Shelly/Aries/Strong vs Rave/Walters/Stryker rewatch

Man, this was even better then I thought.  Now, I am 100% convinced now that this was better then the last 8 man.  Had none of the small and medium issues that I had with the 8 man.  Also had half the time to fill, and was much more hate-filled and urgent.  Rave’s selling of the back kind of stunk (Strong’s leg selling to a degree, but I can live with that in tag match).  Especially, since it factored into the finish. 

Shelly/Aries/Strong/Evans vs Briscoes/Rave/Walters rewatch

I did like a huge chunk of the match, but there are issues I have of different sizes.  Small issues include the kick-out of the Doomsday Device and Walters almost killing Aries with his finisher from the top rope (which should not have been from the top rope to begin with).  Medium issues include some “your turn, my turn” sections and a fighting spirit section which I could have done without.  The big issue was Walters selling of the neck.  He sold it somewhat at the end, but not much during his control section.  This drops a couple spots for me.  

Briscoes/SCS Reborn Stage 2 rewatch

I may be slightly overrating this, but this was even better the second time around.  Match had the right type of timing, big moves, and execution without overstaying its welcome.  May have dragged for about 30 seconds in the end, but Punk’s Tiger Driver 91 off the top rope was suitably awesome.  Probably ROH’s best tag match up to that point.

Danielson/Homicide rewatch

The more I look at this, the more convinced I am that some time could have been shaven from the beginning and end.  Danielson’s neck selling wasn’t really up to par, while Homicide’s hand selling was actually great.  Homicide still had those issues where he would get up a bit too quick from moves.  I feel this was a better Homicide match then Danielson match (even with the nasty finger bending).  Very good, but not top 10 worthy (unless something drastic happens).

Joe/Jay rewatch

Man, this may be my #1.  The story, the blood, the three death-defying top rope moves, Jay fighting like a man to survive, the escape attempts, the Jay Driller, and the finish all in just 14 minutes.  I can at least dismiss that little segment where Jay could have escaped as overconfidence in that he could knock the big guy out and realizing it was not the smartest strategy.  This match needs more love. 

Joe/Ki/Maff/BJ rewatch

Before: OK, watching 04 ROH has really been tough to order through. Right now, I am going to re-watch my top 15 (the ones that I consider elite level for year) and order through those. This will not get any easier in 05.

After: The asskickings that Joe and Ki delivered in this are as awesome as I remember. I do kind of wonder how much better it would have been without BJ. BJ seemed lost at points in the beginning. Thank god Ki just chopped the shit out of him to somewhat salvage that BJ control section. Once Joe busted out the tope and busted open his hand is when things started to get awesome. The Joe/Ki sections down the stretch were great (the bitch slap and the casual punt to the face come to mind). Some will say the ending was anticlimactic, but I don’t think it would have gotten any better after what they had already done to each other.

ROH Title Match Samoa Joe vs. Austin Aries ROH Final Battle 2004 12/26/04

Man, those final 5 or so minutes were fucking awesome.  Especially the last minute of offense from Aries which put Joe down.  Again, Joe doesn’t really sell the leg work, unless him kneeling down and breathing heavily constitutes as leg selling.  Either that or it was supposed to get over that Joe was vulnerable to the dropkick to the leg.  I do feel that this is top 10 worthy.  Now on to ordering my list.

ROH Title Match Samoa Joe vs. CM Punk ROH All Star Extravaganza II 12/4/04

Very good, but I thought it was the weakest of there trilogy.  Same story as the first two matches with the awesome first half.  Joe didn’t really bother selling the neck that looked to be worked on all match and execution looked off at points.  Hard to say if this is a top 10 for ROH that year, but I only have one pimped match left and I need to look back at some stuff.

Samoa Joe & Jushin Liger vs. Low Ki & Bryan Danielson ROH Weekend of Thunder Night 2 11/6/04

Considering the four matchups in this, this came off just as disappointing as the last match.  The two main matchups were Liger/Danielson (been there, done that) and Liger/Ki (Ki held back way too much).  Joe did have a good flurry on Ki after the hot tag, but it wasn’t as good as I wanted it to be.

Jushin Liger vs. Bryan Danielson ROH Weekend of Thunder Night 1 11/5/04

Strange match.  It was good, but pretty ordinary.  I mean the crowd was popping when Liger came, but then they quieted down later in the match when they should have been loud.  Liger’s selling was pretty good but then he shrugged off the arm work at the end. I was expecting a little in this.  

ROH Title Match Samoa Joe vs. CM Punk ROH Joe vs. Punk II 10/16/04

Excellent, although I don’t think I liked it as much as there first match.  This did have a hotter crowd throughout and a better stretch run.  I don’t think the selling was as good as the first and there were points where people popped back on offense a little too quickly.  This should be seen.    

I Quit Match Alex Shelley vs. Jimmy Jacobs ROH Joe vs. Punk II 10/16/04

Really good match.  It was short, concise, brutal, and to the point.  I would have preferred a much bigger ending then the Boarder City Stretch (maybe BCS with the spike in the head?)  Still I liked it. 

Rocky Romero & Homicide vs. Roderick Strong & Jack Evans ROH Joe vs. Punk II 10/16/04

It was good I guess, but the transitions at points blew and delved into “your turn, my turn” stuff.  Not really that memorable. 

CM Punk, Ace Steel, & Jimmy Jacobs vs. Alex Shelley, Austin Aries, & Jack Evans ROH Gold 10/15/04

I feel kind of sad because it looked like it was going to be something special around the end of Jacobs control section, but then the unnecessary Traci Brooks bump happened and it kind of felt like a waste after that.  I say that because nothing really changed after a little pull-apart brawl and control section didn’t come off as good as the one on Jacobs.  And again, another 30+ minute match which would have been better if it went shorter. 

ROH Title Match Samoa Joe vs. Bryan Danielson ROH Midnight Express Reunion 10/2/04

Very good, but not as great as people claim.  I got what they were going for in terms of story.  Beginning foreshadowed the eventual legwork which led Dragon cutting Joe down to lock in Cattle Mutilation which led to Joe getting desperate and getting in one last flurry until he won.  I think the long matches are burning me out.  It feels like at times that they could have accomplished the same thing with less time (draws are different).  I think this match lacked a standout moment to make you remember this.  Yep, going to have to re-watch this one as well. 

Low Ki vs. Jay Lethal ROH Midnight Express Reunion 10/2/04

This was really fun, albeit a bit slow for such a short match.  Ki taunting Lethal’s mother throughout the match was so awesome.  Ending didn’t come off as huge as it should have.  The curbstomp on the bottom rope was brutal, but didn’t come off as big of a deal as it should have with the crowd.  The Dragon Clutch afterwards kind of ended abruptly when looked like Ki was going to make the comeback. 

Tag Titles Hardcore Match CM Punk & Colt Cabana vs. Dan Maff & BJ Whitmer ROH Generation Next 5/22/04

Before: I found that this was recommended by someone and so I am going to check it out

After: Very solid match, although somewhat unremarkable. On top of that, I kind of feel like they didn’t use the hardcore stipulation to its full effect. May need a re-watch.

Alex Shelley vs. Bryan Danielson ROH Glory By Honor III 9/11/04

Very good.  Watching Dragon pick apart Shelly’s arms with Alex screaming in pain was a treat.  I wish Alex’s control sections and Dragon’s selling of the neck was better, but I enjoyed it.

2/3 Falls Match Austin Aries vs. Bryan Danielson ROH Testing the Limit 8/7/04

Before this, I had seen two other 2/3 falls matches from ROH and I hated both of them.  Both went around 42 minutes and both were pretty meandering.  This went 76 minutes and was better.  First fall had the feeling out process, which led to Aries’s gut getting worked over which then went into Dragon’s neck being worked over.  Second fall had Aries’s legs being worked over and then eventually the arm.  Between that, Dragon botched a tope and was out a couple of minutes which marred this fall somewhat.  Third fall was the callback spots to the Survival of the Fittest match and then they pretty much empty everything they have left.  First two falls ended logically, the third may have been a bit too many finishers from Aries.  Three brainbusters and a 450 was a bit too much after a regular brainbuster and a second rope brainbuster earlier.  Selling was actually pretty consistent throughout.  Maybe some time could have been taken off of the match, and maybe the crowd could have been hotter (yeah, that’s very nitpicky).  You could definitely make the argument that this is an excellent match, but I will give it some time.

Hardcore Match CM Punk & Ace Steel vs. Dan Maff & BJ Whitmer ROH Death Before Dishonor II Pt. 2 7/24/04

I liked this.  It had a good amount of hate, there were brutal spots, and built well.  I don’t think it was as great as I remember it, but it was still very good.  This may also need a re-watch.  

Tag Titles - 2/3 Falls Match CM Punk & Colt Cabana vs. Briscoe Bros. ROH Death Before Dishonor II Pt. 1 7/23/04

1^st fall was pretty good but kind of fell apart after that.  After Punk got taken out with the Jay Driller, the Briscoes had to control a large chunk of the match on Colt.  The Briscoes mostly contained punching and not much else at points.  Colt countering some of Briscoes double team moves was nifty.  Ending was very anti-climatic for a 40+ minute match.  May have to re-watch this.

ROH Title Match Samoa Joe vs. Homicide ROH Death Before Dishonor II Pt. 1 7/23/04

Got interesting in the last third, but didn’t do anything for me.  I wanted more hate out of this and they meandered through most of the match.  At least it ended when it needed to.

Pure Title Match Doug Williams vs. Alex Shelley ROH Death Before Dishonor II Pt. 1 7/23/04

It was good, but it kind of felt like we have been there and done that.  They did kind of repeat sequences from there last match, but it had a little more comedy and little less “World of Sport” niftiness.  This was worked a little more evenly then the last match, but I thought the Reborn match was better. 

Samoa Joe & Briscoe Bros. vs. Homicide, Ricky Reyes, & Rocky Romero ROH Reborn Completion 7/17/04

The match was OK, but went way longer then it should have.  Had the same problem as the Prophecy/Saints match from earlier in the year.  Needed more intensity in half the time and seemed very pedestrian.  Plus, both are memorable for the post-match deals.  I would skip this. 

Pure Title Match Finals Alex Shelley vs Doug Williams ROH Reborn Completion 7/17/04

Pretty swanky match.  Kind of like watching a combination of shoot and World of Sport when it came to the matwork.  The selling was even good which made me care in the end.  Really underrated. 

The 2004 Survival of the Fittest Elimination Match Final Elimination Match: Samoa Joe vs. Austin Aries vs. Mark Briscoe vs. Colt Cabana vs. Homicide (w/Julius Smokes) vs. Bryan Danielson

Good but overrated.  The highlights of the match was Colt pinning Joe, the Briscoes/Rottweilers feud exploding and the final 10 minutes of the match being hot.  First half was fine, but the work in the beginning didn’t mean anything in the long run which includes the work on Mark.  The second half with Aries/Dragon was kind of listless for half of that half until the hot finishing stretch came.  Not as good as I remember it.  

ROH Title Match Samoa Joe vs. CM Punk ROH World Title Classic 6/12/04

Excellent match.  I love the story of Punk trying to wear down the big man and how it started to take its toll after a while.  But since this went to a broadway there were issues.  Punk did a crappy Flair corner bump but at least that ended in Joe knocking him off.  There was this part where Joe was firmly in control and decided to do a figure four neck lock instead of at least attempting to finish him off.  And near the end, they were kind of throwing moves out there and not really selling them which is an issue with all broadways.  If that’s all I have when it comes to problems, then yes, you should see this. 

Alex Shelley, Austin Aries, & Roderick Strong vs. Jimmy Rave, John Walters, & Matt Stryker ROH World Title Classic 6/12/04

Very good match.  I think I liked last month’s match just a little bit better.  This had the same issues as the last match when it came to the selling and not sure if I would have ended the match on Aries rings of Saturn considering they were working the back.  May need to re-watch it. 

ROH Title Match Samoa Joe vs. Homicide ROH Generation Next 5/22/04

Blah. Didn’t dig this. Compared to the Do or Die match, it was a slightly better Homicide performance, but Joe didn’t lay the man sized beating to make this memorable. Especially with the history going into this. I also didn’t like the cheating considering it was so blatantly obvious. Stay away from this one.

Alex Shelley, Austin Aries, Roderick Strong, & Jack Evans vs. Briscoe Bros., Jimmy Rave, & John Walters ROH Generation Next 5/22/04

Stuff I could say about this match:


-The mat wrestling ruled. Just flowed greatly throughout.
-Very little drag throughout the 40 minutes
-Team ROH gave a really good ass kicking to Gen Next
-Gen Next’s working over of the body parts on Team ROH was nice
-Team ROH’s selling could have been a little better.

Verdict: Another excellent match.

Tag Titles Match Briscoe Bros. vs. CM Punk & Colt Cabana ROH Round Robin Challenge III 5/15/04

I would have liked this more if the first 8 or so minutes were so pointless. The meat of the match was Mark getting his ribs worked over from earlier on the card against the Prophecy. The work on them was fine, but when the beginning was as boring as it was, it took away from me caring as much about everything else after that.

Tag Titles Match Briscoe Bros. vs. CM Punk & Colt Cabana ROH Reborn Stage 2 4/24/04

Super fun match even excellent. Went about the right amount of time and everything was pretty fun. You probably could make an argument that the Briscoes were a little lost at points, but this was a lot better then I thought it would be.

Homicide vs. Bryan Danielson ROH Reborn Stage 2 4/24/04

Pretty swanky match. Psychotic Homicide is a definite improvement with getting pissed off with crowds dumb chanting and doing some fun begging off. He even sold the destroyed hand well. Danielson did some awesome stretching of Homicide’s hand but didn’t sell the neck work. Would have liked a couple more high spots considering this went close to 30.

CM Punk vs. Bryan Danielson ROH Reborn Stage 1 4/23/04

I will say this; the match and ending would have made sense if Punk and Dragon actually did some selling. Whole thing lacked focus and I just couldn’t care.

ROH Title Cage Match Samoa Joe vs. Jay Briscoe ROH At Our Best 3/13/04

That was crazy shit. Definitely holds up. Joe wants to make an example out of Jay, and Jay wants to escape the cage as fast as possible. It didn’t hurt that Jay did one of the most brutal blade jobs ever and fought like a man possessed and made all of his moves look like death. Great match.

Pure Title Match AJ Styles vs. CM Punk ROH At Our Best 3/13/04

Weird match. It is really good, but I kind of feel you could have had the same match without the Pure Title rules (No closed fist, 20 count on floor, 3 submission rope breaks). The selling wasn’t really there to make the rope breaks a bigger deal. The finish was that Punk had AJ in a sleeper, AJ recovers when the third arm drops barely and then hits three lariats and it’s over. Again, weird.

ROH Title Match Samoa Joe vs. Low Ki vs. Dan Maff vs. BJ Whitmer ROH Second Anniversary Show 2/14/04

Before: Alright, let me lay the ground work for all of you…

1. ROH Title changes ONLY if Joe does the job
2. If the finish doesn't involve Joe, then the winner gets a title shot in the future via a singles match
3. If someone jobs to Joe, no future title shots for anyone

After: Really like this. This was pretty much Ki and Joe nuking the prophecy with some really stiff strikes. But man was Low Ki fucking up people in this match. That Zero-1 excursion really made him more pissed off and vile. Joe had to work most of the match with a busted hand, Maff was fun bumping and going after Joe’s hand, and BJ was kind of lost at points but got his ass kicked big time so I respect that. So yes, this owned.

The Prophecy vs. The Second City Saints ROH Battle Lines Are Drawn 1/10/04

This was a good match that got elevated to a very good match by the post-match deal. Match didn’t really have the rhythm, flash, or hate to be really high end. I wish the match would have doubled with intensity with half the time. Post-match with SCS destroying the Prophecy and Punk’s promo in the locker room was awesome.

Daniels/Walters revisted

On second watch, it was good, but not as high end as I remember it.  The selling in it was good, but it really didn't serve a point in the long run.  I will put it more toward the middle this time.

Christopher Daniels vs. John Walters ROH Empire State Showdown 10/25/03

Really good match. Not as tight some of the other Daniels matches, but was worked really well. Top 10 for ROH 03.

ROH Title Shot Match Low Ki vs. Samoa Joe vs. Steve Corino vs. Bryan Danielson ROH Final Battle 2002 12/28/02

God kill me. I feel these four had the last 5 minutes planned out and they decided to wing it on the first 40. I mean that’s the only logical reason why they decided to bore me to death. There is no excuse this shouldn’t have been good. Skip this.