By Chris Vetter

Full Impact Pro, the sister promotion of Ring of Honor, headed to Inverness, Fla., on April 20, 2007, for “International Impact, phase 1.” FIP has a slower, Southern style to its shows and matches, but I think the promotion has really been on the right track for the past year as they’ve become more of an ROH “farm system.”

The commentary team are Lenny Leonard and Dave Prazak. I’ve mentioned this before – Prazak does heelish commentary here, and I’m not much of a fan. (I really do like that when Prazak is at ringside as a manager, that Leonard calls the matches solo. I want to at least pretend the commentary is done live!) FIP doesn’t use any backstage interviews or segments, so everything is done in front of the crowd. The crowd here was about 100; I’ve certainly seen more at recent FIP shows. The bottom rope was really loose, and that was distracting to me.

* The DVD opened with a nice video package.

* Ringside announcer Jonathan Gold interviewed the “YRR” of Kenny King, Sal Rinauro, Chasyn Rance and Claudio Castagnoli. Unlike the show I watched a month earlier, they didn’t have any scantily-clad women with them today. Claudio got on the mic and he said he’s proud to represent Switzerland tonight when he faces Erick Stevens. Claudio said he’ll win the Heritage Title and take it back with him to Switzerland. Seth Delay & Jerrelle Clark appeared, and they challenged the YRR to a match.

(1) Kenny King & Sal Rinauro (w/Chasyn Rance) defeat Seth Delay & Jerrelle Clark at 12:47. Fairly basic match that never really got rolling. Sal and Delay started. The faces took turns twisting Rinauro’s arm. Seth went for a cross-armbreaker, and he hit a shoulder tackle at 3:00. The faces were in charge. Clark hit a deep armdrag, as the faces kept doing some basic (and dull) armbars. Kenny King FINALLY tagged in at 5:30. Prazak tried to claim that Delay has a “loaded elbow pad.” King hit some blows to Delay’s back. Sal hit a dropkick on Seth, and he celebrated. Rance hit some cheap shots from the floor. King and Sal each hit flying kneeshots.

Sal hit a dropkick to Seth’s face for a nearfall at 8:30, then an enziguri. King hit some chops and a gutbuster over his shoulder. Seth finally made the hot tag at 11:320. Clark entered and hit some punches, a snap suplex on King, and a handspring-back-moonsault on King for a nearfall, then a Tornado DDT. All four men fought. Clark screwed up a springboard move (it appears Rance tripped him, but the cameras really didn’t catch that.) King immediately hit a Falcon Arrow slam to pin Clark. Like I previously wrote; it just never got out of second gear.

* Dave Prazak appeared on the ramp with Delirious. He declared that Delirious is the “greatest masked wrestler” going today. Delirious cut one of his gibberish promos. Jigsaw came out, and he questioned if Delirious was the best masked wrestler. Jigsaw issued a challenge!

(2) Delirious (w/Prazak) defeats Jigsaw at 12:37. Good match. Delirious, as usual, went crazy at the bell, and he stalled. The crowd was fully behind Jigsaw. Jigsaw hit an armdrag, and Delirious claimed that his tassels were pulled. Delirious hit a shoulder tackle, and he jawed as he stood over Jigsaw. Jigsaw hit some deep armdrags, and Delirious bailed at 3:30 and stalled some more. Delirious tucked his arm behind his back (apparently thinking that Jigsaw wouldn’t be able to hit any more armdrags!) However, Jigsaw tricked Delirious and hit another armdrag. Fun.

Jigsaw tied Delirious in the Rowboat position, and he turned it into a standing pendulum. Delirious fired back with a missile dropkick to the back and a Panic Attack/running knee at 6:00. Delirious hit a senton for a nearfall, and he was in charge. The crowd cheered loudly for Jigsaw. Delirious hit a spine kick, and he worked over Jigsaw’s neck. Jigsaw flipped Delirious to the floor, and he dove onto Delirious and Prazak at 9:00. In the ring, Jigsaw hit a leg lariat, a hurricanrana, a running knee to the gut and a top-rope crossbody block for a nearfall. Delirious fired back with a hangman’s neckbreaker for a nearfall at 11:00.

Delirious hit a series of elbow shots to the base of the neck, and he went for a Shadows Over Hell backsplash, but Jigsaw avoided it and hit a gutbuster on Delirious over the knee. Jigsaw hit a Tornado DDT for a nearfall, and he was fired up! Jigsaw set up for a Superkick, but Prazak tripped Jigsaw! This distraction allowed Delirious to hit the Chemical Imbalance II/flipping powerbomb for the pin. Good match.

* The YRR came out again, and they talked about how they ran the Black Market out of FIP. The Heartbreak Express came to the interview area. Sean Davis told the YRR that they respect the Black Market after the wars they’ve been through, but the HBE do not respect the YRR. So Cal Val rejoined the HBE. Sean & Phil Davis challenged the YRR to an impromptu match!

(3) Chasyn Rance & Sal Rinauro defeat Sean & Phil Davis (w/So Cal Val) at 7:21. The HBE attacked the YRR and dragged them into the ring. The HBE hit a team flapjack on Rance. Prazak wondered where So Cal Val has been, as no one had seen her since she was kidnapped. (I didn’t see that show!) Sean hit a running Stinger Splash in the corner and a Umaga-style rumpshaker in the corner. Sal hit a Superkick on Phil. The YRR worked over Phil with some basic team moves and stomps. Sal choked Phil with the loose bottom rope.

Sal hit a nice dropkick for a nearfall at 5:30. Rance hit a crossbody block on Sal! This allowed Sean to finally make the hot tag, and Sean hit an Earthquake Splash buttdrop on Sal for a nearfall. However, So Cal Val hopped in the ring and (predictably) sprayed a chemical in Sean’s eyes to blind him. Rance hit a frogsplash on Sean for the pin. As expected, So Cal Val joined the YRR after the match. “I don’t associate with losers like you,” she said.

(4) Nigel McGuinness defeats Shingo (w/Prazak, Mr. Milo Beasley) at 10:42. Good match, but not a great match. They opened with an intense lockup, and Nigel applied a hammerlock and he cranked on the left arm. Nigel hit a legdrop on the arm. Shingo choked Nigel with a Japanese flag at 2:30, and he hit a Dibiase fistdrop, and he applied a crossface on the mat. Nigel hit a uranage with Shingo’s arm trapped underneath him. Nigel hit a headbutt on Shingo’s shoulder. Shingo fired back with a DDT and a senton for a nearfall. Prazak & Beasley beat up Nigel on the floor.

In the ring, Shingo stood on Nigel’s head. They traded forearm shots. Shingo hit a clothesline the corner. Nigel went back to work on twisting Shingo’s left arm, and he hit an overhead suplex on the left arm at 7:00. Nigel hit a running European Uppercut in the corner, and he applied a Fujiwara Armbar, but Shingo reached the ropes. Shingo hit some punches in the corner. Nigel hit his kick to the back & inverted DDT combo out of the corner for a nearfall.

Shingo hit a piledriver for a nearfall at 9:30, and the crowd was hot and behind Nigel. Nigel missed the Jawbreaker Lariat out of the ropes, and Shingo immediately hit a hard clothesline for a nearfall. Nigel fired right back with a short-arm clothesline for a nearfall. Shingo got a chair, and he swung it, but Nigel avoided it; the chair hit the top rope, and bounced back and hit Shingo in the head. Nigel immediately applied a Crossface, and Shingo tapped out. Above-average action.

* Larry Sweeney walked to ringside. He said he had been in a good mood, until he arrived at the building and saw Sean Waltman’s name on the marquee. “X-Pac’s time is done!” Sweeney proclaimed. The ring announcer introduced Waltman as “X-Pac,” although Waltman wore his WSX “6-Pac” outfit. Sweeney declared that his fictitious ICW/ICWA Tex-Arkana TV Title was not on the line. Good heat from the crowd, as Sweeney paced on the floor.

(5) Sean Waltman defeats Larry Sweeney at 7:12. Sweeney stalled on the apron and on the floor. They eventually locked up and X-Pac applied a headlock and cranked on it. Waltman hit a hiptoss, and Sweeney bailed and complained about a hairpull. Waltman hit a baseball slide legdrop for a nearfall at 2:30, and he went for a Bronco Buster, but Sweeney hit a low blow. Sweeney hit some chops, and he choked Waltman in the ropes, and Sweeney hit a Spinebuster. Leonard admonished Prazak for referring to Waltman as “X-Pac,” saying, “Are you trying to get me sued?”

Sweeney hit a butterfly suplex for a nearfall. The crowd chanted, “Sweeney sucks!” Waltman hit a Flair Toss at 5:00, and he hit a spin kick on Sweeney’s jaw, then he hit a dropkick, a plancha, and a top-rope crossbody block for a nearfall. Sweeney got a rollup with his feet on the ropes for a nearfall. However, Pac hit the Bronco Buster, then an X-Factor faceplant for the pin. Solid, entertaining match.

* A commercial aired for FIP’s “All or Nothing” show, now out on DVD. The show features another Bryan Danielson vs. Roderick Strong matchup.

(6) Erick Stevens defeats Claudio Castagnoli (w/So Cal Val) at 18:22. Best match of the show. They opened with an intense lockup, and Claudio slapped Erick in the face and bailed! Moments later, Stevens returned the slap to the face. Stevens worked the left arm, and he hit some kneedrops on it. They traded offense in a knucklelock, with each bridging up from the move. Claudio slapped on a tight headlock at 5:00. They traded shoulder tackles, with neither man budging, until Claudio finally went down, and he bailed to the floor in pain. Stevens whipped Claudio into the guardrail, and he hit some forearm shots on the floor. Stevens slammed Claudio’s lower back into the ring apron.

In the ring, Stevens hit a sideslam for a nearfall at 8:00. Claudio nailed a basement dropkick on the left knee, and he kicked at the leg and twisted it. Castagnoli applied a Horse Collar, but Stevens reached the ropes. Claudio kept kicking and twisting the left leg, and he hit a European Uppercut. Claudio hit a basement dropkick on the knee as it was tied in the ropes, and he scored a nearfall at 12:00. Claudio applied a modified Figure Four leglock, and he even let out a “Woooo!” Stevens fired back with an overhead belly-to-belly suplex, and they were both down.

Stevens hit a running back elbow, some chops, and he was fired up, but he hobbled on his injured leg. Stevens hit a powerslam, the Choo Choo running Stinger Splash in the corner, and a hard clothesline for a believable nearfall. Stevens tried to get Castagnoli up for a fireman’s carry, but his leg buckled. Claudio spun Stevens around his back and into a faceplant for a nearfall at 15:00. Claudio applied a half-crab, and the crowd was HOT. Stevens hit an enziguri, then a pumphandle sitdown slam.

Stevens couldn’t hit the Dr. Bomb/gutwrench powerbomb. Claudio nailed a bicycle kick, then he hit the Waterslide for a believable nearfall, and he applied a Sharpshooter! Stevens reached the ropes, but So Cal Val distracted the referee! Claudio pulled Stevens back into the center of the ring with the Sharpshooter still applied! Stevens eventually reached the ropes at 18:00. Claudio set up for the Ricola Bomb, but Stevens avoided it. Stevens then nailed the Dr. Bomb for the pin. Very good action.

* The YRR came out and beat up Stevens. The Heartbreak Express ran out and made the save.

(7) Roderick Strong defeats Yamato at 12:41 to retain the FIP World Heavyweight title. Solid, above-average match. Strong has a nice new looking belt. I’ve seen Yamato before during the Mania weekend shows, and he wore basic blue trunks. They opened with some mat reversals, and Strong worked on the left arm. Prazak talked about Yamato’s ROH debut, then Prazak talked about Strong’s international title defense. Yamato applied a headscissors lock. Prazak said that Yamato has less than two years ring experience. Strong hit a shoulder tackle at 3:00. Yamato went for a leapfrog, but Strong caught him in mid-air and slammed him to the mat.

Strong unloaded some of his heavy chops, then he hit a backbreaker over his knee. On the floor, Strong slammed Yamato’s back into the ring apron, and Strong hit some more hard chops. In the ring, Yamato hit a suplex, dumping Strong on his head! Yamato hit some chops and a back elbow for a nearfall at 6:30, then an elbowdrop for a nearfall. Yamato applied a mid-ring Octopus, and he turned it into a rollup for a nearfall. Strong nailed some chops in the corner, and he hit a top-rope superplex, and they were both down at 9:30.

Strong hit some more loud chops, a clothesline, a nice dropkick for a nearfall, and a side suplex for a nearfall. Yamato hit a nice spear, then a butterfly suplex for a nearfall. Strong hit an enziguri and a half-nelson backbreaker over his knee for a nearfall. Yamato hit a German Suplex for a nearfall at 12:00. Strong nailed the running boot, then the Gorilla Press Gutbuster over his knee and the Gibson Driver/butterfly powerbomb for the pin. “The highest profile match in (Yamato’s) young career,” Leonard said.

(8) Mark Briscoe vs. Mad Man Pondo ended in a draw at 8:58. This was a “falls count anywhere” match, so I didn’t expect a draw. A fan begged Mark to “take it easy on a Shooting Star Press” (as Mark had recently injured his head on a scary crash.) Pondo came to ringside with a stop sign, a staple gun, a mallet, and a bunch of other weapons. Mark grabbed the stop sign and hit Pondo on the head with it. Mark hit a second-rope flip senton for a nearfall. Prazak described Pondo as “one of the top death match wrestlers around the world.” Pondo hit a clothesline, and he kicked Mark in the gut as Briscoe was tied in the Tree of Woe. Pondo placed a stop sign of Briscoe’s face (as Mark was still in the Tree of Woe), and Pondo threw a sledgehammer onto the stop sign at 2:00! OUCH!

Pondo got a golf club and swung it at Briscoe’s groin. Pondo got a vinyl record and smashed it on Mark’s head (but it didn’t break.) Mark grabbed Pondo’s staple gun and stapled a dollar bill to Pondo’s forehead, then a moment later, to his cheek. OUCH. Pondo hit a low blow mule kick. Pondo used the staple gun in Briscoe’s groin, and Mark SHRIEKED in pain. They fought to the floor. Mark hit a chairshot on the head, and he slammed Pondo into the ring post at 5:00. Mark got a table, and he set it up on the floor. They fought on a stage, with each teasing they were pushing the other onto it. Mark nailed a doublestomp to Pondo’s chest as Pondo was lying on the table, and Mark got a nearfall. (A replay of this move aired – I hate mid-match replays!)

In the ring, Pondo gave Briscoe a suplex onto an open chair! Pondo tossed several chairs into the ring and set them up. Suddenly, Jay Briscoe ran in the ring and shoved Pondo off the top rope. Necro Butcher ran in and attacked the Briscoes. Mark hit a German Suplex onto Necro on the open chairs. The ref declared this a draw. Solid match, even though this isn’t my preferred style. I’m not a Pondo fan.

(9) Necro Butcher defeats Jay Briscoe at 16:21. This is a street fight. Jay hit a piledriver on the referee! Necro and Jay traded punches, as they fought on the floor, and they traded chops. Jay hit a backbody drop that sent Necro into the crowd. Jay dropped him gut-first on the guardrail. Jay hit a chair-assisted guillotine legdrop as Necro was still on the guardrail. They traded chops on the floor as they brawled all over the building. Jay dominated with some chops & punches. Jay hit a snap suplex on the concrete floor at 4:00! Jay dropped a guardrail piece on Necro and stomped on it. In the ring, Jay helped the referee to his feet, only to kick the ref in the face! Jay hit a flipping senton off the apron onto the guardrail piece on the floor! Jay whipped a chair at Necro’s head.

Necro fired back with his chair-assisted bodyslam on the floor at 7:00. In the ring, Necro hit a running knee with a chair. Necro whipped a chair at Jay’s legs as Briscoe was tied in the Tree of Woe. Necro applied a half crab on the left leg. He hit a sideslam onto some folded chairs for a visual pinfall, but there was no referee. Necro hit a Tiger Driver (Gibson Driver), then a sideslam across the top of two open chairs at 10:30! Jay fired back with a Death Valley Driver onto an open chair! OUCH! Jay hit a frogsplash for a visual pinfall, but again, there wasn’t a referee!

Jay hit a second-rope superplex onto a pile of weapons, and the crowd chanted, “FIP!” Jay brought a table into the ring at 14:00, and he hit a top-rope guillotine legdrop on Necro, who was lying on the table in the ring. Pondo suddenly ran in and hit Jay with the stop sign. Mark returned to the ring now, too. Necro covered Jay for a believable nearfall. Pondo and Mark continued to fight on the floor. As Jay’s head was between the ropes, Pondo nailed him with another blow from the stop sign! Necro immediately got the rollup for the pin.

* Pondo got on the mic and said they gave the Briscoes their belts back. Jay got on the mic and said, “Tomorrow night, it’s a war!” The Briscoes hit a team uranage on the referee!



Final thoughts: DVD runs 2 hours, 34 minutes.

I really like the direction that FIP has been heading this year. All the matches were solid, and fairly good. While there wasn’t a single “standout” match to me on this card, it was top-to-bottom, a good wrestling show.

I wouldn’t have expected Castagnoli-Stevens to be my pick for best match of this show, but I thought it was a really entertaining big-man matchup. The opening few minutes were a bit basic, but they picked it up nicely as they went along, and the crowd was hot for the final half of this match. Claudio brings out the best in people. Good match.

The main event earned second best. While I’m not a big fan of hardcore stuff, Necro Butcher brings a believable style to his fights, and he comes across as an awesome crazed madman. Jay more than held his own.

I’ll give third-best to a nice Jigsaw-Delirious match. The appearances of the Chikara crew in FIP (Jigsaw, Sweeney, and in the past, Hallowicked and Gran Akuma) are just another reason to pick up an FIP DVD from this year. Gone are the sloppy, short two-minute matches that dotted the first half of old FIP shows. This is a more complete, more rounded show, than the 2004 and 2005 stuff.

I would describe Nigel vs. Shingo as the first two-thirds of a really good match. Just as they got the match really rolling, they went home and finished it up. These two are capable of doing so much more in an ROH environment. Not a bad match at all, but these two can do so much more.

It was really weird to see the HBE as faces. Sean Davis is a great heel. I’m not a big fan of his wrestling skills, but he clearly knows how to draw a LOT of great heel heat. So, it was just really different to see the crowd suddenly behind the Heartbreak Express. The last time I saw the YRR (on a show just a month earlier), they had two scantily-clad women with them. I immediately thought it was weird that they didn’t have any ladies on this show, and I immediately guessed that So Cal Val would fill that void. Really, the HBE were the only people in the building surprised by So Cal Val’s heel turn.

I’m just not a fan of the YRR (and their sluggish performance in Chicago a few months ago when I saw them live didn’t help), and the matches with King, Rance and Rinauro were my least favorite. That said, they do draw good heel heat.

FIP has definitely turned the corner. This show earns a thumbs up, and this DVD is available at www.rohwrestling.com for $15. Learn more at www.fullimpactpro.com.

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