FULL IMPACT PRO
ESTABLISH DOMINANCE
APRIL 2, 2017
#BROKENTAILGATE PARTY – ORLANDO, FLORIDA

Watch: FloSlam

AR FOX, SAMI CALLIHAN, DAVE CRIST, & JAKE CRIST DEF. ACH, KEITH LEE, MICHAEL ELGIN, & SAMMY GUEVARA  

There was so much good stuff on paper this weekend, and I feel like this match didn’t receive the hype it deserved. All weekend, I’ve been waiting for this match, and it delivered in a big way. The chaotic nature of this match looked funny with the Orlando skyline in the background. That being said, I think it aided the match. FIP is all about being out of control and living on the edge, and this match echoed those sentiments.

The Uncle John goons – Fox, Callihan, and the Crists, are one hell of a team. They’ve traveled the independent landscape with one another, and it shows in their work. They all know each other so well.

Sammy Guevara continues to shine bright in these FIP tag matches. I’m still waiting for him to break out in a big way in EVOLVE, but for now I can live with him killing it in the “no PC promotion”. I hope he gets a big singles match with Sami Callihan soon. Those two have awesome chemistry. He ended up being decimated by Uncle John’s Friends, who picked up the pinfall to conclude an excellent match. ****

FIP WORLD HEAVYWEIGHT CHAMPIONSHIP
FRED YEHI DEF. DEZMOND XAVIER

Keith Lee, South Pacific Power Trip, and Ethan Page are getting praise left and right for their performances during this weekend’s festivities, and rightfully so, but Fred Yehi continues to put in quality performance after quality performance. For my money, he’s the most consistent North American performer. Yehi never stinks up the joint, and this was no different.

Xavier has a scary amount of potential. He looked great here, and this was arguably his best singles performance since his breakout match with Ricochet at AAW’s Showdown. He looked great, but Yehi looked even better. The finish was a little too abrupt for me, but it looked like the heat legitimately affected both men as Yehi choked out Xavier, seemingly out of nowhere. ***1/2

FIP FLORIDA HERITAGE CHAMPIONSHIP
JON DAVIS DEF. MARTIN STONE

This over delivered! Jon Davis was at one point a heavily featured act in DGUSA, seemingly disappeared from the wrestling world for awhile. He popped up both here and in the WWN Supershow, and both times he looked fantastic. 

He and Stone brawled all over the streets of Orlando and battered each other in the ring. Stone’s offense looked painfully real. His headbutt is a form of art. Each time he hit it, it looked like he was driving his head through Davis’ jaw. However, that was all for not as Davis was able to overpower Stone and battle through the brutal heat to pick up the victory and win and become the new Florida Heritage Champion. Very good match. ***3/4

CALEB KONLEY DEF. AUSTIN THEORY

The first “eh” match of this show. This was a perfectly fine wrestling match, but compared to the prior three, this really suffered from having nothing at stake. I’ve always been a fan of Konley’s, despite his inability to reach “the next level” in his matches. Theory is so good for being so young, and his strength is quite shocking for a 19 year old, but he’s a long ways away from being great. This was just there. Skippable, but inoffensive. **3/4

PRISCILLA KELLY DEF. ARIA BLAKE  

I’ll give these two ladies a lot of credit – they worked very hard. This was clearly a step below everything that had preceded it. Kelly, who paints an upside down cross on her forehead and a pentagram on her chest, is far too gimmicky for me. Blake seems like a lovely girl. She was pinned after an Implant Buster. *3/4

ANTHONY HENRY DEF. JASON CADE

This was a very fun way to close out Establish Dominance. Henry has been built up as a future star in the WWN Universe, but has been noticeably absent from most of this week’s festivities, while Jason Cade found great success at the Wrestlecon Supershow earlier in the week. Their chemistry here was great. Cade heeled it up, letting Henry shine as the great babyface he is. Both guys would fit right in with the EVOLVE roster if they were placed there today. Henry submitted Cade with an Ankle Lock. ***1/2

Final Thoughts:

Big thumbs up for this show. Establish Dominance took just over an hour to complete, and it delivered four quality matches. Go out of your way to watch the eight-man opener, and the two title matches, as well as Henry vs. Cade are worth watching.

FIP has developed a negative stigma due to some terrible programming during the first episode of its reboot. The roster, however, is incredibly talented, and the emphasis on multi-man matches in the main event scene is refreshing. Give FIP another chance, and start with Establish Dominance.