BG Says: FIP Stronger Than Ever

May 25, 2007 – Inverness, Florida

When we last left FIP
The Briscoe Brothers finally put the Necro Butcher and Mad Man Pondo out of their way with a huge win after a crazy brawl of a tag title match. Delirious proved he is the best masked wrestler in FIP by defeating Jigsaw a second time. Roderick Strong and Erick Stevens both defended their belts in good matches and Shingo left FIP after a win over fellow New Hazard member YAMATO.

Dave Prazak and Lenny Leonard handle commentary on this DVD release.

VS.
Clark powers Madison to the corner to start. Madison returns the favor and gives a clean break. He gets a headlock takedown and then puts on a top wristlock. They criss cross and Clark hits a crossbody for 2. He puts on a headlock and holds on through a back suplex. Madison comes back with a right hand and an elbowdrop for 2. He hits a second rope kneedrop and puts on a chinlock. He puts his feet on the ropes for leverage but nobody wins matches with chinlocks. Clark gets a roll up for 2. He gets a backslide for 2. Madison slams him to the mat by his head but Clark comes back with a hurricanrana. Madison punches his gut and slugs him down for 2. He puts on a chinlock and hits a knee to the gut. He climbs the ropes but Clark blocks a fistdrop. Clark hits a leaping forearm and a dropkick. He hits a back suplex but a handspring moonsault hits Madison’s knees. Clark goes for a sunset flip but Madison sits down for the win at 7:59. Decent enough opener, about what you’d expect from Clark and Madison.
Rating: **¼

Madison’s YRR buddies (along with new addition Becky Bayless) come out to the stage to congratulate him. Madison gets on the microphone and says that in his time off he’s decided that he doesn’t want to take shortcuts in matches anymore. Tonight was the last time. Since the YRR wasn’t there for him during his time off and now being with the YRR doesn’t feel right. His former friends don’t take that well, as expected, and beat him up. Sal Rinauro gets on his hands and knees, acting as a platform for Chasyn Rance to jump off of and help Kenny King hit a spike piledriver on the stage.

VS.
Rave stalls to start. Back in the ring he puts on a headlock. Davis counters to a chinlock but Rave powers him to the corner and hits a cheap shot. Davis gets a roll up for 2. He hits an armdrag and Rave bails again. Back in the ring Davis keeps the armdrags up so Rave bails again. Back inside Davis hits a back elbow and rolls Rave up for 2. Rave comes back with a spear and Davis bails. Mr. Milo Beasley hits Davis with a somersault senton off the apron and Rave rams him into the barricade. Back in the ring he stomps on Davis’s face and chokes him in the ropes for 2. Davis hits an ugly crossbody for 2. He hits a forearm and pair of back elbows. He hits a hurricanrana and a facebuster for 2. Rave gets a roll up with his feet on the ropes for 2. He hits a neckbreaker for 2. Davis climbs the ropes and hits a dropkick for 2. He hits a flipping kneedrop and a head scissors takedown. He hits a lungblower and puts on the ugliest triangle choke I’ve ever seen. Rave taps out but Prazak has the referee distracted. Rave comes back with the heel hook for the win at 11:03. More than half the match was one guy or another doing nothing on the floor. The rest was just sloppy. Davis seemed completely out of his element, telegraphing every single move.
Rating: ¼*

After the match Prazak promises that Delirious will with the Florida Heritage Championship and then melt down the belt into a golf club. Rave then promises to win the FIP World Heavyweight Championship tomorrow night. If tonight’s performance is any indication Rave doesn’t stand a chance.

VS. VS.
Davis and Wayne go after Sterling to start. They hit a double back bodydrop and Davis hits a back elbow. Wayne clotheslines him to the floor and then fights with Daniels. He hits a back suplex but Sterling pulls him to the floor and whips him into the post. Sterling comes off the top with a crossbody on Daniels for 2. Daniels hits a suicide dive on Wayne and Sterling dives out onto both of them. Wayne powerbombs Sterling onto the apron, a move that should be reserved for later in the card. It gets 2 back in the ring. He sets Sterling up top and hits a hanging Rude Awakening. Sterling ends up in the Tree of Woe in which Wayne hits him with a legdrop. Daniels rams Wayne into Sterling and hits Wayne with a German suplex for 2. He hits a bodyslam on Wayne and then suplexes Sterling onto Wayne for 2. He sets Sterling up top but Wayne hits him with a Stun Gun. Wayne hits a superplex on Sterling as Daniels hits him with a powerbomb. Wayne hits Daniels with a big boot but Sterling catches him with a clothesline. Daniels hits Sterling with an overhead suplex into the corner. Sterling hits Daniels with the Ace Crusher for 2. Wayne hits Sterling with a brainbuster and climbs the ropes. He misses a flying elbowdrop and Daniels tosses him to the floor before hitting Sterling with a soccer kick and the tombstone piledriver for the win at 6:38. They certainly did a lot of stuff in a short amount of time. This probably would have been better served later on in the card with more time to build to the big spots.
Rating: **½

The debuting Tyler Black and Marek Brave come out for a promo. They call themselves the best tag team in the world, better than the Briscoe Brothers. Black is very confident that they can win the tag titles tonight but Brave looks a little hesitant. The champs come out and want a fight. Brave gets on the microphone and complains about an arm injury. He suggests that Black wrestle Jay in a singles match to prove they’re worth.

VS.
They lock up and Jay grabs a wristlock. He puts on a chinlock but Black comes back with a hurricanrana. Jay hits a shoulder tackle and a hurricanrana of his own. He hits a back elbow for 2. He hits a dropkick and a clothesline in the corner. He hits a basement dropkick for 2. He puts on the Stretch Plum and then stomps on the back of Black’s head. Black drops Jay’s head on the turnbuckle and hits a back suplex for 2. He hits a back elbow for 2 with a cocky cover. He hits an elbowdrop for 2. He hits a knee to the gut and a senton for 2. He goes to the eyes and chokes Jay in the ropes. He hits a snap suplex for 2. He hits a bodyslam and a kneedrop for 2. Jay catches him coming off the top rope with a Manhattan drop and then hits a neckbreaker. He hits a stunner and a big boot for 2. Black dodges a blind charge and hits a running forearm. He hangs Jay on the top rope and hits a kneelift, sending Jay to the floor. Black follows him out with a no-hands somersault dive. Back in the ring Black hits a springboard clothesline for 2. Jay blocks a big boot and hits the DVD for 2. He hits a bodyslam and climbs the ropes. Black crotches him but Jay comes back with a super reverse falcon arrow and a lariat for 2. He goes for the Jay Driller but Brave runs out and distracts him. Black uses the distraction to hit an enziguiri and the Small Package Driver for the win at 11:56. The finish was pretty cheap but the match was a very nice showcase for Black.
Rating: ***

The YRR gets another on-stage promo. King has been having a hard time finding a lousy outfit to wrestle in tonight’s bunkhouse brawl in. All he could find was a 400 dollar Michael Jordan outfit, but Rinauro convinces him that the fans aren’t worth him ruining even his cheapest outfit. The Davises will have none of that and ambush the YRR, throwing powder in their faces and hitting them with chairs.

VS.
[Bunkhouse Brawl]
The match starts as a handicap match, with wild brawling lacking any kind of rhyme or reason. Bayless is with the YRR and Lacey accompanies the Heartbreak Express which I guess makes sense since she teamed with them from late 2006 until January of 2007. The Davises get the advantage but when they celebrate with Lacey in the ring she turns on them by uppercutting both of their crotches. Rance brutalizes the Davises with a chair and King comes off the ropes with a cookie sheet shot. Sean gets busted wide open and beaten up with the cookie sheet. Sal brings out a broom and beats on Phil with it. Things plod on until Waltman runs out and clotheslines everyone in the YRR. He hits Rinauro with the Bronco Buster but King dropkicks him from behind. Waltman hits King with the X-Factor for 2 when Rinauro saves. The Davises beat up Rinauro on the floor but Waltman misses a Bronco Buster on Rance. The YRR regain total control and King sets Phil up top. Phil tries to fight back but Lacey crotches him. Sal gets on his hands and knees, allowing Rance and King to hit Phil with a spike piledriver for the win at 12:15. This was just a dull brawl, but I do like the new YRR finisher. The beating continues after the match until Madison makes the save.
Rating: *

A great video package airs for FIP New Year’s Classic 2007. It’s a great song and an exciting video. My review is here and you’ll find that that show’s main event was excellent.

Mark Briscoe comes out and says that Brave’s ability to distract Jay earlier on proves he’s not hurt, so he challenges him to a match right now. Brave reluctantly agrees.

VS.
Mark dives onto Brave to start. He works over the supposedly injured arm and hits a bodyslam on the floor. He hits a moonsault off of the barricade and rams him into the post with a chair wrapped around his neck. Back in the ring Mark hits a springboard double stomp. He kicks Brave’s back for 2. Brave sends him to the floor with a springboard dropkick and follows him out with a moonsault press from the apron. Back in the ring Brave scratches Mark’s chest. He whips Mark hard into the corner for 2. He rakes the back and puts on a chinlock. He stomps on Mark’s foot and hits a clothesline for 2. He hits a bodyslam and climbs the ropes. Mark cuts him off only to get hit with a super back rake. Brave hits a running forearm for 2. He chokes Mark on the bottom rope and hits a side slam for 2. Mark comes back with a leg lariat and a small package for 2. Black hits the Edge-O-Matic for 2. Mark hits a second rope forearm and thrust chops to the throat. He hits the yelping kick for 2. He hits a moonsault press for 2. Brave returns fire with an Olympic Slam and a spear for 2. He sets mark up top and catches him coming down with a hiptoss into a facebuster for 2. Mark chops him down and hits the yelping splash for 2. He hits a bodyslam and climbs the ropes. Black tries to distract Mark but Jay runs out to neutralize him. Mark hits a double stomp to Brave’s back and follows that with the Cutthroat Driver for the win at 14:33. Another funky finish puts this about on the level with the Jay vs. Black match, but that’s not intrinsically bad.
Rating: ***

Delirious freaks out at the bell and then takes a while getting back into the ring. When he does he locks up with Stevens and gets powered into the corner. He bails again and distracts Stevens by rolling Beasley into the ring but Stevens is alert enough to keep from being attacked from behind. Stevens puts Delirious on the mat and grabs a wristlock. Delirious puts on a headlock but Stevens escapes by setting him up top. Delirious goes back to the headlock so Stevens hits him with a back suplex. They lock up and Delirious puts the headlock back on. Stevens escapes again so Delirious dropkicks his knee. Stevens blocks a figure 4 leglock and hits a bodyslam. He hits an elbowdrop but Delirious bites his arm. Prazak tells Delirious to stay on the arm but Stevens keeps him from doing that with another bodyslam. Delirious bails so Stevens follows him out and chops him around. Back in the ring Delirious hits a neckbreaker. He dropkicks the back of Stevens’s head and headbutts the neck. He hits a kick to the back for 2. He puts on a chinlock but Stevens fights out and strikes him down. Stevens hits a full nelson slam for 2. He hits the Choo Choo Avalanche and a shoulder tackle for 2. Delirious goes to the eyes and hits the Panic Attack. He climbs the ropes but Stevens dodges the Shadows. Delirious gets a roll up for 2. They trade strikes and Delirious hits a German suplex for 2. He goes for the Cobra Stretch but Stevens blocks it and hits the Original for 2. Delirious blocks the Doctor Bomb so Stevens hits a kneelift. They fight to the apron where Delirious hits a big boot. He follows Stevens to the floor with a somersault dive and rolls him back into the ring. He comes off the top with the Shadows and gets 2. He puts on the Cobra Stretch but Stevens gets to the ropes. Stevens ducks a clothesline and hits a German suplex. He hits a lariat and the Doctor Bomb for the win at 18:29. It never really felt like Delirious was close to winning but that didn’t keep the match from being a lot of fun and the best of the night so far.
Rating: ***½