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Full Impact Pro Wrestling Impact of Honor DVD Review
by Richard Trionfo
In June, Full Impact Pro Wrestling returned to Orlando, Florida for their third show in the shadow of the building where World Wrestling Entertainment holds their shows when they come to Orlando. This show was different than the usual Full Impact Pro Wrestling shows because it featured two Ring of Honor Title matches. While the Ring of Honor World Title has been defended a number of times in Full Impact Pro, this was the first time that the Ring of Honor Tag Team Titles were defended outside of Ring of Honor.
Your commentators are Jared David and Dave Prazak.
Match Number One: Sal Rinauro defeats Canadian Cougar
Cougar and Rinauro both try to get the advantage but neither man is able to get it in the early minutes of the match. Rinauro gains control of the match with a drop kick. Rinauro tries to hit Sliced Bread #2 but Cougar is able to counter it and he sends Rinauro to the floor. Cougar uses this opportunity to gain the upper hand on Rinauro. Rinauro tries to fight back but Cougar maintains control of the match. Rinauro is able to hit a super kick and that changes momentum in the match. Cougar is able to get a two count after he counters another Sliced Bread #2 attempt. Cougar with a rana that sends both men over the top rope to the floor. Cougar is unable to put Rinauro away and that allows Rinauro to hit Sliced Bread #2 for the three count.
Dave Prazak comes out with the Full Impact Pro and Ring of Honor champion, Bryan Danielson. Dave tells the fans to show some respect to the man who holds the FIP and Ring of Honor titles. Danielson tells the fans to show their approval. Danielson wants to know if this is what the people of Orlando look like. Danielson says that he is disgusted. Danielson tells Prazak that since he has official ROH business tonight when he defends the title against Colt Cabana, he wants Dave Prazak to take the FIP title to the back. He also says that he will need Dave Prazak’s services tonight. Next time in Orlando, DP Associates will be rocking and in the house.
Danielson leaves and Prazak talks about the FIP title. He says that a former FIP champion will be coming back soon, and that is Homicide. While Homicide held the title for more than a year, Bryan Danielson is an honorable champion. Homicide defeated Spanky, Rocky Romero, James Gibson, and CM Punk; but that title reign does not compare to Bryan Danielson’s. When Homicide was the champion, FIP was running in sleazy strip clubs. FIP has come leaps and bounds since Homicide was champion. If Homicide is going to come back, he better be ready and be careful.
Match Number Two: Alex Pourteau defeats Seth Delay
Pourteau tries to use his experience early in the match, but Delay uses his speed to gain an advantage. Delay sends Pourteau to the floor and Delay tries for a pescado but Delay lands short of the target and hits the floor face first. Pourteau uses that tactical mistake to his advantage as he wears down Delay. Delay tries to fight back with a sleeper, but Pourteau uses his size advantage to stop Delay. Pourteau takes advantage of another tactical error from Delay to hit a power bomb for the three count.
Match Number Three: Chasyn Rance defeats Kenny King, Ryan Drago, and Kory Chavis (with So Cal Val) in a Four Way Fray
Drago and Chavis fight outside the ring early but Rance hits a suicide dive clothesline on Chavis and Drago, but King joins in the fun with a corkscrew plancha onto his three opponents. Drago appears to have things under control but he goes outside after So Cal Val. Drago tries to piledrive Val on the floor, but Rance with a super kick to Drago to save Val. Chavis eliminates Drago after a Cobra Clutch bomb into a cobra clutch in a camel clutch position.
King works over Chavis while Rance is down outside the ring. King tries for a superplex, but Chavis tosses King to the mat. Rance hits a Yakuza kick off King’s back that sends Chavis to the floor. King tries to put away Chavis, but he is unable to get the three count. Chavis is able to eliminate King after hitting a front slam from a suplex position.
Rance tries to use his speed advantage to finish off Chavis, but Chavis pushes Rance away on a drop kick attempt. Rance counters the front slam with an inside cradle fro the three count to win the match.
Match Number Four: Shingo Takagi defeats Davey Richards in an FIP versus Dragon Gate Match
Both men start off slowly as they try to get the advantage in the match. Richards uses a kick from a neck bridge to get the early advantage. After trying to overpower Takagi and failing, he uses a more acrobatic move set to take control and he works on Takagi’s arm. Takagi uses his strength advantage to take over. Takagi and Richards exchange forearms and then follow that with chops and kicks. Richards hits a handspring enzuigiri and Takagi goes outside the ring and Richards hits a pescado and both men are down outside the ring. Takagi works on Richards’s neck and he tries to get Richards to tap but Richards is able to get to the ropes. Richards tries for a tornado DDT but Takagi catches Richards and hits a Northern Lights DDT for a near fall. Richards counters the Blood Fall and he works on Takagi’s leg. Takagi pushes the referee into the ropes to crotch Richards and he hits an Exploder from the second turnbuckle, but he cannot put Richards away. Takagi with a lariat followed by Blood Fall for the three count.
Match Number Five: Steve Madison defeats Erick Stevens
Stevens goes after Madison as soon as he hits the ring and he goes after Madison as he tries to get revenge on Madison for what Steve has done to him over the last few months since the team broke up. Stevens goes outside the ring to continue to work over Madison. Stevens slaps Madison, but Madison with a kick to the groin and then he sends Stevens into the ring post and Stevens is bleeding. Madison uses that to take control of the match and wear down Stevens. Stevens tries to fight back but he is hampered by the blood loss and that allows Madison to maintain control of the match. Stevens is able to neutralize the situation by hitting a slam as Madison comes off the turnbuckles. Madison tries to piledrive Stevens, but Stevens blocks it and he hits a TKO for a two count. Madison with a scorpion death lock but Stevens makes it to the ropes to break the hold. Stevens avoids the Axe Bomber and Stevens hits a German suplex. Madison comes back with an Ace Crusher and then he hits an Axe Bomber but Stevens is able to kick out. Madison tries for another Axe Bomber but Stevens moves out of the way and Madison hits the referee. Stevens with a Doctor Bomb but there is no referee. While Stevens checks on the referee, Chasyn Rance comes out and he checks on the referee. Rance hits an enzuigiri and then Madison hits a piledriver as the referee recovers to make the three count.
After the match, Madison hits a spike piledriver on Stevens. Rance and Madison leave the ring when Roderick Strong comes out.
Rance says that they are the epitome of what everyone wants to be. They are young, rich, and ready for action. Strong chases Rance and Madison to the back and then he helps Stevens to the back.
The Heartbreak Express (Sean and Phil Davis with So Cal Val and Kory Chavis) come out and they have something to say. Val gets on the mic and she says that she is proud to align herself with the hottest tag team in wrestling. Sean Davis gets on the mic and he says that everyone is jealous because a woman like So Cal Val would never associate herself with losers like the fans. They are not just the two sexiest men to set foot in this town, but they are the best tag team. He guarantees that they will regain the FIP tag team titles from Black Market. Sean says that they need a workout to get ready for Black Market. They want the first bums they can find in the back who want to make a name for themselves.
Match Number Six: The Heartbreak Express (with So Cal Val and Kory Chavis) defeat the Super FIP Machine and Masked FIPper Number Thirteen
Sean and Phil go after the Super FIP Machine as he enters the ring, but the Super FIP Machine is able to take care of both Davises. The Masked FIPper tries for a drop kick but he is swatted away by Phil. Sean and Phil with a series of double team moves on the Masked FIPper. The Super FIP Machine tags in and he cleans house as he takes care of Sean and Phil. The FIPpers with a splash on Sean and Phil in the corner. Sean and the Super FIP Machine fight outside the ring while Phil and the Masked FIPper fight in the ring. Phil hits a power bomb and Sean hits a splash on the Masked FIPper for the three count.
Match Number Seven: Bryan Danielson defeats Colt Cabana to retain the Ring of Honor World Title
Both men start off the match trying to get the advantage and Cabana tries to inject some humor into the match by getting Danielson with ‘two for flinching’. Danielson gets fed up with Cabana’s antics and he leaves the ring and threatens to leave. Danielson tries to wear down Cabana with rear chin locks but Cabana is able to counter them and he works on Danielson’s arm. Danielson goes outside the ring and he checks on his tooth and the gets the referee to take a look at the injured tooth. Cabana wants the referee to ask Danielson if he wants to give up due to his injured tooth. Danielson leaves the ring and goes to the back, but the referee starts to count him out. Danielson runs back to the ring and he trips as he re-enters. Cabana appears to have things under control but Danielson crotches him and that allows the champion to wear down the challenger and works on Cabana’s back. Cabana fights back with a series of near falls. Danielson hits a superplex and both men try for the cover. Danielson with cattle mutilation but Cabana does not tap and he gets to the ropes to break up the hold. Cabana hits a lariat and the referee makes the three count, but Danielson gets his foot on the ropes. The referee restarts the match. Danielson hits the Roaring Elbow for the three count, but Cabana had his foot on the rope. Danielson pulls Cabana’s foot off the rope before the referee can see it. Another referee comes out to tell the official what happened.
Cabana wants five more minutes but Danielson goes to the back and the referees will not give Cabana what he wants.
Match Number Eight: Roderick Strong and Austin Aries defeat Fast & Furious (Jay Fury and Jerrelle Clark) to retain the Ring of Honor Tag Titles
Strong and Clark start off the match and Strong maintains the advantage with some mat wrestling. Clark is able to use his agility to work over Strong and he gains the advantage. The champions are able to regain control of the match and wear down Fury. The momentum changes when Clark tags in and Fury and Clark are able to use their high flying style to take over. They maintain the advantage when the action returns to the ring and they isolate Aries in the ring. Clark tries to go up top but Strong crotches Clark and that puts Clark into the tree of woe. Strong and Aries double team Clark as they continue to control the middle portion of the match. The action moves out of the ring with Strong sending Clark into the crowd. Clark is able to tag Fury in and the challengers get the advantage. Clark and Fury hit the corkscrew piledriver/swinging neck breaker combination but Strong rolls to the ropes and then Aries breaks up the cover. Aries and Strong try to finish off Clark but Fury sends Aries to the floor. Fury hits a frog splash for a two count. Strong gets Fury up for a power bomb and Aries hits a missile drop kick and Strong gets the three count with the power bomb.
After the match, Roderick Strong gets on the mic and he thanks Jay and Jerrelle for taking the beating of their lives and sticking in there. Roderick says that he hopes they do it again in Ring of Honor real soon.
Impact of Honor Thoughts:
The DVD is approximately two hours and twenty minutes long.
This show drew the largest crowd for FIP in Orlando. With all of the Orlando fans who claim to be fans of Ring of Honor, I was surprised that the announcement of two Ring of Honor title matches did not draw more people.
While I really liked the Cabana/Danielson match, I was hoping for an ‘ROH’ style match since it was a Ring of Honor title defense. However, it was more like the Danielson/Cabana matches that they have had in FIP.
This was the first time that I saw Roderick Strong and Austin Aries work together in a tag match outside of their brief time together in TNA at the end of 2005 and start of 2006; and they might be the best tag team in the United States at this time.
With the way that the venue was set up, there were times when they would have shots from the side of the ring facing away from where the crowd was sitting and it showed the size of the crowd. There were also times when there were crowd shots from the hard camera that showed the size of the crowd.
I like the way that the video looks from the recent venues that the company has run in.
Since there was not much of DP Associates on the show because it was a Ring of Honor-esque show, we got to hear Jared David and Dave Prazak do commentary together for the entire show. They have grown a lot in a short time together and do a great job of incorporating a lot of information into the matches without taking away from what is going on in the ring. They give a lot of the background into the feuds that are going on in the matches.
Full Impact Pro Wrestling returns to action on October 13th in Brooksville, Florida at the Hernando County Fairgrounds; and October 14th in Bushnell, Florida at the Sumter County Fairgrounds. For more information on upcoming FIP shows, check out www.fullimpactpro.com. Announced for these shows are Roderick Strong, Bryan Danielson, Davey Richards, Black Market, The Heartbreak Express, Jay and Mark Briscoe, Matt Sydal, Erick Stevens, and many more.
For information on Full Impact Pro DVDs, including Strong vs. Evans from January in Crystal River, check out www.rohwrestling.com
Feel free to send feedback to richard@pwinsider.com
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