# Project Rewatch - ROH: The Good Shit



## Super Sonic (Jun 11, 2014)

This review originally posted in 2012.

*Round Robin Challenge - March 30, 2002*










*Round Robin Challenge Match #1
Bryan Danielson vs. Christopher Daniels*

A stellar as hell opener, with some absolutely terrific psychology by having the wrestlers work on each other's necks. While it was blatantly obvious this these two were not out to have Bret Hart vs. Owen Hart, Jushin Liger vs. Brian Pillman, or Chris Benoit vs. Eddie Guerrero, the two definitely set the bar for opening matches. The story of Daniels out to prove a point while having a chip on his shoulder, building up to the sudden submission finish, couldn't have been booked any better.

*Rating:* ***3/4

*Round Robin Challenge Match #2
Low Ki vs. Christopher Daniels*

This match was ALL story - thankfully, the story was largely centered around actual wrestling. Reflecting back, the work these two put together in-ring and as characters has gone on largely to be underappreciated. A fine top-of-the-hour-on-_Raw_ style paced match. The post-match Daniels promo is a tad disappointing, as Low Ki failed to call him out on his shallow excuse - remember, DANIELS made the remark that he could beat both Ki and Danielson on the same night. The commentary also does an oversell of the mention of a championship, not allowing the viewer to listen to the crowd reaction. It sounded like the crowd wasn't all that excited over it.

*Rating:* ***1/4

*Round Robin Challenge Match #3
Guest Ref - Ken Shamrock
Low Ki vs. Bryan Danielson*

Now THIS is a work of art - Davey Richards and Eddie Edwards should study and analyze this match to the point of absolute mental exhaustion. This is how you mix mat wrestling with strikes and dramatically close near-falls, with nice spots blended in here and there. At least 75% of this match is purely on the mat, and everything is done smoothly and crisply. The transitions are just gorgeous. Finishers are executed and the crowd actually buys into them. The psychology of Danielson's prior match with Daniels is played up to flawlessly. Danielson vs. Daniels set the bar for openers in this company; this match set the bar for ALL ROH matches. I thought of taking a 1/4* away, but the post-match selling of complete exhaustion and fatigue from both men boost it to perfection. Shamrock is two for two in refereeing a five star match.

*Rating:* *****

Up next - A Night of Appreciation
Matches will include:
Low Ki vs. AJ Styles
Christopher Daniels vs. Donovan Morgan
Brian Kendrick vs. Bryan Danielson
Eddie Guerrero & Amazing Red vs. The SAT


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## Super Sonic (Jun 11, 2014)

This review originally posted in 2012.

*A Night of Appreciation - April 27, 2002*










*The ROH Debut of AJ Styles
Low Ki vs. AJ Styles*

A pretty damn impressive debut for Styles, and I'm sure at the time this was a great DVD seller. While it's good and fun, it doesn't hold up in 2012, and is in no way a MOTYC. Neither of these two had found their grooves yet as ring generals, and the lack of someone such as Eddie Guerrero, Bryan Danielson, or Christopher Daniels showed. What they do put together is a very visually dazzling 15 minute exchange of spots and strikes, occasionally mixing in some actual technical wrestling, but without the subtle drama of the main events of the past two shows, or the psychology of Eddie vs. Super Crazy and Daniels vs. Danielson. Despite its flaws, this is a match that I would want as a PPV opener, as it gets the crowd going and sets an edge-of-your-seat tone for the show.

*Rating:* ***1/2

*Christopher Daniels vs. Donovan Morgan*

This was a crisp, clean technical match, but lacked the drama due to Morgan's lack of charisma (talking about Donovan, not Jim Cornette's Mr. Untapped Potential). Everything made sense and looked great, and I can only imagine if Gabe Sapolsky had stuck with his original main event for this show. I have no idea why he thought the forgettable Morgan deserved the rub of going over Daniels though and starting a decent push, but thought Daniels would be hurt jobbing to Eddie Guerrero in a dream match.

*Rating:* ***

*Gauntlet Match Final
Brian Kendrick vs. Bryan Danielson*

Everything was fine, but this was 10-15 minutes of nothing special. When the most memorable aspect of the match is a wardrobe malfunction, you know you've put together a forgettable contest. I should also mention that the post-match angle goes on FOREVER and is not once interesting.

*Rating:* less than ***

*Eddie Guerrero's Independent Farewell
Eddie Guerrero & Amazing Red vs. The SAT*





(NOTE: The above video does NOT include the pre-match intros or the incredible post-match farewell for Eddie.)

Another match that was fine but nothing memorable (I SO wish we had gotten Eddie vs. Daniels instead.) It's nice if you're curious to see proof at how superior Eddie was to the other three participants. This is the kind of match that Bryan & Vinny would probably gush over while everyone else drifts off during their wank-fest. Eddie's post-match appreciation is very touching though and a special moment, one of the greatest in ROH history.

*Rating:* less than ***

Coming up - Road to the Title
Matches will include:
Paul London vs. Brian Kendrick
Jerry Lynn vs. AJ Styles
Doug Williams vs. Bryan Danielson
Low Ki vs. Amazing Red
Christopher Daniels vs. Jerry Lynn OR AJ Styles


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## Super Sonic (Jun 11, 2014)

This review originally posted in 2012.

*Road to the Title - June 22, 2002*










*ROH Title Shot Qualifier
Paul London vs. Brian Kendrick*

Yet another match that is a great showcase, but doesn't hold up very well. Comparable to the _Do or Die_ pre-show matches that would occur later on. Nothing special here and mildly disappointing for their careers prior to WWE. Still a million light years ahead of their work since WWE pink slipped them though.

*Rating:* less than ***

*ROH Title Shot Qualifier
Jerry Lynn vs. AJ Styles*

My pick for match of the night, as Lynn brought his A-game being the ring general that Styles needed. While not everything paid off, there was solid psychology and storytelling with Lynn trying to soften Styles up for the cradle piledriver, and I was interested to see where the armwork for Styles was gonna lead to. If it had been more clearly defined, this may have been great more than just very good. Satisfying match though and a nice appetizer for their TNA work involving Low Ki at the time.

*Rating:* ***3/4

*ROH Title Shot Match
Doug Williams vs. Bryan Danielson*

Another solid technical match, but lacking the true drama to be anything special. Everything was solid, the storytelling/psychology worked, but they made the mistake of not finishing the match with the Chaos Theory, which had the crowd popping HUGE.

*Rating:* ***1/4

*ROH Title Shot Match
Low Ki vs. Amazing Red*

You need to see this for the opening minute sequence, but there was more to the match than that. I would consider this the indy version of Chris Jericho vs. Evan Bourne or Bret Hart vs. 123 Kid. A great way of showing that Red could hang with the main-eventers and take an ass-kicking instead of just flipping around with a bunch of jabronis.

*Rating:* ***1/2

*ROH Title Shot Match
AJ Styles vs. Christopher Daniels*

Yet another good, solid technical match, but with more intensity than Williams vs. Danielson. This is a nice preview of what the two would go on to do later in TNA. In the end, the earlier match Styles had with Lynn had too much of a residual effect on him (Daniels merely had to defeat Scoot Andrews earlier), as the exhaust was more evident in him compared to Daniels.

*Rating:* ***1/2

Up next - Crowning a Champion
Matches will include:
Natural Born Sinners vs. Carnage Crew
Low Ki vs. Doug Williams vs. Brian Kendrick vs. Christopher Daniels


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## RKing85 (Mar 22, 2010)

Bryan Danielson looks like he is 12 years old in those photos.


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## Super Sonic (Jun 11, 2014)

This review originally posted in 2012.

*Crowning a Champion - July 27, 2002*










*Hardcore Match
Natural Born Sinners vs. Carnage Crew*

I'd say a lot of wrestlers could actually learn from this match. It was quick and made its point - these two teams despised each other, and weren't out there in the middle of the show to have a MOTYC. They didn't waste time setting up spots; they grabbed shit and beat the fuck out of each other. If ROH decides to ever do another Homicide compliation, I'd say to include this - this is EASILY the highlight of the Natural Born Sinners short lived run in ROH.

*Rating:* ***1/2

*Vacant ROH Title - 60 Minute Iron Man Match
Low Ki vs. Doug Williams vs. Brian Kendrick vs. Christopher Daniels*





(Note: the above video does NOT include the pre-match promos or the emotional post-match.)

The MOTYC main events for ROH came back with this one and with a serious vengeance. Just excellent work for all four men, and I loved the storytelling told within the rules (gain 2 points for a victory, lose one point for a defeat), as it very cleverly built to the finish (a finish that had been five months in the making), and gave a solid reason to continue the ROH vs. Daniels feud. In this match, Low Ki relied on determination and intelligence to outsmart Daniels, rather than beating the shit out of him as usual. Daniels did his best, remembering when certain trademark Ki spots would come from previous matches and countering them. Williams and Kendrick were masterful in this match as well, doing their jobs perfectly to set up the finishing sequence of this classic.

*Rating:* ****3/4

Up next - Honor Invades Boston
Matches will include:
Paul London vs. Michael Shane
Bryan Danielson vs. Donovan Morgan
Jay Briscoe vs. Mark Briscoe
Low Ki vs. AJ Styles


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## Super Sonic (Jun 11, 2014)

*Honor Invades Boston - August 24, 2002*










*Michael Shane vs. Paul London*

Shane quite easily surpassed Christopher Daniels as the biggest cun* on the roster in 2002 with this match. His pure arrogance and narcissism was just amazing during this time. Of course, this was the first time London showed that he could play a sympathetic babyface and he was damn good at it. And what a smart finish to put even more heat on Shane!

*Rating:* ***

*Bryan Danielson vs. Donovan Morgan*

As if you needed any evidence that Daniels was not only eclipsed as being the #1 heel before 2002 ended, here is proof that Danielson surpassed him as ring general too. The submission work was far more engaging in this match than in Morgan's debut at _A Night of Appreciation_, and the booking of Morgan being an established red-ass certainly helped. I'd have paid money to see these two have a rematch, but that unfortunately never happened due to Japan commitments the two had.

*Rating:* ***1/2

*Jay Briscoe vs. Mark Briscoe*

This match between 18 year-old Jay and 17 year-old Mark is a hell of a lot better than one would assume. Sure, there were lots of video game moves, but there was also a remarkable psychology going on between the two. It was a simple story of Mark being presented an opportunity with the opponent he would know best and making the most out of it. And yes, this match has SELLING. Quite a bit of it actually.

*Rating:* ****

*ROH Title Match
Low Ki vs. AJ Styles*

For the first time, ROH has TWO ****+ matches on the same show. Perhaps working with Jerry Lynn throughout the summer in TNA made the difference, but this was a huge improvement over their previous match at _A Night of Appreciation_. Instead of just providing a spotfest, these two decided to spread the spots throughout and make them mean more once the audience got to see them. I just love the work they did on the mat in this one, and my favorite moment is probably Ki being on his back, but coiling his legs to strike at any moment. This was just a FANTASTIC first title defense for Ki, and the importance of the championship showed in the work and demeanor of both men.

*Rating:* ****1/2

I must mention that immediately following Xavier challenging Low Ki, the DVD cuts to a promo from the guy who SHOULD have ended Ki's reign - Michael Shane. Fantastic promo from him, none of the bitching and moaning that you'd get from Daniels and the Prophecy.

Up next - Unscripted
Matches will include:
Dick Togo & Ikuta Hidaka vs. Christopher Daniels & Donovan Morgan
Paul London vs. Michael Shane
Tag Titles Tournament Final


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## Super Sonic (Jun 11, 2014)

*Unscripted - September 21, 2002*










*Tag Titles Tournament Semifinal
Dick Togo & Ikuta Hidaka vs. Christopher Daniels & Donovan Morgan*

A smooth, well-executed tag match, but nothing all that special. This one didn't live up to expectations, but is still a good match. Just not the great one that you'd imagine on paper. It's a shame Togo got hurt after this show, I'd love to see what he could have done in singles with someone like Paul London.

*Rating:* ***1/4

*Hardcore Match
Paul London vs. Michael Shane*





(Note: the above video does NOT include the full post-match.)

Before there was Kevin Steen vs. El Generico, there was Paul London vs. Michael Shane. An extremely dangerous match that London tends to reflect back on and question due to the insane risks taken. Nonetheless, this is a classic, but not the end-all, be-all five star match that the crowd claims it to be. What I really appreciated is that because of the brutality, that allowed logically for time to be available to set up the big spots. Nobody takes the pounding these guys did and just gets up right away to "hulk up" or have "fighting spirit." On the other hand, I have to knock off a 1/4* due to Shane not selling the beating he took whatsoever when he got the post-match heat on London. With all that said, a star-making performance for London (and should have been for Shane). I wish Shane had done the surprise dethroning of Low Ki and Gabe Sapolsky had booked Shane vs. London in the first ever Fight Without Honor match (Ki vs. Samoa Joe is insane but not in a gimmick match way) for the Pittsburgh debut, with everything on the line as it'd be a title match with the loser being fired. (And need I mention all the awesome title defenses London could have had with Bryan Danielson, Ki, AJ Styles, Homicide, CM Punk, Daniels, and Joe?)

*Rating:* ****

*Tag Titles Tournament Final
Christopher Daniels & Donovan Morgan vs. Bryan Danielson & Mike Modest*

Another good tag match with solid storytelling but not engaging in the least. If you've seen _Beyond the Mat_, don't listen to that carny Alexander - it is NOT a tragedy Modest was never signed by WWE. Daniels? Yes. But Modest? Maybe he should have been a trainer or agent, but that's it. He has about as much of an attention-grabbing charisma as Linda McMahon. The post-match is quite stupid as well, as it makes the babyfaces look like whiny bitches and no better than the Prophecy, who won the match by having chemistry and outsmarting them.

*Rating:* ***

Up next - Glory By Honor
Matches will include:
Low Ki vs. Samoa Joe


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## Super Sonic (Jun 11, 2014)

This review originally posted in 2012.

*Glory By Honor - October 5, 2002*










*Samoa Joe's ROH Debut
Low Ki vs. Samoa Joe*






Yeah, this match sure saved the show from being considered among the crowd of _Suffocation_, _How We Roll_, _Underground_, _The Bitter End_, and _Escalation_. (Don't be fooled by the card on the DVD cover artwork.) Not just a show-saver, but an incredible debut for Samoa Joe. The backstory itself was brilliant (Joe being nothing more than a hired gun of the Prophecy). And then to see someone come in to IMMEDIATELY show he could be Ki's equal in terms of brutality. The finish couldn't have been booked any better, as EVERYTHING in the match logically led to it. An absolutely fantastic way to maintain Ki's momentum and get Joe's ROH career started with a fucking BANG. Due to a number of unforeseen circumstances, I'd consider this to be one of the most important matches in company history; this showed that Joe could potentially become a cornerstone of the company at some point.

*Rating:* ****1/2

Up next - All Star Extravaganza
Matches will include:
Paul London vs. Bryan Danielson
Christopher Daniels, Donovan Morgan, & Samoa Joe vs. Low Ki, Homicide, & Doug Williams
ROH Title Shot Gauntlet Final
Low Ki & Steve Corino vs. Masato Tanaka & Shinjiro Ohtani


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## Super Sonic (Jun 11, 2014)

This review originally posted in 2012.

*All Star Extravaganza - November 9, 2002*










The Prophecy cut a group promo. I mention this because Xavier's portion is some of the worst drek you will ever hear and not convincing in the least. At least with Low Ki you're convinced he has some conviction in his tedious promos. What a great idea to put the title on this guy instead of Michael Shane, who busted his ass in the ring and cut awesome promos yet could still get heel heat.

I should also note that while skipping through the earlier chapters on the disc, seeing CM Punk and Paul London very briefly on-screen together really makes me wish Gabe Sapolsky had booked that match back in the day.

*ROH Title Shot Gauntlet Match
Bryan Danielson vs. Paul London*

This was simply nothing more than a quick sample of what they would go on to do later. The winner was pretty obvious since London had already wrestled Michael Shane and Amazing Red (even with a break due to Tommy Dreamer's appearance to perform fellatio on the promotion.)

*Rating:* less than ***

*Tag Titles Match
Christopher Daniels, Donovan Morgan, & Samoa Joe vs. Low Ki, Homicide, & Doug Williams*

A very fun tag, albeit long and turned into a Dragon Gate style match at the end without any explanation whatsoever. You really couldn't go wrong with this six man combination in 2002. The match started Joe's rise to prominence, which was necessary due to Brian Kendrick's departure to WWE, cancelling Gabe's original idea for the ROH Title.

*Rating:* ***1/4

*ROH Title Shot Gauntlet Final
AJ Styles vs. Bryan Danielson*

Another excellent match for the promotion, and standard affair for Danielson. The mat work in this was just phenomenal, and Styles might be the most underappreciated guy in that aspect. Matches like this show he's not just some high flyer, and it was a great followup for him after his performance at _Honor Invades Boston_. I can only imagine what these two could be doing in a rivarly for the WWE nowadays. And what a finish! THAT is how you maintain the momentum for the winner and loser.

*Rating:* ****1/2

*Low Ki & Steve Corino vs. Shinjiro Ohtani & Masato Tanaka*

Another damn good match to close out an ROH event after the mediocrity (putting it nicely) that was _Glory By Honor_. Yeah, it was really a showcase match for Ohtani & Tanaka, but the crowd heat made it more than that. Ki & Corino, even with Ki already wrestling a 20+ minute six man tag earlier, showed that they could go toe-to-toe with the two legends. This is a nice little preview of when other legends would come into ROH, such as Jushin Liger, Kenta Kobashi, and Mitsuharu Misawa.

*Rating:* ***3/4

The show closes out with Homicide stabbing Corino with his ghetto fork backstage. You know, back when the feud started and was actually interesting.

I'll be skipping _Scramble Madness_ as there isn't a match on there that I'd ever wanna see again. The three main events (Samoa Joe vs. Homicide, AJ Styles vs. Christopher Daniels, Bryan Danielson vs. Doug Williams in a 30 Minute Iron Man) are tedious and/or super disappointing.

Up next - Night of the Butcher
Matches will include:
Paul London vs. Bryan Danielson
Xavier vs. AJ Styles


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## Super Sonic (Jun 11, 2014)

This review originally posted in 2012.

*Night of the Butcher - December 7, 2002*










*ROH Title Shot Match
Paul London vs. Bryan Danielson*

A tremendous match that likely would been better if they didn't have qualifier matches earlier on the show. The _All Star Extravaganza_ match Danielson had with Styles was the first glimpse in him being aggressive. This was his first display of actual frustration, and a sign of things to come much later down the road. London also showed that he could be the 21st Century Ricky Morton quite well, and I'd say he rivaled Rey Mysterio at the time for that role. Even though I didn't watch the qualifiers, I could see the psychology coming through from them, and everything led quite beautifully to the finish. The post-match was the icing on the cake for this classic, clearly explaining the simple story these two told throughout the contest.

*Rating:* ****1/4

*ROH Title Match
Xavier vs. AJ Styles*

Yeah I didn't care for this one very much. Xavier just didn't have the charisma, presence, or in-ring consistency (Jerry Lynn at least had that last thing going for him) to be in such a high-profile position, and this match did him no favors in my opinion. Over the years, Styles has shown that he's best suited playing a bad-ass or an underdog to a bad-ass. Letting a chickenshit heel get heat on him? That leaves a lot to be desired. This just wasn't very engaging, but the finish at least had some psychology and saved it from being a failure.

*Rating:* less than ***

Coming up - Final Battle 2002
Matches will include:
Christopher Daniels & Donovan Morgan vs. The SAT
Xavier vs. Paul London
Low Ki vs. Samoa Joe vs. Steve Corino vs. Bryan Danielson


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## Super Sonic (Jun 11, 2014)

This review originally posted in 2012.

*Final Battle 2002 - December 28, 2002*










*Tag Titles - 2/3 Falls Match
Christopher Daniels & Donovan Morgan vs. The SAT*

I can't believe I read a review that claimed this match was technically sound. I hit skip with less than two minutes remaining due to the fucking atrocious physical conditioning of the SAT. Just pathetic. And reminds me that these two guys got Eddie Guerrero's farewell instead of their opponent on this night, Christopher Daniels. They made him look like the greatest wrestler of all-time. Perhaps Alan (of f4wonline.com) should watch this - the theory of relativity might finally cause him to love Daniels.

*Rating*: less than ***

*ROH Title Match
Xavier vs. Paul London*

Xavier cuts one of the most unintentionally hilarious in-ring promos you'll ever hear prior to the match. As for the match itself...

Now this is more like it. Easily Xavier's best title defense up to that point, as London actually knows how to play a sympathetic babyface. But the champ brought his A-game too, working on the neck and paying that off at the conclusion of the match. This isn't the greatest match of all-time or anywhere near it, but it did its job perfectly - you now had a reason to put down your hard-earned money to see someone take the title away from Xavier, because he finally proved that he (with the right opponent of course) was capable of taking you on a hell of a journey.

*Rating:* ***3/4

*ROH Title Shot Match
Low Ki vs. Samoa Joe vs. Steve Corino vs. Bryan Danielson*

A pretty damn good main event that I was about to give ****+ for, but there were too many negatives to do so. First, it did NOT have to go 45 minutes. This could have been wrapped up in 25-30 minutes with a clear winner. Second, I appreciate a match finishing with a dramatic pace, but not at the sacrifice of logic (the ref stopped giving a shit about who was legal without any explanation being given.) Third, Corino clearly tapped out to Ki right before the time-limit had exceeded. After the show the audience sat through, it'd have been a great audible to just have Ki win, and it'd give the NYC crowd something to look forward to at the _One Year Anniversary Show_.

*Rating:* ***1/2

*SUPER DUPER ROH 2002 AWARDS*

Wrestler of the Year:
Low Ki
Runner-up - Bryan Danielson

Debut of the Year:
Samoa Joe - _Glory By Honor_

Breakout Performance of the Year:
Paul London - _Unscripted_

Feud/Rivalry of the Year:
ROH vs. The Prophecy
Runner-up - Paul London vs. Michael Shane

Show of the Year:
_All Star Extravaganza_
Runner-up - _Road to the Title_ and _Honor Invades Boston_

Moment of the Year:
Eddie Guerrero's farewell @ _A Night of Apprecation_
Runner-up - Low Ki's victory @ _Crowning a Champion_ and Paul London's performance @ _Unscripted_

Match of the Year:
Low Ki vs. Bryan Danielson - _Round Robin Challenge_ *****
Runner-up - Low Ki vs. Doug Williams vs. Brian Kendrick vs. Christopher Daniels - _Crowning a Champion_ ****3/4

ROH's Top 10 Matches of 2002 (in chronological order):
Low Ki vs. Bryan Danielson vs. Christopher Daniels - _The Era of Honor Begins_ ****1/2
Low Ki vs. Bryan Danielson - _Round Robin Challenge_ *****
Low Ki vs. Doug Williams vs. Brian Kendrick vs. Christopher Daniels - _Crowning a Champion_ ****3/4
Jay Briscoe vs. Mark Briscoe - _Honor Invades Boston_ ****
Low Ki vs. AJ Styles - _Honor Invades Boston_ ****1/2
Paul London vs. Michael Shane - _Unscripted_ ****
Low Ki vs. Samoa Joe - _Glory By Honor_ ****1/2
AJ Styles vs. Bryan Danielson - _All Star Extravaganza_ ****1/2
Paul London vs. Bryan Danielson - _Night of the Butcher_ ****1/4
Xavier vs. Paul London - _Final Battle 2002_ ***3/4

Up next - Revenge on the Prophecy
Matches will include:
Homicide vs. Paul London vs. BJ Whitmer vs. Colt Cabana
Samoa Joe vs. Bryan Danielson
Xavier & Christopher Daniels vs. Low Ki & AJ Styles


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## Super Sonic (Jun 11, 2014)

This review originally posted in 2012.

*Revenge on the Prophecy - January 11, 2003*










*Paul London vs. Homicide vs. BJ Whitmer vs. Colt Cabana*

A wild, wickedly fun match that I watched for the first time. There was a never a dull moment, and this was actually a hell of a debut for Whitmer, as his weaknesses weren't as annoyingly obvious in this match as they would become later. All four men were clearly different wrestlers back in 2003, and this is a nice look back on what they were before the business burned them out. I was about to go so far as to deem this a MOTYC, but again, the ref drops the tag rule without any explanation whatsoever.

*Rating:* ****

*Samoa Joe vs. Bryan Danielson*

Yeah this was fucking brutal. It was also just outstanding. The selling, the pacing, the psychology, the facial expressions. And to think this was just a sign of things to come for them! Danielson also showed a new side of himself that would later be perfected - an underdog outmatched by sheer size and also viciousness. SEE THIS.

*Rating:* ****

*No Holds Barred Match
Xavier & Christopher Daniels vs. Low Ki & AJ Styles*

A damn good main event and a nice conclusion to the Ki vs. Prophecy feud. In many ways, this match summarizes the whole storyline - very, very good, maybe even great, but not the end-all, be-all due to some awkward moments. This also did not have the heat of London vs. Michael Shane from _Unscripted_. But they went out and put on a hell of an entertaining match, one that would convince the Pittsburgh market to beg for ROH to return. I also greatly appreciated Daniels selling his exhaustion and beating in his backstage promo after the match. (Although I do not care whatsoever about Steve Corino & The Group.)

*Rating:* ****

Up next - One Year Anniversary Show
Matches will include:
Jay Briscoe vs. Mark Briscoe
Samoa Joe vs. Bryan Danielson
Low Ki vs. Paul London vs. AJ Styles
ROH Title Match


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## Super Sonic (Jun 11, 2014)

This review originally posted in 2012.

*One Year Anniversary Show - February 8, 2003*










*Jay Briscoe vs. Mark Briscoe*






They couldn't measure up to the sheer heat of their _Honor Invades Boston_ classic, and there were way too many finishers killed in this match, but it was still pretty damn good. The mind games early in the match were a nice touch that while the bad blood was gone, there was still some pride on the line. Hell of a memorable finish too.

*Rating:* ***1/2

*Samoa Joe vs. Bryan Danielson*

Like Jay vs. Mark, this rematch couldn't measure up to its original, but still did a banging job. This one had less technical wrestling in favor of sheer brutality. Hindsight being 20/20, I'm not sure why Danielson went over considering Joe's title victory wasn't that far away. Maybe Gabe Sapolsky was gonna book Joe vs. Danielson III for the title on the same night as Low Ki vs. Paul London. Oh well.

*Rating:* ***3/4

*ROH Title Shot Match
Low Ki vs. Paul London vs. AJ Styles*

Yeah this fucking ruled and should be seen to be truly believed. This is another match that I'm sure London reflects back on with regret. It was Sapolsky making the best of a corner he put himself in - he wasted the _Final Battle 2002_ main event by not having a winner. But on this night, he put the three biggest names in the ring together that had faced Xavier before. For Ki and Styles, they had proven throughout the summer of 2002 they could have some awesome multi-person matches feuding with Jerry Lynn in TNA. To put these three together was brilliant. But it was obvious who was gonna win, because the winner was gonna be a huge underdog in the title match. Ki vs. Xavier was apparently really shitty (I've never bothered watching it). Xavier vs. Styles was dull. Xavier vs. London was a hot match that got the job done, by having London play a sympathetic babyface. Therefore, London had to win this one.

*Rating:* ****1/4

*ROH Title Match
Xavier vs. Paul London*

I want to thank whoever made the final decision to cut Xavier's pre-match promo from my _Best of Paul London: Please Don't Die_ DVD.

LONDON SHOULD HAVE WON THIS. PERIOD. This was easily Xavier's best title defense, and maybe the best match of his career. He did a fine job of working with the exhausted London. This rematch from _Final Battle 2002_ also had the advantage of a red-hot NYC crowd instead of Philly; they were going APESHIT at the nearfalls in the finishing stretch. Even the catfight added to the match's story and crowd heat. This was sports-entertainment booking done the correct way. But I can only imagine if London had won, and then his matches against Danielson, Amaazing Red, Christopher Daniels, and Styles had all been title matches (making them more important than they already were), before he would drop the title in his farewell match to the dominating Joe. London wins, and I seriously call this a MOTYC instead of just a great match. Nonetheless, SEE THIS. Maybe London's greatest night as he had to perform two very different styles of matches back-to-back.

*Rating:* ****

Coming up - Expect the Unexpected
Matches will include:
Raven vs. CM Punk
Xavier & Christopher Daniels vs. AJ Styles & Amazing Red


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## Super Sonic (Jun 11, 2014)

This review originally posted in 2012.

*Expect the Unexpected - March 15, 2003*










*Raven vs. CM Punk*

A good match but went too long just to establish that Raven "still had it." Also sloppy at points too. The beginning of Punk's ROH push though, and the rest is history up to where he stands today in the business.

*Rating:* ***

*Tag Titles Match
Xavier & Christopher Daniels vs. AJ Styles & Amazing Red*

Another good but sloppy match, although this was due to Xavier's concussion sustained early in the match from Red's enziguri. Daniels looked like a total pro once again, as he and Styles have an almost unstoppable chemistry with each other; it's almost automatic like Hulk Hogan vs. Randy Savage, Kurt Angle vs. Chris Benoit, or Austin Aries vs. Bryan Danielson. They should have definitely gone home much sooner than they did for Xavier's sake, as his injury clearly led to the botched finish. Oh yeah, this had the "fuck monitoring who is and isn't legal because we're about to go home" problems that plague the indies. Again, this is a good match, but NOT the magical moment the company was hoping for to close out the show.

*Rating:* ***

Up next - Night of Champions
Matches will include:
Christopher Daniels vs. Doug Williams


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## Super Sonic (Jun 11, 2014)

This review originally posted in 2012.

*Night of Champions - March 22, 2003*










*ROH Title Shot - FWA Title Match
Christopher Daniels vs. Doug Williams*

This would be tied with Low Ki vs. Paul London vs. AJ Styles for my favorite ROH match so far, and it's a totally different flavor. EVERYTHING clicked and they fired on all cylinders. There was not a single sloppy moment in this match. Let me get the one nitpick out of the way - they didn't engage the crowd in enough of a frenzy at the end. With that out of the way, this is a wrestling purist's textbook match. Selling? Check. Psychology? Check. Storytelling? Check. Wow, Just WOW. And now Williams gets to shake hands going forward, that way we never have to talk about their disappointing _Glory By Honor_ match again, and we can just remember this. This match is just a thing of beauty. This is THE most underappreciated match in ROH history. Hands down. It's hard for me to imagine this being topped as I move along in 2003.

*Rating:* ****3/4

Oh yeah, Samoa Joe dethroned Xavier's out-of-place ROH Title reign on this show. I guess I should mention that.

Up next - The Epic Encounter
Matches will include:
AJ Styles & Amazing Red vs. Briscoe Bros.
Paul London vs. Bryan Danielson


----------



## Super Sonic (Jun 11, 2014)

This review originally posted in 2012.

*The Epic Encounter - April 12, 2003*










*Tag Titles Match
AJ Styles & Amazing Red vs. Briscoe Bros.*

An improvement over their _Night of Champions_ "effort," but still dripping with flaws. A huge problem with selling in this one, and the ref fucked off in the finishing stretch with enforcing the tag rules. I hope the final match they have is better than this one.

*Rating:* less than ***

*2/3 Falls Match
Paul London vs. Bryan Danielson*

"You're my bitch!" - Paul London as he's locked in a seated abdominal stretch

*THIS. IS. ART.*

I could probably write an actual essay on this, but I'm too tired to do so. First of all, this match makes me wanna pop in some Kurt Angle vs. Chris Benoit and Ric Flair vs. Ricky Steamboat just to compare. Every single thing in this match was perfect. Remember what I said about them being a little worn out at _Night of the Butcher_? Well they fucking proved me right in this one.

This is the match anybody would watch and wonder why the FUCK London let his own ego get in the way. This kind of effort, in which his selling NEVER gets sacrificed, is what you want as a centerpiece of the WWE. Maybe Brian Kendrick by association killed his attitude, but there's no logical reason when looking at this match that London shouldn't be on CM Punk and Danielson's level right now. He looked like the second coming of Jushin Liger or Shawn Michaels in this match.

I must not forget Danielson's performance in this masterpiece as well. He dove further into his subtle heel persona, giving us even more of a sign of things to come down the road. For the first time in ROH, he momentarily antagonized the opposition fanbase. His frustration, in the end turning to what appeared to be desperation, was nothing short of flawless going against London's tenacity.

What also puts this match above Christopher Daniels vs. Doug Williams for me as the best ROH match of 2003 so far is that these men were both babyfaces; this wasn't a story of a clear-cut heel, and then failing to fully engage the crowd to its fullest potential. Danielson played the subtle heel to London's scratching-and-clawing babyface, and it got MORE of a reaction than the black-and-white Daniels vs. Williams. That is a true testament to both of these men.

Get yourself the new ROH Danielson compilation if you haven't seen this yet - this match alone will be worth every penny. You don't need to wait for a sale.

This is more engaging than Low Ki vs. Danielson; it's also my favorite ROH match so far in my rewatch. And there is NO way that this can be topped for 2003. NO WAY.

*Rating:* *****

Up next - Retribution: Round Robin Challenge II
Matches will include:
CM Punk vs. Homicide
Paul London vs. Christopher Daniels


----------



## Super Sonic (Jun 11, 2014)

This review originally posted in 2012.

*Retribution: Round Robin Challenge II - April 26, 2003*










*ROH Title Shot Match
CM Punk vs. Homicide*

A really, really fun match that felt like a rough draft due to some issues with selling and pacing (they kept going several more minutes after peaking the crowd with the Pepsi Plunge.) I'm looking forward to seeing what they could do in their later matches. Just an exciting match from start to finish that needed some polishing. This is the 2003 (and better) version of Low Ki vs. AJ Styles from _A Night of Appreciation_.

*Rating:* ***1/2

*Round Robin Challenge Match #3
Paul London vs. Christopher Daniels*

London's 2003 run just kept rolling along with this classic. A tremendous match that built off of Daniels vs. Doug Williams, Daniels vs. Homicide, Xavier vs. London, and London vs. Bryan Danielson. While it didn't have the pace of Daniels vs. Williams, it had the more engaging story - there was just simply nobody else in 2003 that sold and got sympathy heat like London. Not Chris Benoit. Not Rey Mysterio. Not Shawn Michaels.

Daniels also brought his A-game for this one, moving fluidly and with a vengeance. He had a weak spot on London, and he wasn't gonna succumb to London's tenacity like he did in his classic against Williams at_ Night of Champions_. Daniels was just on point in this match. I can only imagine these two having an actual feud back in the day.

*Rating:* ****1/2

Up next - Do or Die
Segments will include:
Tom Carter vs. Matt Stryker
An epic Second City Saints promo
Samoa Joe vs. Homicide


----------



## Super Sonic (Jun 11, 2014)

This review originally posted in 2012. The first match not part of the original review.

*Do or Die - May 31, 2003*










*Tom Carter vs. Matt Stryker*

This one definitely hasn't aged that impressively, although I appreciated the effort in it. Full disclosure before I get to the critiquing: this and the match against Doug Williams two months later are the only matches of Carter's that I've seen; I've never watched any of his Reckless Youth material.

Both men did a solid job of incorporating technical wrestling, and had the benefit of a hot crowd when the match started. It's a shame that neither man had the charisma and selling ability/willingness to truly engage the crowd. Put Alex Shelley and Bryan Danielson in this exact spot, with the same amount of time, with the same storytelling goals in mind, and this would have been significantly better.

I appreciate that Stryker was able to overcome the leg work Carter had done on him by rolling him up during an attempted submission, since based on the commentary Stryker was more experienced with technical wrestling schemes. But this was honestly no better than a fun but ultimately forgettable 10 minute match on _SmackDown!_ This certainly wasn't worth the $40 I shelled out on eBay just to see this match, but hey, I sold the master copy for $50. I'm not surprised that ROH hasn't prioritized including this match on _Year Two_ or any other comps.

The post-match is hilarious yet tedious, with Carter whining about being a junior style pioneer on the indies and not getting respect for it, saying Stryker's pin was a fluke too. Again, this is the only promo I've ever watched Carter/Youth cut, but it was not impressive, and the phenomenal promo later on this show in the exact same ring wasn't doing Carter any favors.

I must note that Allison Danger came to the ring to discuss Carter having a spot in the Prophecy, and she had a one-piece spandax bellbottom outfit that had me laughing. Was fashion in the very early 21st Century really that horrendous, or was that just a wrestler lacking fashion awareness?

*Rating:* ***1/4

*Second City Saints post-match promo*

Epic. You get CM Punk's self-important preaching followed by Colt Cabana and Lucy just having a good time. This is CM Punk living up to his justified hype as a character.

*ROH Title Match
Samoa Joe vs. Homicide*

A damn good match for its time, but these two were capable of better. Very dangerous shit they pulled off here, but there were times when the crowd bought that Homicide was really gonna do it. Pretty impressive when it was 2003!

*Rating:* ***1/2

Up next - Night of the Grudges
Matches will include:
CM Punk & Colt Cabana vs. Raven & BJ Whitmer
AJ Styles vs. Paul London


----------



## Super Sonic (Jun 11, 2014)

This review originally posted in 2012.

*Night of the Grudges - June 14, 2003*










*No DQ Match
CM Punk & Colt Cabana vs. Raven & BJ Whitmer*

A really good brawl here that served its purpose - get some blood flowing for this feud, but not in a show-stealing manner (due to its position on the card and the feud had not yet reached that point.) Some pretty dangerous shit, and this is a longer, deeper version of the Natural Born Sinners vs. Carnage Crew from _Crowning a Champion_. Not only is this a precursor of what is to come in the Punk vs. Raven feud, but it's also a nice preview of what was to come down the years in the indies for other feuds as well.

*Rating:* ***1/2

*ROH Title Shot Match
AJ Styles vs. Paul London*

"You guys are worth the price of admission alone!" - a fan as both men embraced after the match

This is yet another work of art for ROH. It's also another frustrating example of the fall of Paul London as an in-ring performer. In this one, he abandoned his sympathy babyface role in favor of playing a subtle, diabolical douche-bag. On the surface, this appears to be a match over a simple misunderstanding. But when one looks deeper and reflects on how the two got to this point, everything done in this match turns out to have even more meaning.

First, let's stay on London. His performance in this match for me goes back to his breakout feud with Michael Shane. That was his first time seeing the real cutthroat nature of the business as an on-screen character. Then he moved onto getting a title shot against Xavier at _Final Battle 2002_. Due to the champ's shenanigans, London failed to win the big one despite his remarkable efforts. Then he got another shot against Xavier at the _One Year Anniversary Show_ - in order to get that one, he had to defeat Low Ki AND Styles... on the same night. While London dd earn the title shot, Styles had to take TWO finishers in order for London to get the victory in that title shot match. Then London failed again against Xavier, despite an even more gut-wrenching effort than in their previous encounter.

London then moved on to the 2/3 falls classic against Bryan Danielson at _The Epic Encounter_, in which he came very close to losing but was able to overcome with tenacity. He also learned how Danielson came so close to defeating him - ruthless aggression bordering on being a heel. Next up, London lost another big collision involving the Prophecy, this time against Christopher Daniels at _Retribution: Robin Challenge II_, who won not just by cheating, but with mind games and working an injury on London.

For Styles, the road to this match is a story as well. He had failed twice before in his previous two title matches against Low Ki at _Honor Invades Boston_ and Xavier at _Night of the Butcher_ for very different reasons; in the end though, the result was the same for him. He then was presented with another opportunity, but failed to capitalize on it in the threeway against Ki and London. Remember, even though Styles took the pinfall in that match, it took TWO finishers in order to do so. And again, who pinned him? London.

Then there's also the simple backstory of London feeling (wrongly) that Styles abandoned him as a tag partner in favor of Amazing Red. So these two, with all of these backstories in mind, finally got to collide - and it's for another opportunity at the ROH Title!

London proved immediately that he had learned from his encounters with the Prophecy, playing mind games with Styles via the ridiculous amount of handshake offers and also spending time outside the ring, just like Daniels had done to him. He also was extremely aggressive against Styles at times, which goes back to the 2/3 falls match he had with Danielson. This mind game he played with Styles ultimately paid off, when he handed Styles the opportunity to do one of his signature guardrail-area kicks (a nod to the amazing spot Styles had against Danielson at _All Star Extravaganza_), only to use the NWA Champion's trigger-happy aggression against him. This is where London's true plan came to fruition - focus on the left knee of Styles.

Styles was put in a position in this match to play the sympathetic babyface. And you know what? He did a fucking fantastic job. He didn't play Ricky Morton or Shawn Michaels; this was a different flavor of sympathetic performance from him. His hope spots, relying on adrenaline and irritation/anger, were absolutely magical, and in the end gave him a chance against the cerebral London. As the commentators explained, it became a battle of London's calculating gameplan against the ferocious short comebacks of Styles, which gave him opportunities to get the heat on London and wear him down.

What also needs to be pointed out in this masterpiece is that EVERYTHING was smooth, crisp, and firing on all cylinders. This was Triple H vs. Chris Benoit, but done to perfection. Not a single move, spot, or submission was wasted. In the end, these two men were absolutely even, and that's why the draw finish was the correct conclusion based on how this match was laid out; this match's booking was Styles, London, and Gabe Sapolsky being backed into a corner (due to Styles winning the NWA Title that week in TNA) and responding by making a beautifully flawless work of art out of it.

How does this compare to the London vs. Danielson 2/3 falls ***** match? It's right below it. But this also leaves Daniels vs. Doug Williams in the dust. This was another engaging chef d'oeuvre. One can argue that this is Paul London's greatest match; it is likely the best of in the career of Styles as well - maybe even better than his jaw-dropping roller-coaster encounter against Samoa Joe at _Turning Point 2005_. I am certain this match was used to help base the performance of Styles in that one two and a half years later.

*Rating:* *****

Up next - Wrestlerave
Matches will include:
CM Punk & Colt Cabana vs. Raven & Christopher Daniels
Homicide vs. Trent Acid


----------



## Super Sonic (Jun 11, 2014)

This review originally posted in 2012.

*Wrestlerave - June 28, 2003*










*No DQ Match
CM Punk & Colt Cabana vs. Raven & Christopher Daniels*

This was another great chapter in the Punk vs. Raven feud, although slightly sacrificed to plant seeds for another feud that would come down the line. What matters most is the finish of the match, followed by one of what I consider to be Punk's three greatest promos in his career (the others would come in 2005 and 2011.) This match (and more importantly Punk's promo afterwards) did its job, which was to get me PUMPED for the dog-collar match on the next show.

*Rating:* ***1/2

*Hardcore Match
Trent Acid vs. Homicide*

What made this match work was how exciting it was - it even holds up today. While there was a lack of deep storytelling, the match almost made up for it just by sheer willpower. These two men absolutely killed themselves to keep the crowd going, and I must admit there was never a dull moment in this match. If they had just bothered to tell a deep story and not have too many ridiculous near-falls, this would have been remembered as fondly as Paul London vs. Michael Shane. However, I would say this is a precursor to the company's ladder matches that would come years later.

*Rating;* ***1/2

Up next - Death Before Dishonor
Matches will include:
Entire Carnage Crew vs. Hotstuff Hernandez, Fast Eddie Vegas, Don Juan, & Rudy Boy Gonzalez
Doug Williams vs. Tom Carter
Homicide vs. Colt Cabana vs. Dan Maff vs. BJ Whitmer
CM Punk vs. Raven
AJ Styles & Amazing Red vs. Briscoe Bros.
Samoa Joe vs. Paul London


----------



## Super Sonic (Jun 11, 2014)

This review originally posted in 2012.

*Death Before Dishonor - July 19, 2003*










*Hardcore Match
Entire Carnage Crew vs. Hotstuff Hernandez, Fast Eddie Vegas, Don Juan, & Rudy Boy Gonzalez*

Just shit. Absolute utter fucking shit. Nothing but a huge pile of idiotic, career-shortening moves. NEXT.

*Rating:* DUD

*Doug Williams vs. Tom Carter*

Technically proficient, but not all that engaging. Gabe Sapolsky taking a shot at WWE for calling this kind of action "boring" was almost a foreshadowing of this match. Williams vs. Christopher Daniels showed how to execute a classic without playing to the crowd. This one however did not.

*Rating:* ***

*ROH Title Shot Match
Homicide vs. Dan Maff vs. BJ Whitmer vs. Colt Cabana*

Yeah, you could feel that this match has Maff instead of Paul London like at _Revenge on the Prophecy_. Yet another match where the ref stopped giving a shit about legal tags (why not just even require them then?) but at least the moment that caused it was understandable (unlike a match later on this show.) Mega points for Cabana selling the top-rope exploder after the match like it fucking ended his life.

*Rating:* ***1/2

*Dog-Collar Match
CM Punk vs. Raven*

This surprisingly fell short of my expectations after the wild _Night of the Grudges_ and _Wrestlerave_ matches. Perhaps it's my fault for expecting an insane MOTYC instead of just a good match. The storytelling was there and that was ultimately most important, but the pacing couldn't match it. However, this is where it became obvious that Punk really had potential for the major leagues, as his heat segments were FAR more interesting than Raven's. The post-match has lost its specialness also due to all the indy appearances that Tommy Dreamer has made since.

*Rating:* ***1/2

*Tag Titles Match
AJ Styles & Amazing Red vs. Briscoe Bros.*

Yeah I'm never watching this series again. The psychology effort was there for Red's knee, but this was perhaps the worst tag team officiating I've ever seen. The story should have been VERY easy also to make this a MOTYC - little Red keeps getting worked on with the knee, ultimately gets the hot tag, and the ferocious Styles runs a house of fire, Red finds everything within himself to help Styles finish the match with a jaw-dropping, logical finish and then kicks the other Briscoe out of the way to prevent the finishing pinfall from being interrupted.

*Rating:* Less than ***

*ROH Title Match - Paul London's Farewell
Samoa Joe vs. Paul London*

This was a good match, but for obvious reasons did not come close to reaching MOTYC status. There was a pretty damn big missed opportunity when Joe missed the boot scrapes and caught his knee in the ropes, and then they didn't follow up on it at all. What this was though was a sample of what these two could do in the right circumstances, and it's unfortunate that it appears that will never happen. There is nothing that stands out as being bad about this match at all - it just wasn't put in the position to meet its fullest potential.

*Rating:* ***1/4

Up next - Bitter Friends, Stiffer Enemies
Matches will include:
Xavier vs. Christopher Daniels
Samoa Joe vs. CM Punk
Steve Corino vs. Homicide


----------



## Super Sonic (Jun 11, 2014)

This review originally posted in 2012.

*Bitter Friends, Stiffer Enemies - August 16, 2003*










Raven cuts a solid promo to start the DVD, and reminds me of the most important part of _Wrath of the Racket_ (which I skipped) - Lucy's mysterious attack.

*ROH Title Shot Match
Xavier vs. Christopher Daniels*

The pre-match promo did a perfect job in laying the psychological groundwork for what turned out to be a forgotten classic. To me, this holds up extremely well over the years and has gotten better; I consider it the second most under-appreciated match in ROH history. The match starts off as a feeling-out process, which for two stablemates you would think it was a waste of time, but you must recall this is Xavier's first major ROH match in five months. He needed to use the feel-out to not only get his feet wet again, but also show Daniels that he was his equal as an in-ring technician and could one-up the real Prophecy leader. Eventually though the real meat of the story came into play.

Knowing that the same strategy worked on Paul London at _Retribution: Robin Challenge II_ and almost on Doug Williams at _Night of Champions_, Daniels focused the majority of his work on Xavier's ribs, which caused the former ROH Champion many opportunities to finish the match (such as being in too much pain to pin Daniels after a successful 450 splash.) It was quite obvious to me that during his time away, Xavier studied those two classics Daniels had, in particular the loss against Williams. If you recall, Williams worked heavily on the neck of Daniels (a fairly well-known injury since WCW) in that one, which is what Xavier went for in this one.

Not only is the neck work brilliant because of the backstory to the Daniels vs. Williams match, but it plays into how Xavier had successfully defeated Paul London twice, as his finish is a modified (more dangerous) version of the neckbreaker. The selling of both men in this one was quite phenomenal, and makes you wonder what exactly caused Xavier to pretty much drift off into obscurity over the past several years. Based on the day, I may say this tops Xavier's emotional encounter against London at the _One Year Anniversary Show_.

What I really love about this one is that it legitimized Xavier and showed after all almost a full year of usually not living up to his position in the company, he deserved it and was finally ready. He not only went toe-to-toe technically with the established Daniels, he went toe-to-toe with him in terms of selling and playing the psychological games. In the end, Daniels proved he was superior when it came down to who knew how to play dirty and get away with it. A VERY pleasant surprise here, and I encourage Alan (of f4wonline.com) to go back and watch Daniels's work in the early days of ROH. He was just tremendous.

*Rating:* ****1/4

*Samoa Joe vs. CM Punk*

Nothing more than a delicious appetizer for the full course meals these two would later deliver. I appreciated the simply storytelling of Joe's arm vs. Punk's leg, since they were both injured. This would be a great match to end an episode of _SmackDown!_ with.

If you've already got the 2004 trilogy from the _Allied Forces_ DVD, go ahead and get the improved 2-disc version. This match is a nice extra to the iconic shoot interview it comes with.

*Rating:* ***1/4

*Relaxed Rules Match
Steve Corino vs. Homicide*

This is one that stands the test of time.

Quite easily the best gimmick match up to that point, and for good reason. Not only does it have the epic brutality, but at all times it kept the crowd engaged. To have this style of match, which was based on simple hatred, and not focused on jaw-dropping spots, and have the crowd buying NEAR-FALLS at the end is something that should be seen to be truly believed.

What separates this also from the previous gimmick matches in ROH is that it wasn't a pile of career-ending moves. There wasn't a significant rest period. There wasn't a lack of storytelling. They didn't go out there and kill a bunch of finishers. Everything meant something in this match. If there was anything wrong with the match, it's that a got a bit TOO brutal and caused injuries (making rest time needed but not too significantly), which kept the match from reaching the level of Shawn Michaels vs. Undertaker at _Bad Blood 1997_ or Triple H vs. Cactus Jack at _Royal Rumble 2000_. But you need not worry - this match still holds up today and is probably the greatest match of both men's careers, in front of a crowd of just 250 fans.

*Rating:* ****1/2

Punk closes out the show with yet another phenomenal self-important promo.

Up next - Beating the Odds
Matches will include:
Trent Acid vs. Homicide


----------



## Super Sonic (Jun 11, 2014)

This review originally posted in 2012.

*Beating the Odds - September 6, 2003*










*Relaxed Rules Match
Trent Acid vs. Homicide*

A good match, but doesn't match the unforgettable insanity of _Wrestlerave_. That also means this much was safer for both men. Since the rest of the show is pretty much mediocrity, this would be good to include on a new Homicide comp once that comes around.

_Rating:_ ***1/2

Up next - Glory By Honor II
Matches will include:
Alexis Laree's ROH farewell
Samoa Joe vs. Christopher Daniels


----------



## Super Sonic (Jun 11, 2014)

*Glory By Honor II - September 20, 2003*










*Alexis Laree's ROH Farewell*

I'm not going to analyze this segment, as it was what it was. Instead, I'm going to use this to point out something that I should have pointed out when Mickie James made her debut at _Crowning a Champion_ - she is hands down the cutest woman I've ever seen in wrestling.

Prior to his match against Terry Funk, CM Punk cuts another excellent heel promo on the legend; no, I'm not watching that match.

*ROH Title Match
Samoa Joe vs. Christopher Daniels*

This felt like a feud-ending Randy Orton match on _SmackDown!_ - very good but nowhere close to a MOTYC. That said, I can understand why fans claimed it was ****+ after the fucking show they sat through. Daniels showed a different strategy in this match, one that I don't find personally as engaging as his work against Xavier, Paul London, and Doug Williams. Instead of working a body part, he tried relying on his quickness, concerned that Joe's mass and aggression would overcome the technique. In the end, Joe proved that Daniels brought a failed gameplan.

*Rating:* ***3/4

Up next - Tradition Continues
Matches will include:
CM Punk vs. AJ Styles
Xavier vs. Mark Briscoe vs. Homicide vs. John Walters
Samoa Joe vs. Jay Briscoe


----------



## Super Sonic (Jun 11, 2014)

*Tradition Continues - October 16, 2003*










*CM Punk vs. AJ Styles*

This was quite a bit better than I remembered. Not the most engaging since they must have known they'd have rematches in the near future, but a satisfying surprise since I last saw this. I enjoyed the focus on the back of Styles to try to disable his high-flying and leg-based offense. Punk also did a great job of continuing to just be an annoying shithead (in a way that engages the viewer and audience.)

*Rating:* ***1/2

*Xavier vs. Mark Briscoe vs. Homicide vs. John Walters*

Just a pile of moves and not five minutes went before the ref stopped enforcing tags. I don't understand why these matches didn't just start as tornado rules. I turned this off halfway through, as I knew this match was just gonna be more moves and nothing else. All four guys are a lot better than this transparent attempt to just make the Baltimore crowd (this was the debut show for that martket) ejaculate and beg for an ROH return.

*Rating:* Less than ***

*ROH Title Match
Samoa Joe vs. Jay Briscoe*

Not as great as I remember, but still a damn fine main event to elevate Jay as a singles competitor. This match, following his matches at _Beating the Odds_ and _Glory By Honor II_, showed that there was nothing whatsoever about Joe's personality that was worthy of being respected. In retrospect, for a several month period, it's quite apparent that the ONLY reason Joe got babyface reactions during this period was because of how bad-ass he was and he followed Xavier's unsatisfying reign.

*Rating:* ***1/2

Up next - Empire State Showdown
Matches will include:
John Walters vs. Christopher Daniels


----------



## JamesK (Oct 7, 2012)

Super Sonic said:


> *Low Ki vs. Bryan Danielson vs. Christopher Daniels*
> 
> Largely a spotfest, but a fantastically, intelligently executed one. While not on par with the HHH vs. Benoit vs. HBK matches, this is one of the greatest threeway matches of all-time, and for good reason. There is NEVER a dull moment in this match, with combinations of maneuvers not yet seen at that point by a large portion (if any) of the audience. Everything done in the match serves a purpose while also being dramatic and entertaining, whether it's a submission, strike, takedown, or highspot. The ending is brilliant and does a great job of setting up the first major storyline and next show. These three were given the opportunity by Eddie and Crazy to go out and have the best match of the night, and they delivered in spades. A match that still holds up ten years later.
> 
> *Rating:* ****1/2


The first wrestling match that i watched...I had no clue about wrestling before that i didn't knew WWE or anything..

This match made me to fall in love with wrestling.. Still holds up to this day..

Awesome work Sonic!!


----------



## Super Sonic (Jun 11, 2014)

*Empire State Showdown - October 25, 2003*










*John Walters vs. Christopher Daniels*

This was almost going to be quite the technical classic, but it was almost completely ruined by the spotfest it became at the end. I will tack on extra 1/2* since Daniels sold the legwork post-match, although he didn't sell it as much as he should have. Walters really went to work on the left leg of Daniels and it deserved to be sold for all the effort that was put into that segment of that match. Walters wasn't as guilty with selling his back, which was the target for Daniels, but he showed some no-sell issues in the end also. If the finishing sequence had been based off the first 90% of the match, this would have been a surefire classic and a breakout performance for Walters.

Xavier starts heading back toward my doghouse for his promo in the post-match.

*Rating:* ***1/2

Up next - Man Event Spectacles
Matches will include:
Homicide vs. BJ Whitmer
Scramble Cage Match
AJ Styles vs. Bryan Danielson


----------



## Super Sonic (Jun 11, 2014)

*Main Event Spectacles - November 1, 2003*










*"Fighting Spirit Challenge"
Homicide vs. BJ Whitmer*

I'm not sure why Gabe Sapolsky thought having Whitmer kick out of the Cop-Killer, in an artificial attempt to get the uncharismatic insomnia cure over with the audience, and doing nothing to organically lead to such a major moment, was a better idea than just giving into Low Ki and jobbing Homicide in what would have been a surefire great match.

I had to take a break after this match due to the frustration of it. Homicide pre-TNA was a lot better than this. A LOT better - even the matches with Trent Acid had so much effort behind the spotfests that they were that someone as hard-to-please as me could respect and admire them. This was your typical non-gimmick Whitmer match, in which a list of moves is thrown onto a sheet of paper and they kick out of them. Time has not been kind to this one.

*Rating:* Less than ***

*Scramble Cage Match
Backseat Boyz vs. Teddy Hart & Jack Evans vs. Carnage Crew vs. The SAT vs. Angeldust & Hydro (Jay Lethal)*

Another mindless spotfest, but with a lot more charm and open honesty. I should note that two of my absolute favoritest grapplers of all-time locked up to start this one - Teddy Hart and Trent Acid. While the match was a complete mess, it is a carwreck that should be seen at least once in every wrestling fan's lifetime. It didn't go on for too long, and in fact ended at the perfect time now that I think about it. This kind of match though is HORRIBLE for pacing a show.

*Rating:* less than ***

*ROH Title Shot Match
AJ Styles vs. Bryan Danielson*

After sitting through what I consider to be a horrendous in-ring show that has not stood the test of time, this one saved it in spades. This should have easily been a five star match, but I blame the Scramble Cage for burning the crowd out, as well as the awful fourway in between. This match deserved a Philly, NYC, or Boston crowd.

Not only did these men build off of their _All Star Extravaganza_ classic, but they obviously studied their five star classics against Paul London too. In this one, Danielson came one step closer to his heel turn that was lurking inside him, and instead of a sympathetic London, you had the ultra-aggressive Styles instead. A recipe for a MOTYC if you ask me.

The counters in this match, which were a mix of new stuff as well as moves from their previous major matches, were just beautiful and graceful. The psychology, going back-and-forth between the left arm of Styles and Danielson's left knee, was nothing short of breathtaking. The aggression, not just fueled by the competitive professional spirit of both men, was only intensified all-the-more as both men gave it their all for another shot at the company's premier championship.

If Sapolsky had just paced this event better, this contest could have been on the same level of matches that both men had with London earlier in 2003. This is where the pacing problems began to glare for Sapolsky before he cut a lot of Rob Feinstein's dead weight in 2004. The crowd heat suffered going into this one, and that is through absolutely no fault of AJ Styles or Bryan Danielson.

Not only is the 2/3 falls match against London on Danielson's new ROH comp, but this match is as well. As if you needed another reason to get that DVD now. If you haven't seen this match already, get that comp during the current ongoing sale ROH is having.

*Rating:* ****1/2

*Good Times, Great Memories
Guests: Carnage Crew*

A fantastic edition of Colt Cabana's talk show, as he just had so much FUN chemistry with Loc & Devito.

Steve Corino closes out the show with a fantastic promo that has me pumped for his no rope barbed wire match against Homicide.

Up next - The Conclusion
Matches will include:
Homicide vs. John Walters
Briscoe Bros. vs. Samoa Joe & AJ Styles
CM Punk vs. Raven


----------



## Super Sonic (Jun 11, 2014)

*The Conclusion - November 28, 2003*










*Homicide vs. John Walters*

A nice undercard match to help elevate Walters and keep Homicide's momentum going for the feud with Steve Corino. I loved how testy these two got with one another and that Walters was coming so close to getting his first major victory in the company. Why this gets forgotten in favor of that shitty BJ Whitmer match from _Main Event Spectacles_ is quite the appalling mystery.

*Rating:* ***1/2

*Tag Titles Match
Briscoe Bros. vs. Samoa Joe & AJ Styles*

A good but forgettable tag match. It had all the basics down on paper - manipulation by the Briscoes, aggression for Styles, furthering the Joe vs. Briscoes feud, Joe and Styles losing their chemistry at the end - it just didn't have the pace to make this anywhere near a classic. Still a million light years ahead of the series involving Amazing Red though.

*Rating:* ***

*Loser Leaves Town - Cage Match
Raven vs. CM Punk*

Now this is more like it. A nice way to finish this feud, as it didn't have the pedestrian crowd-brawling spilling over from the days of ECW and Vince Russo. This had hatred and a sense of urgency thanks to the stipulation, but at the end the issue between the two of them almost cost each other the match. Just a great cage match, and while this feud has been topped over and over again in the past decade, this is the one that made Punk a CHARACTER to build the federation around.

*Rating:* ****

Up next - War of the Wire
Matches will include:
Samoa Joe vs. AJ Styles
Homicide vs. Steve Corino


----------



## Super Sonic (Jun 11, 2014)

*War of the Wire - November 29, 2003*










*ROH Title Match
Samoa Joe vs. AJ Styles*

A pleasant surprise, as this was damn good and quite a bit better than I remembered. I loved the counters in this one, and Styles brought his ferocity as usual to combat Joe's size. My favorite spot had to be when Styles jumped over the guardrail and did a jumping lariat instead of attempting something leg-based - it showed that he respected Joe's studying and training habits too much to risk repeating spots done in the title shot matches against Paul London and Bryan Danielson. In the end though, Styles completely wore himself out (especially by POWERBOMBING Joe) and that cost him the match, as Joe still had enough stamina to finish him.

*Rating:* ****

*No Rope Barbed Wire Match
Homicide vs. Steve Corino*

Just a tad bit below their _Bitter Friends, Stiffer Enemies_ epic for me personally, but this was still a classic nonetheless. Their initial fear of the barb wire, quickly being overcome by the pure hatred they had towards one another, was gorgeous to watch. This match, which on the surface just looks to be nothing more than an OMG gorefest, actually had a bigger purpose - how much pain would these men put their own selves through to inflict it on each other? This mentality they both displayed throughout the match, as well as how their previous match concluded, was nothing short of breathtaking as they reached the finish. These two awesome matches not only were masterful in terms of showing how much animosity there was, but also had both coming out as even more bad-ass than they were before.

*Rating:* ****1/4

Up next - Final Battle 2003
Matches will include:
Jay Briscoe vs. Bryan Danielson
Xavier vs. John Walters
CM Punk & Colt Cabana vs. Tomiaoki Honma & Kazushi Miyamoto


----------



## Super Sonic (Jun 11, 2014)

*Final Battle 2003 - December 27, 2003*










*Jay Briscoe vs. Bryan Danielson*

A damn fine opener that did its job - get the blood flowing for the crowd, but don't have a MOTYC, and keep the match logical. These two could have easily main evented a show and had a ****+ match. Nonetheless, I'm looking forward to the Briscoes vs. Samoa Joe & Danielson match on the next show.

This also happens to be on Danielson's new ROH comp.

*Rating:* ***1/2

*Hardcore Match
Xavier vs. John Walters*

Very similar to the Homicide vs. Trent Acid match at _Wrestlerave_, but not quite the amazing spectacle. There's a lot of shit in this match that I'm sure both men regret, especially the finish. Another stupidly entertaining spot was the springboard 450 to the outside on Walters through a table. I'm sure that was worth it. Really fun match not only to end this mid-card feud, but conclude Walters's road to his first major singles victory.

*Rating:* ***1/4

*Who Attacked Lucy?*

After all these months of building this up, shows and matches being interrupted, planting the seeds for this mega-feud, this major push goes to...

BJ Whitmer. Yeah. He certainly earned it after that shitty Field of Honor final earlier in the night.

*CM Punk & Colt Cabana vs. Tomiaoki Honma & Kazushi Miyamoto*

I really enjoyed this TAG TEAM match quite a bit. There wasn't a single moment of failure to enforce tag rules, and pinfalls were only counted for the legal men. This is important because when rules are enforced, it makes the insanity mean more when it happens on rare occasion. Much like the opener, this wasn't meant to be a MOTYC - it did its job of just being a good match after intermission, and it's a shame the other AJPW matches that followed couldn't take a cue from this one.

*Rating:* ***1/2

*Good Times, Great Memories
Guests: Special K*

Short and sweet. I'm starting to see why Carnage Crew are missed - I'd certainly take them over Charlie Haas & Shelton Benjamin.

*SUPER DUPER ROH 2003 AWARDS*

Wrestler of the Year:
Homicide and Christopher Daniels
Runner-up - Paul London

Debut of the Year:
BJ Whitmer - _Revenge on the Prophecy_

Breakout Performance of the Year:
CM Punk on the microphone @ _Do or Die_

Feud/Rivalry of the Year:
Raven vs. CM Punk
Runner-up - Homicide vs. Steve Corino and Samoa Joe vs. Briscoe Bros.

Show of the Year:
_One Year Anniversary Show_
Runner-up - _Revenge on the Prophecy_ and _Bitter Friends, Stiffer Enemies_

Moment of the Year:
Paul London's farewell @ _Death Before Dishonor_
Runner-up - Samoa Joe's ROH title win @ _Night of Champions_ and Great Muta's appearance @ _Final Battle 2003_

Match of the Year:
Paul London vs. Bryan Danielson - _The Epic Encounter_ *****
Runner-up - AJ Styles vs. Paul London - _Night of the Grudges_ *****

ROH's Top 10 Matches of 2003 (in chronological order):
Low Ki vs. Paul London vs. AJ Styles - _One Year Anniversary Show_ ****1/4
Xavier vs. Paul London - _One Year Anniversary Show_ ****
Christopher Daniels vs. Doug Williams - _Night of Champions_ ****3/4
Paul London vs. Bryan Danielson - _The Epic Encounter_ *****
Paul London vs. Christopher Daniels - _Retribution: Round Robin Challenge II_ ****1/2
AJ Styles vs. Paul London - _Night of the Grudges_ *****
Xavier vs. Christopher Daniels - _Bitter Friends, Stiffer Enemies_ ****1/4
Steve Corino vs. Homicide - _Bitter Friends, Stiffer Enemies_ ****1/2
AJ Styles vs. Bryan Danielson - _Main Event Spectacles_ ****1/2
Homicide vs. Steve Corino - _War of the Wire_ ****1/4

Up next - The Battle Lines Are Drawn
Matches will include:
Alex Shelley vs. Matt Stryker
Homicide vs. AJ Styles
Briscoe Bros. vs. Samoa Joe & Bryan Danielson
Second City Saints vs. Christopher Daniels, Dan Maff, & BJ Whitmer


----------



## Super Sonic (Jun 11, 2014)

*The Battle Lines Are Drawn - January 10, 2004*










*Pure Wrestling Rules Match
Alex Shelley vs. Matt Stryker*

A damn fine opener here, as Stryker's lack of charisma wasn't quite so obvious yet and he was working with the always tremendous Shelley. Great psychology, great selling, great storytelling. Get the crowd pumped for the rest of the night. Most importantly, get the new gimmick division over. A nice challenger to Bryan Danielson's matches against Jay Briscoe and Christopher Daniels for best ROH opener ever.

*Rating:* ***1/2

*Good Times, Great Memories
Guest: Ace Steel*

Yeah this RULED until CM Punk showed up and convinced Ace Steel to do his retarded "look at me, I'm a pissed off motherfucker" face that nobody ever bought.

*Homicide vs. AJ Styles*

I was surprised how much I enjoyed this one. For some reason, I was honestly expecting an empty spotfest. Instead, you got two men who respected one another but would absolutely push each other as competitors. This got vicious, this got heated, and had some decent storytelling too. I could see this getting better with more viewings.

*Rating:* ***1/2

*Tag Titles Match
Briscoe Bros. vs. Samoa Joe & Bryan Danielson*

Another damn good match - I shudder to think of this rematch in 2006-2008. It ultimately became a battle of which sum was greater - the Briscoes' chemistry under the new tutelage of Jim Cornette, or the aggression and determination of Joe & Danielson? Mix in some better selling with this match and you would have had a MOTYC right here.

_Rating:_ ***3/4

*The Second City Saints vs. Christopher Daniels, Dan Maff, & BJ Whitmer*

I've never quite understood the psychology of why the Prophecy were treated as babyfaces by the commentary and crowd. I know that Punk was obnoxious and overbearing. He even attacked a woman before. But did his crimes fit the punishment of someone he viewed as a loved one being put into a hospital for months?

When Punk attacked Trinity at _Expect the Unexpected_, he didn't do it so severely as to scar her for life or say fuck you to Raven. He did it to make sure she was a non-factor in that hardcore match. That's it. He treated Raven like absolute shit, but you could tell he had some conviction into his reasoning for it. He honestly believed that Raven was a piece of trash.

Daniels & Whitmer had absolutely no justifiable reason for what they did to Lucy. OH NOEZ Whitmer, Punk was being mean to you about that shitty match you had with him. Yeah, that totally makes it okay to hospitalize a woman for an extended period of time just because she was significant to him.

For Daniels, he was obviously tired of getting his ass kicked by Low Ki, Styles, Joe, and Doug Williams, so he moved onto Punk just to fuck with him mentally. Maybe he felt that after the way he treated the company by shitting on the Code of Honor, going after Punk would win him the locker room and he could wiggle his way into getting the company to do favors for him. What he didn't realize is how narcissistic Punk could truly be, and karma came biting HARD.

I also had complete empathy for Punk - if one of my loved ones was hospitalized or murdered, I'd be out for blood as well. Anybody who would sabotage me would face my consequences too. When this kind of line is crossed, it's pure emotion. But with his attitude during this match (I don't have a problem with what he did afterwards), the only parties that truly deserved empathy were Cabana and Maff (for being team players and true friends) and Lucy (for the obvious reason.)

This match for unknown reasons started as a regular tag, only to get out of control later on. With the heat this feud already had, there was no reason to make it anything but a gimmick match from the get-go. That said, Maff's performance as Ricky Morton in this contest was REALLY impressive considering he's Dan Maff.

I don't understand why Punk was playing a chickenshit in this - he was the one out for revenge, not Daniels or anyone else on the Prophecy. Just weird. I guess everyone just decided to play along with the crowd reaction to both factions.

The real story of this whole chapter was in the post-match. The message was sent loud and clear: You do NOT fuck with CM Punk. EVER. There are severe consequences for doing so. Just like what happened to Lucy, Daniels was put into hospitalization as well. Whitmer's lucky he was still left standing.

Afterwards, Punk cuts a tremendous promo explaining how karma came back to bite Daniels. Maff then followed up with a laughable attempt at an emotional promo, and completely overlooking that his friends put their hands in the cookie jar first.

This whole thing was for the most part entertaining, due to the sheer work of all men involved (yes, that includes Steel and Whitmer.) But with a more logical layout to the storyline and match, this could have maybe been THE Match of the Year. Instead, it's a fun spectacle that did the most it could with its logic shortcomings.

*Rating:* ***3/4

Up next - The Last Stand
Matches will include:
Jimmy Jacobs vs. Alex Shelley
CM Punk vs. Homicide
Briscoe Bros. vs. Samoa Joe & Jerry Lynn


----------



## Super Sonic (Jun 11, 2014)

*The Last Stand - January 29, 2004*










The nostalgia returns immediately - this show marks the debut of THE S TO THE S TO THE P~!









Christopher Daniels cuts a promo via satellite - decent but again I'm not fully engaged into this heel vs. heel feud. Perhaps if the commentary called both groups out on their bullshit I'd be more into it. You didn't hear Jim Ross taking Edge or Randy Orton's side during their classic match in 2007; for whatever reason, Gabe Sapolsky seems to take the Prophecy's side at every standpoint, or completely gloss over that they stuck their hands in the cookie jar first.

*Good Times, Great Memories
Guests: Dunn & Marcos*

This sucked and just wasn't fucking entertaining at all. Colt Cabana had no clue how to ad-lib for the unenthusiastic crowd.

*Jimmy Jacobs vs. Alex Shelley*

Good but nothing special, as neither guy had done anything of note yet in ROH, so the crowd heat wasn't there, plus it was white-meat Shelley. Nice submissions and counters though, and I enjoyed the post-match.

*Rating:* ***1/4

*CM Punk vs. Homicide*

This one put me to sleep. Not horrible, but not a good match in any way. Bad night for both men and they could do much better as their previous match at _Retribution: Round Robin Challenge II_ showed.

*Rating:* Less than ***

*Tag Titles Match
Briscoe Bros. vs. Samoa Joe & Jerry Lynn*

Good tag, but nothing close to the one involving Bryan Danielson on the previous show. A shitty finish that looked intentionally botched too to give Lynn an excuse to do the cradle piledriver since he didn't do it at all in the match. The highlight was easily Cornette doing a fantastic job of retorting to Lynn's real-life, world-is-out-to-get-me bitter potshots at WWE and keeping it kayfabe.

Joe cuts a GREAT promo afterwards (and like Daniels, he completely neglects to mention that he started his entire feud with the Briscoes by treating them like shit.) He does his job of getting me pumped for the cage match, and even the Prophecy threeway scheduled. Then Dan Maff & BJ Whitmer cut a promo that almost put me back to sleep, even though it's less than a minute.

*Rating:* ***

I can easily see why this DVD took so long to go OOP and ROH never bothered restocking it. Perhaps I shouldn't be saying that as this will be one of many OOP masters I'll be unloading soon, but I'm not here to milk you the viewers out of your money; this thread is to give you honest recommendations. Find a cheap way to see Shelley vs. Jacobs and avoid everything else unless you MUST have the entire ROH DVD collection in your closet. This was easily one of the worst shows ROH ever hosted. Maybe it's because it's a Baltimore show, but it left an SBG-like bad taste in my mouth. 

Up next - Second Anniversary Show
Matches will include:
The good shit from the Pure Title Tournament, including CM Punk vs. John Walters, Chris Sabin vs. Doug Williams, a semifinal, and the final
Samoa Joe vs. Low Ki vs. Dan Maff vs. BJ Whitmer


----------



## StuckInHell4-Life (Jun 19, 2014)

Thanks for doing this thread. It's very fun to read along and your enthusiasm makes it a breeze to go through.


----------



## Super Sonic (Jun 11, 2014)

*Second Anniversary Show - February 14, 2004*










*Pure Title Tournament Quarterfinal (Regular Rules)
CM Punk vs. John Walters*

A perfect way to open the show. Punk being a douche-bag by imitating the entrance of Christopher Daniels. The hometown guy Walters. Sound psychology and storytelling. No complaints here. One of the best openers in company history.

*Rating:* ***1/4

*Pure Title Tournament Quarterfinal (Regular Rules)
Chris Sabin vs. Doug Williams*

These two needed a few more minutes plus a tad bit more experience for Sabin, but there was nothing wrong with this match at all. Just not memorable, but the effort was a lot better than another match that came up later in the tournament.

*Rating:* less than ***

*Pure Title Tournament Semifinal (Regular Rules)
CM Punk vs. Doug Williams*

My easy pick for match of the night - just some great storytelling and nice clash of styles. Big, big fan of this one, and I wish these two could have rematched later in the year. And the surprising thing - the heat segment of Williams was actually more engaging than Punk's.

*Rating:* ***3/4

*ROH Title Match
Samoa Joe vs. Low Ki vs. Dan Maff vs. BJ Whitmer*

I would consider this match to be a minor miracle. It was a good match, but not as great as it could have been. What makes that miraculous is that this included Maff and Whitmer, who did their absolute best, resulting in them NOT bringing this match down. But their participation in this one did nothing to add to it either.

This one had a couple monitoring problems from the ref, but probably the least annoying that I'd seen so far. This also lacked the deep storytelling that you know Joe vs. Ki II could have provided, but that's not really Maff or Whitmer's fault - I'm at the point where I can accept that they're NOT CAPABLE of being consistently skilled in-ring storytellers. Of course, the highlights are the exchanges between Joe and Ki. Just phenomenal stuff whenever we got to see it.

*Rating:* ***1/2

*Pure Title Tournament Final
CM Punk vs. AJ Styles*





(Note: the above video does NOT have the pre-match intros or the post-match championship ceremony.)

This might very well be the most disappointing match in ROH history. Don't be fooled by all the elements going for this match - that it's CM Punk vs. AJ Styles, that's it to determine the first ever Pure Champion, that it's the main event for a historic show. This is in no way a historic match in terms of performance.

Just rewind back to June 2003 in Boston, when Styles sold like a king in his ***** masterpiece against Paul London. He came into this one with a glaring leg/knee injury, and did one of the most lackluster sell jobs I've ever seen. Combine that with the storyline of Punk getting fucked out of rope breaks in a cheap way to build to a rematch, and yeah, I'll call this one a disaster. This was just boring and insulting.

*Rating:* less than ***

*Good Times, Great Memories
Guest: Ace Steel*

YOU MUST SEE THIS. God I love Ace Steel as a comedy curtain-jerker. He was born to be that role. And the special surprise is just tremendous.

Up next - At Our Best
Matches will include:
Jerry Lynn vs. Nigel McGuinness
AJ Styles vs. CM Punk
Samoa Joe vs. Jay Briscoe


----------



## Super Sonic (Jun 11, 2014)

*At Our Best - March 13, 2004*










*Jerry Lynn vs. Nigel McGuinness*

Nothing more an inoffensive exhibition of movesets from one another. Perfectly acceptable wrestling.

*Rating:* Less than ***

*Pure Title Match
Guest Ref - Ricky Steamboat
AJ Styles vs. CM Punk*

This had some AWESOME moments in it, but for some reason, the whole doesn't seem to be as good as the sum of the parts. Something in this was just missing. Maybe Punk was just not meant for this style; maybe Styles wasn't either. But something was definitely missing. To be positive, this came nowhere close to the level of annoying as their match the previous month.

What this did accomplish though was setting up the next major angle for Punk beautifully, and I can already see that Punk vs. Steamboat holds up very well over time. Too bad WWE didn't take advantage and do the angle when Steamboat came out of retirement and Punk turned heel in 2009.

*Rating:* ***

*ROH Title - Cage Match
Samoa Joe vs. Jay Briscoe*

Four shows and three months in, and ROH finally lived up to its reputation - a truly great match happened. This really was just some tremendous stuff, establishing the true tenacity that the Briscoes have. Rather than be dominated by fear when Joe locked the cage door, Jay took advantage of the opportunity to give him a receipt for shitty treatment of them over the previous several months.

This match is not only great, but I'd say historically important - it proved to Joe that the Briscoes were someone he'd maybe count on in the future to go to war with, and also displayed the brutality the Briscoes would be willing to endure in later feuds down the road. YOU WANNA SEE THIS.

*Rating:* ****1/4

I forward to final moments of the show and hear Gabe Sapolsky say that this is the company "at our best." No Gabe, this was not.

Joe ambushes Julius Smokes and accepts Homicide's challenge for a title match, being a complete douche-bag about the situation. I wonder if there will be any severe consequences for that.

I'm taking a little break here to start other federation rewatch projects. Not a very long one. but just taking one. This is the perfect time to do it anyway due to LOL I'LL PRETEND U SAID 18.

Up next when this returns - Reborn Stage 1
Matches will include:
CM Punk vs. Bryan Danielson
Samoa Joe vs. Homicide


----------



## Super Sonic (Jun 11, 2014)

*Reborn Stage 1 - April 23, 2004*










*CM Punk vs. Bryan Danielson
Guest Ref - Ricky Steamboat*





(Note: the above video does NOT include the important post-match.)

While this doesn't measure up the matches they've had on PPV or their 2/3 falls match, it fits right in with all of their other work. You had two fresh characters facing off for the first time ever, complete with a HOFer guest reffing to further his storyline with Punk (which has held up VERY well.) This has the obvious feel-out process for the first several to 10 minutes, but the main psychological story of the match becomes Punk's ribs. This combined with his time spent jaw-jacking with Steamboat costs him the match against the technically superior Danielson.

*Rating:* ***3/4

*ROH Title Match
Samoa Joe vs. Homicide*

This is just as good as their _Do or Die_ match. They beat the hell out of each other and did a great job of getting over how frustrated they were becoming with one another. Karma finally catches up to Joe when Homicide does his psychopathic heel turn, knocking out refs left and right and giving the champion a fireball to the face. A chaotic and LOUD statement that ROH, in the wake of the RF scandal, was truly reborn.

*Rating:* ***1/2

Up next - Reborn Stage 2
Matches will include:
Jimmy Rave vs. Rocky Romero vs. Austin Aries vs. Nigel McGuinness
Carnage Crew vs. Dunn Marcos vs. Jack Evans & Matt Sydal vs. Jimmy Jacobs & Alex Shelley
Briscoe Bros. vs. CM Punk & Colt Cabana


----------



## Super Sonic (Jun 11, 2014)

*Reborn Stage 2 - April 24, 2004*










*Jimmy Rave vs. Rocky Romero vs. Austin Aries vs. Nigel McGuinness*

An extremely fun and well thrown-together spotfest, with some surprisingly good psychology. What keeps it from being great psychology is the usual inconsistency with enforcing tags - I'm not going to shrug my shoulders and deem this acceptable. This match did its job though in launching the ROH careers of all four men - by year's end, it was inevitable that each wrestler would be an integral part of the current/future scene of the company.

*Rating:* ***1/2

*Homicide vs. Bryan Danielson*

A dream match that is underappreciated due to it being "too long." The length of this match allowed for Homicide to show his new dark side gimmick, which in turn led to what I will never be unhappy with in a match - an irritated and pissed off Danielson. Not only do they both bring an annoyed irritation and anger to the match, but this match is dripping with psychology. The technical story of the match eventually became Homicide's right hand (he injured it when he missed Danielson and punched a guardrail, showing that his dark side may not be the end-all, be-all answer to getting what he wants) vs. Danielson's neck (perfect to set up for the Kudo Driver.) And although it may seem like the finish was dripping with no-selling, it wasn't. This wasn't a Davey Richards "fuck whatever limb work we've done and just go balls-to-the-wall" style of match. The finish was a moment of Homicide temporarily telling his pain to fuck off so he could get this win that he needed not only to get momentum for the inevitable title shot at Joe, but to make sure his new heel turn got started the correct way. His immediate post-match selling of the hand makes this quite obvious.

*Rating:* ****1/4

*Scramble Match
Carnage Crew vs. Dunn & Marcos vs. Jack Evans & Matt Sydal vs. Jimmy Jacobs & Alex Shelley*

An entertainingly inoffensive spotfest designed to get some attention on the four unestablished acts, and to build to Shelley's planned big moment for _Generation Next_ on May 22 in Philadelphia. Wonder what he's got planned.

*Tag Titles Match
Briscoe Bros. vs. CM Punk & Colt Cabana*

A match that is one of the many that to me does not hold up as a classic MOTYC. It started off the right way, with tag psychology, cutting the ring in half, building to a hot tag, etc. Then the ref just stops enforcing tags and doesn't even bother keeping track of who's legal. The result is a fun and historic tag match, but not the great one that would be compared with the likes of mid-90s AJPW or the SmackDown/Heyman Six. 

*Rating:* ***1/2

Up next - Round Robin Challenge III
Matches will include:
Samoa Joe vs. Ricky Reyes
Homicide vs. Brian Kendrick
Briscoe Bros. vs. CM Punk & Colt Cabana


----------



## Super Sonic (Jun 11, 2014)

*Round Robin Challenge III - May 15, 2004*










In the opener, CM Punk & Colt Cabana lose the Tag Titles to Dan Maff & BJ Whitmer. What really matters is Ricky Steamboat celebrating with the Prophecy afterward and when by himself in the ring, the Second City Saints double-team him, with Punk hitting a guillotine legdrop on Steamboat on a table in the ring.

What also matters is that Maff & Whitmer lose the belts later on in the evening to the Briscoes. 

*Samoa Joe vs. Ricky Reyes*

Nothing more than a nice tune-up for Joe for his title defense the next week against Homicide. As good of a Ricky Reyes singles match you'll ever see.

*Rating:* less than ***

*Homicide vs. Brian Kendrick*

Now this was quite interesting, as the contest pitted a psychopath against an oddball. Kendrick proves very quickly that he's willing to play dirty in his own whacky way, managing to outsmart Homicide at times. Homicide though, with the help of Julius Smokes, shows he refuses to lose his momentum going into his title shot against Joe and he will be damned otherwise. And I actually liked the interference in this one - it got over Homicide's heel turn even more, showing that he will do whatever it takes to get ahead now (extremely important for Joe to get that message), while protecting Kendrick and his Shiranui finisher.

Post-match, the Rottweilers beat the shit out of Joe and give him multiple piledrivers.

*Rating:* ***1/2

*Tag Titles - Round Robin Challenge Match #3
Briscoe Bros. vs. CM Punk & Colt Cabana*

This was definitely an improvement over their overrated title change at _Reborn Stage 2_. With this one, there was the simple story of Mark having injured ribs from a match earlier in the evening, and the Saints cut the ring in half for a significant amount of time, channeling the spirit of Arn Anderson & Tully Blanchard and the Midnight Express with great tag team psychology. And when Mark got the hot tag, it fucking meant something.

Unfortunately after the hot tag, the match turned into the average indy tag team contest. The ref couldn't bother to enforce who is and isn't legal. Had he done so, I'd be discussing a possible MOTYC here.

Post-match a brawl ensues involving Dan Maff & BJ Whitmer, but it's absolutely meaningless as Ricky Steamboat shows up to destroy Punk, right after he had just been in a hard-fought main event and getting retribution for everything so far in the feud.

*Rating:* ***3/4

Alex Shelley promises a big surprise next weekend, specifically making references about climbing the ladder to success, and leaves the building with a new guy named Roderick Strong.

Up next - Generation Next
Matches and segments will include:
Alex Shelley's big surprise
Jimmy Jacobs vs. Nigel McGuinness
CM Punk & Colt Cabana vs. Dan Maff & BJ Whitmer
CM Punk and Ricky Steamboat confrontation
Samoa Joe vs. Homicide


----------



## Super Sonic (Jun 11, 2014)

*Generation Next - May 22, 2004*










*Good Times, Great Memories
Guest: Trent Acid*

Entertaining segment that forwarded the Carnage Crew gym bag defecation storyline, an angle that I've come to appreciate more over the years as undercard fun, and it fit the gimmick of the Crew quite well. That such antics have actually happened on the road only adds to it. (It'd turn out to be the new Carnage Crew that committed the heinous crime as revealed later on the show.)

*Alex Shelley's Big Surprise*

What is supposed to be a filler scramble opener involving Dunn & Marcos, Special K, and the Christopher St. Connection instead turns into one of the most important segments in ROH and independent wrestling history. Alex Shelley, Austin Aries, Roderick Strong, & Jack Evans interrupt the ring entrances, destroying the Connection (never to be seen again in ROH) and Ring Crew Express. Shelley then announces that the series of "Generation Next" matches are cancelled in favor of the four hungry upstarts forming Generation Next so that they can together become stars overnight. Special K (who are on a very bad streak) come out and we get some quick opening matches.

*Impromptu Match
Austin Aries, Roderick Strong, & Jack Evans vs. Izzy, Dixie, & Angeldust*

Not as effective as I would hope. GeNext plain and simple should have decimated Special K within 2 minutes to mark their territory immediately as an unfuckable faction.

*Impromptu Match
Alex Shelley vs. Hydro (Jay Lethal)*

This one wasn't as annoying as the previous match, as it did a great job of getting over Shelley as the leader of GeNext, and showing the potential Lethal had to be a breakout singles competitor. Perfectly executed.

GeNext would later attack Jimmy Rave and John Walters before those two wrestlers squared off.

*Jimmy Jacobs vs. Nigel McGuinness*

Didn't expect this one to hold up as anything more than an acceptable, and it surprised me. It was quick and to the point of slowly showing that these two were definitely on their way up, although I didn't care for Jacobs kicking out of the Tower of London.

*Rating:* ***

*Tag Titles - Hardcore Match
CM Punk & Colt Cabana vs. Dan Maff & BJ Whitmer*

A good match that would have just been great had their been no attempts at maintaining order. This was an out-and-out blood feud at this point and it was known beforehand that this was a hardcore rules style match.

*Rating:* ***1/4

*Impromptu Match
Briscoe Bros., Jimmy Rave, & John Walters vs. Alex Shelley, Austin Aries, Roderick Strong, & Jack Evans*

This match is set-up when GeNext come out to threaten the Briscoes after their match against the Outcast Killaz, only for Rave & Walters to show up to even the odds.

This MAY be a perfect match. This had psychology from both teams. This had a great feeling-out process in the first third of the match that made sense. These eight men didn't expect to be wrestling each other on this night. There were also many, many great moments of offense that just did nothing short of amaze. For over 40 minutes, these eight men just went out there and tore the fucking house down. With it being an eight-man tag, I'm also more than happy to empathize with the ref not being able to maintain order down the stretch - to try doing so would be an exercise in futility.

This match also had many great segments of cutting the ring in half from the babyface and heel side. Things sometimes got a little dirty too, as the makeshift babyface squad was fed up with the antics of GeNext. Ultimately though, the antics of GeNext earlier in the evening (Aries piledriving Walters) paid off in spades, as the finish came when Walters couldn't get out of Shelley's Border City Stretch, having no choice but to tap out.

This is nothing short of a classic, and I'd throw it in the mix with Gabe Sapolsky's greatest booked matches. THIS is how you make stars overnight. THIS is how you establish not only a dominant act, but get other wrestlers that are just treading water into something productive. And in the process, the fans got to see one of the damnedest matches they've ever seen. I can't quite put this on the same level as Low Ki vs. Bryan Danielson, Paul London vs. Bryan Danielson, and AJ Styles vs. Paul London, but dammit it's close.

*Rating:* ****3/4

*CM Punk and Ricky Steamboat confrontation*

This really was quite simple and predictable. Asshole new guy tries to antagonize a retired HOFer as a means to draw attention to himself. And guess what? It fucking works. The promo Punk cuts is another one to add to his collection of great ones, and then his deceit into physicality with Steamboat for a couple minutes is great stuff, making me REALLY wish WWE had done Punk vs. Steamboat in 2009. Thumbs up here.

*ROH Title - Relaxed Rules Match - There Must Be a Winner
Samoa Joe vs. Homicide*

This def needs to be on a new comp soon, as it holds up tremendously. This match does what the Saints vs. Prophecy should have done - immediately establish that this is a WAR. Whereas the impromptu show-stealing match earlier is a "work of art" style of match, this is just brutality and hatred. They beat the shit out of each other without destroying the bad-ass personas of one another. This has hard hits, dangerous drops, ghetto forks, ambushes, hardway bleeding. None of those things are what I'd personally encourage, but in this one they serve as purposeful elements. The finish is a tad meh, but it established that the sheer size and hatred of Joe is too much for Homicide to overcome. Supposedly they go on to top this month two months later. I'm looking forward to it.

*Rating: *****

This is simply one of the greatest pro wrestling events I've ever seen. It has great wrestling. It has varieties of wrestling and characters. It has forward progression of storylines in an interesting fashion. It has breakout performances. It plants seeds for the undercard to become more important down the road. This is pretty much a perfect show, and it turned out to be without spending a shitload of money flying in huge stars of that time from WWE or NOAH. This is EASILY ROH's best show of 2004, better than any 2002 or 2003 show from the company - some matches later in 2004 may be better than anything on this event, but no event as a whole in ROH's first three years can measure up to it.

Get this NOW. And yes, I do have one master copy I'm looking to get rid of.

Up next - World TItle Classic
Matches will include:
Alex Shelley, Austin Aries, & Roderick Strong vs. Jimmy Rave, John Walters, & Matt Stryker
Samoa Joe vs. CM Punk


----------



## Super Sonic (Jun 11, 2014)

*World Title Classic - June 12, 2004*










*Impromptu Match
Alex Shelley, Austin Aries, & Roderick Strong vs. Jimmy Rave, John Walters, & Matt Stryker*

This was advertised as Shelley vs. Stryker, but in another genius moment for Gabe Sapolsky, it turned into an impromptu six man tag match after GeNext destroyed Stryker and busted his forehead open. Walters kindly responded by sloppily dropping Jack Evans onto the hardwood floor from inside the ring. I’d have politicked Walters down the card to Sapolsky had I been Evans.

This is a match that has held up extremely well. While it couldn’t measure to the impromptu MOTYC on the prior event, this one still stands it on its own as an outstanding classic. You had cutting the ring in half for both sides once again, with the early psychological story being the babyfaces working on Strong’s knee (his selling of it later in the match was quite impressive to me), and then GeNext destroying Rave’s back in the later majority of the match.

The match got a bit out of control, but in this case it psychologically works for me because that what GeNext does. Unlike the other heel stable of that time the Rottweilers, they didn’t just cause chaos for shits and giggles – they did so to manipulate the matches in their favor. The teasing of the hot tag was just magnificent, getting the crowd amped up and anxious for it to happen. When it did finally happen, the match turned into chaos, but remarkably no near-falls were counted by the ref except on those who were legal. The finish was also brilliant, with Aries doing a 450 to Rave as the AJ Styles protégé had a Crippler Crossface locked on Shelley, and then submitting Rave with a Rings of Saturn. Just brilliant booking, as it further cemented GeNext, gave Walters & Stryker something productive to do, and furthered the plateau that Rave had reached (he was on his last legs with being cut from the fed if he didn’t put together some victories.) Just a great six man tag match.

*Rating;* ****

*ROH Title Match
Samoa Joe vs. CM Punk*

To this point, not only was this the most critically acclaimed match of Joe's title reign, but it was actually deserving of such recognition. It was his greatest defense, with a perfect gameplan that while it didn't earn the title for Punk, it began the slow demise of Joe's reign.

Unlike all other previous opponents, Punk came at Joe immediately with a shitload of headlocks to keep the beginning stages slow and in his control rather than go apeshit, shocking Joe in the process. This was critical to when Joe got his heat segments on Punk - while his strikes were still devastating, Punk had worn him down too much for him to quickly capitalize on those strikes as he has become accustomed to.

Joe's strikes though were still effective - while he couldn't finish Punk off with them due to Punk's perfect strategy, their devastating effect on Punk was a great way to offset Punk's work on him. Whereas Punk used a slow mat-based style, Joe still relied on his strikes, and it slowed both of them down.

What I found to be the most important moment in the later stages of the match was when Joe dropped Punk knees-first onto the mat. Moments later, when Punk was able to reverse a superplex attempt into a Pepsi Plunge, the pain was too fresh in his knees to cover Joe for the decisive pinfall, instead rolling out of the ring.

This was by no means a perfect match - it was a work in progress. While not an absolute masterpiece, it was nothing less than excellent. It confirmed that Punk was now to be one of the very top acts on the roster as a singles competitor. It took a "meh" challenger and turned him into the #1 Contender. It made the champion look mortal. And it not only planted seeds for a rematch, but also was the first glaring example that Joe's days as champion were numbered.

*Rating:* ****1/2

Up next - Survival of the Fittest 2004
Matches will include:
The 2004 Survival of the Fittest Elimination Match


----------



## Super Sonic (Jun 11, 2014)

*Survival of the Fittest 2004 - June 24, 2004*










*2004 Survival of the Fittest Qualifier
Jack Evans vs. Bryan Danielson*

A perfectly executed match and highly recommended for casual WWE viewers. In what is an extended squash, you get all the key elements of both characters – the entertaining side of Danielson, plus you also get a great taste of how vicious, barbaric, and even arrogant (sometimes blowing up in his face) he can be at times. It is a great showcase of his technical side also. For Evans, it gets over how obnoxious he is, and this match is very important in establishing the pain threshold that he has during the early stages of Generation Next. Not a MOTYC, but that isn’t the intention of this match; it did its job flawlessly.

*2004 Survival of the Fittest Elimination Match
Samoa Joe vs. Colt Cabana vs. Homicide vs. Bryan Danielson vs. Mark Briscoe vs. Austin Aries*

I've compared this match before to Jumbo Tsuruta vs. Mitsuharu Misawa from June 1990 and Bret Hart vs. Steve Austin from _WrestleMania 13_, and for good reason. That comparison still holds up today. In the past few years, the closest (but not quite as great) that you'll find to this match is Tyler Black vs. Danielson from _Breakout_ and Chris Hero vs. Akira Tozawa from the _2010 Battle of Los Angeles_.

I want to take a quick moment to get the negatives out of the way - the tag issues. My problem with them wasn't that the ref stopped enforcing them. He momentarily just stopped doing so in an inconsistent fashion. This put a small damper on the early eliminations, which should've been just absolute gold based on what they lead to on future shows.

The idea of using this match to make new challengers for both the ROH and Tag Titles was a stroke of genius. Not only just using the winner of this stacked contest to create a top contender to the ROH Title, but using the early eliminations to create new opportunities. This match is also a top highlight of Gabe Sapolsky's booking.

Not only did new challengers become produced from this match, but it furthered the Joe vs. Rottweilers storyline while getting the Briscoes involved against Homicide as well, planting the seeds not only for Joe vs. Homicide (they got into a brawl earlier on the card and Homicide ruined the post-match of Joe vs. CM Punk on the previous event), but for the main event of the next show as well.

This match also had great psychology from the beginning. Mark found himself a target not only on his neck (worked on by Alex Shelley in their qualifier match), but also Danielson starting a new target with his left knee. However, the psychology truly peaked once the little booking intricacies were taken care of.

Those of you who were impressed by the Undertaker vs. Shawn Michaels and Sheamus vs. Chris Jericho Royal Rumble finishing sequences, you owe to yourself to see what Aries and Danielson did here. For about 20 minutes they beautifully blew the roof of the joint, Danielson first proving that he owned Aries on the mat and in barbarianism. He focused on the back of Aries, which ultimately paid off in the finish.

Aries though, despite his initial hesitation to doing a fair fight against the already established superstar, made a choice in the middle of this epic battle to dig down deep and back up all the shit that Generation Next had been talking. Through sheer guts and determination, he found an opportunity when Danielson's knee got stuck in the ropes, which brought Danielson down a tad bit to even the match out more.

However, this is Bryan Danielson looking to get his first shot at the ROH Title. Despite his knee pain and a mirrored barbaric nature that he brought out of Aries, he ultimately proved himself far too intelligent and focused on this night for his moment to be taken away. Finishing Aries with the exact same back submission as his GeNext teammate Evans, Danielson not only further cemented the legacy he was building as an in-ring performer, but proved that after losses in huge matches against the likes of Homicide, Paul London, and AJ Styles, he deserved to be in the very top mix.

For Aries, this is THE match that turned him into a breakout superstar in ROH and on the indy scene overnight. While he didn't have the character aspect of his career down pat yet, in the ring he could be counted on to one day carry a company. ROH"s rebirth continued in grand fashion here.

This match was so damn close to perfect. But it isn't on the same level of Low Ki vs. Danielson, Paul London vs. Danielson, and Styles vs. London. And that's why in that regard, this match is ROH's version of Shawn Michaels vs. Mankind from _Mind Games_.

*Rating:* ****3/4

While I didn't watch everything on this show, this really does need to be seen to appreciate the booking of the time. Sure, you can get the Aries vs. Danielson portion of the main event on the new Danielson comp, but then you miss all the little parts of the show that buildup to INTERESTING future matches. Not just the ones I mentioned earlier, but there was also great forward movement into the inevitable Joe vs. Punk rematch and Jay Lethal push into a singles act.

Up next - Reborn: Completion
Matches will include:
Jay Lethal vs. Doug Williams vs. John Walters vs. Nigel McGuinness
Trent Acid vs. Prince Nana's hyped-up mystery Crown Jewel
Vacant Pure Title Match
CM Punk and Ricky Steamboat's final confrontation
Samoa Joe & Briscoe Bros. vs. Homicide & Havana Pitbulls


----------



## Super Sonic (Jun 11, 2014)

*Reborn: Completion - July 17, 2004*










*Vacant Pure Title Match Qualifier
Jay Lethal vs. Doug Williams vs. John Walters vs. Nigel McGuinness*

This one was really on its way to being one of the most pleasant surprises in ROH history. There were so many little intricacies throughout the match - mind games, submission work, storytelling. For the first 3/4 of the match, it was just beautiful to watch.

Then for no explainable reason, the ref goes indyriffic and stops enforcing legal tags.

But what that does is take a great match and brings it down to merely being good. It was a great way to put Lethal in an even match after being told by Samoa Joe to drop the Special K and "Hydro" shit, and this should have been included on his recent compilation instead of the CM Punk singles match that goes on forever.

*Rating:* ***1/2

*Trent Acid vs. Prince Nana's hyped-up mystery Crown Jewel*

As you can see on the DVD cover, the mystery seemed like a huge letdown in Jimmy Rave. But that was the entire point of this segment. It wasn't about some HUGE surprise (that would come later on in the evening) - this was about practically rebooting the career of Jimmy Rave. Before there was Alberto Del Rio & Ricardo Rodriguez, there was Jimmy Rave & Prince Nana. (Nana embodied the antics of Ricardo and AW in this segment.)

One could mistake this match as being laid out incorrectly, as the jabroni Acid got a quite a bit of offense and heat on Rave. But it made sense - even though Rave had just been in some tremendous matches in recent months, he hadn't gotten a victory. This wasn't meant to be a squash to get over the new gimmick - it was the very beginning of Rave's appropriate rebirth, kick-starting the most memorable and entertaining era that the Embassy has ever put together. ANY kind of victory, no matter how cheap or ugly, was gonna make the Embassy happy. Remember, Prince Nana was down in the dumps too (veiled by his brashness and arrogance) - his previous prize project Xavier had gone down to injuries. The "Rave Clash" was also a perfect finish for Rave to shit on his now-gone mentor AJ Styles. Perfectly executed match.

*Vacant Pure Title Match
Doug Williams vs. Alex Shelley*

This match ensured that ROH continued its hot streak of shows that feature great matches. It also rebooted the previously flawed Pure Title division (consisting of two disappointing CM Punk vs. AJ Styles matches) in proper fashion.

With his left arm in pain from the previous qualifier match, Shelley found himself badly outmatched by the technically superior and much healthier Williams. It didn’t take long for Shelley to become the bitch of Williams, even at one time being tied up into knots and left in the middle of the ring, struggling momentarily to free himself as everyone had a laugh at his expense. It (along with kicking the ropes as a means to give Shelley a lowblow) was quite the karma after all of the continued antics of Generation Next.

But through sheer determination reminiscent of the performance of GeNext teammate Austin Aries (who was in Shelley’s qualifier and agreed to help him win and go all the way) at _Survival of the Fittest 2004_, Shelley found every little opportunity possible to get himself out of the figurative corner he found himself in. Eventually he was able to get some work done (either by submission or the occasional strikes and stomps) on the neck of Williams, laying the groundwork for the inevitable Border City Stretch.

Ultimately, Williams brought the better gameplan though to the injured Shelley, causing the GeNext leader to lose his ropebreaks, and using the ropes to apply a submission hold on the injured left arm. The standing ovation for both men wasn’t just a standard automatic reaction – it was well-deserved and intelligently earned.

*Rating:* ****

*CM Punk and Ricky Steamboat: The Final Confrontation*

Short, sweet, and to the point. You got the two stars colliding for a few minutes and using great callbacks to Steamboat's classics against Ric Flair and Randy Savage. Steamboat, in order to prove that he was still game for a fight any day of the week, ultimately got the better of Punk. But instead of finishing Punk off, he pleaded for Punk to stop with the antics, to have legitimate integrity and respect to go along with his skills and talents.

GeNext then came out to beat the shit out of Steamboat (despite Punk telling them to fuck off earlier in the evening) and allowed Punk to stand over the HOFer. Punk then agreed to turn babyface, attacking GeNext, and moments later Steamboat was back up and assisting his former enemy, the two of them destroying the physically battered faction (due to their matches earlier in the evening.) One might think that it would look ridiculous, almost a burial of GeNext just to get Punk's big moment over, but GeNext were not mentally prepared for Punk and Steamboat to form an alliance against them. They were mentally and physically outmatched, even with it being four against two. Steamboat left the ring to allow Punk his time in the spotlight - the newly turned Punk received a standing ovation from the New Jersey crowd.

This was yet another moment of brilliance during Gabe Sapolsky's prime - there was no better location to turn Punk babyface than in front of the audience that despised him the most. One could say Chicago, but he was always cheered there no matter what. New Jersey was the only place to pull this off, and it planted the seeds for one of the most historic moments in company history down the road.

*Samoa Joe & Briscoe Bros. vs. Homicide & Havana Pitbulls*

This wasn't the all-out war that I had hoped for, but it was still a fine main event that most importantly did two things - brought the _Reborn_ name to a proper conclusion by doing the same finish as Joe vs. Homicide in Minnesota, and being the go-home segment for Joe's title defense against Homicide the next weekend.

The ref did have a moment of forgetting who was legal, but like the impromptu classic at _Generation Next_, it's understandable here. There was simply too much chaos between these six men to be on the ball at times with enforcing rules.

I must mention that I love the full circle nature of Joe teaming up with the Briscoes - it was last time in the same venue where they wrapped up their feud and earned mutual respect.

The most important moment of the evening took place in the post-match, as Low Ki returned to get in the face of the Rottweilers after they had ganged up on Joe. After talking trash to them, his true colors finally came out, blasting Joe with the title belt and joining his long-time friend's faction. He then shit on the direction of the company in his absence, and announced that his return marked the true rebirth of ROH. FUCKING BRILLIANT BOOKING to counter Punk's babyface turn.

*Rating:* ***1/2 (for the match)

ROH continued its hot streak of shows that not only featured great matches, but historic moments in independent wrestling here. While the streak of MOTYCs was broken, this more than made up for it with important storylines and surprises. New stars were made, alliances were formed, stars returned, feuds started, and the new era in ROH was cemented.

This show featured Lethal's final chapter into becoming a singles competitor, the crowning of a new Pure Champion, the finale of the Punk vs. Steamboat feud, Punk's babyface turn, Rave & The Embassy's reboot, the beginning of the Generation Next vs. Second City Saints/Steamboat feud, and Ki's return to turn heel. SEE THIS.

Up next - Death Before Dishonor II Pt. 1
Matches will include:
Doug Williams vs. Alex Shelley
Austin Aries, Roderick Strong, & Jack Evans vs. Jimmy Jacobs, John Walters, & Matt Stryker
Samoa Joe vs. Homicide
CM Punk & Colt Cabana vs. Briscoe Bros.


----------



## Super Sonic (Jun 11, 2014)

*Death Before Dishonor II Pt. 1 - July 23, 2004*










*Pure Title Match
Doug Williams vs. Alex Shelley*

This rematch couldn’t live up to their classic the week before, but it’s still damn good. With several days of rest, Shelley never really gave Williams the opportunity to damage his arm this time, and was far more tenacious here. He was tremendous working on the neck of Williams to set up for the Border City Stretch.

But even with Williams having his neck worked on and losing rope breaks, he was able to go back to the Chaos Theory to finish off Shelley once again. It’s a shame that this rematch where he did use his finisher (I don’t recall it being used the week before) didn’t get as much heat as their first match.

*Rating:* ***1/2

*Austin Aries, Roderick Strong, & Jack Evans vs. Jimmy Jacobs, John Walters, & Matt Stryker*

This was a very good and FUN match that just could not live up to the classic standard set by the previous multi-man tag Generation Next matches, even with Ricky Steamboat at ringside for the babyfaces to counter Shelley and coach his team. It did get out of control and the ref stopped bothering with what was legal, but it’s understandable in this one (even though the referee’s performance at _World Title Classic_ is what made it better than this match) given the games that GeNext played. Again, this IS a good and fun match, with plenty of great cutting-the-ring-in-half moments, triple-team moves, and HOLY SHIT maneuvers.

*Rating:* ***1/2

*ROH Title Match
Samoa Joe vs. Homicide*

ROH continued its streak here of shows that feature great matches. While I personally preferred the work of brutality these two put together at _Generation Next_, this was just as outstanding. In this one, even though it was a clean win and not a draw, the signs were becoming more evident that Joe’s days as champion were numbered. Not only because at this point he had been champion for 16 months, but because of the caliber of opposition he defended against. So many opponents had been taking him to his limit from different directions, and it was starting to show.

With this being Homicide’s last shot at the title during Joe’s reign, I was happy to see he was willing to use technical wrestling as a way to throw Joe off and still show he had the wrestling side in his arsenal still. Showing this not only displayed how seriously he was taking this match, but reminded everyone just how dangerous of a competitor he truly was. But his psychopathic emotions directly led to his failure yet again to reach the top of the mountain.

Mocking Joe, Homicide attempted an Ole Ole Kick, only to be countered with a throwover belly-to-belly, landing spine-first on the floor. This cost him a few minutes later when he planted Joe facefirst in an attempted piledriver – the suplex on the floor plus the exertion of attempting a piledriver on Joe was too much for Homicide to bear. He went down fighting though, kicking out of a musclebuster and an Island Driver, getting the crowd to go apeshit. But Joe finally finished him off with the choke.

Post-match, the Rottweilers (who were kicked out at the beginning of this classic contest) returned and ambushed Joe. The commentary said the Briscoes were unaware of the situation because they were preparing for the main event and that the rest of the locker room had left for Chicago. I’d prefer to think that Joe's non-allies were happy to see him get beaten down, making a title change more likely in the near future. This beatdown ensured that even though Homicide was out of title shots for the rest of Joe’s reign, we’d still get to see the feud continue.

Watching these shows got me thinking of a match that could have been huge for the Jushin Liger debut show later that year in Boston – keep Liger vs. Bryan Danielson, and have the semi-main as Joe & CM Punk vs. Low Ki & Homicide. It’d have given ROH the Punk vs. Ki matchup, Joe and Ki mixing it up again, Joe and Homicide tearing each other apart, and then have Punk defeat Homicide to give him momentum for the inevitable rematch against Joe.

*Rating:* ****

*Tag Titles - 2/3 Falls Match
CM Punk & Colt Cabana vs. Briscoe Bros.*

This was good but seemed to drag at times. It went long for what I would assume was just for the Saints to give their old stomping grounds overly long matches like they wrestled during the early 2000s against each other and with Chris Hero. It didn't quite work here as much as it did in Dayton for Joe vs. Punk.

Of course, this couldn't measure up to the ***** Paul London vs. Danielson 2/3 falls match, but it was certainly in a different league from the horseshit Christopher Daniels/Donovan Morgan vs. SAT 2/3 falls match. There were just weird inconsistencies with enforcing tags, Sinclair even being vocal about enforcing it and the Briscoes just ignoring him. Go all the way with it refs, not some half-assed lip service.

I'd say the best part about this match was the booking of the second fall. Because Punk lost the first fall by a double underhook piledriver and was knocked out the entire following fall, Cabana had to go at it alone. He single-handedly outsmarted the Briscoes and got the match to an even 1-1. Brilliant way to book him the night before he challenged Joe for the ROH Title.

*Rating:* ***1/2

Up next - Death Before Dishonor II Pt. 2
Matches will include:
Chad Collyer vs. Rocky Romero
Alex Shelley vs. Jimmy Jacobs
Doug Williams vs. Austin Aries
Samoa Joe vs. Colt Cabana
CM Punk & Ace Steel vs. Dan Maff & BJ Whitmer


----------



## Super Sonic (Jun 11, 2014)

*Death Before Dishonor II Pt. 2 - July 24, 2004*










*Chad Collyer vs. Rocky Romero*

One of the finest openers in company history, this still held up with great technical wrestling and was perfectly paced for its spot on the card. Romero was just fantastic continually going after the arm and shoulder of Collyer, while Collyer used his technical superiority to find ways out of it. Once he locked on the Texas Cloverleaf, it was a thing of beauty. But all the work done on Collyer was too much as he finally gave in and tapped to the armbar. Just a great opener.

*Rating:* ***1/4

*Alex Shelley vs. Jimmy Jacobs*

We got another stellar match here, as these two were just too familiar with each other from their Michigan days to put together any less than that. Shelley was just a tremendous prick here and beat the fuck out of Jacobs. But Jacobs responded back with one of the most inspiring underdog performances I've ever seen, finding ways to counter Shelley through sheer heart. He even surprised his arch-nemesis with his own Shellshock. But Shelley was too skilled and driven to let the scrappy Jacobs defeat him.

*Rating:* ***3/4

Post-match, Roderick Strong & Jack Evans help Shelley destroy Jacobs for good only for Ricky Steamboat to come out and start an impromptu tag match.

*Impromptu Match
Roderick Strong & Jack Evans vs. John Walters & Matt Stryker*

I'm glad I decided to not skip this, as this match was FUN. Strong & Evans were just so on-point in this one, and the ref in the closing moments actually refused to count a pin because it was not being done on the legal man! Unfortunately, the match broke down into storyline when Shelley & Austin Aries brawled with Steamboat outside the ring. To me it took away from the match.

*Rating:* ***

*Pure Title Match
Doug Williams vs. Austin Aries*

This was some really good stuff. The mind games played by Aries were a great and fresh twist on the unique rules of the match, and served as a preview for what we would see during another Pure Title reign much later down the line. Williams though showed he was too brilliant and focused, overcoming the manipulative antics of Aries and working on his arm after driving it into the steel turnbuckle while they brawled outside the ring. With this fresh injury on Aries, the challenger found himself having to rely on the rope breaks, using up all of them and being placed in the same arm submission on the ropes that Williams used to win the championship the work before against Shelley. Aries had no choice but to tap out.

*Rating:* ***3/4

*ROH Title Match
Samoa Joe vs. Colt Cabana*

Yet another good match for this show. Knowing that Joe had been taking to the limit by Homicide and fellow Tag Champ CM Punk in recent months, Cabana attempted to use some tomfoolery to throw Joe off, and attempted the same cradle that he pinned Joe with the month before.

With Joe's mind likely elsewhere, he still was able to dominate the Chicago native. But that right there was another challenge for the champ - the Chicago crowd provided tremendous energy and enthusiasm for Cabana, who put up far more of a fight than I would have expected. This was just some quality professional wrestling.

Post-match, Joe's victory is spoiled by the Rottweilers, but this time the Briscoes are around to assist him.

*Rating:* ***1/2

*Hardcore Match
CM Punk & Ace Steel vs. Dan Maff & BJ Whitmer*

I will get the questionable parts of the way - I am certain that all four men regret challenging each other with unprotected chair shorts. And I hope the dipshit fans regret throwing those chairs in the ring, when there was still a human being in there trying to protect himself from being struck by them.

This is a match I remember thinking "good, but way overrated" last time I saw it. I was wrong. This still holds up over the years, not in the Homicide vs. Steve Corino or Triple H vs. Cactus Jack way, but in the Homicide vs. Trent Acid way.

This was a great match through sheer willpower, continuing the consecutive streak of ROH shows that featured great matches. This was definitely an impressive performance, considering that only one of the participants has legitimate talent. Steel, Maff, and Whitmer were all on Punk's level, bringing out not only jaw-dropping spots, but hatred and emotion. This was crazy, this was chaotic, and brought the Saints vs. Prophecy feud to its proper conclusion.

Post-match, Generation Next attack the wounded Saints, and prevent Cabana & Steamboat from making a difference.

Fan: "Why don't you go to TNA and kiss Jeff Jarrett's ass?"
Shelley: "Will do."

*Rating:* ****

In terms of match quality, this was definitely the most consistent show ROH had hosted yet. This is definitely a must-see, not just for the matches, but in closing a chapter so that the reborn ROH could move forward. I still say _Generation Next_ was a better overall show due to the MOTYC it had and storylines it furthered, but you don't wanna miss this.

Up next - Testing the Limit
Matches will include:
Briscoe Bros. vs. Low Ki & Homicide
Austin Aries vs. Bryan Danielson


----------



## Super Sonic (Jun 11, 2014)

*Testing the Limit - August 7, 2004*










*Good Times, Great Memories
Guest: Prince Nana*

Great chemistry displayed here as the Outcast Killaz showed and Nana bossed them around. Colt Cabana also broke down and couldn't believe that "OutKast is dead."

*Briscoe Bros. vs. Low Ki & Homicide*

While this wasn't very high on the star rating scale, there was absolutely nothing wrong with it. This was definitely a prelude to something that was coming down the road, don't know what it was, but something was simmering here. Maybe some kind of WarGames style match or Steel Cage Warfare? It's a shame Mark got injured and the Briscoes took a break before the next event.

The match was destined to be a historically important one, with Jay getting the small package pin on Low Ki (who is notorious for not doing jobs.) I'd also call it a historic ROH match because the ref was very clear about only counting the pins on the legal men.

The real story of this entire segment is afterwards, when Ki just kicks Jay right in the head. This of course pisses off Mark but also gets Samoa Joe to come out. Pretty soon a good chunk of the babyface locker room is out, including CM Punk. He eventually has his own pull-apart with Homicide, making me wish even more we'd gotten the dream tag of Joe & Punk vs. Ki & Homicide later that year. (Edit: I've since found out that dream tag match was indeed announced for the next event but was cancelled because Ki decommitted to instead work a NOAH event.)

The various pull-aparts eventually spill to the parking lot, and I like the way the entire segment is shot, very disorganized and bringing an additional layer of authenticity to the hatred and chaos.

*2/3 Falls Match
Austin Aries vs. Bryan Danielson*

This match was fucking long. And while it fell just a tad bid short of the Joe vs. Punk 60 minute draw in Dayton, this was still an excellent main event and throwback to the days of Ric Flair, Harley Race, Lou Thesz, Buddy Rogers, etc.

Whereas _Survival of the Fittest 2004_ was the breakout for Aries, this was the match that turned him into a true superstar. This is where the seeds were planted for what was destined to come months later.

Danielson was just vicious in this one, working on the following body parts throughout different parts of the match, and doing so in an effective fashion: the left arm/shoulder, the left knee, the neck, the abdomen, and the lower back (to offset the abs.) He just dissected Aries and tore him apart in this match. Even though he lost the first fall to his own Cattle Mutilation, he carried himself like it was part of his strategy to do so. He didn't come across as being backed into an 0-1 corner whatsoever.

The submission work was brilliant in getting Danielson the second fall, because after about 45 minutes, Aries was too worn out and broken down to not get a fall counted against him. His arrogance when Danielson became temporarily unconscious is what directly led to his left arm/shoulder being worked on, leading to his downfall in this second fall.

But Aries was adamant in this match. Despite being physically obliterated for over an hour, he was not going to lose this match. He just couldn't. And that is why he came out the victor.

These two would go on to do better than this. But this is definitely a match that should be seen, especially for those who appreciate strategic submission wrestling and limb work. They also manage on a couple of occasions to turn some botches into beautiful audible pinfall attempts. Even with its faults, this is a great match.

*Rating:* ****1/4

Up next - Scramble Cage Melee
Matches will include:
Jay Lethal vs. Alex Shelley
Doug Williams vs. John Walters
Samoa Joe vs. CM Punk vs. Homicide


----------



## Chismo (Nov 7, 2009)

Wrong thread, delete pls.


----------



## StuckInHell4-Life (Jun 19, 2014)

Super Sonic said:


> *2/3 Falls Match
> Austin Aries vs. Bryan Danielson*
> 
> This match was fucking long. And while it fell just a tad bid short of the Joe vs. Punk 60 minute draw in Dayton, this was still an excellent main event and throwback to the days of Ric Flair, Harley Race, Lou Thesz, Buddy Rogers, etc.
> ...


I've only watched this once but I absolutely adore it. Great great match. I'm curious when they would go on to do better? The only other match of theirs that I've seen was Bryan's first title defense which was a pretty flat match compared to Testing the Limit.


----------



## Super Sonic (Jun 11, 2014)

They've had a total of about 10 singles matches, all but one in ROH. Their other one is in PWG. I hope at some point ROH makes a compilation of their rivalry.


----------



## Super Sonic (Jun 11, 2014)

*Scramble Cage Melee - August 28, 2004*










*Jay Lethal vs. Alex Shelley*

I way overrated this back in the day. This wasn't a bad match by any means. It did its job in being an extended squash to show that Lethal was no match for Shelley yet and had a lot of work to do in order to reach the upper echelon. Shelley was fucking vicious working on Lethal's left knee, never once showing mercy.

*Rating:* less than ***

*Pure Title Match
Doug Williams vs. John Walters*

Before the match gets started, Samoa Joe comes out and shits on the entire segment. Not sure this was the greatest way to build heat between the two title belts.

As for the match, it was damn good shit. Walters was very focused and got Williams to use all of his rope breaks early, targeting the left knee in particular. But Williams, the outstanding wrestler that he is, never once came close to having a meltdown, showing great composure and focusing on the neck of Walters to get all the rope breaks out of the equation for both men.

But Walters got more work done than Williams did, causing Williams to not give himself a full base when he executed the Chaos Theory. This ultimately is what led to the huge victory for Walters in front of his hometown crowd. A very good match that could have been a MOTYC if they played to the crowd more often (something I'm seeing Williams avoid doing quite often.)

*Rating:* ***3/4

*Samoa Joe vs. CM Punk vs. Homicide*

This couldn't live up to the threeways from _The Era of Honor Begins_ or the _One Year Anniversary Show_, but this was definitely a good match full of great action and the closing chapter in 2004 for the Joe vs. Homicide feud. I think the best way to describe this match would be FUN, as there was never a dull moment, but it never had a jaw-dropping moment to make it a great match. The finish is pretty damn clever too to keep both Punk and Homicide strong.

*Rating:* ***1/2

Up next - Glory By Honor III
Matches will include:
Alex Shelley vs. Bryan Danielson
John Walters vs. Nigel McGuinness
Samoa Joe vs. Doug Williams


----------



## Super Sonic (Jun 11, 2014)

*Glory By Honor III - September 11, 2004*










*Alex Shelley vs. Bryan Danielson*

Shelley came into this with a broken left arm (which actually could have played off the same injury he had against Doug Williams in July.) The commentary says it was during the Mick Foley segment, but it was actually from his CZW match against Chris Hero earlier that day. It took awhile for this real-life injury to come into play, as Shelley got a great amount of time on offense, working on the neck of Danielson.

However, with an ROH Title shot on the horizon for Danielson, plus that glaring injury on Shelley, he couldn't lose here. He got focused on the arm and came out on top with the Cattle Mutilation, which was the most logical finish possible. Not the MOTYC that many were hoping for, but a nice preview of what they would do much later on.

Post-match, Danielson reminds everyone that he's owed an ROH Title shot, and makes the challenge to Jushin Liger.

*Rating:* ***1/2

*Pure Title Match
John Walters vs. Nigel McGuinness*

This was the singles breakout for McGuinness, showing that he had what it took to be booked as a long-term investment in the company. While not the level of breakout performance from Paul London and Samoa Joe a couple years earlier, this match sealed the deal for him.

Walters again proved his focus against the European challenger, not allowing the armwork done by McGuinness to make him panic. He also did armwork on McGuinness, and the match was pretty damn even. But the triple Lungblower backbreaker chained into an armvice choke was too much for McGuinness to continue.

I'm starting to see that Walters may have been in ROH at the wrong time. During this golden age, the roster was just too stacked with the best indy talent, to be followed by some of the greatest talent in the world flying over from Japan. If he's available nowadays and can still go, I'd highly advise the current ROH to sign him. He's just as good as Eddie Edwards.

*Rating:* ***1/2

*ROH Title Match
Samoa Joe vs. Doug Williams*

Another good but not great match for this event. Williams was definitely deserving of an ROH Title shot after spearheading the successful relaunch of the Pure Title. This one had some solid psychology, focusing on the left leg of Joe, but the champ's offense was just too devastating to overcome for Williams. I'm not a fan of kicking out of the trademark musclebuster just to go down to a generic lariat moments later though.

*Rating:* ***1/4

Up next - Midnight Express Reunion
Matches will include:
Low Ki vs. Jay Lethal
Homicide vs. Nigel McGuinness
John Walters, CM Punk, Ace Steel, & Jimmy Jacobs vs. Alex Shelley, Austin Aries, Roderick Strong, & Jack Evans
Samoa Joe vs. Bryan Danielson


----------



## StuckInHell4-Life (Jun 19, 2014)

I've watched that Joe/Bryan match quite a few times. Going to have to drag that out along with the Bryan/Liger interactions.


----------



## Super Sonic (Jun 11, 2014)

*Midnight Express Reunion - October 2, 2004*










*Low Ki vs. Jay Lethal*

This match was ALL sports-entertainment, and a damn good extended squash at that. Far more engaging than the extended squash against Alex Shelley several weeks earlier, Lethal was extra motivated to earn respect from the dickhead Ki due to his family being present and taunted by the Rottweilers. But despite how much heart and improvement Lethal displayed, he was just no match for ROH's original legend.

Post-match, Ki gives Lethal the same disrespectful kick he delivered to Jay Briscoe a couple months earlier.

*Rating:* ***

*Homicide vs. Nigel McGuinness*

Following up on the match that sealed the deal for him the month before, McGuinness was on fire in this one, completely outclassing Homicide's brawling and cheating with his superior technical wrestling. For 20 minutes he got the chance to showcase what he could do getting heat for most of the match, and the crowd just ate it up.

The match also played off of Homicide's match against Bryan Danielson earlier in the year, going back to Homicide using his trademark lariat on the arm damaged by McGuinness. This time, Homicide couldn't get enough adrenaline to overcome the damage done and get the proper finishing force behind the lariat. Moments later, he found himself in an arm submission and then suddenly unable to kick out of a pinfall with the arms hooked in the same fashion that Bryan Danielson got over Austin Aries two months earlier. Huge upset here that was well-deserved, and meant more after Homicide's victory several weeks earlier in his match against Samoa Joe and CM Punk.

*Rating:* ***1/2

*Survivor Series Style Elimination Match
John Walters, CM Punk, Ace Steel, & Jimmy Jacobs vs. Alex Shelley, Austin Aries, Roderick Strong, & Jack Evans*

Meh. Some good stuff in this, but way too much going on to properly digest. And I'd like to nominate Mick Foley vs. Ricky Steamboat as ROH's worst feud of 2004. Just an utter waste of time when Steamboat (complete with a haircut that rivaled the he-bob haircut of Shawn Michaels a couple years earlier) trashed Foley and hardcore style wrestling.

Some of the best parts though - Jacobs had to be brutalized by a chair in order to be eliminated, and the post-match promo by Shelley & Aries planted great seeds for friction as they both demanded an ROH Title shot.

*Rating:* less than ***

*ROH Title Match
Samoa Joe vs. Bryan Danielson*

This match showed yet again that even with an amazing victory, Joe's days as champion were numbered. Danielson dominated the majority of the match, willing to play a little dirty like he did in the 2/3 falls match against Aries in order to reach the pinnacle of the promotion. He also was far more devastating than Punk was in the 60 minute draw from _World Title Classic_. It was brilliant seeing him break Joe down on the left leg, to keep the champion from having a consistent base to brawl and strike.

But Joe was not to go down without a fight. This was certainly the most brutal defense he had to this point (which speaks volumes when considering his defenses against Low Ki, CM Punk, Homicide, AJ Styles, and Jay Briscoe), but he had plenty of adrenaline left in the tank to return the brutality favor tenfold to the quicker and more technically efficient Danielson. Once he got the knees to the head and slapped on the choke in the middle of the ring, more than 30 minutes into this classic, Danielson had no choice but to tap or pass out.

This isn't my favorite match by any means. But I honestly can't think of a single flaw with it. The storytelling was great. The psychology was great. It never dragged. It got the title even more over than before. The crowd was hot and believing they'd get a title change. And although it gave more glaring points for Joe in future title defenses, one still had to wonder what it was gonna take to bring the iconic reign to an end.

Post-match, we got plenty of chaos, just tremendous booking that led to so many great matches throughout the remainder of the year. Punk came out and asked when he would get his rematch. Generation Next came out to ambush Punk, but Joe & Danielson got fed up when Shelley & Aries got in their faces. The Rottweilers then came out just to raise hell (mixing it up for the first time with GeNext). After many holy shit high-risk aerial moves, Joe teased that he would do one but then got cut off by Ki out of nowhere. They brawled and Danielson tried to pry Joe off of Ki, but Joe was so furious that he elbowed the fallen challenger, who gave the champ a receipt with rolling forearms. This left Ki and Danielson left in the ring standing side by side.

Danielson: "Me and Ki against you and Liger, Joe. Bring it!"

*Rating:* *****

Up next - Gold
Matches will include:
CM Punk vs. Homicide
Jay Lethal vs. Chad Collyer
Samoa Joe vs. Rocky Romero
CM Punk, Ace Steel, & Jimmy Jacobs vs. Alex Shelley, Austin Aries, & Jack Evans


----------



## Super Sonic (Jun 11, 2014)

*Gold - October 15, 2004*










*CM Punk vs. Homicide*

A fine, star-studded opening contest, one of the best in company history. The hatred was there, they didn't waste much time, and Homicide eventually won when he used the side of a chair on Punk's neck (which he'd already been working on for the Kudo Driver.) Homicide's victory here over the #1 Contender made the victory of Nigel McGuinness on the previous event mean even more.

*Rating:* ***1/4

*Jay Lethal vs. Chad Collyer*

I must mention that Collyer's backstage promo prior to this match must be seen to be believed. Had to be inspired by a compilation of Jim Hellwig's work in WCW.

This match is another fine back-and-forth contest designed to get Collyer in the mix (he'd team up with McGuinnes the next night as Steamboat's technical team in that God-awful Foley vs. Steamboat feud), and to showcase that Lethal could hang with such a skilled technician after the much different type of match against Low Ki on the previous show. Just stellar work here for both men.

*Rating:* ***1/4

*ROH Title Match
Samoa Joe vs. Rocky Romero*

Another good defense for Joe, but nothing spectacular (a recurring theme usually for Romero singles matches I'm noticing.) They obviously held back a bit due to the huge Joe vs. Punk rematch scheduled the next night, but they still worked hard here.

*Rating:* ***1/2

*CM Punk, Ace Steel, & Jimmy Jacobs vs. Alex Shelley, Austin Aries, & Jack Evans*

This match was good, but dragged a bit to be anything special. It seemed to go way too long with hardly any engaging story going on. Sure, there are some great moments, and Jacobs is his usual awesome self playing the Ricky Morton role, but this didn't add up to anything memorable. Punk was obviously holding back, and perhaps the only remarkable story to me was that Aries attacked Punk's girlfriend and ended up paying for it with a Pepsi Plunge (knocking him out of action the next night.) Aries obviously didn't study the Second City Saints vs. Prophecy match. Punk certainly had to get a victory here though.

*Rating:* ***

The DVD ends with a Ricky Steamboat promo that I IMMEDIATELY shut off as soon as I hear Mick Foley's name come out of his mouth.

Up next - Joe vs. Punk II
Matches will include:
Rocky Romero & Homicide vs. Roderick Strong & Jack Evans
Alex Shelley vs. Jimmy Jacobs
Samoa Joe vs. CM Punk


----------



## Super Sonic (Jun 11, 2014)

*Joe vs. Punk II - October 16, 2004*










The DVD opens with two great promos, first from CM Punk explaining that this is the most important match of his career for a number of reasons (which I'll get into when I review the main event.) Then, Alex Shelley cuts a promo on behalf of Generation Next to explain the importance of the two semi-main events that the faction is involved in. Great stuff here.

Later on in the DVD, Samoa Joe cuts a simple and effective promo that Punk needs to just get the job done. He really should have called out Punk on his catchphrase of "Better than you," since he was adamant that Punk not just try to be his equal.

*Rocky Romero & Homicide vs. Roderick Strong & Jack Evans*

This match had its odd legal man tag problems, but this was still just dripping with fun. This was definitely an important match as it was the first time the Rottweilers collided with GeNext. There was no feeling out process, somewhat surprising with this being a first-time encounter between the factions. But then again, these two factions didn't have time for that - they were out to prove a point of superiority and weren't going to bother attempting to technically one-up each other. This was vicious, fast, and hard-hitting.

This match did have some great moments of cutting the ring in half and building up to hot tags. We got to see some new tools out of the playbook of GeNext also, causing the crowd's jaw to drop in the process. And for all the odd problems there were with legalities during the finishing stretch, the finish was actually between the two legit legal men when Evans knocked Romero out with a million-degree senton. Great booking here between these two heel factions that not only earned Strong & Evans a title shot against the Havana Pitbulls, but protected Homicide also to ensure that Nigel McGuinness's victory over him two weeks earlier was a major deal.

*Rating:* ***1/2

*I Quit Match
Alex Shelley vs. Jimmy Jacobs*

Fuck, this was just phenomenal stuff, and did a fantastic job of conveying hatred and emotion in a unique fashion. This match had lots of bumps, but they were done with purpose to truly inflict pain. The use of weapons was tremendous also, and Jacobs blew away his underdog performance from their prior match in the same building just three months earlier. Even in defeat, this did nothing but elevate Jacobs and I'm shocked that he didn't earn a permanent spot after this. Shelley was also even more of a dangerous bad-ass from this match. This had insanity, this had psychology, this was just terrific.

Of course, as soon as Ricky Steamboat comes to save Jacobs from a GeNext post-match beating, I'm sure to hit next on my remote to avoid that awful feud between him and Mick Foley.

*Rating:* ****1/2

*ROH Title Match
Samoa Joe vs. CM Punk*

This is honestly not the greatest match in ROH history. But that's not a criticism of the match whatsoever. It's a compliment of the quality of matches ROH has delivered for the past decade, and when both men finally hang up their boots, they will certainly look back on this as likely the best match of their careers despite some stupid bumps they took.

This was definitely an improvement over their match at _World Title Classic_ (which I merely described to be an excellent ****1/2 MOTYC). In this one, they built off the previous match, but still changed it up to make sure this was wholly original. If I had one nitpick complaint about this match that keeps it from being the absolute best ROH match ever, it's that the work done on Punk, while they did pay off in the latter stages of the match, was not paid off quite as convincingly as the standard set by the ***** Paul London vs. Bryan Danielson and AJ Styles vs. Paul London matches.

This match also took aspects from the ***** title defense Joe had just two weeks earlier against Danielson. This was not only a highly intelligent wrestling match, but it got brutal as well. The work done in the early stages was sharp and clever, being more engaging with the matwork than in the previous match the two had earlier that year.

This also had incredible drama in the last third of the match. Of course, this was due to the match being in front of Punk's hometown crowd (which he alluded to at the beginning of the DVD), but this was simply more impressive than what they did in Dayton. The crowd firmly believed that Punk would defeat Joe, even though the match was booked just a few days prior due to Steve Corino being pulled from the weekend's ROH events. This was a nail-biter, and the most emotional moment was properly placed and flawlessly executed in the last 2-3 minutes, as both men struggled twice on the turnbuckles, an epic battle of muscle buster vs. Pepsi Plunge. On the second battle, Joe won it and got the musclebuster on Punk, but time ran out and he couldn't pin Punk. But just several weeks prior, the Pepsi Plunge did put away Joe in their threeway match involving Homicide.

Both men cut backstage promos afterward, Punk demanding one more shot without a time limit. Joe then states that Punk failed and the goal isn't to be the champ's equal, it's to defeat him.

This stands not just as one of the ten greatest matches in ROH history, but as one of the defining matches of the 2000s decade. It is a work of art. It is worthy of all the hype and praise it got. It still holds up as a masterpiece, and will continue to stand the test of time.

*Rating:* *****

This DVD is a must-have. Yes, get the 2-disc version of the Joe vs. Punk trilogy so that you get their epic shoot interview, but you still should find a copy of this event for the two-semi main events, and the theme music for Joe and Punk adds just a little bit additional grand layer to their match. GET THIS.

Up next - Weekend of Thunder Night 1
Matches will include:
Samoa Joe & Jay Lethal vs. John Walters & Nigel McGuinness
CM Punk vs. Austin Aries
Havana Pitbulls vs. Roderick Strong & Jack Evans
Jushin Liger vs. Bryan Danielson


----------



## Super Sonic (Jun 11, 2014)

*Weekend of Thunder Night 1 - November 5, 2004*










*Samoa Joe & Jay Lethal vs. John Walters & Nigel McGuinness*

My surprising pick for match of the night, as this one really felt like it served a purpose. It had interesting dynamics, new blood getting a chance to shine, and proper tag transitions. This match also served as a reminder that during this time, EVERYTHING involving Joe was interesting, whether it was mentoring Lethal, the Rottweilers feud, his issue with the establishment of the Pure title, the CM Punk rivalry, and his overall title reign.

*Rating:* ***1/2

*CM Punk vs. Austin Aries*

This match was just great storytelling. Punk was just a tad bit too excited due to the personal issue these two had, and coming after the second of two 60 minute draws against Joe and demanding one more title shot. This cost him the momentum and the match when he missed an attempted Shining Wizard and hit the steel post instead of Aries.

I don't know if it was the crowd's fault, or the fault of the building's maintenance issues (the lights went out during this match), but the heat really suffered in this one. A shame because the psychology and story in this was just tremendous.

*Rating:* ***

*Tag Titles Match
Havana Pitbulls vs. Roderick Strong & Jack Evans*

If you needed solid evidence that Ricky Reyes is fucking useless and overutilized, here you go. This did NOT have the pacing of the match involving Homicide at _Joe vs. Punk II_, and I was massively disappointed with this one. Just forgettable stuff.

*Rating:* less than ***

*Jushin Liger vs. Bryan Danielson*






Up to this point, Liger's entrance was the biggest moment in ROH history, creating the most passionate and loudest crowd reaction. It surpassed the farewells of Paul London and Eddie Guerrero. The crowd was also awesome at the end when Liger won (as he should have.)

But this match hasn't held up over time. Don't get me wrong - this is a good match, but just an exhibition and nothing special outside of Liger's presence. Both men have done much better than this, and I'm still looking forward to the tag match. This is an entertaining novelty and nothing more.

*Rating:* ***

Up next - Weekend of Thunder Night 2
Matches will include:
Jay Lethal vs. Jimmy Rave
Samoa Joe & Jushin Liger vs. Low Ki & Bryan Danielson


----------



## Super Sonic (Jun 11, 2014)

*Weekend of Thunder Night 2 - November 6, 2004*










*Jay Lethal vs. Jimmy Rave*

Prince Nana was THE SHIT back in the day. That needs to be acknowledged. EVERY SEGMENT OF HIS on this DVD was entertaining.

The pre-match Nana promo was golden, and set the stage quite nicely for the former party kid (and Elizabeth native) Lethal. The match was quick and fast-paced, a forgotten undercard gem. It established Lethal as being one step closer in his progress to being an accomplished singles competitor, and furthered Rave's snot-nose heel gimmick. I love this match, and the post-match, closing out with another phenomenal and passionate Ric Flair-eqsue promo from Nana after the main event, is one of the many things that made ROH so beloved during its golden age.

*Rating:* ***1/4

*Samoa Joe & Jushin Liger vs. Low Ki & Bryan Danielson*

After a main event the night before that I felt was retrospectively disappointing, this made up for it quite nicely. Not the greatest match in ROH history (not even close for 2004), but an excellent tag team main event that never once got boring or felt insultingly indyriffic. Every exchange was fun and meaningful, every encounter was interesting, it kept the Joe vs. Rottweilers feud steady, gave us a dream collision between Ki and Liger, and was booked perfectly in its ending to kickstart the Danielson vs. Rottweilers feud, a storyline that I adored back in the day and am very much looking forward to seeing if it holds up. Kudos for doing a different Liger finisher too as well.

*Rating:* ****

Up next - All Star Extravaganza II
Matches will include:
Good Times, Great Memories featuring Bobby Heenan
John Walters vs. Jimmy Rave
Low Ki vs. Austin Aries
The first ever verbal confrontation between Jim Cornette and Bobby Heenan
Roderick Strong & Jack Evans vs. Jimmy Jacobs & Colt Cabana
Samoa Joe vs. CM Punk


----------



## Super Sonic (Jun 11, 2014)

*All Star Extravaganza II - December 4, 2004*










*Good Times, Great Memories
Guest: Bobby Heenan*

A great opening segment to bring Colt Cabana back into ROH, as he brings the comedy and reminds Generation Next of their issue. Heenan is also gold with his one-liners and chemistry with the Huss-centric Jimmy Jacobs.

*Pure Title Match
John Walters vs. Jimmy Rave*

This is a nice little contest that foreshadowed a future title reign for someone else. Walters through sheer anger and savviness was able to overcome the manipulative tactics of Rave (it helped that the Embassy was banned before the match began.) Walters post-match gets into it with some fans, and I wonder if that's another foreshadowing.

*Rating:* ***

*ROH Title Shot Match
Low Ki vs. Austin Aries*

A very, very good match that came close to excellent, and probably would have been had it not been hindered with a 20 minute time limit. Aries showed absolutely zero fear towards Ki (and with huge victories over CM Punk and Bryan Danielson, why would he?), and he was definitely the default babyface in this matchup. Aries once again showed sheer heart and determination during the match, fighting for everything he had and surprising the cocky Ki, despite all the damage being applied to the midsection by Ki. The finishing sequence as the time expired, and the post-match with Ki bailing out on continuing the match as well out of complete arrogance, was the best booking possible considering how Ki can put a booker into a corner.

*Rating:* ***3/4

*The Verbal Confrontation
Jim Cornette vs. Bobby Heenan*

This certainly lived up to the hype with Heenan playing the sympathetic recovering cancer patient and Cornette going totally nuts about being in Heenan's shadow throughout his entire career. That Cornette first showed Heenan respect only made Heenan come across as even bigger legend, and I love that the upcoming Strong/Evans vs. Jacobs/Cabana match was combined into this.

*Team Cornette vs. Team Heenan
Roderick Strong & Jack Evans vs. Jimmy Jacobs & Colt Cabana*

A great comedy match that made the most out of Cornette and Heenan. It was a nice surprise for Jacobs & Cabana to use comedy as part of their dirty tactics to get vengeance on GeNext for what had happened throughout 2004. This was just great entertainment.

*Rating:* ***

Before the main event, the DVD includes CM Punk looking back on his previous two title shots against Samoa Joe. EXCELLENT.

*ROH Title Match
Samoa Joe vs. CM Punk*

I really am just a sucker for matches that bring prestige to championships. This is another classic match that stands the test of time, and a fitting final chapter to such an epic trilogy. From the callbacks to the previous two matches these men had against one another, to the bloody cut on CM Punk's head (a nice way to bring back memories of his feuds with Raven and the Prophecy), to the acts of desparation on Joe's part, this match was just perfect. In addition, this had legitimate drama and plenty of believable false finishes, with the crowd just being APESHIT in the last 10 minutes.

In the end, all the punishment dished out to Punk was just too much for him, as he passed out to the choke like so many other great challengers Joe faced. But this got him only more over, and really made the crowd wonder who if anybody could dethrone Joe.

But one could argue that this was evidence that Joe's days as champion would be coming to an end in the near future. The Punk trilogy, the Rottweilers feud, and the classic defense against Bryan Danielson all in the past several prior months were taking such a toll on him that he was resorting to blatant cheating, breaking his code that he had established as champion.

*Rating:* *****

The DVD closes with Aries being informed that Ki forfeited the title shot, and Aries will be challenging Joe at _Final Battle 2004_. With more determination than Ki, and huge victories over Punk and Danielson, AND seeing what Joe had to do continue his reign, does Aries actually stand a chance?

Up next - Final Battle 2004
Matches will include:
The confrontations Mick Foley has with Samoa Joe and Ricky Steamboat
A major turning point for Generation Next
Low Ki vs. Bryan Danielson
Samoa Joe vs. Austin Aries


----------



## Super Sonic (Jun 11, 2014)

*Final Battle 2004 - December 26, 2004*










*Pure Title Match
John Walters vs. Jimmy Rave*

Forgettable match that couldn't live up to the one they had at the prior show, but this is noteworthy because Prince Nana is able to convince Walters to join the Embassy, ensuring that the stable goes into 2005 including a champion.

*Rating:* less than ***

*Ricky Steamboat's Final ROH Appearance
Mick Foley's confrontations with Steamboat and Samoa Joe*

A decent segment (head and shoulders above anything else in the tedious Foley vs. Steamboat philosophy feud) that easily peaked once Joe showed up and punked out Foley. This would have been FAR more noteworthy if Foley had agreed to wrestle Ric Flair at _WrestleMania 21_ and done an actual match against Joe too.

*CM Punk & Steve Corino vs. Alex Shelley & Roderick Strong*

Another forgettable match with a far more important post-match. Austin Aries (scheduled to challenge Joe for the ROH Title in the main event) shows up and gives Shelley the ultimatum that Generation Next had given so much of the roster in 2004. Aries betrays Shelley very quickly, and Strong plays the Arn Anderson role perfectly, temporarily pretending to be mutual but also betraying Shelley, accepting Aries as the leader of GeNext. Aries proclaims himself to be the "Personal Jesus" and that nobody will stop him from defeating Joe tonight.

*Low Ki vs. Bryan Danielson*

God this show fucking sucks so far. A good but nothing special match completely ruined because of Gabe Sapolsky's refusal to let his roster job to the stubborn Ki. Because I'm sure Danielson would never recover from doing that.

*Rating:* less than ***

*ROH Title Match
Samoa Joe vs. Austin Aries*

By itself, this match is good/forced or awesome, depending on your tastes. But when one watches everything that led up to this classic like I did, you realize what a masterpiece of a story this truly is.

This match played off the majority of Joe's title reign, including the title defenses against Punk, Danielson, Homicide, AJ Styles, and Christopher Daniels. It also played off the classics Aries had against Danielson and his victory over Punk the month prior. Coming off of a grueling 21 month reign and two ***** defenses against Punk, Joe had been exposed as being vulnerable and even went so far on the prior show as to blatantly attempt to cheat in order to remain ROH Champion.

On the other hand, Aries had that victory over Punk and a HUGE one a few months earlier in the 2/3 falls match against Danielson, plus he showed absolutely no fear or inferiority on the prior show against Ki. Reflecting back, the seeds were planted all along for ROH's final moment of 2004.

Aries brought everything in this match towards Joe - explosive maneuvers, crisp and intelligent technical wrestling, incredible tenacity. But the champ would not go down without a fight, smacking around the smaller Aries and showing a vicious side that hadn't been seen since his feud against Homicide.

In the end though, all the elements that led to this historic match, as well as the gameplan that Aries brought to the table, finally brought the epic reign of Samoa Joe to an end. The atmosphere in the closing moments, and especially the finish, was just beyond electric.

This is truly an incredible match, one that paid off two storyline arcs that overlapped on a very special night, closed out the year with a bang, and truly saved a shitty in-ring ROH event.

Post-match, Aries follows the Code of Honor for the first time at Joe's request, and he has to hide back his emotions temporarily.

*Rating:* ****1/2

*SUPER DUPER ROH 2004 AWARDS*

Wrestler of the Year:
Samoa Joe
Runner-up - Bryan Danielson

Debut of the Year:
Austin Aries - _Reborn Stage 2_
(I don't include pre-show matches.)

Breakout Performance of the Year:
Alex Shelley, Austin Aries, Roderick Strong, & Jack Evans @ _Generation Next_ and Austin Aries @ _Survival of the Fittest 2004_

Feud/Rivalry of the Year:
Samoa Joe vs. Homicide
Runner-up - CM Punk vs. Ricky Steamboat

Show of the Year:
_Death Before Dishonor II Pt. 2_
Runner-up - _Generation Next_ and _Reborn: Completion_

Moment of the Year:
Austin Aries ending Samoa Joe's ROH Title reign @ _Final Battle 2004_
Runner-up - Jushin Liger's appearances @ _Weekend of Thunder_

Match of the Year:
Samoa Joe vs. CM Punk - _Joe vs. Punk II_ *****
Runner-up - Samoa Joe vs. Bryan Danielson - _Midnight Express Reunion_ ***** and Samoa Joe vs. CM Punk - _All Star Extravaganza II_ *****

ROH's Top 10 Matches of 2004 (in chronological order):
Homicide vs. Bryan Danielson - _Reborn Stage 2_ ****1/4
Briscoe Bros., Jimmy Rave, & John Walters vs. Alex Shelley, Austin Aries, Roderick Strong, & Jack Evans - _Generation Next_ ****3/4
Samoa Joe vs. CM Punk - _World Title Classic_ ****1/2
Samoa Joe vs. Colt Cabana vs. Homicide vs. Mark Briscoe vs. Bryan Danielson vs. Austin Aries - _Survival of the Fittest 2004_ ****3/4
Austin Aries vs. Bryan Danielson - _Testing the Limit_ ****1/4
Samoa Joe vs. Bryan Danielson - _Midnight Express Reunion_ *****
Alex Shelley vs. Jimmy Jacobs - J_oe vs. Punk II_ ****1/2
Samoa Joe vs. CM Punk - _Joe vs. Punk II_ *****
Samoa Joe vs. CM Punk - _All Star Extravaganza II_ *****
Samoa Joe vs. Austin Aries - _Final Battle 2004_ ****1/2

Up next - It All Begins
Matches will include:
Brian Kendrick vs. Alex Shelley
Samoa Joe vs. Nigel McGuinnness
Homicide vs. Bryan Danielson
Austin Aries vs. Colt Cabana
Samoa Joe and Mick Foley confrontation


----------



## Super Sonic (Jun 11, 2014)

*It All Begins - January 15, 2005*










*Alex Shelley vs. Brian Kendrick*

Prior to the match, Austin Aries does his victory speech coming off his ROH Title win over Samoa Joe at _Final Battle 2004_. Shelley quickly interrupts and brawls with Aries & Roderick Strong, but Colt Cabana comes out to take out Generation Next. Shelley apologizes for his actions as the former GeNext leader, but Cabana tells him to fuck off.

As for the match, this was some quality professional wrestling and another candidate for best opener in ROH history. Shelley was very good with subtle efforts to stop playing dirty, but the world-traveled Kendrick was too much for him in this back-and-forth technical showdown. Very good match and excellent opener to get both men in the title hunt.

*Rating:* ***1/2

*Samoa Joe vs. Nigel McGuinnness*

Another quality match that further moved along establishing McGuinness as a future singles star. But Joe, just coming off that emotional title loss, came in to this one with something to prove. He was too great to succumb to the tremendous technical and psychological efforts of McGuinness. The vicious striking and merciless style of submission were once again all the strategy Joe needed to secure the victory, but McGuinness went down fighting.

*Rating:* ***1/2

*Tap Out Match - Match #1 in Best of 5 Series
Homicide vs. Bryan Danielson*

Before the bell even rings, the two have a chaotic brawl and a pre-taped Jim Cornette promo is shown while the ringside area settles down.

Cornette cuts a fantastic promo, pissed off that he was outdone by Bobby Heenan at _All Star Extravaganza II_. Just excellent, passionate work that shows the good stuff that Cornette can bring to the table. Everyone in the industry should watch this promo. This defeat MATTERED to Cornette, and had me pumped for another collision between the two managerial legends. I know it's a crazy concept, making wins and losses matter, but it actually works.

Getting back to ringside, Homicide and Danielson had a tremendous match. The hate was there but not overwhelming, the submission work was excellent, and it made me wonder how well this feud holds up. The majority of the match was used on Homicide working on the left arm and shoulder of Danielson, and that's what led to the finish. Another crazy concept - the story of a match paying off in the finish.

*Rating:* ****

*ROH Title Match
Austin Aries vs. Colt Cabana*

This match had the pacing and crowd reaction of the typical PWG match of its time. This was not a bad match at all, but it never got out of third gear. The heat was lacking, but the story was more than solid. The two did a solid job getting over their issue, but it didn't do much to make one think "Man, this Aries reign is gonna be the shiiiiiit!" However, the closing moments (as much as they deflated the crowd with the exception of a teased upset cradle pin) led nicely to a rematch.

*Rating:* ***

*Samoa Joe and Mick Foley confrontation*

I'll never understand why TNA didn't pull the fucking trigger on doing this feud when Foley was with that federation. Foley was just an excellent prick here, pretending to be a messenger of Vince McMahon as an obvious excuse to take more shots at Joe and ROH. Foley, the HOF veteran that he was, outsmarted the hot Joe and they had a very short but sweet brawl. Someone handed Foley a chair from behind the entrance curtain, thickening the plot of this feud. I REALLY wish we had gotten an official match between these two. AWESOME segment.

The show closes with Cabana challenging Aries to a cage match on the next event. Quality booking here.

This show is interesting - it is never discussed, but had an excellent match and great showdown between two of the most vicious personalities the business has ever seen. The undercard also had two quality (but very different) professional wrestling matches.

The title of this show also has more than the obvious meaning. Very layered here actually:
This was the beginning of Austin Aries's ROH TItle Reign.
This was the beginning of Nigel McGuinness's serious push as a singles competitor.
This was the beginning of Roderick Strong's establishment as a singles competitor.
This was the beginning of the Homicide vs. Bryan Danielson best of 5 series.
And this was the beginning of Alex Shelley's genuine attempt to choose right over wrong.

I recommend this show. One of the most underrated ROH ever hosted.

Up next - Third Anniversary Celebration Pt. 1
Matches will include:
Steve Corino vs. Roderick Strong
Jay Lethal vs. Jimmy Rave, with the winner challenging John Walters for the Pure TItle
CM Punk vs. Brian Kendrick
Samoa Joe taking on Mick Foley's hand-picked mystery opponent
Austin Aries vs. Colt Cabana


----------



## Super Sonic (Jun 11, 2014)

*Third Anniversary Celebration Pt. 1 - February 19, 2005*










*Steve Corino vs. Roderick Strong*

This started out as some heated, hard-hitting shit but calmed down into a solid opener within a few minutes. What was most notable was Corino's students interfering because of Strong's bullying of them the previous month; this planted the seed for the inevitable face turn of Generation Next.

*Rating:* ***

*Pure Title Shot Match
Jay Lethal vs. Jimmy Rave*

Prior to the match, John Walters is introduced and wearing an outfit that looks like it was bought at a garage sale, not appearing royal in the least.

A great undercard style match to go with the one these two had at _Weekend of Thunder Night 2_. Damn good storytelling of working on Lethal's neck, but the Elizabeth native was too pissed off and determined to get his title shot and wrap up this issue with the Embassy.

*Rating:* ***1/4

Post-match, Walters wants to defend the Pure Title RIGHT NOW.

*Pure Title Match
John Walters vs. Jay Lethal*

Great storytelling here, showing just how far Lethal had come under the tutelage of Samoa Joe. His in-ring intelligence kept him alive in this one, returning the favor of manipulating Walters into using up his rope breaks. The continued neck work carrying over from the prior match was quite beautiful, but the newly-turned Walters, someone who had solidified his position in the mid-card, was too much for Lethal to take down so quickly after the title shot match.

*Rating:* ***3/4

Skimming through this DVD, I find another great Jim Cornette promo, completely giving Bobby Heenan credit for one-upping him, but pissed off and coming back next week with a much improved plan and personnel. WINNER.

*CM Punk vs. Brian Kendrick*





(Note: the above video does NOT include the important post-match I discuss below.)

An average match. Nothing great, nothing horrible. Just average.

What matters is the post-match, as Prince Nana shows up and dismisses "Common Man" Punk, instead offering Kendrick a spot in the Embassy. Kendrick respectfully declines (disrespectful in the eyes of Nana of course) and Punk laughs at the rejection. Nana gets in his face and slaps him, but Punk is able to take out the Outcast Killaz quite easily and uses their air freshener on Nana's face. Definitely interested to see how this one holds up.

*The Mick Foley Challenge Series
Samoa Joe vs. Vordell Walker*

Foley cuts a tremendous promo prior to the match, stating that he had planned to face Joe himself as a surprise but he was too sore after the brawl they had the month before. So instead we got Walker in a quick extended squash.

Foley then told Joe he set up a backup plan...

*Hardcore Match
Samoa Joe vs. Ebestus Jack*

Pure comedy match that the crowd ate up in spades, and Foley found himself blatantly interfering despite what he stated earlier. Post-match, it's revealed that Austin Aries had helped Foley and would be given an opportunity to be in the WWE.

*Cage Match
Austin Aries vs. Colt Cabana*

Damn good cage match that would have been excellent with more emotion behind it. What we did get though is some great tenacity and solid storytelling. Aries once again proved that he would do whatever he needed to do to stay champion, pulling off an amazing tope con hilo through the ropes and cage door to the floor in order to ensure Cabana's feet did not touch first.

*Rating:* ***3/4

All of the post-show footage is some garbage VHS for some reason. That's a shame because Alex Shelley cuts a great promo about the position he's found himself in and how he's going to move forward with it.

There is also a Colt Cabana promo shot three days afterward, with a special appearance by Bobby Heenan. Stoked for Heenan vs. Cornette II.

Up next - Third Anniversary Celebration Pt. 2
Matches will include:
Colt Cabana vs. Nigel McGuinness
James Gibson vs. Brian Kendrick
CM Punk vs. Alex Shelley
Austin Aries & Jack Evans vs. Samoa Joe & Bryan Danielson
AJ Styles vs. Jimmy Rave


----------



## Super Sonic (Jun 11, 2014)

*Third Anniversary Celebration Pt. 2 - February 25, 2005*










*Colt Cabana vs. Nigel McGuinness*

Tremendous undercard match. Lots of comedy spots, all based upon outstanding technical wrestling. This definitely looks like it holds up. Just a superbly entertaining match, and yet, as hard as it was to believe, it would be topped later on in the evening in that aspect.

*Rating:* ***1/2

*James Gibson's ROH Debut
James Gibson vs. Brian Kendrick*

Another great undercard match, and a hell of a debut for Gibson. This is very comparable to the awesome WCW undercard cruiserweight matches. Incredible focus, awesome psychology on the left arm/shoulder work done by Gibson on Kendrick, tremendous technical wrestling. Just give them probably a few more matches and it would have been truly great. Damn do I miss Gibson in the ring, and damn do I miss a motivated Kendrick.

*Rating:* ***3/4

*CM Punk vs. Alex Shelley*

My pick for match of the night, although you really can't go wrong with any of the five matches I'm reviewing for this show. This was a great matchup of bitter babyface going up against the newly-turned remorseful archnemesis, and here's a fun fact - the similar storytelling of Steve Corino vs. El Generico in 2011 also took place in Dayton.

What made this so great for me is that it wasn't just a competition between two great wrestlers like Cabana vs. McGuinness and Gibson vs. Kendrick (not that there's anything wrong with those type of worked matches of course.) But this had that extra little bit of storytelling and psychology, and the chemistry between the two men is what made it stand out above the rest of this excellent show for me. The technical wrestling was crisp, the storytelling between body parts was amazing, and I loved Shelley doing everything he could to win, but still struggling to do it with integrity.

Post-match, the Embassy attack Punk and Shelley makes the save. Pretty weird thinking that Shelley attacked the Embassy considering what would happen later on, but yes, he helped Punk get them to fuck off.

*Rating:* ****1/4

*Austin Aries & Jack Evans vs. Samoa Joe & Bryan Danielson*

Another fantastic match for the evening, that would have been a MOTYC if it had avoided the lack of enforcing who's legal by the referee. This is the one that surpassed Cabana vs. McGuinness in terms of pure entertainment. Evans just took an absolute ass-kicking in this match as Joe and Danielson had fun at his expense physically and mentally. Aries was also tremendous in being overly cautious to get in on the action because of the disrespect he showed on Joe the week before. This was just absolutely FUN.

Post-match, Homicide shows up and brawls with Danielson.

*Rating:* ****

*One Night Only
AJ Styles vs. Jimmy Rave*

This main event was not just great, but properly brought the in-ring to a close for the evening on what was just a fantastic night of professional wrestling. Styles was tremendous as always with his intensity, absolutely ready to go immediately and being aggressive to his former protege Rave. However, Rave did his job too going toe-to-toe with the established Styles, and this match was his singles breakout. He was given the opportunity, and he delivered. I loved the match, I loved the sports-entertainment bullshit finish, and I loved the post-match of Fast Eddie Vegas (who had joined the Embassy after the evening's opener and turned on fellow Air Devil Matt Sydal) showing up to gang up on Styles only for Punk to show up and take Rave out of the equation, I loved Styles closing out the in-ring show getting his heat back. This got over a new star and moved storylines forward without sabotaging anyone.

*Rating:* ****

Homicide and Danielson are shown still brawling outside, and if you didn't believe that Bryan Danielson is a crazy son of a bitch, he was pretending to fight outdoors on a cold February night in Dayton, Ohio wearing nothing but wrestling boots, shinpads, kneepads, spandex underwear, and maybe wrist-tape.

The DVD closes with Cabana in "Chicago" discussing his match with McGuinness. Entertaining wink-wink conversation that ends in the two agreeing to become friends and potential tag partners, as well as a willingess to lock horns again down the road.

This show was fucking FANTASTIC. Just like with my _Generation Next_ review, what I loved is not only the quantity of splendid professional wrestling on this show, but the variety of it. There was comedy, sports-entertainment, beatdowns, technical wrestling, junior style wrestling, European style wrestling, psychological wrestling, interesting characters, interesting storylines moving forward, an awesome debut, an even better one night only return, a fun heel turn, and a star being made.

Also, the crowd on this show. HOLY SHIT THEY WERE JUST PERFECT. Why did ROH murder this market?

GET THIS. YESTERDAY. God DAMN 2005 ROH is going to be a killer rewatch if the more reputable shows later on in the year hold up and still surpass this too.

Up next - Third Anniversary Celebration Pt. 3
Matches will include:
Jack Evans vs. Alex Shelley
Round 2 of Jim Cornette vs. Bobby Heenan
Dan Maff & BJ Whitmer vs. Colt Cabana & Nigel McGuinness
Homicide vs. Bryan Danielson
Jimmy Jacobs vs. Brian Kendrick
James Gibson vs. Puma (TJ Perkins)
CM Punk vs. Jimmy Rave
Austin Aries vs. Samoa Joe


----------



## Super Sonic (Jun 11, 2014)

*Third Anniversary Celebration Pt. 3 - February 26, 2005*










*Jack Evans vs. Alex Shelley*

A good match that would have been much better as an extended squash to properly build up to the inevitable Shelley vs. Austin Aries match. This was too back-and-forth, with a few too many near falls when one considers that Shelley was established as a singles act while Evans hadn't been and there was no reason for him to be booked in such a way for this match. That said, this was still a fun match and the post-match confirmed that I will love watching this feud unfold again.

*Rating:* ***

*Good Times, Great Memories
Guest: Bobby Heenan*

This was just a feel-good (ie, NOTHING) segment until Jim Cornette came out with Dan Maff & BJ Whitmer. Cornette's promo here was a classic, completely rationalizing why Heenan was completely in his head before we got to our impromptu match...

*Team Cornette vs. Team Heenan
Dan Maff & BJ Whitmer vs. Colt Cabana & Nigel McGuinness*

Another Cornette vs. Heenan classic here, and I could've watched these two managerial minds collide a few more times to be quite honest. Just fun and entertaining here with both teams trying to one-up each other in the Eddie Guerrero department of lying, cheating, and stealing. A perfectly booked and executed sports-entertainment match with a finish that could lead to a future Tag Titles match for Cabana & McGuinness.

*Rating:* ***

*Falls Count Anywhere Match - Match #3 in Best of 5 Series
Homicide vs. Bryan Danielson*

I felt this was a very good match that showed the hatred in this feud. What these two did to each other was quite insane when the action spilled throughout the gymnasium floor. Wickedly fun and brutal match and I look forward to this feud continuing.

*Rating:* ***1/2

*Jimmy Jacobs vs. Brian Kendrick*

A good match but nothing special since no man really had much of an issue with one another and neither was a truly established force within the company. Sorry, but Kendrick being pissed because Jacobs is using "his" finisher isn't deep enough to be engaging, especially when it's Naomichi Marufuji that was using the Shiranui before either one of them. Solid and steady buildup for Kendrick to get a title shot though.

*Rating*: ***1/4

*James Gibson vs. Puma (TJ Perkins)*

Another good match based purely on technical wrestling. Nothing truly special, but this was definitely some good stuff with Gibson being the established name and struggling to overcome the work Puma did on his knee. Whereas Evans vs. Shelley wasn't completely convincing as a back-and-forth contest, this definitely was because Gibson and Puma also had time spent in the New Japan dojos, it wasn't obvious that Gibson would soon be getting high-profile matches, and Puma was able to exploit a weakness on Gibson, but not enough to put down the former WCW and WWE superstar.

*Rating:* ***1/2

*CM Punk vs. Jimmy Rave*






Another great sports-entertainment style match, although it couldn't touch Rave vs. AJ Styles from the night before. While that had the intensity of Styles to make that match chippy, this one instead was more WWE-esque, and there was nothing wrong with it at all. Rave was once again great at being a cheater, while Punk was solid as always being a babyface in his hometown. Perfectly executed match for what everyone was aiming for, and a solid feud so far.

*Rating:* ***3/4

*ROH Title Match
Austin Aries vs. Samoa Joe*

This could not come close to the classic they pulled off at _Final Battle 2004_, but this was still a great title match. With the events of the previous several weeks, Joe came in completely pissed off and dominated the majority of the match, but Aries of course would not go down. It became obvious with the finish that the actions of Aries coming into this match were all mind games to psych out Joe, as he was able to turn the choke into a successful pinfall. Aries escaped with the title yet again, the big rematch checked off with plenty of fresh challengers on the horizon.

*Rating:*: ****

The Embassy close out the DVD with a tremendous promo boasting about how badly they outsmarted Punk.

GET THIS DVD. Look at how solid it is up and down.

Up next - Trios Tournament
Matches will include:
James Gibson, Brian Kendrick, & Nigel McGuinness vs. Samoa Joe, Bryan Danielson, & Vordell Walker
Austin Aries, Roderick Strong, & Jack Evans vs. Homicide & Havana Pitbulls


----------



## Super Sonic (Jun 11, 2014)

*Trios Tournament - March 5, 2005*










*Trios Tournament Quarterfinal
Samoa Joe, Bryan Danielson, & Vordell Walker vs. James Gibson, Brian Kendrick, & Nigel McGuinness*

This was some very, very good professional wrestling here. Easily the highlight of Vordell Walker's career, there was a hardly a dull moment in this match. Joe brought the heavy shit, Kendrick brought the scrappy seasoned vet shit, and Gibson/Danielson/McGuinness all brought the excellent technical wrestling into the mix as well. For historic purposes - this match marked the first time Danielson and McGuinness locked horns, and served as a nice preview for their rivalry to come. Just about everything was on point, and the match got hotter as it went on. Just really good stuff here.

*Rating:* ***3/4

*Trios Tournament Final
Austin Aries, Roderick Strong, & Jack Evans vs. Homicide & Havana Pitbulls*

This is where I could see why the Philly market was dying, and it would take something truly, truly special to get it back to enthusiastic levels. With the show not being that great, and both teams already wrestled two matches each, it took awhile for them to get past even first gear, with lots of annoying stalling in the beginning few minutes. But because these six men were on a roll at the time, each of them motivated as well to move up in the business, it still turned into a pretty good trios match. I must note that Evans and Homicide made one of many failed attempts to copy the backflip DDT spot from _Halloween Havoc 1997_, which would not be done until _WrestleMania XXVI_. With the match getting good in the closing several minutes, and no noticeable neglecting of enforcing tags (something the other match I reviewed on this show suffered from once or twice), and the right team winning, I still would say this is worth seeing.

Post-match, the Rottweilers cut a simple promo explaining why their victory was so important, earning them matches of their choice in the future. MITB-esque a month before the first ever MITB match.

*Rating:* ***1/4

Up next, it will not be an ROH show. Instead, it will be the greatest shoot interview ever caught on camera...

STRAIGHT SHOOTIN' WITH SAMOA JOE & CM PUNK~!


----------



## Super Sonic (Jun 11, 2014)

This review originally posted in 2013.

*Straight Shootin' w/ Samoa Joe & CM Punk - March 10, 2005*



Spoiler: OVERSIZED DVD COVER















Every wrestler should watch these two discuss the trilogy. Both men stress the importance of storytelling and psychology as to what made their matches so artistically successful - it wasn't just a bunch of moves and reversals for no reason. They also discuss how the matches came together, often at the last minute and on the fly, Perhaps most importantly, they make sure to discuss how incredibly the smartest of crowds were able to suspend their disbelief and just become fans while watching the trilogy.

Also discussed is the potential at that time of moving on to WWE, which leads to their assessment of the WWE's roster and hiring practices of 2005. Joe explained why he felt the roster wasn't up to par with those of the boom periods - little did we know how stacked that 2005 roster would be compared to what we would get several years later.

In addition, discussion of ROH's evolution from 2002 to 2005 is interesting. In discussing the overall product and their trilogy, it's very obvious both men were driven to move up and put together the best overall events possible for the fans. It was a very genuine moment hearing both men explain the importance of all the little things it takes to keep a wrestling event slick and professional, with everyone being a team working together. Very interesting compared to what both men's mentalities and priorities have become today.

The other primary portion takes up about an hour and a half, which is road stories for when someone's name is brought up. I won't go into full details, but will give a quick explanation of what to expect.

Jushin Liger - just a cool guy
Teddy Hart - they dance around this topic
Christopher Daniels - his fingerprints were all over the indy scene with multiple examples brought up
AJ Styles - a great guy and video game geek
Colt Cabana - a complete carny (but the more justifiable side of it). This also leads to a disgusting Adam Pearce story.
Steve Corino - a transvestite bar in Great Britain. That's all I will say.
Low Ki - struggles to balance between work and shoot, but still a decent guy
Homicide - an EPIC story involving Joe, Punk, Homicide, Rocky Romero, B-Boy, and Nosawa during PWG's T_ango & Cash Invitational_ weekend.
Gabe Sapolsky - a ticking time bomb that is easily trolled

Entertaining stories of their "parallel lives" and an FIP match between Punk and Homicide make for nice desert dishes on this as well.

All in all, this is the greatest shoot interview of all-time, and for the most part is very honest and genuine. Those who enjoy wrestling that emphasizes storytelling, psychology, and pacing, this is for you. Those who want some epic and hilarious road stories, this is for you. This is the standard for all shoot interviews to meet, and the equivalent to Mick Foley's _Have a Nice Day_.

Strongest recommendation possible, and get the Joe vs. Punk trilogy set RIGHT FUCKING NOW if you don't have this shoot interview yet.

Up next - Back to Basics
Matches will include:
Delirious vs. Colt Cabana
Homicide vs. Roderick Strong
James Gibson vs. Rocky Romero
Jay Lethal & Samoa Joe vs. CM Punk & Brian Kendrick


----------



## Super Sonic (Jun 11, 2014)

*Back to Basics - March 12, 2005*










*Delirious vs. Colt Cabana*

A harmless, cute little comedy opener, though not as entertaining as I remembered. Not worried or disappointed though, as I know there's a certain comedy match involving Delirious that may be the highlight of his career on the horizon.

*Homicide vs. Roderick Strong*

A good match that accomplished the goals for both participants. It kept Homicide warm for his upcoming ROH Title shot against Strong's Generation Next leader Austin Aries, showing his technical side that his gimmick could often overshadow. Meanwhile, Strong's momentum kept moving forward in his ascension to his singles breakout. That it took TWO lariats to put Strong down was great for both men in terms of what the goals were for both in the future.

*Rating:* ***1/4

*James Gibson vs. Rocky Romero*

Announced before the match that this is an ROH Title shot for Gibson if he wins, this was an unsurprisingly good match. That announcement though seemed to create more crowd heat. While I felt the Homicide vs. Strong match was technically superior and a bit better at accomplishing its goals, the heat in this one gives this one the overall nod in comparison. This was quite the back and forth match, and I wish these two had been around a decade earlier in WCW to feud for the Cruiserweight Title; that would have been a nice little feud.

Post-match, Kendrick asks for Gibson to give him first dibs on an ROH Title shot should he go on to win it.

*Rating:* ***1/2

*Tag Titles Shot Match
Jay Lethal & Samoa Joe vs. CM Punk & Brian Kendrick*

A very good tag main event that could have been great if not for the sports-entertainment finish. For a makeshift last-minute team, Punk & Kendrick had quite the chemistry and looked to make for a great tandem had they tagged more often. With a Tag Titles shot on the line, they even resorted to cheating at one point, pissing off Joe in the process in a great bit of irony considering the Joe vs. Punk III match.

Speaking of Joe vs. Punk, I should mention the obvious: coming off their acclaimed trilogy, the crowd went APESHIT when they tagged in to face each other for the first time in three months. But the story of the match came when Punk threw Lethal ribs first on the top edge of a steel barricade, with the makeshift team working on those ribs. It was obvious the match was gonna be over as soon as Punk had Lethal set up for a Super Pepsi Plunge.

Then Steven Richards shows up, stopping Punk in his tracks, and he manages to land a superkick on Punk. Moments later, Lethal and Punk woke up, with Lethal successfully hitting a Dragon Suplex for the victory.

A couple things about this match: Steve Corino was originally announced as Punk's partner and wasn't on the show for reasons I'm not aware of. The commentary said he no-showed and was unprofessional, but that could be kayfabe. As for the Richards appearance, he apparently was/is a good friend of Punk and it was to be explained later that he was paid off by the Embassy to backstab his friend. I'm assuming WWE put the kibosh on any further Richards involvement in ROH.

*Rating:* ***3/4

Also of note is that this would be Dan Maff's last ROH appearance due to some personal beef with Homicide, with the kayfabe explanation that his career was over at the time due to an automobile accident. He would be stripped of the Tag Titles and Whitmer would go on to pick a different partner as mentioned below.

Up next - Best of American Super Juniors Tournament
Matches will include:
Brian Kendrick vs. Bryan Danielson
James Gibson vs. Roderick Strong
Black Tiger (Rocky Romero) facing the Kendrick vs. Danielson winner in a BOASJ semifinal
Jay Lethal & Samoa Joe vs. Jimmy Jacobs & BJ Whitmer
Austin Aries vs. Homicide


----------



## Super Sonic (Jun 11, 2014)

*Best of American Super Juniors Tournament - April 2, 2005*










*Best of American Super Juniors Tournament Quarterfinal
Brian Kendrick vs. Bryan Danielson*

Hands down, the greatest opener in ROH history, and I don't ever see this losing that distinction. That's likely because this match wasn't executed like an opener, but as a PPV main event. In addition, this is the consensus pick for MOTN on this event, and I am happy to agree with that. This is also probably the best singles match of Kendrick's career, and I can only imagine (without watching them) the only better matches in his career were his tag matches in NOAH several weeks later involving KENTA & Naomichi Marufuji.

This match had pretty much everything going for it - pacing, storytelling, drama, determination from both men. After the feeling out process (necessary because they hadn't wrestled each other in a few years), the story of the match was of course brilliant as it came down to Kendrick's left shoulder vs. Danielson's neck. I won't go into details about Danielson's work, as at this point I'm reviewing my fourth Danielson match in a week and would feel like a broken record. It was great to see Kendrick both still motivated while also being elevated to an outstanding match by Danielson.

I didn't agree with the combo of a superkick, Shiranui, and frogsplash being used as a false finish, which is my only complaint of this match. However, even though it's my only complaint, that's still a REALLY huge combo to use in such fashion, and keeps this from being at the very tip-top matches of ROH to me. However, I did love the Regalplex being used to finish Kendrick based on the work Danielson did on Kendrick's left shoulder. The standing ovation this got wasn't an auto-pilot reaction from those in attendance' it was absolutely 100% earned.

*Rating:* ****1/4

*Best of American Super Juniors Tournament Quarterfinal
James GIbson vs. Roderick Strong*

A very good match to put over both men with what was to come later in the tournament. Strong just absolutely decimated Gibson's back in this one, practically immobilizing the former Cruiserweight Champion. But with Gibson trying to prove himself during his time away from WWE, he would refuse to go down, his hope spots being utterly brilliant. While this didn't have the pacing to be a MOTYC, I don't see that as being the goal of this match since there were glaring political reasons for how it was formatted. But this was great storytelling, and just like the match with Danielson the night before on the other side of the continent, I have no problem with Gibson rolling Strong up in a pin since he's the veteran with years of experience in the top leagues of the business.

*Rating:* ***1/2

*Best of American Super Juniors Tournament Semifinal
Bryan Danielson vs. Black Tiger (Rocky Romero)*

This match just makes me wish we had gotten to see Eddie Guerrero vs. Bryan Danielson. But Romero made for a fine addition to the BT persona, and anytime someone antagonizes Danielson is gonna make for at worst a fun match. Both men were quite vicious to each other, becoming quite testy and a great preview of things to come for Danielson as his peak in ROH was still on the horizon. However, with New Japan controlling the booking of this tournament, BT had to go ever, which was fine although Romero probably wasn't ready to be given such a position at this point; after all, this tournament included Danielson, Alex Shelley, Gibson, Strong, Matt Sydal, and a motivated Kendrick.

*Rating:* ***1/4

At this point since I"m done reviewing the tournament, I should notate that the booking of this was a failure through zero fault of Gabe Sapolsky. NJPW insisted on its two acts, Black Tiger and the incredibly mediocre Kendo Ka Shin to get to the finals with the latter going over after 3 straight lackluster performances from him. It's why Strong was booked so strongly against Gibson, to put HIM over and be the reason Gibson lost to Ka Shin. When the final was mercifully over, the fans chanted "Don't come back!" at the tournament winner and I don't blame them. Although I doubt many of the lowest common denominator faithful of the current ROH would have minded him that much.

*Vacant Tag Titles Match
Jay Lethal & Samoa Joe vs. Jimmy Jacobs & BJ Whitmer*

This had some great potential, and I loved that Joe had his team playing the default heels, which plays off what he did in his last title defense against CM Punk. The last half of the match simply had too many problems, including:

The referee forgetting who was legal.
A so-so heat segment on Jacobs.
Whitmer completely flaming out and being off-key for about 30 seconds when he got the hot tag.

*Rating*: less than ***

*ROH Title Match
Austin Aries vs. Homicide*

There's no doubt that this was destined to be a great match. Just two assholes trying to one-up each other for the top prize in the company. I loved that Aries tried to follow the Code of Honor in the beginning (a sign of things to come later in the year) but Homicide completely ignored it, setting the tone for Aries who had proven to be quite comfortable bending the rules and lacking sportsmanship.

The pacing of the match was up to standards for an ROH main event and Title match, which should be mentioned before I get to the negative that brought this down to being very good. This wasn't a technical wrestling match - it was a fight and mind game, which made for a unique experience for this viewer.

Now for the negative: I don't care what Dan Maff did that was so vile and scummy to piss off Homicide in real life, there was no reason to use a Burning Hammer not only to be a false finish, but as a means to psych Homicide up in the finishing minutes of the match. That move had been too entrenched by Kenta Kobashi as perhaps THE finisher of all finishers in the industry.

Looking past that bullshit, I enjoyed Julius Smokes attempting to interfere and giving Danielson a reason to show up to eliminate him from the equation. Homicide was also put over strongly in that it took multiple brainbusters and 450 splashes to put him down. This title reign wasn't getting any easier for Aries, not with Gibson as the next challenger just two weeks away.

*Rating: ****3/4

Despite the lame New Japan booking and disappointing tag match, I would give this show a high recommendation. It features ROH's greatest opener, Strong's coming out singles match (not quite his breakout yet though), and two other quality matches.

Up next - Stalemate
Matches will include:
Jay Lethal vs. Brian Kendrick
Samoa Joe vs. Alex Shelley vs. Colt Cabana vs. Nigel McGuinness
Austin Aries vs. James Gibson
Homicide vs. Bryan Danielson


----------



## Super Sonic (Jun 11, 2014)

*Stalemate - April 16, 2005*










*Pure Title Match
Jay Lethal vs. Brian Kendrick*

Surprisingly the MOTN when considering what else was on the card, but I'm not gonna complain. This was a VERY good mid-card match with great pacing and storytelling. Lethal was great working on the left arm of Kendrick, just working on it to force Kendrick into running out of rope breaks. But what I also loved is that Kendrick, having had a bit of a temper going back to 2002, and with a year or so of recent experience in the punch/kick style of WWE, kept using closed fists and was penalized a rope break. In a regular match, this would have been completely even; but these rules made this content a mis-match in the end. That the match ended with a modified Boston Crab using the ropes, despite Lethal doing little to no work on Kendrick's back throughout the body of match, was fine to me. I'm sure anybody else in that move, even the likes of the mighty John Cena, would tap out to that submission.

*Rating: ****3/4

I caught CM Punk cutting a couple pretty damn good promos on the Embassy. REALLY looking forward to the final week of that feud.

*Double Stakes Elimination Match
Samoa Joe vs. Alex Shelley vs. Colt Cabana vs. Nigel McGuinness*

Two Fall Match
Winner of first fall gets a Pure Title Shot (both wrestlers involved in the fall eliminated)
Remaining two wrestlers compete for an ROH Title Shot

This had some great moments and wrestling, enough to make me consider this to be a good match. I love McGuinness pussy-footing around and playing mind games with a headstand in the corner, and Joe having the easy solution - Yakuza Kick the motherfucker! I felt the concept of the rules was interesting in establishing who really desired a shot at a specific championship. However, just having two simple but effective specific title shot matches would have made for better matches and a smoother show.

Yes, I know a Joe vs. Cabana match would be predictable, but they'd proven to have very good chemistry already the year before. And a Shelley vs. McGuinness singles match would have been predictable too, but that likely would have been outstanding and elevated both men as singles acts in ROH. I don't wanna be too harsh on this concept though, as I do think it was worth trying as an experiment and saying otherwise is Monday morning quarterback bullshit.

*Rating:* ***

*ROH Title Match
Austin Aries vs. James Gibson*

This one didn't quite stand the test of time for me, as I had this as a MOTYC back in the day. But this was still a good match. I don't have a problem with the double pin, as proven by my ***** rating towards the AJ Styles vs. Paul London contest that the same Boston crowd got to witness. Just thinking at the time, I'm not sure which of these two men was really "better" since both were just on a roll. I was impressed by how much work Aries did on Gibson's back, blatantly capitalizing on what fellow Generation Next member Roderick Strong did to Gibson two weeks earlier. As usual, Gibson would manage to get in some nice hope spots, including rollups out of nowhere, displaying his veteran experience from being in the big leagues.

However, when it was Gibson's turn to get the heat, I wasn't impressed with how much he put off selling the back work. Also, he seemed to have very minimal near-falls on Aries. And that leads me to my biggest problem with this match - it never hit the holy shit MOTYC gear. Maybe these two didn't have it in them to get that far, and I'll find out with the obvious rematch.

Almost immediately after the double pinfall, Shelley shows up to attack Aries. For someone who has apologized left and right, vowed to have become a man of integrity, I'm not so sure about ruining a peer's chance at getting the opportunity to restart his championship match just so he could have the glory of dethroning the man who booted him out of his stable.

*Rating:* ***1/2

*Match #4 in Best of 5 Series - Lumberjack Match
Homicide vs. Bryan Danielson*

A good lumberjack match, and since there aren't many of them this has to be one of the best ones ever. This did a nice job going from brawling to hatred spots to technical wrestling. I loved that both men told the lumberjacks to fuck off early in the match. Reinforcing that your main-eventers are bad-asses, what a crazy concept. My only real complaint of this match is that in the finishing stretches, I didn't buy that Homicide got THAT much of an adrenaline rush after a release Regalplex. I was glad the second Regalplex was the finish though.

*Rating:* ***1/2

Shelly cuts a promo after the show, smirking like a complete douche-bag. No wonder nobody in the locker room believes a word he says. It's an interesting dynamic though, douche-bag claiming to be changed feuding with the assholes that betrayed him.

Up next - Manhattan Mayhem
Matches will include:
Nigel McGuinness vs. Colt Cabana
James Gibson vs. Black Tiger (Rocky Romero)
Jimmy Jacobs & BJ Whitmer vs. Roderick Strong & Jack Evans
Jay Lethal vs. Samoa Joe
CM Punk vs. Jimmy Rave
Austin Aries vs. Alex Shelley


----------



## Super Sonic (Jun 11, 2014)

*Manhattan Mayhem - May 7, 2005*










*Nigel McGuinness vs. Colt Cabana*

Another very good undercard match between these two. This had the usual great mat wrestling and counters, but the story of the match incorporated the narrative between the two, which was Cabana's comedy vs. the all-business McGuinness. I really enjoyed that Cabana's comedy at one point became a disadvantage to him, being temporarily unable to wiggle McGuinness off of his back when crawling around. The finish was initially botched but the commentary did a great job covering for it, and it was redone with what appeared to be an accidental lowblow, leading to victory for McGuinness. That finish should only add some juice to what has felt like the calm before the storm. Outstanding job of accomplishing its goals.

*Rating:* ***1/2

Alex Shelley cuts an absolutely phenomenal promo that chronicles the rise of Generation Next, and how frustrating it's been to be ostracized by the rest of the roster since being booted by GeNext. That's what happens when you ruin a peer's moment to win the ROH Title just because you put your own personal agenda first and then smirk about it afterwards. That's the kind of thing that will usually erase any chance of forgiveness.

*James Gibson vs. Black Tiger (Rocky Romero)*

Surprise, surprise, another very good undercard match. That these two had faced each other two months before but without Romero's BT gimmick was a blessing to me, as I really didn't recall the match and having the gimmick this time means less expectation of following up on that prior match. There was a stretch in which BT kept trapping Gibson in a traditional ankle lock, and based on a Paul London & Brian Kendrick shoot that mentioned how much Gibson admired Chris Benoit, I have to wonder if it was done to pay homage to the finish of Benoit's classic against Kurt Angle from _Royal Rumble 2003_.

I really enjoyed that the guillotine choke out of nowhere led to an almost immediate submission victory for Gibson; while there wasn't a tremendous amount of work done on BT's neck or throat, it was necessary to establish it as instant death with another ROH Title shot just six days away for Gibson. These two would have been a fitting addition to TNA's X-Division at the time.

*Rating:* ***1/2

*Tag Titles Match
Jimmy Jacobs & BJ Whitmer vs. Roderick Strong & Jack Evans*

The very good matches just keep on coming, this time in the mid-card. At the time that this event was first released on DVD, I was OMG MOTYC like almost everyone else. When I last watched it a few years ago, I was underwhelmed and felt it was a cute but incredibly hollow spotfest. With all these years gone by, and a better understanding that matches aim to provide different flavors, my feelings about this match are much more positive, though not as positive as in 2005.

I'm not putting down this match at all. This was a very well done spotfest, one that had the crowd going absolutely apeshit. It was simply a preview of things to come for the tripleshot weekend that was to hit the Midwest the following spring. There is absolutely nothing wrong with that at all. Sure, I would've liked to see these two teams in a traditionally structured tag like the prime years of the Rock 'N Roll Express, but I give credit where it's due. I thoroughly enjoyed what these four men put together, even with some flaws in the match and that it's not necessarily my favorite flavor of match anymore.

There were moments in which tags weren't enforced, somewhat souring the great moment when the ref actually DID enforce the legality. But this still just had so many fucking awesome moments. From the Whitmer and Strong chopfest, to Whitmer ducking an attempted Yakuza Kick from Strong and just nailing him with a nasty lariat, the combinations of spots (including the inevitable double-team moves), and Jacobs playing a terrific face-in-peril.

I really wish these two teams could've had a rematch during the red-hot summer that was on the horizon. I'm guessing Evans had commitments with Dragon Gate and that prevented it from happening. I wish that it had happened though not only because I'd like to have seen what these two teams could've done in the traditionally structured tag style match, but because these two teams on this night simply just put on a performance that was FUN AND ENJOYABLE. That's something that a smarky fan that analyzes everything like me can appreciate.

*Rating:* ***1/2

*Pure Title Match
Jay Lethal vs. Samoa Joe*

The very good matches come to a screeching halt here. Instead, we got our first great match for the evening.

I absolutely LOVED the story of this match. Earlier in the evening, Lethal met Joe in the ring and was praising his mentor. Joe insulted him for being sentimental and not understanding that this match and moment was about business and being the Pure Champion. This caused Lethal to throw the sportsmanship out the window and pieface Joe, telling the former ROH Champ not to be looking past him.

Lethal indeed brought his working boots to this match; this seriously might be the best match of his career. He took his beating from Joe, but showed how far he had come in the span of a year, surprising Joe with just how much expertise he had acquired. There was one submission that I have no fucking clue the name for, but it was just beautiful: Lethal was on his back with Joe on top of him, but he had his legs stretching out the shoulders of Joe. Really amazing submission move that also had to soften Joe for Lethal's Dragon Suplex finisher.

But despite the match against Low Ki several months before, Lethal had never faced an opponent that was as physical as Samoa Joe. With that said though, Joe's physical style, including his habits of throwing punches, did cost him a rope break. But with the match getting so physical, borderline chippy, Lethal found himself throwing receipt punches and got penalized a rope break too. Despite Joe not being completely familiar with the Pure Title rules, his experience at the top and his style were too much for Lethal, winning his second championship in the company. These two blew the roof off of the New Yorker Hotel with their tremendous wrestling and brutal physicality.

Post-match, the Rottweilers show up to raise hell in what is just an awesome moment that only intensified an already hot crowd. They beat the shit out of Joe & Lethal, with the returning Low Ki admitting that he was the one that mugged Lethal behind the scenes a couple months back in a moment I had forgotten to acknowledge. I really do miss narcissistic Low KI.

*Rating:* ****

*Dog-Collar Match
CM Punk vs. Jimmy Rave*

I gotta say - Prince Nana was looking awfully spiffy on this night, and of course he cut his usual grand promo. The Embassy were just splendid during this time. I loved that Rave pretended to be sick to get out of the match, but then immediately sprinted to the ring as soon as Punk was getting the collar chained to his neck and attacked him. This match was obviously all storytelling, and didn't quite hit the high gear to be an epic, but with an already announced cage match just seven days away in Punk's hometown of Chicago, it wasn't necessary for this to be a MOTYC. I'm sure Punk is feeling those unprotected chair shots to finish the match as the years go by, but with the great promo he cut afterwards backstage that revealed he had a broken skull before his ROH days, it certainly made sense for the story.

*Rating:* ***1/2

*ROH Title Match
Austin Aries vs. Alex Shelley*

The other great match for the evening, and this one certainly lived up to expectations. Despite what a personal match this really was, both men were intelligent enough to largely put that aside and focus on just out-wrestling each other. To me, that really puts over the ROH Title, that being the champion of the company was more important than settling scores. These two just went back-and-forth with tremendous pacing and showing off their submission work, working on the necessary body parts and trying to gain an advantage.

I really loved Aries desperately rolling to the ropes when Shelley hit a series of deadly moves on him, making Shelley have to use just a bit of additional energy before attempting a pinfall. Little things like that are what separates raw potential from true greatness. And while Shelley really did put Aries through hell, I've no problem with Aries finding enough of an adrenaline rush to finish off his former teammate with his trademark finishing sequence. Die-hard sports fans know that's often the case for so many teams and athletes squeezing out victories in the closing moments of games.

*Rating:* ****

Low Ki & Homicide come to the ring IMMEDIATELY after that match ends, and Aries makes the decision to leave the ring after that grueling contest he just had. Of course, Joe & Lethal come out to settle the score after what happened earlier in the evening, and we have a match that gives this show its name...

*Impromptu Main Event
Samoa Joe & Jay Lethal vs. Low Ki & Homicide*

This was a VERY fitting close to the show. A wild tag match, and quite honestly I wish it had never become a traditional tag match. With the history of these four men, they should've just been let loose and fucked each other up! But this match still did a fine job of reinforcing what BAD-ASSES Joe, Ki, and Homicide were at the time, and continued to elevate Lethal as someone that the company would hope to be a cornerstone in the future. This match was quick, to the point, and BRUTAL. The finish is one of the most iconic in company history, with Homicide putting Lethal in position for the Kudo Driver, but waiting for Ki to leap off of the top rope and double-stomp Lethal so that Homicide would then use that momentum to drop Lethal right on his neck.

*Rating:* ***3/4

Prince Nana cuts another excellent promo, all pissed off that his meal ticket Rave is having to pay the consequences for his actions by getting booked in gimmick matches with Punk. LOVE IT.

Gibson cuts a promo that serves its purpose of reminding us of his upcoming ROH Title shot, and he does a really good job of saying how much the opportunity means to him. Nothing spectacular, but effective.

The final promo is Cabana & McGuinness getting in each other's faces, the former bitching about the lowblow finish while the latter says it was an accident. Oh, this is about to get chippy.

If you look at just my star ratings, you won't see anything on here that will be anywhere near a MOTYC list. But that doesn't matter in this instance. This was an unbelievably well-paced event in front of a second-to-none NYC crowd. Much like _Death Before Dishonor II Pt. 2_ and _Third Anniversary Celebration Pt. 2_, this show not only was consistent with very good to great matches (although on this event they were absurdly one after another), but those matches featured a variety of styles and interesting characters.

You want technical wrestling that'll make you salivate? An unreal FOUR matches on this show can go into that category. You want a spofest? There are the two undercard tag matches. You want matches that elevate titles? Those are on here. You want physicality? There are the matches/segments involving the Embassy and Rottweilers.

This event got me to realize that although I always wish I had come home to Seattle during the early 21st Century when I had the chance (instead of finally getting off my ass and making it happen last year), a part of me wishes I had lived in Philly, Boston, or the Tri-State area during the Gabe Sapolsky era of ROH. Independent wrestling fans in the Northeast really did get spoiled with a magical time that's never going to come back. If you live within a reasonable driving distance of L.A., I absolutely urge you to go support PWG, as it's the closest thing to the Golden Age of ROH on today's independent scene, and all good things do eventually come to an end.

Up next - The Final Showdown
Matches will include:
Alex Shelley vs. Roderick Strong
Samoa Joe vs. Delirious vs. Jack Evans vs. Ebetaroh
Jimmy Jacobs & BJ Whitmer vs. CM Punk & Ace Steel
Jimmy Rave vs. Matt Sydal
Doug Williams & Colt Cabana vs. Nigel McGuinness & Chad Collyer
Austin Aries vs. James Gibson
Homicide vs. Bryan Danielson


----------



## Super Sonic (Jun 11, 2014)

*The Final Showdown - May 13, 2005*










*Alex Shelley vs. Roderick Strong*

"You shut your mouth... that goes for you too, toots. If I want you to open your mouth, I'll drop my pants." - Austin Aries before the match

A very good opening match that served its purpose with re-establshing Shelley as a threat while also elevating Strong. I loved the chippiness these two showed towards each other, being a very personal match that isn't usual for an opener. The wrestling was very crisp as well, each man showing great pride in their technique and the damage they managed to inflict on one another. Every opener needs to be like this.

*Rating:* ***1/2

Prince Nana & Jimmy Rave arrive to Dayton via helicopter. This is BRILLIANT usage of the elements available. I recall someone saying that Dayton's locker rooms were so small that the wrestlers had to change in the locker room. Using the helicopter for this promo just gave that extra layer of arrogance and smugness for the Embassy. Awesome.

I catch Bryan Danielson stroking his beard and looking at a piece of Homicide merch. Terrible acting from him.

Lenny Leonard provides his voice for the first time, giving an update on Jay Lethal, who took that brutal Double Stomp/Kudo Driver combo from Low Ki & Homicide the week before.

*Comedy Match of the Decade
Samoa Joe vs. Delirious vs. Jack Evans vs. Ebetaroh*

I really loved everything about this segment, as I indicate above with my crowning of this match for its comedic success. From Joe disrespecting all three opponents before the match, to the calling-back between Joe and Evans (they faced each other in that **** tag match on the previous Dayton event), to the dance-offs, to Delirious and Ebetaroh intentionally being lazy and having the crowd going apeshit over it. This was the perfect crowd for this match, as they sarcastically chant "Match of the Year!" afterwards. Tremendous. MUST SEE.

*Rating:* ***1/2

*Tag Titles Match
Jimmy Jacobs & BJ Whitmer vs. CM Punk & Ace Steel*

This match really was nothing special. It wasn't bad, but I can't believe anyone would deem this to be a "good" match. Mediocre stuff, which is to be expected for a traditional tag involving Whitmer and Steel.

*Rating:* less than ***

Afterwards, a brawl breaks out when the Embassy come out to attack the Second City Saints, both hyping me up for the Punk vs. Raven match the next night and leading to our next impromptu match...

*Jimmy Rave vs. Matt Sydal*

This was another very good undercard match, the singles coming-out (but not quite breakout) of Sydal. Rave was a tremendous prick here, but Sydal did an amazing job using his aerial attacks to thwart Rave and pull off believable near-falls on the red-hot Rave, who of course was booked for the main event the following night. What these two did to remind the audience of what a threat Rave is, while also elevating Sydal's game, is a great testament, and I'm sure the audience helped quite a bit. I couldn't ask for anything more in this one.

*Rating:* ***1/2

*Doug Williams & Colt Cabana vs. Nigel McGuinness & Chad Collyer*

The very good undercard matches just keep on coming. For those looking for European style wrestling, along with subtle (rather than blatant as in the fourway) comedy, this is certainly for you. Williams was a great addition to the Cabana vs. McGuinness rivalry on this night, using his superior experience as a long-time pro to outsmart McGuinness & Collyer, while Cabana was great in complimenting the technique of Williams. Just great stuff and I couldn't ask for more out of this, as these four men knew what the fuck what they were doing.

*Rating:* ***1/2

*ROH Title Match
Austin Aries vs. James Gibson*

Our first and only truly great match for the evening, the match of the night, and a significant improvement over the midly disappointing but still very good contest between these two at _Stalemate_. While these two of course brought their working boots in terms of technical wrestling, it added what was so critical to their previous match not being a great match - DRAMA and PACING. Aries working on the left arm and shoulder of Gibson was great stuff, but Gibson continued his run on the indies and Japan showing the up-and-comers his veteran experience, much like Williams did in the match right before this. But all the work Aries put in, as well as his usual explosiveness, was too much for Gibson in the end. I wish these two could have had an actual feud or extended rivalry, as I'm sure they had some legit MOTYCs in them.

*Rating:* ****

I should note that Shelley approaches Joe to be his partner the next night, and Joe condemns Shelley for spearheading Generation Next in fucking with Joe in the past. IIRC, Shelley never fucked with Joe. Shelley & Aries merely got into his face at one point just to point out that they'd be challenging for the ROH Title at some point, and Aries then cleanly dethroned Joe. The decision by Aries to align with Foley in fucking with Joe had nothing to do with Shelley. Joe clearly reacted in an irrational manner. Now had he mentioned that Shelley's atonement seemed to be all-talk and insincere, using Shelley's actions after the Aries vs. Gibson match at _Stalemate_ as evidence, then his reasoning for being a cunt to Shelley would actually make sense.

*Match #5 in Best of 5 Series - ROH Title Shot - Cage Match
Defeated participant faces Doug Williams
Homicide vs. Bryan Danielson*

The evening ends with yet another very good, bordering on great, feud-ending brawl between these two. While not the feud of the year candidate that Batista vs. Triple H, Kevin Steen vs. Super Dragon, and Samoa Joe vs. AJ Styles vs. Christopher Daniels were in 2005, this was still a very good, chippy feud. Both men were incredibly aggressive with one another, and it temporarily brought back memories of Homicide's bloodbaths against Steve Corino. However, it was obvious that Danielson's brawling was still a work in progress, and I have difficulty really having an opinion on the airplane spin finish. Was it ridiculous considering the brutality of this cage match, or was it the correct way to show that Danielson had enough adrenaline to show Homicide one last death blow he had up his sleeve?

*Rating:* ***3/4

This was another great show that lacked a MOTYC, but dripped with very good matches and was highlighted by one great match. A very different flavor of pacing and atmosphere from the week before, but damn this was one quality professional wrestling show.

Up next - Nowhere to Run
Matches will include:
BJ Whitmer vs. James Gibson
Doug Williams vs. Homicide
Delirious & Alex Shelley vs. Roderick Strong & Jack Evans
Colt Cabana vs. Nigel McGuinness
Austin Aries vs. Bryan Danielson
CM Punk vs. Jimmy Rave


----------



## Super Sonic (Jun 11, 2014)

*Nowhere to Run - May 14, 2005*










Alex Shelley proves how tone-deaf he is and also his total lack of awareness, which has to be due to his narcissism (am I describing the Shelley character or real-life Matt Hardy?), first asking Bryan Danielson to be his tag partner. This was IMMEDIATELY after Danielson said he only cares about the ROH Title, which Danielson earned a shot at the night before. Seriously, did Shelley pay attention to anything not involving himself or Generation Next? Then, he asks James Gibson the same thing, providing an insincere apology about what happened at _Stalemate_; this stuns Gibson in the most negative way possible.

*BJ Whitmer vs. James Gibson*

A hot opener in front of a great Chicago crowd... so what's the problem? That the early leg work Gibson put on Whitmer led to nothing, that's what. Still a fun match though that would have been a show-stealer if Whitmer had bothered to buy into the narrative Gibson brought to the table.

*Rating:* ***

Jimmy Rave & Prince Nana come out for a promo. Very good impromptu promo to fire up the crowd for the main event in light of what was going on. I believe the ring broke during a shitty fourway that is thankfully not included on the DVD release of this show, and it was being fixed during this in-ring promo. I really liked that Nana told Rave that it was time for him to prove that he really is the Crown Jewel of the Embassy, that he's worth everything that Nana has invested in him.

Shelley finally finds a tag partner when he stumbles upon Delirious in the Frontier Fieldhouse bathroom. Mildly amusing segment.

*Doug Williams vs. Homicide*

Now this was one bad-ass forgotten gem, and is undoubtedly one of the most underappreciated matches that ROH has ever hosted. Coming off his loss the night before to Danielson, Homicide was very much on edge and bitter. On the other hand, an experienced, muscular technician like Williams was more than able to manage that for the most part. Both men worked on each other's necks, perfect for their finishers.

Once Williams got a successful Chaos Theory on Homicide, his own neck was too damaged to bridge for a pinfall. When the finish came after several more grueling minutes, Homicide rolled him up, and once again the neck was too damaged to manage a kickout. Homicide's rollup pin was no fluke; it was earned through his strategy. HUGE THUMBS UP for making sure Homicide's stock didn't drop too much from his loss the night before, and for stealing the show in incredible fashion.

*Rating:* ****

*Delirious & Alex Shelley vs. Roderick Strong & Jack Evans*

Another show-stealer for an undercard match, with a much different flavor of course. This was chippy for obvious reasons, but good lord was it also action-packed. Delirious was a tremendous Ricky Morton, and Shelley was a house of fire once he got the hot tag. Evans was great with his trolling of the Chicago crowd. The submissions were jaw-dropping. Just about everything clicked on all cylinders. But the moment the ref forget who was technically legal, that dropped this from great to very good bordering on great. Still love the fuck out of this match though. The Shelley vs. GeNext feud just keeps heating up.

*Rating:* ***3/4

*Colt Cabana vs. Nigel McGuinness*

These two just can't seem to have a bad match. In this one, this got way chippier when Cabana outsmarted McGuinness, who used what was an accidental lowblow on Cabana's part as an excuse to become an asshole. Seriously, these guys got CHIPPY - it reminded me of AJ Styles flipping his shit on Low Ki at _Honor Invades Boston_. If you're an NFL fan, it was like watching the Seahawks and 49ers battle in the trenches. I loved McGuinness when he had the opportunity delivering what was this time a blatant lowblow to get the victory. Turning point from being a rivalry to now being a feud.

*Rating:* ***1/2

*ROH Title Match
Austin Aries vs. Bryan Danielson*

The usual fantastic match from these two of course. Just incredible pacing and storytelling, working on the arms and shoulders of each other. Perhaps my favorite moment was Aries attempting the Cattle Mutilation a few times, but Danielson being so familiar with his own finisher that he kept rolling out of it. These two brutalized each other though, and while the simple one-time sequence for Aries over Danielson may have seen a bit anticlimatic, it was necessary - sometimes the finishing sequence should actually be the finishing sequence.

The post-match is quite important. First, Danielson refuses to shake hands and walks away.

Then, Samoa Joe comes out to the ring with his Pure Title, punking out Aries. Aries sucker-attacks him, but ends up eating a vicious muscle-buster. I'm guessing this is Joe getting payback for what happened during the Mick Foley situation earlier in the year, although it was never said outwardly. It would explain why Joe attacked Aries after a grueling title match though.

Danielson is caught backstage as he's leaving the gymnasium (that's what the Frontier Fieldhouse actually is), and announces that he has quit ROH out of shame because for him it's ROH Champion or bust.

*Rating:* ****

*Cage Match
CM Punk vs. Jimmy Rave*

This was simply everything that the end of last year's feud between Punk and Paul Heyman should've been. Punk got his vengeance on the Embassy, but that stable went down fighting, throwing every possible trick up their sleeve that they had at him. Smashing the cage door on Punk's face. Throwing powder in his eyes. Sneak attacks from both Nana and Jade Chung. But on this night, with this being the finale, in front of his hometown fans, there was no way that Punk would lose this match and this feud. This was a throwback to the territory/WCW early '90s days.

Afterwards, as the Second City Saints are leaving in celebration, Punk declares that he'll soon challenge Aries for the ROH Title.

*Rating:* ****1/4

What an absolutely phenomenal show, and my pick for the best of the incredible month of May 2005. Three great matches, another one bordering on great, and all of them exciting in their own way. Add the historical importance of this show for ROH and this might actually be the greatest ROH show up to this point. But if someone wants to argue that this wasn't even the best show ROH hosted in May 2005, I'm totally fine with that.

Up next - New Frontiers
Matches will include:
Alex Shelley vs. Roderick Strong
CM Punk & Colt Cabana vs. Nigel McGuinness & Chad Collyer
Samoa Joe vs. James Gibson
Austin Aries vs. Brian Kendrick


----------



## Super Sonic (Jun 11, 2014)

*New Frontiers - June 4, 2005*










I enjoyed some of the promos at the beginning of the DVD. James Gibson and Brian Kendrick were great in motivating each other to both be champions at the end of the night, with Gibson pointing out that he was present at _WrestleMania XX_ to witness the magical moment shared between Chris Benoit and Eddie Guerrero. And I don't mind that these two acknowledged they could now wrestle without limitations. That doesn't expose the business - it's saying that the environment in WWE was not conducive to maximizing their in-ring potential, as they had to follow some guidelines. That happens quite often in sports when athletes find themselves under coaches that aren't a good fit (ie, Dwight Howard during his time under Mike D'Antoni with the Lakers.)

Alex Shelley cuts a promo that does a terrible job of making him sympathetic. Sounds like a desperate man going up against the monsters he helped create.

CM Punk & Colt Cabana have a great segment as well. Cabana demands Punk to make a complete mental contribution to their tag match against Nigel McGuinness & Chad Collyer that night, pointing out that he helped out his friend throughout the years when having issues with Raven, Terry Funk, the Prophecy, and Ricky Steamboat. Punk tries to downplay the issue, saying he was focused on his upcoming ROH Title shot, but Cabana was dead serious. This was a great way to enforce that Cabana vs. McGuinness was no longer a friendly, competitive rivalry, and had become a heated feud, regardless of its position on the card.

*Alex Shelley vs. Roderick Strong*

Before the match begins, Austin Aries comes out to talk shit to Shelley, which turns out to blow up in his face. Not only does Shelley dispose of Aries to make him a non-factor, but he mentions that the neck of Aries is still damaged. Recall that the champion took a vicious muscle buster from Samoa Joe just a few weeks before, just minutes after a grueling match against Bryan Danielson.

This was a really good match, and the work and hatred really should've made this better than the killer opening match these two had at _The Final Showdown_. These two beat the shit out of each other, brutalizing each other until Strong finally got his first huge singles victory, upsetting Shelley, who couldn't kick out after all the damage done on his back. So how come this match wasn't the singles breakout for Strong? Why wasn't this as a whole package better their match the month before?

It's because the Buffalo crowd sucked a big one in this match. They responded to barely anything. There was no reaction other than polite applause when the match concluded. *AND THIS WAS RODERICK STRONG'S FIRST MAJOR SINGLES VICTORY IN ROH.* I don't know why the crowd was so shitty in this match, as the work was very, very good, bordering on excellent. As proven later in the night, the crowd would've made this an all-time classic for both men.

Post-match, and spread out into a few interrupted segments, Generation Next obliterate and mug Shelley. Considering Shelley's recent douchey decisions, and that he's on the brink of desperation, that may not be an ultimately wise decision for GeNext.

*Rating:* ***1/2

*CM Punk & Colt Cabana vs. Nigel McGuinness & Chad Collyer*

This match was ALL storyline, with no intentions of stealing the show. And I appreciated the narrative of this match. As a match, it wasn't anything special. But I know what this match was aiming to do, and with that in mind, this was actually enjoyable.

This was all about progressing the Cabana vs. McGuinness feud. Sure, it was nice to see Punk and McGuinness lock horns a few times , and that makes this match somewhat of a novelty (this is the only time they ever faced each other in ROH unfortunately). I really liked that Punk was no match for some of the habits of McGuinness, even with Cabana trying to advise him to avoid those habits.

Cabana and McGuinness were also great in showing off their now irrational hatred of each other, finding themselves brawling at times. But McGuinness also played the role of chickenshit heel tremendously, refusing at times to go man-to-man with Cabana and applying numerous dirty tactics. Collyer was great in his role too. Overall, this was once again, enjoyable.

*Rating:* ***

*Pure Title Match
Samoa Joe vs. James Gibson*

Up to this point, this was simply the greatest Pure Title match ever. That's not an opinion instilled in me by the commentary, that is reality based on everything that this match accomplished. The story told was amazing and the crowd woke up to provide a fantastic atmosphere that made up for their library-esque reactions to Shelley vs. Strong.

While both men looked like natural fits in the Pure Wrestling division, that isn't what impressed me the most. I loved that Gibson used the Trailer Hitch for the first time in ROH. It showed that with this being his third opportunity at a championship in ROH, he had to pull out another weapon from his experienced bag. It also showed how much respect he had for Joe to wait until this match to show that submission for the first time in front of an ROH audience. Not only that, but it was great storytelling to take away the base of Joe, and put him in position to use rope breaks, especially with Gibson having the guillotine choke as his established finisher.

Gibson used more than the Trailer Hitch to work on Joe's legs of course. But Joe was great as well; he had to dig down deep in his first Pure Title defense to prove his victory over Lethal was no fluke for this environment, while also overcoming a a very skilled, experienced, and successful challenger he had never faced before. But Gibson had never faced a challenger as physical as Joe. The champion brought the physicality and showed he too was just as great as Gibson in submission work.

I must mention the crowd again. While the deuling chants were a bit repetitive, it was a minor annoyance in what was a very engaged audience that added to the drama of this classic match. It had to fuel both men as they sold the brutal work they laid upon one another.

This match got a well-deserved standing ovation of course, but perhaps more important is that it elevated the Pure Title in a way that only those as skilled as Samoa Joe and James Gibson could.

*Rating:* ****1/4

*ROH Title Match
Austin Aries vs. Brian Kendrick*

This couldn't quite capture the magic of the Pure Title classic, but make no mistake: this was very, very good stuff bordering on excellence.

Kendrick predictably worked on the damaged neck of Aries, doing everything he could to add to its vulnerability for his Shiranui finisher. Perhaps Aries was a bit too cocky after beating down Shelley, as Kendrick was merciless and had the appropriate bulls-eye on the champion as any experienced veteran would do.

Aries was able to bring the match to an even level when he gave Kendrick a neckbreaker on the edge of a guardrail, followed by a piledriver on a wooden chair. He returned the favor, working on the neck of Kendrick, perfect to set up for his signature brainbuster. But Kendrick wouldn't go down easily; I can't mention enough how much Kendrick's experience had to have played a hand in making him know how badly he needed to win this.

But Aries, ever the champion, found a way to get the job done. Not even a split chin could keep him down this time, even though a year before it did against Bryan Danielson.

*Rating:* ***3/4

Gibson & Kendrick crack me up when they say they missed out on having a "_WrestleMania_ moment." Who would seriously WANT to have their career-defining moment in Buffalo?

Up next - The Future is Now
Matches will include:
James Gibson vs. Homicide
CM Punk vs. Roderick Strong
Samoa Joe vs. Nigel McGuinness
Austin Aries vs. Low Ki


----------



## Super Sonic (Jun 11, 2014)

*The Future is Now - June 12, 2005*










Jay Lethal cuts a brief promo that is so unintentionally hilarious that it must be seen to be believed.

*James Gibson vs. Homicide*

This was a good match, with sound psychology and storytelling, but there was something missing in this match. It lacked a pacing to really get the crowd going until the last minute or two. Perhaps it's because Gibson had just flown from the other side of the continent after having a very good match with AJ Styles the night before. I'm sure that took a toll on him.

I did enjoy Gibson being highly irritated with the cheating antics of Homicide and Julius Smokes, further intensified after his failure to capture a championship in ROH after three opportunities. But there was something missing here.

*Rating:* ***1/4

*CM Punk vs. Roderick Strong*

The hottest match of the night, and that makes it the best one too. It was leaked days prior to this event that Punk was about to sign with WWE, so this was assumed as the first of two farewell matches for him. That made this for not just a great wrestling match, but a sentimental one to boot.

Just six days away from saying goodbye to ROH and getting an ROH Title shot against Austin Aries, Punk was dialed-in like he hadn't shown before; I'm not sure he was even this dialed-in in the series against Samoa Joe. However, Roderick Strong was obviously the future of the company, coming off of his first major singles victory in a grueling match against Alex Shelley (but its audience sucked so it's not recognized as the big deal it really was for Strong), and was an established roadblock. Keep in mind that this was the third time a scheduled ROH Title challenger faced Strong on the event prior to the title shot, the others being Gibson and Homicide.

Punk was tremendous in his work on Strong's left arm and shoulder, setting him up for the Anaconda Vise. I absolutely loved how much he avoided Strong's vicious chops in the first third of the match too. Once Strong was able to land a chop, it meant something and gave Strong some much-needed confidence. It also led to the first of two wild chopping contests that had me wondering if I was watching a 1989 event, because the exchanges reminded me of Ric Flair vs. Ricky Steamboat. But Punk was able to outsmart Strong, manipulating the less experienced powerhouse to attempt a chop, only for Punk to move out of the way and Strong's backhand to strike the ring post.

Strong was able to get the heat back in the match, relentlessly working on Punk's back as expected. Punk really did take a beating in this one, and the crowd was into every moment of this match. I also appreciated both men picking up on each other's habits as the match progressed. But with the work already done on Strong's left arm, he had no choice but to immediately tap out to Punk when he got the Anaconda Vise on again about 15-20 minutes into this match. Punk not only was dialed-in, but showed he had learned from his failure to capture the ROH Title from Samoa Joe.

Post-match, Punk gives a great speech explaining why he is destined to win the ROH Title, and mentions that it is so appropriate to have that match take place in New Jersey, the audience that hates him the most. But he also manages to put Strong over as the future of the company and give him the spotlight. This was a genuine moment, one that Punk really participated in, so it didn't come across as forced and tiresome as the millions of times that Davey Richards would go on to do it.

*Rating:* ****

*Pure Title Match
Samoa Joe vs. Nigel McGuinness*

This was another good match of course. It was VERY obvious that this style of match was a natural fit for McGuinness (his first Pure Title shot against John Walters is what earned him a full-time spot in ROH), as he knew how to manipulate the temperamental Joe into using rope breaks and throwing illegal punches.

Other standout moments included Joe throwing a Yakuza king as a counter to McGuinness doing the turnbuckle handstand evasion, something that had happened when they squared off in a tag match on the _Weekend of Thunder_ and in the Double Stakes fourway at _Stalemate_. However, when Joe attempted that again later in the match, McGuinness got away, showing that he was picking up on Joe's habits as the match progressed (which is what helped make Punk vs. Strong stand out as well). In the end though, Joe's physicality, submission work, and experience in championship matches was too much for McGuinness, who wasn't quite ready to get past the mid-card yet.

*Rating:* ***1/2

*Austin Aries vs. Low Ki*

The storyline for this match was horrendous - Ki interrupted a shitty ROH promotion segment the month before on the local WB affiliate morning news show that involved Aries, Azrieal, and Prince Nana. (Why couldn't that have been used to build an issue between the Embassy and Rottweilers to get the most out of that poorly acted segment?)

This had some good work from both men, but the crowd just never came unglued as I expect out of NYC. Perhaps that's because this was early in the day and most in attendance were more excited for _One Night Stand 2005_ that evening. Nonetheless, both men still worked extremely hard and told a solid story, just nothing truly memorable other than the finish.

That finish? Ki performing a super Ki Crusher on Aries, who came in with a damaged neck after getting a vicious musclebuster from Joe AND having it worked on by Brian Kendrick in the prior FOUR weeks before this event. THAT got this crowd to go apeshit.

*Rating:* ***3/4

Gary Michael Capetta finds Aries to ask about the neck. It is so obvious looking at Aries that his neck has taken a toll, just his eyes say it. He is NOT looking forward to defending his ROH TItle against Punk.

Up next - Death Before Dishonor III
Matches will include:
Segments reflecting on important CM Punk chapters in ROH
Samoa Joe vs. Colt Cabana
AJ Styles vs. Petey Williams
Izzy & Deranged vs. Roderick Strong & Jack Evans
Low Ki vs. Jay Lethal
Austin Aries vs. CM Punk


----------



## Super Sonic (Jun 11, 2014)

*Death Before Dishonor III - June 18, 2005*










Jay Lethal cuts another hilariously bad promo that should be seen.

*Pure Title Match
Samoa Joe vs. Colt Cabana*

This was another very good singles match between these two, and they managed to smoothly transition their chemistry within the Pure Title rules. Cabana once again showed that his comedy could disguise his intelligence, bringing Joe to the ropes during a submission and causing Joe to lose a rope break. This pissed off Joe and had him shoving the referee, which caused him to lose his warning for a closed fist. Tremendous mind games from Cabana in this one.

But despite all the European training Cabana had the year before, and the experience he was getting from feuding with Nigel McGuinness, he still couldn't overcome the much more physical Joe, who also had the experience of being at the top of ROH to his advantage. Joe learned to not allow himself to be susceptible to a sudden pinfall, and Cabana just didn't have what it took at the time to dethrone Joe.

*Rating:* ***1/2

*AJ Styles vs. Petey Williams*

Williams was the mystery opponent for Styles, who was returning full-time to ROH. Before Williams made his entrance, Allison Danger returned and interrupted the Embassy to announce that Christopher Daniels would be returning not on July 16, but on July 8.

The match was decent and nothing special. This was as substantial as a forgettable match on _Impact_. What really mattered was how badly Prince Nana was treating Jade Chung, and that Jimmy Rave attacked Styles from behind after the match.

*Rating:* less than ***

*Izzy & Deranged vs. Roderick Strong & Jack Evans*

I couldn't finish this. Very little fluidity in the spots, horrendous chemistry between Deranged and Evans (that may have been lifelong now that I think about it), and tag legalities being thrown out the window. My response is to throw any chance of me finishing this match out the window too.

*Rating:* less than ***

*Low Ki vs. Jay Lethal*

Another good match, although not a show-stealer (it seemed intentional that nothing was a show-stealer to make sure the crowd's energy was completely saved for the main event, similar to _WrestleMania XXVI_). Low Ki was awesome working on the prone neck of Lethal, who had not yet fully recovered from the month before. But Lethal was incredibly tenacious, showing great fire and not going down. He delivered a number of nice receipts to Ki.

While having the hometown advantage was a bonus for Lethal, being in Morristown just wasn't the same as being in Elizabeth. With that said though, I enjoyed that Lethal likely had Ki defeated with the Dragon Suplex (Lethal's established finisher and Ki had also gotten his neck worked on), only for Julius Smokes to interfere and ruin what would have been Lethal's greatest victory. Crowd reacted quite appropriately to that.

*Rating:* ***1/4

Throughout the home release, CM Punk looked back at many moments and matches of his in ROH, and that not only made this event more sentimental, but played as great reminders for the storytelling and callbacks in the main event of the evening.

*ROH Title - CM Punk's Advertised ROH Farewell
Austin Aries vs. CM Punk*

If one looks back at every roh show I've reviewed so far for 2005, there are plenty of great matches listed, one after another that I gush over. But no match so far had been up to par with the majority of the top ten matches I had for 2004. With this match, that finally came to an end. The first half of 2005 for ROH concluded with its greatest match, and a moment that defines why I watch professional wrestling. This match is what makes all of the shitty wrestling, tedious storylines, disappointing payoffs, all of that bullshit worth suffering through.

From the very moment that the lights were dimmed out for Punk's entrance, that trademark opening sequence for AFI's "Miseria Cantare," it was obvious that this was to be a special moment, assuming one wasn't already convinced by Punk's match days earlier against Roderick Strong and all of the reflections Punk had about his ROH career. The New Jersey crowd, one that had been the most spiteful towards Punk since the first ROH event in that state two years earlier, was 100% on the side of Punk, slapping the barricades and their hands in unison to show appreciation for Punk, to root for him to achieve his final indy goal, in his farewell match.

The in-ring introductions were also epic. Punk got the farewell/one night only streamer treatment that Paul London and Jushin Liger had experienced, and had "GOODBYE" written on his wrist tape. Aries got booed out of the building, but it wasn't because the crowd hated him, it was because they wanted to witness Punk's special moment so badly. Aries was already showing potential to be a babyface against Low Ki days earlier anyway, with the NYC crowd getting behind him.

Aries came into this match with a well-known damaged neck, at the hands of Joe, Ki, and Brian Kendrick, and he even acknowledged it during a promo earlier in the day. For the first several minutes of this match, it was almost all Punk on offense, just working on that bad neck. Even with the occasional hope spot from Aries, it seemed like he couldn't get any advantage whatsoever, not on this night.

But once the opportunity came knocking, Aries executed a Death Valley Driver to Punk on the apron, bringing the match to a pretty much even level. Neck for a neck! But even with that nasty bump, Aries couldn't get a full advantage on Punk on the outside as they exchanged strikes and throwing each other into barricades. It wasn't until the action got back in the ring that Aries fully got the heat on Punk.

I must of course mention that around this point, the crowd treated this match like it was the Rock vs. Hulk Hogan at _WrestleMania X8_. Every time Punk got an advantage - complete cheers. Every time Aries got an advantage - complete boos. Aries used the hostile crowd, even though deep down he knew it wasn't personal, to fuel him, as a means to step up his game, which he was gonna have to do in this match anyway. He became more focused, more vicious, more antagonistic of the crowd, even going so far as to spit towards a fan at ringside.

But Aries made the mistake of using Punk's Pepsi Plunge finisher. Rather than wiping Punk out, it only managed to give him an adrenaline rush and wake up the part machine, part animal he said he was six days earlier. At this point, it was inevitable. Even with Aries using his own finishers too, it wasn't enough on this night. When Punk executed the Pepsi Plunge on Aries and captured the ROH Title, it was a fitting end to not just an excellent title reign, but to a memorable chapter for independent wrestling as well.

Or so we thought.

Post-match, Aries showed nothing but class as Joe had shown for him six months earlier, and was shown the proper appreciation from the crowd as he exited ringside. It was a nice, brief moment for Aries to be recognized for his excellent work as ROH Champion, which was often overshadowed by personal feuds and grudge matches. While none of his matches were on par with Joe vs. Punk and Joe vs. Bryan Danielson, they were still tremendous matches that maintained the prestige of the championship, and his schedule during the second half of his reign was truly something to behold.

What followed was one of the three greatest promos Punk has ever delivered during his Hall of Fame career.

With the audience begging for and expecting a farewell speech from the new ROH Champion, Punk reminded the crowd how much that championship had always meant to him, and meant even more now that he had finally won it. He went off into a story about an ill snake that betrayed an old man that saved him, and revealed that he used the emotions of the audience to toy with them. While he never mentioned it, I would assume he did it to give himself a "home-field" advantage in most of his matches as well.

The crowd's reaction was quite priceless - some celebrated because they knew they were in the presence of something more special than they could have pictured beforehand, while others went along with the storyline and gave Punk their two cents on his shitty attitude. I must note that there was no better place for this heel turn than New Jersey, which as I mentioned is the crowd that had hated Punk the most throughout most of his tenure in ROH. It was also where Punk had turned babyface 11 months earlier at _Reborn: Completion_, bringing his trolling of this location full circle.

Immediately after Punk said he was gonna take the belt with him to WWE, and that nobody would stop him, came the ROH return of Christopher Daniels after a 17 month absence from the company, challenging Punk for the title. But the champion would have none of it, taking a powder when Daniels got the upper hand during their brief physical altercation. Punk told Daniels to kiss his ass.

While the fans of course wanted Punk to defend the title after proving what an arrogant son of a bitch he was, and also because it would be "right for business" on his last advertised ROH appearance, I don't blame him for telling Daniels to fuck off. Punk is a vengeful character, and I'm sure that he remembered why he had issues with Daniels in the first place. No way would I have gifted Daniels with an immediate title shot after a grueling main event either, not with everything Daniels had done to Punk that led to the Fallen Angel getting eliminated from ROH.

Daniels, left in the ring by himself, explains why he was gone from ROH, but that despite everything he had ever done, he always loved pro wrestling, including ROH. He says he's excited to return to the company and take on so many of the new characters that had become established names and in-ring performers since his last ROH match at _The Battle Lines Are Drawn_. This was an excellent "put the company over" promo, as it felt genuine and was delivered at the most appropriate emotional time for the audience. I'm definitely interested to see if his in-ring work in ROH matches up to this promo though.

This isn't technically a perfect match. Many will argue that Punk's "Hulking Up" moments were too absurd for fighting spirit or adrenaline rush spots, degrading his own finisher in the process. I would disagree based on the atmosphere of this match, the history Punk had in getting title shots and that this was his last opportunity, and he admitted six days earlier how dialed-in he was, that a side was coming out of him which Aries wouldn't be able to overcome.

This match was an emotional roller-coaster. On Dwayne Johnson's biography, during the Rock vs. Hogan chapter, John Cena makes it very clear that pro wrestling is ultimately about delivering special, unforgettable moments. That is the #1 goal for every wrestler when performing in the squared circle. This match delivered that, and was also a much technically superior match to Rock vs. Hogan.

I won't say that this match is perfect. If others believe it is due to the emotions before, during, and afterwards, that's certainly not something I'd argue against. Those who felt taken out by Punk's no-selling, that's fine too. But I balance it out - Punk's no-selling was just a tad bit too much (I think a two-count when Aries hit the Pepsi Plunge would have gotten the same result), but not to the point of overshadowing everything that Aries, Punk, and Daniels got right during this special segment.

*Rating:* ****3/4

Several days later, Aries cut a promo saying that this wasn't the end, just the beginning, and Evans was leaving ROH to do some soul-searching and work on his game. Very cut and dry, but it served its purpose.

Up next - Sign of Dishonor
Matches will include:
Samoa Joe vs. James Gibson vs. Homicide vs. Austin Aries
The aftermath of Death Before Dishonor III


----------



## StuckInHell4-Life (Jun 19, 2014)

> It wasn't until the action got back in the ring that Aries fully got the heat on Punk.
> 
> I must of course mention that around this point, the crowd treated this match like it was the Rock vs. Hulk Hogan at WrestleMania X8. Every time Punk got an advantage - complete cheers. Every time Aries got an advantage - complete boos. Aries used the hostile crowd, even though deep down he knew it wasn't personal, to fuel him, as a means to step up his game, which he was gonna have to do in this match anyway. He became more focused, more vicious, more antagonistic of the crowd.


This is because he actually spit on a fan. That's why the audience was so riled up afterwards. You can clearly see this.


----------



## Super Sonic (Jun 11, 2014)

*Sign of Dishonor - July 8, 2005*










New ROH Champion CM Punk comes out to the ring to Living Color's "Cult of Personality" as his new entrance theme. His hair is dyed black and purple, and he is complete with a full business suit like Triple H. The suit is tremendous in adding to the heat he gets, while also looking completely out-of-place on him.

He cuts a tremendous promo, albeit an arguably flawed one. He states that he his arrogance and self-entitlement comes from choosing ROH over TNA in the spring of 2004, whereas others chose TNA. That's fine, except for when he said he sat down with Christopher Daniels to discuss it. That blurs kayfabe and reality too much - no way that Punk and Daniels, after what happened at _The Battle Lines Are Drawn_, could logically be in a meeting together just 2 months afterwards for any reason.

The best part is when he signs his WWE contract while using the ROH Title as a writing platform. Fantastic heat from the audience (who were pissed they'd had to "suffer" through a long opening promo like this was an episode of _Raw_, which was the intention of this), fantastic interactions with Bobby Cruise, Todd Sinclair, and Shane Hagadorn, and he took a tremendous powder from Daniels and James Gibson. An overall winner of a segment here.

*Samoa Joe vs. James Gibson vs. Homicide vs. Austin Aries*

This was good stuff, but it seemed like these four men couldn't manage to find a way to tell a completely coherent story. Had they done so, this could have quite possibly been a MOTYC. What they managed to do was have a match that would have been perfect as the main event of _Raw_ or _SmackDown!_ All of the different combinations of matchups were entertaining. The most noticeable flaw in the match was the referee forgetting who was legal when the match got a little out of control, but that's somewhat understandable. With Aries getting a Pure Title shot against Joe the next night, it only made sense for him to get his third pinfall on Joe in seven months.

*Rating:* ***1/2

I kept *Colt Cabana vs. Christopher Daniels* on as background noise, since the storyline was important going into the main event, even though the match was nothing special. What mattered was Punk showing up to sabotage Daniels from beating Cabana, and it backfired on him when he hit his best friend and tag partner on accident with a chain.

Punk was a tremendous chickenshit heel, although I wish when he refused to give Daniels a shot, rather than just saying Daniels hadn't beaten anyone noteworthy yet (an insult to Cabana to show how narcissistic Punk had become now that he was on top of the world), he had told Daniels that he would consider giving him a shot at the ROH Title once he apologized for what happened to Lucy. After all, that is the seed of this entire feud between the two hated rivals.

Daniels eventually left at the demand of Punk (who threatened to not wrestle otherwise), and Punk was amazing in laying out challenges to Low Ki, Bryan Danielson, and the Briscoes, none of them obviously scheduled for ROH that weekend. This brought out Mick Foley, who had a very entertaining back-and-forth with Punk. I will not spoil the doozies they laid upon each other, but it did lead to Foley pointing out that Punk should defend the championship because it's best for the company that gave him a platform to shine. Punk then said he would defend it against Jay Lethal, and that it was because he wanted to avenge losing to Lethal in the main event tag match at _Back to Basics_. Was this character for Punk also inspired by the behind-the-scenes Hulk Hogan? If so, BRILLIANT.

*ROH Title Match
CM Punk vs. Jay Lethal*

This was a damn great match, especially when considering the work on the microphone that led up to it. Punk of course worked on the neck of Lethal, which was still recovering from _Manhattan Mayhem_. Lethal had also wrestled earlier in the evening, and while it was a curtain-jerking tag filler, it was still a match. I absolutely LOVED Lethal hitting a successful Dragon Suplex at the beginning on a cocky, unsuspecting Punk, showing Lethal's continuous improvement as a student of the game, AND playing off of the finish at _Back to Basics_.

With Punk being such a magnificent heel, and Lethal improving every night as a babyface, the crowd was eating this shit up in the closing minutes. Having Joe come down to root for Lethal only helped make sure this match had even more heat. In a nice parallel to Low Ki and Homicide at _Do or Die_, Joe even slapped a fatigued Lethal to fire him up. However, Punk went right after Lethal's damaged neck, negating that moment. The finish of the match was perfect too - right in front of Joe, Punk delivered a musclebuster to Lethal, and then got a choke tapout submission. Punk managed not only to do this while laughing at Joe, but also did even more devastating damage to Lethal's neck in the process to bring this to a conclusion.

Joe gets right in Punk's face afterward, and Foley comes out as well. Joe and Foley get face-to-face, going back to their feud earlier in the year, until Punk ambushes both of them. Gibson comes out as well, and stands united with Joe and Foley (their issue no longer alive due to Punk). Foley then says that Vince McMahon told him Punk must stay in ROH and keep defending the ROH Title until he loses it, otherwise he will find himself stuck in OVW and _Sunday Night Heat_ hell. I could actually see Vince McMahon demanding that, so it works for me.

*Rating:* ****

Up next - Escape From New York
Matches will include:
Jimmy Rave vs. James Gibson vs. Alex Shelley vs. Azrieal
Samoa Joe vs. Austin Aries
CM Punk vs. Roderick Strong


----------



## StuckInHell4-Life (Jun 19, 2014)

Watching that Strong/Punk match now. Have never seen that pimped.


----------



## Sephiroth (May 27, 2006)

That and the previous match between them at TFIN and his later match with Gibson at Unforgettable are his coming out party. Oh and there is a match or two or three later with Danielson that are pretty decent...


----------



## Super Sonic (Jun 11, 2014)

*Escape From New York - July 9, 2005*










Throughout the evening, Colt Cabana keeps getting questioned about CM Punk's attitude. Wow this is a fucking title reign.

*ROH Title Shot Match
James Gibson vs. Jimmy Rave vs. Roderick Strong vs. Azrieal*

This match doesn't happen, as the lights go out and Punk cuts another fantastic heel promo. He challenges Strong to a non-title match, which brings out Foley from behind in the darkness. Foley threatens to throw the chickenshit Punk over the balcony unless he puts the ROH Title on the line, to which the champion agrees. Great promo work, tremendous crowd heat, making a title belt matter, this clicked on all cylinders.

*Pure Title Shot Match
James Gibson vs. Jimmy Rave vs. Alex Shelley vs. Azrieal*

Shelley abruptly came out at the start of the match to replace Strong, and Gibson wondered why. Gee, it's a fourway match for a shot at a championship, why wouldn't Shelley, ever the opportunist, step in and capitalize on the chance? He's certainly a suitable replacement. As for the match, it wasn't anything special, but had enough going for it to make it good. I believe this is the ONLY time that Gibson and Shelley ever faced off - that they never had a singles match is fucking criminal.

What really matters in this match is that Rave and Shelley worked together on Azrieal, like they were natural tag partners, and also did everything they could to keep Gibson out of the match. There were also some inconsistencies with enforcing who was and wasn't legal, which really didn't surprise me. I liked having a jabroni like Azrieal in the match for Rave to pin. The Crown Jewel in the Pure Wrestling environment again? I'm interested.

The post-match is also great, with Jade Chung (who had a hairstyle and outfit that complimented her extremely well) being forced to kiss the bare foot of Rave. She even hinted that she was fed up, but succumbed to the financial and green card benefits of being an object for the Embassy.

*Rating:* ***

*Pure Title Match
Samoa Joe vs. Austin Aries*

Nana comes out during the rules breakdown and offers Aries a chance for Generation Next to unite with the Embassy. Now, I can see why this was both logical and illogical for Nana. Aries had three decision pinfalls on Joe, and so Nana showed great confidence that Aries would win the Pure Title, which would be a nice coup for the Embassy as before with John Walters. However, how would Rave, who had the next shot at the Pure Title, had reacted if Aries obliged to joining and was the new Pure Champion? This didn't seem like a very well thought out proposal for Nana.

That this offer was made right as Aries was about to face Joe made the timing even worse for Nana. Aries made it very clear that his focus was on Joe and the Pure Title. When Nana attempted a rebuttal, Aries straight-up told him to fuck off. Hmm.

As for the match, this just couldn't measure up to their ROH Title matches, but that's not really a knock on this. It just never got a story developing that was as engaging as what they had done in the past. This was still very good though, and I liked Aries teasing an Ole Ole kick (he did it to Joe in the historic _Final Battle 2004_ classic), only for it to be a tease and flip off the crowd. That was a small step backward for someone who seemed destined to turn face.

Joe finally got his victory over Aries, in convincing fashion. Joe was not caught by surprise this time, mentally prepared to survive the trademark finishing sequence of Aries.

*Rating:* ***1/2

In another brief segment that elevates the importance of the ROH Title, Aries finds Strong in what looks like a janitorial closet, telling him how special this opportunity is, being there for his friend. Quite the sight to see Aries reciprocate and be a great friend and stablemate to Strong after the year they'd been united, compared to the Second City Saints.

*ROH Title Match
CM Punk vs. Roderick Strong*

This match was simply amazing. Before the match even began, the mere visual of Punk looking up at Joe in the balcony, smirking and holding up the belt, just told the story. Punk of course continued to mock Joe, as well as Foley and Gibson, as they all watched from the balcony during the match. Having them up there just really elevated the importance of the ROH Title that I hadn't seen from the company before.

Punk was of course a tremendous chickenshit heel. As with their match the month before, Punk spent about the first 10 minutes evading every single chop attempt from Strong. Whereas the first singles match they had, it was a simple story of Punk just being smart enough to avoid such heavy, painful strikes, in this match, while it had that simple story too, this time Punk was the hated heel, and Strong was the white-hot future bad-ass. So when Strong finally did get that chop on Punk, the crowd erupted, getting to see the champion get his comeuppance and take his physical beating.

Strong was tremendous with his comebacks and hope spots as Punk was equally tremendous in toying with the audience. As much respect as Punk had for Strong as a competitor (hard to see that behind his smugness and arrogance, but that respect was there), he really seemed taken by surprise by the challenger. Strong truly elevated his game in this one, not going down and giving the best performance of his career at the time of this match.

Strong, with the crowd fully behind him, also laid just a vicious beating on Punk. The backbreakers he delivered were just devastating, as were his usual gutbusters. Add in the tremendous false finishes also, and this match had the crowd rocking from beginning to end. This is a truly underappreciated match.

It lived up to the hype that came with this storyline. It had the crowd in a frenzy. It erased any doubt one could have possibly had that Strong was a bandwagon flavor of the month in ROH. And most importantly, it elevated the ROH Title to an emotional level that was unmatched. This was an old-school style of personalities combined with the modern-day physicality. This match worked on just about every level.

Post-match, Joe, Foley, and Gibson corner Punk in the ring. Gibson delivers a Tiger Driver to the champion and demands a title shot on the next show, despite the number of times he failed to win the big one before. Just raw emotion that was the driving force for these main events, and it was pretty damn fresh for ROH.

*Rating:* ****1/2

Cabana, disappointed in losing a gimmick match to McGuinness on this show and tired of answering for Punk, announces that he is going to Europe to improve his game and recharge himself.

Up next - Fate of an Angel
Matches will include:
AJ Styles vs. Roderick Strong
Samoa Joe vs. Jimmy Rave
Matt Hardy vs. Christopher Daniels
CM Punk vs. James Gibson


----------



## Super Sonic (Jun 11, 2014)

*Fate of an Angel - July 16, 2005*










The DVD opens with a good promo from Samoa Joe that puts over the urgency of making sure CM Punk doesn't leave ROH still the ROH Champion. This is how every championship should be treated.

CM Punk comes out to the ring to point out that James Gibson has failed time and time again to win a championship in ROH, which is very true. Eventually Gibson gets sick of the trolling though and comes out for an altercation. He ends up getting ambushed by the champion and gets a gushing gash on his forehead for his trouble. Main event in jeopardy?

*AJ Styles vs. Roderick Strong*

A very good match as expected, although it seemed like these two weren't completely gelling with each other, and a series would have done well for them to pull out something truly magical. My favorite moment was Strong dropping Styles back-first via side slam on the apron, and then Yakuza Kicking Styles from behind into a guard rail, leaving no time for Styles to recuperate. Styles did a decent job of selling in this one. I didn't mind his temporary moments of fighting spirit here and there. The closing moment, in which Styles just had a fire lit in him leading to him getting a Styles Clash, was quite appropriate.

I am annoyed with Gabe Sapolsky on commentary saying that Strong is looking for his first major singles victory. He already got it in Buffalo.

*Rating:* ***1/2

*Pure Title Match
Samoa Joe vs. Jimmy Rave*

This one never got going enough to be a great match, but this wasn't bad at all. It was a very basic story of Joe being the bad-ass babyface going against a very hated chickenshit heel, with all kinds of cheating and manipulation of the Pure Title rules being used. Rave got quite a bit of heat and I believe this was his first time getting the toilet paper treatment as well.

What matters is the post-match, when Prince Nana blames Jade Chung for Rave's loss (the commentary bitches about domestic violence which I'm going to get to in a moment), and is about to slap the shit out of her, but the lights go out temporarily, leading to the next match...

*Rating:* less than ***

*Matt Hardy vs. Christopher Daniels*

Hardy appears in the ring and the Embassy bails from ringside. He admittedly cuts a tremendous promo putting over ROH and how great it was at the time. It is amazing how badly he pissed away such a fantastic opportunity. He had a very real opportunity to be as high on the pro wrestling food chain as Edge and Chris Jericho, but for a number of reasons I won't get into, it turned out to be a very brief but incredibly hot bandwagon.

I don't care for Hardy cutting down WWE to put over ROH, as WWE despite some so-so booking was still doing great business at the time and often put on great shows with a stacked roster when this event took place. It was great to see him say that he ultimately came to ROH to work, not to talk. I must mention just how electric the crowd was doing this promo.

As for the match, wow was it ever a disappointment. I'll start with the announcer and commentary. Did you guys actually do your research when bragging about this being a once-in-a-lifetime, first time ever dream match? But honestly, that's the least of this match's problems.

I don't know what the actual cause was for this not living up to the hype (Hardy had actually made a shocking appearance on _Raw_ earlier in the week and mentioned ROH specifically). Maybe Hardy had severe ring rust. Maybe Hardy just wasn't suited quite yet for ROH and needed a few more matches to properly gel. Maybe it really was Daniels just phoning it in. Perhaps these two just didn't have any semblance of chemistry.

The match was 20-25 minutes of absolutely nothing special. The absolute best part was the fans having dueling chants, and that wasn't a reflection whatsoever of the work in the match. It was all based on hype. There was no semblance of story. There was no peak. There was no valley. It was just two guys who are capable of much better going through a bunch of moves and holds. This match had zero emotional enrichment to it.

I've certainly seen much worse than this. But I must echo everyone who has said just how tedious this match really was once you get past the Matt Hardy bandwagon that was going at the time.

What matters most is that Punk came in near the end and there was a sports-entertainment finish leading to Hardy's victory. Punk says that's it, that was the main event, but of course Gibson comes out with his head bandaged. Wow, I cannot seriously fathom how much this show would be hated in retrospect if Hardy vs. Daniels had actually been the main event.

*Rating:* less than ***

*ROH Title Match
CM Punk vs. James Gibson*

This was good stuff but as a whole was disappointing. The Connecticut crowd was quite heatless in this one, and perhaps the majority of them were only in attendance to see Matt Hardy. But the match itself may not have done much for the heat either. Unlike Punk's defenses the week before, this match may have also suffered from not having Mick Foley involved in the segment. Foley likely would have been critical in building emotion for this match with Matt Hardy already bringing in a WWE-based audience.

There were moments when Punk would antagonize the crowd and he got little to no reaction. But with that said, these two still managed to tell an engaging story. Punk was no match early for Gibson, having run shoulder-first into a ringpost. Gibson, the experienced veteran that he was in his career, of course went to work on that shoulder and respective arm.

The champion managed to use occasional cheating to get the upper hand at times, and held the trunks of Gibson to get the victory. He once again says this it is for him in ROH, only for Daniels to come out and leave with possession of the belt, demanding Punk come claim it from him.

*Rating:* ***1/2

The DVD closes with a promo from Daniels that is fascinating. He wonders why Punk had an issue with him. Gee, I wonder what Daniels could have possibly orchestrated to make Punk to be so bitter towards him. That leads me to this real quick - why does Gabe on commentary take issue with Punk throwing one knockout punch on Allison Danger, and the continuous abuse of the Embassy on Jade Chung, when in fact a couple years earlier he said that Punk needed to get over the attack on his friend Lucy? Gabe said it was ridiculous for Punk to be so pissed off "over a girl."

Daniels in this promo creates another laughable narrative, claiming that Punk is jealous and wants to be him, that's why Punk dressed as him and came out to "Disposable Teens" once. Wow Chris, whatever helps you sleep at night. I'm sure that's why Punk did that, it wasn't in any way a fuck you to the Prophecy and the fanbase that irrationally supported a group of woman-beaters.

Dare I say it - this promo got me pumped to see Punk vs. Daniels not just for the champion to regain possession of the title that he actually EARNED the month before, but to have a chance to competitively and/or emotionally troll and humiliate the very man that had caused so much emotional pain to him in the past. I don't give a fuck that Punk is insufferable and disrespectful to ROH - his hatred of Daniels is justified and he once again has far more integrity than the Fallen Angel in this instance.

Up next - The Homecoming
Matches will include:
Samoa Joe, Jay Lethal, & James Gibson vs. Low Ki, Homicide, & Ricky Reyes
Austin Aries & Roderick Strong vs. Alex Shelley & ???
Jimmy Rave vs. AJ Styles
CM Punk vs. Christopher Daniels


----------



## Super Sonic (Jun 11, 2014)

*The Homecoming - July 23, 2005*










Christopher Daniels opens the DVD with a promo that's a bit more reasonable than the previous week. He simply doesn't want CM Punk to shit on ROH. That's fair although ironic for Daniels.

There's also a promo from Alex Shelley, talking about who his mystery partner could be. He comes across as a douche-bag as usual.

There's a segment in which Gary Michael Cappeta delivers a message to Prince Nana. ROH will no longer allow Nana to lay a hand in abusive fashion on Jade Chung. Nana is great with his smugness, and responds with covering up Chung's body with a blanket and also strapping a dog-collar on her. That's quite the loophole ROH left for him. Prince Nana was just incredible back in the day, and this got phenomenal heat.

*Samoa Joe, Jay Lethal, & James Gibson vs. Low Ki, Homicide, & Ricky Reyes*

This is noteworthy for being the ONLY time Ki and Gibson ever collided. I wonder if Gabe Sapolsky had planned on eventually booking that dream match.

I hate to say this, but this trios match wasn't anything special. I'm not even worried about tags not being enforced - I can understand that in a trios match involving the Rottweilers. There just never seemed to be a cohesive narrative told through this. I reflect back to the eight man tag at _Generation Next_, which had great body work and segments of cutting the ring in half. This had none of that. 

What makes this match worth watching is CM Punk on commentary. He was just absolutely fantastic, burying everyone in ROH, talking about how great he is, about all the favors he's done for ROH, all the money he drew for the company. Dave Prazak was great bouncing off of Punk's narcissism, even mocking Punk's trolling at some points. Unfortunately I'm sure Triple H would get mega-criticism if he ever provided commentary like Punk did during this match. They're so similar to each other.

*Rating:* less than ***

After intermission, Shelley comes out to reveal his mystery partner, but explains himself first. He is tired of getting no help. Wow, this guy robs a peer of a title match being restarted, and he wonders why he's all alone? He says that he's in the business to ultimately make money, and that he had not sold out, but bought in.

When the Embassy came out to welcome Shelley, it was a brilliant culmination of more than a year's worth of events. Jimmy Rave told Shelley he forgave him for his bullying the year before, and was even appreciative of learning how hard the business can be. This was so brilliant because Shelley had never fully gone babyface, the closest ironically being when he helped Punk fight off the Embassy as a now-transparent attempt to earn brownie points. (I must mention that if Shelley had REALLY wanted to try to earn back the locker room camaraderie, he should've challenged Punk for the ROH Title to protect the company. Also benefits his career too if that's all he really cared about.)

What also made this so great is that the cocky Generation Next (who are now without Jack Evans as he is on hiatus), faced the consequences for being so callous to their former leader in the previous seven months. Now, I'm not saying that I sympathize with either stable in this instance - both of them had plenty of dirt on them. GeNext had still shown zero remorse for the babyfaces they bullied the year before, and the Embassy were a group of prissy thugs funded and led by an uppity woman-beater.

This also was a great follow-up to the events two weeks before at _Escape From New York_. Rave & Shelley showed potential as tag partners when they worked together in a fourway match, with Shelley being a douche-bag in the match towards Gibson. Moments later, Prince Nana asked Austin Aries for the stables to join forces, only to be told to fuck off.

*Austin Aries & Roderick Strong vs. Alex Shelley & Fast Eddie Vegas*

Star rating wise, this match was nothing remarkable, but that wasn't the point of this. It was a chapter in a phenomenal turning point for a storyline, and did its job exceptionally well. Shelley was tremendous at being a dickhead to GeNext, fitting right in with the Embassy. I loved the finish, which was Rave coming back out to attack Aries so Shelley could get a cheap pin. Shelley was welcomed into this stable with open arms, and the Embassy was united against Generation Next.

But of course this brought out Rave's opponent...

*Hardcore Match
Jimmy Rave vs. AJ Styles*

I would've liked to have seen a Styles/GeNext vs. Embassy trios match on this night, but with that type of tag match already booked on the card for the Rottweilers, I understand why it didn't happen.

This match was chaotic and brutal, and served as a nice appetizer for what was expected to come later in the feud. This wasn't meant to be a show-stealer, but it was still engaging. Styles as usual brought his pissed-off demeanor, likely not happy with the Embassy's actions that night, and this was his first chance at Rave since his former protege tried suffocating him with a plastic bag a couple weeks earlier. There was a LOT of stupid bumps and spots in this match, but I'd be lying if I said this wasn't entertaining. If you are a fan of the Kevin Steen vs. Super Dragon feud, go ahead and watch this match, you'll really appreciate it.

Of course, Shelley reciprocates for Rave after the previous match, taking Styles out with a Shellshock and the Crown Jewel following that up with a Styles Clash finish. (I know Rave called it the Rave Clash, but I'm not a fan of using multiple names for the same move, even for storyline purposes.) GeNext come out as expected to bail Styles out, and they shake hands. It's a real shame the scheduled Styles & Aries vs. Rave & Shelley match didn't happen.

*Rating:* ***1/4

*ROH Title Match
CM Punk vs. Christopher Daniels*

This match definitely had its issues. I of course would've preferred for it to start out as a heated brawl, although Gabe's explanation as to why this was a traditionally wrestled contest when the opening bell was rung made sense. Just would've been my preference based on the two-year history between both men. This also didn't really need to go 60 minutes. Daniels could've done the job; maybe I've lost my mind, but I don't believe Lethal, Strong, or Gibson had their stock drop from losing to Punk. Oh, now I realize why Daniels didn't job? TNA being too paranoid about one of its guys putting over someone contracted to WWE. Gotta love TNA's office.

Those are all the negatives I have about this match. I was surprised at how well this match did with its circumstances. Is this Joe vs. Punk? Of course not. But Joe vs. Punk I was a MOTYC with its sequel arguably a MOTDC. A broadway can still be great without living up to the standard of ROH's previous broadways. Punk was a great chickenshit in this one, constantly avoiding Daniels in the early stages. I know, it was ultimately to kill time, but logically it still worked with Punk's gimmick.

Daniels was great with his usual offense on the neck of Punk to set up his finishers. In the middle of the match, Daniels wound up getting some pain in his ribs (I can't remember what from at the moment), giving Punk something to work on. The two were great at exchanging body part work as the match progressed. What impressed me the most is that the crowd was incredibly hot in the last 10 minutes, praying that Daniels would end the reign of terror. And that ultimately is what makes this match great - it wasn't something that kept me glued start to finish, but in the portion that matters most to the audience, it delivered.

Post-match, Punk knocks out Allison Danger again. He may be getting a bit carried away with delivering karma to Daniels and Danger now, I will admit. Gibson also comes out but gets knocked out with the belt. Joe comes out barefoot and chases Punk to the back as the show fades to black.

*Rating:* ****

I strongly recommend this show not just for its main event (which can have polarizing opinions), but also the storyline progression in the semi-main events. Very important event during the golden age of ROH.

Up next - Redemption
Matches will include:
Abyss, Jimmy Rave, & Alex Shelley vs. Matt Sydal, Austin Aries, & Roderick Strong
Low Ki vs. Jay Lethal
Matt Hardy vs. Homicide
CM Punk vs. Samoa Joe vs. James Gibson vs. Christopher Daniels


----------



## Super Sonic (Jun 11, 2014)

*Redemption - August 12, 2005*










Some promos as I skim through to the four matches that matter. James Gibson says the rumors aren't important (reported that week that WWE rehired him), that his focus was on taking advantage of the FOURTH opportunity he had been blessed with to win the ROH Title, and to especially make sure it stays within the company. Daniels says that Gibson and Samoa Joe are non-factors. Yeah, sure thing Chris, you've had such great luck against Joe. CM Punk comes out to antagonize Brian Kendrick (also reported that WWE had rehired him), bragging that he'd be a real star while Kendrick would be a jabroni. Lastly, Joe simply is happy to get his hands on Punk for shitting on the 21 months of his body, heart, and soul he put into that championship.

*Abyss, Jimmy Rave, & Alex Shelley vs. Matt Sydal, Austin Aries, & Roderick Strong*

Wow, this was some great fun. If you're a fan of the Shield and Wyatt Family, watch this. Never got to being a MOTYC, but that wasn't the point of this. There were great moments in just cutting the ring in half, and Abyss was featured perfectly with the cruiserweight GeNext bouncing for him like pinballs. Abyss gave back as well though as usual, but in this one it usually took multiple members of GeNext to get damage on him unless it was a straight forearm.

I must mention just how Shelley and Sydal fit their stables like custom-made gloves. FINALLY, Shelley got to unleash the psychopath that he had been hiding for months as he attempted to gain allies against his former stable. On the other hand, Sydal got his opportunity to be featured in an important storyline, which he had earned on the previous Dayton show. I should mention that this match also featured two singles matches from _The Final Showdown_ - Shelley vs. Strong and Rave vs. Sydal. What also impressed me were segments in which the ring would be cut in half, with the mind games of the Embassy even backfiring on them when the ref wasn't available to count a pinfall, and not once, NOT ONCE, were falls counted on the wrong man.

With the victory of GeNext, Sydal earned himself a permanent spot in the group, replacing Shelley. Humiliated and psychopathic, the Embassy of course attack them after the match. Moments later, they interrupt a promo by some ROH school jabronis, with Nana cutting his usual fantastic promo during the ROH golden age. It ends with Shelley, with such glee in his eyes, bragging about finally having help in his crusade against the monster he created.

*Rating:* ***1/2

*Low Ki vs. Jay Lethal*

Another match that wasn't great, and that was the right decision for business as well as the storyline. These two men laid into each other and to me this elevated Lethal to another level in terms of star power hierarchy. I loved that Lethal, desperate while also fed up with Ki's bullshit, shoved the ref to take the inaugural ROH Champion off balance and crotch himself on the top rope. I also loved that they brawled in the crowd and told the ref to fuck off, with the contest being thrown out. The crowd was HOT at this, which means that this angle was clicking despite what some idiotic Lethal bashers claimed at the time. This is just as good as their pre-feud match at _Midnight Express Reunion_.

*Rating:* ***

With the fight still continuing, Homicide comes out to help out Ki, but Matt Hardy quickly comes out to even the odds. Ki and Lethal brawl to the back as we get our semi main event. Hardy cuts a very classy promo about ROH and Homicide, but much like Walter White, the Notorious 187 only uses the positive feedback to piss himself off.

*Matt Hardy vs. Homicide*

This match was again nothing all that special, but was far more entertaining and engaging than Hardy's previous ROH match. No real story ever developed, and I'm thinking that if they had wrestled a series, they actually could have put up something special. With the commentary mentioning Hardy's feud with Edge in WWE at the time, perhaps the booker should've made this a hardcore gimmick match. Homicide at the time was obviously game for that any time, and it would have played into Hardy not only testing himself against what he said was the biggest bad-ass in ROH, but also for his feud with the Rated R Superstar. Hardy of course wins with a rollup when Ki comes out to help Homicide, only for Lethal to return and brawl with Ki, causing Homicide to be distracted. Crowd was MOLTEN HOT at points during this match.

*Rating: * less than ***

*ROH Title - Elimination Match
CM Punk vs. Samoa Joe vs. James Gibson vs. Christopher Daniels*

The crowd, just like with the prior match, was just amazing when this match began, detesting Punk even with this being his final weekend (legit this time since it was the Midwest) because of his earlier promo. I loved that Punk spent so much time finding out ways not to tangle with Joe. Even though he had been Joe's greatest opponent, he had never beaten him, and they had never collided with Joe this pissed off at him before.

I should mention that when Gibson and Daniels locked horns, Gabe Sapolsky said on commentary it was a first-time ever matchup. Are you sure about that? Not like the Internet was around at the time to put in the research. Anyways, as for the match itself, there really wasn't much told in terms of technical wrestling, although Punk and Daniels had a beautiful sequence earlier that had the crowd popping. This match was all about the story.

Around the 25-30 minute mark, Gibson had been thrown shoulder-first into the ringpost, and then moments later Punk smacked him in the head with a chair. Gibson bled profusely from the forehead, and was taken to the back, assumed to no longer be in the match due to a concussion. In all this chaos, I must mention that I was incredibly impressed that pinfalls were only counted on the legal men. That really is impressive.

Punk, the evil genius he was during this title reign, allowed Joe and Daniels to pummel each other while he rested, which honestly and obviously he did throughout much of the match. But when Joe had Daniels in a submission, Punk moved the foot of Daniels off the rope behind the ref's back, the Fallen Angel's hand falling for a third time. Once Daniels regained consciousness, he was livid and went deal with Punk, but the champion ducked an enziguri and hit Joe instead, allowing Punk to finally pin the former ROH Champion!

Joe and Daniels began brawling, taking it to the back, leaving CM Punk alone in the ring, thrilled with what he had accomplished. But the crowd was BEGGING for Gibson to return to the match, and when "Country Boy Can Survive" came through those speakers, those in attendance fucking erupted. Punk was perfect in his facial expressions, seeing that he wasn't quite done yet, and perhaps he had run out of tricks.

With his forehead still bleeding, Gibson put forth a fantastic effort, determined to make sure Punk wouldn't leave and go to WWE with the championship. The turning point came when he dropkicked Punk's left knee. Moments later when they got outside, Gibson crotched the champion on the guardrail, and delivered a chairshot receipt to Punk's same left knee. Back in the ring, Gibson executed a gorgeous Tiger Driver on Punk, resulting in an amazing nearfall that had the crowd going apeshit. With almost nothing left, Gibson took Punk to the top rope, which was a huge risk, as the champion was set up for the former multi-time Cruiserweight Champion to be possibly reversed into a Pepsi Plunge.

But on this night, in front of the ROH crowd he had debuted in front of, the same audience in which he came so close to winning this title before, Gibson wasn't to be denied. He smacked and dazed Punk, double-hooked him, and dropped back for a modified (but oh so devastating) Super Tiger Driver. With the crowd knowing it was all said and done, they went ballistic when Gibson finally achieved his goal in ROH and won the company's top prize.

As I said, this match didn't have much in the way of technical wrestling. It was a storytelling narrative that was months, if not years, in the making. It was genuinely gripping from beginning to end. It elevated the ROH Title, and was arguably the top moment in Gibson's career as he stated in the post-match. While I wish folks would appreciate just good wrestling when they see it, watching THIS reminds me why so many today clamor for a truly special storyline. This was one hell of a spectacle and roller-coaster ride.

Post-match, the babyface locker room congratulates Gibson, who puts over just how much this moment means to him. The crowd chants "Please Don't Go!" to Punk and thanks him for his amazing tenure in ROH, but he says that this is Gibson's moment. I should note that Kendrick seems to have a self-serving agenda when he says he's looking forward to Gibson giving him a title shot. Punk and Gibson embrace in a magical moment for the company, the championship, and their careers.

*Rating:* ****1/2

Hey ROH, I'm gonna ask again: why did you fucking murder this red-hot Dayton market that appreciates great wrestling and buys into the storylines quite easily?

Up next - Punk: The Final Chapter
Matches will include:
Jimmy Rave vs. Austin Aries
Samoa Joe & Jay Lethal vs. Low Ki & Homicide
Jimmy Jacobs & BJ Whitmer vs. James Gibson & Brian Kendrick
Matt Hardy vs. Roderick Strong
CM Punk vs. Colt Cabana


----------



## Super Sonic (Jun 11, 2014)

*Punk: The Final Chapter - August 13, 2005*










The show begins with new ROH Champion James Gibson coming down to the ring, putting over how important the title and the company is to him, and that he won't leave for WWE until someone beats him for the title. Brian Kendrick comes out which Gibson doesn't mind as they're friends and challenging for the Tag Titles that night, and they agree to a singles match for the ultimate prize in the future.

*Jimmy Rave vs. Austin Aries*

Good stuff here, and exactly what it needed to be at this point in the Embassy vs. Generation Next feud. The story of the match started when Rave managed to drag the left ribs of Aries to the ring post. The Crown Jewel went to work on the midsection of the former ROH Champion, and Aries sold it tremendously. Of course, Aries managed to get in his fair share of offense too. Standout moment of the match for me, speaking volumes on just how hot this feud already was, was when Prince Nana simply yelled "JIMMY RAVE~!" and the crowd reacted immediately.

Post-match, Alex Shelley shows up for the Embassy to get the last laugh in this segment.

*Rating:* ***1/4

*Samoa Joe & Jay Lethal vs. Low Ki & Homicide*

The match itself - very good tag wrestling. Cutting the ring in half, Lethal playing the face-in-peril, Joe being antagonized and getting fed up with the Rottweilers, pinfalls only counted on the legal men. I loved the finish too, another cheap DQ loss for the Rottweilers to keep Lethal from pinning Ki.

What really mattered is the post-match brawl between the teams. They fucking laid into each other HARD to sell how much they hated each other. When combining this brawl, I've no problem going with the general consensus and saying this was easily match of the night. This brawl was so insane, so brutal, so jaw-dropping, and ended so perfectly, Ki standing in the ring with blood dripping down his face, and the crowd chanting his name. Excellent shit here.

*Rating:* ****

A taped promo from earlier in the day airs, with Ace Steel talking about how special this night is, both of his Second City Saints teammates colliding for the final time, and dictates that it be 2/3 falls to determine who is truly the better man.

*Tag Titles Match
Jimmy Jacobs & BJ Whitmer vs. James Gibson & Brian Kendrick*

Another good match here. No pinfalls counted unless both men were legal yet again. Good, solid tag team wrestling from both teams, fun pacing. However, while the booking of Kendrick betraying Gibson and throwing the match away elevated the ROH Title, it did no favors for the Tag Titles. No wonder those belts meant nothing for months throughout 2005. I really like Kendrick's motivation for the turn - Punk and Gibson got title shots before leaving for WWE, he should be entitled to one too.

*Rating:* ***1/4

*Matt Hardy vs. Roderick Strong*

Red-hot crowd for this one as usual for Hardy's matches. Wow, the GN tights that Aries & Strong wore back in the day were incredibly lame. As for the match, there was an obvious clash of styles, perhaps still some ring rust for Hardy. He seemed far too entrenched in the WWE style of wrestling, which isn't a knock on him. Any time someone wonders why a wrestler can't hop from the indies to WWE or vice versa without practice and development, I will point to this match.

This was still EASILY the best of Hardy's special guest appearances, although a major missed opportunity. I couldn't believe that when Hardy ducked a chop and Strong's hand struck the ring post, Hardy didn't go to work on that hand. Obviously he's no CM Punk. His selling of the connected chops, especially the first one, was marvelous though. His facial expression on that one told the story, of how being in WWE he wasn't used to that punishment, even though being on that roster had given him the opportunities to work with Chris Benoit and Bob Holly.

Hardy did do a great job of working on the left knee of Strong when it became prone, and of course Strong was fantastic in his selling of that too. But Strong was so brutal, with a red-hot crowd supporting him, waiting for his "first" major singles victory (ROH once again no-selling the one he already had in Buffalo), that he had to win this one, and he got the rub by being the only one of Hardy's three opponents to defeat the WWE superstar.

*Rating:* ***1/4

*2/3 Falls - CM Punk's Farewell
CM Punk vs. Colt Cabana*

Punk gets TWO entrance themes here, and comes to the ring in tears. He doesn't even need to step in the ring and I've gotten my money's worth emotionally.

Punk steps into the ring, ropes stretched out by his true friend Colt Cabana, their issues during Punk's egotistical reign of terror behind them, and gets the farewell streamer treatment for the second time, this one even more special in his hometown.

As for the match itself, it was pretty damn good. Both men still wanted to win this battle of pride, and had differences in their personalities, which was a reflection of their careers both in and out of ROH. I enjoyed the lowblow first fall for Punk, showing that winning this meant something still, while showing that he wasn't in the mood for Cabana's comedy routine. On the other hand, Cabana was able to get the advantage not just with his comedic antics, but with his improved technical wrestling he picked up on while in Europe the month before. On the surface, this was the perfect match for Punk to go out on. But Cabana being put in this spotlight, showing off his European style and beating a true icon of ROH, was perfect in giving him legitimacy for his feud-ending match against Night McGuinness the next week.

Post-match, Punk gets a bigger sendoff ceremony than Paul London got at _Death Before Dishonor_, and that's saying something, because London's farewell was incredibly classy. This simply had everything going for it that made this more significant than London's goodbye. This was Punk's hometown, against Punk's best friend (a fellow Chicagoan), with Punk having twice the amount of time spent in ROH as London, and while London of course had some absolutely fucking masterpieces for matches, Punk had those, plus gripping storylines, reigns as the primary singles champion and tag champions, and the greatest farewell non-retirement tour in the history of the business.

As I post this in early 2014, it is uncertain what the future holds for CM Punk in pro wrestling. I hope that he and WWE can work things out. With all the tools WWE has compared to ROH, I want to see CM Punk get to say farewell in front of 20,000 of his hometown fans, and maybe, just maybe, it could be WWE"s biggest stage of the year in Chicago, in front of over 60,000 fans.

*Rating:* ***1/4

This show gets my easiest recommendation. Required for numerous obvious reasons that I don't need to spell out.

Up next - Night of the Grudges II
Matches will include:
Colt Cabana vs. Nigel McGuinness
James Gibson vs. Homicide vs. Brian Kendrick
Austin Aries & Roderick Strong vs. Jimmy Rave & Puma (TJ Perkins)
Samoa Joe vs. Christopher Daniels


----------



## Super Sonic (Jun 11, 2014)

*Night of the Grudges II - August 20, 2005*










Nigel McGuinness cuts a VERY brief promo, saying that he's been up for 36 hours and sniffing glue to get ready to end the feud with Colt Cabana. "Unique" would probably be the best term for that promo.

*Winner Gets a Title Shot of His Choice - Hardcore Match
Colt Cabana vs. Nigel McGuinness*

Based off of McGuinness choosing a European Rules match at _Escape From New York_, Cabana got to choose the stipulation in this feud-ender. Cabana chooses a "Soccer Riot" match, in which he spends the first minute or so just making up rules on the fly, but it basically turned into a hardcore match. I have to note that McGuinness took some incredibly stupid chairshots to the head early in the match. Was he REALLY that desperate to get booked higher and/or get this mid-card feud over, a feud that had been based off of mat wrestling and textbook mid-level cheating? This wasn't exactly a feud as violent as Low Ki vs. Jay Lethal or the Prophecy vs. the Second City Saints.

The brawling they did do sure did tell the story of how personal this feud had gotten (even though it was a bit much), and I certainly found it enjoyable overall. From a soccer ball being used (including McGuinness accidentally kicking it into the crowd and it being thrown back into the ring by the fans), to both men revealing that they both brought heating irons, this was an entertaining little spectacle. I must mention that Cabana rivaled the questionable chairshots McGuinness took, when he took a flipover bump off the turnbuckle through a table onto the concrete floor. No wonder both went on to perceive the business as grinding them out. Cabana obviously had to win this one to build off the momentum of beating CM Punk the week before, closing this chapter for both men.

I wonder what's next for Cabana and McGuinness, if the booker had anything as a followup to at least show appreciation for killing themselves in such unnecessary fashion.

*Rating:* ***1/4

*ROH Title - Elimination Match
James Gibson vs. Homicide vs. Brian Kendrick*

This had a chance to be really good, on par with a typical X-Division three way match right in the middle of the card. I enjoyed the action (with the exception of a cringeworthy double superplex spot, I really hate that type of contrived shit), there was some solid storytelling (then again, this also had the exception of Kendrick breaking up elimination attempts. WHY?)

Kendrick's illogical decisions didn't ruin this match though. The booking of having the match thrown out when Homicide was DQ'ed for using a chain and then Homicide going crazy was truly horrendous. Consider that this was immediately after the red-hot Summer of Punk which had brought the ROH Title to unprecedented emotional levels. The Gibson and Homicide issue also never really got over in the summer of 2005, but perhaps there were long-term plans for those two that couldn't quite come to be with Gibson on his way back to WWE.

But there was a MAJOR silver lining to this: the crowd was APESHIT when Homicide almost eliminated Gibson before the referee caught him cheating. They were FURIOUS that the Tri-State native and ROH pioneer didn't eliminate the former/future WWE superstars, and they hijacked the Gibson vs. Kendrick singles match that happened later on this show. I wonder if the booker was listening to that hijacking. Doesn't sound similar at all to anything in WWE right now either btw.

*Rating:* less than ***

*Austin Aries & Roderick Strong vs. Jimmy Rave & Puma (TJ Perkins)*

This was originally booked as Aries & AJ Styles vs. Rave & Alex Shelley, but their injuries likely at TNA's _Sacrifice 2005_ forced Styles to cancel while Shelley was just a ringside character for this one. I have to assume if that dream partner tag match had taken place, it'd have been in the main event slot for this show.

This match was good, and I didn't happen to notice any issues with tag legalities in this, although that may have been because I wasn't too emotionally stimulated by this match. I'll put the blame for that on TJ Perkins, who has a habit of lacking crowd engagement, thank you very much. I did appreciate that the match didn't go on for much longer when GeNext got the hot tag.

Post-match, Mick Foley comes out to try to convince Jade Chung to ditch the mistreatment she was receiving from the Embassy, but Rave & Shelley attacked him. GeNext came back out to save Foley, and with this being their first true moment of doing the right thing (trying to dethrone Punk was nice, but also a nice career booster had Strong been successful), especially after trying to make their names at the HOFer's expense the year before, I consider this the official babyface turn for them.

*Rating:* ***

*Pure Titlte Match
Samoa Joe vs. Christopher Daniels*

The positives: I liked that Joe worked on the abs and back of Daniels, which would logically prevent Daniels from hitting an Angels Wings, while also causing damage to Daniels should he choose to use the Best Moonsault Ever later in the match. I liked that Daniels worked on similar areas of Joe too, setting Joe up for the Angels Wings if the Fallen Angel were to go on to pull it off.

Now we get to the negatives.

I HATE a rope break penalty when someone just uses the rope to get themselves out of position. That's not using the ropes to request a break. Fucking hated that in the first ever Pure Title match, still hate it here.

This match also had zero emotional enrichment to it. Maybe everyone was right about Daniels being a chore during his second tenure in ROH. I've certainly seen Daniels phone it in on occasion, so he's not above doing it here. The crowd was fucking dead throughout most of this match, which not only was due to lack of a dramatic pace, but admittedly because the crowd was still pissed off from the Homicide booking.

I give these men the benefit of the doubt though. As I stated in my PWG _Smells Like Steen Spirit_ post, Joe just had a brutal schedule in August of 2005, and if he was holding back here, I don't blame him for it at all.

*Rating:* less than ***

Cabana puts over McGuinness, saying that he senses the bad blood between the two will heal, and that he is opting to challenge for the ROH Title.

Also of note: Carnage Crew and Dunn & Marcos shake hands after the show. This was the final ROH appearance of Carnage Crew.

Without a doubt, this has to easily be the worst ROH event of 2005. There are some positives of course. It's a historic event for Homicide, Cabana, and McGuinness, as will be indicated very soon as I continue this rewatch project. I must also mention that this was the first time Generation Next did something that was a purely babyface move. But all you need to see is Cabana vs. McGuinness, which is available on the Cabana compilation; no need to waste your hard-earned dollars on this awful show.

Nobody is really at fault for this show falling apart. Injuries played a huge part with Styles and Shelley being out, putting Joe (who I believe was very tired from his schedule) and Daniels (who can have a tendency to take it easy) in a slot for this show that they had no business being in. Add in the booking misfire of Homicide and the ROH Title, coming off the molten hot Summer of Punk run, and this was a massive disappointment.

I must also mention this: the previous month, ROH hosted four events in the same calendar month for the first time, and this show makes it glaring that perhaps that wasn't a good idea after all. I recall not enjoying _Fate of an Angel_ that much, but that show was _WrestleMania X-Seven_ compared to this. Maybe Joe's schedule was just a symbol of ROH feeling burned out as well, especially with no red-hot angle on this event and its real main event being thrown out the window.

Up next - Dragon Gate Invasion
Matches will include:
Samoa Joe vs. Nigel McGuinness
Jimmy Rave & Brian Kendrick vs. Austin Aries & Roderick Strong
CIMA vs. AJ Styles
James Gibson vs. Colt Cabana


----------



## HBK for ever (Oct 21, 2013)

CM Punk vs. Christopher Daniels - The Homecoming

this match was disappointed.


----------



## Sephiroth (May 27, 2006)

If I remember right, the CIMA match is infamous for AJ yelling "You're a ******" at some teens in the front row. Oh AJ, I'm surprised the fans didn't turn on you for being such an asshole in 2005/2006.


----------



## Super Sonic (Jun 11, 2014)

*Dragon Gate Invasion - August 27, 2005*










*Good Times, Great Memories
Guest: Homicide*

The DVD kicks off with this segment, which is the peak of the entire event. Sucks for those who attended the live event and didn't get to see this backstage segment.

This segment, although brief, is what ultimately keeps this from being the worst ROH event of 2005 for me. It is easily the most important GTGM segment ever. It was Homicide and Colt Cabana being rewarded for their hard work and getting over in ROH. With Cabana just finishing his feud with Nigel McGuinness, and Homicide a few months past wrapping up his feud with Bryan Danielson, this was an excellent new chapter for both men.

Homicide was very sarcastic in playing along with Cabana's antics, such as being in Chicago and that they would take a jet straight to Buffalo. Homicide becomes annoyed when Cabana compares being grounded for not doing dishes in his middle-class upbringing to Homicide's Bed-Stuy background. Ultimately, Cabana crosses Homicide's personal boundaries when he makes an innocent joke and says "my nizzle" to the Notorious 187. Excellent clash of cultures here.

Nigel McGuinness cuts a promo that it's time to start winning, and that's that. Sounds like a desperate man.

*Pure Title Match
Samoa Joe vs. Nigel McGuinness*

This was the Nigel McGuinness Show, and while it didn't make for a remarkable match, it was the right thing to do for business. With two failed Pure Title shots, failing to win the Cabana feud, and close to a year away from his lone major singles victory over Homicide, it was time for McGuinness to get results.

McGuinness, learning from his feud with Cabana, used borderline dirty tactics when getting in position to discreetly punch Joe, attempting to troll the ROH Icon. That works when Joe blatantly retaliates with a closed fist, costing him his rope break warning. Later, McGuinness sacrifices a rope break when he uses a chair on the left shoulder of Joe to stop a tope suicida. (That brought back memories of Triple H using a chair shot DQ in the middle of his 60 Minute Iron Man Match against the Rock at _Judgment Day 2000_, which Brock Lesnar also did in the same type of match against Kurt Angle in 2003.) McGuinness of course worked on that shoulder throughout the rest of the match. Now Joe was game any time for a fight; but not in this kind of environment, which required manipulation. And THAT is how McGuinness finally secured the Pure Title, much to the crowd's disapproval.

*Rating:* less than ***

*Jimmy Rave & Brian Kendrick vs. Austin Aries & Roderick Strong*

This match had its moments, but overall was very hollow in front of a dead Buffalo crowd. With Prince Nana not present, Alex Shelley became the designated abuser of Jade Chung, who was forced to use her dog leash to drag Rave & Kendrick on a wooden platform to the ring.

This was a disappointing way for Kendrick to wrap up his second ROH tenure, and when Aries talks about this war escalating afterwards, it is pathetic to hear how little reaction that gets.

*Rating:* less than ***

*CIMA vs. AJ Styles*

Now this is a dream match. Too bad it didn't live up to such dreams. Again, like the tag match, this had its moments of WOW. The problem is that no enriching story ever developed to go with all of the nice-looking moves these two did. I've seen CIMA have much better singles matches than this, but at least this woke the crowd up. Perhaps these two needed a series to really get their chemistry developed.

*Rating:* less than ***

Joe cuts a boring, unremarkable promo.

*ROH Title Match
James Gibson vs. Colt Cabana*

This is another match on the show that had its moments, but was empty in the end. Don't get me wrong - I believe these two had something really good in them, but it wasn't as a 25-30 minute serious business ROH main event. On the undercard, the funny Cabana against the hillbilly heel Jamie Noble w/ Nidia? Now that sounds far more entertaining.

In hindsight, I would've booked Gibson vs. McGuinness here, as I believe they would've had significantly better chemistry (and if McGuinness was cheating that could've possibly gotten the crowd more behind Gibson), with Joe successfully defending the Pure Title against Cabana on the undercard. Then have McGuinness win the Pure Title from Joe at _Glory By Honor IV_ to make that show have just a bit extra historical impact, to give it that Cena/Batista _WrestleMania 21_ feel.

*Rating:* less than ***

The DVD ends with Homicide ambushing Cabana while signing autographs outside the venue. It's good to see Homicide in something substantial again instead of a tedious Gibson semi-feud and playing second fiddle in the Low Ki vs. Jay Lethal program.

No matches on here even crack *** for me. But I'll take this sometimes-dead crowd with a fantastic kickoff to a blood feud and important title change over the mess that was _Night of the Grudges II_. Gibson vs. Cabana wasn't nearly as tedious as Joe vs. Daniels. But this was definitely the worst ROH event of 2005 in terms of match quality across the board though, and it really sucks for anyone who attended this and couldn't see the GTGM segment. Second worst ROH event of 2005 I believe is fair, with _Trios Tournament_ at #3.

Also of note: this was the 8th show in 8 weeks for ROH, and it was VERY glaring that the schedule wasn't just taking a toll on the roster, but on Gabe Sapolsky as well. In some ways, it's similar to WCW being on such fire in 1997, but those in charge being too cocky and arrogant to forecast the potential long-term damage.

Up next - Glory By Honor IV
Matches will include:
Low Ki vs. Jay Lethal
Nigel McGuinness vs. Roderick Strong
James Gibson vs. Bryan Danielson
AJ Styles vs. Jimmy Rave


----------



## StuckInHell4-Life (Jun 19, 2014)

Sephiroth said:


> Oh and there is a match or two or three later with Danielson that are pretty decent...


haha I've seen each of those three multiple times and their match from Anarchy in the UK.

Punk/Strong was pretty good. I'd give it at most a low ****1/4.


----------



## Super Sonic (Jun 11, 2014)

*Glory By Honor IV - September 17, 2005*










Jay Lethal abruptly enters the ring to kick off the show, demanding his feud-ending match with Low Ki immediately. This brings out Julius Smokes, who somehow convinces Lethal (and ROH even goes along) that Ki become "officially reinstated" with the company in order for the match to take place.

*Hardcore Match
Low Ki vs. Jay Lethal*

This was one hell of an entertaining opener, probably because this was indeed the end of an under-appreciated feud. LOL at everyone who found Lethal to be overpushed in 2005. Sure, he can struggle to channel his charisma and his promos aren't special, but he knew how to connect with the crowd in the ring and this angle got over in front of the demanding audiences that ROH attracted.

For opening matches, does this compare to Brian Kendrick vs. Bryan Danielson? Of course not - that was a PPV main event disguised as an indy opener. But what I loved so much about this is just how brutal it got. With their Midwest matches the month before being thrown out, Ki and Lethal finally got the chance to just fight. And this got ugly at points, complete with Lethal bleeding from his forehead.

Coming into this match, it was obvious that had the Rottweilers not been interfering throughout this feud, Lethal's Dragon Suplex was Low Ki's Kryptonite. And while Ki won this match, to bring this feud to its apparent close, Lethal still got put over, because he never got his finisher on the first ever ROH Champion. On the other hand, Ki got his double stomp, but Lethal managed to kick out. That nearfall had the crowd rocking. That is some quality storytelling, my friends.

Ultimately, I can't say that this is a GREAT match. But it's so fucking close to it. Give this just another 2-3 minutes and I believe it really could've been.

In an unusual move, the buildup video for this feud is shown AFTER the match due to Lethal abruptly crashing the show to have this as the opening match. And I'm sure that's the only reason too.

*Rating:* ***3/4

*Pure Title Match
Nigel McGuinness vs. Roderick Strong*

Another solid match that won't get a special star rating, but accomplished its goal in getting the audience accustomed to McGuinness and his antics as the Pure Champion. Looks like we're getting the heel reign that was probably planned for John Walters when he joined the Embassy. After the thrilling Summer of Punk, I'll gladly take another heel tile reign that gets the crowd wanting to see the champion get his comeuppance.

*Rating:* less than ***

I get to the end of *Homicide vs. Colt Cabana*, which gets thrown out when the Rottweilers interfere. What matters is that Samoa Joe comes out to help Cabana, leaving Ki in the ring. Ki talks shit and this had to be the beginning of Ki vs. Joe II. I just wonder when it was planned to happen. _Death Before Dishonor IV_? _Glory By Honor V_?

Lethal comes out and wants to fight Ki again. I really like the concept, that Lethal wasn't backing down and wouldn't allow the cocky bully to get the last laugh, especially since Lethal knew he could beat him.

*Low Ki vs. Jay Lethal*

This wasn't on par with the opening match, but it got the job done. Lethal gets the big win finally, truly bringing this feud to an end, with a successful Super Dragon Suplex (not to be confused with the PWG ace.) The crowd's reaction to the finish earns my star rating.

*Rating:* ***

McGuinness cuts a great interview with Gary Michael Capetta, playing dumb about his cheating antics. This should be one amazing Pure Title reign to watch unfold. It's a shame this guy didn't make it to WWE.

I catch the end of *BJ Whitmer vs. Samoa Joe vs. Ricky Reyes vs. Adam Pearce*, and as I'm FF to the post-match I notice Lacey is at ringside taking notes to possibly make personnel changes in the Lacey's Angels stable. I'm intrigued. As for the post-match, Joe proclaims he wants to be ROH's first triple crown/grand slam champion after pinning Tag Champion Whitmer.

I must note: I know that Joe was recovering just six days removed from TNA's _Unbreakable_ PPV, so he definitely wasn't gonna steal the show on this night, but whose bright idea was it to put a damaged Joe in a 20+ minute match involving Whitmer, Reyes, and Pearce?

*ROH Title Match
James Gibson vs. Bryan Danielson*

Danielson returns to ROH not only with a new theme, that being Europe's iconic "The Final Countdown," but also with a much improved wardrobe that is reminiscent of Bob Backlund. Very, very nice and professional.

This was some fucking quality professional wrestling. It was not a spotfest. It was technical wrestling at its finest.

So much of this match, probably the first 12-15 minutes, were mostly on the mat, just both guys trying to get leverage, trading holds, struggling to find a weak spot. Danielson's time in Europe while away from ROH was really paying off here, as the much more experienced and successful Gibson couldn't find something to work on.

Gibson did get his moments. He did some work on Danielson's back, but never got enough done on it to make any kind of impressionable damage, which had to be disappointing for him after defending the title against Roderick Strong earlier in the month for FIP, and that he also liked to use the Texas Cloverleaf.

Danielson was just amazing in this match, finally getting momentum about 20-25 minutes in when he worked on Gibson's left arm and shoulder. Gibson did a phenomenal job of selling the work Danielson did on him, constantly in pain going forward in the match. This was so critical going to the finishing stretch.

Gibson, oh man he fought so valiantly when Danielson kept locking him in submission and pinfall attempts, and his counters were just as impressive as Danielson's. But on this day, Danielson was to no longer be denied. After working on Gibson's left arm and shoulder, Gibson failing to escape the hammerlock, Danielson locked in the Crossface Chickenwing, leaving Gibson no choice but to tap out, much to the crowd's ecstatic approval.

Post-match, Danielson is classy as expected, taking time to acknowledge the hard work Gibson put into the ROH Title, and said he will be proud to defend the title going forward, that he had no plans at the time of going to WWE or TNA.

This is not the match of the year for 2005, not even for ROH. It was a purist's dream, a true throwback to the days of Ric Flair, Ricky Steamboat, etc. So in that sense, this lacked the immediate electricity of CM Punk's key farewell tour matches. But in the last several minutes, the Long Island crowd was way into this. This match told a great story and was paced incredibly well. I'd much rather see a match build its way to a frenzy, than to blow its load so fucking early.

To me, this is above Punk vs. Alex Shelley, Kendrick vs. Danielson, Punk vs. Jimmy Rave, and Joe vs. Gibson for 2005 so far in this rewatch. But ultimately, if you put a gun to my head, I'd have to lean towards those key Summer of Punk matches (_Death Before Dishonor III_, _Escape From New York_, and _Redemption_) over this one. On a different day though, I might choose this work of art instead. This was an undeniably tremendous MOTYC, and arguably the best match of Gibson's career.

*Rating:* ****1/2

*Hardcore Match - Hit the Clash to Win
Defeated participant can no longer use the Clash in ROH
AJ Styles vs. Jimmy Rave*

Of note is that Mick Foley, in his final ROH appearance, accompanied Styles to offset Prince Nana. This was an entertaining popcorn match, but it just never stood a chance to be anything memorable. It could not follow Gibson vs. Danielson, but Styles, just like Joe, was six days removed from that killer _Unbreakable_ spotfest. To nobody's surprise, Styles got the win here, although the finish was definitely highlight reel material: he executed the Styles Clash on Rave off the top rope through a table, having the crowd going apeshit.

Post-match, Foley gives a nice farewell speech. I'd have closed the show with Gibson vs. Danielson, because nothing was gonna follow that, but I understand the sentiment here. Sure, Foley had that awful philosophy feud with Steamboat, but he did a lot for ROH, playing a hand in getting Punk signed with WWE and going to bat for Joe, Homicide, and Austin Aries too. He had that amazing brawl with Joe which had the crowd rocking, and had an important supporting part in the Summer of Punk. He also orchestrated ROH branching out to Long Island. He deserved the sendoff.

*Rating:* less than ***

Cabana cuts a comedy promo on Homicide, not taking the issue seriously at all here. I'm sure that'll last long.

Lacey shows the art of saying absolutely nothing in an interview about her scouting of matches earlier in the night.

The DVD closes with a video highlighting Danielson's rise to the ROH Championship. Just beautiful stuff that reinforces why am I am a lifelong fan of pro wrestling. When the day comes that he gets to the top of WWE (and I believe that will happen), I hope Kevin Dunn can put together a video package chronicling Danielson that is this classy.

Up next - Survival of the Fittest 2005
Matches will include:
Samoa Joe vs. Milano Collection AT
James Gibson vs. Christopher Daniels
The 2005 Survival of the Fittest Elimination Match


----------



## Sephiroth (May 27, 2006)

Have fun in New Orleans!


----------



## Super Sonic (Jun 11, 2014)

This review originally posted in early 2014.

*Survival of the Fittest 2005 - September 24, 2005*










I only had the key matches saved on my hard drive, so I glanced through JD Dunn's review of this show for any brief important segments or announcements, and yep, I see this one.



> Lacey announces that she's found new Angels to build around. So long, Cheech. We hardly knew you.


*Survival of the Fittest Qualifier
Samoa Joe vs. Milano Collection AT*

Nothing special or awful here, just a showcase for MCAT in his ROH debut. Joe was just a body that advanced to the main event, with no intention of stealing the show here. Probably a good idea considering his upcoming schedule, as Gabe Sapolsky announces to the DVD audience on commentary that Kenta fucking Kobashi is coming to ROH the next weekend, booked in singles against Joe, and teaming the next night with Homicide against Joe and Low Ki. OH FUCK YES~!

*Rating:* less than ***

*Survival of the Fittest Qualifier
James Gibson vs. Christopher Daniels*

I was very happy to see this singles match happen before Gibson left for WWE, as I considered this to be a pretty even matchup. Daniels amuses me yet again when he bitches that Gibson didn't win in his ROH Title defense against Bryan Danielson the week before. Yeah Chris, Jamie was obligated to make sure you got a third title shot in three months.

Daniels worked early on Gibson's back, but after a few minutes, it turned out that work wasn't quite so devastating enough, as it didn't play that heavily, if at all, in the finish. Gibson was good playing the subtle heel, likely a response to the attitude of Daniels as the match started.  He went to work on the neck of Daniels, which will never get old considering that nasty bump Daniels took while in WCW. Speaking of WCW, as I mentioned in their PWG threeway match, I bet these two could've been stealing the show in fantastic PPV openers for WCW at the time of this show.

This was overall very good stuff, and my pick for match of the night. I would've liked to have seen one more singles match between them to see if they had a MOTYC in them, but I appreciate Gabe Sapolsky getting this match to happen while Gibson was on borrowed time on the indies. And LOL at TNA's paranoia: They refused to allow Christopher Daniels to cleanly put over the WWE-contracted Matt Hardy and CM Punk just a couple months before this, while WWE realized this is just an indy match and allowed their boy Gibson to cleanly put over TNA's Daniels.

*Rating:* ***3/4

Here's a brief segment I should've saved on my hard drive, as it sounds fucking awesome going into the big NYC/PHI weekend.



> Prince Nana promises that Jade Chung will face consequences if she messes up again. He makes her crawl around like a dog for her insolence.


*Survival of the Fittest Elimination Match
Jay Lethal vs. Samoa Joe vs. Austin Aries vs. Roderick Strong vs. Colt Cabana vs. Christopher Daniels*

This just could not touch the timeless 2004 match, but let's be honest: no SOTF match ever will.

Important little stories coming into this match were that Daniels was still sore in his neck from by far the most grueling qualifier match of the evening, and Aries had been struck in the back by Jimmy Rave with a steel chair after their qualifier match.

While this lacked the pacing and drama to be the timeless classic of the previous year, this did have one very noticeable advantage: the referee enforced tag legalities. While it confused the participants at times, I actually see that is a good thing: how many times has the rulebook in other sports confused and frustrated the athletes, coaches, and fans? The integrity of the game is important.

I really liked that Joe was the first elimination for a number of reasons. It was a nice way to follow up on him being the first elimination the year before, and perhaps this type of match being his weakness could make for a compelling narrative going forward. Also, it was best for business: Joe has two little main event matches coming up against that Kobashi fellow the next weekend. Might wanna preserve him for that. I also liked that Strong got the pin on him (a nice little extra notch for Strong's stock), but just like the Pepsi Plunge at _Scramble Cage Melee_ the year before, it was Daniels's Best Moonsault Ever that put down Joe, thus putting Daniels over as a threat to the former ROH and Pure Champion. That's gotta give Daniels confidence too since he's never gotten a victory over Joe at all yet in ROH.

Also early in the match was Joe & Lethal working together, but that obviously went out the window with Joe being eliminated early. On the other hand, Aries & Strong worked together fluidly, sending a nice message to any other factions and tag teams, specifically the Embassy. Not once did they ever become divided throughout this message, sticking to their plan to make sure that one of them would get the victory and guaranteed ROH Title shot.

Now that I mention the ROH Title shot, one may wonder why Aries would wanna be in this. Yeah, the narrative was that Aries wanted a SOTF win on his resume, but here's the reality. Even with Aries, as a former ROH Champion, guaranteed to eventually get a title shot in the future, why wouldn't he want an additional one just in case?

When Daniels was eliminated next, Aries & Strong just took advantage of Lethal and Cabana as the other two remaining participants. Lethal was great going up against GeNext, which played off of him winning his feud against Low Ki and the rest of the Rottweilers. After several minutes, it finally dawned on Lethal and Cabana though to work together, temporarily turning this into a tag match. I have to mention real quick that Lethal hit a gorgeous spinebuster during this match that surpassed Gibson's, although I believe the latter was coached on it the previous few years by Arn Anderson.

When Lethal was eliminated, Cabana said "fuck this" and left GeNext in the ring to fight against each other, but they intelligently locked horns and brought themselves to his corner. Strong politely tagged Cabana in with a razor-sharp knife-edge chop and then throwing the former Tag Champion in the ring. After a brief effort, Cabana was of course eliminated. However, the back of Aries went out when he attempted a 450 splash. Hey, injuries can come back to bite at the strangest and least convenient of times.

Before squaring off against each other, Aries cut a promo that I had no problem with, pointing out that friends and teammates are there for each other. Aries of course was in bad pain with his back, which obviously played into Strong's notorious backbreaking. This was some quality wrestling, and the crowd popped when Strong made Aries tap out to the Liontamer, but this didn't have the frenetic pacing and drama to be the classic they wanted this to be.

In hindsight, the more compelling story would have been this: Have Rave vs. Strong as a qualifier. Enraged from losing, Rave attacks the dominant hand of Strong with a steel chair. In the main event, Aries does everything he can to protect his stablemate from being preyed upon, and GeNext still manages to make it to the end. Aries then does a promo, but says "I'm sorry, Roddy, I love you like a brother." Strong puts up such a valiant effort as Aries works on the hand, which of course increases the difficulty for Strong to hit his chops, gutbusters, and backbreakers. Strong still finds a way to win out the match as the crowd has been in an absolute frenzy for the closing stretch, chanting "Match of the year!"

Back to reality. Post-match, the red-hot Strong, with major victories over Matt Hardy and Alex Shelley on his resume, challenges Bryan Danielson for the ROH Title on October 29 in Connecticut. OH FUCK YES~!

*Rating:* ***1/2

I must now mention that I'll be taking a break from these ROH/TNA/FIP/PWG rewatch projects for now. There are a number of reasons. I'll be watching the Undertaker vs. Brock Lesnar matches for the first time in my life, while rewatching all of the good shit from the past year or so of WWE to get ready for my trip to New Orleans. Considering that match quality in WWE has probably never been higher than since the Shield's debut (which is probably where I will start for my annual WWE rewatch), that's gonna take up the rest of March for me.

On top of that, the next ROH shows for me have Kenta Kobashi in them as I mentioned before. I will be taking the time after NOLA to watch many of Kobashi's most important matches that took place before October 2005, because I am going to make sure that I fully understand the story told on the evening of October 1 in the New Yorker Hotel. I will make sure that I give the very best reviews possible for the iconic singles and tag matches involving Joe and Kobashi. I also have a farewell weekend for James Gibson to look forward to, but with him, I have seven months of work I've watched to be familiar with his work.

Then throw in that in April will be in the NBA and NHL postseasons, and it's gonne be tough for me to get back on this. But I will do it. There's no way in Hell I will not get around to Danielson's title reign, the ROH and NOAH working relationship, and all the other good shit that's to come.

Up next - Joe vs. Kobashi
Matches will include:
Matt Sydal vs. Christopher Daniels vs. Azrieal
Jimmy Rave vs. Roderick Strong
James Gibson vs. Jimmy Yang
Samoa Joe vs. Kenta Kobashi


----------



## StuckInHell4-Life (Jun 19, 2014)

Joe vs. Kobashi. Best match in ROH history and a match I've watched 15+ times.


----------



## Sephiroth (May 27, 2006)

Joe/Kobashi is truly a spectacle and worthy of the praise, but I prefer Dragon/KENTA the following year. Plus I've got live bias from so many Chicago shows so I also prefer stuff like MCMG/Briscoes 1&2 and DoFixer vs. Blood Generation. I'm a terrible person, I know.


----------



## Super Sonic (Jun 11, 2014)

*Joe vs. Kobashi - October 1, 2005*










The DVD starts with a Samoa Joe highlight package, reminding the viewer that he is still the gold standard in ROH despite not having a championship, a parallel of his opponent for this event. Too bad NOAH didn't release any Kenta Kobashi footage to really make this a special video package.

*Elimination Match
Matt Sydal vs. Christopher Daniels vs. Azrieal*

Not all that emotionally stimulating, and Azrieal just looked really out of place with these two. The action was crisp and good, but one could tell that once it got to Sydal vs. Daniels, they were holding back a little bit. Definitely interested in seeing their series now though.

*Rating:* ***

*Jimmy Rave vs. Roderick Strong*

This match itself is nothing special, the equivalent to a present-day _SmackDown!_ match. Strong of course got the victory, and what mattered was the post-match.

Prince Nana is pissed and tells the dog-leashed Jade Chung to help Rave choke out Strong. After about 30 seconds, she collapses because the leash is too short, and begs the Embassy not to mug Strong. She finally has enough and removes both the dog-leash and coverup outfit, giving low blows to Nana & Rave, and then unites with Strong once he takes them out. The crowd popped HUGE for this, and then popped yet again when Strong laid down the gauntlet.

NEXT TIME ROH COMES TO MANHATTAN, IT'S THE EMBASSY VS. GENERATION NEXT IN STEEL CAGE WARFARE.

*The First Half of James Gibson's Independent Farewell
James Gibson vs. Jimmy Yang*

Good match, but not that stimulating and it was a bit difficult for me to pick up on the story. The wrestling was really solid and crisp though. This match definitely had some sentimental value to it, as not only was Gibson on his way out, but this was Yang's debut in the company. I'm sure these two rivals could've done something really special, but considering that this event is Joe vs. Kobashi, it's understandable why they didn't go out to steal the show.

Post-match, Gibson gives a great speech saying how much he will miss being on the indies, and wants to face Roderick Strong in his farewell match the night night in Philly. OH FUCK YES~!

*Rating:* ***1/4

*Dream Match
Samoa Joe vs. Kenta Kobashi*

I put a lot of effort into understanding this match. Before watching this for my rewatch, I watched numerous acclaimed matches of Kobashi's in NOAH, starting with his classic GHC Heavyweight Title victory over one of his greatest rivals, Mitsuharu Misawa. Other classic matches along the way included Yuji Nagata, Kensuke Sasaki, Yoshihiro Takayama, Jun Akiyama, and Akitoshi Saito. I hope that my readers feel I have done this match justice.

After watching the match, I also went to the two most conflicting reviews, because while I will of course never 100% agree with anyone on everything, I respect the perspective these two have when reviewing and discussing wrestling.

The first is 411Mania's Mike Campbell, but I will link to his direct site: http://splashmountain.150m.com/reviews/joevskobashi.htm
The other is Dave Meltzer, the most esteemed journalist in the history of the business: http://pwchronicle.blogspot.com/2005/11/dave-meltzer-on-kenta-kobashisamoa-joe.html

Now, on to the match itself.

There are so many times in wrestling that the fans have to sit through a lot of bullshit. Terrible gimmicks, titles getting buried, go-nowhere storylines, storylines that never have a proper finish, rushed decision-making, and most of all a lot of horrendous professional wrestling.

What is rare are those special moments, those truly special ones that stand the test of time, that will forever be etched in the memories of all witnesses. A moment that makes fans realize that all the shit they sit through as fans of this business, there is a payoff. Now for ROH, a moment like that had already happened in 2005 when Austin Aries and CM Punk provided a _WrestleMania_ quality moment at _Death Before Dishonor III_. I'm sure any reasonable fan of ROH would've been satisfied with just that one in 2005, or may have felt they got that already with the other two ROH Title changes that year.

But leave it to Kenta Kobashi to come in to New York City and give the ROH fanbase one more truly unforgettable moment in the same calendar year.

Is this the greatest match ever? Of course not. I don't hold it in as high of esteem as Kobashi vs. Takayama or most of the ROH matches I've given ***** to. But Kobashi came into a rinky-dink little ballroom across the street from Madison Square Garden and gave the absolute best performance he could possibly give with his physical limitations. That's a testament to how badly he wanted his resume to have a classic match on American soil, and also the 15-20 years he had invested in the business telling stories and getting moves over the right way.

Before these two men even lay a finger on each other, the NYC crowd is going apeshit, and who could blame them? They are getting to see the fucking man of ROH, Samoa Joe, collide in what would turn out to be a once-in-a-lifetime dream match against KENTA FUCKING KOBASHI.

Just like Takayama and Takeshi Rikio did, Joe slaps Kobashi right in the face when their tie-up gets to the ropes. Of course the crowd goes apeshit for that, and the facial expressions of both men are tremendous. Joe has delivered a simple message: you are not here to collect an easy paycheck in my fucking territory. Not that Kobashi was here to do that, but he did get the reinforced message.

The majority of the match had cream-of-the-crop heat from the crowd, with them popping for just about everything. From Kobashi taking Joe's adopted Kawada kicks, to the chop exchange that was influenced by Kobashi vs. Sasaki, to Kobashi countering Joe's second attempt at the Ole kicks, everything in this match clicked.

Do I believe Joe was buried in any way in this match, despite him throwing almost everything out there while Kobashi gave a taste of his arsenal? Not in the least. Kobashi understood throughout his career the importance of not burying moves, and it paid off in fucking spades on this night. Meanwhie, Joe put forth a phenomenal effort to elevate himself. Let's be honest here: Joe was the underdog going into this one based on star power alone.

Joe also got a taste of his own medicine. I've stated numerous times that many of Joe's opponents had never faced an opponent as physical and dominating as him. And on this night, Kobashi would be the most physical and dominating opponent Joe has faced to date. That is why despite unleashing everything but the Island Driver, Kobashi was able to put Joe away with a fraction of his offense. The blows Joe took both in strikes and head-drops (especially the last one being a very, very painful looking sleeper suplex) were too much for him.

Post-match, Joe cuts a promo and looks to be in BAD shape. No wonder he phones it in for a low-rent federation like TNA now after seeing him here. Meanwhile, Kobashi is interviewed and looks like he could go another round right then and there.

This is another defining match of the 2000s decade. It is not something I recommend watching cold. I had to put in a lot of viewing of both ROH and NOAH to truly appreciate, grasp, and understand the story and structure of this match, as well as why the crowd was so ecstatic to witness this true example of a dream match. I have a few more months to go, but from an objective standpoint, I must admit that so far this IS ROH's match of the year for 2005.

*Rating:* *****

Up next - Unforgettable
Matches will include:
James Gibson vs. Roderick Strong
Low Ki & Samoa Joe vs. Homicide & Kenta Kobashi


----------



## Super Sonic (Jun 11, 2014)

*Unforgettable - October 2, 2005*










The DVD starts with a backstage promo from Jimmy Rave & Prince Nana, who are furious over Jade Chung's decision to use the freedoms she's entitled to. Really good short promo.

After the first match, Jade Chung cuts a hilariously awful backstage promo. This should be seen to be believed.

Percy Pringle shows up and announces that he's the new authority figure for ROH. The segue was absolutely cringe-worthy, with Ricky Reyes beating up Pelle Primeau. Bobby Dempsey then tried to help his fellow student, and out of fear said for someone to "call an undertaker."

Jim Cornette, in the exact same building, one year to the date after the memorable Midnight Express reunion segment, comes out minutes later and reveals he's the actual authority figure. With how chaotic and emotional the Low Ki vs. Jay Lethal feud and Summer of Punk was, it was time for someone to come in and bring the company back to its pure sports roots. Little did Cornette know the emotional chaos that was soon to come.

*James Gibson's Independent Farewell
James Gibson vs. Roderick Strong*

This is simply the greatest non-retirement farewell match ever, even better than the sentimental double farewell matches hosted by ECW in 1995 and ROH in 2009. While Austin Aries vs. CM Punk was an advertised farewell, and thus had all the emotional elements of that dynamic, I don't count it since it wasn't the actual farewell for Punk.

Strong of course did a tremendous job on Gibson's back, even better than in their previous singles matches both in ROH and FIP. He was ferocious in this match. But despite the roll he was on, and how badly he wanted a victory over his mentor with this being his last chance at that, let's not forget that his opponent on this night was James Gibson.

Gibson also so badly wanted the bragging rights of going out on top in his final ROH match. And boy did he show how hungry he was for that. Deep into the match, Gibson allowed the younger, less experienced Strong to get over-zealous, baiting Strong into landing a rock-solid chop on the steel ring post. Fortunately, Gibson channeled Punk instead of Matt Hardy and went to work on that right hand. Strong would sell the arm tremendously as the match progressed as well, showing the pain of landing a chop and improvising with forearms.

Earlier in the match, both men took a segment from their FIP match and had a phenomenal strike exchange segment on the floor that had the Philly crowd rocking. Once Strong had the advantage, he immediately threw Gibson again onto the ringside barricade, inflicting more damage on Gibson's back. However, as badly damaged as Gibson's back would get, he would show just why he was going back to the big leagues, finding ways to counter many of Strong's attempted submissions as only a pro as successful and experienced as him could pull off.

After about 15 or so minutes of the match having its foundation established, they went into the near-falls. What really stood out to me is that the third act of the match wasn't a spotfest. They just logically hit their established finishers on each other and paid off the story they had established throughout the match, and the crowd was going insane! And when Gibson lifted Strong onto the turnbuckle to deliver the same Super Tiger Driver that won him the ROH Title, Strong sniffed it out (knowing he would have no way of kicking out of such a move), delivering a super gutbuster and finishing off the former ROH Champion with a final Liontamer, leaving Gibson no choice but to submit as the crowd was in a frenzy!

This is nowhere near the best match I've ever seen, but it exemplifies everything that I love about pro wrestling. It had a tremendous story, a sentimental dynamic, a fantastic payoff, a phenomenally built pace, and elevated Strong for his upcoming ROH Title shot while giving Gibson arguably the best match of his entire career, a fitting finale to a relatively short but unquestionably invaluable chapter in ROH history.

Post-match, Gibson gives a fantastic farewell speech, declaring Strong as the MVP and future of the company, solidifying all the work that Punk, Hardy, Alex Shelley, and Austin Aries had put into elevating the Survival of the Fittest winner. Strong, Gibson, and BJ Whitmer (a close friend of Gibson's) embrace after the match to a tremendous ovation.

After getting to the back, Rave & Nana ambush Strong, leaving Gibson to beg for medical help.

*Rating:* ****1/2

BRYAN DANIELSON RETURNS ON THE NEXT SHOW TO DEFEND THE ROH TITLE.

Lacey fires Izzy & Deranged in a backstage segment, and reveals that she is now the agent for Whitmer & Jimmy Jacobs, who mug Lacey's former top associates. Lacey promises to elevate their careers and maximize their star potential. Apparently this angle had to be shot because the match these two teams had was absolutely god-awful. What a night to put forth a bad match.

*Low Ki & Samoa Joe vs. Homicide & Kenta Kobashi*

Here's my lone nitpick of this instant classic: the crowd didn't pop that loudly when Kobashi finished Ki off with a lariat.

Joe's history with the Rottweilers is being set aside as all three independent stars are aware that being in a tag match with Kobashi is a once-in-a-lifetime experience. I did like the underlying tension still between Joe and Homicide before the match though, with Kobashi giving his partner a simple look to convince Homicide to half-heartedly follow the Code of Honor.

This was simply an excellent tag team main event. Every single matchup in this was just awesome. Joe and Kobashi did a great job in following up their singles match, with both men exchanging teases of not giving each other clean breaks when the match begins. Of course, they would have the chop exchanges and Joe taking the stupid sleeper suplex too. Ki would get tagged in early, using his quickness to manipulate Kobashi into getting a submission locked in. Much later in the match, Joe would go back to work with submissions on that same left arm.

Homicide & Kobashi did a great job of temporarily working on Joe as the weak link, and would go on to do the same thing to Ki. Kobashi even stepped in illegally and trolled Joe into also stepping in illegally to draw the ref's attention with a simple glare. Ki then suffered two brutal chops to the chest as his friend Homicide held him captive.

Earlier in the match, Ki was also thrown outside the ring so that Kobashi could brutalize him with a DDT on the steel entrance ramp and throwing him into a barricade. He then stared at Joe, drawing the two men to tease an abrupt collision right there on the floor. Little things like this are what make these matches have a major league presentation despite being in a tiny rinky-dink armory.

I must mention that the only time Ki and Homicide locked horns in an ROH ring, it was one spectacular fucking doozy. A shame their planned match a couple years earlier didn't end up happening.

What also stood out is that in the last 10 minutes or so of incredible nonstop action, Kobashi's HOF influence showed because fall attempts were only counted for those who were legal. And not once did that ruin the dramatic pace of this match or kill the red-hot crowd.

I also liked that moves weren't buried in this match. When something devastating was used as a near-fall, the reason it wouldn't finish is because the pinfall or submission would be broken up, which kept the match going (while still remaining hot of course) but also putting over the severity of the move being done if nobody made the save. There were also two or three tremendous cutoff segments when one guy would get an advantage on another.

One of the best spots of the entire match was Kobashi getting his signature rapid fire chops on Joe, only for Ki to attempt a cutoff, getting thrown in front of Joe, and getting the rapid fire chops for his trouble. Yet another moment that only these men and very few others could pull off the right way.

This was simply an incredible tag match, and along with Gibson's farewell, gave this show its appropriate "Unforgettable" name. Post-match, Kobashi is given the proper respect by the crowd and other participants. I cannot thank Kenta Kobashi enough for what he did with just two nights in ROH. I will be forever grateful that he came to America and put forth matches that were so fucking good they could have plausibly headlined an event at the Tokyo Dome or now-named AT&T Stadium.

Kudos of course to Joe for sucking it up after the brutal singles match against Kobashi, Homicide for sucking it up with an injured left shoulder, and Ki for telling his jet lag to fuck off after working for 1PW on the other side of the Atlantic the day before. I am aware that I'm not the easiest wrestling fan to please, but I definitely appreciate and grasp the toll these four men put their bodies through for my entertainment.

*Rating:* ****3/4

To me, this is ROH's version of _WrestleMania X_, and here's why: both shows had key storyline moments. They were performed in front of tremendously receptive crowds. And also feature cards with only two worthwhile matches, but boy oh boy are the two matches on both shows absolutely splendid, contain sentimental/historic significance, and are very different from one another. This show is an absolute must-have.

I have a new feature to debut here too. Unfortunately, James Gibson's career had to end abruptly in 2009 due to a terrible back injury, and since then he has only done a couple of quick matches within the WWE umbrella. I am very happy for him though to be rewarded for his dedication and skill, as he now has a cushy WWE producer job, certainly playing a part in the incredible in-ring consistency that WWE has had in the past year.

But it is because of that injury and the position Gibson has in WWE, that I can confidently say he will never wrestle in ROH again despite his sincere expression in his farewell match that he hoped he would have the opportunity to do so.

A key word I use to describe Gibson's time in ROH is "invaluable," as a play off of the MVP narrative ROH pushed during his time in the company, and because one really can't put a price on what he brought to the company despite being there for only eight months.

With that in mind, I debut a feature, one that can be expected to be done again for other great ROH talents that have moved on and are highly unlikely to ever wrestle for this federation again.

*James Gibson's 10 Greatest ROH Matches*
James Gibson vs. Brian Kendrick - _Third Anniversary Celebration Pt. 2_ ***3/4
James Gibson, Brian Kendrick, & Nigel McGuinness vs. Samoa Joe, Bryan Danielson, & Vordell Walker - _Trios Tournament_ ***3/4
James Gibson vs. Rocky Romero - _Back to Basics_ ***1/2
James Gibson vs. Roderick Strong - _Best of American Super Juniors Tournament_ ***1/2
James Gibson vs. Austin Aries - _The Final Showdown_ ****
James Gibson vs. Samoa Joe - _New Frontiers_ ****1/4
James Gibson vs. CM Punk vs. Samoa Joe vs. Christopher Daniels - _Redemption_ ****1/2
James Gibson vs. Bryan Danielson - _Glory By Honor IV_ ****1/2 (Gibson's greatest match in ROH)
James Gibson vs. Christopher Daniels - _Survival of the Fittest 2005_ ***3/4
James Gibson vs. Roderick Strong - _Unforgettable_ ****1/2

Up next - Enter the Dragon
Matches will include:
Jimmy Yang vs. Roderick Strong
Jay Lethal & Samoa Joe vs. Jimmy Rave & Alex Shelley
Bryan Danielson vs. Austin Aries


----------



## Super Sonic (Jun 11, 2014)

*Enter the Dragon - October 14, 2005*










*Jimmy Yang vs. Roderick Strong*

This was a match that would fit right in with the current TV product for ROH: good, crisp wrestling, nothing wrong with any of the work itself. But if one is looking for a deep in-ring story, look elsewhere. Now that I mention the SBG TV era, I'm surprised Yang doesn't work for ROH right now, he'd seem like a natural fit. Of course the red-hot Strong wins to build up for his second ROH Title shot (in an ROH ring.)

*Rating:* ***

*Jay Lethal & Samoa Joe vs. Jimmy Rave & Alex Shelley*

Prince Nana is absent from ringside. Really fun tag match, with the Embassy first getting a very brief advantage on Joe, but then would get a much stronger and more logical advantage on Lethal. Early in the match, someone who I assume is a Buckeyes mark told Shelley to go back to Michigan. Lethal was later sarcastically heckled by I believe the same little shit, whoever that was. Also early in the match was a cute segment in which neither Rave nor Shelley could make Joe flinch when chopping him, and kept tagging each other until Rave conveniently had to get in the face of a fan in the front row, preventing his partner from tagging him back in.

The Embassy did a great job of working on the back of Lethal's head and neck, specifically with clotheslines, skull-fucks, and full nelsons. Dave Prazak then shows that he's likely never done a mat wrestling match in his life when he questions the difficulty of getting out of a full nelson. (Important: Prazak mentions that Rave is working on a new, devastating finisher that he will utilize when the time is right after losing his legal rights to the Styles Clash.)

After several minutes, Lethal finally gets the hot tag, which the crowd was begging for and reacted accordingly with enthusiasm. He's a house of fire for a few minutes, but with Lethal out for the time being, the Embassy regained the advantage. I really like that because even though Samoa Joe was still the face of the company at this time with an incredible ROH resume, not even he could take on Rave & Shelley by himself and come out on top.

They have a really good finishing sequence, not once ever having nearfalls counted on anyone that wasn't legal throughout the match too. In the end, Lethal, who was still fresh off of his feud-ending victory over Low Ki, took Rave out of the equation. This allowed Joe to finish Shelley off with the musclebuster. Really good.

*Rating:* ***1/2

*ROH Title Match
Bryan Danielson vs. Austin Aries*

After a four month wait, Aries is finally cashing in his rematch clause as a former ROH Champion. I love him being the first defense for Danielson, as he has two straight victories over the champ and left him so devastated that he left for months to work on his game in Europe.

This match had some sloppy points. It also had a mediocre crowd. And for reasons that are totally understandable, it was definitely a bit one-sided in showcasing Danielson. That was absolutely necessary to establish Danielson as a worthy champion and transition him into becoming the face of the company.

At this point I wanna mention just what an excellent commentator Lenny Leonard was during his time in ROH (not just for this match.) He really did such an outstanding job explaining the in-ring story, especially body part work. Gabe Sapolsky stepped in to provide commentary for this match too. In an eerie foreshadowing of Danielson's career, Sapolsky mentions that Danielson isn't "marketable" or "sexy," that he's all about business in the ring.

The majority of the match was on the mat, with Danielson owning Aries early and displaying how much he improved his game while away from ROH. He specifically was able to target the left arm and shoulder of Aries. While this match wasn't super-hot, Aries did a great job to keep this segment from being a complete squash, finding brief submission counters and using forearms to force Danielson to release.

I believe this was also Danielson's debut of his "I have till 5!" gimmick. I don't recall him doing this in his title win against James Gibson.

Back to the actual work of the match, Aries was tremendous when it was his turn to briefly get the heat as the match was coming to the third act. Sure, he used his left arm to inflict damage, but he sold that shit. There are so many guys on the current indy scene that could learn from this match, and this is actually one of the worst in the Danielson vs. Aries series!

Danielson also once again showed that he still had Aries scouted, first early in the match with the head-scissors, negating an explosive dropkick from Aries by using his arms and elbows for leverage and bouncing Aries in what I would describe as seated piledrivers. But Aries is so good he found a way to land a dropkick on Danielson anyway, albeit for a very, very, very brief advantage. Later, when Aries attempted the brainbuster with his damaged left arm, Danielson just kept kneeing him in the head to prevent it. But Aries, the former ROH Champion himself, gutted it out, absorbing the pain of the knees and successfully landing a brainbuster.

Once it got to the finish, Danielson showed that he was simply better now, positioning Aries to be the victim of either a Tiger Suplex or Cattle Mutilation, and then using that leverage to lock in a crossface chickenwing for the submission victory, the same move that won him the title.

This was definitely a nice kickoff to the Danielson era, even with all of the flaws in this match. These two men were like Hulk Hogan vs. Randy Savage in the 1980s: they had such natural chemistry that they could sleepwalk their way through a *** match.

*Rating:* ***3/4

Up next - Buffalo Stampede
Matches will include:
Nigel McGuinness vs. Samoa Joe
Abyss, Jimmy Rave, & Alex Shelley vs. Austin Aries, Roderick Strong, & Jack Evans
Low Ki vs. Colt Cabana
Bryan Danielson vs. Steve Corino


----------



## Super Sonic (Jun 11, 2014)

*Buffalo Stampede - October 15, 2005*










*Pure Title Match
Nigel McGuinness vs. Samoa Joe*

As referee Todd Sinclair breaks down the rules in the prematch, the fans heckle him. McGuinness immediately improvises and grabs the mic, insisting on the fans giving the referee and rules some respect, and that he understood that they were excited for his next Pure Title defense. He then makes some amusing remarks about Buffalo and the game of gridiron football, then moves on to comparing Joe to a vicious bear and also says he's the future of the business. He then reveals it was all mockery when he says that Dreamworks has cast Joe for the lead role in _Shrek 3_.

Joe immediately goes to work on McGuinness, and loses a rope break in the process when it gets on the mat. Joe would then lose another rope break seconds later, and then lose his last one when McGuinness planted Joe's hand on the ropes. All of Joe's rope breaks were lost within the first minute of the bell ringing. Tremendous trolling by McGuinness.

Joe would spend the majority of the match dominating McGuinness, forcing the champion to eventually lose all of his rope breaks too. This paid off when they got to a corner for the finish. McGuinness put Joe in position for the Tower of London, and Joe even obliged, putting his arm over McGuinness, only to reveal he was just setting up for a chokehold. McGuinness then used his leverage to pin Joe down in a visual similar to what Bret Hart did to Roddy Piper at _WrestleMania VIII_ and Steve Austin at _Survivor Series 1996_, but was able to use the ropes for extra leverage due to the rules of the match.

*Rating:* ***

*Hardcore Match
Abyss, Jimmy Rave, & Alex Shelley vs. Austin Aries, Roderick Strong, & Jack Evans*

This match has a video highlight package chronicling the feud, weird with this not being the finale. The video is nothing special until it becomes a highlight reel of the action that the Embassy and Generation Next have inflicted on one another. That portion was tremendous.

This was a tasty appetizer not just for the remainder of this feud, but would also turn out to be a preview of another hardcore trios match to come for ROH many months later. This lacked the emotion to be truly great and memorable, but I'm fine with that since this wasn't the finale. As I said about the _Redemption_ match, this is required viewing for anyone that enjoys the matches between the Shield and the Wyatt Family.

Prince Nana is present, leading me to realize I was wrong about him being gone for the weekend, and he wasn't at ringside for Rave & Shelley's match the night before because he was busy with the aftermath of the singles match between Abyss and Evans beforehand. Jade Chung is also present for this match. Both teams beat the shit out of each other, including getting a ladder involved. Aries & Strong use it to get an advantage on Abyss and use it as a platform for corner strikes, but Aries slips on one of the rungs. That looked painful.

Rave showed his greatness in being a chickenshit heel, as did Nana of course, using his presence near the end of the match to help Shelley regain the advantage on Strong. Abyss and Jack Evans were taken out when GeNext ganged up on the beast, laying him on a table, and Evans crashing through by doing a 630 senton splash off of a cage platform already engineered as part of the building.

Per good booking and storytelling, Nana's distraction led the Embassy to win this chapter in the feud. As I said earlier, a fine appetizer, as the time wasn't right to deliver the full-course meal.

*Rating:* ***1/2

*Low Ki vs. Colt Cabana*

First time ever singles match here, interesting clash of personalities and styles. Cabana starts the match by mocking Ki, causing the Rottweiler to break character and chuckle. Cabana spent much of the match frustrating Ki, getting into his head with his comedic antics and European style. Ki was still able to get his work in, including a variety of vicious stomps. Cabana looked to pull of the upset, but as a receipt for what happened in NYC two weeks earlier, Homicide comes out and talks shit to Cabana, allowing Ki to finish off the former Tag Team Champ. I really like that after Homicide was there for Ki when feuding with Jay Lethal, Ki reciprocates being there for Homicide for this feud with Cabana.

*Rating:* less than ***

*ROH Title Match
Bryan Danielson vs. Steve Corino*

Good match, with Corino using his sandbagging weight advantage, but simply just not being as technically skilled as Danielson. Danielson constantly found advantages, from getting three overhead suplex nearfalls while in a knuckle-lock, to getting a new chant over ("You're gonna get your fucking head kicked!") to get in Corino's head. Danielson wins his third straight ROH Title match with the crossface chickenwing.

*Rating:* ***1/2

Ignoring that the roster at this time of course had far more charisma across the board, this event reminded me of ROH in its current era. Some good and fun wrestling, each good match being of a different variety, but nothing blowaway. And sometimes it's okay for an obvious B-show like this one not to be a show of the year contender.

Up next - This Means War
Matches will include:
Alex Shelley vs. Claudio Castagnoli
AJ Styles vs. Austin Aries
Jay Lethal vs. Curry Man
Bryan Danielson vs. Roderick Strong


----------



## Super Sonic (Jun 11, 2014)

*This Means War - October 29, 2005*










Terrible promo to kick off the DVD, with Jade Chung thanking Roderick Strong for saving her, and Strong being comical with his followup.

*Alex Shelley vs. Claudio Castagnoli*

Bold prediction: ROH will never have an opening match with this much combined charisma again. A couple have come close, but not to this level.

Pure Champion Nigel McGuinness comes out prior to the match starting, putting Shelley over as a great pure wrestler much to Prince Nana's delight. He then says Castagnoli's victory over him in Cleveland was a fluke, and needs to have an impressive non-losing performance tonight in order to truly earn a Pure Title shot.

This is one of the best openers in ROH history. Castagnoli was still a bit green, but he held his own against one of ROH's top names. The exchanges and counters were really something to see. I can't really begin to explain them.

In terms of storytelling, my favorite moment by far was Shelley spitting in Castagnoli's face, lighting a fire under the Swiss native, dishing out European uppercuts. Shelley just stood there and absorbed them, daring him to throw more. Shelley then countered one of the uppercuts with a backslide. Shelley also gained a major advantage deep into the match with a tornado DDT to the outside.

The match went to its 20 minute time limit, which I liked seeing. Neither man needed to be doing the job at this point, but it was time for Castagnoli to be put in a position to have a standout match and he delivered. Afterwards, McGuinness says no Pure Title shot was earned, but Castagnoli tells him that he said he would get one if he did not lose, not that he had to win to earn it. Jade Chung comes out to draw the Embassy to the back, leaving McGuinness to cheap-shot Castagnoli.

Before the match, McGuinness said that he was the best there is, the best there was, and "you know the rest." After laying out Castagnoli, the segment ends him with saying "and the best pure wrestler there ever will be." Awesome.

*Rating:* ***1/2

*AJ Styles vs. Austin Aries*

First time ever matchup here, and it delivered. While it lacked the pace to be considered great, it was as close to great as matches can get. After going back and forth in the early segments with beautiful mat wrestling and acrobats to establish this as an even matchup, Styles got the advantage when he used his own back to give Aries a backbreaker. Aries wasn't the same throughout the rest of the match.

Aries pulled out his usual tenacious persona in this one, digging down deep to scratch and claw his way to victory. But the damage to his back was too much, as multiple attempts at a 450 splash were thwarted, the second time with a super Styles Clash to bring the match to its conclusion. Very, very good wrestling.

*Rating:* ***3/4

At intermission, Jay Lethal says he's happy to help out Samoa Joe (who isn't booked for an ROH event for the first time in ages) and take on Christopher Daniels tonight. Joe was there for Lethal against the Rottweilers, so this makes sense. Lethal ultimately wants them to go after tag gold though.

I skip to *Colt Cabana finishing off B-Boy in their singles match*. Grim Reefer tries to ambush Cabana but gets treated like the jabroni that he is. The lights go out and Homicide comes out. Homicide and Cabana then have a turning point in this feud; it's no longer comedy, mind games, or trash-talking. They have a brutal brawl for several minutes throughout ringside, going all the way to the bleachers. It comes back to the ring and Homicide drops Cabana with an Ace Crusher from the apron through a table, taking both men out in the process. Horrendous for their long-term health, tremendous moment for their feud.

*Jay Lethal vs. Curry Man*

Allison Danger comes to ringside and says that Daniels is unavailable due to the birth of his newborn son, but a suitable replacement is found with Curry Man. The crowd goes apeshit for him.

The wrestling throughout this match was really good. But that's not what really matters: midway through the match, the crowd begged for comedy dancing, and both men delivered with great homages to past wrestlers, choreographed sequences, and also both Danger and referee Mike Keaner raising the roof (the latter getting probably the loudest pop of the entire match.)

For anyone currently in ROH that reads these: BOOK DELIRIOUS VS. CURRY MAN WHILE YOU HAVE THE CHANCE.

*Rating:* ***1/2

Jimmy Rave cuts a promo from Ghana, the best of his career. He articulated his points very well and his voice was perfect to go with his false narratives regarding CM Punk and AJ Styles. He warns Generation Next about _Steel Cage Warfare_, and also takes the time to mention he is still planning to debut his new devastating finisher in ROH soon, when the time is right.

*ROH Title Match
Bryan Danielson vs. Roderick Strong*

The match starts out with them copying Joe and Kenta Kobashi's tag match, teasing a lack of a clean break on one another. After a few collar-and-elbow tie-ups though, Danielson gives Strong some chops in the corner anyway. Of course, he does his best to avoid a receipt from Strong because he knows how dangerous it is. It also shows how seriously Danielson is taking this challenger, fully aware this would be his greatest challenger up to this point.

After several minutes, Strong finally landed a chop on Danielson. The champion responded by taking a powder to the floor, obviously irritated while absorbing the pain. He retaliates with repetitive chops, and gets even angrier when Strong lands another one on him. I must mention that Danielson during these first 10 minutes or so also did great work on Strong's left arm to minimize any potential backbreakers.

The pain of Strong's second-to-none chops caused Danielson not only to get irritated with Strong, but with the fans in attendance as well, talking shit to them and at one point simply telling them to fuck off. His heel turn in this match was amazing to see, and perfectly timed also with the support Strong had gotten in the previous several months.

About 20 minutes into the match, Strong finally kept this from being a glorified squash and landed a backbreaker on Danielson. The champ did a PHENOMENAL job of giving himself adrenaline when necessary to ignore the pain but then immediately selling it afterwards. Certain things also happened in this match that only helped Strong's backbreaking cause, such as Danielson slowly tumbling from the turnbuckle and losing his grips on the ropes, falling back-first on the floor.

Showing just how seriously he was taking Strong's devastating backbreaking offense, Danielson teased a surfboard, but just drilled Strong's knees on the mat and followed that up with a figure four leglock to take away Strong's base, thus taking away yet another body part to reduce Strong's ability to land anymore backbreakers.

In the closing minutes, both men laid into each other, while also selling the work that was established throughout this classic, with Strong briefly knocking out the champ. Danielson dead-weighted Strong while down, causing Strong to scream "FUCK OFF BITCH!" In response, Danielson got a rush of anger, regaining consciousness and trading blows instantly. Strong mounted him for punches, but Danielson then abruptly ended the match by making Strong tap out to an Omoplata shoulder lock! Strong immediately left the ring and Danielson was right on him, spitting on him from the ring and wanting more.

That was an insane and SAFE finish, that taught the audience a match can end at any moment, especially when Bryan Danielson is involved. It also paid off the work Danielson had done on Strong's left arm, since that was the limb Danielson targeted to finish the match. An instant classic and just what Danielson's title reign needed to raise eyebrows.

*Rating:* ****1/2

The DVD closes with Cornette talking about the next weekend's double-shot. Chris Sabin is cashing in the TNA portion of Danielson's open contract to get an ROH Title shot on the Detroit show. Should be good.

Now the great shit: Regardless of who is victorious in Danielson vs. Sabin, Chicago is getting DANIELSON VS. STRONG II the next day. OH FUCK YES~!

Highest recommendation possible for this show.

Up next - Showdown in Motown
Matches will include:
Sal Rinauro & Chad Collyer vs. Roderick Strong & Jack Evans
Alex Shelley vs. Austin Aries
Abyss & Jimmy Rave vs. AJ Styles & Matt Sydal
Bryan Danielson vs. Chris Sabin


----------



## Super Sonic (Jun 11, 2014)

*Showdown in Motown - November 4, 2005*










*Sal Rinauro & Chad Collyer vs. Roderick Strong & Jack Evans*

Tedious tag match, and I put the blame on Rinauro because he has zero presence and charisma. I almost fell asleep to this and now that I reflect back on how hollow this match was, I wish I had.

*Rating:* less than ***

*Relaxed Rules Match
Alex Shelley vs. Austin Aries*

Despite this being in Detroit, Aries gets the greater support from the crowd. Pretty good stuff with Shelley working on the left arm of Aries, who did a great job of selling. This wasn't designed to touch the greatness they had had six months earlier, but with this being a B-show, I understand why. Lame finish, also for understandable reasons.

*Rating:* ***1/4

Post-match, the Embassy gangs up on Aries, causing AJ Styles & Matt Sydal to come out for the next match.

*Abyss & Jimmy Rave vs. AJ Styles & Matt Sydal*

Fun tag match, with Rave playing the obvious chickenshit and relying on Abyss to do the dirty work. Of course, the work that Abyss does on Sydal is spectacular, and he shows his natural chemistry with Styles as displayed in TNA and other indies. I appreciated no pinfall or submission attempts on those who weren't legal as well.

*Rating:* ***1/2

*ROH Title Match
Bryan Danielson vs. Chris Sabin*

Sabin actually does get the hometown support, largely because Danielson was a great prick in this one. This was his debut of the buzzcut while ROH champion, a PERFECT look for him. He truly carried himself like a star in this one, antagonizing the crowd, using the ropes for leverage, and working on Sabin's back to send a message to Strong. Sabin worked on Danielson's neck to prepare for the Cradle Shock, but Danielson was the man at this point, and Sabin had to tap out to the Liontamer.

*Rating:* ***1/2

I attended the next day's event in Chicago, the first ROH show I ever saw live, an experience I'll never forget. But I feel a bit spoiled and guilty, because assuming the key matches hold up, I witnessed three standout matches while Detroit got ***1/2 at best. There's having a B-show, but one of the two killer matches from Chicago could've been booked for Detroit to REALLY hook this market. Luckily, Detroit's next ROH event would be a major one, a portion of a particular milestone for this federation.

Up next - Vendetta
Matches will include:
Samoa Joe vs. Christopher Daniels
Bryan Danielson vs. Roderick Strong
AJ Styles, Austin Aries, Jack Evans, & Matt Sydal vs. Prince Nana, Abyss, Jimmy Rave, & Alex Shelley


----------



## Sephiroth (May 27, 2006)

Did you go to many Chicago shows?


----------



## Super Sonic (Jun 11, 2014)

Just that one. Wasn't completely on the ROH bandwagon until I graduated HS and had $$$, which was summer of 2005 (Summer of Punk being red-hot helped with buzz), had no vehicle for Punk's farewell (I absolutely should've forced my friend to take us for that one), and went to TX in early 2006. I had tickets for WM22 weekend but was so underwhelmed by WWE's buildup of WM22 (plus saddened we weren't getting Eddie vs. HBK) that I sold my ROH tickets at the last minute.

I absolutely should've flown up to Chicago that weekend just for those ROH shows though. REALLY looking forward to reviewing the good shit from them.


----------



## Super Sonic (Jun 11, 2014)

*Vendetta - November 5, 2005*










Full disclosure: This event has some sentimental value to me as it's the first ROH event, and second ever pro wrestling event, I attended. That sentimental value is being thrown out the fucking window though to give this an objective perspective.

Homicide & Julius Smokes say they plan to murder Colt Cabana tonight in his hometown.

*Samoa Joe vs. Christopher Daniels*

Awesome match here. Joe worked on the neck of Daniels to set up for the musclebuster and Island Driver, but there will always be the underlying story of doing that because of the neck injury Daniels suffered in WCW. After several minutes of opening the match with back-and-forth momentum, Daniels got a shot on Joe's left knee, making it the target for the match.

Daniels did a great job of getting the job done on that left knee of Joe's, including both submissions and strikes to that joint, a great gameplan to take away Joe's base. But as the match came to its finishing stretch, which had the crowd completely hot, Daniels proved to not be heavy enough with his damage, as Joe was able to ignore the pain inflicted and finish him off with the musclebuster. Christopher Daniels did not phone it in for ROH on this night, giving his best performance for the company since returning earlier in 2005.

*Rating:* ****

Homicide and Colt Cabana have an extremely violent brawl, with numerous unprotected chairshots. They really tear into each other, but Homicide has the advantage with Smokes being present. The Devil's Son-in-Law even delivers a powerbomb on Cabana. They duct-tape Cabana to the ropes, scratch his forehead with a fork, and then attempt to cut his tongue out with a pair of scissors. Ace Steel comes out and throws Homicide away from his trainee and friend, having been fed up with this bullshit.

*ROH Title Match
Bryan Danielson vs. Roderick Strong*

Danielson interrupts Bobby Cruise's introduction, getting him to announce the champ as "the best wrestler in the world." And after this match, Danielson certainly had a very, very solid case to make such a grand declaration.

They slowly shake hands beforehand to follow the Code of Honor, but Danielson slaps Strong immediately and gets a chop for his troubles, immediately taking a powder. To state the obvious, this was emotionally picking up right where they left off a week earlier. Danielson spent a lot of time just walking around and talking shit to the crowd early, with another powder minutes later after taking more chops from Strong, being an absolutely outstanding cocky heel in the process. What's amazing is that this stalling never once live or on broadcast had me assuming that this would be a 60 minute Broadway.

Danielson was the master in this one, using his irritation to get the advantage on Strong and make him more focused on his barbarianism and technical wrestling. To date, this is simply the greatest heel performance Danielson has had, being far more of a red-ass here than he was in the past against Paul London and AJ Styles, and more than he would be in the future against Sheamus, Nigel McGuinness, Samoa Joe, and Homicide, or even in Germany for WXW.

Body parts Danielson targeted on Strong during this timeless classic include: the knees, the left arm, and most arrogantly of all, the back. This was absolutely ingenious to take away Strong's ability to deliver chops, backbreakers, and gutbusters, while also softening up the challenger for a number of potential finishers, such as the Cattle Mutilation, crossface chickenwing, or millions of other submissions that Danielson could unleash at a moment's notice. Most of all, I love Danielson focusing on the back, which he also did the night before against Chris Sabin, because it says "Cool Roderick, I can add that gameplan to my loaded arsenal too."

Strong was absolutely brutal to Danielson on this night, even more than he was to the chickenshit CM Punk at _Escape From New York_. This not only got under the skin of Danielson, but left that same Pacific Northwest pasty white signature skin color of Danielson's bleeding on the chest in the early stages, some of that due to residual damage from the week before. That was an absolutely amazing visual to put over how devastating Strong's chops are and what Danielson was willing to go through to hold on to the top prize in the company. I also recall later in the match Danielson's forehead bleeding when he was thrown into a guardrail.

After the earlier two powders Danielson took, Strong got fed up and chased him to the outside, landing more vicious strikes, including his trademark chops. Danielson used the third powder he took to adsorb those strikes and have Strong chase him around the ring, getting a cheapshot in when Strong followed him into the ring. In a later powder segment, the action got all the way to the steel entrance ramp, which Strong scoop-slammed Danielson on. That particular spot and two head-drops later on in the match (belly to back drop on Danielson, release Dragon Suplex on Strong) were the only moments in this epic that had me cringing out of concern for their well-beings. And that's not too bad considering what how many matches of this caliber have to stoop to in order to be memorable.

Over 30 minutes passed until Strong finally got a backbreaker on Danielson, and they had the crowd in the palms of their hands by that point. Strong had gotten some submissions on Danielson's back, but this was the first blow he got to deliver. This nearfall got an absolutely red-hot reaction, the crowd expecting a title change less than two months after Danielson had reached the pinnacle of his then-young career.

Here are a number of out-of-order impressive moments in this masterpiece before I get to the finish:

Danielson getting pissed that his chops weren't getting the same vocal support as Strong, telling the crowd to fuck off before delivering one on the challenger.

Strong chopping the hell out of Danielson in the corner, the champ spitting in his face, delivering another devastating chop, getting spat in the face again, and delivering yet another devastating chop. Danielson fell to that one and breathed heavily to absorb the pain, but used his arrogant pride and anger to force himself not to succumb to it. This is my pick for the greatest facial expression Danielson has ever done in a wrestling match.

Strong reversing a basic left arm submission into his own. Danielson attempts to show off his state-of-the-art wrestling to escape it, likely to deliver a dropkick to break the hold as he usually does. But Strong managed to turn that into a la magistral cradle nearfall. Just splendid wrestling.

Danielson also drilled his forearms into Strong when he had the challenger mounted, selling that psychotic irritation he had towards this particular opponent.

Now for the finishing stretch, more than 45 minutes have passed. Strong is almost running on empty, not accustomed to matches of this length unlike Danielson. Sure, he won _Survival of the Fittest_ several weeks earlier, but that was a six-man elimination match that involved tags. Strong gave it a go, digging down deep in his third shot at the title (at least in an ROH ring). They had an absolutely breathtaking sequence that I won't spoil, other than to say that it led to Danielson topping the Omoplata shoulder lock he won with in their first classic, this time finishing Strong off with elbows to the head, putting the champion over as a truly dangerous motherfucker, worthy of being ROH Champion.

I remember on the original ROH message board, there was a vote by its members to determine the company's top ten matches after 100 shows, and then again after 200 shows. This match got on the list both times, and deservedly so. Nine years later, this is the best match I've seen in person, better than the KENTA vs. Davey Richards rematch, "End of an Era" Hell in a Cell match, John Cena and Umaga's Last Man Standing match, Danielson vs. Triple H, or either of the Undertaker vs. Shawn Michaels _WrestleMania_ classics.

This is not only a top ten match in ROH's history, but is also the best match of Roderick Strong's career. I could see the argument for this being the best match of Bryan Danielson's career as well. I won't say it's the best ROH match ever, as there was one tiny moment in which both men may not have been on the same page, but that could be covered up with a good kayfabed explanation. Dave Prazak & Lenny Leonard also did a phenomenal job calling this match, putting over Danielson's gimmick and getting the story across to the viewer.

This match does get a lot of love, but I'll be honest, it deserves more. I'm shocked Gabe Sapolsky didn't convince Dave Meltzer to review this along with _This Means War_. I'm sure with the proper coverage, this match and event would be remembered on par with _Joe vs. Punk II_ and _Joe vs. Kobashi_. This was a mixture of numerous classic matchups such as Ric Flair vs. Ricky Steamboat, Kurt Angle vs. Chris Benoit, and Samoa Joe vs. Kenta Kobashi.

If there was one level of praise that gives this match the love it deserves, and convinces those reading to rewatch this, here you go: This match feels like 30 minutes instead of 47 minutes.

*Rating:* *****

And we still got one more for the evening, folks.

*Winner Gets Steel Cage Warfare Advantage
Prince Nana, Abyss, Jimmy Rave, & Alex Shelley vs. AJ Styles, Austin Aries, Jack Evans, & Matt Sydal*

An incredibly fun main event, one that got crazy at times as expected. The match started with the babyfaces cutting the ring in half and dominating Rave. The babyfaces then said Rave was welcome to tag in Nana, who took a powder of course. Styles was perfectly cast in this match, using his ferocity and firepower to offset the size and strength of Abyss at times, including giving the beast a release German Suplex through a table that had been brought in the ring!

When the heels got the advantage, they cut the ring in half on Evans. Shelley was the standout, stretching Evans in front of the Chicago crowd for a third time in 2005. After enough damage was done on Evans, Nana gleefully got tagged in, rubbing it in the fans and opposing team's faces, far more obnoxious than Danielson had been earlier in the night.

I noticed that something was edited out, and I don't recall from being there live what it was for. Evans was on the outside, with Rave struggling to get up in the ring, then a second later, Evans is in the ring being worked on by Shelley while Rave is on the apron with rest of the Embassy. Strange and really threw me off with me keeping tabs on who was legal.

Speaking of being legal, I don't hold it against referee Todd Sinclair when he forgot who was legal. The first time when it happened early in the match, the match got out of control, as it should have at this point in the feud. It happened to set up for the finishing stretch too when two on each team were tagged in, so if I'm Sinclair I'd have said "fuck it" too and just counted any nearfall that came up.

Nana got a fraction of comeuppance, the perfect amount, but when Aries & Sydal were about to take him out, Sydal's girlfriend Daizee Haze betrayed them, delivering low-blows and also taking out Jade Chung. Shelley delivered a finisher, while Rave simultaneously delivered his brand new, devastating, truly state-of-the-art finisher: THE PEDIGREE~!

*Rating:* ***3/4

Colt Cabana cuts a promo after the show, no longer in a comedic mood in the war against Homicide. Pretty compelling actually.

The show closes with the announcement that off-camera, the Embassy attacked Strong & Chung in the parking lot.

While I understand the mindset that the weekend had to close with the Embassy having the last laugh, I'd have booked the eight man tag for Detroit with the Haze turn. And here's my reason for it: Imagine how much more of a dickhead Danielson could've been to Strong, saying "you need to get over that shit Roderick, you're in the ring with me, nobody gives a fuck about your girlfriend you bitch." Danielson vs. Strong II should've closed out the weekend.

This is still the best wrestling event I've ever attended, and gets my highest recommendation due to each key match delivering or over-delivering. In terms of overall show value, I'd compare it to _Joe vs. Punk II_: three very good to incredible matches, all three of them a different flavor, one of them being a ***** masterpiece. There's even the pointless legends segment (Jim Cornette & Bill Watts compared to Mick Foley & Ricky Steamboat.)

Up next - A Night of Tribute
Matches will include:
AJ Styles vs. Matt Sydal vs. Christopher Daniels
Bryan Danielson vs. Azrieal
Homicide vs. Colt Cabana
Jay Lethal & Samoa Joe vs. Austin Aries & Roderick Strong
ROH Title Match


----------



## Sephiroth (May 27, 2006)

Fucking Spanish Announce Team fpalm


----------



## Super Sonic (Jun 11, 2014)

Sephiroth said:


> Fucking Spanish Announce Team fpalm


Boy am I just blissful we got that instead of Eddie vs. Daniels.


----------



## Super Sonic (Jun 11, 2014)

*A Night of Tribute - November 19, 2005*










The DVD begins with ringside footage as the company pays tribute to Eddie Guerrero with a ten bell salute. More on the Hall of Famer later.

A Samoa Joe promo is thrown in from ROH"s website, going through all the major points of his career for several minutes, saying that his final goal is to win the Tag Titles and be the first ever Grand Slam Champion. What stands out is that he says he will "single-handedly" be the first Grand Slam Champ in ROH, and talks about Jay Lethal's part as if Joe is the driver and his protege is simply a passenger. Interesting.

Colt Cabana cuts a solid serious business promo on Homicide after what happened in Chicago, and I love the five o'clock shadow he's growing to sell the toll this feud is taking on him. But he ruins the segment with a line that nine years later I still haven't figured out, directed at Homicide: "I'm not fighting for my life, I'm fighting for yours."

*ROH Title Shot Match
AJ Styles vs. Matt Sydal vs. Christopher Daniels*

Fun match, although I was surprised it was on par with the three way Sydal and Daniels had with Azrieal, since this match was featuring AJ STYLES. This was a good showcase for Sydal as he ascended in his career and particularly in ROH, being left in the ring post-match so the crowd could give him the pop, to which they obliged.

*Rating:* ***

Gary Michael Cappetta welcomes Bryan Danielson, who wants to have a match to bring his ROH Title defense against Daniels in the main event to a more even level, both of them having competed in the night.

*Bryan Danielson vs. Azrieal*

Video of the match (NO COMMENTARY) - http://www.veoh.com/watch/v454449SCje96QA?h1=Bryan+Danielson+vs.+Azrieal+-+11/19/05

TREMENDOUS squash match, with Danielson making an almost complete mockery of Azrieal. WWE fans would LOVE this, as it's all a showcase of what a tremendously cocky asshole Danielson is.

*Hardcore Match
Homicide vs. Colt Cabana*

Really good hatred match, both guys just going after each other. In this one, Cabana revealed that he brought a ghetto fork, but Homicide never got his comeuppance, which was a no-brainer at this stage in the feud. The wrestling was also really good, nothing insulting at all, the occasional no-selling being brief and caused by the emotions both men had. I can undoubtedly say that I am VERY glad the finish, which was Homicide choking Cabana out with a coat-hanger, was done in late 2005 instead of late 2007.

*Rating:* ***1/2

Gabe Sapolsky reflects on what Eddie Guerrero meant to ROH, not just competing for the company during its genesis, but the impact his work had on the roster. My eyes began the watering process as this segment ended.

*Tag Titles Shot Match
Jay Lethal & Samoa Joe vs. Austin Aries & Roderick Strong*

Pretty good tag match, with Generation Next cutting the ring in half early on Lethal, although not doing as much damage as they probably thought, since Lethal was able to still work in the ring throughout most of the match. Moments later, Aries would be the one to have the ring cut in half on him. Overall, this was all about Lethal, Aries, and Strong, with Joe being a supporting character, and for good reasons.

Fall attempts were only counted on the legal men, and the finish came when Strong delivered a backbreaker to Lethal, with Aries pounding his chest and delivering a gorgeous frogsplash, paying tribute to Guerrero. Post-match, Joe looks at Lethal with frustration, although not super hostile to indicate that it would lead to anything.

As Aries & Strong head to the back, Prince Nana & Jimmy Rave ambush them with a chair, with Rave delivering a Pedigree to Strong on the wooden/steel entrance ramp. As GeNext walks through the curtain, they discover Sydal hanging from the rungs of a ladder. And that's the penultimate for these two factions before they finally settle it in two weeks.

*Rating:* ***1/4

*ROH Title Match
Bryan Danielson vs. Christopher Daniels*

Good main event, made into being very good since the crowd was so hot, assuming for reasons I cannot figure out that Daniels actually had any chance of winning this. This match showcased Danielson more than Daniels, which again was understandable with the champ being the face of the company. His technical wrestling was fabulous as always, the finishing stretch got a great reaction, and I loved that when Daniels bled and the crimson got on Danielson, the champ took pride in making his opponent bleed. 

I wonder if it's a coincidence that Danielson and Homicide are being booked as the two most ruthless bad-asses in the company. Again, the crowd elevated this, but overall this isn't a standout in Danielson's title reign. I preferred the technically superior, less heated defense the month before against Aries.

*Rating:* ***3/4

Joe says that tonight was a temporary setback, and that he will achieve his dream of being Grand Slam Champion. Lethal seems annoyed and walks away. I don't blame him, for Joe made no mention of what it would mean for the two of them to reach the top together.

The DVD closes with a clip from _A Night of Appreciation_, as the crowd chants "We will miss you!" to Eddie Guerrero, who was in tears as he bid farewell to the independents. And I'm sure that any wrestling fan that grew up watching him sure does miss him still.

This was always meant to be a B-show, which is understandable since this was sandwiched between a spectacular event in Chicago and important Manhattan event that would be the end of a top feud in company history. But the obvious circumstances of what happened six days earlier makes this an important event in ROH's history, even though this event will never be discussed with ROH's most reputable events. Recommended for genuine sentimental reasons, and for those who want an Eddie Guerrero tribute show that doesn't include a murderer.

This show made me realize that although I have moved on, it really is a shame that Eddie Guerrero, regardless of what led to his demise, is no longer with us and was taken away so abruptly. Although Owen Hart's accident was a major deal, the death of Eddie Guerrero was the very first chipping away at the innocence of my wrestling fandom, and I'm sure I don't have to spell out what crushed that innocence for good. I hope that those who aren't familiar with Eddie's work will seek it out and educate themselves, find out why he is a true pioneer in the industry. It's not that hard to find his work thanks to the Internet and especially WWE Network. It'll be worth it, he was truly a one-of-a-kind entertainer and professional wrestler.

RIP Eddie Guerrero: 1967-2005

*IWA Intercontinental Title Tournament Final
Eddie Guerrero vs. Super Crazy*
_The Era of Honor Begins - February 23, 2002_






*Eddie Guerrero's Independent Farewell
Eddie Guerrero & Amazing Red vs. The SAT*
_A Night of Appreciation - April 27, 2002_





(NOTE: The above video does NOT include the pre-match intros or the incredible post-match farewell for Eddie.)

Up next - Steel Cage Warfare
Matches will include:
Tony Mamaluke & Sal Rinauro vs. Colt Cabana & Milano Collection AT
Bryan Danielson vs. Rocky Romero
Jay Lethal vs. Samoa Joe
Prince Nana, Abyss, Jimmy Rave, & Alex Shelley vs. Austin Aries, Roderick Strong, Jack Evans, & Matt Sydal


----------



## Super Sonic (Jun 11, 2014)

*Steel Cage Warfare - December 3, 2005*










The DVD starts with a Jay Lethal promo pulled from the ROH web site, chronicling his career and saying he needs to be able to stand on his own, which is why he has challenged his mentor Samoa Joe. He promises that he will do something to stand out.

Jim Cornette in a taped promo says he's not impressed with the antics of Nigel McGuinness, and that he will be defending the Pure Title against Claudio Castagnoli again soon, this time with two referees present so that McGuinness doesn't make a joke out of the rules. He also bans Colt Cabana and the Rottweilers from the Homicide vs. Steve Corino match for this evening. Yeah, I'll just pretend Homicide and Corino finished their business in 2003, thank you.

Shown throughout the show are taped promos from the Embassy and Generation Next. Most of them are horrendous, with Alex Shelley being the lone standout, still bitter about _Final Battle 2004_ and deeming his opponents to be "Diet Generation Next," a watered-down version without him.

*Tag Titles Match
Tony Mamaluke & Sal Rinauro vs. Colt Cabana & Milano Collection AT*

Gabe Sapolsky says in commentary that MCAT will be a key performer for ROH in 2006. The champs put out an open contract, which Cabana accepted and chose MCAT as his partner. Good tag match, nothing special, much like I would describe Mamaluke's career as being. I appreciated Todd Sinclair refusing to count a pinfall due to tag legalities. The crowd doesn't seem to be receptive to the champs retaining, and I can certainly see why.

*Rating:* ***

*ROH Title Match
Bryan Danielson vs. Rocky Romero*

Romero is cashing in his match/title shot of his choice as part of winning the trios tournament. Apparently these two have history going back to the New Japan Dojo in Los Angeles, explaining in storyline why Romero waited nine months and numerous title reigns to pass before cashing in.

Remember when it was the "cool thing" to bash Romero? Watch this match to find out why. The wrestling looked good on the surface, but Romero didn't sell or follow up on anything that Danielson did to establish a story. I imagine the champ mentally said "fuck it" when he finished Romero off with a half crab on the right leg, when he had actually worked on Romero's left leg earlier in the match.

Post-match, Lance Storm comes out, and perhaps Gabe Sapolsky's crowning achievement was convincing the audience that this guy, a good but never spectacular worker, was a truly great, under-utilized performer, a pioneer for many in ROH like Brian Pillman and Dean Malenko were. Storm says he's willing to lace his boots up again to face Danielson. It's 2014, I'm sure the match is good or probably even great thanks to Danielson, but whatever.

R*ating:* less than ***

*Jay Lethal vs. Samoa Joe*

Match was solid and forgettable until Joe went for the boot scrapes about 12 minutes into this match. Lethal ducked out of the ring and threw Joe's left knee into the ring post, teased he would do it again, but then grabbed a steel chair and attacked the knee with it. I'm surprised he wasn't disqualified for that. This was great not only to show that he was tired of Joe's egotistical attitude, but to take away Joe's base and kicking offense.

For the remaining several minutes, Lethal did a masterful job as the crowd, who had not yet seen the footage from _A Night of Tribute_, vilified him for his actions. He continued working on the left knee, and Joe did an equally masterful job of selling it, falling off-balance at times and not being able to keep Lethal up for attempted musclebusters and Death Valley Drivers. What's key though is that Joe still got some trademark hope spots in, such as a powerslam.

The finishing sequence came when Lethal was dropped on his head with a release German suplex, but Joe couldn't follow up when lifting him for the musclebuster due to the knee damage. Lethal managed to get in position to finish off his former friend, partner, and mentor with a very painful looking release Dragon suplex. Afterwards, Lethal rubs a bit more salt in the wound, kicking at Joe's left knee. I don't blame Lethal at all.

*Rating:* ***1/2

*Steel Cage Warfare
Prince Nana, Abyss, Jimmy Rave, & Alex Shelley vs. Austin Aries, Roderick Strong, Jack Evans, & Matt Sydal*

This was a great blowoff to the feud, complete with hitting every appropriate spot and tying up everything that had been building for a year. Nana did a great job when he was the last member of the Embassy to come in, celebrating as his crew worked on GeNext. Abyss did a great job of showing off his power and taste for hardcore. I loved every elimination in this match also. Abyss, Sydal, and Evans were taken out by multiple finishers, super variations of finishers, and/or multiple members of the opposite faction.

Other little things (before I get to the things I really wanna focus on) that stood out are Strong coming in to be a great house of fire, and finally getting a gutbuster on Abyss after being unable to do so for four months, and Jade Chung returning and baiting the Embassy out of the ring so that Evans could sneak in and climb up the cage to do a ridiculous million degree senton on them. Unfortunately, Evans landed on his head and it's amazing that he was able to manage getting the rest of his portion of the match over with. I don't know how he didn't die.

The most important individual in this entire match was Alex Shelley, because this is how it all started. He had many chances to get eliminations on his former stablemates, but his bitterness and ego, the desire to prolong and milk the vengeance, cost him and his faction ultimately in the end. He did an absolutely fantastic job of being a completely psychopathic, vindictive douche-bag, showing that despite how cold it was what happened to him a year earlier and in the first half of 2005, his former faction had actually found some decency since then, whereas he stooped to even lower levels. His skull-fuck spot to Aries on a steel chair, busting open the former ROH Champion, was absolutely perfect storytelling.

Also perfect was to have Aries & Strong take out Rave & Shelley simultaneously, Strong on Rave via numerous backbreakers, Aries on Shelley via a brainbuster on a chair. That left Aries & Strong, the #1 contenders to the Tag Titles, alone with Nana, who finished him off in quick but brutally satisfying fashion, bringing the feud of the year for ROH to its appropriate conclusion.

This was the culmination of so many different stories that ended up interlocking by August. Shelley being booted by GeNext. Sydal being betrayed by Fast Eddie in favor of joining the Embassy. Rave & Shelley showing natural chemistry as potential partners on the same night that Aries told Nana to fuck off when given a horrendously mistimed business proposal. Shelley then jumping on the opportunity to finally have a unit to be by his side and showing what a son of a bitch he was. Sydal being the parallel of replacing him in GeNext so he could get help against the Embassy. Daizee Haze betraying GeNext to sell out to the Embassy. And then Chung getting the last laugh, united in celebration with GeNext and using Rave as a footstool.

Post-match, Aries says to the camera that with this chapter behind them, he and Strong are now focused on the Tag Titles. This post-match felt very similar to when CM Punk finished off Rave inside the cage at _Nowhere to Run_.

Perhaps most amazing is that as great as this match is, I suspect looking at the lineup of the next show that this won't crack my top ten for the year.

*Rating:* ****1/4

The DVD closes with Joe having a pity party about Lethal betraying him. Fuck off, Joe.

The next event features two key debuts, so I'll be taking another hiatus from this rewatch, as I will use this as an excuse to make myself familiar with the pre-ROH work of KENTA & Naomichi Marufuji. I also have high expectations for the next event to bring ROH's incredible 2005 to a close.

Up next - Final Battle 2005
Matches will include:
Jimmy Rave vs. Milano Collection AT
Nigel McGuinness vs. Claudio Castagnoli
Jay Lethal vs. Samoa Joe vs. BJ Whitmer vs. Christopher Daniels
Tony Mamaluke & Sal Rinauro vs. Austin Aries & Roderick Strong
Bryan Danielson vs. Naomichi Marufuji
KENTA vs. Low Ki


----------



## jcmmnx (Aug 7, 2009)

I've still got a ton of ROH shows from 2002-2008 I may have to rewatch a few thanks to this thread. I remember 2004 and 2005 being my favorite years. They had an unbelievable talent roster for an indy.


----------



## Super Sonic (Jun 11, 2014)

*Final Battle 2005 - December 17, 2005*










*Jimmy Rave vs. Milano Collection AT*

Good for an opening match but altogether nothing special. MCAT had his neck worked on which was fun, then he got the heat in the last couple of minutes, then Rave wins out of nowhere with the Pedigree. It's a shame that this would be MCAT's final match and whatever issues there were between him and ROH/DG couldn't be settled; dude barring an injury was bound to do something special in 2006.

*Rating:* less than ***

*Pure Title Match - TWO REFEREES
Nigel McGuinness vs. Claudio Castagnoli*

Commissioner Jim Cornette has appointed two referees to make sure McGuinness stops channeling Eddie Guerrero and disgracing the Pure Title. Castagnoli definitely hadn't found his true groove yet in terms of carrying himself, but of course was still very good during his green days. He was awesome in toying with the cheater McGuinness, even cheating himself as a receipt. But McGuinness was able to position himself next to Paul Turner on the outside, convincing the challenger to take the bait and accidentally take out the ref with an attempted tope suicida. His facial expression was excellent with his mocked innocence.

They would go on to have some great European Uppercut exchanges, and Castagnoli also got a tremendous nearfall when he did the Tower of London. McGuinness would bring in his iron and throw it in Castagnoli's hands, plagiarizing the late Guerrero, but Castagnoli didn't fall for it. However, Castagnoli gleefully rammed the champion's head into that iron to win the Pure Title, only for the now-conscious Turner to disqualify him for seeing that.

*Rating:* ***

I catch the end of *Alex Shelley vs. Steve Corino* for a major storyline. Homicide ambushes Corino within seconds of the match ending, drawing out Colt Cabana. In a moment that to me deserves consideration for the WrestleCrap Hall of Fame for simply going way too far to build heat, Homicide attempted to pour Drano down Cabana's throat. Textbook jumping the shark.

*Jay Lethal vs. Samoa Joe vs. BJ Whitmer vs. Christopher Daniels*

Before the match, Lethal explains that he betrayed Joe because the bigger star was making more money and so he's now open to signing with any managers in ROH. Makes sense, but why not make this angle layered as it already was in its roots since Joe was being so self-absorbed in the prior month?

The match is fun and does a good job of continuing Joe's feuds with Lethal and Daniels but ultimate has no substance when tags stop being enforced. I'd have had no problem with this just being a spotfest to get the crowd psyched up going into intermission, but why enforce tags in the first half of the match at all then?

*Rating:* less than ***

At intermission, the Embassy expresses interest in aiming for titles in ROH.

*Tag Titles Match
Tony Mamaluke & Sal Rinauro vs. Austin Aries & Roderick Strong*

Prior to the match, Aries attacks Ricky Reyes and cuts a fantastic promo on him, saying he's nothing without Rocky Romero (who had gone on to stardom in puroresu) and was worthless unless he was plastered. Every word Aries said was true, and yet fit in perfectly with the gimmick Reyes had at the time of bullying the students.

This was really good stuff, only kept from being great due to the lack of charisma and presence from the champs. The challengers did a great job of cutting the ring in half early on Rinauro, but then the champs would return the favor by cutting the ring in half on Aries. Everything made sense, the psychology was good, pacing was good, and the crowd sensed a title change in the last 30 seconds. After just finishing up with the Embassy, it was fitting for GeNext to be granted the task of bringing the titles to relevance entering 2006. That Aries had won singles gold a year before was mentioned too of course.

*Rating:* ***1/2

*ROH Title Match - Naomichi Marufuji's ROH Debut
Bryan Danielson vs. Naomichi Marufuji*

Very good debut for Marufuji during his golden period as expected. He was very smooth in his transitions of heat with Danielson, showing aggressiveness too when necessary to mirror the champion. Just really good all-around wrestling from both men overall, and I don't mind that Marufuji jobbed by a rollup pin, as it established that part of Danielson's arsenal against a challenger of such high caliber. I also have no problem that Danielson didn't job to the Shiranui, as the way it was executed didn't bury the move at all.

Post-match, the Embassy are at the entrance ramp, mockingly congratulating the champ.

*Rating:* ***3/4

*GHC Jr. Heavyweight Title Match - KENTA's ROH Debut
KENTA vs. Low Ki*






Greatest debut in ROH history, surpassing Joe's impressive MOTYC debut that was also against Ki a few years earlier. I'm not counting one-off appearances as debuts, so that disqualifies Kenta Kobashi.

Speaking of Kobashi, of course this match is naturally going to be compared to his masterpiece against Joe. And while this didn't quite live up to that, this was still an incredible match that has stood the test of time. Both men were fantastic mirror images of each other, neither going down to one another's devastating punishment, working this like they were trying to steal the show at the Tokyo Dome.

Low Ki controlled a significant portion of the match surprisingly, and it was very engaging. Watching all of those NOAH classics made me appreciate KENTA selling and delivering hope spots, only to get cut off quickly by his toughest challenger to date, even more challenging and grueling than what he went through against that bastard SUWA. Ki specifically targeted KENTA's back later in the match, which was sold very, very well.

Of course, this match had more than its fair share of kicking and striking exchanges, completely amazing the crowd each time. And those exchanges deserved appreciation thanks to their wonderful execution. Both men also were fantastic in countering and evading each other's offense at times, showing just what an even matchup this was at the time and that they definitely studied each other's work.

As far as the counters, the highlight was KENTA attempting a Busaiku knee only for Ki to grab him mid-air and drop him with a modified Ki Crusher to thunderous applause. Another moment that had the crowd popping huge was KENTA digging down deep, springing up when Ki was going to unleash another top-rope move, and dropping the challenger with a Super Falcon Arrow. KENTA rolled over after the nearfall this got, selling the damage that had been inflicted upon him and showing the effort it took for him to get this spot in.

My only complaint isn't that this was in New Jersey instead of Manhattan, although that likely would've made this even better. Considering that KENTA was to be a semi-regular for ROH, I'd have put Ki away with one G2G, rather than adding in the Busaiku knee for good measure, to establish the G2S as fucking DEATH to the entire ROH locker room. Other than that, this was an absolutely outstanding, jaw-dropping classic.

*Rating:* ****3/4

The DVD closes with Daniels wishing to wrap up his feud with Joe that has even spilled over into TNA, but wanting to get it done in ROH soon.

As I'm about to spill below, this couldn't touch the very tippy-top best events ROH hosted in 2005, but this had storyline implications up and down the card (even with one moment epitomizing the term "jumping the shark"), the three main events all delivered, one of them being an important title change, two of them being important debuts, and the main event being what some might consider a genuine contender for greatest match in company history. Hell of a way to bring this awesome year for ROH to an end.

*Super Duper ROH 2005 Awards*

Wrestler of the Year:
Austin Aries
Runner-up - Roderick Strong

Debut of the Year:
KENTA - _Final Battle 2005_

Breakout Performance of the Year:
Roderick Strong @ _Escape From New York_

Feud/Rivalry of the Year:
The Embassy vs. Generation Next (including everything that led to the two factions feuding)
Runner-up - CM Punk vs. the ROH locker room

Show of the Year:
_Nowhere to Run_
Runner-up - _Manhattan Mayhem_

Moment of the Year:
CM Punk ending Austin Aries's ROH Title reign and then turning heel @ _Death Before Dishonor III_ and Kenta Kobashi competing in an ROH match @ _Joe vs. Kobashi_

Match of the Year:
Bryan Danielson vs. Roderick Strong - _Vendetta_ *****
Runner-up - Samoa Joe vs. Kenta Kobashi - _Joe vs. Kobashi_ *****

ROH's Top 10 Matches of 2005 (in chronological order):
Austin Aries vs. CM Punk - _Death Before Dishonor III_ ****3/4
CM Punk vs. Roderick Strong - _Escape From New York_ ****1/2
CM Punk vs. Samoa Joe vs. James Gibson vs. Christopher Daniels - _Redemption_ ****1/2
James Gibson vs. Bryan Danielson - _Glory By Honor IV_ ****1/2
Samoa Joe vs. Kenta Kobashi - _Joe vs. Kobashi_ *****
James Gibson vs. Roderick Strong - _Unforgettable_ ****1/2
Low Ki & Samoa Joe vs. Homicide & Kenta Kobashi - _Unforgettable_ ****3/4
Bryan Danielson vs. Roderick Strong - _This Means War_ ****1/2
Bryan Danielson vs. Roderick Strong - _Vendetta_ *****
KENTA vs. Low Ki - _Final Battle 2005_ ****3/4

Up next - Hell Freezes Over
Matches will include:
Jay Lethal vs. Christopher Daniels
AJ Styles vs. Matt Sydal
Bryan Danielson vs. Chris Hero


----------



## DGenerationMC (Jan 30, 2011)

I loved the first couple of months of Bryan's title run.

Was he heel? Was a face? IDK

Anyone who says Bryan is a "charisma-vaccum" probably hasn't seen him be a complete dick as ROH Champion.

_*Here we go, headlock
Here we go
Clap Clap*_


----------



## Sephiroth (May 27, 2006)

I adore Sydal vs. Styles. One of my favorite undercard matches of 2006. I was sold on Sydal from Redemption.


----------



## Super Sonic (Jun 11, 2014)

*Hell Freezes Over - January 14, 2006*










*Jay Lethal vs. Christopher Daniels*

The wrestling was fine in this, nothing botched, but either Lethal didn't seem to know how to keep the match engaging while being in control, or Daniels was keeping the pace below fifth gear to make sure he was good to go for the big TNA match against Samoa Joe the next day. They'd go on to do better in TNA.

*Rating:* less than ***

*Jimmy Jacobs Accouncement*

Jacobs has sent a video to ROHvideos.com, proclaiming that he's in love with Lacey. Phenomenally creepy video that saved his future in the company.

*AJ Styles vs. Matt Sydal*






This was fucking action-packed. While Styles of course had the advantage in terms of size, strength, and aggression, Sydal was pushed into showing that despite his small frame, he too could throw down and pull out some technical wrestling when necessary. This was a tremendously paced contest.

The three most memorable moments are Styles giving a brainbuster to Sydal on the apron, which Sydal sold throughout the rest of the match and it certainly appeared there was no way to avoid landing awkwardly on his neck for that spot, even with Styles protecting him; the company highlight of Styles trying to deliver a Styles Clash but Sydal not allowing it, getting himself on the shoulders of Styles and landing an explosive hurricanrana pin attempt straight out of the Eddie Guerrero vs. Rey Mysterio playbook; and of course the finish, in which Sydal reversed an attempted Super Styles Clash with yet another hurricanrana, but this time Styles absorbed the bump and used the momentum to get the pinfall victory.

Post-match, Styles requests Sydal to be his partner in going after the tag straps, which Sydal accepts and his Generation Next buddies probably aren't too thrilled about.

Sydal got himself on the radar months earlier with his first good ROH singles match against Jimmy Rave; in this one he simply broke out and proved he was worthy of mixing it up with the top acts in the company. If you enjoyed Low Ki vs. Amazing Red, then by all means check this out, as you should love it even more than I did.

*Rating:* ***3/4

*ROH Title Match - Chris Hero's ROH Debut
Bryan Danielson vs. Chris Hero*

It is absolutely mind-boggling to realize that there was a time in which Gabe Sapolsky appeared to have zero interest in booking Hero. I guess I just couldn't see the can't-miss excellence of BJ Whitmer, Adam Pearce, Xavier, Slyk Wagner Brown, Carnage Crew, and Vordell Walker.

But there was no better way to correct that mistake than to book Hero in a market that BADLY needed something to move tickets again for the company (I'm going to assume the Philly market had burned out on ROH during the first few years), by creating an interesting dynamic of playing on the irrational emotions of the ROH and CZW fanbases at the time.

After getting owned by Danielson in the first 10 minutes or so of the match, which also included stalling by both men to draw heat, Hero is able to get control when he hits an attack on the champion's left arm. For the next 10-15 minutes, Hero was absolutely awesome working on that left arm, with Danielson of course working in his moments to keep the match interesting, including relying on his right arm for slaps.

As the match progressed to its finishing stretch, neither man would submit to the other. Hero reached the ropes during a Cattle Mutilation, likely showing his tenacity but also showing that Danielson wasn't at full strength in the left arm, and then later Danielson would reach the ropes during the Hangman's Clutch, once again showing his own tenacity. Once the champ locked on the Crossface Chickenwing, it was all over though.

This wasn't super blowaway, but very good in showcasing what a mistake it was for ROH to shun Hero for years, as he gave an impressive technical wrestling performance, while also being a far more an interesting character than the likes of Matt Stryker and John Walters that were in the company before him. Some have said they would've preferred a more heated match; that misses the point of establishing that Hero belonged in ROH. It wasn't the time for his CZW friends Adam Flash, Nate Webb, and Necro Butcher to chime in on his behalf when they accompanied him at ringside.

The post-match is a bit weird. Prince Nana comes out to offer Danielson a paycheck for the title but the champion of course rejects and that pisses Nana off. Out come Rave and Alex Shelley to take out the wounded champ, with Shelley thinking he had unlocked the Kryptonite by showing off the Shiranui. Sure, Danielson's roots were largely associated to former Embassy member Brian Kendrick, but that move had failed to put down the champ the month prior, a match in which the Embassy also came to ringside afterwards. I absolutely am looking forward to these matches though.

*Rating:* ***3/4

Up next - Tag Wars 2006
Matches will include:
Jack Evans, Jimmy Yang, & Matt Sydal vs. Jimmy Jacobs, BJ Whitmer, & Adam Pearce
Abyss, Jimmy Rave, & Alex Shelley vs. Jay Fury, Tony Mamaluke, & Sal Rinauro
Low Ki vs. Christopher Daniels
Trios Tournament Final
Austin Aries & Roderick Strong vs. Bryan Danielson & Jay Lethal


----------



## Super Sonic (Jun 11, 2014)

*Tag Wars 2006 - January 27, 2006*










The DVD starts off with some promos. Jay Lethal promises to be a tag champion unlike Samoa Joe, and then the Embassy shows tension in discussing who will dethrone Bryan Danielson for the top prize in the company.

*Trios Tournament Semifinal
Jack Evans, Jimmy Yang, & Matt Sydal vs. Jimmy Jacobs, Adam Pearce, & BJ Whitmer*

I have absolutely zero complaints about this opener. This is one of the best opening matches in ROH history, and probably the best structured one to date. It accomplished everything it needed to. Legalities got enforced in the finishing stretch. It started as a hot spotfest, then broke down into Sydal playing the Ricky Morton. The match was a house of fire after the hot tag, and the crowd erupted when Evans pinned Jacobs (who had taken his eye off the ball throughout the match due to his creepy infatuation with Lacey) with the 720 senton splash. This NEEDS to be on the inevitable Sydal comp that I'm sure ROH has planned to release once he returns in a few months.

*Rating:* ***1/2

*Trios Tournament Semifinal
Abyss, Jimmy Rave, & Alex Shelley vs. Jay Fury, Tony Mamaluke, & Sal Rinauro*

Not as hot as the opener, but I didn't expect this to be. This was simply a great showcase for Fury's spotty style in his debut for the company, Mamaluke's technical expertise, and the scumbag nature of the Embassy. Once again, no complaints here.

*Rating:* ***

I FF to the middle of *Ace Steel vs. Sterling James Keenan*, and the segment that abruptly ended the match certainly held up all these years later.

*Utter Fucking Chaos*

Chris Hero & Necro Butcher are in attendance which gets Steel's attention, daring them to come to ringside, which of course they do. This brings out a bunch of jabronis from backstage, and then some actual stars too who take the CZW representatives to the back in order to throw them out. However, at least two brawls break out, and ROH having poor lighting at this time actually worked to conceal what was going on, which would help in a couple months (I will explain once I get to that moment in the future).

A variety of ROH guys are united to throw out Hero & Necro, from Pure Champion Nigel McGuinness to Generation Next to the creepy Jacobs to even the narcissistic, cold-hearted Low Ki (who is armed with a chair). Jim Cornette is shown walking around with a busted mouth, and runs into booker Gabe Sapolsky, who swears he didn't book the CZW stars. Cornette is blowing a gasket, swearing that Sapolsky had played him for a fool. After Hero & Necro are shoved out the door, Cornette comes to ringside with Adam Pearce watching his back.

Cornette then cuts one of the best promos of his career, which I am going to proudly analyze from a number of different angles. This was a passionate, furious, eloquent promo that did a fantastic job of elevating this apparent inter-promotional invasion to the next level (and the different ROH characters banding together did that too of course.) Cornette was on point here, not once dragging while making all of his points (however irrational and borderline unhinged they were) crystal clear. To state the obvious, the color Cornette had gave this the exclamation mark.

He buried Hero, Necro, and other CZW stars for being nothing more than garbage wrestlers, going far beyond (and doing a much better job btw) what Ricky Steamboat had preached during his terrible philosophy feud with Mick Foley in late 2004. He said that they couldn't hack it in ROH, lacked any true talent, had to resort to over-the-top blood and gore to get over, and leeched off of ROH. I'm sorry Jim, perhaps I saw a different main event than you did at _Hell Freezes Over_.

My favorite moment in this promo was actually Cornette playing off of some hecklers in the crowd, something I don't want to spoil. It involves a fan using a staple gun on himself. GET THIS DVD JUST FOR THIS PROMO.

At intermission, Austin Aries & Roderick Strong make it clear they're not thrilled with Sydal coming for the tag straps, but Evans says to focus on the trios final later that night.

TOMORROW NIGHT, BRYAN DANIELSON DEFENDS THE ROH TITLE AGAINST AJ STYLES. OH FUCK YES~!

*Low Ki vs. Christopher Daniels*

Both men ignore the ref's request to shake hands. Superb technical wrestling match here. Ki spent a significant portion of the match working on the torso of Daniels to take away his stamina. A key moment in the match was Ki going for the Tree of Woe double stomp, but Daniels shoved him outside the ring from the top rope. When Ki successfully hit it later as the match was coming to an end, the crowd fucking erupted.

The finishing stretch was a sight to behold. Daniels went for the Last Rites but got kneed in the face, but he was still able to position Ki for an attempted Angel's Wings. Ki blocked it with his arms hooked, turning Daniels over for the three-count. A fantastic way to pay off the torso work done on Daniels earlier in the match.

Post-match, Daniels admits that he regrets his attitude during his Prophecy days, and offers a handshake. Ki brushes it off both out of revenge and because he had absolute zero honor to show towards the ROH roster.

*Rating:* ***3/4

*Trios Tournament Final
Jack Evans, Jimmy Yang, & Matt Sydal vs. Abyss, Jimmy Rave, & Alex Shelley*

If the prior match was splendid, this was just outstanding. The match started off with Yang owning Rave in every way. Rave was VERY underrated in terms of showing ass to make babyfaces look good. The Embassy did a phenomenal job of cutting the ring in half on Sydal once he got tagged in, also holding Abyss back until after the hot tag. Sydal just got his ass kicked in this match; that means this should be on his inevitable compilation as well.

With his ex-girlfriend Daizee Haze in the Embassy's corner, Sydal was just toyed with by Shelley, who was very vicious with his strikes and working on the neck (a nice followup to Sydal suffering an obvious sore neck at _Hell Freezes Over_), the highlight being a skullfuck. Once Sydal got the hot tag, the match became an incredible spotfest, jut nonstop action all over the ring involving all six men. For this portion of the match, the highlight was Sydal going for a crossbody on Abyss and getting a spectacular spinning side slam for his troubles.

Once again, the ref enforced legalities in the closing moments, showing the type of professionalism that justified the hype ROH was getting at this time on all levels that this company was capable of. Shelley hit the Shiranui on Yang, but it appeared Rave got a hidden tag on Shelley, as he was able to get the pinfall after a followup Pedigree. With the lack of 16:9 footage in wrestling at the time, it appeared the commentators didn't catch the blind tag either as they made no mention of it. This match also showcased the simmering tension within the Embassy, even with a monumental victory that earned all three men future ROH matches of their choice.

*Rating:* ****

*Tag Titles Match
Austin Aries & Roderick Strong vs. Bryan Danielson & Jay Lethal*

Tremendous main event here that would've been even better had Aries been involved more. But for completely understandable reasons, he was the least important character in this match, making me wonder why this match got included on on one of his compilations instead of for the other three.

Danielson trolled Strong to start and tagged in Lethal immediately. Strong hit a backbreaker on Lethal, but the ROH Champ refused to get tagged in. For about another 30 minutes, these guys just tore the house down while telling a great story.

Moments that stand out to me include: the crowd going crazy when Danielson finally got chopped by Strong about halfway into this classic; Danielson encouraging Lethal to mock Samoa Joe with the Ole Ole Kick on Aries; Lethal mocking Joe earlier by utilizing the boot-scrapes; and of course Danielson's trash talking.

Of course, this match came down to Danielson and Strong as it should have. After multiple backbreakers, Strong was able to slap the Liontamer on the ROH Champ and make him tap out, earning himself an inevitable title shot in the future. One could argue it was bad booking to have the champ tap out 24 hours before a defense against Styles, but this was the bulletproof Bryan Danielson, and it set up a money match in the future. Just a tremendous tag team match, and I can't help but wonder how much better Danielson & Lethal could've become had they tagged frequently throughout 2006.

*Rating:* ****1/4

Sydal says he needs another 24 hours to make his decision on going after the Tag Titles.

The DVD closes with Whitmer pointing out that Lacey had insulted him and Jacobs in a backstage promo at _Buffalo Stampede_. He ain't thrilled at all about Jacobs losing focus as well as Lacey's attitude as they are 24 hours away from a shot at the Tag Titles.

We have a VERY strong early contender for best ROH event of 2006. A fantastic tag team main event. A fantastic trios match. An outstanding opening match. A very intelligent technical wrestling match that I considered giving ****. Little tensions being laid out. And of course, that red-hot CZW segment. AMAZING show, easily the most under-appreciated in ROH History. Of course, having the enthusiastic Dayton crowd played a part too. This was the FOURTH straight Dayton event for ROH that delivered btw.

Up next - Dissension
Matches will include:
Abyss, Jimmy Rave, & Alex Shelley vs. Delirious, Tony Mamaluke, & Sal Rinauro
Low Ki vs. Jack Evans
Austin Aries & Roderick Strong vs. Jimmy Jacobs & BJ Whitmer
Matt Sydal vs. Christopher Daniels
Bryan Danielson vs. AJ Styles


----------



## DGenerationMC (Jan 30, 2011)

My personal favorite Ki match from ROH was vs. Colt Cabana at Buffalo Stampede back in 05.

For some reason, I love it.

An appearance by Homicide doesn't hurt either.


----------



## Super Sonic (Jun 11, 2014)

*Dissension - January 28, 2006*










The Embassy cuts a promo in Abyss's dungeon, once again showing dissension. Jimmy Rave says he's cashing in his match for the ROH Title at the _Fourth Anniversary Show_ on February 25. Alex Shelley then says he's cashing in and getting his shot on February 11. Holy shit that February 11 card was STACKED on top. More on that later.

I FF to Adam Pearce after his victory over Jay Fury saying he will stay at ringside while Jim Cornette vents about what happened the night before in Dayton some more.

*More Fucking Chaos*

Cornette, with a tooth visibly missing, cuts yet another excellent promo, snubbing his nose at the "hardcore wrestlers" and conveniently forgetting that he's the one to give New Jack his first break in the business. Necro Butcher shows up at ringside and threatens to come over the guardrail for another melee. Cornette throws some FANTASTIC zingers at him involving masturbation and urine tests.

After another minute or two of shit-talking, Cornette says he'll fight Necro himself because "I ain't a wrestler, but you ain't either." Pearce then steps into to take the fight on Cornette's behalf. He gets fed up with Necro standing at the guardrail and comes to get him some tremendous brawling action. Out come the jabronis and even the tag champs of Austin Aries & Roderick Strong to throw Necro out.

Cornette & Pearce come back to ringside, with the commish saying that he knows Pearce is a cut-throat politician, but he appreciates what the Scrap Daddy had just done for him. Excellent segment, and I sit here still wondering when the SBG era fans of ROH will get the compilation they NEED of this CZW feud. And I'm only one month into this angle, folks.

*Abyss, Jimmy Rave, & Alex Shelley vs. Delirious, Tony Mamaluke, & Sal Rinauro*

Good trios action here, not out to steal the show which was totally fine after the Embassy wrestling twice the night before. It simply got over the story of this faction having tension, with Shelley tagging himself in at the end to sabotage an Abyss high-spot. But before that this was good stuff all-around, and it was interesting to see the two masked but very different flavors of oddballs clashing in the ring. The babyfaces got the win, but most importantly, Delirious was not the one to win it for his team, still looking for his first victory as his two year anniversary in ROH inches closer.

*Rating:* ***

*Low Ki's Last ROH Match
Low Ki vs. Jack Evans*

More on Low Ki's legacy in ROH later. Not the classic for him to go out on, but a hell of a fun glorified squash, just beating the fucking shit out of Evans. Ki was just awesome in this one laying the beatdown and no-selling the less aggressive Evans. But Evans was great as usual with his selling, being the mid-card jobber that was getting a reality check. I did enjoy that deep in the match when Evans got a chance to stun Ki, he did get to knock down the former ROH Champion a couple times thanks to getting some firepower behind his high-spots. But it was all over once Ki hit the Tree of Woe double stomp.

At intermission, Matt Sydal is showing chatting with AJ Styles backstage, obviously about going after the tag straps.

*Tag Titles Match
Austin Aries & Roderick Strong vs. Jimmy Jacobs & BJ Whitmer*

Above average match here, nothing horrible, and I believe that was the goal. It was only humane for the champs to be put in a position to be bodies, practically faceless plot devices for the Jacobs & Whitmer story, after that grueling classic the night before. And this was definitely all about Jacobs & Whitmer, making me wonder why the entire match wasn't included on their compilation since this was a key match for them.

Jacobs of course got distracted at times due to his creepy infatuation with Lacey, and it ultimately cost his team in the end when he went down to the 450 Splash. The ego-maniacal Lacey seems to have no problem with what Jacobs is doing, basically saying Whitmer needs to be a professional, wanting to use this tension as a means to have more rule over what they do (in other words, a mid-20s attractive female version of Jerry Jones.) Whitmer has enough and gives Jacobs the wrist clutch exploder.

*Matt Sydal vs. Christopher Daniels*

Outstanding performance from Daniels, as he had to suck it up early when he injured his right knee on a routine arm-drag bump. He made up for his sabotaged mobility by escalating his aggression on the smaller Sydal, tossing him around at times. But Sydal, coming off of a breakout match against Styles and involved in two firecracker trios matches the night before, was no longer a jobber that would go down easily. He pushed himself to step up his game against the more experienced, technically and psychologically superior Daniels.

However, Sydal had a sore neck throughout the match (from _Hell Freezes Over_) that Daniels went to work on. This paid off in the finish when Sydal passed out to the Koji Clutch, showing just what an all-around outstanding wrestler Daniels is in kayfabe and as an in-ring worker. Very good match, and I bet they can do even better without any freak injuries.

*Rating:* ***1/2

A pretty sweet highlight package airs, with the announcement that THE BRISCOES ARE RETURNING TO ROH. OH FUCK YES~!

*ROH Title Match
Bryan Danielson vs. AJ Styles*

Probably just a shade below their prior two ROH classics, but this is definitely one of the most under-appreciated matches in ROH history.

They have their tremendous aggressive mat wrestling to start off the match, with Danielson refusing to give clean breaks. Styles of course has none of that shit and unleashes a fury on the champ, staying true to his established in-ring character and likely wanting to put an end to any mind games like Danielson had played a few months earlier against Strong.

This was just storytelling greatness, back-and-forth heat segments aplenty. The big story was that the challenger would try to execute the Styles Clash, but the champion would find a way to evade it. In the third act, when Styles almost landed it, Danielson grabbed the left leg to take away the balance and force him to let go, then using that leverage to get a second Cattle Mutilation. Of course Styles had gotten to the ropes earlier in the match the first time Danielson got that locked in.

Another masterful piece of storytelling was early in the match, Styles almost got a picture perfect springboard moonsault reverse DDT. But the champ kneed him in the face for his troubles. Much later in the match, Styles didn't give Danielson the extra second, dropping him down right on the neck and shoulders within a fraction of a second.

There were a couple callback segments too. They traded leverage on a Muta Lock, but not getting into a stalemate as they did the first time they clashed at _All Star Extravaganza_. Later, Danielson found himself seated with Styles standing, using his feet to keep Styles at bay, just like the challenger went through in first title shot against Ki at _Honor Invades Boston_.

This was really a game of human chess just like Danielson's title win over James Gibson. It of course ended somewhat similarly to that classic. Styles escaped the Cattle Mutilation and used his body to get a hot nearfall and almost secure the top prize in the company, only for Danielson to immediately after the kickout use his positioning behind Styles to lock on the crossface chickenwing for the submission victory. Only a month into the year 2006 and we got our first genuine MOTYC for this company, my friends.

*Rating:* ****1/2

The DVD ends with two key segments, one for the short-term and one for the long-term. Whitmer tells Lacey to fuck off and reminds her of what he did to Allison Danger in the past. Meanwhile, Aries tries to play the "we gave you your big break here" card on Sydal, which only reinforces Sydal's decision to stand by Styles and go for the tag straps. I must point out that Sydal's acting was hilariously hideous here, but it leads to what should be a hot tag match, so it's all good.

So match quality wise, this show had an underrated MOTYC main event featuring two of the very best in-ring performers of the 21st Century. Other than Sydal vs. Daniels, nothing else stood out.

But this was still a VERY fun show with critical storyline segments all over the place. Sydal going for the tag straps. Jacobs & Whitmer having an ugly breakup. Another firecracker anti-CZW promo from Cornette with another chaotic little appetizer of a melee to get the crowd hot.

Of course, this show has unintentional historic value for ROH too. This was the final ROH appearance for Abyss, as according to Gabe Sapolsky he wasn't satisfied with his booking. It's a shame we didn't get Danielson vs. Abyss, as I'm positive Danielson would've given the monster the best match of his entire career.

But far more important was that this was Low Ki's final night in ROH, as the company got fed up with him off-screen, reportedly attempting to hold up for more money and being extremely reluctant to do jobs. I'm a big, big fan of Low Ki still in 2014, but I can understand why ROH put its foot down, and that's a real shame. We never got to see him in what would've been an incredible dream match against Strong in ROH for February 11, the stacked tag match pairing him up with Daniels against Danielson & Joe, and the long-awaited threeway rematch against Danielson and Daniels that was to be 99 shows in the making.

And knowing what would happen on the next show, that February 11 card, wow was it going to be stacked on top, with not just Strong vs. Ki, but also Danielson vs. Shelley as announced on this DVD, plus Nigel McGuinness putting the Pure Title on the line against Aries. But there was to be a surprise from mother nature to pile on the unfortunate Low Ki departure, forcing ROH to pull off a polarizing miracle that night as I'll detail on my preview at the end of this review.

There is no denying that Low Ki is one of the biggest stars in ROH history, and it's a shame to see him come and go with so many federations over the years. That Gabe Sapolsky has done business with him, but ROH hasn't eight years later after going through two more bookers AND a change in ownership tells me that his antics must have soured him permanently with then-owner Cary Silken, who still has some position in the company after selling it to SBG. I'll say it again, that's simply a shame.

But he can be proud of his performances in ROH. He was a critical figure in the birth of ROH, being the very first face of the company and having the honor of being the company's first ever champion. Who can ever forget his return and subsequent heel turn at _Reborn: Completion_? How many guys would be trusted to be picked for the debuts of two major indy stars AND a puro star? Who can ever forget that first main event in ROH history, turning all three participants into ROH stars in one shot and establishing the foundation that ROH would have for almost an entire decade?

I think it's safe to say that Low Ki will never return to ROH. Therefore, I present my picks for his ten best matches in an ROH ring.

*Low Ki's 10 Greatest ROH Matches*
Low Ki vs. Bryan Danielson vs. Christopher Daniels - _The Era of Honor Begins_ ****1/2
Low Ki vs. Bryan Danielson - _Round Robin Challenge_ ***** (Ki's greatest match in ROH)
Low Ki vs. Doug Williams vs. Brian Kendrick vs. Christopher Daniels - _Crowning a Champion_ ****3/4
Low Ki vs. AJ Styles - _Honor Invades Boston_ ****1/2
Low Ki vs. Samoa Joe - _Glory By Honor_ ****1/2
Low Ki vs. Paul London vs. AJ Styles - _One Year Anniversary Show_ ****1/4
Low Ki & Bryan Danielson vs. Samoa Joe & Jushin Liger - _Weekend of Thunder Night 2_ ****
Low Ki & Homicide vs. Samoa Joe & Jay Lethal - _Punk: The Final Chapter_ ****
Low Ki & Samoa Joe vs. Homicide & Kenta Kobashi - _Unforgettable_ ****3/4
Low Ki vs. KENTA - _Final Battle 2005_ ****3/4

Up next - Unscripted II
Matches will include:
Bryan Danielson vs. Xavier
Nigel McGuinness vs. Austin Aries
Roderick Strong vs. BJ Whitmer
Bryan Danielson & CM Punk vs. Jimmy Rave & Adam Pearce


----------



## Super Sonic (Jun 11, 2014)

*Unscripted II - February 11, 2006*










Going into this show, ROH had cut ties with Low Ki as I had discussed in my _Dissension_ review. That cancelled the dream match of him against Roderick Strong as well as other big matches announced involving him. But then at the last minute a big snowstorm came through the NYC area on this weekend. This put TNA, set to broadcast _Against All Odds 2006_ on PPV the next day in Orlando, in a predicament.

TNA requested a number of guys who had committed to this event to cancel and fly early to Orlando to make the PPV. Those talents included Homicide, Jay Lethal, Alex Shelley, and ROH Tag Champs Austin Aries & Roderick Strong. Aries & Strong ignored the request, which I appreciate since they were in a meaningless match at the PPV anyway. This postponed Shelley's ROH Title shot though, robbing the fans of another big match that had been scheduled for this event.

With all this chaos, ROH promised a big surprise, stating that if fans were not happy after three matches, they could ask for a refund. Look at the bottom three matches on the DVD cover above. The surprise return of CM Punk certainly lived up to the hype, but how arrogant was Gabe Sapolsky to assume that one guy making a surprise one night only return would please everyone and offset those awful three opening matches? And I certainly don't understand the need for a company that during this time relied on moving DVDs not to just list and show CM Punk on the cover at all.

So as mentioned, CM Punk returning for one night only was the big surprise, which on paper was a very good miracle to pull out. Now him getting on the show was a story too. Tommy Dreamer, who apparently had some clout in OVW at this time, said the office gave the okay for Punk to appear. That turned out not to be the case and this miscommunication almost led to Punk being terminated from WWE. It was good (although not completely as I'll detail later) to have him back, but wasn't worth all of the headache.

As for the booking of Punk's return, he showed up to try to mentally help his friend Colt Cabana during the epic feud against Homicide. During this segment, Punk would be attacked by Prince Nana, Jimmy Rave, and Adam Pearce.

Also early on the DVD is Prince Nana promising his own surprise since Shelley can't make it for his ROH Title shot against Bryan Danielson. Jimmy Rave wants the shot, but Nana says it will go on as scheduled at the _Fourth Anniversary Show_.

*Pure Title Match
Nigel McGuinness vs. Austin Aries*

Very good match here and definitely match of the night, worthy of the DVD cover, although the next match could've been on the same level if it had been booked as well as this one. McGuinness worked on the left arm early, standard in the business yes, but also ingenious since Aries is actually left-handed. When Aries got his turn to control the match, he used that left arm to elbow the champ and then drop a power elbow, immediately selling it. Awesome moment of natural tendency costing Aries.

Aries did some work on the neck, although it couldn't match the work McGuinness got on his left arm. McGuinness did a masterful job of forcing Aries to use rope breaks. But there were also two great drama-building moments that every wrestler should watch and learn from. McGuinness blocked the standard springboard corner elbow of Aries, and then much deeper in the match Aries would actually hit to a great ovation. Aries blocked a Tower of London, but then McGuinness was able to land that for a great nearfall.

But after getting Aries to use up his rope breaks, McGuinness finished him off with the London Dungeon, a fantastic payoff for all the armwork throughout the match. Really good stuff with Aries getting a standing ovation, and the first standout defense from McGuinness during this reign. I'd have made this the opening match to really kick off the show well and make sure nobody asked for a refund.

*Rating:* ***3/4

Roderick Strong comes out to ask when he gets his ROH Title shot since he made Bryan Danielson submit at _Tag Wars 2006_, but BJ Whitmer comes out instead. He wants Strong to face him in singles action with that title shot on the line, as he's fed up with being passed over and needs to step up like the rest of the company. All solid points on Whitmer's part, but he missed perhaps the biggest point possible to demand Strong to put the shot on the line against him.

Whitmer was now finally on his own for the first time in over two years. He had lost Christopher Daniels. He had lost Dan Maff. And now he had lost Jimmy Jacobs as his tag team partner when they failed to be on the same page against Aries & Strong at _Dissension_. Whitmer should've pointed out that he wants to take away Strong's opportunity as a twisted retributionn.

Of course, the ROH Champ Danielson comes out and he has a pull-apart with Strong. Out comes Prince Nana with a surprise challenger to utilize Abyss's title shot.

*ROH Title Match
Bryan Danielson vs. Xavier*

I gotta say, I like this surprise and it was a good move to get the NYC native booked here. Would I have given him a shot at the title? Probably not (as I'll also detail later). HOWEVER, the former ROH Champ had yet to be granted a shot at the top prize after losing it to Samoa Joe three years earlier. Logically, he should've never had to be in contender's matches in 2003-04 or have to fill in for someone who stopped getting booked.

These guys worked hard, with Xavier especially bringing his working boots and having one of his best matches in ROH. I know, I"m shocked too, that one of his best singles matches would be against Danielson. Xavier did an exceptional job of working on the neck and shoulders, perfectly setting up the champ for his modified neckbreaker finish and signature transitional Kiss Your X Goodbye (a pumphandle facebuster). He would hit the latter, but never got to his finisher, as the all-around superior Danielson would get him the Cattle Mutilation for what was to be the obvious finish. However, Rave interfered to go after Danielson. It was never explained, but I assume the Embassy used Xavier to weaken Danielson and/or Rave wanted the glory of ending his reign. That's the only logical reason I can think of for this match ending that way.

*Rating:* ***1/2 (and would've been higher without the Dusty finish)

Rave & Pearce continue to attack Danielson, which brings out Punk to set up a tag main event for the evening. Eight years later, it's somewhat poetic that Punk's last ROH match would be him getting paired up with the only other indy superstar to get on the same level of major-league success as him.

Supposedly taped at _Dissension_, a backstage promo from Jim Cornette is shown. Another fucking awesome promo taking shots at CZW. I'm going to assume this was not taped in Cleveland, but VERY shortly after ROH told Low Ki to fuck off, cancelling what appeared to be a planned Rottweilers vs. Generation Next feud, and going all the way with an ROH vs. CZW program to make up for that and carry this company throughout much of 2006.

*ROH Title Shot Match
Roderick Strong vs. BJ Whitmer*

Like the match prior, this was definitely a downgrade from the scheduled match Strong had. This was good stuff with Strong dominating the first several minutes and of course working the back. Whitmer's transition to gain control was good too, landing a neckbreaker on the outside and working on Strong's neck throughout the rest of the match. But despite the great psychology displayed in their offenses, neither did an exceptional job of selling the work done on them. Still good, but this could've actually been a GREAT singles match. And yes, Strong won of course to maintain his title shot since whoever he'd face would be a money match.

One thing I realized in this match was that Whitmer has never seemed to fully get comfortable using his larger stature on the indy scene. It stood out to me when he attempted a Frogsplash. Perhaps if he was in larger WWE ring his body, which is built like an NFL strong safety, would feel more comfortable and he wouldn't look as clumsy, but we know that'll never happen.

*Rating:* ***1/4

*CM Punk's Last ROH Match and One Night Only Return
Bryan Danielson & CM Punk vs. Jimmy Rave & Adam Pearce*

Good main event tag here, and since it involves three storytelling masters, no nearfalls were counted unless both participants were legal. Punk wanted Rave when he got tagged in, and manipulated Pearce's arm into making the tag, reigniting the great feud from 2005. The match would eventually turn into Danielson playing the Ricky Morton role, which is smart to protect Punk while under contract to WWE. The match's next segment would be a brawl outside the ring, with Danielson pulling out a springboard flip to the temporary Embassy in the audience.

The closing stretch broke down into all four men going at it in the ring, including a botched leaping hurricanrana from Punk on Pearce that seemed to hurt both of them. Punk and Rave would have a nice exchange, and the finish came when Rave, who by the way was scheduled to face Danielson for the ROH Title on the next show, tap out to the Anaconda Vise while Danielson kept Pearce at bay with the Cattle Mutilation. I think my readers are smart enough that I don't need to spell out the flawed booking of that finish.

The file on my hard drive for this match abruptly closes shortly after the finish, so I miss Punk's post-match bonus East Coast farewell speech. And considering what an ass he made out of himself over one heckler, I'm glad I don't have it. Here's my quick rating before I expand on Punk.

*Rating:* ***1/2

So where do I begin with my actual assessment of this event and everything surrounding it? There are so many points of discussion involving this.

LOL at TNA for having a temper-tantrum at Aries & Strong over ignoring their request to leave early. There, that part's out of the way.

I think it's safe to say that Gabe Sapolsky, much like his mentor Paul Heyman, wasn't quite so super duper spectacular at composing an event that required numerous last-minute changes. I can't really fault him for that since hindsight is 20/20, but here's how I would've booked this show.

First, as I mentioned, McGuinness vs. Aries would've been the opener. Rave would've cashed in his title shot and lost here in a great semi-main. And I'd have tried so hard to have Punk job to Strong in a third and final match, to really deliver a classic main event. I am VERY thankful that Gabe didn't pull the trigger on Danielson vs. Punk doing a 90 minute broadway though.

For the _Fourth Anniversary Show_, Danielson vs. Rave would obviously be off since having taken place on this night. But Shelley also wasn't booked for that show. So I'd have booked Danielson to defend the title against Lethal. The Lethal vs. Joe feud never really got over and didn't really need a conclusion, or could've been saved for later. It'd be a great way to followup on their great tag match together at _Tag Wars 2006_, with the motivation either being that Danielson is granting a shot to show appreciation, or they're pissed at each other, blaming one another for that Tag Title loss, and want a piece of each other. Let's not forget too that Lethal really did earn himself an ROH Title shot, as he had singles victories over both Low Ki AND Samoa Joe. That is title shot worthy, my friends. This also makes Lethal the defacto babyface challenging for the top prize in the company in his home state of New Jersey, making for an amazing atmosphere. This scenario still leaves Shelley to get his title shot the next time he would appear.

Now let's say I keep the card the same. Well, Xavier does the clean job to Danielson since there was no certainty about him coming back soon, and Pearce does the job to Danielson or Punk in the main event. There was no good reason for Rave to do the job here.

Speaking of the Rave & Pearce tandem, considering where they would be as 2006 came to a close, I'm really surprised that the former didn't align with Cornette or the latter didn't become a permanent member of the Embassy. Really would've given them something to lean on after both moved on from major chapters of their ROH tenure. But that's to dig in deeper when I come around to that.

I wanna make sure to mention that with the exception of a forgettable fourway match a year later, this was pretty much it for Xavier in ROH. He never, ever should've held the title, but he found his groove by 2003 and it's a shame his indy career didn't take off from there. I know he still attends ROH events, and I think it's a shame ROH does nothing to showcase him as a former champion that did have some great matches during the early years. I found his matches against Paul London and Christopher Daniels to be quite exceptional, and he definitely played his part in the main event at _Revenge on the Prophecy_. Sounds like a spiritual person too as Eddie Guerrero detailed in his autobiography.

Of course, that leaves one last big subject to discuss here, another former ROH Champion.

It's pretty ironic that when CM Punk fled WWE after _Royal Rumble 2014_, my rewatching got to the Summer of Punk right afterwards. Now as of this review being posted, I catch up to his final match in ROH ever, just days after WWE has officially moved him to its alumni section. This was not intentional on my part.

Punk returning was definitely a surprise that lived up to the hype, but to me wasn't presented well. I know this would've been impossible, but with hindsight, his East Coast one night only farewell would've been more poetic at the _Fourth Anniversary Show_. After all, that's an anniversary show. What better way to kick off _The Milestone Series_? And don't forget too, that was in New Jersey, the same region where he had that landmark career moment at _Death Before Dishonor III_. Just some "what if" food for thought.

To state the obvious, it certainly appears that Punk has retired, as he has made it pretty clear. One thing though I've noticed is he has not directly said to the public that he is done for good. And I sense that is intentional. I selfishly hope he finds the passion and gets healthy enough to come back to the ring one day, and I get the sense based on what he said several months ago that he probably thinks that's a possibility in the back of his mind. He had stated shortly before fleeing WWE abruptly that he didn't want to directly say what his decision would be, as he had made it clear he was done in 2011, but we know what happened then of course.

If Punk ever returns to the ring, I highly, highly, highly, highly doubt it will be for ROH. If he never returns at all to the ring, I certainly don't blame him. But after making an ass out of himself on this show, that was the ROH equivalent to another Chicago icon coming out of retirement for the Washington Wizards. _Punk: The Final Chapter_ was the perfect storytelling farewell for Punk in ROH, and there was no need for him to have a sentimental East Coast goodbye, just like Michael Jordan's Wizards tenure felt unnecessary after having his perfect fairytale ending in 1998.

Luckily, this is wrestling and not actual competitive sports, so if Punk were to ever return to ROH for just one night, perhaps even cash in what should be his rightful shot at the ROH Title as a former holder of that title, that'd be a great way to make sure his antics on this snowy night in the NYC metro area were not his final moments for Ring of Honor, and I don't think any of us can imagine just how electric that would be after everything he has accomplished in WWE.

With all of that out of the way, I don't need to spell out how important CM Punk is in ROH History. He had absolutely everything during his three years in ROH that makes someone a legend on this stage, and I am thankful for the memories. Here are my picks for the ten best matches he had during an absolutely stellar chapter of his career in ROH.

*CM Punk's 10 Greatest ROH Matches*
CM Punk vs. Samoa Joe - _World Title Classic_ ****1/2
CM Punk vs. Samoa Joe - _Joe vs. Punk II_ ***** (Punk's greatest match in ROH)
CM Punk vs. Samoa Joe - _All Star Extravaganza II_ *****
CM Punk vs. Alex Shelley - _Third Anniversary Celebration Pt. 2_ ****1/4
CM Punk vs. Jimmy Rave - _Nowhere to Run_ ****1/4
CM Punk vs. Roderick Strong - _The Future is Now_ ****
CM Punk vs. Austin Aries - _Death Before Dishonor III_ ****3/4
CM Punk vs. Jay Lethal - _Sign of Dishonor_ ****
CM Punk vs. Roderick Strong - _Escape From New York_ ****1/2
CM Punk vs. Samoa Joe vs. James Gibson vs. Christopher Daniels - _Redemption_ ****1/2

Up next - Fourth Anniversary Show
Matches will include:
Jay Lethal vs. Samoa Joe
Homicide vs. Colt Cabana
Bryan Danielson vs. Jimmy Rave
Austin Aries & Roderick Strong vs. AJ Styles & Matt Sydal


----------



## Super Sonic (Jun 11, 2014)

*Fourth Anniversary Show - February 25, 2006*










This is the first event in a seven-part _Milestone Series_ for ROH.

Jim Cornette is shown from his home/office in Louisville. Love that little tape/DVD shelf library he has, would be very interested in seeing some of that stuff.

The show is about to open with a meaningless jobber tag match, but then a blast from the past shows up...

*Briscoe Bros. vs. Jason Blade & Kid Mikaze vs. Tony Mamaluke & Sal Rinauro*

Not the all-out squash I was hoping for to make the returning bad-ass Briscoes shine (much like I had hoped for when Generation Next formed at _Generation Next_), but I can see why. Blade & Mikaze I believe were a project at the time, while Mamaluke & Rinauro were former Tag Champs (that they weren't over in such a position is a different topic.) Having the Briscoes wipe the mat with these teams would've made Austin Aries & Roderick Strong as well as Jimmy Jacobs & BJ Whitmer look really weak for having hard-fought matches against Mamlauke & Rinauro.

The action itself is decent, but ultimately means nothing because the Briscoes are the real stars. The best parts were the starting and closing segments, which isn't a coincidence as those were the segments in which the Briscoes just smashed it.

*Jay Lethal vs. Samoa Joe*

Above average match here; this feud simply put just didn't get over. Perhaps had Lethal not been presented as the asshole, but the federation and commentary had pointed out that Joe was a fucking prick at _A Night of Tribute_, this would've been a layered feud to polarize the audience. Instead Joe is the face-of-the-company hero and looked to be taking it easy while Lethal controlled the match. There were some moments when it looked this would really heat up, especially when it transitioned to Joe being in control, but it was way too quick to get some real drama going. For a monster babyface vs. smaller but still credible chickenshit heel, this certainly was not in the same league as Undertaker vs. Shawn Michaels in 1997.

*Rating:* less than ***

I FF to the *BJ Whitmer vs. Christopher Daniels* match getting thrown out as they have an extended brawl in the audience, leaving the ring open for a gang of ultraviolent predators to exploit...

*"Happy Birthday... Fuck You"*

Chris Hero & Necro Butcher lead a group of CZW wrestlers in hijacking this historic event, with the former cutting an excellent promo and mockingly singing "Happy Birthday" to ROH. This draws out a fuckton of ROH stars and jabronis, including Aries, Strong, the Briscoes, AJ Styles, Adam Pearce, and also Whitmer, who drops his brawl immediately with Daniels. A phenomenal brawl ensues with Hero left in the ring, who talks some more shit and questions if anyone in ROH can stop him.

Out comes Joe to step up for ROH for the first time, and the crowd goes fucking berzerk. He has a great brawl in the ring with Hero in a battle of true superstars to represent their brands. That caused the interpromotional brawl to pick back up again, resulting in another frenzied crowd.

Aries, Strong, and the Briscoes would be left in the ring, with the Tag Champs about to leave, but the Briscoes attack them!!! Another huge pop from the crowd and pull-apart here. What brilliant booking, as the Briscoes took advantage of the champs' involvement in the ROH vs. CZW brawl to get their hands on the champs and establish they were back to reach the mountaintop.

But if the audience thought that was it, they were sorely mistaken, as out comes two hated enemies from the curtain to ringisde, tearing at each other and getting yet another frenzied pop from the crowd...

*I Quit Match
Homicide vs. Colt Cabana*

I really appreciate the effort these two put into making this program work, but they were too violent in this match, and I can't imagine they look back at this and would completely disagree with me.

Homicide dominated this as expected at this point in the feud, just fucking Cabana up left and right, even with a bad right shoulder (injured in a match against Steve Corino at _Steel Cage Warfare_). This was vicious, it was hard-hitting, and it told a fantastic story that no matter how much pain Homicide dished out, Cabana would refuse to go down. Cabana would get his moments in with some great transitions, but that would always be short-lived. The match is stopped when Homicide makes him pass out with a coat-hanger around the throat.

Cabana, gasping for breath and wearing a crimson mask, demands the match be restarted, and it just gets better. Homicide hits an Ace Crusher, which turns out not to be all that beneficial as it ignites the pain in his right shoulder. Cabana, having been established as an outstanding technical wrestler that had been pushed to getting even better from his feud against Nigel McGuinness, smells the figurative blood and takes advantage of it, even fucking biting on it like a savage.

Julius Smokes has to grab Cabana's feet to bail Homicide out of this jam, reinforcing just how soulless Homicide is and putting over Cabana's mettle to step up in this environment. Ricky Reyes helps them out as the Rottweilers tape Cabana's wrists to a top turnbuckle, and the referee again gets fed up and stops the match out of concern for Cabana's well-being.

But yet again, Cabana refuses to let it end this way, trolling Homicide by telling him that his son will never respect him if he walks away from this. They have one more brief segment that both told a fantastic story and went over the top with the violence as I mentioned earlier. The match finally reaches its merciful conclusion when Cabana is knocked out taking a piledriver off an apron onto the table. However, the table didn't break and both men slid off it to the floor.

Post-match, Homicide throws chairs around and boasts with pride about his psychotic violence. As he is about to walk through the curtain, he looks into the camera and tells both ROH and CZW to fuck off, this is Rottweilers territory. Excellent storytelling brawl here.

*Rating:* ***3/4

Jim Cornette is informed in Louisville about the CZW interruption. He blows a gasket and cuts another absolutely splendid promo on CZW, and shows off his Louisville Slugger that he'll be bringing when he makes return in Chicago for the _WrestleMania 22_ weekend events. EARTH TO CURRENT ROH: make a fucking comp of this feud already, and while you're at it, put a documentary reflecting on it already. The majority of those involved are available, and I"m sure you can work out something with Cornette and Gabe Sapolsky to be interviewed for it.

*ROH Title Match
Bryan Danielson vs. Jimmy Rave*

Excellent title match as expected here. Rave really stepped up, although to me his performance wasn't quite up to par as exactly one year earlier against Styles or in the cage match against CM Punk. After being dominated on the mat early, he tried to offset it with some pie-faces in order to piss off the champ. He also relied on chops which is smart, as both men had come off being victimized by Strong's brutal chops shortly before this, and nobody to this point had come as close to dethroning Danielson as Strong had.

Danielson of course, being technically superior, would find ways out of just about everything Rave threw at him. But the match really got interesting about halfway through. Danielson attempted a superplex, but Rave threw him off and then baited Danielson to the outside. Rave threw Danielson on some guardrails, wearing down the champ but also inflicting some damage on the back and shoulders (which are connected to the neck), a very good strategy to soften him up for the Pedigree and swinging neckbreaker. It also established that although Danielson had won the feud against Homicide in 2005, he didn't go through the quantity of extensive brawling as Rave had in his feuds against Punk and GeNext.

Rave would copy Danielson's established Cattle Mutilation to followup on the shoulder/back work, but lacked the proper arch to fully clamp it on. This allowed the champ to escape and they had a very hot finishing stretch, helped out when Prince Nana pulled the ref out, igniting the crowd. They had great nearfalls and tapout teases, including, but of not course not limited to, a sleeper, proper Cattle Mutilation, and Shining Wizard. Danielson finishes Rave off with a Regalplex and then his elbows that had finished off Strong while locking the challenger in a crucifix position. An overall excellent match and best on the show.

*Rating:* ****

*Tag Titles Match
Austin Aries & Roderick Strong vs. AJ Styles & Matt Sydal*






Very good action all-around and this had a hot finish. When it got to the closing moments, everyone was allowed to throw bombs on one another, but everyone involved (not just the ref) kept track of who was legal. What a crazy professional concept.

The ring got cut in half of course, but here's the odd surprise: the larger, more powerful Strong and Styles were the ones to play those roles for their respective teams. That didn't seem to maximize the fullest emotional connection to the audience, but the match was good for what it was. My favorite part of the entire match was actually right when the end was coming. Sydal had taken a gutbuster from Strong; when he hit a Shooting Star Press on Aries moments later, he sold the ribs and was delayed from going for the immediate cover.

As all four men embrace to close out this historic show, the Briscoes come out and attack all four, this time making it clear for anyone who hadn't figured it out that they wanted the straps.

*Rating:* ***1/2

An excellent kickoff to _The Milestone Series_. No MOTYCs or consensus multiple great matches, but the key matches all delivered, it had an amazing segment that escalated the CZW program, marked the return of the Briscoes and put them in a program for the tag straps, and was paced exceptionally well. Get this shit.

Up next - Arena Warfare
Matches will include:
Austin Aries vs. Matt Sydal
Bryan Danielson vs. Alex Shelley


----------



## Super Sonic (Jun 11, 2014)

*Arena Warfare - March 11, 2006*










*ROH Video Recap - March 2, 2006*






Important news/footage in the above video:
Gary Michael Cappetta interviews ROH Champion Bryan Danielson and reveals for the first time in the DVD universe... DANIELSON & SAMOA JOE VS. KENTA & NAOMICHI MARUFUJI. Nobody bothers to mention the date and location but whatever. Danielson is worried that Joe won't be on the same page and may attack him based on ROH Title reign pride. Not completely unwarranted.

Remember when getting booked at the ECW Arena was instilled into the indy smarks to be a prestigious milestone? Man, those were the days.

BJ Whitmer storms to the ring after the opening match concludes and demands CZW to step into an ROH ring, specifically calling out Necro Butcher. Apparently the Christopher Daniels issue was important to him and CZW ruined it. Whatever, I'm not in the mood to break down why that program meant nothing. I'm just glad to see Whitmer booked into something that's clicking for him finally.

Prince Nana & Alex Shelley cut a backstage promo, with Shelley promising Bryan Danielson that he will fulfill his destiny established at _Generation Next_, which is to take the top spot and ROH Title from the champ tonight. He once again references being trained by Brian Kendrick as an expert on the Shiranui. Danielson already beat Naomichi Marufuji after taking that move, but whatever.

The promo is interrupted by footage going back to ringside, with Whitmer not taking no for an answer and wanting a fight immediately. Out comes Necro and they have a nice brawl that has the crowd in a frenzy, only for Super Dragon to come to Necro's aid. After mugging Whitmer, the ROH Locker room gets fed up and runs off the CZW duo. That the Briscoes led the ROH charge makes me suspect Gabe Sapolsky was going to eventually book them against Necro/SD. Probably beneficial for all four men's health that it never ended up happening.

*Austin Aries vs. Matt Sydal*

Really good stuff here, telling the great story that Sydal was on the brink of singles stardom. Sure, he got a victory over Jimmy Rave at _Unforgettable_, which is nothing to scoff at. Rave was a phenomenal heel at the time in the top mix, but beating him would be like going over Randy Orton in recent years. It's a big victory, but it's not quite as meaningful as going over the likes of someone like John Cena, CM Punk, or Daniel Bryan. In this case, Sydal was looking for that type of victory over someone that had truly been established as one of the kings in ROH.

Sydal did a great job of trading holds with his Generation Next leader, keeping a headlock on early and doing a good job of bringing back memories of Kurt Angle vs. Shawn Michaels at _WrestleMania 21_. Sydal would even do a great job of avoiding the signature headscissors escape into a dropkick spot signature of Aries, but the Tag Champ and former ROH Champ still found a way to get it done.

Sydal also attempted to do some work on his GeNext buddy's left arm, but was unable to be a master at it like Nigel McGuinness had been the month before. Therefore, Aries was able to land his trademark left-handed spots (since that is his dominant hand) such as the corner elbow counter from an Irish Whip as well as the leaping elbow on a fatigued Sydal in the corner.

I also appreciated the tension both men showed on occasion when it appeared the match had reached a potential stalemate midway through, talking some trash to each other. Shortly after this as Aries was on the outside, Sydal went for a corkscrew plancha and ended up taking a back bump on the cold Alhambra Arena concrete. That must have been a ton of fun.

In pain from that bump, Sydal dug down to keep the match even, busting out some quick burst counters and chops as hope spots agiainst the larger Aries. But Aries, being larger and more successful, was able to use his strength and leverage to come out on top. One spot near the end was Sydal going for a crucifix, only for Aries (who would know how to counter that with it being one of his signatures) to turn that into a Finlay Roll. As the match was nearing its end, Sydal landed a unique-looking tornado DDT on Aries. They then had an awesome exchange at the end with both men collapsing, only for Aries to beat Sydal to the figurative punch, landing a kick to the head, followed by the brainbuster and 450 Splash.

This didn't have the pacing to be a great match, but that wasn't the goal. This was really good storytelling, perfect for its mid-card position on the show, with the established superstar in Aries elevating his friend's stock in the company. After losses in great efforts against Aries, AJ Styles, and Christopher Daniels, Sydal was sitll looking for his first A-list victory.

The Briscoes attack both men post-match, drawing out Roderick Strong. Fuck I can't wait to catch up on the Briscoes working with these guys.

*Rating:* ***1/2

*ROH Title Match
Bryan Danielson vs. Alex Shelley*

This has been one of the most anticipated matches on this rewatch project for me.

Danielson cuts a phenomenal extended promo before the match starts, trolling the CZW marks that irrationally can't appreciate his in-ring gifts. I won't spoil it all, but anybody who questions if Danielson can be a dynamic character must see this promo. He played off the CZW-friendly environment, poured fuel on the ROH vs. CZW fanbase fire, had fun pointing out a child in the crowd, and compared himself to other technical wrestling legends who had wrestled in this venue for ECW.

After the bell has rung, Shelley gets annoyed with the CZW fans who bitch that the match is boring, and lays out some phenomenal zingers about what he believes said fans do for a living. So we got not just what promises to be an excellent in-ring match, but a battle of two major douche-bags. Works for me. Btw, these promos were done to give Samoa Joe time to get to the arena, as he was running late from a show in Mexico. This is how you kill time, folks.

They of course go on to have a classic match, playing off of their character work to start, just being vicious douche-bags to each other. It eventually turned into Shelley working on the Danielson's neck to set up for the Shiranui and Border City Stretch. Danielson meanwhile just applied different strategies, including splendid legwork or just being a cheating bastard such as going to the eyes to break a submission or using the ropes for leverage while applying an abdominal stretch.

Shelley of course would have his share of cheating as well, including in the third act distracting the ref so that Prince Nana could get in a couple cheap shots on the champ. It was in this part that Shelley had a scare going for a tope suicida and hitting the barricaded guardrail, similarly scary to Lita's ringside bump on _Raw_ in December 2004. But in some ways, that made this match even better from a logical standpoint.

With Shelley's back and neck certainly sore from that botched tope suicida, it only made sense that Danielson came out the victor in this one. But how it happened was an abrupt thing of beauty. After having a nice back-and-forth exchange which had the crowd rocking, Shelley finally seemed to be able to hit the Shiranui on Danielson (the champ had evaded numerous attempts during the match.) However, the viewer could see that Danielson ran with Shelley to give him the momentum, then showed his brilliance ny releasing his head partially from Shelley's grasp while being flipped over. Danielson then immediately used his back-rolling momentum to get on top of Shelley, lock in the Cattle Mutilation, and then surprise Shelley with a pin, giving the challenger absolutely no leverage to kick out, especially with what I assume was a sore back and neck.

Just an absolutely outstanding technical wrestling match that played off of a divided crowd. What really put this into MOTYC territory is that this wasn't just two guys having a great technical match. These were CHARACTERS that carried themselves as stars and emotionally engaged the crowd. This is what I imagine Ric Flair in his prime colliding with late 1997 Shawn Michaels would've been like.

This match also backed up Danielson's claim in his pre-match promo of cementing his technical wrestling legacy for this venue. As great as the likes of Chris Benoit, Chris Jericho, Dean Malenko, and Eddie Guerrero were in ECW, I'm not sure they ever had a match this fantastic at the ECW Arena. Post-match Danielson thanks the ROH fanbase for appreciating great wrestling and mocks the CZW fanbase.

I want to point out that Danielson's facial expressions and body in this were just tremendously perfected. I still give the nod to his match against Roderick Strong at _Vendetta_ as a better heel performance from him and as an overall match, but his character work in this match was a sight to behold, genuinely must-see stuff.

*Rating:* ****1/2

I FF to the end of the main event, a meaningless match whether Joe had arrived on time or not. Whitmer comes out and wants a fight, but the segment is temporarily interrupted when a mark throws toilet paper at Joe, which pisses him off and security escorts the mark from ringside. Whitmer plays off of Joe's anger from this and says it looks like he's still ready for a fight, and he calls out CZW once again.

Out comes an army of CZW superstars, which brings out an army of ROH superstars in a chaotic brawl that has this Philly crowd in an emotional frenzy. It looks like ROH may be getting the upper hand until CZW owner John Zandig walks to ringside with a barbed-wire bat and accompanied by someone that is brandishing a fucking WEED WACKER. Just a surreal moment for ROH.

Needless to say, this scared off the ROH crew, although the brawl kept going backstage and outside the building, while about 15 of the top CZW names ambushed Whitmer alone in the ring, brutalizing him. And I mean they fucking brutalized him, taping him to the ropes in a crucifying position and using a staple-gun on him, including his back, forehead, and stomach. Probably not worth all the trouble just to get an indy program over, but hey, I can't deny that it worked.

Whitmer is of course spray-painted with CZW on his spine, and Zandig spray-paints the CZW initials proudly over the ROH logo on the mat. As he's about to cut a promo, Gabe Sapolsky says to turn the fucking tape off.

The rest of the footage is from the very beginning of the _Best in the World 2006_ DVD, and of course I'm going to review it here for continuity. Zandig cuts an irrational promo on ROH, mirroring Jim Cornette's irrational promos from the recent several weeks leading up to this show. He says that this venue is CZW territory and basically says ROH can go fuck itself, including daring Sapolsky to come to ringside. Of course that doesn't happen.

What an absolutely amazing emotional masterpiece of an angle to close out this event. Just fucking phenomenal.

This show isn't quite stacked with quality matches left and right, but this is certainly worthy of being included in _The Milestone Series_. And that has nothing to do with this being ROH's first event hosted inside the former ECW Arena.

This show had a very good mid-card match that served its purpose in elevating an up-and-comer, a classic title match with absolutely excellent promo and character work, and one of the iconic closing segments in company history that made Whitmer a legitimate star in one night. This is an absolute must-own.

Also on this show is the calm before the storm for the Homicide vs. Colt Cabana feud, as they are kept away from each other but in backstage promos promise that the inevitably violent end is nearing.

Up next - Best in the World 2006
Matches will include:
Alex Shelley vs. Christopher Daniels
Nigel McGuinness vs. Claudio Castagnoli
Roderick Strong & Jack Evans vs. Briscoe Bros.
Bryan Danielson & Samoa Joe vs. KENTA & Naomichi Marufuji


----------



## Sephiroth (May 27, 2006)

Can't wait for the next three shows.


----------



## Super Sonic (Jun 11, 2014)

*Best in the World 2006 - March 25, 2006*










*ROH Video Recap - March 17, 2006*






Important news/footage on the above video:
Adam Pearce challenges some CZW guys to show up and face him on March 25 in NYC
Bryan Danielson and Samoa Joe are interviewed by Gary Michael Cappetta, confirming that the date and location for their tag match against KENTA & Naomichi Marufuji is March 25 in NYC. Video highlight packages are shown of both men's reigns as ROH Champion, but Joe insists that although he will be coming for the ROH Title again after he takes care of CZW, all the NOAH guys coming from overseas, and his on-again, off-again feud with Christopher Daniels, he will not backstab Danielson in the dream tag match.

After airing the unseen footage from _Arena Warfare_, Gabe Sapolsky dares anyone from CZW to come ruin tonight's show.

About 45 minutes into the show, Jason Blade & Kid Mikaze come out to see who will accept their own challenge, and it turns out to be Chris Hero & Necro Butcher. Hero cuts another great promo shitting on ROH, taking out Mikaze while Necro destroys Blade outside the ring. Adam Pearce comes out and his sanctioned impromptu match against Necro gets thrown out when Hero reinserts himself back into the picture.

Hero calls out his tag team partner and established ROH superstar Claudio Castagnoli to help out with the CZW cause. Castagnoli instead takes both Hero & Necro out, which is actually quite smart, as the CZW representatives were not expecting their invitation to be declined via violence AND reinforces that Castagnoli is a threat for his match later in the evening, a final Pure Title shot against Nigel McGuinness, AND on top of that, should make him an even more sympathetic, beloved babyface for that match. Pearce says now that the odds are even, for Hero & Necro to come back for another fight, which they of course don't do. Pearce & Castagnoli leave the crowd in a loud, passionate "ROH" chant.

*Alex Shelley vs. Christopher Daniels*

Really good stuff as expected. Shelley was tremendous at being a disrespectful douche-bag to Daniels to start the match. Daniels however would gain the advantage working on the left arm for a few minutes, although not enough to cause pain in that limb for Shelley throughout the entire match. Shelley would gain the advantage and the crowd abruptly went for a "Y2J" chant. Shelley, obviously influenced by the HOFer, struck Chris Jericho's "King of the World" pose to a massive pop.

They had some more nice back and forth stuff, nothing super spectacular, but all very well paced and making the viewer wonder who would win this first-time matchup in ROH. But once Shelley got planted with the Angel's Wings, everyone knew it was over. That booking was best for business considering the directions of both stars coming out of this. Good stuff all around, and hopefully these two will get to collide in a couple dream tags for ROH, PWG, and/or NJPW in the near future.

*Rating:* ***1/2

*Pure Title Match
Nigel McGuinness vs. Claudio Castagnoli*

As stated earlier, this was Castagnoli's last shot at the Pure Title while Nigel McGuinness was reigning. They had another good match, not quite on par with Shelley vs. Daniels, but certainly the best out of their five singles matchups in ROH up to this point. Castagnoli wasn't as over as I would have expected after the red-hot ROH vs. CZW segment earlier in the evening, which made the match suffer a bit. Without visiting any of their IWA-MS work, I'm going to guess that they hadn't quite captured whatever magic they had shown in 2004.

Before the match, the crowd was heckling referee Todd Sinclair as he was explaining the rules, and McGuinness attempted to brown-nose him. Castagnoli had none of it, interrupting the blatant ass-kissing with a European Uppercut to start the match and having the early heat. They had some really good back-and-forth heat segments, and Castagnoli had a major moment for his ROH tenure when he kicked out of a Tower of London.

In the end though, despite Castagnoli putting forth a great effort and unloading numerous uppercuts plus an Alpamari Waterslide or two, McGuinness found a way to knock out his greatest challenger to this point with the rebound lariat. This time, there was no cheating, no manipulation, no bullshit whatsoever. McGuinness was clearly the better wrestler, and there's no way to spin it: Castagnoli choked, which had to eat at him after knowing he had proven to be better than the champion in their prior matches.

*Rating:* ***1/4

At intermission, a special music video gets aired by Jimmy Jacobs, called "The Ballad of Lacey."






Just brilliant stuff displaying his creepy infatuation over his agent Lacey, including a MySpace mention, plus him pouring wax on himself while wearing leopard skin boxers and thrusting his pelvis in the direction of a Lacey photo that he was holding. The song itself is badly produced and edited, with his singing being horrific, only making this even more brilliant. The lyrical highlight is easily "there are no other candidates... together, we're the match of the year!"

In a backstage scene that has no lighting whatsoever, Nigel McGuinness cuts a great promo, saying that he's legitimate, he still has the Pure Title around his waist. He declares that he's the best pure wrestler on the roster, specifically calling out the ROH Champion Bryan Danielson. He says that he'll be in NOAH putting the Pure Title on the line, and THAT makes his belt the real world championship. I'm loving this.

Ricky Reyes gets DQed in his match against Austin Aries when he refuses to break the Dragon Slepper hold (why on Earth did Reyes have to get this strong of a push?), drawing out Roderick Strong & Jack Evans to save their Generation Next leader. This also brings out the Briscoes.

*Roderick Strong & Jack Evans vs. Briscoe Bros.*

Here are the positives: the spots were very nice for the most part, and after the structurally messy several minutes to kick off the match, the Briscoes did a nice job of turning Evans into the Ricky Morton for the next quarter of the match. It was painfully obvious that should've been the primary plot of the match. I did like seeing Strong pull out a standing moonsault, something I don't believe he'd ever shown in ROH. That is a nice subtle message to Danielson.

Now on to the negatives.

I don't care that the crowd reacted well to this match. Quite frankly, this NYC crowd was fucking clueless and unsophisticated on this night, and their attitudes only got worse in the main event. There were NUMEROUS times when the referee just counted a pinfall on whoever was in the ring, not caring one iota about who was legal. This match just had no structure outside of the heat segment on Evans. NONE. And I'm not going to give this match a pass for being a shallow spotfest just because it happened to be in ROH during the aesthetic hey day. This was just like the tons of matches I shit on in PWG that got cheap pops out of the crowds in Los Angeles.

I also have no fucking clue why the Briscoes did the job in this one after saying that they were coming for the tag straps. WHAT THE FUCK? And it was Evans to get the pin too, not Strong, who was scheduled as the next challenger to face Danielson for the ROH Title.

*Rating:* less than ***

Homicide and Colt Cabana are both not booked for this event, surprising not to have the former, a Brooklyn native, and just a week before the big triple-shot. But a pre-taped promo from Cabana airs. He uses some great analogies to explain his feud with Homicide. Surviving a car crash and then getting back in the driver's seat, putting the key in the ignition. Getting drilled by a baseball while up to bat, and then returning for another at-bat. Having a finger bitten off when going to pet what appeared to be a friendly dog, and then keeping an open mind about animals.

He says that he will face his face his fear, and it's time to end this, it's getting too violent and has been going on for too long. Detroit and Chicago, the big triple-shot on _WrestleMania 22_ weekend, this feud finally comes to its conclusion. Really good promo.

*Bryan Danielson & Samoa Joe vs. KENTA & Naomichi Marufuji*

Great tag team main event, not the all-time classic that many expected, but awesome nonetheless.

So I started with the positives in the prior match. In contrast, I'm going to get the negatives out of the way first for this one.

This NYC crowd fucking sucked, treating Danielson and Marufuji as after-thoughts. Now don't get me wrong, KENTA and Joe colliding was a dream matchup. Their work against each other in this one was quite the doozy, and they probably should've just faced each other in a singles match to main event this show. But this crowd only seemed to give a fuck about names, spots, and stiff moves, with no appreciation and patience for storytelling and technical wrestling. I firmly believe this match would've hit the MOTYC mark in Chicago, Detroit, Boston, or Philadelphia.

The match these four put together was great stuff as I mentioned. KENTA refused to shake the opposition's hand before the match, drawing an ooh from the crowd, but the commentators seem to only catch on to him refusing to shake Joe's hand. Danielson and Marufuji start the match with the usual good wrestling and reach a stalemate. Marufuji tags in KENTA and the crowd is SCREAMING for Joe to get tagged in. Danielson though refuses to make the tag, fitting his fuck-off gimmick at the time.

After a collar-and-elbow tie-up that had Danielson bring KENTA to the ropes, the then-current GHC Jr. Champ hit a Yakuza kick on Joe, who was standing on the apron, drawing a huge pop. Danielson agreed on the second request to make the tag, although KENTA demanded it. Joe and KENTA then had a great strike exchange segment, just as good as their work against Low Ki and Kenta Kobashi in late 2005.

KENTA & Marufuji tried to pull out their double-team stuff that many of the ROH faithful had not gotten to see yet, with Marufuji going for a corner charging move on Joe after using KENTA as a springboard, only to get met with a Uranage Slam. That got another great pop from the NYC crowd. Marufuji also attempted to cheat at times, although that couldn't drive the passionate ire from the ROH team that KENTA had drawn from Joe. Marufuji even showed some attitude towards the referee a couple times.

The rest of the match, about another 20 minutes or so, was intelligently worked. It also had the nice story that the former GHC Jr. Tag Champs had far more chemistry than the ROH team. Sure, Danielson & Joe had teamed up a couple times before this in ROH, but they didn't have the established chemistry and tag team foundation of KENTA & Marufuji. This was very obvious when Joe completely ignored Danielson's request for assistance later in the match.

KENTA also did a nice job of knocking Joe off the apron a couple more times, both for trolling purposes and to focus on the ROH Champ. Danielson had a great finishing stretch with him. KENTA went for the G2S, only for Danielson to counter with a crucifix, positioning the GHC Jr. Champ to eat the elbows that had taken out Jimmy Rave and Roderick Strong. But KENTA was able to absorb them, taking only a few, and position himself to roll back and get Danielson back on his shoulders, planting a G2S for the victory. Now THAT is brilliant booking unlike the other tag match on this night.

Post-match, Joe says KENTA did a good job, but he hadn't beaten Danielson for the title, and he for sure would never beat the former champ either.

This match only further reminded me that I wish we had gotten to see KENTA & Naomichi Marufuji vs. Super Dragon & Davey Richards for ROH in 2006.

*Rating:* ****

Lance Storm says that Danielson's open contract has him contemplating about coming out of retirement. Why not just make it official that Storm would be coming in to face Danielson the next weekend, whether it's for the title or not?

Prince Nana is with Rave & Shelley, who bury each other for their recent losses. Nana tells him to cool down, then threatens to garnish their paychecks. That causes them to get focused on business, with Nana now aiming for the Tag Titles. I should note that the Tag Titles declaration portion is shown on the next DVD due to the annoying cliffhanger formatting of _The Milestone Series_.

I did like this overall, but so far it was the weakest of _The Milestone Series_ due to weird formatting, a shitty ADHD crowd, and questionable booking. This is definitely a must-have for a great main event and as an important piece of the puzzle for bigger moments to come for ROH in 2006, plus the Shelley vs. Daniels match is much better than what they put together in PWG.

Hindsight is 20/20, and here's what I would've booked. KENTA vs. Joe as the main event, and Joe could've done the fucking job by TKO (thus still somewhat protecting him.) Rather than be wasted in a singles match against Reyes, I'd have Aries challenge Danielson for the ROH Title in the semi-main. That could've been used to enforce the _Best in the World_ bragging name for promoting this show, AND teased that Strong either gets to face Danielson for the strap in a money match, or must face his GeNext leader and fellow Tag Champ Aries for the biggest prize in the company, a first-time ever singles matchup in ROH and rematch of their finals at _Survival of the Fittest 2005_. I'd have Daniels in a dream match against Marufuji. And I'd have Rave vs. Shelley with the story being that they were becoming so irritated with each other that they needed to see who was the true alpha of the Embassy. I'd have that be a draw, with Nana talking sense into them afterwards and making the Tag Titles chase declaration. The other two matches that mattered would've stayed the same, albeit one of them formatted and booked differently.

And now I've reached what might very well be the aesthetic pinnacle of ROH. There are no TNA, PWG, or NOAH matches for me to watch before the ROH triple-shot. I will not be going through any Dragon Gate projects either. That's because a major factor in the Dragon Gate superstars getting over and stealing the show was that it was largely an introduction of them to the ROH audience. That's a magical dynamic I want to experience as best as I can in this project.

I sometimes wondered in the back of my head when I did start this project if I would ever stick with it after about 20-25 shows, and I'm glad I have. Time for me to be reminded that I made the mistake of not flying to Chicago just to see ROH on _WrestleMania 22_ weekend.

Up next - Dragon Gate Challenge
Matches will include:
Jimmy Jacobs vs. BJ Whitmer
Bryan Danielson & Delirious vs. Jimmy Rave & Alex Shelley
AJ Styles & Matt Sydal vs. Dragon Kid & Genki Horiguchi
Austin Aries, Roderick Strong, & Jack Evans vs. CIMA & Speed Muscle
Samoa Joe vs. Christopher Daniels


----------



## Super Sonic (Jun 11, 2014)

*Dragon Gate Challenge - March 30, 2006*










Lacey wants Jimmy Jacobs to destroy BJ Whitmer tonight, and she doesn't give a fuck about wins and losses, just Whitmer getting his ass kicked for having the temerity to call her out for her bullshit. She promises a reward to Jacobs, who is googly-eyed over her, and he wants to selflessly give her a foot massage. She rolls her eyes at this, clearly expecting him to ask for something far more demanding, and gladly says yes.

Colt Cabana interrupts the show introduction from Bobby Cruise, demanding Homicide to come out. He wants to end the feud right now, and they have a short, brutal brawl masquerading as an actual match with Homicide winning after chairshots to a ladder wrapped around Cabana's head. Not a memorable match at all, but this served its purpose of showing how heated the feud had gotten (one of the wrestlers unwilling to wait for later in the night) while saving the goods for Chicago. THIS is how a certain match booked for _Battleground 2014_ should've been laid out, although toned-down of course.

Samoa Joe and Christopher Daniels have some backstage promos that bookend the second match on the show, putting over what a thorn they've been for each other over the years.

*Jimmy Jacobs vs. BJ Whitmer*

These two just have unreal chemistry together. Whitmer beat the fuck out of the Detroit native Jacobs, who took his beating in this one with great stride. Of course, Jacobs did a great job of displaying his overwhelming infatuation with Lacey. He had some great hope spots, using his tenacity, psychology, and smaller size to evade some of Whitmer's offense. There was a great segment early in the match with Whitmer tossing Jacobs around on the guardrails, the first time ending with Jacobs taking a bump neck-first on the concrete floor. That must have been lovely.

Jacobs really showed his tenacity established in 2004 during his matches against Generation Next, but this time it was amplified emotionally with his motivation to please Lacey. Unfortunately, that same motivation caused him to take his eye off the ball at times, such as blowing kisses at her instead of going for a pinfall attempt on his former fellow Tag Champ. But this match really should be seen, because for all of Whitmer's weaknesses as an in-ring performer, he did a great job of making the offense of Jacobs look credible.

Jacobs took a beating on his neck and beck in this one, including a transition for Whitmer to regain control with an overhead belly-to-belly suplex counter when getting charged at by Jacobs. Jacobs took some nasty head-drops in this one, but managed to get some tremendous nearfall attempts that had his hometown crowd rocking. They had a delayed vertical suplex that had them spill to the outside, which allowed Jacobs to temporarily regain control, but an attempted head-scissors off the apron would be for naught. That spot was countered with Whitmer catching him and landing a powerbomb on the top edge of a guardrail.

The most memorable portion of the match was also the most legitimately terrifying. Whitmer was going to hit a super powerbomb on Jacobs, but his foot slipped and it took them backward. Jacobs had his head hit one of the ropes, then his head and neck hit the apron before crashing to the floor. Whitmer came up limping from this too. To say this got quite the reaction would be like saying that Saints and Seahawks fans like to make noise.

With the crowd red-hot, both men suck it up and get back in the ring. Jacobs is able to land a Shiranui to the crowd's delight, which he'd been unable to do a number of times earlier in the match. But Lacey got on the apron and said to keep dishing out punishment, not giving a shit about Jacobs getting a landmark victory. Jacobs obliged but also wasted time paying attention to her, allowing Whitmer to finish him off with a super overhead belly-to-belly suplex followed by a lariat. An outstanding, awesome match with a botch that fortunately didn't kill either man and only made the crowd even hotter. They earned great respect as shown in the reactions from the crowd afterwards, both men's stock being elevated greatly. I'm sure if Gabe Sapolsky had known how much these two would've clicked, this would've been the last match before intermission.

Whitmer wants to shake hands with Jacobs, having earned even more respect for his former fellow Tag Champ despite their tension. But Jacobs refuses, choosing to leave with Lacey. Whitmer can't believe it, calling Lacey a "skanky piece of ass." This draws Jacobs to the apron and he teases a handshake, only to spit on Whitmer before leaving.

*Rating:* ****

With Jacobs & Lacey gone, Whitmer turns his attention to CZW, since this was his first appearance in ROH since getting brutalized like a prisoner of war at _Arena Warfare_. He says the war isn't over, he's ready for a fight, and he's glad to hear that Chris Hero & Necro Butcher are rumored to be in the building. Good smoke-and-mirrors promo from Whitmer to hide his verbal weaknesses that got a fantastic reaction from the crowd.

*Bryan Danielson & Delirious vs. Jimmy Rave & Alex Shelley*

With the Embassy still bitter about losing to Danielson in singles for the ROH Title, they've set their focus on the Tag Straps and challenged Danielson to a tag match. Danielson was so confident when the challenge was made before this show that he told Nana to pick any partner for him. Thus, Danielson's partner is Delirious, the most lovable established jobber on the roster.

This was really good stuff, with Shelley in particular getting great heel heat in his hometown. I wonder if Gabe Sapolsky had thought of having him cash in his ROH Title shot in front of his hometown crowd (as if that match could've been that much better than it already was in Philadelphia.) There were some cool moments in this, such as Shelley first not knowing how to react to Delirious, which is funny after he had picked Delirious to be his partner the previous year against Roderick Strong & Jack Evans.

The highlight of the match was Delirious giving Rave an airplane spin. Danielson got tagged in and did an extended, far more graceful airplane spin, while Delirious ran around it in the opposite direction in the ring. That got a tremendous reaction. What also stood out is that Danielson surprisingly played the Ricky Morton role in this match, which is something I wouldn't have expected at all since he had two big title matches booked for the weekend and Delirious was still a curtain-jerker. Delirious was a house of fire once the hot tag was made, but ultimately proved to still be prone to losing when he got pinned. Danielson left unimpressed and irritated with his partner.

*Rating:* ***1/2

Cabana cuts a promo outside the building at intermission, likely concussed. He says the feud with Homicide MUST end this weekend in Chicago, and he's not backing down.

Claudio Castagnoli makes quick work of Shane Hagadorn, and Hero & Necro finally appear afterwards. Castagnoli stands firm on the side of ROH, helping out Whitmer after he came into the ring with a chair. Another great little ROH vs. CZW segment that had the enthusiastic crowd passionately marking out.

*AJ Styles & Matt Sydal vs. Dragon Kid & Genki Horiguchi*

Food for thought: be glad that this match wasn't booked by Vince Russo or Jim Cornette. Why do I say that? Styles is a documented homophobe, and Horiguchi is a character blatantly aimed at homosexuals.

This was a fun tag, although Styles seemed to have some difficulty gelling with the Dragon Gate team. Sydal was definitely up to par. What surprised me is that this match had no issues with tag legalities being reinforced for pinfalls, as the wrestlers actually kept track. I was going to overlook that since this involves Dragon Gate talent and I'm aware that federation likes to utilize lucha rules (legalities can change either by tagging OR a partner coming into the ring as his partner rolls out.) Styles was able to hit the Styles Clash on Horiguchi to finish off the match. I'd like to have seen Styles & Sydal collide with Speed Muscle, as I imagine that matchup would've gelled better.

*Rating:* ***

*Dragon Gate Rules
Austin Aries, Roderick Strong, & Jack Evans vs. CIMA & Speed Muscle*

The commentators make it clear that this is under Dragon Gate rules this time, which is fine with me. Be upfront about this kind of stuff.

This was simply an amazing, phenomenal match. The action was fucking incredible with the exception of Evans missing a blow on Naruki Doi. Other than that, this match absolutely stole the show and had me wondering how Joe and Daniels could possibly follow this. Strong did a great job of pummeling Blood Generation; a favorite moment for me was when Masato Yoshino was in, having shown off his incredible speed when running the ropes. He no-sold a chop from Aries while in GeNext's corner. Once Strong got tagged in, Yoshino basically shit himself, dreading what was to come, and took a VICIOUS chop from Strong. Yoshino did just an excellent job of selling that chop.

Blood Generation managed to take this fantastic trios action and cut the ring in half, working on Evans. Now some may be wondering why GeNext didn't just get involved since this was Dragon Gate rules. As stated in the prior match, legalities change either by tag OR coming into the ring when a partner rolls out. Blood Generation cut the ring in half on Evans, AND kept him inside the ring, so GeNext could not legally get involved during this segment of the match.

However, after this heat segment, and the match reached its third act, the legalities got thrown out the window. With this likely being Todd Sinclair's first time officiating a match of this style, I can empathize with him forgetting who was legal. I as a nit-picker couldn't keep track. The last third of this match was absolutely amazing, fantastic, phenomenal, incredible, jaw-dropping, spectacular shit. Just nonstop action, big moves one after another. But this wasn't bullshit from the RF days of ROH. This third act was a spotfest, but all of it was executed and laid out incredibly well.

When CIMA landed the Schwein (also known as White Noise when used by Sheamus) on Evans, after having done some work on his neck, I knew it was over. This got a rousing standing ovation from the Detroit crowd, many of them never having seen this kind of action before. This match must be seen to believed, and I imagine ROH will be including it on the _Year Five_ compilation whenever that inevitably comes out. An absolutely splendid MOTYC.

*Rating:* ****1/2

*Samoa Joe vs. Christopher Daniels*

An extended video of their rivalry/feud is shown that goes on a bit too long (one of the audio tracks even has to start over abruptly), but does a great job of showcasing how these men are able to hit spots and make them matter.

Joe and Daniels had their work cut out for them after the trios match right before this, but they managed to put on a great main event. Joe came out first, which was unusual for him during his time in ROH. However, it became crystal-clear why that happened. Daniels came out and stopped on the ramp, with "Disposable Teens" being turned off. "The Champ is Here" then began playing, and Daniels revealed the NWA-TNA X-Division Championship to remind Joe of how his reign for that title had ended earlier in the month. Masterful trolling.

They had a nice brawl at ringside due to that entrance from Daniels, and once they got in the ring the bell officially rang to start the match. Joe did his usual brutal offensive work on Daniels, but Daniels had an extra focus on this night, knowing this was their last singles match against each other in ROH. Joe went for a musclebuster early in the match, but Daniels was able to use that position on the turnbuckle to body-scissors Joe out of the ring, following that up with an Arabian Press.

Joe would regain control and dominate with his vicious offense as stated earlier, both in strikes and submissions. But Daniels made sure to get his hope spots in to make sure this segment of the match was engaging, only to get cut off quickly. Joe though did a great job of selling the pain from the offense of Daniels, even while having control. Joe cut off another brief hope segment for Daniels when he dropped the X-Division Champ with a Uranage Slam. He then brought Daniels to the outside, delivering TWO Ole Ole Kicks to the crowd's monster approval. Sure, that's a trademark spot for Joe, but very brilliant to soften up the head for the musclebuster and get the crowd to pop. Joe would also work in the Cripple Crossface later to soften up the neck, a neck btw that had documented damage on it from the dying days of WCW.

Joe attempts a seated choke while on the turnbuckle, but Daniels blocks it and lands the Fall From Grace for a nearfall, but only maintains brief control. He blocks an attempted senton with the knees, although that's Samoa Joe landing on someone's knees, so it's no surprise that Joe stops Daniels shortly afterward with a trademark powerslam. After the Crippler Crossface spot as mentioned, Allison Danger helps out Daniels by grabbing his foot. This allows Daniels to regain the advantage, but it's teased that could be brief again with a chokehold.

Daniels is able to break that chokehold and land the Angel's Wings for a great nearfall, shocking Daniels after putting Alex Shelley away with that (and only have to do it once also) on the prior show. Completely focused and with it sinking in that Joe doesn't go down so easily, Daniels hits three consecutive BMEs and finally gets a pinfall over Joe in a one-on-one match, their last ever in that format in ROH. Just a great match that was intelligently worked and smoothly paced.

*Rating:* ****

Hero & Necro immediately run into the ring afterwards and ruin this magical moment for Daniels, but Danger pleads with him not to take the bait, wanting him to stay out of this violent ROH vs. CZW issue. This didn't exactly make Daniels look like a team player which he seemed to have become for ROH by this point and I wish Daniels had gotten a minute to shine after this great match and big win, but I could see Danger talking him out of being involved with this situation after a grueling main event. I wonder if Daniels, an established manipulative character, will find a way down the road to get a taste of retribution over Hero and/or Necro for this in the future.

Joe steps into the ring to fight off the CZW duo, and gets help from Whitmer of course. ROH students keep the CZW stars from getting back in the ring after being thrown out, and Joe cuts a fantastic promo to represent ROH, He "officially" declares war on ROH, saying he's ready to fight and dares CZW to bring its various weapons again, he'll win with his fists and wrestling ability, as well as the incredible locker room that ROH has put together. This was a great way to finish off the show, and had I been in attendance and didn't plan on going to Chicago to see the other 2/3 of this triple-shot, I'd at least be reconsidering.

Lance Storm reminds us that he's interested in facing Danielson for the ROH Title. Why not just announce that it's booked?

A tease of Jim Cornette is shown talking to someone on the phone. I'll discuss this in my next review.

This show, while recognized as an excellent show, gets overshadowed by the Chicago events that followed it and that's unfortunate. This was an absolutely magnificent wrestling event, with a couple good tags and three genuinely great but very different flavors of matches, one of them being a show-stealing, jaw-dropping MOTYC. It also managed to move forward three great angles in Homicide vs. Cabana (fantastically placed as storyline advancement disguised as an opening match), Jacobs vs. Whitmer, and ROH vs. CZW. This show was also paced incredibly well, one of the best ever during the Gabe Sapolsky era in that regard.

LIke I said, had I attended this event, I"m pretty fucking sure I'd have gotten a vehicle ready by the next morning to take a trip to Chicago. This event is a must-own and one of the greatest shows that ROH has EVER hosted. This would be standing head-and-shoulders over about 99% of the ROH events between 2008 and 2014. GET. THIS. NOW.

Of course, the next event. Oh, what can I really say? If you're not aware of what ROH was like at this time, be ready for lots of praising from me.

Up next - Supercard of Honor
Matches will include:
Jimmy Rave & Alex Shelley vs. Jimmy Yang & Claudio Castagnoli
Austin Aries & Jack Evans vs. AJ Styles & Matt Sydal
CIMA & Speed Muscle vs. Dragon Kid, Ryo Saito, & Genki Horiguchi
Samoa Joe vs. Jimmy Jacobs vs. Christopher Daniels
Bryan Danielson vs. Roderick Strong


----------



## Sephiroth (May 27, 2006)

You have no idea how amazing the Dragon Gate 6 Man was live. Can I give it 6 stars out of 5 stars just for the live bias?


----------



## Super Sonic (Jun 11, 2014)

It was a magical work of art those six men painted.


----------



## Super Sonic (Jun 11, 2014)

*Supercard of Honor - March 31, 2006*










Jim Cornette is informed by an unknown eyewitness via phone as to who exactly knocked his tooth out with a chairshot during the chaotic melee at _Tag Wars 2006_. It is none other than Low Ki, who receives a lifetime ban from ROH, with Cornette citing all the previous chaos and high-maintenance demands from the ROH cornerstone as the sundae to this figurative cherry back in Dayton. This was a great way to give a kayfabe explanation for Ki’s departure, and also remember that the ROH and CZW brawl last time in Dayton had poor lighting, so Cornette and the viewer had no idea Ki was the one responsible.

Earlier in the day, Chris Hero talks shit to some fans waiting in line outside the Frontier Fieldhouse.

The camera gets to ringside, and this looks like quite the capacity crowd, significantly more packed than any prior Chicago event for ROH. Bobby Cruise announces that Colt Cabana is out for tonight due to a suffered concussion the night before in Detroit.

Jim Cornette comes out to start the show for the live crowd. He’s accompanied by BJ Whitmer, who is on crutches and has a cast on his right foot. Supposedly that’s due to a CZW brawl, but that had to have been from the botch in the match against Jimmy Jacobs. Cornette then cut a childish promo about CZW and then introduced two masked jobbers pretending to be CZW stars. Samoa Joe and Adam Pearce came out to squash them. I wish Low Ki had shown up to knock Cornette’s grill with another chairshot after watching this shit, and I’d have saved this trolling squash segment for an East Coast event in front of rabid CZW fans.

I FF to the end of the next match, and now I’m reminded why Ricky Reyes got a substantial undercard push, including Austin Aries being unable to break out of the Dragon Sleeper the week before. Delirious fell victim and Reyes refused to let go here. He and Smokes mugged him and left him laying, completely cocky thugs ganging up on the loveable established jobber.

*Jimmy Rave & Alex Shelley vs. Jimmy Yang & Claudio Castagnoli*

Some fun stuff but never truly clicked. I’ll pinpoint that on Yang, who played the Ricky Morton role. Now some may believe that’s a good formula with Castagnoli being the taller, more aggressive partner, and the Embassy were fantastic cheaters especially with Prince Nana & Daizee Haze in their corner to help out. But Yang, fine wrestler that he is, lacks the charisma and facial expressions to be truly sympathetic and get the crowd behind him.

Post-match, Hero shows up and he’s bitter that his fellow King of Wrestling refuses to join the CZW cause.

*Rating:* less than ***

Homicide & Julius Smokes berry (and that’s not a typo on my part) Cabana, saying that this is what he gets for fucking with the wrong people and he should be afraid. Homicide is ready to move on in another direction.

*Austin Aries & Jack Evans vs. AJ Styles & Matt Sydal*

The referee forgot who was legal for one temporary moment about 3/4 of the way into this match, keeping it from MOTYC territory.

But this was a tremendous tag match nonetheless. Evans and Sydal started off with Sydal winning that battle after hitting a dropkick, and he tags in Styles. He manhandles Evans and tosses him in GeNext’s corner, demanding Aries to get in. They too have a nice but brief exchange, as Sydal wants to test himself against his GeNext leader. Their exchange is also great, trading leverage and arm-drags. Sydal hits the headscissors escape-into-a-dropkick spot, showing his leader his continued progression. Aries would pridefully look to return the favor, only to fake out the dropkick on a blocking Sydal, who drops his arms and gets a stiff kick instead.

Styles & Sydal eventually cut the ring in half on Evans, who takes a nasty head-drop from a release German Suplex. I was happy to see them focus on his neck afterward, double-teaming him left and right, and Styles made sure to charge at Aries a couple of times to keep the numbers game in his team’s favor. The highlight of this segment for me was Styles gorilla pressing Evans, then the Tacoma native getting dropped and bumping like he took a spinebuster. Evans did a MUCH better job of playing the Ricky Morton role than Yang in the prior match.

Once Evans got the hot tag, the match turned into a spotfest, with one missed legality as I mentioned before. However, the action was so great that I could somewhat see why the referee allowed this to turn into a spotfest, similar to officials in sports leagues that don’t want to get ticky-tacky with being rulebook sticklers during the dramatic closing moments of games. During this action-packed third act, Sydal somehow got a broken nose and bled from it, but gutted through it.

With Styles on the outside, Evans sucked up whatever pain he had and went for a handstand somersault corkscrew plancha, landing in precise position to deliver a hurricanrana to the then-TNA superstar. Styles though, not having been through as much pain and also being a bigger, stronger, more aggressive, and more successful competitor, blocked the hurricanrana, planting Evans with the Styles Clash on the gym floor. That got a MASSIVE pop.

Aries was briefly distracted out of concern for Evans, which allowed the bleeding Sydal a moment to fight him off as they were on the turnbuckle. Evans got brought back in by Styles and Sydal finished him with a gorgeous shooting star press, bringing this show-stealer to a conclusion that had the crowd giving all four men a standing ovation.

*Rating:* ****

*Dragon Gate Rules
CIMA & Speed Muscle vs. Dragon Kid, Ryo Saito, & Genki Horiguchi*

I can say for sure now that I regret not booking a flight to Chicago for _WrestleMania 22_ weekend.

Both trios units come to ringside and get respectful ovations, even some streamers, but it’s obvious that most of the fans in attendance are not familiar with these Dragon Gate superstars.

Referee Todd Sinclair had difficulty completely enforcing the rules, but he was obviously put in a situation in which he was still becoming familiar with these guys, and the heelish Blood Generation took advantage like the night before. That’s something I can appreciate after the antics of Generation Next in 2004.

I would not have booked Naruki Doi to take the fall in this one, since he would be teaming with CIMA the next day to challenge Aries & Roderick Strong for the Tag Titles. But with that said, this match is another one of the rare magical occasions that fans get to have the privilege and pleasure of experiencing. To deem this match to be a show-stealer would not be doing it justice.

The match was paced incredibly well, getting more intense with each minute passing by. Guys came in and out as they pleased, but unlike so many of the geeks that plague the independent scene, there was a grace, timing, and fluidity to this spotfest. These guys had such an impressive professionalism to their movements as they delivered the nonstop action for the last 10 minutes or so.

This match also had another ingredient that it didn’t require to have been voted as the 2006 Match of the Year by the readers of the _Wrestling Observer_. That would be SELLING. Deep into this match, CIMA went to work on Horiguchi’s back, and this came into play later during the extended action-packed third act. Horiguchi dropped a member of Blood Generation with a modified piledriver-type move, and then sold his back that had been worked on. This delayed him from going for the cover, causing a nearfall that got a red-hot reaction. Horiguchi would continue to sell the back throughout the rest of this instant, timeless classic.

Speaking of red-hot nearfalls, the third act was dripping with them. The match would look to be over, but a kickout would occur or someone would make the save. This only increased the crowd’s red-hot enthusiasm, which became white-hot, and the commentators eventually said “this action speaks for itself,” which was the right call to make. When Dragon Kid hit the second hurricanrana pin on Doi, it brought the emotionally satisfying end to this work of art.

This match was simply magical, on par with numerous other magical moments involving CM Punk, Kenta Kobashi, Eddie Guerrero, Jushin Liger, AJ Styles, Low Ki, Paul London, Samoa Joe, Bryan Danielson, KENTA, and Generation Next. It was a much different flavor of magic, and I so badly wished I had made the trip just to see this match. These are the days I miss in independent wrestling.

Is this the best match of ROH in 2006, let alone the company’s best match ever? I can’t really say at this point about 2006, but I’d have it just a notch below the London vs. Danielson 2/3 falls match at _The Epic Encounter_. This is DEFINITELY a top ten match in ROH’s history, no doubt about it for me. Get yourself a copy of this or the _Japan’s Finest_ compilation if you’ve yet to witness this.

*Rating:* *****

The first disc concludes with a Nigel McGuinness promo, bragging about being gone on this historic weekend because he’s in Japan defending the Pure Title. He reminds the viewers that doing this, along with him slaying such names as Samoa Joe, Jay Lethal, Austin Aries, Roderick Strong, and Claudio Castagnoli, makes him the best pure wrestler and best overall champion in the company, the true world champion in fact. He again calls out Bryan Danielson. I’m so ready to see these two fucking collide.

Homicide makes quick work of Mitch Franklin, and then proceeds to shit on Chicago's beloved Cubs as well as their native Cabana. Even with a concussion, Cabana comes to ringside and has a hardcore match masquerading as an unofficial brawl. He dominates Homicide early through anger and determination, but the Notorious 187 is able to seize back control. He once again hits multiple chairshots on a ladder wrapped around Cabana's neck and head. Concussion angles nowadays can be very polarizing for obvious reasons, and I hope no company ever books a concussion angle this violent again. That said, it worked for the story.

Right as Homicide & Smokes are leaving, and with Cabana outside the ring getting help with leaving too, out comes Hero with Necro Butcher. Necro grabs the ladder in the ring and tosses it outside, with Hero saying that what the fans just witnessed was practically child's play compared to the hardcore lengths that CZW superstars go to. Pearce comes out to have a great brawl with Necro, and I roll my eyes when I see Necro take a Ric Flair backdrop on the gym floor from the apron. Meanwhile, Castagnoli had come to ringside and chased Hero away, who had taken a powder.

After a few minutes, Hero manages to get involved again, this time drawing out the ROH Commissioner Cornette, who is brandishing a baseball bat. Hero is able to take him down with an arm submission though. Not bad for a supposedly untalented hack, huh James? This draws out Joe & Whitmer, who together with Pearce fight off the CZW duo. This was a phenomenal crowd-popping segment, getting passionate chants for both ROH and the individuals representing the brand.

Joe is left in the ring, saying he came to chew bubble gum and lay down some ass-kickings. He's now out of bubble gum.

*Samoa Joe vs. Jimmy Jacobs vs. Christopher Daniels*

Lacey dismisses Daniels to not bother coming to ringside, as this is a huge opportunity for Jacobs to pull the biggest upset of his career against Joe. Of course Daniels comes out though. He and Joe try to ignore Jacobs at first, but he makes his presence known. This was well-timed, not much to be anything special, but it was good and not bad for a breather before the big money main event. My favorite spot was Daniels about to hit the Angel's Wings on Joe, but he saw Jacobs coming. So he planted Jacobs on top of Joe with a Uranage, while using the other arm to drop Joe with a reverse DDT. But once Joe got the choke locked in on Jacobs, later it was done with.

*Rating:* ***1/4

*ROH Title Match
Bryan Danielson vs. Roderick Strong*

Danielson is disrespectful early as expected, and takes a couple powders in the early stages of the match to maintain control and composure while also talking shit to the fans. Having learned from their masterpiece at _Vendetta_, Strong stays inside the ring. Even when Danielson threatens to just walk out, even going all the way backstage, Strong stays in the ring and calls out Danielson, not playing into the mind games.

It took awhile, although not as much as in his matches before this against Danielson and CM Punk, for Strong to get some chopping sequences, only getting the occasional one planted on the champ. But Danielson was able to get in his own chopping sequences, obviously trolling Strong to show off what he could do. Danielson would go on to dominate Strong on the mat throughout most of the match, but there are of course some things I should point out in this classic that have stood the test of time.

Danielson just dominated Strong, who of course would get his chops in. His strikes and submission work were splendid as usual, just softening up the challenger and testing him for what was sure to be another grueling test of stamina between them. But the match got REALLY interesting, getting into actual MOTYC territory, when Strong attempted to plant his body on Danielson's back when the champ was leaning on the middle ropes. Danielson moved out of the way, causing Strong's right knee to awkwardly strike the rope.

Danielson went to work on that right knee, charging it on the mat and putting it through the submission grinder, including an Indian Death Lock, Boston Crab, and figure four leglock. Strong would manage to bring the match back to neutral, but his right knee was shot the rest of the match, which went on for about another 20 minutes. They brawled to the outside and Strong had Danielson positioned against a ring-post. Strong landed a chop, but then his second attempted chop got his hand to meet the steel when Danielson got out of the way.

Strong did just a terrific job of selling his right arm and right leg in the rest of the match. Like in his classic against James Gibson at _Unforgettable_, he would only chop with his left arm, and used the damaged right arm only to deliver vicious forearms to rock Danielson. In a sequence I'm sure was influenced by Strong studying KENTA's defeat over Danielson just days before this, Strong was able to absorb the crucifix position elbows of Danielson, rolling back and putting the champ in a fireman's carry position. Strong then delivered a perfectly timed gutbuster on the champ.

But Strong's right knee took some more damage just from that move, forcing him to briefly tend to it before going for the cover. This very brief moment was all the time needed for the champ to kick out. Strong, knowing that this would likely be his last chance at the ROH Title while Danielson held it, delivered numerous backbreakers to Danielson using his right limbs, telling his pain to fuck off so that he could obtain the top prize in the company. Danielson still kicked out though, making these for more great near-falls, while also causing more damage to Strong's right limbs.

Strong would also be unable to fully turn Danielson over during a Liontamer, giving the champ leverage to get out of the hold. Danielson would attempt some Cattle Mutilation submissions, but Strong also found a way to get to the ropes for the break. He would then go for the Crossface Chickenwing, but Strong broke that too. Danielson went for another trick in his bag, crotching Strong on the top turnbuckle. Strong would use that positioning to land a super gutbuster on Danielson, getting another massive pop on a night when there were many of them. Strong again told the pain in his right knee to fuck off, making a last-ditch effort more than 55 minutes into this classic to take out Danielson with another Liontamer, this time locking it completely in.

But Danielson would position his way out of the properly applied Liontamer, forcing Strong to stand upright and allowing Danielson to use his legs to roll up the challenger for the pinfall. Strong's right knee had nothing left, leaving him unable to kick out after more than 56 minutes had passed in this excellent main event.

My only problem with this match is that Danielson didn't sell the back work to the best of his ability. Other than that, I think I've made it pretty clear that this match fucking delivered and closed out this great show in splendid fashion. The match had started shortly before midnight, more than 4 hours passed for this show, and nearly an hour later these two men had the Chicago crowd in a fucking frenzy. I assume this will be included on the inevitable _Year Five_ compilation. I don't have this as high as _Vendetta_, but overall it's better than _This Means War_.

*Rating:* ****3/4

It's official: Lance Storm challenges Bryan Danielson for the ROH Title tomorrow night.

I'm with most longtime ROH viewers in that I prefer the shorter but equally if not greater events in ROH's history, such as the night before and after. But this show was tremendous, even though some matches didn't deliver much of a star rating. This was formatted to be similar to NOAH's events at the Tokyo Dome, going very long with all kinds of various styles across the board. This once again advanced some white-hot programs, and it was obvious that Homicide and Cabana would finally be bringing their violent, epic feud to an end the next night to close out the weekend.

This is definitely a must-have, not just for the storylines, but for having two all-time classics in ROH, one of them considered by many to be the greatest match in company history, that same match winning the Match of the Year Award in the _Wrestling Observer_. Don't forget that other great show-stealing tag too, which should be included on a Sydal compilation once he makes his ROH return in the near future. A long but VERY amazing night of professional wrestling.

Up next - Better Than Our Best
For the first and what might be the only time for me on this project, I'm not watching certain matches. I'm watching and reviewing the entire fucking show.


----------



## Super Sonic (Jun 11, 2014)

*Better Than Our Best - April 1, 2006*










Colt Cabana comes to ringside during the preshow, reiterating that he must end his feud with Homicide and get peace after the violence of the past several months.

*Jack Evans vs. Jimmy Jacobs vs. Matt Sydal vs. Ace Steel vs. Jake Crist vs. Dave Crist*

Just a spotfest, nothing truly special, but I expected that going in. This got the crowd's blood flowing and set a nice pace for the rest of the evening. Evans gets the victory before heading to Dragon Gate for three months.

ROH Commissioner Jim Cornette comes out to announce that Adam Pearce has been assigned as security to keep out Chris Hero & Necro Butcher. He's about to ask a young talent to come to the ring, but Colt Cabana interrupts. He begs for a hardcore match ("Chicago Street Fight" for the hometown pop) and Cornette grants that wish. Cornette then calls out Delirious.

Cornette puts over Delirious as a great, entertaining in-ring talent. But he says Delirious needs to win a match in order to maintain a spot on the ROH roster. He grants Delirious any opponent of his choosing, but only if Delirious agrees that this is do-or-die for him. The masked man cuts a gibberish promo that has the crowd in a frenzy, before he finally say something understandable. "Bllllllat!!!" Over and over again, followed by "Ricky Reyes! Ricky Reyes!" Cornette says it's on.

Before I get to the match: that segment included Delirious, Jim Cornette, Adam Pearce, and Colt Cabana. No politics, no bullshit, no rambling promos, no meaningless brawling. I miss the days before this company got overly petty.

*The ROH Tenure of Delirious on the Line
Delirious vs. Ricky Reyes*

A match that accomplished every single goal it had. Reyes dominated, while Delirious had some hope spots to show off his anger and desperation. Delirious got to be the one to break out of the Dragon Sleeper, which Austin Aries had been unable to do the week before, and finally clinched his first singles victory to maintain his spot, forcing the bully to submit to the Cobra Clutch after hitting him with the Shadows Over Hell. Poetry with a great reaction from the crowd. The first magical moment of the evening.

*Dragon Gate Rules
Jimmy Rave, Alex Shelley, & Masato Yoshino vs. Dragon Kid, Ryo Saito, & Genki Horiguchi*

Very good trios action but not the nonstop jaw-dropper of the trios matches earlier in the weekend. That's totally understandable since Rave & Shelley weren't trained for that style. I have to point out that while I enjoyed Brian Kendrick character-wise as a one night only member of the Embassy, Yoshino just completely smoked him in that regard and put forth a far superior in-ring performance to boot.

I really enjoyed Rave & Shelley at first being antsy when working with Do Fixer, taking powders and tagging in Yoshino, who was happy to be an asshole to his archrivals and get some vengeance after the Blood Generation loss the night before. He got to yet again show off his incredible chemistry with Dragon Kid, the two of them putting on some dazzling sprints.

Do Fixer was great in getting to show off their triple-team moves since only one of their opponents was familiar with them. But eventually Rave & Shelley did get comfortable and the last third of the match was tremendous action. The booking was perfect too for the Rave-hating Chicago crowd: the Crown Jewel finished off Horiguchi with the Pedigree! That meant the Embassy went 3-0 for this huge triple-shot, solidifying themselves as the #1 Contenders for the Tag Titles.

*Rating:* ***3/4

*Samoa Joe vs. Jimmy Yang vs. AJ Styles vs. Christopher Daniels*

Another match with impressive action, although not quite as much, and was plagued by tags not being logically enforced in the third act. This wasn't a Dragon Gate or Generation Next trios match, so it should've been easy for the referee to keep track.

Daniels had no interest in being involved early, and it seemed that Styles was to be the target in this match, but Joe would play that role in the second act. Everything in this match was crisp, getting the crowd to pop and everyone worked hard. Although neither man was actually legal, Joe finished off Styles with a rear-naked choke.

*Rating:* ***1/2

Afterwards, Joe stays in the ring and announces that it's time for him to get an ROH Title shot, calling out Bryan Danielson. The champ comes to the ring and talks shit, with a nice "If I can be serious for a moment..." dig at Lance Storm. After some nice crowd-engaging mic work, Danielson says he'll be happy to grant it after he's done kicking Storm's ass.

As Danielson heads backstage, out come Hero & Necro to throw Joe out of the ring. Pearce immediately storms to the ring and brawls with them. Cornette comes out with Claudio Castagnoli. The Swiss native fails to inflict any damage on the CZW stars, missing a baseball bat swing and appearing to land awkwardly on his knee on the gym floor. Cornette is taken out and Pearce is left laying, allowing the CZW stars to have the last laugh on ROH's historic weekend. This drew incredible heat as expected.

*Tag Titles Match
Austin Aries & Roderick Strong vs. CIMA & Naruki Doi*

Not the classic match I remembered, but still very good stuff. There was no clear announcement that this would be under Dragon Gate Rules, and with it being a title match, I assume this was to be held under ROH rules. Therefore, there was no reason for the referee to forget who was legal, and like the trios match earlier in the evening, this didn't have the breathtaking pace of the trios matches earlier in the weekend. All the more reason that the referee should've remembered who was legal, as it would NOT have been ticky-tacky or ruined the pace.

Strong was great laying down some brutality less than 24 hours removed from a grueling ROH Title shot against Danielson. CIMA did a phenomenal job of selling a chop from Strong, just absolutely perfect for someone not accustomed to Strong's physical style and popping the crowd even more in the process. Blood Generation would eventually get the advantage on Aries though, who would end up getting busted open on the face.

Aries found his face getting targeted, further showcasing that no matter how awesome CIMA & Doi were, they were still pricks on par with Danielson. Strong was great when he got the hot tag and laying down the fire on Blood Generation. This was the third act and the ref unfortunately forgot who was legal. But this was still very, very good action and worth checking out. All four men certainly deserved the standing ovation they got from the 1600-1700 fans in attendance.

*Rating:* ***3/4

*ROH Title Match
Bryan Danielson vs. Lance Storm*

Similar to Matt Hardy, the bandwagon for Lance Storm is long-gone, and it's obvious he's not an all-time great grappler as ROH marketed him as being during this time. With that said, he brought his fucking working boots on this night and more than held up his end in making this a great match, a true technical classic that stands the test of time. He was treated like a star by the Chicago crowd and gave them their money's worth. This is a match that I wish I had experienced live.

Danielson of course carried the personality portion of the match, which was the right decision to make since by now we all know how charismatic he truly is. But he didn't carry Storm, as both men were equally impressive with their mat wrestling and storytelling. The first couple minutes saw them having a teeter-totter of a technical showcase, struggling to get an extended advantage and exchanging arm twists, arm drags, hammerlocks, and snap-mare takeovers. It was fucking beautiful mat-work and managed to be engaging.

Danielson would attempt to get in the veteran Storm's head with a slap, only for minutes later to get a receipt from the former WWE/WCW/ECW superstar, as this obviously wasn't his first rodeo with a cocky and disrespectful young pup. They had more great wrestling with Storm getting an advantage, causing Danielson to take an extended break outside the ring and cautiously getting back in. A particular spot that stood out was when Storm rolled a running Danielson into the half-crab, getting a tremendous reaction and showing just how seriously he was taking this opportunity to hold a title that had been treated with such high regard.

After more great wrestling, Danielson would lock in the crossface chickenwing, but Storm broke it by reaching the ropes, building up the drama and getting the crowd even more behind the challenger. Storm would pull out a trick from his peer Jerry Lynn's playbook, planting the champ with a cradle piledriver. When that doesn't put down the champ, he locks in the half-crab again, and this time the crowd is hoping/sensing that a title change is about to unfold in front of them, but the champ rolls him for a nearfall, the same position which had finished off Strong the night before.

The third act would continue to be great stuff, leading to a fantastic finishing sequence. Storm got out of the Cattle Mutilation and positioned Danielson into a rollup for a hot nearfall. Danielson managed to almost finish off Storm with a Tiger Suplex, then locked it in the Cattle Mutilation once again for the submission victory. After shaking hands, Danielson leaves Storm to get the spotlight he earned after an excellent effort.

I don't know if this is the best match of Storm's career, as the only work I've seen of his was some WCW and then his WWE career. This is definitely in the conversation though and holds up incredibly well. Excellent match.

*Rating:* ****

*Hardcore Match
Homicide vs. Colt Cabana*

I might be in the minority, but I absolutely love the music used in their pre-match video. Struck me with a nostalgic WCW feeling before that federation went down the shitter.

Cabana starts with the early advantage, fueled by his anger, hometown crowd support, and knowing that this is the end of a violent chapter of his career. He fucking tossed Homicide around at ringside, getting his first taste of what he hoped would be the satisfying closure he had been wanting for five months. Smokes is able to distract the Chicago native to allow Homicide to regain the advantage.

Homicide was fucking brutal to Cabana as usual for their feud. In this match he brought in a ladder, then much later a barbed-wire board (last seen in ROH for the previous "Chicago Street Fight" inside the same building at _Death Before Dishonor II Pt. 2_), and then as the match was reaching its conclusion, asked the fans to throw chairs in the ring in another spot not seen since that same previous "Chicago Street Fight." I'm glad nobody got badly hurt there, although a chair did bounce off of Cabana.

Cabana was able to bust Homicide open, and drew the trademark fork out of the Notorious 187's boot, scraping at his forehead. But also introduced into the match, in true moments of poetry, was a coathanger and even a bottle of Drano. Cabana teased he would use the latter, but that thankfully never came to fruition. Homicide would then have his Bernie Williams jersey removed by Cabana. They had a great little tease of who would get the other onto the barbed-wire board, an obvious sign of things to come.

Instead, after having scraped the forehead of Homicide, Cabana poured a bunch of rubbing alcohol on the crimson mask. Homicide screamed in absolute agony, twitching outside the ring to sell the pain. Fantastic stuff. After being thrown in the ring, Homicide begged off, asking Cabana to end it, but of course that was bullshit and Cabana knew it. Cabana would be victim to a lowblow, and this would allow Homicide to toss in a chair, followed by the chair riot.

Having about a minute to recover from the lowblow, both men went at each other in the chair-canvas ring. Homicide would unfathomably kick out of a superplex that had both men landing on the steel. Cabana would clear the chairs out, as would Homicide, but not before Homicide utilized CM Punk's Pepsi Plunge for another great nearfall. This would get the fans to temporarily slap the barricades to the early part of "Miseria Cantare." Homicide asks Smokes to come after Homicide, but finds himself getting accidentally charged out of the ring.

Cabana takes advantage and ties Smokes to the ropes and take him out of the equation. With Homicide recovering on the outside, Cabana set up a table on top of the barbed-wire board in front of the corner. They have a back-and-forth to tease who would take the barbaric bump, with Cabana winning that battle, forcing Homicide to eat a super powerbomb on it. Homicide would kick out of that and a followup lariat, then had absolutely nothing left when that was followed up with a Colt .45, a move Cabana had not used for an extended period of time in ROH.

Cabana gets a great reaction from the hometown crowd, but is mugged by Smokes & Reyes, who threaten to hang him with a noose like it's _Mississippi Burning_. Homicide has regained consciousness and tells them to back off, that he will end this his way on his own. The Rottweilers have an extended argument, and they finally listen to their leader. Homicide says he is obligated to at least respect Cabana after everything they've been through and finally beating an ROH legend.

"You want your goddamn peace? I'll give you your fucking peace!"

Homicide apologizes for everything and offers his hand, falling to his knees. Cabana accepts and Homicide says it's over, that he respects him. After everything they had been through, an unnecessarily violent turn but with their issues settled, they shake hands and embrace, with Homicide reassuring that the feud is history. Confetti falls at ringside as the crowd chants "ROH!" Smokes half-heartedly shakes the hand of Cabana, not agreeing with his leader but respecting his wishes.

Cabana is left to a monster celebration in front of his hometown, the perfect ending to the best weekend ROH has ever hosted. And that's not hyperbole.

I'm sure both men, now in their mid-30s and not quite etching HOF careers on the big stages, reflect back and regret some of the violence in this feud and this particular closing match. It was fucking brutal. But if they can compartmentalize that like I am, they should still be able to appreciate and be proud of this hardcore masterpiece they put together. There was no better way to close out the show than to bring this underrated feud, a great feud in retrospect, to a conclusion in Cabana's hometown, with him finally slaying the demon.

This was storytelling magnificence and a classic hardcore match. I'm not sure if wrestling will ever be able to deliver something like this again. A genuine MOTYC. Both men should be STRONGLY considered to get a shot at Danielson, and I hope those CZW stars who boast about using weaponry got a look at this, and should be VERY concerned that ROH has guys who went through this length and could feel this depth of hatred.

*Rating:* ****1/2

Is this the greatest show in ROH history as many claim it to be?

If you watch this with that expectation, you won't find it to be quite that head-and-shoulders epic. The mid-card matches that I had remembered as being excellent didn't quite hold up almost a decade later, although they were all VERY good stuff, with two of the matches bordering on greatness. That's nothing to be ashamed of and they did an incredible job of doing what they needed to do for their spots on the cards.

A key thing that makes this show stand out among the many great shows during the Gabe Sapolsky era was the pacing. Sapolsky managed to pace this event in a way that anyone in attendance seeing the federation for the first time would be able to digest it while also being blown away, AND also delivering the quality of matches that the frequent customers of ROH at this time had become accustomed to. Pacing was always an issue for him, but on this night, it truly clicked for him in that regard. Adam Pearce and Delirious have gone on to pace events that are digestible for newbies, but not quite delivering the frequent match quality that quite captures the detail-oriented, demanding eye of folks like me.

The two money matches to headline this event both delivered as expected, with them obviously being two completely different flavors. An established superstar in the big leagues came in and put forth a career-defining performance against one of the greatest in-ring technicians the business has ever seen, adding another layer of prestige for the ROH Title. A violent feud finally reached its appropriately timed, emotional conclusion, the hometown boy finally getting the last laugh after being driven away from his standard comedy routine. And afterwards, Homicide made his babyface turn after two years of absolute malice and bitterness controlling his actions.

But it's not just the mid-card and main events that make a show get held in such high regard. You gotta have that meaningful undercard. The opener was just a spotfest, but that's all it needed to be. In a sign of what was to come in the main event of the evening, Delirious, an established comedy style freak, slayed a member of the Rottweilers to save his career in ROH, a victory that meant more after Austin Aries had been unable to overcome the Dragon Sleeper of Ricky Reyes prior to this event.

But that's not all, folks. On this event, we got to see CZW leave with the final say on ROH, leaving them laying on such a historic weekend for the company before ROH would head back to the East Coast, where the fanbases may not be quite so slanted towards ROH. In the same segment, the iconic Joe would make it known that he was ready to challenge Danielson and regain the top prize in the company, finally teasing a match that many fans had been hoping to see since their ***** classic at _Midnight Express Reunion_.

_Nowhere to Run_ had a slightly better match quality on paper, and had key storyline progression just like this one too, even the hometown guy getting the final say in a feud-ending gimmick match that followed a phenomenal technical match contested over the top prize in the company. I'm also sure that as I continue this project, I will have the pleasure of revisiting shows that are more stacked with truly high-caliber match quality. But this night was a truly magical night, with flawless pacing, storyline progression left and right, stars from other federations coming in and busting their asses, and getting capped off with two incredible matches. This also had the key ingredient that I love so much in wrestling: VARIETY, not just in matches, but in storylines as well.

Now imagine with all of that I mentioned, and taking into account both _Dragon Gate Challenge and Supercard of Honor_, if ROH had managed to book the Briscoes, Low Ki, and Nigel McGuinness for this magical weekend.

I want to take the time in case any wrestler involved in the matches I reviewed for WM22 weekend ever reads this: Thank you for your hard work and determination. I know that having three nights like this back-to-back-to-back could not have been a breeze, and I appreciate everything you guys did to give the fans in attendance and those watching on DVD more than their money's worth. I'm sure the paydays were nowhere near what NJPW pays for the grueling _G-1 Climax_.

With a day to sleep on this and grasp everything that this card accomplished, I can clearly make the declaration.

Not only do I wish I had a time machine, but _Better Than Our Best_ is the greatest event in ROH history.

Up next - The 100th Show
Matches will include:
Bryan Danielson vs. Delirious
Briscoe Bros. vs. AJ Styles & Matt Sydal
Team ROH of Samoa Joe, BJ Whitmer, & Adam Pearce vs. Team CZW of Chris Hero, Super Dragon, & Necro Butcher


----------



## Super Sonic (Jun 11, 2014)

*The 100th Show - April 22, 2006*










*ROH Video Recap - April 5, 2006*






Important news/footage in the above video:
Exclusive footage from _Arena Warfare_ after the Briscoes attacked Austin Aries and Matt Sydal. Sydal has challenged them to face himself and AJ Styles on April 22 in Philly for _The 100th Show_!
KENTA is confirmed to return for 3 dates - June 17 in NYC, June 23 in Detroit, June 24 in Chicago!
Commissioner Jim Cornette has challenged CZW owner John Zandig to a glorified verbal debate at _The 100th Show_. Fuck that trash. Another good Cornette promo here though in a vacuum.

*ROH Video Recap - April 15, 2006*






Important news/footage in the above video:
Homicide and Colt Cabana have finally settled their grudge, so they now focus on winning championships. _The 100th Show_ gets even more depth (on paper) with Cabana challenging ROH Champion Bryan Danielson and Homicide teaming with Ricky Reyes to challenge Tag Champions Austin Aries & Roderick Strong.
More depth for the same show - Lacey is fed up with Jimmy Jacobs not winning matches, so she won't accompany him, but insinuates she'll go topless on ROHvideos.com should he win.
And the biggie - ROH and CZW finally have a sanctioned match with Samoa Joe, BJ Whitmer, & Adam Pearce colliding with Chris Hero, Super Dragon, & Necro Butcher in what promises to be a chaotic main event! OH FUCK YES~!

*Christopher Daniels vs. Claudio Castagnoli*

The split ROH and CZW crowd is amazing already in the opening match, with split chants over Chris Hero, who isn't even involved in this match.

First-time ever matchup that is also a Pure Title Shot opportunity for Daniels. Glad I decided not to skip this one. They have a stalemate early trading arm submissions and arm-drags. The match develops a story when Daniels hits a basement dropkick on Castagnoli's left leg. Of course Daniels would go to work on it, to which Castagnoli did an exceptional job of selling it.

Castagnoli would get the heat back when he was seated on the turnbuckle and used his right foot to push Daniels off, then following that up with a diving European Uppercut. However, Castagnoli would land on his left knee when delivering that move, which he continued selling. After several more minutes of back-and-forth work, Castagnoli is unable to land an Alpamari Waterslide due to his left knee. This allow Daniels to roll him forward and hold onto that left knee for the pinfall.

Post-match, Daniels announces he has a milestone of his own, offering to follow the Code of Honor, which Castagnoli accepts unlike Low Ki at _Tag Wars 2006_. The fans react very well to this, and Daniels leaves Castagnoli in the ring to get his spotlight. Hero immediately interrupts walking through the fans and cutting a promo. He spews much negativity while walking through the hated ROH section, then changes his tune about overcoming adversity when reaching the partial CZW section before fucking off. Castagnoli leads a passionate "ROH" chant for the majority in attendance.

*Rating:* ***1/4

I FF to the closing minutes of the next match, which is *Delirious vs. Jimmy Yang vs. Jimmy Rave vs. Jimmy Jacobs*. Jacobs has Yang finished off but refuses to pin him, which allows Delirious to make him submit to the Cobra Stretch. This serves multiple purposes to be revealed later in the night. Considering that Yang would be getting an ROH Title shot on the next show though, I wouldn't have booked him to look so vulnerable.

*ROH Title Match
Bryan Danielson vs. Colt Cabana*

Both men are coming off huge victories in the two main events at _Better Than Our Best_. Danielson has Bobby Cruise announce that he's the "least overrated wrestler in the world" in response to the CZW section; he also moons them. He and Cabana have very some nice wrestling for several minutes, with this looking to be a potential classic, only for Cabana to get rolled up less than seven minutes into this match, a big shocker after his landmark victory just three weeks prior.

Jacobs reveals in a backstage intermission promo that he wasn't going to allow the fans to see Lacey strip naked on ROHvideos.com as she insinuated if he had won, which is why he allowed himself to lose the match. Meanwhile, Cabana refuses to be interviewed, distraught after choking in his big match.

Bryan Danelson comes out after the students match, for some reason wearing one of the Tag Titles, but nobody acknowledges it. My theory on this mishap was to play a rib on Gabe Sapolsky. He cuts a phenomenal promo on the CZW crowd, completely mocking and burying them for their irrationality. This is one of the best promos of his entire career, one that shows just what a great character he is for the business.

Danielson then says after making quick work of Cabana, "not even breaking a sweat," he will put the title on the line again tonight against someone who won in the first half. He'd already beaten Daniels. He'd already beaten Austin Aries. He'd already beaten Roderick Strong three times. So that left Delirious. I'd have laughed if Aries had come out with the actual ROH Title.

Delirious comes out and after being mocked by Danielson, cuts a gibberish promo that has the crowd rocking. He hymns to the tune of the "Final Countdown"...

*ROH Title Match
Bryan Danielson vs. Delirious*

... and Danielson slaps him to start off the match. He dominates early, just absolutely schooling Delirious and of course trolling the CZW fans more. In a moment that makes me believe even more that Sapolsky was planning for Danielson to have a title defense against Super Dragon, Danielson even hits a curb stomp directly in front of the CZW audience to antagonize them even more. (How perfect it would've been for SD to cash in that open contract by technically representing PWG?) He follows that up with a Rick Rude sexy pose, then does another one because apparently a female in the audience likes it. And just to be even more of a dick, already having the advantage, the champ uses the ropes for leverage when applying the abdominal stretch.

Crotched on the top rope, Delirious would fight off Danielson to get some control. This would be short-lived after a few moves as the champ used the momentum from an attempted clothesline to position the challenger as victim for the Cattle Mutilation. Delirious would quickly get to the ropes to break it, and also block an attempted crossface chickenwing, following that up with an airplane spin, kick to the hand, and then the Cobra Stretch, but the champ would of course reach the ropes.

Delirious followed that up with a tope suicida, landing awkwardly on his right shoulder. Danielson would throw him into the guardrail to regain control, not feeling much effect from the highspot. He would toss the challenger into the guardrail after teasing an airplane spin, refusing to pull out the signature move as a fuck off to the audience. Danielson would batter Delirious, splitting the mask open and revealing blood underneath the mask.

The champ would go after the cut Delirious had, but another Cattle Mutilation would end up with a ropebreak once the action got back inside. Danielson would miss a diving headbutt, allowing Delirious some control and giving the future HOFer numerous clotheslines in the corner. Danielson blocks an attempted superplex, crotching Delirious for a super back drop suplex, then finishing him off with the elbows to the bleeding head.

Delirious would get a standing ovation from the crowd for this breakout effort as he got helped to the back, leaving the champ in the ring with the majority of the ROH crowd chanting "He's our hero!" Not a super great match, but perfect in accomplishing its goals, which were to make Danielson look like a ruthless dick and elevate Delirious.

*Rating:* ***

*Briscoe Bros. vs. AJ Styles & Matt Sydal*

Really good action, ruined only by the ref somehow forgetting one tag legality. The Briscoes would decimate Sydal in this one as they should've. Styles of course was great in his aggression and also would get trolled to allow the Briscoes to cut the ring in half. This got heated and a bit wild, with the ref allowing leeway in the closing stretch, but thankfully the participants remembered who was legal after hitting Sydal with a spike double underhook piledriver. Very good stuff overall, but I'd have booked Styles to do the job since Sydal was getting a title opportunity on the next event. Glad to see the Briscoes get momentum though after immediately declaring that they were coming for the tag belts.

*Rating:* ***1/2

A short video of many of the greatest moments of ROH's first 99 shows is aired. Good stuff but still missing a lot of essential clips, such as Styles vs. Paul London @ _Night of the Grudges_ and the Danielson vs. Strong trilogy (only three singles matches between them in ROH up to this point.)

*Team ROH vs. Team CZW - Hardcore Match
Samoa Joe, BJ Whitmer, & Adam Pearce vs. Chris Hero, Super Dragon, & Necro Butcher*

This match is officiated by ROH's #1 referee Todd Sinclair and a CZW referee I don't recognize. There is also no commentary for this match as it would be unnecessary.

The heat in this match was just unreal, just right behind Joe's singles match against Kenta Kobashi in NYC and Aries vs. CM Punk @ _Death Before Dishonor III_. Fucking brutal hardcore match, just stiff shit and unprotected chairshots all over the place. I should note that Joe and Hero, the true captains of their respective teams, took by far the least amount of punishment in this instant storytelling classic. But what those two brought was extra crowd heat for their segments with the other participants, and specifically against each other.

Pearce appeared to get busted open early on his scalp, showing the most crimson of all the participants. His blood would stain Necro's neon CZW shirt. Those two had a great moment in the ring. They had a literal slugfest, exchanging punches to their bodies, and Necro won that little battle much to the CZW section's delight. Moments later, Pearce would deliver a receipt in another slugfest, winning that battle.

Every matchup in this was fucking great. Joe and Necro got big pops. Joe and SD did as well.

After about 25 minutes of just brutal, brutal action in front of this excellent crowd in attendance, CZW owner John Zandig attempts to insert himself into this masterpiece, drawing Joe to come beat the shit out of him, but Hero & Necro come help out. Sinclair isn't happy about this, wanting this to be a fair fight. After conducting themselves without altercation up to this point, the CZW ref gets in Sinclair's face, somehow rationalizing that "this is CZW!" to justify this becoming an unfair fight, and Sinclair ain't taking his shit. Necro knocks Sinclair out from behind.

Out comes Castagnoli, wearing a glittery ROH jacket, and I should note that he had appeared earlier in the match to take a barb-wire baseball bat away from Zandig, drawing him to the back. Castagnoli throws Zandig out of the ring and grabs Hero, holding him for Joe. When Joe runs to the ropes for momentum to strike Hero, Castagnoli pushes his trainer away and gives Joe a European Uppercut, just hours after having the honors of getting the first genuine handshake Daniels had delivered in ROH.

The Kings of Wrestling embrace, but this is interrupted seconds later when Pearce dropkicks Castagnoli. As this is going on, the ROH crowd is chanting for Homicide, the man in ROH who has shown to thrive better than anyone else in this type of environment.

Also during this match, in what has to be the most insane spot, SD took out Whitmer with an Argentine piledriver from the apron through a table laid out on the concrete floor. An all-time highlight reel spot in ROH's rich vault.

SD & Necro take out Pearce, who then gets finished off with what looks like a double-team swinging gut-wrench Ace Crusher from KOW. The CZW referee gladly counts Pearce down for the three. The CZW representatives walk over to their section and celebrate as a pissed-off Joe glares at them while standing besides his fallen ROH colleague. He says to let the CZW theme music play, as it'll be the last time it's heard in the ROH environment.

Whitmer is carried out on a board while Pearce is dripping blood. Meanwhile, Zandig poses with CZW fans and the CZW stars take the back door out of the building.

With the exception of a totally illogical officiating moment when the refs were doing a 10 count on guys knocked down in the ring, this was fucking epic and deserving of the "Match of the Year" chant coming from the crowd afterwards. Excellent, excellent, EXCELLENT brawl and the booking was top-notch, giving CZW the last laugh yet again.

*Rating:* ****3/4

Cabana does a backstage interview and he believes he "forgot how to wrestle" during his extended feud against Homicide. He says he will start at the bottom with the goal of challenging for the ROH Title.

The DVD closes with Pearce getting medical attention on his head, showing two deep gashes on his scalp. I can appreciate the pain he put himself through to get this program over.

What an absolutely phenomenal end to _The Milestone Series_. A timeless storytelling hardcore classic right in the thick of the greatest feud in company history. A fun, action-packed tag match. A moment 99 shows in the making to kick off the show. Danielson wrestling twice and doing a masterful troll job of the CZW fanbase, elevating an undercard wrestler and further cementing his legacy in the process. And let's not forget the rocking Philly crowd split between their federations of choice, making for an amazing atmosphere throughout the night.

It's a shame we didn't get the rematch of _The Era of Honor Begins_ main event that was 99 shows in the making. But this was one HELL of a fucking plan B.

ROH had amazing stretches in 2004 and 2005, and has gone on to do so yet again in the coming years. But the seven shows that compiled _The Milestone Series_ truly showcase everything great about ROH. Top-notch technical wrestling that elevated the prestige of the ROH Title and further solidified Bryan Danielson's in-ring legacy. Fantastic trios matches and great tag team wrestling. Superstars from other federations or in retirement showing up with their working boots. Star power all over the place. Generally amazing crowds. Tremendous pacing. The greatest feud in company history. The early stages of one of the best feuds in company history, while another epic feud would come to a violent but happy end. This stretch of shows had EVERYTHING for both die-hard and new fans.

If you have never seen _The Milestone Series_, take the time to dig around and find these events. It's a time that will never be duplicated, even if some federations attempt to do so. WWE no longer snubs its nose at the indies, meaning that top-notch talent isn't left toiling and starving to get noticed as much as they were in the mid-2000s. NOAH is practically a walking corpse. ROH and Dragon Gate unfortunately had a falling out, leading to an already thinned out indy scene getting thinned out even more with ridiculous "exclusive contracts." And for reasons that are totally understandable, the frequent workrate and violence had to be toned down for the long-term brand of ROH under its current owners.

Fear not though, because in my opinion it would be awhile before ROH's peak period would end, and the greatest rivalry in company history is near on this project for me.

Up next - Weekend of Champions Night 1
Matches will include:
Jimmy Jacobs vs. Colt Cabana
Nigel McGuinness vs. Christopher Daniels
Bryan Danielson vs. Jimmy Yang
Austin Aries & Roderick Strong vs. Samoa Joe & Matt Sydal
Team ROH of BJ Whitmer, Ace Steel, & Adam Pearce vs. Team CZW of Super Dragon, Nate Webb, & Necro Butcher


----------



## Super Sonic (Jun 11, 2014)

*Weekend of Champions Night 1 - April 28, 2006*










Included for the first time on DVD is the respective Video Recap.

*ROH Video Recap - April 25, 2006*






Important news/footage from the above video:
Yet another very good Cornette promo about the events at _The 100th Show_. This promo would be moot though as I'm about to explain.

The feature presentation starts with Lacey and Jimmy Jacobs earlier in the day having a discussion. Lacey is unimpressed with Jacobs not getting a victory and she doesn't give a shit what his reasons are, threatening to fire him soon if he doesn't get results.

*Jimmy Jacobs vs. Colt Cabana*

Not a noteworthy match but an entertaining one as expected, which is why I watched this. Seriously, a comedy guy trying to work his way back up the card as a wrestler against a guy on the hot seat with the valet that he's in twisted love with. Worked like a charm in front of Dayton, the perfect crowd for this dynamic. There's another reason I watched this too which I will get to later down the line.

Post-match, with Cabana winning of course, out comes ROH Commissioner Jim Cornette with Ace Steel, Cabana's trainier and fellow Second City Saint. Cornette requests his help against CZW and says that Claudio Castagnoli is a deserter for what he did just days before this event; Cornette basically recites his promo on the included Video Recap. Cabana agrees to help out with ROH's cause against CZW later in the evening, and I love that after he got the last laugh in the violent feud against Homicide.

After the second match, Super Dragon shows up and beats up a geek. Not much of a reaction because why would anyone, even an enthusiastic Dayton, give a shit about a geek without a braggadocios promo to taunt the crowd and locker room afterwards?

Nigel McGuinness cuts another fun promo saying that he'll take care of Christopher Daniels tonight, and then focuses on Bryan Danielson the next night for their dream match to determine the best wrestler in the company, in what should be the first ever ROH Title vs. Pure Title match assuming they both retain tonight. It's very obvious that McGuinness is looking past Daniels towards Danielson.

*Pure Title Match
Nigel McGuinness vs. Christopher Daniels*

Good match here with some counters I hadn't seen before. McGuinness forced Daniels to use a rope break when he got hit in the eye, going for constant nearfalls and moving the challenger closer to the ropes each time. Later McGuinness would regain control with a corner headstand kick followed up by throwing Daniels shoulder-first in the turnbuckle. Daniels would get his left arm and shoulder worked on, but also showed some nice counter submissions to get the champ to use his rope breaks.

In the closing stretch, McGuinness would be out of rope breaks so he forced himself and Daniels to the outside during a submission to break it. They brawled outside as the ref counted, and as the 20 count got close, McGuinness threw a photographer at Daniels to take the cheap win by countout. Great heat for this and I liked that finish not just because it reminds the ROH audience that he's still an underhanded son of a bitch after winning clean during his last match at _Best in the World 2006_, but also shows he NEEDED to cheat because he was looking past Daniels.

*Rating:* ***1/4

At intermission, Danielson talks about the dream match against McGuinness the next night, feeling like he has to prove himself once again despite being the best in the company for quite some time. Samoa Joe interrupts him and says that he's eventually coming "to take what's mine" after taking care of CZW. Joe is hilariously hypocritical when he says Danielson will be combining the ROH and Pure Titles to feed his ego. Let's recall Joe's insecure cheapshots at the Pure Title in 2004 and on this very night, he's going for the Tag Titles yet again to be the first ever Triple Crown winner in company history to feed his own ego, a goal that cost him his friendship with Jay Lethal.

*ROH Title Match
Bryan Danielson vs. Jimmy Yang*

Good match but not sure it's the best match of Yang's career as some live reports indicated at the time. For one, it was obvious Yang wasn't gonna dethrone Danielson which kept even a crowd as enthusiastic as Dayton from buying into a title change. This also kicked off intermission and matches in that position usually aren't show-stealers. I did enjoy Danielson trying to bait Yang at times, only for Yang to just come at him with kicks without much caution. Once Danielson applied the Crossface Chickenwing from the top rope, we knew it was over.

*Rating:* ***1/4

*Tag Titles Match
Austin Aries & Roderick Strong vs. Samoa Joe & Matt Sydal*

As I'd expect, Aries and Sydal played the Ricky Morton roles throughout various segments in this match. Both times were incredible. Standout moments in this match include: TAG LEGALITIES BEING REMEMBERED; Strong and Sydal taking a blocked earclap headscissors followed by Yakuza kick with awkward Sydal bump sequence from their singles match in PWG a few weeks earlier; Joe countering a charge from Aries with an Ace Crusher, allowing Sydal to hit a gorgeous standing moonsault nearfall; and a red-hot finishing stretch that had the Dayton crowd rocking. The finish was perfect with Joe being taken out by a tope suicide, allowing the champs to hit two backbreakers followed by a 450 Splash. Excellent match.

*Rating:* ****

Post-match, Joe is left in the ring and calls out CZW and we have a brawl. Joe is taken to the back by Necro, and he gets hog-tied by Castagnoli.

*Team ROH vs. Team CZW - Hardcore Match
BJ Whitmer, Adam Pearce, Ace Steel, & Colt Cabana vs. Super Dragon, Nate Webb, Necro Butcher, & Claudio Castagnoli*

As the brawl continues, Whitmer and Pearce come out one at a time, and Whitmer's neck brace is removed by Castagnoli. This was a very good brawl, but after being just six days after the chaotic epic at _The 100th Show_, these guys had to tone it down a bit. Also, as great the Dayton crowd was, this feud was not as over in any market as it was in Philadelphia. The spots that stand out to me are a shotgun dropkick from Cabana in which he appeared not to be comfortable from taking that bump, and the finish, which was Castagnoli holding Whitmer between a chair decapitation-style so that SD could stomp on the neck just siix days after the ridiculous Argentine piledriver, and Whitmer taking a musclebuster from Castagnoli.

Post-match as Whitmer is carried out, Steel wants CZW to have someone to "fucking die" and Pearce says that after two losses, "there will not be a fucking third!!!"

*Rating:* ***1/2

Not on par with _The Milestone Series_, but very good show in Dayton as usual at the time. The tag match is must-see and hopefully gets included on the inevitable Sydal compilation that I expect to be released before 2014 ends.

At long last, I arrive at the greatest rivalry in company history...

Up next - Weekend of Champions Night 2
Matches will include:
Chris Sabin vs. Delirious
Super Dragon vs. BJ Whitmer
Matt Sydal vs. Christopher Daniels
Bryan Danielson vs. Nigel McGuinness
Austin Aries & Roderick Strong vs. Jimmy Rave & Alex Shelley


----------



## Super Sonic (Jun 11, 2014)

*Weekend of Champions Night 2 - April 29, 2006*










Lacey is getting more fed up with Jimmy Jacobs and his failure to win a match.

BJ Whitmer kicks off the show with a neck brace but his promo is thankfully cut short by ROH Commish Jim Cornette, who also brings out Adam Pearce. The Scrap Daddy is named Lt. Commish when Cornette isn't around, and he asks Whitmer to sit out the night due to all the punishment he's taken in the past week. He cuts a passionate albeit somewhat ridiculous "us vs. them" promo saying ROH and its fanbase is in a war against CZW and sports-entertainment. Those familiar with Cornette's schtick have seen this from him a million times, although he's right on the money here about WWE using religion, as this was during the awful McMahonism program. Pearce is left in the ring but gets ambushed by Nate Webb when leaving ringside, which then brings out Ace Steel to chase off the CZW star.

*Chris Sabin vs. Delirious*

Good stuff here overall, although Sabin was cringeworthy at the start of the match with his “be my friend” shtick due to Delirious being a mental. The counters were really good, and if Sabin had just sold more during the finishing stretch, specifically his back over being hit with the Shadows Over Hell instead of easily making several attempts at the Cradle Shock, this could’ve been rated much higher.

*Rating:* ***

Jacobs wins his match and strips down to his trunks. One of the weaker segments in this classic arc.

I FF to the end of *Samoa Joe vs. Claudio Castagnoli*, a dream match that didn’t live up to expectations. (A shame we can’t get 2004-05 Joe vs. current Cesaro.) It basically turns into a hardcore tag match pitting Pearce & Ace Steel against Webb & Necro Butcher. Really good brawl and it tips in CZW’s favor when Super Dragon appears. This brings out BJ Whitmer.

*Hardcore Match
Super Dragon vs. BJ Whitmer*

Brutal, hard-hitting shit as expected, and the crowd loved this. While perhaps not the absolute most convincing, Whitmer actually bothered to sell the bad neck from all the punishment he had taken, including the absurd Argentine piledriver just a week before this. Whitmer had the crowd fully behind him against SD, who is such an under-appreciated heel. I think SD’s ability as a heel speaks volumes in that he got the uncharismatic Whitmer to be a believable underdog.

They teased a number of Argentine piledrivers, all of them getting over. SD would set up two stacked tables on the outside, then attempted to top the Argentine piledriver from the week before in Philly. Whitmer blocked that and they pulled off an insane wrist-clutch exploder, from the top rope, through the stacked tables, onto the floor. Just absurd lengths these two men went, especially SD since he wasn’t being booked after this. Whitmer has slayed one demon, and SD is left in the street by Steel & Pearce like a piece of trash.

While certainly not as epic as Kenta Kobashi’s weekend of appearances, hats off to what Super Dragon did for just three nights in ROH. Supposedly he assaulted a fan in Philly so ROH just used him to put Whitmer over before telling him to fuck off. But his quick departure from the company took away a malicious character from the CZW camp for the angle, and as I’ve stated before, I believe Gabe Sapolsky would’ve eventually booked SD & Davey Richards vs. KENTA & Naomichi Marufuji. I also believe that SD would’ve challenged for the ROH Title on the next Chicago event, allowing someone else enough time to organically develop as a contender.

*Rating:* ***1/4

*Matt Sydal vs. Christopher Daniels*

Sydal would get a sore left ankle very early but dominated this match. His domination to progress his ascension as a singles star was very impressive, working on the ribs of Daniels after hitting that body part with a shotgun dropkick that knocked the veteran off the apron. In particular his submission work was quite impressive, and those only familiar with him as Evan Bourne ought to see this.

Daniels would of course get his moments in to keep this from being a squash, doing a great job of also selling his ribs. This was on its way to greatness but ended abruptly when Daniels managed to hit a Last Rites and that was it to put Sydal away. Considering I’d seen that get kicked out of numerous times, I’d have preferred that to be a nearfall with Daniels having to really dig down deep into his veteran craftiness to keep Sydal from obtaining his next singles landmark victory in ROH. Still really good stuff.

*Rating:* ***1/2

*ROH Title vs. Pure Title – Pure Wrestling Rules
Bryan Danielson vs. Nigel McGuinness*

Very overlooked match here but understandable. I’ve called this the greatest rivalry in company history, even sharing that assessment with McGuinness at the merchandise table in New Orleans. And if this match is anything to judge by, this rivalry may be even better than I had remembered.

Referee Todd Sinclair only mentions that the Pure Title can change via DQ and countout, leaving what appeared to be a glaring hole in regards to the ROH Title.

The match begins with beautiful matwork as so many viewers of this time can remember. Danielson works a Cravate but that gets broken when McGuinness lands a Divorce Court on the future HOFer’s left arm. This allowed the Pure Champ to dominate the first third of the match, just being all over Danielson’s left arm with various submissions and awkward positioning like he was white on rice. It got bad enough that Danielson had to use a rope break.

Of course, McGuinness trolled the temperamental Danielson into throwing closed punches in front of the ref twice, causing a rope break detriment. And also of course, Danielson would manage to get his hope spots in. The moment that stood out the most to me was McGuinness having his legs used to scissor Danielson’s torso while also applying the Kimura Lock. I wonder if Danielson will ever find himself locked in that submission again and if he’ll be able to survive it for more than five seconds that time around.

Danielson would position himself out of an arm submission, setting up McGuinness for a surfboard. But in something so simple yet to brilliant, he couldn’t apply enough pressure on his left arm due to all of the work put onto it. He’d have to settle for his usual plan B in that moment, charging the knees of McGuinness on the mat. This control would be short-lived as McGuinness would slam his left arm on the mat and slide him out of the ring.

After hitting a German Suplex upon reentering the ring, Danielson couldn’t follow up due to the pain in his left arm, although he escaped a hammerlock in the corner by using his feet and got some momentum with clotheslines and forearms using his right arm. A crossface chickenwing would convince McGuinness to use a rope break after serious contemplation, bring this match to an even level.

As they’re about to get into the third act, the match has another highlight as the overzealous Danielson charges at the hand-standing McGuinness and gets two boots to the face followed by a Tower of London, forcing him to use his final rope break. McGuinness would also go on to use his final rope break due to Danielson’s technical excellence.

The last few minutes were just off the charts. They brawled on the outside and McGuinness got the advantage, then used a table to pin down Danielson. The crowd was so antsy about Danielson being counted out that when he got in at 19, it was treated like a genuine nearfall. After trading blows, Danielson would lock the Cattle Mutilation on McGuinness, who would escape by finding a way to absorb the pain and position himself to fall out of the ring and break the hold.

After a tope suicida, they brawled again on the outside. Danielson would make the mistake of flying at McGuinness in the crowd. The Pure Champ smacked him with a steel chair, causing the crowd to go apeshit. This time, the ROH Champ couldn’t overcome the blow, finding himself being counted out. The crowd is popping huge for the title change, only for Sinclair to state that it was never declared the ROH Title could change hands in such fashion, and thus Danielson keeps it on a technicality despite McGuinness winning within the rules of the contest.

Danielson gets a well-deserved standing ovation when he’s left in the ring.

That booking was absolutely necessary to ensure rematches in the future, and is in no way a downer. This match has actually gotten better as the years have gone by, and is one of the all-time classics in ROH history. It is overshadowed by too many things to mention, which is understandable. After having a couple nights to sleep on this, I’m comfortable with my rating as this is one of the greatest matches in company history, and the Danielson vs. McGuinness compilation is worth every penny for just this match alone.

*Rating:* ****3/4

*Tag Titles Match
Austin Aries & Roderick Strong vs. Jimmy Rave & Alex Shelley*

A video package of their 2005 feud is shown, which is a nice highlight reel. Prince Nana is off for the weekend tending to matters in Ghana.

The match itself was good but never reached anything special, partially hurt by the referee forgetting who was legal and he should’ve quite easily kept track. GeNext was funny in playing mind games with their former archenemies, but the Embassy would return the underhanded tactics to them. Once Shelley was taken out and Rave ate two backbreakers while Aries waited for the 450 splash, everyone knew that was it for the show. Let’s not beat around it: although the Tag Titles have generally been booked strongly in ROH, the only reason this was the main event is because nobody knew how the crowd would react to the Danielson vs. McGuinness finish.

*Rating:* ***1/4

Danielson and McGuinness have a face-to-face discussion, with Danielson calling him out for using weapons. Delirious shows up to babble shit-talk at Danielson, who then gets mugged from behind by McGuinness.

Good god get this show. Extremely fun, a historic match that is one of the best in company history AND a kickoff to the best rivalry in company history, and the abrupt end to the short-lived Super Dragon era.

Up next – How We Roll
Matches will include:
Roderick Strong vs. Mark Briscoe
Austin Aries vs. Jay Briscoe
Bryan Danielson & Christopher Daniels vs. Christian Cage & Colt Cabana


----------



## Super Sonic (Jun 11, 2014)

*How We Roll - May 12, 2006*










*ROH Video Recap - May 4, 2006*






Important news/footage from the above video:
Delirious has been granted another shot for the ROH Title against Bryan Danielson, barely saying that he never quit or gave up, and showing a stitched wound on his right palm.
Jim Cornette has requested Homicide to help out his ROH colleagues against CZW.

I only have the good shit matches I'm reviewing, so I'll look at the dual review written by Jake Ziegler & Brad Garoon while I paraphrase what happened and offer my insight.

Lt. Commissioner Adam Pearce starts the DVD echoing Cornette's request towards Homicide.

Christian Cage and Bryan Danielson choose their partners for the main event of the evening, respectively picking Colt Cabana and Christopher Daniels. I'd have booked Danielson & Alex Shelley vs. Christian & Homicide instead, with Danielson this time taking the Embassy's money to grant Shelley a spot in a marquee match (with the potential of him making waves in TNA should he go over Christian) whereas Christian would remind Homicide that it was this very weekend a year ago that he lost his bitter feud against Danielson and would be a great way to get himself back in the title picture.

Speaking of Shelley and Homicide, their tag match alongside Jimmy Rave and Ricky Reyes respectively was very disappointing with it being the only showdown ever between the Embassy and Rottweilers, and thus the only time Prince Nana and Julius Smokes went at it. We can probably blame Low Ki for Reyes having to be in this match. In the post-match, Homicide goes on a tangent about being screwed in ROH and doesn't give a shit about helping out the company. Of an important note is that Shelley got injured in this match, cancelling a highly anticipated Pure Title shot he was getting the next day against Nigel McGuinness.

*Roderick Strong vs. Mark Briscoe*

Decent but nothing special. The wrestling all looked good with some neat moments here and there, but it never clicked emotionally with the audience; it's obvious how addicted the fanbase was to the Kool-Aid at this time with Strong getting a standing ovation afterwards, because this match was far from memorable.

*Rating:* less than ***

*Austin Aries vs. Jay Briscoe*

Match of the night here quite easily. Aries led the match and really allowed Jay to shine, doing an excellent job of selling the work done on his left arm/shoulder. Remember that Aries is a southpaw. Aries would mix in his moments of hope spots and get quickly cut off by Jay, with each next series of hope spots being a bit more extended. This match also had some good heat between the two after the events during _The Milestone Series_, my favorites being Jay slapping the head of Aries while holding him in a hammerlock, and a chop exchange outside.

The finishing stretch got really good with the crowd genuinely engaged. Aries dug down deep and stopped relying on his lesser right arm to throw pitiful strikes, taking the risk of causing further damage to his left arm and dropping Jay with a lariat. Once it got to the finish, Aries blocked a double underhook piledriver and turned into a backslide but lacked the strength in his dominant arm to hold on, and with all of the work done on him throughout the rest of the contest, couldn't block a second double underhook piledriver. Really good and deserves to be on a Briscoes, Aries, or Generation Next compilation.

*Rating:* ***1/2

*Bryan Danielson & Christopher Daniels vs. Christian Cage & Colt Cabana*

I should note that Daniels only agreed to this if Danielson granted him another ROH Title shot, with Danielson saying yes but only if they win this match. Also important is that Christian is the NWA-TNA Champion, making this only the second time that the top singles champions of ROH and TNA squared off in an ROH ring.

This match took forever to get the least bit interesting, with way too much comedy and Southern rasslin' sports-entertainment stalling in the first 10 minutes from all four men. It honestly seemed like Christian and Samoa Joe were really taking it easy to preserve themselves for _Sacrifice 2006_. Understandable and I'm sure Christian sold some tickets to bring additional exposure to fans who wouldn't have otherwise given ROH a look, but this is a company that mostly based its business on DVD sales at this time, and this match was not a DVD mover.

The only reason I'll give this match a positive rating is that tag legalities were remembered by all four men (not surprising with Christian's experience in WWE tag wrestling) and the crowd got into the finishing stretch. That portion was admittedly good but without the crowd getting into it, I wouldn't have said it was strong enough to overcome a pedestrian first and second act. Danielson allows Daniels to take the pinfall to Christian, having no desire to give Daniels another shot at the ROH Title.

*Rating:* ***

I've heard this considered one of the worst shows in company history. I wouldn't go that far since the last two matches were actually at least good, but this show was certainly nothing special and for what was overall a largely strong 2006, definitely deserves consideration for worst ROH event of the year. As stated earlier, ROH should do everyone a favor and get Aries vs. Jay on a compilation so that nobody feels compelled to watch this pedestrian event.

Up next - Ring of Homicide
Matches will include:
Kikutaro vs. Colt Cabana
Nigel McGuinness vs. Jay Lethal
Bryan Danielson vs. Delirious
Matt Sydal vs. Christopher Daniels
Austin Aries & Roderick Strong vs. Briscoe Bros.
Samoa Joe vs. Necro Butcher


----------



## Super Sonic (Jun 11, 2014)

*Ring of Homicide - May 13, 2006*










The DVD begins with BJ Whitmer making a request for Homicide to help out against CZW, citing the respect they had gained for one another from their battles in 2003.

*Comedy Dream Match
Kikutaro vs. Colt Cabana*

Fun match as expected. The comedy antics were outstanding, including Cabana saying Kikutaro would get his name chanted if he stopped constantly changing it. They had many moments of psyching each other out, including the "too slow" potshot. Other highlights include them dancing like they were in a ballroom, and most of all, Cabana getting crotched, then the REFEREE also getting crotched. Both were intentional and then poetically paid off when Kikutaro fell while walking the ropes, crotching himself. This match achieved it goals.

After Homicide & Ricky Reyes take care of Dunn & Marcos, Lt. Commissioner Adam Pearce comes out to plead to Homicide in person for help against CZW. Homicide drops the mic and leaves without saying a word, irritated at the requests to be inserted into an issue that he's never been involved with.

*Pure Title Match
Nigel McGuinness vs. Jay Lethal*

As stated in my _How We Roll_ review, Alex Shelley was scheduled to challenge in this match but got injured, That left McGuinness to make an open challenge to anybody, with the New Jersey native Lethal making his ROH return after what appeared to be an abrupt departure just three months earlier in the same venue. Phenomenal hometown pop for Lethal as one would expect.

But before that challenge was issued by McGuinness, he took some time to cut a hilarious promo that folks in NYC would really appreciate, and those who enjoyed the opening segment of _WrestleMania XXX_ should see this. "What's up, New York?" He was then corrected by referee Todd Sinclair, to which he then said "I thought New Jersey was just a smelly part of New York." He also mentioned that ROH has the very best champions, then noted he had defeated all three of the other titleholders already, so that makes him the best champion in the company.

McGuinness was his usual great self in this match, using a punch behind Sinclair's back and then leaving Lethal to attempt receipts in front of the ref, who stopped Lethal. The first time was really impressive, as Lethal went for chops and strikes but got all of them blocked by the Pure Champ. McGuinness was also fantastic in displaying a condescending attitude, telling Lethal that he was embarrassing himself in front of his friends and family.

The finishing stretch was great as well, with the crowd popping over a rebound lariat nearfall. McGuinness prevented a diving headbutt by holding onto the ref's pants and blocking Lethal, only for Lethal to kick out of a Tower of London, which again had the crowd even more behind its hometown guy. What made this stand out is that Lethal had blocked an earlier attempt of this finisher, so now it would've looked like this would end him. McGuinness followed up with another Tower of London to finish Lethal off, and it certainly should've been the finish with the way Lethal landed. He definitely went home or hopped the airplane to Orlando on this night sore in his face and neck.

*Rating:* ***1/2

*ROH Title Match
Bryan Danielson vs. Delirious*

Before the match begins, Danielson cuts a fantastic CM Punk heel promo straight out of the Summer of Punk, burying the fans of both ROH and CZW, the locker room, and his opponent on this evening. This was absolutely brilliant to make sure this crowd would be fully behind Delirious, who retorted with great babbling (and using gestures to refer to what had happened three weeks earlier) that finally became understandable at the very end with a "KICK YOUR ASS!!" Delirious then gave Danielson a receipt from how their match at _The 100th Show_ kicked off, attacking the champ while he still had the championship belt on to kick this off.

Danielson of course took a powder and upon getting back in the ring was able to get an advantage with technical wrestling. Delirious got to the ropes on some early Cattle Mutilations, but had his arms and shoulders worked on by the champ to soften him up for more Cattle Mutilations later. Delirious got a comeback by countering a belly-to-back suplex into a head-scissors, then briefly choked Danielson with some of his mask tassles as another receipt for what happened in Philly. Danielson would appear to cut off this control segment, but Delirious would regain control trading blows and going for the Cobra Clutch.

They'd go outside via a Delirious cross-body, and Delirious would bite the head of Danielson. This gave the champ an opportunity to drop the challenger throat-first on the edge of a guardrail, then throw him back in for his heat segment. While going for a surfboard, the CZW fans in attendance for the main event chanted "same old shit," so Danielson went ahead and did the move just to troll them, then followed that up by tea-bagging Delirious while having his legs tied up in a submission.

Danielson returned the tassle-choking flavor, letting the referee know that he had until five to break it, and mocked the CZW fans again for their "same old shit" chants. He continued dominating with more submissions, including another surfboard as well as a cross armbreaker and abdominal stretch. Delirious hip-tossed Danielson and sent him outside, then charged at the champ with a tope suicida. Once they got back in though Danielson regained control (while continuing to mock the CZW fans), but a diving headbutt would be countered with an Ace Crusher to allow Delirious to get momentum. I wonder if DDP or Randy Orton ever did that to Chris Benoit.

Delirious countered a crucifix and locked in the Cobra Stretch, but the champ reached the ropes. He cut off Delirious with a boot to the face and diving European Uppercut, bringing the momentum of Delirious to a screeching halt. Danielson would continue dominating, with a kick from Delirious as a brief hope spot to let the crowd know he was still in the game. Moments later, he was in the middle of the ring as a victim of the crossface chickenwing, but managed to have his foot reach the ropes. Crowd popped big for that false finish.

Delirious countered an attempted super belly-to-back suplex with a cross-body to get control once again. He hit a shotgun dropkick, running knee in the corner, and Shadows Over Hell for a good nearfall. He locked on another Cobra Stretch after hitting a Cobra Backbreaker, but the champ reached the ropes, then countered another Shadows Over Hell attempt into a phenomenal Cattle Mutilation. Crowd was getting antsy at this point.

Delirious reached the ropes and then broke the fiery elbows of Danielson, kicking Danielson right in the head twice in what would be the biggest pop of the night on a normal night of wrestling. This all came to an absolute screeching halt when Delirious charged at Danielson, only to be abruptly finished off with a small package!

An instant classic that has stood the test of time here, and probably the best match Delirious will ever have. Phenomenal stuff with great crowd engagement, storytelling, psychology, heat segments, transitions, counters, and a beautifully abrupt finish. Like Lethal in the prior match, Delirious is left in the ring to get a well-deserved standing ovation.

*Rating:* ****1/4

Gary Michael Cappetta is interviewing Julius Smokes to get info on what Homicide will do about ROH vs. CZW, and Smokes is interrupted by Samoa Joe, who says in no uncertain terms that it's really shitty of Homicide to not help out, saying that he's being a mouse and pussy over perceived slights from the company. Smokes seems to have grown respect for Joe, mortal enemy of the Rottweilers, for confronting him face-to-face and being blunt about the situation.

*Matt Sydal vs. Christopher Daniels*

Another good match from these two with Sydal dominating like last time. He worked on the back of Daniels in this one, but of course the Fallen Angel would get his moments in, including throwing Sydal around on guardrails early and trying to return the back-work favor. Sydal would regain control after a Blue Thunder Powerbomb deep in the match by applying the Koji Clutch, an established submission finisher of Daniels.

Sydal would block an Iconoclasm and super hurricanrana while seated on the top ropes, then delivering a flying twisting hurricanrana to the standing Daniels for a nice nearfall. He also countered a powerslam toss from the top rope into a a victory roll for another nice nearfall. What cost Sydal again against Daniels was when he went for the Angel's Wings, to which Daniels was able to counter into a victorious pinfall. Sydal goes to Dragon Gate for a couple months without securing a major singles victory in ROH.

*Rating:* ***1/4

*Tag Titles Match
Austin Aries & Roderick Strong vs. Briscoe Bros.*

Damn good tag wrestling here with a finish that I love and appreciate so much as a detail-oriented, highly critical viewer.

After some nice back-and-forth stuff, the Briscoes finally got some control by cutting the ring in half on Aries, with obvious cheating thrown in due to their awesome tag psychology. They decimated Aries left and right, so when he got the hot tag on Strong, it really meant something to the crowd. I realize I'm skipping a lot, so just trust me when I say the first two acts were really good shit, but the third act truly stands out. Strong was an amazing house of fire on the Briscoes, and the referee let all four men loose on each other.

Bombs were being dropped left and right, including double-team moves and masterful breakups of pinfalls. This all sounds like this would be another typical indy tag match that starts off well and then logically falls apart in the end. But the very end was brilliant, because during most of this final act, the legal men were Strong and Mark. With Jay out of the ring, that left the champs to dominate Mark, but they were smart enough to have Aries get back in their corner and legally tag in.

Aries would be knocked to the outside, leaving Strong alone in the ring with the Briscoes. They gave him a spike double underhook piledriver, and Jay went for the cover. Right as that happened, Aries got back in and rolled up Mark from behind for the three-count. There was confusion over this, but honestly there shouldn't have been. The referee rightfully noted that Aries and Mark were the legal men, therefore the champs retained.

The Briscoes are pissed, and they really shouldn't be, but let's be honest: tag legalities before and after this are so often poorly enforced, that the wrestlers have largely become accustomed to the finishing stretches of tag matches being a free for all. With that in mind, I definitely say the Briscoes have a case for another shot at the champs, and now they will have no excuses and better be aware of the basic rules that tag team wrestling is found upon.

*Rating;* ***3/4

*Samoa Joe vs. Necro Butcher*

Necro comes out first and knocks out ring announcer Bobby Cruise. When Joe comes out and they're face-to-face, Necro then knocks out the ROH ref, then Joe reciprocates by taking out the CZW ref. They have some nice back and forth stuff that has the crowd red-hot, but I must note that Joe took ZERO bumps in this encounter. Not on the mat, apron, floor, or a guardrail. NONE. The only damage he took were possibly stiff strikes and a chair shot that may have hit him in the head (hard to tell if his hands got up in time) when the Kings of Wrestling interfered.

This interference brought out Pearce & BJ Whitmer to help out, but Joe had to be walked to the back after taking that chairshot to the head. Although Pearce & Whitmer were outnumbered, they had a fantastic brawl that I must mention got way, way, way too out of hand with the bumps taken. That said, I can compartmentalize and I couldn't believe Necro took a double-team powerbomb onto two chairs in the ring, landing in a fashion that I hope I never see again in the professional wrestling business.

Guys were taking bumps all over ringside onto chairs too, and I'm amazed that Claudio Castagnoli came out of this feud healthy enough to get to where he's at as Cesaro today. Hero teased a hardcore move to Whitmer in the ring, only to go to using a Cravate and elbows to knock down the former Prophecy member. I like that a lot actually.

With Pearce by himself outnumbered 3-to-1, he stood no chance, being the victim of a KOW Hero's Welcome and then laid across a table on the outside. Hero & Necro held him down as Castagnoli teased powerbombing Whitmer on Pearce, only for the lights to go out with the "Ironside" intro playing on the speakers, followed by Beanie Sigel's "The Truth."

To say this got a pop is like saying San Antonio was excited when the Spurs made easy work of the Heat in this past summer's NBA Finals.

The CZW crew assumes Homicide would be interested in helping him, leaving Whitmer there for the attack. But Homicide instead attacks KOW to a MASSIVE pop, and Pearce comes in to help take them out. Homicide and Necro are left in the ring in a staredown, with Todd Sinclair getting in the ring and ordering for the bell to be rung. Good God the pop this got was fucking unreal.

*Impromptu Hardcore Main Event
Homicide vs. Necro Butcher*

This was just fucking brutal and the crowd was molten white-hot for its entirety. Again, this got way too violent in retrospect and I don't need to see guys go to these lengths to get over anymore.

What this match had was genuine emotion from the crowd that very few segments in the history of the business can reach. It was a back-and-forth war for just 10 minutes, with both men tossing each other towards guardrails, dropping each other on the floor, and more drops onto chairs at ringside.

Just six weeks removed from the violent end to his feud with Colt Cabana, Homicide throws some chairs in the ring, then tosses a crimson Necro in there too. He then requests the crowd to throw chairs in there and they gleefully oblige. An absolutely ABSURD quantity of chairs are thrown in there, burying Necro in a steel grave and I hope he gave approval for this. Security is ignored when ordering the crowd to stop, so Homicide gets on the mic and says that it's enough, Necro's got the idea now and there are too many chairs in the ring.

Necro gets piledriven onto the steel chair surface... nearfall and white-hot reaction. He finds it in himself to give Homicide a seated powerbomb as a receipt... nearfall and white-hot reaction. Homicide gives Necro an overhead toss from the corner onto the chairs... another nearfall, another white-hot reaction, this time completed with "THIS IS AWESOME~!" chants. Homicide then takes a swinging neckbreaker on the chairs and rolls out to the apron that's right next to the chairs that were scooted out at ringside.

Necro attempts a piledriver, but instead takes a vertical suplex from the apron, onto the floor, with the floor caked with numerous steel chairs, Homicide's head barely misses the corner of the table, and Necro's left leg hits a guardrail. That is then followed up with Homicide hitting a body splash from the turnbuckle onto Necro through the table. "THIS IS AWESOME~!"

That is only good enough for another white-hot nearfall and Homicide is in disbelief. The crowd chants "KNOCK HIM OUT!!" Necro attempts a comeback with punches to the torso, only to get kicked squarely in the genitals and finished off for the three-count by a furious lariat from the Notorious 187.

"Ladies and gentlemen, here is your winner for Ring of Honor, 'The Notorious 187' Homicide!" Homicide shakes his head no, saying he did this for himself as the crowd is chanting for both him and the company.

Homicide grabs a mic. "Necro Butcher,,, anytime, homes. Welcome to Ring of Homicide, biatch!!!" FUCKING WHITE-HOT REACTION WITH THE CROWD IN UNISON, CHANTING FOR HOMICIDE as the event goes off the air.

I gotta say it again: too fucking violent and it's obvious why most of these guys didn't become top-notch stars in the business. But this sequence of events, the Joe portion, the ROH vs. CZW brawling, capped off with Homicide finally intervening to the demands of his colleagues and fans, was absolutely jaw-dropping, epic, truly engrossing, and a rare moment that hit such an emotionally strong level that it reminds me why I am still a wrestling fan.

This entire sequence was an absolute masterpiece and storytelling work of art, finally putting momentum back in ROH's favor after weeks of getting their asses kicked by CZW. It also was logically built to, as it made total sense for the Homicide character, now emotionally released from the violent feud against Cabana, to see what these CZW guys were doing and wanna test their toughness, while also feeling a sense of pride that they were trespassing on his territory.

The rating I give this will reflect on Homicide vs. Necro Butcher, but it is for the ENTIRE SEQUENCE OF MAGICAL EVENTS that closed out this show. I have not seen Homicide's _Notorious 187_ compilation, so I have no idea if that includes strictly the Homicide vs. Necro portion or this entire segment. I certainly hope it's the latter but if it isn't, then the rating should tell you how badly you must get this show to witness this.

*Rating:* *****

I'm going to be honest. I wasn't very high on this event outside of the two highly acclaimed portions. But this surpassed any memories I had of this event years later. An excellent, EXCELLENT show, complete with fantastic wrestling all over the place of different flavors. Comedy wrestling, technical wrestling, a classic title match, quality tag team wrestling, all of it capped off with one of the defining segments and moments in company history right in the middle of the most emotional feud this federation has ever booked.

GET. THIS. NOW.

Of note: This was Jimmy Yang's last event, as he was re-signed by WWE. He had some more time left in ROH, but I believe he got blacklisted from ROH by teasing a match that had not been agreed upon. That left Jimmy Rave needing a new creative direction.

And now I've arrived at the debut of perhaps the most polarizing star in ROH history, and I look forward to rewatching his ROH tenure to see if he would become as annoying as naysayers like me said he got years later.

Up next - Destiny
Matches will include:
Jimmy Rave vs. Davey Richards
Bryan Danielson vs. Homicide
Austin Aries & Roderick Strong vs. Briscoe Bros.


----------



## Super Sonic (Jun 11, 2014)

*Destiny - June 3, 2006*










*ROH Video Recap - May 19, 2006*






Important news/footage in the above video:
An excellent piece highlighting ROH Champion Bryan Danielson, Pure Champion Nigel McGuinness, and Tag Champs Austin Aries & Roderick Strong that shows making titles mean something isn't that hard, and I love the emphasis of no title changes yet in 2006 to build anticipation for when the next one will come.
Announced for June 3 in Connecticut are Danielson defending against Homicide (who is being granted this match as a sign of gratitude for his actions at _Ring of Homicide_) and Aries & Strong defending against the Briscoes in a rematch.

*ROH Video Recap - May 25, 2006*






Important news/footage in the above video:
ROH reminds us that Homicide is being granted a title shot against Danielson in what I recall as a thank you for his actions at _Ring of Homicide_. Their past history is touched upon as well and the screen asks if Homicide can finally achieve his destiny on June 3.
BJ Whitmer also challenges Necro Butcher to a no rope barbed wire match for the July 28 event in Dayton.
ROH reminds us that the Briscoes are getting another title shot against Aries & Strong
With this event being the first ROH appearance in New England in seven months, the company is promising to "blow you away" because "we owe you one." Let's see about that.

Aries & Strong cut a brief backstage promo, with Aries wanting to discuss Generation Next with Strong.

A quick video is shown highlighting Homicide's previous shots at the ROH Title against Samoa Joe, Aries, James Gibson, and Brian Kendrick, making the viewer wonder if he would finally achieve his destiny on this night.

*The ROH Debut of Davey Richards
Jimmy Rave vs. Davey Richards*

I'm glad Richards has gone on to ditch oversized robes as it only exposed his lack of height even more and made him look like a boy.

For those not aware: he was set to debut at _The 100th Show_ as the one to answer Danielson's open challenge, upset the ROH Champ in a non-title match, and be recruited on-screen by Super Dragon to CZW. That'd have been quite interesting to see. Unfortunately Richards got hurt very shortly before that show, putting him out of action for about a month.

This was a good debut for Richards but of course not a perfect one. He owned Rave early with technical wrestling, so the Crown Jewel pie-faced the green Richards a couple times to compensate. Richards did a very good job working on Rave's left arm and shoulder with various submissions as well as strikes and kicks.

When Rave got the heat, he worked on the back of Richards very well with his own submissions and backbreakers. Richards was very good with his abrupt kicks as hope spots. Unfortunately, Richards didn't sell his back much if at all when he got the heat back, other than showing bad form when applying a Stretch Muffler, and I'll assume that's because he couldn't straighten his back to do so. They had a nice finishing stretch and good pace all-around, with Richards finishing Rave, a man who had headlined numerous ROH events in 2005 and 2006, with a double underhook brainbuster.

I must point out that my biggest concern with Richards is something that he's never gotten corrected. Many wrestlers play to the crowd, but something has always felt forced when he does it; it's downright pandering in the way that he does it, and I hope one day he can have a gimmick of being a psychopathic square, which I believe he'd excel at.

*Rating:* ***1/4

Bryan Danielson comes out after a women's division match to cut an ROH fellatio promo, but shits on Connecticut. Cookie-cutter promo to make sure the crowd isn't split in his match against Homicide later.

At intermission, the Embassy demands a Rave vs. Richards rematch. Rave puts himself over with a number of facts, which only makes Richards beating him even more impressive. One of Rave's best promos.

*ROH Title Match
Bryan Danielson vs. Homicide*

Samoa Joe came out before the introductions, which irritated both participants. However, he thanked Homicide for helping out against CZW and then said he'd be the guest ring announcer, using that to bury Danielson for being pale.

This was a classic match that has gotten better over time. It started as some nice wrestling for a few minutes, then got to the outside. In a major character moment, Homicide was convinced by referee Todd Sinclair to not use a ringbell on Danielson's left shoulder as it was wrapped around a ringpost. This gave Danielson the opportunity to turn this into a brief brawl on the outside. The standout moment was Danielson giving Homicide a snap suplex to crash him through a table, but the Notorious 187 instead landed on the table's edge and a folded chair in front of it. Then moments later, Homicide took an overhead belly-to-belly suplex from the champ onto a laid out table, which didn't break upon impact.

Danielson targeted the right shoulder (which had never fully healed) after Homicide landed that region on the ringpost when charging at the champ. After some more good wrestling, they went outside again and Danielson, in a great character moment, used a chair on Homicide's right shoulder while it was wrapped around a barricade bar. Nice to see the champ return the courtesy.

Homicide was phenomenal the rest of the match in selling the right shoulder, causing his moments of offense to be in bursts, unable to maintain extended heat with the champ taking advantage of the injury. Danielson of course was also fantastic in antagonizing the crowd, who so badly wanted to see the redeemed Homicide finally reach the mountaintop.

When it came down to it, Danielson couldn't be outwrestled, but Homicide wouldn't allow his right shoulder to take him out of the equation. He managed to go back to work on the champ's left shoulder deep into the match, but of course that was short-lived as I mentioned regarding his offense in the previous paragraph. In what had to be a tribute to the Chris Benoit vs. Eddie Guerrero rivalry, they traded a missed frogsplash and missed diving headbutt.

I must mention that Danielson had avoided a lariat from Homicide and turned it into a Cattle Mutilation nearfall that of course had the crowd rocking. This was excellent storytelling because Danielson made sure he wouldn't allow Homicide to hit him with that, as it had gotten Homicide the victory the first time they collided at _Reborn Stage 2_. Minutes later though, Homicide channeled the finish from that match, putting himself in position to give Danielson the same lowblow and lariat combo for a hot nearfall.

This match of course had other incedible nearfalls at the end, including a successful frogsplash, Dragon Suplex, and crossface chickenwing. There was also a blocked Kudo Driver and Shiranui attempt by Homicide. But when Danielson got Homicide in the seated position for his signature elbow strikes, Homicide wore down severely, refusing to give up, and leaving the ref no choice but to stop the match to a vociferous outrage from the crowd.

Joe is also upset, and Lt. Commissioner Adam Pearce comes out to discuss the finish on his cell phone with Commissioner Jim Cornette. He says Cornette has ruled to uphold the finish for Homicide's safety, and Danielson's reaction is hilariously gleeful. Homicide attacks Sinclair as Joe tries to pry him off, and Danielson uses that opportunity to clip Joe's knee, then leaves boasting that he's the best in the world.

Homicide says he's fed up with ROH and leaves in a fit of rage, which is completely understandable.

Just an excellent match that played off of their previous series, told an excellent story, had phenomenal psychology, and amazing pacing, with an incredible finish to put these two over as the top bad-asses in the company in case anyone hadn't realized that yet.

*Rating:* ****1/4

*Tag Titles Match
Austin Aries & Roderick Strong vs. Briscoe Bros.*

They have a great brawl early on par with the previous match, but once it became a normal tag, it became visually good but very pedestrian when looking at the details. I believe the crowd was exhausted from what they had just seen while somewhat upset about how it finished. I certainly understand that Gabe Sapolsky was always hesitant to have "Dusty finishes" closing out an event, but Danielson vs. Homicide deserved the main event spot because it wore out the crowd emotionally as a match and with its finish.

The referee Paul Turner also couldn't followup on Sinclair's five star officiating between these two teams at _Ring of Homicide_. For a rematch that was based on confusion over tag legalities, Turner didn't seem to give a shit about enforcing anything, counting any pinfall attempt he saw. The quieter crowd also exposed the exhaustion these guys had, and they sounded unusually tired, audibly sucking wind for a match that was paced like a standard ROH main event.

I must also mention that there was hardly any reaction to the finish. I considered this a disappointment back in the day, and with me much wiser now in 2014, this is even more flawed than I had remembered.

The post-match is what matters, as Aries says that Generation Next had achieved its goals of reaching the top spots and becoming stars in the industry, and thus the faction is no more. And that, ladies and gentlemen, is the reason for this event being titled _Destiny_.

*Rating:* less than ***

Richards agrees to give Rave a rematch on the next show.

While not a good show overall let alone "blow away" as the company promised, I do recommend this for major historical implications. Homicide getting screwed again in another classic against Danielson. The debut of Richards. And the end of Generation Next. All very important stuff in the history of ROH.

I now reach the final chapters of the greatest feud in ROH's history, along with the return of a puro juggernaut to continue his journey of amazing dream matches.

Up next - In Your Face
Matches will include:
Briscoe Bros. vs. Jason Blade & Sterling James Keenan
Austin Aries & Roderick Strong vs. Nigel McGuinness & Colt Cabana
Jimmy Jacobs vs. BJ Whitmer
Chris Hero vs. Homicide
Bryan Danielson vs. KENTA vs. Samoa Joe


----------



## Super Sonic (Jun 11, 2014)

*In Your Face - June 17, 2006*










*ROH Video Recap - June 7, 2006*






Important news/footage from the above video:
Colt Cabana is the #1 contender to the ROH Title after wining a match at _Destiny_ that had no business having such a stipulation
KENTA faces Bryan Danielson and Samoa Joe on June 17 in NYC, Roderick Strong on June 23 in Detroit, Austin Aries on June 24 in Chicago, and returns in August too for Long Island and New Jersey. OH FUCK YES~!
Christopher Daniels challenges Christian Cage to a singles match in ROH (this promo apparently taped after _How We Roll_)

The Briscoes give Aries & Strong no credit, claiming they got lucky. Aries & Strong in their backstage promo refute this, saying they'll take care of Pure Champion Nigel McGuinness & Colt Cabana tonight before defending the belts internationally.

*Briscoe Bros. vs. Jason Blade & Sterling James Keenan*

Perfect opening match. The Briscoes dominated, the jobbers got a little bit of shine to try to impress and get more bookings, the stars cut the ring in half, and the finish was fun. In addition ZERO issues with tag legalities. Surprised this isn't on a Briscoes comp yet.

As predicted by Colt Cabana after their feud ended at _Night of the Grudges II_, he and McGuinness have put their issues completely behind them, cracking jokes and genuine pleasantries.

After Ricky Reyes squashes one of the Crist brothers (Irish Airborne,) Chris Hero shows up from the crowd and blindsides Julius Smokes with another company's championship belt, then scurries off gleefully. Homicide comes out and dares Hero to show up again to "Ring of Homicide."

Jimmy Jacobs has a prerecorded promo, having the chance to watch _Dragon Gate Challenge_ and now vows revenge on BJ Whitmer tonight because nobody else would've been able to take care of Lacey had Jacobs been taken out.  He will also earn a shot against Danielon for the ROH Title, dethrone him, and use the extra money to buy a new home for himself and his beloved Lacey, as well as for their "future children." Hauntingly excellent.

*Tag Titles Match
Austin Aries & Roderick Strong vs. Nigel McGuinness & Colt Cabana*

The match of the night, which I'm sure is surprising. But this match got everything right for its spot on the card, so let's dig in and dissect it. I should note that McGuinness got this match because of his successful Pure Title defenses over Aries and Strong.

Early on McGuinness tried to playing mind games with Strong and avoiding chops, but that strategy was short-lived. Once Aries was tagged in, McGuinness worked on his left shoulder, the same brilliant strategy from _Unscripted II_ since Aries is left-handed. Cabana also followed up on that when he came in. Strong and Cabana would have some back-and-forth before McGuinness got tagged back in.

In a moment of tag team wrestling brilliance, McGuinness went for his corner handstand mule kick bait, but Aries came over to hold him in place, allowing Strong to deliver multiple chops to the crowd's amazement. The Pure Champ found himself getting the ring cut in half for a brief period as a result of this. That would be cut off when he hit his signature spinal shoot kick and downward lariat on Aries, then got the tag to Cabana.

Aries then found himself being the victim of the ring being cut in half, including a slightly botched overhead front hammerlock suplex. The challengers double-teamed him with multiple limb submissions while Strong's attempts to stop it were cut off by the ref. After more exceptional work done on Aries, he got the hot tag to Strong, who was a house of fire on McGuinness going for backbreakers, Boston Crabs, and Tiger Drivers.

Aries prevented Cabana from cutting the ring in half again, only to be taken out minutes later after some nice back-and-forth double-team work. But he kept Cabana out again when McGuinness became legal, allowing Strong to force the Pure Champ to submit to a Liontamer. Really good tag match that like the opener had zero tag legality issues. Why isn't this on a compilation yet?

*Rating:* ***1/2

*ROH Title Shot Match
Jimmy Jacobs vs. BJ Whitmer*





(NOTE; the above video has shitty generic music playing over the entire video during the entrances and pre-match brawl due to Whitmer's Stone Temple Pilots theme, but also "The Ballad of Lacey" for unknown reasons.)

The usual good stuff from these two, although dialed back a bit. They brawled outside the ring early, then had a good wrestling match. The important part came when Lacey tried to play distraction and Whitmer kissed her to the crowd's delight. Lacey was absolutely repulsed and used this as an excuse to aim her disgusted spit at some Green Lantern mark in the front row, drawing what was probably the biggest pop of the night.

This caused Jacobs to go berzerk and they brawled to to the crowd, causing fans to get out of harm's way. With Whitmer laying in the New Yorker chairs, Jacobs climbed to the nearby turnbuckle, planning to dive onto Whitmer out of his unconditional love for Lacey, but Whitmer got up and attacked Jacobs up there. They had a back-and-forth, with Jacobs teasing a super Shiranui but that was blocked; Whitmer then powerbombed Jacobs into the nearby empty chairs to poetically play off of what happened at _Dragon Gate Challenge_ and causing this match to get thrown out. A crazy fun match.

*Rating:* ***

Chris Hero interferes during the *Adam Pearce vs. Claudio Castagnoli* match, drawing huge heel heat as he talks shit on the microphone, Of course we know what this leads to...

*Chris Hero vs. Homicide*

Pearce chased Castagnoli away, allowing the spotlight on these two. This was more of a wrestling match than a brawl as expected, but it worked because the NYC crowd was completely behind their Brooklyn guy plus this was an ROH vs. CZW showdown. Hero was great in trolling the crowd but Homicide was vicious at every chance he got, of course winning this as he should have. He trolls Hero as the CZW superstar takes a powder, scurrying away after getting his ass kicked.

Homicide then sits down and says he's fed up with the bullshit, and he will be granted an ROH Title shot. If he isn't the ROH Champion by the end of 2006, he's fucking off from the company.

*Rating:* ***1/2

*Bryan Danielson vs. KENTA vs. Samoa Joe*

One of the more disappointing main events in ROH's history, but there have been many that were significantly, significantly worse. All three men accidentally knocked each other out at certain points, but because it's two of the best workers of the 21st Century along with Joe in his prime, they still managed to make this good. The hot NYC crowd also played a hand in keeping this match interesting. I'm not gonna dig too much into the details because the injuries kept this from reaching its potential, but I'll highlight what matters.

KENTA once again beat the ROH Champ Danielson with the G2S. Unfortunately, the champ was out of it to make the post-match mean more. KENTA declares his desire for a title shot, but Joe says not to worry about Danielson, because he will be in his second reign as ROH Champion when KENTA challenges for it. And it's a shame we never got KENTA vs. Joe in singles, but after this match, I can see why Gabe Sapolsky never pulled the trigger. He probably didn't wanna deliver on Danielson vs. KENTA either, but KENTA pinning the champ clean twice required that match to happen. But I'm getting ahead of myself and wanna see how it played out in hindsight.

*Rating:* ***1/2

The Briscoes tell Aries & Strong that they're still coming for the belts. The Briscoes lost twice, including the first one due to perfect officiating, but they've never been rational characters.

Bit of a disappointing show due to the main event, but still a good show. Not every NYC event has to be _Manhattan Mayhem_ to be enjoyable. Really hope ROH puts Aries/Strong vs. McGuinness/Cabana on a compilation at some point, as it's one of the best matches of the Aries/Strong reign. And speaking of comps, I'm shocked the semi-main wasn't included on the Homicide comp, as the crowd was great and it was an important segment for his character direction.

Next show should be really fun assuming my memories are correct.

Up next - Throwdown
Matches will include:
Delirious vs. Samoa Joe vs. Jimmy Rave vs. Davey Richards
Bryan Danielson vs. Jimmy Jacobs vs. BJ Whitmer
Roderick Strong vs. KENTA


----------



## Super Sonic (Jun 11, 2014)

*Throwdown - June 23, 2006*










*July 20, 2006 ROH Video Recap* important news (this video unavailable online):
Jimmy Jacobs and BJ Whitmer get to challenge Bryan Danielson in an elimination match for the ROH Title @ _Throwdown_
When will the first title change of 2006 be?
Colt Cabana is excited for his ROH Title shot, although he's assuming it'll still be Danielson on June 24
The next Video Recap will focus on Homicide

*Samoa Joe vs. Delirious vs. Jimmy Rave vs. Davey Richards*

This one didn't age well, although it wasn't bad at all. The character dynamics were all fun, but this went a bit too long, Richards was selling for too long in order to pay his dues, and tag legalities failed to be enforced in the third act. Crowd liked it, but this match was indyriffic, although not a complete loss.

The Briscoes at intermission say their night isn't over after making quick work of Ace Steel & Colt Cabana. And yes, Steel did the job to protect Cabana the night before his ROH Title shot in his hometown.

*Necro Butcher vs. Adam Pearce* made for good storyline advancement brawling, with the *Homicide vs. Claudio Castagnoli* immediately following afterwards being fine. Castagnoli got enough offense in to make sure he was still a star, but of course Homicide got the win.

The commentary mentions this somewhat important news that I forgot to point out from Chris Hero's promo on the previous show: ROH VS. CZW. CAGE OF DEATH. _DEATH BEFORE DISHONOR IV_ ON JULY 15 IN PHILLY. OH. FUCK. YES~!

*ROH Title - Elimination Match
Bryan Danielson vs. Jimmy Jacobs vs. BJ Whitmer*

Pretty interesting case study here as Whitmer showed some of his weaknesses, including a shoddy attempt at brief mat wrestling with Danielson and later not doing any selling of the Cattle Mutilation. (To be fair, Homicide didn't really sell his back at all after taking some bad table bumps @ _Destiny_, and had he done so, that particular match probably wouldn't been an all-time classic rather than just a hot, dramatic classic.)

There were still quite a few highlights, including Jacobs and Whitmer reigniting their feud just six days after the events of _In Your Face_, exchanging heated strikes. Danielson was great at playing the prick when inserting himself while also of course showing his technical superiority. In particular, I loved that he halted a spinning head-scissors from Jacobs, turning that into an airplane spin that would be broken up by Whitmer.

The next standout spot was Danielson having the surfboard on Whitmer, then Jacobs using that opportunity to chop his former tag partner. This led to a nice Danielson vs. Jacobs segment, with the commentators pointing out that it was intelligent for Whitmer to allow them to dish out pain on each other due to the elimination rules. After a few minutes though, Danielson is taken out with a shotgun missle dropkick from Jacobs, leading to another Jacobs vs. Whitmer segment.

This led to the next highlight, as Whitmer had Jacobs in position for an Exploder suplex but Jacobs was blocking it. Danielson waist-locked Whitmer and delivered a German suplex, which allowed Whitmer enough momentum to also land the Exploder on Jacobs. However, this led to another Danielson vs. Whitmer segment in which Whitmer failed to sell his neck, which is really disappointing considering what Super Dragon did to him just two months earlier. Jacobs then inexplicably hit a senton splash on Danielson while Whitmer was locked in a Cattle Mutilation. Perhaps though that can be explained by Jacobs being irrational, wanting to be the one to eliminate Whitmer AND win the title for Lacey.

Jacobs went for a Shiranui on Whitmer, but Danelson prevented that, looking to give a super backdrop suplex to Jacobs. However, Whitmer got the champ on his shoulders, allowing Jacobs to hit a Doomsday Hurricanrana on Danielson to a huge pop. Whitmer crotched Jacobs, teasing another powerbomb in the crowd as in their previous collisions, but Danielson got underneath Whitmer for a powerbomb. This allowed Jacobs to hit a super Shiranui with additional momentum from Danielson, eliminating Whitmer.

The crowd got super hot for Jacobs, the Detroit native, who had yet another great underdog performance. Danielson played a great prick, flicking the crowd off after brawling with Jacobs on the outside. The champ worked on the face and throat of Jacobs, which was beginning to irritate the challenger's valet Lacey. Jacobs would eventually get a comeback, getting the crowd more drawn in. He also prevented a Regalplex and crossface chickenwing, as well as a super backdrop suplex. He also blocked a leaping sunset flip, pinning Danielson to a red-hot nearfall.

They had a great strike exchange with another nearfall for Jacobs, getting the crowd wondering if perhaps the upset was indeed possible. Jacobs made the mistake though of locking in the Cattle Mutilation; once Danielson got in a standup position, he used the momentum to drive Jacobs three times in the turnbuckle, followed by an armdrag, roaring elbow, signature rapid elbows, and crossface chickenwing, just further solidifying that Danielson was an in-ring deity and bad-ass motherfucker.

Post-match, Lacey is pissed at Jacobs because she only gives a shit about results and profits, but the Detroit crowd gives its hometown boy Jacobs a well-earned standing ovation. Excellent match despite some issues from Whitmer, and this could've been a MOTYC had those issues not come up.

*Rating:* ****

*Roderick Strong vs. KENTA*

Really good main event, but not the classic so many hoped for. The crowd didn't get hot until the heated strike exchanges with slapping sounds, but I do wonder if they just couldn't get as emotionally invested as they did in the Jacobs match.

The strikes were very crisp as expected, with both men busting their asses and certainly hurting afterwards as they hit the road to Chicago. There were many great reversals and blocks. Standout moments to me include Strong striking KENTA during an attempted Falcon Arrow and Strong going for the exchange that got him his huge victory several months earlier over James Gibson, that being a super gutbuster and Liontamer. However, this time Strong went for a pinfall before applying the Liontamer, perhaps costing him the match against the former GHC Jr. Champ.

I did appreciate both men selling exhaustion and pain after getting adrenaline rushes, doing what they could to get the drama building without shitting on their work they dished out on each other. I liked that Strong worked on the torso with different submissions, setting up KENTA for the gutbuster and various backbreakers. KENTA also favored the Camel Clutch in this one, which told me he planned on the Falcon Arrow being a major part of his strategy.

The finish was great stuff. Both men found their own ways out of the gutbuster and G2S, but after several reversals, KENTA hit the G2S on Strong's sternum, knocking out the ROH cornerstone for the pinfall. Very, very good match that just needed more crowd heat to give both men extra adrenaline for a better pace.

Post-match, the Briscoes come out to attack Strong in the ring. KENTA has none of it, kicking them and causing them to take a powder, not happy they'd go after a man who had just been in a grueling, physical main event. Crowd is marking out for KENTA hardcore.

*Rating:* ***3/4

Colt Cabana is excited to finally get his ROH TItle shot the next day in Chicago. This angle was a bit overpushed, and I'm convinced Cabana wasn't supposed to get his hometown title shot this early as I explained before.

Not a bad show, but the main events are on Strong, Jacobs, and Whitmer compilations already, so unless you must have every single piece of the ROH vs. CZW feud, you can skip this. The first half has an Adam Pearce era stench to it.

Up next - Chi-Town Struggle
Matches will include:
Roderick Strong vs. Jimmy Jacobs
Nigel McGuinness vs. Homicide
Austin Aries vs. KENTA
Bryan Danielson vs. Colt Cabana


----------



## Creative name (Nov 24, 2013)

These reviews are awesome! I wish I had all these shows, luckily I have a good amount of compilations but still. I'm awesome a fan of your fantasy dvd concept from rohworld, the Jack Evans one recently is absolutely perfect. I wonder if ROH actually checks that forum and sees your ideas lol.


----------



## Sephiroth (May 27, 2006)

I was sitting in the front row for KENTA vs. Aries, it was truly amazing.


----------



## theshape31 (Sep 24, 2014)

Super Sonic, your efforts in this thread are so very much appreciated. I've been able to spot a handful of quality matches that I'd missed throughout the years. You have been repped.

Cheers, and keep up the great work! 

*edit*

Going back and watching these old shows makes me miss Lenny Leonard doing ROH Commentary so very badly. :/


----------



## Super Sonic (Jun 11, 2014)

*Chi-Town Struggle - June 24, 2006*










Colt Cabana is excited to get another shot at the ROH Title in his hometown. Considering how much airtime has been spent on this for Cabana, I have high expectations.

We find out in an Embassy promo that Alex Shelley is out with an injured right shoulder, and his replacement as Jimmy Rave's partner is Conrad Kennedy III. Don't care about them facing the Briscoes, but this had an amusing line about rolling over badly on morning wood.

*Roderick Strong vs. Jimmy Jacobs*

Even better than I had remembered. Strong teased harassing Lacey early to get in the head of Jacobs, which obviously worked. However, Jacobs got the early advantage with his spinning head-scissors and some side headlocks, including using that to cut off a couple Strong comebacks. Once it spilled to ringside early though, Strong won that battle with his signature vicious chops, popping the Chicago crowd in the process of course.

Moments later, with Jacobs planted in the corner, Strong teased a chop, only to slap the creep to another pop from the crowd. However, Jacobs would cut him off shortly with a boot to the face to get the heat back, and then launch himself towards Strong with an elbow suicida. He followed that up with a running boot to Strong's head into the ringpost. Strong would regain the heat with a side backbreaker and spectacular fallaway slam, but that comeback was short-lived. This was because Strong was outside again, and Jacobs used his positioning inside the ring to plant Strong back-first on the gym floor with another spinning head-scissors.

A teased Shiranui by Jacobs would be countered into a backbreaker, cutting off Jacobs while Strong recovered from the pain he had endured. Strong came at Jacobs with vicious strikes and a gorgeous dropkick right to the face. Moments later, Jacobs would try to get a fluke small package pin on Strong, but that was just a nice nearfall. Strong blocked a Death Valley Driver attempt, only to eat a spear when running towards the ropes for a Yakuza kick attempt.

Strong got cocky after a Gorilla Press slam on Jacobs, asking the crowd if he should do it again and launch Jacobs out to them. This time wasted allowed the battered Jacobs to get back in the match and turn a second attempted Gorilla Press Slam into a back rollup nearfall. They exchanged more nice nearfalls, with Strong hitting a Tiger Driver for a nearfall. Both men were doing a phenomenal job of selling the pain and exhaustion here.

Strong crotched Jacobs on the ropes, setting him up for a super gutbuster, but Jacobs cut that off. He put Strong in position for a Death Valley Driver, successfully planting the Tag Champ after a brief struggle. Jacobs is unable to follow up due to the pain and exhaustion, and attempts a Shiranui. That is blocked as Strong uses the momentum of Jacobs to catch him in a Davey Boy Smith style powerslam position. Strong drops Jacobs throat-first on the top rope, follows that up with some backbreakers, and then gets the submission victory with the Liontamer, then tosses Jacobs aside like a sack of garbage.

This was another excellent underdog performance from Jacobs, with the crowd loving every minute of it. This is a forgotten, underappreciated classic in the same vein as Doug Williams vs. Homicide in the same building at _Nowhere to Run_. The counters, selling, and transitions were all fantastic, with the storytelling matching it. Add in that both men had grueling main events the night before and I come away even more impressed. This needs to be on a compilation.

*Rating:* ****

Pure Champion Nigel McGuinness calls out the Internet marks for saying he'll be the first to lose a championship in 2006 and can't believe anyone thinks Homicide will dethrone him tonight. This promo achieved its goals.

The ROH vs. CZW segment is good brawling and the crowd was into it, but not to the degree of the East Coast. A fine go-home for the CAGE OF DEATH coming up in three weeks in Philly with CZW again getting the upper hand since Homicide, the established CZW killer, was not involved as he had something more important to focus on this evening.

At intermission, the Briscoes say they ain't done with the Tag Champs and now KENTA has pissed them off.

*Pure Title Match
Nigel McGuinness vs. Homicide*

Homicide expresses mild disappointment to chairs being banned during the rules overview. McGuinness pie-faces Homicide with the belt, getting this match to a chippy start. Great way to start the match though with McGuinness attempting to troll the ticking time-bomb that Homicide is. Their in-ring scuffle spilled to the outside, with Homicide launching himself overhead to get the early advantage once they got back in the ring. Homicide was exceptional in once again showcasing his technical wrestling ability with various submissions and pinning attempts, including a Rings of Saturn that caused the Pure Champ to use a ropebreak.

McGuinness had gotten a brief hammerlock on Homicide's left arm earlier, looking like he'd prefer sticking to his usual left arm strategy rather than modify it for Homicide's damaged right shoulder. This is something the champ focused on when he got the heat back, applying numerous submissions, including an overhead front hammerlock suplex. When Homicide went for a chop with his left hand to keep McGuinness at bay, he sold the pain. That pain prevented Homicide from hitting a tornado DDT, allowing McGuinness to maintain control.

McGuinness got a fishhook locked in on Homicide's mouth during a submission, then yelled that he has 'till five to break it as a shot at Bryan Danielson. He continued working on Homicide's left arm, daring the Notorious 187 to go for the ropes during a submission. This was a great strategy that was just as impressive as when he pulled off the upset on Homicide at _Midnight Express Reunion_, but now there was more at stake and he had become a condescendingly unethical prick. 

Homicide finally got a comeback when he ducked a clothesline and hit a running boot on McGuinness, but he continued selling that left arm. This caused his comeback to be brief, as McGuinness drilled Homicide in the turnbuckle making sure the left arm got the most impact. He put Homicide back in the corner, stretching the count while he nastily smeared Homicide's face with a forearm and a knee. Homicide attempted another comeback while McGuinness went for some strikes, this time being successful when he dodged a running McGuinness into the corner.

They spilled to the outside and brawled, with McGuinness giving Homicide a European uppercut. That was then followed by a vertical suplex onto the table. This resulted in a fantastic nearfall as Homicide got into the ring within a fraction of the ref reaching 20, stunning McGuinness in the process and getting a huge pop. Homicide would hit a frogsplash for two, causing him to almost lose it on the ref. McGuinness used the time to get Homicide in the corner and a hit a Tower of London for another hot nearfall. He'd seat Homicide on the top turnbuckle, but Homicide cut off his plans and hit a successful tornado DDT after having that maneuver sabotaged earlier in the match.

McGuinness would hit a rebound lariat for another nice nearfall, and the champ seemed to be on the ropes mentally. He went for his headstand baiting, but Homicide channeled Samoa Joe and hit a running boot on the champ. This caused the champ to go outside the ring and Homicide followed him. They brawled to the front entrance with Homicide having the upper hand, but McGuinness held onto Homicide even after being hit on the back with a chair. He ducked a clothesline from Homicide and ran to the ring, causing Homicide to barely lose this by countout. Fucking brilliant booking to push McGuinness as the Pure Wrestling Rules manipulator as well as Homicide's elevated frustration, which he shows by going berzerk and storming off, leaving the arena. This also needs to be on a compilation.

*Rating:* ***3/4

*Austin Aries vs. KENTA*

They exchange some slaps early within minutes of each other after having some back-and-forth wrestling, establishing this as an even matchup. They would have a heated slap exchange after that, popping this awesome crowd, with Aries ending up having KENTA in the head-scissors. KENTA got out of it, then regained the advantage and put Aries in the head-scissors. I was disappointed to see that Aries traditionally got out of that and hit a dropkick on the seated KENTA; I'd have assumed KENTA would've done his homework and known that was coming.

Aries worked on KENTA with some nice technical wrestling, including the Last Chancery to set him up for the brainbuster that was sure to come later. KENTA would block an early attempt at a brainbuster though, putting Aries on the apron. This gave KENTA the opportunity to cut off Aries and get the heat back. KENTA was of course vicious with his kicks and strikes, but went for the Camel Clutch to set up Aries for the Falcon Arrow. KENTA blocked a sunset flip pin, holding himself in an upward position, then leaned down and slapped Aries to another outstanding pop.

KENTA had an inverted head-scissors on Aries, but the Tag Champ got out of that one too. However, he was too dazed to follow up, so KENTA kicked him and tossed him outside, then flung Aries into the steel guardrail. KENTA continued controlling the match with Aries getting some hope spots in, but KENTA cut him off with a snapmare and then lethal kicks to the spine, followed up by a heel kick to the head of Aries. This infuriated Aries when he got back up, as he returned the snapmare and spinal kicks favor, then followed that up with a kneedrop. He then did his signature followup "slow motion" kneedrop.

That pissed KENTA off, causing him to get enough adrenaline to get back up and kick the shit out of Aries, but Aries blocked a kick, gave KENTA a knee-breaker, and then planted the puro juggernaut with a German suplex. But KENTA got up, so Aries hit him with a running dropkick for a nice nearfall. Seconds later, KENTA cut off Aries to regain control and crotch the former ROH Champ on the middle turnbuckle. KENTA returned the favor from a minute earlier, hitting Aries with a running boot. He then teased another one, stopped himself, and slapped Aries; I assume he picked that up from the Strong vs. Jacobs match.

They had some cutting off back-and-forth stuff, with their signature stuff including a springboard missile dropkick and twisting bodypress. KENTA was put to the outside, so Aries launched at him with a tope suicida. With KENTA dazed, Aries tossed him back in and went up to the top rope, but KENTA got up and cut that off with a kick to the face. Aries would block an attempted Falcon Arrow, crotching the former GHC Jr. Champ and putting him in the Tree of Woe. But instead of going for the double foot stomp like Low Ki, Aries hit a dropkick on KENTA's face, followed up with a kick to the spine to another incredible crowd pop.

KENTA though kept himself back in this, hitting a butterfly suplex for a nearfall and declaring that he would go for the G2S. He slapped Aries but a Busaiku knee would be evaded, allowing Aries to hit a rolling forearm and clothesline. Aries hit a Finlay roll on KENTA, then got on a far corner for what I assumed would be a frogsplash, but Aries was exhausted and took too long. This gave KENTA the chance to get up, run towards Aries on the top rope and hit the Falcon Arrow for another excellent nearfall.

Aries would elbow KENTA during an attempted G2S, then beautifully turned that into a crucifix bomb for yet another tremendous nearfall, obviously scouting Danielson's counter from _Best in the World 2006_. KENTA would make another G2S attempt, but Aries got out of it, hit KENTA in the shin to position for a kick to the face, and a successful brainbuster for another nearfall. An exhausted Aries then went for the 450 Splash, but KENTA rolled out of the way, hit the Busaiku Knee, a kick to the face, another Busaiku knee, and then Aries bounced off the ropes right back into KENTA for the G2S, bringing this excellent match to its conclusion.

And because KENTA is a true pro, he rolls over at first, absolutely exhausted from this hard-hitting classic. Both men get up and embrace, but the Briscoes come out to mug them. Strong comes out for the save, and it's obvious we got some anticipated tag team matches coming up involving these men in the near future.

This match was just fucking excellent. Crisp strikes, beautiful teases that would then be delivered later, awesome reversals, and best of all a Chicago crowd that appreciated it. This may have been just as great in another market, but Chicago was the perfect choice for this match, as they were into absolutely everything. An absolute classic that is among the best match of both men's careers, just right behind KENTA vs. Low Ki in terms of spectacle. This right here is worth the price of the KENTA compilation alone.

*Rating:* ****1/2

*ROH Title Match
Bryan Danielson vs. Colt Cabana*

Danielson has Bobby Cruise remind the crowd that he beat this "Chicago chump" in five minutes. Brilliant way to get heat in case anyone would be in Danielson's favor after McGuinness mocked him earlier in the evening.

This wasn't as hard-hitting as Aries vs. KENTA (how could it be?) or even Strong vs. Jacobs, but this was another tremendous match for the evening. Cabana showed that he could hang with Danielson technically and even managed to get into the champ's head at times with great mind games. But this only got Danielson to become more vicious as the match went along, realizing that the match at _The 100th Show_ between these two was a fluke.

I'll jump to the finish as it was outstanding. After busting out a moonsault for a nearfall on Danielson, Cabana went for a superplex, but Danielson cut that off and hit a super backdrop suplex that had been teased earlier for a hot nearfall. He went for the Cattle Mutation, but Cabana managed to get to the ropes. He got the champ in the Billy's Goat Curse and then went for a Cattle Mutation of his own, but the champ got to the ropes. Cabana powerbombed Danielson for another great nearfall in front of his hometown Chicago fans, but Danielson refused to turn over while down for whatever Cabana had in mind. That of course brought back memories of Danielson vs. Strong at _This Means War_.

Cabana poetically got some elbows on the back of Danielson's head, hit a clothesline, and dropped Danielson with the Colt .45 for what would guarantee the first title change of 2006. But Danielson not only kicked out, but had enough energy to give him the necessary adrenaline rush, using the momentum and locking Cabana in a small package for the win. This was absolutely brilliant to remind everyone of Danielson's technical excellence and crush the Chicago crowd's spirits. The crowd started to throw garbage in the ring, so the camera cuts away.

What can I say? Another awesome match that is severely underrated, and I even read some reviews that said Cabana somehow DISAPPOINTED in this match, that he wasn't worthy of this position? Oh fuck off. This was just as good if not even better than Jacobs getting his shot in his hometown of Detroit the night before. Awesome match with incredible crowd heat, an under-appreciated classic, perhaps even more under-appreciated than the Christopher Daniels vs. Doug Williams work of art at _Night of Champions_.

*Rating:* ****

The Briscoes reiterate that they're coming for KENTA, Aries, and Strong. OH FUCK YES~!

The DVD ends with very brief footage of the company wishing Chicago native Adam Pearce a happy birthday.

Who the fuck convinced Bryan & Vinny to skip this show when they were reviewing ROH back in the day? This has got to be the most underrated ROH show ever, even more than _Tag Wars 2006_, as that show already has a reputation of being underrated. All four matches I reviewed are vastly underrated, with them all being very, very different.

A jock going up against an underdog creep. A smug cheater colliding with an irrationally frustrated OG. Two of the best juniors in the world putting on an intensely dramatic clinic. And then the world's best wrestler crushing Chicago's souls once again by sneaking a victory over one of their own, right as they thought their Second City Saint would pull off the upset and bring upon the first title change in the company for 2006.

This is HIGHLY, HIGHLY recommended, and one of the best shows in ROH history, no exaggeration. GET THIS SHOW NOW, it can be found pretty easily for pretty cheap.

We now end the first half of 2006 without a single title change. Will there be one at all in 2006, and if so, who will it be? What is to come for the frustrated Homicide, and more importantly, where does he fit in for this?:

THE END OF THE GREATEST FEUD IN ROH HISTORY. ROH. CZW. PHILADELPHIA. CAGE OF DEATH. _DEATH BEFORE DISHONOR IV_. Is this Gabe Sapolsky's masterpiece still all these years later? Is this still the magical epic that all of us remember on that hot summer night in 2006? It's been a pleasure rewatching this program, and damn I hate to have gotten to the end, but all good things must come to an end and with the conclusion here, I will be sure to do justice in reviewing this saga that not only lived up to aesthetic expectations, but got business booming for the company in its birth market.

Up next - Death Before Dishonor IV
Matches will include:
Nigel McGuinness vs. Roderick Strong
AJ Styles vs. Davey Richards
Team ROH vs. Team CZW in CAGE OF DEATH~!


----------



## Super Sonic (Jun 11, 2014)

*Death Before Dishonor IV - July 15, 2006*










*ROH Video Recap - July 11, 2006*






Important news/footage from the above video:
In an empty venue recorded at _In Your Face_, Homicide vents about being screwed and reiterates that he WILL finally capture a championship in ROH before 2006 ends or he's fucking off from the company. A video chronicling his time in ROH is shown titled _History of Homicide: The OG of ROH_, including his greatest feuds, matches, and moments, as well as his failures to become a champion in the company.
BJ Whitmer cuts a promo from a farm somewhere to discuss Cage of Death and his no rope barbed wire match against Necro Butcher on July 28 in Dayton. This promo got the job done, but since Whitmer has never been strong in mic skills and charisma, I would've had him calmly discuss what he had in mind, in a very matter of fact manner like a calm before the storm psychopath.

The official participants for Cage of Death:
ROH - Samoa Joe, Ace Steel, BJ Whitmer, Adam Pearce, & ???
CZW - Kings of Wrestling, Nate Webb, Necro Butcher, & ???
The keeper of the key is the legendary JJ Dillon!

In a segment supposedly taped in Florida, Dave Prazak (dressed in Chicago Cubs gear) finds Homicide flirting with So Cal Val and asks about Homicide walking out at _Chi-Town Struggle_. Homicide reiterates that he's tired of being screwed. Prazak says ROH needs him for Cage of Death, to which Homicide says he must be granted three wishes. "Change that goddamn jersey!"

An important announcement made before this show on the Newswire at the time, but failed to be mentioned during the _Chi-Town Struggle_ main event and on the July 11 Video Recap:

SAMOA JOE GETS HIS ROH TITLE SHOT ON AUGUST 5 IN NEW JERSEY. OH FUCK YES~!

Throughout the evening, the four announced ROH participants reflect on how this issue against CZW has impacted them and what they have in mind for Cage of Death. Also shown throughout the DVD are various flashbacks from most of the fantastic moments in the ROH vs. CZW feud. With promos already on the DVD release like this is a PPV, I'd have gone with an extended vignette of the feud before the main event rather than simple flashbacks.

Prince Nana reveals his newest member of the Embassy, which is Sal Rinauro. His job is to be a foot stool for Jimmy Rave. Their tag match against Jay Lethal & Colt Cabana is nothing special but the crowd had fun with it.

*Pure Title Match
Nigel McGuinness vs. Roderick Strong*

Strong earned this Pure Title shot by making McGuinness tap out to the Liontamer at _In Your Face_, which like the Samoa Joe news, isn't pointed out ahead of time for the DVD viewer.

Referee Todd Sinclair gets booed as usual while going over the rules, so McGuinness chastises the crowd. Strong isn't letting McGuinness play verbal mind games and chops the champ to start the match. McGuinness blocks some more chops, making me wonder if the match would take a story from Strong's matches against CM Punk and Bryan Danielson. But the avoidance of the chops would be short-lived, and the challenger got to do his signature work on the back of McGuinness, forcing him to run out of rope breaks about 12-15 minutes into this match.

I must mention that the CZW fans in attendance started a "THIS IS AWFUL~!" chant to troll the ROHbots.

McGuinness focused on Strong's left arm with various submissions, and Strong sold this phenomenally well. However, my favorite and perhaps most important part of the match for storytelling happened when they got to the outside. Strong laid in some vicious chops and was about to get back in the ring to break the 20 count, but McGuinness dared him to keep it going. McGuinness absorbed the chops, threw Strong into the guardrail, and went in the ring. However, Strong barely broke the 20 count to a well-deserved reception for this tremendous false finish.

Strong would go on to regain the advantage with McGuinness out of rope breaks and slapped on another Liointamer. Like his first match against Bryan Danielson at _Weekend of Champions Night 2_, McGuinness crawled out of the ring to force Strong to break it. Tremendously teased submission finish right there.

They had more great action in the ring, highlighted by Strong seating McGuinness on the ropes to set him up for a super gutbuster. However, McGuinness grabbed the ref and positioned himself to stand upright, stunned Strong, and then landed a Tower of London for another fantastic nearfall. The champ threw Strong to the outside and put him in a Front Chancery headlock and planted him with a DDT on the concrete floor. They got up at the same time, but McGuinness yanked Strong by the left foot and then got back in right before the 20 count.

A great match structured similarly to McGuinness vs. Homicide on the prior show, except this had a bit more compelling submission wrestling and storytelling. A countout was teased, then the match looked like it might end with in-ring action, only for the countout to be used later as the actual finish. This also got the entire crowd chanting "THIS IS AWESOME~!", a chant that was earned with great pacing and intelligence in front of an audience that had a significantly cynical portion in attendance.

*Rating:* ****

Commissioner Jim Cornette comes out to talk. You know those never-ending segments with talking and talking and TALKING to kick off _Raw_ and _Impact_ that could be wrapped up within several minutes but go at least double that to fill up time and accomplish nothing beyond announcing an insignificant TV main event? THIS AIN'T THAT KIND OF FUCKING SEGMENT.

This is a layered segment in which Cornette rightfully rips apart WWE's attempt at the ECW brand in order to point out that ROH is now Philly's true hometown promotion, hyping up the ROH audience and also throwing in extra awesome digs at the impatient CZW fans. In terms of CZW fan pot-shots, this is on par with Cornette's performance at _Tag Wars 2006_.

Announced is the return of KENTA not just for the next time ROH is in Philly on November 4, but HE WILL GET AN ROH TITLE SHOT ON SEPTEMBER 16 IN MANHATTAN. OH FUCK YES~!

He also says Homicide is too demanding to be part of Team ROH, and out comes Danielson to make his pitch. His presence creates more great opportunities to take shots at CZW. Danielson points out as the champ and head trainer at the ROH School that he should get the fifth spot; he has no extra demands, he simply wants to help out with the cause and bring technical wrestling to the Cage of Death. Cornette is happy to oblige.

*AJ Styles vs. Davey Richards*

Hollow match here. It could be any combination of reasons. Both could've been really sore, perhaps Richards was too green, perhaps they just didn't have the right singles chemistry together at this time. But this didn't work. It never emotionally developed and there was no real drama, just moves and holds. In particular, Richards was the exact opposite of Strong earlier in the night, not selling his back after having it worked on by Styles. Richards does the clean job to the potential future HOFer in order to prevent a potential backlash that would come with a perceived overpush.

Hindsight is 20/20, and here's what I wish we'd gotten instead. As great as McGuinness vs. Strong was, I'd have booked that for August 5 in New Jersey to give that show a truly epic triple main event (I'll detail that show when I get closer to it.) For this show, Strong faces Richards in singles in what I imagine would've been a very good undercard match. That leaves Styles to challenge McGuinness for the Pure Title in what was a dream match at the time (and when they finally faced off years later in TNA, it wasn't designed to be a show-stealer unfortunately.) Now of course, why would Styles challenge McGuinness? Because not only would he be sick of the Pure Champion's questionable bullshit, but he never got his rematch after being stripped as the first ever Pure Champ back in 2004. That would've made for two hard-hitting, jaw-dropping undercard spectacles for this divided Philly crowd.

*Rating:* less than ***

At intermission, Gary Michael Cappetta questions Nigel McGuinness for his methods, but he shrugs it off and proclaims he'd also be Tag Champion if he had a reliable partner. It turns out that Cabana is right in the lobby, and the camera catches him apparently flirting with Lacey, who darts away immediately. Cabana challenges McGuinness for the Pure Title. Don't care about that match; my focus is LACEY & COLT CABANA. I'd have teased that during _Weekend of Champions_ since they interacted there with Cabana facing Jimmy Jacobs.

*Cage of Death
Team ROH vs. Team CZW*

I will discuss the match first, then the actual feud in the overall assessment of the show afterwards.

The structure is an octagon-style COD surrounding ringside rather than the layered version.

Bobby Cruise goes over the rules, which are the same as War Games. Two minute intervals with a coin toss to determine who has the advantage. The match ends when every participant has entered the match and it is then one fall to a finish. JJ Dillon, who is sporting an old Four Horsemen jacket, calls the toss for ROH and wins it to give them the advantage.

ROH #1: Samoa Joe
CZW #1: Claudio Castagnoli

"Joe's gonna kill you!" "Joe has bitch tits!"

Castagnoli tries to play mind games but they eventually scuffle and it gets to the outside, complete with Joe hitting an elbow suicida to an incredible pop. Joe soccer kicks a metal trash can in Castagnoli's face and follows that up with a perfectly timed Ole Ole Kick to another wonderful pop. Castagnoli gets some payback by reversing an Irish whip and throwing Joe into a ladder.

They get back inside the ring and provide an appetizer of the classic singles match that they unfortunately never had. This is highlighted with Joe giving him 20 boot scrapes then a running boot scrape to of course another great reaction from the ROH fans. They go back out and Joe drops a ladder on Castagnoli's back, but then another Ole Ole Kick attempt is avoided.

ROH #2: BJ Whitmer

Whitmer has a bag of tacks but leaves it I believe with Dillon. He's a house of fire on Castagnoli but gets cut off. But Castagnoli's control is short-lived as Whitmer reverses an Irish whip, throwing Castagnoli directly into a Uranage Slam by Joe.

CZW #2: Chris Hero

Hero tosses a chair in the ring but is double-teamed. He cuts that off with double eyepokes on the ROH guys. This allows the Kings of Wrestling to double-team Whitmer as Joe is recovering on the outside. A hope spot from Whitmer is cut off from Castagnoli and they remove his ROH shirt then throw it to the CZW crowd. "Throw it back!"

ROH #3: Bryan Danielson

Massive pop for the ROH Champ of course and he's a house of fire on the Kings to the approval of the ROH crowd. It becomes an appetizer of a tag match I'd love to have seen: Kings of Wrestling vs. Samoa Joe & Bryan Danielson.

Danielson and Joe get the advantage with Danielson clotheslining Castagnoli out of the ring. Hero teases a Cravate move on Joe from the turnbuckle, but Danielson stops that with a perfectly positioned dropkick right on Here's face; Danielson then tells Joe to hit the musclebuster on Hero. As Joe is about to drop Hero, Danielson chop-blocks his right knee!

Danielson continues attacking Joe to massive boos from the ROH crowd, and the Commish is at ringside confused about what's going on. Danielson attacks Joe's right knee with a chair.

CZW #3: Nate Webb

Webb goes after a fallen Whitmer, as Danielson gloats, not giving a shit about this war. Danielson tells Cornette his focus is defending the ROH Title against Joe on August 5, then flips him off before leaving. Joe has to be escorted from the match, leaving Whitmer all by himself to a 3-on-1 disadvantage.

Webb then amazes me with one hell of a highspot. The Kings put Whitmer in a corner and place a trash can in front of him. Webb climbs and stands on the top rope of a nearby corner and then hits a fucking moonsault Van Terminator, smashing the weapon in Whitmer's face. A breathtaking highlight in this classic that has so many great things going for it. This causes Whitmer's forehead to bleed.

ROH #4: Adam Pearce

The Lt. Commissioner digs down deep with anger and necessary desperation, running a house of fire on the three CZW guys and getting the ROH crowd back into this. He and Whitmer work together on Castagnoli but that's brief as Hero tosses a trash can at Whitmer's face and goes to Pearce's eyes. The momentum is back in CZW's favor, the 3-on-2 advantage becoming reality.

But Pearce won't go down without a fight, brawling with Castagnoli on the outside. He teases a piledriver on the future WWE superstar. Castagnoli blocks that and monkey-flips Pearce into the cage wiring. Perhaps if Pearce had just gone for the piledriver rather than signal for it he'd have gotten some real momentum going for ROH.

CZW #4: Necro Butcher

Wonderful pop from the CZW fans as Necro brings a chair to the environment. He goes after Whitmer as Hero cockily sits on a chair and the ROH fans chant "Backyard wrestling!" while begging for Homicide to get involved. The 4-on-2 advantage is too much at this point as Whitmer and Pearce are getting annihilated, especially with Necro scoop-slamming the former onto a steel chair in the ring.

Necro targets Pearce with a ladder. Meanwhile, Whitmer is held up for Hero to launch at him, but Hero trolls the ROH audience by locking Whitmer in a Cravate inistead of doing a spectacular move. Tremendous.

ROH #5: Ace Steel

Steel brings a cowbell to the environment and runs a house of fire with it on Team CZW to yet another awesome pop from the ROH audience. It appears the momentum may have swung in ROH's favor, especially with Steel also punching a chair into Necro's face. But that's short-lived as the Kings cut Steel off and Necro tries to choke Pearce with the cowbell's strap. Numerous guys are showing color at this point.

Hero gets on the mic to get a CZW chant going and tease the final member of Team CZW. Steel interrupts him by blindsiding him with a trash can, but that only irritates Hero and doesn't get any momentum going in ROH's favor. Hero points out that the last CZW member is a personal enemy of his, and the crowd is chanting for Homicide, but Hero says he and his personal enemy have a greater enemy in ROH. It's a "King of Diamonds."

CZW #5: Eddie Kingston

Not a bad plan B after Super Dragon stopped getting booked I must say. The ROH fans are heckling Kingston, but the 5-on-3 is just too much and the CZW fans are loving it. The ROH fans only beg for Homicide even more passionately, hoping against hope that something can be done after Danielson screwed them and put them in this position. Steel is busted open when Necro bulldogs him on a barbed wire bat.

Whitmer ducks a chop from Kingston and Hero takes it instead, causing the mortal enemies to get face-to-face and pie-face each other. But before they self-destruct with personal agendas like Danielson and Joe did, the lights go out...

HOMICIDE~!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The Notorious 187 is accompanied by Julius Smokes and the CZW guys are glued in on the established CZW killer. Homicide enters the structure to another electrifying pop and he's brandishing a wooden board. He smashes Kingston's head with it, splitting it into four even rectangles before getting it on with Necro. In my personal favorite spot of the match, Necro goes to grab a chair and charges at Homicide with it. But Homicide has grabbed Whitmer's bag of tacks, emptied it so that the barefooted Necro stepped on them, threw some right in his face, and then Necro got dumped by Whitmer with an exploder suplex!!! Fucking phenomenal nearfall.

Homicide has extra forks that he gives to Whitmer and Pearce and they use them liberally. It seems like everyone except Homicide and the Kings are now bleeding, with Homicide cutting Kingston open and licking the blood as the ROH crowd almost worships him for it. After teasing it and having it reversed earlier, Pearce gets a piledriver on Castagnoli on the concrete floor, and the future Cesaro is now bleeding too. Whitmer briefly has Necro wrapped in barbed wire, but OMG...

Pearce gorilla presses Webb out of the ring as the CZW superstar hits the cage and then falls through a fucking table. Absolutely breathtaking but not something I think we'll ever see again in ROH. Oh yeah, this got a massive pop for those wondering. The momentum is now clearly in ROH's favor, and the ROH fans are chanting "RING OF HOMICIDE~!" The match is just chaos with so many little battles going on in this absolute war.

In another amazing moment, Pearce drops Kingston with a sideslam; as he does that, Steel delivers a guillotine legdrop to Kingston, but also hits a super Stunner on Webb simultaneously. Amazing and very creative nearfall. The CZW fans chant "6 ON 5!" and the ROH fans respond with "You can't count!" Steel misses a tope suicida on Kingston, who walks out of the way so that Steel bounces off a table, but Kingston then gets hit by Homicide with a trash can.

Inside the ring, Pearce drops Webb with a spinning Angle Slam onto the tacks. Jesus Christ. Hero pushes the tacks out of the ring as more shit is set up. Homicide suplexes Kingston through a table as the fans chant someone to sweep up the tacks. This is just a fucking warzone.

Hero and Homicide get back in the ring and go at it. Homicide tries to hit a super Ace Crusher on a chair, but he ends up hitting the chair himself with his ass. Pearce hits a flying elbow drop on Webb for a nearfall. The match continues to just be chaos, guys fucking each other up with so much shit, my favorite being when Castagnoli is hit in the abdomen by Homicide with the board, immediately followed by Whitmer hitting an exploder suplex on Kingston on the concrete floor.

Hero and Pearce have climbed the cage. As they exchange punches, Webb hits an incredible Fosbury Flop on Whitmer! Then Castagnoli jumps from the turnbuckle, lands on the cage next to Pearce, and drops the Lt. Commish with a Super Russian Leg Sweep through a fucking table! Then Homicide immediately hits a crazy tope con hilo on Webb to the outside! Fuck this shit is just unreal.

Hero ducks weapon shots and climbs up top, then hits a fucking moonsault onto Team ROH and Necro gets some of it too. Holy shit the crowd is eating this up! Nearfall on Homicide broken up by Whitmer is next. Whitmer sets up a chair in the middle of the ring and clubs Hero, and they exchange forearms. Hero eats a brainbuster on the the chair for another nearfall, but Necro breaks that up by smacking Whitmer with a chair. Bodies are laying everywhere.

Whitmer and Homicide hit a double back drop driver on Necro, dropping him head/neck first on the chair to another amazing pop, but that's a nearfall of course, because that's not enough to bring this saga to a proper conclusion. But the CZW fans appreciate Necro's toughness and tenacity. There's more brawling outside the ring of course, but back inside Necro regains the advantage by clotheslining Whitmer and Homicide from behind.

Whitmer and Necro duke it out on the apron in front of a table, and the camera shows that a fucking barbed wire board has been placed inside the ring too! Whitmer and Necro continue their stalemate on the apron, but Whitmer "wins" it by hitting a Samoan Drop on Necro through the table, which also has barbed wire! Steel and Webb battle in the ring but Homicide comes to help out, so Steel targets Kingston outside the ring.

Webb plants Homicide down, then follows that with a missed steel chair moonsault. Homicide gets up and smacks it in Webb's face to an amazing pop, then signals for the Kudo Driver. Webb escapes that, teases a powerbomb, but Homicide escapes that, kicks him in the gut, and drops Webb with a Kudo Driver on the fucking barbed wire board!!! THAT, ladies and gentlemen, is the conclusion of this feud.

The ROH fans are going crazy, and the Commish comes out to say the following to the CZW audience:

"Hey hardcore fans. You wanted your garbage wrestling. Well you got your garbage wrestling and your garbage wrestlers got their garbage asses kicked!"

Cornette tells the ROH officials and ring crew to "take out the trash," vowing they'd never return (of course, that does NOT mean that Whitmer vs. Necro on the next show is off.) Hero flips off everyone, and Cornette tells him not to show off his IQ. He thanks the ROH team and asks Dillon, Pearce, and Homicide to stay put.

The crowd is going nuts for Homicide. Just nuts. Before I review the match, I'm gonna continue going over the post-match, one that was a great followup to the post-match of the previous _Death Before Dishonor_ installment's main event.

Cornette thanks all three men, especially Homicide for stepping up to the plate to help out his ROH peers when they needed him most. The CZW fans chant "boring" but Cornette hits them with one last zinger while also putting over Homicide. And for Homicide's contributions, Cornette has agreed to grant the three wishes.

FANS ARE CHANTING FOR LOW KI.

1 - Homicide wants to face Steve Corino again in an ROH ring. Cornette obliges. I'm still gonna pretend that feud wrapped up in 2003.

2 - Homicide wants a guaranteed ROH Title shot. Cornette obliges. OH FUCK YES~!

FANS ARE CHANTING LOUDER FOR LOW KI.

3 - Homicide wants Low Ki to be reinstated. HUGE FUCKING POP~! Oh if only...

But Cornette refuses because Ki knocked his tooth out and says he will do anything that directly benefits Homicide. Cornette is then labeled a liar by Homicide. Cornette retorts by asking if he's Homicide or Homocide. Homicide decides to then spit in the Commish's face.

Pearce goes after Homicide and Dillon locks the cage since he has the key. They ambush Homicide with Cornette spraying his face with mace. Pearce and Dillon keep ROH students at bay by striking them with weapons as they tried to climb in, and Smokes gets maced as well. Cornette then does something that he'd hypocrtically shit on Hollywood Hogan for doing, having Homicide handcuffed to a turnbuckle and then smacking him with a belt repeatedly.

They leave Homicide for dead, and Smokes and the students get in. They have to use pliers to free Homicide since nobody has handcuff keys. Crowd is going crazy for Homicide as the show goes off the air.

What can I really say about this match?

This was EVERYTHING that we ask for in feud-enders. Sure, it was way too violent as I've mentioned in my review of this feud, but that's no reason that the industry can't capture this kind of magic again. This match truly had it all - timing, progressing other arcs, staying true to the characters, an absurd fuckton of unforgettable spots, peaks and valleys, swings in momentum, a moltenly passionate, white-hot divided audience, and a moment that had been 10 months in the making.

This match perfectly wrapped up the greatest feud in company history with a genuine climatic moment. This match progressed not only ROH's own Danielson vs. Joe program, but Hero vs. Kingston as well, a program that had zero to do with ROH. This match had all the brutality that the audience expected. This match also put Homicide in the position that the fans had demanded at _Night of the Grudges II_ - this was the final step in making him the #1 babyface in the promotion, far above Samoa Joe or even KENTA.

As for the post-match, it was so perfectly executed, a swerve on par with CM Punk's heel turn after he brought such a high of happiness for the audience when he captured the ROH Title at _Death Before Dishonor III_. The foreshadowing of it was always there. Low Ki being the one to knock out Cornette's tooth and getting a lifetime suspension. Pearce sucking up to Cornette in the name of ROH pride. And Dillon showing up, wearing a jacket that showed off his past as a key member of one of the most vicious, cutthroat factions the business has ever seen. It was all right in front of us the entire time.

I know that unlike the Summer of Punk, the Cornette vs. Homicide feud was largely an aesthetic failure, so I'll be skipping most of it. But to me, this post-match is one of the greatest moments in company history. I put this on the same wavelength as _Money in the Bank 2011_. For one night, we witnessed true magic, a rare moment of culmination, with the hopes that it cracked the door open for more of that same feeling to come frequently. And just because the aftermath couldn't measure up doesn't mean that this wasn't a special segment.

This match is a true chef d'oeuvre. This will go down as the greatest booking orchestration of Gabe Sapolsky's career. It is not only one of the best matches in ROH's history, but one of the absolute best in independent wrestling history. For my ROH 2006 revisit, I do have it on par with Blood Generation vs. Do Fixer at _Supercard of Honor_. But don't ask me to choose which one is better. That's the same as asking me to pick between _Toy Story_ or _The Avengers_. Two absolute pieces of perfection that provide such differently satisfying flavors to the viewer.

Words cannot express how badly I wished I had gotten to experience this masterpiece live in person.

*Rating:* *****

So, as for this show itself, only two matches are worth seeing, but like _Unforgettable_ nine months prior in the exact same venue, these two matches fucking delivered. (That show ALSO had an undercard storyline moment of some importance in the ring, PLUS a backstage undercard storyline moment of importance too.) McGuinness vs. Strong was easily the highlight of a disappointing in-ring undercard and is recommended viewing for all fans that prefer the sports-entertainment formatting of wrestling matches. It is an excellent source of not just great wrestling but character development as well.

Then there's the Cage of Death. I really can't say much more about that match, so it is now time for my assessment of Ring of Honor vs. Combat Zone Wrestling.

For me to confidently label this as the greatest feud in ROH history, I know that says a lot because there have been so many great feuds to have come in its dozen years of existence. So what exactly makes this stand head-and-shoulders above the top feuds that came before this, such as the Summer of Punk, Homicide vs. Cabana, Joe vs. Homicide, and the Embassy vs. Generation Next, as well as many other great feuds that would come later? To be known as the greatest feud in ROH history requires numerous aspects. It not only had to be aesthetically pleasing, but has to have both a tangible short-term and long-term effect on the company as well as the industry.

I'll start with the aesthetics. This program generated a buzz for a company that admittedly had plenty of it throughout 2005 thanks to the Summer of Punk, James Gibson, and Kenta Kobashi. That year had so much great shit going for it, but what this feud brought to the table was a quantity of new characters, emotional brawls that had the crowds rocking one night after another, and absolute hardcore classics that surpassed my sentimental memories I had of them.

This program got so many guys JOBS in the company and as a result throughout the rest of the industry. Sure, someone as talented as Chris Hero would've eventually got on the radar of the big leagues, but this finally gave him the chance to show off his skills as a character and technical wrestler in the juggernaut promotion of the indies. Other key characters brought to the ROH main shows for the first time also included Super Dragon, Necro Butcher, Nate Webb, and Eddie Kingston. This allowed the shows to feel fresh for the long-time customers of ROH.

By CZW doing business with ROH, this also got CZW fans to tune in to root for their favorite federation. I can't say enough how strongly opinionated the opposing fanbases were in praising their promotions while burying the other. This feud brought that genuine emotion and got a bunch of insider fans to actually buy into something that mattered to them. And by doing this, not only did ROH continue to do great business with its DVDs, but attendance was reignited in its home market of Philadelphia. It's a shame that the Summer of Punk, Gibson's farewell, and Kobashi's match didn't get business moving in Philly, but that turned out to be a blessing in disguise. These new fans that tuned in now got to be introduced to the ROH product during a time when ROH was hitting on almost all cylinders. Remember, _The Milestone Series_ was right in the middle of this feud.

Many of the CZW guys would go on to become mainstays in ROH, and got some spotlight to showcase what they could bring to the business as well. This feud elevated guys. Speaking of elevation, think about how much the stock of Whitmer and Pearce increased because of this. Rather than constantly tread water and get exposed, Whitmer now had a cause to fight for and get the fans on his side while also feuding with Jimmy Jacobs. Pearce went from tedious undercard jobber to ROH enforcer, now becoming Cornette's right hand man.

It all came together for Homicide as well. It was absolutely ingenious after _Night of the Grudges II_ to put him in an emotional feud with Cabana in which he would morally hit rock bottom, realize the error of his ways to find some decency within, and then taking the frustrations he had out on the CZW guys as they trespassed on his territory. Everything just came together perfectly.

This was a magical time that will never come back to independent wrestling. I'm still waiting for ROH to make this compilation, but don't keep waiting, people. Get these shows and watch this gripping saga unfold. You'll also accidentally see some of the greatest shows and matches of all-time as well.

It has been a pleasure re-watching this and I'm sad that everything else after this may not be up to par creatively, but I know there's still plenty of great shit to come, including what might very well be the greatest match in company history. We'll see when I get around to that.

Up next - War of the Wire II
Matches will include:
Matt Sydal vs. Christopher Daniels
Bryan Danielson vs. Austin Aries vs. Delirious vs. Homicide
Roderick Strong & Jack Evans vs. Briscoe Bros.
BJ Whitmer vs. Necro Butcher


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## Super Sonic (Jun 11, 2014)

I've gone back to previous shows in 2006 to include the respective video recaps that were available online. I'll work on as many grammatical/spelling/formatting errors as well while I peripherally watch tonight's NBA action.


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## CZWRUBE (Nov 6, 2013)

Super Sonic said:


> *Throwdown - June 23, 2006*
> 
> 
> 
> ...


This one looks like a good one!!! Ill have to check it out!


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## Super Sonic (Jun 11, 2014)

*War of the Wire II - July 28, 2006*










*ROH Video Recap - July 19, 2006*






Important news/footage in the above video:
Jim Cornette cuts a passionate promo, one that ALMOST makes me wanna rewatch his entire feud with Homicide. Truly must see.
Christian Cage vs. Christopher Daniels is confirmed for July 29 in Cleveland
Gary Michael Cappetta looks for Colt Cabana and it results in a humorous moment

I kept the good shit captured on my external hard drive, so I'll be copying and pasting portions of Brad Garoon & Jake Ziegler's dual review for anything important I missed.

Poorly produced videos of BJ Whitmer mentally preparing for tonight's main event are shown. Not exactly Russell Wilson walking the steps and field of MetLife Stadium the day of _Super Bowl XLVIII_.

Here we go, the big announcement that wasn't mentioned by Cornette at all during his promo at _Death Before Dishonor IV_ or on any of the recent Video Recaps.



> JZ says: Jimmy Bower narrates a clip of Bryan Danielson attacking Samoa Joe during the Cage of Death match at Death Before Dishonor IV two weeks ago. They will face each other in Edison, New Jersey on August 5, in a match dubbed “The Fight of the Century.” We will hear from Samoa Joe later on in this DVD.


*Matt Sydal vs. Christopher Daniels*

Sydal has returned from a couple months spent in Dragon Gate. Daniels largely controls the match, working on Sydal's neck and left arm. This helped set up Sydal for a variety of signature moves including the Reverse STO, Koji Clutch, Iconoclasm, Last Rites, and Angel's Wings. However, Daniels would only bust out some of those moves throughout the match as well as his signature Best Moonsault Ever, which Sydal kicked out of. The commentators remind the viewer that Sydal had fallen in each of his five matches (three singles, a couple threeways involving Azrieal and AJ Styles) to a different move each time to Daniels.

This was nowhere near Sydal's best performance, especially compared to their best singles match against each other to date at _Weekend of Champions Night 2_ or Sydal having to carry the injured Daniels at _Dissension_. But all of his counters were fluid and well-timed, with the audience behind him with every highspot he pulled out. Sydal found a way to leverage himself out of the Koji Clutch, and eventually positioned to drop Daniels on his neck (of course having never fully recovered from his injury in WCW) in a move visually similar to the Styles Clash, giving Sydal his major singles victory that had eluded him in ROH since his breakout match against Jimmy Rave at _The Final Showdown_ in the same venue.

Post-match, Daniels congratulates Sydal and offers to tag with him should he wanna challenge Austin Aries & Roderick Strong for the Tag Titles again.

*Rating:* ***1/2

*Bryan Danielson vs. Austin Aries vs. Delirious vs. Homicide*

Before the match starts, there's info scrolling at the bottom with numerous noteworthy matches booked to get my blood flowing towards a certain body organ:
Danielson defending the ROH Title against Nigel McGuinness tomorrow night in Cleveland
Samoa Joe vs. AJ Styles; Briscoes vs. KENTA & Davey Richards on August 4 in Long Island
_Fight of the Century_ on August 5 in New Jersey with the Danielson vs. Joe main event plus KENTA vs. Richards

Danielson is the ROH Champ while Aries is half of the Tag Champs as just mentioned. If either champ wins the match, the loser cannot challenge them for their title. But if either champion is pinned, the winner gets a title shot against the defeated participant. Now of course, Homicide already had a guaranteed ROH Title show per the two wishes Cornette came through with on the previous show, so why is Homicide in this? Because it doesn't hurt to have TWO guaranteed shots in the bank, plus it gives him a chance to get his hands on Danielson after what happened at _Destiny_. Having a guaranteed shot at the Tag Titles wouldn't be too shabby either especially after the prestige that Aries & Strong have brought upon them.

I really liked this match because of all the stories Danielson had with his opponents, but was annoyed that the match wasn't just made a tornado match from the get-go, since tag legalities stopped being enforced in the third act as usual for the indy scene. That doesn't take away the heat this wonderful Dayton crowd gave the match, popping huge and breaking out in "HOLY SHIT~!" chants at the beginning when Delirious was simply running around and talking shit in gibberish to both Homicide and Danielson. Yes, I'm still bitter that ROH burned this crowd the next time they came to this market. and no, I will NOT be reviewing that piece of shit show.

Anyway, everything was well-timed in this one, with all kinds of great stories as mentioned. Homicide truly wanted Danielson as they of course had history even prior to _Destiny_ (their best of five series ending in the cage match at _The Final Showdown_ in this venue), while Danielson did his best to be a chickenshit and avoid the hottest babyface in the company. Of course, when Danielson and Aries went at it, it was beautiful technical wrestling with Danielson doing a great job of trolling the tremendous audience.

In the third act as I mentioned, it got a bit more chaotic with the tag legalities being ignored. Aries and Delirious had a hot sequence ending with Aries taking a Shadows Over Hell but that would just be a false finish. The match had a similarly hot finish, as Homicide was dazed on the outside while Danielson locked the Cattle Mutilation on Delirious. This allowed Aries to climb the top rope and pin Danielson with a 450 Splash, earning a shot at the ROH Champion and I can't complain about that booking at all.

*Rating:* ***1/2

*Roderick Strong & Jack Evans vs. Briscoe Bros.*

The now-disbanded Generation Next comes out first, and this is also the return of Evans after a few months spent in Dragon Gate. They attack the Briscoes at the entrance ramp due to the events of _Throwdown_ and _Chi-Town Struggle_. They have a spotty opening sequence as would be predicted, with it looking like it'd turn into Evans vs. Mark as the legal men to start the match. However, just like the fourway right before this, the ref seemed to lack regard for that, allowing Jay to come in as the legal man when Mark got put on the outside like this was Lucha rules.

This was still a good match with those tag issues though since referee Todd Sinclair decided to enforce later legalities throughout the rest of the match. Once that glaring flaw was out of the way, this match turned into exactly what the overrated clusterfuck at _Best in the World 2006_ should've been. These guys got their shit in, the Briscoes cut the ring in half on Evans and trolled Strong, Evans got the hot tag, Strong ran a house of fire.

My favorite moment in the match was Strong assisting Evans with a standing corkscrew on Mark while he was on the second rope. This caused damage to Mark's back, softening it for Strong's offense. But Evans was down after that move, selling the beating the Briscoes had given him. This allowed the Briscoes to eventually capitalize and get the advantage on Strong, pinning him after a spike double underhook piledriver, and thus securing themselves another shot at the Tag Titles. Much better that the first match as I mentioned.

*Rating:* ***1/4

*No Rope Barbed Wire Match
Necro Butcher vs. BJ Whitmer*

I left out most of the prematch brawl between the ROH and CZW guys as that issue was done and over with. The Video Recap would've served just fine with reminding us that Claudio Castagnoli is still around as a contracted ROH superstar still. Homicide accompanies Whitmer at ringside to advise him during the match based on his classic against Steve Corino at the original _War of the Wire_.

This match couldn't live up to that one because neither man could sell the hate with their faces and body language. There were also some selling issues mainly from Whitmer (also a business-exposing moment when he held a chair in front of his face, but that may have been shitty camera angle production.) So while this wasn't Homicide vs. Corino or Randy Orton vs. Mick Foley due to its various issues, I must still admit that this was a highly enjoyable garbage style match thanks mostly to the awesome crowd. It was certainly better than the clusterfuck between Joey Ryan and B-Boy earlier in the month. The audience completely rallied behind Whitmer here during and after the match, breaking out in various chants after he slayed this demon. Funny how that happens when the right guy wins.

My biggest issue with this match isn't the selling or lack of hatred. I actually observed Necro doing a decent job of selling his pain. But this match had a lot of crazy shit going for it. Both guys of course bladed on their faces and bodies. Necro dropped Whitmer off the ring canvas onto a barbed wire table to the outside via a sitdown powerbomb. In a nice touch after what happened between these men inside the Cage of Death, Homicide surprised Whitmer with a bag of thumbtacks to use on Necro. Whitmer used them on Necro's face AND got him to step on them, just like what happened 13 days prior to this match. There was also a Tiger Driver on the tacks, as well as Whitmer channeling Shawn Michaels at _WrestleMania X_, falling off of a ladder and splashing on Necro, who was being pierced underneath a barb-wire board.

So what's the problem exactly? After ALL of that insane shit that had this crowd going apeshit, Whitmer finished off Necro with a simple wrist-clutch exploder, not even doing it on the tacks (they mistakenly used that earlier in the match as a nearfall.) Very anticlimatic finish for this match and as a residual epilogue to the Cage of Death masterpiece. At least Whitmer won and slayed this demon though, so he can now completely focus on Lacey and Jimmy Jacobs, and based on the wars they've already had with each other, as well as what Jacobs put himself through against Alex Shelley, boy am I looking forward to continue rewatching that feud.

*Rating:* ***3/4

Nothing genuinely great to me on here, but very, very, very good show overall in front of the usually fantastic Dayton crowd. In fact, this was in many ways the end of an era, as the next Dayton event was god-awful as I mentioned earlier, with the market getting killed off for years due to constantly being saddled with B-shows. That's such a shame after so many great matches and memories such as the first match in the Samoa Joe vs. CM Punk trilogy and James Gibson bringing Punk's reign of terror to an end. I'll also include this show's main event on par with that due to how fondly many ROHbots view it. I also must mention _Third Anniversary Celebration Pt. 2_, _The Final Showdown_, and _Tag Wars 2006_, three of the finest and funnest events in company history and among my favorite pro wrestling events of all-time.

I highly recommend this for a variety of quality wrestling as well as this being the last hot Dayton event, and I believe many fans will be more forgiving of the main event's flaws than I am.

And now, I continue with the greatest rivalry in company history, plus it's the final chapter for the greatest faction in company history as well. I seriously cannot believe the latter wasn't even mentioned on this show or in the Video Recaps.

Up next - Generation Now
Matches will include:
Delirious vs. Claudio Castagnoli
Jay Briscoe vs. Jimmy Jacobs
Austin Aries, Roderick Strong, Jack Evans, & Matt Sydal vs. Irish Airborne, Davey Richards, & Jerrelle Clark
Christian Cage vs. Christopher Daniels
Bryan Danielson vs. Nigel McGuinness


----------



## Super Sonic (Jun 11, 2014)

*Generation Now - July 29, 2006*










The DVD begins with footage of Samoa Joe doing bench press in California, supposedly 225 pounds but it looks like 135 to me. Whatever. I love the idea of building up the match with Bryan Danielson but it does make tonight's main event really seem secondary when it really isn't at all.

Speaking of the main event, Pure Champion Nigel McGuinness reminds us all that Danielson took a cheap countout loss to hold onto the ROH Title at _Weekend of Champions Night 2_. Of course McGuinness won't mention that he screwed himself using a chair on Danielson, wrongly assuming that the ROH Title could change via Pure Title rules despite nobody stating so beforehand. But he'll be the first double champ tonight to prove he's the top champion and best wrestler in the world.

*Delirious vs. Claudio Castagnoli*

Every promoter's dream of an opening match. This was fun, tons of it. Coming off of Cage of Death, the crowd loved to heckle Castagnoli and were behind Delirious from start to finish as they should've been. The match had great character work, highlighted by Delirious escaping a headlock, Castagnoli being oblivious to it, and then trying his best to no-sell it once it dawned on him that Delirious outsmarted him.

The match also had a really good story with Castagnoli working on the left knee of Delirious. Delirious would manage to get his hope spots/segments in, but Castagnoli kept going after it with various submission and slams (both on the mat and into the turnbuckles), my personal favorite being a single-crab giant swing. Fucking amazing. Another highlight was Delirious going for the Shadows Over Hell but instead eating a perfecly timed European Uppercut. However, Castagnoli was very cocky in this match, allowing Delirious to make various comebacks. That ultimately got him to be pinned by a rollup. Not a good start to his next ROH chapter after the CZW feud.

*Rating:* ***1/2

Danielson isn't ashamed of his actions inside the Cage of Death, stating he chose to be a "capitalist" instead of a "socialist." That's actually a very good heel explanation for what he did to Joe and the rest of Team ROH in such a historic moment for the company. He claims he'll earn a Pure Title shot tonight to later on unify the belts and he'll take care of Joe next weekend too.

*Jay Briscoe vs. Jimmy Jacobs*

Lacey comes out by herself to cut a promo but the viewer can't make out any of the dialogue due to the shitty acoustics. Jacobs interrupts from the balcony and walks down to the ring, providing a live performance of "The Ballad of Lacey" to the crowd's amusement. It's really amazing seeing Jacobs pull off this gimmick; while of course the crowd knows this is good shit, they're also laughing at how pathetic he is towards Lacey using his immature feelings for her and he's totally oblivious to that too.

The match itself is pretty good as I had remembered. Jacobs worked on Jay's neck to set him up for the Shiranui, which Jacobs attempted numerous times throughout the match. Unfortunately, when Jay got the dominant heat later, he didn't really sell the neck, taking the match down a bit from "very good" territory. Highlights in the match include Jay gorilla pressing Jacobs and dropping him with a Death Valley Driver as well as tossing him on the outside. Jacobs was taking unreal bumps on the guardrails, hitting his head/shoulders on the metal sheets, then flipping over and bumping on the same region on the concrete floor.

The finishing sequence was a nice one, with both men finding ways to evade and counter their finishers, the highlighting counter being a jackknife pin attempt by Jacobs. But because ROH booking was practically clicking on all cylinders here, Jacobs took another loss, falling to the double underhook piledriver and further establishing Jay as a bad ass as he and his brother Mark still aimed for the Tag Titles.

Speaking of the Tag Titles, the Briscoes remind everyone they're still coming for them and they don't give a shit about Generation Next's final chapter. What a crazy concept, a tag team hammering it home how important the tag belts are.

*Rating:* ***1/4

I don't care one iota about the mediocre *Mark Briscoe vs. Homicide* match, so I'll just mention the Briscoes attacked Homicide to close out the segment. I don't remember or care if it was after the match or not, but it's important to mention for later.

*Dragon Gate Rules - Generation Next's Last Stand
Austin Aries, Roderick Strong, Jack Evans, & Matt Sydal vs. Irish Airborne, Davey Richards, & Jerrelle Clark*

The commentators mention that the referee has Dragon Gate on his resume, so that should help here.

This was just total nonstop action to a fucking tee. Not quite as breathtaking as the MOTYC trios matches from _WrestleMania 22_ weekend or the show-stealing work of art from _Generation Next_ as this was missing the charismatic layers and overall psychology of those matches, but this was a fitting finale for the greatest faction in company history. It really was just nonstop great shit, and the rules of the match truly benefited the rising stars team.

I can't go through all the moves in this match, but most of them were crisp and on-point. The highlights of the match to me were Evans temporarily getting the ring cut in half on him, plus of course all the dives to the outside at the end, leaving Evans to be the last one to finish that sequence. But he was alone with Richards, who cut off Evans and finished him off with the double underhook DDT to continue his quickly rising momentum just a couple months after debuting.

I know I mentioned the finish, but with great spotfests, I tend not to get too detailed with going through these types of matches segment by segment. This is an excellent, action-packed, must-see match, and even I lost count of who was legal, but because Gabe Sapolsky had the courtesy to make this Dragon Gate Rules, I don't have a problem with it. One can never truly know who the next breakout stars will be, but it's a shame only one of the rising stars went on to develop enough of a reputation to work in the puro big leagues and end up on American cable television.

Post-match, Aries reminds everyone that this isn't a breakup, Generation Next is unnecessary because all four men have won championships and gotten booked in Dragon Gate. They leave their GeNext T-shirts in the ring as a sentimental symbol, but then the Briscoes come soil them and shit on the moment, then take a powder once GeNext gets back in. The Briscoes eat a chair from Homicide, retaliating for what happened earlier in the evening.

*Rating:* ****

We see Joe doing leg lifts with 135 pounds on each side to show his knee is okay after Cage of Death.

Lacey is continuing to be frustrated with Jacobs, as he's overly focused on his infatuation for her and failing to channel that into victories. Jacobs mentions he's heard rumors about a car rocking with Colt Cabana, but Lacey cuts him off and dodges the issue.

*Christian Cage vs. Christopher Daniels*

Christian's pre-match get-up pants were just ludicrous back in the day, straight out of Teddy Hart's wardrobe. They have an amusing pre-match with Christian giving a delayed obliging to Daniels requesting a five second pose.

The match itself wasn't awful, in fact structured pretty well, but needed some polishing. Christian needed more time in ROH's smaller ring to adjust to it and there were a couple botches the crowd noticed. Daniels also didn't sell his ribs as best as he could, specifically when he would bridge up and hit signature moves later such as the Angel's Wings and Best Moonsault Ever. Daniels gets the win, making Christian's time in ROH meaning far less booking-wise than Matt Hardy a year earlier, as it was just a TNA guy putting over another TNA guy. As mentioned, Christian was even sloppier here than Hardy, and I have to believe his asking price was too high to get booked again and adjust to ROH. The company probably could've used his star power for depth later on in 2006 though.

*Rating:* less than ***

*ROH Title Match
Bryan Danielson vs. Nigel McGuinness*

Just beautiful mat wrestling in the first 15 minutes here. Danielson worked on the left leg of McGuinness, while the Pure Champ worked on Danielson's left arm. There were just all kinds of awesome counters and evasions in this. Danielson was wonderful in his work on the left leg with so many attacks and submissions, but also going for his signature Cattle Mutilation or crossface chickenwing if the opportunity presented itself. Meanwhile, McGuinness was also wonderful working on the left arm, especially working on the Kimura Lock, only making me antsier at the thought of Danielson potentially being put in that hold at a certain event to come at Levi's Stadium.

The match was also perfectly paced, as after the mat wrestling to establish their advantages on one another, they started going for the strikes and big moves such as headbutts, palm strikes on the chest, clotheslines, lariats, elbow strikes, roaring elbows, and Tower of London. Everything was timed perfectly, my favorite counter segment being when McGuinness ducked a clothesline and smacked Danielson with a lariat that would make Bradshaw proud. However, when they mixed in the submissions again, both men targeted the wounded limbs they had worked on earlier to complete this great story they were telling.

It would all be moot though. After being crotched and eating another lariat that would also make Bradshaw proud and certainly had Danielson down for the count, he intelligently rolled out and went underneath the ring. Seconds later, he crawled out from underneath the other side, sucked up whatever pain he had from the crotched lariat, and suckered McGuinness with a small package for the win! Great match that would've been even better if Danielson had sold his left arm a little more (kinda feels like the theme of the night actually), but I can't complain especially if they didn't wanna blow their in-ring load yet.

Post-match, McGuinness hesitantly shakes Danielson's hand, having to eat the fact that he was out-deceived exactly three months later in the exact same venue, and Danielson has Bobby Cruise proclaim him to be "Mr. Small Package." Fucking brilliant and a fitting chapter for the greatest rivalry in ROH history.

*Rating:* ****

Aries & Strong are pissed about the Briscoes ruining the sentimental Generation Next farewell, but have to focus on next weekend as they're defending the Tag Titles on back-to-back nights in the first ever Ultimate Endurance matches against three teams each night. Not my favorite gimmick match but I'll review the good ones.

Joe dismisses Danielson for using trickery to hold onto the title. Whatever, it was within the rules and I'd hate to see Joe's reaction if he lined up on the gridiron against a team coached by Bill Belichick. He says he's finally gonna regain the title next Saturday at _Fight of the Century_.

Yeah, get this fucking show. Four enjoyable matches, two of them outstanding and of different flavors. There's something for everyone on this show.

I now reach what would be another final chapter for many years, this one unadvertised and unknown at the time of the event; it's the end of a simply phenomenal era in ROH's history. Fuck, it's a shame we didn't get KENTA vs. AJ Styles on the one card they were both booked on, but hindsight is 20/20.

Up next - Time to Man Up
Matches will include:
Bryan Danielson vs. Jack Evans
Nigel McGuinness vs. Delirious
Briscoe Bros. vs. KENTA & Davey Richards
Samoa Joe vs. AJ Styles


----------



## Super Sonic (Jun 11, 2014)

Nothing new here, other than I discovered my Glory By Honor II post was missing so I inserted it in its appropriate spot. I also took the time to re-read every post and fix the numerous errors I found. Enjoy!


----------



## Sephiroth (May 27, 2006)

Nice. I missed these. Did you enjoy NXT last night?


----------



## Super Sonic (Jun 11, 2014)

Along with WM30, it's my most highly anticipated portion of my annual Road to WM extensive rewatch project coming up in March.


----------



## Super Sonic (Jun 11, 2014)

*Time to Man Up - August 4, 2006*










*ROH Video Recap - August 2, 2006*






Important news/footage in the above video:

Homicide's promo about Jim Cornette gets censored and cut off.
Davey Richards is aiming to eventually win NOAH's GHC Jr. Title.
Lacey, obviously just being done engaging in hankey pankey, tells the fans to quit worrying about her personal life, and she's still focused on making Jimmy Jacobs successful.
Solid highlight package of the past Bryan Danielson vs. Samoa Joe matches to hype up their highly anticipated match @ _Fight of the Century_
A sloppy promo from Tag Champs Austin Aries & Roderick Strong about knocking off the Briscoes for a third time coming up on August 12 in Liverpool, after first getting through six teams in a couple Ultimate Endurance matches. While not delivered very convincingly, especially from Strong, this promo at least made Aries/Strong vs. Briscoes III seem important, as well as further highlighted the tag straps. I'm hesitant to be excited for this because although the first match was right below the greatness border, the rematch was a mess.

This is another B-show in which I kept just the good shit on my external hard drive, so I'll once again be using the dual review from Jake Ziegler & Brad Garoon for any little important storyline details I didn't keep.

*Bryan Danielson vs. Jack Evans*

Solid opener and extended squash here. It was still a mismatch, although not quite as much as their spectacle at _Survival of the Fittest 2004_. While this won't be getting a sexy star rating from me, this is something that would be perfect to introduce anyone accustomed to the sports-entertainment flavor of pro wrestling as much like their 2004 match, both men's personas were highly emphasized to mix in with their differing wrestling styles.

Before the match even starts, Danielson does a standing moonsault to show-up Evans as an acrobat. Evans responded with his usual breakdancing routine which the crowd ate up. The crowd I must say was exceptional here, reacting appropriately to everything. In particular, they antagonized Danielson when he hit a scoop slam with "Same old shit" chants, so he did it again several more times to Evans as a middle finger to them while also causing additional pain on the back of Evans to marginalize his daredevil tactics. In addition, the audience at the beginning had requested Danielson to do a responsive dance to Evans, so he teased it and then refused to deliver it, for he would not be told how to perform inside the ring by anybody.

Evans of course put up a much better fight than in 2004; however, Danielson had improved as well, becoming much more aggressive when the mood struck depending on the night, crowd, and opponent. So while Evans wasn't completely dominated here like he was before, being able to get some heat segments here and there, this was still a mismatch as mentioned because Danielson was just clicking on all cylinders at this point.

One of my favorite moments in this match was Danielson locking on an STF early, but Evans was so flexible that he was able to position his way out of it quite easily. Another highlight was Evans giving Danielson a slapping receipt in the first act, which got a great pop from the crowd. There was also of course Danielson tea-bagging Evans, taking full advantage of the Dragon Gate star's flexibility. And the finish was perfect - Danielson went back to the STF, locking it in a much meaner fashion for the victory, sending a message to Joe.

This isn't a ***+ match, but here's the important question: Am I ever willing to watch this again? You bet your ass I am for all the details I just went over, and if I was a pro wrestler, that'd my top priority in connecting with the audience and viewer. A shame I can't say that about another match I'm reviewing on this show.



> BG says: Nigel McGuinness says that he doesn’t need to resort to cheap tactics like going under the ring to win a match like Bryan Danielson. He’s adding Delirious to his list of defeated opponents tonight and then *he’s unifying the belts*.


...



> JZ says: AJ Styles and his high price tag are here to mention his history with Samoa Joe. He says he’s leaving Ring of Honor for a few months, and he wants to go out on the high note of beating Samoa Joe. Good luck!


Here's another storyline tidbit during the Ultimate Endurance post-match:



> After the match Aries gets on the microphone and points out that he and Strong don’t have their tag team belts. Apparently someone stole the belts and Aries suspects the Briscoes are to blame. He demands that they be returned by the time the Ultimate Endurance match starts tomorrow.





> JZ says: ROH World Champion Bryan Danielson says that he calls the shots around here, not Samoa Joe. So he will not meet him face-to-face tonight. He will do his talking in the ring tomorrow night. *He then accepts ROH Pure Champion Nigel McGuinness’ challenge to unify the World and Pure Championships*.


OH FUCK YES~! Of course, let's hope McGuinness isn't looking past his challenger tonight and neither does Danielson against his challenger tomorrow night.

*Pure Title Match
Nigel McGuinness vs. Delirious*

Good wrestling with some genuine amusement thrown in here. Not completely comprehending the rules due to being zoned out before the match as part of his routine, Delirious cost himself his rope breaks on the most basic of submissions. McGuinness would later on lose a couple rope breaks as well although that was for simply using the ropes just to get up off of his knees, something I always hated with the officiating in this type of match. McGuinness even pointed it out that he wasn't using the ropes to request Delirious to break a pin or submission attempt; however, it can be argued that this was karma on him for all his bullshit during this title reign.

My favorite spot in the match was when McGuinness got a very strong rebound lariat on Delirious, causing a great pop; what made it so great was so simple, as they had teased it earlier in the match. All wrestlers should be able to grasp that, but I digress. Another highlight was Delirious going for a Shadows Over Hell, only for McGuinness to land a perfectly timed European Uppercut on him.

If there was any flaw in this match, I'd say it was Delirious kicking out of the Tower of London twice (right after ROH on this very DVD started building to a unification match). Sure, Delirious had seen his stock rise tremendously throughout 2006 thanks to his matches against Danielson, but he still wasn't a big enough star in the company to kick out and not protect a finisher with such a major match being planned.

I appreciated that one of the Tower of London attempts was countered into a Cobra Stretch, as that elevates Delirious and creates anticipation of an upset title change without diminishing McGuinness. And like the opener, I loved the finish, as in the end this was a mismatch since McGuinness was too familiar with this environment and Delirious, despite a great effort, didn't have enough clicking upstairs to pull off the upset. McGuinness locked in the Cattle Mutilation as a message to Danielson, with Delirious passing out since he was out of rope breaks.

I could see why the time had come to phase out the Pure Title. Firstly, nobody was gonna be able to follow this epic reign, and secondly, I cannot think of anymore viable challengers at the time that would be in the position to put McGuinness over, or even stick around to defend the belt should he have been dethroned. Danielson, Joe, Aries, Strong, Delirious, Jay Lethal, Colt Cabana, Christopher Daniels, Claudio Castagnoli - he had gone through them all. It was time to bring this amazing chapter to an end. I'll detail it further when I catch up to the official retirement of the Pure Title.

*Rating:* ***1/4

*Briscoe Bros. vs. KENTA & Davey Richards*

A disappointing clusterfuck if I've ever seen one here. Now let's dig in to find out why I reached such a strongly negative assessment.

Let's get the highlights out of the way real quick: Jay and KENTA having a heated slapping exchange early in the match, making me wish we had gotten to see a singles match between them. I also appreciate the Doomsday Busaiku knee near the end of the match as well.

Now we get to the negatives.

I'll start with the unprofessional pet-peeve that I catch watching tag matches in TNA and the indies: in the third act, which was admittedly starting to get a bit hot to potentially save this sham of a tag match, the referee just counted a pinfall attempt regardless of who was legal. But that's not even the biggest problem with this match.

Before the match even started, KENTA got right in the ring to get in the Briscoes' faces, while Richards was outside sucking up to the crowd before getting in the ring to be beside his partner. Now in storyline, that could be explained that Richards had yet to interact with the Briscoes, while KENTA had heat with them based on what happened at _Throwdown_ and _Chi-Town Struggle_. But perhaps in reality this was a sign that these two men were not on the same page.

I had recalled Bryan & Vinny pointing out that KENTA & Richards weren't on the same page, so I kept my eye out for that. Needless to say, I would NOT have ever needed to hear them point it out to notice it here, as it was so fucking obvious. But I have been listening to the B&V reviews of these shows again before writing each review just to see if there was something I didn't notice, and they brought upon a viewpoint in why KENTA was largely to blame for this match sucking so badly.

So the Briscoes were getting the heat on Richards, who then started to make a comeback to get the crowd behind him and build to a hot tag, but right as he started it, KENTA fucking tagged him. KENTA then came in and realized he had to step aside to let Richards get his shit in on the Briscoes. Now I had thought at first Richards was probably at fault, being a green wrestler still at the time and just having to get his shit in. But Bryan & Vinny made me realize that KENTA was the one who fucked up by not realizing that Richards was making a comeback.

That's completely unacceptable for a tag match involving KENTA, and for him to be the one at fault to boot. KENTA has NEVER been an indy geek, having been brought up in the pro wrestling business through the big leagues. There was no excuse for him to allow many of the indyriffic flaws to take place in this match, especially after being established as such a great tag team wrestler himself between 2003 and 2005, and there was especially no excuse for him to not grasp what Richards was going for in the Ricky Morton role.

I must also mention there were quite a few botches in this one, most memorable being when Richards tried to crotch a Briscoe, and they didn't necessarily move forward from that botch all that smoothly. These men just didn't gel with each other at all on this night, and I'm not quite sure why the crowd gave these men a standing ovation when Mark got the pin on Richards. But you know what? I can understand some botches, because maybe these guys were hurting and perhaps KENTA was jet-lagged if he was just coming in from overseas.

I have to give credit where credit is due: unlike the Briscoes' match against Strong & Evans at _Best in the World 2006_, the booking was perfect here. The Briscoes pinned Richards to keep them strong for their upcoming Tag Titles shots, while protecting KENTA for his ROH Title shot on September 16 in NYC. This also helped avoid any perception that Richards was being overpushed, even though he was being put in strong positions.

As for the work of this match itself, just a clusterfuck. This match had very visible botches. This match had lack of tag legalities being enforced. This match had a comeback for a hot tag being fucked up by the big league star. This match built to absolutely nothing. This is easily the worst KENTA performance I've ever seen.

At the time of this show, I had a subscription to PWInsider and remember listening to Mike Johnson's review of this show from attending it live. He had said this was a weak show but this match was a hot show-stealer. And that, ladies and gentlemen, is further evidence to never trust the cunts on that website about anything they have to say about assessing the business.

Will I ever watch this again: fuck no. And when this review is posted, I will immediately delete this match from my external hard drive, then have AVG kindly shred it out of my Recycle Bin.

Let's hope KENTA vs. Richards holds up better than this.

*Rating:* less than ***

*The Last ROH Match of AJ Styles
Samoa Joe vs. AJ Styles*

A shame it wasn't confirmed this was the end of an era prior to this show occurring, but of course as we enter 2015 perhaps it's poetic that AJ Styles didn't get the full bells-and-whistles sentimental farewell and classic match on his way out.

This was a good match between these two, although one I could've gone without in hindsight which I'll get into. Styles went right after Joe early, hungry to get a victory over him; remember that their rivarly went beyond ROH, as they had headlined the first ever PWG event and had been engaged in one of the most heated programs in TNA history. So it made sense for Styles to be merciless at the start and wanna leave ROH with a victory over his nemesis Joe, the #1 contender to the ROH Title.

There's not a lot to go over in this match, as it was 10-12 minutes of really good action, feeling like a mid-card match on a much bigger show or a TV main event, but there are a few things that stand out to me. I loved Styles trying to avoid the Ole Ole Kick, hopping over the guardrail and waiting for Joe to approach him. So Joe did so, got the upper hand, dazed Styles, and then landed the Ole Ole Kick as quickly as he could, much quicker than his usual speed.

Everything in the match also landed properly unlike the match right before this. Another highlight was Styles evading an elbow suicida from Joe, who was able to sniff the evasion and stop himself; that's actually brilliant because Richards had used that move already on the card, and Joe had explained the importance of not repeating certain moves during his shoot interview masterpiece with CM Punk in 2005.

I also breathed a sigh of relief when Joe gave Styles a rear-naked choke suplex, but Styles landed flat on his front side instead of taking a head bump. The more often wrestlers can get the same aesthetic effect with less wear-and-tear on their bodies, the better.

The finish was a bit flat with no dramatic nearfall finishing stretch, but that makes Joe look like a bad-ass going into the match against Danielson, and Styles has always been a team player. While as a fan I of course would've preferred a classic for Styles to depart with, it protects him as a TNA asset not to have a match that intense, and Joe's body gets protected as well.

Post-match, ROH airs a highlight package of the Phenomenal One's time in ROH from 2002 to 2006. It is a great package and very classy move, thanking him for his time in the company. That's the least I can ask for.

*Rating:* ***1/4

So this is definitely a B-show, with something unexpectedly historic going down due to AJ Styles parting ways with the company. But for a number of reasons, that's not enough reason to recommend this show.

I know from TNA's refusal to let Punk beat Daniels clean the year before, as well as another major match involving their contracted talent years down the road, that it can be a pain in the ass to get their guys to job at times. So I'm sure that's why Styles put Joe over on the way out.

But I had of course mentioned before that it's a real fucking shame KENTA vs. AJ Styles never happened, especially on the one card in which they would both actually appear (Styles had also been booked for _Final Battle 2005_, but got hurt days earlier and it wasn't the right time for that dream match yet.) When seeing how sloppy KENTA's match was on this night, that only makes me pine even more to have had that match take place, and I firmly believe they would've had excellent chemistry, a fitting farewell for Styles at the time and further strengthening KENTA's road to September 16.

Or how about Styles going for the Pure Title, a belt he had never actually been defeated for, and putting over McGuinness in what was a dream match at the time for his farewell? So what I've mentioned here are two alternative fresh matches for Styles to leave out on, with both matches being against men with guaranteed shots at the ROH Title, rather than against Joe, who he had faced many times before and would have the chance to do so again since they were both in TNA at the time.

As pointed out in the review, I still liked the Joe vs. Styles match as well as McGuinness vs. Delirious and Danielson vs. Evans. But Joe vs. Styles and McGuinness vs. Delirious can be found on compilations, and as much fun as the opener is, it's not strong enough to make this show a must-have on its own. The other highlight, that being the AJ Styles video package, is something I expect to be included on the next Styles compilation that should be getting released sometime in 2015.

Avoid the tag match on here at all costs. Just a mess as I detailed earlier and severely brought this show down far worse than I had remembered it.

I will NOT be busting out my usual gimmick for the finale of a major ROH star. Of course, had I gotten around to rewatching this show just a little over a year ago, I'd have been happy to make a Top Ten list for AJ Styles; the man certainly has fucking earned it.

But we can thank the incompetence of Total Nonstop Action for losing his services, allowing him to return to ROH, where he had actually worked first (by a couple months); to also have a career resurgence, winning a world title in a company that actually fucking matters, perhaps cracking the door open to leave behind a recognized legacy of excellence; and maybe one day be put back on the ballot to become elected into the Wrestling Observer Newsletter Hall of Fame.

And here we are, the long-awaited rematch of a timeless classic. I know this match had some polarizing opinions back in the day, but I'm open-minded and hope this match lived up to ROH's hype.

Up next - Fight of the Century
Matches will include:
Austin Aries & Roderick Strong vs. Briscoe Bros. vs. Irish Airborne vs. Jack Evans & Matt Sydal
KENTA vs. Davey Richards
Bryan Danielson vs. Samoa Joe


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