Dark Pegasus Video Review: Full Impact Pro Unfinished Business Posted by J.D. Dunn on 06.19.2007
Joe vs. Strong II.
Full Impact Pro Unfinished Business by J.D. Dunn
So, the previous night at New Year's Classic, CM Punk and Azrieal attacked Homicide after a hard-fought title match. DP Associates were, again, victorious over their patched-together rivals. The Heartbreak Express suffered another heartbreaking defeat. And, finally, that Samoa Joe guy debuted and had a pretty damned good match with Roderick Strong.
January 8, 2005
From Tampa, Fla.
Your hosts are Mark Nulty and Dave Prazak, who spends the night hyping his "new monster."
Earlier today, Roderick Strong called out Samoa Joe and got bitch-slapped for his trouble. So we have a rematch.
Opening Match: The Heartbreak Express vs. "The Black Nature Boy" Scoot Andrews & Kahagas.
This would be the third different partner Scoot has faced the HBE with. He's 2-0, but Sean Davis swears up and down that the HBE is going for a 3-0 sweep. Sean takes a nasty bump on the snoot (technical terms here) and seeks solace in his brother's crotch. Comedy spot as Sean and Scoot do a criss-cross, but Scoot puts on the breaks and lets Sean continue running back and forth. You know what? Let him go; he needs it. Phil tries to convince Sean to stop, but they collide. Kahagas tags in and looks considerably more badass than usual. The HBE doubleteams Kahagas, and he plays face-in-peril for a bit. Nothing of note, really. Scoot gets the hot tag and cleans house, making Sean cry from a chop. Pretty funny. The Force of Nature (Pump-handle Thunder Driver) finishes Phil at 9:28. The HBE go 0-3 (despite Sean's math) against Scoot. Sean tries to give Phil CPR after the match. The HBE continues to be a fun jobber act. **
"The Modern Miracle" Steve Madison vs. Salvatore Rinauro.
At this point, Madison is basically Roderick Strong without all that pesky charisma. Sal misses a dropkick early, and Madison takes over on offense. Madison is solid but does nothing of note. Nulty points out that Madison was trained by Steve Keirn, which explains a lot. I mean, outside of chewing tobacco, did Skinner do anything memorable? Madison hits Sal with the Ax Bomber and finishes with a brainbuster at 7:40. Solid-but-unspectacular win for the solid-but-unspectacular Madison. **
Laduke Jakes (w/Dave Prazak) vs. Aaron Epic & Jaison Moore.
Prazak's intro for Jakes is so over-the-top with name-dropping that it's hilarious but not nearly as hilarious as Nulty's crying of, "NOOOO!" when he sees who it is. Jakes, by way of explanation, uses parts of the old Purple Haze gimmick, Abdullah the Butcher, and Kamala. Nulty begs for mercy, but Epic and Moore actually drop him with dropkicks to the knees and grab his fork. They stab him in the forehead, causing a gusher. That's about the extent of their offense. Jakes hits Epic with a DVD as Prazak grabs Moore's ankle to keep him from making the save. Jakes picks up the win at 3:29. It seems a bit counter effective to have your "monster" get busted open and need manager help against a pair of no-names, but Jakes' wound was appropriately disgusting. 1/2*
Puma vs. James Gibson CM Punk and Azrieal attack Puma before the match even starts. Gibson makes the save, thwarting Punk's plans for the second night in a row. Punk is so upset that he challenges Gibson to a fight with Azrieal.
James Gibson vs. Azrieal (w/CM Punk).
Gibson dominates, of course, until Punk tricks him into chasing him around the ring. Azrieal cuts Gibson off with a flying kick and takes over. Gibson powers out of a surfboard and drops Azrieal on his head with a backdrop. Gibson is a house of fire, hitting a reverse elbow for two. An enzuigiri misses, and Gibson gets two off a 3/4-Nelson Cradle. Gibson grabs the Dragon Sleeper, but Azrieal uses the ropes to reverse to one of his own. Gibson quickly counters to a neckbreaker, though. Gibson rolls Azrieal up for two and is about to finish with the Texas Cloverleaf, but Punk jumps him from behind for the DQ at 9:45. Punk tries to continue the beatdown, but Homicide returns the favor from previous night and saves Gibson. He proposes he and Gibson take on Punk & Azrieal. Azrieal actually looked respectable here. **1/2
#1 Contender's Match: "The Vanilla Gorilla" Mike Shane (w/Ron Niemi) vs. Antonio Banks.
Winner gets a shot at the FIP Title at Ring of Honor's "Do or Die" afternoon show. This one has been building for a long time, as both guys have been pushed as powerhouses. This is also one of the matches I've been anticipating the most just because it is so different and mid-eighties WWE. They trade a lot of blows early until Banks kicks Shane hard in between the shoulderblades. Shane has to take a few moments to recover from that one. Niemi trips Banks up, allowing Shane to hit a belly-to-belly suplex. Shane controls with power moves and looks like the big stiff he was eventually exposed as in the WWE. Banks slugs back and hits a back roundhouse kick for the anti-climactic win at 8:27. I was hoping for a little more. Didn't anyone else see Davey Boy Smith take on the Warlord all those times? Banks would go on to face Homicide at ROH's "Do or Die." *
Erick Stevens vs. "Cool" Seth Delay.
FIP has entirely too many of these plucky high-flyers. Stevens nearly ensures that there will be one less as he unloads a series of high-impact moves. Delay can't get out of the blocks early. He does hit a desperation flying knee and a huracanrana for two. He hits an awkward rollup counter, planting Stevens on his head for two. He tries a Victory Roll, but Stevens counters to a facebuster at 5:25. *1/2
"Fast" Eddie Vegas (w/Dave Prazak) vs. "Mr. 630" Jerrelle Clark.
Just to recap, Prazak offered both guys spots in DP Associates. Vegas accepted; Clark didn't. Clark controls with a Koji Clutch-style maneuver early. One fan in the audience gets really obnoxious by acting like a retard. It actually goes all the way back around to being funny because the guy is so persistent with it. Vegas hits a Kobashi Backbreaker and goes to work on the back. Clark slings himself up into a Victory Roll into a cross armlock, but Vegas is in the ropes. Vegas uses a Derailer to continue the back work. Clark misses a springboard kick and gets punted in the lower back. Clark comes back with a handspring moonsault for two. Prazak sacrifices himself to block the Clark Bar and takes a 619. It works, though, as Vegas is able to knee Clark in the back. Prazak gets in a few revenge shots on the outside before Vegas hits a German Suplex into a Dragon Suplex for two. Clark blocks a move on the top and hits a reverse top-rope rana. CLARK BAR! Of course, it's illegal, so the ref breaks it up. Vegas bails to seek advice from Prazak and winds up taking a tope con hilo. Back in, Clark hits a pump-handle facebuster for two. Prazak again interferes to save Vegas from a dropkick. Vegas can't put him away, though, and Clark comes back with a powerbomb to set up the 630-senton at 17:00. Clark has a lot of tools, but he hasn't been able to put them all together yet. Laduke Jakes returns and gives Clark the DVD. Vegas follows it up with a Tombstone as they try to put Clark out of wrestling. Oddly enough, no one makes the save. **3/4
Roderick Strong vs. Samoa Joe.
Strong lost to Joe the previous night and wasn't happy about it, so we get this rematch. Joe dominates on the mat and tortures Roddy with an abdominal stretch. They trade blows, which goes badly for Roderick. Joe misses a leg sweep and takes a dropkick right to the face. Strong fires away with chops but runs into the STJoe. Joe nails Roderick with forearms until Strong is spitting up blood. MANLY! The senton misses, but Joe roars back with forearms. Roderick ducks on and hits a backbreaker. Strong hits a chop but runs right into a snap powerslam. Joe grabs the STF, but Roderick is in the ropes. Joe goes for the Coquina Clutch, but Roderick steps behind him and rolls him up with a handful of tights to pick up the upset win at 11:53. Not quite on the level of their New Year's Classic match. Still much better than the usual FIP offering, though. ***1/4
"The Notorious 187" Homicide & "The Redneck Messiah" James Gibson vs. The New Dawn.
Before the match, Punk declares that he will not lower himself by entering a "No Holds Barred" match. Punk and Azrieal argue over who should start and, for once, Azrieal wins the argument. Punk stalls for several minutes and just tags Azrieal in anyway. Azrieal tags right back out. This goes on for quite a while. Finally, Gibson gets Punk and controls with a headlock. The babyfaces do a lot of doubleteaming, and Gibson tries to separate Azrieal's arm from his shoulder. Punk eventually goes low on Homicide, giving the New Dawn the advantage. Punk's dominance over Azrieal is so reminiscent of Chris Jericho and Ralphus. Homicide battles back but runs right into a belly-to-belly from Punk. Punk locks in an abdominal stretch with an Azrieal assist, but Homicide comes back with an Ace Crusher. HOT TAG TO GIBSON! The Redneck Messiah cleans house but gets jumped from behind by Azrieal. Punk and Homicide brawl all the way to the parking lot, which is par for the course for them. Gibson and Azrieal follow them out. Homicide backdrops Punk into the bed of a Dodge, setting off the alarm. Punk comes back with a double ax-handle off a Chevy, and they fight back to the ring. Punk hits Homicide with Welcome to Chicago but gets jumped by Gibson. Gibson locks in the Texas Cloverleaf on Azrieal, but Punk saves with the Shining Wizard. Homicide takes Punk to the floor for another brawl, which leaves Gibson to reapply the hold for the win at 25:59. Wild, chaotic clash that serves as a good counter-balance to Joe/Strong. This was just a fun brawl. ***
The 411: FIP seems to have finally hit its groove with a mix of goofy comedy on the undercard and hard-hitting action near the main event. The Strong/Joe series has finally given some weight to these cards.
Thumbs up.
