Dark Pegasus Video Review: Ring of Honor — Death Before Dishonor III

Ring of Honor — Death Before Dishonor III
by J.D. Dunn

This was a huge show for ROH in terms of historical importance and opportunity to make an impact at a show they knew would generate a lot of interest. It was already well-known that CM Punk was on his way to the WWE, so his last match in ROH was going to be big. Plus, ROH had been advertising the return of AJ Styles for weeks.

Throughout the night, Jimmy Bower puts over Punk and goes so far as to say ROH wouldn’t be around if not for Punk in 2003 and 2004.

This would also be the beginning of Ring of Honor’s Fifth Chapter, so if you’re one of those people who wonder where they should begin watching if they want an “in” to Ring of Honor, *this* would be an excellent place to start.

June 18, 2005

Morristown, N.J..

Your hosts are Dave Prazak and Jimmy Bower.

Colt Cabana confirms that this is Punk’s last night in the company, and he wants to have him on the show. Punk is nowhere to be found, though, as usual.

Austin Aries confirms his neck is sore, but that’s just part of wrestling. Jack Evans and Roderick Strong promise to take care of business.

Brief clip of Paul London saying goodbye at the first “Death Before Dishonor” in 2003.

Opening Match, ROH Tag Team Titles: BJ Whitmer & Jimmy Jacobs vs. Jimmy Rave & Fast Eddie (w/the Embassy).
Jade Chung remembers to get down on her hands and knees so Rave can get in the ring, but Nana chides her for not doing the same for Fast Eddie. Prince Nana promises a surprise opponent for AJ Styles tonight. Funny character moment for Jacobs & Whitmer: Jimmy tries to step in over the top because his hero is Bruiser Brody, but he’s too small to make it over, so Whitmer helps him out. Team chemistry at its finest. The champs dominate until Whitmer gets tripped up and plays face-in-peril. Killer Kruel gets in a few shots on the outside. Fast Eddie charges into an Exploder, though, and Whitmer is able to make the hot tag. Jacobs hits a double dropkick, but Rave is able to hit Ghanarrhea on Whitmer. Jacobs makes the save with a senton, and the champs go for the Doomsday Rana. Rave slips off Whitmer’s shoulders, though, and shoves him into Jacobs. Rave runs into a Whitmer lariat, though, allowing the champs to hit the Doomsday Rana for the win at 10:04. After the match, Nana blames Jade Chung and barks at her all the way up the ramp. **1/2

Punk Moment – He and Cabana show up at “Unscripted” for a dueling promo. Man was Punk skinny back in the day.

Back to Colt Cabana, Colt says Nigel didn’t win last week because he didn’t act like the jerk that he is.

Elsewhere, AJ Styles says he’s going to knock Jimmy Rave into next week so he’ll be forced to come up with his own moves.

Punk Moment – Punk and Raven try to kill each other in Boston. Punk puts Trinity through a table. We move on to the Dog-Collar Match. Punk says he learned a lot from Raven.

Anything Goes Match: The Carnage Crew vs. Dunn & Marcos.
Dunn & Marcos put the CC out of action for 90 days by pinning them earlier in the year. The CC came back with a vengeance, busting them open and knocking them out of one match. Big brawl to start as Dunn & Marcos come out firing, involving chairs and garbage cans in the match. CM Punk joins the commentary crew and puts himself over as a locker room leader during the dark times of ROH. He says ROH is strong now, so he feels he can move on. They can’t be bothered to talk about the match, and neither can I. The RCE go for the assisted Slice Bread #2, but Devito blocks and tosses Dunn through a table outside. Back in, the CC hit Marcos with a Splash Mountain/Neckbreaker though a table for the win at 8:35. *

Lacey puts herself over as the top business woman and says she can make any deal she wants because men are stupid and get distracted by her T&A. She brags about exploiting men and beats the crap out of Shane Hagadorn at the training center. Lacey didn’t quite have the mic skills to pull it off at this point, but her personality is so caustic that it worked. Good stuff to give Lacey a well-deserved push as a character, and it paid off in 2006.

Punk Moment: He steps up against Homicide in a good match that put him over as more than just a mouth.

Pure Title: Samoa Joe vs. Colt Cabana.
Colt outsmarts Joe by grabbing a wristlock and yanking Joe to the ropes. The ref rules that as one of Joe’s ropebreaks, pissing off the champ immediately. He pushes the ref, earning a warning. Colt uses his European style to further frustrate the champ. Joe hits him with a closed fist, which is like the third time that’s happened since Joe started going after the title. You’d think he’d learn. Joe loses his second ropebreak. Colt fires off a few open-hand chops to the face, but Jo just no-sells them. You gotta love when Cabana turns into a human Looney Toon. Colt uses the old Pepper Gomez trick of looking up at the lights for a distraction. Colt gets that roll-up he used to pin Joe at Survival of the Fittest last year (see how they don’t forget about continuity after a month?). An STF makes Joe use his final break, and Cabana hits a moonsault for two. Joe gets a Crippler Crossface for two, forcing Cabana to use another break. Colt puts a block on a corner whip but turns right into an enzuigiri from the champ. He counters the Muscle Buster but runs right into a powerslam and cross armlock from Joe at 14:06. The combination of Colt’s personality and Joe’s no-nonsense approach made this more fun than the actual work involved. After the match, Nigel McGuinness comes out to gloat about Colt’s loss. ***

James Gibson says it’s now personal between he and Homicide, and he’s out for revenge.

Punk Moment: He takes on Steve Corino at “Empire State Showdown.”

Jay Lethal cuts a promo. The less said, the better.

Prince Nana comes out to announce he’s cutting funding for the schools in Ghana to pay for his surprise opponent for AJ Styles. Nana is awesome. Allison Danger interrupts to promise that Christopher Daniels is coming back…and this time, it’s true! Before leaving, she asks Nana to destroy AJ Styles (continuing Styles’ and Daniels’ feud from TNA). Nana admires her ass and then introduces his newest charge – TNA’s own Petey Williams!

AJ Styles vs. Petey Williams (w/the Embassy).
This is basically their usual X-Division match designed to bring AJ back in big without killing off anyone’s heat. Petey gets a legdrag early, and they do a lot of that flippy stuff they’re known for. AJ F5’s Petey to the floor, but Petey blocks his charge and ranas him on the cement. Sick spot as Petey sets up a chair on the floor and backdrops Styles on it. Punk gets bored with the match and makes jokes about having sex with Jade Chung. Finally, AJ just stops on a charge and hits a forearm. Transitions? Pffft. AJ hits a pump-handle gutbuster, but Peter counters a brainbuster to a swinging neckbreaker. AJ rolls through the Canadian Destroyer to the Styles Clash, but Petey kicks his way out of the move and hits a DDT. AJ with the enzuigiri to set up a superplex. Petey tries to counter to the Destroyer off the top, but AJ backdrops him to the canvas. The Spiral Tap misses, and Petey locks in the Sharpshooter. AJ rolls over into a cover and then the Styles Clash for the win at 16:37. More of an athletic exhibition than anything else. But they’ve got that down pat. **3/4

After the match, Nana threatens to send Jade back to Vietnam if she doesn’t slap AJ in the face. AJ calls her a “stupid ho” and threatens to kill her if she tries it. He goes after Nana, so Jade uses the distraction to give AJ a low blow and run away. Jimmy Rave runs down and gives Styles the Rave Clash.

In the back, Jimmy Jacobs complains that BJ Whitmer always gets to do the cool stuff like talk and hold the guy up for the Doomsday Rana.

Punk moment: Punk gives Christopher Daniels the Pepsi Plunge through a table, putting Daniels out of Ring of Honor – as it turns out, for sixteen months! Later, the Second City Saints win the tag titles.

Good Times, Great Memories:
Colt joins us from the rafters. Punk is still nowhere to be found.

Roderick Strong & Jack Evans vs. Lacey’s Angels (w/Lacey, Cheech & Cloudy).
This amounts to a #1 contender’s match for the tag team titles. Jack serves Deranged early and then stomps on Deranged’s nuts when Deranged tries to answer. Jack blocks a Code Red and knocks Deranged to the floor. Deranged returns the favor with a low blow. Roderick tags in and folds Deranged into a pretzel. He suplexes Deranged onto Izzy, and they all take the brawl to the floor where Jack hits his springboard somersault plancha. Back in, Strong suplexes Evans into a splash on Izzy for two. Deranged makes the save, and the Angels take over. The Angels work in their own double-team maneuvers such as a Doomsday Ace Crusher. Jack quebradas on the Angels to get out of trouble and tags Roddy back in. Deranged hits Strong with a springboard knee, though, allowing Izzy to hit Cradle Shock. The Angels hit stereo dives to the floor. Back in, Strong stretches Deranged across the second rope and launches Evans at him. The Ode to the Bulldogs should have gotten the win, but Cheech and Cloudy pull the ref out and argue with him. That allows the Angels to hit Evans with a Top-Rope T-Gimmick at 12:34. Not enough Strong to keep the match grounded (literally and emotionally). Evans looks pissed. **1/4

Punk moment: Punk turns babyface, saving Ricky Steamboat from a big beatdown.

Four-Corner Survival: Homicide (w/Julius Smokes) vs. James Gibson vs. Nigel McGuinness vs. Azrieal.
Most of the match is Homicide taunting Gibson and trying to get in his head. Nigel and Azrieal just seem to be along for the ride and ensure that Gibson can’t get his hands on ‘Cide. This is also the first in a series of Four Corner matches for Gibson. Gibson and Nigel do a nice little sequence that weakens Jamie, so Homicide finally tags himself in. Gibson sees him coming and armdrags him down, though. Gibson dominates until Homicide blocks a charge and tags out to Azrieal. Azrieal acquits himself well, despite being out of his league. As usual, everyone just starts hitting big moves down the stretch. They work in the Tower of Doom, which hits Nigel right in the head. That’s different. Homicide spears Nigel to break up the Rope-Assisted Stunner and then kicks Gibson in the balls to break up a German Suplex. Gibson gets pissed and stomps a mudhole in the corner. He hits Azrieal with the Tiger Driver, but Nigel breaks up another one. They all dive out on one another in succession. Back in, Azrieal hits Nigel with the double-stomp but gets taken down with a lariat from Homicide. Nigel saves Gibson fro the Cop Killa, tosses Homicide, and then finishes Gibson with the Rope-Assisted Stunner at 20:18. Despite a number of clichéd moments and logic gaps (what do you mean ‘legal man?’), this was fueled by the hatred between Gibson and Homicide. Nigel provided the chain wrestling, and Azrieal provided the flying. Fun stuff. ***1/4

Punk moment (and the most important): Punk and Joe go to a one-hour draw only to have Homicide attack after the match. Punk puts over the Code of Honor and what the ROH belt means. Joe and Punk would later go on to another one-hour draw before Joe finished the feud for real.

Low Ki (w/Julius Smokes) vs. Jay Lethal.
Ki and Homicide tried to cripple Lethal in NYC, so Lethal is coming back as the pissed-off babyface. They slug it out before Lethal dropkicks Ki to the floor and hits a tope. The story here is Lethal’s neck is still not healed, but he wants revenge so bad he doesn’t care. Funny moment as
Smokes is screwing around with the baseball bat on the apron and accidentally lets it roll in the ring, but it’s important later in the match, so he has to sheepishly ask for it back. Ki stops short to avoid a dropkick, and Lethal lands on his injured neck. Ki locks in a Triangle Choke for a bit and jaws with the crowd. Ki blocks a Dragon suplex and rams Lethal into the corner. Jay goes for a trio of sunset flips, but Ki blocks the final one and hits the double-stomp (eventually). Ki sets up for the Ghetto Stomp, but Lethal reaches up and yanks him off. Lethal avoids a series of strikes, and brings back the atomic drop. Lethal charges, but Ki jumps over him and hits a double-stomp. The gun packet dropkick knocks Lethal back into the corner, and Ki gets two. Jay blocks the Super Ki Krusher and hits a Diving Headbutt. Smokes hops up on the apron and drops the bat in to Ki as he distracts the ref. Ki grabs it and swings, but Lethal ducks and hits the Dragon Suplex. Smokes knows that’s the end, so he jumps in and breaks up the count for the DQ at 15:13. Homicide saves Smokes and Ki from any further humiliation. ***

ROH World Title: Austin Aries vs. CM Punk.
This was a glorious, shining achievement in Gabe Sapolsky’s booking career. Punk is just INSANELY over with the crowd on his last night in the company. The crowd even voices big “Please don’t go!” and “Thank you, Punk!” chants before the bell. Punk actually looks a little choked up. Austin Aries gets some respect applause, but not much love. Prazak and Jimmy Bower put over what Punk has done for ROH, elevating it from a tiny indy promotion designed to sell tapes for Rob Feinstein to the #3 promotion in America. They start out with some slow, basic stuff, and it makes sense that they would tease a long match since Aries has a 75-minute match under his belt and Punk has two 60-minute draws. After all, Punk isn’t going to win the title in his last match. However, if he should win it, Bower promises that Punk will vacate the title, and there will be a tournament to crown a new champion. Sure he will. Punk dominates early, working over the neck and countering just about everything Aries has to offer. The first big highspot comes with a Punk tope suicida. Aries makes him pay for it with a Death Valley Driver on the ring apron! Aries mockingly tosses the extra streamers on the prone Punk. Aries works the lower back and nearly gets booed out of the building. Aries takes it out on Punk, repeatedly tossing him neckfirst into the turnbuckle pad. He whips Punk into the exposed turnbuckle, but Punk reverses another whip and turns Aries over with a lariat. PUNK’S HULKING UP! WELCOME TO CHICAGO, MOTHERFUCKER! That gets two. A crossbody gets two more, but Aries blocks the Pepsi Twist and hits a lariat. Punk catches him going up and slams him off. SHINING WIZARD! ONE, TWO, THRE-NO! Aries gets the shoulder up. They brawl on the top, and Aries hits the SUPER BRAINBUSTER! ONE, TWO, THRE-NO! Punk kicks out! Aries goes up for the 450-splash, but Punk catches up with him! Aries wins the battle on top, though, and hits his own PEPSI PLUNGE! He used Punk’s own move! ONE-No way, bitch! Punk is not jobbing to his own move. Aries hits the 450-splash, but Punk rolls through to the ANACONDA VICE! Aries makes the ropes and reverses a second attempt to a crucifix for two. Punk counters the Crucifix Bomb to a TKO and nails Aries with a Shining Wizard! PEPSI PLUNGE! ONE, TWO, THREEEEEE! Punk picks up his first World Title at 30:29 in his last ROH match. The fans chant “Thank you, Punk” and “We will miss you!” Aries offers a handshake and a hug and hands over the belt, even raising Punk’s hand in victory. It’s a beautiful moment…until Punk gets on the mic. After suckering the fans in with gushing praise for the ROH Title, he suddenly goes all Pillman on their asses. “I AM THE DEVIL HIMSELF, AND ALL YOU STUPID, MINDLESS PEOPLE FELL FOR IT!” He threatens to take the ROH Title to the WWE, and there’s not a man in the locker room that can stop him. Oh, you don’t say that. Christopher Daniels returns for the first time in 16 months and gets in Punk’s face! They have a brief brawl before Punk bails out and runs away, telling Daniels he can wait 16 more months for all he cares. The fans who were begging Punk to stay are now chanting “CM Pussy” and “Punk’s a bitch!” The match itself is very good, but combine it with a heel turn and the return of one of ROH’s founding fathers, and you have one of the defining moments in ROH history. ****1/4

Generation Next is in disarray. Aries doesn’t want to talk to the media. Jack Evans thinks he just needs some time off because he’s always the goat. That leaves Roderick Strong to hold the mantle.

Colt is distressed because Punk still isn’t there. He calls for Punk three or four times before giving up and realizing that Punk has forsaken him. This was actually kind of sad.

From a few days later, Aries says he appreciates all the “you’ll bounce back” cards and letters. He promises that CM Punk will have to face the locker room. He also promises GenNext will be back after some retooling.

We round things out with Punk and Gibson brawling at the FIP Rumble in Florida.

The 411: Gabe took a cue from his mentor Paul Heyman and booked a big swerve (remember the Dudleys winning the ECW Tag Titles on their last night?). It's a swerve that makes sense as Punk finally achieved his goal – it just wasn't the way the fans thought it would be. This was basically ROH's version of "Bash at the Beach '96" where the big face turns heel and promises to destroy the company making you wonder, "What now?" The wrestling itself is just "okay" for an ROH show, but the great main event, huge heel turn, and return of Christopher Daniels make this a must buy for new fans of ROH. Easy thumbs up.

Final Score:  8.0   [ Very Good ]