ROH Gold, October 15, 2004, Dayton, Ohio

ROH Gold, October 15, 2004, Dayton, Ohio

Review by Brad Garoon and Jacob Ziegler

Intro

BG says: ROH is celebrating its 50th show here (not counting the joint shows with FWA and JAPW, or the many afternoon shows they held), but that doesn’t mean Homicide and Rocky Romero are going to give Dave Prazak a promo.

Matt Stryker talks about how great it is for him to be back in the Midwest. He also tells the East Coast fans how he feels about them.

JZ says: Fifty shows is a pretty awesome milestone for Ring Of Honor. I’ve been watching the shows from 2002 lately, and to see the evolution of the company is pretty amazing. Homicide and Rocky Romero don’t seem to care through. These two really should be the tag champs, so they can get rid of Reyes.

Poor Matt Stryker. Is he even with the company anymore? It’s too bad, I kinda liked him, and he’s a very nice guy.

MATCH #1: CM Punk vs. Homicide, with Rocky Romero

BG says: The ROH camera crew makes me happy by filming the fans during Punk’s entrance theme instead of the curtain. It’s about time. He gets on the mic and talks about his impact on the 50 ROH shows that have taken place. He talks about Homicide ruining the atmosphere after his 60-minute match against Samoa Joe the last time ROH went through Dayton. He gets all fired up talking about his title shot in his hometown the night after this and calls out Homicide. Homicide brings out new belt that he stole from Joe the last time in Dayton. They brawl to start. Punk hits a backdrop and Homicide bails. Punk follows and reverses a piledriver by tossing Homicide into the crowd. Punk suplexes Homicide through a chair to the floor. Back in the ring Homicide shows that he loves selling like Test. Punk hits a powerbomb out of the corner for 2. He gets a sunset flip for 2. He hits an enziguiri and starts washing Homicide’s face, but Homicide bails before he can finish. Punk hits a dive onto Homicide and Romero on the outside. Punk hits Welcome to Chicago and a back suplex. He puts on a torture rack but Romero distracts him and Homicide hits a knee to the back, sending him out. Homicide hits a neckbreaker on the floor. Back inside he snaps Punk’s neck on the top rope and hits the super kneedrop to the neck. He hits the hair lock but has to break and goes to the chinlock. Punk misses a dropkick and Homicide puts on a Boston crab. He puts on the STF but Punk makes the ropes. Homicide hits the T-bone suplex for 2. Punk hits a jawbreaker but Homicide hits a back elbow for 2. Punk gets a small package for 2 but Homicide comes back with a clothesline. Homicide distracts the ref while Romero beats on Punk outside. Punk gets a sunset flip for 2. Homicide kicks the neck and goes to the eyes. He hits a bodyslam and a diving head butt for 2. He goes back up but Punk catches him with a superplex, hurting his own neck. He blocks the Ace crusher and hits some Ricky Steamboat-like chops and a flying forearm. He hits Welcome to Chicago again for 2. Homicide blocks a suplex but gets hit with a belly-to-belly suplex for 2. Punk blocks a suplex and gets a backslide for 1. Homicide quickly hits a really nasty piledriver. Punk blocks a supercanrana and hits a clothesline for 2. He hits a mule kick but Homicide comes back with an Ace crusher for 2. Romero distracts the ref while Homicide hits Punk with the belt for 2. Punk goes for the Pepsi Plunge but Romero gets involved again. Punk finally deals with him, allowing Homicide to hit a chair shot and the clothesline from Hell to the back of the neck for the win. Homicide remains undefeated against CM Punk in ROH. This was a really energetic opener with some good psychology, but was sloppy as well. Romero gets on the mic and tells Punk not to worry about Joe because he’s taking the title from Joe tonight for himself.
Rating: ***1/2

JZ says: This is a great way to start a show off, by having two of the biggest stars in the company engaging in a very energetic opener. This was a great crowd all the way through (Brad and I were there live), and a lot of that probably has to do with this being the opener. Nulty shows his marked improvement on commentary by comparing what CM Punk is doing tonight (wrestling both Homicide and Generation Next) to what Michael Corleone did in “The Godfather.” Excellent. Then he rightly points out that Homicide has nothing to lose, since he won’t get another shot at Samoa Joe until 2005. Good for him, he’s really getting better. This was a real good back and forth match, but did get a little sloppy at times, which, as good as both guys are, can happen from time to time. Homicide works over the neck and gets the pin after a chair shot and a wicked clothesline to the back of the neck at 17:15 to go 3-0 on Punk. One of these days, Punk is gonna get that win back. Really good opener.
Rating: ***1/4

Best Promo Man in the Business

BG says: Chad Collyer cuts another one of his perfect promos on Jay Lethal here, vowing to get avenge his loss to Lethal from World Title Classic. I have it on good authority that a certain line didn’t get into this promo because it wasn’t politically correct, but if you listen closely you can hear Collyer say it on the way out to the ring during his entrance.

JZ says: I think they need to give Collyer a try-out as a color commentator.

MATCH #2: Matt Sydal, with Daizee Haze vs. Trent Acid

BG says: Acid has a whole new ring entrance and gear here, making him look as sleazy as ever. He slaps Sydal around and plays with him a bit. Sydal hits an armdrag so Acid takes him to the corner. They do some complicated flippy stuff that doesn’t lead anywhere. Acid hides under the ring and gets a sneak attack. He catches Sydal in the ropes with a big kick, a neckbreaker and a springboard moonsault for 2. Mark Nulty becomes my hero when he tells Jimmy Bauer to cut it out after one of his sexual comments towards Daizee Haze. Acid puts on an abdominal stretch. Sydal gets out with a clothesline and the enzicanrana. He goes to the top, crotches Acid on the top rope and hits a double stomp to him while he’s tied up. They do some nutty reversal stuff on the floor leading to Acid powerslamming Sydal into the guardrail. Acid misses a dive and Sydal hits a springboard corkscrew splash for 2. Acid reverses a German suplex into a superkick and hits the Orange crush for 2. He goes for the inverted brainbuster but Sydal catches him with a rollup for the win. Really spotty but fun match here. I wish Sydal had Acid’s spot in ROH.
Rating: **1/2

JZ says: I expressed my distaste for Trent Acid when he walked past where we were sitting, but I don’t think he heard me. This man just looks disgusting, and he’s only like 23. Imagine what he’s going to look like when he’s 40. Bauer and Nulty make fun of his ring gear, and Nulty earns another point for noting that the wrestlers should look better than the fans. Then he rips on Bauer for always slobbering over the valets. Man this guy rules tonight. Oh, and this match was pretty okay, Matt Sydal doesn’t have a lot of personality yet, but his wrestling ability is really stellar, and I hope ROH is able to give him more opportunities in the future. They do some spotty stuff, typical Trent Acid match, but Sydal gets the upset win with a rollup at 8:23. And that makes me very happy.
Rating: **1/4

The Champ is Here

BG says: Joe talks about his match with Romero for the title. He mentions the shared experiences they training in the same dojo. He promises victory because he’s the best. See, that’s all you need.

JZ says: Samoa Joe Promos – simple and effective. I pity Rocky Romero.

MATCH #3: Jimmy Jacobs & Delirious vs. Dixie & Angel Dust

BG says: Special K comes out to no music because they want to get serious until they end their losing streak. They also shake hands, which doesn’t mean much now that the Code of Honor has been made into a joke. Delirious and Dust start. Delirious grabs a wristlock, but Dust grabs a headlock. Delirious puts on a double underhook hold and spins Dust around, getting a rollup for 2. They scream at one another and Jacobs tags in. Retards-R-Us double-teams Dust, knocking him down with a ramble and a HUSS. Dixie comes in and Jacobs puts him in a camel clutch while Delirious runs around in circles. Delirious tags in. Dust hits an eye poke and tags Dixie in. He hits a backbreaker for 2. Dust tags in and gets a backbreaker for 2. Dixie tags in and K double-teams Delirious for 2. Dixie hits the chinlock. That lasts a good long while. Delirious comes back with jabs but he misses an enziguiri and eats a clothesline for 2. Dust tags in and K hits a double-team legdrop for 2. Dust gets a seated dropkick for 2. Dixie tags and hits a drop toehold. Dust tags in with a double stomp to the head for 2. He misses a blockbuster and Delirious hits a hurricane DDT. Jacobs tags in and cleans house on Dixie. He hits a bulldog but Dust makes a blind tag and takes over. He hits the electric chair driver for 2. Jacobs comes back with a big boot and tags in Delirious. Dixie comes in and they hit their double-team drop for 2. Delirious fights Dust off the top rope. Jacobs tags in and they hit Shadows over Huss. Dust isn’t legal so Dixie comes in and gets beaten up by Delirious. Dixie hits a backbreaker but Delirious isn’t legal. Jacobs comes in and hits the Contra Code for 3. This was a fun tag match with some nice enforcing of the legal man. It had much better use of the rules than in past ROH tag matches. Lacey and Becky argue after the match.
Rating: ***

JZ says: I thought that Dixie and Angel Dust were the faces in the whole Special K split, but I guess everyone is a heel when they go against Jimmy Jacobs. Some good comedy early on, as Angel Dust takes a bump off a big HUSS, and then when Jacobs has Dixie in the Huss Clutch, Delirious runs around in circles around them. Why? Who cares, it’s funny. Nulty, commenting on the presence of Lacey and Becky at ringside, comments that WCW dropped the women’s division because they were a pain in the ass. WCW had a women’s division? This match is pretty fun all around, solid tag action, and ref Todd Sinclair pays close attention to the legal man, which is a welcome change. Jimmy Jacobs ends up getting the pin with the Contra Code on Dixie for a victory for this new team at 12:40. Real solid tag stuff. It’d be nice to see more from Jacobs & Delirious. Then the girls wanna fight, or something. I’m like Nulty – not that interested in that.
Rating: ***

MATCH #4: Jay Lethal vs. Chad Collyer

BG says: This match bored the crap out of m live, but matches like this have a tendency to come out better on tape. Collyer starts the match with his robe on. He goes for a wristlock but Lethal makes the ropes. He grabs a headlock but Lethal turns it over for 2. Lethal puts on a headlock and nails an armdrag into an armbar. Collyer vices the head to get out. Lethal goes back to the armbar. Collyer hits a back elbow for 2. He misses a charge in the corner and Lethal hits a leg lariat, sending Collyer to the floor. Lethal hits the suicide dive and puts Collyer back in the ring where he hits a high crossbody for 2. Collyer dropkicks the knee and bends the leg. Lethal makes the ropes but Collyer goes back to the knee. He puts on a deathlock and hits some head butts. He hits a shinbreaker and puts on the Tower of London. He puts on the figure 4 but Lethal turns it over. Collyer makes the ropes. He goes for the Texas Cloverleaf but Lethal gets to the ropes. He forearms Collyer out of the ring, but Collyer catches him on the apron and rams his knee into it. Lethal reverses a shinbreaker to a sunset flip for 2. H hits a gutbuster to the knee and a neckbreaker, but his knee is too messed up to capitalize. He hits a backdrop and an enziguiri. He goes to the top and hits a diving head butt for 2. He misses a standing moonsault and Collyer hits a fisherman’s suplex for 2. Lethal goes for the dragon suplex but Collyer reverses to the cloverleaf. Lethal turns it over for 2 and hits a big DDT for 2. Collyer dragon screws Lethal off the top and puts on the Texas Cloverleaf for the win. Lethal’s selling was great here, and this turned into a really enjoyable match despite the crowd’s lack of interest.
Rating: ***1/2

JZ says: Collyer starts the match with his ring jacket on because, well, I don’t know. Kind of like I have no idea what is on the back of his trunks. I like both of these guys, and let’s hope that this match is more entertaining than the last time these guys hooked it up in Dayton in that infamous four-way. Both guys are very proficient technical wrestlers, and it’s very solid ring-wise. The only thing that hurts it is that there’s not much of a reason to care, despite Collyer’s rage over losing to Lethal back in June. It also doesn’t help that the crowd is dead, but thankfully that doesn’t matter too much on tape. Collyer ends up getting the win with the Texas Cloverleaf at 12:51. I wouldn’t mind seeing them hook it up again.
Rating: ***

MATCH #5: Carnage Crew vs. Dan Maff & BJ Whitmer

BG says: The war over Ring of Hardcore continues. I can’t help but laugh at Maff and Whitmer’s bouncy entrance. The match never gets underway as they a grab chairs and swing at each other and the ref, causing Sinclair to call it a no-contest. Mick Foley comes to dispute the decision, and restarts the match as a no-disqualification match with himself as the referee. They brawl right away. Loc hits a swinging neckbreaker on Whitmer while DeVito and Maff brawl outside. Maff pulls out a table but DeVito dropkicks it into his face. Loc beats on a busted open Maff and slams his face into a chair. He throws a chair at Whitmer and hits a tornado DDT to him on the floor. That looked way better on tape than it did live. Maff nails Loc in the face with a chair but a bleeding DeVito knocks him down. Loc jams a tire iron into Whitmer’s forehead, busting him open. You can spot Jake hating this match in the crowd here. DeVito tags Maff with a chair as Loc beats on Whitmer with a chain. Maff hits a German suplex on DeVito in the ring for 2. Loc nails him with a chair shot for 2. Whitmer hits an exploder on Loc for 2. DeVito suplexes Whitmer into the turnbuckle for 2. They all trade chops and Maff and Whitmer nail Loc with a double sidewalk slam. Loc hits a side suplex on Whitmer after DeVito pulls Maff out of the ring. The Crew hits the Carnageplex for 2. Maff knocks Loc out of the ring. He cannonballs himself through a table, almost completely missing DeVito. Whitmer puts a garbage can on Loc and he and Maff bash it with chairs. Whitmer pins him in the trashcan for the 3 count. This was a fun brawl that was far better than their first tag match. It was just much better organized than most Carnage Crew brawls, but it went a little long.
Rating: **3/4

Foley endorses ROH and thanks the fans after the match. Ricky Steamboat comes out and meets some resistance from Foley, who took exception to Steamboat’s comments about hardcore wrestling at Midnight Express Reunion. Steamboat calls hardcore wrestling garbage wresting, citing the use of a garbage can in finish to the previous match to illustrate his point. Foley comes back and calls Steamboat softcore. Steamboat goes through the list of opponents he had classic matches against, but brings up Ric Flair, which of course hurts Foley’s feelings. Foley challenges Steamboat to bring his pure wrestlers against Foley’s hardcore wrestlers in a tag match the next night (in a match which was of course already signed), and Steamboat accepts.

JZ says: As a rule, I don’t like many hardcore matches. There are exceptions to this rule, such as the main event of Death Before Dishonor II Pt. 2 from Chicago. This, however is not one of those exceptions. There really doesn’t seem to be a reason these teams hate each other, other than neither of them have anything else to do. I know they have been building a feud, but it’s not palpable at all, just feels thrown together. The matches feel hardcore for the sake of hardcore, with no real flow or build. It’s just weapon shot, weapon shot, sick bump, blood, weapon shot, more blood, sick bump, weapon shot, and pin. Not my style. Loc gets pinned at 12:51.
Rating: 3/4*

Steamboat and Foley have their first confrontation after the match, and they argue about pure wrestling versus hardcore wrestling. Foley, who I have often cited as my favorite wrestler, has really annoyed me with the way he has acted during this whole Ric Flair “feud.” Foley, be a man and shut the fuck up. Concentrate on what you are doing in ROH while you are in ROH, and quit crying about what another wrestler said about you.

INTERMISSION

BG says: Dave Prazak is backstage with CM Punk and some cleavage, er, Tracy Brooks. Punk’s sore neck isn’t going to stop him from destroying Generation Next in the main event and taking the belt in Chicago.

JZ says: Tracy Brooks hugged me once. She hugged all the other workers on the show as they were leaving too, but I was one of them!

MATCH #6: Four Corner Survival – Josh Daniels vs. Roderick Strong vs. Nigel McGuiness vs. Matt Stryker

BG says: Daniels and Stryker start. They lock up and Daniels hits a shoulderblock. Stryker grabs a headlock but Daniels reverses to one of his own. Stryker reverses to a hammerlock and hits a shoulderblock. Strong tags Daniels out but Nigel gets Strong out. Stryker gets an overhead armdrag and a wristlock. He grabs a hammerlock but Nigel gets a wristlock. Stryker vices the head but Nigel comes back and spreads Stryker’s legs. Stryker grabs an ankle lock but Nigel makes the ropes. Daniels tags Nigel out but Strong tags Daniels out, until he tricks him into tagging him back in. Nigel tags Stryker out and rolls up Daniels for 2. Nigel tags out to Strong. Daniels gets beat up and tags out to Stryker who goes to the arm of Strong. Strong comes back with chops and forearms so Stryker tags out to Nigel. Nigel gets a cravat but Strong strikes out. Everyone come in and beats up on Strong. That’s a pretty cute play on everyone hating Generation Next. Strong and Nigel lock knuckles and Nigel takes over with Separation Anxiety and his arm submission, but Stryker saves. Nigel suplexes Stryker onto Strong. Daniels tags Nigel out and gets into Benoit mode on Stryker. Strong blocks a bodyslam and they trade chops while Nigel and Stryker brawl outside. Daniels hits a German suplex for 2. Stryker tags Strong out and chops Daniels down. Daniels hits a clothesline for 2. Stryker hits the spike DDT for 2 as Nigel and Strong fight outside. Stryker slams Daniels for two but Strong comes in and botches stuff. He hits a backbreaker on Daniels but gets superkicked by Nigel. Nigel goes for the baited neckbreaker but Stryker spears him. He hits the neckbreaker on Daniels for the win moments later, even though Stryker was legal. This was really boring and had absolutely no flow until the final few minutes.
Rating: **

JZ says: Nulty has been doing so good up to this point, but he said two things right off the bat that simply aren’t true. He first said that Steamboat has gone out of his way to mention all four of these guys for their pure wrestling. He’s never said anything about Daniels, and he kinda feuded with Roderick Strong, so. Then he says that Steamboat’s matches with Flair put Steamboat on the map. Steamboat was SO on the map before the legendary Flair series. That’s just sloppy reporting Mark. As far as this Four Corner Survival goes, it had some neat stuff in it. All four of the guys really look like they want to win it, which is a small touch, but nice. Lots of tags in the early going, and some okay-ish action. The best part of the match is when everyone takes their turns on Strong, a very cool spot since everyone hates Generation Next. Nigel and Stryker develop some major heat on the outside of the ring, and I remember how good their match from Reborn: Stage One was. Nigel ends up getting the pin on Daniels at 16:40 for his second FCS victory. This would have been better if it were more in the 10-12 minute range I think.
Rating: **

CONTENDER’S RING
– Austin Aries
– CM Punk
– Low Ki
– Alex Shelley
– Rocky Romero

MATCH #7: ROH World Title Match – Rocky Romero, with Homicide vs. ROH World Champion Samoa Joe

BG says: Romero’s challenge is almost as unfounded as Trent acid’s was, as he did nothing to earn it. All I can say for this is that Romero is at least a tag team champion. He slaps Joe rather than shaking his hand. They dodge each other’s strikes. Homicide grabs Joe’s leg and gets sent to the back. Joe slaps Romero down and keeps him on the mat. They fight over a cross arm breaker, and Romero breaks that up with a kick. They trade strikes until Joe connects with a kick to the face sending Romero to the floor. Romero gets a drop toehold and a cross arm breaker but Joe makes the ropes. They fight over a leglock but roll into the ropes. Romero gets cocky and falls victim to a flurry of strikes sending him outside again. He tries to return with some kicks but Joe nails another one to the face sending him out. Joe strikes him down in the corner but gets caught by a springboard dropkick to the thigh. Romero kicks at the thigh but Joe hits a powerslam to cut him off. He hits the Big Joe Combo for 2. Romero tries to strike back but Joe grabs the leg and slaps him down. He sweeps the legs and hits a backbreaker. He grabs a Boston crab but Romero makes the ropes. Romero hits a knee strike and ditches the mouthpiece but gets slapped down. Joe gets 2. Romero looks messed up as he catches an enziguiri to send him out of the ring. Joe hits the ole kick and takes a rest. He hits another and gets 2 in the ring. Romero finally scores with a big kick, getting a 2 count. He hits a crappy springboard DDT and a big knee strike for 2 when Joe gets his hand on the ropes. Joe nails a big knee to the face for 2 and a side suplex for 2. Romero gets a hurricanrana and a cross arm breaker but Joe makes the ropes. Romero goes to the triangle armbar but Joe lifts him up and slams him down, then puts on the STF for the win. A very different match than most in ROH, and another that was much better on tape than it was live.
Rating: ***1/4

JZ says: I just got done watching Samoa Joe versus Low Ki from the initial Glory By Honor show from 2002, and this match reminded me of that one. It was fairly boring live, but as Brad pointed out it holds up much better on tape. It’s still not my favorite kind of match, but I do appreciate that it’s a very different style, and that these are two of the guys who can pull it off. I’m not sure what possesses people to want to kick and slap each other as hard as these guys do, but they’re still friends afterward, so more power to them. My only real complaint with this match was that at 18:07 it was too long, given that no one thought Rocky Romero had any chance whatsoever to actually win the title. But for what it is it’s fairly enjoyable.
Rating: ***1/4

MATCH #8: Generation Next vs. CM Punk, Ace Steel & Jimmy Jacobs, with Ricky Steamboat & Tracy Brooks

BG says: Steve Corino was originally supposed to be in this instead of Jimmy Jacobs, but, you know, it’s Corino. Shelley and Aries talk about taking spots and destroying Saints while showing friction over who will challenge Joe for the title. Jack Evans does wacky stuff during all of this. Brooks slaps Austin Aries before the match begins. Jacobs and Shelley start. Shelley gets a neck submission and makes fun of Steamboat for picking Jacobs to be on the team. Jacobs makes the ropes. Shelley gets the scarecrow submission and falls down and vices the head. They slap each other and trade chops. Aries and Punk tag in and trade forearms. Aries nails a back elbow but Punk comes back with Welcome to Chicago. He puts on a leglock and tags in Steel. They roll him over in a double team leglock for 2. Steel hits an inverted atomic drop and a clothesline and unloads with chops. Aries goes to the eyes and tags in Evans. Steel tags in Punk. Evans break dances but Punk just wants to wrestle. Evans gets tripped up and Punk hits a brainbuster. He hits a seated dropkick for 2. Evans hits an inverted atomic drop but gets caught with a big one himself. Punk rams Evans’ head into each turnbuckle and tags in Steel. He swings Evans into a Steel dropkick for 2. Steel chops Evans down and hits a DISGUSTING dropkick in the corner for 2. Punk tags in and does the Robot before stomping Evans in the head. Jacobs tags in with a guillotine elbow drop. He hits a back elbow and 7 double stomps until Shelley and Aries dump him over the top. The Saints come in and chase Generation Next out of the ring and hit suicide dives onto them. Jacobs gets in the ring and hits a crossbody onto all three Generation Next members. He gets 2 on Evans back in the ring. Evans tries to ram Jacobs’ head into the turnbuckle, but Jacobs comes back with a spear. Jacobs goes for the Contra Code but gets caught by Aries and an Oklahoma slam. It gets 2 for Evans. Shelley tags in an slaps Jacobs down. He hits a clothesline and Aries tags in with a senton for 2. He hits a side suplex for 2. Jacobs goes for the tag but Aries cuts him off and tags in Shelley. Generation Next hits a triple team vertical suplex on him for 2. Aries tags back in and chokes Jacobs in the ropes. He catapults him into the bottom rope for 2. Evans tags in with a guillotine legdrop for 2. Shelley tags in and walks over Jacobs to spit on the Saints. He beats on Jacobs in the corner but Jacobs comes back with a senton off the top. Punk and Aries tag in and Punk cleans house. Punk drops the knee three times for 2. He puts on a headlock but Aries escapes and dropkicks Tracy Brooks hard at ringside. The camera didn’t catch it but it looked really nasty live.

Everyone brawls on the outside as Brooks gets carried to the back. Back in the ring Aries hits a pair of clotheslines for 2. Shelley comes in and hits the Skull Fucker for 2. Aries tags in with a kick to the gut. Shelley tags in and they triple-team Punk in the corner for 2. He gets cocky and Punk fights back. Shelley comes back with a sleeper but Punk fights out with a jawbreaker. Shelley nails a dropkick and tags Aries in. Generation Next triple-teams Punk and Aries chokes him with rope assistance. Evans tags in and hits a fisherman’s buster for 2. He tags Shelley in who hits the Golden Gate Swing for 2. Aries tags in but he collides with Shelley, allowing Punk to tag Steel. He cleans house while wearing Evans’ wave cap and nails a tiger driver for 2 on Aries. He hits an implant DDT on Shelley. He tags in Punk and they hit a senton/Spinal Shock combo. Punk hits the mule kick and an enziguiri on Aries for 2. Punk hits a German suplex on Aries but Shelley breaks up the pin with a frog splash. It gets 2 for Aries. Jacobs comes in and hits the Contra Code on Shelley while splashing Aries, getting 2 for Punk. Steel comes in and attempts a Doomsday Device with Punk but Aries hurricanranas Steel into the buckle, crotching Punk. Evans dives onto Steel and Jacobs on the outside and back inside Punk gets backdropped off the top by Aries. Strong comes in with a chair but Steamboat neutralizes his interference again, just like at Midnight Express Reunion. Punk hits the Pepsi Plunge for the win moments later. This was really fun but could have a lot better if the crowd was more into it. Unlike most of the show, this match was actually better live.
Rating: ***1/2

JZ says: Alex Shelley and Austin Aries both get mic time before the match, disagreeing over who will get the title shot at Joe. Jimmy Jacobs comes out as the mystery partner, and he’s clearly over since the crowd is HUSSING rather vocally. Jacobs of course is replacing Steve Corino, who couldn’t make it. That Steve Corino, always helping out the young guys. Aries then tries hitting on Tracy to get in CM Punk’s head (or Tracy’s pants), but she promptly slaps him. Good for her. Bauer and Nulty talk about the CM Punk versus Ricky Steamboat Feud of the Year Candidate. We’ll see about that when Brad and I reveal our awards after we review Final Battle 2004. This was a really fun match to watch live, and it holds up pretty well on tape, though again would have benefited from being just a tad shorter. Ace Steel has been doing a sick dropkick in the corner lately, and it hasn’t looked sicker than when he does it to Jack Evans here. Jimmy Jacobs apparently does the spear now, and it looks pretty cool when he does it to a guy like Evans. Jacobs of course takes the heat for a while in this match, because he sells like a champion. He eventually gets the Ricky Morton hot tag to CM Punk, ensuring that he won’t be getting any swirlies tonight. It’s too bad that the camera missed Aries’ dropkick on Tracy, because it was nasty looking and totally surprising, and the match picked up a lot of heat from it. Bauer calls Aries “Mr. Velocity,” which is pretty funny if you think about it. Shelley and Aries continue their power struggle during the match, and I wish Shelley could have been on every show to continue this angle a little better. Jimmy Jacobs hits a really neat combo, giving the Contra Code to Shelley and landing with a splash on Aries. Rod Strong tries to interfere, but Steamboat takes care of him, and Punk ends it with a reverse Pepsi Plunge for the victory at 32:24. Really good tag team action and the crowd goes home happy. Jacobs jumps on Steamboat in celebration, perhaps forgetting that a back injury ended Steamboat’s career. Shelley is screaming something about La Parka on his way out, as Jacobs, Steamboat, Steel, and yes, even CM Punk stand in the ring HUSSING. Awesome.
Rating: ***3/4

AFTERMATH

BG says: Backstage Ricky Steamboat gloats about the victory over Generation Next and introduces Nigel McGuiness and Chad Collyer as his pure wrestlers to take on Foley’s hardcore team in Chicago. Chicago, where Steamboat beat Flair for the NWA title in 1989.

JZ says: I think Chad Collyer is my favorite wrestler.

MVP

BG says: CM Punk, for book ending the show with two great matches.

JZ says: Jimmy Jacobs, for wrestling a mid-card comedy tag match, and a serious main event tag match and being convincing in both of them.
______________________________________________________________________________________

E-mail Brad at [email protected]
E-mail Jacob at [email protected]

See you soon with our review of “Weekend of Thunder Night 1 and 2!”

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The 411: BG says: Just like Wrath of the Racket, the first ROH show in Dayton, this was a great show overall with no bad matches. The four-way is a pass, but the rest ranges from fun to really good. It also has the historical significance of being the 50th show, so there are definitely reasons to pick this one up. JZ says: This is a really solid show from top to bottom, and has the historical significance factor, so it’s an easy recommendation. I didn’t like most of the matches as much as Brad, but I’m going to go ahead and second his sentiments just due to the consistency of the show and its historical value.

Final Score:  7.0   [ Good ]