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FULL IMPACT PRO DVD REVIEWS

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*** Official OWW.com FIP DVD Reviews by Brad Dykens ***
July 7, 2006 - HEAT STROKE (NIGHT #1) - Inverness, Florida

The first night of FIP's hottest weekend of the summer started with the arrival of Steve Madison, Chasyn Rance and Shingo Takagi who have named themselves YRR; for Young, Rich, and Ready for action! Dave Prazak made an appearance and said YRR is a force to be reckoned with in FIP and offered them spots in DP Associates. Steve Madison declined, so Prazak offered to trade a room full of hired prostitutes in exchange for Shingo Takagi's services. Steve Madison and Chasyn Rance accepted the deal and ran off get some sexually transmitted diseases. Dave Prazak said Homicide would have to prove himself in a match with Shingo Takagi before he got an FIP Heavyweight title shot against American Dragon. I guess he didn't have a rematch clause.

The opening bout involved two fan-favorites trying to pick up a much needed victory to climb up the FIP ladder of success. It was former Tough Enough contestant Kenny King facing the masked Canadian Cougar (aka Tony Kozina; but you didn't hear that from me!). It was Kenny King getting the win after a blatant low-blow and a Burning Hammer finisher ( 7 / 10 ). Looked like they were trying to turn King heel, but the fans didn't play along - they actually cheered the low-blow!

In triple threat action, So-Cal Val led her man Kory Chavis into battle against Alex Porteau and Sal Rinauro. I was under the impression Val dumped Chavis on the last show, but I guess she gave him a second chance. Some of the people in the audience must have been privy to some inside information because they chanted "Val's got herpes!" as she made her entrance. I don't care if she has herpes, it would be worth it! Alex Porteau managed to win the match ( 6.5 / 10 ).

DP Associates came out to the stage and American Dragon riled up the fans by insulting them with all the usual southern zingers. Dragon talked about his match with Colt Cabana and said he would prove why he's the best wrestler in the world! Homicide's music played for his match with Shingo Takagi and American Dragon said he has stuff to do and ran away like a coward!

Homicide vs. Shingo Takagi; now thing is the type of match that I can sink my teeth into! Homicide wrestles differently in Full Impact Pro. He is very playful with the kids in the audience and does a lot more southern style wrestling. Of course there was some strong style in this match too, but definitely not your typical Homicide match. Shingo Takagi won the match after distraction from B.J. Whitmer at ringside ( 7.5 / 10 ). Davey Richards ran down and they went directly from one match into another without missing a beat.

Davey Richards vs. B.J. Whitmer is another match-up that excites me very much. Just like the previous match, this one had a lot of southern influence but included a lot of strong style tactics. I'm sure the wrestlers enjoy going to different territories so they can wrestle different styles and improves their skills. After going back and forth with some pretty intense grappling, Davey Richards made B.J. Whitmer tap out to win by submission ( 8 / 10 ).

Steve Madison and Chasyn Rance came out bragging about scoring with all of Dave Prazak's hired prostitutes backstage. Rance was then confronted by his former tag team partner Seth Delay. Rance and Madison attacked Delay until Erick Stevens made the save and started a tag team match. Steve Madison and Chasyn Rance defeated Erick Stevens and Seth Delay with help from Kenny King, thus completing King's heel transformation ( 7 / 10 ). The YRR is growing in numbers.

American Dragon defended his FIP Heavyweight title against Colt Cabana in a match that started off very slow, as both men were doing their best to stall for time and interact with the fans (hook, line, and sinker). It eventually boiled down to Dragon playing the cowardly heel until B.J. Whitmer jabbed Cabana's knee with a chair and Dragon won with a quick inside cradle ( 7.5 / 10 ). Davey Richards came out to help Cabana but he ended up getting beat up too, which led to Homicide coming out to save the day. Not your typical ROH style match they definitely went old school for this one.

The main event was a wild and rowdy Anything Goes match between FIP Tag Team Champions, Black Market, and the challengers, the Heartbreak Express. This feud is heating up and they have developed a unique chemistry with one another. They brawled in and out of the ring, through the audience and bounced each other off the walls while smashing various weapons over their heads. The most gruesome weapon used in this match was the dreaded cheese grater. It got a little bloody at the end and the match was pretty intense, but the finish was a bit weak ( 7 / 10 ). Black Market retained their titles but So-Cal Val vowed revenge the following night in Bushnell. That one should be "off the chain" -- literally!

Final Thoughts: I realized the one thing these FIP DVDs are missing is brief video clips to set up the matches. They could stand to show a little bit of the history before each of the more important matches. It may actually help sell other DVDs as well. For example, it would have been cool to build up the main event by showing a little footage from the Black Market vs. Heartbreak Express steel cage match from a few months ago.

If you would like to purchase this or any other Full Impact Pro DVD, please check out ROHwrestling.com - and also be sure to show your support by checking out www.fullimpactpro.com/ - Thank you!



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