by Daniel Johnson
Joe Coffey vs. James Raideen
Last night’s FIP Declaration of Independence 2014 iPPV featured some of the best young talent from the United States…and beyond! One man making his FIP debut was 23 year-old New Zealander, James Raideen, a man who has been honing his craft in ZERO 1 in Japan since 2011.
The above match is one of many steps Raideen took to develop the skills he just showcased for FIP. Facing Joe Coffey (sometimes known as Jay Coffey) , one attribute is obvious about Raideen from the start, his height! At 6’5″ and hovering around the 250 lbs. mark Raideen is a sizable yet lean hoss of a wrestler. Hailing from Scotland and at just a hair over 25 himself, Coffey is no slouch either as he shows when leading the scientific feeling out start of the match.
Looking at the in-ring happenings of this performance a bit closer there is a good blend of power moves, striking and a dash of technical wrestling thrown in. Actually as far as that last part goes the technical wrestling gets a little bit more of a reaction than the strong style striking exchanges. This is a tad surprising given that this bout took place on the ZERO 1 Fire Festival Tour 2012 and ZERO 1 fans tend to react to striking. Then again this is a New Zealander taking on a Scot in front of a Japanese crowd so with a United Nations’ worth of factors in a single match, who is to say what we can expect? At any rate fans can love a hoss just as much as they can love a performer like Coffey. Raideen gets a noticeable reaction when he wraps up the match with a lariat followed by a sidewalk slam and a huge powerbomb. His ending sequence may remind one of Kevin Nash except Raideen’s quads are left intact after the match.
For the full results of FIP Declaration of Independence 2014 click here.
For more in the 25 and Under series featuring international talent click here and here.
Categories: Wrestling Clips
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