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Full Impact Pro Wrestling Chasing the Dragon DVD Review
by
In June, Full Impact Pro Wrestling returned to action with a double shot that started in Inverness, Florida before moving on to their ‘Impact of Honor’ show. On this show, Shingo Takagi from the Dragon Gate promotion made his FIP debut. Also on this show, there was a six man elimination match to determine who would get a shot at the FIP title currently held by Bryan Danielson.
Commentary on the DVD is provided by Jared David and Dave Prazak.
Match Number One: Alex Pourteau defeated Kenny King
King gets the fans behind him at the start of the match while each man tries to feel out their opponent to get an early advantage. King tries to use the ropes for extra leverage against Pourteau but Alex is able to throw King down. Pourteau wears down King and he tries to work on King’s neck and back. King is able to block a move by Pourteau when Alex tries to work more on the back and that gives King the chance to get in some offense with a series of kicks. Pourteau swats away a missile drop kick by King and Pourteau hits a power bomb and a Fujiwara arm bar and King taps.
Match Number Two: Kory Chavis (with So Cal Val) defeated Ryan Drago
Drago gets the early advantage on Chavis as he uses mat wrestling to wear down Chavis. Chavis goes outside the ring to regroup and apparently it helped Chavis as he was able to fight off a series of forearms by Drago and he takes control with a hot shot. Chavis misses a charge into the turnbuckle and that allows Drago to hit a drop kick that sends Chavis over the top rope to the floor. Drago with a series of chops to Chavis followed by a clothesline. Drago hits a fisherman’s buster but he can only get a two count. Chavis blocks a Tiger Driver and he gets Drago up for a suplex, but turns it into a uranage for the three count.
Davey Richards comes out and he takes the mic. He reminds everyone that him and Jay Lethal defeated Jimmy Rave and Bryan Danielson the last time that they were in
FIP Champion Bryan Danielson comes out with Dave Prazak and Mr. Milo Beasley and Dave gets on the mic. He points out that Davey Richards has only been in FIP once and that he was in a main event only because he was someone’s tag team partner. He says that Davey Richards will have to do more than be someone’s tag team partner to get a title shot.
Roderick Strong comes out and he takes the mic and he says that he has been in FIP since day one. Everyone knows that it is his destiny to hold the FIP title. Colt Cabana comes out and he has something to tell Bryan Danielson. He reminds Danielson that he will be wrestling Bryan Danielson for the Ring of Honor World Title in
Danielson gets the mic and he says that the idiots in
Steve Madison comes out with his International Hired Assassin, Shingo Takagi.
Match Number Three: Shingo Takagi defeated Erick Stevens
Takagi and Stevens start off with a test of strength and Stevens gets the advantage. Stevens and Takagi exchange forearms and then Stevens sends Takagi out of the ring with a shoulder tackle. Takagi and Stevens briefly battle outside the ring. The action returns to the ring and Stevens works on Takagi’s arm and neck. Takagi wears down Stevens and he mixes power moves as well as submission holds on Stevens, but Stevens fights back.
After the match, Madison and Takagi attack Stevens and they hit a spike piledriver on Stevens before leaving the ring. Davey Richards, Roderick Strong, and Colt Cabana come to the ring to check on Stevens and help him to the back.
The Heartbreak Express comes out with their manager So Cal Val to address the fans, but they are not their usual fun loving selves. Val takes the mic and she says that it is bad enough that the Heartbreak Express lost their tag team titles, but they also destroyed her $4,000 Gucci purse. Sean takes the mic and says that their titles were stolen by those two stinking hooligans, Black Market. Sean says that it is not fair. The belts belong to them. If Black Market has the guts, they would put the titles on the line tonight.
Black Market comes out and they attack The Heartbreak Express and Murphy gets on the mic and he says that if they want a title match, they will have it.
Match Number Four: Black Market defeated The Heartbreak Express (with So Cal Val) by disqualification to retain the FIP Tag Team Titles
The match starts with all four men fighting on the stage. Machete fights with Phil Davis while Murphy and Sean Davis battle. While Machete and Phil fight to the ring, Murphy hits Sean with a trash can. All four men enter the ring with Black Market working over the challengers. Phil moves out of the way when Murphy charges at him and that allows the Heartbreak Express to take control. The challengers use double team moves to work over Machete. Kory Chavis comes out and he hits a sit out power bomb and the ref calls for the bell.
After the match, Murphy attacks Phil and Chavis but Sean hits Murphy from behind and then he hits a splash on Murphy while Phil and Chavis stretch Murphy. Machete returns to the ring with a chair and the Heartbreak Express and Chavis leave the ring. Machete gets on the mic and he says that it is not over. He says that there are new people who call the shots because they are the FIP Tag Team Champions. They will give the Heartbreak Express one more shot when they return to
Match Number Five: Fast and Furious (Jay Fury and
Both teams try to get the early advantage but Fast and Furious are able to take control of the match and work over Delay and Rance. Fury and Clark hit a series of their double team moves but
Before the next match, Sal Rinauro gets on the mic and he talks about how Spanky and Colt Cabana have helped him during his time in FIP and tonight he will become the FIP Heavyweight Champion.
Dave Prazak pushes Mr. Milo Beasley on the stage but he does not realize that there is no ramp so Mr. Beasley falls to the floor and Dave helps Mr. Beasley back into his wheelchair while the champion goes to the ring.
Match Number Six: Bryan Danielson defeats Sal Rinauro to retain the FIP Heavyweight Title
Before Rinauro and Danielson lock up, Dave Prazak gets on the apron to give some final advice to the champion. Rinauro is able to gain an advantage in the match and Danielson goes outside the ring to regroup and he hurts his foot when he kicks a chair at ringside. Danielson and Prazak get distracted by some fans at ringside who hurt Prazak’s feelings. Danielson leaves the ring to give Prazak a hug and then Mr. Beasley joins in with a group hug. Rinauro works on Danielson’s arm but Danielson is able regain control of the match, but that is brief as Rinauro gets the better of the champion. Danielson goes outside the ring and he has the referee check his tooth. Rinauro sends Danielson out of the ring numerous times with Danielson returning to the ring each time. Danielson tries to wear down Rinauro but the challenger keeps fighting back. Danielson sends Rinauro out of the ring and while the referee is distracted by the referee, Mr. Beasley hits a somersault senton from the apron and then he is helped back into his wheelchair by Prazak. Danielson takes some time to respond to the chants of some of the fans with a ‘sexy party’. Danielson misses a diving head butt from the top turnbuckle and that gives Rinauro the chance to get back into the match. Mr. Beasley shows the referee that he can walk and that allows Dave Prazak to interfere. That interference almost backfires as Danielson hits Prazak instead of Sal and Rinauro gets a two count. Rinauro tries for a sunset flip but Danielson drops down and he gets some moral support from Mr. Beasley for the three count.
After the match, while Bryan Danielson moonwalks to the back, Sal Rinauro rolls Mr. Milo Beasley into the wall.
Before the main event, Dave Prazak comes out and he has an announcement to make. Since the winner of the match gets a title match against Bryan Danielson, he has an insurance policy to prove that none of the men in the ring will get the title match. Prazak brings out Austin Aries. Aries gets on the mic and he says he was paid good money to do the dirty work for DP Associates, and that is to make sure that none of the wrestlers in the ring get the title match.
Match Number Seven: Colt Cabana defeated Roderick Strong, Austin Aries, Canadian Cougar, Davey Richards, and Steve Madison in an Elimination Match to become the Number One Contender for the FIP Heavyweight Title
The match begins with Aries sitting at ringside watching the action. After starting off the match, Steve Madison tags in Richards and then he takes a chair from ringside and sits away from the ring. Aries makes the blind tag but Cougar is able to avoid Aries. Strong, Cougar, Aries, and Richards fight outside the ring and then Cabana and
Strong and Cabana work together to work over Aries and Madison. Cabana appears to have things under control on Madison and Strong.
Erick Stevens comes out and he gets on the mic. He says that he might be injured, but he is not blind. He saw Steve Madison pull Roderick Strong’s tights. Roderick Strong takes the mic and he has a message for Steve Madison. He suggests that Steve Madison wrestle Erick Stevens when FIP returns to
Steve Madison gets on the mic and he says that since there are four men left in the match, why not make it an elimination tag match with him and Austin Aries against Davey Richards and Colt Cabana. The challenge is accepted and it becomes an elimination tag match.
Aries and Madison work on Richards’s neck while Cabana is kept out of the action by the referee. Aries with a knee drop to Richards, but he tries to do the same thing in slow motion but Richards moves and that allows Cabana to tag in and Richards almost eliminates Aries and Madison after a rocket launcher. After an Irish whip, Aries does his best Ric Flair imitation as he flips over the turnbuckle to the apron and then he goes up top but since he is a heel, he gets press slammed. Aries with a double leg take down and he gets eliminates Richards with some help from the ropes.
Madison and Aries try to use their numerical advantage but Cabana is able to avoid them and Cabana works over both men. Aries and
Aries and Cabana try to get the victory but they can only get a series of near falls. Cabana misses a charge into the corner but he hits a tornado snap suplex for the three count to eliminate Aries.
After the match, Danielson attacks Cabana, but Cabana is able to fight off the man he will face when FIP returns to
Chasing the Dragon Thoughts:
The match of the night was the six man elimination match. Even though it was a very good match, it seemed to be a better match live at the building. I liked the way the match was booked because you did not have anyone trying to break up the covers like you would in a match where the first pinfall wins the match. I have seen too many elimination matches where the other people try to stop someone from eliminating another wrestler despite the fact that keeping that wrestler in the match; you are keeping someone in the match who can eliminate you. I also liked the way that Austin Aries was added to the match because what better way to ensure that Bryan Danielson would retain the title than to have a member of the same group get the victory.
While you are able to see the things that the members of DP Associates do on these DVDs, it is definitely something to try to experience in person. The way that Bryan Danielson, Mr. Milo Beasley, Austin Aries, and the other members of the group interact with Dave Prazak is very entertaining. They epitomize the heel stables that were prevalent in the past.
During the opening match, the footage from the hard camera position made the ring look too dark. It was better during the other matches, but there were still some times when it was hard to see what was going on in the ring. There were also some times when the ringside camera shots were used when the shot appeared to be too close.
There were a few times when it was hard to hear the promos, and it seemed like it was easier to hear the wrestlers without the mics. One example was when Machete was on the mic after the Heartbreak Express/Black Market match and you could hear So Cal Val clearer than Machete, who was on the mic.
The DVD was approximately 2 hours and 20 minutes in length.
Full Impact Pro Wrestling returns to action on Friday, September 8, 2006 in
For more information on FIP DVDs, check out http://67.59.183.110/shoponline.asp?point=products&catid=217
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