FIP in Crystal River, October 3rd, 2009

[Blair Russell]

As always, this review features the opinion of only me.

Featuring an increase in references to Care Bears.

(Written Before The Show)

I don’t really have anything to say about this promotion before the show, except that I’m excited for the show, so I’ll talk about another fed here instead.

In the past few days there has been much controversy concerning a thread about WXW and its policies. From what’s been presented I’m certainly surprised by some of it, but nothing’s been said from the other side about the matter (nor should they really say it in public) so I don’t know what the truth actually is.

IMO, worse than what’s been alleged is the fact it was made public in the first place! Why should any schmoe on the Internet know this? I shouldn’t even know crap like this. But of course, I shouldn’t be surprised at the idiot who started the thread and shared something that the person who gave him that info may not have even wanted to make public. When this guy got called out for being a shit-stirrer and his response was, “Oh, I’m being an Internet Reporter now!”… talk about ridiculous. I mean, you can’t switch from “in the business” to “Internet reporter” at the drop of a hat and be both at the same time! You’re just a shit-stirrer, and you certainly succeeded at that. The rest of the thread is filled with people sniping at each other and MSL butting in and adding nothing at all to the discussion besides a bunch of hogwash, and let’s just move onto this event… oh wait, I do have to address one thing mentioned in the thread. The Chicago indy fed Windy City Pro Wrestling, which has been around since the late 80’s (!) had a policy where its talent didn’t really wrestle anywhere else besides that fed. At least that’s how it was in like 2003, but after that they allowed their guys to wrestle in more places. I don’t know how it is now as I don’t really follow the Midwest scene anymore and haven’t for a few years but Windy City is still around.

(Written After The Show)

This was a long but very memorable show. The crowd ended up being at over 300; I wasn’t sure how it’d be given that it’s college football season but the Gators didn’t play this weekend and the only major Florida team to play Saturday night was the Miami Hurricanes, although that was a big game and to my surprise they won that.

For the first time since February, the Internet personality known as Big D was in attendance. You can read his take on the show here.

The show started at 8:11 instead of 8, but that’s par for the course at indy shows around here.

1. Caleb Konley defeated QT Marshall. This was a good opener. I was surprised to see QT here as he wasn’t announced for this beforehand. The crowd didn’t like QT’s getup or how he was wearing pink. People were cat-calling him and the kids in front of me (who were pretty damn awesome, by the way; yes, me praising kids instead of ripping on them and saying horrible stuff about them) said that he was “Tinkerbell” and even a Care Bear! Yes. I didn’t realize that they were still around. I mean, I remember them from when I was a real young kid and that’s the mid 80’s. As for the match, it was a standard match where Caleb dominated the opening minute or two, QT controlled things, then Caleb made the comeback and got the win.

2. Bruce Santee defeated Slyck Sleazy. Remember, Sleazy is known as Sam Shaw in Vintage Wrestling, so I’m surprised MikeWG or someone like him haven’t commented yet that this bout was between the Pro Wrestling Riot Heavyweight Champion (I’m sad the fed appears to be defunct now) and the Vintage Wrestling Florida Heavyweight Champion. Slyck wore the same green pimp outfit he had on at the Vintage event a few weeks ago. You had technical wrestling from Bruce early on and even some comedy as before a move, he did the Soulja Boy dance! I kid you not. Maybe it was a nod to Mister Saint Laurent, as one of his favorite artists now is Soulja Boy, which should erase any credibility when it comes to his music “career”, although given that he’s only performed this year in front of like 10 people per concert, “career” is being awfully generous. Anyway, Slyck took over for a bit but Bruce made the comeback and he eventually got the win with his Big Dump finisher. The main thing I remember from this is an insult hurled at Slyck after the match as he walked to the back. Some guy in the crowd (I don’t know if he was Statler or Waldorf) stated “Not too bad… for a gay guy!” Dammit, why can’t I be as funny as the people in this crowd?

A few minutes was spent fixing something with the ring. In particular, a board was sticking up, so needless to say it was something they needed to fix right away.

3. Dark City Fight Club (w/ Leva) and Shane Twins (w/ Ron Niemi) fought to a no contest in a Grudge Match. This was a pretty good contest. I’m not quite sure what the rules were, as the first two or three minutes of the match was all four guys fighting at the same time and referee Josh Rich did nothing to try and get things under control. Suddenly it turned into a regular tag match, so I don’t know what was up. And I know that Josh will get pissy and write something negative about me on MSL’s toady board just because I playfully jibed at him again. But anyway… once it settled down, the DCFC had control for a bit but then the Shanes took over and they isolated Korey Chavis in their corner and yeah, Niemi did some shenanigans outside of the ring. Jon Davis was able to tag in and he was a house of fire. Suddenly, all four guys brawled to the back and Josh Rich called for the bell and ruled this a no-contest. Don’t worry, Josh, I won’t bash you for making that ruling as hey, it was correct, IMO.

Intermission time. This was the first of two, as the second one would be to set up the steel cage for the main event matches. This lasted 11 minutes, and you had people getting concessions and Brad Attitude was out there signing autographs and all that. So, I’ll take the time to mention here that a spectator at this event is a lady I’ve mentioned before and yet have never seen in person until this event. Isis and some random guy were here. In case you don’t remember, she’s a CCW personality who has wrestled before and is best known for being billed as being SIX FOOT TEN. Yes, almost 7 feet tall. After seeing her in person and having her walk by me, I have no trouble at all believing that she’s around that height. Unfortunately, I heard some random people make crude comments about how tall she is (as if she’s a freak or something) and that makes me feel bad as I’m sure throughout her life her height has been a target for insecure people. But anyway, one of these days I hope to see her wrestle.

4. TJ Perkins defeated Sal Rinauro (w/ MSL). This match and the next one were qualifiers for this year’s Jeff Peterson Memorial Cup, set for November 20th and 21st. Before the match, a more rotund-looking MSL got on the mic and bragged about the YRR and yada yada yada. This was quite good. Sal stalled and stalled, and like the good old days, the crowd called him a chicken and he did chicken mannerisms. Awesome. Also awesome was TJ’s wrestling and how quickly he moved. Sal took over and wore down TJ with various moves, and the crowd started to get behind Perkins, who made the comeback. MSL, who interfered earlier, tried to do so again but this time he was thwarted. TJ ended up getting the win with a submission hold, and the crowd went wild. Some girls even screamed for TJ as if his name was-say-Edward Cullen, and I’m totally embarrassed to admit that I even know and recognize that particular name.

5. Chris Jones defeated Chasyn Rance (w/ MSL). Yep, the YRR lost both matches, which I didn’t expect. I don’t know if that’ll lead to anything or not but anyhow, the main thing I remembered from this bout was how Chasyn and Mister Saint Laurent got angry at the two kids in the front row whom I referenced earlier. They hated Rance and MSL so they hated him back and constantly said stuff to them and pointed at them when Chasyn was doing well, and it was all great as the tykes really got worked up. It was a nice back and forth affair. As mentioned in D’s review, MSL was a cheater cheater pumpkin eater and bodyslammed Jones on the outside while referee Josh Rich was distracted. Jones made it in by 19 so he broke the count of 20. Now, of course I knew that for title matches it was a 20 count but I only have very faint memories of a change in rules for the fed that all matches would follow this; I say that it’s faint as I may even be mistaken there and it’s just something I imagined and it was just a rule done for these special circumstances… but at least Mr. Rich did state as they were fighting on the outside that it was a 20 count, so at least on that side of the ring there wasn’t much in the way of confusion. Jones ended up winning and Rance went to the back. MSL was inconsolable as he remained at ringside (as hey, that’s a great way to hog the spotlight) and you may think he was crying but from what I saw, it looked like he was laughing instead! Judging from the past, I’ll say that Jared David was laughing here. Good job, buddy.

We had Cowboy Ron Bass come out and he mentioned all the matches he had in the old Championship Wrestling from Florida and then put over the talent in FIP and stated that someday they may be on the big stage. Out came Heartbreak Enterprises and they berated Bass for being “an old man” and not only stated that they had a new valet (Amy Vitale) but they went to the lawyers and had an injunction so Heartbreak Enterprises could remain at ringside for this bout, going against the stipulation that was announced for this match. Out came Brad Attitude and the next match was about to start but Brad asked Bass to remain at ringside so the odds would be a little more even and he agreed.

6. Brad Attitude (w/ Ron Bass) defeated Rhett Titus (w/ Heartbreak Enterprises) to win the FIP Florida Heritage Title. This was a quite good contest, although some of that has to do with the outside of the ring antics of Heartbreak Enterprises and Ron Bass. Heartbreak tried to cheat but Bass would prevent it. A memorable moment (as odd as it may sound) was when Sean’s pants dropped and you saw that he had on a pair of gym shorts on over his briefs. What a sight. Brad had the early advantage and grabbed the Testicular Claw (!) on Titus and then lifted him up for a press slam. But, Rhett took over for a few minutes. Brad made the comeback and I wish I remembered more about this match but alas… I can tell you that Rhett wasn’t as “thrusty” or swiveled his hips around that much. No attempt at the Sexy Suplex either. Stuff happened and Attitude won the match and the title, making the crowd very happy. He and Ron celebrated but were blindsided. The good guys made the comeback and Bass challenged Sean Davis to a bullrope match at Night 2 of the JPMC in the same building on November 21st.

The second intermission was here. It took like 20 minutes for the cage to be built. So, I’ll take this time to mention that the people who ran the music on this night… really, hearing some of the same songs THREE times during the time I was there… unacceptable, totally unacceptable. Even if I’m the only one in the world who feels that way, I just had to say it. I’ll blame it on MSL’s butt-sniffing buddy New Josh, whom I saw spending time at the music area.

I’ll also say something about KK Ramone, who in another thread on WG’s board caused controversy concerning a dispute that he and Michael Patrick had after a recent match. Things seem to be fine now between the two, but me and other people on that board were turned off by his attitude and how he was heeling it up and insulting Patrick in that setting. Talk about disrespectful. Show some more class and reverence to your elders in the business, you know, and I’m not even “in the business” and common sense and following things for years makes me realize that. The way he acts, the fact that I had never even come across his name before this thread and his wrestling ability in what I’ve seen on YouTube… yeah, I’d rather not even think about this guy. It’s just depressing, you know, and even worse was MSL’s post in the thread where he-as he always does-exposes the business and takes a shit on it at the same time. He should be banished from it forever along with KK but let’s get back to this review…

7. British Lions defeated Erick Stevens-Roderick Strong to win the FIP Tag Team Titles in a Steel Cage Match. This was a great bout. Heartbreak Enterprises weren’t out there, at least not until the end… as the Lions came out as the challengers, Erick and Roderick ran out and blindsided them, so the first few minutes they brawled on the outside and all four guys went back and forth and amongst other things you had the trademark “ouchie” chops from Roderick. Eventually they made it back to the ring… well, the Lions and Roderick did. Erick was kept outside by having his head slammed into the cage door. Whenever the now-bloody Stevens tried to get in there, he was thwarted a few times. Finally, he got in there and I saw that he was gushing blood from his forehead. I mean, it wasn’t as bad as that match in Crystal River he had a few years ago with Steve Madison, but it was still a lot of claret lost, you know. Once all four guys were in there, it was great stuff, with big moves, people getting flung into the cage, and all that. The key thing was that Roderick tried to do his flying boot to the face move but accidentally hit Erick instead. So, a few minutes later they were going to do another double-team move and it looked to be the time for them to win but out of nowhere Erick clotheslines Roderick and after a Doctor Bomb he left the cage. You heard some boos but the crowd in general was just in shock that this happened, as it came out of nowhere. The Lions were even confused but then realized that they could make the pin, so they did.

After the match, Heartbreak Enterprises hit the ring and they attacked Roderick (who during the match legit did something to his left arm. Judging by what I saw after the show, I don’t think it’s too serious a malady he suffered during the match, but after it happened he clearly was favoring that arm) but Tommy Taylor refused to do so. Finally, he attacked Heartbreak and they scurried out of the ring and left in there were Strong and Taylor. Tommy tried to give his newly won belt back to Roderick but he refused as his team still won the match.

8. Davey Richards defeated Kenny King to retain the FIP World Heavyweight Title. This was another great contest. They waited until they were both in the ring to fight, but it didn’t mean that there wasn’t any outside of the ring stuff… King dominated early on and you even had Richards play a cowardly heel to the point that he kissed Kenny’s boots, but it was to no avail. He eventually got tired of the match and escaped the cage by climbing over the top to the floor. Well, Kenny did the same thing and they brawled to the merchandise table, where King powerbombed him onto the table. They made it back to the ring, but not before Kenny brought in a small table and some chairs. Davey was powerbombed onto the table but still, King couldn’t win the match. After that it was a back and forth affair where they both used big moves, Richards had some hard strikes and he was able to lock on several submission attempts, to no avail. The turning point was when Heartbreak Enterprises ran out (including Sean, now wearing only his gym shorts, briefs, and wrestling shoes) and they distracted ref Frankie Gastineau (who for some reason was hated here for the entire show. After this, they’ll *really* dislike him) and thus he missed Richards tapping out. Things continued and the ending was Kenny setting up a quartet of chairs up (as if he was setting up the chairs for a card game, to quote someone in the crowd) and he tried to do a move but Davey was able to get out of it and he got the win after he powerbombed King onto said chairs.

Overall, this 3 and ½ hour show was long, sure, but I definitely enjoyed it. The last two matches sent it over the top. To note, the four men representing FIP in the JPMC is Chris Jones, TJ Perkins, Brad Attitude, and Davey Richards. The other twelve men will be from AAW in Chicago (a fed I did see a show of in 2004 before I moved to Florida, but they changed a lot from then to now), Hybrid Pro from Ohio, and Combat Zone Wrestling, a fed that I strongly dislike personally but at least they do have some wrestlers in the fed that are qualified to be in a tournament like this. I’ll be eagerly awaiting the tournament late next month.

My next wrestling show review… who knows for certain. I don’t know when I’ll write something new next either. But, check back at the usual places once in awhile to see if I have something new posted.