This would be FIP's second show after crowning Homicide as their first champion. That dastardly CM Punk caused all sorts of problems, though, and formed his partnership with Joshua Masters as "The New Dawn."
The "FIP mobile studios" are now stationed in the Party Zone, a converted night club. There might be 50 people present, including a lot of people who are just there to drink, so don't expect a great atmosphere.
November 12, 2004
From Tampa, Fla.
Your hosts are Mark Nulty and Dave Prazak (making his debut after working as a manager for IWA: Mid-South). Prazak promises a surprise tonight. Lenny Leonard handles the intros and interviews.
"The Shooter" Vordell Walker vs. Sal Rinauro.
Rinauro is from NWA: Wildside and would go on to ROH as a tag champion. Yeah, we don't like to talk about that, though. Walker completely outwrestles and overpowers Rinauro early. Finally, Rinauro avoids a charge, but he isn't able to capitalize as Walker avoids his springboard and knocks him out with a roundhouse kick for the pin at 4:28. 3/4*
"The Master of the Backbreaker" Roderick Strong vs. Mikey Batts.
The crack sound tech gives Strong Homicide's music. Strong, you know. Batts wrestled a few shows for TNA. Batts misses a charge, and Strong stretches him across the middle rope and stomps his back. Strong dismantles Batts' back and slaps him around. Batts battles back, but Strong is just playing with him at this point. He takes Batts down and puts him in the camel clutch. Batts does a neat pounce into a rana, but Strong cuts him right back down again. More damage as Strong slams his back into the post. Batts hits a sloppy wheelbarrow into a stunner. Is Lenny Leonard an automaton? He hasn't moved from that spot through two shows. Strong hits a half-nelson backbreaker. Batts comes back with the Code Red for two. Nicely executed. He tries again, but Roderick counters to the Spinal Shock at 9:27. **
BJ Whitmer comes out to demonstrate his Wrist-Clutch Exploder on Jason Moore. Poor, unsuspecting kid. The jobber thinks he's just going to apply the hold, but BJ drops him with it. Local talent Antonio Banks (The WWE's MVP) storms down and objects.
BJ Whitmer vs. Antonio Banks.
Banks shows why he was quickly snapped up by the WWE, and why they had to put him in that goofy-looking costume when they made him an ineffectual heel. The man is a tank. Most of the match is trading blows, but Banks shows some wrestling skill, manipulating Whitmer into the Crossface. Whitmer makes the ropes and finishes with the Wrist-Clutch Exploder at 5:19. *
"The Suicidal Demon" Azrieal (w/CM Punk) vs. "The Soul Assassin" Rainman.
Punk explains that the New Dawn is filled with all the rejects from high school (geeks, freaks, etc.), and that includes Azrieal. Apparently, Joshua Masters is yesterday's news. He also mentions being banned from touching Homicide, so he'll take on Homicide's buddy Danny Maff. Ha ha! Homicide's "buddy." Just wait a few months. Azrieal was "Angel Dust" in ROH, and would eventually adopt that name there as well. Rainman hits a lot of armdrags and dropkicks. Azrieal hits the doublestomp, which would eventually become his finisher. Rainman hits the Rydien Bomb, but Azrieal counters the brainbuster to a DDT. Punk runs back down and distracts Rainman. Rainman cuts off Azrieal from going up top and goes for a suplex, but Punk grabs his leg, putting Azrieal on top at 6:39. That's becoming "The New Dawn" finish. **
Jimmy Rave vs. Fast Eddie Vegas.
JIMMY RAVE! THE CROWN JOO-ELL! Rave is playing babyface here, though. A long feeling-out process leads to Rave baiting Vegas into exposing his leg, so Rave can take him down with a single-leg pick. Nice. Vegas goes to work on Jimmy's back, but Rave comes back with an armbar/neck crank and a clothesline to the back of the head. Prazak jokes that both guys would make a good tag team combination. More on that in a minute. Vegas hits a series of backbreakers and a snap Russian Leg Sweep. Rave rolls to the floor, and Vegas hits an Asai Moonsault. They take turns stopping each other from entering the ring until the ref counts both of them out at 9:37. Dave Prazak leaves the announce position to offer both men spots in his Dave Prazak Associates as he returns to managing. Both men are cool to the idea until they see the size of the contract Prazak is offering. Prazak gets his tag team. **1/4
"Mr. 630" Jerrelle Clark vs. Insane Dragon.
Nulty is stunned by the turn of events. Insane Dragon is another member of Special K in Ring of Honor. Izzy and Jerrelle do a decent little spot match as Prazak returns and explains that he's returning managing because there are too many fake-breasted valets in wrestling who don't know what they're doing. Dragon avoids the Clark Bar (619 into a Dragon Sleeper in the ropes) and hits a reverse rana. He flips Jerrelle over into a Boston Crab. He boots Clark right in the face for two, but Jerrelle comes back with a Rope-Assisted Stunner. That was a perfectly good finish, but Dragon kicks out. Prazak admires his moxie and thinks he might be able to help Izzy out if given the chance. Clark gets the Clark Bar and springboards into a cross armlock. Nice. Dragon makes the ropes and connects with an enzuigiri. Dragon Dust gets two, but Jerrelle blocks a top-rope reverse rana and hits a moonsault press. Only two. Clark hits a gutwrench into a side powerbomb for the win at 12:01. Up-and-down spotfest. Clark looked pretty good. Prazak makes the same offer to Clark and Dragon, but they turn him down. Rave and Vegas attack from behind and lay them out. Izzy and Dragon challenge them to a match at Night Two. **1/4
Don Juan (w/Angel Williams) vs. Jared Steel.
Leonard gets the introductions backwards. Don Juan gives someone in the audience the gigolo dance. Juan misses a swing and gets German Suplexed for two. Steel hits rolling legsweeps as Prazak gets both catty and misogynistic on Angel. Don Juan hits a neckbreaker and a boot to the face. Juan dominates for a while but stops to play to the crowd and gets belly-to-bellied. A spinebuster gets two. Don Juan hits a moonsault and humps Steel's chest on the cover. Steel goes up but gets crotched by Angel. Don Juan finishes with the super DDT at 8:27. Steel doesn't take the loss well and spanks Angel Williams to make up for it. Nice consolation prize there. Strictly average match. *3/4
No COR, No DQ: CM Punk vs. Dan Maff.
Punk promises to finish off Maff and move on to Homicide on Night Two. Punk demands a handshake and gets dragged around the ring. Maff goes after Punk's arm and does a Mo Howard job on his nose. Punk is way into the cowardly heel character here. Azrieal attacks Maff from behind, but it's "No DQ," so it's perfectly legal. The New Dawn destroys Maff, and Punk gets rid of the ref. Punk tries to toss salt in Maff's eyes, but Maff kicks it back in his face and tosses Azrieal into him. Punk piledrives Azrieal because he can't see. Maff counts the pin, and Punk think's it's over. How do you confuse Maff with Azrieal?! Punk finally realizes what's happened and freaks out. Maff hits a German Suplex as Todd Sinclair runs in to count two. Punk pulls the ref in the way to block Maff's charge. They brawl to the entrance where Punk hits him with a fishbowl full of condoms. Classy. The brawl spills to the parking lot, where Maff tosses Punk on top of a truck and spikes his crotch with a traffic cone. Back to the ring, Punk begs off but gets chopped into next week. Diving headbutt misses, and Punk hits an inverted DDT for two. Maff climbs up the ropes for mounted punches, but Punk goes low and pins him with his feet on the ropes at 13:51. Another wild brawl all over the arena for Punk. **3/4
FIP Heavyweight Title: Homicide vs. BJ Whitmer.
Interestingly, Whitmer and Maff were a regular tag team in ROH at this point, but they're on opposite sides here. Nulty even mentions it. Homicide frustrates Whitmer with armdrags and goes to work on his arm. Mr. Salty wears Whitmer down even more. They trade chops, and Whitmer takes him down into a figure-four headscissors. He segues to a Mexican Surfboard but can't hold it. Homicide comes back with a Tornado DDT and gets two off the Facewash. Whitmer ducks a lariat and hits a suplex into a Northern Lights. Nice. Whitmer charges right into a belly-to-belly suplex. ONE, TWO, THR-NO! He hits a German Suplex into a Dragon Suplex into a powerbomb! ONE, TWO, THR-NO! That's a lot of moves in a row not to get the pin. Homicide blocks the Wrist-Clutch Exploder but can't hit the Cop Killa. The Ace Crusher gets two. A second one sets up a piledriver, and Homicide finishes with the STF at 18:20. Homicide calls out Punk, but no one shows. ***
DVD Bonus Match, Hardcore Match: Mike Awesome vs. New Jack vs. Justin Credible (08.02.03).
This would be from FIP's real first show over a year earlier than "Emergence." Sad that Awesome wound down his career doing shows like this. Lesson: don't burn bridges. This was apparently supposed to be Awesome versus Credible, but Bill Alphonso runs down and adds New Jack to the match. That means for the next few excruciating minutes his music plays over the "match." Lots of hitting each other with chairs. Lots of powerbombs. Awesome finally puts Justin through a table to pick up the win at 5:10. Stultifyingly bad match. New Jack blames Credible for losing the match, and they brawl around the ring. O
The 411: The stuff that you would think would deliver did deliver. FIP was still struggling for an identity at this point, but the stuff with the New Dawn and Dave Prazak Associates is a good start. Still, at this point, it just feels like a rehearsal for Ring of Honor, and that's not enough to recommend.
