ROH – Death Before Dishonor II Pt. 2, July 24, 2004, Chicago Ridge, Illinois

ROH – Death Before Dishonor II Pt. 2, July 24, 2004, Chicago Ridge, Illinois

Review by Brad Garoon and Jacob Ziegler

Intro

BG says: Hey, I was at this show!

JZ says: Well it’s Part 2 of what is more or less regarded as the best weekend of shows in ROH history. Brad and I were in attendance at this one, my third show, and his fourth. Chicago crowds always rule, and this was no exception. Remember, go to www.furiousrage.com. No backstage promos on this tape either, so we start right off with the first match.

MATCH #1: Rocky Romero vs. Chad Collyer

BG says: This match would be the biggest surprise ever at a live show for me. Well, after Jericho v. Chyna from Survivor Series 1999. Collyer grabs a headlock into a hammerlock and takes Romero down with another headlock. He gets a fireman’s carry and tries a pin with a knucklelock. They trade monkey flips and pinfall attempts until Romero gets the leg scissors. Collyer blocks a hurricanrana and goes for the Texas cloverleaf, but Romero makes the ropes. Romero hits a big kick, knocking Collyer down against the ropes. He kicks at Collyer but gets nailed with a leg lariat. Collyer hits a vertical suplex for 2. He hits a backdrop for 2. Romero misses an enziguiri but catches him on the rebound for 2 and puts on an armbar. Collyer makes the ropes but gets his arm abused on the apron. Romero goes back to the armbar inside but Collyer makes the ropes. Romero hits a knee in the corner but gets hit with a German suplex for 2. He hits the divorce court, which is a really lame name for a move. The trade victory rolls until Romero gets tossed outside. Collyer hits a big clothesline on the floor but puts Romero back in to avoid the Rottweilers. A big crossbody gets 2 for Collyer. He hits a beautiful dropkick and brainbuster for 2. Romero gets the armbar again and the crowd gets on Collyer to tap, but he makes the ropes. Romero kicks at the arm, but one kick is reversed to the Cloverleaf. The crowd gets on Romero to tap but he makes the ropes. Collyer goes back to the leg and Romero goes back to the arm. Romero hurricanranas Collyer into the armbar and he finally taps. That was an awesome finish to a really energized and cool opener. These guys owed a lot to the crowd, but this was probably the best ROH opener in 2004 so far, just beating out some very stiff competition.
Rating: ***1/2

JZ says: This would be a pleasant surprise for me as well, and really set the show off on the right foot. Had they wrestled a snoozer they might not have been able to get the crowd back, but they had them from the beginning, so good for Romero and Collyer. Both are exceptional mat wrestlers, despite the claims of one commentator who will remain nameless. He’s the same guy who calls back suplexes “Greco Roman backdrops,” in case you were wondering. According to the same commentator, this match could be a main event in a lot of places. I’d like to visit these places. I’m really picking nits though, because this match is really cool regardless of what the commentators say. Romero works on the arm to set up for his finish, and Collyer works the legs to hopefully get the Texas Cloverleaf on, since he was trained by Dean Malenko and all. Romero wins the submissions battle at 11:30.
Rating: ***1/2

MATCH #2: Jimmy Jacobs vs. Alex Shelley

BG says: Shelley turned on Jimmy Jacobs after Jacobs got pinned in the scramble match the last time ROH came to Chicago. Shortly after, Shelley formed Generation Next. With ROH swinging through Chicago again, its time to settle the score… sort of. They do some pretty chain wrestling to start. Jacobs grabs an ankle lock but Shelley quickly makes the ropes. The crowd is firmly behind Jacobs here. Shelley gets a cloverleaf variation but Jacobs makes the ropes. Shelley sweeps Jacobs down for 2 and gets the snot blow of grosserosity! Jacobs hits some palm strikes and armdrags to change the momentum. He gets a weird submission, in which Shelley disappoints me by feeding Jacobs his legs. Jacobs hits a hurricanrana but Shelley reverses a charge and hangs him up on the ropes. He slings Jacobs off the apron into the guardrail. Back inside, Shelley hits the New Shining Wizard for 2. That’d be the 2nd rope kneedrop. I’m calling it that, so get used to it. Shelley puts on the head scissors and turns it over, into the Skull Fuck. That’s what he calls that now, so yell at him not me. He slams Jacobs’ head into the turnbuckle, which doesn’t work so Shelley goes to the eyes. A snap suplex gets 2 for Shelley. Jacobs gets a drop toehold into the turnbuckle and double stomp into that very same buckle. Shelley gets his elevated neckbreaker, a bodyslam and a legdrop for 2. He gets a slingshot elbow for 2. The more the commentators talk about the new Code of Honor the more apparent it is that it has become completely useless, even from a storyline perspective. Jacobs gets a sort of STO for 2. A clothesline and bulldog get Jacobs all babyface-fired up. He hits a kneedrop for 2. He goes up and comes down with the Masters of the Universe chop for 2. Shelley comes back with a twirling slam for 2. Jacobs gets 5 neckbreakers across his knee and goes for the boot of fear, but ends up hitting the Shellshock on Shelley for 2. Shelley hits the cross-legged brainbuster for 2. They fight it out on the top rope and Jacobs knocks Shelley off with headbutts, hitting the nastiest senton ever for a close 2. He goes for the Contra Code but Shelley tosses him off and hits a headdroppy move into the Border City Stretch. The crowd surprisingly yells for Jacobs to tap, which he does. This was a really, really fun match. However, it felt more like a super-charged version of their first ROH match, which was mostly an exhibition to new fans of what they could do against one another, instead of the rock-fest it felt like live. Still, awesome stuff here.
Rating: ***3/4

Generation Next beats on Jacobs post-match until Ricky Steamboat makes the save. He cuts an awesome promo bringing out Walters and Stryker to even the score. This segues nicely into the next tag match.

JZ says: Jimmy Jacobs is wearing the same tights and purple furry boots he wore the last time in Chicago, and Alex Shelley actually has real tights instead of shorts, for those who are wondering. The commentators mention that a Low Ki promo took place after the last match, but it was so disrespectful that they’re not putting it on the tape. Conspicuous by his absence is Austin Aries. Maybe they didn’t want to confuse the fans by having both him and Jacobs out there with the same haircut and all. Jacobs and Shelley start the match slow. Yeah, they’re taking their time, so what? Alex Shelley acts like a complete ass throughout the match, blowing snot on Jacobs within the first few minutes. Jacobs responds by grabbing the ankle and tripping him. These guys rule. Jimmy Jacobs is really over here, not too surprising. Commentator Jimmy Bauer notes that “this match is a little on the long side,” an assertion I’d have to disagree with. It’s progressing nicely I think. Soon after, Jacobs hits a HARD senton, probably the hardest I’ve ever seen. Good for him. These guys always work well together, but I think this one is one of my favorites. Everything really clicked, and the crowd was with them the whole way. Shelley of course gets the win with the Border City Stretch at 14:29. How long will it be before Jacobs can get another win on Shelley? Shelley gets on the mic afterwards, putting over the match but still dogging Jimmy Jacobs. Jerk. Steamboat comes out with Matt Stryker and John Walters in tow, and our next match is segued into nicely.
Rating: ****

MATCH #3: Jack Evans & Roderick Strong vs. Matt Stryker & John Walters

BG says: Walters and Stryker hit some nice double team stuff on Evans to start. Strong tries to come in but gets double teamed as well. Walters hits a reverse lung blower knocking Strong out of the ring, but Ricky throws him back in. Things finally slow down as Stryker puts an armbar on Strong. Walters tags in and works the arm. Strong catches Walters and hits a nasty gutbuster and big boot. Evans tags in and hits a snap suplex for 2. The crowd tries to remind Evans that he is in fact, white, as he catches Walters with flippy stuff for 2. Strong and Evans hit an awesome wheelbarrow somersault for 2. Strong comes in and hits a suplex for 2. He spits on Steamboat and chokes Walters out in the ropes. I want a hamburger. Strong hits a 16 count delayed vertical suplex and tags Evans in. Evans hits a cool handspring elbow for 2. A fisherman’s buster gets 2 for Evans. Strong tags in and slams Walters to the mat before hitting a surfboard/Jack Evans dropkick combo. Evans tags in but Walters hits a lung blower on both men simultaneously. Stryker gets the tag and cleans up. A leg lariat gets 2 on Evans, as does a powerslam. Stryker hits a Thesz press but misses an Asai moonsault. Generation Next hits their awesome double team moonsault/backbreaker for 2. That move needs a name like yesterday. Walters tags in and hits an elevated lung blower on Evans. He goes for the pin but Evans isn’t legal. Stryker gets the Strykerlock on the legal Strong but isn’t legal himself. The ref pisses me off by not disqualifying Generation Next even though he WATCHES Shelley come in the ring and kick Stryker. Steamboat and Stryker fight with Aries and Shelley in the aisle as Generation Next hit a double team elbow drop in the ring. Strong hits the Spinal Shock for the win moments later. The ending was kind of overbooked, but the match was still pretty much non-stop overall.
Rating: ***1/4

JZ says: The segue from the last match means that this one starts off hot. Evans & Strong are an awesome team, and Stryker & Walters work really well together as well. Walters goes lung blower crazy in this match, and I really like that move. Evans & Strong get in their backbreaker/moonsault combo thingy, which totally should be their finisher. Ummm, I really don’t have a lot to say about this match. It’s just good solid work from everyone involved. Strong gets the pin on Walters at 10:47, and I’ll second Brad’s rating.
Rating: ***1/4

MATCH #4: Six Man Mayhem – Matt Sydal vs. Trent Acid vs. Shawn Daivari vs. Delirious vs. Great Kazushi vs. Danny Daniels

BG says: I believe the Great Kazushi is one of the AJPW wrestlers that faced CM Punk and Colt Cabana at Final Battle 2003. Daniels and Delirious start. Daniels takes him down and works the arm. Delirious cuts Daniels off with a war cry and then nails him with a clothesline. He hits a hurricanrana and tags in Kazushi. Daniels tags out to Daivari. Kazushi sprays some mist so Daivari sprays some gum. These two were on the show the night before, but their match got cut from the tape. Daivari plants Kazushi’s face to the mat while attempting a rollup. Acid comes in and gets hurricanrana’d by Sydal. Acid goes for the moonsault to the outside but gets tossed to the guardrail by Daivari. Sydal goes to the top but Daniels brings him down with a rack backbreaker. Delirious and Sydal double team Daniels. Daivari proves to be smarter than Daniels by using one against the other (Delirious and Sydal that is). Well, he tries to anyway. An Asai moonsault by Sydal hits Daivari’s knees. Delirious gets a hurricanrana on Daivari on the outside. Daniels hits his back suplex on Acid inside. Kazushi and Daniels trade chops until Daniels goes to the eyes. Delirious hits Shadows Over Hell on Daniels and Kazushi in a spot that you could see coming from miles away. Crazy powerbombs and suplexes happen and the crowd goes crazy, but nobody sells any of it. Delirious gets his sick piledriver on Acid but Daniels saves. He hits the Owen Driver but Kazushi saves. Kazushi sprays the mist on Daniels but Sydal saves. Daivari DVDs Sydal and Delirious at the same time in the coolest spot of the match. Acid reverses a Daivari DVD and hits a reverse brainbuster for the win. This was exactly as I remembered it, full of spots and nothing more. However I did add extra points for that cool double DVD bit.
Rating: **1/4

JZ says: Yay, six man mayhem, my favorite. Great Kazushi is of course Miyamoto from TNA. He takes a couple hard bumps on his head too, as does everyone. This is the usual spot-spot-spot-no sell-spot-no sell-spot-spot-finish that all the rest of them are. I like five guys in this match, and the crowd likes the sixth, so I suppose it kinda evens out. Bauer at one point calls this match “Total Nonstop Action.” HA HA! There are some cool spots in this match to be sure, including some cool double teaming by Sydal and Delirious, both of whom are awesome to watch. Trent Acid is in full Jeff Hardy mode for some reason, with a shirt or something hanging out of his back pocket. Daivari’s double-DVD ruled; best spot of the match easily. Acid gets the win, proving that he’s the King of the Multi-Purpose match, as Nulty would say. Time of the fall – 8:44, and it went by pretty quick.
Rating: **1/2

MATCH #5: Pure Title Match – Austin Aries vs. Doug Williams

BG says: You know, if they wanted to get the Pure title and Williams’ run with it over as being really important, you’d think they’d put his matches closer to the top of the card. Putting this below the Briscoes/Rottweilers matches says something about the company’s priorities. Prazak again thankfully explains the rules to the fans. They are no closed fists, a 20 count outside of the ring and the three rope break rule. Aries clocks Williams with his fist right off and Williams returns fire. The ref only sees Williams and gives him a warning. Another one will cost Dougie a rope break. Apparently the Pure title can change hands on count outs and disqualifications too. That’s a cool rule. Williams works the arm, reversing all of Aries’ attempts to get the advantage. I start getting dizzy because of all these reversals, and apparently Aries does too because he uses his first rope break to get out of a hammerlock. Aries sneaks in some closed fists while he has Williams in a headlock behind the refs back. Williams gets frustrated and punches Aries again and costs himself a rope break. That didn’t come off well live but rules here on tape. Williams hits a mini-piledriver while he has Aries in the head scissors and proves his dominance by not letting him stay out for long. Aries finally gets out with a quick dropkick. He chokes Williams in the ropes and snaps him off them in awesome fashion. He puts Williams in the Rings of Saturn and catches him with a kick to the back while he’s bridged. A European uppercut gets 2 for Williams. Aries hits a couple of back breakers while putting pressure on the throat. He hits the chinlock and the crowd starts to get behind Williams. Williams reverses out and his selling is phenomenal. Nulty shocks the hell out of me by making a great observation about how if the refs are going to enforce the Pure wrestling rules in these matches, then they should remember to enforce all the other rules as well. Aries gets a Mutalock and Williams uses his second rope break to get out after his reversal proves useless. Aries baseball slides Williams out of the ring and hits a dive onto him outside. They fight on the outside as the ref gets to 19 before they get back in. Back inside, Williams gets caught with a back elbow but armdrags Aries into the turnbuckle. He hits some big knee drops in the corner and a knee lift gets 2. He catches Aries’ arm with a high knee and nails the Bomb scare onto his arm. A hammerlock submission forces Aries to use his 2nd rope break. He hits that snap side slam and a gutbuster, but misses his spinning elbow, further injuring the arm. He stupidly uses his inured arm for a roaring elbow and gets 2. Williams puts on a Rings of Saturn variation and Aries uses his last rope break to get out. Williams takes Aries up top and tugs on the arm as he jumps off. Aries goes up for the 450 but Williams stops him and gets an armbar with the use of the ropes to make Aries tap. Eh, even with the ending paying off all the arm work, it still was kind of flat, just like it was live. However, the match itself was much more entertaining on tape, as I was able to see the strategy of each man much better.
Rating: ***1/2

JZ says: I like the Pure Title, and I especially like having a secondary title, but I think they’re still working out the kinks, as this match shows. It definitely has some cool stuff going on in it, like Aries giving Williams a cheap shot before the bell, with Williams returning the favor only to get caught. That’s sweet. Then Aries losing his first rope break over a hammerlock is great, it shows how the wrestlers have to have different strategies for Pure Title matches. Williams loses his first as a result of using closed fists. That’s cool too. Unfortunately, the rest of the match is pretty flat from here. Brad’s right about Nulty, he makes some good points here, but also refers to bodyslams as “crotch hold left into a slam,” calls the Bomb scare “bombs away,” and at one point calls Austin Aries Alex Shelley. I’ll give him credit though, he’s getting better. This match just kinda rolls along, with some good wrestling and solid strategies and selling, but it just didn’t grab me. Williams gets the win at 14:13 with an arm submission in the ropes after Aries had used all of his rope breaks.
Rating: ***

MATCH #6: Mark Briscoe vs. Low Ki

BG says: This match was originally supposed to happen at the Briscoes’ big return at Beating the Odds, but Ki pulled off the show and Mark went on to have an awesome match with BJ Whitmer instead. Low Ki’s new music is cool. Ki gets a waist lock and takes Mark to the mat. He dominates with strikes and slaps on a sleeper hold. Mark gets a hammerlock and a sleeper of his own. Ki gets out and goes back to the sleeper. The crowd gets behind Mark as Ki grazes him with his upside down kick. A small section of fans (it sounds big, but it was small. I saw it live and you can’t argue with that) chants for Low Ki. He challenges Mark to go to the mat with him and actually gets dominated and has to bail. That was cool. Back in, Ki eats a back elbow and bails again. Have I mentioned Mark Briscoe is awesome? Back in again Mark hits a back bodydrop and Ki bails again. Mark goes up to dive onto Ki but Smokes tosses him off as Ki distracts the ref with a chair. Ki fakes a tweaked knee off of a leapfrog, and the crowd isn’t fooled. The ref however is, as Ki tosses him into Mark and hits him with the Tidal Wave Attack for 2. Elbow drop gets 2 for Ki. He hits a huge kick to Mark’s back for 1. He hits a vertical suplex and his mean bastard double stomp for 2. He hangs Mark up on the ropes and gives him a hard kick to the chest. He hits some mean bastard kicks to the seated Briscoe in the corner for 2. The crowd gets behind Mark and he starts to come back but gets met with a dropkick. Ki gets a bodyslam for 2 after a pretty extended lull in the action. He gets one more mean bastard kick to Briscoe’s face, knocking him down. Mark grabs the ropes to break the pin. Things really slow down for a while until Mark hits a leg lariat. He gets a dropkick in the corner and a fisherman’s buster for 2. He goes for the cutthroat DVD but Ki goes to the eyes and hits a backdrop suplex for 2. He misses a second Tidal Wave Attack and gets electric chair dropped. Ki reverses a rollup bridge to a Dragon clutch but Briscoe fights out. Mark hits a German suplex for 2. Ki gets out of another cutthroat suplex attempt as Smokes throws a chair in the ring. With the ref distracted by the chair, Smokes takes a cheap shot allowing Ki to hit the Tidal Krush and grab the Dragon clutch for the win. This would have made an amazing 10-12 minute match, but it was just over 16 and felt pretty dead at certain points. The match actually did a lot to help Ki’s heel standing, as he did a great job changing his style. And of course Mark is an awesome underdog. Mark gets antagonized by the Rottweilers post match.
Rating: ***

JZ says: I like Low Ki SO MUCH better as a heel. Maybe it’s because I couldn’t stand him as a babyface, and he cuts the worst promos of all time, even worse than Chris Benoit. So I can get with his heel character a lot easier. Jimmy Bauer agrees with me, calling Low Ki an asshole. Mark Briscoe is, of course, one half of the best tag team in the business today. The crowd likes both, but as Brad said, it’s a small section cheering for Ki. You know what I noticed about this match? I noticed that I never noticed referee Paul Turner. That’s how you know the ref is doing an awesome job. Low Ki does cocky heel covers now, which is awesome. It feels like this match is kind of a squash more than anything. Mark naturally sells the beating like a champ, proving that if you wanna do a squash, call Mark Briscoe. See how much better this is than Bryan Danielson versus Jack Evans? Gosh the Briscoes rule. Ki continues beating on Mark for a while, and gets the win with the Dragon Clutch at 16:40. Yeah, about five minutes shorter would have been kick-ass, but it was still pretty solid. Mark gets beat down after the match, where’s Jay?
Rating: ***

MATCH #7: Jay Briscoe vs. Homicide

BG says: Had they done anything to indicated that there was an intermission here, the match placement wouldn’t make Jay seem like such an asshole for waiting for everyone to beat up Mark and leave before he came out. They start off fast and furious right out of the gate. Jay hits a superkick sending Homicide out of the ring. He hits a plancha onto Homicide and reverses a piledriver to a backdrop on the floor. Back inside Jay goes up and hits a missile dropkick for 2. He hits a leg lariat and a snap suplex for 2. A jawbreaker and Ace crusher get 2 for Homicide. He hits an elbow drop for 2 and his running corner knee and jaws with the fans while standing on Jay. He gets a hammerlock/neck submission but Jay makes the ropes. He goes to the top but Jay catches him and hits a super belly to belly suplex. Jay fires up and hits a clothesline and falcon arrow for 2. He puts Homicide up top and hits a nasty powerbomb for 2. Homicide hits a flatliner on Jay into the turnbuckle and nails a piledriver for 2. He signals the Cop Killer but Jay reverses into the Jay Driller but Homicide back body drops out and hits a tiger driver for 2. They trade Yakuza kicks and Homicide goes down first. He comes back with a lariat but it only gets 2. Jay fakes like he’s knocked out and gives an unsuspecting Homicide a side suplex. He goes up but Smokes holds him allowing Cide to catch him with a super Japanese armdrag and another lariat for the pin. In my review of Survival of the Fittest, I mentioned that this match was better than the same one from that show. I was basing that on having seen this match live. On tape this did not hold up for me, as it felt like they were just hitting moves without rhyme or reason. Not to mention the referee saw Smokes holding Jay on the turnbuckle, and again didn’t disqualify him and counted the pin even though he freakin’ SAW interference lead to it. Terrible officiating. The Rottweilers start beating on Jay the way they did on Mark, and nobody makes the save.
Rating: **1/2

JZ says: Okay, here’s how I review tapes. I watch them once all the way through and make notes on what I think is noteworthy. Then I get Brad’s review and start piecing it together while I’m writing mine. While doing this I have the tape of the show on in the background. My point is that for this match, I didn’t take any notes. Nothing really happened. It’s not that it’s terrible or really boring or anything, it’s just flat. They do the things that they do for a while, and then it’s over when Homicide hits a lariat at 11:20. Much better live than in person. The Rottweilers cut another promo and beat Jay down. Can you say overkill?
Rating: ***

MATCH #8: ROH World Title Match – Colt Cabana vs. Samoa Joe

BG says: Colt is getting this title shot because he pinned Joe at Survival of the Fittest to eliminate him from the main event. Smart ROH booking shows them having the match in Chicago, the only place that Colt could really be taken seriously as a title threat by the crowd. The crowd is very much split between both men. Joe gets streamer treatment, but it’s Cabana’s hometown so he gives himself streamer treatment. Hilarious. They lockup and Colt hits the Carcinogen High Five on the break. Joe grabs a headlock which Colt reverses to his own. Colt goes for a bodyslam which Joe sweeps off and forearms Colt. Cabana gets in Joe’s face but ends up getting pushed around until he hits a shoulderblock. He wrenches the neck but misses the butt-butt and gets hit with a big forearm, sending him out of the ring. Back inside a knucklelock goes Joe’s way. Colt escapes, only to get hit with the STO. Joe gets rolled up for 2 while attempting the Big Joe Combo, but gets pissed and knocks Colt down with two big forearms. Joe hits the face wash and Colt falls out of the ring. He attacks Cabana on the apron while he tries to get back in the ring. Cabana takes the high ground but gets slapped down across the turnbuckle. Joe hits a back suplex for 2. He hits the legsweep, knocking Cabana on his face. He puts on the half crab but Cabana makes the ropes. Cabana gets beaten up in the corner but comes back with some big punches and the double knees in the corner. Cabana hits the big bodyslam and unknowingly gets 2 with one hand resting on Joe. He goes to the top but Joe pushes him off into the aisle way. Holy shit. Joe sends Cabana into the guardrail but the Ole kick is blocked with a chair as Cabana pastes him in the face with it. Cabana goes for the Ole kick and becomes the first guy to hit it on Joe in ROH. Back inside, Joe hits a powerslam for 2. The Honda slaps and a lariat get 2 for Joe. Cabana drops Joe hard with another bodyslam and hits a back suplex for 2. He nails the frog splash but it only gets 2. Cabana gets a sunset flip for 2 and puts Joe in an STF off of the kickout. Ha. Joe makes the ropes. Cabana tries the Colt 45, but come on, Joe’s huge. Joe hits a pair of enziguiris and tries to grab the choke but Cabana turns it over and gets 2. Joe hits a lariat, turning Cabana inside out for 2. Cabana runs from Joe, trying for some kind of rebound maneuver, but makes the mistake of looking behind him allowing Joe to catch up and hit the muscle buster for the win. This reminded me so much of Vader v. Flair from Starrcade 1993 it’s ridiculous. Cabana was the underdog hometown boy getting absolutely destroyed by strikes that really seemed too stiff for him, but he was still able to stay alive and make believable comebacks that the crowd could get behind. Great stuff. Post-match, the Rottweilers attack but the Briscoe Brothers make the save.
Rating: ***3/4

JZ says: Good booking all around here, as Colt pinned the champion in a non-title situation, so he gets a title shot. Giving it to him in his hometown is a good move too; they should have tried to book the Joe versus Matt Stryker match in Ohio. Colt starts off the match with some good funny stuff, but of course he’s wrestling Samoa Joe so it quickly turns serious. Colt is one of the few guys with comparable size to Joe. Gosh, WWE, just sign Cabana already. It would be sad if he left ROH, but he is funnier than anyone on the roster currently and is a damn good worker besides. Even if he just did “Good Times, Great Memories,” it would make great TV. I want Chinese food. The crowd, naturally, is behind both men, but Cabana is the hometown favorite. Brad’s description of this match reminding him of Flair vs. Vader from Starrcade ’93, is so apt, apt I say! It’s hard for me to say anything more. The match ran 17:29, which sounds like a lot for these two guys but it really wasn’t, they made it good all the way through. The Rottweilers come out for ANOTHER heel beat down, but this time the Briscoes make the save. Cabana recovers and he and Joe shake hands. Sportsmanship lives, and I love it.
Rating: ***1/2

MATCH #9: Non Sanctioned Chicago Street Fight – Dan Maff & BJ Whitmer vs. CM Punk & Ace Steel

BG says: Allison Danger comes out before the main event, wearing a neck brace because of the Cop Killer she took at Reborn Completion. She bitches about this and that, mostly Maff and Whitmer, and calls for people to bring out weapons for the main event participants to kill each other with. That big security guard brings out a bunch of stuff, so I guess this is as good a time as any to mention that that guy is super nice and anyone who says otherwise is a liar.

Okay, history time. Jimmy Bauer says that this feud started at Wrath of the Racket, but he’s wrong. The feud actually started at Do or Die, when the head of the Prophecy, Christopher Daniels, was in a 4 way match with Frankie Kazarian, Jimmy Rave and a man who’d just started his own faction in ROH, the Second City Saints, CM Punk. When the match was over, Daniels offered Punk a spot in the Prophecy, to which Punk replied that he’d join if Daniels shook his hand. The Code of Honor was still being enforced at the time, so it was a big thing to ask of Daniels. He of course refused. The Saints and Prophecy both claimed to be the dominant ROH faction for months. At Wrath of the Racket, Second City Saint Lucy was attacked from behind while filming the wacky antics of Cabana and Steel. Punk went crazy looking for the attacker. Maff swore on his father’s grave that the Prophecy had nothing to do with the attack, but at Final Battle 2003, BJ Whitmer joined the Prophecy and admitted that he and Daniels had orchestrated that attack on Lucy. Whitmer had had an issue with Punk since Epic Encounter when Punk German suplexed Whitmer through a table. After this Punk took Daniels out of ROH by Pepsi Plunging him through a table at Battle Lines are Drawn, which was also the night of Lucy’s big return and final ROH appearance. The remaining Prophecy members warred with the Saints until Generation Next, when the Saints scored a definitive win over the Prophecy. However, at World Title Classic, Maff and Whitmer beat Cabana and Steel in a bloody main event, restarting the feud. Because of their success, Maff and Whitmer renounced the Prophecy, pissing off Allison Danger. At Reborn Completion, Maff and Whitmer knocked Cabana off of the balcony in the Rex Plex and Con-Chair-Toe’d Steel. Now there was doubt over who was the real winner of the feud, so we have this extremely violent match to end things.

Maff & Whitmer wear Second City Saint shirts to the ring. The Saints one up them as Steel wears a shirt that tears Whitmer apart. The crowd of course hates Maff & Whitmer and loves the Saints. It’s nice to have clear faces and heels in there, which is why I love the Chicago Ridge crowd. The Saints get streamer treatment, which I believe will lead nicely to another Joe v. Punk match over the rights to getting streamers. The Saints block Maff and Whitmer from getting in the ring. They pull the Saints out of the ring and send them into the guardrails. Back in the ring Maff and Whitmer put the boots to Steel. Punk pulls Whitmer out of the ring and attacks Maff inside. The Saints go all Dusty Rhodes on his ass, and Punk catches Whitmer coming off the top and suplexes him. Punk dives onto Maff on the floor but Whitmer pastes the Saints with a steel chair. They brawl on the outside and Steel is the first man to bleed. Back in the ring Punk is also bleeding. Maff and Whitmer take off their belts and whip the Saints with them. Steel gets clotheslined with the belt by Whitmer as the crowd chants for the Saints. Punk starts bleeding a lot, which makes me wonder if he took an aspirin to help the flow. He blocks a charge but gets booted in his side. Steel grabs a belt and starts whipping Maff with it. Whitmer gets a back elbow on Punk as Maff gets tossed to the floor. On the outside, Maff gets pummeled into the guardrail. Punk runs from the darkness of the crowd over the rail onto Maff in a very cool visual.

Tables and ladders and chairs get put in the ring. Steel dropkicks a chair into Maff’s face. Maff gets his head sandwiched in a ladder, and Steel slams it with a chair. Punk washes Whitmer’s face twice. That was nasty. The crowd chants “one more time” so Punk gives it to them. Maff sits up on the floor and is busted open. The Saints set up a table at Whitmer’s neck, Steel puts a chair in front of his face and Punk rams a ladder into it. THAT was nasty. And now Whitmer is bleeding. Punk whips him with a belt as Steel digs a belt buckle into Maff’s forehead. Punk goes to hit Whitmer in the face with the barbed wire 2×4 but he blocks, so Punk tags him with it in the arm, and then attacks Maff with it. Whitmer grabs it from Punk and uses it to give him a Russian legsweep. Maff and Whitmer give Punk a ball shredder with the barbed wire. Steel gets the ball shredder too. Maff brings the barbed wire board into the ring. Whitmer goes to suplex Punk into it, but it’s blocked. Punk tries to give Whitmer a tornado DDT onto the board but he gets tossed onto it instead. Steel goes to suplex Whitmer into it but Maff moves the board. Maff almost gets knocked into the board but Whitmer blocks the Punk charge. Punk gets cannon-balled into the barbed wire board, breaking it and skewering both he and Maff. So fucking sick. Steel puts up what’s left of the board in the corner and Maff gets sent into it. Steel hits a tiger driver for 2. All four guys stare each other down while holding chairs. Everyone takes two huge chair shots to the head before falling out of the ring. They start throwing chairs in the ring and the crowd follows suit. In a surreal moment, dozens of chairs fly into the ring, seemingly out of nowhere because of the way the building is lit. To say it looks cool is a drastic understatement. All four men start brawling on top of the chairs. Everyone takes crazy suplexes on the chairs as a table gets set up. Maff sets up a table across the aisle way and puts Steel on it. Whitmer goes to jump on Steel from the top rope but gets tossed back onto the chairs by Punk. Maff ends up on the ladder in the aisle and Punk does what Whitmer couldn’t do. Back in the ring, Steel and Whitmer brawl until Steel tombstone piledrives Whitmer off of the second rope, through a table and onto the chairs for the win. This was insane violence done almost as well as it could be done. THAT is how you end a feud. Pure spectacle. Generation Next attack the Saints after the match. Steamboat tries to make the save but ends up getting tied to the ropes. What a bummer.
Rating: ****

JZ says: Allison Danger comes out for her promo, and she’s getting X-Pac heat. The crowd is just restless to get the violence and bloodshed underway I think. She does make sure lots of plunder is out there, so at least the promo accomplished something. See that shirt Punk is wearing? Rumor has it that he actually used to wrestle in that, regularly. Take that for what it’s worth. Also, all four men are wearing jeans, which you know means business. Dusty Rhodes style. The crowd is so hot for the introduction of the Saints that I can barely hear Dave Prazak. Who says Chicago crowds aren’t amazing? The Saints both bleed early on, and Maff & Whitmer follow suit of course. This match is just sick, lots of chair shots and barbed wire and everything else. I know I’ve been hard on most of the matches in this feud, but this is a perfect example of a GREAT brawling match. This match also has the benefit of the awesome part with all the chairs being thrown into the ring. Words can’t do it justice, being there live was so surreal and, pardon the expression, but I think this situation warrants it – Fucking Awesome. Ace Steel gets the pin in this match with a tombstone off the ropes through a table onto a pile of chairs at 27:48. With this match the hatred felt real, and everything was very intense, which I thought the rest of the feud was lacking. After the match, Generation Next comes out and attacks the bloody Saints, wearing gloves, which I find hilarious for some reason. It was probably Roderick’s idea. Cabana and Steamboat come out to try and help, but Gen Next overwhelms them. Alex Shelley cuts an awesomely awesome heel promo, urging the crowd to “Accept it! Accept us!” There were lots of heel beat downs on the show, but this was a good way to end it.
Rating: ****

MVP

BG says: I’m going to go with BJ Whitmer, just because he took a ton of abuse but still came out looking tough. Colt Cabana gets an honorable mention for his part in making the world title match so much fun.

JZ says: Chad Collyer, because he never gets any respect and he helped set the tone for the show with a fantasic opener against Ricky Reyes.
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The 411: BG says: Another awesome show that was totally on par with part one of Death Before Dishonor 2. Here there were no matches under **1/4, and the show was consistently awesome. I just can't say enough good things about this show. JZ says: I liked this show almost as much as Part 1. The average star rating is slightly slanted towards Part 1, but the intangibles of Pt. 2 make it just as good. I haven’t seen every ROH show, but of the ones I have seen, these two are the best.

Final Score:  8.3   [ Very Good ]