FIP returned the National Guard Armory in Crystal River, Florida and put on what can best be described as an unpredictable show.
Kool Seth Delay def. Jon Davis via Moonsault backsplash
Delay is a fixture in the opening match for FIP and in this case that is a compliment. He is a small high-flyer who is very good at garnering sympathy from the crowd and his matches allow the crowd to jump right into the show emotionally. Jon Davis is a good all-around worker who competes throughout the southeast indy scene. Davis’ used his power to his advantage early in the match wearing Delay down. Delay made the standard babyface comeback and utilized his speed to eventually pick up the win.
The YRR came out to cut a promo and it occurred to me that the group has grown quite a bit in the last few months. For the record, the YRR now includes: Chasyn Rance, Sal Rinauro, Kenny King, Jason Blade, Claudio Castagnoli, So Cal Val, Lacey and Rain. Lacey is the only member absent tonight but the rest of her stablemates fill the ring and discuss their plans for the evening. Their speech is cut short as a returning Jerrelle Clark interrupts setting up…
Chasyn “Not Cocky” Rance def. Jerrelle Clark via second rope assisted piledriver
Chasyn is the shortest member of the YRR and has a reputation of being a good lightweight worker. Jerrelle Clark is probably mostly recognized from his days teaming with Mikey Batts as Mr. 630 in TNA. The match is relatively short and uneventful. This match is a good example of how lightweight matches are handled differently in FIP. There were a few highspots (including a rana on the floor) but, the matches are much slower paced than you will see in ROH. This isn’t to say that the matches are worse or inadequate just that they are wrestled in a more deliberate style.
The YRR comes back out to celebrate Chasyn’s victory. They hype up the Main Event where YRR member Claudio Castagnoli will take on FIP World Champion Roderick Strong in a 2/3 falls match. Sal Rinauro then gets on the stick to tell the crowd that it is the YRR’s night and they are looking for Gold. They offer to use some of their wealth to buy gold from any champion in FIP. Erick Stevens emerges from the back to point out Sal’s lack of respect for the championships in FIP and specifically the Florida Heritage Championship. Stevens says he will not sell his belt to the YRR but he will give Sal an opportunity to fight him for it tonight (in an interesting sidenote Stevens mentions that he has unfinished business with Davey Richards that he wants to attend to but instead will take on Sal). Sal is very upset about being ridiculed and accepts the challenge. The YRR slowly disperse from the ring and it’s time for our next match…
But, before Davey Richards and Jack Evans can lock up we are interrupted by Dave Prazak and Vice President of DP Associates Mr. Milo Beasley. Prazak is here to once again offer Davey Richards a spot in DP even though Richards has repeatedly turned him down in the past. Prazak asks Davey to let him prove himself by allowing him to be in his corner for this match. Davey reluctantly accepts but only to show DP Associates what it’s like when two men fight fairly to see who is the better man.
Davey Richards def. Jack Evans via submission (Kimura)
This match is a great example of the ROH influence on the action in FIP. This match would be completely at home in the upper card of any ROH DVD release. Jack was on his game and Davey was his regular hard-hitting self. After a quick back and forth start Davey focuses on the taped left shoulder of Jack. Jack battles back and hits a few signature spots such as the springboard 540 (I think) the the floor and the cartwheel corner elbow. As a side note, it really is amazing how Jack has learned to work his amazing acrobatic skill and flexibility into his ground game. His escapes and reversals are more fluid and true to his character because they are done in a way only Jack could do them. The finish comes after Jack misses a 630 and Davey is able to sink in the keylock for the tapout. Post-match DP Associates congratulates Davey and Prazak and Richards shake hands.
The ring announcer asks the crowd to please welcome the newly crowned Ring Of Honor World Champion Nigel McGuinness. Nigel thanks the fans for the warm reception and says that he is glad to be back in FIP. He goes on to say there is nothing he would like more than to defend the ROH title in front of the Florida fans but he is unable to do so because of his torn bicep. He promises the crowd that when his shoulder heals he will return to Florida to defend his belt. Before he can leave gracefully Roderick Strong’s music hits and the FIP World Champion confronts the ROH World Champion. Strong says that he is the best champion in wrestling today and that his belt is the one that matters the most here. The crowd which was very positive for Nigel at the beginning of the segment loudly cheers Strong’s statements. Strong calls McGuinness a pussy and exits back through the curtain. Nigel waves toward the crowd and we have the makings of a pretty awesome Champion vs. Champion feud.
The crowd is then treated to “Sweet Cherry Pie” as the Heartbreak Express make their way to the ring in street clothes. Superstar Sean runs down Black Market saying that there is no way they are going to face the HBX tonight because they don’t have the guts to show up in the same town as them. Phil tells Sean to mention the fireball attack at Cage of Pain 2 and Sean says that the Black Market were a little “hot headed” that night. Black Market do indeed show up as they make their way to the ring and the mandatory FIP Wild Brawl ensues. After a few minutes of chair shots and lots of punching and kicking the HBX make a run for it and actually leave the building with Joey Machete and Shawn Murphy chasing after them. Upon returning to the ring Joey Machete informs the crowd that the HBX has hopped in their truck and left so instead of beating them tonight he was going to challenge them for the next Crystal River show to a double dog collar match. Machete promises this will be the last time we see the Heartbreak Express vs. the Black Market in FIP.
After a rather lengthy intermission (where I took advantage of the buy 3 get 1 free deal to score the Race to the Top Tournament and both Death Before Dishonor shows) The YRR once again make their way to the ring this time with only two members, Rain and So Cal Val. Val poses an open challenge on behalf of Rain to any female in the back and the call is answered by Panther Claw and the match is on.
Rain def. Panther Claw by pinfall via outside interference from Sal Rinauro
Rain is well known as one half of the Minnesota Home Wrecking Crew with her partner Lacey but she is an outstanding singles wrestler as well. Panther Claw is quite honestly a performer I am completely unfamiliar with and unfortunately she did not perform very well in this contest.
Once again the YRR comes out to celebrate a win, this time Rain’s. Erick Stevens emerges mid-celebration to say that he’s had enough YRR for one night and he’s ready to start his match with Sal right now. Before he can enter the ring he is attacked from behind by Davey Richards. Richards and Stevens fight all over the building as Sal waits in the ring. After Richards lays out Stevens at ringside Jack Evans finally runs out to make the save and he and Richards fight to the back. Seeing his opportunity Sal calls for an official and the match is officially underway.
Sal Rinauro def. Erick Stevens via Belt shot to noggin to become the NEW FIP Florida Heritage Champion
Rinauro started off by taking advantage of the weakened Stevens pounding him down and going for several early pin attempts. Stevens would fight back and manage to hit the Choo-Choo running lariat but Sal blocked the Dr. Bomb. Near the end of the match The rest of the YRR ran down to ringside and as Chasyn Rance distracted the referee Kenny King gave Sal Rinauro the belt and Rinauro blased Stevens as he was attempting the Dr. Bomb. The win gave the YRR their first title in FIP and was truly a shock to the crowd. Erick Stevens might be the most beloved performer in FIP (with the possible exception of the Black Market) and his title loss was very unexpected and somewhat deflating to the crowd.
Once again the YRR are in the ring celebrating their first taste of Championship gold when Kenny King gets a bright idea. King says that since Sal won the Florida Heritage Title earlier and Claudio is going to win the FIP Heavyweight championship tonight he thinks Jason Blade and himself should win some gold as well. He says that the Briscoes were supposed to face them last month but pulled out due to Mark’s injury and they want their shot right now. “Gimme Back My Bullets” hits and we have our second title match of the evening.
The YRR of Kenny King and Jason Blade def. The Briscoe Brothers by pinfall with interference from Claudio Castagnoli to become NEW FIP Tag Team Champions- The YRR worked over Jay Briscoe for the majority of the match and seemed to have some decent chemistry as a tag team. They built up heat on Jay including a false tag that had the crowd rather riled up. Eventually Mark would tag in and clean house on Blade and King allowing Jay to recover and set up the springboard doomsday device. Just as Mark was attempting to springboard Claudio came out and pulled him off the apron and held him on the floor as King and Blade hit a double team Powerbomb/Neckbreaker spot (pretty badly blown) to get the 1,2,3.
Claudio hops into the ring and says he is now ready to complete the YRR’s perfect night by taking the FIP title back to Switzerland. Roderick Strong’s music hits and we are set for our main event of the evening.
Roderick Strong def. Claudio Castagnoli by two falls to one to retain the FIP World Heavyweight Championship
This is another Ring of Honor inspired match that was just so much fun to watch in person. Claudio has come seemingly from nowhere to become one of the top workers on the independent scene today. Strong was able to take the first fall with a reversal into a rollup. Claudio immediately attacked Strong after the fall and completely dominated him. Claudio took the second fall with the Riccola bomb. The third fall was decided when the YRR once again attempted to interfere but this time were stymied by the Briscoes who beat them all the way to the back. Without interference from his pals Claudio fell victim to the Gutbuster-Running boot- Gibson Driver combination. After the match Jay Briscoe grabbed the mic and told the crowd that next month he and his brother were going to get their rematch and take their titles back from the YRR.
Overall thoughts: This was a very good show overall that is a good showcase of the main players in FIP. There seem to be some new storylines forming; the dominance of the YRR, Richards vs. Stevens, Nigel vs. Roderick which should allow for many more great contests in the future. Another fun and exciting night of action from FIP.
Upcoming shows: Friday December 14th at the National Guard Armory in Brooksville, Florida and Saturday December 15th at the National Guard Armory in Crystal River, Florida.
-Justin Aultman
