By Chris Vetter

Full Impact Pro, based in Florida, has always been “the sister promotion” of Ring of Honor, as the promotions use predominantly the same roster. However, FIP has always been booked with a more ‘old-school’ flavor, with a slower, Southern style. However, FIP kicked it up a notch for the “Eddie Graham Memorial Battle of the Belts,” on March 10, 2007. This is a one-night, 8-man, single-elimination tournament, and this show had the pacing & vibe of a ROH show. I definitely approve.

This show was held in Crystal River, Fla., and the crowd is between 200 and 300. As with all FIP releases, there are no backstage segments. Commentary is handled by Lenny Leonard & Dave Prazak. Prazak is a heel manager here, and I admittedly don’t like “heel Prazak commentary,” as he’s much better as a face/impartial announcer. One thing I do like (even though all commentary is done post-production), is that when Prazak is at ringside, he is NOT also doing commentary.

* Ring announcer Jonathan Gold introduced Mike Graham, who brought the Heritage title to the ring. Graham talked about how his father started Championship Wrestling. Prazak came out with his heel faction of Shingo, Delirious and Jimmy Rave. Prazak said that because FIP is “anything goes,” he would rather have a battle royal than a tournament! Roderick Strong & Erick Stevens ran out, and Strong challenged Rave to the first match!

(1) Round 1: Roderick Strong defeats Jimmy Rave (w/Prazak, Mr. Milo Beasley, Delirious, Shingo) at 9:00 even. Lenny Leonard called this match solo, and he said this was the first-ever Florida Heritage champion tournament. Rave applied some headlocks early to ground Strong, and the crowd was hot. Strong hit a shoulder tackle, and Rave bailed. The ref kicked out Delirious & Shingo. Strong got a Crucifix Takedown rollup for a nearfall at 2:30. Strong hit some chops, and he tossed Rave across the ring by his hair, and Rave got crotched around the ringpost. On the floor, Strong dropped Rave crotch-first onto the guardrail.

In the ring, Strong hit another loud chop. Rave hit a kick, and he celebrated, and the crowd booed him. Milo Beasley hopped out of his wheelchair and he choked Strong at 5:00. Rave was in charge in the ring, and Prazak hit Strong a few times on the floor. Rave slammed Strong’s face into the guardrail. In the ring, Strong hit a big boot, a hard clothesline, and a leg lariat for a nearfall at 8:00. Strong nailed a top-rope superplex for a nearfall, but he couldn’t apply the Stronghold. Rave got a belt and swung it at Strong, but Strong avoided it. Strong nailed the Gorilla Press Gutbuster over his knees, then a running boot, for the pin. Good, quick action.

(2) Round 1 Jay Briscoe defeats Larry Sweeney at 10:10. Good match. Sweeney got on the mic and proclaimed that he’s “lookin’ good.” Sweeney said he’s undefeated in Crystal River. Each man played to the crowd. Prazak joined commentary and talked about how this should have been a battle royal format. Sweeney cowered in the ropes. They tied up, and Jay shoved Sweeney into the corner and he slapped Larry. Sweeney bailed to the floor, and the crowd jawed at him. In the ring, Jay hit a shoulder tackle, an armdrag and a bodyslam, and Sweeney tried to hide behind the ref at 3:00. Jay hit some punches, and Larry fell to the floor. Jay hit a running forearm in the corner and a snap suplex for a nearfall, then a nice dropkick.

However, Jay accidentally ran shoulder-first into the corner. Sweeney hit some stomps, and he paused to celebrate. Sweeney hit a butterfly suplex at 6:00 and some Dibiase fistdrops. Jay hit a flipping neckbreaker off the second rope, and they were both down. They traded punches, and Sweeney hit a Mafia Kick and a Death Valley Driver for a nearfall. Sweeney hit a Gordbuster faceplant for a nearfall, and he was in charge. Sweeney made a jackknife cover with his feet on the ropes for a nearfall. Briscoe nailed the Jay Driller/butterfly piledriver for the pin. Good match with great heat.

(3) Round 1: Erick Stevens defeats Shingo (w/Dave Prazak & Milo Beasley) at 9:11. Good match. Prazak shouted this would be “another belt to add to the collection.” The wrestlers took turns playing to the crowd, but Shingo attacked Stevens from behind, and he choked Stevens with a flag. Leonard, who is again calling this match solo, said that Shingo is half of the ROH tag champs. They traded shoulder tackles, and Stevens finally knocked Shingo down, and Shingo bailed. The kids in the crowd chanted, “USA!” In the ring, Stevens hit a back suplex for a nearfall at 2:30. Stevens hit a chop and a headbutt, and he was in charge.

Shingo hit a spin heel kick and a Dibiase fistdrop for a nearfall, and he applied a chinlock, and the crowd rallied for Stevens. Shingo hit a kneedrop to the face for a nearfall. Milo Beasley tripped Stevens at 5:00, then he attacked Erick on the floor. Milo nailed a rolling senton from the apron to the floor. Shingo applied a half-crab in the ring, then he turned it into a Crippler Crossface, but Stevens reached the ropes. They traded chops, and Stevens hit a backbody drop, and he was fired up. Stevens hit his “Choo Choo” running splash in the corner, then a TKO Stunner for a nearfall at 7:30.

Stevens couldn’t hit the Dr. Bomb/gutwrench powerbomb. Shingo hit a gutbuster and a DDT, and they were both down, and the crowd was hot. Shingo nailed a decapitating clothesline for a nearfall. Prazak hopped on the ring apron, but he accidentally hit Shingo. However, Shingo nailed another HARD clothesline on Stevens! But, Stevens got a Crucifix Takedown out of nowhere for the clean pin! Good, hard-hitting match.

* Delirious & Jimmy Rave ran in the ring and attacked Stevens. Mark Briscoe ran to the ring for the save, and that immediately led to the next match!

(4) Round 1: Delirious (w/Prazak & Beasley) defeats Mark Briscoe at 3:43. Lots of action for this way-too-short match. Mark hit a plancha onto Delirious & Milo. Mark nailed a springboard flying kick in the ring. Delirious went for the Shadows Over Hell backsplash, but Mark got his knees up to block it. Mark hit a springboard frogsplash for a nearfall, then some punches to the gut. Delirious nailed an inverted DDT for a nearfall at 2:00. Delirious nailed a spine kick and some elbows to the neck.

Mark hit a jumping enziguri and some karate thrusts to the throat, then a moonsault for a nearfall. Mark went to the top rope in the corner, but Prazak tripped Mark and crotched Briscoe in the corner, allowing Delirious to get a nearfall. Delirious immediately applied the Cobra Stretch on the mat, and Mark tapped out. Disappointingly short, but fun stuff.

* The YRR (Chasyn Rance, Kenny King, Sal Rinauro, plus two attractive scantily-clad women) came to the interview area and the wrestlers talked about how great they are. Basic promo, and not as easy to understand as I hoped. Kory Chavis & Seth Delay & Jerrelle Clark ran out and brawled with them. It looks like we’ll have that match later…

(5) Round 2: Roderick Strong defeats Jay Briscoe at 13:24. Very good, ROH-style match. They traded armbars and mat reversals. They traded offense in a knucklelock, and this was INTENSE stuff. Strong hit an armdrag at 3:00, and they had a standoff. They each hit a headscissors takedown. Strong applied a hammerlock on the mat, and he trapped Briscoe’s head between his legs. Strong hit a backbreaker over his knee for a nearfall, then a slingshot suplex for a nearfall at 6:00. They traded HARD chops. Jay nailed a running elbow for a nearfall, and he applied the Stretch Plum, and Strong bailed.

Jay hit a snap suplex in the ring for a nearfall. Prazak on commentary said he wants this match to go long so “Delirious has an easy way to the title” (as Prazak ignored that Delirious still must get past Stevens.) Jay hit a clothesline in the corner and a basement dropkick to the face. Jay applied a Japanese Stranglehold at 9:00. Strong flipped Jay in the air, and Jay crashed head-first on the top turnbuckle. Strong hit a nice dropkick. Jay hit a Death Valley Driver for a believable nearfall.

They traded quick rollups, and Strong hit an enziguri, and they were both down. Strong nailed a back suplex onto the ring apron, and Jay collapsed to the floor at 12:00. Jay was eventually able to get back in the ring. Jay nailed a Stunner in the ring and a Mafia kick for a nearfall. Prazak was astonished that Briscoe had the strength to keep going. Briscoe couldn’t hit the Jay Driller. Strong nailed the Gorilla Press Gutbuster, then the running boot to the head, then the Gibson Driver/butterfly powerbomb for the pin. VERY good action.

* Mark Briscoe came to the ring to check on his brother. Jay got on the mic and said he has been preoccupied with Necro Butcher & Mad Man Pondo. Jay challenged those two to meet them April 21 in a street fight.

(6) Round 2: Erick Stevens defeats Delirious (w/Milo Beasley & Prazak) at 15:11. Above-average match, but I honestly hoped for more. Delirious went crazy at the bell and went to the floor and tossed chairs into the ring. The crowd was hot and behind Stevens. They tied up, and Delirious backed up and cowered in the ropes. Stevens picked up Delirious and set him in the corner. This was slow and methodical early, with tie-ups, headlocks, and armbars. Stevens hit a serious of shoulder tackles at 6:30. Delirious hit a chop that had ZERO effect, and he immediately bailed! Stevens hit some chops on the floor. Delirious pushed Stevens shoulder-first into the ring post. Delirious hit some headbutts on the floor.

In the ring, Delirious hit a spine kick, some blows to the back, and he was in charge. Prazak & Beasley beat up Stevens on the floor, with Milo hitting a running elbowdrop off the apron to the floor at 9:30. Delirious hit a senton in the ring. Stevens hit some forearms. Delirious choked him in the ropes and he jawed at the crowd, and he nailed some elbow shots to Stevens’ neck. Delirious hit a back suplex, but he missed a top-rope elbowdrop at 12:30. Stevens hit a scoop slam and a Bulldog Powerslam for a nearfall, but he missed the ‘Choo Choo’ running splash in the corner.

Delirious hit a basement dropkick to the back, then the Panic Attack/running knee to the face, then the Shadows Over Hell/backsplash for a nearfall. Delirious applied the Cobra Stretch on the mat, but Stevens was able to escape. Stevens nailed a hard clothesline and the Dr. Bomb for the pin! Prazak was on the verge of tears, as all three of his men were out of the tournament! Delirious cut a promo in gibberish. Prazak pouted and said this wouldn’t have happened if this had been a battle royal! Solid match; it started a bit too slow, but it was really good in the final few minutes.

(7) Sal Rinauro & Kenny King & Chasyn Rance (the YRR) (w/2 valets) defeat Kory Chavis & Seth Delay & Jerrelle Clark at 17:09. Good match. My first time seeing Chavis in a while, and he has an ugly blue singlet now. Prazak returned to commentary, and he was angry. (The silly arguments between Prazak and Leonard were fun.) Chavis started against King and they had an intense lockup. They traded shoulder tackles, and Chavis hit a nice armdrag. Clark entered and hit an armdrag on Rance, then a short-arm clothesline at 3:30. Clark hit a springboard moonsault to the floor on all three YRR members.

Delay and Rinauro traded forearm shots in the ring. Delay hit a nice hurricanrana on Sal at 6:00, then a backbody drop. Chavis hit a loud chop on Sal, then Kory hit a nice dropkick on King for a nearfall. The faces made some quick tags and worked over King. Clark hit a nice headscissors takedown, so Delay also hit a nice satellite headscissors takedown. King hit a gutbuster over his shoulder on Delay. Rance entered and hit some stomps on Delay. The women choked Seth, and the heels were doing a basic beatdown on Seth. Sal hit a delayed vertical suplex at 10:00, and he did a kip-up and celebrated. Rance hit a nice enziguri. Sal hit a Lionsault Pele Kick. King applied a bodyscissorslock, and the crowd rallied for Seth. The referee missed a blind tag at 13:00.

Sal hit a nice dropkick for a nearfall. King hit a guillotine legdrop as Seth was in the ropes. Jerrelle finally made the hot tag and he hit some punches, elbows and clotheslines, and a nice handspring-back-moonsault on Sal for a nearfall. Clark hit a Tornado DDT on King for a nearfall. Chavis hit a sit-down powerslam, then a sitdown Spinebuster! Chavis hit a swinging DDT for a nearfall at 16:30. Clark missed a plancha, and he crashed to the floor. Meanwhile, in the ring, someone hit Delay with a weapon! Sal immediately got a jackknife rollup on Seth for the pin. **1/2

(8) Finals: Erick Stevens defeats Roderick Strong at 21:14 to win the Heritage Title tournament. Excellent, excellent match, and one of the best FIP matches I’ve ever seen. The crowd surprisingly gave Strong a mixed reaction, as the fans were more behind Erick. They opened with some INTENSE mat reversals, and Stevens twisted the left leg. They traded loud chops. Prazak promised one of his guys would win the title immediately from whoever wins this match. Strong hit an elbowdrop for a nearfall at 3:00. Strong applied a pretzel on the mat. Strong rolled to the floor, and he threw a roll of tape showing signs of frustration. In the ring, Stevens hit a basement dropkick that sent Stevens to the floor. Strong then hit a NICE corkscrew plancha to the floor at 5:30.

Strong slammed Stevens’ back into the ring post. Stevens slammed Strong’s back into the apron, and he hit some more chops. Strong hit a suplex on the floor! Stevens nailed a powerbomb toss onto the apron at 8:00! Strong barely got back in the ring before being counted out, and he sold his back injury. Stevens hit some punches on the mat. Strong hit a back suplex for a nearfall. In a cool spot, Strong tied Stevens in the ropes, and Strong nailed a running Field Goal kick to the face for a nearfall at 11:00! OUCH! Strong applied a bearhug, and the crowd rallied for Stevens. Erick hit a Bulldog Powerslam, and they were both down. They got up and traded more hard chops, and Stevens hit a flapjack.

Strong hit a Mafia Kick. Stevens hit a powerslam and a senton for a nearfall at 13:30. Stevens hit the Choo Choo running splash and a TKO Stunner for a nearfall, but he couldn’t hit the Dr. Bomb. Strong nailed a Lungblower to the chest and a running boot for a nearfall, and the crowd chanted, “This is awesome!” Strong nailed a top-rope superplex for a nearfall at 16:30 and a top-rope elbowdrop for a nearfall. They fought on the ropes in the corner, and Stevens hit a backbreaker onto the top turnbuckle! The crowd chanted, “FIP!” Strong hit a Gorilla Press Gutbuster over his knees and a Gibson Driver/butterfly powerbomb for a believable nearfall at 19:00.

Prazak was incredulous that both men were still going, reminding fans this was each man’s third match. Strong couldn’t hit a top-rope Gibson Driver. Stevens nailed some open-hand paintbrush slaps and a top-rope powerslam for a believable nearfall. Strong got an O’Connor roll with a handful of tights for a nearfall. However, Stevens nailed a German Suplex, a clothesline, and the Dr. Bomb for the pin! The crowd (rightfully) gave the men a standing ovation. WOW.

* Mike Graham came to the ring to present Stevens with the belt. Rave & Delirious & Shingo ran in to attack them. Somehow, Prazak wound up along in the ring with the faces, and Graham leveled Prazak with a punch. Stevens and Strong hugged (to again re-affirm that Strong is still a face.) Stevens tried to ignore a jerk in the crowd who was loudly booing, and he got on the mic and thanked the crowd, and he thanked Strong. Strong got on the mic and put Stevens over. Stevens made a challenge to Prazak to have someone for him to fight in April.


Final thoughts: DVD runs 2 hours, 28 minutes.

This was a REALLY good FIP show, and I liked the increased ROH-flavor to it. I want to see more shows from FIP like this one. I have a lot of positive praise for this show.

The main event was fantastic. As much as I liked the Strong-Stevens singles match in Chicago last month, this one was even a bit better, and the crowd was really behind Stevens here! As you would expect, lots of hard-hitting blows and deafening chops, but they had good pacing and some believable nearfalls. Seriously, this was one of the best FIP matches I have seen. And as already noted, this was their THIRD match of the show!

Second-best goes to Strong vs. Jay Briscoe. Like the finals, this second-round match would have been a perfect fit on any ROH show. The action was fast-paced with some good mat reversals and strong action. ROH fans who have sampled the FIP product and found it too slow might want to give this event a try. Third best goes to Shingo-Stevens, just ahead of Sweeney-Jay Briscoe.

Some fans won’t like the lack of backstage segments, but for me, it works here.

Negatives: Very few. Prazak is still better as a neutral announcer, and I went back and forth between being amused and annoyed with his commentary tonight (and I’m a big Prazak fan.) He kept hammering home his belief that this “should have been a battle royal,” until the joke got old and wasn’t funny anymore. While I’m a huge Delirious fan, I find that his heel character stalls a bit too much for my taste.

I like the slow change in FIP as some of the less interesting local wrestlers have been weeded out. I’d much rather see the FIP roster be the “ROH AAA-farm club” with the use of the Chikara guys (Hallowicked, Gran Akuma, Jigsaw), and the Midwest guys (Tyler Black, Marek Brave, Irish Airborne), than some of the Florida guys who don’t do much for me.

This DVD earned a big thumbs up. Purchase it at www.rohwrestling.com for $15. For more on this promotion, check out www.fullimpactpro.com.

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