Back to looking at Highspots TV by taking a look at a series of matches from the older FIP.
Back before FIP was a part of the official WWN Universe, they maintained a close relationship because they had the same booker in Gabe Sapolsky and also used similar wrestlers. A number of interesting matches took place down in Florida between 2004 and 2005. In some cases, they were familiar matches to Ring of Honor fans, while in other cases, they were unique to FIP. It’s unbelievable to me that a match like Nigel McGuinness versus Shingo never happened in ROH. This was a fun look at some older matches for a number of reasons. Not that there’s anything truly special but anytime I can review a match involving Larry Sweeney, I’m going to take it.
FIP Heavyweight Championship: Bryan Danielson (champion)(w/Dave Prazak and Mr. Milo Beasley) vs. Roderick Strong (All or Nothing, 11.10.2006)
PBP: Anyone who doesn’t think Danielson can play the goofy heel or has a personality needs to watch Danielson’s entire FIP title run. This is actually a title versus career match and during a period when Danielson had a fairly serious shoulder injury. Headlock by Danielson. This is a rematch from earlier in the night when there was a schmozz finish. Strong applies a wristlock. Danielson grabs the top rope. Danielson stalls for a bit and then crouches. To the wristlock as Danielson continues to be cocky. Strong gets control, so Danielson heads to the ropes once again. Danielson goes back to the crouching. Strong finally slaps the champion. Danielson takes a break on the outside and gets checked by Prazak and Beasley. Danielson offers his hand. Strong responds by stepping on it. Series of right hands and a clubbering blow. Danielson crawls around, and we get Strong chasing him. The chase heads to outside the ring. Danielson with a boot back in the ring. atomic drop on the exposed bottom of the champion. Whip across and back drop. Danielson recalibrates one more time. Danielson with a shoulder block and lifter. Karate chops by the champion. Chinlock. Strong hip toss. Bodyslam. A second bodyslam and then a chinlock. Off the ropes and a shoulder tackle by Strong. Knee to the midsection by Danielson. Strong tossed out of the ring. Prazak lays in some shots. Beasley gets in some as well and even performs a flip of some sort. Vertical suplex back in the ring. Off the ropes and a knee to the midsection. Knee strike to the head on Strong. Beasley chokes Strong behind the official’s back. Off the ropes with a knee to the midsection. Elbow across the chest followed by a knee. Danielson comes off the top rope with a flying headbutt and misses. Blind charge misses. Danielson sent into three of the four corners. Whip across and dropkick. Strong hits a falcon arrow. 1-2-NO! Prazak grabs Strong’s foot. Danielson hits a superplex. Crossface chickenwing applied. Strong grabs the rope. Whip across. Roll-up for two. Another one gets two. Sunset flip. Danielson punches Strong right in the face. Rolling elbow turned into a uranagi backbreaker. Stronghold. Prazak climbs on the apron to distract the official. Right hands. Strong gets tripped. Danielson with a schoolboy and a hold of the tights. 1-2-NO! Crossface chickenwing. Referee raises his hands once…twice… Strong gets it up the third time. Gutbuster. Running boot. Everyone knocked off the apron. Sick kick. Gibson driver. 1-2-NO! Stronghold! DANIELSON TAPS! NEW CHAMPION!
Analysis: Maybe this wasn’t the high octane match you would normally expect from these two wrestlers, particularly given their tremendous in Ring of Honor at the end of 2005 and at Supercard of Honor earlier in this year. However, this was still a very good wrestling match with Strong playing the more traditional babyface and Danielson the shifty heel world champion who will do anything to retain. An interesting match to go back and reflect on given how much both have evolved since.
Winner (s)/Time/Rating: NEW FIP Champion-Roderick Strong /16:48/***1/2
Nigel McGuinness vs. Shingo (w/Dave Prazak and Milo Beasley)(International Impact 04.20.2007)
PBP: This is a weird match for a number of reasons. First, McGuinness rarely had any interaction with any of the Dragon Gate wrestlers even in Ring of Honor, so this is a very rare contest between these two. It’s also funny to think of all the FIP shows Shingo randomly wrestled on given his status in a huge Japanese promotion. Quick lock-up and they head into the corner. Shingo claims a hair pull because he’s a heel. Test of strength. McGuinness appears to get that advantage. McGuinness with a hammerlock and maintains control of the wrist. Shingo with a single leg. McGuinness goes for a cross armbreaker but settles for a hammerlock. Solid chain wrestling from these two men. McGuinness leg drops the arm. McGuinness drives his leg into Shingo’s arm. Shingo goes to the eyes and uses the Japanese flag on his opponent. Snapmare into a chinlock. Elbow across the neck. Fist drop. Leaping knee drop. Shingo with a cross face while a knee is placed in the back. McGuiness grabs the arm and guillotines it. Headbutt and McGuinness drives the arm into the mat. McGuinness with back heel trip that sends Shingo down by the arm. Headbutts to the shoulder. Shingo with a choke. Gutbuster and DDT. Leaping senton. Being that he’s a Dragon Gate wrestler, Shingo doesn’t even bother selling the arm. Prazak and Beasley attack McGuinness on the outside of the ring. Shingo goes after McGuinness. Shingo steps on McGuinness’s throat. Right hand to the back. Forearms back and forth. Shingo rips the eyes. McGuinness catches himself. Elbow and boot. Shingo lariat but that is no sold. McGuinness sends Shingo’s arm into the ring post. Back to the arm work. Over the head armdrag. European uppercut and double chops send Shingo into the corner. Running European uppercut. Fujiwara armbar. Prazak pushes the bottom rope for Shingo. Shingo puts his foot across the rope. Shingo sends McGuinness out of the ring. McGuinness shoulder block. Sunset flip. Shingo holds onto the ropes, but Paul Turner sees it. Series of jabs. Whip across. Charge misses. McGuinness with a kick to the back and then clothesline across the chest. Series of strikes. Manhattan drop and piledriver by Shingo. 1-2-NO! Forearm by Shingo. Jawbreaker lariat misses. LARIAT by Shingo. Made in Japan blocked. Lariat by McGuinness gets two. Beasley grabs the ankle. Shingo misses a chair shot and hits himself in the head. McGuinness locks in the Rings of Saturn. Shingo taps out quickly.
Analysis: This was more goofy than anything else. Very solid on the basic end of things but nothing to write home about given Shingo didn’t sell the arm work a lick. I could see why someone would be curious to see a match like this, but walk in with lower expectations and you’ll have some fun with this.
Winner (s)/Time/Rating: Nigel McGuinness/10:43/***
FIP Tag Team Title Match-Bar Room Brawl: The Briscoe Brothers (Jay and Mark Briscoe)(champions) vs. Necro Butcher and Mad Man Pondo (International Impact, Night 2 04.21.2007)
PBP: Similar to Danielson when he was the FIP and ROH world champion at the same time, the Briscoes were going in two very different directions as the ROH world tag team champions and the FIP tag team champions. This was just a case of putting the Briscoes in with a team who they could brawl with and fight as opposed to going 2-out-of-3 falls. Pondo and Necro attack with objects. Calling this is gonna extremely difficult. Needless to say there’s no mat work. Lots of punching, striking, and weapon using. Mark hits a spin wheel kick onto a Pondo. Dropkick sends him out of the ring. Jay brawls with Necro on the outside. Challengers gain a bit of control on the outside. Pondo snap suplexes Mark. Necro rakes the face. Mark sent head first into the edge of a table. Necro with a series of boots on Jay into the ring. Mark sent into the table by Pondo. Jay blocksa a bulldog. Drop toe hold sends Necro into the light tubes. Mark with an elbow to the back of Pondo. All four men outside once again. Pondo with boots and clothesline out of the corner. Necro is busted open. Pondo uses a golf club on Mark. Jay sends a chair into Necro’s face. Pondo brings a garbage can full of light tubes in the ring. Pondo hits Mark in the back with a chair. Jay sends Necro into the steel barricade. Jay with chops. Pondo climbs to the middle rope as Mark is on the top rope. Jay goes to work on Pondo and dumps him head first into the light tubes. JESUS! Jay turns his focus back to Necro. Right hands. Necro tossed over into a sea of chairs. Jay hits a springboard dive. Necro suplexed back first into the top of the barricade. OWWWWWW! Pondo sends Mark face first. Necro sends Jay into the rail. Necro wears Jay out with the rail. Necro begins tossing chairs at him. Pondo is busted open and has a staple gun. Necro does a chair slam on a now bleeding Mark. Jay hit in the midsection with a chair by Necro. Necro sends Jay back in the ring and tries using a light tube. Headbutt into the tube. Both men go down. Pondo hits Mark with a chair. Pondo sets a chair up in the ring. Forearms on Jay. Necro sets a table up. Side senton by Pondo gets two. Necro sends a table in the ring. Pondo has a cement block. Necro tosses a chair at Mark. Pondo nails the cinder block with a sledgehammer on Jay’s lower nut sack region. Well, that was repulsive. Jay, by the way, is also bleeding. Mark sent head first into the table. Pondo feeds Mark to his partner. Power slam through the table. 1-2-NO! Necro clears furniture out of the ring, so Pondo can set up another table in the ring. Tiger driver gets a long two count on Mark. Powerbomb but Jay saves his brother. Right hands. Necro blocks and kicks Jay in the face. Pondo works over Mark on the outside. Pondo punches the referee in the face. Powerbomb through a table on the outside of the ring. Necro did very little to protect him on that. Pondo uses a cheese grater on Mark. Pondo sets up a second table inside the ring. Pondo forks Mark. Necro sets up a third table outside the ring. Pondo piledrives Mark in the ring. A second official comes out and counts two. All four men on the outside of the ring. as everyone is a bloody mess, and the ring isn’t doing much better. Jay blocks a suplex. Mark with a kick to Necro. Baseball dropkick. Jay hits a death valley driver on Necro through a third table. Mark with a right hand to Pondo. Elbow to the back of Pondo’s head. Pondo seated in a chair. Mark pokes him with a chair. Mark walks out the side door as Jay continues punching Pondo. Jay gets some officials to help him stack tables. Pondo is on the top rope. Jay opens the garage door. Mark is on the top of a truck as Jay opens the door completely. Huge dive through two tables. Cover and three.
Analysis: A pretty epic brawl with a great ending spot. I loved the visual of Jay opening the door to reveal his brother on top of the truck. You’ll never see a brawl like this in either FIP or Ring of Honor. That’s probably a good thing given the amount of blood shed and risks taken. If nothing else, this was a very different type of Briscoes match and showed they could wrestle a violent, southern style as well. This wasn’t the death match style per se but something a bit toned down while still having all four men bleed and get a little violent.
Winner (s)/Time/Rating: STILL FIP Tag Team Champions- The Briscoes/19:28/***1/2
Roderick Strong (FIP World Champion) and Jay Briscoe (FIP Tag Team Champion) vs. Yamato and BxB Hulk (3rd Anniversary Show, 09.28.2007)
PBP: Both of the Dragon Gate wrestlers look fairly different as compared to now. Feeling out process between Strong and Hulk. Shoulder tackle by Hulk. Hulk armdrags Strong into the ropes. Dropkick and out goes the champion. Tag to Briscoe and Yamato. Back to basics with some basic stuff. Shoulder tackle blocked. Briscoe whips Yamato in the corner. Charge misses. Boot on Yamato. Exploder and boot. Hulk joins Yamato. Back elbows. Off the ropes again. Spinning leg lariat as Yamato holds onto Briscoe. Chinlock. Clubbering blows to the back by Yamato. Briscoe and Hulk go back and forth with forearms. Briscoe sent head first into the buckle. Forearms and chops. Briscoe comes back with some of his own. Whip and clothesline to the corner. Strong in with chops of his own. Bodyslam and elbow drop. Boot and clubbering blow. Back and forth they go. Hulk with another spin kick. Strong sent head first into the turnbuckle. Double shoulder tackle. Heat segment on Strong continues. Strong kicks Hulk away. Hulk with an elbow to the midsection. Back elbow on Briscoe. Standing flip. Strong and Briscoe regain the advantage. Strong with an elbow and clothesline. Double team neckbreaker by the FIP champions. Briscoe with right hands on Yamato. Bodyslam. Briscoe applies a stretch plum on Yamato. Yamato reaches the bottom rope. Strong with a series of strikes on Yamato. Backbreaker. Vertical suplex blocked. Yamato hits a spear. Hulk and Briscoe enter. Hulk goes to work with forearms on both men. Scoop slam on Briscoe. Dropsault into a moonsault. Hulk hits a dive off the top on Briscoe. Dive to the outside then. Strong sent back in the ring. Strong and Yamato with forearms. German suplex by Yamato. Superkick on Hulk. Exploder on Yamato. Briscoe with a boot as Strong holds onto Hulk. Strong clotheslines Hulk. Gutbuster right into the death valley driver on Hulk. Hulk barely kicks out at two. Yamato forearms Strong. Double release back suplex. Briscoe makes the save. Briscoe whipped. Elbow by Hulk. Forearm by Yamato. Fallaway slam. Hulk moonsault misses. Shooting star press. Pumphandle slam reversed. Briscoe hit a gordbuster.Briscoe to the top rope. Hulk with a spin kick. Dropkick to Briscoe. Strong elbows Yamato on the outside. Pumphandle slam by Hulk on Briscoe in the ring gets two. EVO is good enough for three.
Analysis: A solid tag team match that really never hit that third hear to really make it a classic. This was kind of a tough match to get in since neither side seemed interested in playing the heel role, so the fans didn’t really know who to cheer for at times. Hulk and Yamato have improved so much since this match, and their heel work would probably have played a big difference in getting to be better.
Winner (s)/Time/Rating: BxB Hulk and Yamato/15:57/***1/4
ROH World Championship: Nigel McGuinness vs. Larry Sweeney (Unfinished Business, 03.22.2008)
PBP: Sweeney works the crowd before the match and riles them up pretty well. He calls himself the best and of course claims he’ll be walking away with the Ring of Honor world title. McGuinness talks about issues with the Ring of Honor fans but talks about the fans in Florida liking a good fight as much as he does. McGuinness promises a fight and tells Sweeney to get in the ring. This was just after McGuinness officially turned heel in ROH at the 6th anniversary show.
Sweeney powders out of the ring as soon as the bell rings. McGuinness remains in the corner patiently. Just as McGuinness seems ready. Sweeney walks around the ring. McGuinness stalks him and hits an immediate European uppercut. Sweeney rolls back outside of the ring and points at his head. Sweeney interacts with the patrons. Chops by McGuinness. European uppercut. Cravat. Sweeney rammed head first into the guard rail. Sweeney rolled back in the ring. Another series of uppercuts. Whip and Sweeney ends on completely on the outside of the floor. Sweeney calls for a time-out. He claims to have been hit with a closed fist. Exchange of wristlocks. McGuinness with an armdrag. Sweeney goes out to the apron. Fans call the challenger out for being a chicken. McGuinness offers Sweeney a free headlock to entice him back in the ring. Sweeney grabs it. McGuinness counters. Tower of London. Sweeney doesn’t know what to do. O’Connor roll for two. Back to the head stand. McGuinness with a roll-up for two. Sweeney is very frustrated. Boot and to the wristlock goes Sweeney. Forearm by McGuinness. Short lariat. Sweeney heads out of the ring. McGuinness stalks Sweeney outside the ring. Sweeney catches McGuinness coming in with a double axehandle. Right hand to the eyes and another double sledge. Chop by Sweeney. McGuinness comes back with a series of chops. Whip across. Sweeney ducks the charge leading to McGuinness going in shoulder first. Series of knee drops by Sweeney. Sweeney drops the shoulder across the apron. Elbow drop. Hammerlock. Sweeney uses the bottom rope for leverage. Referee finally sees what Sweeney is doing and calls for the break. Elbow drop across the left shoulder. To the medal barricade. Chops from the champion. Sweeney goes to the eyes. Elbow across the shoulder. McGuinness driven shoulder first into the post. Back rake. McGuinness tossed back in the ring. Sweeney puts his feet on the ropes. Leg drop across the arm. Sweeney continues working the left shoulder. Series of right hands. Elbow in the corner. McGuinness rolls under. Head stand and mule kick. European uppercut. Whip across. Sweeney sent into the corner. Kick to the back and clothesline across the chest. McGuinness with a running European uppercut. Lariat for two. Sweeney sends McGuinness head first into the second turnbuckle. Spinebuster leads to two. Down come the straps. Piledriver blocked. McGuinness with a double leg takedown. Fishermen suplex for two by the challenger. Short arm lariat by McGuinness. Sweeney with a neckbreaker/DDT combo. Up to the top rope. Elbow drop. 1-2-NO! Sweeney goes to the eyes. McGuinness crotches Sweeney. Tower of London. LARIAT! McGuinness covers and gets three.
Analysis: This was very different from a number of McGuinness’s other world title defenses in that there was more of a traditional heel/babyface dynamic. McGuinness didn’t need to kill himself for this audience. I very much enjoyed the character work from Sweeney and the way he was able to get heat for himself without ever overtly trying to also look cool. Part of what made Sweeney so special was his ability to not only entertain, but also to be a very underrated wrestler. It is an absolute shame neither one of these men are still wrestling.
Winner (s)/Time/Rating: STILL ROH World Champion-Nigel McGuinness/16:22/***1/4