Ever since I stopped watching WWE and TNA, I’ve been seeking more of the outstanding pro wrestling action produced by independent promotions like Ring of Honor, and I recently found pay dirt by looking no further than the ROH family, to sister promotion, Full Impact Pro (FIP).
TODAY’S ISSUE: My first look at FIP.
Imagine what a Seinfeld fan would think about a show starring Jerry Seinfeld, Jason Alexander, Michael Richards and Julia Louis-Dreyfus, with a few other actors in the mix, in a similar setting, and with similar antics. That’s what an ROH fan will feel like when watching FIP. The company is booked by ROH mastermind Gabe Sapolsky, and features many of the same wrestlers found in Ring of Honor, so what’s not to love?
My FIP introductory DVD was Redefined from Crystal River, Florida on February 16th of this year. I bought this $15 gem during one of ROH’s famous sales, so I wound up paying a mere $10 for a nearly 3-hour show. The DVD also includes a bonus FIP World Heavyweight Championship match from ROH’s Final Battle 2007, which when viewed before the main event, helps Redefined unfold. Wrestling fans will easily consider this DVD a steal.
The YRR, who dominated the show, have truly mastered the cocky, cowardly heel shtick. Consisting of FIP Tag Team Champions “The Natural†Kenny King and Jason Blade, the Florida Heritage Champion Sal Rinauro, and “Not Cocky†Chasyn Rance, plus the Minnesota Home Wrecking Crew of Lacey and Rain, the YRR are clearly the dominant faction in FIP. They made a long, overbearing entrance to the arena, acted like jerks on the mic, challenged a young team to a match, mockingly asked where they could find the Briscoes, and played just about every card in the heel stable deck to perfection. These folks have done their homework, to say the least.
In each of their four matches on the card, the YRR cheated, stalled, ran, hid, and eventually outnumbered their hapless victims. They utilized such classics as drawing the non-legal man into the ring, switching without tagging, double-teaming behind the referee’s back, and distracting their opponent; anything it took to win. This is the calling card of a great heel faction, and the YRR have it down cold.
When the YRR’s antics resulted in their two female members getting called out by Allison Danger and Trenesha, the ladies were thankfully up to the challenge of working an actual tag team match, not a “divas†contest. After years of watching the majority of McMahon’s WWE divas stinking up wrestling rings around the world, it’s a pleasure to see four real female wrestlers perform, and that’s one of the reasons companies like ROH and FIP produce a more desirable product for those of us who are not interested in “sports entertainmentâ€.
Having watched a lot of ROH, the commentary team of Dave Prazak and Lenny Leonard felt comfortable and familiar, but with a twist. In FIP, Prazak works not only as the play-by-play man but also as a heel manager, leading a stable known as DP Associates. After losing his FIP managerial license in the opening contest of the show due to a match stipulation, he channeled the essence of Bobby the Brain on commentary and shifted the ROH duo’s dynamic to that of an old-school heel/face tandem. Prazak’s flagrant cheering of the heels and discrediting the faces was so unusual and fresh that it added a little spark to a show that really didn’t need any help winning me over in the first place.
Two matches on the card featured a quasi-continuation of the vaunted feud between ROH heel stable the No Remorse Corps and the now-defunct ROH babyface faction the Resilience. The opener was Davey Richards facing none other than Austin Aries, with Prazak’s FIP managerial license on the line against Aries’ FIP contract. The main event was FIP world champion Erick Stevens defending against the man he defeated for that crown just six weeks prior to Redefined, Roderick Strong.
There were two battles in the ultra-violent, hard-hitting war between Roderick Strong and Erick Stevens on this DVD. The bonus section of the disc featured Stevens’ FIP title victory over Strong from six weeks earlier, and the main event of Redefined was an absolutely unbelievable collision between these two men who would not be denied their place in FIP history.
The way Strong and Stevens kept blasting away at each other was fierce and furious. Words cannot describe the passion with which the two bulls pounded each other, or the unimaginable pain and suffering they endured throughout the match. If this contest convinced viewers of only one thing, it would be that Strong and Stevens are willing to do anything to claim the Full Impact Pro World Heavyweight Championship. Simply put, this was one of the most savage traditional rules matches I’ve ever seen. Period.
The show also included a brawl between reigning ROH champion Nigel McGuinness and the Age of the Fall’s resident psychopath, the Necro Butcher. While Necro wanted to make it a street fight, the wily champ found a way to take apart Butcher’s left arm and force him to tap out to the then-unnamed London Dungeon submission hold. Considering the strangers I encountered throughout the show like Seth Delay, Robert Anthony and Shawn Osborne, it was nice to see the familiar faces of McGuinness and the Necro Butcher in the mix. It was like being at a party with a bunch of new friends and bumping into an old pal at the hors d’oeurve table – it’s comforting.
Random thought: Black Market’s Shawn Murphy reminds me of a young Bubba Ray Dudley. Due to heel shenanigans, Murphy faced off alone against the “Heartbreak Express†of Superstar Sean and Fabulous Phil, who at least in name are a tip of the cap to Jim Cornette’s old Midnight Express teams. The elimination of Murphy’s partner and him facing his opponents at a two-on-one disadvantage was another bit of old-school booking delivered to perfection. There’s nothing wrong with telling a classic story as long as you tell it well.
I was so excited to find another source of pro wrestling goodness, and I’ll definitely acquire more FIP titles. Anyone who enjoys ROH and hasn’t yet tried FIP should give them a look. There is a full catalog of Full Impact Pro DVDs at ROH’s online store, many of which are only $10 each. With bargains like those, it’s well worth it to grab one or two and try something different, and I highly recommend Redefined as a starting point for your FIP experience.
We now return you to your regularly scheduled reality.
p.s. – It was high counsel that I once heard given to a young person, “Always do what you are afraid to do.” – Ralph Waldo Emerson
