Full Impact Pro Friday - Unstoppable 2007
Entry posted by G. Badger
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If you are a fan of ROH's golden years then, I'm sure you have heard of Full Impact Pro wrestling. This was ROH's sister company in Florida that was used as a sort of feeder system for Ring of Honor to varying degrees of success. It doesn't seem like it was a gigantic hit based on the small amount of show/match reviews available online still. But, I don't know if this is really warranted. Many of the cards are pretty darn impressive with guys like Samoa Joe, CM Punk, Danielson, Roderick Strong and others appearing on many shows. Now in some cases they're up against local talent that would be mid card talent in ROH but, often these top stars would square off against one another. And i can't believe that these are crappy matches which I feel is/was most people's impression given the scarcity of information online. There is one site that has archived reviews which I have used as my guide in exploring the back catalog of FIP. Now, I'm aware that it has been revitalized in the past few years but, my interest is in the original incarnation when Gabe was booking ROH and I would guess FIP. Dave Prazak was a big heel manager there so, I think perhaps he had a hand in booking too. He did in ROH's women's wrestling sister company Shimmer. I'm rambling now...anyhow I'm going to start Full Impact Friday with my first FIP DVD that I got in a Highspots freebie -Unstoppable 2007.
Jack Evans vs Davey Richards - Lotsa fun watching Jack trying to not be killed by Davey. Nice arm work by Mr. Richards and a fantastic 450 move where Evans nearly destroyed DR. Very good match. The Florida fans love Jack!
Heatbreak Express vs Black Market - Now these are guys ROH fans like myself won't be familiar with but, are a big deal in the FIP world. The Heartbreaks are like mid 2000's Buddy Rose & Doug Sommers. This was a good concession stand brawl with all kinds of shit flying.
Erick Stevens vs Sal Rinauro - Sal was in under card matches in ROH so perhaps you'll remember him. But as a member of Young Rich and Ruthless (YRR) he's a little higher in the pecking order. Stevens you might know from ROH as well as his matches in wxw's 16 Carat from 2011 that I reviewed. To cut to the chase, this is FIP's version of Kobashi vs Ogawa. So when Erick gets his hands on Sallie Boy! Watch out! He's hitting like Nigel and Roddy. You may call BS on the finish but, a little bit of swerve is part of the charm with FIP. Its more like a JCP/NWA/early WCW promotion vs ROH being a version of NOAH or other puro group. I thought this was a great match.
Kenny King & Jason Blade vs The Briscoes - Yup it's that Kenny King! Alright! This should be good as long as Blade can keep up. And yes he does! This is full speed ahead stuff. Blade & King are YRR and they have their BS at play. Dem Boys are in full mid 2000s murder mode. I do think that the fast pace hurt the match some. There wasn't enough time to let everything sink in. Very good stuff nonetheless!
Roderick Strong vs Claudio Castagnoli - FIP title in a 2/3 falls match. This is a upper card match in ROH 2007 and they don't let the fans down. Claudio is jaw jacking with the crowd (he too is YRR) and Roddy is the wrestling machine we want. This was a very good to almost great match. I think they left a bunch on the table and the finish was too quick for my taste but, I still liked this match a good bit.
I got this DVD for free from Highspots awhile back and a can't complain at all. I'm not seeing it for sale on their site but, I'm sure its available elsewhere. It'd be a steal at $5 but, you wouldn't be wrong if you got it for a few dollars more. It was a blast of a show especially the stuff I reviewed here. I am looking forward to seeing more. My plan is to review a new FIP show every Friday.
Thanks for reading! I hope I find some more good stuff.
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