What’s up guys, David Wells here again for another edition of the Independent Run Down. I’ve got a unique column lined up for this week. Since indy news seems to be lacking as of late I decided that this week I’d do something a bit differently and countdown the top 10 FIP DVDs available.
Top 10 FIP DVDs
10. Florida Rumble 2006, 12/16/06
This is one of FIP most unique shows because the show kicks off with a battle royal and the matches for the rest of the night are determined by the order of elimination (i.e. elimination one wrestles elimination two, etc, etc). Then, the winner of this battle royal receives a title shot later in the night.
The 2006 edition of this event was the best one that FIP had produced. The following matches were produced from the elimination order, Austin Aries vs. Delirious, Davey Richards vs. Gran Akuma, and Bryan Danielson vs. Erick Stevens. Along with those matches Hallowicked challenged Roderick Strong for the FIP Title in the best match of the night and the main event of the YRR (Sal Rinauro, Chasyn Rance, Kenny King & Steve Madison) vs. Black Market, Jerrelle Clark & Seth Delay was a fun match as well. The show was somewhat lackluster in the first half but picked it up big time in the second half.
9. Cage of Pain, 12/15/06
This show introduced to debut of the Cage of Pain which is a steel cage filled with weapons. The match was set aside for the Black Market and Heartbreak Express who had been feuding for the entire year of 2006. The two teams went to war in the cage and much blood was spilled. The match ended their feud perfectly and was highly enjoyable to watch.
Along with the Cage of Pain, you had an undercard filled with the top indy guys around and that matches included Bryan Danielson vs. Davey Richards, Austin Aries vs. Erick Stevens, Roderick Strong vs. Steve Madison, Delirious & Shingo vs. Gran Akuma & Hallowicked. The show was the best FIP show I had seen at that time and still holds up there as one of the most well rounded FIP shows around.
8. International Impact Phase 1, 4/20/07
FIP went all out on this weekend bringing in talent from all over the world for one weekend. You had talent from Japan (Shingo & Yamato), England (Nigel McGuinness), Switzerland (Claudio Castagnoli), and of course the United States (Roderick Strong & Erick Stevens). Some unique matches were formed with the foreign talent used.
Shingo vs. Nigel McGuinness, Yamato vs. Roderick Strong, and Claudio Castagnoli vs. Erick Stevens are just some of the matches which took place at the event. Each match was a clash in styles. But, that wasn’t all which took place at the show. The Briscoes and Mad Man Pondo & Necro Butcher continued their feud with a series of singles matches which featured Mark Briscoe vs. Mad Man Pondo in a Falls Count Anywhere match and Jay Briscoe vs. Necro Butches in a No DQ match.
7. Strong vs. Evans, 1/7/06
It doesn’t exactly take a brain surgeon to figure what main evented this show. It was to my knowledge the first ever meeting between partners Roderick Strong and Jack Evans. The match will go down as one of the best matches in FIP history and was a nice preview to the matches we’d see between the two in ROH during 2007. The match is worth the price of the DVD alone.
While on paper the undercard for this event looks rather suspect, it turned out to be a rather solid undercard with Bryan Danielson vs. Jay Fury, Austin Aries vs. Jerrelle Clark, and Tony Mamaluke vs. Jimmy Rave being the stand out matches.
6. Battle of the Belts, 3/10/07
This show featured a tournament to determine who would become the FIP Florida Heritage Champion. Taking part in the tournament would be Roderick Strong, Erick Stevens, Shingo, Larry Sweeney, Jimmy Rave, Jay Briscoe, Delirious, and Mark Briscoe.
The tournament action was fun with Jay/Strong and Delirious/Stevens being the stand out matches of the tournament prior to the finals which were absolutely incredible. The finals were between Roderick Strong and Erick Stevens (teacher vs. student) and the tore the house down putting on not only one of the best FIP matches ever but a top match in the year of 2007.
5. Heatstroke 2007 Night 1, 8/17/07
For anyone who follows FIP this might be a surprise pick in this position because it isn’t a show that normally gets talked about a lot which is quite a shame because it was one of the more enjoyable shows from 2007 and features a Roderick Strong vs. Tyler Black which sadly never gets talked about with it being a match of the year candidate and all.
Along with the great Black/Strong match you get some great undercard matches which include Erick Stevens vs. Davey Richards, Necro Butcher vs. Delirious in a Anything Goes match, and Briscoes vs. Irish Airborne. Also, the show is headlined by a good Bunkhouse Brawl between the YRR and Black Market & Heartbreak Express. Very good show from top to bottom with a Black/Strong match which needs to be seen.
4. Unfinished Business 2007, 1/13/07
This was a great show to kick off the year of 2007 and featured the feud ending match between former partners of Erick Stevens and Steve Madison in a Dog Collar match. The Stevens/Madison match ranks up their in the history of FIP and is regarded by many (including myself) as Stevens “coming out” match. It was an absolutely brutal match, one of FIP’s bloodiest matches to date. The match is worth the price of the DVD.
Also on the show was a good and fun to watch TLC match between Sal Rinauro and Seth Delay. It is what you expect from an indy match with a stip like TLC but they were able to make the match interesting and fun to watch. Then you have a very good Roderick Strong vs. Brent Albright match and a pretty good Jack Evans vs. Gran Akuma match.
3. Redefined, 2/16/08
This might be the most famous FIP to date mainly because of the much talked about main event between Roderick Strong and Erick Stevens. However, there is more to the show than just the main event. There was a great Anything Goes match between Nigel McGuinness and Necro Butcher which saw Necro sell his ass off, a hot opener between Austin Aries and Davey Richards, and a very good Sal Rinuaro vs. Tyler Black match.
Now, the main event is the big selling point to the DVD because it’s widely regarded as the best FIP match to date which I happen to agree with. This hard hitting match is the climax to the Strong/Stevens feud and is one of the top matches from this year in all of pro wrestling. The match has really helped put FIP on the map because since the match it seems like the interest in FIP has been sparked.
2. International Impact Phase 2, 4/21/07
This show is the second night of some international flavor being injected into FIP but this time better than what we saw on night one. There was a great match between two of Dragon Gate’s rising stars in Shingo vs. Yamato, Erick Stevens vs. Nigel McGuinness, and yet another great title defense by Roderick Strong vs. Sal Rinuaro.
The main event to this event is icing on the cake though. It features the feud ending match between the Briscoes and Mad Man Pondo & Necro Butcher in a Bar Room Brawl. The brawl was awesome and probably the wildest brawl in FIP history. The crowd was insanely hot and Pondo & Butcher did a great job of making the Briscoes look awesome. Definitely a match worth going out of your way to see.
1. Cage of Pain II, 9/29/07
Here it is, the best FIP DVD is Cage of Pain II. I bought this show a few weeks ago and have been in love with it ever since I watched it. There is just an awesome blend of wrestling throughout the show, from high flying to brawling to old school style, this show has it all.
The show starts off kind of lackluster but the Erick Stevens vs. Necro Butcher match picks things up big time. It’s what you’ve come to expect from Necro in FIP and that’s a great brawl every time he goes out there, this was no different. A lot of hot action between these two. Next, you have the stars of Dragon Gate making their way back to FIP. It was Jack Evans, BxB Hulk, & Yamato vs. Hallowicked, Delirious, & Jigsaw. This was exactly what you’d expect from a Dragon Gate Rules match. Lots of quick and fun action with a damn hot crowd. Great stuff from all six men.
Then, you had Roderick Strong vs. Larry Sweeney which was a throwback match. A lot of old school psychology in this one with Sweeney being the Memphis style heel. Great match between the two and a great way to settle the crowd down from the Dragon Gate match for the main event. The main event was the second ever Cage of Pain match with Black Market & The Heartbreak Express vs. Sal Rinauro, Kenny King, Jason Blade & Chasyn Rance. The match ended the long running feud and was probably the bloodiest match in FIP history. The amount of blood which poured from Rinuaro’s back was sickening. The match was great and was able to top the original Cage of Pain.
The aftermath to the match was insanely good, probably the best thing I’ve seen Gabe book in awhile. The amount of heat which was generated was insane and it’s something that definitely needs to be seen. For my money this is the best FIP show ever, the show is well diverse and has an awesome ending.
Well, that about wraps things up for this week and if you’re interested in any of these FIP shows above, don’t hesitate to head over to ROHWrestling.com and take advantage of the 25% off sale which is currently going on to pick up some great shows from FIP.
