From The Shelf- ROH Revenge on the Prophecy

Ring of Honor Revenge on the Prophecy
West Miffin, PA
1/11/2003

Key Points:
-AJ Styles and Low Ki continue their war with the Prophecy in a No Holds Barred Match.
-Steve Corino declares war on the Prophecy as well, forming his own group and enlisting the services of Samoa Joe and Simply Luscious.
– Special K is becoming a nuisance, starting raves in the ring.

We see Steve Corino introducing his new group to take all the titles in ROH. His first two members are Simply Luscious who he took out of the Prophecy and Samoa Joe. He confronts Christopher Daniels who introduces his new member of the Prophecy, Allison Danger, who happens to be Corino’s sister. They have to be separated.

Special K come out and start a dance party in the ring but get cleared out by Da Hit Squad and SATs. Mack goes to toss one of the members of Special K out of the ring but Slugger catches him and Special K heads to the back.

Allison Danger and Simply Luscious get into a catfight and have to be separated.

Paul London says that he wants to win the four way match tonight and crack the top five contender’s rankings.

Matt Stryker vs. Chad Collyer
Both men look to gain control early and we reach a standstill. Collyer looks to gain control on the mat and he catches Stryker in a cover for 2. Stryker works over the arm of Collyer and he goes to an arm bar. Cross armbreaker by Stryker but Collyer gets his foot on the ropes to break. Collyer comes back with a kneebreaker and he goes to work on the leg of Stryker. Stryker makes the ropes to break and Collyer stomps on the leg of Stryker. Chops by Stryker and he hits a backdrop. Stryker misses a dropkick and Collyer grabs the Texas Cloverleaf. Stryker makes the ropes to break. Suplex by Collyer gets 2. Stryker counters a kneebreaker attempt with a sunset flip for 2. Leg lariat by Stryker and he hits some clotheslines. Back elbow by Stryker and he hits a powerslam for 2. Swinging neckbreaker by Stryker and he misses the Lionsault. Roll-up by Collyer gets 2 and he goes for another but Stryker blocks for 2. Big boot by Stryker and he grabs the Ankle Lock. Collyer counters into a roll-up for 2 and he goes for the Texas Cloverleaf but Stryker counters with a small package for 2. They trade counters and Collyer blocks a hurricanrana attempt with a powerbomb. Texas Cloverleaf by Collyer and Stryker taps.
Winner- Chad Collyer **3/4 ( Solid technical wrestling match to kick off the show. They didn’t go crazy but still got the crowd going to kick off the show on a good note. )

CM Punk says that he’s had hatred built up since Michael Shane cheated to beat him back at All Star Extravaganza. He says he won’t be able to live with himself if he can’t beat Michael Shane.

CM Punk vs. Michael Shane
Both men look for control to start and Shane catches Punk with an O’Connor roll for 2. Punk rolls him up for 2 and Shane bails to the floor. Back in, they go to the test of strength and Punk drives his knee into the back of Shane a few time to break. Dropkick to the back by Punk gets 2. Shane escapes a suplex attempt and he dumps Punk to the floor. Shane follows and works over Punk on the floor. Back in, Shane hammers away in the corner and chokes Punk with his boot. Jawbreaker by Punk and he goes for a springboard crossbody but Shane catches him with a gutbuster. Punk bails to regroup but Shane rolls him back in for 2. Front facelock by Shane but Punk fights out and a backbreaker. Shane comes back with a clothesline for 2. Snapmare and Shane grabs a chinlock. Punk fights out and they clothesline each other. They slug it out and Punk hits a backdrop. Shining Wizard by Punk gets 2. Spinebuster by Punk gets 2. Punk goes for a hurricanrana but Shane blocks with a powerbomb for 2. Shane goes for a tornado DDT but Punk counters into a powerslam. Split legged moonsault by Punk gets 2. Punk goes up but Shane stops him and Punk falls to the apron. Punk goes for a sunset flip but Shane blocks and holds the ropes for 2 as the ref catches him. He kicks Shane’s hands off the ropes and Punk finishes the flip for 2. Superkick by Shane gets 2. He goes for a powerbomb but Punk backdrops out. SOS by Punk gets 3!!!
Winner- CM Punk **1/2 ( This match was really ugly at times with Punk blowing spots and Shane not really giving a quality effort. A solid match but not as good a match as these two could and should have had. )

BJ Whitmer vs. Colt Cabana vs. Paul London vs. Homicide
London and Whitmer start. Both men look for control and Whitmer hits a tilt-a-whirl backbreaker for 2. Arm bar by Whitmer but London escapes and hits an overhead belly to belly suplex. Homicide and Cabana tag in. Cabana works the arm of Homicide and he goes to an arm bar. They trade arm drags and Cide drop toe holds Cabana into a rear chinlock. Corner forearm by Homicide and he hits a basement knee strike for 2. Whitmer tags in and hits a leg lariat to Homicide for 2. Whitmer works over the arm of Homicide and he hits a second rope legdrop onto the arm. Cross armbreaker by Whitmer but London breaks it up. Tag to Cabana and he goes up but Homicide stops him. He follows up and hits a superplex off the top for 2. Cabana charges in the corner but eats elbow and Homicide hits a second rope dropkick. London blinds tags in and covers for 2. Chops by London and he hits a spinning heel kick for 2. Forearms by London but Cabana comes back with a mule kick. Clothesline by Cabana and Whitmer tags in. He stomps away on London and he chops away. Back elbow by Whitmer gets 2. Snap suplex by Whitmer gets 2. Chinlock by Whitmer and Cabana tags in. Slam by Cabana and he hits a kneedrop for 2. London comes back with a springboard crossbody for 2 and Cabana hits a back elbow. Tag to Whitmer and he hits a Northern lights suplex for 2. Camel Clutch by Whitmer but London fights out so Whitmer hits a knee to the gut for 2. Tag to Cabana and London fights out of the corner. Cabana comes back with forearms but London catches him with a dropkick for 2. Tag to Whitmer and he stomps away on London in the corner. London rolls out of the corner and tags Homicide. Whitmer charges in the corner but eats elbow and Whitmer blocks a Tornado DDT. German suplex by Whitmer but Cabana blind tags in. London then blind tags in and he hits a leg lariat as Cabana hits a back suplex to Homicide for 2. Enzuigiri by Cabana and London bails to the floor. Drop toe hold by Homicide to Cabana and he trades counters with Whitmer. Whitmer hits him with Exploder 98 but London catches him with a slingshot headscissors. Whitmer bails and Homicide hits the Tope Con Hilo!!! Cabana looks to dive but London catches him with a dropkick. Cabana assists London with a moonsault plancha to the floor!!! Cabana hits a springboard corkscrew senton to the floor!!!! Back in, Whitmer misses a corner knee strike and Homicide puts him on top. Super Ace Crusher by Homicide and London covers for 2 as Homicide breaks. Homicide charges in the corner but eats elbow and he goes up. Homicide stops him and follows up but London fights him off. London leaps off the top but misses and Homicide hits the Cop Killa for 2 as Cabana breaks!!! Cabana escapes a Cop Killa attempt and hits Colt 45 for 2 as Whitmer breaks!!! They trade forearms and Whitmer hits rolling Dragon suplexes for 2 as London breaks it up with the London Star Press for 3!!!
Winner- Paul London ***1/2 ( The beatdown of London went on way too long but the rest of the match was insane, top notch action with all four guys coming out of it looking like stars. Great match. )

Samoa Joe vs. Bryan Danielson
Test of strength to start and Danielson breaks and tries to work the arm. Joe block and both men struggle for control on the mat which leads to a standstill. Joe slaps Danielson but Danielson comes back with a dropkick to the leg. Dragon screw leg sweep by Danielson and he works over the leg of Joe. They trade chops and Joe goes for a heel hook but Danielson quickly makes the ropes. Chops by Joe and he hits an Exploder suplex. Danielson takes Joe down and he goes right back to work on the leg of Joe. Danielson stretches Joe while applying presses to the leg and Joe finally makes the ropes to stop Danielson. Chops by Danielson and he wraps Joe’s leg around the ropes. He charges in the corner but eats boot and Joe catches Danielson with a lariat for 2. Kicks to the chest by Joe and he gives Danielson some face washes in the corner. Olay! Kick in the corner by Joe and he grabs a half crab with his knee in the back of Danielson. Danielson makes the ropes to break. Headbutt by Joe and he suplexes Danielson to the floor!!! Joe chops away on Danielson and he hits an Olay! Kick in the guardrail!!! Powerbomb by Joe back in gets 2 and he converts it into the STF. Danielson makes the ropes to break!!! Chops by Joe and he sends Danielson to the corner. He charges but misses and Danielson hits a running forearm. Danielson goes for a suplex but Joe blocks so Danielson hits a butterfly suplex instead. Danielson goes up and hits a diving headbutt off the top for 2. Uppercuts by Danielson but Joe fights back with kicks to the leg. Roaring elbows by Danielson but Joe breaks it up with a leaping kneestrike. Island Driver by Joe gets 3!!!
Winner- Samoa Joe ***3/4 ( This was an excellent match that with a few more inutes would have been something special. Still, a great first contest in a storied ROH rivalry. )

SATs (Jose and Joel Maximo) and Ghost Shadow vs. Divine Storm (Quiet Storm and Chris Divine) and Konnan w/Trinity
Divine and Shadow start. Both men look for control to start and Shadow works the arm of Divine. They trade arm drags and reach a stand still. Tags to Joel and Storm and Storm takes Joel down and works the leg but Joel makes the ropes. Joel takes Storm down into the Indian Deathlock but Storm now makes the ropes to break. Tags to Konnan and Jose. They trade counters and reach a stand still. Tag to Divine and Shadow. Shadow takes him down by the hair and hits a hurricanrana. Shadow botches some arm drags and Divine hits a hurricanrana of his own. Tag to Storm and Joel. Tilt-a-whirl arm drag by Storm but Joel trips him up and hits a springboard crossbody. Hurricanrana by Joel but Storm comes back with a tilt-a-whirl headscissors. Tag to Jose and Konnan. Rolling clothesline by Konnan and everyone comes in. Konnan cleans house but eats a missile dropkick from Joel. Everyone hits each other with missile dropkicks and Jose hits a Saito suplex to Divine. Asai moonsault to the floor onto Storm!!!! Shadow goes up and he hits a summersault plancha to the floor!!! Trinity goes up and hits a moonsault press onto everyone on the floor!!! Back in, Shadow hits a side Russian leg sweep to Storm but Storm comes back with a slingshot tilt-a-whirl arm drag. Clothesline by Storm and he tags Konnan who slaps away. Shadow tries to springboard but Konnan dropkicks the leg to block. Springboard splash by Divine and they grab a double half crab/chinlock combo. The SATs break it up. Springboard headscissors by Shadown sends Storm into the corner and he hits a corner knee strike. He puts Storm on top and hits the Muscle Buster. Tag to Konnan and he backdrops Shadow to the floor. Jose dropkicks him and Joel knocks Konnan off the apron with a springboard dropkick. Divine with a suicide dive to the floor onto Jose. Joel and Storm trade forearms and Joel breaks with an enzuigiri. Backfist by Storm and he hits a Dragon suplex for 2. Release German suplex byJoel but Storm fires back with forearms. Storm goes up but Joel stops him and follows up. Super Brainbuster by Joel gets 2!!! Konnan hits the Cradle DDT for 2 as Shadow saves. Tornado DDT by Shadow to Konnan and he hits a corkscrew elbow for 2 as Divine saves. Kneebreaker by Divine and he hits a Dragon screw leg sweep. Texas Cloverleaf by Divine but Jose breaks it up. Hanging DDT by Jose gets 2 as Storm saves. Jose goes up but Storm stops him and hits the Electric Chair Driver for 2 as Shadow saves. Sit-out powerbomb by Shadow gets 2. Splash Mountain by Konnan to Shadow gets 2. Inverted TKO by Konnan and he locks in Tequila Sunrise. Shadow taps!!!
Winners- Divine Storm and Konnan *** ( I was shocked by how much I enjoyed this. A really fun contest that featured some great action and a very impressive and surprising performance from Konnan. Ghost Shadow was green as hell but everyone else looked great. )

Weapon’s Match- Carnage Crew (Loc and DeVito) vs. Da Hit Squad (Monsta Mack and Mafia)
They brawl on the floor to start and Loc beats on Mack with a chair. Mafia goes for a suicide dive but the Carnage Crew block with a shot to the head using the railings!!! Back in, DeVito puts the railing in the corner and he drives Mafia through it with an exploder suplex. DeVito hits Mafia a few times in the head with a pan but Mafia takes it and whacks DeVito with it. Loc hits Mack in the head a few times with a hubcap but he comes back with an overhead belly to belly suplex. Chokeslam by DeVito to Mafia gets 2. Mafia cleans house with a cowboy boot and Mack goes up. Frog splash to DeVito as Mack chokes away on Loc. Da Hit Squad bring a ladder in the ring and they clothesline the Carnage Crew with it. Mack goes up the ladder and looks for a splash but the ladder breaks under his weight causing him to crash to the mat. DeVito suplexes the ladder onto Mafia and Loc drives it into Mack in the corner. Hubcap Conchairto by the Carnage Crew to Mafia and Loc drives a cowbell into the head of Mafia. Mack catches DeVito with a lariat and Mafia catches Loc with a clothesline. Mafia hits an elbow drop onto a ladder on top of Loc. They place the ladder onto the heads of the Carnage Crew and they nail the ladder with chairs!!! Da Hit Squad put a table in the corner as Loc catches Mack with a facebuster into a swinging neckbreaker. Mafia goes for a German suplex but Loc blocks with a chair to the back. Mafia kills Loc with a chair shot and DeVito goes up but gets crotched. Mack puts DeVito on the table and Mafia hits a superbomb on Loc through DeVito and the table for 3!!!
Winners- Da Hit Squad **1/2 ( A very ECW style brawl with a lot of brawling and weapon use and not much else. It was a bit too chaotic for my tastes and it was like any other brawl I’ve watched in wrestling. )

We see footage from Special K’s New Years Rave where they get screwed up on drugs and Slugger has to carry Dixie out of the room.

Scramble Match- Ring Crew Express (Dunn and Marcos) and Outcast Killaz (Diablo Santiago and Oman Tortuga) vs. Special K (Deranged, Angeldust, Hydro, and Yeyo) w/Slugger M
Everyone fights to start and Special K clears the ring. They dive onto everyone on the floor and Deranged finishes it off with a springboard summersault senton onto everyone!!! Back in, Marcos hits a back suplex backbreaker to Angeldust and he hits a hurricanrana sending Angeldust into the corner. Hydro comes in and hits a short arm clothesline. Clothesline by Hydro and Santiago attacks from behind. Santiago blocks a hurricanrana with a powerbomb and he hits a basement dropkick. Yeyo catches Santiago with a leg lariat but Dunn catches him with a Gory Bomb. Hurricanrana by Deranged to Dunn and he hits a spinning front kick. Facebuster by Dunn but Deranged comes back with a botched wheelbarrow DDT. Tortuga botches a swing around DDT and Deranged comes back with a tilt-a-whirl headscissors. Tortuga counters a TKO into a reverse DDT. Slugger comes in and chokeslams Tortuga. Chokeslam to Santiago. Chokeslam to Dunn. Chokeslam to Marcos. Angeldust stomps on the back of Marcos and he hits a Storm Cradle Driver. Hydro hits a Burning Hammer off his back onto Santiago. Brainbuster by Yeyo to Dunn. Deranged hits a sunset flip bomb to Tortuga. Slugger comes back in and he hits the Body Bag to Marcos. All of Special K cover him for 3.
Winners- Special K *1/2 ( This was all moves and nothing else. The entrance of Slugger made no sense since he wasn’t even officially in the match and I’ve seen better spot fests than this. Easily the worst match on the show. )

Low Ki and AJ Styles say when they compete against each other, it’s for the love of pro wrestling. When they fight the Prophecy, it’s about their hatred for the Prophecy. Ki says it’s not about the size of the fighter but the size of the fight he brings. He tells them to be ready.

No Holds Barred Match- The Prophecy (Christopher Daniels and Xavier) w/Allison Danger vs. AJ Styles and Low Ki
All four men brawl on the floor to start and back in, Ki hits a running elbow to the head of Xavier. Dropkick by Ki and he tags Styles. Styles works him over in the corner and he hits a dropkick. Basement superkick by Styles and Ki tags in. Enzuigiri by Styles and Ki hits a basement dropkick followed up by a powerbomb by Styles for 2. Styles works over the leg of Xavier but Daniels breaks it up. Gutbuster by Xavier and he hits a forearm. Tag to Daniels and Ki. They trade chops and Ki hits a corner elbow. Butterfly suplex by Ki gets 2. Tag to Xavier and Ki drop toe holds him. Dropkick to the leg by Ki and he hits some kicks to the chest. He catches a charging Daniels with a reverse atomic drop and Styles hits another basement superkick for 2. Styles hits a Brainbuster for 2 as Daniels saves. Styles charges in the corner but eats boot and Xavier hits a DDT for 2. Tag to Daniels and he hits a leg lariat for 2. He goes for a suplex but Styles blocks and catches him with a suplex neckbreaker. Tag to Ki and he hits a back elbow. Elbow drop by Ki gets 2. He dumps Daniels to the floor and follows out. Slam on the floor by Ki as Styles catches Xavier with a clothesline on the floor. Back in, Ki gets 2. Boston Crab by Ki but Daniels makes the ropes. Xavier comes in and throws some knees to the head of Styles. Ukuza kick in the corner by Ki and Styles hits Daniels with a spin kick for 2. STO backbreakers by Styles and he grabs an inverted Bow and Arrow. Daniels goes to the ropes to break. Xavier knocks Styles down with an uppercut for 2. Ki chops away on Xavier and he hits a suplex to Daniels for 2. Ki and Styles hit a double suplex to Daniels for 2. Powerslam by Styles gets 2. Tag to Ki and he grabs the Camel Clutch. Xavier tries to break it up with some kicks to the back but it has no effect and Styles dumps him to the floor. Ki releases and he goes for a hurricanrana but Daniels blocks. Ki rolls through a powerbomb attempt for 2. O’Connor roll by Ki gets 2 and Daniels drop toe holds Ki into the ropes. Danger and Daniels take turns choking Ki in the ropes and Daniels grabs a Triangle Choke in the ropes. He releases and Xavier suplexes Ki. Headscissors by Xavier and he drives Ki’s head into the mat. Mr. Perfect neck snap by Xavier and he grabs Cattle Mutilation but Styles breaks it up. Tag to Daniels and he hits a clothesline for 2. Back suplex by Daniels and he chokes Ki in the ropes. Fisherman’s suplex by Daniels gets 2 and he grabs a neck twist. Ki fights out but Danger grabs his leg, allowing Daniels to hit the Blue Thunder Driver for 2. Tag to Xavier and he presses Ki to the mat. Guillotine kneedrop by Xavier gets 2. Razor’s Edge into the corner by Xavier and he grabs the Camel Clutch. He releases and tags Daniels who goes for the Angel’s Wings. Ki blocks and he counters a powerbomb attempt into a sleeper. Daniels drops Ki to the mat to break and Styles tags in. He cleans house and dropkicks Daniels. Dropkick to Xavier and he hits the springboard reverse DDT to Daniels for 2 as Xavier breaks. Xavier catches Styles with a kick to the leg and he drives the knee of Styles into the mat. Xavier works over the knee of Styles and grabs the STF. Ki breaks it up and Daniels tags in. He locks in the Boston Crab with Styles hanging in the ropes but Ki breaks that up as well. Tag to Xavier and Styles catches him with an enzuigiri. Daniels comes in and Styles hits a jawbreaker. Tag to Ki and he cleans house. Springboard enzuigiri to Daniels and he hits a Capo kick to Xavier. Crush Rush into Xavier in the corner on Daniels gets 2 as Xavier breaks. Ki goes for a springboard crossbody but Xavier catches him and hits a DVD Driver for 2. Xavier goes up but Styles hits a handspring back elbow to Daniels which crotches Xavier. Styles charges at Daniels but he low bridges sending Styles crashing to the floor. Abdominal stretch on the top rope by Ki but Daniels breaks it up. He follows up and hits a superplex to Ki. Styles follows up and goes for a superplex but Xavier counters to a super Gordbuster!!! Daniels goes for the Angel’s Wings but Ki blocks and Styles tries the Styles Clash but Xavier breaks it up. Ankle lock by Daniels to Styles but Ki breaks it up. Ki catapults Daniels to the floor and Xavier hammers away. Suicide dive to Daniels by Ki!!! Styles looks to dive but Xavier breaks it up with a back elbow. He looks to dive but Ki kicks him in the head to block and Styles hits the back suplex into a faceplant for 2 as Daniels saves. Pele kick to Daniels but Xavier catches Styles with the Cobra Clutch suplex for 2 as Ki saves!!! Daniels puts Ki on top and hits Venus. Fall From Grace by Daniels gets 2. Daniels goes up but Ki tosses him off the top. Tidal Crush in the corner by Ki gets 2. Danger comes in and hammers away on Ki but Ki grabs her. Daniels charges but misses and nails Danger!!! He headscissors Xavier into Daniels and he dumps him to the floor. Slingshot corkscrew pescado to Daniels by Styles and Xavier goes for a suplex on the floor. Ki blocks and he catapults Xavier into the post. Ki drives a concrete block into the chest of Xavier and he nails the block with a chair!!! Back in, Daniels hits the STO to Ki for 2. He goes for Last Rites but Styles stops him. Angel’s Wings to Styles gets 2!!! Daniels sets up a table on the floor and goes for the Angel’s Wings off the apron but Styles blocks and HITS A STYLES’ CLASH OFF THE APRON THORUGH THE TABLE!!!! Dragon Clutch in the ropes by Ki to Xavier and Xavier taps!!!
Winners- AJ Styles and Low Ki ****1/4 ( I loved the way they incorporated the No Holds Barred stipulation here. They keep the weapons use to a minimum and use the lack of rope breaks to perform submission maneuvers in the ropes. A great mix of wrestling and brawling and a hell of a main event to kick of 2003 for ROH. )

Backstage, Daniels says Ki and Styles got lucky tonight and he claims he’s still a champion since he holds one half of the tag team champions. He says Danger is officially welcomed into the Prophecy tonight. He dares Steve Corino to declare war.

The 411: ROH kicked off 2003 on a high note with a really good show. The crowd was into everything and there was some great wrestling action capped off by one hell of a main event. Guys like Paul London and Samoa Joe are starting to emerge as future stars for the promotion and everyone on the card had an opportunity to shine with most succeeding and few failing. A very fun show that doesn't get talked about much in ROH's history so if you can find it you should check it out.

Final Score:  8.0   [ Very Good ]