The Black Tiger Review: ROH – Final Battle 2003

FINAL BATTLE 2003
December 27, 2003

The final ROH show of the year! Feuds are settled, continued, and new ones are kicked off. A tournament is ended, and titles are defended. Also this is a joint show between ROH and All Japan, and it just happened to fall on my twenty-first birthday. Was I in Philly that night? Of course not, I was in Waterloo, NY doing shots, and getting really fit shaced.

Mark Briscoe . . . takes a lickin’ and keeps on tickin’
Tomoaki Honma . . . takes a sick head bump.
Satoshi Kojima . . . doesn’t understand because he is Japanese, God damn it.

BRYAN DANIELSON vs. JAY BRISCOE
Forget about Antonio Inoki and all his “legit fighter” nonsense, as well as all these “worked shoot” angles that go on nowadays. If you want to see stuff that looks legit, look no further than Mr. Danielson. This isn’t much more than a basic technical exhibition, but Danielson really goes all out to add special touches here and there to make it all the more fun. One of the best things Danielson that does is reign Briscoe in, and as a result the match isn’t littered with the usual crazy spots and head bumps. Briscoe does some smart work of his own, working his offense around a basic headlock, and then using two of his favorite spots in the lariat, and the Yakuza kick. When he returns to the hold, it’s taken on a whole new meaning, and he didn’t have to risk his career, or drop Danielson on his head a whole bunch of times in the process. As a matter of fact the closest we get to a head drop the entire match, is Briscoe’s Falcon Arrow.

One thing that the match is full of is basic and simple offense, with Danielson maintaining a tight and solid focus on the shoulder region of Briscoe, to eventually set him up for the Cattle Mutilation. Danielson also throws in some of his favorite spots like the airplane spin, and the diving headbutt. Danielson also shows some serious disdain for his opponent, his ‘You’ve got to be kidding me’ reaction to Briscoe’s chops is hilarious (a bit of an ode to the ‘that’s not how you do it’ kick sequence from the first ROH show). When its Danielson’s turn to unload with the strikes, he shows Jay how to really throw a strike with force. The road to the finish is even smartly worked, with Jay attempting the Jay driller despite not having done near enough to wear down Danielson, not to mention his shoulder being worked on. Danielson’s counter to the Dragon suplex puts one last bit on punishment on Briscoe’s shoulder, and a near seamless transition to the Cattle Mutilation for the tap out. This easily stands alongside Danielson vs. Christopher Daniels from the second ROH show as one of the best ROH opening matches, and it’s not much of a surprise that they both involve Bryan Danielson. ***1/4

JOHN WALTERS vs. XAVIER (Fight Without Honor)
Obviously nobody told these two that simple and effective go hand in hand with each other. There are plenty of ways to convey anger and hated in a match, and tell a story within the match. But alas, this is the best they could come up with. A brawl with plenty of weapons and the “top this” mentality, for big spots, and little else. It actually starts out decent, with Walters playing off the stipulation and sneak attacking Xavier in the aisle. But then the weapons and start coming out and any semblance of a smart or logical match goes right down the commode. Aside from the chair attack at the last show, weapons had never played a role in the feud, so dragging them out for all these insane spots serves no purpose at all. Xavier takes a whiplash slam onto a ladder, and Walters does the Lung Blower off a ladder, and just drops the ladder onto Xavier’s back, while he’s on the floor. Xavier should be lucky he’s not paralyzed, let alone be able to come back with an Arabian press onto Walters, who is on the remains of the ladder. As if that wasn’t bad enough, Xavier also does a 450 through a table, the X-Breaker, and the Kiss Your X Goodbye off the top rope. All three of his finishers pretty much killed off. And Gabe is on commentary putting over Xavier for knowing how to win big matches.

Walters is a bit better, he remembers to sell his knee after the big Lung Blower off the ladder, and sells it for most of the match. The chair shot was a receipt from Xavier’s attack after their match at the previous show. Thus, Walters does the only weapon shot that actually means anything. But despite how Xavier screwed and humiliated him time and again leading up to this match, he never does anything to return the favor. Walters had already beaten Xavier cleanly as the last show, and proven he was the better man in a fair fight, so the only thing left for him is revenge. The sunset flip powerbomb off the ladder onto the broken one in the corner was a good idea to end on a big visual, but when Walters’ legs hit the ladder, it looks like a car wreck, and the three count is really anticlimactic.
MATT STRYKER vs. BJ WHITMER (Finals of the Field of Honor Tournament)
This gets fun once they both start sharking on each other’s injuries. The gauntlet series finals from the previous show had already established that there was going to be some aggressiveness, and neither of them fails to deliver in that regard. The early part is dull, but with both of them being banged up it’s natural that they’re hesitating about going right after one another. But once BJ starts to zero in on Stryker’s shoulder, the fun begins. Stryker’s elbow work was a bit dull, even when he decided to stick with attacking the heavily taped one, but he solves that by tearing the brace off Whitmer’s knee and attacking that instead. Stryker actually kills two birds with one stone with his attack on both the elbow and the knee. Stryker going after the elbow was more or less avenging the way that Whitmer was going after his hurt shoulder, but by exploiting Whitmer’s longstanding knee problem, it’s also revenge for how Whitmer won the gauntlet. It also adds to the likelihood that Stryker can pull the win out, despite his own injury. His shoulder will make it quite difficult to do a DVD, but Whitmer’s knee is prime for the Stryker Lock.

Whitmer does some good selling of his knee too. He really puts over the figure four and whenever he gets close to being able to turn it over, a simple knee slap from Stryker puts that kibosh on that. Whitmer is unable to do his trademark Exploder when his knee gives out on him, and his frustration gets the better of him when he unleashes a huge kick to Stryker’s back and immediately hits the ground and clutches his knee. Whitmer doesn’t have a lot of varied ways to go after Stryker’s shoulder, the modified Juji-gatame was a bit of a surprise, and the half Camel Clutch was unique, but beyond that, he was more concerned with using the guardrails and ring post. Stryker’s Horse Collar was a nice touch, and that he kept going back to it wasn’t just for lack of anything else to do, they paid it off by Whitmer finally finding an escape. Stryker also made use of the aforementioned figure four, and anytime Stryker made a pin attempt, he’d make sure to hook the leg extra tight, making Whitmer expend that much more energy to kick out. Stryker also had some nice selling for his shoulder, even long after Whitmer had been on offense, he still stuck with using his other arm to chop, and paying off with finally doing a chop with the hurt arm and then grabbing it in agony. Stryker also really sells the desperation Golden Gate Swing by Whitmer, in fact if Whitmer hadn’t hurt his knee doing it and delayed his pin, he’d have probably gotten the pin. With all that Stryker had done to Whitmer’s knee, the Stryker Lock ending is appropriate but rather bland, but Stryker makes the most of it by elevating his body and putting as much pressure as possible into the hold, to force Whitmer’s tap out. On it’s own it’s a decently fun match, but it’s even more fun when compared with their first match in August, and their quickie gauntlet final. The handshake afterwards by Whitmer is the obvious storybook ending, despite the aggressive nature of the match, mutual respect is still present between them and it leaves a good feeling, exactly what ROH is all about. But what would transpire a bit later on would make that good feeling short lived. ***

SAMOA JOE © vs. MARK BRISCOE (ROH World Heavyweight Title)
One thing that both Joe and Mark understand, is that Mark is in way over his head here. Sure he got the title shot by pinning Joe, but he’d gotten an assist from AJ Styles (Joe and Styles were tag partners against the Briscoe Brothers, and AJ accidentally hit Joe), so he definitely hadn’t done anything to show he could beat Joe one on one. With that in mind, both Joe and Briscoe each have their goals for this match. Joe wants to humiliate Mark, and Mark plans on standing up to Joe and showing him how good he is, and both of them accomplish their goals.

It’s obvious Joe is taking Mark lightly, he attempts the Ole Ole kick a whole two minutes into the match, and he’s usually more worried about slapping Mark around and toying with him, than doing any of his usual offense to secure the win. This bites Joe in the ass several times, when Mark is able to catch Joe off guard and drop him with a surprise lariat. But then Mark gets a bit too cocky and attempts to give Joe his own face wash. Another time, Mark whips Joe into the corner and twice hits a running lariat. But Mark goes to the well once too often and gets caught in Joe’s big sidewalk slam. Mark also doesn’t reign himself in, nearly as well as Jay did in the opener, he starts off looking good when he hits a vertical suplex, and then sells his back due to the vast size difference. But not too long afterwards, he’s dropping Joe on his head with a German suplex, a Uranage, and then attempting his Cut Throat suplex, without any hint of trouble. One thing that had become apparent about Joe is his propensity to fall victim to flash pins and cradles, but Mark never takes that avenue to try to win. Either Mark is too obsessed with trying to stand up to Joe that he forgot that the belt is the important thing, or he’s saving that particular victory for his brother, after all the real feud is supposed to be between Joe and Jay.

Even though Joe is mostly toying with Briscoe, he does do a few nice things to hold up his end. The second Ole Ole is thwarted by Jay, and Joe makes sure to take Jay out of the equation before he finally gives the fans what they want. Just to be over the top about it, Joe also talks on a cell phone, in a jab at the NFL. Joe puts over Mark’s suplexes as close near falls. Joe’s reactions to most of Mark’s attempts to attack him with strikes are about the same as Danielson’s reaction in the opener. When Joe returns fire, Mark goes flying back into the corner, and when Joe thwarts Mark’s charge with a palm strike, Mark does a sell job that would make Curt Hennig proud. Joe also has fun, reminding Mark what happens when you headbutt a Samoan. Joe also lets Mark prove his point, Joe uses several of his lower end offensive moves, like the Kiwi roll (rolling sunset flip), and the STF to attempt to finish him off, but Mark just won’t stay down. Joe finally demolishes Mark with the knee strikes and the choke to finally get the win, and Mark doesn’t tap, he’s choked out. Although not as easy as he thought, it was a fairly easy victory for Joe. But Mark also proved his point, and showed that he could go, just not at the same level as Joe, yet. ***1/4

After months and months, the mystery of the Lucy attacker is finally solved. The Prophecy being involved is no great surprise. But to ROH’s credit, having BJ Whitmer as the actual attacker, and newest member of the Prophecy is a logical storyline. As well as a good swerve, considering Whitmer’s participation in the Field of Honor finals.

CM PUNK/COLT CABANA vs. TOMOAKI HONMA/KAZUSHI MIYAMOTO
It’s rather funny to hear Gabe saying that Turmeric Storm didn’t travel halfway around the world to lose. They’ve never had a problem losing in their own country and promotion. The beginning is quite dull, and it never seems like they’re on the same page (due to the language barrier most likely). Even when they finally get around to structuring it similar to a basic tag match, it has its problems. Miyamoto isn’t allowed any real hope spots, or false attempts to tag in Honma. Punk and Cabana work in a few of their signature spots, as well as a nice Camel Clutch/Reverse Boston Crab. But beyond that, they don’t do much of anything with their offense on Miyamoto. Miyamoto does a nice job putting over the stomps and kicks though. When Honma gets the hot tag, he shows off his own nice double team spot with the DDT/Face buster taking down both of the Second City Saints, but things never really pick up to the point that Turmeric Storm has a chance. Miyamoto does make a nice interception when he spears Cabana and prevents a tope to the floor. The big elimination spots come in, where everyone tries to take out the other guy as well. But it’s just more eye candy, and it’s not doing anything to get the match anywhere.

The writing is on the wall a bit too early that Turmeric Storm wouldn’t be winning though, as Punk successfully kicks out of both Miyamoto’s Swanton Bomb, and Homna’s Blockbuster. Punk doesn’t walk away completely scot free though, winding up on the receiving end of a stacked superplex. Once Cabana takes Miyamoto to the floor though, Punk just starts to run through his usual moves, including a yet unnamed Pepsi Twist. Punk also dumps Honma on his head twice, and finally gets the win with the Pepsi Plunge. The Pepsi Plunge wound up being yet another head bump, and quite the sick one at that. But there’s anyone who’s man enough to take that sort of abuse on his noggin, it’s Honma.

ROH: 1
AJPW: 0

AJ STYLES vs. KAZ HAYASHI
Like the previous match, this starts out rather slowly. They work the mat for a few minutes, and trot out AJ’s spot where he jumps the guardrail. But the difference is that these two have a bit of history to play off. Supposedly, Kaz Hayashi was the first person to ever take the Styles Clash, in WCW, and the ‘Clash has always been AJ’s kiss of death. So AJ’s mandatory attempt and block of the move, holds a bit of meaning this time around, with Hayashi quick to counter with a big kick. AJ follows with a nice assault on the back area of Hayashi, designed to prevent him from countering the move again in such a manner. AJ brings some nice flashy backbreakers, along with some wicked kicks. Hayashi just doesn’t have a clue as to how to sell it though. He’s fine when AJ is actually dishing the abuse out, and it first he seems like he’s got it together, when he fakes out AJ with the handspring elbow, but does a low dropkick. When AJ attempts the Styles Clash, after his back abuse, Hayashi still counters with a big Hurricanrana, and no hint of any problem with it. Kaz also applies his crossface (with some serious arc in his back), a big brainbuster, and a German with a beautiful bridge, without a hitch. In fact, when AJ finally does hit the Styles Clash for the win, it’s not because Hayashi’s back finally gave out, it’s because AJ rolls through and hooks the arms on the ground, so Kaz had no escape. In the words of the Hurricane, “watsupwitdat?”

ROH: 2
AJPW: 0

SATOSHI KOJIMA vs. HOMICIDE
Even before Homicide took that belly to belly on the floor, this wasn’t exactly setting the world on fire. A common theme with the ROH vs. AJPW matches on this show have been that they can’t seem to get anything really going early on. Kojima does some stuff, and Homicide does stuff, and they trade off a bunch of chops. There doesn’t seem to be any sense of focus from either of them, it’s like they know the crowd will be hot anyway, so they’ll just kill time to keep them heated. Kojima’s antics are way more entertaining than the actual match is. His ‘suck it’ gestures at Julius Smokes is priceless, and yelling “I don’t understand” and “I’m Japanese, God damn it” at the referee are hilarious.

After the big bump on the floor Homicide takes from the belly to belly, they have a chance to really take the match some place and just chuck it away. Kojima doesn’t do anything to try to exploit Homicide getting his bell rung on the floor, he just continues to plod along and work in his usual spots. Homicide is just as bad though, because even though he took a nasty bump on the floor, he doesn’t do anything to put over the possible concussion. He goes back on offense without a hitch and pulls off several of his own big moves, no problem at all. The Ace Crusher/Koji Cutter trade off sequence was expected, but neither does anything to try to make it mean something. It’s just a mandatory move for both of them, but with Homicide’s condition, you’d think they’d have gone the extra yard or so to make it seem like a match breaker. Of course Kojima has to use the lariat, complete with the dramatic removal of the elbow pad, and just like in his home country, the first one never gets it done, even though he’s actually facing someone smaller than him. The second one does the trick though, and it’s interesting to note that it wasn’t too long after this match, that Homicide starting using the lariat as a finisher of his own.

ROH: 2
AJPW: 1

THE GREAT MUTA/ARASHI © vs. CHRISTOPHER DANIELS/DAN MAFF (AJPW World Tag Team Titles)
Thank God for Daniels and Maff selling for Muta’s signature spots, and Arashi’s offense, otherwise this would have been a real disaster. As cool as it is to see a legend like The Great Muta, in a ROH ring, the fact is that Mutoh as Muta was never much was far as a worker, and he’s regressed a great deal. It’s nice that he’s willing to give Daniels and Maff such a long control segment, rather than hog the match and let the crowd go nuts for him (and unless he blew some serious spots, there is no reason why they wouldn’t), but unfortunately Daniels and Maff don’t do anything in terms of showing focus or logic in what they do to Muta, and as a result, Muta doesn’t do a very good sell job.

Fortunately, Daniels and Maff both sell like mad for Muta’s signature spots like the mist, power drive elbow, Dragon screw, and even the backbreaker, the only Muta spot missing is the handspring elbow. Arashi is mostly dead weight in this match, he moves ungodly slow, even when he’s making a save, but he does impress on one occasion when he throws a drop kick (and CM Punk goes crazy on commentary). But both of the Prophecy members, especially Maff, sell like crazy for his strikes. It’s also refreshing to see Muta not feel the need to use all sorts of weapons in the match, and that he only uses the Shining Wizard once, as opposed to several times. The set up to it is a bit telegraphed (Daniels misses his moonsault) but it’s still preferable to Mutoh’s usual dropkick, Dragon screw, lather, rinse, and repeat session. Daniels also does a bang-up sell job when Muta hits the Shining Wizard to, despite that Muta’s version of the move is very far from looking like something that would KO someone. The Prophecy showing respect at the end by bowing to the AJPW team is a nice touch, and ends the match, and the show on somewhat of a positive note, despite the disappointing results of the ROH vs. AJPW series.

ROH: 2
AJPW: 2

Conclusion: The show starts off looking like one of the best ROH shows from the year, but once the ROH vs. AJPW stuff starts, things take a nosedive. I’ll recommend it based on the first half, and novelty of the ROH vs. AJPW series.