Dark Pegasus Video Review: Ring of Honor – Crowning a Champion

This is the first RoH DVD outside of the “Takedown Masters” series, which means that some of the matches are clipped, but most of the segments remain intact.

Ring of Honor — Crowning a Champion (07.27.02)

From Philadelphia, Penn.

Your hosts are Donnie B. and Steve Corino.

But first, we see Low Ki in the middle of an empty ring recapping the events that led up to this show. For those who haven’t been following my reviews, Low Ki, American Dragon and Christopher Daniels squared off in a tremendous match at RoH’s first ever show “The Era of Honor Begins.” Although Low Ki won, Daniels refused to shake his hand — a big no-no in Ring of Honor. It was decided that the three men would all face each other in singles matches at the next show “Round Robin Challenge.” Each man finished with one win and one loss, so nothing was proven, even though Low Ki made Daniels tap out. Daniels would later form “The Prophecy” along with Donovan Morgan and Simply Luscious while Low Ki kept rolling with a win over AJ Styles. Both Daniels and Low Ki would tear through the tournament at “Road to the Title,” to reach the finals along with Spanky and Doug Williams. And that’s where we are now.

But first second, Steve Corino stands by with Simply Luscious. He explains that, while Luscious has a business arrangement with Christopher Daniels and the Prophecy, her arrangement with him is personal. For those who didn’t catch the subtle hint, that means he’s boning her.

But first second third, The Christopher Street Connection accidentally busts in on the Special K and get their banana stolen.

Elsewhere, James Maritato (today’s Nunzio) chastises Tony Mamaluke for wanting to keep the FBI gimmick going. The Carnage Crew comes in and asks Maritato for some tips on shooting, leading to a battle of the ethnic stereotypes. It’s like “Do the Right Thing” only with a ring. Since everyone is busy tonight, Maritato agrees to a tag match with the Carnage Crew at next month’s “Honor Invades Boston.”

(This is a lot of backstage stuff for a promotion that derides “sports entertainment.”)

Opening Match: Jeremy Lopez vs. Tony Mamaluke.
Finally, we get our first match. I haven’t seen Jeremy since his days on WCW Saturday Night, but I’ve heard really good things. I remember him being pudgier back then. Both guys, I believe, trained with Dean Malenko, so this should be good. Mat wrestling to start, followed by your usual post-Lucha stuff. Mamaluke comes out of it with a headlock, but Lopez escapes with a headscissors. Mamaluke guillotines Lopez on the ropes and locks in a chinlock. However, Lopez catches him charging in with a rolling elbow. A flying neckbreaker gets two for Lopez. Mamaluke blocks something off the top and gets a series of two counts off a Tornado DDT. Lopez suddenly pops up, though, and rides him down into a Crippler Crossface. Mamaluke makes the ropes. He hiptosses Lopez into a keylock, which Jeremy does an excellent job of selling. They trade the advantage back and forth out of that until Jeremy powers him up into a backdrop. Jeremy counters a second Tornado DDT and hits a Tornado Kobashi DDT into a Tiger Driver! ONE, TWO, THRE-NO! Mamaluke counters with his own Tornado Kobashi Driver into a Butterfly Scissors for the win at 7:24. Solid opener that made both guys look good. **

In the back, The Christopher Street Connection hit on Divine Storm and offer them a taste of their bananas.

Prince Nana & Jacob’s Ladder vs. Christian York & Joey Matthews (w/Alexis Laree).
You know Matthews as Joey Mercury and Laree as Mickie James. Nana got knocked unconscious by Low Ki at “Road to the Title,” so the crowd chants, “Low Ki killed you!” He gets on the mic and asks York & Matthews not to hit him in the head because Low Ki gave him a permanent injury. The running joke is that Nana is a haughty prince of some African country (I want to say “Ghana,” but that may be because it rhymes with Nana) and he brings out a new “servant” every time. Jacob’s Ladder is one of Shawn Michaels’ TWA guys, apparently. Nana and Ladder attack at the bell, and Nana gets a few splashes in, but Y&M hit a double enzuigiri on him, and he bails out. NO HITTING IN THE HEAD! Ladder is left alone to take the Guillotine Legdrop DVD, giving York and Matthews the win at 1:45. Corino demands more shots of Laree. 1/4*

In the back, the CSC tries to help Nana, but he tells them to stay the hell away.

The Christopher Street Connection and Allison Danger interrupt the Y&M celebration and tell them that one of the CSC finds one of the Y&M attractive. Turns out that Allison Danger just wants a little helping of Alexis Laree. And suddenly, everyone is pro-gay rights. Laree knocks her out with one punch triggering a big brawl between the teams. The CSC actually win, and Danger spanks Laree with sparkle glitter. Okay, well, maybe a little sports entertainment.

Earlier today, the TWA guys arrived in a van, but Michael “I’m HBK’s nephew” Shane treated everyone like dirt — even his own partner, Biohazard.

Paul London & Don Juan vs. Michael Shane & Biohazard.
Winner of the fall gets a RoH contract. Biohazard wants to start, but London asks for Shane. London and Shane trade armdrags, and we’re clipped to London “hitting” a somersault plancha to Shane and Biohazard on the floor. Back in, Shane gives London an insane belly-to-belly suplex into the turnbuckle pad. Biohazard tags in and hits London with a sloppy gutwrench suplex. A high-crotch backdrop suplex gets two, but London gets out of danger with a headscissors. Don Juan tags in, but almost immediately gets caught in the wrong corner. Shane hits him with a superplex, and Biohazard gets a flipping neck snap (a la Mr. Perfect). Juan blocks a roundhouse moonsault from Biohazard and makes the tag to London. London dropsaults off of Shane onto Biohazard. A front powerslam leads to a moonsault for two on Shane, but Shane hits him with a superkick. London avoids another necksnap, and they work in a contrived spot where Shane clotheslines London into a neckwrench on Biohazard. Shane locks in a High Inverted Figure-Four (Haas of Pain), but Don Juan makes the save. The match breaks down as Shane accidentally hits his partner with an HBK elbowdrop. London hits Biohazard with a DDT as Shane enzuigiris Don Juan. They both cover. ONE, TWO, THREE! (8:34) Paul London thinks he’s won, but the ref says Michael Shane was the one he was counting. London is distraught but shakes Shane’s hand anyway. Corino, who has made a habit of running down London’s trainer Rudy Boy Gonzales, rubs it in here. Shane calls out Spanky for thinking he’s “The Showstopper.” Shane says he’s the real showstopper. That brings Paul London back out to object. Shane slaps him in the face, triggering a brawl. London misses the SSP, but Shane misses the elbowdrop. Don Juan and Biohazard come out to separate them. **

In the back, Rudy chastises both guys for their behavior and tells them if they want to act like that, he’ll set up a singles match between them at “RoH Invades Boston.”

Da Hit Squad vs. Divine Storm.
Although it is excised from the DVD release, this was set up at “Road to the Title” when Da Hit Squad bragged about being the best team in RoH. Of course, Divine Storm objected, so we get this match. We get dueling profanity from both teams to start. Storm takes one of DHS down in a reverse armlock. He hits a few elbows, but Monsta Mack catches him with an overhead belly-to-belly. Mafia and Chris Divine go next. Mafia goes for the Burning Hammer, but Divine slips out and hits the DVD for two. Mafia blocks a Diamond Cutter and whips Monsta Mack into a cannonball on Divine. A butterfly suplex sets up a frogsplash from Mafia. Brian Storm makes the save and shows him how a frogsplash is really done. Storm hits a Diamond Cutter off the top, but it only gets two. Divine slips over Mack and winds up in the Burning Hammer. He slips out again but takes a CLOTHESLINE FROM COMPTON! The announcers put over the fact that the arena is suffering from 95-degree heat, which explains why all four guys seem to be blown up after four minutes. Divine tries to block a powerbomb, but Monsta Mack BURIES him with a stacked powerbomb at 4:35. *

Xavier finds Low Ki working out and asks him for a title shot if Low Ki wins the title.

James Maritato vs. Jay Briscoe (w/Mark Briscoe).
Maritato is the shoot-style veteran looking to distance himself from Sports Entertainment while Briscoe is the raw-but-talented youngster. Maritato rides him down, but Briscoe actually holds his own on the mat. Maritato reverses a Fireman’s Carry to the wakigatame, though. Briscoe makes the ropes and locks in an STF. The announcers point out that Mark is too young to wrestle in RoH according to the Pennsylvania Athletic Commission, so he’s a little envious of his older brother. Smell the intrigue! Maritato rolls through a Texas Cloverleaf and takes down Briscoe who’s distracted by his younger brother’s jibes. Briscoe comes back with a head-and-leg jawbreaker. Maritato locks in the jujigatame, but Brisco makes the ropes. Briscoe avoids a springboard splash and hits a DVD for two. The reverse each other’s whips, and Brisco winds up with a Niagara Slam (Front Electric Chair Drop). They fight on top, and Maritato hits Jay with a SICK missile dropkick. Mark the Bastard, cheers Maritato on. To the other corner, Briscoe blocks Maritato’s move and hits him with a frontface suplex off the top. Briscoe drops Maritato on his spine with a powerbomb attempt, which looked intentional to me, but the announcers cover it up as a counter by Maritato. At any rate, he pops up and hits a low dropkick. THE SICILIAN SLICE gets two! Briscoe blocks The Kiss of Death (Unprettier) and drops him with a bulldog. Mark gets sick of watching and walks out, distracting Jay long enough for Maritato to hit the Kiss of Death for real at 8:30. Good match, but that ending is way too WWE for my liking. Jay is not happy with his brother. **1/2

In the back, Christopher Daniels offers a prayer that recaps his point-of-view of the Code of Honor and the formation of the Prophecy. He promises to rebuild Ring of Honor in his own image — the image of the Prophecy.

Elsewhere, Crazy Doug Williams puts someone in an Argentine Knee Rack to demonstrate what’s going to happen to Spanky, Low Ki & Christopher Daniels.

Recap of the silly-but-with-its-own-internal-logic feud between HC Loc and the Natural Born Sinners. Loc was a referee in RoH who disqualified the Sinners for their use of a rubber chicken during their match with the Boogie Knights all the way back at “The Era of Honor Begins.” The NBK didn’t like that, so the kicked the crap out of him, prompting Loc to become a wrestler and recruit Devito (from ECW’s “The Baldies”) to help him get revenge. The newly dubbed Carnage Crew attacked the NBS, setting up a Bunkhouse match.

Bunkhouse Match: The Natural Born Sinners vs. The Carnage Crew.
Homicide wears a Michael Myers mask to the ring, making him my personal hero. This is just too insane to recap everything. Blood gets spattered on the camera inside the first three minutes. Devito hits Homicide with some sickening chairshots on the outside. Back inside, Loc grinds a cowbell into Boogaloo’s face. Homicide smashes Devito in the face with the chain link guardrail. Corino, rightly, points out the difference between the WWE “hardcore” matches and this match, fueled by hatred. Back in, Homicide hits the Shining Wizard for two. Devito counters the Cop Killer and delivers a Northern Lights into the barbed wire wrapped around the turnbuckle. Devito sets the barbed wire on Homicide and moonsaults on top of him. Boogaloo makes the save, wraps the barbed wire around his own arm, and lariats Devito. Outside, Homicide flies into Loc and the railing with a tope. It looked like he took out more of the railing actually. Back inside, Boogaloo wraps the barbed wire around Devito’s face and yanks back in a surfboard. SICK! That’s obviously enough for the tap out at 9:36. Loc returns with a hubcap, and the Carnage Crew lays a beatdown on the Sinners. Da Hit Squad makes the save for their trainer, Homicide. Homicide freaks out when he sees who it is. He screams that he “don’t need no fuckin’ help” and takes it as a sign of disrespect. In the immortal words of Mrs. Brady, “Chump doan want dat hep, chump doan get dat hep.” ***1/4

In the back, Spanky interviews himself and wonders how he can compete with the other three guys. He brings up that he beat Daniels and Low Ki in singles matches. He thinks he’s sacrificed more to be a wrestler than any of the others.

Elsewhere, Mike Tobin complains that his partner is hurt, so he gets paired up with Dunn & Marcos in a six-man. No relation, btw.

TNA X-Division Title: AJ Styles vs. Adam Jacobs vs. David Young.
AJ was in his first reign as X-Division Champion here. You know Young as one of the Diamonds in the Rough. AJ whips Jacobs into a Young powerbomb to start. Jacobs delivers an awful neckbreaker to Young, and the fans let him know about it. Jacobs sunset flips Young, who had a waistlock on AJ. AJ backflips out of the whole thing and covers Young at the same time as Jacobs. To the outside, Young avoids a moonsault and hits an Asai moonsault of his own. AJ is busted open. Jacobs takes out Young with a cannonball. Back in, AJ hits a double quebrada DDT. AJ hits the Tiger Wall Flip on Jacobs but leaves himself open to a released German suplex by Young. Jacobs charges right into a powerslam from Young. Styles goes for the Styles Clash, but Jacobs saves Young with a dropkick to his face. Yeah, thanks for the help man. I owe you a solid. Young hits a BEAUTIFUL spinebuster on Jacobs but staggers right into a Dragonrana from AJ. Young misses a dropkick in the corner and falls victim to AJ’s Sky Twister Press for the first elimination at 5:30. Jacobs jumps AJ with a superkick, but AJ hits a flying forearm to take control. Jacobs stays on top with a Tornado DDT for two. He makes the mistake of going for a huracanrana, and AJ counters to the Boston Crab. Jacobs crotches AJ on the top and goes for a super huracanrana, but AJ blocks and reverses to a SUPER STYLES CLASH at 8:00! Appropriately spotty X-fun. **3/4

They pause to announce Steve Corino’s return to the ring at September’s “Unscripted” when he faces Rudy Boy Gonzales. Rudy gets in the ring and says he should kick Corino’s ass for the comments he’s been making about him. Instead, though, he’ll let AMERICAN DRAGON kick Corino’s ass for him.

We get clips of the six-man with Marcos, Dunn & Mike Tobin defeating Dixie, Brian XL & Black Gordman Jr.. After the match, a large black Rastafarian runs in and chokeslams the winners.

In the back, HC Loc challenges Da Hit Squad to a Boston Massacre match in Boston next month.

Xavier vs. Scoot Andrews.
No commentary for this one, which really hurts. Scoot and Xavier faced off at “The Era of Honor Begins” where he hit Xavier with the Force of Nature (Pumphandle Fire Thunder Driver), but Xavier was saved by the ropes and eventually went on to the win. A few months later, at “Night of Appreciation,” Xavier and Scoot squared off again, this time with James Maritato joining in. Again, Scott hit the Force of Nature on Xavier, but Maritato made the save and made Xavier tap out to the reverse armlock. Scoot didn’t even figure in the fall. So now, he vows to leave Ring of Honor if he can’t defeat Xavier. Scoot goes hard and fast after the pinfall with a schoolboy off the handshake and a Majestral cradle. We see him hit a pair of corner clotheslines, then we’re clipped to both guys battling on the outside. Back in, a leg lariat gets get for Scoot, and he hits a Tiger Driver for two. He calls for the Force of Nature, but Xavier counters to a reverse rollup for two. Xavier hits a rolling elbow for two and pummels Andrews. Xavier hits a series of knees in the corner and drives him down with the Crucifix DDT for two. And another two. Scoot blocks the neckbreaker and faceplants Xavier with a tilt-o-whirl sitout. Xavier avoids a dropkick and hits an INVERTED MICHINOKU DRIVER! Scoot keeps battling and kicks out at two. They botch the ending, but Scoot eventually catches Xavier with the Force of Nature for the win at 5:03 (shown). Crowd didn’t seem to like it. [**]

Vacant RoH Title, Ironman Challenge: Low Ki vs. Spanky vs. Doug Williams vs. Christopher Daniels (w/Simply Luscious).
The rules are slightly different here. You get two points for a win and lose one point for a loss. Daniels promises the beginning of the end for Ring of Honor. He begs for Low Ki to start and then tags Williams in just to be a dick. Williams hits the European matwork earlier, but Low Ki manages to hang with him. Williams grounds him with an armbar, but he manages to roll into a jackknife for two. Spanky tags in and gets caught in a doublearm choke. Daniels knows that Low Ki is out, so he decides to tag in and have a go with Williams. Nice spot as Williams tries to roll through an armlock, and Daniels rolls through with him and taunts him, so Williams rolls again and reverses to a hammerlock. Spanky comes in and continues the armwork on Daniels. To his credit, Spanky has really toned down his usual comedy style and works more like the Brian Kendrick you know from Smackdown (only successful). Daniels works Spanky’s neck and drives his elbow into it. Low Ki is unsuspecting on the apron, so Daniels “tags” out with a right hand to the face.

There are 10 minutes gone. The nice thing about this match is that it’s combining the two major storylines RoH has been building for the past five months — outsider Spanky’s quest for respect in RoH and Low Ki vs. Daniels. Williams adds a nice bit of wrestling acumen, but it would have made more sense to have American Dragon or AJ Styles in there (from a storyline standpoint). Williams softens up Low Ki’s leg with an Indian Deathlock, so all three guys take turns working Ki’s leg. Daniels accidentally knocks Low Ki into Williams’ allowing him to tag out. Williams attacks Daniels’ arm with a series of stretches. Daniels cheapshots Low Ki again but gets caught with a diving lariat from Williams. Spanky comes in and continues the armwork. It’s like he just wants to follow Williams’ cues, which is smart. Daniels hits him with the reverse bulldog, and both guys tag out. Williams goes right back after Low Ki’s leg once they get in. Low Ki just can’t get *anything* going in there because Williams is able to keep him grounded while working that leg. Donnie brings up Low Ki’s kicking ability as Williams lofts Ki up into the Argentine Knee Rack. Ki holds out without submitting, though, and Williams has to drop the hold. He tags out to, who else, Spanky.

Twenty minutes gone. Spanky follows his usual pattern of following up on whatever Williams was doing with a dropkick to Low Ki’s knee and a kneebreaker. Ki is able to shake off Spanky’s offense, though, and he hangs Spanky on the ropes. Daniels tags Low Ki just as he’s starting to get something going. Daniels resumes where he left off when he was in with Spanky — working on Spanky’s neck. Spanky delivers a Tornado Chinbreaker to get out of trouble and tags Low Ki. Daniels sprints to Williams’ corner, but Williams drops to the floor, leaving Daniels nowhere to run. Ki finally has Daniels where he wants him. IT’S ON, BITCH! Ki peppers him with kicks, but Daniels ducks one and breaks his leg down. Sweep the Leg! DO YOU HAVE A PROBLEM WITH THAT, MR. LAWRENCE! Daniels takes a swipe at Spanky, bringing all four guys in for a melee, which is just what Daniels wanted to get himself out of trouble. Williams hits Daniels with a Tornado DDT but walks into Sliced Bread #2. Ki sneaks in and hits Spanky from behind with a Tiger Suplex. Daniels recovers and drops Ki facefirst with the Flatliner. Spanky and Williams go flying out, leaving Daniels and Low Ki in there together. Low Ki goes for the Tidal Wave, but Daniels clips his leg out from under him again and hits the reverse neckbreaker to pick up the first fall at 25:29. [Daniels (2), Spanky (0), Williams (0), Low Ki (-1)]

Spanky keeps Daniels from getting a second fall on Ki and tags himself in. Of course, now Williams and Spanky have to chase Daniels. They wind up in there together, and Williams grinds Spanky down into the mat with a 3/4-Nelson. Daniels tags in but can’t get Williams up in a suplex. Instead, Daniels counters to a wakigatame.

Thirty minutes gone. Williams tags an unsuspecting Spanky who takes a DDT from Daniels. Spanky counters to a reverse armlock. Williams tags back in as he and Spanky seem content to trade off on Daniels. Williams has a great strategy here. Daniels has a bad arm, Low Ki has a bad leg, and Spanky has a bad neck. Williams only downside at this point is his size, which makes it hard for him to go the distance in the heat. Williams tries another Tornado DDT, but Daniels counters to a spinebuster and tags Spanky instead of Low Ki. Actually, you’d think he’d want to keep Ki in there as much as possible because if he wins a fall, he’s still down a point. Spanky, Daniels and Williams take turns creating and dissolving alliances, but Ki still can’t get a tag. Williams hits CHAOS THEORY on Spanky, but Daniels tag in and breaks up the pin. Daniels blocks a second Chaos Theory and hits the Flatliner into the Koji Clutch. Low Ki jumps of the top with a double stomp to break it up. Ki finally manages to tag himself in as Daniels rolls to the wrong corner. He winds up regretting it, though, as Williams picks him up into the Gory Stretch and starts ramming him into the turnbuckle. Ki ranas Williams into a Triangle Sleeper, but Williams powers him up and slams him down.

Forty minutes gone. Low Ki has rolled into a cross armlock on Williams, but Williams powers into a slam. Spanky blind tags himself in behind Williams, but Low Ki flips out of the Chaos Theory into a Dragon Clutch! SPANKY TAPS at 41:51! [Daniels (2), Low Ki (1), Williams (0), Spanky (-1)]

Daniels tags himself in and goes right after an exhausted Ki. Of course, he doesn’t want Ki to score another decision because he’ll have three points. Daniels hits him with a quebrada and segues into a side leglock. Spanky reaches in and tags himself in. He misses a frogsplash but blocks the Flatliner. Daniels charges in but gets caught in a double underhook Pedigree. It only gets two. Daniels tags out to Williams who just *abuses* Spanky with a series of facebusters. Ki covers Daniels as the ref appears to forget who’s legal. Williams breaks it up with a knee. Spanky goes for Sliced Bread #2, but Ki blocks it. Daniels blind tags Ki and hits Williams with an STO and the Best Moonsault Ever! ONE, TWO, THR-NO! Williams tosses Daniels to the floor. Spanky comes in with a flying crossbody, but Low Ki tags himself in and locks Williams in a rope-assisted Dragon Clutch! Spanky hits Williams with Sliced Bread #2, but Daniels makes the save, and they fall to the floor. Low Ki spots his chance and nearly paralyzes himself with the PHOENIX SPLASH! ONE, TWO, THREE! Low Ki goes ahead at 48:45. [Low Ki (3), Daniels (2), Spanky (-1), Williams (-1)]

Fifty minutes gone. Williams and Spanky are effectively out of it now because each would need a combination of two wins to pass Low Ki. Daniels and Low Ki exchange chops, and Daniels hits a uranage. Low Ki avoids the BME, though. Daniels, on instinct, blocks the Stardust Press with his knees. Spanky tags Daniels and gets two on a snap suplex. Low Ki blocks Sliced Bread #2 and hits Spanky with a Tombstone Piledriver. Daniels breaks up the pin, though. Williams hits Daniels with a piledriver for two, but Ki makes the save. Ki goes for the Tidal Wave, but Williams counters to a POWERBOMB! ONE, TWO, THRE—NO! Spanky narrowly makes the save. Low Ki blocks Spanky’s superplex and delivers a 450-splash. He’s hurt, though, so he can’t follow up. Spanky drops Daniels with a DDT for two, then hits a frogsplash for two more. Spanky drops Low Ki with a backdrop suplex! ONE, TWO, THR-NO! Williams trips him up from the outside, so Spanky somersaults onto him, taking them both out of the match. As if they weren’t out of it, already, Williams Tornado DDTs Spank from the apron to the floor! That leaves Daniels and Low Ki. Ki counters an STO, but Daniels hits him with a Front Russian Leg Sweep (the Stroke). It only gets two. Ki charges right into a Blue Thunder Bomb. ONE, TWO, THRE—-NO! There’s about one minute left as Daniels goes for the Last Rites. Ki kicks his way out of it, but Daniels segues right into the Dragon Sleeper! Ki’s locked in his own move! Ki powers up and counters to THE LAST RITES as time expires at 59:54 (but who’s counting). Ki wins 3-2. Daniels collapses into the arms of Simply Luscious claiming Ki tapped. Spanky and Williams both shake Ki’s hand and congratulate him, but Daniels refuses because he was never pinned yet he pinned Low Ki. The man’s got a point. The match told a tremendous series of stories as Williams’ conservative style kept him on top for most of the match, but he was never able to catch a fall. Spanky, never one for big strategy, just followed Williams’ lead, hoping to get lucky with one of his big moves. Then there’s Ki and Daniels, two guys whose hatred had been building for over five months trying desperately to one up the other guy, and Daniels had a point about not being pinned and pinning the winner, and still losing! After the match, Low Ki collapses, weeping in the back and dedicates the match to Russ Haas (late brother of Charlie Haas). Tremendous match, marred only by throwing away the rules in the last ten minutes and too much chaos in the hot nearfall portion. But yes, another MOTYC. ****1/2

In the back, Jay Briscoe tells his brother Mark to get ready for “RoH Invades Boston” because Mark’s eligible for an ass-kicking there.

Simply Luscious consoles Daniels and convinces him that the Prophecy is still strong. Daniels accosts the referee and tells him that Ring of Honor hasn’t seen the last of him.

J.D. Dunn

The 411: This one has historic value with the crowning of the first RoH champion as well as a hell of a main event. At that point, Ki was the perfect wrestler to carry the promotion while Chris Daniels stewed in his own hatred and self-pity, planning to take the title back. An excellent show — their best since Round Robin Challenge. Thumbs way up.
Final Score:  8.5   [ Very Good ]