Eddie Graham Memorial Battle of the Belts

The Eddie Graham Memorial Battle of the Belts was an annual professional wrestling memorial show produced by the Full Impact Pro (FIP) promotion, typically held between February or March. The event was held in memory of Eddie Graham, longtime promoter of the Florida wrestling territory, the first held for Graham since the original Eddie Graham Memorial Shows in 1987-88. The event's title, in particular, was used as a homage to the popular "Battle of the Belts" supercards promoted by Graham during the 1980s. Mike Graham, Eddie's son and organizer of the original "Eddie Graham Memorial Show", opened for the show to speak about his father's legacy and introduced the FIP Florida Heritage Championship.[1]

Eddie Graham Memorial Battle of the Belts
PromotionFull Impact Pro
Date2007, 2009

This version, unlike the previous memorial supercard, was held as a one-night 8-man single-elimination tournament. The first edition was held on March 10, 2007, at the National Guard Armory in Crystal River, Florida and which saw the winner, Erick Stevens being crowned the first-ever FIP Florida Heritage Champion. Dave Prazak and Lenny Leonard were commentators for the first show while Leonard was involved in booking for the second and final "Battle of the Belts".[2] The inaugural show received generally positive reviews.[1] Brad Garoon of 411mania.com rated the event an 8.5, calling it "Stevens' coming out party", and earned the website's "Elite Award".[3]

Tournament winners edit

Tournament Year Winner Total won
EGM-Cup I 2007 Erick Stevens 1
EGM-Cup II 2009 Davey Richards 1

Show results edit

Eddie Graham Memorial Battle of the Belts (2007) edit

March 10, 2007 in Crystal River, Florida (National Guard Armory)

No.Results[1][3][4][5][6][7]StipulationsTimes
1Roderick Strong defeated Jimmy RaveFirst Round Tournament match09:02
2Jay Briscoe defeated Larry SweeneyFirst Round Tournament match10:11
3Erick Stevens defeated SHINGOFirst Round Tournament match02:12
4Delirious defeated Mark BriscoeFirst Round Tournament match03:51
5Roderick Strong defeated Jay BriscoeSemi Final Tournament match13:25
6Erick Stevens defeated DeliriousSemi Final Tournament match15:12
7The YRR (Chasyn Rance, Kenny King and Sal Rinauro) defeated Jerrelle Clark, Kory Chavis and Seth DelaySix-man tag team match17:11
8Erick Stevens defeated Roderick StrongTournament Finals match21:16

Tournament brackets edit

This was a one-night tournament which took place on March 10, 2007. The tournament brackets were:

Quarterfinals Semifinals Finals
         
Roderick Strong Pin
Jimmy Rave
Roderick Strong Pin
Jay Briscoe
Jay Briscoe Pin
Larry Sweeney
Roderick Strong
Erick Stevens Pin
SHINGO Pin
Erick Stevens
Erick Stevens
Delirious Pin
Delirious Sub
Mark Briscoe

Eddie Graham Memorial Battle of the Belts (2009) edit

February 8, 2009 in Brooksville, Florida (National Guard Armory)[8][9]

No.Results[4][10][11][12]Stipulations
1Roderick Strong defeated Necro ButcherFirst Round Tournament match
2Chris Jones defeated Austin AriesFirst Round Tournament match
3Davey Richards defeated Erick StevensFirst Round Tournament match
4El Generico defeated Nigel McGuinnessFirst Round Tournament match
5Roderick Strong defeated Chris JonesSemi Final Tournament match
6Davey Richards defeated El GenericoSemi Final Tournament match
7MsChif (c) defeated Mercedes MartinezSingles match for the SHIMMER Championship
8Tyler Black (c) defeated DeliriousSingle match for the FIP Heavyweight Championship
9Davey Richards defeated Roderick StrongTournament Finals match
(c) – the champion(s) heading into the match

Tournament brackets edit

This was a one-night tournament which took place on February 8, 2009. The tournament brackets were:

Quarterfinals Semifinals Finals
         
Roderick Strong Pin
Necro Butcher
Roderick Strong Pin
Chris Jones
Chris Jones Pin
Austin Aries
Roderick Strong
Davey Richards Pin
Davey Richards Pin
Erick Stevens
Davey Richards
El Generico Pin
El Generico Pin
Nigel McGuinness

References edit

  1. ^ a b c Dykens, Brad (2007). "March 10, 2007 - EDDIE GRAHAM MEMORIAL BATTLE OF THE BELTS - Crystal River, Florida". Full Impact Pro DVD Reviews. OnlineWorldofWrestling.com. Retrieved March 18, 2012.
  2. ^ Newman, Oliver (January 28, 2009). "ROH Commentator Lenny Leonard talks Starting out, ROH, FIP……". ProWrestlingDigest.com. Retrieved March 18, 2012.
  3. ^ a b Garoon, Brad (October 8, 2007). "BG Says: FIP First Annual Eddie Graham Memorial Battle of the Belts". Video Reviews. 411mania.com. Retrieved March 18, 2012.
  4. ^ a b "Full Impact Pro". Results. OnlineWorldofWrestling.com. 2011. Retrieved March 18, 2012.
  5. ^ "2007 Results". Past Results. FullImpactPro.com. Archived from the original on September 30, 2011. Retrieved March 18, 2012.
  6. ^ Kreikenbohm, Philip. "FIP Eddie Graham Memorial Battle Of The Belts 2007". Events Database. Cagematch.net. Retrieved March 18, 2012.
  7. ^ Full Impact Pro (Producer) (2007-03-10). First Annual Eddie Graham Memorial Battle of the Belts (DVD). Crystal River, Florida: Highspots.com.
  8. ^ "Southeastern Wrestling News, Notes, And Nostalgia: 01/10/2009". CanvasChronicle.com. January 10, 2009. Retrieved March 18, 2012.
  9. ^ "Pro wrestlers invade armory this Sunday". Tampa Bay Times. February 3, 2009. Retrieved March 19, 2012.
  10. ^ Behrens, Bill (February 6, 2009). "Florida's FIP 2-8 & RIOT 2-14 "Original Gangsta" New Jack At FIP". Wrestlezone.com. Retrieved March 18, 2012.
  11. ^ "2009 Results". Past Results. FullImpactPro.com. Archived from the original on October 7, 2010. Retrieved March 18, 2012.
  12. ^ Kreikenbohm, Philip. "FIP Eddie Graham Memorial Battle Of The Belts 2009". Events Database. Cagematch.net. Retrieved March 18, 2012.

External links edit