BG Says: FIP Strong VS. Evans

January 7, 2006 – Crystal River, Florida

When we last left FIP
FIP screws me over yet again by releasing DVDs out of order to capitalize on a marquee match. In this case it’s Roderick Strong taking on Jack Evans in a number one contender’s match for the FIP Heavyweight title. The night before this Strong and Evans teamed up to defeat DP Associates of Austin Aries & Bryan Danielson. From what I remember at the time champion Homicide was out with an injury he received in a match against Steve Corino in ROH and thus everyone was pegging the winner of this show’s main event to take his title at the upcoming ROH show. Also the tag team scene was heating up, as Colt Cabana & Sal Rinauro, Jerrelle Clark & Erick Stevens, Seth Delay & Chasyn Rance and the Miracle Violence Connection were all eyeing the champions the Heartbreak Express.

Your hosts are Dave Prazak and Lenny Leonard. There’s a new, creepy looking ring announcer named Vic Slowhand that will surely make me uncomfortable out throughout the DVD.

Cabana & Rinauro open the show by complaining that they were distracted by the Miracle Violence Connection (Madison & Stevens) during their tag title match the night before. They want to fight the MVC and they’ll wait in the ring for it. Madison & Stevens don’t come out but Cabana swears they’ll get their revenge by the end of the night.

Jack Evans comes out and cuts a surprisingly eloquent promo before the match proclaiming that even though he’s new to FIP he wants the title more than anyone. Angel Armoni comes out doing a bootleg Rick “The Model” Martel gimmick (and looking just as old as Martel) long enough to goad Evans into a match.

VS.
Evans attacks at the bell and hits a leg lariat. He hits a senton and a standing corkscrew moonsault for 2. Armoni grabs a sleeper and hits an inverted DDT. He slugs Evans down for 2. Evans fights back and gets a slingshot roll up for 2. Armoni hits a big clothesline for 2. He unties the referees shoe and chokes Evans with his wrist tape behind his back while he ties up. Roderick Strong comes out and tells the referee about the infraction. Evans hits the distracted Armoni with a spinning kick for the win at 3:26. Armoni got way too much offense there, but they were trying to get across that Strong is a fair man that wants an even fight with Evans. Strong explains it himself on the microphone after the match.
Rating: ½*

VS.

Blanco could easily be mistaken for Eddie Kingston. Rance and Sean start. Sean avoids contact and hides in the ropes. He comes back and overpowers Rance but then gets knocked down by dropkicks. Phil comes in and runs into Sean. Everyone comes in and So Cal Val’s boys get sandwiched in the corner before falling into a controversial position. Blanco and Chavis get the match back in order by trading strikes. Blanco hits a neckbreaker and tags to Rance. Rance hits a leg lariat for 2. Delay tags in and they hit a double dropkick for 2. Phil tags in and gets caught in a headlock. Sean tags in and the Heartbreak Express hit a double stun gun. Sean hits a big splash for 2. Chavis comes in illegally and puts on a chinlock. Sean comes in illegally and they hit a double backdrop. Sean hits an avalanche and a butt splash. Chavis tags in and hits a sit out powerslam for 2. Sean comes in illegally and hits a Michinoku driver. Phil tags in and they hit a double flapjack. Chavis comes in and hits a butterfly suplex. Delay hits Phil with a springboard Edge-O-Matic and tags to Rance. Rance cleans house and Blanco clotheslines Chavis to the floor. Rance and Delay hit crossbodies from opposite sides of the ring onto Phil and Sean for the win at 10:01. This was pretty sloppy, but we’ve come to expect that from the Davis brothers.
Rating: *¾

Cabana & Rinauro come out and call out the Miracle Violence Connection again. Instead the team of Fast & Furious (Clark & Fury) come out and remind everyone that they too have an issue with the MVC. For tonight Clark wants a rematch against Bryan Danielson to avenge his loss from the Florida Rumble (still not released on DVD). Dave Prazak comes out and says that Clark will face Danielson’s partner Austin Aries instead.

VS.
They lock up and Aries powers Clark to the corner. He grabs a wristlock but Clark reverses to his own. He puts Aries on the mat and holds on to the hold through an armdrag and a bodyslam. He hits an armdrag of his own and puts on an armbar. He hits a hiptoss and goes back to the armbar. He hits another hiptoss and a bodyslam. The handspring moonsault misses and Aries shoves him into the turnbuckle. Aries hits a knee strike for 2. He hits a knee to the shoulder for 2. He hits a back suplex for 2. He hits a bodyslam but misses an elbowdrop. He misses two more and walks into a back elbow. Clark hits a leg lariat and a bulldog. He forearms Aries to the floor and dives out onto him and Danielson with a crossbody. Back in the ring Clark gets 2. He hits a bodyslam and the handspring moonsault for 2. He climbs the ropes but Danielson shoves him down. Aries hits the stiff kick to the face and the brainbuster for the win at 10:19. Decent mid-card match, but I think these two can do better.
Rating: **¼

Jay Fury is sick of people getting involved in his and Clark’s matches. He challenges Danielson to take him on one-on-one and it’s on!

VS.
Fury refuses to shake Danielson’s hand. Danielson puts Fury on the mat in an attempt to embarrass him. He gets an armdrag and puts on a headlock. Fury hits a series of armdrags and Danielson bails. He stalls for a while before getting back into the ring and knuckling up. Fury wins the test of strength and stomps on Danielson’s hands. He hits a pair of dropkicks and a leg lariat. Danielson bails again so Fury dives from the top rope onto him and Aries. Back in the ring he gets 2. The same spot two matches in a row. I’m not sure how I feel about that. Danielson goes to work on Fury’s leg. He puts on a leglock and turns Fury over for 2. He dumps Fury to the floor where Aries sets him in the wheelchair and Beasley somersaults off the apron onto him. Back in the ring Danielson puts on a figure 4 leglock but Fury turns it over. Danielson gets to the ropes. Aries chokes Fury behind the referee’s back and Danielson rolls him up for 2. He puts on a chinlock but Fury fights out and pulls the back of Danielson’s tights down. He climbs the ropes and hits a crossbody for 2. He hits a clothesline and a back elbow. He hits a leg lariat for 2. He goes back up but Danielson dodges the moonsault. Aries holds Fury for Danielson but Fury gets out of the way and knocks Danielson down. That’s enough to distract Fury and allow Danielson to hit a German suplex for the win at 13:36. Very entertaining match, as you’d expect from Danielson in this spot on the card.
Rating: ***

Cabana and Rinauro come back out and decide to sit with the audience until Stevens and Madison come out.

VS.
These Fippers look a lot like two past Fippers, but they are numbered 9 and 10. I sure hope they aren’t recycling Fippers on us. Black Market attacks before the bell. No surprises here as Murphy and Machete dominate for 2:41 with power moves. They finish things off with the Black Out on Masked Fipper #10. I think it’s kind of a bad idea for them to use a finisher that so closely resembles the 3D. After the match Machete demands better competition or else. That’s the exact same promo he cut months earlier at Strength in Numbers.
Rating: ¼*

VS.
These two had a very good match a few years back in CZW, so I’m hoping that this measures up. The count out starts before Rave even gets into the ring, which is beyond stupid considering that this match wasn’t even booked on the show beforehand. Rave stalls FOREVER in the early going. They finally lock up and Rave grabs a headlock. Mamaluke reverses and they trade holds. Mamaluke hits a dropkick and puts on a the Mark Nulty Special. Rave escapes and goes back to the headlock. Rave gets a low blow behind the referee’s back and Mamaluke bails. Milo hits Mamaluke with the wheelchair somersault and Rave is able to get control. Back in the ring Mamaluke’s selling of Rave’s beating is strange. He hits a back elbow and a crossbody for 2. Rave hits a clothesline to the back for 2. He puts on a chinlock and slams Mamaluke to the mat by his hair. He hits a delayed vertical suplex for 2. They hit simultaneous clotheslines and both men go down. Back on their feet Mamaluke hits a back bodydrop. He hits a dropkick and a Yakuza kick. He hits a back suplex for 2 when Prazak puts Rave’s foot on the bottom rope. Mamaluke hits a hurricanrana for 2. The referee helps Mamaluke get a sunset flip for 2. WORST SPOT EVER. Rave comes back with a running knee for 2. He climbs the ropes but comes down into an armbar. Mamaluke floats into a guillotine choke but Rave gets to the ropes. Rave hits a backbreaker and a spear for 2. They fight to the top turnbuckle where Mamaluke hits a snap superplex into the guillotine choke for the win at 15:40. Good finish, sloppy and uninteresting match.
Rating: **½

Madison and Stevens attack Cabana and Rinauro in their seats from behind. They brawl around the ring and to the merchandize table before getting in the ring to begin their match.

VS.
The match begins with Stevens putting the boots to Cabana. Madison tags in and they hit a double back elbow. Sal crawls to the apron but Stevens tags in and knocks him off. Madison tags in and hits an elbowdrop. Cabana hits a pair of dropkicks and tags to Sal. Sal hits a springboard clothesline on Madison and an atomic drop on Stevens. He atomic drops Madison into Stevens and hits a Flying Asshole sandwich on Madison with Cabana. Sal and Cabana continue the double-teaming until Stevens catches Sal with a powerslam. Madison puts a bearhug on Sal but Sal gives him a wedgie to escape. Cabana gets the tag but the referee doesn’t see it and doesn’t allow it. Stevens comes in and chokes Sal in the corner. Madison comes in illegally and hits a bodyslam. He puts a foreign object in his hand but Sal blocks a top rope fistdrop. Stevens tags in and hits an elbowdrop for 2. Madison tags in and chokes Sal with a chain as Stevens distracts the referee. He hits a back suplex but misses a moonsault. Cabana tags in and cleans house. He hits a crossbody on Madison for 2. Stevens knocks him to the floor but Sal hits Stevens with a hurricanrana. Cabana hits a missile dropkick on Madison and a big boot on Stevens. Madison wraps a chain around his hand slugs Cabana down for the win at 12:10. The finish came off pretty badly, like everyone was struggling to remember their part, but the rest of the match was good old fashion tag team wrestling.
Rating: **¾

After the match Cabana asks the crowd if Madison cheated. Since the Miracle Violence Connection is just going to keep cheating every time they’re together he and Sal want to wrestle them in singles matches next month.

VS. [Number 1 Contender’s Match]
The winner of this match will face Homicide at ROH’s Hell Freezes Over later in the month. They trade wristlocks to start. Evans unloads with armdrags and hits a dropkick. Strong bails but Evans follows him out and hits a hurricanrana on the floor. Back in the ring Evans hits a snap suplex for 2. He hits a falcon arrow for 2. He kicks at Strong’s back and hits a basement dropkick for 2. Strong counters a handspring elbow to a double knee torture rack backbreaker. He hits a butterfly suplex for 2. He drags Evans to the floor and kicks him in the gut. Back in the ring Strong hits a slingshot splash for 2. He hits a bodyslam and puts on the Mexican surfboard. Evans fights out but Strong keeps the pressure on his back and neck. Evans gets a roll up for 2. He hits a top rope crossbody for 2. Strong comes back with a big boot and then tosses Evans back-first into the post. Back in the ring Strong gets 2. Evans gets a sunset flip for 2. He gets a backslide for 2. Another roll up gets 2 for Evans. He goes for a crucifix pin but Strong blocks it and tosses him onto the top rope. Strong keeps chopping and we see the nasty bruising on Evans’ chest. Evans hits a superkick and a handspring elbow. He hits a springboard knee kick and a leg lariat. He hits a back heel kick and a neckbreaker. He opens up with kicks and hits the Busaiku knee kick. A standing corkscrew splash gets 2. They fight to the apron where Evans hits a DDT. He gets back into the ring and dives out onto Strong with the Space Flying Tiger Drop into a hurricanrana. Back in the ring he gets 2. Strong hits a uranage backbreaker and a tiger driver for 2. He pulls Evans off the top rope into a backbreaker and locks in the Stronghold. Evans gets to the ropes. He blocks a blind charge and hits a moonsault butt splash. He hits a fisherman buster for 2. Strong tosses him into the turnbuckle and hits the Sick Kick for 2. Evans comes back with a reverse hurricanrana. He climbs the ropes but Strong tosses the referee into the ropes. He brings Evans down with a superplex. He hits the half nelson backbreaker and locks in the Stronghold for the win at 20:11. This was easily Evans’ best match to that point and a great outing for Strong as well. They played the flight vs. power dynamic about as well as they could and threw everything they had at each other. This is on par with the best matches I’ve seen in FIP. I really feel that FIP could build a larger DVD fanbase by feuding these two when Evans gets back from Japan in 2007. They just work that well together, and if it doesn’t happen in FIP it should happen in ROH.
Rating: ****

After the match Strong embraces Evans and signs autographs for the fans. Evans gets carried to the back and the camera closes up on his very gross cuts and bruises.

Bonus Review from ROH Hell Freezes Over
The following is not on the Strong VS. Evans DVD. Gary Michael Capetta, in front of the FIP backdrop, explains the anything goes policy of FIP and then brings out FIP Champion Homicide. GMC asks him about his shoulder injury but Homicide insists that the match take place. Roderick Strong asks Homicide if he’s sure he doesn’t want to wait, but the champion is sure. Dave Prazak then comes out with Bryan Danielson. They say that since anything goes in FIP they are inserting Danielson into the match.

VS. VS.
Danielson and Strong brawl through the crowd as Colt Cabana attacks Homicide in the ring. He takes him to the floor and rams him shoulder first into the barricade. Danielson and Strong brawl around the building and back to the ringside area. Danielson rams Strong into the barricade and rolls him back into the ring. Strong hits the gutbuster and a tiger driver. He puts on the Stronghold but Homicide breaks it up. Homicide and Danielson take Strong out of the ring and then Danielson puts an armbar on Homicide for the win and the title. Not much of a match, but what can you do when the champion’s shoulder is messed up?
Rating: *