Disc One

This starts out with a 75 minute shoot interview. It’s really interesting to hear Adam Cole’s take on his ROH career, and it’s a refreshingly positive look. Cole is very thankful for all the opportunities he has received and it shows. In addition to his ROH career and how much work he put in to get to theat spot, you get to hear about Cole’s upbringing as a fan and his days in the CZW wrestling school. He also goes into a little a bit about debuting in PWG, working for wXw, and his thoughts on teaming with Kyle O’Reilly overall. It’s a fun listen and a nice compliment to the matches that follow.

Adam Cole & Kyle O’Reilly vs. The All Night Express (Kenny King & Rhett Titus)
“Final Battle 2010” – New York, NY – 12.18.2010

O’Reilly goes for an early cross armbreaker on Titus. Titus avoids it but eats a few kicks. Cole tags in and with O’Reilly delivers a flapjack/facebuster combo for two. Cole comes off the second rope with a leg lariat. O’Reilly throws more kicks before sweeping out Titus’ legs. King drags Titus out of the floor to regroup. O’Reilly tries a pescado but gets caught. Cole however suicide dives onto all of them. Titus pokes O’Reilly n the eyes back in the ring. He gives him a knee breaker/suplex combo for two. King gives O’Reilly a springboard legdrop to accentuate Titus’ splash. O’Reilly gets isolated by the ANX until King accidentally clotheslines Titus. O’Reilly dragonscrew leg whips both of them at the same time and tags in Cole. He sends King to the floor and enzuigiri’s Titus. He slingshot DDT’s King onto the ring apron! Cole enzuigiri’s Titus from the floor into O’Reilly’s butterfly suplexes and DDT. O’Reilly comes off the apron and dropkicks King into the barricades. Cole lands a high crossbody onto Titus for two. Cole goes for a superplex on Titus. King back rakes Cole to stop him and Titus drops him face first on the top rope. King hits Cole with Shotgun Knees and Titus rolls him up for two. King gives Cole a leg cradle suplex. O’Reilly double stomps King to stop the count. He drops him with a tornado DDT. Titus drives his knees into O’Reilly’s chest. Cole superkicks Titus rendering all four participants on the mat. Cole missile dropkicks King. He and O’Reilly baseball slide into Titus at the same time as he hangs in a tree of woe. Cole superkicks King into O’Reilly’s rolling clothesline for two. Titus drops down the top rope to send O’Reilly out. Titus dropkicks Cole. He and King hit the One Night Stand for the pin at 10:24. You could not ask for a hotter opening match. Both teams came to make a name for themselves. I believe they did so, but you could tell it was Cole and O’Reilly who the crowd was more impressed with. ***¼

Adam Cole & Kyle O’Reilly vs. The Briscoes (Jay & Mark Briscoe)
“Honor Takes Center Stage Chapter 1” – Atlanta, GA – 4.1.2011

Cole and Mark wrestle to a stalemate. Jay mows down O’Reilly with a shoulder tackle. O’Reilly hip tosses him into a cross armbreaker which Jay escapes from. He then boots O’Reilly in the face. Cole blind tags in. O’Reilly snapmares Jay into Cole’s basement dropkick. Jay backs him to the corner so Mark can tag in. He throws punches to Cole’s mid-section as well as some chops to the chest. Cole throws his own chops. O’Reilly flapjacks Mark and Cole drives his face into the mat for two. O’Reilly throws some kicks. Mark gives him a chinbreaker and Jay lariats him inside out. Jay boots Cole off the ring apron so he and Mark can go to work on O’Reilly. O’Reilly does end up fighting them both off and tagging Cole in. He dropkicks Mark and chops up Jay. Cole enzuigiri’s Jay to the floor and follows with a suicide dive. In the ring Jay drops him with a big spinebuster. Cole finds himself trapped in the Briscoes corner now. Cole dropkicks Mark to escape. O’Reilly boots Jay off the apron and lights up Mark with kicks. He sweeps out his legs. O’Reilly ducks a Briscoes double clothesline and takes them out with stereo dragonscrew leg whips. O’Reilly missile dropkicks them simultaneously for two. O’Reilly gives Mark two butterfly suplexes. He DDT’s him into a German suplex from Cole. Jay breaks the pin and sends O’Reilly to the floor. Jay drags Cole out. Cole enzuigiri’s Mark to stop a suicide dive. O’Reilly comes off the apron and dropkicks Jay into the barricades. Cole crossbody’s Mark for two. Cole and O’Reilly enzuigiri’s him at the same time for two. Jay drags O’Reilly to the floor and shoves him into the barricades. Mark enzuigiri’s Cole. Jay does the deal with a Falcon Arrow. O’Reilly kicks Jay to break the cover. He and Mark exchange strikes. Jay ends up superkicking O’Reilly into Mark’s exploder suplex. The Briscoes put Cole away with the Doomsday Device at 13:24. At the time this was Cole and O’Reilly’s biggest test as a team. They didn’t disappoint as they proved they could hang in the ring with the most legendary and prolific team in ROH history. The Briscoes characters were undergoing some changes that were also highlighted here, so it was a big win everyone involved. ***¼

Adam Cole & Kyle O’Reilly vs. The Kings of Wrestling (Chris Hero & Claudio Castagnoli)
“Honor Takes Center Stage Chapter 2” – Atlanta, GA – 4.2.2011

The Kings jump Cole and O’Reilly right before the bell. Claudio stomps Cole silly and knocks him down with a back elbow. Cole slides out of a military press. He forearms Claudio from the apron and comes off the top with a bulldog. O’Reilly tags in. He fires up from Claudio’s offense and gets two with a Backslide. The Kings double hip toss O’Reilly into a tandem slam. He gets isolated by the Kings until he rolls under a double clothesline attempt. Cole uses Hero to give Claudio a headscissors. He gets his knees up to block Hero’s senton. Cole comes off the second rope with a leg lariat. He enzuigiri’s both Kings, sending Claudio to the floor. Cole follows him out with a slingshot headscissors. O’Reilly comes off the apron with a dropkick to Claudio into the barricades. Cole crossbody’s onto Hero for two. Hero escapes O’Reilly and Cole’s onslaught and tags them both with elbows. O’Reilly kicks Hero as he tornado DDT’s Claudio into a butterfly lock. Hero’s kicks to O’Reilly don’t get him to release. Cole sends Hero to the floor and suicide dives after him. Claudio pops up O’Reilly into Swiss Death. A combination Cyclone Kick/Swiss Chin Music put O’Reilly down at 9:18. This was a great way to open the show, as it not only showed how far the Kings fell in one night after losing the titles, but it let them get out their aggression in a match that got the crowd going and raised Cole and O’Reilly’s stock. It was everything an opening bout should be. ***

Future Shock (Adam Cole & Kyle O’Reilly) vs. The Young Bucks (Nick & Matt Jackson)
“Best in the World 2011” – New York, NY – 6.26.2011

O’Reilly and Nick start off quickly. O’Reilly lands a few kicks and sweeps Nick’s leg. Cole tags in. O’Reilly snapmares Nick into a back kick and Cole delivers a low dropkick. Matt tags in. He sends O’Reilly to the apron. O’Reilly sends Nick to the floor and Cole clotheslines Matt out as well. Cole suicide dives onto Matt and O’Reilly hits Nick with a missile dropkick into the barricade. In the ring, Cole catches Matt with a crossbody for two. Matt trips Cole as Cole hits the ropes, allowing Nick to hit him with a dropkick to the floor. The Bucks isolate O’Reilly in their corner. Cole ducks a double clothesline and drops Nick with a chinbreaker. He ducks Matt and tags in O’Reilly. O’Reilly kicks Nick off the apron. He kicks both Bucks in the chest and delivers an enzuigiri to Matt. He sets them up for a double dragonscrew legwhip. O’Reilly dropkicks them from the top simultaneously for two. Cole blind tags in. O’Reilly gives Matt two butterfly suplexes. He DDT’s Matt into a German suplex from Cole. Nick breaks the pin. O’Reilly pitches Nick to the floor. Matt catches O’Reilly with a tumbleweed ace crusher for two. Nick superkicks Cole to the floor. Nick hits a slingshot ace crusher on O’Reilly, then back flips to the apron and delivers a moonsault to Cole. Matt hits O’Reilly with a 450 splash for two. Nick accidentally hits Matt with a knee strike. Cole sends Nick to the floor. O’Reilly drops Matt with a tornado DDT. Cole superkicks Matt into a brainbuster from O’Reilly. O’Reilly applies a guillotine choke. Cole then applies one to Nick. The Bravado Bros. hit the ring to end the bout in a no contest at 7:12. This was an incredibly fun sprint from bell to bell. Lame finish aside (though it’s obvious why it went down that way) it was maybe the best seven minute match you will see. ***

Future Shock (Adam Cole & Kyle O’Reilly) vs. The American Wolves (Davey Richards & Eddie Edwards)
“No Escape” – Charlotte, NC – 7.9.2011

Edwards and Cole reach a stalemate after a fun opening exchange. O’Reilly and Richards do the same but have a very different and more strike heavy encounter. O’Reilly goes toe-to-toe with Richards when exchanging kicks to the chest. O’Reilly manages to knock Richards off his feet and tags in Cole. A series of tandem kicks gets Cole a two count. A pair of back elbows gets O’Reilly two. He goes for a triangle choke, but Richards rolls into a jackknife pin for two. O’Reilly and Richards trade strikes in the corner, O’Reilly kicks him in the side of the head for two. Richards crotches O’Reilly on the top rope. Edwards kicks him into a tree of woe, and The Wolves deliver stereo dropkicks to O’Reilly’s face. The Wolves isolate O’Reilly and methodically wear him down. O’Reilly blocks a kick from Richards, just in time to sneak in an enzuigiri. He throws Richards’ leg to Edwards, allowing him to dragonscrew leg whip both Wolves simultaneously. He tags in Cole who missile dropkicks Richards to the floor. He knocks down Edwards with a dropkick. Cole blocks a suplex with an enzuigiri and sunset flips Edwards for two. Cole hits a second rope leg lariat for two. Both men trade forearm strikes and chops. Cole drops Edwards neck first across his knee for two. Edwards drops Cole with the backpack chin breaker for two. The Wolves accidentally kick each other trying to go for Cole. O’Reilly blind tags in and drops Edwards with a tornado DDT. Cole and O’Reilly hit a crossbody/suplex combo for two. Edwards fights Cole on the second rope. Cole evades a double stomp, but Edwards rolls him into the Achilles Lock. O’Reilly puts Richards in a Guillotine choke at the same time. Richards counters into the ankle lock, leaving O’Reilly and Cole trapped in submissions. A series of moves knocks everyone down. O’Reilly and Richards go back to trading kicks and strikes. A rolling lariat from Richards gets him a two count. He immediately turns into the ankle lock. Edwards stops Cole from breaking, until Cole DDT’s him on the ring apron. O’Reilly turns the hold into a sharpshooter. Richards small packages him for two. Cole enzuigiri’s Richards from the floor, and O’Reilly gives him two butterfly suplexes. O’Reilly DDT’s Richards into a German suplex from Cole. They deliver stereo kicks but Edwards breaks the pin attempt. Cole misses a pescado. Edwards dragonscrews O’Reilly in the ropes. Edwards double stomps O’Reilly in the ropes for two. Edwards lariats O’Reilly for two. O’Reilly counters a powerbomb by putting Edwards in a Guillotine choke. Edwards pops O’Reilly off. Richards suplexes O’Reilly and Cole breaks Edwards’ pin. The Wolves deliver a powerbomb/back cracker combo on O’Reilly for two. Edwards turns O’Reilly into the Achilles Lock. Cole hits an enzuigiri from the apron to break the hold. Cole then dives onto Richards. O’Reilly small packages Edwards for two. Edwards reapplies the Achilles Lock. He stomps on O’Reilly’s head. O’Reilly passes out at 21:23 giving The Wolves the win. By far the best match Cole and O’Reilly have had so far. The action was non-stop, the crowd made noise from bell-to-bell, it got more exciting as the match progressed, and unlike a lot of American Wolves matches, a story was told. Greatness all around. ****

Elimination Match
Future Shock (Adam Cole & Kyle O’Reilly) vs. The Young Bucks (Nick & Matt Jackson) vs. The Bravado Bros. (Harlem & Lancelot Bravado)
“Death Before Dishonor IX” – New York, NY – 9.17.2011

Harlem and Lance jump Future Shock after shaking their hands. They send the Young Bucks to the floor and stomp on Future Shock some more. Cole and O’Reilly send the Bravado’s out. Cole pescado’s onto Lance. The Bucks take Cole and Lance out with the Crazy Dive. Harlem dropkicks the Bucks to the floor and moonsaults onto Lance and Nick. Matt superkicks Harlem and O’Reilly dives off the apron to dropkick him into the guardrail. Lance throws shots at O’Reilly and Nick. O’Reilly lights him up with kicks. Nick and O’Reilly double elbow Lance. Cole tags in and takes out Lance with some tandem offense. Nick hits a springboard splash and Harlem breaks the pin. Nick superkicks Harlem to the floor. Nick tags in and drop Lance with a wheelbarrow facebuster/ace crusher combo. Harlem attacks Cole from behind just as Cole and Matt are about to battle. Harlem back elbows Cole for two. Harlem suplexes Cole for two. Cole crucifix pins Harlem for two. Harlem enzuigiri’s Cole into a German suplex from Lance. O’Reilly breaks the pin. Matt drops Harlem with an Asai DDT. Harlem pump kicks him. Nick comes in from the apron with a slingshot X-Factor. O’Reilly puts Nick on his shoulders on the floor. Cole suicide dives onto Nick. Matt suplexes Lance off the apron onto the floor. Cole crossbody’s onto Harlem for two. Harlem rolls him up for two. Cole superkicks Harlem into the Ride The Lightning from O’Reilly and Cole for the elimination. The Bucks and Future Shock trade forearms. Nick dropkicks O’Reilly off the apron. Matt powerbombs Cole twice. He hits a Buckle Bomb. The Bucks drop Cole with a tandem tombstone piledriver and O’Reilly makes the save. O’Reilly takes the Bucks out with a double dragonscrew leg whip. O’Reilly suplexes Matt and baits Nick into a triangle choke with elbow strikes. Cole puts Matt in a Guillotine choke. Matt falls onto Nick and O’Reilly to break both holds. O’Reilly enzuigiri’s Matt. Nick superkicks Cole to block Ride The Lightning. A sequence of superkicks and a lariat knock all four men down. The Bucks hit Cole with More Bang For Your Buck for the victory at 10:50. This match to me is what Ring of Honor should be about: old school psychology with a new, fresh style of wrestling. The Bravados left the flash and panache to the other two teams since they’re heels. When it comes to the flash, the other two teams delivered in spades. I really like all three teams and see just how awesome ROH’s tag division has become. The Bucks refuse to shake hands afterward. ***½

ROH Tag Team Championship
Charlie Haas & Shelton Benjamin (Champions) vs. Future Shock (Adam Cole & Kyle O’Reilly)
“Gateway to Honor” – Collinsville, IL – 11.6.2011

Future Shock earned this title shot by winning a mini tournament back at “Tag Team Turmoil 2011” in July. Cole gets the ropes to stop Haas from schooling him on the mat. Cole shoulder tackles Haas and tags in O’Reilly. Haas thinks for a moment, then tags in Benjamin (whose ribs are taped up). Benjamin breaks out of a headscissions and puts on a side headlock. O’Reilly escapes by punching Benjamin in his ribs. Benjamin and O’Reilly fight for an advantage on the mat. O’Reilly gets it with a cross armbreaker. Benjamin powerbombs O’Reilly to free himself. O’Reilly kicks Benjamin in the ribs. Benjamin and Haas re-group on the floor. Cole puts Benjamin in a waistlock when Benjamin comes back in. Benjamin Northern Lights suplexes Cole for two. Cole stomps Benjamin down in the corner. O’Reilly drives his knee into Benjamin’s ribs multiple times. Cole and O’Reilly continue their assault on Benjamin until Benjamin clotheslines O’Reilly. Haas tags in. O’Reilly holds his own with the veteran until Haas catches O’Reilly’s slingshot senton with a backbreaker. Haas and Benjamin cut the ring in half, isolating O’Reilly in their corner. After a few minutes, O’Reilly kicks Benjamin away and tags in Cole. Cole delivers an onslaught of strikes and kicks to Benjamin. He delivers a neckbreaker for two. Haas comes in and gets taken to the foor with a huracanrana. Cole crossbody’s off the top onto Haas. Cole hits Benjamin with an enzuigiri from the floor. Cole gets two with a missile dropkick. Cole and O’Reilly double yakuza kick Benjamin in the corner. They also hit a tandem suplex. Haas breaks O’Reilly’s pin attempt. Future Shock double superkick Haas back to the floor. Cole pescado’s out after him. O’Reilly puts Benjamin in a Guilltoine choke. Cole puts Haas in the same move. Haas and Benjamin escape, and give Cole and O’Reilly two German suplexes. They go for the third, but Future Shock put them back in the Guillotines. Benjamin suplexes O’Reilly off, then superkicks Cole off of Haas. He drops Cole with a Samoan Drop. Haas and Benjamin flub a double powerbomb on O’Reilly, but excellently play it off like Benjamin’s hurt ribs were to blame. Haas puts O’Reilly in the Haas of Pain for the submission at 19:31. I much preferred the match these teams had at “Revolution: USA”. Cole and O’Reilly worked hard here, but never got to show much cohesion as a team. Haas and Benjamin on the other hand just sort of went through the motions. The finish was extremely deflating as well. This was still a good match, but disappointing considering how much I enjoyed their previous encounter. ***

Disc Two

No Holds Barred
Adam Cole vs. Roderick Strong
“The Homecoming 2012” – Philadelphia, PA – 1.20.2012

Strong boots Cole vigorously on the mat. Cole leapfrogs over Strong and connects with a dropkick. Cole enzuigiri’s Strong off the ring apron and suicide dives onto him. Strong baits Cole into a gamengiri on the ring apron. Strong chops Cole and throws him rib first into the ring post. Strong body slams Cole onto the ring apron. Strong throws punches back in the ring. Cole fights back with forearms. He gives Strong a neckbreaker across his knee for two. Strong drives the back of a chair into Cole’s leg. Strong slams him on the chair for two. Strong digs the seat of the chair into Cole’s throat in a Camel Clutch. He then stomps Cole’s head into the chair for two. Strong boots Cole when Cole begins to mount of a comeback. Strong sets a chair up in between the top and middle turnbuckle of every corner. He then whacks Cole in the shoulder with Martini’s Book of Truth repeatedly. Cole reverses Strong’s Irish whip, sending Strong into a chair in the corner. Cole proceeds to send Strong into all four chairs. Cole German suplexes Strong and hits a running knee strike for two. Cole seats Strong onto a chair. Strong catches Cole going up top with a gamengiri. Cole reverses Strong’s tornado DDT and suplexes Strong onto the chair for two. Strong enzuigiri’s Cole and drops him back first on the ring frame. Strong chops Cole while he’s hung in the ropes. Strong gives him the Death by Roderick for two. Strong then gives him a backbreaker onto a chair for two. Strong puts on the Stronghold. Cole reaches the ropes to break it. Strong stomps a chair into Cole’s head and hand. Cole trips Strong to the floor and German suplexes him onto the ring frame. Cole desperately brings Strong into the ring for a two count. Michael Elgin runs out and attacks Cole. Eddie Edwards comes out to even the score and fights Elgin all the way back to the backstage area. Strong and Cole throw strikes at each other. Cole Falcon Arrows Strong through two chairs. Martini pulls referee Paul Turner out of the ring to break the count. Cole pulls Martini up to the apron. Strong kicks Cole in the head and suplexes him into a backbreaker. This gives Strong the win at 16:24. This really was Cole’s coming out party as a singles wrestler. Never has he had the chance to show how tough he is or that he could stand alone against ROH’s top guys. This was just what Cole needed to break out on his own and I give him and Strong credit for making it so. ***½

Adam Cole & Eddie Edwards vs. Davey Richards & Kyle O’Reilly
“10th Anniversary Show: Young Wolves Rising” – New York, NY – 3.4.2012

Cole and Richards start out after some debate. Cole does pretty well in the opening exchange, sending Richards to the corner and causing him to beg off from a superkick. Cole tags out with Richards in a side headlock. O’Reilly tags in to lock horns with Edwards. After a fairly intense exchange they reach a stalemate. Cole and Richards tag back in and pick up the pace. Richards catches him with a dropkick. O’Reilly gets in a few shots before tagging back out. Cole catches Richards with a leg lariat off the second rope. Richards and Edwards exchange strikes. Cole comes in to try and help. Richards catches him with a Northern Lights suplex while trapping Edwards in an O’Conner Roll position. O’Reilly boots Cole off the apron before taking down Edwards with a lot of kicks. Richards suicide dives onto Cole while O’Reilly boots Edwards in the corner. O’Reilly and Edwards trade submissions. Edwards lariats O’Reilly and tags in Cole. They trade control until Richards tags himself in and delivers a running kick to Cole’s chest. Team Ambition isolate Cole until Richards accidentally enzuigiri’s O’Reilly, allowing Cole to give them a neckbreaker/DDT combo and tag in Edwards. Edwards comes in with a double top rope dropkick. He fights both O’Reilly and Richards off, eventually sending them to the floor. He then suplexes Cole out onto both of them. Edwards then Asai moonsaults onto everyone. He’s able to get a few nearfalls on Richards with help from Cole while O’Reilly recovers. O’Reilly comes in and puts Edwards in a Guillotine while Richards has Cole in an ankle lock. Edwards turns the guillotine into an Achilles Lock. Richards and Edwards release the holds once they start trading shots with one another. Cole and O’Reilly German suplex the Wolves and then throw forearms at each other. Cole Cactus clotheslines O’Reilly to the floor. Edwards and Richards fight until each other is knocked down. Cole and O’Reilly begin to fight. All four men tumble to the ground with suplex attempts that spill over the top rope. The former Wolves wear down the former Future Shock in opposite corners. Once Edwards and Richards turn their attention back to each other, they once again knock each other down. Cole and O’Reilly also trade strikes. O’Reilly gets the most fired up, but Cole knocks him down with a superkick for two. Edwards gives O’Reilly a lungblower into a back cracker from Cole, also for two. Edwards and Cole chop and superkick O’Reilly. Richards breaks the pin attempt. O’Reilly sends Edwards to the floor. Richards boots him from the apron and double stomps Cole. O’Reilly comes off the apron to dropkick Edwards into the barricades. Richards double stomps Cole for two. He also gets two with an arm capture German suplex thanks to Edwards jumping in. Richards and O’Reilly get two with a head kick/brainbuster combo. Cole escapes Richards ankle lock. Edwards gets a few pin attempts and almost an Achilles Lock submission. Cole even helps him out with a back cracker/powerbomb combo. O’Reilly breaks the pin. Cole tornado DDT’s him through the timekeeper’s table! Richards and Edwards fight for a submission. Cole tags in and comes in with a high crossbody on Richards for the pin at 39:33. There’s a lot of criticisms to make; too long, a little self-indulgent, and selling coming and going. The crossbody finish was also quite lame though I am thrilled they had Cole come out with the W. That being said, the rivalries between the partners added a unique dynamic and everybody worked hard. It could have been better, but I still say this was a solid bout. ***¼

ROH World Championship
Davey Richards vs. Adam Cole
“Rising Above 2012” – Dayton, OH – 4.29.2012

Cole earned this shot when he pinned Davey Richards in the tag team main event of “Young Wolves Rising.” Cole surprisingly wins a wristlock exchange. Richards actually heads to the floor because bridging back hurt his ribs. Richards kicks Cole in the chest when he comes back in the ring. Cole blocks a second kick and gives Richards a dragonscrew leg whip. Richards sends him out with a dropkick. Richards kicks Cole from the ring apron. Cole enzuigiri’s Richards from the floor. Cole suicide dives after Richards bails to the floor. Cole goes after Richards on the other side of the ring. Richards gives him a Saito suplex onto the stage. He enters the ring to take a breather in the corner. Cole makes it back into the ring before the twenty count. Richards sole butts Cole to stop his comeback. Richards cloverleafs the legs while locking his own leg around Cole’s arm. Cole grabs the bottom rope to escape. Richards kicks Cole in the chest. Richards applies a headscissors. Cole rolls to the ropes. Richards has a grim look on his face when he throws more chest kicks. Cole catches one of them and begins to exchange forearms with Richards. Cole enzuigiri’s and knee strikes him for two. Cole superkicks Richards to block the Damage Reflex. Cole gets two with a neckbreaker across his knee. Cole goes for a crossbody. Richards dropkicks him on his way down. Cole bicycle kicks Richards after he recovers in the corner. Richards German suplexes him for two. Richards throws Kawada kicks. Cole throws slaps. Richards delivers the Alarm Clock. They kick each other in the head. Richards blocks the jumping enzuigiri and puts on an ankle lock. Cole rolls through to send Richards out. Cole DDT’s Richards on the ring apron and gets a two count. The wheelbarrow back cracker has the same result. Richards fights Cole on the second ropes in the corner. Richards headbutts Cole to the timekeeper’s table. Richards double stomps Cole through it. Quickly Richards throws him back in the ring. Another double stomp only gets a two count. Richards swiftly kicks him in the head for another two count. Back to the ankle lock he goes. Cole gets the ropes. Richards clobbers Cole with clotheslines to the side of the head on the second rope. Cole fights back with elbows. Richards blocks a Sunset Bomb. Cole punches Richards in his injured ribs. Cole superplexes Richards and follows with the Florida Key (an arm-capture German Suplex) for two. Cole uses a high crossbody, the same move he pinned Richards with at “Young Wolves Rising.” This time though it’s only good enough for a two count. Richards spits at Cole after Cole throws a superkick. Two more superkicks take Richards down. He gives Richards a brainbuster across his knee for two. Cole gets two with a Superfly Splash as well. He puts on a Cloverleaf. Richards turns that into an ankle lock. Cole rolls that into a prawn hold for two. Two German suplexes and a clothesline aren’t enough to keep Cole down. A swift kick to the side of the head doesn’t do it either. Richards reapplies the ankle lock. He then turns it into a reverse figure four. Cole taps out at 20:42. When Richards sold his ribs a minute in, I was expecting that to be a pivotal point of the match. It really resulted in nothing, and instead the match led to the usual annoying overkill of moves and kick outs. I am such a huge fan of Cole that I was hoping he and Richards would be able to do something really unique and not the usual screaming, superkicking nonsense I am so burnt out on. Not only that, but it took place on a show I can’t imagine a ton of fans are overly interested in. Your mileage may vary if you like this kind of wrestling, but personally I got tired of it well before the finish. ***¼

Hybrid Fighting Rules
Adam Cole vs. Kyle O’Reilly
“Best in the World 2012” – New York, NY – 6.24.2012

So here are the rules for this match. There’s a fifteen minute time limit. You can NOT win by pinfall. You can win by a 10-count K.O., Submission, Tap Out, TKO or Disqualification. There are two types of fouls: Regular and Critical. Critical fouls are given when someone intentionally cheats or does something mischievous. Critical fouls result in an automatic disqualification. Regular fouls are given if someone exits the ring, tosses their opponent out of the ring, for using the ropes, hooking the tights, or accidental eye/groin attacks. If three regular fouls are accumulated, that person is disqualified. Got all that?

O’Reilly throws Cole down in a waistlock. O’Reilly palm strikes Cole and goes for an armbar. Cole gets out of it quickly. They evade each others’ kicks, reaching a stalemate. Cole notices O’Reilly’s knee seemed hurt when O’Reilly slipped out of his suplex. Wisely, Cole goes right for it. Cole dropkicks the leg from the second rope. Cole throws some closed fists to a seated O’Reilly in the corner. O’Reilly hops over Cole and wheelbarrows him into a cross armbreaker. He releases when Cole doesn’t submit. He begins to work over the arm, presumably to pay off another armbreaker later. O’Reilly kicks Cole back down. Cole hits an enzuigiri and a running knee strike. They throw simultaneous boots and bicycle kicks, knocking each other down. Cole and O’Reilly begin to throw strikes, including one that busts open Cole’s mouth. Cole covers up and O’Reilly throws palm strikes. Cole gives him some headbutts. O’Reilly knees him in the face. Cole rolls him and superkicks his knee. He superkicks O’Reilly and then takes a breather in the corner. O’Reilly blocks a superkick and gives Cole a rolling clothesline. Cole fires up! His bloody face! Oh God that face! O’Reilly sole butts him, elbows him and gives him a Saito suplex. Cole tells the ringside doctor that he is not stopping the match. O’Reilly applies a guillotine choke. Cole fights out for a brainbuster across his knee. Cole superkicks O’Reilly to the floor and the fans go ape. I guess that’s a foul for Cole? At this point Cole has the fans in the palm of his hand. O’Reilly crumbles under the weight of his knee when Cole whips him. O’Reilly rolls Cole into a cross armbreaker anyways. Cole turns it into a cloverleaf. O’Reilly escapes, so Cole puts on a figure four leg lock. O’Reilly taps out at 12:39. This was the most important match in Adam Cole’s ROH run and maybe his career. This was a bigger breakout moment for him than pinning Davey Richards in a tag match, or facing Richards for the title. This was one of those moments where Cole won the respect of every single New York ROH fan. This was pretty good in the beginning, but once Cole bled the intensity and crowd reaction kicked up tremendously. This not only positioned Cole to be the company’s next top babyface, but made O’Reilly more of a heel too. He even slaps Cole before leaving the ring. ***½

ROH Television Championship
Roderick Strong (Champion) vs. Adam Cole
“ROH on SBG” – Baltimore, MD – 6.29.2012

Truth Martini is in Strong’s corner. Strong gets in a cheap dropkick that sends Cole to the floor. He throws Cole shoulder first into the barricades and gives him a backbreaker on the ring apron. Strong focuses his attack on Cole’s mid-section back in the ring as well as throwing some chops. Cole responds with some forearms and a bicycle kick. Strong hot shots him on the top rope and gets two with a backbreaker. Strong brings Cole back to the floor but ends up being sent into the barricades. However, he throws Cole ribs first into the ring post. We come back from commercial with both guys throwing strikes. Strong kicks out Cole’s leg. Cole gets a succession of two counts in various pinning methods. Strong puts him in the Stronghold. Cole makes it to the ropes. He nails an enzuigiri to block a backbreaker. Cole clotheslines Strong to the floor and follows with a suicide dive. In the ring he gets two with a high crossbody. He also gets two with a Shining Wizard. He goes for the Florida Key but Strong trips him. Strong gives him a backbreaker across the top turnbuckle! Strong hits Death by Roderick for two. He tries for the Tiger Driver. Cole Frankensteiners out of it. He DDT’s Strong on the ring apron for two. Martini tries to interfere with the Book of Truth. Cole catches him and tosses him out to the floor. Strong attacks him from behind. Cole blocks the Orange Crush backbreaker. When a small package fails, he superkicks Strong and gives him a brainbuster across his knee for another two count. He applies a figure four leg lock. Michael Elgin comes out but does not help Strong, his stable mate. Strong gets the ropes. Cole gets two with another small package. Two superkicks and a Florida Key give Cole the win and the title at 12:10 (shown). Cole has definitely worked hard to get to this point. While he didn’t necessarily need the title, it was a nice way to get him into higher profile bouts. Strong worked his butt of to make Cole look tough and even the House of Truth chicanery couldn’t put a damper on a really fun bout. ***½

Adam Cole & Eddie Edwards vs. The Briscoes (Jay & Mark Briscoe)
“Killer Instinct” – Rahway, NJ – 10.6.2012

Mark gets the ropes when Edwards gets the best of him on the mat. Edwards tries suplexing his way out of a side headlock but Mark holds on. Cole tags in when Edwards shoves Mark to the corner. He kicks out Mark’s knee and gives him a running knee strike to the face. Jay stomps down Cole in the corner. Cole reverses Mark’s suplex and tags Edwards back in. Edwards enzuigiri’s Mark to the corner. Mark boots him down. Jay throws some uppercuts. Edwards backs Jay to the corner. Cole tags in and back elbows Jay for one. Cole places Jay on the top rope so that Edwards can gamengiri him from the apron. Cole knocks Mark off the apron. Edwards dropkicks Jay in the tree of woe while Cole at the same time hits a delayed dropkick. Cole and Edwards wear down Jay in their corner. Mark blind tags in and springboard dropkicks Cole. Edwards gets knocked off the apron so that the Briscoes can beat down Cole. Cole fights out of a double team predicament, booting Mark and giving Jay an enzuigiri. Edwards comes in with a top rope dropkick to Mark. He does an admirable job fighting off both Briscoes himself. He spinewheel kicks Jay to the floor. He brings Mark out of the corner with the Chin Checker. Cole follows up with a splash for two. Mark catches Edwards with a rolling Death Valley Driver. Cole and Jay throw forearms at one another. Jay knocks Cole down with a rolling variation and gives him a neckbreaker for two. He also gets two with a Falcon Arrow. Jay drops him with a reverse DDT. Mark hits a split-legged tumbleweed senton. Cole kicks out. The Briscoes hit a Death Valley Driver/Froggy Bow combo. Edwards makes the save. He sends Mark to the apron. Edwards pops up Cole, and Cole DDT’s Mark on the ring apron. He enzuigiri’s Jay from the floor. Edwards double stomps his back. Cole gives Jay a brainbuster across his knee for two. He puts on a figure four. Edwards rolls Mark into a Half Crab. Mark chops Cole while in the hold to break his submission, then rolls out of Edwards’. He suplexes Edwards, causing Edwards to roll out. Mark super snapmares Cole off the top. The Brisoces put him away with the Doomsday Device at 16:39. This was another good match with solid back and forth wrestling. The crowd did not get into it almost at all, which hurt some of the drama, but I’ll be damned if all four guys didn’t put in a heck of an effort. ***¼

ROH Television Championship
Adam Cole vs. Eddie Edwards
“Glory By Honor IX” – Misissauga, ONT – 10.13.2012

This match has a 30 minute time limit, unlike the usual 20 minute time limit most TV title matches have. Neither man can get control in the early going. They get in a double knuckle lock. Cole bridges Edwards to the mat. They hold onto the knuckle lock when Edwards monkey flips him. They trade various pin attempts to no avail. They each stop each other from locking on their signature submissions (Achilles Lock and figure four) in the process. Stereo dropkicks bring them back to square one. They go punch for chop. Edwards sends Cole to the floor. When he tries a suicide dive, Cole hits him with a jumping enzuigiri. Edwards kicks Cole back to the floor and successfully scores with a suicide dive this time around. They fight back in the ring. Cole enzuigiri’s Edwards and then slingshot DDT’s him onto the ring frame! He follows up with a Superfly Splash for two. He also gets two with a brainbuster across his knee. Edwards comes back with the Chin Checker. Cole sends him to the apron. Edwards ends up giving him a dragonscrew leg whip in the ropes. He double stomps Cole’s back for two, then turns him into the Achilles Lock. He kicks Cole’s head a few times. Cole kicks back and gets Edwards to release the hold. Cole puts on the figure four leg lock. Edwards escapes. Both guys fight on the ropes until they crash to the floor. Edwards goes for a lariat. Cole blocks it. Edwards superkicks him twice. Cole responds with a brainbuster across his knee and a superkick to the back of Edwards’ head. The Florida Key follows and gets him the pin at 19:09. The one thought I had watching this match was that everything came off extremely choreographed. Because of that, it was really tough to buy into anything they were doing. I won’t deny that the wrestling was good, but it was very “connect the dots” style and there was nothing to hold it together. ***

ROH Television Championship
Adam Cole (Champion) vs. Kyle O’Reilly
“ROH on SBG” – Belle Vernon, PA – 11.3.2012

O’Reilly earned this shot from a Proving Ground match at “Caged Hostility.” An aggressive lock-up sees both men in the corner. They avoid one another’s punches. Cole catches O’Reilly with a Manhattan drop and a clothesline. He enzuigiri’s O’Reilly to the floor. He goes for a suicide dive but gets caught with a forearm strike. O’Reilly’s suicide dive attempt is caught with an enzuigiri. Cole then successfully pulls off a suicide dive. He throws O’Reilly into the barricades a few times before taking him back into the ring. Cole tries a high crossbody but O’Reilly catches him mid-air with a dropkick. We return from commercial with O’Reilly tripping Cole off of the second rope for two. O’Reilly puts Cole in an abdominal stretch. Cole escapes with a pin attempt leading to a strike exchange. O’Reilly sweeps out Cole’s legs for two. Cole catches O’Reilly on the apron with a slingshot DDT. He gets two with a Superfly splash. O’Reilly delivers an axe kick. Cole rolls through a Saito suplex but gets cradled for two. O’Reilly gets two with a Regalplex as well. He rolls Cole into a triangle. Cole turns it into a jackknife pin for two. Forearms and punches are thrown. O’Reilly gives Cole a tornado DDT and a brainbuster. Cole kicks out so O’Reilly puts on a Guillotine. Cole picks him up and gives him a brainbuster across his knee. Cole hits the Florida Key for the pin at 8:57 (shown). They were able to pack a lot of action into a short amount of time and keep focus (unlike the Proving Ground match). I think my favorite thing to watch these guys do is counter each others’ offense. I guess that’s what happens when you wrestle a former tag partner. ***

Disc One

#1 Contenders Trophy Match
Samoa Joe vs. Homicide vs. BJ Whitmer vs. EZ Money
“Expect The Unexpected” – Cambridge, MA – 3.13.2003

Whitmer and Money’s opening exchange ends in a stalemate. Homicide takes down Joe with a headscissors. Joe responds with an armdrag that takes him to the corner. Joe brushes off a forearm and drops Homicide with the STJoe. Whitmer knocks Homicide down with a high knee for two. Homicide responds with a facewash kick. Money catches Whitmer with the Money Clip. He then puts him in a pendulum. Everybody takes turns beating up and wearing down Whitmer. Whitmer catches Homicide with a half-nelson suplex for two. Homicide sends him to the floor and follows with a tope con hilo through the middle rope. Joe ducks a clothesline from Money and suicide dives onto Homicide and Whitmer. Money dives onto all of them. In the ring, Money blocks Homicide’s huracanrana attempt and gives him a Blockbuster. Whitmer takes him down with a leg lariat. Joe takes Whitmer out before trading slaps and chops with Homicide. Joe drives his knee multiple times into his head. Whitmer and Homicide suplex each other a few times. Joe blind tags in and powerbombs Whitmer into an STF. Whitmer escapes. Money takes him and Homicide out. Homicide blocks Joe’s clothesline with an Ace Crusher. He kicks Joe low before giving him a running boot. He then puts on an STF. Joe gets to the ropes. Money gives Homicide a release suplex (called Cha-Ching). Whitmer breaks the cover. Money goes for the Money Clip. Whitmer blocks it and delivers an exploder suplex. Homicide and Joe break the count. Homicide clotheslines Whitmer to the floor. Joe knees Homicide in the jaw. Money German suplexes Joe onto his head. After fighting back and forth, Joe locks Money in the Coquina Clutch. Money taps at 15:50. There was no selling from anybody at any time. Joe and Homicide got the crowd into it for the most part, but Whitmer was still quite new and Money had nobody’s attention. Decent action but it could have been a lot better. **¾

ROH Championship
Xavier (Champion) vs. Samoa Joe
“Night of the Champions” – Philadelphia, PA – 3.22.2003

Joe’s partners from The Group, Michael Shane and CW Anderson, take Christopher Daniels and Allison Danger away to ensure a fair fight. Joe mauls Xavier with strikes and throws him face first into the corner. Xavier tries to skin the cat when Joe tosses him over the top rope, but Joe just kicks him to the floor. He gives him the Ole kick into the guardrails. Joe throws some Kawada Kicks back in the ring. Xavier blocks the Island Driver with a Back Cracker. He drives his forearm into Joe’s neck for two. Xavier dropkicks Joe to the floor and then suicide dives into a swinging DDT. He goes more damage to Joe’s neck back in the ring. Joe gets incensed when Xavier dropkicks him in the face. He absorbs Xavier’s chops and throws some of his own. Joe remains standing when Xavier throws a couple clotheslines. Joe turns Xavier inside out with one of his own. He gives Xavier three various suplexes that drop him on his head. Xavier turns Joe’s bridging German suplex into a lateral press for two. Joe blocks the X-Breaker but takes a knee strike to the head. He successfully hits the X-Breaker and goes up top. Joe gets his knees up to block the 450 Splash. He throws some knees to Xavier’s head before locking on the Coquina Clutch. Xavier’s arm drops three times, giving Joe the win and the title at 11:21. In addition to this being a very important match in ROH’s history, it told a good story and kicked off Joe’s reign of dominance convincingly. It got to show that not only could Joe absorb a lot of punishment but that he was smart and not just a guy who did power moves. Xavier’s reign may not have been the best but at least his final defense served its purpose and kicked off arguably the most important ROH title run ever. ***

ROH World Championship
Samoa Joe (Champion) vs. Doug Williams
“Retribution: Round Robin Challenge II” – West Mifflin, PA – 4.26.2003

Williams goes for Joe’s leg. Joe goes for an STF early on a few times. Williams makes it to the ropes before it can be applied each time Joe tries. Williams bridges forward when applying a hammerlock. He maneuvers Joe into a headlock. Joe switches out, so Williams takes him down and wiggles out of it. Joe blocks the Chaos Theory and delivers an enzuigiri. Joe knocks him down with a back elbow and drops an elbow for two. He gives Williams the facewash kick in the corner. He gets two with a brainbuster. Williams blocks a corner attack. He throws some knees at Joe’s face while holding onto a cravate. He Judo throws him and looks for an arm submission but Joe makes it to the ropes. He does more damage to Joe’s arm after that. Joe lifts Williams up. Williams twists his arm to escape his inevitable doom. Joe catches him coming into the corner with the STJoe. Joe powerbombs him into the STF. Williams escapes and puts on a Fujiwara armbar. Joe gets the ropes. Williams delivers a trifecta of knees to Joe’s shoulder. He goes for the Chaos Theory. Joe stops it by grabbing Williams’ leg. He drives his knee into Williams’ head a few times before applying the Coquina Clutch. He taps out at 11:49. I’m sad this didn’t get more time, because a lot of Williams’ matches were fantastic and I think he and Joe could have had a classic if given the opportunity. As it was, it was a really good and very smartly worked match. ***¼

ROH World Championship
Samoa Joe (Champion) vs. Paul London
“Death Before Dishonor” – Elizabeth, NJ – 7.19.2003

This is London’s final match in ROH. Joe pulls London in from their handshake and shoulder blocks him to the mat. London kicks him in the face to counter a German suplex. London spinwheel kicks Joe and Joe responds with a hard forearm strike. London uses his speed to try and get a roll-up pin. Joe hits the floor to catch his breath. London however baseball slides him into the barricades. Joe whips London into the barricades himself. London boots Joe and gives him a moonsault press off the barricades. Joe fires up from London’s forearms back in the ring. He plants him with the STJoe. Joe drops him stomach first onto the top rope. He misses a kick to London in the tree of woe, causing him to crotch himself on the bottom rope. Joe catches London’s pescado attempt and slams him back first into the ring post. The Ole kick follows. In the ring he missile dropkicks London and gets two with a German suplex. He sets up for the Island Driver. London turns that into a sunset flip for two. He goes for some other desperation pin attempts. He dropsaults Joe to the corner. London tricks Joe into thinking Joe threw him into the corner even though London was able to block it. He gives Joe a leg-capture DDT. The London Star Press connects and is only good for a two count. Joe brings in London from the apron into the Coquina Clutch. London rolls back on it to get a two count. Joe gives him a Dragon suplex for two. He also gets two with a lariat. London puts on the Coquina Clutch. He ends up passing out at 14:04. I’m surprised how short this was considering it was London’s final ROH encounter, but given that the show had gone past midnight at that point I presume they truncated it for the sake of the live crowd. It was still a very good, competitive match for London to go out on and a big win for Joe. ***1/2

ROH World Championship
Samoa Joe (Champion) vs. BJ Whitmer
“Wrath of the Racket” – Dayton, OH – 8.9.2003

Whitmer is wearing a face mask. Joe takes Whitmer down and stretches his leg and back out in a half Boston crab. Joe levels him with a few kicks to the chest, but Whitmer gets back up and clobbers Joe with a forearm to the face. Whitmer takes off his mask as he and Joe trade slaps across the face. He ducks Joe’s corner kick and gives him a belly-to-back suplex for one. Whitmer goes to clothesline him in the corner but gets caught with the STJoe. He gives him the Combination for two. Whitmer goes for a rolling elbow but gets dropped with a uranage instead. Joe follows Whitmer to the floor in the hopes for an Ole kick but gets sent into the barricades by Whitmer instead. Joe is able to kick Whitmer against the barricades a few times after rcovering and pulls off the Ole kick twice. Back in the ring he goes for the Island Driver. Whitmer slides off his shoulders and nails a superkick. He strings a pair of suplexes together for two. Whitmer tries driving Joe to the mat. Joe instead drives his knee into Whitmer’s head and goes for the Coquina Clutch. Whitmer grabs the bottom rope to escape. Joe sunset flips Whitmer into a rolling cradle for two. Whitmer gives him an exploder suplex right onto his head! Joe kicks out. He gives him a Backdrop Driver and Joe kicks out of that too. Whitmer throws a few knees. Joe responds with an enzuigiri and a German suplex. He Dragon suplexes Whitmer and gives him a straightjacket German suplex for the win at 12:19. Whitmer got a nice reaction at times for being the hometown boy with a broken nose, and the exploder spot had people buying that they were about see a title change. Otherwise, this was about the same as any other of Joe’s lesser defenses. ***

ROH World Championship
Samoa Joe (Champion) vs. Christopher Daniels
“Glory By Honor II” – Philadelphia, PA – 9.20.2003

Joe boots Daniels the moment the bell rings. He goes for an immediate pin and gets two. He stomps down Daniels and forearms him to the mat. Daniels snaps off a couple armdrags and nails a dropkick. Joe cuts him off with a clothesline. His combination gets another two count. Daniels gets two with an Arabian Press. Joe throws punches and chops in the corner. He ends with the facewash kick. Joe kicks Daniels in the back before applying a Boston Crab. Joe almost gives Allison Danger the facewash kick when she helps Daniels break the hold. Daniels cuts him and hits an Arabian Press on the floor. He sends Joe into the barricades. He goes for the Ole kick. Joe cuts him off and hits it himself. Joe rolls him in the ring in a Gedo Clutch. Daniels ducks a clothesline and German suplexes Joe. Joe however catches him with a powerslam for two. Daniels blocks a boot. He enzuigiri’s Joe twice and drops him with a Complete Shot. Daniels gives him a Samoan drop. He hits the BME for two. Joe drops him with the STJoe. He drives his knees into Daniels’ head and clotheslines him for two. Daniels drops him with a Complete Shot and puts on the Koji Clutch. When Joe escapes, Daniels hits the Blue Thunder Driver for two. He goes for an Iconoclasm. Daniels ends up bringing Joe down with a Frankensteiner. He hits the Angels Wings! Joe kicks out. The bell rings but it’s a false alarm. Daniels goes for the Last Rites. Joe reverses into the Coquina Clutch. Daniels gets his foot on the ropes. Joe delivers an enzuigiri before dropping Daniels with the Island Driver for the pin at 15:02. That was incredible. They had built a Daniels/Joe singles match for so long that the Philadelphia crowd was hot from bell to bell. The false finishes were executed perfectly and it made for a super enjoyable fifteen minutes. ****

ROH World Championship
Samoa Joe (Champion) vs. Jay Briscoe
“The Tradition Continues” – Baltimore, MD – 10.16.2003

Joe does some damage to Jay’s left arm. Jay tries to control Joe on the arm, so Joe just smacks him in the back of the head. Joe gives him the Combination. He puts on a variation of the Boston Crab until Jay grabs the ropes. Joe gives him a Facewash kick. Jay fires back with a pair of yakuza kicks which send Joe to the floor. He follows Joe out with a splash off the top rope. He throws some chops back in the ring before delivering a dropkick. He gets two with a suplex. Briscoe goes for a corner splash and gets caught with the STJoe. He gives Jay the Ole kick twice on the floor. In the ring he powerbombs Jay into the STF. Jay escapes. He throws some slaps but then gets rolled around in a cradle. Jay gives Joe a Backdrop Driver and a Gourd Buster for two. He drops Joe with a double-armed DDT before heading up top. He nails a top rope legdrop for two. He powers up Joe for a Death Valley Driver but Joe kicks out. Jay goes for the Jay Driller. Joe tries for the Coquina Clutch but can’t get it. He instead gives Jay a Dragon suplex for two. Joe throws multiple kicks before delivering the Island Driver. Jay kicks out! Joe throws some strikes before taking Jay out with a short-arm lariat for the pin at 14:59. This was a great way to throw some stock into Jay as a main event entity. Even though he started out as a singles wrestler in ROH, by then he and Mark had almost been tagging exclusively. This was a nice reminder that Jay could go on his own and had championship potential nearly ten years before he would get the job done. ***¼

ROH World Championship
Samoa Joe (Champion) vs. AJ Styles
“War of the Wire” – Framingham, MA – 11.29.2003

Joe elbows Styles a couple times in the side of the head and shoulder blocks him down. Styles snaps off a Frakensteiner. Joe does the same. Neither of them get control on the mat. Joe throws some kicks. Styles trips him into a side headlock. He delivers a dropkick and a knee drop to the face. He gets two with a suplex. Joe punches Styles to block a discuss clothesline. He kicks him to the floor and follows with an elbow suicida. Styles avoids the Ole kick but eats a superkick instead. Styles jumps into the crowd to avoid being whipped into the barricades. He leaps over and clotheslines Joe. He powerbombs Joe back in the ring for two. Joe catches Styles with the STJoe. He facewash kicks Styles in the corner. Joe sweeps out his legs to cut off his momentum. He powerbombs Styles into an STF. Styles gets his foot on the ropes. Joe rolls him in a cradle. Styles catches Joe with a Pele kick. He hits the Phenomenon for two. He puts on a Muta Lock. Joe escapes and hits an enzuigiri. Styles fires up with forearms. Joe responds with slaps. Styles throws a gamengiri and both guys are on the mat. Joe fights Styles from the top rope. Styles brings him down in a powerbomb. He gives him the Styles Clash for two. Styles goes for the Phenomenon again. Joe catches him with the Island Driver for two. He throws some knees. Styles nails a rolling clothesline. He goes to the top. Joe catches him and hits the Muscle Buster. He locks on the Coquina Clutch. Styles passes out at 16:41. That was a lot of fun, as you would expect. The one thing I learned from this and the Low Ki title match was Styles is great in getting his ass beaten, showing glimmers of hope, and then ultimately losing in the end. He fits that role flawlessly and it worked here too. ***1/2

ROH World Championship
Samoa Joe (Champion) vs. Low Ki vs. Dan Maff vs. BJ Whitmer
“Second Anniversary Show” – Braintree, MA – 2.14.2004

Joe and Ki are ready to start off when Maff blind tags in. He and Joe trade shoulder blocks, forearms, and running boots. Joe Judo throws him into some back chops and a kick to the chest. Ki and Whitmer tag in. Ki puts on an armbar in the ropes. Whitmer suplexes him over and controls his wrist. Ki kicks him in the chest to get him away. Whitmer does some damage to Ki’s neck. Ki fires away with some chops. Whitmer gives him a pair of suplexes for two. Ki gets in his own bridging butterfly suplex for two. Joe puts Whitmer in a Boston Crab to further wear down his back. Maff breaks it. Ki puts him in a Dragon Clutch in the ropes. Maff breaks that too. Joe sends Maff to the floor and follows with an elbow suicida. Whitmer suplexes Ki to the floor! Ki blocks Joe’s Ole kick and throws some Mongolian chops. Joe’s hand has been cut open. Whitmer checks Ki into the barricades. Joe throws both Whitmer and Maff into the barricades. However, The Prophecy bring him back into the ring and isolate Joe specifically targeting his injured hand. Joe ends up in Ki’s corner and gives Whitmer an STJoe. Ki tags in. He enzuigiri’s Joe and lights up Maff with chops. He nails a Koppu Kick and the Tidal Wave. He gets two on Whitmer with a Dragon suplex. Whitmer gives Ki an exploder suplex for two. Maff spears Ki and misses a cannonball senton. Ki misses the Tidal Krush. Joe slaps him in the face to tag himself in. Maff Saito suplexes Joe onto his head for two. Joe powerbombs him into the STF. Ki throws some kicks to the chest. Joe responds with some knees, slaps and a headbutts. Ki Koppu Kicks Joe and Joe enzuigiri’s Ki, bringing them both down to the mat. Ki has Maff in the Dragon Clutch while Joe has Whitmer in a sleeper. Maff spears Ki out of the ring as he and Joe are trading strikes. Joe suplexes Whitmer into a choke sleeper. Whitmer taps at 23:57. The dynamic these four guys had together really made the match. Everybody hated one another and it made for an intense battle. Joe and Ki headlining the show was an appropriate way to conclude the Anniversary event while the Prophecy held up their end of the bargain as well. ****

ROH World Championship
Samoa Joe (Champion) vs. Homicide
“Reborn: Stage One” – St. Paul, MN – 4.23.2004

Homicide jumps Joe. Joe reverses a hip toss and snaps off an armdrag. They each go for an early STF but both guys break the hold quickly. Homicide angrily rolls to the floor so he can calm down. Joe throws forearms at Homicide’s face on the mat. Joe puts him in a Stump Puller. Homicide chops Joe against the ropes. It does nothing. Joe and Homicide get into a slap fight. Homicide’s headbutt does nothing while Joe’s headbutt knocks Homicide off his feet. Joe breaks a wristlock in the corner. Homicide bites Joe’s ear to break a lock-up. Homicide puts on a headscissors. Joe grabs the ropes. Homicide elbows Joe in the corner. Joe forearms him in the opposite corner and sets Homicide up on the top rope. Homicide jumps off but gets caught with an STJoe. Joe hits an elbow suicida after Homicide rolls to the floor. Joe backdrops Homicide into the audience then back to the ringside area. Joe puts on a Boston Crab back in the ring. Joe gives Homicide a couple facewash kicks once he grabs the ropes. Homicide comes off the second rope with a knee drop to the back of Joe’s neck. He gets two with a Rude Awakening. Homicide puts on a Dragon sleeper. Joe gets his foot to the ropes. Homicide sends Joe to the floor and hits his signature tope suicida. Joe throws Homicide to the barricades and kicks his head into them. In the ring Homicide gets his feet up to block a corner attack. He delivers a tornado DDT for two. Joe overhead suplexes Homicide into the corner. He powerbombs Homicide for two. Homicide blocks the STF transition. Joe catches a boot, slaps Homicide, dragonscrews him to the mat, and then locks on the STF. Homicide grabs the ropes. Homicide ducks a clothesline and gives Joe an Ace Crusher. He hits a lariat for two. Joe goes for a sleeper. Homicide rolls up Joe and counts the pin. It seems like a three, and the bell rings. Referee Paul Turner assures the timekeeper and Homicide that it was only a two count. Homicide is so upset that he hits Turner. Joe gives Homicide a boot. The lights go out. Homicide throws a fireball into Joe’s face! The bell rings at 19:00 as referees check on Joe. The fireball thing was pretty cheesy, especially with the goofy reaction the commentators had to it. I guess it was somewhat creative and made for a nice moment, but to do it in front a brand new ROH crowd may not have been the best idea. I give Joe and Homicide credit for working hard until that point. ***

ROH World Championship – No Disqualification
Samoa Joe (Champion) vs. Homicide
“Generation Next” – Philadelphia, PA – 5.22.2004

Homicide attacks Joe before the bell but gets backdropped right away. Julius Smokes comes in. Joe clotheslines both he and Homicide. Joe follows Homicide to the floor with an elbow suicida. Homicide cuts off his Ole kick attempt. Joe however does give that kick to Smokes. Back in the ring Homicide misses a knee and gets powerslammed. Joe then gives him the Combination and a facewash kick. Homicide bites Joe’s ear to avoid a superplex. He sets up a table against the barricades. He wants to suplex Joe from the ring into it, but Joe instead suplexes Homicide back inside the ring. After they trade strikes, Joe puts Homicide in a seated abdominal stretch, switching into a Stump Puller. He goes for the Island Driver. Homicide dropkicks Joe to the floor. He goes for a suicide dive and ends up putting himself through the table. Joe drives Homicide into the barricades. Smokes want to use a chair but referee Todd Sinclair stops him. Homicide uses a fork and chair to get things back in his favor. He drops Joe with a tornado DDT for two. He goes for another but gets stopped by an STJoe. Joe powerbombs him into a Boston Crab. Homicide escapes but takes a running Death Valley Driver shortly after. Homicide counters a super Muscle Bustwer with a Hamachan Cutter. He follows up with a lariat for two. Homicide gives him a Backdrop Driver and a piledriver, but Joe kicks out of those as well. Homicide puts on his own STF after a neckbreaker. He jabs the fork into Joe’s face while holding on. Joe picks him up for the Island Driver and gets two. A lariat and brainbuster but Homicide away at 19:59. The No DQ stipulation was used really well here. Homicide used it very often as an act of desperation while Joe knew his cunning and strikes would be enough. Homicide was a good opponent for Joe at this time because he was a believable candidate and someone who you believed was not intimidated. A much better contest than the Reborn bout. ***½

Disc Two

The second disc starts off with 20 minutes of highlights from Samoa Joe vs. CM Punk from “World Title Classic” (Dayton, OH; 6.12.2004). Punk almost had the pin with a DDT but couldn’t capitalize on the pin quick enough. Joe kicked out and the 60 minute time limit expired shortly after.

ROH World Championship
Samoa Joe (Champion) vs. Shinya Makabe
New Japan USA – Los Angeles, CA – 6.24.2004

Makabe back elbows Joe before giving him a spear. They trade strikes on the floor. Makabe knocks him down with a back elbow in the ring. He gets two with a suplex. Joe fights back and catches Makabe with the STJoe. Joe delivers the Ole kick. Makabe clotheslines Joe off of the apron causing him to hit the guardrails. Makabe gets two with the Northern Lights suplex, and another two count with a powerslam. Joe powerbombs Makabe into a crossface. Makabe gets to the bottom ropes to escape. Joe gives him a fisherman’s suplex for two. Joe and Makabe exchange slaps and knock each other down with a forearm and enzuigiri, respectively. Joe nails a lariat and a Saito suplex. Makabe fires up after kicking out. Joe hits him with a lariat for the pin at 9:23 (shown). There was nothing too terribly exciting about what they did. It was fun seeing Joe defend the title against an outsider in a different environment, but novelty aside this was more or less an exhibition bout. **¼

ROH World Championship
Samoa Joe (Champion) vs. Colt Cabana
“Death Before Dishonor II, Part Two” – Chicago Ridge, IL – 7.24.2004

They each back one another into opposite corners and break away cleanly. Cabana is unable to lift Joe for a slam. He eats a forearm but it only fires him up. It takes him three tries, but he is able to take Joe off his feet with a running shoulder block. He twists up Joe’s neck with his feet. He misses a hip attack and gets forearmed to the floor. Back in the ring Cabana goes for double knees in the corner and gets caught with the STJoe. When Joe goes for the Combination, Cabana rolls him up for two. Joe comes back with the facewash knee. Joe lights Cabana up with strikes when Cabana tries ascending the ropes. Joe gives him a belly-to-back suplex for two. Cabana fires back after sitting in a half crab. Cabana gets in his double knee strike in the corner. He goes for a moonsault but Joe shoves him off the top and into the entrance aisle. Joe goes for the Ole Kick. Cabana blocks the Ole kick with the chair he is sitting on. He hits the Ole kick himself! Back in the ring however, Joe gets in a powerslam for two. He also gets two with a lariat. Cabana hops over Joe in the corner and gives Joe his own slam. He gives him a Saito suplex for two. Same goes for a frog splash. He sunset flips Joe into the STF. Joe escapes. He nails two enzuigiri’s. Cabana rolls Joe over to avoid a choke. Joe lariats him for two. The Muscle Buster puts Cabana away at 17:22. I don’t know if this would have had the same heat in front of another crowd, but the Chicago crowd was rooting for their hometown boy and it made for a good dynamic. The spot where Cabana hit the Ole kick himself was a really fun one and I’m surprised it wasn’t done more often. ***¾

ROH World Championship
Samoa Joe (Champion) vs. Doug Williams
“Glory By Honor III” – Elizabeth, NJ – 9.11.2004

They start out hot and heavy with Williams ending up on the floor. He comes back in and stretches out Joe’s whole body. Joe slaps him so he can get away. Joe uses that same tactic when Williams goes after his legs. Williams goes for his corner knee strike. Joe shoves him away and drops him with the STJoe. He headbutts Williams down in the corner and delivers the facewash kick. He brings Williams to the floor for the Ole kick. Williams blocks it with a clothesline at first, but Joe hits him with an enzuigiri and ends pulling the move off. Joe slaps him a few times and goes for a lazy cover. Williams kicks him in the face from the mat. Joe enzuigiri’s him to the floor. He goes for an elbow suicida. Williams catches him on the apron and comes back in with a high crossbody for two. Joe blocks a knee strike and gets two with a powerslam. He goes right for a cross armbreaker but Williams clasps his hands together to stop it. Williams comes back with the Bomb Scare (top rope knee drop) for two. He applies a sleeper hold. Joe turns that into a torture rack but can’t hold on. Williams does more damage to the neck but gets taken out by a lariat for two. Joe drops him with the Muscle Buster for two. After more slaps and a lariat, Joe gets the pin at 17:51. Williams is one of the best guys on the mat and here he showed his proficiency here more than ever. He picked apart any body part he had the chance to, particularly Joe’s neck and legs in the hopes of taking out his arsenal. Even though it did not work, Williams looked like a strong contender and put on a worthy successor to their 2003 title defense. ***½

ROH World Championship
Samoa Joe (Champion) vs. Bryan Danielson
”Midnight Express Reunion” – Philadelphia, PA – 10.2.2004

Would you believe this was Danielson’s first shot at the ROH World title? You should, because it’s true. Joe and Danielson feel out each other quite a bit in the opening. Joe goes for Danielson’s ankle, and Danielson lands an enzuigiri for a quick two count. Joe goes for a triangle choke but Danielson gets the ropes very quickly. Although it’s Joe who takes Danielson to the mat, Danielson is the one who gets control by wearing down Joe’s leg. Joe’s aggression gets Danielson to cower in the corner. Danielson attacks the leg again in response. Joe headbutts Danielson multiple times in a knuckle lock. Joe pins him for two. Danielson delivers a dropkick to bring Joe back to the mat. Danielson grabs at Joe’s face multiple times. Joe gets angry and chases Danielson around the ring. Joe is able to knee him in the side of the head and get a two count. Danielson stretches out Joe’s arm while applying pressure to his neck. Joe gets his foot on the ropes to break it. Joe suplexes Danielson to the floor. Joe goes for the Ole Kick, but Danielson catches it and throws Joe’s leg into the barricades. Danielson springboard dives from in the ring back out onto him. Danielson then dropkicks Joe into the barricades. Danielson gets a two count back in the ring. Joe fires up, throwing many chops against the ropes. Danielson cheaply thumbs him in the eyes to stop him. Danielson continues to stretch Joe on the mat. Joe unleashes a barrage of knee strikes. Danielson kicks Joe in the face from the mat, then throws multiple European uppercuts. Joe knees Danielson in his mid-section in various ways. Joe puts on a half crab, digging his knee into Danielson’s shoulder blades. Danielson gets the ropes to escape. Danielson throws repeated Polish hammers to Joe’s arm. Joe sweeps Danielson’s legs for two. Danielson suplexes Joe and heads up top. Danielson connects with a diving headbutt for two. Joe comes back with a fisherman’s suplex and an enzuigiri which sends Danielson to the floor. Joe suicide dives onto him. Joe finally delivers the Ole kick twice. Danielson clips Joe’s leg once they get back in the ring. As you would presume, Danielson keeps on Joe’s leg after clipping it. Danielson flies off the second rope with a European uppercut for two. Danielson hops off the second again. Joe catches him with a uranage for two. Joe turns a powerbomb into a STF. Danielson escapes. Joe goes for a lariat. Danielson kicks out his leg and locks Joe’s legs up. Joe powerslams Danielson for two after he escapes. Joe goes for a cross armbreaker. Danielson rolls out and gives him a Regalplex for two. Danielson locks on Cattle Mutilation. Joe rolls his shoulders to pin Danielson for two. These two fight for control on the top rope. Joe slips out and German suplexes Danielson off. Joe delivers a lariat for two. Joe sets up for the Muscle Buster. Danielson slips out, throws some forearms and then dropkicks Joe’s leg out. Danielson Dragon suplexes him for two. Danielson puts on Cattle Mutilation. Joe puts his foot on the ropes. Joe knees Danielson in his hurt ribs. Joe drives his knee into the side of Danielson’s head multiple times. Danielson does the same to Joe’s forehead. More knees from Joe lead to him putting on a rear-naked choke. Danielson taps out at 39:16.

Simply put, that was awesome. Both guys went balls to the walls and threw everything they had at each other. Both of them had a game plan and is just so happened that Joe’s worked out. This is often overlooked for some of these guys’ more classic matches, but I’ll be damned if this isn’t one of my favorite Samoa Joe title matches. ****¼

ROH World Championship
Samoa Joe (Champion) vs. Rocky Romero
“Gold” – Dayton, OH – 10.15.2004

Each guy knows each other from training in the same dojo. Because of that, they’re able to evade each others’ strikes in the early exchange. Homicide grabs Joes’ legs so Romero can get in some kicks to Joe’s leg. Referee Todd Sinclair ejects Homicide from ringside. Joe slaps Romero and takes him to the mat. Romero almost gets in a cross armbreaker but Joe is able to avoid it. Joe catches Romero in the head with a kick that sends him to the floor. Romero Oklahoma Rolls back in, once again going for the cross armbreaker. Joe makes it to the ropes before it can be applied. Joe unleashes some kicks that sends Romero back to the floor. Romero springboard dropkicks Joe’s leg. He throws more kicks at the legs while also slapping Joe a few times. Joe catches Romero with a powerslam. He hits the Combination. Romero has a few moments of hope, but all Joe does is slap him in the face to stop him. Joe gives him the Ole kick twice on the floor. Romero is able to kick out when brought back into the ring. Romero and Joe knock each other down with stereo kicks to the head. Romero tries a Flying DDT. Joe ends up blocking it. Romero throws a knee strike. Even though he has a visual pin, Joe’s hand made it to the bottom rope. While he’s celebrating, Joe is able to recover and deliver a hard knee strike to the head for two. Joe also Saito suplexes him for two. Romero huracanarana’s him into a cross armbreaker. Joe lifts him into a powerbomb and applies the STF. Romero taps out at 17:58. The commentators tried really hard to make it seem like Romero had a chance at winning the title, but I have trouble thinking the crowd ever bought it. I certainly did not. I liked that this was a more strike heavy and calculated but it’s certainly not a noteworthy inclusion in Joe’s reign. ***¼

After this we are shown 20 minutes of highlights from the one hour draw Joe had with CM Punk at “Joe vs. Punk II” (Chicago Ridge, IL – 10.16.2004). It’s the most hyped match of the trilogy and is certainly deserving of the praise it receives. Here, Punk had just reversed a Pepsi Plunge with a superplex when the time limit expired.

At “Weekend of Thunder Night 2” (Elizabeth, NJ – 11.6.2004) CM Punk staged a sit in. He thinks he deserves a third title shot after taking Joe to the time limit twice. With that in mind, he challenges Joe to a third title match to be scheduled the next time ROH returns Elizabeth, NJ. This time, the match would have no time limits. He refuses to leave until Joe comes out and answers the challenge. Mick Foley makes his way to the ring. He came to the building just as a fan to see Liger. He does remind Punk that he said his and Joe’s second one hour draw was one of the best things he saw in his career and that he will sing Punk and Joe’s praises to the WWE whenever he returns. Foley tries introducing us to Samoa Joe but he’s not coming out. Foley calls Joe “softcore” and leaves. Punk remains in the ring through intermission and when The Ring Crew Express and Special K come out for their match. Punk begins reading part of Mick Foley’s Christmas book until Joe finally comes out. Long story short, Joe accepts and levels Punk with a forearm.

ROH World Championship – No Time Limit
Samoa Joe (Champion) vs. CM Punk
“All Star Extravaganza II” – Elizabeth, NJ – 12.4.2004

Ricky “The Dragon” Steamboat is ringside to watch the action. Joe gets in the first real shot with a chop. He avoids Punk’s headlock attempts and throws another chop. Punk gets the headlock on by hip tossing out of a Saito suplex. From there, Punk decides to target Joe’s neck. Joe is able to counter the STJoe which leads to each guy getting a quick nearfall before Punk reapplies the headlock. Joe unloads with strikes in the corner. Punk throws some of his own causing Joe to fall to the mat. Joe kicks Punk to the floor. Somehow Punk is now busted open. Joe goes after that cut when Punk makes his way into the ring. Punk almost has an attack in the corner but gets caught with the STJoe for two. Exhausted, Punk throws kicks and punches to Joe’s neck as he did early on. Joe kicks him to the floor and follows with an elbow suicida. He hits the Ole Kick. Punk blocks a second one with an elbow strike. He comes off the ring apron with a dropkick. Punk drives his knee across Joe’s neck. Punk lands a tornado DDT back in the ring for two. He goes for the Shining Wizard. Joe blocks it with a powerbomb and stretches Punk’s neck and back across his own back. Punk drops Joe into the Anaconda Vise. Joe gets his foot on the ropes. Punk hits the Pepsi Twist and a moonsault for two. He tries for a sunset bomb. Joe huracanrana’s through and nails a lariat for two. Punk manages to hit the Shining Wizard for two. Joe puts on a sleeper. Punk is passed out and Todd Sinclair calls for the bell. However, Ricky Steamboat notices Punk has some life and stops the time keeper from ringing the bell. Joe refuses to let the sleeper go. Punk uses the ropes to roll back and pins Joe for two. Punk goes for some more nearfalls to no avail. Joe almost gets the win by using the ropes which angers the crowd. Joe knocks Punk off the second rope. He misses the target of a splash but his knee hits Punk’s head. Punk goes for an O’Conner Roll which Joe turns into the Coquina Clutch. He lifts him into a German suplex, then a Dragon suplex, then puts the Clutch back on. Punk passes out at 31:25. This was a fantastic way to end their trilogy. While it didn’t have the “classic” feel as the other two, they showed a lot of growth from those two bouts and used it to their advantage. Punk’s blood and his precision on Joe’s neck were probably the two things that to me added the most drama. I don’t think this is nearly as well revered as the other two matches but it’s still one hell of a match. ****½

Disc One

ROH Pure Championship
Nigel McGuinness (Champion) vs. Samoa Joe
“Buffalo Stampede” – Buffalo, NY – 10.15.2005

This is a rematch from “Dragon Gate Invasion” where McGuinness defeated Joe for the Pure Title. McGuinness talks some trash before the bell. When he says Joe will be the star in “Shrek 3”, Joe attacks. McGuinness goes after the arm. Joe immediately gets the ropes. He gets them again when McGuinness goes for an armbar. He then places Joe’s hand on the ropes when he has him in a headlock, costing Joe all three of his rope breaks right away. Joe blocks McGuinness going through his legs with multiple Kawada kicks. Joe chop him to the corner and delivers a facewash kick. He drops an elbow for two. McGuinness throws some uppercuts. Joe evades a charging variation. He suplexes McGuinness for two. McGuinness uses a rope break to escape a headscissors. Joe gets two with a snap powerslam. Same goes for a running chest kick. He powerbombs McGuinness into the STF. McGuinness uses a second rope break to escape. A Boston Crab costs him his third rope break, evening the playing field. Joe blocks the Rebound Lariat with a boot and gets two with a senton splash. Joe facewash kicks McGuinness into the barricades. McGuinness avoids it a second time and Joe’s leg gets stuck in the barricades. He makes it back in right before the twenty count unbeknownst to McGuinness. Joe lights him up with slaps. He goes for the Muscle Buster. McGuinness escapes and goes for the Tower of London. Joe counters into the Coquina Clutch. McGuinness rolls back so that Joe’s shoulders are on the mat and uses the ropes to get the pin at 10:55. A step below their initial encounter, but still fairly solid. The incorporation of the ropes into the finish was a nice touch. ***

ROH Pure Championship
Nigel McGuinness (Champion) vs. Christopher Daniels
“Weekend of Champions Night 1” – Dayton, OH – 4.28.2006

Both guys are cautious in the early going. Daniels takes control with a wristlock. McGuinness goes for a hammerlock but Daniels snapmares through it. McGuinness pokes his eye and drives his forearm into Daniels’ face. Daniels stops the attack by utilizing a rope break. He works over McGuinness’ neck after taking a break on the floor. He puts on the Koji Clutch. McGuinness uses his first rope break to escape. McGuinness catches Daniels in the corner with a back kick/falling clothesline combo. He shoves Daniels shoulder first into the corner. He focuses his attack on the shoulder from then on. Daniels manages to get a Half Crab during this period, forcing McGuinness to use a second rope break. McGuinness divorce courts the arm so he can get back to business. He sweeps out Daniels’ leg while hitting a left-armed clothesline. Daniels boots McGuinness to block a corner attack and comes out with a neckbreaker. After comes clotheslines, Daniels drops McGuinness with a modified neckbreaker for two. He STO’s him for another two count. McGuinness catches him with a lariat. He does a handstand in the corner. Daniels gives him a palm strike and carries him into a Death Valley Driver for two. Daniels shakes out his worked over arm before calling for the BME. He misses it but lands on his feet. He drops McGuinness with a Complete Shot for two. He puts on a chicken wing. McGuinness uses his final rope break to escape it. McGuinness hits the Rebound Lariat for two. He tries for the Tower of London but Daniels reapplies the Chicken Wing. Since the ropes are of no use, McGuinness tumbles to the floor with Daniels to escape. McGuinness throws the camera girl into Daniels after a strike exchange. McGuinness makes it back into the ring while Daniels is counted out at 20:18. The story here was awesome, with both guys sticking to the body part they chose to work over. True, the finish was a little cheap, but that’s what McGuinness’ reign as Pure Champion was all about. It worked in a way where you didn’t feel like you wasted twenty minutes. It may not have been as heated as you would want, but there’s no denying how good the action was. ***½

ROH Pure Championship
Nigel McGuinness (Champion) vs. Jay Lethal
“Ring of Homicide” – Edison, NJ – 5.13.2006

McGuinness keeps Lethal grounded in a headlock. It looks as if McGuinness threw a closed fist punch which the referee missed. Lethal throws a bunch of chops, but McGuinness blocks them and snapmares Lethal into a chinlock. Lethal blocks some more snapmares and puts on a wristlock. He connects with some chops. McGuinness headbutts him in the stomach. Lethal hip tosses him into a dropkick for two. McGuinness grabs the ropes to break a chinlock. He catches Lethal in the corner with a kick to the back and a clothesline into the canvas. Lethal uses a rope break to prevent being pinned. McGuinness throws Lethal overhead in a hammerlock. After a hammerlock divorce court, Lethal has to use a second rope break to stop another pin attempt. He fights his way out of the Tower of London and comes off the second rope with a leg lariat. He gets two with another leg lariat and a spinebuster. McGuinness goes for a lariat. Lethal ducks and nails a superkick for two. McGuinness lariats him off the top rope. Lethal uses his third and final rope break to stop the pin. He suplexes McGuinness and heads up top. He nails a diving headbutt for two. McGuinness blocks a Dragon suplex. He hits a running uppercut in the corner and the Rebound Lariat for two. Lethal throws McGuinness off the top rope. McGuinness grabs Todd Sinclair as Lethal goes up top to block his trajectory. McGuinness crotches Lethal and hits the Tower of London. Lethal kicks out! A second Tower of London gets him the pin at 14:23. Lethal made it convincing that he had a fighting chance in the end which took the match up a notch. I also appreciated that this took the rope breaks in a different direction. Usually guys would use them to stop submissions, but Lethal used all of his to prevent pin attempts. Freshening up that made me like the match just a bit more. Nothing mind blowing, but fun. ***¼

ROH Pure Championship
Nigel McGuinness (Champion) vs. Roderick Strong
“Death Before Dishonor IV” – Philadelphia, PA – 7.15.2006

Strong chops McGuinness to end his pre-match speech. Strong chases him on the floor and back into the ring. McGuinness blocks Strong’s chops and brings him down in a hammerlock. Strong sneaks in some chops and forearms before getting two with a backbreaker. McGuinness uses a rope break before the Strong Hold can be locked in. He drives Strong’s arm into the canvas. He works over Strong’s arm until Strong takes him down in a crucifix pin for two. Strong does the deal with a Falcon Arrow and gets another two count. McGuinness uses a second rope break to block another Strong Hold. McGuinness drives shoulder and arm into the mat various ways. Strong tosses McGuinness to the corner to prevent it from happening a fourth or fifth time. A belly-to-back suplex and dropkick earn a two count. He also gets two with the Tiger Driver. Another Strong Hold attempt wipes out McGuinness’ third and final rope break. When Strong goes for the Strong Hold again, McGuinness slips out to the floor. Strong follows with a forearm strike off the apron. McGuinness snaps the ring ropes into Strong’s face. Strong gives him a back breaker onto the ring frame. Strong throws some chops. McGuinness tosses Strong in the crowd in the hopes of getting a count out win. Strong however makes it back in the ring at the count of 19. McGuinness kicks Strong into a falling clothesline. Strong uses his first rope break to stop the pin. McGuinness gives him an uppercut. He headstands in the corner. Strong hits him with the Sick Kick and Death by Roderick. McGuinness goes for a Rebound Lariat but takes another Sick Kick. He Rebound lariats back from that! Strong gets his foot on the bottom rope, using his second rope break to stop the pin. McGuinness tries a senton but Strong gets his knees up. Strong wants a super gutbuster. McGuinness stops him and hits the Tower of London for two. He keeps Strong on the floor and drops him with a DDT on the concrete floor. McGuinness pulls him away and runs into the ring giving him the count victory at 15:43. They played up the count out stipulation really well here. I also think it was great that McGuinness lost all his rope breaks quickly instead of the opponent, which is usually how it works out in these matches. The crowd ate up everything they did and McGuinness rebounding after the Sick Kick was a sight to be seen. Maybe McGuinness’ most underrated ROH match ever. ***¾

Nigel McGuinness & Doug Williams vs. Takeshi Morishima & Chris Hero
“This Means War II” – Lake Grove, NY – 4.13.2007

McGuinness and Morishima aggressively throw forearms. Hero tosses Williams out and helps Morishima boot McGuinness. Williams takes double boots as well. Morishima clubs McGuinness in the corner while Williams and Hero wrestle on the floor. Morishima catches McGuinness with a hip attack before bowling over him with his body weight. Hero gives him a roll-back senton. McGuinness kicks him in the back and clotheslines him into the canvas. McGuinness and Williams put on stereo top wristlocks. Williams and McGuinness damage up his left arm. Hero throws a series of punches to Williams. Williams staggers to enemy territory after taking a chinbreaker. Morishima gets in on the fun and helps Hero isolate him in their corner. Williams is able to escape their grasp by catching Hero with his signature swinging DDT. He enzuigiri’s Hero before tagging McGuinness in. He throws uppercuts and thrusts at his chest. Morishima comes in to save but ends up splashing Hero. McGuinness superkicks Morishima to the floor. Williams dives off the top rope with a knee strike to the floor. McGuinness nails a lariat for two. McGuinness puts Hero in a hammerlock after a divorce court. Morishima breaks it up. Hero chokeslams McGuinness. Morishima cartwheels into a corner splash. Williams holds Morishima’s leg as he climbs the top rope. This allows McGuinness to hit the London Dungeon for two. Morishima shrugs off some clotheslines and other strikes. McGuinness is able to take him down with a lariat for two. Morishima and Williams volley Morishima between them with shots to his neck. It ends with McGuinness hitting another lariat for two. Williams gutwrench suplexes Morishima but Hero breaks the pin. Williams throws a couple of knee strikes including one from the top rope. Morishima and Williams trade forearms. Morishima takes him over with a uranage. Williams belly-to-back suplexes him. McGuinness tags in. He evades a Back Drop Driver so Morishima sits on his chest. Hero knocks McGuinness down with a rolling elbow for two. He gets two with a Shiranui as well. McGuinness blocks a Go 2 Sleep but eats a big boot. A series of moves knocks everybody down. McGuinness lariats Hero. Williams helps him out with a Tower of London. Morishima breaks the pin. Morishima sends Williams into the barricades. Morishima blocks McGuinness’ lariat attempt on Hero with a side slam. He follows up with the Backdrop Driver for two. Williams throws Hero into Morishima. McGuinness lariats Hero for the pin at 18:57. No heat and not much rhyme or reason to what was going on. Essentially this was good wrestling with little keeping it together. ***

ROH World Championship
Takeshi Morishima (Champion) vs. Nigel McGuinness
“Live In Tokyo” – Tokyo, Japan – 7.16.2007

Each guy goes for their finish early but can’t get it. McGuinness goes after Morishima’s left arm and shoulder. He tries a sunset flip to the floor but Morishima sits down on his chest to block. Morishima throws him into the barricades and follows with a hip attack. In the ring Morishima snapmares McGuinness into a chinlock. McGuinness rolls to the floor and Morishima follows with a shoulder tackle off the apron. McGuinness uses the ropes to deliver a lariat on the floor. He then comes off the top with a crossbody. McGuinness does more damage to Morishima’s left arm and hand back in the ring. Morishima knocks him down with a forearm strike. He bowls over McGuinness with his body weight twice. He misses a cartwheel splash. McGuinness kicks him in the back and drives him into the mat with a falling clothesline. McGuinness gives him a running uppercut and a lariat for two. He headstands in the corner. Morishima boots him and delivers a lariat of his own. McGuinness catches him on the top rope and delivers the Tower of London for two. McGuinness headstands into a mule kick. Morishima shoulder blocks him and heads up top. He hits a missile dropkick. McGuinness rolls through and lariats Morishima for two. Morishima blocks the Jawbreaker Lariat with the Backdrop Driver. They both get to their feet at the same time. Morishima absorbs three superkicks. He lariats McGuinness. McGuinness lariats him off the top rope for two. They fight on the top rope until McGuinness gives Morishima the Tower of London onto the ring apron. It only gets him a two count after he gets Morishima in the ring. Morishima avoids another top rope lariat. He side slams McGuinness off the ring apron and to the floor! He boxes McGuinness’ head back in the ring. He knocks down referee Todd Sinclair when he tries to stop him. Morishima gives McGuinness a Backdrop Driver for two. Morishima tries a hip attack. McGuinness turns it into the Jawbreaker Lariat for two. A small package has the same results. Lariats are traded until Morishima hits the Backdrop Driver for the pin at 20:12. This wasn’t exactly my kind of match, but I really appreciated what they did here. In front of the Japanese crowd they had a more Japanese “Strong Style” type of bout. What I thought was most interesting was just how behind McGuinness the crowd was. You’d expect some sort of national pride going on, but not here. It really made for a fun dynamic that some of their other matches didn’t have. Even with some no selling and Morishima annoyingly dismiss the arm work in the latter half of the contest, I enjoyed this. ***¾

#1 Contendership for the ROH World Championship
Nigel McGuinness vs. Naomichi Marufuji vs. Chris Hero vs. Claudio Castagnoli
“Man Up!” – Chicago Ridge, IL – 9.16.2007

McGuinness and Marufuji spirited opening exchange reaches a stalemate. Hero begs to be tagged in and McGuinness obliges. Hero does some showing off after working over Marufuji’s wrist. While distracted, Claudio tags in. Hero notices and immediately bails to the floor. He comes back in just to tag Marufuji. Marufuji jumps to the top rope in a double knuckle lock. He snaps the ropes into Claudio’s face and applies a claw while standing on the top rope. Claudio puts on a claw as well. Marufuji kicks the inside of his leg. Marufuji tags in Hero. He trips Claudio and stomps away. Claudio throws an uppercut and Hero bails once more. McGuinness and Claudio trade uppercuts. They get into a series of various pin attempts. Hero blind tags in so he can attack Claudio from behind. He boots Claudio in the side of the head a few times. Claudio fires up after taking some more kicks. He backdrops Hero and uppercuts him in the neck. He slams Hero into a legdrop. Claudio follows him to the floor with a double axe handle. Marufuji tope con hilo’s onto both of them. McGuinness dives off the top rope onto Hero and Claudio in the crowd! Back in the ring Marufuji strings an enzuigiri, dropkick to the leg, and a basement clothesline together on McGuinness for a two count. Marufuji hits the Shiranui. Hero breaks his cover. He tags Marufuji with a rolling elbow and releases him out of a suplex. Claudio breaks the pin. He gives Hero the Alpamare Waterslide for two. McGuinness lariats Claudio for two. Marufuji stomps McGuinness’ face into the mat. He gets two with a superkick. McGuinness crotches him on the top rope. He gets two with the Tower of London due to Hero interjecting. Hero gives him a Cravate Cutter and a top rope double stomp. Claudio lifts Hero out of the pin and into a German suplex. He then gives Hero the Giant Swing and a running uppercut for two. He goes for the Ricola Bomb on Marufuji. Marufuji ends up rolling him up for two. He calls for the coast-to-coast dropkick. McGuinness instead crotches Marufuji on the top rope and lariats the back of his neck. He also lariats Hero before lariating Marufuji to the mat. Claudio comes off the top rope with a diving European uppercut to McGuinness. He hits the Ricola Bomb on Marufuji. Hero makes the same by diving onto referee Todd Sinclair. Hero nails him with a rolling elbow. Claudio comes back with Swiss Chin Music. He uppercuts McGuinness who uses his momentum for the Jawbreaker Lariat, giving McGuinness the win at 17:59. One of the best opening matches in ROH history. The action was hot, everything made sense, it built the Hero/Claudio feud organically while also making McGuinness the stand out amongst the pack of three other top flight wrestlers. Great stuff. ***¾

ROH World Championship
Nigel McGuinness (Champion) vs. Jay Briscoe
“Chaos in the Cow Palace” – San Francisco, CA – 10.19.2007

This is Nigel’s first defense of the title since winning it from Takeshi Morishima at the “Undeniable” PPV on October 6th, 2007. Mark Briscoe is in Jay’s corner. They back each other to the ropes and shove one another. They trade chops and uppercuts. McGuinness throws Jay shoulder first into the ring post. Of course, McGuinness now targets his attack on that arm and Jay’s neck. Jay gets a reprieve when he dragonscrews McGuinness’ leg and stomps away at it. He traps McGuinness’ leg in the ropes and kicks away at it. He gets two with a suplex. Jay works over the leg. He and McGuinness trade strikes until Jay kicks his leg out. Jay boots him. McGuinness goes for the Jawbreaker Lariat. Jay blocks it and gets two with a Gord Buster. McGuinness belly-to-back suplexes him. He places Jay on the top rope for the Tower of London. Jay fights it off and missile dropkicks McGuinness to the corner. McGuinness blocks the Jay Driller but gets sent into the middle turnbuckle with a Complete Shot. On the floor. Jay kicks the timekeeper’s table into McGuinness’ knee. He puts him in a half crab back in the ring. McGuinness gets the ropes. He crotches Jay on the top rope and pulls off the Tower of London for two. Jay avoids the top rope lariat. He tries a Jay Driller on the apron. Instead, he throws McGuinness into the barricades after blocking another Tower of London. Jay gets two with a Fisherman’s Buster. Same goes for a Death Valley Driver/super legdrop sequence. They fight on the top rope. McGuinness ends up giving Jay the Tower of London on the ring apron. He puts on the London Dungeon and Jay taps out at 19:12. Nobody ever believed Jay stood a chance, but they put in a lot of good work and it was still a fun watch. ***½

ROH World Championship
Nigel McGuinness (Champion) vs. Austin Aries
“Rising Above 2007” – New York, NY – 12.29.2007

The crowd is very hostile towards McGuinness. As he and Aries hesitantly go after each other, it is clear Aries has an interest in McGuinness’ taped up shoulder. McGuinness rolls to the foor when Aries slaps him in the face. As McGuinness is bad mouthing some fans, Aries gives McGuinness the Heat-Seeking Missile causing him to collide head first with the guardrail and a cut to be opened over his right eye. McGuinness bounces off the ropes to deliver a lariat on the floor. They switch positions throwing punches at each other on the mat. Aries pops out of a headscissors and delivers a dropkick. McGuinness sends Aries shoulder first into the ring post. McGuinness blocks another dropkick, so Aries just kicks him in the face and pounds away on his wound. He then goes after McGuinness’ shoulder. McGuinness drives Aries into the mat with a hammerlock divorce court. He aggressively whips him into the corner. Aries rolls him into a neck and shoulder stretch. McGuinness uses the ropes to break that and a Rings of Saturn. Aries dropkicks him when he does a headstand in the corner, sending him to the floor. McGuinness uppercuts him to block another Heat-Seeking Missile, then gives him the Tower of London onto the floor. In the ring he gets two with a lariat. He tries for another Tower of London. Aries instead delivers a missile dropkick. McGuinness gets his boot up to block the IED. He hits the Tower of London for two. Aries avoids the London Dungeon. He blocks the Jawbreaker Lariat and slingshots into a double axe handle. After unloading with elbows to McGuinness in the corner, Aries tries a brainbuster. McGuinness places him on the top rope to counter, then lariats him to the floor! McGuinness goes for an uppercut as Aries is seated. Aries instead gives him a brainbuster onto the top of the barricades! Aries hits the IED and a brainbuster. McGuinness gets his knees up to block a 450 splash. He puts on the London Dungeon. Aries escapes, gives McGuinness a brainbuster, then puts on the Last Chancery. When McGuinness escapes they trade slaps. Aries clotheslines McGuinness to block the Jawbreaker Lariat. He tries for the Last Chancery again. McGuinness lariats him in the back of the head. Aries kicks McGuinness to block the London Dungeon. However, McGuinness uses the momentum to hit the Jawbreaker Lariat and get the pin at 23:17. What a war these two had. The very unfortunate head injury McGuinness suffered added a lot to the drama of the match. The crowd got hotter, every fall felt like a bigger deal, and it had this big fight atmosphere that you can’t replicate at a whim. You could argue it was McGuinness’ best World title defense. ****½

ROH World Championship
Nigel McGuinness (Champion) vs. Roderick Strong
“Without Remorse” – Chicago Ridge, IL – 1.26.2008

They both take the time to control each other by the wrist and arm. Things really heat up when Strong throws his first chop. McGuinness absorbs a few more before delivering a pair of lariats. McGuinness does some more damage on the floor. Strong however gives him an enzuigiri to his hurt shoulder. He slingshots onto McGuinness before bringing him into the ring. Strong gets two with a suplex. McGuinness mule kicks him out of a headstand and sends him shoulder first into the ring post twice. He slaps Strong in the corner before delivering a running uppercut. Strong hits a half-nelson backbreaker right after. He slams McGuinness’ back on the barricades and then drops him on the floor. McGuinness avoids a charge in the ring. He kicks Strong in the back and clotheslines him to the canvas. Strong blocks the Tower of London. He comes off the second rope with a dropkick for two. He gets two with a backbreaker. He shows sign of shoulder pain after superplexing McGuinness. McGuinness hits the Tower of London for two. Strong Sick Kicks McGuinness to block a headstand mule kick. McGuinness uses the momentum for a Jawbreaker Lariat before collapsing. Back on their feet they go chop for uppercut. Strong blocks an uppercut with a Backslide for two. He also gets two with the Tiger Driver. McGuinness snaps the top rope into Strong’s eyes. As they fight for a suplex, McGuinness places Strong on the top rope and lariats him off. Strong blocks the Tower of London with a belly-to-back suplex on the ring apron. He puts on the Strong Hold. McGuinness gets the ropes. On the floor McGuinness uppercuts Strong into the crowd. He gives Strong the Tower of London onto a chair. Strong kicks out of the pin attempt. After they trade pin attempts, Strong lifts McGuinness into a backbreaker for two. Death by Roderick, the Sick Kick, and the Tiger Driver can’t do the job either. McGuinness catches Strong coming off the ropes with a lariat for two. The Sick Kick sends McGuinness to the ropes. McGuinness comes back with the Jawbreaker Lariat for the pin at 26:31. Unfortunately these two were unable to capture the spirit of their Pure Title encounter. It felt very much like they were going through the motions, and I would argue Strong at times looked like a goof. It was more of the same from the both of them which didn’t create something all that interesting. Going 26 minutes was also totally unnecessary. ***¼

Disc Two

ROH World Championship
Nigel McGuinness (Champion) vs. Kevin Steen
“Return Engagement” – Chicago Ridge, IL – 4.19.2008

This is a rematch from “Injustice” just a week ago where McGuinness used the ropes illegally to retain his title. Steen kicks McGuinness right in the groin during his entrance. Steen gets the better of a strike exchange on the floor, thanks to an eye poke. McGuinness goes for the Jawbreaker Lariat. Steen dropkicks him to the floor instead and follows with a splash off the apron. He sends McGuinness into the barricades. As Steen comes back into the ring, McGuinness kicks the ropes into his groin and throws Steen shoulder first into the ring post. McGuinness does more damage to the shoulder on the floor and back in the ring. Steen rolls through a shoulder hold and drops two elbows. He goes for the Sharpshooter. McGuinness gets to the ropes before it can be applied. Steen bites his chest in the corner. He misses a cannonball senton. McGuinness tries the Tower of London. Steen trips him into the sharpshooter. McGuinness grabs the bottom rope. He drives Steen into the mat in a hammerlock before applying the London Dungeon. Steen makes it to the ropes. McGuinness goes for a mule kick. Steen instead powerslams him and finally connects with the cannonball senton. McGuinness catches Steen, places him on the top rope, and hits a lariat for two. Another lariat has the same result. Steen can’t maintain another sharpshooter due to his worn down shoulder. He does pull off a pump-handle neckbreaker across his knee. A Swanton and frog splash only get him two. After a short exchange, Steen superkicks McGuinness to block the Jawbreaker Lariat for another two count. Steen tries to Graham Cracker McGuinness as a measure of revenge. When that fails, he hits the Package Piledriver. McGuinness puts his foot on the ropes to break the pin. They fight on the apron. McGuinness kicks Steen in the back and clotheslines him through the timekeeper’s table. When Steen makes his way back into the ring, McGuinness lariats him. Steen manages to kick out. McGuinness tries the Package Piledriver. Steen sits down on it but McGuinness kicks out. He goes for the sharpshooter again. McGuinness rakes his eyes and hits the Jawbreaker Lariat with the tights for the pin at 18:29. Their “Northern Navigation” bout was easily the best of the triumvirate, but this was a solid middle chapter. McGuinness had to rake Steen’s eyes to finally hit him with the Jawbreaker. It lacked the heat of their first match and the crowd didn’t ever really buy into Steen, but the action and story were solid enough. ***½

ROH World Championship
Nigel McGuinness (Champion) vs. Go Shiozaki
“Respect Is Earned II” – Philadelphia, PA – 6.7.2008

McGuinness elbows Shiozaki to cut off his momentum. Shiozaki dropkicks him to the floor when he goes to the top rope. He chops up McGuinness around ringside and hot shots him onto the barricades. Back in the ring Shiozaki holds onto McGuinness’ wrist so he can lay in multiple chops with ease. McGuinness headstands into a mule kick. Shiozaki comes back with a belly-to-back suplex. McGuinness rolls to the floor. Shiozaki tries a suicide dive but gets caught with a throat thrust. McGuinness gives him the Tower of London on the floor. McGuinness does some damage to his throat and face. Shiozaki headbutts him in the corner but gets sent shoulder first into the post. McGuinness softens up Shiozaki’s shoulder and arm after that. He nails a lariat for two. He uppercuts Shiozaki in the corner and throws another lariat for two. McGuinness manages a superplex. Shiozaki fires up. They both throw superkicks. Shiozaki German suplexes McGuinness into the corner. He throws some chops in multiple corners. After his own superplex he misses a moonsault. He blocks McGuinness’ Jawbreaker Lariat attempt and German suplexes him. McGuinness rolls through for another Jawbreaker Lariat but Shiozaki meets him with his own lariat. Two overhand chops get a two count. He lands the moonsault on the second try but it’s not good enough. McGuinness blocks the Go Flasher by throwing Shiozaki shoulder first to the mat. Shiozaki superkicks McGuinness after blocking the London Dungeon. The Go Flasher only gets him two. McGuinness goes for a crossbody. Shiozaki rolls through and gives him a modified Emerald Frosion for two. After a slap exchange, McGuinness hits the Jawbreaker Lariat. He puts on the London Dungeon and Shiozaki taps at 16:26. McGuinness uses the arm work a lot in his matches, but here it wasn’t used just to pay off the finish but to also minimize Shiozaki’s specific arsenal. That, and Shiozaki working to hit some of his bigger moves, helped get the crowd riled up and elevate the contest. ***¾

Nigel McGuinness vs. Jerry Lynn
“Vendetta II” – Chicago Ridge, IL – 6.28.2008

After some chain wrestling does not lead to a victor, Lynn delivers a dropkick. He awkwardly lands on his shoulder. He tries a quick roll-up and gets two. He tries another one after he and Nigel slap each other in the face. McGuinness feels disrespected. After a strike exchange Lynn gives him a backdrop. Lynn mocks McGuinness from the floor. McGuinness baits him into an arm whip which sends Lynn to the mat. McGuinness works over his arm. Lynn eventually catches McGuinness on the apron, but McGuinness avoids a leg drop, snaps Lynn’s arm across the top rope, then clotheslines him down. Lynn however does capture McGuinness with a legdrop in the middle rope a few moments later. McGuinness misses a lariat on the floor but sends Lynn back first into the barricades. Lynn backdrops him into the crowd when he charges. Lynn then dives onto him. As they came back to ringside, Lynn gives McGuinness a swinging DDT onto the floor. He comes into the ring with a high crossbody. He follows with a headscissors and a spear. McGuinness blocks a cradle piledriver with a hammerlock divorce court. Lynn ducks the Jawbreaker Lariat and gets two with a German suplex. He tries a TKO. McGuinness avoids it and connects with a lariat for two. He hits the Tower of London. He goes for a headstand mule kick, but Lynn kicks his legs out and delivers a lungblower instead. McGuinness recovers and fights Lynn on the top rope. Lynn gets the better of it with a Sunset Bomb for two. Lynn blocks the Jawbreaker Lariat with his own clothesline. He then delivers a TKO for two. McGuinness catches him with a short-arm lariat for two. McGuinness wears him down with a few more lariats but can’t get a three count. Lynn sneaks in a few roll-ups along the way but also fails to find a victory. McGuinness ends up trapping his legs and picking up the win in a cradle at 19:44. It was really smart to redebut Lynn against McGuinness in a non-title match. Nobody would have believed Lynn had a chance, and it would have been an unworthy title shot anyhow. Because it was non-title, the fans were able to get more into the nearfalls. I question why they built up the Jawbreaker so much only for it not to play into the finish at all, but they were able to build a story for their future matches and make Lynn look great. ***½

ROH World Championship
Nigel McGuinness (Champion) vs. Jimmy Jacobs
“The Tokyo Summit” – Tokyo, Japan – 9.14.2008

Jacobs attacks McGuinness during the opening announcements. He throws McGuinness to the floor, but Nigel makes it back into the ring unscathed. He’s able to side step Jacobs a few times, but Jacobs does get in a few strikes against the ropes. McGuinness hits the floor then comes right back in which frustrates Jacobs. McGuinness controls him by his wrist and shoulder. Jacobs does some slight damage to McGuinness’ wrist as well. He twists up Nigel’s ankle. McGuinness uses his legs to bring Jacobs into a side headlock. Jacobs does not fall for the headstand mule kick. He sends referee Todd Sinclair into him to get him off the ropes. Jacobs kicks him in the groin behind Sinclair’s back and rolls him up for two. He dropkicks McGuinness’ head into the ring post. Jacobs does some damage around ringside until they get to the entrance ramp. McGuinness goes for a lariat, but Jacobs spears him onto the ramp causing Nigel some damage to the back of his head. Jacobs gets the End Time in the ropes. McGuinness rolls to the floor. Jacobs places him on a chair and lands a plancha. McGuinness gives him a Tower of London onto the floor. In the ring Jacobs blocks a second attempt by biting McGuinness’ ear. He bites at his face before shoving him to the mat and landing a super senton. McGuinness kicks out. Jacobs gets two again with the Contra Code. McGuinness throws him to the mat to avoid the End Time. He drops him with the Tower of London for two. He lariats Jacobs off the top rope for the same result. He goes for the Jawbreaker which Jacobs blocks with the End Time. McGuinness gets the ropes. Behind Sinclair’s back, Jacobs pulls out a chain and punches McGuinness with it. Even with that, McGuinness is able to kick out. He catches Jacobs with a lariat in the face for two. Jacobs pulls out a chain after delivering a chinbreaker. While he’s pulling out the chain, McGuinness hits him with the Jawbreaker Lariat for the pin at 21:01. That certainly went a little long, but I really like how Jacobs used nefarious tactics the whole match only for it to blow up in his face in the end. It was effective storytelling, but I really feel this was not the right crowd for this title bout. I think the energy would have been much higher were it in front of a crowd more knowledgeable about their characters. ***¼

ROH World Championship – Elimination Match
Nigel McGuinness (Champion) vs. Go Shiozaki vs. El Generico vs. Kevin Steen
“The French Connection” – Montreal, Quebec – 11.7.2008

Steen and Generico are the ROH World Tag Team champions and Shiozaki is the FIP World Heavyweight champion. The fans are behind the French speaking Steen in his opening exchange with Shiozaki. They trade shoulder blocks for minutes with neither man going down. Steen eventually takes him down with a leg lariat. Generico snaps off some armdrags on Shiozaki. Shiozaki blocks a toreador with a chop. Generico sends him to the corner with a headscissors. McGuinness is tagged in. He controls Generico by his arm. He delivers a mule kick from a headstand. When Steen tags in, McGuinness retreats to the floor. Steen gets in a few shots until McGuinness tags Generico. Steen mocks Generico instead of fighting him. McGuinness shoves Steen into Generico, making Generico think Steen attacked. They use their raised tempers to knock McGuinness and Shiozaki off the apron and hit stereo tope con hilo’s. They team up to wear down Shiozaki. McGuinness runs in to send Steen shoulder first into the ring post when referee Todd Sinclair is tied up with Generico. He and Shiozaki then team up to isolate Steen, including some damage being done on the floor. Steen is able to shrug off a German suplex and deliver his own to Shiozaki so he can tag in Generco. Generico comes in with a high crossbody. McGuinness and Steen fight on the floor while Generico drops Shiozaki with a Blue Thunder Bomb for two. Shiozaki blocks a tornado DDT with a Falcon Arrow for two. Generico comes back with a yakuza kick. McGuinness kicks Generico so that Shiozaki can roll him into the Go Flasher, eliminating him at 21:16. Steen is left to fight off McGuinness and Shiozaki who have formed a partnership. Steen throws McGuinness to the floor to avoid a Tower of London on the apron. He goes for a sharpshooter on Shiozaki but can’t get it. Steen avoids a top rope knee strike and kicks the ropes into McGuinness’ crotch. Steen successfully applies the sharpshooter. Shiozaki taps and is eliminated at 25:31. Steen superkicks McGuinness after ducking a lariat. He hits a cannonball senton for two. He misses a moonsault. McGuinness puts on a sharpshooter, mockingly. Steen escapes and goes for it himself. McGuinness rakes his eyes to stop it. Steen blocks a Rebound Lariat. He successfully applies the sharpshooter. McGuinness makes it to the ropes. He gives Steen the Tower of London on the ring apron for two. He goes for it a second time in the ring. Steen shoves McGuinness away, who knocks into Sinclair. McGuinness tries using the title belt, but Generico yakuza kicks McGuinness and takes it away! Steen hits the Package Piledriver. McGuinness gets his foot on the ropes at the last minute. Steen goes for a Swanton. McGuinness gets his knees up. Steen kicks him away to stop a sharpshooter, but eats the Jawbreaker Lariat for the pin at 31:25. I really enjoyed the “tag team” dynamic they had, especially how Steen and Generico didn’t totally throw away their partnership when the time called for it. All the eliminations worked well and they had the crowd buying Steen was going to become champion at the end. It was a cute way to have all the champions in one match and kick off the “Pearce” era. ***¾

ROH World Championship
Nigel McGuinness (Champion) vs. Jerry Lynn
“Southern Hostility” – Nashville, TN – 12.6.2008

This is McGuinness’ impressive thirtieth defense of the World title. McGuinness is a little worried after he sees Lynn can keep up with McGuinness’ mat work and his pace. Lynn headscissors McGuinness to the apron. Lynn blocks a charge with a boot and gets two with a tornado DDT. McGuinness throws some uppercuts. Lynn ducks a lariat but gets sent to the floor when he comes off the ropes. McGuinness sends him into the barricades before working over his arm, wrist, and shoulder back in the ring. He also does some damage to his throat in the corner. Lynn dropkicks him off the apron and to the floor. McGuinness goes for the Tower of London. Lynn blocks it and delivers a reverse DDT for two. McGuinness’ first lariat gets a two count as well. Lynn comes back with an Air Raid Crash. McGuinness gives Lynn a Tower of London to the floor from the apron in the hopes of a count out victory. Lynn makes it back in the ring by the count of 17. McGuinness gives him a Tower of London off the ropes for two. Lynn sneaks in a couple of pin attempts to no avail. McGuinness superplexes him which yet again earns a two count. Lynn catches him with a Thesz Press before clotheslining him to the floor. Lynn follows with a tope con hilo. They fight on the floor until they get close to the twenty count. Lynn sunset bombs McGuinness for two. McGuinness traps Lynn against the barricades with a table, making sure he’s too hurt to move. However, Lynn makes into the ring just in time. He catches McGuinness with a cradle piledriver. McGuinness gets his foot on the ropes to break it. Lynn blocks the Jawbreaker Lariat with a TKO. McGuinness kicks out. He goes for the cradle piledriver. McGuinness puts him in a kneeling press and grabs the ropes for the pin at 22:20. Well, I can’t say they didn’t have the crowd going nuts by the end, or that it kept Lynn strong for a rematch, but it was kind of a ho-hum way to end the show. I thought they went overboard on the nearfalls too, because by the end I just wanted the damn thing to end. It wasn’t bad, but a little too much. I will give them credit for the finishing stretch because people were going wild. ***¾

ROH World Championship
Nigel McGuinness (Champion) vs. Naomichi Marufuji
“Final Battle 2008” – New York, NY – 12.27.2008

McGuinness and Marufuji end their opening exchange by trading multiple pin attempts. After a strike exchange, Marufuji counters a superplex with a tornado suplex. He twists up McGuinness’ neck with his feet. Marufuji pops out of a headscissors and kicks McGuinness in the jaw. He stomps his head into the mat for two. Marufuji then skullf*cks him a few times. As he is want to do, McGuinness gives Marufuji a hammerlock divorce court to turn the tide. He does more damage to his arm outside the ring. Marufuji catches him with a superkick and uses the barricades to deliver a Shiranui onto the floor! Back in the ring, McGuinness slams Marufuji in a hammerlock position and goes back to work on the arm. He throws Marufuji to the floor. He does some showboating, allowing Marufuji to recover and dropkick him from the floor. He baits McGuinness into a clothesline for two. Marufuji ties up McGuinness’ neck and delivers a lung blower. McGuinness goes for the Tower of London. Marufuji blocks and goes for a Shiranui. McGuinness blocks that, kicks him in the back, and drives him into the canvas with a clothesline. He goes for a Tower of London on the floor. Instead, Marufuji hits the Shiranui on the ring apron! He hooks McGuinness in a tree of woe. He misses a coast-to-coast dropkick. He does however throw McGuinness off the top rope and to the mat. McGuinness brings Marufuji out and successfully gives him the Tower of London on the apron. McGuinness goes for the Jawbreaker Lariat. Marufuji ducks it, but still takes a lariat for two. He lariats Marufuji off the top rope for two. He goes for a headstand mule kick. Marufuji superkicks him, drags him into the tree of woe position, and nails his second coast-to-coast dropkick attempt for two. Marufuji throws two dropkicks. McGuinness ducks the third. He hits the Jawbreaker Lariat for the win at 18:07. A bit of an abrupt ending and questionably selling, but both guys brought the type of action you would want to see between the two of them. Marufuji was fearless, McGuinness was cunning and ruthless and persistent in his attack. This was a very good follow up from their initial encounter two years prior. ***¾

ROH World Championship
Nigel McGuinness (Champion) vs. El Generico
“Caged Collision” – Chicago Ridge, IL – 1.31.2009

This is Generico’s fourth shot at McGuinness’ title during his reign. McGuinness attacks Generico right at the onset and sends him shoulder first into the ring post. He gives Generico a Tower of London on the floor hoping for an early count out win. With Kevin Steen’s encouragement, Generico makes his way back into the ring. Generico nurses his left arm as he tries to fight back. He dropkicks McGuinness off the apron. McGuinness trips Generico as he attempts to go for a dive. He sends Generico into the barricades. Generico does the same to him. McGuinness kicks Generico’s head into the barricades! He applies the London Dungeon back in the ring which Generico breaks via the ropes. He works over the arm before applying the move again. Generico gets the ropes again. He blocks a Jawbreaker Lariat and runs the ropes. McGuinness blocks a tornado DDT with an armwringer that sends Generico to the mat. Generico brings him to the floor with a headscissors. He follows with an Asai moonsault. In the ring he lands a crossbody for two. He also gets two with a Michinoku Driver. McGuinness kicks him in the back before driving him down with a clothesline. Generico kicks out of the Tower of London. Generico boots McGuinness to stop a top rope lariat. He misses a yakuza kick. McGuinness gives him the Tower of London on the ring apron! He sends Generico back first into the barricades. Generico jumps back in right before the twenty count. Angry, McGuinness goes for a lariat. Generico ducks and drops him with a brainbuster for two. He nails a yakuza kick and goes for the super brainbuster. McGuinness instead lariats him down to the mat for two. He puts Generico in the London Dungeon. Generico rolls him forward into a jackknife cradle for two. McGuinness delivers a lariat and locks the London Dungeon back on. Generico taps at 17:01. The beginning of the match added some great drama. It was unexpected and made Generico look tough right away. Them going back to it near the end kicked up the energy and made for a fun home stretch. McGuinness’ arm work and Generico’s selling are magic together. This was a great way to end the trilogy of their singles matches. ***¾

ROH World Championship
Nigel McGuinness (Champion) vs. KENTA
“7th Anniversary Show” – New York, NY – 3.21.2009

KENTA slaps McGuinness after backing him to the ropes. KENTA delivers a second one after ducking McGuinness’ slap attempt. KENTA kicks McGuinness’ left bicep which is heavily taped. KENTA delivers a running chest kick for a one count. KENTA throws McGuinness shoulder first into the ring post. KENTA twists up his arm on the mat. KENTA kicks away at the arm in the corner. KENTA gets two with a boot. McGuinness gets the ropes to break a kimura. KENTA misses a stomp from the top rope. McGuinness gives KENTA the Tower of London off the ring apron and to the floor. In the ring McGuinness throws KENTA shoulder first to the mat. McGuinness headbutts KENTA in the chest. He twists up KENTA’s shoulder some more. McGuinness hits a dropkick, but lands on his bad arm in the process. McGuinness kicks KENTA away to prevent KENTA from going for his legs. KENTA manages a suplex and heads up top. He gets two with a diving dropkick. KENTA reapplies the Kimura. McGuinness grabs the ropes to break it. McGuinness kicks KENTA in the back and clotheslines him to the canvas. KENTA evades a Tower of London. KENTA powerslams McGuinness and places him up top. McGuinness crotches KENTA on the top rope. KENTA ducks a lariat, but McGuinness shoves him to the floor to block a springboard maneuver. McGuinness whips him into the barricades. KENTA boots McGuinness into the crowd. KENTA double stomps McGuinness’ neck as McGuinness lay across the barricades! In the ring, KENTA boots McGuinness in the corner multiple times. KENTA’s fisherman’s buster only gets him a two count. KENTA ducks a lariat and hits the Busaiku Knee for another two count. KENTA ducks the Jawbreaker Lariat. McGuinness however manages to lock on the London Dungeon. KENTA scurries to the ropes to break it. The Tower of London can’t get the job done either. McGuinness fights out of a sunset bomb, but KENTA still pulls off a super Falcon Arrow. McGuinness kicks out. KENTA gets two with a German suplex. KENTA knees McGuinness in the back. McGuinness goes for the Jawbreaker Lariat. KENTA counters with the Go 2 Sleep. McGuinness gets his foot on the bottom rope to break the cover just in time. A fight over to the corner ends with McGuinness giving KENTA the Tower of London onto the ring apron. Both men make it back into the ring just before the twenty count. KENTA boots McGuinness. McGuinness blocks the Go 2 Sleep. McGuinness hits it himself! KENTA is able to kick out. McGuinness locks on the London Dungeon. KENTA turns it into a cradle for two. McGuinness hammerlock divorce courts KENTA’s arm before reapplying the London Dungeon. McGuinness bends KENTA across his knes, causing KENTA to tap out at 25:19. All of the work McGuinness put in on KENTA’s shoulder paid off in the end. Simple storytelling like that always, always works. They worked smart and left the bigger stuff for the latter portion of the match and really amped up the crowd. Brilliant work by both men in what I’d say is a pretty underappreciated match. ****

Chicago Ridge, IL – 3.2.2013

Championship Rundown
ROH World Champion: Kevin Steen
ROH Television Champion: Adam Cole
ROH World Tag Team Champions: The Briscoes (Jay & Mark Briscoe)

Commentary is provided by Kevin Kelly and Caleb Seltzer.

ACH vs. Silas Young vs. QT Marshall vs. Tadarius Thomas vs. Adam Page vs. Mike Sydal

Barrister RD Evans is in Marshall’s corner. ACH and Page go back and forth to start. ACH takes him down with a headscissors. Thomas tags in and gives Page a Death Valley Driver onto ACH’s knees. Young sends ACH to the floor. Thomas throws some kicks before also being sent out. Sydal O’Conner rolls Young for two. He kicks Young in the head after blocking the Pee Gee Waja Plunge. Marshall attacks Sydal as well as Page on the apron. ACH gives Marshall a Frankensteiner. Thomas kicks Marshall into double knees from Sydal. Page does a standing shooting star press off the apron and onto Marshall. ACH dropkicks Young to the floor. Evans trips ACH to stop a potential dive. Thomas hits a Sasuke Special onto Marshall, Young, and Page. Sydal moonsaults on to all of them. ACH baseball slide dropkicks Evans before hitting Air Jordan. Young suplexes Evans onto everybody! In the ring ACH hits an Ace Crusher on Marshall. Marshall then kicks him off the top rope. Marshall kicks Page’s hurt hand before giving him a waterwheel slam. Thomas drops him with the Slingblade. Sydal breaks the cover. He gets two on Thomas with a standing moonsault. Young rolls through Sydal’s crossbody attempt. Hemisses the Pee Gee Waja Plunge. ACH catches him with the Cram for the Exam for the pin at 7:02. This was a hot, fun, crazy opening match in which everybody got a moment to show off. I am beyond thrilled ACH was the one to get the win as he and Thomas have the most upside of the competitors involved. Young and Page should be ROH regulars by now also. **¾

Caprice Coleman & Cedric Alexander vs. S.C.U.M. (Steve Corino & Jimmy Jacobs)

Coleman and Alexander attack S.C.U.M. right away. Alexander and Corino fight on the floor. Coleman moonsaults on to Corino. Jacobs misses a baseball slide. Alexander tope con hilo’s onto S.C.U.M. Jacobs takes a Total Elimination variant back in the ring. A leg drop Hart Attack gets them a two count on Corino. Corino takes two back-to-back slingshot sentons. He baits Coleman into a boot. Jacobs tags in and is caught with a spinebuster. He is then sent into a forearm and a springboard elbow drop from Alexander. Corino clotheslines Coleman from the apron after he misses an elbow. This allows S.C.U.M. to take control of him in their corner. Coleman escapes when he drops Corino with a snapmare driver. Alexander comes in with a springboard clothesline to Jacobs. He follows with a kick to the side of the head and the IED. He gets two with a backbreaker. Coleman fights off both members of S.C.U.M. Coleman and Alexander give them double Northern Lights suplexes. Jacobs spears Coleman on the apron while Corino turns Alexander inside out with a clothesline. Corino helps Jacobs out with a standing Contra Code on Alexander. Corino’s Sliding D only earns a two count. Alexander gets two on Jacobs with a top rope leg drop. C&C go for Overtime. Coleman pulls off the Frankensteiner but Jacobs gets his knees up to block Alexander’s moonsault. He takes out Coleman with a loaded punch. S.C.U.M put Alexander away with a spike piledriver at 8:33. I see a lot of mileage in C&C so it is a little disappointing to see them lose. Then again, they put in a solid effort and got to look really formidable even in a loss. I hope to see them with the belts sooner rather than later. Jacobs and Corino winning via nefarious means is also played out at this point. **¾

No Holds Barred
BJ Whitmer vs. Charlie Haas

Haas tries to jump Whitmer in the aisle, but Whitmer comes out prepared. He sends Haas into the barricades a few times before bringing him into the ring. He utilizes a trash can to do damage to Haas’ head. He jabs Haas in the stomach and crotch with a ladder. Whitmer then hits the ladder with a steel chair into Haas’ groin. He props up a ladder between the ring apron and barricades. Haas attacks and backdrops Whitmer onto the barricade. Haas then does some damage to Whitmer’s back with the ladder. He then sends Whitmer face first into the ladder in the corner. Cheeseburger, the student Haas assaulted at “Honor vs. Evil” comes out to distract Haas. After that, Haas and Whitmer trade shots to the head with baking sheets. Haas wins the exchange by clobbering Whitmer with a trash can lid and putting him through the previously positioned table via belly-to-belly suplex. He’s unable to get the pin when bringing Whitmer back in. This causes Haas to place the ladder onto Whitmer and repeatedly wallop him with a chair. He sends Whitmer head first into a chair set up in the corner. He then brings a table into the ring, looking to suplex him off the top rope through it, just like he did at “Final Battle 2012.” He does it, but thankfully the landing is on his back instead of his head. Whitmer kicks out. Haas props up a ladder on top of two chairs. He goes for the Olympic Slam. Whitmer blocks and gives Haas and exploder suplex onto it! Haas kicks out. Whitmer drives his knee into Haas’ head until the referee calls for the match at 12:03, giving Whitmer the win via ref stoppage. They used the weapons effectively but something didn’t feel right. It seemed like Whitmer came back too easily after being worked over so viciously and for a somewhat lengthy period. Considering this was the final match between these two, it fell short of expectations and had a pretty weak finish. I mean seriously, a ref stoppage in a No Holds Barred match? Whatever. **½

The American Wolves (Davey Richards & Eddie Edwards) vs. The Forever Hooligans (Rocky Romero & Alex Koslov)

The former No Remorse Corps members (Richards and Romero) start off. Romero hits a dropkick before a little dancing occurs. Richards leans back to kick him in the shoulder, ending with a hip swivel. A Lucha exchange ends with Richards hitting his own dropkick. Romero begs for forgiveness to block a charge. Romero tries baiting him into a kick but Richards is smart enough to see it come. The Wolves light him up with strikes. Koslov runs and falls victim to an atomic drop and chest kick. The Hooligans get sent to the apron, kicked off, then followed with suicide dives. Edwards takes over on Romero. Romero rakes his eyes and tags out. Koslov gets his knee kicked out and eats a chest kick for two. Romero kicks Edwards from the apron. Koslov holds him over his knees so Romero can come in with a springboard knee strike. Romero takes out Richards on the floor so he and Koslov can wear Edwards down. Edwards is able to escape by powerbombing Romero onto Koslov. Richards comes in with a top rope dropkick to Koslov. They kick each other in the face. Richards hits the Damage Reflex for two. Koslov misses a corner clothesline. Richards locks Romero up and Northern Lights suplexes Koslov for another two count. He has the same result with a German suplex. Koslov reponds with an enzuigiri. A few kicks and a stomp to the face gets Koslov two. He throws Romero boots fdirst into Richards in the corner. Romero gives him a top rope knee strike across Koslov’s knee. Edwards breaks the pin. Edwards slips out of some tandem offense. He knocks down Romero and superkicks Koslov. Edwards gives him a Code Breaker. He superkicks Koslov into Richards’ tombstone piledriver for two. Edwards and Richards both come off the top with double stomps to Koslov. Romero makes the save and is then sent back out. He crotches Richards on the top rope while Koslov tilt-a-whirl DDT’s Edwards. Romero gives Richards a skyscraper Frankensteiner off of Koslov’s shoulders, only for Koslov to follow with a frogsplash. Richards kicks out. Koslov takes the Alarm Clock. Richards kicks Romero from the apron. Edwards and him give Koslov a powerbomb/flying back cracker combo for the pin at 15:40. This was certainly a fun match given it’s novelty and the competitors, but this certainly didn’t reach the premium pedestal one would expect to put it on. Sure, it was competent and the ending stretch was great, but it never really reached a dream match or “must see” level I think people wanted and anticipated. Richards and Romero didn’t even have the amount of tension or interaction given how much they built up their history before this contest. This was an above average tag encounter but nothing really memorable. ***½

2 out of 3 Falls
Michael Elgin vs. Roderick Strong

Strong puts on a wristlock. Elgin reverses and the pressure causes Strong to grab the ropes. A shoving match ends with Strong delivering a jumping knee and some forearm strikes. Elgin blasts him with a Backfist before hitting the Buckle Bomb. The Revolution Bomb puts Strong down at 2:00, giving Elgin the first fall. The second fall begins with Elgin punching Strong around ringside. He sends Strong shoulder first into the barricades. Strong fails to powerbomb him off the apron. He does however suplex Elgin onto the floor. Strong works over Elgin’s midsection and back in the ring. Strong sends him to the corner with a leg lariat after being punched. Elgin uranage’s Strong out of the corner. He comes off the top with a shoulder tackle. He hits the Boss Man Slam for two, then applies a crossface. After a short exchange, Elgin gives him a torture rack backbreaker for two. Strong fights out of a Buckle Bomb. After some shots in the corner Strong gives Elgin a half-nelson suplex. Strong rolls him into a superkick. Elgin boots him out of the corner. Strong gives him a backbreaker on the top rope. The Orange Crush Backbreaker evens up the bout at one fall each at 11:27. Strong throws a bunch of knees in the corner before hitting Death by Roderick for two. Strong goes for a crucifix pin. Elgin rolls him up into a corner Death Valley Driver. Elgin elbows Strong off the top. He grazes Strong with the tumbleweed senton for two. Elgin has the same result with a pair of German suplexes. He tries deadlifting him in from the apron for a suplex. Instead Strong carries him out for a powerbomb. Elgin lifts him up for a powerbomb and gets two. He reapplies the Crossface. Strong taps out at 15:34, making Elgin the winner two falls to one. Oddly enough I thought the Final Battle match was better, even with a not so great finish. The crowd wasn’t nearly as receptive here as they were in that match and the quick first fall made the finish fairly obvious. I was hoping Elgin would look like more of a monster but was more so portrayed as someone rising to Strong’s level after that initial fall. Both guys can do better. ***

ROH Television Championship
Adam Cole vs. Matt Taven

Truth Martini is in Taven’s corner. Matt Hardy is on commentary, and reminds us that he will face Adam Cole tomorrow night for the TV title after this “afterthought of a match.” Taven wastes some time on the floor when Cole gets the best of him. Cole gives him a Manhattan Drop and a neckbreaker when he comes back in. Taven sends him to the apron. Martini distracts Cole so Taven can dropkick him to the floor. Taven looks for a suicide dive but gets caught with an enzuigiri. Martini stops Cole’s springboard move and Taven clotheslines him back to the floor. Cole shoots him into the barricades. He chases Martini, baiting him into a spinwheel kick from Taven. Back in the ring Taven gets two with a backbreaker. He follows up with a twisting second rope senton. He gets two with an enzuigiri. Cole mounts a comeback. He gives Taven a Death Valley neckbreaker over his knee for two. Taven snaps Cole’s neck across the top rope. He comes off the top but gets caught mid-air with a dropkick. Cole goes for a brainbuster. Taven blocks it with a neckbreaker for two. Cole drives him into the canvas with a sunset bomb. After a German suplex he hits a Shining Wizard for two. Taven ducks a second Shining Wizard. He then hits a springboard enzuigiri for two. Cole wipes out Taven on the apron with a slingshot DDT! He misses a high crossbody. Cole manages to recover and applies a figure four leg lock. Taven gets the ropes. With Martini’s help he gets in an O’Conner Roll for two. Cole breaks a waistlock and hits an enzuigiri. Martini cracks Cole in the back with the Book of Truth. Taven then drops him with an Arm Trap Headlock Driver for the win and the title at 13:34. Nobody was expecting this victory which made it a little sweeter. Taven does not have the crowd’s attention yet, and I don’t think giving him the belt is really going to elevate him, but I’m willing to see if he’s capable to rise to the occasion. Matt Hardy’s shocked reaction is awesome. The match was well worked and I hope this means Cole will now be pushed into the upper echelon. ***

ROH World Tag Team Championship
The Briscoes (Jay & Mark Briscoe) vs. reDRagon (Kyle O’Reilly & Bobby Fish)

Mark ducks O’Reilly’s kick, leapfrogs over him and nails a spinwheel kick. Fish backs Jay to the corner. Jay blocks a boot and throws some jabs. He knocks Fish down with a running boot. Mark gives him a fist drop. The Briscoes pummel Fish in the corner. Mark gets two with a brainbuster. He tries out some Redneck Kung-Fu. Fish knocks him down with a chest kick. reDRagon throw some double team offense Mark’s way. Fish hyperextends Jay leg on the floor and shoves Mark into the barricades. reDRagon target Jay’s hurt leg while Mark recovers and waits on the apron. O’Reilly boots Mark to the apron. O’Reilly goes to dropkick Jay into the barricades. Jay catches him mid-air with a clothesline. Mark dropkicks Fish through the ropes. Jay tags Mark in. He throws Redneck Kung-Fu at Fish. O’Reilly gets a taste when he comes into the ring. Mark gives Fish a fisherman’s buster. He catches O’Reilly with a rolling Death Valley Driver and Fish with an exploder and half-nelson suplex for two. Mark brings Fish off the top with a modified Iconoclasm. Jay gives him a frog splash for two. Fish sends Mark tot he apron and O’Reilly dropkicks him off. reDRagon give Jay a Total Elimination for two. Mark shoves Fish off the top rope. The Briscoes give O’Reilly the Doomsday Device onto the floor! Jay does the deal on Fish with a Falcon Arrow. Mark’s Froggy Bow only gets a two count. O’Reilly and Mark fight on the apron. Fish suplexes Mark to the floor! Jay hooks O’Reilly for a super Jay Driller. Fish puts him on his shoulders and O’Reilly hits the Doomsday Device. Jay kicks out. Chasing the Dragon puts Jay away at 15:13, making reDRagon the new tag team champions! I’m really happy that the belts changed hands here, as I never thought the Briscoes needed the belts again. Simply put, reDRagon got a chance to out wrestle the best team in the company and really establish themselves. I hope they get a worthwhile reign and a chance to showcase their personalities. ***½

ROH World Championship
Kevin Steen vs. Jay Lethal

The Code of Honor is waived as we start with punches thrown by both parties. The fight spills out to the floor. Both guys send each other back first into the barricades. Lethal drop toe holds Steen on the middle rope and dropkicks him from the floor. He gets a nearfall with another dropkick back in the ring. He dropkicks Steen off the apron and follows with a suicide dive. Steen powerbombs Lethal onto the ring frame. He delivers a senton splash for two. Lethal throws some strikes but gets caught with a DDT. Steen goes for a Swanton. Lethal gets his knees up to block. Lethal follows that up with a back cracker. Steen gives him a neckbreaker across his knee. He misses a Cannonball Senton. Lethal suplexes him into a neckbreaker for two. Steen sets up for the F-Cinq. He accidentally knocks referee Todd Sinclair down. He releases Lethal when he notices. Lethal hits the Lethal Injection. Jimmy Jacobs and Steve Corino run in to attack Lethal. They give him a spike piledriver. Corino places Steen on top of Lethal. Lethal kicks out, so Jacobs drops an elbow on the referee. Nigel McGuinness runs out to stand up to Corino. After they go to the back, Jacobs tries to attack Lethal. Lethal enzuigiri’s him to the floor. Steen and Lethal engage in another slugfest. Steen takes two Dragon suplexes and still kicks out. Steen powerbombs him for two. Lethal superkicks Steen five times in the corner. He hits the Lethal Combination. Hail to the King only gets a two count, so he puts on a Koji Clutch. Steen gets the ropes and to the apron. Lethal follows up and ends up taking hte F-Cinq through the timekeeper’s table! Jimmy Jacobs grabs Lethal’s leg to try and get him counted out. Lethal makes it back in. Steen gives him the Package Piledriver right away. Lethal kicks out! Jacobs gets on the apron. Steen tells him to go away. Lethal shoves Steen into Jacobs for an O’Conner Roll. Lethal’s superkick and Steen’s clothesline bring both men down. They fight up to the top rope. Steen crotches Lethal and brings him down with the top rope brainbuster! That’s enough for Steen to retain the title at 20:47. If Steen adds that move to his repertoire I’d be more than happy. Anytime someone “Mega Man’s” a former rivals move I dig it. I thought the story of S.C.U.M. perpetually trying to help Steen was great; it made Lethal look like a fighting challenger and got the crowd more into the bout. It’s an occasion where the storytelling benefited the match rather than overtake or harm it. By far the best match on the show and a great way to showcase Lethal’s new attitude and that Steen has turned a new leaf as he previously stated on the TV show. ****

Rhino spears Lethal right after the match. Jacobs joins in. The Briscoes come out to save him. They get taken out, so Caprice Coleman and Cedric Alexander make their way out. From the crowd Jimmy Rave of all people runs in with a S.C.U.M. shirt on! He sends Coleman and Alexander out. BJ Whitmer and Rhett Titus come out. Whitmer starts fighting Rave, then Titus takes him out. He reveals that he too is a member of S.C.U.M. Michael Elgin disposes of Jacobs. Cliff Compton runs in from the crowd and throws powder into Elgin’s face! S.C.U.M.’s number grows by one more. Steen looks on with title in hand. Elgin gets handcuffed to the ropes which brings out the American Wolves. Mark Briscoe has also been tied to the ropes. The Wolves taken care of. Adam Cole lends a hand. Matt Hardy comes out to attack Cole. What we think is just an attack of a rival turns out to be a little more than that – Hardy has also joined up with S.C.U.M. With the newest incarnation of S.C.U.M. standing tall, Corino informs the ROH crowd that evil is here. Jimmy Jacobs stabs and S.C.U.M. rip apart an ROH banner in the middle of the ring, throwing it on top of Lethal. Corino declares war has been declared and that Honor has died tonight. As everyone in S.C.U.M. poses mid-ring, Steen looks on from the side confused and possibly conflicted.

Disc One

We start things off with a “shoot” from Elgin which goes about an hour. In it, he talks about his start in wrestling, why he got into it, what wrestling he admires the most, and how he went from working dark matches in ROH to becoming a mainstay on the roster years later. Elgin is open and frank about his journey and provides some insight into his ROH tenure. He even talks a little bit about PWG and those in Canada who helped him on his path to success. If nothing else, you come away from this shoot having respect for Elgin’s work ethic and can truly appreciate his rise to the top of the company.

Christopher Daniels vs. Michael Elgin
“World’s Greatest” – Dayton, OH – 2.25.2011

Elgin is accompanied by Truth Martini. Elgin shoulder blocks Daniels multiple times in the corner. Elgin slams him down. Elgin uses his powerful strikes to knock Daniels down. Daniels sends Elgin to the floor after kicking him in the face. Daniels hits a baseball slide an Arabian Press to the floor. In the ring, Daniels gives Elgin a seated lariat to the back of his neck. Elgin fires up but gets kicked back down. Martini distracts Daniels long enough for Elgin to give him a Samoan Drop for two. Daniels gives him a few chops but then gets mowed down with a shoulder tackle. Elgin whips Daniels into the corner. Elgin rams Daniels back first into the barricade and applies a Boston Crab on the floor. Elgin breaks and gets into the ring. Daniels gets back at the count of nineteen. Daniels gives Elgin some chops. Elgin grabs Daniels’ arms and stomps him down to the mat. Elgin places Daniels on the top rope and follows up. Daniels swings into a guillotine choke. Elgin breaks and Daniels plants him face first into the second turnbuckle. Daniels knocks him down with a clothesline. Daniels hits another Arabian Press for two. Daniels comes off the top with a crossbody for two. Elgin gives Daniels repeated elbows. He drops Daniels with a pump-handle Falcon Arrow for two. Elgin nails him with a lariat for two. Daniels ducks a rolling clothesline and connects with an enzuigiri. Truth gets on the apron to prevent Daniels from hitting Angel’s Wings. Elgin stampedes Daniels to the corner and hit a spin-out uranage slam for two. Truth gives Elgin some advice from the Book of Truth. Elgin looks for a powerbomb, but Daniels escapes and rolls up Elgin for the pin at 14:54. Elgin has a ton of upside. He’s big and comes off as a legitimate threat to guys like Daniels right away. They had a good back and forth match that made Elgin look good even in losing. This was a good way for Elgin to gain some credibility. **3/4

Eddie Edwards vs. Michael Elgin
“Defy or Deny” – Plymouth, MA – 3.18.2011

Truth Martini accompanies Elgin to the ring. Elgin’s House of Truth partner Roderick Strong defends his World title against Edwards tomorrow night, so Elgin’s goal is to wear Edwards down before his match tomorrow night. Edwards and Elign trade forearms. Edwards’ running boots have no effect. Elgin runs through two chops and shoulder blocks Edwards down with force. Elgin delivers a delayed vertical suplex for two. Edwards takes Elgin to the mat in an STF. Edwards kicks Elgin to the floor. On the floor, Edwards slips off Elgin’s back to avoid a slam and kicks Elgin into the barricade. In the ring Edwards delivers a running kick to the chest for two. Elgin pops-up Edwards into a Samoan drop for two. Elgin drops an elbow for two. Edwards connects with a flying knee strike. Elgin aggressively pushes Edwards to the corner before delivering two backbreakers and a running senton. Elgin sends Edwards to the apron and delivers a forearm. Edwards hits an enzuigiri and goes up top. He hits a nice top rope dropkick. Elgin gets crotched up top and kicked into a tree of woe. Edwards gives Elgin a baseball slide as Elgin hangs upside down. Edwards gives him an enzuigiri and a suplex into a Falcon Arrow for two. Elgin catches Edwards’s attempt at a lungblower and picks him up in a powerbomb position. Edwards rolls forward to send himself and Elgin to the floor with a huracanrana. Edwards moonsaults to the floor, but Elgin catches Edwards and slams him with an Oklahoma Stampede. Edwards gets back into the ring just in time. Elgin knocks Edwards down with a hard lariat for two. Edwards applies the Achilles lock. Truth Martini runs in, and Edwards puts both him and Elgin into stereo Achilles locks. Elgin grabs the ropes to break free. Elgin delivers a spin-out uranange slam for two. Edwards double stomps Elgin’s back. He calls out Roderick’s name before dropping Elgin with a 2k1 Bomb for the pin at 18:05. My only real complaint was that this match went very long and could have benefited with a few minutes shaved off. Otherwise, this was great match with hot action from bell to bell. ***1/2

Michael Elgin vs. El Generico
“Honor Takes Center Stage Day 1” – Atlanta, GA – 4.1.2011

Elgin throws Generico to the corner. Generico throws some chops. Elgin shoulder blocks him down. He goes for a TKO but Generico slips off his shoulders and punches him nine times in the corner. Elgin misses a corner clothesline and gets met with a high crossbody for two. Generico runs the ropes for a swinging DDT. Elgin reverses it into a backbreaker. He drives his knee into Generico’s back and whips him to the corner. Elgin blocks a sunset flip. He tries sitting on Generico’s chest but Generico moves. Elgin absorbs some clotheslines. Generico comes off the top rope with a huracanrana. He hits the Blue Thunder Bomb for two. He exploder suplexes Elgin into the corner for another two count. Elgin blocks a yakuza kick. Generico blocks the Oklahoma Stampede. Elgin rocks him with a short-arm lariat for two. He tries for a powerbomb. When that fails, he hits the Boss Man Slam. Generico drops down the top rope to send him to the floor. He comes off the apron with a crossbody. Elgin catches him. Generico shoves him into the barricades. He dives through the middle and bottom turnbuckle and DDT’s Elgin onto the floor! A masked man grabs Generico’s leg as he sets up for a yakuza kick. Elgin gives him the spinning powerbomb for the win at 9:13. This was a hot way to open the show and give Elgin a nice win. Granted, it would have meant more if he won clean, but in the end it was still a fun watch. **3/4

Double Danger Scramble Match
Rhett Titus vs. Adam Cole vs. Michael Elgin vs. Tommaso Ciampa vs. Grizzly Redwood vs. Andy Ridge
“Revolution: Canada” – Toronto, ONT – 5.7.2011

This is basically a scramble match where you have to score two pinfalls or submissions to win. The Embassy is in Ciampa’s corner and Truth Martini is in Elgin’s corner. Redwood and Ridge reach a stalemate after a fast exchange. Ciampa dropkicks them both to the floor. He and Titus trade overhand chops. Titus delivers a series of maneuvers to Ciampa’s face. Elgin gets kicked from the apron. He powerslams Titus as Titus slingshots in. Cole kicks out Elgin’s leg and takes him over with a huracanrana and a leaping leg lariat. As Cole goes for a pescado, Ciampa rolls him up for one pin. Redwood rolls him up for two. Redwood log rolls his legs out. Ciampa lariats Redwood down. Titus and Ciampa exchange forearms. Elgin blind tags in. Elgin catches Titus off the second rope with a German suplex. Ciampa and Elgin form a makeshift team to beat down Titus. Ridge helps Titus out by giving Elgin a slingshot ace crusher. He kicks Titus a few times before Titus drops him back first on the top turnbuckle. He slams Ridge neck first across his knee for a pinfall. Titus sends Elgin and Ciampa to the floor. Elgin comes in and eats a boot and clothesline from Titus. Titus gives Elgin a super Sex Factor and rolls into a headscissors takedown on Ciampa. Titus hits a tope con hilo on Elgin and Ciampa. In the ring, Redwood gives Cole a sole butt and an enzugiri. Cole hits an enzugiri of his own. Redwood sends Cole over, and Cole DDT’s Titus on the ring apron. Cole enzuigiri’s Ridge as Redwood pitches him out. Redwood dives onto everyone but Elgin (who came back in the ring). Elgin hits an awesome twisting tope onto everyone. Elgin brings Cole back into the ring. Cole superkicks him to the floor. Ciampa blocks Cole’s superkick. He delivers Project Ciampa 2. Titus flies off the top to break the pin. Titus pins Ciampa and Elgin breaks the pin. Redwood drops Titus with a tornado DDT for two. Ridge superkicks Redwood as he comes off the ropes. Elgin lariats Ridge and eats a superkick from Cole. Cole brings Elgin to the second rope for the Panama Sunrise. Titus and Ciampa break the pin. Elgin powerbombs Ridge onto Ciampa and Titus on the floor. Elgin Alabama Slams Cole and Redwood simultaneously. He pins Cole and Redwood right after each other, getting the win at 14:40. That was a cool finish and a really fun match. Most everyone got a chance to show their stuff, though this was clearly the Michael Elgin show. And why not? He’s Canadian and the fans loved him. This was the usual fun spotfest you’d expect in a match like this. ***1/2

The American Wolves (Davey Richards & Eddie Edwards) vs. The House of Truth (Roderick Strong & Michael Elgin)
“Tag Team Turmoil 2011” – Richmond, VA – 7.8.2011

Elgins power allows him to easily take Edwards to the corner. Both men exchange forearm shots. Although Edwards wins that exchange, Elgi takes him down with a running shoulder block. Richards and Strong tag in. A little mat exchange ends in a stalemate. Strong breaks a lock-up and tags in Elgin. Elgin sends him to the corner with a forearm. Richards’ shoulder blocks have no effect on Elgin. He does finally knock him and Strong to the floor with dropkicks. Elgin catches Richards’ leg and trips him hard on the ring frame. Strong chops Richards around ringside while also laying in some chops. Strong and Elgin cut the ring in half for a bit. Richards escapes Strong’s grasp and tags in Edwards. He and Strong trade chops. Strong pounds Edwards down in the House of Truth corner. Elgin and Strong continue their assault. Edwards fights back with chops to Elgin. The Wolves light up Elgin with kicks and strikes before knocking him down with stereo back elbows. Elgin absorbs Richards’ kicks and powerslams him. Truth Martini and Strong attack Richards on the floor while Elgin distracts the referee. Richards comes back from Elgin’s attack with a second rope spinwheel kick. Edwards tags in. He and Elgin trade boots. Elgin slams Edwards into the corner. Edwards fights out of a powerbomb attempt. Elgin blocks a Codebreaker. Edwards delivers a superkick and a suplex for one. Edwards hits a quebrada for two. Strong catches Edwards with an enzuigiri from the apron. The House beat down Edwards while Richards looks on from the apron. Edwards superkicks Elgin twice and suplexes Strong into a facebuster. Richards tags in and connects with a top rope dropkick on both Elgin and Strong. Elgin lights up Richards with a forearms. Richards responds with the Damage Reflex for two. Richards lays in a flurry of forearms on the ropes. Richards suplexes Elgin and Strong breaks the pin. Richards rolls Elgin up and suplexes Strong at the same time, pinning both members of the House of Truth for two. Richards puts Elgin in an ankle lock.He breaks and hits a Boss Man Slam. Strong nails Richards with two forearms and a slap. Richards and Strong trade strikes mid-ring. Strong rolls Richards into a superkick for two. Strong hits a uranage backbreaker and an Angle slam for two. Strong knocks Edwards off the apron. Strong gives Richards a gut buster. Elgin lariats him. Strong covers, but Edwards breaks the pin just in time. Richards fights off the HoT to allow him to tag in Edwards. Edwards trades the advantage with Strong. He kicks Elgin off the apron and delivers a flying Codebreaker to Strong for two. Edwards suicide dives onto Elgin to avoid a clothesline from Strong. Edwards blocks a back breaker. He drops Strong with the backpack stunner for two. The Wolves hit the Alarm Clock and a superkick/German suplex combo. Elgin breaks the pin. The Wolves trade rapid fire strikes with the House of Truth. They end up knocking each other down with a series of moves. Elgin slams Richards’ back in the corners. He hits a pump-handle suplex for two. Elgin blasts Richards with a knee strike and powerbombs him. Edwards superkicks Elgin to break his pin. Edwards pitches Strong to the floor and blasts Elgin with chops and strikes. Elgin drops the Wolves with a Samoan Drop/Fallaway Slam combo. He pins Richards for two. Richards transitions in an ankle lock. Strong tries to break the hold, but Edwards puts him in an Achilles Lock. Truth Martini jumps in and grabs their hands so that they won’t tap out. The Wolves rid of him with tandem kicks. Both Wolves double stomp Elgin for two. Richards nails Elgin in the head with an enzugiri for two. He then hits a running variation for the pin at 31:28. If you had trimmed this down by 10 minutes, you could have made this match more compact and gotten rid of some of the lulls that occurred. That being said, this was a great main event. The show definitely needed it. This was a star making performance for Elgin, who looked like a complete bad ass hanging in there with Richards and Edwards. All four men really busted their asses and made this crowd come alive. The story may have been disjointed, but then again they followed the typical tag story of isolating the opponent and wearing them down and that works for me. ***3/4

2011 Survival of the Fittest Elimination Match
Jay Briscoe vs. Mark Briscoe vs. Kyle O’Reilly vs. Eddie Edwards vs. Michael Elgin vs. Roderick Strong
“Survival of the Fittest 2011” – Dayton, OH – 11.18.2011

Edwards and Jay jockey for position. Jay brings Edwards to the corner so that Mark can tag in. Elgin blind tags himself in when Edwards and Mark end up in his corner. Elgin dominates for a bit, but then Mark is able to go strike-for-strike with him. Elgin slams Mark to stop that. Strong tags in, brings Mark to the opposite corner and O’Reilly tags in. Strong brings O’Reilly to Elgin’s corner so that he and Elgin (the House of Truth) can team up on O’Reilly. Elgin tags out to Edwards after O’Reilly gives him a chinbreaker. O’Reilly takes to Edwards’ leg causing Edwards to grab the ropes quickly. O’Reilly and Edwards evade each others’ moves and stand-off. They tag in Jay and Mark. Instead of fighting each other, they clear the apron and fight the other opponents on the floor. O’Reilly foolishly ties to fight them both back in the ring. Meanwhile, the House of Truth beat up Edwards outside the ring. The Briscoes beat O’Reilly silly. Eventually Edwards gets back to the apron and O’Reilly takes down Briscoes with simultaneous dragon screw leg whips. Edwards gets attacked by Strong once he’s tagged in. He and Elgin beat down Edwards bringing O’Reilly in. The Briscoes come back in and give O’Reilly the Redneck Boogie. The Briscoes and the House of Truth get in each others’ faces and start trading shots. Edwards double dropkicks Mark and Strong and O’Reilly double dropkicks Elgin and Jay. This leaves O’Reilly and Strong in the rig. Edwards throws chops while O’Reilly throws kicks. Edwards kicks O’Reilly to one side of the ring. Edwards pescado’s onto Strong. Mark hits a tope con hilo onto Elgin and Jay. O’Reilly tope con hilo’s onto Edwards and Strong. Strong drops O’Reilly back first on the ring frame. Strong fights it out with the Briscoes still outside the ring. Elgin saves his partner by moonsaulting onto everyone. In the ring, Elgin stops O’Reilly’s tornado DDT with a backbreaker. Mark shotgun dropkicks Elgin to the corner. Strong high knees Mark to the floor and Jay boots Strong out. Edwards and Jay boot each other. Edwards and O’Reilly superkick Jay to the mat. Edwards then hits Die Hard on Jay to eliminate him at 18:21. Edwards puts Mark in a Dragon Sleeper right after and he taps out at 18:37.

Strong and Elgin decide to team up on Edwards. Edwards pitches Elgin to the floor and gives Strong a fisherman’s buster. O’Reilly heads to the top rope just as Truth Martini gets on the ring apron. Edwards attacks Martini, which causes the ropes to shake and O’Reilly to fall through the ringside table. Strong and Elgin go back to teaming up against Edwards. Edwards collides them together and schoolboys Strong to pin him at 20:41. A backfist and lariat from Elgin eliminated Edwards at 20:58. This makes Elgin and O’Reilly the final two participants in the match. O’Reilly makes his way back in slowly after recovering from the table incident. Elgin gets in O’Reilly’s face, easily keeping him on the mat at first. O’Reilly blocks a clothesline with a crucifix pin. Elgin picks him up and O’Reilly elbows his way out of the position. He turns Elgin’s powerbomb attempt into a Guilltoine choke. Elgin powers his way out. O’Reilly tornado DDT’s Elgin back into the choke. Davey Richards is now out to motivate his protégé. Elgin finally pops O’Reilly out and hits a uranage slam for two. The crowd is totally behind O’Reilly. O’Reilly manages to counter a powerbomb with a reverse huracanrana. He hits a capture suplex on Elgin for two. He transitions into a cross armbreaker right away. Elgin is able to escape, so O’Reilly sunset flips him for two. Elgin shrugs off O’Reilly’s chest kicks, even spitting in O’Reilly’s direction. Elgin and O’Reilly throw slaps at each other with reckless abandon. O’Reilly throws more chest kicks which do a bit of damage. Elgin mows him down with a lariat for two. Elgin tombstones O’Reilly. O’Reilly gets his foot on the ropes just in the nick of time to stop the count. O’Reilly tries to sunset flip Elgin off the apron. He fails, but is able to suplex him from a seated position. O’Reilly fires up and is able to hit his off the apron dropkick to Elgin in the corner of the barricades. Back in the ring, Elgin catches O’Reilly coming off the ropes. He buckle bombs O’Reilly, then drops him with a spinning powerbomb for the pin at 32:00.

I just saw two stars born in Ring of Honor. The last 12 minutes with O’Reilly and Elgin were absolutely tremendous and rivals the ending of any Survival of the Fittest ending in history. O’Reilly was so incredibly over and motivated to keep fighting that the fans became unglued and couldn’t help but cheer for him. Elgin spoiled their party by winning, but even he got to look like a monster at times. I don’t mind that four eliminations came so quickly together, because they didn’t seem forced or phony and it allowed for a fantastic finish. Even in the early going they did a great job of furthering the Edwards/Richards feud by Edwards accidentally putting O’Reilly through a table. They also teased a tag match that I really want to see. This was great booking and great wrestling coming together to make for an exciting match that was fun to follow. ****

Disc Two

Chris Hero vs. Michael Elgin
“The Homecoming 2012” – Philadelphia, PA – 1.20.2012

Truth Martini is in Elgin’s corner. Shane Hagadorn comes out and tells Hero that he is going to keep his eyes on Martini for him. Hero appreciates Hagadorn’s support, but wants to do things tonight by himself. Hagadorn acquiesces. After exchanging arm holds, both Hero and Elgin stand tall when the other goes for a shoulder block. Hero does some flips and risorte’s to show off, ending with a right hand to Elgin’s face. Hero throws some Tracy Smothers offense in the corner. Hero plays around some more, leading to him clotheslining Elgin to the floor. Hero flips out to the floor and does some jumping jacks. Hero goads Elgin into a dropkick through the ropes. In the ring, Hero snapmares Elgin into a senton for two. Hero wins a strike exchange, but Elgin delivers a Bossman Slam. Elgin gets two with a delayed vertical supelx. Elgin forearms Hero in the chest and legdrops him on the apron. Hero fights his way out of a side headlock. Elgin whips Hero to the ropes. Hero flips over and boots Elgin from the apron. Elgin catches Hero’s slingshot attack and delivers a Samoan Drop for two. Elgin fights for a suplex. When that fails he knees Hero in the chest. When Elgin hits the ropes, Hero hits the opposite side and boots him in the side of the head. Hero cracks Elgin with an elbow after taking a chop. A rolling elbow gets him a two count. Hero boots Elgin on the top turnbuckle. Hero brings Elgin down with a cravate buster for two. Elgin blocks a flying elbow in the corner with a belly to belly suplex. Elgin gives him a 2k1 Bomb for a two count. Hero lands a couple flying elbows. Elgin splashes Hero and lariats him for two. Elgin vertically turns Hero into a uranage slam. Hero elbows Elgin and suplexes him out of a cravate. Elgin Saito suplexes Hero in response. Hero is dizzy when he comes to. They both throw punches and chops while looking dazed. Hero delivers another rolling elbow for two. Elgin side steps a moonsault. Hero bicycle kicks and Cyclone Kicks Elgin for two. Elgin blocks a Cyclone Kick. He buckle bombs Hero, then hits a spinning powerbomb for the pin at 14:43. As a long time ROH fan I enjoyed seeing Hero act as a conglomeration of all his previous ROH personas; a little Sweet N’ Sour Inc, mostly Young Knockout Kid, all fun to watch. Elgin looked like he was able to hang with one of ROH’s top guys and this win further solidifies him as a future main eventer. ***1/4

Davey Richards & Kyle O’Reilly vs. The House of Truth (Roderick Strong & Michael Elgin)
“Underground” – Norfolk, VA – 1.21.2012

The winning team gets an ROH Tag Team Championship match in Cincinatti in February. When O’Reilly fails to take control of Strong, he tags in Richards. Strong circles Richards but then quickly tags in Elgin. Richards kicks him in the chest with little effect. Richards takes him down with a dropkick. Elgin comes back with a belly-to-back suplex. Strong chops and forearms O’Reilly like a madman in the corner. O’Reilly creates some distance before lighting Strong up with some kicks of his own. Richards snapmares Strong into a modified Sharpshooter. Elgin breaks the hold. Strong suplexes Richards before tagging out. Elgin and Richards trade pins. Richards goes for a cross armbreaker. He picks up Richards for a Buckle Bomb. Elgin clotheslines him in the corner. Richards avoid a second one and enzuigiri’s Strong of the apron. He also sends Elgin out and kicks him in the chest. O’Reilly tope con hilo’s onto both House of Truth members. Back in the ring, Elgin eats double chest kicks for two. O’Reilly tries to fight Elgin on his own. Elgin is just too big for him to manage. Because of it, Strong and Elgin are able to trap O’Reilly and wear him down in their corner. After a lengthy (and I do mean lengthy) beat down, O’Reilly finally manages to block a double clothesline, take both men down and tag in Richards. He comes in with a double missile dropkick. He kicks up Elgin against the ropes. Richards hits the Damage Reflex for two. Richards suplexes Strong while cradling Elgin’s legs for two. Richards kicks Elgin before giving him a bridging German suplex. Elgin kicks out. Elgin manages to Samoan Drop Richards while giving O’Reilly a fallaway slam at the same time. Strong tags in. A pair of running forearm and a Saito suplex get him a two count on Richards. Richards fights out of the Death by Roderick. He and Strong trade boots. Strong kicks O’Reilly off the ring apron. He hits the Death by Roderick on Richards for two. He then puts on the Stronghold. Ricchards turns that into an ankle lock while O’Reilly puts Elgin in a front facelock. Elgin suplexes out while Strong rolls Richards up for two. Elgin backfists O’Reilly. Richards knee strikes Elgin. Strong gives Richards. O’Reilly superkicks Strong to leave all four men laying. O’Reilly gives Strong two butterfly suplexes and a DDT. Elgin accidentally knee drops Strong. Richards holds Elgin so that O’Reilly can come off the ring apron with a dropkick. O’Reilly missile dropkicks Strong for two. O’Reilly suplexes Strong for two. Elgin Bossman slams O’Reilly. He follows up with a TKO. Strong superkicks O’Reilly and Richards breaks the cover. O’Reilly has Strong in a Guillotine. Truth Martini breaks it behind the referee’s back. O’Reilly thwarts a second attack and jackknife pins Strong at 29:42. Like most Richards matches, this was unnecessarily long. I mean O’Reilly got beaten down for what seemed like ages. Luckily, the rest of the action was really good and the crowd was hot so I had a lot of fun watching this. Have I mentioned how awesome Roderick Strong is before? ***3/4

Blind Destiny Challenge
Michael Elgin vs. Kyle O’Reilly
“ROH on SBG – Baltimore, MD – 3.10.2012

Truth Martini is in Elgin’s corner. Davey Richards is on commentary, because the winner of this match faces him in Ft. Lauderdale at “Showdown in the Sun Day 2.” If Richards retains his title on Night 1, it will be defended against the winner of this match. Elgin blocks a kick and knees O’Reilly a few times in the stomach. O’Reilly evades a corner attack and a German suplex. Elgin however shoulder blocks him down. O’Reilly evades the Oklahoma Stampede. He throws kicks while Elgin throws chops. That turns into forearms. O’Reilly gets Elgin in the cross armbreaker. Elgin escapes but takes some kicks and knees before having his legs sweeped out. Roderick Strong hops onto the apron. The distraction allows Elgin to German suplex O’Reilly. O’Reilly tries a tornado DDT but gets caught with a backbreaker. More strikes are thrown until Elgin nails an enzuigiri. O’Reilly crotches him on the top rope. He pulls off a belly-to-back superplex for two. Elgin fires up from some chest kicks. He tumbles to the apron when O’Reilly evades a charge. He goes for a Sunset Bomb to the floor but Elgin sits down. O’Reilly suplexes him onto the floor. He then dropkicks Elgin from the apron and into the barricades. In the ring O’Reilly hits a top rope dropkick for two. Elgin deadlifts him up. O’Reilly knees out of a vertical suplex. He DDT’s Elgin into a Guillotine. Elgin escapes with a modified uranage. O’Reilly gives him a Regalplex and applies a crossface. He reapplies the Guillotine. Once again Strong hops on the apron. Elgin Buckle Bombs O’Reilly. Richards and Strong come to blows ringside as Elgin hits the Spinning Powerbomb on O’Reilly for the pin at 10:28. It was smart to have Elgin go over Davey’s protégé before facing him on iPPV. Both guys worked really hard and made winning seem like a big deal. The small bit with Strong and Davey took away from some of it, but the match worked in spite of that. **3/4

ROH World Championship
Davey Richards vs. Michael Elgin
“Showdown in the Sun Day 2” – Ft. Lauderdale, FL – 3.31.2012

Truth Martini is in Elgin’s corner. Richards wastes no time going after Elgin. He takes him off his feet with a dropkick. He kick Elgin off the ring apron and suicide dives after him. Richards kicks him against the barricades. Richards goes up top. Elgin turns things around by clotheslining him back into the ring for two. Elgin drops him with a delayed vertical suplex, also for two. Elgin legdrops him on the ring frame. Richards headbutts Elgin in the corner. Elgin breaks a waistlock and knees Richards in the mid-section. Richards goes for the Damage Reflex but Elgin catches him with a sitout torture rack backbreaker instead. Richards hooks the ropes to block a Saito suplex. Richards gives him a chinbreaker. Elgin responds with a bridging Northern Lights Suplex. He digs his knee into Richards’ back while stretching his arms out. Richards makes it to his feet to relieve the pressure. He slips out of Elgin’s suplex attempt. Richards hits a gamengiri from the apron. He comes in with a top rope dropkick for two. Elgin elbows his way out of a suplex. We get our forearm exchange of the bout. Richards wins it and delivers an exploder suplex. Elgin kicks out. Richards delivers a corner knee strike. Richards manages to give him a superplex. Elgin fires up! He shrugs off Richards’ boots and strikes. He hits a jumping enzuigiri. Richards kicks him in the head and German suplexes him. Elgin fires up but Richards lariats him right down for two. He applies the ankle lock. Elgin gets the ropes and rolls to the floor very quickly. Elgin blocks Richards’ boot from the apron. He gives Richards a fisherman’s suplex on the floor. Elgin then powerbombs him into the barricades! Richards somehow kicks out at two. Elgin hits a corkscrew senton but only gets two with that as well. Elgin brings Richards to the top rope. Richards puts on a kimura to block him from doing anything. He unloads elbows on Elgin’s head and goes for a Sunset Bomb. Elgin fights that off. Richards crotches Elgin on the top rope. It takes some fighting, but Richards manages to deliver a German superplex for two. He immediately puts on the ankle lock again. Elgin again gets the ropes. Elgin absorbs Richards’ chest kicks. Richards throws Kawada kicks at Elgin’s head. Elgin throws some knees. Richards goes back to the chest kicks. Elgin gives him the Chaos Theory for two. A low superkick and a suplex into a Side Effect get two. Elgin puts on the Crossface. Richards crawls to get his foot on the bottom rope. Elgin tries to drag Richards to the top rope. Richards catches him with a dragonscrew leg whip in the ropes. He double stomps Elgin on the ring frame! Back in the ring Richards delivers another double stomp. Elgin kicks out. Richards hits a rolling clothesline. A pump-handle suplex gets two. Elgin ducks a kick and elbows Richards’ neck. He drops Richards with an inverted brainbuster for two. Elgin powerbombs Richards into the corner. He clotheslines Richards in the face. Richards blocks the spinning powerbomb and reapplies the ankle lock. Elgin turns it into the LaBell Lock. Richards turns that into a pin for two. Richards runs at Elgin and eats a knee strike. Elgin hits the spinning powerbomb. Richards kicks out! Elgin puts on a crossface. Richards escapes and puts on the ankle lock again. Richards pulls him into the middle of the ring so he can’t grab the ropes. Elgin rolls out of it. With his leg being two weak to walk, Richards gives him a running knee to the face. Elgin gets to his knees before a one count. Two hard kicks to the head only get Richards a two count! One more roundhouse kick gets Richards the pin at 27:43. That was an absolute war and just the main event to kick this fairly ho hum show into overdrive. For maybe the first time in his reign, Richards almost looked like the underdog with just how overpowering Elgin was. Survival of the Fittest was the start of Elgin breaking out, and this solidified him as a main eventer. Easily the best match of Richards’ title reign so far, Elgin’s best match in ROH and a borderline ROH classic (even if I did not think it was perfect like a lot of people). ****1/2

Adam Cole vs. Michael Elgin
“Border Wars” – Toronto, ONT – 5.12.2012

Truth Martini is in Elgin’s corner. This is a “Rise & Prove” rematch. Elgin shoves Cole to the corner. Cole dropkicks Elgin and gives him a few punches. Elgin easily shoves him off. Cole boots his way out of the corner and dropkicks Elgin from the second rope for a one count. Elgin pops him up, and Cole huracanrana’s him to the floor. Elgin catches Cole’s suicide dive and powerslams him onto the entrance ramp! Cole kicks out back in the ring. Elgin gets another two after multiple stomps. Cole gives him a chinbreaker. Elgin blocks a tornado DDT. Cole shoves him to the corner. Elgin clobbers him with a forearm strike. Elgin waterwheel slams Cole for two. Elgin stretches Cole’s back out across his knee. Cole side steps a splash and rolls up Elgin for two. Elgin fires up when Cole throws his own forearm. Cole ends up giving Elgin a tilt-a-whirl DDT. Cole DDT’s Elgin on the ring apron. Cole splashes Elgin for two back in the ring. Elgin backs Cole to the corner to block a suplex. Elgin gives Cole the Chaos Theory for two. Elgin powers Cole up. Cole cradles Elgin and nails a running knee strike for two. Elgin sends Cole out with a rolling clothesline. Elgin goes to pull Cole back in and eats an enzuigiri. Elgin gamengiri’s Cole as Cole climbs to the top rope. Elgin lifts Cole up into a Falcon Arrow from the second rope. Cole kicks out. Elgin puts on a crossface. Cole rolls out. Elgin blocks a superkick and delivers a forearm. Cole counters a suplex with a brainbuster onto his knee. Elgin kicks out. Cole tries a crossbody and gets caught. The Buckle Bomb and spinning powerbomb gets Elgin the win at 13:54. That started a bit slowly and the crowd seemed relatively quiet to the rest of the show, but this still turned out to be pretty darn good. These two are clearly going to be ROH’s future, so I don’t know how much more I would have Cole lose (it feels like he loses the majority of matches he is in). Elgin however has been built very strongly. ***

Jay Lethal vs. Michael Elgin
“The Nightmare Begins” – Charleston, WV – 6.15.2012

Truth Martini is in Elgin’s corner. Elgin shakes Lethal’s hand, which does not please Martini. Lethal can’t seem to budge Elgin. Elgin gets angry when Lethal punches him in the face. He shoulder blocks Lethal down. Lethal ends up hip tossing him into a dropkick. Elgin slides to the floor to create some distance. Truth Martini gets on the apron. Referee Paul Turner get in his face, so Martini challenges Turner to a fight. Turner seems game and Martini changes his tune. He bails before any blows can be thrown. Elgin comes back in and gets caught with a boot to the gut. Martini grabs Lethal’s leg. Lethal goes for a back handspring elbow but gets met with a clothesline to the back of the head instead. Elgin puts on an arm hold after whipping Lethal to the corner. Lethal fights out but gets sent to the floor. Martini gets in a few cheap shots. Lethal whips Elgin into the barricades when he comes outside. In the ring however Elgin gives him a neckbreaker. He puts on a rear chinlock. Lethal escapes via chinbreaker. Lethal goes for a springboard move. Martini grabs his ankle. Lethal still manages a sunset flip for a two count. He signals for the Lethal Injection. Elgin thwarts him but eats a superkick. Elgin elbows out of the Lethal Combination. Lethal ducks a backfist. Elgin deadlifts him up for a German suplex. Lethal kicks out. Lethal blocks Elgin’s knee strike. He gives him an enzuigiri and the Lethal Combination. Roderick Strong grabs Lethal’s leg while Martini distracts Turner. Lethal dropkicks Strong off the apron. Elgin backfists Lethal and goes for a powerbomb. Strong runs in. Lethal dropkicks Elgin into him. Lethal gives Elgin the Lethal Injection for the pin at 12:15. I don’t know why the heck Strong ran in at the end. It made no sense whatsoever unless Strong was purposefully screwing his partner. These two actually only had a decent match until that point, maybe because they knew a cheap finish was coming. It was still good, but not the best match they could have had together. The Turner/Martini stuff was weird too. **3/4

The Briscoes (Jay & Mark Briscoe) vs. The House of Truth (Michael Elgin & Rhino)
“LivE Strong” – Belle Vernon, PA – 6.30.2012

Turth Martini is in the HoT corner. Elgin resists Mark’s initial attacks. He powerslams Mark for two. Mark kicks him to the corner and Rhino tags in. Mark is able to duck Rhino’s offense. A chin breaker and running knee takes him off his feet. Jay stomps Rhino in the corner. A few jabs and a running clothesline takes Rhino down. Elgin attacks from the apron. Jay kicks him to the floor and tags Mark back in. They send Rhino out with stereo shoulder blocks. Mark comes off the apron with a somersault senton to Rhino. Elgin throws Jay back first into the barricades to turn the tide in his and Rhino’s favor. After being beaten down for a few minutes, Jay is able to send Elgin into a corner with a Complete Shot to the second turnbuckle. Mark flies in with a crossbody. He dropkicks Elgin into the corner. He does the same to Rhino. A suplex to Elgin gets him two. Mark sets up for the Froggy Bow when Truth Martini jumps up. Elgin catches him momentarily. Jay then gives Elgin a side Russian Leg Sweep off the second rope. Mark hits that Froggy Bow and Rhino breaks the cover. Elgin gives The Briscoes waterwheel slams at the same time! Rhino goes for a Gore on Mark. Mark evades the move and rolls up Rhino for two. Jay superkicks him. Elgin blocks the superkick and lariats Jay down. Mark rolls through a Death Valley Driver on Elgin. He goes to attack Rhino and ends up getting Gored for the pin at 12:23. That was just the pick me up the show needed. This had some great power spots and was a lot of fun from start to finish. Elgin never fails to impress. He and Rhino are an awesome power team, and the Briscoes were perfect opponents for them. ***

Michael Elgin vs. Silas Young
“Brew City Beatdown” – Milwaukee, WI – 7.14.2012

They start off mildly, but after they throw forearms, things pick up. Young dropkicks Elgin to the corner. Elgin catches him with a powerslam for a one count. Young flips out of Elgin’s attack. Young slips off his shoulder and rolls him up for two. He huracanrana’s Elgin to the ropes. Elgin forearms Young to the apron. Young tosses Elgin to the floor and follows with a tope con hilo. He gets one with a neckbreaker. He gives Elgin a Finlay roll. He misses the Pee Gee Waja Plunge. Elgin German suplexes him head first into the corner. Elgin legdrops him on the ring apron. Young whips him into the barricades. Elgin takes control back in the ring, clobbering Young repeatedly in the chest. Young does however try a small package, which only makes Elgin angrier. Young throws a couple slaps. Elgin nails him with a rolling elbow. Young knees out of a suplex. Elgin misses a charge to the corner. Young catches him with a backbreaker into a seated lariat. He boots Elgin before hitting a quebrada for two. Elgin clotheslines him in two corners, then drops him with the Boss Man Slam. Young kicks out. Elgin kicks Young as he heads up top. He brings in Young with a superplex from the apron. He powerbombs Young to the corner. Young slips out of another one and drops him with the Angels Wings for two. Elgin clobbers Young with clotheslines to the chest and back. Young Finlay Rolls him again. This time he successfully hits the Pee Gee Waja Plunge for two. Young jumps off the middle rope. Elgin clobbers him with a dropkick. A low running boot and a buckle bomb follow. Elgin gives Young the spinning powerbomb for the pin at 17:42. Remember how I said Tadarius Thomas’ match was a good example on how to bring someone into the company? Scratch that – THIS is how you bring someone in. I was expecting this to be good given Elgin and Young’s familiarity with each other, but I really did not expect Young to get in so much offense. The crowd was also hot for everything since Young was the hometown guy and Elgin wrestles a lot in that area. It would be borderline irresponsible for ROH not to use Young more after this match. ***3/4

Michael Elgin vs. Mike Bennett
“Killer Instinct” – Rahway, NJ – 10.6.2012

Truth Martini is in Elgin’s corner while Maria Kanellis is in Bennett’s corner. Elgin throws a forearm to send Bennett outside. Bennett’s shoulder block attempts are futile. He asks Elgin to hit the ropes. He does and catches Bennett with a powerslam for two. Elgin follows up with a delayed vertical suplex. Bennett shoves Elgin to the floor and misses a pescado. Elgin refrains from being tossed into the barricades. Bennett however is able to give him a spinebuster onto the edge of the ring. He follows up with some strikes in the ring but ends up crotching himself on the second rope. Elgin stomps him down in the corner. Bennett blocks a slam with a neckbreaker. Elgin throws a couple back elbows and drops Bennett onto his stomach. He gets two with a Boss Man Slam. Bennett backs him to the corner to block a spinning powerbomb. Elgin throws repeated clotheslines and a forearm before dropping him with a sidewalk slam. Bennett kicks out. Maria distracts Elgin on the apron. Elgin notices Bennett charging and drops the top rope to send him to the floor. Martini puts the boots to Bennett behind referee Todd Sinclair’s back. Elgin is displeased with this. Bennett puts Maria in his way. Elgin moves her, but this gives Bennett the chance to give Elgin the Box Office Smash on the floor. Elgin makes it in the ring right before the 20 count and kicks out of Bennett’s pin attempt. Bennett tries another Box Office Smash. Elgin elbows his way free and hits an enzuigiri. Bennett catches him with a spinebuster for two. Elgin comes back with a Backfist, a Buckle Bomb, and the spinning powerbomb for the pin at 11:59. This was a solid victory for Elgin heading into his title match with Steen next week. Bennett’s work has gotten better and got the chance to show that off two. This essentially was a nice showcase for two rising stars, with the more important of the two getting the win. **3/4

2012 Survival of the Fittest Qualifying Match
Michael Elgin vs. Rhino
“Survival of the Fittest 2012” – Baltimore, MD – 9.22.2012

Truth Martini comes out with both men. He objects to the match happening and feels that they were purposefully put against each other in a conspiracy. Neither guy is willing to step down from the match. A flurry of punches kicks things off. Rhino throws Elgin to the apron. Elgin boots him and comes back in with a slingshot back elbow. Rhino throws him into the barricades. Roderick Strong emerges from the back. Elgin sends Rhino to the barricades. Martini is displeased to see Strong. Elgin flies back into the ring with a shoulder tackle from the top rope. Rhino delivers a belly-to-belly suplex. He sets up for the Gore. Elgin dodges it and rolls up Rhino for two. Rhino lands a spinebuster. He gets two with a short-arm clothesline. Elgin ducks another clothesline and hits an enzuigiri. Elgin blocks Rhino’s punches while throwing some of his own. He bicycle kicks Rhino before giving him the Boss Man Slam. Rhino kicks out. Elgin gets two with a German suplex. Rhino rams his shoulder into Elgin’s mid-section. He TKO’s Elgin but only gets two. Strong gets on the apron to complain about it only being a three count. Martini comes in and begs Rhino not to Gore Elgin. Rhino positions him on the top rope. Elgin hits his own Gore! Martini is now hanging upside down in the corner. Elgin hits the spinning powerbomb for the pin at 7:50. It was fun watching these two huge teammates fight one another. Martini and Strong added an interesting dynamic that made Elgin’s win seem like an even bigger deal. **3/4

ROH World Championship
Kevin Steen vs. Michael Elgin
“Glory By Honor XI” – Toronto, ONT – 10.13.2012

A mocking Code of Honor offer from Steen turns into a forearm exchange. Each guy remains steadfast from the others shoulder blocks. Elgin gives Steen a Bossman Slam, causing Steen to hit the floor. Elgin follows and ends up being thrown into the barricades. Steen chokes Elgin with a fans Canadian flag. Elgin then sends Steen into the barricades and chokes him with the flag. Back in the ring he impressively gets two with a delayed vertical suplex. Steen counteracts with a rope-assisted DDT and a powerbomb onto the ring apron. He then delivers a frog splash from the apron to the floor. Back in the ring he knees Elgin in the gut and sentons onto his back for two. Elgin gets up an elbow to block a corner attack. He evades an F-Cinq and delivers an enzuigiri. Another forearm exchange ensues. Steen holds the ropes to block a dropkick. He goes for a sharpshooter but Elgin kicks him away. Elgin delivers a rolling forearm to his neck before dropping him with a Blockbuster. Elgin counters a Package Piledriver attempt with an Air Raid Crash for two. Steen gets him down in the corner for a cannonball senton. He crotches Elgin on the top rope. He tries for a belly-to-back superplex and gets elbowed down. Elgin tries a tumbleweed Swanton but Steen gets his knees up. He drops down the top rope when Steen charges and follows him out with a twisting splash. Strong is not pleased at the fans next to him cheering for Elgin. Elgin drags Strong from the crowd, tosses him twice into the barricades, then to the backstage area. Elgin then powerbombs Steen into the ring post! The tumbleweed Swanton connects but Steen still manages to kick out. Elgin goes for another powerbomb. Steen trips him and puts on a sharpshooter. Elgin escapes. He puts on a crossface. Steen gets his foot on the ropes. They fight on the ring apron. Steen wants a sleeper suplex. Elgin instead runs off the apron and tosses both himself and Steen through the ringside table. They make it back in the ring before the twenty count. Steen powerbombs Elgin, almost onto his head, for two. Elgin reapplies the crossface after blocking another F-Cinq attempt. Steen rolls Elgin over for a two count. Elgin deadlifts Steen into a German suplex! Steen kicks out. Elgin holds onto Steen’s head so he can throw multiple knee strikes. Steen sneaks in a Code Breaker, but Elgin lariats him right after that. Elgin gives Steen a Buckle Bomb. Steen explodes out of the corner with a clothesline, leaving both he and Elgin laying on the mat. Elgin throws more knees. In mid-sequence, Steen picks him up for the F-Cinq. He hits hit and gets a two count. Elgin for the third time tries the crossface. Steen makes his way to the ropes. Elgin pulls Steen up. Steen swings around for a sleeper suplex. He drops Elgin with the Package Piledriver. Elgin kicks out! Steen is so angry that he shoves referee Todd Sinclair. Elgin rolls him up for two after Sinclair shoves him back. Steen hits a cannonball senton. However, Elgin catches him in his arms and lifts him up for a powerbomb. He Buckle Bombs Steen again before giving Steen his spinning piledriver for two. Elgin puts Steen up top. Steen is able to fight him off and hit a super Package Piledriver! That’s enough to get him the win at 31:30. That was maybe the fastest half hour I have ever experienced watching a match. Everything here was damn near perfect: the pacing, the emotion, the story, the escalation of moves until the huge climax. The fans and commentators’ excitement was infectious and made for a terrific atmosphere. This definitely rivals Elgin and Richards’ match from “Showdown in the Sun” weekend. Must see stuff. ****1/2

Cincinatti, OH – 2.16.2013

Championship Rundown
ROH World Champion: Kevin Steen
ROH Television Champion: Adam Cole
ROH World Tag Team Champions: The Briscoes (Jay & Mark Briscoe)

Commentary is provided by Kevin Kelly and Nigel McGuinness.

Jay Briscoe vs. QT Marshall

After a lock up and a shoulder block, Jay gets in some strikes while Marshall is on the ropes. Marshall skins the cat to avoid being tossed out, only to be booted to the floor immediately. Jay slingshots him into the ring post and throws him into the barricades. Back in the ring Marshall trips Jay off the middle rope and onto his head. He stomps Jay in the corner before giving him a vertical suplex for two. Marshall steps on Jay’s face after dropping some elbows. He shows off to the crowd long enough for Jay to recover and throw some punches. He clotheslines Marshall twice. He gets two with a neckbreaker. Marshall sends Jay shoulder first into the ring post. He gives him a Fame-Asser for two. Marshall strings together a backbreaker and a slam for two. Jay comes back with the Jay Driller for the pin at 6:50. That was an energetic opener and a better performance from Marshall than you would expect. **1/2

Jay Lethal vs. Tadarius Thomas

The first few exchanges end in stalemates. There’s a lot of really quick action and the fans are impressed. So am I, for that matter. Lethal pushes Thomas to the mat in a test of strength hoping to get a pin. Thomas tries popping up into a huracanrana and Lethal instead locks on an STF. Thomas gets the ropes. Lethal surprisingly chokes him on the second ropes. He dropkicks Thomas from the floor. Chops are traded on the floor. Back in the ring Thomas throws a trifecta of kicks to the head and shoulders. He kicks Lethal in the chest for two. Lethal kicks out after a few punches. He chops Thomas in the corner and lures him into a superkick. He chops him in the face for two. Lethal goes for a superplex. Thomas hangs Lethal from a tree of woe in the second ropes and stomps onto his ribs. He gets two with a Dragon suplex. Lethal avoids a Saito suplex. He superkicks Thomas and hits the Lethal Injection for the pin at 11:51. These two were great opponents for each other. They were able to out maneuver and match up with one another, which raised Thomas’ stake as he was able to go toe-to-toe with a name talent and a former TV and tag team champion. I think Thomas has all the potential in the world. ***

Mark Briscoe vs. “Spyder” Nate Webb

They bow to each other instead of shaking hands. Webb rolls out of the ring to avoid Mark’s Redneck Kung-Fu. When he comes back in Mark puts on a wristlock. Webb kicks him away but gets armdragged back into it. Webb uses the referee to escape. He throws a forearm and drives Mark’s head into the mat. Mark overhand chops Webb to the corner. Webb runs out and gets caught with a rolling Death Valley Driver. Mark sends him to the floor and dropkicks him through the middle rope. Back in the ring he flips Webb onto his stomach. Webb comes back with the Arachnid Kick that sends Mark out. Webb follows with a tope con hilo. He hits a version of a cannonball in the corner. Mark Dragon suplexes him into the corner. The Froggy Bow gets him the pin at 7:19. Webb has clearly lost a step in his absence. Mark did his best and the fans liked their antics, but the wrestling was mediocre. *½

Roderick Strong vs. ACH

Strong pops out of his headscissors and shoves ACH. They vie for control on the mat. Strong elbows out of a waistlock. ACH hops over him out of the corner. He chops Strong in the corner. ACH puts him in a tree of woe and delivers a clothesline. They fight on the apron until ACH kicks Strong to the floor. He follows with a split-legged moonsault. Strong moves out of the way. He catches ACH’s huracanrana and swings him into the barricades. Strong continues to wear down ACH back in the ring, targeting his back as he is want to do. ACH kicks Strong out of the corner and rolls forward for a Complete Shot. He gamengiri’s Strong from the floor, then hits a slingshot Ace Crusher for two. Strong sends him to the apron. ACH scissor kicks him in the ropes. He baseball slides Strong further back, then jumps onto him with some assistance from the second rope. In the ring he gets two with a high-angle crossbody. Strong knees him in the stomach and delivers a half nelson backbreaker for two. Another backbreaker has the same result. ACH blocks the Tiger Driver and rolls him up for two. Strong puts on the Strong Hold. ACH kicks him in the head a couple of times. Strong throws some forearms. ACH blocks Death By Roderick with a reverse Frakensteiner! Strong gets his foot on the ropes to avoid the pin. ACH ducks a rolling clothesline and delivers an Ace Crusher. He misses a 450 splash. The Orange Crush backbreaker gets Strong the pin at 14:59. This match proved why ACH was the smartest pick up ROH has made lately. He’s hard working, diverse, and can get the crowd behind him with ease. He was able to adapt to Strong’s style and have a really entertaining match. He has a litany of fresh matches that await him and the sky is the limit with what he can accomplish. Strong of course deserves credit for a great match as well. ***1/2

Truth Martini comes out for “The Hoopla.” Scarlett Bordeaux and a women I don’t recognize come out with him. It’s tough to hear what he’s saying. There’s a lot of sexual stuff, he has Scarlett hold his “balls” (literally metal balls). The secret word is “underwear.” The ladies take their pants off. Adam Cole is brought out to be a guest, though he’s not so sure of what to make of the situation. He asks Cole about his upcoming TV title defense while baiting him into saying the word “underwear” a couple times. Cole thinks he means his defense against Matt Hardy, but Martini meant his match against Matt Taven in Chicago Ridge at the 11th Anniversary Show. Taven is the newest member of the House of Truth. Cole says Martini is going to whip his ass. Cole is about to throw a superkick when Scarlett gets in his way. He’s about to walk away when Martini smacks his ass. Cole then throws a superkick. This started out God awful, but the fact that it had a purpose made the last few minutes a lot more palatable.

Charlie Haas talks some trash while drinking a beer. Parks slaps him while he’s drinking a beer. Haas rolls to the floor and Parks dives after him. The match is on.

Charlie Haas vs. Pepper Parks

Parks whips Haas into the barricades. He hits a dropkick back in the ring. Haas pulls up the apron to catch Parks as he tries a baseball slide. He throws some strikes and kicks while Parks is trapped, then sends him back first to the barricades. Haas Olympic Slams him into the ring post. Haas beats down Parks back in the ring as the fans jeers get under his skin. He gets two with a belly-to-belly suplex. He accidentally crotches himself on the middle rope when Parks avoids an attack. Parks throws some back elbows. He powerslams Haas for two. He also gets two with a fisherman’s neck breaker. Haas pops him up into a spinebuster for two. Parks fight shim off the top rope. He comes off and delivers a neckbreaker for two. They go to the floor where Haas backdrops Parks onto the guardrails. Haas brings in his box of beer. The referee stops him so Haas shoves him down. Haas sprays beer in Parks eyes behind his back. Hje rolls Parks up for the pin at 11:23. Too long for a crappy finish. In fact, why wasn’t Haas DQ’d for shoving the referee? Parks worked really hard but got put in with a guy who can’t be interesting no matter how hard he tries. **

Haas beats up a student nicknamed Cheeseburger on the floor, repeatedly throwing him into the guardrails in a Giant Swing. He then dumps a beer on him as officials come to his aid. You can watch it on YouTube.

BJ Whitmer vs. Kyle O’Reilly

Whitmer cleanly breaks a lock-up in the corner. O’Reilly backs him to the ropes. He goes for a kick but Whitmer ducks. After trading holds on the mat Whitmer knocks down O’Reilly with a back elbow. Whitmer throws some chops. O’Reilly sends him to the apron and twists his arm before kicking him to the floor. O’Reilly comes off the apron with a dropkick as Whitmer is seated. O’Reilly goes for a cross armbreaker back in the ring but Whitmer makes it to the ropes. He sweeps out Whitmer’s legs for two. He drives his knee into his head. Whitmer gives him a belly-to-belly suplex. He then pulls off two consecutive suplexes for two. O’Reilly gets two with a Saito suplex. Whitmer kicks out at one after a brainbuster. As they both fire up, slap and punches are thrown. A suplex causes them both to tumble to the floor. Whitmer suplexes him into the barricades. He gives O’Reilly more suplexes in the ring but can’t keep him down. O’Reilly crotches him on the top rope. He brings Whitmer down and gives him a Regalplex. He applies a triangle choke while elbowing Whitmer in the head. Whitmer picks him up for a powerbomb. He rolls O’Reilly forward and throws knees at his head. He applies the Peruvian Neck Tie. O’Reilly taps out at 16:47. This made both guys look tough as nails. Some people have a hard time watching relatively unsafe matches, and if so this might make you slightly uneasy. I did think this had some of the usual no-selling problems both guys can be guilty of but the fans dug it so I can’t complain too much. ***1/4

Elimination Match
Davey Richards, Michael Elgin & Adam Cole vs. S.C.U.M. (Kevin Steen, Steve Corino & Jimmy Jacobs)

We start off with three pairs: Richards and Corino, Cole and Jacobs, then Elgin and Steen. In the first two exchanges the ROH side gets the advantage . Things get a little heated between Steen and Elgin, but they insist that their partners keep their cool. Elgin gives Steen a powerslam. Richards and Cole help Elgin wear Steen down. Richards ends up on the apron and goes to kick Steen on the floor. Steen blocks it and Jacobs spears Richards to the floor. S.C.U.M. isolate Richards in their corner. Most of their attack targets his mid-section. He escapes when he shoves Jacobs head into Corino’s arms, dropkicks Corino, causing him to DDT Jacobs. Cole throws forearms at Corino. He hits a Shining Wizard and Jacobs breaks the cover. All six men fight in the ring with the ROH side getting the better of it. Steen and Jacobs are sent out. Cole superkicks Corino into Elgin’s Blue Thunder Bomb. Richards gives him a double stomp and Jacobs breaks the pin. Elgin press slams him onto Steen and Corino on the floor. Richards suicide dives onto all of S.C.U.M. The brawl between al six men gets out of control, leading to a number of officials coming out in an attempt to restore order. Steen gives Cole a powerbomb onto the ring apron. He throws him in the ring so Corino can pin him. Cole is able to kick out. He is now isolated by S.C.U.M., with them getting in cheap shots where possible. Cole manages to hop over Jacobs when he charges him in the corner. Elgin takes down Jacobs with a modified STO. He Samoan Drops Corino while giving Jacobs a fallaway slam. Corino sends Elgin shoulder first into the corner. Richards Saito suplexes Corino. Steen DDT’s Richards. Cole superkicks Steen. Jacobs sends him to the apron. Corino and Jacobs give Cole a spike piledriver on the floor! Officials and his teammates check on him. Steen didn’t see what happened so his partners have to clue him in. Cole is taken to the back, presumably eliminating him from the bout.

S.C.U.M. attack Elgin and Richards. Elgin is worked over back in the ring while Richards recovers. They focus on his arm and hand presumably to neutralize his Backfist. Even with that, he manages to deadlift German suplex Corino while Jacobs is on his back attempting to put on a sleeper. Richards gamengiri’s Steen form the apron and nails a top rope dropkick. He clothesline him and applies a Trailer Hitch. Jacobs tries breaking Steen free but gets put in an ankle lock. The referee tries getting rid of Jacobs when Corino punches Richards in the head with a roll of quarters. Steen pins him for two. Steen then gives Richards a Package Piledriver for the pin at 27:17. Elgin is now on his own. He accepts the challenge by throwing firsts of fury at all three members of S.C.U.M. The numbers game overcomes him. Corino joins commentary while Jacobs and Steen work on Elgin. Adam Cole emerges and re-appears on the apron. Elgin superplexes Jacobs and tags Cole in. He spears Steen and throws a flurry of punches. He gives Steen a brainbuster onto his knee for two. He has Steen pinned with the Florida Key but Corino pulls the referee to the floor. Cole pescado’s onto him. Jacobs spikes Cole in the groin when he goes to the top rope. Steen gives him a cannonball senton and the F-Cinq for the pin at 33:48. Elgin, now truly alone, gives Steen a Boss Man Slam. He buckle bombs Corino after a Backfist. The Revolution Bomb puts Corino down at 34:53. Elgin blocks Jacobs crossbody, gives him a Buckle Bomb, then the Revolution Bomb to eliminate him at 35:16. We’re down to Elgin vs. Steen. Steen gets multiple two counts: one with a powerbomb, one with a sleeper suplex. Elgin gets his knees up to block a Swanton. He deadlifts Steen into a German suplex twice, both times getting two. Corino gets on the apron. Jay Lethal runs out to neutralize him. Steen schoolboys Elgin for two. He then small packages Elgin for the pin at 38:55. I must say, that was a very dissatisfying ending for nearly 40 minutes of action. The action was consistently good and the Cole story was intriguing, not to mention the fact that Elgin looked like a beast combating all of S.C.U.M. basically by himself. All of that to go to waste in a small package is maddening. Yes, you could argue Steen got a fluke win, but then what good does that do for him? He’s already champion; why not have Elgin pin him and set up a future title match? In spite of the finish, the wrestling and pacing was good enough to cap off the show in a positive way. ***3/4

Jay Lethal is attacked by S.C.U.M. after the match. Elgin tries to save him but is overpowered. The Briscoes run out and S.C.U.M. bails to the floor. The Briscoes send the Cincinatti fans home with a thank you speech.

Bonus Match – ROH World Tag Team Championship
The Briscoes (Jay & Mark Briscoe) (Champions) vs. S.C.U.M. (Steve Corino & Jimmy Jacobs)
“National Pro Wrestling Day 2013” – Philadelphia, PA – 2.2.2013

Corino says tonight begins the death of ROH as they reclaim the tag team titles. Cary Silken is in the Briscoes corner. Corino throws punches to Jay in the corner. He whips him across the ring and follows in with a chop. Jay responds with a jab and tags in Mark. Mark delivers a springboard dropkick. Jay throws a bunch of punches to Jacobs before he and Mark nail double shoulder tackles. Mark tope con hilo’s onto both Jacobs and Corino. The Briscoes do some more damage before bringing them back into the ring. Corino gets in a cheap shot from the apron to Jay. He chokes him with his boot. Jacobs snapmares Jay into a double arm stretch. He and Corino throw double right hands for a two count. Jay drives Corino into the middle rope with a Complete Shot. Mark uses Redneck Kung-Fu to fight off both members of S.C.U.M. Mark gives Corino a palm strike and Jon Woo dropkicks Jacobs to the corner for two. The Briscoes hit him with the Redneck Boogie but Corino breaks the cover. Jacobs spears Mark and Corino clotheslines Jay. He helps Jacobs give Mark the Contra Code. A sliding clothesline from Corino gets two. Jay superkicks Corino to block a double team. The Briscoes put away Jacobs with the Doomsday Device at 6:12. That was a fun way to kick off this mega event. Both teams put in a good effort and the crowd was into it. No one believed the titles were going to change hands though. **1/2

After the match S.C.U.M. attack the Briscoes. Corino spouts about how ROH will become Ring of S.C.U.M. soon enough. Jay Briscoe, now recovered, tells Steen (via the camera) that he would be willing to take the ROH World title from him any place, any time.

Disc One

Low Ki vs. Christopher Daniels vs. Bryan Danielson
“The Era of Honor Begins” – Philadelphia, PA – 2.23.2002

This is the main event of the first ever Ring of Honor show. Ki and Danielson take down Daniels so they can fight it out amongst themselves. Daniels dropkicks them while they’re in a lock-up. A strike exchange occurs between all three competitors, leading to a stand-off. Daniels breaks another Danielson/Ki lock-up. Ki dropkicks Danielson as Daniels drops down. Daniels puts Danielson in a tree of woe. Ki dropkicks him. Ki gives Daniels a Koppu Kick and a few kicks to the chest. Danielson goes for Cattle Mutilation on Ki but Daniels breaks it. Daniels ties them up in a Boston Crab/Camel Clutch combo momentarily. Danielson kicks away at Daniels’ arm. Ki Kawada kicks Danielson. Daniels hits a leg lariat on Ki. Daniels gut wrench suplexes Danielson for two. Ki wins a chop battle with Daniels in the corner. Danielson chops both guys. Danielson puts Daniels in a modified Muta Lock. Ki kicks Danielson’s leg to stop him. Ki kicks Danielson while Daniels’ legs are still locked. Danielson Northern Lights suplexes Ki for two. He then turns Daniels up to his shoulders for another two count. Danielson back elbows Ki for two. Danielson arm whips Daniels to the mat. He twists Daniels’ fingers until Ki kicks him in the back. Danielson and Ki take turns kicking each other in the back. They both kick Daniels in the back as well. Ki and Danielson accidentally kick each others’ shins. Daniels gives both of them a neckbreaker. Daniels puts Ki in a Liontamer. Daniels DDT’s Danielson and gives Ki a neckbreaker at the same time. Both men kick out of his pin attempts. Ki and Danielson throw Daniels off the top rope. Danielson Kawada kicks Ki. Ki kicks Danielson in the head from the apron. Daniels belly-to-belly suplexes Ki for two. Ki tilt-a-whirls from Daniels into a tornado DDT on Danielson. Ki hits Daniels with the Tidal Wave for two. Danielson fights Ki off the second rope. Daniels puts Danielson in an abdominal stretch on the top rope. Ki shoves Danielson down and puts Daniels in a dangling Dragon Sleeper. When he releases, he manages to get a two count. Daniels goes for Last Rites. Ki fights out of that. He kicks Danielson into a Blue Thunder Bomb from Daniels. Danielson kicks out. Danielson goes to superplex Ki. Daniels joins them for a tower of doom. Danielson suplexes Daniels. He hits a Dragon suplex and Ki breaks the cover. Ki puts Danielson in a Dragon Sleeper. Daniels breaks it. He gives Ki an STO and calls for the BME. He hits it but Danielson breaks the cover. Daniels turns Danielson inside out with a lariat. Ki cartwheel roundhouse kicks Daniels in the corner. Danielson elbows Ki to the floor. He puts Daniels in the Cattle Mutilation. Ki breaks it with a Phoenix Splash on Danielson! Ki gives Daniels the Ki Krusher for the pin at 20:04. I am totally impressed with how well this match holds up. It was a gutsy move to main event ROH’s first show with this match instead of Eddie Guerrero and Super Crazy, but it turned out to absolutely be the right move. Not only was this match incredible, but it helped set the foundation for ROH right away. What an impressive debut main event. ****1/4

After the match, Daniels tells both guys to go to hell. He says he would have easily beat either of them in a singles match. He challenges both guys to singles matches on the same night. Ki and Danielson accept. Daniels refuses to shake hands, breaking the Code of Honor right off the bat.

Christopher Daniels vs. Bryan Danielson
“Round Robin Challenge” – Philadelphia, PA – 3.30.2002

Daniels throws some right hands and gets a one count with a leg lariat. Danielson responds with a forearm strike. He goes for a sleeper but Daniels gets to the ropes. He tries pushing Daniels’ shoulders to the mat in a double knuckle lock. Daniels reverses it. Dnielson switches into a crossface. Daniels rolls over for a pin attempt. Danielson kicks out and applies a side headlock. Daniels escapes a few times but Danielson goes right back to it. When Daniels escapes for good, Danielson delivers a dropkick. Daniels responds with a Saito suplex. He drops a knee onto Danielson’s face before trying multiple pin attempts. Daniels works over Danielson’s neck. Danielson suplexes Daniels to stop his onslaught. He throws forearms in the corner. He gets two with a diving headbutt. Daniels counters a rolling forearm with an STO. He nails the BME for two. He and Danielson trade strikes until Daniels delivers a clothesline. He goes for a palm strike. Danielson goes for Cattle Mutilation, but settles for a Rings of Saturn due to his hurt neck. Daniels gets to the ropes. He gives Danielson a piledriver for two. Last Rites leads to a cross face. Danielson taps at 14:23. They did a good job of playing up Danielson’s injured neck, but it never got all that interesting, which for these two guys still makes for a pretty good match. ***

Christopher Daniels vs. Low Ki
“Round Robin Challenge” – Philadelphia, PA – 3.30.2002

Ki lights up Daniels with chops when Daniels doesn’t shake hands. Daniels ducks the Tidal Crush but takes a roundhouse kick. Daniels kicks Ki from the mat, only to be met with a Koppu Kick seconds later. Ki puts on a Border City Stretch. When Daniels escapes Ki throws more kicks to his head. He puts on an armbar in the ropes. Daniels goes for the same approach he did in the first match; working over Ki’s neck with certain submissions and STO’s. He gets two with a suplex. Daniels legdrops Ki’s neck as he dangles on the top rope. He puts on a chinlock and then a Bow and Arrow. He misses the BME. Ki hits the Tidal Wave. Daniels hooks his neck for the Last Rites. Ki escapes but takes a palm strike. Daniels gives him a super snapmare for two. He hits the Angel’s Wings and gets two again. Ki comes back with the Ki Krusher. He hits the Tidal Crush for two. Daniels goes for the Last Rites. Ki turns it into the Dragon Clutch. Daniels taps at 11:00. That was a great follow up from the first match. Ki came in fresh, beat up Daniels from the start, and Daniels neck work didn’t work this time because Ki had seen him use it previously. It may have come across better with more time, but it was brilliant and fun nonetheless. ***1/4

We get a clip of Donovan Morgan defeating Christopher Daniels at “A Night of Appreciation” in April. After that, Daniels teases shaking his hand. Instead of doing that, he offers to watch out for Morgan so that ROH doesn’t stab him in the back. They would go on to team in a one night tournament to crown the inaugural ROH Tag Team Champions at “Unscripted.” They defeated The SAT in the first round.

ROH Tag Team Championship Semi-Final Round
Dick Togo & Ikuto Hidaka vs. Christopher Daniels & Donovan Morgan
“Unscripted” – Philadelphia, PA – 9.21.2002

After some back and forth, Togo drops Daniels with a tornado DDT. Hidaka and Morgan trade strikes. Hidaka gives him a flipping legdrop to the back of the head. Morgan pokes him in the eyes. They reach a stalemate after exchanging headlocks. Daniels attacks Hidaka from behind. Togo sends Morgan into the guardrails. Daniels comes off the apron with an elbow drop to Hidaka. In the ring he comes back with a spinwheel kick. Togo hits a slingshot senton. He and Hidaka take turns wearing Daniels down. Morgan breaks up a pin. While the referee takes care of him, Daniels gives Hidaka a low blow. This allows he and Morgan to turn the tide. Togo applies an illegal headscissors to Morgan during their isolation, which Daniels stops with a top rope elbow drop. Hidaka drops him with a springboard tornado DDT and legally tags Togo in. He gives Morgan an X-Factor and a rope-assisted DDT. He applies a crossface to Morgan which Daniels breaks. Daniels is sent to the floor and Hidaka tumbleweed moonsaults after him. Morgan strings a few fisherman’s suplexes and a Golden Gate Swing onto Togo. Hidaka breaks the cover. Togo lands a top rope senton. Daniels breaks the pin. He gives Hidaka the Angels Wings for two. The BME also gets two thanks to Togo. Hidaka puts on a Guillotine in the ropes. Upon release he hits a missile dropkick. He drops Daniels with a spinning powerbomb. Morgan makes the save. Daniels drops Hidaka with the STO. Morgan holds his foot, allowing Daniels to pick up the win at 13:55. The Japanese team came to play. Even though the finish was slightly unfulfilling, it plays right into the Prophecy’s characters and built towards the finals well. ***1/4

ROH Tag Team Championship Tournament Finals
Bryan Danielson & Michael Modest vs. Christopher Daniels & Donovan Morgan
“Unscripted” – Philadelphia, PA – 9.21.2002

The winning team becomes the first ever ROH tag team champions. Modest controls Daniels in a hammerlock. Daniels shoulder blocks him to the mat and tags in Morgan. Morgan snapmares him into a shoulder kick. Modest does the same. Modest tags in Danielson after a shoulder block. Danielson stretches out Morgan’s back. He gets two with a crucifix pin. Morgan shoves Danielson to the corner so Daniels can tag in. Daniels dragonscrews Danielson to the mat. He and Morgan go to work on Danielson’s leg. Danielson enzugiri’s Daniels and makes a tag, but the referee doesn’t see it and makes Danielson continue to fight. Daniels puts Danielson in a crab in the ropes. Morgan whips Danielson into the guardrails twice. In the ring, Danielson gives Morgan a Saito suplex so he can finally tag Modest in. Modest huracanrana’s Daniels off the top from a headstand position. Modest gets two with a diving headbutt. Daniels whips Modest to the corner. All four men are knocked down from a series of strikes. Modest whips Morgan into the guardrails. Daniels Arabian presses onto both men. Danielson suicide dives onto Daniels and lands on his bad knee. In the ring, Modest gives Daniels and exploder suplex for two. Same goes for a fisherman’s buster, thanks to Morgan breaking the pin. Morgan gives Modest the Golden Gate Swing. Modest clotheslines him in the back of the neck. Danielson works over his neck some more before deliver the Regalplex. He hooks on Cattle Mutilation, but with his bad leg in the air. Daniels breaks it. Morgan gives Danielson a super Rydeen Bomb. Daniels hits the BME and Morgan covers him for two. Daniels also gets two with a Blue Thunder Bomb. Danielson chops Daniels in the neck. Daniels drops Danielson with a Complete Shot into the Koji Clutch. Modest breaks it and Morgan attacks him in the corner. They go to the floor. Danielson enzuigiri’s Daniels for two. Morgan grabs Danielson’s leg as he goes for a superplex. He falls off, and Daniles hits the Last Rites for the pin and the titles at 14:42. This really felt like Daniels and Danielson did all the work while Morgan and Modest put in a minimal effort. It’s a good thing Danielson and Daniels are tremendous, or otherwise this could have failed miserably. Although this didn’t feel like a big time match-up, it was solid enough and set up the Prophecy as the major heel stable in ROH. ***

Christopher Daniels vs. Doug Williams
“Glory By Honor” – Philadelphia, PA – 10.5.2002

If Daniels wins, Williams can no longer shake hands in ROH. The opening exchange ends in a stand-off. Williams goes after Daniels’ right leg. Daniels turns that into an armbar. Williams escapes. Daniels goes to the floor. He’s able to catch Williams and suplexes him in from the apron. Williams goes back to the leg but Daniels grabs the ropes immediately. Daniels takes over and keeps control for awhile. He blocks a tornado DDT with a Manhattan Drop and a neckbreaker for two. Daniels manages to counter the Chaos Theory twice, but succumbs to a tornado DDT. Williams pulls off the three knee combo for two. He also gets two with a fisherman’s buster. Daniels elbows his way out of the Chaos Theory and drops Williams with an STO. He follows up with the Blue Thunder Bomb. The BME gets him two. Both men switch waistlock positions ending with Williams finally hitting the Chaos Theory. Daniels is in the ropes though. He then Graham Crackers Williams for the pin at 12:29. This was pretty good, but clearly they were holding back either knowing they had a rematch or because the finish was cheap. **3/4

ROH Tag Team Championship
Christopher Daniels, Donovan Morgan & Samoa Joe vs. Low Ki, Homicide & Doug Williams
“All Star Extravaganza” – Philadelphia, PA – 11.9.2002

The Prophecy teases attacking, only for their opponents to actually do it. The Prophecy bails to the floor. Joe and Ki are gearing up to wrestle when Daniels blind tags in. He then tags in Morgan. Ki puts him in a crucifix lock. Morgan rolls out of it. Joe and Williams trade holds. Joe kicks him and goes for an ankle lock. Williams goes for his leg and Joe kicks him. Joe gives him a headbutt. Morgan fights his way out of the Prophecy corner and tags in Homicide. He ends up fighting off all of the Prophecy even though Daniels is the legal man. Ki snapmares Daniels into an elbow drop for two. Williams throws a few different knee strikes. Homicide and Ki yakuza kick Daniels simultaneously. Williams almost has Daniels and Morgan in stereo submissions when Joe kicks him in the head. That kick allows the Prophecy to take over and isolate Williams. He eventually has everyone down from some forearm shots. Homicide cleans house upon tagging in. He hits Daniels with a Hamachan Cutter for two. Williams comes in to fight of Morgan. He ends up on the floor where Daniels delivers an Arabian Press. Homicide goes for a tope suicida and gets caught. Ki however dives onto Daniels and Morgan after that. Joe dive onto everybody. He Dragon suplexes Williams back in the ring for two. Williams fights out of the Island Driver. Morgan Saito suplexes him. He gives Homicide the Golden Gate Swing. Ki breaks the pin. Homicide dragon screws Morgan into an STF. Daniels breaks it with a double axe handle. Daniels rolls through Homicide’s super Frankensteiner. Ki chops him up in the corner. He gets two with an O’Conner Roll. He misses the Tidal Crush. Daniels brings him off the second rope with a high speed prawn hold. Joe stops Homicide from giving Daniels the Cop Killa. Williams saves Homicide from the Island Driver. Ki puts Morgan in the Dragon Clutch. Daniels picks up and with Morgan gives him a neckbreaker/powerbomb combo. Williams breaks the pin. He gives Daniels the Chaos Theory for two. Morgan Golden Gate Swings Williams. Homicide makes the save and gives Williams a brainbuster. Joe remains steadfast from Homicide’s lariats. Homicide kicks him low and tries for the Cop Killa. Joe rolls him into the Coquina Clutch and gets a submission victory at 23:35. They actually kept the “cast” rotating enough so the match never felt long. I liked Joe’s roll in the Prophecy at the time; not agreeing with their morals, but taking their payment to help out and doing a damn good job of it. Ki, Homicide and Williams were a fun trio and everyone blended together really well. ***1/2

FWA Championship & #1 Contenders Trophy
Christopher Daniels (Champion & Trophy Holder) vs. Doug Williams
“Night of the Champions” – Philadelphia, PA – 3.22.2003

In addition to the title and trophy, Daniels says that Williams can shake hands again if he wins. Williams nails a shoulder block causing Daniels to hit the floor. When he comes back in, Williams goes for a series of quick pin attempts. Frustrated, Daniels goes back out. Williams does some damage to Daniels’ arm and neck. Daniels softens up his neck as well. Williams suplexes out of a chinlock. He goes back to wearing Daniels’ neck down. Daniels sends him to the floor and delivers a baseball slide to his mid-section. After ramming Williams’ stomach into the ring, Daniels focuses his attack on the mid-section back in the ring. Daniels blocks a sunset flip with an elbow drop. He drops Williams stomach first on the top rope and leg lariats him to the floor. After a strike exchange, Daniels digs the bottom rope into Williams. Williams nails Daniels with some knee strikes to mount a comeback. He mows him down with a lariat after blocking a boot to the stomach. He gets two with a fisherman’s buster. After some struggle he hits the tornado DDT. Daniels drops him with a Complete Shot in a moment of desperation. He calls for the BME. Williams puts him in a crossface before he can do so. Daniels gets the ropes. He fights Williams off and hits the BME for two. Daniels again drops him with a Complete Shot and puts on the Koji Clutch. Williams escapes and goes for the Chaos Theory. Daniels escapes. Williams snapmares out of a Last Rites attempt. He swings Daniels in a Cobra Clutch. He comes off the top rope with a knee strike to Daniels’ neck. Williams escapes the Angels Wings. He hits the Chaos Theory for the win at 18:13. I absolutely loved this. The work put in by moth men was amazing. Not a single move was wasted. They had their goal, went for it, and Williams ended up being the better man. Tremendous match and one of the best matches ROH had in 2003. ****

Christopher Daniels vs. The Amazing Red
“Retribution: Round Robin Challenge II” – West Mifflin, PA – 4.26.2003

Red goes for a quick roll-up. Daniels pounds on his back and stomps him on the mat. He gives him a release suplex and a slam for two. Red takes Daniels to the floor and slingshots into a Frankensteiner. Back in the ring he hits a missile dropkick for two. Daniels responds with a lariat. Allison Danger chokes Red on the bottom middle rope after Daniels does so. Red flips out of a German suplex. He kicks out Daniels leg and Magistral Cradles him for two. He also gets two with a British huracanrana and a springboard Complete Shot. Daniels blocks a huracanrana and hits an enzuigiri. He applies a chinbreaker. Red escapes and gives Daniels a modified British Falls DDT. Red hits the 718. He gets two with a springboard huracanrana. He nails a tornado kick for two. Daniels comes back with an STO. He hits the BME for two. Red snaps him off the top with a huracanrana for two. Red maneuvers into the Code Red for two. Daniels shoves the referee into the ropes to crotch Red on the top. Daniels gives him Last Rites for the pin at 11:08. Although Red was off in some moments, the crowd really loved watching him come from behind and got into all of his nearfalls. It actually may have been better in this instance that Daniels cheated to win because it had him save a little face and didn’t feel too cheap. **3/4

Christopher Daniels vs. Paul London
“Retribution: Round Robin Challenge II” – West Mifflin, PA – 4.26.2003

London mocks Daniels’ crucifixion pose. Daniels almost bails he’s so angry. London schools him on the mat which further frustrates him. He gets on the mic and tells London if he doesn’t start showing him so respect that he will kick his ass. London asks for a handshake if Daniels wants respect. Daniels uses that to bait him into a kick to the stomach. London dropkicks him to the floor and follows with a pescado. He gets two with a slingshot Oklahoma Roll. He also gets two with a dropsault. Daniels knees London in the stomach, thus beginning his targeting on London’s mid-section. London dodges a corner attack and leg lariats Daniels in the face. Daniels dropkicks him in the ribs for two. London dodges another corner attack and schoolboys Daniels. Daniels gets up and connects with a lariat. He hits the Angels Wings for two. He continues to target London’s mid-section against the ropes. London desperately hits a springboard forearm strike. He hits an enzuigiri for two. He misses a slingshot quebrada which further hits his mid-section. Daniels brings him off the top rope with an Iconoclasm for two. He misses the BME. London goes for a sunset flip but Daniels drops an elbow to block it. They fight on the top rope. London drops Daniels and hits the London Star Press. However, he’s too hurt to make an immediate cover giving Daniels some time to recover. When he does go for a pin Allison Danger hops on the ring apron. London sends Daniels to the floor onto her! London suicide dives onto Daniels. In the ring he gets two with a DDT. Daniels drops him with a Complete Shot and hits the BME for the pin at 19:54. These guys are terrific storytellers and made the most out of working over London’s ribs. It was the second match of the night for both of them so I’m curious how they would have done on a full tank of gas. Even still this was very good and a strong victory for Daniels’ towards his inevitable title match with Joe. ***1/2

Disc Two

#1 Contenders Trophy
Christopher Daniels vs. Xavier
“Bitter Friend, Stiffer Enemies” – Fairfield, CT – 8.16.2003

This is Xavier’s first match back in ROH since losing the title to Samoa Joe. They shove each other to the mat. Daniels gets the ropes to escape a cross armbreaker. Xavier gets the ropes to escape a crossface. Daniels jaw jacks with some fans in the front row. Daniels and Xavier switch control on the mat. Xavier sneaks in a haymaker when Daniels leapfrogs over him. Daniels fires back with a punch of his own. This ends up with them throwing furious punches on the mat. Daniels catches Xavier with a spear and drops him stomach first on the top rope. Xavier sends Daniels to the apron. He snaps his neck across the top rope and dropkicks him head first into the barricades. Xavier follows with a springboard Arabian Press. In the ring he targets Daniels’ neck. Daniels drops an elbow to block a sunset flip. He can’t get a suplex because his neck is too hurt. Xavier locks him in a modified Octopus before getting two in a crucifix pin. Daniels knees Xavier in the mid-section, which he has also been focusing on. Xavier escapes an abdominal stretch and drops Daniels with a reverse DDT. He hits an enzuigiri for two. Daniels spears him again. He ends a flurry of offense with a Complete Shot. Xavier pulls Daniels off the second rope and into a lariat. He drives the back of Daniels’ head into the canvas. Daniels goes back to Xavier’s ribs. He drops him with a uranage but misses the BME. Xavier hits a 450 splash. His ribs are too hurt to go for an immediate pin. When he does go for it, Daniels puts his foot on the ropes. He catches Xavier with a knee to the gut. Xavier jackknife pins him to escape the Angels Wings. They clothesline each other down simultaneously. Xavier backslides Daniels with his feet on the ropes. The referee catches him. Daniels O’Conner rolls Xavier and holds the tights for the pin at 22:24. This was a lot like the Williams match with really sound storytelling. The dynamic was different here with both guys being heels and former teammates and it was fun to watch. It felt a little long and the finish wasn’t great, but I still enjoyed this quite a bit. ***1/2

ROH World Championship
Samoa Joe (Champion) vs. Christopher Daniels
“Glory By Honor II” – Philadelphia, PA – 9.20.2003

Joe boots Daniels the moment the bell rings. He goes for an immediate pin and gets two. He stomps down Daniels and forearms him to the mat. Daniels snaps off a couple armdrags and nails a dropkick. Joe cuts him off with a clothesline. His combination gets another two count. Daniels gets two with an Arabian Press. Joe throws punches and chops in the corner. He ends with the facewash kick. Joe kicks Daniels in the back before applying a Boston Crab. Joe almost gives Allison Danger the facewash kick when she helps Daniels break the hold. Daniels cuts him and hits an Arabian Press on the floor. He sends Joe into the barricades. He goes for the Ole kick. Joe cuts him off and hits it himself. Joe rolls him in the ring in a Gedo Clutch. Daniels ducks a clothesline and German suplexes Joe. Joe however catches him with a powerslam for two. Daniels blocks a boot. He enzuigiri’s Joe twice and drops him with a Complete Shot. Daniels gives him a Samoan drop. He hits the BME for two. Joe drops him with the STJoe. He drives his knees into Daniels’ head and clotheslines him for two. Daniels drops him with a Complete Shot and puts on the Koji Clutch. When Joe escapes, Daniels hits the Blue Thunder Driver for two. He goes for an Iconoclasm. Daniels ends up bringing Joe down with a Frankensteiner. He hits the Angels Wings! Joe kicks out. The bell rings but it’s a false alarm. Daniels goes for the Last Rites. Joe reverses into the Coquina Clutch. Daniels gets his foot on the ropes. Joe delivers an enzuigiri before dropping Daniels with the Island Driver for the pin at 15:02. That was incredible. They had built a Daniels/Joe singles match for so long that the Philadelphia crowd was hot from bell to bell. The false finishes were executed perfectly and it made for a super enjoyable fifteen minutes. ****

All Japan Double World Tag Team Championship
The Great Muta & Arashi (Champions) vs. The Prophecy (Christopher Daniels & Dan Maff)
“Final Battle 2003” – Philadelphia, PA – 12.27.2003

Allison Danger is in the Prophecy’s corner. Arashi’s size wins out over Maff, who is sizeable himself. He avoids Arashi’s corner splash and tags in Daniels. He wants to tangle with Muta. They go after each others’ arms. Muta lightly kicks Daniels in the ribs. Daniels tries some mind games but is thrown off when Muta spits green mist into the air. Muta blocks a punch and hits one of his own. Daniels has trouble moving Arashi. Maff comes in to help back Arashi to their corner. The Prophecy take turns throwing punches while Arashi hangs out against the corner pad. Arashi catches Daniels with a clothesline and tags in Muta. He delivers his signature elbow drop. He heads up top for the moonsault. Danger distracts and Daniels forearms him from behind. The Prophecy chokes Muta on the ropes and then take turns attacking him. Muta finally escapes when he hits Maff with a dropkick. Arashi tags in and throws his own dropkick. He lariats Maff in the corner and gets two with a belly-to-belly suplex. Maff throws some strikes. Daniels tags in. Maff shoulder blocks Arashi into Daniels’ STO. Arashi powerslams Daniels and tags in Muta. Muta kicks out Daniels knees. He gives him a dragonscrew leg whip and locks on the figure four. Maff stomps Muta to break it. Arashi takes Maff to the floor as Daniels rolls up Muta for two. Maff hits Muta with a chair as he hits the ropes. Muta blows red mist into Maff’s face to block a chair shot to the face. Daniels uranage slams Muta. He misses the BME. Muta hits the Shining Wizard for the pin at 16:05. Arashi was too large to do much of anything. Muta got in his signature spots to pop the crowd and get their energy up while The Prophecy did a great job playing foils. This wasn’t anything memorable, but it gave the fans exactly what they wanted to see. ***

After this we get a series of clips. The first one is from “The Battle Lines Are Drawn” (1.10.2004) where Daniels’ Prophecy took on CM Punk’s Second City Saints in an over half hour long brawl. After the match, Punk put Daniels through a table via a second rope Pepsi Plunge. That match is actually shown in full on Punk’s “Second City Saint” comp. Daniels would not be seen in ROH until CM Punk won the ROH World Title from Austin Aries at “Death Before Dishonor III” (6.18.2005). Punk stated he was leaving ROH with the title and that no one could stop him. Cue Daniels emerging and jaw jacking with Punk. This leads to a brawl and Daniels challenging Punk for a title match right there. Punk turns him down. Daniels then cuts a promo about why he left ROH in 2004 and why he is back now. We then see a clip of Daniels vs. Colt Cabana from “Sign of Dishonor” (7.8.2005). Punk jumped in and accidentally leveled Cabana with a chain assisted punch. Daniels sent Punk to the floor and hit the BME to pick up the win on Cabana.

Christopher Daniels vs. Matt Hardy
“Fate of an Angel” – Woodbridge, CT – 7.16.2005

Daniels sends Hardy to the floor with a leg lariat. Hardy comes back with a clothesline and controls Daniels by his wrist. Daniels flips over his back drop attempt. He goes for the Angels Wings. Hardy counters and tries the Twist of Fate. Daniels shoulder blocks him repeatedly in the corner to block it. He Complete Shots Hardy into the Koji Clutch. Hardy grabs the bottom rope to break it. Daniels hip tosses Hardy to the floor and follows with an Arabian Press. He misses a slingshot elbow. Hardy gets two with a legdrop. He also gets two with the Side Effect. Same goes for a crucifix bomb. Daniels takes him down with an enzuigiri. He kicks Hardy into an STO. He gets two with the Blue Thunder Bomb. Hardy meets him on the top rope and superplexes him. When Daniels kicks out he tries to do it a second time. He pulls it off but the result is the same. Two more superplexes wears himself out as well. They trade strikes. Daniels side suplexes Hardy off the top rope. Hardy misses a moonsault. Daniels hits the BME for two. Hardy gets his knees up to block a quebrada. He rolls Daniels up for two. He nails a lariat for two. Daniels pulls off a Death Valley Driver. CM Punk makes his way ringside and punches Allison Danger. Daniels shoves hardy into the referee to block the Twist of Fate. Punk punches Daniels with the chain. Hardy then hits the Twist of Fate for two. Hardy puts him in a butterfly lock. Daniels taps out at 19:36. They sort of went through the motions here, and even the story was on point, it never really held my attention. Really the Punk stuff was the only intriguing part. ***

Daniels would get his title shot at “The Homecoming” in Philadelphia (7.23.2005). We are shown the last fifteen minutes of the match, which ends in a 60:00 draw. Daniels would end up being a part of a four corner elimination title match at “Redemption” where James Gibson won the title from Punk. During that match however, Daniels and Joe re-kindled their old rivalry. (A clip of the four corner survival is not shown, but it is important to note for the next match.)

Christopher Daniels vs. Samoa Joe
“Night of the Grudges II” – Morristown, NJ – 8.20.2005

Joe goes for Daniels’ arm while Daniels goes for Joe’s leg. Daniels uses the ropes to flip out of a wristlock, which he is penalized one rope break for. Joe blocks a leapfrog with an inverted atomic drop. He kicks Daniels to the mat. The Combo leaves Daniels out of a breath. Joe knees him in the corner. He key locks the legs and pulls on Daniels’ face. He gets two with a delayed vertical suplex. Daniels comes back with a lung blower. He decides to continue doing damage to Joe’s mid-section after that. Joe uses his first rope break to escape an abdominal stretch. He throws knees and chops to try and turn the tide. When he goes for the facewash kick, Daniels kicks him in the stomach. He applies a bodyscissors which Joe escapes using his second rope break. Joe gets two with a powerslam. Both men get warned for throwing closed fists. Daniels use his final rope break to escape an STF. Daniels nails him with an enzuigiri and gets two with a quebrada. Daniels gives Joe a uranage and hits the BME for two. He locks on the Koji Clutch. Joe uses his final rope break to escape. He knocks Daniels down with a running boot. Joe puts on a Coquina Clutch in the ropes, which is now legal. Daniels taps out at 20:15. I liked this more than the silent crowd did. I thought they used the rope breaks in pretty clever ways and paid off the work they had put in by the end. It’s not as good as some of their other matches, but still good stuff. ***1/4

Christopher Daniels vs. Low Ki
“Tag Wars 2006” – Dayton, OH – 1.27.2006

Ki is a replacement for Samoa Joe. He puts Daniels in an armbar in the ropes. Daniels persistently keeps on a side headlock. Ki throws some forearms against the ropes. Daniels hip tosses him back to the mat and into a front facelock. Daniels drops an elbow for two. Ki sends him to the apron and dropkicks him into the barricades. He drives Daniels back into the barricades a few times, as well as his chest into the ring apron. As expected, that’s what Ki focuses on when he brings Daniels back into the ring. Ki puts on a bodyscissors. He stomps down Daniels. He shoves referee Todd Sinclair and grabs Allison Danger by her hair. Daniels O’Conner Rolls Ki for two. He goes for a sunset flip and Ki double stomps him. Daniels drives him into the mat with a Complete Shot. He gives him a tilt-a-whirl backbreaker and drops him with the STO for two. Ki goes for a lariat. Daniels catches him with a uranage. Ki grabs his legs to prevent him from hitting the BME. When he goes for it Ki crotches him on the top rope. He sets up for a double stomp while Daniels hangs in a tree of woe. Daniels shoves him to the floor and follows with an Arabian Press. In the ring he gets two with a high crossbody. Ki successfully pulls off the tree of woe double stomp. He misses a double stomp through the ringside table, injuring his own leg because of it. Daniels goes for a quick cover and gets two. He goes for the Angels Wings. Ki reverses it into a pinning combination for the victory at 20:49. Pretty good I guess, but you would expect these two do a lot better than their initial encounter four years prior. Instead, it ended up falling a bit short. ***

Daniels offers his very first handshake to Low Ki. Ki does not accept it, because Daniels did not accept his handshake offering in the main event from the first ROH show.

Christopher Daniels vs. Alex Shelley
“Best in the World” – New York, NY – 3.25.2006

Prince Nana and Daizee Haze are in Shelley’s corner while Allison Danger is in Daniels’. Shelley spits water in Daniels’ face. He slaps him in the face after avoiding a leapfrog. He bails to the floor so Daniels can’t reply. They exchange holds back in the ring. Shelley rubs Daniels’ bald head, so Daniels slaps him. Shelley shoulder blocks him from the apron and sweeps his legs. Daniels catches him with an inverted atomic drop coming back in. He controls Shelley on the mat. Shelley brings him to the corner and throws some chops. They fire Daniels up who throws some of his own chops back. He puts on a chinlock. They trade waistlocks. Shelley snapmares him into a boot rake across his face. Shelley dropkicks him in the back. After a neckbreaker he puts Daniels in a full body stretch. Shelley clotheslines Daniels into a bulldog for two. He gets two with a quebrada as well. He snaps Daniels throat across the top rope. Shelley goes for a slingshot move. Daniels catches him coming in, then nails an enzuigiri to buy some time. After a tilt-a-whirl backbreaker he gets two with an STO. Shelley leapfrogs out of the corner and superkicks Daniels. They roll each other into a few different pinning combinations. Shelley dropkicks Daniels on the top of his head. Daniels comes back with the Blue Thunder Bomb. He misses the BME but lands on his feet. Shelley gets his knees up to block the Arabian Press. Shelley goes for a Backslide. Daniels turns it into the Angels Wings for the pin at 14:36. Shelley is so incredibly entertaining. His personality shine through for the match’s entirety. He and Daniels had a super fun back and forth match and the finishing sequence was pretty stellar. ***1/4

Claudio Castagnoli vs. Christopher Daniels
“The 100th Show” – Philadelphia, PA – 4.22.2006

They both pose and get some “HEY!” chants from the crowd. Some arm work kicks off the bout. Claudio hip tosses his way out of a side headlock. Each guy snaps off an armdrag. Daniels sends Claudio out with one. When he comes back, Claudio puts on the Neutralizer. Daniels gets the topes and retreats to the floor. Daniels goes for a leg hold and Claudio gets the ropes. He lifts Daniels for over 60 seconds in a vertical suplex. He throws a few uppercuts before Daniels dropkicks his knee out. Daniels works over Claudio’s leg after that. Claudio hits an uppercut from the second rope, but the landing aggravates his knee. He hits the Match Killer for two. Daniels responds with a Death Valley Driver. The BME gets him two. He misses a knee strike. Claudio puts the Neutralizer back on. Daniels make it to the ropes. He goes for the Alpamare Water Slide. Daniels counters with an SOS roll-up for the pin at 15:54. The finish was a bit abrupt, but it followed a really strong back-and-forth wrestling match. It was cool to see one of ROH’s fore fathers battle one of the newer stars in the opener of the 100th show. ***

After the match, Daniels says that the 100th Show concludes a series of events called the Milestone Series. Tonight, he creates a milestone of his own, by making Claudio Castagnoli the first man whose hand he shook. He said he shook Claudio’s hand because he respects him and sees him as the future of ROH. Of course, Claudio would turn on ROH and join CZW later in the show.

Disc One

Low Ki vs. AJ Styles
“A Night of Appreciation” – Philadelphia, PA – 4.27.2002

This is Styles’ ROH debut. Ki and Styles stand-off after trading control on the mat. Ki kicks Styles’s legs while locking knuckles. Styles kicks Ki in the ribs. They both throw kicks at each other’s legs. They end up kicking each others’ shins. Ki tackles Styles into a front facelock. Styles puts on a reverse chinlock. Styles fights out. Ki kicks and chops Styles in a lock-up. Styles cradles Ki for two. Ki punts him in the face. Ki kicks him in the back of the head too. Styles huracanrana’s Ki from the apron. He gives him a spinning clothesline for two. Ki kicks Styles as he follows him into the corner. Ki throws a chop. Styles enzuigiri’s Ki to the floor. Styles superkicks Ki twice on the floor. Back in the ring Styles gets two with a brainbuster. Ki gives him a Koppu Kick. He sends Styles out with a running boot. Ki puts Styles in the Dragon Sleeper in the ropes. Ki goes for the Ki Krusher. Styles counters it with a DDT. Styles blocks a Dragon sleeper. He quebrada’s into a reverse DDT. Ki blocks a huracanrana with a powerbomb. Styles kicks out. Ki throws some chest and Kawada kicks. Ki Tiger suplexes him for another two count. Styles German suplexes Ki into a facebuster. Ki gives Styles a gord buster so he can recover. Ki hits a cartwheel enzuigiri in the corner. Styles gets his knees up to block the Phoenix Splash. Styles holds up Ki in a Razor’s Edge position, then drops him into a DDT. Ki kicks out! Styles misses the Spiral Tap. They trade blows as they come back to their feet. Ki wins the exchange with an enzuigiri. Styles picks up Ki in another Razor’s Edge. Ki rolls up Styles for the pin at 18:13. This is in a lot of ways was like the previous match. The biggest difference was that this crowd was going ape for everything Styles did. That seemed to be the goal, and boy did Styles ever accomplish that. Again, a lack of focus knocks this down a peg, but I’ll be damned if I didn’t enjoy watching these two beat each other senseless. ***3/4

AJ Styles vs. Jerry Lynn
“Road to the Title” – Philadelphia, PA – 6.22.2002

An aggressive lock-up is broken cleanly in the corner. They exchange wristlocks. Lynn snaps off a pair of armdrags. Styles delivers one of his own, leading to a stalemate. After some leapfrogs, they reach a stalemate again after they go for armdrags at the same time. Lynn shoulder blocks Styles to the mat. He ducks a clothesline and hits one of his own for two. Lynn kicks Styles back before applying a bow and arrow. Styles flips out into a pin and gets two. Styles throws some strikes before Lynn gives him a tilt-a-whirl backbreaker. He suplexes Styles into the corner for two. Styles escapes a Kryptonite Crunch and nails a superkick. Lynn comes of the second rope for a bulldog. Styles gives him a divorce court and applies an armbar. Lynn grabs the ropes. Styles works over the arm some more. Lynn gives him a legdrop on the second rope. Styles suplexes him into a neckbreaker. He hits the Phenomenon. Lynn kicks out. He calls for the Styles Clash. Lynn backdrops out of it. He goes for the Cradle Piledriver. Styles flips out but Lynn gives him an enzuigiri. A series of pinfalls leads to Lynn delivering a German suplex for two. Lynn also gets two with a tornado DDT. Styles gives Lynn a neckbreaker across his knee. Lynn crotches him on the top rope. Styles shoves him down and hits the Spiral Tap for two. Lynn DDT’s him before hitting a TKO. Styles kicks out. Styles slips out of the Cradle Piledriver and hits the Styles Clash for the pin at 15:26. I liked that the neck work from Lynn and the arm work from Styles was consistent through out. It never felt like an epic battle and moreso just an exhibition. The Spiral Tap really should have been the finish, even if it didn’t directly play into the limb work put in. Nevertheless it was a good showcase for both competitors. ***1/4

AJ Styles vs. Christopher Daniels
“Road to the Title” – Philadelphia, PA – 6.22.2002

The winner of this match will enter a four person Iron Man match to decide the first ROH Champion. They look for control on the mat. Daniels tries a cradle but Styles avoids it. He knees Daniels’ arm whilst applying a hammerlock. Daniels armdrags Styles and digs his knee into his head. Styles reverses into a headscissors. Daniels wrenches on a side headlock. He bars the arm after giving Styles an armdrag. Styles escapes and dropkicks Daniels for two. Daniels sweeps out his legs to block an armdrag and re-applies the grounded side headlock. He shoulder blocks Styles, but Styles pops up from the apron and Frankensteiner’s Daniels to the corner. He dropkicks Daniels to the floor. He follows with a twisting pescado. As they fight on the ring apron, Daniels kicks Styles low. He knocks him off of the apron and into the guardrails which busts him open. Daniels targets the open wound. In the ring he misses a quebrada. Styles delivers a brainbuster. He hits a springboard quebrada as Daniels dangles from the second rope. Daniels transitions from the Complete Shot into the Koji Clutch. Daniels then legdrops Styles on the top rope. He does the deal with a Falcon Arrow, yet Styles still kicks out. Styles enzuigiri’s Daniels to buy some time. Styles slams him face first into the mat for two. Daniels ducks a spinwheel kick. He drops Styles with an STO. He hits the Blue Thunder Bomb for two. The BME is countered by Styles shaking the ropes and causing Daniels to lose his balance. Styles turns him from a Razor’s Edge position into a DDT. He goes for the Styles Clash. Daniels rolls through and puts on an ankle lock. He grapevines the legs. Styles rolls forward and kicks Daniels in the head until he is freed. After trading some cradles, Styles goes for the Phenomenon. Daniels counters with the Last Rites for the pin at 21:50. This is just another example of just how good Daniels and Styles worked together. The counter wrestling was a joy to watch, as it kept each other on their toes and had you guessing just what was coming next. The fact that Daniels was able to counter one of Styles’ signatures moves to win was a nice cherry on top. It may have been a little lengthy but that only hurt the overall package slightly. ***3/4

ROH Championship
Low Ki (Champion) vs. AJ Styles
“Honor Invades Boston” – Wakefield, MA – 8.24.2002

Ki controls Styles’ leg in the early going. Styles puts on a Muta Lock and rolls it over. Ki kicks him in the jaw. Styles and Ki kick each others’ legs. Ki ends the sequence with an enzuigiri. Styles kicks him in the back of the head too. Ki kicks him to stop him from getting control on the mat. Ki throws some chops and uppercuts. He gets two with a back elbow. Ki then blocks a Frankensteiner by kicking Styles in the lower back. Styles pulls it off on the second attempt. He throws some strikes before blasting Ki with a crescent kick. Ki throws some Kawada kicks. Styles knocks him down with a rolling clothesline. Styles goes for a suicide dive but Ki cuts him off with an enzuigiri from the floor. More Kawada kicks are thrown in the ring. Ki rolls through a German suplex. He misses the Tidal Wave. Styles hits the German suplex and a facebuster. He goes for the Styles Clash. Ki counters with a high speed huracanrana. He sends Styles face first into the corner. He puts on a Dragon Sleeper in the tree of woe position. Styles recovers and gives Ki his Razor’s Edge DDT for two. He misses the Spiral Tap. Styles kicks Ki in a tree of woe. He delivers a jumping forearm to his face. They trade strikes on the mat, ending with a kick to the head from Ki. He goes from a Ki Krusher position into a brainbuster. Styles gets his knees up to block a Phoenix Splash. He then delivers a brainbuster. Styles cradles Ki to block a Ki Krusher. Ki throws some Kawada Kicks and Styles unloads with forearms in response. Ki counters a Frankensteiner with a powerbomb for two. He goes for a Dragon Sleeper. Styles fights out of it, but Ki gives him the Ki Krusher for the win at 19:47. That was awesome. These guys relentlessly went after one another in pursuit of the title. Styles fought from behind after taking a lot of head trauma and ended up being overwhelmed. As the first defense of the ROH title ever, this was a major success. ****

No Holds Barred
AJ Styles & Low Ki vs. The Prophecy (Christopher Daniels & Xavier)
“Revenge On The Prophecy” – West Mifflin, PA – 1.11.2003

Allison Danger is in the Prophecy’s corner. The Prophecy attack the moment the introductions are finished. Ki and Xavier fight on the floor, as do Daniels and Strong in a different area. Ki takes control of Xavier in the ring. Styles makes his way in and helps Ki wear Xavier down. Xavier is able to tag in Daniels. He ends up being chopped up by Ki. He kicks out of a suplex and tags Xavier back in. He suffers the Krush Kombo right away. Styles gets in a kick of his own. Xavier catches him with a boot and a DDT. Styles gets beaten down for a bit but catches Daniels relatively quickly with a neckbreaker. The fight spills back to the floor. Ki slams Daniels on the floor and gets two back in the ring. Xavier comes in with Styles but is quickly sent out. Daniels is worn down again with Ki and Styles keeping Xavier at bay. With Allison Danger’s help, Daniels turns the tide and chokes Ki on the middle rope. Xavier pummels Styles to the floor. The Prophecy isolate Ki. Ki manages to escape by blocking Daniels’ Angels Wings and going for the Dragon Clutch. Although Daniels drops out of it, Ki is able to tag in Styles. He cleans house and drops Daniels with the Phenomenon. Xavier dropkicks Styles’ leg out. This leads to the Prophecy working over Styles leg as Ki recovers on the apron. Styles gives Daniels a chinbreaker and tags Ki back in. Although he’s tired, he’s able to throw some clothesline and give Daniels the Tidal Wave. He Koppu Kicks Xavier and Krush Rushes Daniels into him. Xavier breaks the pin. Xavier catches him coming off the ropes and gives him a Falcon Arrow for two. Styles back handsprings off the ropes to botch crotch Xavier on the top rope and to back elbow Daniels. Ki puts Xavier in an abdominal stretch on the top rope. Daniels palm strikes Ki to break it. He brings Ki down with a superplex. Xavier gives Styles a super gord buster to block a superplex. Styles goes for the Styles Clash on Daniels. Xavier stops him and Daniels put on an ankle lock. Daniels back is too hurt to go for Angel’s Wings. Ki slingshots him to the floor. He suicide dives after him. Ki Koppu Kicks Xavier to stop his dive. Styles German suplexes him and rolls through into a facebuster. Daniels breaks the pin. Xavier gives Styles a Cobra Clutch suplex for two. Daniels gets two with the Iconoclasm on Ki. Ki comes back with the Tidal Krush. Danger jumps in the ring and throws forearms to Ki’s back. Daniels tries to attack but misses and hits Danger. The Prophecy is dumped to the floor. Styles lands n Daniels with a twisting pescado. Ki slingshots Xavier into the ring post. He places one of the concrete barricade blocks on Xavier’s chest and hits a chair into it. Daniels gives Ki and STO for two. He sets up for Last Rites. Styles breaks the pin and takes the Angel’s Wings. Styles kicks out. He goes for the Angel’s Wings on the apron. Styles instead hits a Styles Clash through a ringside table. Ki puts on a Dragon Clutch in the ropes. Xavier submits at 28:36. Boy did that go long for absolutely no reason. The work was okay but it dragged. If they had kept this to about 15 minutes it could have been something really special. I liked the cinder block call back (Xavier used it when defeating Low Ki for the title) as poetic justice in wrestling is always sweet, but I just couldn’t get into this as much as I should have. I think a more compact product would have served this feud ender much better, but as it is, it’s good but forgettable. ***1/4

ROH Tag Team Championship
The Prophecy (Christopher Daniels & Xavier) (Champions) vs. AJ Styles & The Amazing Red
“Expect The Unexpected” – Cambridge, MA – 3.15.2003

Xavier is standing in for Donovan Morgan, who is the actual tag partner of Daniels. Allison Danger is in the Prophecy’s corner while Alexis Laree is in Styles and Red’s corner. The Prophecy jump Red and Styles at the bell. Styles clotheslines them both and Red dropkicks them to the floor. Styles and Red follow with stereo tope con hilo’s. The Prophecy threaten to leave but end up sticking around. Xavier absorbs some kicks from Red. Red gives him a tornado enzuigiri to knock him down. He toreadors into a tornado DDT for two. Xavier bails when Styles and Red whip him to the ropes. Daniels and Styles look for control on the mat. Daniels hip tosses him into a dropkick. Styles gives him and Xavier a spinwheel kick. Styles trips Daniels into a Tiger Feint Kick from Red. Red gets two with a satellite headscissors. Styles works on his arm until Daniels pokes him in the eyes. Xavier gets caught with a kick upon tagging in. He snaps off a powerslam for two. The Prophecy keeps Styles isolated in their corner until he catches them with a double dropkick. Red tags in and hits his own double dropkick from the top rope. He monkey flips Xavier across the ring. He tries to do the same to Daniels, but Xavier grabs Red and drops him neck first across the top rope. Xavier holds Red for a clothesline. Red ducks causing Daniels to hit Xavier. Styles tags back in. He uses the Phenomenon on Daniels and gets two with a neckbreaker. Danger grabs Styles’ legs. Laree and her fight in the ring. The distraction allows Xavier to hit Kiss Your X Goodbye on Styles. Red gives Xavier the Code Red. Daniels breaks the pin. The Prophecy uses a back suplex/neckbreaker combo on Styles. Red breaks the pin. He takes a powerbomb/neckbreaker combo. Styles breaks the pin and sends Daniels out with an enzuigiri. He spinwheel kicks Xavier. He gets two with a brainbuster and a Dominator DDT. Daniels drops Styles with a STO. He hits the BME on Red. Styles breaks the pin. Daniels drops him with a Complete Shot and puts on the Koji Clutch. Red breaks the hold. Daniels gives Styles the Angels Wings and again Red saves his partner. Styles gives Daniels the Styles Clash for the pin at 21:09. This probably would have been better off losing a few minutes but it was a solid encounter regardless. Red and Styles weren’t yet the well oiled machine they would become in their Briscoes encounter but still serviceable. Between this and the last match I don’t know what ROH saw in Xavier back then. Daniels worked his ass off though and held up more than his fair share. This probably would have been better if Morgan had been Daniels’ partner but it was still a fine title match. ***1/4

#1 Contenders Trophy
AJ Styles vs. Paul London
“Night of the Grudges” – Cambridge, MA – 6.14.2003

Both guys aggressively fight for control on the mat and end up reaching a stalemate. Styles snapmares him into a back kick. London accepts Styles’ handshake Styles rolls London into a cross armbreaker out of a knuckle lock. London has his foot on the ropes immediately. Styles grapevines his legs while London horse collar’s Styles’ leg. Styles turns down London’s hand shake offering. They slap each other in the face and then shake hands. London forearms him in the face after breaking a lock-up. They reach a stalemate after an armdrag exchange and both of them throwing stereo dropkicks. Styles gets in his own forearm. He goes for an early Styles Clash but London fights out and gets to the corner. Styles sends him out with a springboard dropkick. He misses a pescado and London baseball dropkicks him into the barricades. London avoids being sent into the barricades and drop toe holds Styles into them. Styles hops into the crowd. London avoids a superkick and slams Styles’ leg into the barricades. Back in the ring Style gives London a swinging neckbreaker for two. He gives London an enzuigiri. London holds onto his hurt leg however and dragonscrews him to the mat. He wisely continues to do damage to that leg. Styles sneaks in a brainbuster to give himself some relief. Styles tries for a baseball slide and gets his leg slammed against the apron. London key locks his legs and digs his foot into Styles’ knee. Styles fights out of it. They throw rapid fire strikes. Styles knocks London down with a rolling clothesline and falls down in exhaustion. Styles recovers and hits an arm-capture suplex for two. London comes off the second rope with a spinwheel kick. Styles kicks out. He gets two with the Phenomenon which also hurts his own leg. London throws Styles off the top rope. He follows with a London Star Press to Styles’ hurt leg. London puts on the figure four. Styles fights his way to the bottom rope. He and London fight on the ropes. Styles gives him a Sunset Bomb and the Styles Clash! Styles clutches his knee and gets a two count. Styles German suplexes London. However, he can’t bridge up due to his hurt knee, so the match is ruled a draw at 24:22 since both guys’ shoulders were counted to the mat. That was some incredible wrestling with a great story. Both guys beat the snot out of each other and had the crap captivated from the opening bell. It really felt like two top talents in the world were fighting for supremacy and even with that the finish didn’t take anything away from the work they put in. I rarely hear people talk about this match when discussing the great ROH bouts of all time and they really should. ****1/2

ROH Tag Team Championship
AJ Styles & The Amazing Red (Champions) vs. The Briscoes (Jay & Mark Briscoe)
“Death Before Dishonor” – Elizabeth, NJ – 7.19.2003

Jay and Styles forearm the crap out of each other, spilling to the floor. Mark back elbows Red to stop his dive. He misses a dive onto Styles and gets thrown into the barricades. Jay throws Styles into them. In the ring, Red hits Jay with a slingshot Code Red for two. Mark springboards in with a clothesline to Styles and dropkick to Red. Styles and Red give him a double enzuigiri for two. Mark finds himself trapped in their corner until he kicks out Red’s knee to counter an Irish Whip. The Briscoes then take turns working over his leg. Jay rakes his eyes when he gets close to tagging out. Red ends up giving Mark an Air Raid Crash and tagging out. Styles fights off both Briscoes. Styles pump handles him into a gutbuster and a scoop powerslam. Mark breaks the cover. He uranage suplexes Styles for two. Red tornado kicks him. Jay boots him in the face. Styles slingshot crossbody’s onto Jay for two. Jay powerbombs Styles, who carries Mark down into a superlex, into a powerbomb from Red. Jay and Red trade chops. Mark assists Jay with the Jay Driller. Styles shoves Mark onto them to break the pin. The Briscoes give Styles the Doomsday Device for two. Styles hits the Phenomenon on Mark. He rolls to the floor. Jay goes for the Jay Driller. Red hits him with a Shining Wizard. Styles then hits the Styles Clash for the pin at 14:28. That was fast and fun, but their match at “Night of the Champions” is far superior. ***1/4

CM Punk vs. AJ Styles
“The Tradition Continues” – Glen Burnie, MD – 10.16.2003

They go to the mat for the opening exchange. Styles puts on a body scissors while he and Punk are in a double knuckle lock. That leads into them slapping each other while in headstands. Styles kicks Punk in the leg, so Punk gives him a Saito suplex. He also delivers a mule kick. Styles responds with a dropkick. He drops a knee onto Punk’s face. Punk drop toe holds Styles to the corner and follows in with a baseball slide. Styles goes for a Styles Clash. Even though Punk escapes, he gets sent to the floor with an enzuigiri. Punk avoids a dive and throws Styles back first into the barricades. He gets two with a delayed vertical suplex. He puts on a modified crossface and then gets two with a side Russian leg sweep. Styles tries the Phenomenon and ends up caught in a backbreaker. Punk’s split-legged moonsault goes awry when Styles gets his knees up. Styles takes a clothesline but then huracanrana’s Punk from the apron. Chops are exchanged. Styles gets two with a pump-handle suplex. Punk gives Styles a hammerlock DDT for two. Punk can’t get the Pepsi Plunge, so he settles for a Sunset Bomb. Styles manages to hit a rolling clothesline after recovering. He tries for a super Styles Clash. Punk blocks that and a tornado DDT. Styles counters the Shining Wizard with the Styles Clash for the pin at 18:08. That finishing stretch ruled. Before that this was a great showcase of competitive, smart wrestling. Both guys were on so point back then and rarely had a match that wasn’t worth watching. ***1/2

Disc Two

#1 Contenders Trophy
Bryan Danielson vs. AJ Styles
”Main Event Spectacles” – Elizabeth, NJ – 11.1.2003

These two have a knuckle lock and waistlock exchange that takes to the mat and reaches a stalemate. They spill to the floor where they keep looking for control. They both get back in the ring when no clear control is established. Styles cleanly breaks a lock-up against the ropes. For it, Danielson elbows Styles and suplexes him. Danielson follows Styles to the floor where he delivers an uppercut. Styles jumps into the crowd to avoid being thrown into the barricades. Styles hits an enzuigiri from the crowd. In the ring, Styles nails a dropkick. Danielson throws Styles across the ring by his neck. Danielson kicks Styles’ arm while it’s trapped in the ropes. Danielson of course decides to now focus his attack on that very arm. Danielson butterfly suplexes Styles. The crowd gets a little more hostile when Danielson yells at them and he gets a bit more aggressive with his attack on Styles’ arm. Styles suplexes Danielson off the ring apron and to the floor. Danielson badly lands on one of his legs. Styles gets a bit of payback by attacking that very leg. Back in the ring Danielson puts on a half crab, grinding one of his arms into the bridge of AJ’s nose. Danielson’s kick to AJ is very weak. AJ kicks away at that leg, then dragonscrews his arm into the mat. Styles puts on a figure four. Danielson reverses causing Styles to grab the ropes and break the hold. Styles grabs Danielson’s leg. Danielson tries an enzuigiri but misses. He goes for a second, so Styles wisely dragonscrews his leg. Styles kicks away at Danielson’s leg which gets Danielson angry. Styles then stomps Danielson’s head in which gets the crowd going. Danielson fights Style out of the corner and delivers an uppercut off the second rope. Danielson’s bad wheel lets him only hit a weak top rope headbutt, only getting him a two count. Styles flips off the second rope looking for a reverse DDT. Danielson catches him in a cravate, knees him in the face, then suplexes him for two. Styles reverses the momentum of Danielson’s superplex. Styles goes up top. Danielson hits the ropes so that he lands on the top rope on his stomach. Danielson brings him in with a suplex off the second rope. Styles’ landing looks a bit nasty, but he still kicks out at two. Danielson locks in Cattle Mutilation, but not for long as Styles is close to the ropes. Danielson tries for a Dragon suplex. When Styles resists, he brings him to the mat and puts on Cattle Mutilation. Styles fights out of another dragon suplex attempt and hits a Pele kick. Styles’ rolling clothesline gets him a two count. He goes for the Styles Clash. Danielson turns it into a cross armbreaker. Styles picks up Danielson and hits a modified version of the Styles Clash for two. Styles hits the real thing for the pin at 24:15. These two picked a body part, worked it over, and based the whole match around it. There’s no simpler and more effective storytelling in wrestling. These two told that story to near perfection and got the crowd responding to it. I can’t say much more else about these two that hasn’t been said over and over again. ****

ROH World Championship
Samoa Joe (Champion) vs. AJ Styles
“War of the Wire” – Framingham, MA – 11.29.2003

Joe elbows Styles a couple times in the side of the head and shoulder blocks him down. Styles snaps off a Frakensteiner. Joe does the same. Neither of them get control on the mat. Joe throws some kicks. Styles trips him into a side headlock. He delivers a dropkick and a knee drop to the face. He gets two with a suplex. Joe punches Styles to block a discuss clothesline. He kicks him to the floor and follows with an elbow suicida. Styles avoids the Ole kick but eats a superkick instead. Styles jumps into the crowd to avoid being whipped into the barricades. He leaps over and clotheslines Joe. He powerbombs Joe back in the ring for two. Joe catches Styles with the STJoe. He facewash kicks Styles in the corner. Joe sweeps out his legs to cut off his momentum. He powerbombs Styles into an STF. Styles gets his foot on the ropes. Joe rolls him in a cradle. Styles catches Joe with a Pele kick. He hits the Phenomenon for two. He puts on a Muta Lock. Joe escapes and hits an enzuigiri. Styles fires up with forearms. Joe responds with slaps. Styles throws a gamengiri and both guys are on the mat. Joe fights Styles from the top rope. Styles brings him down in a powerbomb. He gives him the Styles Clash for two. Styles goes for the Phenomenon again. Joe catches him with the Island Driver for two. He throws some knees. Styles nails a rolling clothesline. He goes to the top. Joe catches him and hits the Muscle Buster. He locks on the Coquina Clutch. Styles passes out at 16:41. That was a lot of fun, as you would expect. The one thing I learned from this and the Low Ki title match was Styles is great in getting his ass beaten, showing glimmers of hope, and then ultimately losing in the end. He fits that role flawlessly and it worked here too. ***1/2

AJ Styles vs. Homicide
“The Battle Lines Are Drawn” – Wilmington, OH – 1.10.2004

Armdrags ahoy! Each guy goes for the finish early. Homicide rolls out to create some distance. He puts on a side headlock when he gets back in the ring. Styles takes him to the ropes. He gets to the ropes again to break a front facelock. After a dropkick, Styles holds onto Homicide’s arm after an armdrag. He gives Homicide a Saito suplex. Homicide rolls to the floor again. Styles tries a baseball slide but gets shoved into the barricades instead. Styles leapfrogs over Homicide sending him into the barricades. From the crowd Styles delivers a superkick. He drops a knee back in the ring. Homicide Jon Woo dropkicks him to the corner. He scrapes his boot across Styles’ face and drives his knee into it. Homicide butterfly superplexes him for two. Styles stops his second superplex attempt and gets two with a high crossbody. Homicide hits an Ace Crusher. He gets two with an overhead belly-to-belly suplex. Styles catches him with a rib breaker. He does more damage to his mid-section with an abdominal stretch. Homicide sneaks in a fisherman’s suplex. Styles hot shots him on the top rope. Homicide sends Styles to the floor. He hits a tope con hilo, but his back badly hits the top of the barricades. In the ring he tries a crossbody. Styles catches him with a backbreaker. Homicide goes for the Cop Killer. Styles slips out so Homicide kicks him low. He delivers a piledriver for two. He tries for a lariat. Styles counters with his own discuss lariat for two. He Pele kicks Homicide off the top rope. Homicide hits a quick boot before falling. After a strike exchange, Styles rolls Homicide into the Styles Clash for the pin at 21:32. This was pretty hot in the opening but cooled off significantly when Homicide did his tope con hilo. They picked it up in the end but the selling came and went and didn’t make for the best overall contest. ***1/4

ROH Pure Championship Tournament Finals
CM Punk vs. AJ Styles
“Second Anniversary Show” – Braintree, MA – 2.14.2004

The winner of this match becomes the inaugural ROH Pure Champion. Traci Brooks is in Punk’s corner. Punk uses the ropes to counter a wristlock which the referee counts as one rope break. Styles goes for the Styles Clash early. Punk grabs his leg and Styles gets the ropes to block whatever submission may be coming. That brings him down to two rope breaks as well. A lock-up ends up on the floor. Back in the ring they criss-cross the ropes. Styles goes after Traci to neutralize her. Punk pescado’s onto him. Punk stops himself from being whipped into the barricades but Styles dropkicks him. He lands on his previously injured leg. Punk notices this and puts on a Boston Crab back in the ring. Styles uses his second rope break to escape. Styles puts Punk in a headscissors in the ropes. The referee counts that as Punk’s second rope break. Styles goes for a springboard move and gets his legs swept out. Punk puts on a half crab. Styles’ third and final rope break is used to escape that hold. Punk puts on a key lock. Styles violently rips away in a chinlock to force Punk to the ropes. No both guys are out of rope breaks, so the ropes can be used. Both guys fight on the top rope where Styles brings Punk down with a super Gourd Buster. Styles hits a discuss lariat which he used earlier in the night to beat Jimmy Rave. Punk rolls to the floor to avoid being pinned. When Punk comes back in he hits a Shining Wizard for two. Punk puts on a modified cloverleaf. Styles uses the ropes to twist himself around and kick Punk away. Punk kicks out his leg. Styles blocks the Shining Wizard to hit the Styles Clash for two. Styles hits one from the second rope for the pin at 16:34. That was a masterful way to introduce the title. They showed off the three rope break rule in a very clever way and showed how losing those rope breaks can help if you’re smart about. There was some ingenious work put in from both competitors. I really do feel this gets overlooked by the awesome World title match on the same show, and the rematch they had at “At Our Best”. ***3/4

AJ Styles vs. Jimmy Rave
“Third Anniversary Celebration Part 2” – Dayton, OH – 2.25.2005

Prince Nana and Jade Chung of the Embassy are in Rave’s corner. This is Styles’ first match back in ROH since March of 2004 due to the Rob Feinstein controversy. They go to the mat. When Rave’s aggression picks up, Styles throws him to the floor. Rave tackles him from behind and rubs his face into the mat. Styles throws some forearms until he is poked in the eyes. Rave goes to the floor. Styles baseball slides the back of his head, causing him to collide with the barricades. Rave catches Styles’ pescado with a gutbuster. Styles hops into the crowd to avoid being thrown into the barricades. Rave dives over too, but Styles catches him and suplexes him into some chairs. They fight into the bleachers where Rave plants Styles face first. Ringside, Styles nails a clothesline. In the ring he gets two with a dropkick. Rave blocks an O’Conner Roll with a belly-to-back suplex. Styles gives him a backbreaker and a short-arm lariat. Rave trips Styles, but he comes up from the apron with a huracanrana. Rave leg sweeps out of the corner for two. He signals for the Rave Clash. Styles slams him in the corner to block it. Rave then puts on a seated abdominal stretch. Styles escapes and suplexes Rave on the apron! Styles springboards in with a forearm strike. He strings a suplex and facebuster together for two. Rave hits a backbreaker and Ghanarhea for two. Styles clotheslines him inside out. Rave comes back with From Dusk Til Dawn. Styles escapes and throws a series a strikes to take Rave off of his feet. As Rave comes off the ropes, Styles cartwheels into a Pele Kick! He calls for the Styles Clash. Rave rolls through it. He hits the Doppler Effect for two. Styles hits a back elbow. He spins Rave out of a torture rack for two. Nana distracts the referee. Styles sends him down. Behind the referee’s back he sprays air freshener into his eyes. Rave rolls Styles up for the pin at 22:05. Styles looked awesome in his return, and both he and Rave did a tremendous job portraying their hatred for one another throughout the match. The finish was garbage, especially when at the time this was going to be a one and done sort of situation. Thankfully it wasn’t in the long run. ***1/2

At “Sign of Dishonor” in July, Rave tries suffocating Styles with a plastic bag. Thankfully Styles was able to escape.

AJ Styles vs. Roderick Strong
“Fate of an Angel” – Woodbridge, CT – 7.16.2005

Styles schools Strong on the mat. Strong picks him up and places him on the top turnbuckle. Styles bails to the floor. Styles fakes him out with a dropkick, but then sends Strong to the ropes with a Frakensteiner. He delivers a spinebuster for one. He calls for the Styles Clash. Strong grabs hold of the ropes. Styles moonsault kicks him as he dangles on the second rope. He drops a knee for two. He dropkicks Strong to the floor and pescado’s onto him. Styles hops into the crowd. From there he springboards back ringside with a diving forearm. Strong gives him a backbreaker on the ring apron and kicks him face first into the barricades. Back in the ring he tosses Styles overhead to block a monkey flip. He boots him in the corner after a vertical suplex. He applies a legged full nelson. Styles gets the ropes. Strong mocks him with a dropkick. He gets two with a butterfly suplex and then kicks Styles in the face. Styles enzugiri’s and Pele kicks Strong to end a forearm exchange. Styles gets two with a reverse DDT, then again with a suplex/pump-handle gutbuster combo. Strong responds with a two backbreakers. He follows that up with Death by Roderick. Styles sweeps out his legs to counter a senton. Strong hits the Sick Kick for two. Styles avoids an over the shoulder backbreaker and hits a clothesline. Strong follows him to the top rope. Styles shoves him to the mat. He misses the Spiral Tap. Strong puts him in the Strong Hold. Styles grabs the ropes to escape. Styles blocks a half-nelson backbreaker and hits the Styles Clash for the pin at 16:38. I think my favorite thing about the Styles Clash is the clever ways Styles manages to counter moves into it, or bust it out from various positions. Strong was a perfect match for him and the two put on quite a war. ***1/2

Street Fight
AJ Styles vs. Jimmy Rave
“The Homecoming” – Philadelphia, PA – 7.23.2005

Rave throws some punches. Styles brings Rave to the floor with some punches and drives the back of his head into the barricades repeatedly. He then whips him shoulder first into the barricades twice. He throws Rave into the crowd. He drops Rave onto the merchandise table. Styles avoids being whipped into the barricades and delivers a spear. Styles goes for a suplex on a chair but Rave counters with a DDT. He throws Styles into the barricades a few times before bringing him back into the ring. He gets two with the Doppler Effect. When he goes for the Rave Clash, Styles fires up and throws punches and headbutts. He suplexes Rave off the apron and through the timekeeper’s table. He sets up for the Styles Clash back in the ring onto a chair. Rave backdrops Styles onto the chair instead. He stomps his face into the chair too. He sets up the chair. Styles gives him a brainbuster onto it. Members of the Embassy run in to help but Styles gets rid of them (Killer Kreul and Fast Eddie Vegas to be exact). He pescado’s onto them and Prince Nana. Jade Cheung even comes into hit Styles. Styles shows some mercy and leads her out of the ring. He once again sets up for the Styles Clash. Alex Shelley runs in and gives him the Shell Shock. Rave then hits the Rave Clash for the pin at 12:52. That was a really solid street fight without reaching a new level with weapons and blood. Granted, the litany of interference towards the end did kill a lot of momentum the beginning portion of the contest created, it was still a fun watch and set-up the impending feud ender very well. ***1/4

AJ Styles vs. CIMA
“Dragon Gate Invasion” – Williamsville, NY – 8.27.2005

This is CIMA’s Dragon Gate debut. The first initial exchanges end in stalemates. Styles goes for the legs. CIMA turns it into a Gedo Clutch for two. A double knuckle lock sees both guys go for some pins. Styles grabs a front facelock. CIMA backs him to the ropes to escape. Styles flips out of a German suplex. He snaps off a pair of armdrags. Styles dropkicks CIMA to the floor. CIMA throws Styles’ shoulder into the ring post and then goes back into the ring just so he can hit a suicide dive. In the ring he headscissors Styles into the turnbuckles and stomps onto his back. He snaps his throat on the bottom rope. Styles catches CIMA coming off the ropes with a backbreaker across his hip. He does more damage to CIMA’s back. CIMA kicks his leg out. Styles back elbows him down. CIMA hot shots him on the top rope. They crossbody in mid-air. Styles throws some forearms. CIMA catches a kick and gives him a dragonscrew leg whip. CIMA charges in with double knees to the corner. He hits the Perfect Driver for two. Styles avoids double knees again. He tries the Phenomenon but CIMA holds onto the top rope. Styles springboards in from the apron with a forearm strike. He goes to the top rope. CIMA hits him with Venus and a superkick that puts him in a reverse tree of woe. CIMA of course hits Tokarev. After another Venus, he brings Styles down with an Iconoclasm. Styles gets his knees up to block the Mad Splash. Styles absorbs a super kicks and nails the Pele Kick. He goes for the Styles Clash. CIMA goes for Schwein. When Styles blocks it, CIMA rolls him into the Dos Caras Clutch for the pin at 16:59. This was an awesome debut for CIMA as he was able to bust out all of his cool offense. Styles was a formidable opponent and deserves credit for CIMA looking good as well. With a more engaged/knowledgeable crowd it could have been better, but it’s still a solid debut that CIMA and friends would one-up on every other occasion. ***1/2

Anything Goes – No Time Limit
AJ Styles vs. Jimmy Rave
“Glory By Honor IV” – Lake Grove, NY – 9.17.2005

The winner of the match is the first person to hit the Styles Clash/Rave Clash. The loser is barred from ever using that move again. Prince Nana is in Rave’s corner while Mick Foley is in Styles’ corner.

Rave attacks Styles at the start. Styles explodes out of the corner with a shoulder block. He backdrops Rave as he comes off the ropes. He whips him into the corner and kicks him to the floor. Styles pescados onto him. He goes for the Styles Clash. Rave escapes and goes to the floor. Styles hits him with a baseball slide and throws him into the barricades. In the ring he does some damage to Rave’s neck. Styles clotheslines a masked man who tried to run in. The momentary distraction allows Rave to recover and throw some punches. He gives Styles a reverse suplex. Foley encourages the fans to chant “Jimmy likes balls.” Rave chops Styles towards the entrance ramp where he goes for the Rave Clash. Styles backdrops him onto the ramp instead. Rave side steps Styles’ charge sending him into a ring post. Back in the ring they fight over a waitlock. Rave trips Styles but gets taken over with a Frakensteiner. Styles German suplexes him. Rave stops a facebuster and hits Ghanarhea. Nana helps Rave bring a table into the ring. Rave hits the Doppler Effect causing Styles head to hit the table. Foley gives him some words of encouragement as he recovers. They fight on the apron and the ropes. Styles and Rave end up crashing through the timekeeper’s table. Rave tries picking Styles up. Styles cracks him over the head with a piece of the broken table. In the ring he tries for the Styles Clash. Rave trips him and hits the Doppler Effect. Nana hands him a chair. He props it up. Styles ends up giving him a brainbuster onto it. Styles sets up the table. Multiple masked men hit the ring and Foley fends them all off with a chair. Nana knocks Foley down. Styles gives him a punch. Rave forearms Styles in the back. He looks for a superplex through the table. Styles turns it into a second rope Styles Clash through the table, making him the winner at 18:39. The finish was sweet, but the overbooking was unnecessary and took away some of the flare the match had. I thought it was an effective way to end the feud and it allowed both men to move on to bigger things. As it stands, it will forever be a foot note on the show where Danielson won the ROH World title. Sad, but true. ***1/4

Milwaukee, WI – 1.19.2013

Championship Rundown
ROH World Champion: Kevin Steen
ROH Television Champion: Adam Cole
ROH World Tag Team Champions: The Briscoes (Jay & Mark Briscoe)

Commentary is provided by Kevin Kelly and Nigel McGuinness.

Proving Ground Match
Adam Cole vs. Silas Young

If Young is able to defeat Cole or last the time limit, he will earn a future Television title shot. He’s able to whip Cole across the ring. Cole catches Young’s leapfrog attempt with an atomic drop. He hits a dropkick for two. Young sends Cole to the apron and sole butt kicks him to the floor. He whips Cole into the barricades. Back in the ring Young whips him to the corners a few time to further damage his back. Cole drops him with a neckbreaker. Young blocks the Florida Key but eats an enzuigiri and a Shining Wizard for two. Cole gets two again with a neckbreaker across his knee. Young boots him in the corner. He suplexes Cole into a facebuster across his knee for two. Young goes for a suplex. Cole blocks it with a knee-assisted brainbuster. Young grabs the ropes to stop the pin. Young gives him a backbreaker/lariat combo for two. He sets up for the Pee Gee Waja Plunge. Cole superkicks him and hits the Florida Key for the pin at 8:39. That was an incredibly hot opener. The fans were really into both guys, got louder for every pinfall which says a lot about the work both guys put in. I’m happy that Young seems closer to a full time roster member now than he was last year. ***

Tadarius Thomas vs. Bobby Fish

Kyle O’Reilly is in Fish’s corner. Fish gives him a condescending/racist handshake. He slaps the back of Thomas’ head upon bringing him to the mat. He shoulder blocks him multiple times in the corner. He snapmares Thomas and hits a slingshot senton for two. Fish puts on a bodyscissors. Thomas escapes and throws a punch in the corner. Fish evades a charge and throws some kicks. When Thomas charges back, Fish kicks him in the head for a two count. He gets two again with a Samoan Drop. Thomas blocks an Irish whip. He throws some kicks as he moves around the mat. Truth Martini makes his way out. Thomas hits the Sling Blade for two. He Tiger suplexes Fish but he’s too close to the ropes to go for a pin. Thomas misses a corner kick and hurts his knee on the ring post. Fish jams that leg on the ring frame. Thomas blocks a Judo throw by rolling through into a clutch. Fish ends a waistlock exchange by rolling Thomas into the Fish Hook. Thomas taps out at 9:51. There was something here that just didn’t click. This never really got into the final act; they went straight from the opening exchange and some leg work from Fish into the finish. Kind of a weird match, but a good effort from both guys. **¼

Rhett Titus vs. Charlie Haas

Titus slaps Haas after he insults Milwaukee’s Best. Haas is right, it is terrible. Titus sends him into the barricades. Back in the ring he chokes Haas with his shirt. He rubs the shirt on his balls and shoves it in his face. He suplexes him for two. Back on the floor Haas sends Titus face first into the ring post. He slams one of the metal barricade sheets onto Titus. He throws him into the barricades before wearing him down back in the ring. Haas pre-occupies himself with some vocal members of the crowd during this period. Titus slaps Haas and throws a flurry of punches. He leapfrogs over Haas’ spear attempt. He dropkicks him to the corner and gets two with a Rydeen Bomb. Titus knees him in the stomach. Haas goes for a German suplex. Titus escapes and hits the Thrust Buster for two. Haas comes back with an Olympic Slam. Titus kicks out. Titus kicks out of the Uncle Slam as well. Haas pitches him to the floor. He drops Titus back first onto the barricades. Haas grabs the case of Milwaukee’s Best he brought with him. Referee Brian Gory takes it away. Titus slams a beer into the back of his head behind Gorie’s back. He goes for a frog splash. Haas gets his knees up and cradles Titus for the win at 12:03. That did nobody any good. Titus looks like a goof who can’t win even when he cheats. Worse yet, Haas was way more pre-occupied with bad mouthing the fans, so it should have been much easier for Titus to get the win. I personally don’t get Haas’ current character and fail to see what he adds to the shows over than being a name non-ROH fans might know. This was just bad for everyone involved. *½

The Briscoes (Jay & Mark Briscoe) & Jay Lethal vs. S.C.U.M. (Jimmy Jacobs, Steve Corino & Rhino)

The Briscoes and Lethal jump S.C.U.M. who came out first. The fight spills to the floor and multiple officials come out. Lethal suicide dives onto Corino. As the Briscoes fight with Rhino and Jacobs outside the ring, Lethal leg lariats Corino in the ring. The Briscoes come back in and help Lethal beat down Corino. Jay gets kicked by Jacobs from the apron. Rhino punches him into Corino’s Colby Shock which gets him two. S.C.U.M. keeps him isolated in their corner until Jay sends Corino into the middle turnbuckle with a Complete Shot. Lethal tags in. He knocks Rhino off the apron before throwing strikes Jacobs’ way. He drops him with the Lethal Combination for two. He calls for the Lethal Injection. Jacobs blocks it. Corino clotheslines Lethal from the apron. He now gets beaten down in the S.C.U.M. corner. Lethal manages to escape some of Rhino’s offense and hit him with a back handspring elbow. Mark tags in and dropkicks Rhino and Jacobs to opposite corners. He throws Redneck Kung-Fu at Corino. He ends up booting him in the face. The Briscoes and Lethal punch all of their opponents simultaneously in different corners. Rhino eats kicks from everyone. Lethal hits him with Hail to the King. Mark’s Froggy Bow gets two thanks to Corino and Jacobs breaking the count. Lethal sends Corino into the barricades. Jacobs escapes the Doomsday Device. Rhino Gores Mark for the pin at 12:09. This was a good way to show how good of muscle Rhino can be for S.C.U.M. while also strengthening them as a unit. The Briscoes and Lethal were a good contingent for them to go up against and establish some dominance. Fun times all around. ***

BJ Whitmer vs. Matt Hardy

Adam Cole joins commentary for this bout. Hardy says he should be TV Champ due to defeating Cole at “Final Battle 2012.” Hardy says he’s going to put Whitmer through the mat with a Side Effect. Whitmer says Hardy is standing across from one of the toughest SOB’s in ROH. Whitmer takes Hardy to the corner in a lock-up. Hardy gets in a cheap shot after referee Paul Sinclair stops Whitmer from giving one. Whitmer elbows Hardy to the floor. Hardy comes back in and gets sent back out with a leg lariat. Whitmer suicide dives after him. He goes for a superplex. Hardy shoves him down causing him to land on his neck. Remember, Whitmer took a nasty spill onto his head at Final Battle. Knowing this, Hardy focuses his attack on that part of Whitmer’s body. He scores various two counts but can’t keep BJ down. Whitmer and Hardy knock each other down with stereo clothelines. Whitmer delivers a spinebuster for two. He also gets two with a series of suplexes. Hardy hits the Side Effect. Whitmer avoids an elbow. More suplexes get another two count. Hardy sneaks in a Saito suplex. Whitmer kicks out of the Twist of Fate at one! He rolls up Hardy to block it a second time. Whitmer goes for an Irish Whip. Hardy blocks it and hits the Twist of Fate and this time gets a two count. He puts Whitmer in the White Light Experience. Whitmer’s partner Rhett Titus runs out and throws in the towel for him at 12:19. Knowing what we know now, the finish made sense and in a super subtle way teased Hardy and Titus’ affiliation. Whitmer looked tough taking all of Hardy’s very focused offense. I’m hoping he can be a break out performer in the ROH/S.C.U.M. feud. **3/4

Nigel McGuinness and some officials come out to make sure Whitmer is OK. Hardy tells Nigel that he wants a TV title shot against Cole. He says he will do whatever it takes to get a shot at “that Matt Hardy wannabe.” Cole makes his way out He tells Hardy to shut his mouth. Hardy tries to get in a kick, but Cole blocks it and stomps him down in the corner. Officials rush in and hold him back. He escapes their grasp and gets nailed in the head with his title by Hardy.

Davey Richards vs. Kyle O’Reilly

As Richards is making his entrance, O’Reilly comes off the apron and dropkicks him into the barricades. He mockingly puts on Richards’ vest before whipping him to the barricades. Richards sends O’Reilly into them as well. He punts O’Reilly from the apron. Richards suplexes him for two. He puts on a modified cloverleaf. O’Reilly escapes. Richards pulls him off the second rope and into a chest kick. O’Reilly gives him a brainbuster on the ring apron! He takes control back in the ring. He wins a forearm and boot exchange. O’Reilly puts on a body scissors which Richards turns into a seated parachute stretch. O’Reilly reverses it, then fish hooks Richards’ mouth while digging his knees into his arm. Richards double stomps him. He sends O’Reilly to the floor and follows with a suicide dive. Back in the ring they slap each other silly. Richards hits the Damage Reflex for two. He kicks O’Reilly in the side of the head and German suplexes him for two. O’Reilly knees Richards against the ropes and rolls him into a chest kick. He goes for a Regalplex. Richards rolls him into an ankle lock as a counter. O’Reilly kicks him away. He blocks the Alarm Clock and pulls off the Regalplex for two. Richards fires back with kicks in the corner. O’Reilly responds in kind. Richards boots him down again. O’Reilly Regalplexes him. Richards Saito suplexes him. They knock each other down with stereo head kicks. They trade headbutts as they ascend the ropes. O’Reilly ends up getting two a superplex. He puts on a Guillotine. Richards turns it into a pin attempt to escape. O’Reilly strings a tornado DDT and brainbuster together before going back to the Guillotine. Richard grabs his ankle while still in the hold. O’Reilly ends up releasing and rolling him up for two. The Alarm Clock, a lariat and a tombstone put O’Reilly down, but not out. A top rope double stomp is equally unsuccessful. A swift kick to the head almost gets him three, but O’Reilly literally stops Turner from making the three count. Another swift kick gets Richards the pin at 18:56. This match started out well enough: two former partners turned enemies start hot and heavy looking to prove is better than the other. Like other matches with these two, by the end the near falls had gone past the point of making each other look tough and become unbelievable. You should hear the difference in the crowd from the first pinfall to the end. They stopped counting along and getting excited for submissions as the match drew on. If they had ended it three or four minutes earlier it would have been for the best, but they just had to go on longer for whatever reason. The work put in was good but ended up being all for naught. ***

ROH World Championship – “Defy or Deny” Elimination Match
Kevin Steen vs. Michael Elgin vs. Eddie Edwards vs. Roderick Strong
Whomever Kevin Steen defeats cannot challenge for the ROH World Championship as long as Steen is the champion. If Elgin, Edwards, or Strong win, they get a future ROH World Championship Match

Strong talks trash until Elgin knocks him down. Edwards sends everybody to the floor. He suicide dives onto each of them one at a time. Steen powerbombs Edwards onto the apron. Strong kicks Steen into the barricades. Elgin hits Strong with a slingshot elbow. He holds him up for a minute before dropping him in a vertical suplex. After he throws Strong out, Steen comes in to wear Elgin down. Strong pulls Steen out, sends him into the barricades, then wears Elgin down himself. Steen and Strong end up working together. Edwards almost comes back in but Strong sends him into a ring post. Elgin German suplexes Steen for two. He sends Steen to the apron. Edwards slams Steen onto the entrance ramp! Elgin tries to waterwheel slam Strong and Edwards simultaneously. They slide off his shoulders and destroy him with kicks and strikes in the corner. Strong gives Edwards a backbreaker for two. Elgin Boss Man Slams Strong for two. Edwards missile dropkicks Elgin. After trading strikes, they attack each other in opposite corners. Edwards goes for the Code Breaker. Elgin counters into the Air Raid Crush for two. Elgin backfists Strong and follows up with a Buckle Bomb. Steen comes in. Elgin fallaway slams Strong while simultaneously giving Steen a Samoan Drop. Edwards immediately double stomps Elgin afterwards for two. Elgin goes for the Chaos Theory. Edwards escapes but takes a lariat. Steen pops him into a powerbomb. He also hits the F-Cinq. Elgin kicks out. He lifts Steen into a powerbomb. Edwards superkicks Elgin. Strong blasts him with a knee strike. The Orange Crush backbreaker eliminates Elgin at 15:52. Edwards gives Strong the Chin Checker. When Strong kicks out, Steen gives Edwards a Swanton Bomb for two. Strong kicks out Steen’s knee. He superkicks him and enzuigiri’s Edwards on the top rope. Strong blocks the F-Cinq with Death by Roderick. Edwards stomps Steen’s back and Strong pins him for two. Edwards escapes Strong’s half-nelson backbreaker. After a few failed pin attempts he puts on the Achilles Lock while kicking Strong in the head. Steen adds a flipping legdrop for the sake of it. Todd Sinclair declares Strong knocked out and eliminated at 19:38. Steen kicks Edwards low and gives him the Package Piledriver. Edwards kicks out. He misses a double stomp on the apron. Steen gives him a Package Piledriver onto the edge of the ring! He quickly rolls him back in for the pin at 21:19. Steen remains the title and Edwards can longer challenge for the title as long as he is champion. This was a massive step up from the first Defy or Deny match. There was a purpose to everything they did, people were smart in their approach and it felt like everybody was desperate for a title shot (or in Steen’s case, a retention.) There’s no doubt that these four guys or on top of the company and after this showing it’s no mystery as to why. ***3/4

Dearborn, MI – 1.18.2013

Championship Rundown
ROH World Champion: Kevin Steen
ROH Television Champion: Adam Cole
ROH World Tag Team Champions: The Briscoes (Jay & Mark Briscoe)

Commentary is provided by Kevin Kelly and Nigel McGuinness.

BJ Whitmer & Rhett Titus vs. Bobby Fish & Kyle O’Reilly

O’Reilly trips Whitmer out of a double knuckle lock for a two count. They each go for the others’ arm. Whitmer shoulder blocks O’Reilly down. O’Reilly monkey flips Whitmer but he lands on his feet. They evade each others’ offense until reaching a stalemate. Fish kicks Titus. Titus charges so Fish takes solace in the corner. He throws some kicks until Titus throws some forearms and takes him down in a side headlock. Fish escapes. Titus snapmares him into a dropkick. O’Reilly jumps in and takes a dropkick right away. Titus tope con hilo’s onto them as they recover on the floor. O’Reilly knees Titus in the back as he hits the ropes. He knocks O’Reilly to the mat, but that distraction enables Fish to get in a kick and a suplex for two. Fish and O’Reilly isolate Titus and work over his mid-section while keeping Whitmer at bay. He does manage to break up a pin at one point however. Titus ends up avoiding a splash from Fish and driving him face first into the middle turnbuckle. Whitmer tags in and cleans house. He gives O’Reilly a spinebuster for two. He strings a pair of suplexes together for another two count. A Golden Gate Swing leads to a fisherman’s suplex. O’Reilly kicks out of that as well. Fish saves him from taking the exploder suplex. Whitmer gives it to Fish instead. O’Reilly rolls up Whitmer and holds the tights for two. Whitmer boots O’Reilly into Titus’ Thrust Buster. O’Reilly again kicks out. Fish elbows Titus in the corner and dropkicks Whitmer to the floor. O’Reilly comes off the apron and dropkicks Whitmer into the barricades. Titus boots Fish into a lariat. O’Reilly breaks the cover. Fish and O’Reilly throw a series of kicks at Titus. Fish kicks him into O’Reilly’s brainbuster for the pin at 12:50. Both of these teams got a chance to shine through and establish themselves as units. The action was fun to follow and got the crowd heated up. Not a bad way to kick of 2013. **3/4

Jay Lethal vs. Steve Corino

This is a grudge match due to Corino attacking Lethal after his match with Rhino at “Final Battle 2012.” He tries talking some sense into Lethal before talking trash about his mother. This angers Lethal who throws punches. Corino hits the floor. Lethal suicide dives after him and throws him into the barricades. Corino kicks Lethal low behind referee Brian Gorie’s back. He punches and elbows Lethal in the corner. Lethal comes back with his own strikes. Corino knees him in the stomach and drops him with the Colby Shock. Lethal ducks a few clotheslines but gets caught with a sleeper hold. He manages to escape and hit a springboard dropkick. A back handspring elbow gets him a two count. He crotches Corino in the corner and kicks him in the back of the head. Corino grabs the ropes to break the pin. Lethal goes for the Lethal Injection. Corino catches him with a Saito suplex and gets two. He knocks down Lethal with a clothesline. A sliding variation gets another two count. Lethal comes back with the Lethal Combination. Corino kicks out. Lethal goes for Hail to the King (his top rope elbow) but Corino follows him up. Lethal goes for a Sunset Bomb. Corino blocks it but eats a superkick. The Lethal Injection and Hail to the King put him down at 8:06. For as much as the Northeast fans don’t seem to buy Lethal as an ROH World Championship contender, this crowd was really into him. I think this was a helpful way to build his credibility. I like Lethal putting down members of S.C.U.M. on his way to challenging Steen and they put together a fairly entertaining match in the process. **1/2

Steve Corino makes a threat to McGuinness who is doing commentary. He heads to the back to diffuse the situation.

Roderick Strong vs. Silas Young

Truth Martini joins commentary, replacing Nigel. An intense lock-up is broken in the corner. Strong breaks out of a headscissors. Young then uses his legs to push out of a wristlock. Strong fakes a chop after bringing him to the corner. Young shoves him. Strong slaps him in the face and throws some chops. Young shoulder blocks him down but Strong comes right back with a leg lariat. He throws more chops. Young sends Strong to the apron. Strong tries to suplex him to the floor. When that fails he gets two with an O’Conner Roll. Young ducks a rolling elbow and drives Strong’s face into his knee. He throws his knee into Strong’s face a couple more times. He gets two with a fisherman’s buster. He sets up for the Pee Gee Waja Plunge. Strong slides off his shoulders and nails a dropkick. A running knee strike and a uranage backbreaker earn Strong a two count. He knees Young to the floor and pescados after him. Back in the ring Young hot shots Strong into a roll-up. Strong kicks out and knees Young in the face. Young fights off a superplex. He misses a boot and fights off the Strong Hold. He strings together a backbreaker and short-arm lariat for two. Young can’t complete the Plunge. Strong gives him Death by Roderick and the Sick Kick for the pin at 12:16. Young has the potential to be a strong full time heel with more performances like this. Strong is a really good guy to “test” newer guys, becaue most of the time he’s a good gauge for whether or not they have what it takes. It happened with Tadarius Thomas back in July and happened with Young here too. Between this match and his match with Elgin, I think Young has earned a place in ROH. ***

ROH World Championship
Kevin Steen vs. Tadarius Thomas

Steen pulls Thomas into a clothesline after shaking his hand. He throws some strikes in the corner and stands on Thomas’ throat. Thomas throws some forearms on the floor. Steen blocks being whipped into the barricades and instead sends Thomas into them multiple times. Steen jaw jacks with some fans, allowing Thomas to send him hip first into the barricades. Steen rams his back and crotch into the ring post. He mocks Thomas back in the by rolling around and kicking him in the leg. Thomas blocks an Irish whip with a cartwheel kick. Steen sends him to the apron and gives him a rope assisted DDT. He runs the ropes but ends up applying a chinlock. Thomas escapes and kicks Steen to the corner. Steen kicks his legs out and heads up top. Thomas throws some strikes to stop his momentum. Steen bites Thomas to send him back to the mat. He goes for a Swanton but Thomas gets his knees up. He kicks Steen in the face and hooks his arms for a Tiger suplex. Steen escapes but gets caught with a rope assisted face kick. Thomas gets two with a high crossbody. Steen delivers a boot. Thomas drops him with the Sling Blade for two. Steen goes for the F-Cinq. Thomas slips out. Steen catches him with a pop-up powerbomb for two. Thomas throws some kicks from the apron and successfully pulls off the Tiger suplex. Steen kicks out in the nick of time. He drops Thomas hamstring first onto the top rope before hitting the F-Cinq. Thomas kicks out. He busts out the Package Piledriver for the pin at 10:33. The only thing missing from his match was the crowd buying Thomas as a legitimate threat. That’s one of the unfortunate side effects of every singles match Steen is in being for the title. Otherwise, both guys worked hard and put on a really good match. Thomas is poised to be a star. ***

Trey Miguel vs. Brent Daniels

As these two are feeling each other out, Charlie Haas appears ringside and grabs a microphone. He bad mouths the guys in the ring and throws beer on referee Brian Gorie. He shoots his mouth off, throws more beer, and flips off the fans. He challenges both Miguel and Daniels to wrestle him.

Charlie Haas vs. Trey Miguel & Brent Daniels

Haas beats them both down. Miguel and Daniels each get in a dropkick but are suplexed overhead quickly after. Haas slams them down side by side, then submits them both in stereo Haas of Pains at 1:16. That sure was something. N/R

Proving Ground Match
Adam Cole vs. Jimmy Jacobs

If Jacobs wins the match or is able to last the time limit with Cole, he will earn a shot at the Television Championship. Nigel is back on commentary and Steve Corino has joined him. After a lock-up goes to the corner, Jacobs armdrags Cole to the middle of the ring. He controls Cole by his arms while digging his feet into his shoulders. Jacobs puts him in an abdominal stretch which Cole hip tosses out of. He snaps off some armdrags and gets two with an Oklahoma Roll. Jacobs goes for a leapfrog but Cole catches him with an atomic drop. He gives Jacobs a neckbreaker and a dropkick. Jacobs sends him to the floor. Cole tries skinning the cat before Jacobs dropkicks him to the floor. He throws Cole into the barricades. Pinfalls are exchanged back in the ring. Jacobs applies the Rings of Saturn. He floats over into a suplex for two. He gives him a belly-to-back suplex. He verbally berates Cole before biting him. Cole bicycle kicks Jacobs to the floor and pescados onto him. In the ring Cole nails an enzuigiri and a Shining Wizard for two. He also gets two with a dropkick from the second rope. Jacobs evades the figure four leg lock. He leaps back off the second rope with an Ace Crusher for two. Cole holds the ropes to avoid a super Frankensteiner. He also avoids a springback Ace Crusher with a back cracker. He gives Jacobs a neckbreaker across his knee for two. Jacobs goes for the End Time. Cole shoves him off and superkicks him. Jacobs then successfully applies the End Time. Cole flips forward but Jacobs re-applies it. He drives Jacobs into the corner. Jacobs goes for it again. Cole turns it into a brainbuster across his knee, but Jacobs kicks out. Cole goes for the Florida Key. Jacobs brings them to the apron and gives him the Contra Code onto it! They both make it back into the ring right before the 20 count. Jacobs anxiously heads up top. He connects with a senton splash for two. He headbutts Cole while applying a cravate. He goes for the Contra Code. Cole drops him face first on the top rope. Jacobs rolls through a Florida Key. Cole superkicks Jacobs, Jacobs spears him, and both men are down. They trade strikes when they get to their feet. Cole superkicks Jacobs to block a spear. He hits the Florida Key for the pin at 18:20. That was awesome. Cole proved why he is one of the best in ROH today and Jacobs showed just how good he is when the opportunity presents itself. The action was hot, the fans were into all the nearfalls, and they kept finding clever ways to out maneuver one another. We’re just one show into 2013 and we already have ourselves a sleeper hit of the year. ****

Michael Elgin vs. Rhino

This is a rematch from “Survival of the Fittest 2012.” Rhino gets himself over with his hometown crowd before the bell. Elgin cleanly breaks a lock up. They each try to suplex the other. Rhino ends up winning that battle. He sets up for the Gore. Elgin evades it and sends Rhino to the floor. He dropkicks him into the barricades and comes to the floor himself. They fight amongst the crowd and around the arena. Rhino has control for the majority of the time spent out there, using a trash bin and throwing Elgin face first into a chair. Ringside Elgin shoves Rhino into the barricades and jams a chair into his mid-section. He slingshots in with a back elbow for two. He drives his knee into Rhino’s stomach. Elgin misses a tumbleweed senton from the top rope. Rhino belly-to-belly suplexes Elgin out of the corner. Elgin applies a crossface. Rhino gets the ropes. He shoves Elgin away to avoid being suplexed in from the apron. He superplexes Elgin for two. They trade forearms. Elgin nails an enzuigiri. He deadlifts Rhino into a German suplex for two. Rhino elbows Elgin as he comes charging. He turns him inside out with a clothesline before positioning himself for the Gore. Rhino nails it but Elgin manages to kick out. He goes for another Gore. Elgin blocks it with a forearm. When Rhino blocks the Revolution Bomb, Elgin takes him down in the Crossface. Rhino taps out at 14:53. This was a step above their Survival of the Fittest match for a few reasons. It didn’t have the House of Truth interference, they had more time, the crowd was more invested, and they did a better job teasing both the Gore and Crossface making the ending stretch more fun to watch. Of course, seeing two fairly agile big men beat each other up is usually a good time anyways. ***1/4

ROH World Tag Team Championship
The Briscoes (Jay & Mark Briscoe) vs. The American Wolves (Davey Richards & Eddie Edwards)

Richards and Mark look for control. They exchange shoulder blocks without budging. Armdrags are also exchanged. They duck each others’ offense and stand-off. Edwards and Jay wrestle to a stalemate as well. They vie for position in a double knuckle lock. Jay ends up stomping Edwards’ chest. Edwards pulls Jay to the corner so Richards can tag in. The Wolves double back elbow him and Richards boots Mark. The Wolves stretch Jay out. Jay ducks Edwards’ clothesline and Mark comes in with a springboard clothesline. He gets two with a brainbuster. The Briscoes pummel Edwards as Richards looks on. Edwards avoids a double backdrop and suplexes Jay onto Mark. Richards lights up The Briscoes with non-stop kicks to the chest. Jay boots him in the face, but Richards comes right back with the Damage Reflex for two. He puts on the Trailer Hitch. Mark kicks Richards to try to break it, but Richards puts him in an ankle lock. He releases both holds. Edwards sends Jay into the barricades and yakuza kicks him. Jay is once again trapped by the Wolves. Jay escapes fairly quickly and tags in Mark who delivers some Redneck Kung Fu. He gives Richards a uranage suplex and Edwards a rolling Death Valley Driver. Edwards superkicks Mark. He suplexes him inside out before Richards missile dropkicks him. Jay breaks the pin. Richards puts Mark in a Muta Lock until Jay breaks it. Edwards does more damage to his legs. Mark gets his feet up to block a diving headbutt. Richards gives him a German suplex and Mark responds with another uranage suplex. Jay tags in. He drops Edwards in the Uncle Slam and does the deal with a Falcon Arrow, but only earns a two count. Edwards blocks the Jay Driller and boots Jay. Jay drills him with a forearm. Richards breaks the pin. Jay superkicks him to the floor. He gives Edwards a Death Valley Driver. Mark hits the Froggy Bow for two. They call for the Doomsday Device. Richards superplexes Mark to put that to a halt. Edwards and Jay boot each other silly. Jay takes him down with a lariat. Edwards blocks the Jay Driller and stomps him. Mark Jon Woo dropkicks him to the corner. The Wolves kick The Briscoes off of the apron and suicide dive after them. They double stomp Jay back in the ring. When he kicks out of the pin, Edwards puts on the Achilles Lock. Mark comes in and gets put in a knee bar from Richards. They both get the ropes. The Wolves set Jay up for the Doomsday Device. Mark shoves Richards through the commentary table! The Briscoes then hit the Doomsday Device on Edwards for two, though the bell rings by accident. The Jay Driller however puts him down at 24:16. That was about as good, if not better, than all of their 2010 encounters. Just like those matches, selling and storytelling came and went, but it was still an enjoyable, exciting match by the end of it so I’d chalk it up as a success. ***3/4

Kyle O’Reilly and Bobby Fish are shown sneering in scarves from the aisleway.