By Chris Vetter, Torch Contributor

Full Impact Pro debuted in Arcadia, Fla., on April 23, 2005. This appears to be an elementary school gym, but it is well lit. (Several past FIP releases are too dark for my tastes). Even more important, the crowd is perhaps 120, and they are vocal and into the show. (Too frequently on past FIP releases, the crowds have not only been small, but they also have been too far away from the ring, giving the show a ‘stale’ vibe.)

So, before I saw a single match, I really liked the way this event ‘looked’ on tape. On commentary is Dave Prazak & Lenny Leonard, with Prazak being more of a heel here than he is on ROH releases. As with all FIP releases, all segments & interviews are done in front of the crowd; there are no backstage skits.

(1) Spanky defeats Roderick Strong at 8:09. Good for the time given, but I wished these guys were allowed to go out and have a memorable 20+ minute match. Spanky worked on the right leg, then the left arm, and he hit a nice hurricanrana and a dropkick. Strong applied a Boston Crab, but Spanky reached the ropes. Strong hit a back suplex, and he nailed some stiff forearms. He applied a Camel Clutch at 4:30.

Spanky fired back with a dropkick on the knee, and he hit a Tornado DDT (Leonard for whatever reason said Spanky hit the Sliced Bread #2). Spanky hit a frogsplash for a nearfall. Strong blocked a Sliced Bread #2, and he hit a backbreaker over his knee, then he hit his Gorilla Press Gutbuster over his knees. However, Spanky hit the Sliced Bread #2 for the pin. Very good opener, and this was fast-paced, but I wish it had more time!

Dave Prazak came out with the tag champions, Jimmy Rave and (whatever happened to) Fast Eddie. Prazak said the tag titles will NOT be defended tonight, because the fans in Arcadia don’t deserve it. The crowd, of course, boos. Prazak then introduced Ryze, “The biggest man in FIP today.” Ryze is a very tall Asian man, and he wore all black.

(2) Antonio Banks defeats Ryze at 6:25. Ryze is announced as 315 pounds, and he’s really tall, but he’s green. Banks is muscular, and he’s a light-skinned black man; according to the FIP Website, he has since signed a WWE development deal, which doesn’t surprise me, because he has the physique and ‘look’ WWE seeks. Banks grabbed the mic and badmouthed Ryze. They took turns playing to the crowd, then they had a test of strength. They hit some shoulder tackles, and neither man budged.

Banks tried to bodyslam Ryze, but he couldn’t get the big man up. Ryze hit a delayed vertical suplex. Leonard is alone on commentary here, as Prazak is at ringside. Ryze hit a clothesline in the corner. Banks again tried – and failed – to get a bodyslam. Ryze planted his knee in Banks’ back. They traded punches, and Banks hit a clothesline. Banks finally hit the bodyslam, then he nailed a hard spin kick to the face for the pin. Pretty basic; Ryze just can’t do much.

Leonard introduced CM Punk, who was holding the FIP heavyweight title. “I’m the top dog, I’m the king of the mountain,” the heel Punk said. Punk yelled at some fans. Leonard said that Punk stole the title, and Punk got upset, and he tossed Leonard into the ring. Before Punk could hit Leonard, Homicide attacked CM Punk, but Punk scampered to the back, still holding onto Homicide’s title. Homicide promised he’d get his belt back.

(3) Sal Rinauro defeats Rainman and Kahagas and Jared Steel in a four-way elimination match at 7:07. Disappointingly short, especially since this is an elimination match. Spanky came out, got on one knee, and asked Rinauro to be his protégé. Corny. This is Tornado rules; all four are in the ring. Kahagas, the Asian man, squared off with Steel, while Rainman, a black man with a goatee, brawled with Rinauro. Sal and Jared cleared the ring. Kahagas chopped Rainman, but Rainman hit a spinebuster on Kahagas. Steel hit a hurricanrana on Rainman, then a Flatliner/reverse Russian Legsweep on Kahagas, and Steel pinned Kahagas at 3:05.

Steel stood and began to celebrate the pin, so Sal snuck up behind Steel, rolled him up, and pinned him at 3:12, leaving just Rainman vs. Sal Rinauro. Rainman unloaded a European Uppercut, a dropkick, a backbody drop, and he choked Sal in the ropes. Rainman hit a nice Side Effect/side slam at 6:00. Sal hit a hurricanrana, then he won it with a move best described as a sunset flip into a piledriver. (But it didn’t really look like a Canadian Destroyer, either.) Too short, but nothing wrong here.

(4) Fast Eddie (w/Dave Prazak) defeats Dunn (of the Ring Crew Express) at 13:17. Wow… I can’t believe this match got more time than Strong-Spanky. They opened with basic armbars and standing switches, and the crowd jeered Fast Eddie. Dunn hit a backbody drop, and Eddie stalled. Prazak grabbed Dunn’s ankle, which allowed Eddie to take control. Eddie hit a hard spine kick for a nearfall at 6:30. Eddie hit a hard clothesline, and he flexed & posed, which drew lots of boos. He hit a backbreaker over his knee, then a clothesline to the back of the neck.

Dunn came back with a top-rope elbow drop at 10:30, and the both were down. Dunn hit a Blue Thunder Bomb for a nearfall. Fast Eddie hit a snap back suplex for a nearfall. Dunn hit a Gory Bomb, planting Fast Eddie facefirst, but Prazak distracted the ref. This allowed Jimmy Rave to hit a hotshot on the top-rope on Dunn. Fast Eddie then got a rollup, with his feet on the ropes, to pin Dunn. Barely above average.

Rave and Fast Eddie continued to attack Dunn after the match, until Marcos, then Jerrelle Clark, made the save, which led us right into the next match!

(5) Jerrelle Clark defeats Jimmy Rave (w/Prazak) at 10:42. Good match. The referee confiscated several weapons from Rave, as well as a sock in his trunks. Rave jawed with the crowd. For the third time in five matches, Leonard is calling this solo. They traded armbars, and Jerrelle hit some nice armdrags. Rave hit a neckbreaker over his knee at 4:30, and he cranked on Jerrelle’s head. The crowd was hot, chanting, “Jimmy sucks!” Jerrelle was tossed to the floor, and Prazak kicked him a few times.

Clark missed a top-rope moonsault in the ring, and Rave immediately hit a clothesline for a nearfall. Clark hit a jumping enziguri, but Clark did the Clark Bar/double armbar in the ropes. Rave hit a Northern Lights Suplex for a nearfall. Clark fought back with a flying forearm, a powerslam, and a handspring-back-moonsault for a nearfall at 9:00. Clark hit a pumphandle faceplant. Rave hit a running knee for a nearfall. Clark hit Prazak! Clark placed Rave’s feet on the top rope, and Clark hit a stunner for the pin. Prazak threw a temper tantrum on the floor. Funny. Good match overall.

(6) Marcos & The Carnage Crew (Devito & HC Loc) defeat The Heartbreak Express (Phil & Sean Davis) & Don Juan at 14:07. (Again, I shake my head that this match got so much more time than Spanky-Strong.) The heels came out first, and Sean Davis grabbed the mic, proclaiming that the Heartbreak Express are the sexiest men in this town, and he took off his robe; the crowd groaned at his large body, as Sean suggestively rubbed himself. The Carnage Crew came out and challenged them to a match. The heels said no, because they had three members, and the Carnage Crew only had two. However, Marcos came out to join the Carnage Crew, and we have an impromptu six-man tag!

The faces hit triple clotheslines, then they gave Sean an Irish Whip into the corner on his two partners! The heels stalled on the floor, and the crowd was really loud in jeering them. In the ring, Marcos and Don Juan traded mat holds, and Marcos played air guitar with Don Juan’s arm. The crowd chanted “Fat Boy” at Sean Davis. Prazak on commentary tried to play up that the Heartbreak Express are ‘undefeated’ in FIP (despite losing every match I’ve seen them in!) Loc tagged in, for the first time, at 7:30, and he chopped Don Juan. The heels soon began to work over Marcos, with Phil Davis hitting a guillotine legdrop, and Sean hitting a side slam.

Don Juan applied a sleeper, but Marcos fought out. Devito eventually made the hot tag at 12:30, and he unloaded some clotheslines on Don Juan, then a uranage, and a Northern Lights Suplex for a nearfall. All six fought in the ring, and the heels did a train wreck spot in the center of the ring. Don Juan went for a moonsault, but he missed. Loc hit a Saito Suplex on Don Juan. The Carnage Crew put Marcos on their shoulders, and Marcos hit the elevated senton splash on Don Juan for the pin. As the heels left, Sean thanked “all their fans,” as the crowd booed them out of the building. Average match.

(7) Steve Madison defeats James Gibson at 10:58. Good match. Leonard introduced Madison, who said he was tired of being overlooked here in FIP. He ripped the crowd. (I’ve said this before but he has the look and heelish charisma of Randy Orton.) Gibson attacked him from behind, and they brawled into the ring to start the match. Gibson hit a nice backbody drop and several punches. Madison hit a snake eyes in the top turnbuckle, and he choked Gibson with a shirt. Madison stayed on top with two backbreakers over his knee, several elbow drops and some punches, then a nice gutwrench suplex at 5:00.

Gibson fought back with a swinging neckbreaker, and both men were down. They traded punches, and Madison hit an Ace Crusher/stunner for a nearfall at 9:00. Gibson hit an inverted DDT, then he applied a Front Guillotine Choke. Gibson hit the Tiger Driver/butterfly powerbomb, and he applied a Sharpshooter, but Madison reached the ropes. Madison grabbed a chain hitting in his trunks. As Gibson picked up Madison, Madison nailed him with the chain and got the pin. Good stuff.

(8) Homicide defeats CM Punk (w/Milo Beasley) at 15:55 to retain the FIP Heavyweight Title. This is an anything goes match with a one hour time limit, which made me think this match would be longer than 16 minutes. Beasley has long hair and a beard, and he is in a wheelchair. Punk stalled, and he ran from Homicide. The bell finally rang, and they traded chops, until Punk bailed again. Punk slapped Homicide in the face; Homicide hit some more chops and forearms. Punk hit a shouldertackle; Homicide hit some armdrags.

Beasley stood up and choked Homicide; the heel Prazak refused to believe that Beasley could stand. Punk hit a backbreaker over his knee at 5:30. They went to the floor, where Punk hit a backbody drop! Homicide grabbed a trash can lid and hit it on Punk’s head. In the ring, Punk tossed Homicide into a chair that was wedged in a corner at 9:00. Homicide then tossed Punk into the chair, and Punk went to the floor.

Punk hit a top-rope superplex, but Punk was selling is back. Homicide unloaded several punches, and he hit the tope con helo at 12:00. Homicide stayed on top with an Ace Crusher for a nearfall, then a belly-to-belly overhead suplex for a nearfall. Punk fought back with a powerslam for a nearfall, but he missed a top-rope legdrop. Milo handed Punk the FIP title. Homicide hit a hard clothesline for a nearfall. Homicide grabbed Milo Beasley by the hair. Punk accidentally hit Milo with the title belt! Homicide grabbed Punk and gave him a piledriver on the belt in the center of the ring for the pin.

After the match, Homicide hit Beasley again, and he went to ringside, where all the young kids in the crowd gathered to shake his hand.

Final thoughts: DVD runs 2 hours, 6 minutes. This is a tremendous step up from the overrated “Bring the Pain” show. (“Bring the Pain” had a lot of problems, from an out-of-focus hard camera to a small crowd to a terrible undercard.) But here, the cameras are in focus, and the ring is well lit. The crowd is hot and vocal. The terrible wrestlers on “BtP” (Masked Fipper, Evan Starsmore) aren’t on this show.

If I had been booking this event, as you can tell, I would have made Spanky-Strong the co-main event and given them 20 minutes; I would have taken minutes from the two Ring Crew Express matches. Punk-Homicide was a strong main event, and that gets match of the night. I’ll give Gibson-Madison second-best, just ahead of Rave-Jerrelle Clark. While these were all good, above-average matches, they aren’t ‘memorable, match of the year’ candidates either.

I’ve seen many FIP shows, and this is a more balanced overall show, with only two matches I considered ‘below average.’ I’ve certainly seen worse undercards in FIP. This show gets a thumbs up, and it can be purchased for $15 at www.rohwrestling.com.

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