Full Impact Pro — “Jeff Peterson Memorial Cup 2009, Disc 1” — November 20th, 2009
DVD review by Roy Reynolds
royreynolds@4sternstaging.com
+ Taped live from the National Guard Armory in Brooksville, Florida.
– Every wrestler in the tournament is introduced individually before any of the matches begin. In a nutshell, representing Team HYBRID is Dave Cole, Flip Kendrick, Louis Lyndon, and Marion Fontaine. Team AAW consists of Arik Cannon, Johnny Gargano, Shane Hollister, and Silas Young. Representing Team CZW is Drake Younger, Egotistico Fantastico, Scotty Vortekz, and Jon Moxley. Lastly, we have Team FIP, which consists of Davey Richards, Brad Attitude, TJ Perkins, and Chris Jones. All sixteen men pose for a group photograph before exiting the ring.
– Shannon Rose asks Louis Lyndon if he is ready for the Jeff Peterson Cup tournament backstage. Lyndon says that he has been training hard to make sure that he does not fall to Marion Fontaine, his first round opponent. Fontaine has some words for Rose, as well. Marion says that he beat Lyndon in Ohio and that the same outcome will happen in Florida.
â— JPC first round match: Louis Lyndon [HYBRID] defeated Marion Fontaine [HYBRID] via pinfall with a short-arm lariat – There is something about Marion Fontaine that scares me. Maybe it’s the Care Bear on the back of his trunks. Fontaine and Lyndon exchange armdrags to begin the match. Innovated hurricarana brings Fontaine down to the floor. Lyndon goes for a plancha to the outside, but wipes out. Fontaine capitalizes and tosses Lyndon back into the ring for two. Flying hip toss and elbow drop connect for two, as well. Small package by Lyndon gets two. Big superkick connects by Fontaine onto Lyndon for a two-count. Lyndon fires up with a spinning wheel kick and some kung-fu chops. Lyndon connects with another shot to the head, but he only gets two. Fontaine goes to the top rope and nails a frog splash for two. Running dropkick sends Fontaine to the outside. Lyndon with a somersault senton that wipes Fontaine out. Palm strikes from Lyndon. Louis Lyndon connects with a short-arm lariat for the three-count. Lyndon advances to the next round of the tourney. Match was fine for an opener, but nothing really impressed me. **.
– Johnny Gargano thinks that Chris Jones is overrated. Gargano notes that Jones lost in the first round of the Jeff Peterson Cup last year. Johnny promises that the same exact thing will happen in the tournament in 2009, as well. Gargano gets major kudos from me for sporting a Reptar shirt. Nineteen-year old, Chris Jones, has some words, as well. Jones says that he has been working hard to make sure that he keeps the Jeff Peterson Cup in Florida. Gargano’s words mean nothing to him.
â— JPC first round match: Johnny Gargano [AAW] defeated Chris Jones [FIP] via pinfall with a roll-up – I believe these two men have wrestled against one another in the Dragon Gate USA “fray” before. Before the match, Jones takes Gargano’s entrance jacket and tosses it into the backstage area. Jones and Gargano exchange some forearm shots. Gargano charges at Jones, but Chris ducks and he goes flying out. Chris goes for a dive on the outside, but gets speared hard by Johnny! Nice counter right there. Gargano kicks at the fallen body of Jones. Roll-up by Jones only gets two. Gargano with a pair of seated sentons to Chris. Two-count. Gargano tosses Jones out of the ring hard. Johnny attempts to toss Chris into the guardrail, but Jones escapes. Jones goes for a move, but Johnny catches him and drops him down on the ring apron. Back inside of the ring, Gargano climbs to the top rope. Johnny goes for a crossbody, but misses. Leg lariat by Jones brings Gargano off his feet. Jones escapes a crucifix powerbomb attempt and delivers a DDT for two. Jones sets up Gargano on the top, but Johnny lays him down hard with the Hertz Donut. Frog splash nailed, but Gargano gets two only. Chris nails a hurricarana off the top, but only gets two. Jones misses with a move off the top rope and Gargano grabs Jones’ tights for the three-count. Nice little match there. Chris Jones plays an excellent underdog and truly sells like a champ. Definitely has all the potential in the world to be a star in the future. Gargano looked awesome, too, and I’m truly hoping that he gets a big push in EVOLVE. **¾.
– Despite being the HYBRID Wrestling Champion, Dave Cole is aware that not many wrestling fans have heard about him or HYBRID, but he believes that everyone will know who they are by the end of the Jeff Peterson Memorial Cup. Silas Young realizes that Dave Cole is one of the best wrestlers in the country and has been scouting him well. Young tells everyone that they are looking at none other than the eventual winner of the Jeff Peterson Memorial Cup.
â— JPC first round match: Silas Young [AAW] defeated Dave Cole [HYBRID] via pinfall with the Peegee Waja Plunge – Young wants a handshake, but Cole slaps him in the face. Young gets hung up on the top rope and gets kicked at by Cole. Cole goes for the cover, but only gets a two-count. Cole grabs at the hair of Silas Young and gets an inside cradle for two. Short-arm lariat gets a two-count, too. Young tries to roll Cole over for a pinfall attempt, but gets a snot rocket for his efforts. Yet another two-count. Young and Cole exchange chops. Young with a big backbreaker for two. Young goes for a move off the top, but Cole catches him with a hard dropkick! Jacknife pin by Young fails. Powerbomb by Cole gets two. Flying crossbody by Young equals two-count. Inverted STF by Cole is slapped on, but Young manages to escape and he kicks Cole in the skull. Rolling fireman’s carry slam by Young. He uses the momentum from the slam to nail the Peegee Waja Plunge, a headstand moonsault! One, two, three! Somewhat of a short match, but both wrestlers used their time real well. I have never seen Dave Cole before, but all of his stuff looked real crisp. Silas Young also impressed me quite a bit. Only complaint I have about the match is that there was a stupid fan who wouldn’t keep his mouth shut regarding his apparent hate for Young. ***.
– The FIP Heritage Champion, Brad Attitude, is alongside Shannon Rose. Attitude makes mention that he was in the finals of last year’s Jeff Peterson Cup and that he turned a lot of heads around the world. Jon Moxley is not going to stop him from taking the Jeff Peterson Memorial Cup this year. Jon Moxley says that he hates everything about independent wrestling tournaments. Not only does Moxley guarantee that he is going to get four straight victories, but he’ll make it look easy.
â— JPC first round match: Jon Moxley [CZW] defeated Brad Attitude [FIP] via submission with a crossface chickenwing – For whatever reason, Jon Moxley seriously reminds me of the “Loose Cannon” Brian Pillman. Attitude takes control of the match with some Japanese armdrags. Moxley quickly begins working over the arm of Attitude. Brad takes Moxley to the outside with a lariat. Moxley gets up on the floor, though, and takes it to Attitude. Baseball slide by Attitude. Attitude with a beautiful somersault senton to the outside! Moxley clubs away at the head of Attitude. Snapping DDT by Moxley only gets two. Jon tries going for a few more pins, but he gets two-counts each time. Moxley runs into a dropkick from Brad. Jon misses an elbow drop from the top. Attitude capitalizes with a cover, but only gets two for his efforts. Moxley locks in an armbar, but Attitude escapes. Moxley throws Brad hard into the turnbuckle and follows things up with a crossface chickenwing. Within seconds, Brad Attitude is forced to tap. Moxley and Attitude both looked decent, but they had some weird chemistry that tended to slow down the match at times. **½.
– Flip Kendrick does not have too many words for Shane Hollister, but he declares that he will be “coming off the top and will be getting that pin”. Shane Hollister wants to prove that AAW produces the best wrestlers. He believes that after tonight’s tournament, FIP and Flip Kendrick will know exactly who Mr. Hollister is.
â— JPC first round match: Shane Hollister [AAW] defeated Flip Kendrick [HYBRID] via pinfall with a roundhouse kick – Before even doing a move, the crowd gives Flip Kendrick a “Flip is awesome” chant. Kendrick takes it to Hollister early by sending him out with a spinning armdrag. Springboard frankensteiner by Flip. Kendrick goes for a move off the top, but Hollister catches him with a running dropkick to the temple. Hollister with a big STO for two. Hollister with a abdominal hold on Kendrick. Kendrick manages to escape, but gets wheel kicked in the face. Standing 630 by Flip only gets a two-count. Shane nails Kendrick with a jawbreaker. Kendrick charges at Hollister in the middle of the ring, but gets dropkicked in the teeth. Referee counts both men down, but Hollister gets up at eight. Shane charges at Kendrick, but Flip pulls down the ropes. Springboard sky twister press to the outside! Nice move! Eye of the Hurricane nailed by Hollister onto Flip. Flip recovers and climbs to the top rope. Kendrick nails his finisher, but Hollister gets his foot on the rope at the last second! Shane Hollister cracks Flip Kendrick with a roundhouse kick to the jaw. One, two, three. Pretty good match. Honestly, I prefer Hollister as a babyface, but he didn’t do a bad job as a heel in the match. Kendrick is always fun to watch and consistently gets nice reactions from the crowd. **½.
– Shannon Rose makes note that both, TJ Perkins and Arik Cannon, have both been in previous Jeff Peterson Memorial Cup tournaments before. Perkins has also been in several other tourneys, including TNA’s World X-Cup and PWG’s Battle of Los Angeles. Perkins promises success and tonight, it starts against Arik Cannon. Cannon does not want formal introduction from Shannon Rose. He hopes to do nothing more than make Perkins a stepping stone en route to his way to the top.
â— JPC first round match: TJ Perkins [FIP] defeated Arik Cannon [AAW] via submission with the Figure Four Deathlock – Cannon catches Perkins with his back turned to him after a handshake. Spinning wheel kick by Perkins connects. The two exchange hard chops and kicks. Leaping neckbreaker by TJ gets two. Perkins kicks at Cannon in the corner. TJ with a beautiful hurricarana that takes Arik to the outside. TJ goes for a dive, but Cannon catches him and throws him into the post. Cannon fires up for a chop, but TJ ducks, and Arik’s hand meets metal! Flying crossbody by TJ gets two. Perkins kicks out of a vertical drop by Arik at one. Kind of random, but Cannon’s dropkicks are absolutely brutal-looking. Perkins wiggles out of the Glimmering Warlock at two. Cannon runs into a kick from TJ into the corner. Perkins attempts some offense, but Cannon quickly nails him down with a suplex for two. Brainbuster by TJ connects! The referee starts counting both men down. TJ nails a flying knee and follows up on Cannon with a suicide dive to the floor! Jumping cutter by Perkins gets a three-count, but the match is restarted after the referee notices that Cannon’s leg was on the bottom rope. Lariat by Cannon! Two-count. Crowd with a “this is awesome” chant. Right hand connects! Total Anarchy! Glimmering Warlock misses and TJ locks in the Figure Four Deathlock! Cannon has no other choice, but to tap. Up to this point, easily the best match of the show. Cannon and Perkins had excellent chemistry with one another. ***½.
– Scotty Vortekz and Egotistico Fantastico are traveling partners and good friends. However, Scotty says that he’s going to be the one that takes the Jeff Peterson Memorial Cup back with him to CZW. Ego cuts one of the best promos of the night by revealing that a lot of the CZW wrestlers were getting strange looks from the other competitors in the tournament after arriving in Florida. Tonight, not only does Ego want to win the Jeff Peterson Memorial Cup, but he also wants to bring some dignity back to CZW and truly define what “ultraviolence” is.
â— JPC first round match: Egotistico Fantastico [CZW] defeated Scotty Vortekz [CZW] via pinfall with the Queso Killer – Ego and Scotty shake hands before the match and agree to show the FIP fans what CZW is all about. Vortekz knocks Fantastico down early with a wheel kick. Vortekz knocks Ego to the floor with a lariat. As Scotty goes for a dive to the outside, Ego cracks him in the face with a hard kick. Ego tosses Scotty over the rail and into the crowd! Fantastico sets up Scotty on a chair and charges up by sprinting around the ring. He launches himself onto Scotty from a standing position! Back inside of the ring, Ego goes for a pinfall following a dropkick that gets two. Excellent Japanese armdrag by Vortekz. 540 by Scotty gets a two-count. Standing moonsault by Vortekz gets two, as well. Scotty tries choking out Ego on the mat, but Fantastico never gives up. Standing dropkick by Vortekz connects for two. Ego kicking away at Vortekz from a standing position. Two-count. Questo Killer attempt fails. Vortekz nails a Lightning Spiral for two! Taco Pizza is nailed by Ego, but Vortekz kicks out at the last second. Moonsault from the top by Scotty connects on Ego to the floor. Both men get back in the ring at the count of nine. Dragon Fly connects, but Ego wiggles out before the referee can make the count of three. “This is awesome” chant from the crowd. Vortekz runs right into Ego’s Questo Killer for the victory. Ego helps up Scotty after the match and the two shake hands once more. Another surprisingly terrific match. Ego and Vortekz clearly wanted to make a point and did so by putting their bodies on the line at all costs. Very enjoyable bout. ***¼.
– The CZW World Heavyweight Champion, Drake Younger, has some words for Shannon Rose. Drake admires Richards, but that’s not going to stop him from pinning his shoulders to the mat. Younger leaves us with the following quote, “pain is temporary, but pride is forever”. Davey Richards, the FIP World Heavyweight Champion, notes that he’s the only champion around in the Jeff Peterson Memorial Cup that actually matters. Davey wants everyone in the tournament to be warned, as “the hunt is on”.
â— JPC first round match: Davey Richards [FIP] defeated Drake Younger [CZW] via submission with a cloverleaf – Davey and Drake shoot out right off the bat with stiff kicks and forearms to one another. Davey shoots in on the leg of Drake, but Younger reverses his attacks into a flash pin for two. Richards goes for the Kimura early, but Drake manages to escape to the ropes. Richards with a stiff kick to the spine of Younger. Younger no sells and rocks Richards with a hard kick of his own. Richards no sells that kick, too, and the two immediately begin exchanging hard forearms. Drake goes for a dropkick, but Davey retreats to the outside to catch a breather. Drake Younger takes control of the match with some armdrags. Younger with a big back body drop and a clothesline. Davey looks to catch another breather, but Drake takes him out with a somersault senton from the apron! Younger covers Davey inside of the ring, but only gets two. Stalling vertical drop by Drake only gets a one-count. Younger looks for a double stomp, but misses and tweaks his knee. Davey capitalizes with a dragon screw to the knee. Richards locks the knee up into a vicious submission hold, but Younger gets his hand on the ropes. Drake lights up Davey with some chops in an effort to start working back some momentum, but Richards wisely goes back to working on Younger’s injured knee to stop the sudden burst of energy. Drake misses a frog splash and Richards quickly locks in a cloverleaf. Younger gets back in the game after catching Richards with a full nelson suplex out of the absolute blue. Two-count. Inverted Death Valley driver for two, as well. Richards dragon screws Younger’s leg into the ropes. Missile dropkick by Richards connects! More stiff kicks from Davey onto the chest of Younger. Damage Reflex for two! Younger attempts a suicide dive, but Davey drills him with a roundhouse kick. Running forearm by Richards. German suplex for two. Richards signals for the DR Driver, but Younger rams him back into the corner. Necro Butcher-esque punches from Drake. Younger connects with some clotheslines, but it only staggers Richards. More forearm shots and punches. Younger tries setting up for the Drake’s Landing, but fails. Drake nails a Cradle Shock from the top! Two-count. Alarm Clock! DR Driver! Younger kicks out! Cloverleaf locked in now. Younger tries for the ropes, but Richards drags him back to the middle. Finally, Younger taps. Excellent match. Davey and Drake really beat the living hell out of one another in order to put on the best match of the show. ***¾.
– Following the bout, Davey Richards hands Drake Younger his CZW World Heavyweight Championship back and points to him. Younger grabs a microphone and calls Davey a “true world heavyweight champion”. Before taking off, Drake thanks all of the fans for showing up and hopes that they will all be back in attendance for night two of the tournament tomorrow.
I would have most likely paid twenty bucks for night one of the Jeff Peterson Memorial Cup, alone. However, the fact that this entire tournament is a two-disc set for just twenty smackers makes it that much better.
There are plenty of great and entertaining matches on disc one that I recommend giving a look at, especially Richards versus Younger and even Cannon versus TJP. The bottom line is that every independent wrestling fan should be picking up this DVD set. Quite frankly, I’m expecting even better things on disc two.
