Opening Match: "The Vanilla Gorilla" Mike Shane (w/Ron Niemi) vs. Brian "The Blade" Gamble.
Niemi promises Shane will go after Antonio Banks once he's done with Gamble. Gamble shows some martial arts stretches before the match, but Shane makes sure he doesn't get a chance to show off early. Shane controls with power moves but runs into a kick from Gamble. Gamble can't get anything going, though. Shane drops him on his head with an overhead uranage and finishes with the TKO at 2:25. Just a squash to get Shane over as a monster heel, which is a great idea because Shane vs. Banks is one of the first FIP matches I've actually anticipated. 1/2*
The Heartbreak Express vs. "The Black Nature Boy" Scoot Andrews & Ryze.
Scoot and his randomly selected partner Laduke Jakes upset the HBE last month at The Florida Rumble. No Jakes this month, but Andrews answers with Ryze, a 6-foot 10 inch Korean. Ryze is to FIP what the Great Khali is to the WWE. Ryze destroys them like some distaff Andre the Giant killing off Tito Santana and Jim Powers. Why on earth do I remember that specific match? Anyway, Scoot allows the Heartbreaks to work in their 69 spot and then tags in. The Heartbreaks get some offense in via doubleteam, but Scoot soon takes over again. Great ending as Ryze calls for Scoot to whip Sean into a chokeslam, and Sean is so scared of being chokeslammed that he stumbles back into a schoolboy at 8:22. Goofy fun, as per usual when the Heartbreak Express is in there.*3/4
"The Shooter" Vordell Walker vs. Seth Delay.
Vordell accidentally came up with a fun gimmick as the fans chant Li'l Jon catchphrases at him. This would be Delay's debut after coming over from NWA Wildside. Nulty goes through his tools of becoming a wrestling star (Strength, Resiliency, Agility, tanning lotion, and the phone number of the promoter's daughter – uh, yeah, I stopped listening at three). Most of them are really not necessary. Ultimate Warrior, for example, only had one of five. Delay botches a lot of stuff, and it's surprising he was brought back. Vordell finishes with a V Factor (spinning uranage) at 3:55. 3/4*
Puma vs. Azrieal (w/CM Punk).
Punk's reasons for being a heel sound disturbingly like the Columbine and V. Tech killers. Puma opens with his usually array of strikes. Azrieal hits a tope con hilo early. He can't put Puma away, though, so Puma is able to come back and work Azrieal's legs. He applies a modified figure-four leglock. Azrieal makes the ropes and hits a tilt-o-whirl backbreaker. Puma fires back with more strikes but takes a knee to the chest. Azrieal springboards back in with a reverse blockbuster. A German Suplex gets two for Puma and he goes after the Lasso from El Paso. Azrieal gets out and tries for the Electric Chair. That doesn't work so he tries a Majestral into modified Haas of Pain. Puma's in the ropes, though. Azrieal blocks a Super Tiger Suplex, which would have been legalized murder had it hit. He hits the Double Stomp, but Puma reverses his follow-up to a German Suplex at 10:03. After the match, Punk berates his man for losing and tells him to watch his match with Antonio Banks to see how it's done. Puma looked exceptional. **3/4
CM Punk (w/Azrieal) vs. Antonio Banks.
We'll probably be seeing this match in the WWE over the next few years. Banks wants to prove he's Ring of Honor-worthy. Punk stalls quite a bit and argues that Banks is pulling his hair. Banks wins a test of strength, and Punk stalls. This is Zbyszko-level stalling. Decent match follows. Banks messes up a kip-up, screwing up their timing a bit. Punk distracts the ref while Azrieal chokes Banks out on the outside. Punk controls with a chinlock but makes the mistake of trying to splash Banks, and Antonio gets his knees up. This is starting to remind me of Triple H vs. the Rock in 1998. Banks applies the Crossface, but Azrieal distracts the ref while Mike Shane runs down and slaps Banks in the face. Punk rolls up a stunned Banks for the win at 12:59. Very WWE-style match, and that's not necessarily a bad thing in this case. **1/4
Strong-Style Challenge: "The Master of the Backbreaker" Roderick Strong vs. Samoa Joe.
Joe was just coming off his long reign as ROH champion. Strong was kind of the odd man out of Generation Next at this point, especially since they already head two good technical wrestlers. He and Joe absolutely UNLOAD on each other with chops early. Joe hits STJoe to take the first clear advantage. Roddy hits a few hard chops, but Joe cuts his knees out from under him. Strong gets a nice rollup reversal of a lariat and gets two. A gutbuster knocks the wind out of Joe, but Roderick charges right into a snap powerslam. AWESOME! Joe works in the powerbomb-to-STF. Prazak heads out for his team's match, which is up next. Strong makes the ropes and hits a backbreaker for two. Joe catches him trying to slip over the shoulder and hits a DVD for two. The Island Driver winds up finishing Strong at 10:37. The fans chant, "That was awesome." Can't argue with that. This was a hard-hitting contest and easily the best match in FIP to that point. ***3/4
DP Associates (w/Dave Prazak) vs. Sal Rinauro & "Mr. 630" Jerrelle Clark.
Prazak promises tag team gold for Rave & Vegas. That's a bold statement, considering there were no tag titles in FIP at this point. Big brawl to start, and the babyfaces hit dives to the floor. A pretty neat little low-tech match follows as the heels cheat like bastards while Clark and Rinauro drop all that big spotty stuff in favor of aping Ricky Steamboat and Jay Youngblood with a series of armdrags. We see the downside of working a nightclub as Rinauro takes a big backdrop and catches his feet on the ceiling, causing him to land on his head instead of his back. He'd be okay. He's tough. He's a wrestler. In an impressive moment, everyone recognizes Sal needs a minute to recover, so Clark gets what would normally be the hot tag but gets jumped immediately to assume Rinauro's role as face-in-peril. Vegas misses a moonsault, allowing the hot tag. Clark cleans house, but the numbers catch up with him. Rinauro tries valiantly, but Jimmy Rave rolls through a sunset flip and boots Rinauro right in the face. That leads to Double Penetration (Pedigree by Rave with Vegas holding Rinauro's feet in a wheelbarrow). That's enough for the win at 14:53. I'm impressed that they were able to have a good match without resorting to a spotfest, especially considering Clark's reputation and Rinauro's greenness. ***
FIP Heavyweight Title: "The Notorious 187" Homicide vs. James Gibson.
Gibson had just left the WWE and had not yet appeared in ROH yet. Homicide is 180-degrees from his ROH character here, playing the babyface who enjoys technical wrestling rather than the psychotic thug who will set you on fire. Maybe Julius Smokes really is a bad influence. Neither guy really gains a big advantage for the first few minutes. It's mostly exchanging holds, which bores the crowed to the point where they're chanting that there are no chants. Gibson wears Homicide down with a figure-four headscissors and gets two off a backdrop suplex. Homicide comes back with an Ace Crusher out of nowhere. He unleashes a bunch of high-impact moves, including the Bridging T-Bone and the Northern Lariat. Gibson counters another lariat attempt to a swinging neckbreaker. Homicide crotches Gibson on the top and hits a superplex for two. Gibson counters the Cop Killa to a reverse DDT, but Homicide counters a second try to a brainbuster. Things get chippy as Homicide appears to load up his boot, but Gibson goes low. Homicide dodges a charge, though, and hits a lariat for the anti-climactic win at 18:57. If they're going to do this kind of unemotional babyface match, it needs to be lower on the card where they can still establish Homicide as a great wrestler and put on a hot main event (like, say, Strong vs. Joe). The match itself was fine from a technical standpoint, but there was no one to root for or against. **3/4
CM Punk and Azrieal jump Homicide after the match and offer Gibson a free shot. Like a good babyface, Gibson makes the save instead, taking out Azrieal and making it a fair fight. That allows Homicide to drag the cowardly Punk over to the mechanical bull and force him to ride it in one of FIP's more memorable moments.
The 411: One of the better outings from a wrestling standpoint. They have that down pat, but I wish they'd give the wrestlers a little more interview time, either backstage or out front, to establish more well-rounded characters. Good show from a wrestling perspective, though.
Thumbs up.
