BG Says: FIP Evening the Odds 2005 & Attack of the Masked FIPPERs

December 10, 2005 – Brooksville, Florida

At Florida Rumble 2005
Jimmy Rave became the second man to win the Florida Rumble, but fell to FIP Heavyweight Champion Homicide later in the show, despite Homicide’s shoulder injury. The rest of the show was highlighted by matches determined by the Florida Rumble’s elimination sequence. Other highlights of the show saw the Heartbreak Express retain their tag titles against the wacky team of Azrieal and Adam Pearce after Pearce predictably turned on his enemy Azrieal. Pearce later challenged Sean Waltman to a match and in another predictable turn, lost.

Dave Prazak & Jared David take another turn on commentary.

The Heartbreak Express, So Cal Val and Kory Chavis come out to start the show. Sean Davis says that once again they will not be defending the tag team titles tonight. They do want to wrestle tonight so they’re going to do it against the Masked FIPPERs #7 and #8. The FIPPERs are very generic looking and both look uncomfortable in their own skin. Colt Cabana and Sal Rinauro come out and demand that the Davises defend their titles tonight. Rinauro reminds us that he pinned Phil last month, so he and Cabana should get the title shot. Val says that if both Cabana and Rinauro can win singles matches against opponents of her choosing tonight then they’ll get a title match in the main event of the show. If either of them lose they get no shot, and she sweetens the pot by offering anyone who can beat Cabana or Rinauro 1,000 dollars and a date with her. Cabana and Rinauro accept. It is assumed that if Cabana or Rinauro lose then the Heartbreak Express will still get their non-title match against the FIPPERs.

VS.
Danielson demanded this match so that he could get revenge for the loss in the elimination match from Evening the Odds 2005. If ever there was a better way to start a show I can’t think of it. Danielson slaps Strong to start. Strong shoves him down and hits a shoulder tackle, prompting him to bail. Back in the ring they knuckle up and Danielson kicks Strong’s gut. He hits a European uppercut and puts on a chinlock. Strong escapes and Danielson bails, taking advantage of Strong after he gives chase. He goes after the arm but Strong comes back with an atomic drop. He chops Danielson down so Danielson bails again. Back in the ring Danielson asks for a handshake and Strong gives it to him, but he squeezes very tight and stomps on Danielson’s hand. He hits a hiptoss for 2. He hits a snapmare for 2. He puts on a headlock but Danielson escapes and gets a backslide for 2. Strong puts the headlock back on but Danielson escapes again and hits a back elbow. He hits a senton (the only time I’ve ever seen him use that) and hits the thigh stomp. He hits a kneedrop for 2. He puts on a chinlock and chokes Strong in the ropes. He distracts the referee and Prazak gets a few shots in. Strong tricks Danielson into crotching himself on the middle rope and then pulls the rope until Danielson falls off, getting 2. Strong hits a crossbody off the second rope for 2. Danielson hits a clothesline and a vertical suplex for 2. He puts on a chinlock but Strong fights out and hits a monkey flip. Danielson bails and pulls Strong to the floor. He shoves Strong into the post and rolls him back into the ring. He stands on Strong’s throat but Strong comes back with a brainbuster. He goes for a slingshot splash but Danielson gets his knees up. Danielson hits a butterfly suplex for 2. He hits another senton for 2. Strong rolls him up for 2. Danielson stomps on Strong and pulls his nose. He hits a bodyslam and chokes Strong. He climbs the ropes but misses the diving headbutt. Strong hits a clothesline and a back elbow. He hits a dropkick for 2. Danielson goes to the eyes but Strong catches him with another clothesline. He hits the uranage backbreaker for 2. He hits a bodyslam and climbs the ropes. He misses a flying elbowdrop and Danielson puts on the figure 4 leglock. Prazak gives Danielson some added leverage but Strong turns the hold over and Danielson scrambles to the ropes. Strong gets a sunset flip for 2. They trade roll ups until Danielson climbs the ropes. Strong cuts him off and hits a superplex for 2. He hits the gutbuster but Prazak distracts him and Danielson hits the roaring forearm and a German suplex for the win at 22:06. This was about on the level of their FIP title match from late 2006, which is to say it wasn’t up to the level of their ROH matches but still quite good by FIP standards at the time.
Rating: ***½

After the match Strong hits Danielson with the Sick Kick. He goes after Prazak but Jimmy Rave and Adam Pearce run out and beat Strong down. Sean Waltman and Azrieal make the save, but Prazak throws powder in their eyes. Rave and Pearce hit Azrieal with a spike piledriver, setting up a tag match for later in the evening.

vvvv
This would be the first Five Way Frenzy match, which is under the same elimination and tornado rules as a Four Way Fray match. Everyone brawls to start. Blanco and Kahagas hit a double hiptoss on Moore. Rance and Delay hit dropkicks on Blanco and Kahagas. There’s a little too much going on to recap until Kahagas hits Moore with the Osaka Street Cutter. He tosses Delay to the floor but Blanco clotheslines him to the floor… sort of. He hits a standing moonsault to eliminate him at 1:23. Kahagas pulls Blanco out. Rance is the only one left in the ring so he hits a suicide dive onto everyone. Kahagas hits Blanco with a cane and rolls him into the ring. He hits a Michinoku Driver to eliminate Blanco at 2:35. Rance and Delay hit a double dropkick on Kahagas for 2. They hit a double vertical suplex for 2. Kahagas fights them off until Delay hits a back suplex for 2. Kahagas pokes his eyes and crotches Rance up top. He goes for a back superplex but Delay hits him with a powerbomb as Rance flips into a crossbody, eliminating Kahagas at 4:27. Delay puts on a headlock and hits a shoulder tackle. Rance hits a back bodydrop but Delay comes back with a leaping forearm for 2. Rance hits an enziguiri for 2. He hits a blockbuster for 2. Delay hits the Edge-O-Matic for 2. He sets Rance up top but Rance fights him off and gets a sunset flip for 2. Delay hits a cradle DDT out of nowhere for the win at 7:42. This probably would have been more if Rance was in YRR mode instead of this bland babyface persona. As it is it was five jobbers doing moves for four minutes and then three minutes of decent back and forth action.
Rating: **

VS.
Val probably picked Milano because he defeated Cabana’s partner Rinauro the night before. They lock up and Cabana powers Milano to the corner. Milano does the same to Cabana, hits a cheap shot and bails. Back in the ring Cabana kicks Milano down but Milano comes back with a wristlock. Cabana counters the hold but Milano regains the advantage with a leglock. He puts on a headlock and slams Cabana to the mat by his hair repeatedly. Cabana returns the favor and hits a series of hiptosses. Milano bails and takes quite a long time getting back in the ring. Cabana hits a shoulder tackle and a hiptoss. Milano dodges a blind charge and sends Cabana into the post. He puts on the Paradise Lock and hits a dropkick. He hits a hammerlock takedown and shoves Cabana to the floor. Kory Chavis hits a few cheap shots and rolls Cabana into the ring. Cabana gets a crucifix pin for 2. He hits a crossbody for 2. Milano cuts Cabana off with a back elbow. He stands on Cabana’s arm and hits it with a short double stomp. He hits an arm wringer takedown and then yanks on the arm. Cabana gets to the ropes. Milano dropkicks the arm but Cabana comes back with a forearm. He hits elbows and a bodyslam. He chops Milano in each corner and then hits double chops and a tomahawk chop. He climbs the ropes but Milano pulls the referee in the way of a tomahawk chop. Cabana hits a DDT but the referee is down. Milano dodges a clothesline and hits an enziguiri. He chokes Cabana with the leash of his invisible dog until the referee regains consciousness and makes him stop. He hits the Armani Shoe Exchange for 2. Cabana gets a boot up and hits a pair of clotheslines. He climbs the ropes and hits a missile dropkick for the win at 15:55. The finish was really out of nowhere but the match was a lot of fun.
Rating: ***

After the match the Davises run in and beat on Cabana. Rinauro makes the save with a chair. He helps Cabana up, leaving him open for an attack from Chavis, who Val we come to find is Rinauro’s opponent.

VS.
Once Cabana gets out of the ring the match begins. Chavis starts out in control due to the pre-match beating. He hits a clothesline for 2. He hits a powerslam for 2. He slams Rinauro to the mat by his hair. He hits a hanging neckbreaker for 2. He hits a vertical suplex into a slam for 2. Rinauro goes for a sunset flip but Chavis counters that to the Rydeen Bomb for 2. He puts on a chinlock but Rinauro dropkicks his knee. He stays on the leg and hits a clothesline. He hits another clothesline but Chavis stands strong and hits a big boot. Rinauro dodges a blind charge and hits a springboard clothesline. Phil Davis gets on the apron so Cabana pulls him down. The Davises beat on Cabana, distracting Rinauro long enough for Chavis to hit him with Val’s purse for the win at 6:38. That finish was awful, but the match up until then was alright for a completely one-sided beating.
Rating: **¼

After the match Sean Davis gets on the microphone and gloats about Chavis’s win. He says that now that Cabana and Rinauro aren’t getting a shot they’re going to punish the fans by wrestling the worst team in FIP, the Masked FIPPERs.

[Anything Goes Match]
The match begins when Clark & Fury attack Madison and Stevens during Madison’s pre-match rant. In the ring Fury knocks Stevens into Madison. Clark & Fury hit a double hiptoss on Stevens. Fury slams Stevens down and Clark hits him with a handspring moonsault. They go for their double-team finisher but Madison pulls Fury to the floor and helps Stevens hit a facebuster/neckbreaker combo on Clark. Everyone brawls to the floor where Clark throws Madison into a row of chairs and Stevens does the same to Fury. Madison goes for a piledriver on the floor but Clark counters to a backdrop. Fury hits Stevens with a running boot but Stevens fights back. Madison hits Clark with a bodyslam on the floor and then stomps a chair into his chest. Fury throws Stevens into a bunch of chairs. Clark knocks Madison into the wall and chokes him with an extension cord. Stevens powerbombs Fury onto the apron and rams him into the post. Clark hits Madison with an atomic drop but Madison comes back with chair shots to the gut. Madison hits Fury with a clothesline and Stevens rolls Clark into the ring and works his neck. He hits a vertical suplex and goes for a chair shot but Fury cuts him off with a kick. Fury swings Clark into a kick, knocking the chair out of Madison’s hands and into Stevens’s face. Fury hits Madison with a Jaytrix dropkick, knocking the chair into his face. Clark and Fury climb the ropes but Fury gets crotched and Clark misses a moonsault. Madison dumps Clark and helps Stevens hit a powerbomb on Fury. He hits a clothesline and a brainbuster on Clark. He and Stevens pile chairs in the middle of the ring and try to hit Clark with a double-team move onto it. Fury keeps Madison from hitting his part and Clark hits Stevens with a hurricanrana onto the chairs. Stevens clotheslines Madison by mistake and Clark & Fury hit their double-team finisher onto the chair for the win at 10:22. I expected very little from this match but it delivered an incredibly fun brawl. Great stuff from all four guys.
Rating: ***½

VS.
Azrieal and Rave start. Rave powers Azrieal to the corner and hits a cheap shot. They knuckle up and Azrieal comes back from being powered down to put on a wristlock. Waltman and Pearce tag in. They play to the crowd for a while until Pearce attacks Waltman from behind on the floor. Pearce tries to throw water on Waltman and ends up throwing it on a fan. Azrieal and Rave fight as Waltman gets Pearce back in the ring and goes for the Bronco Buster. Pearce dodges it and puts the boots to him. He hits a vertical suplex but misses a second rope fistdrop. Rave and Azrieal tag in. Azrieal hits a back bodydrop but Prazak trips him from behind. Rave hits an elbowdrop and tags to Pearce. FIP Heavyweight Champion Homicide and his busted up shoulder to shout at Prazak. Rave tags in and beats Azrieal down for 2. He works over Azrieal’s neck and slams him to the mat by his hair. Pearce tags in and hits a splash off the top for 2. Rave tags in and they hit a quadruple chop for 2. Pearce tags in and gets 2. He throws the referee on Azrieal and counts 2. Rave tags in and hits a neckbreaker for 2. He puts on the Mark Nulty Special and uses the ropes for leverage. The referee catches him and calls for the break. Waltman tags in but Rave keeps the referee from seeing the tag. Rave puts on a chinlock but Azrieal fights out and hits a dropkick. Pearce tags in and keeps Azrieal from making the tag with an elbowdrop. Rave tags in and they go for a spike piledriver. Azrieal blocks it by backdropping Pearce into the ropes, crotching Rave up top. Waltman tags in and hits leg lariats on both opponents. He hits the Bronco Buster on Rave but Pearce attacks him from behind. Prazak throws Pearce a bag of powder but Homicide runs in and knocks the powder into Homicide’s face. Waltman hits Pearce with the X-Factor and Azrieal hits Rave with the Demon Driver for the win at 14:00. The match was full of gaga but it was pretty fun the whole way through. It was wise to keep the limited Waltman on the apron for most of the match.
Rating: **¾

VS.
What would seem like a lame main event on the surface gets more interesting when the FIPPERs come out and look completely different than they did earlier in the night. As a matter of fact #7 is wearing a Colt Cabana singlet and #8 has the Saved by the Sal tights on. The FIPPERs control to start. They poke the Davises in the eyes and ram their heads into each other. Prazak suggests that the FIPPERs must be Cabana and Rinauro. The Davises try to leave so the FIPPERs chase after them and drag them back to the ring. #7 rams Sean into the post and #8 hits Phil with a back bodydrop on the floor. Back in the ring #8 uses his spiky mask to pole Phil in the eye. He hits a jumping spike butt but Sean tags in and clotheslines him down. Phil tags in and whips Sean into the corner for an avalanche and a butt splash. Sean tags in and helps Phil hit a clothesline/legsweep combo for 2. #8 dodges a splash and tags to #7. #7 takes the Davises out with elbows. #8 comes off the top with a crossbody onto both opponents. The FIPPERs ram the Davises into each other and roll them up for the win at 5:29. Cute stuff.
Rating: *½

After the match Sean gets on the microphone and says that though they may have lost they’re still the champions. The FIPPERs then unmask to reveal that they were Cabana and Rinauro all along! Cabana demands a title match based on their non-title win tonight.

The 411:  Evening the Odds 2005: Up to the main event this was one of the worst shows I’ve ever seen… ever. However the main event takes up almost half of the show and the way the whole thing was structured it was obvious that we aren’t meant to care about anything but the elimination match. The only problem is that the main event isn’t a good enough match that I can recommend that you run out and pick up this DVD on the strength of it alone. Attack of the Masked FIPPERs: In contrast to ETO this show is great. Half of the matches hover around the *** range and a couple of them easily hit ***1/2. This is just a fun show all around, with good wrestling and a fun main event that moves Cabana and Rinauro into tag title contention. While I couldn't recommend the DVD based on the main event of ETO alone, I can give it a mild recommendation based on that match as well as Strong vs. Danielson, Fast & Furious vs. The Miracle Violence Connection, Cabana vs. Milano and the great angle between the Heartbreak Express and the team of Cabana and Rinauro. You can pick this up at ROHWrestling.com.

Final Score:  6.5   [ Average ]  legend