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Radican's Weekend DVD Spotlight
FIP's "Dangerous Intentions 2008"
Crystal River, Fla.
April 26, 2008
By Sean Radican, Torch columnist
Radican's "virtual time" review
-Show began of highlights from the conclusion of the Strong-Stevens battle at ROH's Supercard of Honor III from WrestleMania weekend in ROH when Strong and the NRC cut off Stevens's Mohawk.
(1) Chasyn Rance (w/ Kat) vs. Jigsaw. Lenny Leonard introduced the show and was joined on commentary by Erick Stevens. Stevens said he was going to get revenge tonight on Strong and regain the FIP World Hvt. Title. Jigsaw dominated the early minutes, but Rance used his tights to launch him neck-first across the second rope. Rance worked over Jigsaw on the mat targeting his neck area for several minutes. Stevens said he knew he would have the support of the fans tonight. Stevens and Leonard said Rance always had a random broad at his side as Jigsaw made his comeback. Jigsaw finished his comeback when he hit the Jig N' tonic for the pin. (*1/2)
-The YRR ran out after the match and jumped Jigsaw. Jay Briscoe made his way out to help Jigsaw, but was quickly outnumbered. Austin Aries then ran out and cleaned house on the YRR. Stevens said he had to leave to get ready for his match as Aries and Jay sent the YRR packing. That was pretty funny how he just left in the middle of the brawl. Aries got on the mic and said he had Jay's back. Jay then said Aries had just manned up.
-Heartbreak Enterprises came out. Sean Davis got on the mic and said the fastest rising entity in wrestling was Heartbreak Enterprises. He said he was going to send Fabulous Phil Davis into the crowd to knock out the fans in the crowd that were booing. Oh man, his yelling is awful. He eventually introduced Baby Doll as the newest member of Heartbreak Express.
(2) Chris Jones vs. Rex Sterling (w/ Heartbreak Enterprises). Leonard was joined by Tyler Black. He finally said Dave Prazak was in Chicago for a Shimmer taping and would have a series of guests in on commentary this evening. Jones looks like a small Matt Sydal at first glance. Jones got Sterling to chase him on the outside. Eventually Damien Wayne nailed Jones with a series of strikes and Sterling took control of the match. Black talked about Lacey going AWOL. It looked like they were wrestling in slow motion during Jones's big comeback. Phil got up on the ropes and Sterling nailed a distracted Jones with a superkick for the pin. This was a really lousy match. (1/4*)
-Seth Delay came out to the entrance position and addressed Heartbreak Enterprises. He called them bush leaguers. He said he wanted to face Damien Wayne in a singles match. Wayne apparently accepted.
(3) Damien Wayne (w/Heartbreak Enterprises) vs. Seth Delay. Delay controlled the action early, but ended up missing a dropkick and Wayne took him down after Delay botched another dropkick. Black was still on commentary and Leonard asked Black about the people in Florida accepting the Age of the Fall. Delay made a brief comeback, but Wayne cut him off again and delivered a nice vertical suplex. Wayne hit an elbow drop off the top and was slow to cover, so Delay kicked out at 2. Delay made another comeback and got a nearfall with a bridging pin. Delay then hit a big forearm off the ropes for a nearfall. Black mentioned that he's not familiar with Baby Doll. Leonard said he was there for the angle Dusty and Baby Doll. Leonard said that angle never went anywhere, which was why Rhodes is now booking Florida Championship Wrestling. Zing! Wayne finally hit a piledriver on Delay for the pin. This was a little better than the previous match, but not by much. The exchange with Leonard and Black on Baby Doll was fantastic. (1/2*)
-Roderick Strong came down to the ring with the FIP World Hvt. Title over his shoulder. He said he had a story to tell about him and Erick Stevens. He said the story began 7 years ago when their friendship began. He talked about them doing everything together. He said Stevens was by his side when he fought Danielson multiple times before capturing the FIP Hvt. Title. Strong said he loved the FIP World Hvt. Title. Strong said he asked Stevens to never ask him to put him in the position of defending the FIP World Hvt. Title against him. He said when Stevens took the belt from him; Strong had to do what he had to do to get it back at "Redefined." Strong talked about leaving Stevens lying in Orlando and shaving his Mohawk. Strong said what we've seen before will not compare to what we see tonight in the Last Man Standing match. This was the best promo I've ever seen from Strong.
-A video package for "Hot Summer Nights: Night 2" aired.
(4) FIP Florida Heritage Champion Sal Rinauro vs. Delirious. Leonard introduced Superstar Sean Davis as his guest commentator for the match. The fans chanted "chicken" at Rinauro, so he went and got on the mic and said he'd leave with his belt and not do the match if they didn't stop. Davis said Rinauro was a legend in Florida wrestling, which was pretty funny. The fans continued to get on Rinauro's case, so he got back on the mic and said he was not a chicken nugget. He said he would beat Delirious and still be the Florida Heritage Champion. Davis compared Rinauro to Lou Thesz and Ric Flair on commentary. They finally started to wrestle and Delirious took control early on with an arm bar. Rinauro fired back and nailed Delirious with a nice dropkick.
Rinauro showed a lot of arrogance after holding dominating Delirious for several minutes, but Delirious fired back and nailed Rinauro with a headbutt that left both men down on the mat. Delirious took the advantage once both men got up and eventually nailed Rinauro with a chokeslam for a 2 count. Delirious hit the panic attack a short time later and then went up top and nailed him with the shadows over hell. The YRR interfered and Rinauro accidentally hit Kenny King. Delirious then rolled up Rinauro for a nearfall. Delirious backdropped the YRR onto the YRR on the outside and went for a dive, but Rinauro caught him with a shoulder tackle. King came back into the ring and distracted the ref. Delirious fended off several members of the YRR, which allowed Rinauro to hit the springboard spinning heel kick for the pin. This was pretty good once it got going, but the stalling got unbearable after awhile. (*3/4)
-The Black Market came out to the entrance ramp to cut a promo. Machete put the bad mouth on Sean Davis before addressing the Dark City Fight Club. He said they can't take out the Black Market. He asked the fans to have their backs before the got jumped from behind by the Dark City Fight Club.
(5) The Black Market (Shawn Murphy & Machete) vs. The Dark City Fight Club (Kory Chavis & Jon Davis) never officially started. Jon Davis threw the ref to the floor as Chavis and Davis continued to dominate the action after jumping the Black Market From Behind. The Black Market fired back. Machete nailed Chavis with a chairshot to the back as he hung over the top rope and he spilled to the outside. Black Market took the fight to the outside and continued to dominate the action, as they tossed both members of the Dark City Fight Club into the crowd. Leonard and Davis said they were having a hard time seeing what was going on, as FIP now does live commentary. Murphy & Machete piled a bunch of chairs on top of Davis and then Murphy wound up and hit the pile of chairs with a chairshot.
The bell still hadn't been signaled for to start the match at this point. Murphy nailed Davis with a spinebuster on a chair and kicked him back to the floor. Chavis nailed Murphy with an unprotected chairshot to the head, which I hope FIP management puts a stop to. The Dark City Fight Club hit a neck breaker/powerbomb combination on Machete.
Chavis got on the mic and said they were the world most dangerous tag team. They said they were going to set Machete on fire. Davis poured gas over Machete, but the locker room emptied before they light him on fire. That was a really dark angle by FIP standards, but it came off well in terms of setting up a big grudge match down the line and got a lot of heat in the end.
-A video for Pro Wrestling Riot, which is another independent promotion based out of Florida, aired. Erick Stevens, Jack Evans, and Roderick Strong were the prominent names featured in the clip.
(6) Tyler Black vs. Davey Richards. Black offered a handshake, but Richards spit on his hand. Davis said he loved Richards's attitude. Black dominated the action early as Davis talked about how Richards reminded him of Dynamite Kid. Black went for a dropkick, but Richards held on to the ropes, so Black spun all the way around and landed on his feet, which looked pretty cool. Black then clotheslined Richards out of the ring, but crashed and burned on a dive attempt. Richards took control of the match and worked over Black's mid-section with a body scissors submission in the middle of the ring. Black attempted to fight back, but Richards threw him off the ropes to the mat and delivered a knee to his chest.
Black fired back and hit a chin breaker on Richards. He followed up with several right hands, but Richards caught him in the abdominal stretch. Black countered with a hip toss and took Richards down again with a leg lariat. Black nailed Richards with a springboard lariat moments later for a 2 count. The crowd got into it as Black continued to garner nearfalls, but he couldn't quite put Richards away. Black went up top, but Richards cut him off. They battled on the turnbuckles, but Black sent Richards to the mat. Richards recovered and ran up the ropes and executed a fantastic looking super German suplex that turned Black completely inside out.
Richards nailed Black with a running kick and a powerbomb, but he kicked out. Richards then locked in the Texas cloverleaf in the center of the ring. Black struggled and finally got the ropes. Davis said Dean Malenko would have been proud of that Texas cloverleaf. Black went for the Texas Cloverleaf again, but Black countered with a pinning combination and almost got the pin right there. Both men came off the ropes and went for a crossbody, which resulted in the colliding in mid-air before collapsing to the mat. Both men exchanged forearms from their knees. They got up and began exchanging chops. Richards went for a handspring, but Black nailed him with a dropkick. Black hit the small package driver moments later for the pin. This was easily the best match on the card so far. It wasn't spectacular, but they told a good story and delivered some nice exchanges intermittently. (***)
-The YRR jumped Black right after he got the pinfall. Leonard said they still took issue with Black taking Lacey & Rain to the YRR. Aries and Jay ran down to make the save. Black brawled to the back with Rinauro. The announcers said it looked like the ref was going to start the next match right now.
(7) FIP World Tag Team Champions Kenny King & Jason Blade (w/Chasyn Rance) vs. Jay Briscoe & Austin Aries. Jay started off the official action working over King near his own corner. After taking a sustained beating, Blade & King fired back and sent Jay and Aries crashing into each other to gain control of the match. Rance took some cheap shots on Aries from the outside, which the ref didn't catch. The YRR continued to isolate Aries away from his own corner and use some good double team work, along with some help from Rance on the outside, to keep him away from Jay. Aries came close to tagging out, but King knocked Jay off the apron with an elbow shot. King & Blade then executed a nice double team where Blade whipped Aries to King, who nailed him with a uranagi back breaker.
Aries finally fought off the YRR and tagged in Jay, who ran wild. Jay sent Blade and King to the floor. Aries then took both of them out with a dive through the ropes to the outside and the crowd applauded. Aries pitched King back into the ring and Jay hit him with a DVD for a nearfall. Aries & Jay hit a double team bulldog off the top rope on King, but Blade made the save and tossed Aries to the floor. Blade & King executed a fantastic looking super kick/belly to back combo on Jay for a nearfall. Aries came back into the ring and pushed King into Blade.
Aries hit the IED on King in the corner. Aries went for his signature dropkick on Blade in the corner, but King pushed Jay into his path and Aries accidentally hit him with the dropkick. Blade then pinned Jay with both feet on the ropes for the pin. This was another good match with the YRR pulling off their usual shady tactics to come out on top. (***1/4)
-Black came out and cut a promo from the entrance ramp after interrupting the introduction of the main event. He challenged the YRR at the next FIP event to a match. He said Jimmy Jacobs, the most sadistic man in wrestling, would be his partner. Black said they would take the tag titles home with them.
-A highlight packaged for the new Gear promotion based out of Florida featuring Erick Stevens, Larry Sweeney, Nigel McGuinness, Jay Briscoe, and Roderick Strong among others aired. It looked like a pretty good release given the name independent wrestlers that were featured.
(8) Last Man Standing match: FIP World Hvt. Champion Roderick Strong vs. Erick Stevens. Stevens jumped Strong as he made his entrance and they brawled around the entrance ramp. Stevens ran wild on Strong momentarily, but Strong raked his eyes to gain the advantage. Strong nailed Stevens with a huge chop before delivering a wicked chairshot to Stevens's back. Strong slammed Stevens back-first on the floor before rolling a chair right into his leg. Stevens fired back and brawled with Strong to a different part of the arena, which revealed a very impressive gimmick table. Stevens nailed Strong with a series of chairshots across the back and the ref administered the 10 count, but Strong got to his feet in time.
Strong fired back on Strong and piled up several chairs. Strong then drove Stevens down onto the chairs with a sidewalk slam. They carefully brawled around the gimmick table, as to not disturb its contents before Stevens whipped Strong into a cement wall before slamming him down on the back of a table. That must have sucked. Stevens then grabbed a DVD from the sale bin and hit Strong with it. Strong then picked up the DVD and hit Stevens with it. I bet they had that taken out of their check! Stevens nailed Strong with several more chairshots to the back and the ref began his count again, but Strong made it back to his feet and hit Stevens low before delivering several shots to his back with a chair.
Strong dismantled one of the guardrails and launched it into to Stevens, who was down for the ref's count. Stevens struggled, but got to his feet. Strong chopped Stevens right across the face before picking him up and slamming him on the guardrail. Davis said he couldn't believe that Strong could do what he was doing to his former best friend. Stevens fired back on Strong with great intensity and obliterated him with a series of elbows before throwing him though three of the four chairs Strong had set up in each corner of the ring. That was a great spot. The ref administered his count as the crowd got to their feet. Strong got to his feet in time to beat the ref's count and blocked a charge from Stevens before nailing him with an enzuguri.
Strong hit a backbreaker over the top turnbuckle on Stevens, but he managed to beat the ref's count. Strong taunted Stevens, who tried to fire back on Strong. Stevens eventually nailed Strong with a TKO on a pile of chairs that Strong had set up in the ring and the ref began his count. Strong got to his feet by rolling to the outside and Stevens went right back on the attack and sent Strong flying with a shoulder tackle off the apron. That was another great spot, which prompted the crowd to chant Stevens's name.
Strong fired back on Stevens and nailed him with an unprotected chairshot to the head, which really wasn't necessary. Strong set up a massive row of chairs and then stacked several more chairs on top of what he had already set up. Strong tried to slam Stevens through the chairs off the apron, but Stevens countered. Stevens went for the Dr. bomb, but Strong blocked it. Strong finally sent Stevens through the large number of chairs with a half-nelson backbreaker. That had to have sucked for Stevens. The ref began his count. Stevens struggled to get to his feet, but made it just before the 10 count.
Stevens countered Strong and nailed him with an overhead suplex. Stevens fired up and hit the choo choo and a lariat. Stevens then nailed Strong with the Dr. bomb and the ref began his count. Stevens is showing great fire in this match. Strong barely beat the ref's count and Stevens went back on the attack with some serious chops to Strong's chest. Davis called it one of the best matches he's seen since he started watching wrestling. Stevens went for a Dr. bomb off the top, but Strong blocked it and eventually hit Stevens with a superplex, but he got right up. Strong then hit a gutbuster and a flying kick before nailing Stevens with the Gibson driver. That was another great combination of maneuvers.
Stevens beat the count and Strong nailed him right away with another running kick. The ref started his count again and the crowd chanted for Stevens as he made his way to his feet. Stevens got up, but Strong nailed him with another huge kick to the head. Stevens got up rather quickly and Strong nailed him with another running kick. Strong pounced on Stevens and set his head up between 2 chairs that he had wedged between the turnbuckles. Strong then obliterated Stevens with a running kick and Stevens went down. The ref began his count again and reached 10. This was another amazing effort from these two and I would have rated it higher if they hadn't used the unprotected chairshot to the head. (****1/4)
-Stevens slowly got to his feet after Strong left the ring and the crowd chanted his name.
-A series of replays from the Strong-Stevens encounter aired. They aired the finish of the match in slow motion and it looked pretty brutal.
Overall score: (6.5) The first half of this show was forgettable outside of a fantastic promo from Roderick Strong setting up his FIP World Hvt. Title defense in a Last Man Standing match against Erick Stevens in the main event of the show. The last three matches really helped turn this DVD into what I would consider to be an overall thumbs up purchase.
The Strong promo was the highlight of the first half of the card as he came out and talked about the history between himself and Stevens. Strong has never delivered a better promo than he did to set up the main event on this night. In fact, FIP did a good job of building up the main event throughout the show, as highlights from the excellent brawl Stevens and Strong had at ROH's "Supercard of Honor 3" aired at the beginning of this release.
Other than those segments, there wasn't much to get into on the undercard. The Delirious-Rinauro and Dark City Fight Club-Black Market encounters were both solid. The angle with the Dark City Fight Club trying to light Machete on fire was effective because FIP rarely has angles with that dark of a tone.
Once the Richards-Black encounter began, the show got really good. Richards and Black put on a solid contest that I enjoyed, although I'm sure they are capable of more, it was good. The Aries & Jay Briscoe-Blade & King FIP World Tag Team Titles match was also very good. The YRR is a really fun heel stable and once again, they used their bag of tricks to retain their titles.
I can't say enough about the main event. I didn't care for the unprotected chairshot Strong gave to Stevens, but outside of that they put on another unique and brutal match that had the entire crowd on their feet. Strong and Stevens are definitely deserving of recognition at the end of this year when the time comes to vote for feud of the year. I liked this encounter better than their match on ROH's "Respect is Earned II" PPV. They've really put on a series of great encounters in FIP and ROH and you really can't go wrong purchasing their matches on DVD from ether promotion.
Sean Radican and Derek Burgan deliver state-of-the-art wrestling audio each and every weekend exclusively at PWTorch.com/members. When not writing his obnoxiously successful "Tales From The Pulpit," Sean collects matches to help Derek burn as many bridges as possible. Contact Sean at PWTorchSean@gmail.com. Send feedback on this article to pwtorch@gmail.com and we'll regularly publish reader feedback in the "Torch Feedback" category on the Main Listing.
