BG Says: FIP Evening the Odds 2006
Posted by Brad Garoon on 04.20.2007
Davey Richards picks a side.
November 11, 2006 - Bushnell, Florida
When we last left FIP
Daffney helped Kenny King and Sal Rinauro defeat Erick Stevens and Seth Delay and then joined the YRR. The Briscoes defended the tag titles against both the Black Market and the Heartbreak Express. Finally, in the biggest FIP news in months Roderick Strong unseated Bryan Danielson as FIP Heavyweight Champion.
Dave Prazak & Jared David handle commentary as Jonathan Gold takes care of announcements from the stage.
Gold announces that a 10-man elimination tag match will be the main event tonight between a team captained by Roderick Strong and a team captained by Bryan Danielson. Strong will choose his teammates throughout the show. Danielson will do the same, but has already chosen fellow DP Associates Shingo and Shane Hagadorn. He then introduces Pelle Primeau for the opening match. Dave Prazak brings out his Associates to disrupt the show. He tells Primeau to get out of the ring, and when he doesn’t he sends Shingo to destroy him. Primeau holds his own for a few seconds until Danielson gets a shot in and Shingo kills him with a powerslam. The rest of the Associates get in on the beating as well. Strong comes out and doesn’t make the save. Instead he gets on the microphone and announces (while Primeau is still getting beaten up) that the tag champs the Briscoe Brothers will be on his team. Finally the three of them make the save. Primeau asks Strong if he can be on his team to get some revenge. Strong obliges him.
VS.
Before the match Sean Davis explains that the Cage of Pain match against the Black Market next month will be a cage wrapped in barbed wire and filled with weapons. He says the feud will be over after that match. Phil and Sean attack before the bell. Titus and Payne come back with crossbodies off the top for 2. Payne puts a headlock on Sean and tricks him into forearming Phil off the apron. He hits a pair of dropkicks but Sean doesn’t go down. Titus comes in for a double dropkick to knock Sean to the floor. Payne and Titus hit a double back elbow and a weird double powerdrive elbow on Phil. Titus tags in and gets caught in a hammerlock. Sean elbows him down and then goes to the eyes. He slugs Titus to the mat and tags to Phil. They hit a double clothesline and Phil goes to the eyes. Sean tags in and hits an avalanche. He hits a butt splash and sends Titus to the floor. Phil bodyslams Titus on the concrete and rolls him back into the ring. The Heartbreak Express hit a double back elbow. Titus fights them off and tags to Payne. Payne hits a double clothesline on both opponents. Sean goes to the eyes but Titus pulls him to the floor. Payne rolls up Phil for 2. Sean grabs Payne and tosses him to the floor. Things break down as Sean gets some weapons and beats Payne down with them. He and Phil do the same to Titus and the referee disqualifies them at 9:55. This was very effective in making the Heartbreak Express look like threats to the Black Market in the Cage of Pain.
Rating: *¾
Davey Richards comes out to discuss his actions from the night before. He says he was just trying to make it absolutely clear to Strong that he wanted a title shot soon. He says he’ll still do anything to get it, even something he doesn’t really want to do. He calls out Dave Prazak and offers to be on Danielson’s team, but not DP Associates. Prazak is overjoyed, and despite the fact that they dislike each other personally he’d love to have him on the team and promises that he’ll learn to love DP. That is a very interesting angle.
VS.
The Cougar hits a dropkick before the bell. He hits another dropkick and knuckles up with Manning. He gets a roll up for 2 and hits an armdrag into an armbar. Manning comes back with a bear hug into an overhead suplex. He rams the Cougar hard into the turnbuckle and hits a bodyslam. He hits two more bodyslams for 2. He hits an ugly backdrop for 2. He puts on a chinlock but the Cougar comes back with an enziguiri. He hits a series of forearms and a climbing knee. Manning counters a hurricanrana to a powerbomb on the knee. The Cougar comes back with a roll up out of nowhere for the win at 5:38. Just a lousy and ugly match all around.
Rating: ¾*
VS.
Of all the guys who debuted the night before Manley is the only one who got a win, and he’s the only one I can’t find a picture of to save my life. Before the match the Black Market insinuate that they may have actually killed So Cal Val and then reintroduce Allison Danger to the FIP fans. Machete overpowers Gambino to start. He hits a shoulder tackle and Gambino bails. Murphy tags in so Gambino tags out. Manley slaps Murphy and immediately realizes that it was a mistake. Murphy throws him across the ring and tags to Machete. Machete chops Manley around for 2. Murphy tags in and hits a bodyslam for 2. Machete tags in and hits a vertical suplex for 2. He hits a back elbow but misses an elbowdrop. The referee gets distracted with Murphy so Manley and Gambino double-team Machete. Gambino tags in and hits a dropkick for 2. He hits a chinbreaker for 2. Manley tags in and they hit a double dropkick. Manley hits a kneedrop for 2. Machete gets a roll up for 2. He hits a clothesline and tags to Murphy. Murphy cleans house with clotheslines and bodyslams. He hits a back suplex on Gambino and an overhead suplex on Manley. Machete runs in and they hit the Black Out on Gambino for the win at 7:27. The new guys got in way too much offense, but I guess the idea was to make it seem like the Heartbreak Express may have gotten more intense than the Black Market. Machete cuts ANOTHER promo after the match. This guy is becoming the Austin Aries of FIP. He calls out the Heartbreak Express and they brawl to the back.
Rating: **
VS.
Sal stalls to start. Back in the ring they lock up and Stevens powers Sal to the corner. Sal pie-faces Stevens so Stevens rips some tassels off of his trunks. He beats Sal around the ring and hits a backbreaker for 2. Sal bails and hides behind Daffney. He hits a cheap shot and goes for a hurricanrana but Stevens grabs him and swings him into the wall. His head actually makes a dent in the wall! Back in the ring Stevens misses an avalanche so Sal goes to the eyes. He rams Stevens’s arm into the post and then slams it on the concrete floor. He rams it into the post again and puts on a wristlock. Stevens hits a back elbow but there’s not much behind it and Sal hits a dropkick. He hits an armbreaker for 2. He puts on an armbar but Stevens fights out. Sal slams him to the mat by his hair and goes back to the armbar. He slams Stevens to the mat by his arm for 2 and puts on a stranglehold. He switches to a wristlock and splashes the arm for 2. He goes back to the wristlock but Stevens finally fights back. He hits a Manhattan drop and a one-armed bodyslam. He hits a powerslam for 2. Sal attacks the arm again to regain control. He hits a tornado armbreaker for 2. He puts on a Fujiwara armbar and Stevens seriously considers tapping out. Instead he gets his foot on the bottom rope. Sal argues with the referee and Stevens uses the distraction to hit the TKO for 2. He can’t hit the gutwrench powerbomb because of his arm. Steve Madison comes out and distracts him long enough for Sal to hit him with a superkick and Sliced Bread #2 for the win at 14:10. I’m impressed that they found a believable way for Rinauro to dominate the match and Stevens was equally impressive with his selling. This was a really surprising gem.
Rating: ***¼
After the match Dave Prazak comes out and invited Madison to join Team Danielson. Madison gladly accepts because he loves participating in DP.
VS.
They lock up and King forces Clark to the corner. He puts on a wristlock and pins Clark for 2. Clark comes back with a dropkick and a leg lariat. King grabs a headlock and hits a shoulder tackle. He misses a series of elbowdrops and Clark hits armdrags. Clark puts on an armbar but King goes to the eyes to escape. King hits a bodyslam for 2. He hits a backbreaker for 2. He hangs Clark on the second rope and hits a spin kick from the floor. He puts on a chinlock and then hits a back elbow for 2. He goes back to the chinlock and hits a cartwheel kick for 2. Clark hits an armbreaker and puts on the Clark Bar. The referee breaks it up so Clark pins King for 2. He puts on the Joejigatame but King gets to the ropes. King hits a Manhattan drop and a clothesline for 2. He hits a blue thunder bomb for 2. Clark dodges a blind charge and hangs King’s arm on the top rope. He hits a springboard DDT and King bails. Clark dives out onto him and rolls him back into the ring. He goes for the handspring moonsault but Madison hits a cheap shot and King capitalizes with the Burning Hammer for the win at 12:46. This never captured my imagination and had the same cheap finish as the match before.
Rating: **¼
Erick Stevens runs out after the match, and even though he’s favoring his arm he still scares off the YRR. He gets on the microphone and announces that Strong has recruited him onto Team Strong. Seth Delay runs out from the back and drags Chasyn Rance to the ring for a match.
VS.
The match starts with brawling on the floor. Rance runs from Delay until Delay hits him with a somersault plancha for 2. Delay blocks a blind charge but Rance comes back with a faceplant. That actually looked pretty botched. Rance puts on a chinlock but Delay escapes with a back suplex for 2. Rance sends Delay to the floor and damages the wall by throwing Delay into it. Now I’m just thinking that the wall isn’t sound. Back in the ring Delay get a sunset flip for 2. Rance chokes Delay in the ropes and distracts the referee so that Daffney can get a few shots in. Rance hits a leg lariat for 2. He goes to the eyes and gets a roll up for 2. He hits a bodyslam and an elbowdrop for 2. He puts on a seated abdominal stretch but Delay escapes with a hiptoss. Rance hits a kick to the face for 2. Delay goes for a sunset flip but Rance sits down and grabs Daffney’s hands. The referee catches it at 2 and kicks Rance and Daffney apart. See, THAT’S where that works. Had Rance been grabbing the ropes the referee should have forced Delay to break his hold, but since he was illegally grabbing Daffney’s hands it was more justified for him to kick those hands away. Maybe someone is finally listening to my complaining. More likely not. Delay hits a leaping forearm and a back bodydrop for 2. He hits a forearm in the corner and a Samoan drop for 2. Rance hits a kick to the face and loses his shirt before pinning Delay for 2. Delay comes back with the Edge-O-Matic for 2 when Daffney puts Rance’s foot on the ropes. Delay goes after Daffney which gives Rance the opportunity to roll him up with a handful of tights for the win at 8:49. Jared David is disgusted but it’s really Delay’s fault for going after the manager in the first place.
Rating: **½
VS.
Every time there is a big shake up in FIP they do one of these big elimination matches. This time it’s because Roderick Strong won the FIP Heavyweight Championship. Last time was at the first Evening the Odds because DP Associates were getting out of hand so Strong put a team together to shut them down. That show still hasn’t been released but has been “Coming Soon” for over half a year. FIP really needs to release it or take it off the DVD page altogether. Primeau and Danielson start. Danielson easily powers Primeau to the corner. Primeau chops Danielson down and hits a hurricanrana. Hagadorn tags in and gets rolled up. Primeau puts an armbar on him and tags to Strong. Strong stays on the arm and hits a leg lariat for 2. Mark tags in and hits a vertical suplex for 2. He hits a side Russian legsweep for 2. Jay tags in and runs into a boot. Shingo tags in and puts on a chinlock. Jay escapes with a back suplex. Stevens tags in and is unable to bodyslam Shingo. Madison tags in and hits a bodyslam. Danielson tags in and runs into a Manhattan drop. Strong tags in and keeps Danielson from tagging out. Jay tags in and they hit a double shoulder tackle. I wonder if that made Mark jealous. Jay puts on a chinlock but Danielson goes to the eyes to escape and tags out. Hagadorn runs into a dropkick and Jay tags to Mark. Mark hits a leg lariat for 2. Hagadorn hits a running knee and a vertical suplex for 2. Madison tags in and gets backdropped. Primeau tags in and hits a hiptoss. He hits a dropkick for 2. Everyone rushes into the ring and brawl to the floor. Richards pairs off with Strong, finally seeing some action. In the ring Hagadorn hits Primeau with a foreign object. Primeau fights back hitting a dropkick on Hagadorn and the stunner on Danielson. Madison runs in and hits a clothesline on Primeau. He follows up with a Tenzan Tombstone Driver to eliminate Primeau at 10:55.
Stevens runs in and takes Madison down. Shingo pulls Stevens off and goes after the arm. Hagadorn tags in and puts on a wristlock. He stomps the arm and Stevens bails. Back in the ring Madison hits him with a shoulder breaker. Stevens counters a second shoulder breaker to a roll up to eliminate Madison at 11:53. Things break down again and Richards immediately goes after Strong. Before he goes to the back Madison rams Stevens’s shoulder into the post and Danielson eliminates him with the crossface chicken wing at 12:49. The champions regroup and rush the ring. Richards puts Mark down with kicks and tags to Hagadorn. In a nice touch Richards gets the referee’s attention when his own teammates are cheating, not wanting to see Mark Briscoe get screwed. Hagadorn hits Mark with a knee to the gut. Danielson gets some cheap shots in on Mark and Richards gets upset. Shingo tags in and hits a vertical suplex for 2. Danielson tags in and gets forearmed down. Strong tags in and knocks all his opponents down. He hits a dropkick on Danielson. Danielson comes back with a knee to the gut. Strong hits a chinbreaker and an enziguiri. He hits the tiger driver to eliminate Danielson at 16:00. Richards comes in and hits a bodyslam on Strong. He hits a second rope legdrop for 2. Hagadorn tags in and gets hit with a backbreaker. Strong puts him in the Stronghold to eliminate him at 17:28. Shingo hits a gutbuster and a DDT on Mark for 2. He puts on a crossface but Mark escapes. He chokes Mark as Richards shouts for him to stop. SO COOL! Shingo hits a low blow and a clothesline. Richards won’t hit a cheap shot and it ends up getting Shingo eliminated after the Briscoes’ powerbomb/neckbreaker combo at 19:25.
Richards knocks all the champions to the floor and dives out onto them. Back in the ring he hits Strong with a swinging DDT for 2. The Briscoes hit Richards with a guillotine kneedrop. Strong hits a bodyslam and an elbowdrop for 2. The champions triple-team Richards in the corner. Strong and Jay hit a powerbomb/falcon arrow combo and Mark follows up with a springboard senton for 2. Richards fights off the Briscoes but Strong catches him with a roll up for 2. Richards counters the Stronghold to a roll up for 2. He hits the handspring kick but Strong comes back with the uranage backbreaker. The Briscoes finish Richards off with the spike Jay Driller at 23:16. I really liked that Stevens continued to sell the arm in this match. I also like that the babyface on the heel team didn’t get tagged in by his teammates and for most of the match only went for Strong. In the end it was the conflict between Richards’s obsession with Strong and his desire to play by the rules that got him destroyed by the three champions at the end of the match. As weird as this is to say Richards’s performance alone made this my favorite FIP match to date, and passed that there was some good action thrown in.
Rating: ****¼
The 411:
While most of the show is below average there are two things that make this a must have DVD. One is Erick Stevens and his amazing selling throughout the show. The other is the magnificent booking of Davey Richards as the reluctant tweener who can’t get the hang of his new lot in the company. This gets my highest recommendation of a FIP show so far because of those two factors alone. You can pick up this DVD at ROHWrestling.com or FullImpactpro.com. Also, please write FIP and demand that the original Evening the Odds finally be released. After seeing the main event of this show I just can’t handle not seeing the original 10-man elimination match.
