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FULL IMPACT PRO DVD REVIEWS

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*** Official OWW.com FIP DVD Reviews by Brad Dykens ***
February 2, 2007 - DANGEROUS INTENTIONS - , Florida

Full Impact Pro made its debut in Melbourne, FL with a big event with a high profile main event featuring FIP Champion Roderick Strong taking on challenger Davey Richards in an "I Quit" match. The opening match was hot as usual, involving DP associate Shingo defeating strong up-and-comer Hallowicked ( 6.5 / 10 ).

After the match, "Sweet & Sour" Larry Sweeney emerged from behind the curtain to exchange compliments with Dave Prazak and his crew. DP Associates exited and ICW/ICWA Texarkana Television Champion Larry Sweeney bragged about looking so good and making a name for himself in Full Impact Pro so quickly.

The YRR of Chasyn Rance, Sal Rinauro, Claudio Castagnoli (who sticks out like a sore thumb!), and associate Lexie Fyfe came out to do their shtick. Does Lexie Fyfe really represent the 'Young, Rich, and Ready' philosophy? The YRR brought Lexie to FIP to "take out" Allison Danger. Black Market came out and made it clear that if YRR touched Allison Danger they would kick their teeth in!

The women's division in FIP is slowly gaining steam. They are no where near ready to introduce a women's title but they do present at least one girls match on every show. Allison Danger, who looks spicier every time I see her, won the match ( 6 / 10 ), but was quickly cornered by the three members of the YRR. Black Market came out and cleared the ring (but no teeth were kicked in) and suddenly we had a tag team match between Black Market and the YRR. The fans were robbed of a clean finish when Claudio Castagnoli interfered and caused the disqualification, giving Black Market an unfulfilling victory ( 7 / 10 ). Colt Cabana made the save and got rid of the YRR and said he was sick and tired of Claudio Castagnoli and challenged him to a 1-on-1 match tonight!

Jaison Moore fought Ricky Vega in one of the most forgettable matches in FIP history. You might remember Vega as a member of the early LAX faction in TNA under the name "Machete." Not to be confused with Joey Machete of the Black Market. Anyway, Vega has a good look and could develop into something special but this match was anything but special ( 3 / 10 ).

The Briscoe Brothers came out and said they heard there were "two crazy bastards" backstage who came to take their FIP Tag Team titles. Mad Man Pondo and the barefoot Necro Butcher made their debut and Full Impact Pro may never be the same ever again. The two hardcore tag teams brawled throughout the building until Mark Briscoe hit a shooting-star-press off of an elevated platform and then stole somebody's ice cream and started eating it! This was NOT an official match - just a chaotic brawl. Mark Briscoe hip-tossed Necro off the bleachers onto the hard floor but Necro got right up and suplexed Mark awkwardly onto the bleachers. This is why I hate guys like Necro and Pondo, they no-sell some of the most brutal stuff. Jay and Pondo disappeared, while Mark and Necro ended up in the ring where a wrestling match started to take form - sort of. Mark Briscoe super-plexed Necro on top of a pile of chairs, but Mad Man Pondo returned and whacked Mark with his trademark stop sign and put Necro on top for the 1-2-3 to win. Jay Briscoe hit the ring and another match officially got started between Pondo and Jay Briscoe. Pondo brought out a staple gun and stapled a dollar bill to Jay's head! Jay got the staple gun and stapled a dollar bill to Pondo's cheek! Pondo no-sold it and stapled Jay's crotch and whacked him with the stop sign. Mark Briscoe and Necro Butcher got involved and the match was thrown out by the referee. Pondo put the stop sign and a chair on Jay's face and did a senton off the top rope. Pondo and Butcher then destroyed Mark and stole the FIP tag team championship belts. To recap; Necro Butcher beat Mark Briscoe ( 7.5 / 10 ) and Jay Briscoe vs. Mad Man Pondo was a No Contest ( 6.5 / 10 ). FIP fans have never experienced anything like the Deathmatch Kings, Necro Butcher and Mad Man Pondo.

It was time for a four-corner survival match featuring Jigsaw, Gran Akuma, Seth Delay and Erick Stevens. Jigsaw is the tallest/skinniest wrestler I've ever seen. Anyone with half a brain knows who won this match ( 7 / 10 ). Erick Stevens, of course!

FIP Champion Roderick Strong finally stepped into the ring with former friend Davey Richards, going one-on-one in a tough "I Quit" match. It was a brutal match, portions of which were spent out of the ring literally down on the floor trying to wear each other out. Both men put their bodies on the line and pulled out all the stops in an attempt to make the other scream 'I QUIT!' - and it was a painful Boston Crab on Davey's weakened back that forced him to QUIT and give Roderick Strong a well-earned victory ( 9 / 10 ).

In an attempt to capitalize on C.M. Punk's recent world-wide fame, they played a cool video package to hype a DVD featuring some of C.M. Punk's greatest matches in FIP - I have already seen and reviewed the DVD and I recommend it to any Punk fan, and especially for anybody who missed the first year of Full Impact Pro's existence. C.M. Punk helped lay the groundwork for FIP.

The main event was supposed to be Claudio Castagnoli vs. Colt Cabana in a singles match, but Double C was joined by "Sweet & Sour" Larry Sweeney so it started out as a Handicap match. I found it strange that Castagnoli and Sweeney would team up in FIP when they are bitter enemies in Ring of Honor. Eventually the bloodied Cabana was overtaken and desperately needed some help - help arrived in the form of Erick Stevens from the back! They did a lot of the traditional babyface tactics and won the match with a couple of DDTs ( 8 / 10 ). They used the "DDT" to get a rise out of the internet smarks who were aware of some of the behind-the-scenes activities that took place on the day of this show. It seems the legendary Jake "The Snake" Roberts, master and creator of the dreaded DDT maneuver, was booked to work the show but pulled out after a 'dispute' with management. Cabana and Stevens even used familiar short-arm clotheslines and twirled their index fingers in the air before hitting a pair of DDT's on their opponents at the end of the main event. Take THAT Jake the Snake!

Final Thoughts: The main event should have been the I Quit match but the tag team match was pretty hot too. Luckily the fans still had some gas in the tank and remained energetic until the very end. This was a really fun way to end a great event.

If you would like to purchase this or any other Full Impact Pro DVD, please check out ROHwrestling.com - and also be sure to show your support by checking out www.fullimpactpro.com/ - Thank you!



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