Last time out, CM Punk failed to beat Homicide for the FIP Title in a strip club. Insane Dragon turned on his partner, Jerrelle Clark, and joined Dave Prazak's DP Associates.
December 17, 2004
From Lakeland, Fla.
Your hosts are Dave Prazak and Mark Nulty.
Opening Match, The Florida Rumble:
It's the same as the Royal Rumble only with 19 guys instead of thirty and one-minute intervals instead of "whenever the hell we feel like it." The order of elimination determines the matches for the rest of the evening, and the winner gets a title shot at Homicide. The debuting James Gibson is #1. CM Punk comes down and announces he drew #19 and not #2 as was rumored. In fact, it was his lackey Azrieal who drew #2. Gibby dominates Azrieal until Scoot Andrews comes in at #3. They work in a bunch of contrived, three-man spots. Vordell Walker is #4. He cleans house on everyone and tries to eliminate Gibson. Scoot pairs off with Azrieal as Erick Stevens comes in at #5. Stevens isn't much more than fodder for Vordell.
Laduke Jakes is #6, doing sort of a "Papa Shango" gimmick. He just kind of wanders around for a while. Fabulous Phil Davis of the Heartbreak Express is #7, but the Heartbreak Express does everything together, so they don't care about singles titles. Phil challenges the first two guys who are eliminated to a tag match. Stevens and Jakes pair off. Mike Shane is announced as #9, which means that Sean Davis must have been #8? He goes right after Scoot and tosses him. There goes Jakes too, setting up the Heartbreak Express against Jakes and Scoot. It's easy to see why Vince fell in love with the Shane twins. There go Azrieal and Vordell. Gibson continues to brawl with Azrieal on the outside. Antonio Banks comes in and tosses Stevens, leading to a brawl between the two big guys.
Jimmy Rave is #11 and goes after Gibson who was still recovering on the outside. He sees Shane and Banks leaning against the ropes, trying to eliminate one another, so he just dumps them both. Kahagas is #12. He and Gibson go at it while Rave recovers from his brawl with Gibson. Rave's crony Eddie Vegas is #13. DP Associates pair off with Kahagas and Gibson. Oh, there goes Kahagas. That leaves Gibson at their mercy. Salvatore Rinauro is #14. He sends Vegas down with a rana and clotheslines Rave, but Eddie jumps him from behind. There goes Sal. Steve Madison is #15 and doesn't exactly live up to his reputation as one of the best in the Florida indy scene as DP Associates is able to jump him.
Jerelle Clark is #16, and now the tide starts to turn against Prazak's boys. Vegas boots Gibson to the floor, but Jamie goes through the middle ropes. Spanky is #17, making his FIP debut. Eddie goes up for a doubleteam move, but Clark wriggles free and kicks Vegas onto Gibson. Spanky gets knocked to the apron, but he lowbridges the ropes, eliminating Steve Madison. Roderick Strong is #18. He destroys Rave and Spanky with backbreakers. Strong crotches Rave on the top rope and kicks him to the floor. CM Punk is #19 and gets all "Ultimate Warrior" with his entrance. He charges Gibson, but Gibby just yanks down the ropes, sending Punk over for the "Bushwhacker Luke" stint. Spanky knocks Gibson out. Vordell tosses Strong but immediately gets sent out by Spanky. Spanky picks up the win and the #1 contender status at 20:47. It was too rushed and needed longer intervals. It looked like they didn't really book it to create more feuds the way some of the great Royal Rumbles and battle royals have been in the past. **1/4
Homicide comes out, congratulates Spanky on his win, and makes fun of the small turnout. Spanky says it's a big opportunity.
Antonio Banks vs. Erick Stevens.
Power match to start, and they exchange armdrags. Stevens knees Banks in the head and gives him a gutwrench suplex. Banks stops his momentum with a stiff clothesline and stops to argue with a fan over whether or not Monty Brown is, indeed, a bitch. Well, there's a natural feud for the WWE. Banks hits a big boot for two. They trade forearms until Stevens goes to the eyes. Banks punches Stevens in the gut and finishes with a roundhouse back kick at 4:56. Your basic squash. Banks looked good again, showing lots of personality. *1/2
"The Hardcore Giant" Mike Shane (w/Ron Niemi) vs. Kahagas.
Niemi puts his charge over by bragging about his 'roid use. Shane just tosses Kahagas around the ring to start. Kahagas tries a small package but gets neckbreakered. Another neckbreaker sets up the Camel Clutch sleeper. Nulty tries to needle Prazak about a feud with fellow heel Ron Neimi, but Prazak blows him off. Kahagas comes back with a Shining Wizard in the corner, but Shane blocks an O'Connor Roll and finishes with the TKO (called an F5 by the announcers) at 3:46. Another squash. 3/4*
"The Shooter" Vordell Walker vs. "The Suicidal Demon" Azrieal
Walker shows why he doesn't get much mic time with a rambling rah-rah promo. By the way, how much is Walker paying Nulty to give him the verbal fellatio on every disc? Azrieal takes him down with a headlock and tries a triangle choke. Vordell powers out and wins a battle of chops. A flying kick gets two for Vordell. Azrieal blocks a huracanrana and hits the double stomp for two. Azrieal takes over with a slingshot senton and a corner dropkick. Vordell comes back with a roundhouse kick right to Azrieal's face for two. Vordell blocks a Throwback attempt by Azrieal and finishes with a horrible 450-splash at 6:34. They try to sell Walker's finisher as a 450-kneedrop, but much like a 2-disc special edition of "Nell," I ain't buying it. It was okay other than that, though. *3/4
"Fast" Eddie Vegas vs. Salvatore Rinauro.
Eddie is extra cocky here, casually blocking a headscissors and knocking Rinauro around. Sal misses a swing and gets backbreakered. Eddie rakes Rinauro's eyes, and now they're both blind. He tries a backdrop, but Rinauro hops up on his back and delivers a legdrop to the back of his head. Rinauro hits a flying forearm, but Vegas blocks the Phoenix Fury Legdrop and hits Fisherman's Backdrop for two. Rinauro hits his Phoenix Fury Legdrop anyway, but it only gets two. He goes up, but Jimmy Rave runs down and trips him up. That allows Vegas to finish with the Moonsault Powerslam at 5:33. **
The Heartbreak Express vs. "The Black Nature Boy" Scoot Andrews & Laduke Jakes.
Lenny Leonard introduces Phil Davis as "Fabulous Frank." You know, if he used that free hand for holding an index card instead of playing pocket pool, he could avoid those kinds of mistakes. Even Scoot is creeped out by his partner. The mix-and-match team of Andrews and Jakes dominate Phil early. The HBE stop to argue with the crowd in between getting their asses kicked. Finally, Scoot misses a corner charge and plays face-in-peril. A big brawl leads to Jakes taking Sean out into the dining area and trying to kill him with a spare chair. Meanwhile, Scoot finishes Phil with the Force of Nature at 6:32. Not exactly an auspicious debut for the Heartbreak Express. *1/4
Jimmy Rave vs. "The Modern Miracle" Steve Madison
I think "40 Year-Old Virgin" ruined "Word Up" for me. Madison was trained by Steve Keirn (Skinner and occasional Doink the Clown) and Jimmy Del Rey. Surprisingly technical match early. Rave takes over and shows his vicious streak with a lot of choking and raking Madison's eyes on the ropes. Madison suddenly roars back with a schoolboy and a flying Ace Crusher. Rave rolls through a sunset flip and hits a knee to the face. Madison blocks From Dusk 'til Dawn and hits a brainbuster for two. He goes up, but Fast Eddie Vegas comes out of nowhere to crotch him on the top rope. That allows Rave to hit the Rave Clash for the win at 10:03. Sal Rinauro runs out and tries to get the ref to reverse his decision, so DP Associates attacks him. Jerrelle Clark makes the save. **
"Mr. 630" Jerrelle Clark vs. "The Master of the Backbreaker" Roderick Strong.
Both guys are babyfaces, but this match was created by the order of elimination. Clark controls with speed early but misses the Clark Bar. You can see Strong visually cue Clark to go after his arm, and damned if Jerrelle doesn't grab a hammerlock. Strong reverses a rana to a backbreaker and LAYS IN THE CHOPS! Strong assumes the heel role, choking Clark against the ropes and jawing with the crowd. Clark flips out of a backbreaker and hits a spinning kick. He actually starts hitting backbreakers and stretches Roderick across his knee. Unfortunately, he follows that up with a cross armlock, which is one of those "just because I can" moves. The ref breaks up the Clark Bar. Strong shows off his "freak retard strength" (courtesy: CM Punk) with a military press into the buckle. Strong misses a charge and gets hit with a Tornado DDT. Strong boots him right in the face and goes for a powerbomb, but Clark reverses to a rana for two. Strong misses another boot but catches Clark with a Cradle Backbreaker at 10:10. The finish was a bit abrupt, but both guys looked good. Strong puts over Clark after the match. **3/4
CM Punk vs. James Gibson.
This is a de facto #1 contender's match. Punk attacks Gibson during his entrance and chokes him out with his ring jacket. Gibson dodges a charge and focuses on Punk's arm. He twists Punk's arm behind his back and screams, "Kwit boeee!" Punk makes the ropes and takes over with a backdrop. A backbreaker gets two, as does a swinging neckbreaker. Gibson comes back with a flying crossbody for two, but Punk stays on top with the figure-four headscissors. Gibson reverses to a rollup for two but gets sent hard into the buckle. He hits a swinging neckbreaker for a double KO spot. Gibson gets two off a knee to the head, but Punk hits Welcome to Chicago. Gibson is wrestling from too far underneath here. Every time he gets something going, Punk cuts him off, and it gets repetitive. Gibson counters a cross armlock to a Texas Cloverleaf, but Punk makes the ropes. Punk misses a flying clothesline and gets ridden down into a Fujiwara Armbar, leading to a series of reversals that ends when Gibson rolls up Punk for a flukish win at 11:28. Got hot near the end, but the repetitive structure for the first 8-9 minutes kept this one from reaching its potential. **3/4
FIP Heavyweight Title: "The Notorious 197" Homicide vs. Spanky.
Homicide is in strong-style/lucha mode tonight instead of psychotic, Frank Miller villain mode. Well, he does toss a trash can in the ring early after he gets frustrated, but that's about it. He blocks a charge and drops a knee across Spanky's neck. Spanky tries to work the arm in between countering Homicide's moves with his speed. Cool spot as Spanky tries to snap Homicide's arm against his own chin. Homicide finally gets sick of that and just starts firing off his own moves. A Northern Lights gets two. A Tigerbomb gets two more. Spanky charges with a primal scream of "you motherfucker!" Nulty: "I think Spanky's starting to show a little frustration here." Spanky blocks an Ace Crusher and hits a thrust kick. That gets two, and Homicide hits a neckbreaker and piledriver for a dubious two. Spanky goes low (in full view of the ref) and hits Sliced Bread #2, but Homicide rolls to the floor before Spanky can get to him. Back in, Spanky rolls through a sunset flip into a seated dropkick. Homicide blocks another Sliced Bread #2, but he can't get him up for the Cop Killer. Instead, he settles for a Chimera-like submission hold for the win at 14:28. This was like a tale of two matches, with Spanky doing a good job working the arm for the first half, and then both guys forgetting about that and moving on to their signature spots and reversals. **3/4
The 411: Nothing spectacular here, but they did do a nice job of building up a show from the first match through the main event. The biggest problem I can find is that no one really gets a lot of interview time to set up characters or feuds. It's just a lot of "shut up, you stinkin' fans!" or "hey, let's give a round of applause to " Solid ring work earns this a mild recommendation, but these early FIP shows start to drag, even at only two hours.
