DVD Review: FIP “Jeff Peterson Memorial Cup 2009, Disc 2” (11.21.2009)

Reviews, Wrestling DVDs

Full Impact Pro — “Jeff Peterson Memorial Cup 2009, Disc 2” — November 21st, 2009
DVD review by Roy Reynolds
royreynolds@4sternstaging.com

+ Taped live from the National Guard Armory in Crystal Rivera, Florida.

– Davey Richards is alongside his trainer, Tony Kozina, as well as his protégé, Kyle O’Reilly. Richards says that night two of the Jeff Peterson Memorial Cup will be no different than night one. Davey names a long line of tournaments that he has won in the past and mentions that this year’s Jeff Peterson Memorial Cup will be won by him, too. The hunt is on.

– Egotistico Fantastico wants the quest to continue tonight. Fantastico says that “where Drake Younger failed, I will succeed”. Ego knows that he is the underdog going into his match against Richards, but he prefers it that way. Fantastico traveled to Florida to make a story. By defeating Davey Richards, the FIP World Heavyweight Champion, he will be able to do just that.

● JPC quarterfinal match: Davey Richards [FIP] defeated Egotistico Fantastico [CZW] via submission with a cloverleaf – Davey charges at Ego with a running forearm, but eats turnbuckle. Fantastico with several Japanese armdrags to put Richards off of his feet early in the game. Fantastico with a backflip over Richards followed by a standing dropkick. Richards retreats to the floor, as Egotistico does his signature “muscle pose”. Fantastico and Richards battle through the crowd a bit. Ego sets Davey up on a chair and charges towards him over the rail guard! Davey sends Ego flying with a hard kick to the head! That bump certainly did not look pretty for Mr. Fantastico. Richards chokes Ego a bit with his cape on the outside. Before tossing him back into the ring, Richards develops a few stiff kicks to the body. Davey begins working on the leg of Ego. Fantastico makes a short comeback after Richards turns his back to him while taunting the crowd. Davey kicks at the legs of Egotistico, which puts the masked man back down on the mat. Fantastico fires back up with some kicks of his own. Sloppy-looking back suplex by Ego connects for two. Davey with a big enziguri to the side of Ego’s head. Death Valley driver connects for two. Davey locks in a cloverleaf, but Egotistico makes it to the ropes. Ego blocks Richards’ shooting star press attempt with a palm strike. Hurricarana from the top gets a two-count only. Davey reverses a Queso Killer attempt into a cloverleaf, which is enough to make Fantastico tap. Excellent match here. With the exception of a few blown spots, Davey and Fantastico looked great. It’s beyond me how Ego still hasn’t found his way into more mainstream independent wrestling promotions. ***¼.

– Shane Hollister tells everyone that he did what he said he was going to do. Hollister beat Flip Kendrick. Tonight, Shane goes one on one with TJ Perkins. Hollister makes note of Perkins’ bookings all around the world, but he says that won’t matter when TJ steps into the ring with him. Hollister is going to make sure that he uses TJ Perkins as a stepping stone on his way to winning the Jeff Peterson Memorial Cup.

– TJ Perkins is aware that his record is flawless so far in the Jeff Peterson Memorial Cup 2009. He’s got one win and zero losses after defeating Arik Cannnon the night before. Perkins believes that he has what it takes to go from “zero to hero”. Perkins knows that his position in the tournament at the moment is tough, but all he’s going to do is keep on dreaming.

● JPC quarterfinal match: TJ Perkins [FIP] defeated Shane Hollister [AAW] via submission with the Figure Four Deathlock – Some excellent chain wrestling right off the bat that the crowd digs up. TJ works in a torture rack, but transitions into a crossface. Hollister takes down Perkins with a flying knee, but TJ catches him shortly after with a jumping cutter. One-count. TJ tries pinning down Hollister’s shoulders to the mat, but Shane always manages to bridge his way out. Springboard elbow drop by Hollister gets a two-count. TJ locks in the Figure Four Deathlock, but Shane scrambles to the ropes quickly. Perkins tries faking out Hollister, but fails. Hollister connects with a missile dropkick that sends TJ to the floor. Suicide dive by Hollister! That could have went real wrong, as one of Shane’s legs got caught up on the ropes. Thankfully, both guys seem to be alright. Shane goes for a move off the top rope, but he gets nailed with Perkins’ soles. Hollister goes for the Busaiku Knee Kick, but TJ blocks it and locks in the Figure Four Deathlock! TJ drags Shane into the middle of the ring, but Hollister somehow manages to make it back to the ropes to get the hold broken up. Snapping brainbuster by TJ! Perkins looks to follow up with a move from the top, but Shane gets a roll-up for two. Roundhouse kick to the head gets two, too. TJ locks in a small package for two. Hollister nails Player Uno’s signature move, the Game Genie, for a two-count. Perkins locks in the Figure Four Deathlock once more and Shane Hollister finally taps out. I’m always expecting big things out of TJ, but Shane Hollister also impressed me. These two athletes meshed very well together and put on a highly entertaining match. ***.

– Johnny Gargano is seen climbing a twenty foot cage. Gargano’s got skills, I tell you. Johnny tries convincing all of the viewers that Chris Jones decided to retire from wrestling after he defeated him on night one. Gargano believes that he broke nearly all of Jones’ body parts, but he doesn’t care. Gargano compares himself to Jason Vorhees, as he’s rising up out of Crystal River to kill everyone in the tournament. Tonight, Johnny assures that he will be taking home the Jeff Peterson Memorial Cup.

– Louis Lyndon knows that Johnny Gargano is “Mr. Ohio”, but Lyndon has a bunch of famous martial artists backing him up in Florida. Just a few of the legendary fighters that Lyndon made mention of are Bruce Lee, Jackie Chan, and Tony Jaa. Before the camera shifts off of Louis, he lets out a mighty war cry. Sorry, man, but you’ve got nothing on Johnny Gargano’s promo.

● JPC quarterfinal match: Johnny Gargano [AAW] defeated Louis Lyndon [HYBRID] via pinfall with a roll-up – As Lyndon is posing on the top rope, Gargano clubs him in the back from behind. Johnny tears off Lyndon’s afro and proceeds to choke him on the ropes. Gargano just shoved Lyndon’s afro down his trunks! Good lord! Big frankensteiner and a dropkick nail the head of Gargano, as Lyndon begins making a comeback. Double-hand chop by Louis Lyndon gets a two-count. Gargano traps Lyndon in the ropes and nails a lungblower. Johnny puts on Louis’ headband and does a kung-fu pose in order to mock Lyndon. Gargano controls Lyndon on the mat with a headlock, but Louis battles out of the hold. Lyndon knocks down Gargano with an STO. Louis dodges Gargano’s lariat attempt with a backflip and catches him with a dropkick. Gargano goes off the top rope, but Lyndon catches him on the chin with a stiff kick! Two-count. Gargano spears Lyndon inside of the ring for two. Karate chop sends Johnny Gargano to the floor. Lyndon climbs to the top and moonsaults onto Gargano! Lyndon goes for a backflip from the top rope, but Gargano dropkicks him in the face! Gargano with a devastating fisherman buster! Just a two-count, though, as Lyndon wiggles out of the pin at the last second. Small package by Lyndon equals two. Louis with some kicks and palm strikes to Gargano. Johnny rolls through one of Lyndon’s pinfall attempts and gets a roll-up victory after grabbing the tights. Super fun match. The comedy spots were great, too, but nevertheless, this bout was relatively too short for my taste. **½.

– Silas Young did not lie when he said that he was going to take out Dave Cole. This round, he has none other than Combat Zone Wrestling’s Jon Moxley. Young knows that Moxley is crazy, but he isn’t scared of what he brings to the table. Part of being a wrestler is being fearless; forget the Xanax. Young says that it doesn’t take craziness to be successful in professional wrestling, but it takes actual wrestling ability. The man with wrestling ability is Silas Young, not Jon Moxley. Young wants nothing more than to take the Jeff Peterson Memorial Cup back home with him.

– Jon Moxley cuts arguably the best promo of the entire night. I don’t know what it is about Moxley, but he has a real eerie and demanding presence whenever he’s on camera. Comparable to Eddie Kingston, I’d say. Moxley goes on about how there’s only eight wrestlers remaining in the tournament and he’s one of them. After sadistically rambling on some more, Moxley states that no one will goes as far as he will to take the Jeff Peterson Memorial Cup.

● JPC quarterfinal match: Silas Young [AAW] defeated Jon Moxley [CZW] via pinfall with the Peegee Waja Plunge – As the ringside announcer is making introductions, Moxley catches Young offguard. Moxley throws Young around like a rag doll into whatever object he can on the outside of the ring. Silas with a headlock takeover on the mat for multiple one-counts. Jon counters with a devastating headscissor of his own, though. Young locks in the Walls of Jericho in the center of the ring, but Moxley manages to kick him off. Springboard cutter by Young. Moxley pulls Silas out of the ring again and chops away at his chest. Jon delivers some kicks to the arm of Young. Two-count. Big lariat and a scoop slam by Young. Moxley locks in a crossface chickenwing, but Silas manages to wiggle his way out. Armbar by Moxley fails, as well. Moxley goes for a powerbomb, but Young flips the move over into the Walls of Jericho. Moxley escapes and locks in an STF. Young gets to the ropes and the hold is broken up. Jon Moxley slams Young’s head hard into the apron! The referee counts Young out of the ring, but he manages to get back in at nine. Moxley with a cravate neckbreaker for two. Last Chancery locked in by Jon! Silas counters the hold with a hard elbow to the side of the head. Big boot by Silas gets two. Moxley misses a missile dropkick and Young capitalizes with a jacknife pin. Two-count only. Missile dropkick connects this time. DDT nailed by Moxley! Two-count. Crowd seems to think that it was three. Silas battles out of a rear naked choke. Enziguri by Young! Peegee Waja Plunge! That’s all she wrote, ladies and gentlemen. Lots of great technical work here, but there were times when the match seemed like it was dragging on. Nevertheless, not a bad bout at all. For the record, it would not surprise me if it was Moxley’s performance in this tournament that convinced Gabe Sapolsky to start booking him in Dragon Gate USA. He looked pretty darn awesome. **¾.

● JPC semifinal match: Davey Richards [FIP] defeated TJ Perkins [FIP] via submission with a Kimura – I am pretty certain that both, Richards and Perkins, have wrestled several times in the past before. Actually, if my memory serves me correctly, it may have been none other than Davey Richards that took Perkins’ mask (when he was Puma) in Pro Wrestling Guerrilla. Richards and Perkins display their mat expertise in the beginning of the match. Both wrestlers try working over one another’s legs, obviously trying to set up for the cloverleaf and Figure Four Deathlock respectively. Dropkick and Japanese armdrag by TJ catch Richards for two. The referee and Davey have a heated exchange for a few seconds. Davey kicks away at TJ in the corner. TJ fires back with a few kicks of his own. Crossbody connects! Davey goes for a kick, but TJ rolls him up for two. Perkins and Richards both kick one another at the same time, sending them both down to the mat! The referee counts both guys down, but they get up at nine. Alarm Clock! Davey and TJ exchange some submission combinations, but they are all countered out of. Cloverleaf is locked in now! TJ with a victory roll for two. Powerbomb attempt reversed into the Figure Four Deathlock! Crowd is begging for Davey to tap, but he manages to get to the bottom rope. Davey with a piledriver for two. He quickly switches into the Kimura, which is enough to force TJ to tap. Definitely one of the better matches of the entire Jeff Peterson Memorial Cup 2009. Unfortunately, time was cut short because of the setup of the tournament. ***½.

● JPC semifinal match: Silas Young [AAW] defeated Johnny Gargano [AAW] via submission with the Stocklock Submission – As Silas Young is getting pumped up to his Journey entrance music, Gargano immediately planchas onto him to start the match. Inside of the ring, Gargano takes Young down with a hard running forearm. Out of desperation, Silas nails a powerslam. Gargano goes for a spear, but Silas catches him and drills him down with a DDT! Two-count. Gargano tries going for a springboard move, but Young catches him with a unique pinning combination for two. Superkick by Gargano! Brainbuster! That only gets two. Silas tries setting up for the Peegee Waja Plunge, but Gargano blocks it. Both guys exchange forearms in the center of the ring. Gargano goes for a bulldog, but Silas reverses it into a backbreaker! Lariat! Two-count. Silas goes for the Peegee Waja Plunge once more, but fails. Hertz Donut connects! Two only. Young and Gargano roll all around the ring, trying to put each other’s shoulders down on the mat. Don’t think I’ve ever seen that done before. Gargano grabs the tights during a roll-up attempt, but Silas still manages to power out at the last second. Silas locks in the Stocklock Submission in the center of the ring, which is enough to make Gargano tap. Another one of my favorite matches from the tournament. Bout was unusually short, but Silas Young and Johnny Gargano did an excellent job of wrestling one another to their full potential in the alloted time. ***.

● JPC finals match: Davey Richards [FIP] defeated Silas Young [AAW] via submission with a cloverleaf to win the Jeff Peterson Memorial Cup 2009 – These two are going at one hundred miles per hour right out of the cannon. Davey kicks Silas out of the ring and attempts a baseball slide. Young evades the attack and clubs Richards with a shot to the skull. Silas goes off of the ropes, but Davey stops him with a knee to the gut. Richards with another hard knee to the gut. Diving headbutt! Two-count for Richards only. Davey follows things up with a back suplex. Young tries fighting back with some basic strikes, but Davey stops him in his tracks with a snap suplex. As the match continues on, participants of the tournament rally on at ringside. Young catches Richards in the Stocklock Submission, but Davey scrambles his way to the bottom rope. Missile dropkick by Richards connects! Damage Reflex! One, two, no! Davey with knees to the head of Silas. Silas with a huge backbreaker. He nails a lariat, too, for good measure. Peegee Waja Plunge misses, but Silas lands on his feet. Young nails a big boot. Davey nails one of his own. Peegee Waja Plunge connects! One, two, no! German suplex by Davey. DR Driver! How the heck did Silas get his shoulder up?! Davey wastes no time and climbs to the top rope. Shooting star press connects! Cloverleaf locked in! Young tries hanging in there for as long as he can, but he eventually is forced to tap. I was actually pleasantly surprised as to how well this match went. In my eyes, the best match of the entire Jeff Peterson Memorial Cup 2009. Very worthy of its main event status, as well. ***¾.

– Following the match, Richards holds up the Jeff Peterson Memorial Cup up high into the air. Davey grabs a microphone and calls himself the most dominate wrestler going today. However, Richards mentions that he would not be able to dominate without the level of competition he faced this weekend in Florida. Davey Richards calls all of the participants the “future of professional wrestling” and that they would all “evolve” soon. Nice little foreshadowing rub for EVOLVE, isn’t it?

Even though there were not as many of them, the matches on disc two were better than those on disc one. Every single match on disc two was enjoyable. Not only that, but it was also awfully refreshing to see some independent wrestlers that usually don’t get the spotlight often shine (for instance, Silas Young, TJ Perkins, and Jon Moxley among others).

Wrestling fans, don’t be stupid; buy this DVD. Davey Richards was not lying when he stated that the wrestlers that participated in the Jeff Peterson Memorial Cup 2009 are all future stars of the business. The tournament also served as the perfect precursor to the promotion that is currently known as EVOLVE.