ROH – Reborn: Stage One, April 23, 2004, St. Paul, Minnesota

ROH – Reborn: Stage One, April 23, 2004, St. Paul, Minnesota

Review by Brad Garoon and Jacob Ziegler

Intro

BG says: Homicide says ROH is going to be reborn with a new champion. He’s mad at Samoa Joe because he attacked J-Train. He’s going to kill Joe and become the ROH champion.

The Carnage Crew do the exact same promo they do all the time, but now it’s about finding the evil poo poo villian. They say it took 33 shows but they finally made it to the main event but someone had to ruin it. In actuality it only took them 11 shows when they main evented “Night of the Butcher” against Homicide and Abdullah the Butcher. Anyway they are going to find the evil pooer and will start tonight against Dunn and Marcos.

In Samoa Joe’s Ring Joe wants to display chokes because Homicide choked him out with a noose in their last meeting. Danielson comes in and says Joe isn’t qualified to run this segment because it’s his fault they didn’t win the tag titles in January. They stare at each other and Danielson wants a title shot.

Dunn and Marcos are outside rockin’ the fans like a hurricane and not taking it anymore. Alrighty.

JZ says: You know, looking at Homicide, I would have never guessed his voice would sound like that. It’s actually kinda cool because nobody sounds like him. Anyway, he threatens to kill Samoa Joe. Well, they do beat on each other really hard, but isn’t it a bit excessive to kill a guy? On the other hand, his name IS Homicide. We shall see.

Ugh, more Carnage Crew promos. Wow, I so don’t care that Loc got a mere 10 cent raise from his crappy job. Plus, as Brad pointed out, they don’t even know their own history, as it took them less than a year to main event a show, in December of 2002. These guys really aren’t bad in the ring, but their promos totally make me not want to see them. And they still don’t know who crapped in their bags.

Samoa Joe is talking about chokes, which Bryan Danielson rightly points out that chokes are illegal. Danielson says that their loss in January was his fault, because he was going for the Ole kick while Danielson was getting pinned. Again, he kind of has a point. Unfortunately, I just can barely take Danielson seriously when he is trying to act tough. He has neither the look nor the vocal strength to sound intimidating. At least he’s an amazing wrestler, so he has that going for him.

You gotta love Dunn & Marcos.

MATCH #1: Nigel McGuiness vs. Matt Stryker

BG says: This is not for Matt Stryker’s number 1 contender’s trophy. Stryker’s scheduled match for the ROH title is the night after this, and if Joe loses the title tonight Stryker will defend his trophy against Joe at Stage 2. Nigel awesomely reverses a Stryker armlock in the early goings. Nigel gets a backslide for 2. He gets a cravat on Stryker. Stryker tries to escape with a bodyslam but Nigel holds on. He twists out and gets an ankle lock which Nigel reverses to a wristlock, which Stryker reverses back to the anklelock. Nigel reverses that to a headlock which Stryker reverses to a leg vice. Nigel wishbones Stryker but he grabs the leg and gets another anklelock. Nigel gets a half crab but Stryker makes the ropes. Stryker gets a stretch muffler but Nigel makes the ropes. Stryker goes up but gets crotched and tree of woe’d. Nigel goes up top but Stryker gets a pop up suplex for 2. Nigel kicks out Stryker’s leg and drops him on his shoulder for 2. Stryker gets a spike DDT but Nigel gets the ropes to break the pin. Nigel gets a DDT. Nigel gets an armlock on Stryker but he fights out. Really cool finish comes as Stryker has Nigel pinned, Nigel tries to bridge repeatedly but his leg is hurt so Stryker grabs it and gets the pin. Strong opener.
Rating: ***1/4

JZ says: I’m really starting to like Nigel McGuiness a lot, more every time I see him actually. Conversely, Matt Stryker is boring me more the more I see him. It’s not that Stryker isn’t good, there just doesn’t seem to be a whole lot to do with him. Even so, this match turned out to be really quite good. Commentator Chris Lovey notes that a victory for Nigel would be a “feather in his cap.” Now if Lovey was Gorilla Monsoon, and this match was a Royal Rumble, fans would know he had no chance of winning. Thankfully, it is neither of those, but since Stryker was getting a World Title match the next night, it still seemed pretty obvious that Stryker would be going over. Color man CM Punk mentions the fact that Midwest stalwart Brian Gorie (one of my personal idols) is refereeing this match, noting that he is “a notoriously terrible official.” Funny stuff. Stryker works the leg, as he tends to do, and it seemed like the finish was going to be the Stryker lock. But in a stroke of genius, Nigel’s leg gave out after trying multiple times to bridge out of it, and Stryker gets the pin at 10:12. It was really cool because Stryker worked the leg, and they found a way to work in the leg without using the Stryker lock. Good for them.
Rating: ***1/2

Ricky Steamboat Promo

BG says: Ricky Steamboat is here and states that there will be a winner in the Prophecy/Second City Saints feud. It was pretty much a forgone conclusion from the beginning who was coming out on top of this one, with or without the Dragon.

JZ says: Ricky Steamboat is amazing. I guess ROH signed him on to be a trouble-shooter, Chuck Norris style.

MATCH #2: Dunn & Marcos vs. Carnage Crew

BG says: Dunn and Marcos high five the camera man pre-match, because everyone should get rocked like a hurricane. Loc does some cool matwork to start. Marcos slaps Loc and gets clotheslined. Dunn and DeVito tag in. Dunn gets some armdrags. DeVito nails Dunn with some hard strikes. Dunn hurricanranas DeVito out of the ring. Dunn and Marcos big boot Loc. The Crew avoid a stage dive. Loc suplexes Marcos and Devito gets a uranage on Dunn for 2. Carnage plex gets 2. Loc gets a neckbreaker on Dunn for 2. DeVito slaps Dunn around for a while. Dunn gets a Gory Bomb on DeVito. Both tag out and Marcos gets an enziguiri on Loc for 2. DDT and senton on DeVito for 2. Assisted Sliced Bread on DeVito gets 2. Military press gets 2 for Loc on Marcos. The Crew hit a nasty Carnage Driver on Marcos for the 3 count. This was a surprisingly fun little match, even if the play by play is kinda bland to read.
Rating: **1/2

JZ says: It’s a funny visual to see these four standing next to each other, as Dunn is the tallest one. Loc and Marcos have a really nice exchange in the beginning. And Carnage Crew prove my earlier statement right, as they proceed to have a really solid match. Nothing was amazing or anything like that, but it was just good and plenty. Carnage Crew of course get the win with a Carnage Driver at 8:19. I guess because Dunn & Marcos lost the match, they are eliminated as crapping suspects. I’m not sure I grasp that logic, but I’ve never had someone poop in my stuff, so what do I know?
Rating: **3/4

Good Times, Great Memories, with your host Colt Cabana

BG says: Cabana does an opening monologue for us, really bringing GTGM into its own. He breaks the news that the Locker Room Scoops are no more and the Newswire has taken its place. This of course was old news by the time the tape was released. Cabana also lets us know that Jimmy Jacobs has a furry taint which makes me wish the band Bangus was still together. Sigh. Other points of interest are Whitmer being a douche bag and Allison Danger hardway bleeding once a month. Cabana runs down the Havana Pitbulls until they come in. They don’t want to be made fun of. The Pitbulls just came to ROH to make money. They say not to make fun of them anymore and leave. That was… uncomfortable. Becky Bayless comes in and says Special K are MIA and for them to call her. Cabana gets a nice view to end this brutal segment.

JZ says: I’m a big fan of Colt Cabana and “Good Times, Great Memories,” but this one was just all over the place. Colt starts off really funny, talking about the Briscoes, the Pitbulls, and of course himself and Punk, and then knocks BJ Whitmer, Jimmy Jacobs, and Allison Danger. The Pitbulls look very uncomfortable when they come in to inform Cabana they don’t appreciate his words, and the segment keeps going. Becky Bayless comes in, claims to be smart, and then Cabana proceeds to make her look stupid by giving her the old “touch your elbows behind your back” trick, and then gets her to do jumping jacks. Ooooookay. By the way, the band Breaking Benjamin sucks.

MATCH #3: John Walters vs. Justin Credible

BG says: Justin Credible had a pretty good match with Matt Stryker at Wrath of the Racket, and aside from a rematch with Stryker and a match with Raven pretty much stuck in the tag ranks with his Carnage Crew buddies afterwards. I’m not saying Credible is bad or anything, but his work has just never thrilled me. Walters extensively works the arm to start so Credible bails. Back in Walters gets a headlock and an armdrag, so Credible does what he does… punches. Credible gets some chops but Walters hits a blockbuster for 2 and goes back to the arm. Credible gets sent out and drop toeholds Walters into the rail. Credible rams Walters into the guardrail lots and lots. Credible gets a suplex for 2 and grabs a headlock. He grabs a camel clutch and its back to the chinlock. Walters escapes and hits a neckbreaker and a missile dropkick for 2. Walters gets a Mutalock but Credible makes the ropes. Walters misses the splash off the top. Credible goes up and hits a crossbody but Walters rolls through for 2. Credible gets a superkick for 2 but Walters finishes things with his double knee to the back for 3. This was technically good with some solid psychology but not exciting in the least.
Rating: **1/4

JZ says: John Walters is another one of those guys that I have liked more the more I see him, and I’ve liked almost every match of his that I have seen. Unfortunately for Justin Credible, I won’t be as nice as Brad, and I will say that I don’t think he’s very good. He can be carried, and as a part of X-Factor in 2001 his weaknesses weren’t so exposed (neither were X-Pac’s or Albert’s), but he is one of the worst (ECW) World Champions of all-time. Now after I’ve said all that, I actually liked this match. As Brad said, it wasn’t particularly exciting, but it was good, solid stuff that wasn’t boring, and stuff made sense. Walters gets the win with that awesome double knee to the back that he does at 8:51.
Rating: ***

MATCH #4: Six Man Mayhem – Danny Daniels vs. Masada vs. Jimmy Jacobs vs. Alex Shelley vs. Jimmy Rave vs. Jack Evans

BG says: Rave and Shelley start things off. Shelley works the arm. Rave works the mat and gets a 2 count. Shelley misses a kick allowing Rave to roll him up for 2. Rave tags Daniels in and the crowd Husses so Shelley tags Jacobs in. Jacobs gets a pair of hard headlock takeovers on Daniels. Daniels gets a gutbuster and a senton for 2. Daniels tries to ram Jacobs’ head into the turnbuckle, but that’s his spinach and only makes him angry. The resilient Daniels goes to the eyes and gets some chops. Jacobs gets a hurricanrana and a dropkick. Daniels goes out and Masada comes in with a clothesline. Jacobs goes for the victory roll but Masada catches him and twirls him around into an Evans dropkick. That ruled. Masada serves Evans some smooooooth break dancing and Evans tries to come back, but Masada is just too cool. Evans gets a hurricanrana and flippy dropkick so Masada gets a nasty shoulderbreaker. Evans goes out and Masada tries to dive outside but gets caught by a kick from Shelley. Shelley and Masada get all wristlocky so Masada goes to the ropes and gets crotched and knocked out. Rave comes in with chops to Shelley. Rave pounds the back and gets a submission. Everyone comes in with a submission to everyone else… sigh. Everyone beats on Evans in the corner and then shift their attention to Masada and do the same to him. Jacobs and Shelley get dropkicked by Evans. Shelley gets a modified stunner on Evans. Masada gets another knee assisted move on Shelley. Rave gets a shining wizard on Masada. Jacobs gets a final cut off the top on Evans. Contra Code is reversed to an electric chair piledriver by Daniels. Evans gets a big dive to the outside. Jacobs is the only one still in the ring so Shelley straps on the Border City Stretch and gets the pin. Good action – most goofiness – botched spots + hot ending – Teddy Hart = overall satisfaction. Backstage Shelley tells Jacobs to step up his game when they team up in the scramble match the next night.
Rating: ***1/2

JZ says: I generally like these six man mayhem matches, and this has the most solid lineup of guys any of them have had so far. Jacobs and Shelley are two of my favorites, Masada was underused, Daniels is solid, Rave is good, and Evans can do the insane flying stuff these matches need. Jacobs, it should be noted, is insanely over, and it makes me wonder why he isn’t booked on every show. The move Brad described where Masada spins Jacobs into an Evans dropkick is a lot more awesome than it probably sounds. These guys do the clichй submission spot, but the difference is that at least it was three separate submissions, rather than some contrived nonsense that involves all six guys in one hold. Shelley had Rave in one of his inventions, Jacobs had the Huss Clutch on Daniels, while Evans had a very weak looking armbreaker on Masada. The spot where Shelley, Jacobs, Rave, and Daniels destroy Evans in the corner, then destroy Masada in the corner is wicked cool. This mayhem match only had one big dive, from Evans, which is exactly how it should be. The action in this one was pretty much non-stop, and Shelley got the victory at 11:31 with the Border City Stretch on Jimmy Jacobs, who had his neck worked over for most of the match. Shelley and Jacobs are teaming the next night, at Reborn 2 in Chicago, so Shelley cuts a promo on Jacobs after the match, telling him he needs to be better tomorrow night. This would be the debut of Alex Shelley in Full-On Dick Heel Mode.
Rating: ***1/2

MATCH #5: Colt Cabana w/ CM Punk vs. BJ Whitmer

BG says: Steamboat comes out to referee the match. Cabana comes out in classic Ricky Steamboat gear holding a little Cabana doll. Great stuff. CM Punk gets on the mic and says he put Daniels out of ROH and Whitmer is next. As Whitmer makes his entrance Punk beats up on Steamboat and gets sent to the back. Paul Turner takes over as referee as Steamboat runs to the back after Punk. These guys faced each other in 2003 during the Field of Honor tournament and had a really entertaining, but mostly comedy match. I like both guys and expected a lot but this was pretty much just a lame brawl. Good action in the beginning when they were in the ring, but when they left it was pretty much both guys hitting each other with chairs and throwing each other into chairs. Also adding to my frustration is Lovey asking Punk if a statement of his is a shoot. Give me a break. Ending comes when Whitmer hits an exploder off the second rope for the pinfall. Good beginning and good ending but the middle just dragged on and on.
Rating: **

JZ says: Another match in the seemingly never-ending Prophecy vs. Saints feud. I’m a fan of both Cabana and Whitmer, and Cabana coming out in a martial arts outfit with a Cabbage Patch doll to mock Steamboat is priceless. Punk cuts a pretty good promo about how he’s going to put Whitmer out of ROH, and then he and Cabana beat up Steamboat. Cabana and Whitmer proceed to do stuff to each other for a while, and then they do stuff outside the ring for a while. The brawling is supposed to get over the hatred between the two groups, but what it does is bore me. Whitmer finally gets the win with a second rope wrist clutch exploder at 11:35. It wasn’t bad, but not much really happened either.
Rating: **

INTERMISSION

BG says: Dave Prazak is backstage with Alex Shelley. He’s not surprised he won and at Generation Next he’s going to make his mark. And boy did he.

JZ says: Shelley puts over the 5/22 show, which Brad and I will be reviewing shortly. Check and see if Shelley really did make his mark on that show.

MATCH #6: Delirious vs. Matt Sydal w/ Daizee Haze

BG says: Apparently these guys have had some stellar matches in the IWA-Mid South, and I unfortunately have not seen those. Sydal dominates on the mat to start. Delirious works on Sydal’s arm. Delirious gets a lariat and a second is reversed to a headlock. Delirious luchas up into a headlock of his own. Delirious gets a rollup for 2. Sydal gets a monkey flip and the two trade forearms. Cool sitting bootscrapes and Sydal gets a hurricanrana. Sydal gets a spinning sitting legdrop for 2. Sydal goes up for a shooting star press but lands on his feet and eats a hurricanrana bulldog for 2. Delirious goes up but gets caught by a Sydal belly to belly overhead suplex from the top for the 3. This felt like they were just going through the motions of what would be a good match.
Rating: **1/2

JZ says: Brian Gorie is once again your referee. I wouldn’t doubt these two could have some really good matches in IWA-Mid South, as they started this one with some cool mat wrestling. Sydal is amazingly athletic, and goes for a shooting star press, which looks beautiful, and lands on his feet. Punk and Lovey both spend more time talking about Cabana than the actual match. Anyway, Sydal gets the win with a nice belly-to-belly suplex off the top rope at 6:24. Good, solid stuff.
Rating: ***

MATCH #7: The Havana Pit Bulls vs. The Briscoe Brothers

BG says: This is non-title but the referee holds up the belts like a moron. Luckily CM Punk is on commentary and brings it up. Mark and Romero start and they fight on the mat. Romero gets Mark down and kicks him in the back for 2. He dominates Mark and works on the arm. He gets a rings of Saturn but Mark makes the ropes. Jay and Reyes tag in. Reyes attacks with some forearms. Mark tags in but Reyes gets a leglock until he gets the ropes. Reyes goes after the leg with kicks. Rocky tags in and gets a rollup for 2. Mark gets a small package for 2 so Romero kicks his leg and tags in Reyes. Jay comes in kicking at Reyes. Jay gets a flurry of forearms and a dropkick so Reyes bails. Jay gets a snap suplex back inside and tags in Mark. The Briscoes chop Reyes in the corner and forearm him into oblivion. Reyes clotheslines Mark and Jay gets caught by Romero. Jay fights the Pitbulls out of the ring but they spit at him and Jay swings wildly, looking legitimately pissed off. Things calm down a bit as Jay and Reyes trade forearms and Mark and Romero fight outside. Reyes kicks at Jay’s knee and nails a back elbow. Tag to Romero who gets a kneedrop and 2 count. Chops to Romero and Jay goes after Reyes and gets caught with a Romero leg lariat. Reyes tags in. Blind tag by Mark who lands a springboard knee strike. The Briscoes double bootscrape Reyes in the corner for 2. Northern lights suplex by Mark gets 2 and Jay tags in. Double teaming by the Briscoes gets 2. Mark tags back in. Mark gets a flurry of moves for 2. Romero comes in and things look to have broken down again, but not in a bad way. The Pitbulls work over Mark in the corner. Double stomp and kicks to the chest followed by a choke with the leg by Romero on Mark. Romero strikes Mark to death and gets 2, so yeah, I guess not really to death. Mark reverses a northern lights to a fisherman’s buster and tags out. Jay chops on Romero and gets a superkick. Reyes comes in and beats on Jay. Big boot to Romero! Backdrop to Reyes! Assisted top rope double stomp on Romero by the Briscoes gets 2. Reyes launches Mark out of the ring and the Pitbulls get an assisted top rope kneedrop on Jay but Mark saves. Double team inverted DDT gets 2 for the Pitbulls. Jay rolls up Reyes for 2. Mark tags in and hits a springboard dropkick on Reyes and a capture suplex for 2. Doomsday device by the Briscoes is blocked and the Pitbulls Jay for 2. Jay blocks a backdrop and the Briscoes hit the spike Jay Driller on Reyes for 3. This was full of a lot of good stuff but and a ton of double team moves but was missing any kind of a story aside from the strange moments when members of either team lost their tempers. That and Jay was not legal when he got the pin, which doesn’t always bother me but it felt wrong here.
Rating: ***3/4

JZ says: I loved this match, I just want to get that out of the way before we even get into it here. I had never really heard of the Havana Pit Bulls until Reborn weekend, and I have to say that they are a great addition to the roster. Punk lets us know early in the match that he and the Pit Bulls had the same trainer, Kevin Quinn, and says that Romero is more of a finesse guy who will beat you with kicks and submissions, whereas Romero is the powerhouse. The tag team action in this one was all good stuff, but what made the match awesome for me is how pissed all four of them actually look at each other. If they were just working, they did an amazing job of it, because they looked straight up pissed. The Briscoes, I must maintain and reiterate, are the best tag team currently in North America (no, it’s not AMW or XXX), and the Pit Bulls more than held their own. Brutally stiff match ends at 18:22 with a spike Jay Driller. Great stuff.
Rating: ***3/4

MATCH #8: CM Punk vs. Bryan Danielson

BG says: Steamboat comes out prematch and says that since ROH paid him to referee a match and he didn’t get a chance before he’s going to referee this one. Crowd chants Dragon, but there are two Dragons in there so they chant Ricky. Bummer if you are Bryan Danielson. Ricky promises Punk he’s gonna be all over his ass tonight. Punk goes outside to get in some fans faces and Danielson follows him and pushes him around outside. Punk gets a hammerlock and takes dragon down with it. Dragon gets a European uppercut and a bootchoke in the corner and Punk bails. Punk gets a drop toehold but Danielson reverses to a hammerlock and wristlock but Punk gets to the ropes. Punk argues with Steamboat so Ricky gets physical with him. Test of strength and Punk forces Danielson into the corner. Danielson reverses a wristlock but Punk won’t let go so Danielson monkeyflips out. Punk loudly argues with Ricky that Danielson pulled the hair so Ricky asks the crowd and they say no… and he pulls Punks hair. That was fun. Punk gets Danielson down with a knucklelock but he reverses. Danielson gets a northern lights suplex and stays on the arm, slamming it into the mat. Danielson puts Punk to the mat and keeps working the arm. Break in the corner and Punk takes over with a back body drop. Punk with a chinlock on Danielson. Danielson fights out and gets a kneedrop for 2. Danielson gets a sitting abdominal stretch, twisting Punk in gross ways until punk punches out. Punk kicks the chest a few times and snapmares him into a front face lock. Punk with that Lance Storm rolling firemans carry deal into a split legged moonsault that hits knees. Danielson headbutts the stomach but Punk bails so he follows. Big chops on Punk outside. Back in Danielson gets a surfboard dragon clutch on Punk who goes to the eyes to get out. Danielson goes for an abdominal stretch but Punk reverses and backdrops him to the floor. Punk follows him out and beats on him on the floor. Back in Danielson gets out of a chinlock but Punk gets a backbreaker for 2. Danielson with chops in the corner but Punk goes back to the eyes. Punk hits a seated Danielson with a dropkick and then chokes him with his knee, just like Romero did in the last match, sigh. Danielson rollup gets 2 as Punk jaws at Steamboat, and it was a quick 2 count. Punk goes for a suplex but Danielson reverses and suplexes Punk to the ropes and European uppercuts him there. Punk blocks a shoulderblock and gets a springboard dropkick for 2. Punk gets a camel clutch, continuously dropping down during it, but goes one time to many and Danielson turns around with a knee to the groin. Punk goes for a big back breaker but Danielson reverses to a suplex for 2. Lovey talks about the quiet crowd, which I hate as I don’t think advertising that the crowd is bored is a good idea. Danielson hits a huge top rope forearm and gets the big airplane spin into a fireman’s carry slam. Danielson dizzily goes up for the headbutt but Punk gets out of the way. Rico kick by Punk and Danielson catches Punk and gets the cattle mutilation. Punk gets out and jawbreakers Dragon to escape. Shining wizard by Punk for 2. Punk goes up for the Pepsi plunge but can’t hit it. Danielson gets a big European uppercut and superduplerlupertrooperplexes Punk and really seems to have fallen on his own neck. Steamboat starts the double count out but Punk is up at 9. They trade strikes and Punk misses the shinning wizard and Danielson rolls punk up for 2. Punk reverses a crucifix and gets the Devillock (hasn’t used that in a while) but Danielson makes the ropes. Danielson reverses a crossbody with a dropkick and gets a dragon suplex for 2. Danielson gets an abdominal stretch on Punk who taps to end the match. I really dug that Danielson capitalized on Punk’s mistake, changed his strategy and won by working the abs. But damn, that camel clutch by Punk was so long. Post-match Punk once again gets in Steamboat’s face and won’t let him leave the ring. Cabana sneaks behind Steamboat, and since he doesn’t hear the fans chanting “look behind you” he gets destroyed. The Briscoes save.
Rating: ***3/4

JZ says: Again, Danielson, you do not look menacing, no matter how hard you try. I’m sorry, I like you, I respect you, and your ring work is amazing, you could kick my butt, but I am so not afraid of you. Steamboat comes out, much to the delight of the crowd, to referee this match, since that is what ROH is paying him to do. Gotta love guys like Steamboat, ever the company man. This match works on two levels for Punk, because on one hand he is struggling in a good match with Danielson, and he also has to deal with Steamboat as a referee. Lots of stalling to start, but when they get going they get going good. Danielson actually points to his head during the match. Only heels point to their head! The fans chant “Yes/No.” That’s different. In an interesting twist, Danielson works over the abdomen of Punk, and actually wins the match with an abdominal stretch at 26:10. In most matches, an abdominal stretch would be a totally weak finisher, but in this instance it totally worked and gave the match a unique feeling. It could have been a little shorter, but it was still really good. Cabana and Punk attack Steamboat again, and the Briscoes make the save, to build up for the big Tag Team Title match tomorrow night.
Rating: ***1/2

MATCH #9: ROH World Title Match – Homicide vs. Samoa Joe

BG says: This would be singles match 4 of 6 between these two. At this point Homicide is up 2 wins to 1 against Joe, but his wins were non-title, so we have this title match. I’d give a better history here, but there are still 2 big singles matches between the two to come, so I’ll save it for then. Joe gets streamer treatment which makes Homicide go nuts. Joe wants Homicide to take his cap off, so he throws it at Joe for the early advantage. Fast action to start and Joe gets a drop toehold into an STF until Homicide makes the ropes. Joe gets some kicks on Homicide so he bails. Homicide throws a chair into the ring but the ref knocks it out. Homicide gets in the face of some fans and rolls back into the ring. Homicide goes for the legs but Joe knocks him down and forearms the crap out of him. Joe gets a really strange and painful looking submission that actually works because Joe is big. Mini-tangent time: You often see in independent wrestling guys who do submission maneuvers that just aren’t at all feasible when you take their size into account. The only fault that I can see in a wrestler like Alex Shelley is the fact that he does this. Joe doing a move like this works because he is big and the company has built him as strong enough to pull off moves like this. Anyway, back to the match. Joe gets a sleeper but Homicide quickly gets to the ropes and chops Joe with no effect. They start smacking each other and Homicide stupidly headbutts Joe and gets dazed and headbutted down. More headbutts form Joe put Homicide on his knees so he bites Joe’s neck to gain advantage. Homicide keeps headbutting Joe and getting hurt. Silly Homicide. He goes to a legvice so Joe goes to the ropes. Homicide goes for an exploder but Joe fights out. Joe gets a huge forearm in the corner and puts Homicide on the top. Cide fights Joe off but gets caught coming off the top with an STO. Simply awesome. Cide goes out and Joe gets the suicide dive. Joe backdrops Homicide into the crowd and hiptosses him back into the ringside area. Damn. Back in it gets 2. Joe gets a backbreaker and a Boston crab, Joe-Style. Homicide kicks Joe in the head to escape. Joe puts Homicide down in the corner and its bootscrape city. The crowd starts going nuts. Joe gets a dragon sleeper but Homicide gets up and gets a kneedrop from the middle rope. Homicide gets a neckbreaker for 2. Homicide gets a piledriver on Joe but he gets his foot on the ropes. That’s great strategy against a big man, using all his weight against him. Homicide gets a snapmare and a dragon sleeper. Joe gets to the ropes. Joe pops up and misses the island driver, getting caught with an enziguiri falling out. Homicide hits the tope and Lovey talks about how there were only 3 dives in the evening. Chair less Ole kick kills Homicide on the outside. In another corner we get a good old fashion seated Ole kick. Back in Homicide gets a tornado DDT for 2. Joe gets a belly to belly into the corner and the powerbomb into the STF but Homicide escapes. Joe gets a dragon screw and the STF but Homicide makes the ropes. Homicide gets the Ace crusher and a lariat for 2. Homicide gets a rollup for 2 but the bell rings and Homicide thinks it was three. The announcer tells us it was two. Homicide knocks ref Turner down and Joe gets him with a boot of fear… and the lights go out. A fireball goes off and the lights come back on with Joe on the mat rolling in pain. More people come out to help Joe and Homicide beats them all up. We have a no contest. Maybe I’m overrating it, especially with that ending, but it I had a ton of fun watching this and the ending lead to the formation of the Rottweilers so it gets **** treatment from me. This match was great action helped a lot by the really hot crowd that was absent from most of the show. Post-match everyone brawls on the outside and the Briscoes and the Saints beat on each other. Mark gets a shooting star press on Punk and Cabana. Evans and DeVito get dives on people and Lovey ends things with an ohhahhahahoh. That crazy Chris Lovey.
Rating: ****

JZ says: Homicide starts the match off wearing a hat. This rightly infuriates Joe, so Homicide throws it at him. Who throws a hat, honestly? Anyway, these guys put on their usual match, just stiffing the hell out of each other and doing a bunch of moves. Don’t get me wrong, this is the style that got both guys to where they are, and a lot of fans mark out for this kind of stuff, so I can’t say they shouldn’t be doing it. But if I had to pick between something like Punk vs. Danielson and Joe vs. Homicide, I’d take Punk vs. Danielson every time. There’s nothing wrong with this match, but I just wasn’t terribly into it. The lights go out, and Homicide tosses a fireball at Joe. The lights come back on, and Paul Turner declares a no-contest at 19:00. The finish was alright, and put more heat on the feud. Ha ha, I said “heat,” for the end of the match, and the end of the match had Homicide throwing a fireball at Joe! I rule! A big brawl erupts between Joe and Homicide, and the locker room empties. The crowd actually chants “Huss!” when he comes out, in a brawl between Joe and Homicide mind you. Do you think that means he’s over? Punk and Cabana go after the Briscoes, Evans and DeVito do dives, and all backstage promos are cancelled! Oh the humanity!
Rating: ***

Brad’s MVP: Samoa Joe, for being my favorite wrestler and having the Match of the Night.

Jake’s MVP: Homicide, for getting some real heel heat in the main event and stepping up his feud wiht Joe.
______________________________________________________________________________________

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

See you soon with our review of “Reborn: Stage 2!”

Visit rohwrestling.com for news on ROH shows, ROH merchandise, and the ROH forum!

The 411: BG says: This was one of the most sound shows top to bottom. There wasn't a single bad match and the show got progressively better by the end. Most people think the Pitbulls/Briscoes match is the MOTN, but I really dug the main event. Anyway, you can't go wrong here. JZ says: This is one of my favorite ROH show ever. Seven matches were *** or higher. This gets my highest recommendation.
Final Score:  7.5   [ Good ]