Dark Pegasus Video Review: Ring of Honor – Glory by Honor 3

Ring of Honor — Glory by Honor 3
by J.D. Dunn

September 11, 2004

From Elizabeth, N.J..

Your hosts are Jimmy Bower and CM Punk.

In the back, Lacey interrupts a Dunn & Marcos interview to make fun of them for getting injured at “Scramble Cage Melee.” Dunn calls her a “ho,” which tickles Becky Bayless. Dixie interrupts and tells the rest of Special K to pull their heads out of their asses.

Opening Match: Jimmy Rave (w/Prince Nana & the Outcast Killaz) vs. Dixie (w/Special K)
Rave is kind of like the Randy Orton of Ring of Honor. The fans hate him no matter what his role is, so he plays up the pretty boy heel act to take advantage of that fact. He also has the most innovatively bland offense you’ll ever see. By that, I mean that he’ll do things with a twist or in a different way, but it’s completely meaningless to the move, ya know? Dixie gets a few token moves in before Rave hits the Shining Wizard and the Rave Clash for the win at 5:38. This was just here to get Nana out there. 1/2*

Prince Nana grabs the mic and introduces the newest member of the Embassy…Mick Foley! Well, not quite. Foley doesn’t show up, so Nana goes to the back to figure out what’s going on.

While he’s doing that, let’s check out an interview from Samoa Joe taped earlier today. Joe talks about making his mark at this event two years ago. He then runs down the Pure Title as a secondary belt created to keep the boys happy because they know they can’t beat him. Joe finds Jay Lethal and tells him to get himself mentally ready or get the hell out.

Loser Leaves RoH: Jay Lethal vs. Matt Stryker.
Well, sort of. If Lethal loses, he’s dropped from the roster and has to earn his way back. If Stryker loses, Ring of Honor won’t pay his travel expenses to the east coast. It’s back and forth in the early going, with Stryker establishing that he will be the heel here. This is basically one of those plucky squashes where Lethal is the exuberant underdog, while Stryker just smacks him around in between taunting the crowd. Styker goes for the Anklelock, but Lethal reverses to a small package for the fluke pin at 5:23. Stryker gets on the mic and blames the internet for him losing his ticket. He also coins the term “wrestling god” for JBL to steal. *

Ace Steel vs. Trent Acid vs. Izzy (w/Lacey) vs. Hahagas vs. Fast Eddie vs. Angel Dust (w/Becky Bayless).
Hahagas is sort of like a poor man’s Hakushi (Jensei Shinzaki). Of course, this thing is just pure spottery from the get-go. Hahagas and Steel get chippy with one another, but both men get dropkicked out of the ring. Izzy and Angel Dust get into it, with Becky and Lacey cheering on their respective charges. Everyone hits dives to the floor, usually crashing their own heads into the railing in the process. Back in, Izzy and Angel Dust do a nice little sequence until Trent Acid breaks it up. Acid tries an ill-conceived rana off the top, forcing Angel Dust and Fast Eddie into a blockbuster. That actually worked better than it had any right to. Hahagas hits a Ki Krusher, but it gets broken up. Acid sneaks in and gives Angel Dust an inverted brainbuster for the win at 7:16. The usual collection of spots. **

C.M. Punk vs. Austin Aries.
Before the match, Aries challenges Mick Foley to a match. These two were the iron men for Ring of Honor in 2004 as Punk had two one-hour draws with Joe, and Aries had that 70+ minute classic with Bryan Danielson. Punk quickly starts out working the arm, with Aries unable to find a workable counter to Punk’s holds. Punk avoids Aries’ low dropkick and gives him a hammerlock suplex. Aries slips out of a wristlock and hits a pair of dropkicks right to Punk’s beak. Punk cuts off a slingshot senton and goes right back to the arm. Aries suckers Punk into missing a pescado and then nearly misses a slingshot tope himself. Back in, Aries hits a sort of Hawaiian Crusher, but Punk blocks his superplex and grazes him with a missile dropkick. Aries blocks a Shining Wizard but has to use his injured arm to do it. Aries rolls through a reverse armlock and hits his Brainbuster for two. He goes up for the 450-splash. Punk catches him and goes for a reverse Pepsi Plunge and rolls through Aries’ counter into a Shining Wizard. Aries still won’t tap to the reverse armlock. Punk tries to whip him to the corner, but Aries reverses, sending Punk into the referee. The ref gets bumped, which the crowd absolutely *hates*. That brings down Roderick Strong to attack Punk. Ace Steel makes the save and chases Strong to the back, but that leaves Alex Shelley to run in and clip Punk’s knee. Who should make the save then but Steve Corino! Yes, Corino returns to Ring of Honor, making his first appearance since “War of the Wire” in 2003. Punk recovers, schoolboys Aries, and gets the win in a disappointing match at 18:56. **3/4

Corino’s presence brings out Homicide and Julius Smokes. Homicide says his hatred for Corino is a “shoot” and he doesn’t care about “marks” or the “internet.” I guess Vince Russo started writing his speeches. I know they’re playing to a specific fanbase, but that’s just lazy promowork and it gets recycled every couple of shows. Homicide says he realizes Corino was right about Ring of Honor and now wants to shake his hand. When Corino walks out instead, Homicide trashes the ringside area.

Chicano & Slash Venom (w/Alison Danger) vs. BJ Whitmer & Dan Maff
Slash Venom has exactly one name too many. He and Chicano are Danger’s hired henchman from IWA-Puerto Rico to soften up Maff and Whitmer for their second match later on. They attack from behind, and Slash Venom actually hits a springboard plancha. Inside, Whitmer tosses Chicano through a chair with an Exploder for the win at 3:05. 1/2*

After the match, Danger berates the newbies for failing to get the job done, so they just leave her alone with Maff and Whitmer. Bad things are about to happen, but Mick Foley skulks down to the ring and chases them off. He tells her and her “moderately attractive” face to clear out of his ring as Prince Nana and the Embassy come down. Nana takes that to mean Foley’s joining the Embassy, but Mick says he was just showing off his hugging skills…right here…in Elizabeth, New Jersey. **cheap pop** The Embassy attacks with GenNext joining in, but Maff & Whitmer make the save. Foley stops to explain that he came to Ring of Honor because he was so impressed by the attitude of the stars. He really, REALLY puts over the promotion in his promo, dubbing Ring of Honor “Ring of Hardcore.”

John Walters and Nigel McGuinness give separate interviews to set up their match.

Bryan Danielson vs. Alex Shelley.
Danielson has been having a quiet feud with GenNext in the form of two quality matches with Austin Aries. This, then, would be the next step up the ladder as Shelley is the leader (or at least spokesman) of GenNext. Punk objects to Foley calling Ring of Honor the “Ring of Hardcore.” Shelley, we’re told, banged his elbow on the railing during the attempted beatdown of CM Punk, so he’s coming in with an injury. Shelley tugs on Superman’s cape early by slapping Dragon in the face. Shelley actually does dominate the first ten minutes or so, but he doesn’t seem to have any real plan, going back and forth between Dragon’s neck, back, and leg. Dragon roars back and slaps him around. He uses a trio of reverse armbreakers and snaps Shelley over with a Butterfly Suplex. Shelley gets to the ropes to avoid Cattle Mutilation and shifts his weight to counter a backdrop superplex. Shelley kicks his way back with a thrust kick and roundhouse, but Danielson knees him in the face on a suplex. Nice counter as Alex Shelley drops down into a Stunner to get out of a sleeper. Dragon comes right back with an airplane spin to set up the diving headbutt. Shelley kicks out and sets up the Border City Stretch with a Shellshock. Dragon makes the ropes. Danielson blocks a charge and locks in Cattle Mutilation, but Shelley rolls through into the Border City Stretch. Danielson rolls through *that* and comes up with a backdrop suplex into another Cattle Mutilation for the submission at 19:19. Shelley’s propensity to go for comedy and play to the fans didn’t mix that well with Dragon’s no-nonsense approach, but the match did pick up nicely down the stretch. **3/4

Pure Title: John Walters vs. Nigel McGuinness.
McGuinness had just received his full-time contract. The idea here is that Walters got to pick Samoa Joe’s opponent, and Joe got to pick Walters’ opponent, but Joe said that the title was beneath him and he wasn’t going to bother, so McGuinness gets the shot by default. Very even match to start that, oddly, takes place in the middle of the ring. Nigel grabs a 3/4-Nelson near the ropes, hoping to get Walters to use his rope breaks early, but Walters rolls him over instead, intent to wrestle his way out of it. Walters reverses to an armbar, and McGuinness slingshots himself off the ropes, Owen-style to counter, accidentally using a ropebreak. Walters actually repeats the spot that was used in the Shelley/Danielson match by hitting a Stunner out of a sleeper. McGuinness jumps on top of Walters with a sliding bridge, but Walters flips him over into a bodyscissors, forcing Nigel to use another ropebreak. McGuinness rolls over into a Crossface, making Walters use a ropebreak. A hammerlock DDT sets up a grapevine hammerlock for McGuinness, and Walters has to use a second ropebreak. McGuinness gives him a stiff European uppercut, but Walters comes back with a running lariat for two. Walters gets two off a superplex but misses a splash off the top. Nigel busts out his handstand into a rope-assisted Stunner for two. Walters darts out of the ring for a breather, so McGuinness flies out on him with a crossbody. Back in, Walters has had enough and hits a trio of Lungblowers into a Gokuraku-bodyscissors for the submission at 16:12. Both guys are excellent technical wrestlers, so this was about what you’d expect. I love the Pure rules as much as the next guy, but they also force the wrestlers into a repetitive strategy of trying purposely using holds near the ropes. As a result, there’s a certain sameness to these matches no matter how talented the wrestlers are. This was a good match, but it could have been much better as simply “a wrestling match.” ***1/4

Ring of Honor World Championship: Samoa Joe vs. Doug Williams.
Williams was actually the first unsuccessful challenger for Joe after he won the ROH Title, setting the tone for Joe’s reign of great matches. Williams starts out testing Joe for weaknesses first with submission/weardown holds (a bodyscissors) then mat wrestling, then strikes. Joe finally gets sick of it and counters to a wicked STO and follows up with his usual (kneedrop to the head, Facewash). Joe clips Williams’ knee, sending him to the floor where Joe hits an enzuigiri and the Olay Kick. Back in, Doug comes back with strikes but winds up in a cross armlock attempt. The Bomb Scare (kneedrop off the top) gets two for Doug, and he slaps on a sleeper to wear Joe down. Joe powers back with an Argentine Backbreaker and a Samoan Lariat for two. Williams gets caught with the MUSCLE BUSTER! DANGEROUUUUUS! Joe gets frustrated and hits another Samoan Lariat for the win at 17:53. This was a very different environment than in 2003. Joe gave little respect to Williams offense, turning this into what amounts to a placeholder match rather than a serious challenge. Both guys’ innate talent carried this well above average, though. ***

RoH Tag Titles, Ultimate Endurance: The Havana Pitbulls (w/Julius Smokes) vs. the Carnage Crew vs. Roderick Strong & Jack Evans vs. Dan Maff & BJ Whitmer.
First Fall, Submission Rules: The Ultimate Endurance match basically means it’s elimination rules with a different set of rules for each fall. Maff and Loc start out, going to a stalemate. Roderick gets the blind tag and tries to jump Maff from behind. That doesn’t go well. Everything is hit a move, wander to the wrong corner where another team can tag you, hit a move. Maff & Whitmer along with the CC play the roles of brawlers, the Pitbulls are the submission wrestlers, and GenNext are the fliers/technical wrestler. The match breaks down into a brawl, favoring Maff & Whitmer. They bust out a crazy Conchairto on DeVito’s knees, and finish with a doubleteam single-leg crab at 10:15.

Second Fall, Scramble Rules: Scramble rules means no tags are required, which everyone takes as an excuse to do a free-for-all. Jack Evans misses a crazy springboard somersault plancha to the floor, allowing Maff to hit a Burning Hammer on Evans at 12:45.

Third Fall, Title Match: The Pitbulls jump the challengers right away and hit a series of doubleteam maneuvers (Doomsday Inverted Bulldog & Decapitation Kneedrop). Maff makes the save and gets fired up. He takes out Reyes and Smokes (and himself) with a tope. Romero is so shocked that Whitmer is able to sneak in and get two with a schoolboy. His Exploder gets two as well. Whitmer challenges Romero to a strikefest, which Romero promptly wins with a flying knee to the head. That’s enough to polish of Whitmer at 18:22. After the match, Alison Danger returns and offers the Rottweilers cash money to destroy Maff & Whitmer. The Rottweilers accept and begin the beatdown and are soon joined by GenNext and the Embassy. Of course, Mick Foley makes the save with a fire extinguisher. Great way to end the show. **3/4

Lacey berates half of Special K into going out and “defending her honor” against Dunn & Marcos, who are tearing down the ring after the show.

Generation Next sit in the back with their respective metaphorical tails between their legs. They promise the war has just begun.

Indeed, Special K does attack an unsuspecting Dunn & Marcos and leave them laying.

The 411: This is a fondly remembered show for Mick Foley's appearance, and he certainly delivered. I can't say that there are any matches that you definitely need to go out of your way to see, but the overall show is good enough for a solid recommendation. I especially enjoy the Alison Danger versus Maff & Whitmer feud, which seems to have a number of different ways to go. Another mild thumbs up
Final Score:  6.5   [ Average ]