*** FIP DVD Reviews by Brad Dykens ***
Date May 31, 2008 – Arcadia, Florida
FULL IMPACT PRO – SOUTHERN JUSTICE
INTERVIEW SEGMENT
Heartbreak Enterprises (Sean & Phil Davis w/Babydoll) + Damien Wayne: “Fabulous” Phil Davis (playing the enforcer) came out and secured the area before “Superstar” Sean Davis (playing the overweight Playboy) came out and introduced the “Perfect 10” Babydoll. Davis screamed at the fans for a minute before introducing the “Heartbreak Assassin” Damien Wayne. This is a different venue and it looks like one of FIP’s biggest crowds to date..
FOUR CORNER SURVIVAL
Erick Stevens vs. Jon Davis vs. Dingo vs. Damien Wayne w/Heartbreak Enterprises: Except for Erick Stevens, nobody watching this on DVD cares about any of these guys (yet). The live crowd seems to appreciate them. I predicted Stevens to be the winner, with Jon Davis having an outside chance since he seems to have the most potential for stardom. Stevens is the FIP poster-boy, so my money was on him. Am I betting on professional wrestling matches now? I would have made money on this one, because Erick Stevens finished off Dingo with a Doctor-bomb! The match was fast paced, but still went on a bit too long – which is a common (but minor) problem in low-card matches. After the match, Davey Richards (who lost to Stevens the night before) attacked Erick Stevens and said “Roderick Strong says hello!” Richards said that he was going to beat the crap out of Scotty Too Hotty tonight! Richards actually called the fans a bunch of “sons of B’s” – yes he actually said “B’s.”
SINGLES MATCH
Chris Jones vs. Chasyn Rance (w/Portia & Mimi & Cat): I think they are sensing that the YRR is getting a little stale, so they added a little skin to the equation to give the gimmick some more life. It is a little disappointing to see Portia Perez in the role of eye-candy, but hopefully FIP will let her wrestle after she pays her dues. The other two groupies fit the mold perfectly, though. Chris Jones is a rising star in FIP, but the girls on the floor helped Chasyn Rance score another victory for the YRR. After the match, the YRR groupies began to slap Jones around until Rain & Leva (representing the Age of the Fall) came out and issued a challenge!
WOMENS TAG TEAM MATCH
The Age of the Fall (Rain & Leva) vs. The YRR (Portia Perez & Mimi): Daizee Haze also came out and appointed herself the official referee! Leva and Mimi are still kinda green, so when they were in the ring it was slow. But once Portia and Rain got involved the action really picked up. The YRR’s Kenny King showed up to help his girls until the Age of the Fall’s Tyler Black came out to even the odds. The experienced Rain went in for the kill, and easily finished Mimi with a Tornado Lung-blower! Ouch. Leva is good-looking, I could see myself getting a crush on her!
SINGLES MATCH
Kyle O’Reilly vs. Johnny DeBall: Dave Prazak mentioned that both of these wrestlers have trained under Davey Richards in the past – as all three of them originated from the Pacific Northwest. The match ended in a No Contest when Richards reappeared and attacked both wrestlers. You kinda knew this was coming since nobody knew who these guys were, nor did they care enough to find out. Richards grabbed the microphone and demanded that the fans shut up and listen to what he had to say. Richards said he was the most built man in the building, and he was also the most educated. Richards promised to end Scotty Too Hotty’s wrestling career tonight!
GRUDGE MATCH
Tyler Black (Age of the Fall) vs. Kenny King (the YRR): Before the match, Kenny King cut a promo about Tyler Black sticking his nose in the YRR business. King said he was going to finish the job in a one-on-one match right now! King also promised to do it without the help of the YRR. I don’t think anybody believed that the rest of the YRR would not get involved before the end of the match, but everybody would have been wrong. King surprisingly fought with pride and honor, hanging in there with Black for a long and exciting contest. Black nailed King with a spectacular Phoenix Splash to gain a major victory for the Age of the Fall in its war with the YRR! If anybody is going to split from the YRR, it’s going to be Kenny King.
SINGLES MATCH
Greg “The Hammer” Valentine (w/Heartbreak Enterprises & Babydoll) vs. Norman Smiley: Before the match, Superstar Sean got some more time on the microphone to insult the fans and hype the debut of the legendary Greg “The Hammer” Valentine! Babydoll yelled, “show some respect to the legend!” and Sean spewed “show respect!” all over the microphone. The two legends put on a slow match, but it was still fun to watch. Norman Smiley was all about the comedy. Eventually Sean Davis jumped in the ring and got tripped up and experienced the BIG WIGGLE from Smiley. Phil Davis came to his rescue and knocked Smiley down while Babydoll distracted the referee. Sean splashed Smiley and the Hammer covered him for the 1-2-3 to pick up a tainted victory!
GRUDGE MATCH
Jimmy Jacobs (Age of the Fall) vs. Jason Blade (the YRR): The YRR could not resist the urge to interfere in this one, almost immediately ganging up on Jimmy Jacobs and causing the match to be thrown out. Eventually Delirious made the save and the match was turned into a tag team match..
TAG TEAM MATCH
The Age of the Fall (Jimmy Jacobs & Delirious) vs. The YRR (Jason Blade & Sal Rinauro): Delirious and Jimmy Jacobs were an unusual combination, since they are not exactly considered “friends” up in Ring of Honor. Jacobs is a major heel in ROH, but is playing the part of babyface in FIP with Tyler Black. They teased that Jacobs would go heel and turn on Delirious, but he stayed true and fought with honor until the end. Jacobs forced one of the YRR guys to tap out with the End of Times. After the match, Jacobs made gestures to Delirious, who would end up joining the Age of the Fall in ROH about two months later..
SINGLES MATCH
Austin Aries vs. Jerry Lynn: This was the match of the show, but it was way too short. Even though it was more intense, it was given less time than the opening match on the card. Jerry Lynn is playing the part of Randy the Ram from “The Wrestler,” a gimmick that he will ride well into 2009. Austin Aries got the win over the veteran, Jerry Lynn, and they shook hands after the match..
SINGLES MATCH
Scotty Too Hotty defeated Davey Richards: This was another great match, but for completely different reasons. Scotty spent the first half of the match playing to the crowd and doing his comedy stuff. Eventually they turned up the intensity, and Richards had to sell a lot for the former WWE Superstar. When Richards began to mount a come-back, but then the referee got bumped. Suddenly, a man who somewhat resembles Erick Stevens (who actually was Erick Stevens) jumped in and gave Richards a Doctor-bomb! Scotty got up and didn’t even question why his opponent was suddenly incapacitated, but he was quick to take advantage of it. Scotty hit the W.O.R.M. on Richards and pinned him to win the match and end a great night of FIP action!
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