was a quite good contest, and I believe it was this bout that you had those middle-aged ladies go wild again for the good guy, and you know that as always, the audience hated Sean and Phil Davis. As in the match the night before, I really enjoyed TJ’s unique style, but Davey didn’t enjoy it, as he was flummoxed and he attempted to kiss the feet of his opponent. Soon after that Richards took over. What I most remember from that section was Sean saying-after a springboard maneuver from his charge-“Oh, I could do that if I wanted to!”, because that is quite the mental image. Anyway, Perkins came back and the final few minutes were definitely exciting. Richards locked in the Kimura (as I know if I don’t ID the hold by name, several MMA fans would be miffed) for the submission hold. Sean demanded that Richards apply the hold again after the bell, but things changed once Jonathan Gold announced the memo he just received, which was that FIP World Heavyweight Champion Tyler Black will return at the next FIP show, and that he’ll face off against Davey Richards. Sean took off his jacket in frustration (horrifying the audience that had to see him sans shirt) and stomped around to the back.
9. Roderick Strong-Erick Stevens defeated Chasyn Rance-Sal Rinauro (w/ Mister Saint Laurent) to retain the FIP Tag Team Titles. Apparently, Chasyn and Sal are the only two members of the YRR still active in FIP. I’m not sure why the stable is still around with only those people, but anyhow, MSL’s outfit was apparently a black gi, but I’ve heard other colorful terms (which I won’t repeat) about how he looked, but for him, a gi is a much better outfit than what he usually wears! He got on the mic and stated some things which the crowd didn’t give a good Goddamn about either, but admittedly what he said here was less stupid than what he said at the Battle of the Belts event. The match itself was quite good and thankfully the crowd at least made some noise for it, although once again it wasn’t as much as you expected. It was the type of match where the pace was quick and often one guy had to jump into the ring in order to break up the pinfall attempt. There wasn’t too many chops here, but the ones that you did have mainly ended up on Rance’s chest, and afterwards you could see the effects of those chops. There was also dramatic moments in that Stevens was outside of the ring incapacitated for several minutes, allowing for Strong to get the crap kicked out of him. But, after a double team move, Strong and Stevens were able to get the victory.
Overall, this show, which was around 3 hours, give or take a few minutes, it was a pretty rare feat for me. For about the past 4 years or so, I have a real hard time remembering the last time I felt disappointed by an FIP event. Honest. That’s how I felt about this event. I don’t know if it was because of the crowd, the wildly substandard match between the guys with the initials CH, if it’s because the audience didn’t really care and/or weren’t familiar with all the newer faces in the promotion, or what it was, but it just wasn’t the same as all the FIP shows I’ve seen before, especially in Crystal River, even though there were quality matches here. Given their track record, though, I’m not exactly going to worry about the fate of the promotion, and I’ll presume that at the next event (May 2nd) there will be more people there, they’ll actually be into the event, and I’ll be able to enjoy it.
After the show I was put in a bad spot for a few minutes where I had to be around someone I would really rather not be in the same zip code as, but other than that it was un-noteworthy… oh wait, I have a rather humorous anecdote to share. You wonder why I always say that Mister Saint Laurent’s buddies are “toadies”, “acolytes”, and other similar terms? Note that one of them was at the show and I saw him carry MSL’s bag from the locker room to his car! Yes, he was the servant of MSL and Chasyn Rance! Ridiculous. What else does he do for them, clip their toenails, empty their garbage and put away their videogames?
My April will be much less zany than this month has been. In fact, I only will announce that I plan on being at WXW’s show in Leesburg on the 11th, I’ll definitely be at their huge show in Minneola the next Saturday, and that’s it. I may go to another show or two that month, but I’d rather leave that up in the air; before you ask, though, do NOT expect me at this Saturday’s Believe event, as much as everyone thinks that I will be attending it. So, check back here at least once a week to see if I unexpectedly posted anything or not.