Samoa Joe vs. Austin Aries ROH Escape From New York 7/9/05

I thought it was a very good match, but it wasn’t a very good Pure Title match.  Like it could have been a regular match and nothing would have changed from it.  As it is, it’s barely good enough although I don’t even know if it is even better then the 3rd Anniversary match.  Will see.

CM Punk vs Jay Lethal ROH World Title Match Sign of Dishonor 7/8/05

Really dug Lethal in this.  Punk was a great asshole at the end, but Lethal’s selling and timing of his comebacks were pretty well done.  I wish the crowd was a little more lively in the beginning, but considering the matches I’ve seen so far, this is definitely in.

Four-Corner Survival Match: Samoa Joe vs. Homicide vs. James Gibson vs. Austin Aries ROH Sign of Dishonor 7/8/05

I liked the final third, but Gibson’s FIP section and the execution of some moves were less then stellar.  Just couldn’t get into it.

CM Punk vs. Austin Aries ROH Death Before Dishonor III 6/18/05

I feel like the crowd boosted a good title match into a very good title match.  The neck selling from both was pretty bleh, and I prefer finishers to not be treated like a back body drop.  I did dig Aries getting pissed and jealous of the love Punk was getting.  I’ll keep it for now, but I don’t think it is that great.

Low-Ki vs. Austin Aries ROH The Future Is Now 6/12/05

I find this rewatchable, barely.  The striking was fun, but the match was kind of heatless throughout.  It doesn’t jump out at you, but I think it was good enough. 

Samoa Joe vs Nigel McGuiness ROH Pure Title Match The Future is Now 6/12/05

I can’t complain too much.  It was a pretty smartly worked match although I don’t think it had the heat or the stand out moments to be anything more then a low end nomination. 

CM Punk vs. Roderick Strong ROH The Future Is Now 6/12/05

Well, it was alright I guess.  Fell apart in the middle with Roderick’s control section.  Plus why was Punk using an Olympic Hell instead of the Anaconda Vice?  Don’t bother.

James Gibson vs Homicide ROH The Future is Now 6/12/05

Preface: 32 minutes, this is not going to be pretty.

Went longer then it needed to. Had some alright selling, but it just didn’t connect with me. Pass.

Spanky vs. Austin Aries ROH World Title Match New Frontiers 6/4/05

I kind of commend the neck selling from both, but I didn’t dig this match.  Pretty heatless.  The dealbreaker was the top rope slice bread and then Aries kind of just owning Spanky after that.  Just came off too easy.  No.

James Gibson vs. Austin Aries ROH World Title Match Stalemate 4/16/05

Very good, but it got ridiculous in the end with the brainbusters.  This match had better heat, but it had unnecessary back and forthness at points.  The first half I feel was fun enough to keep this.

Jay Lethal vs Spanky ROH Pure Title Match Stalemate 4/16/05

Better selling from Lethal, but Spanky’s selling was crap.  However, I dug this match more then the Back to Basics tag match.  By that rule, this has to go in. 

Spanky and CM Punk vs. Samoa Joe and Jay Lethal Back to Basics 3/12/05

I don’t know.  You have some shoddy selling from Spanky and Lethal and then you have a Stevie Richards cameo which I never knew about which struck me as bizarre.  Got pretty interesting at the end.  Fine, I’ll rewatch it.   

Rocky Romero vs James Gibson Back to Basics 3/12/05

Another on-the-fence deal.  Good carry job by Gibson, but I think this should have been shortened and there wasn’t really a story that stuck out in this.   I say No. 

Samoa Joe vs James Gibson ROH New Frontiers 6/4/05

Me and the crowd wanted to love this, but it was way too lethargic.  The pace stunk and was boring.  Skip.

Alex Shelley vs. Roderick Strong ROH New Frontiers 6/4/05

Remember Danielson/Homicide in the tap out match, same reasons why this didn’t work.  Shelly did sell the back well, but I just couldn’t care because of the earlier brawl.  Pass.

Austin Aries vs Samoa Joe ROH World Title Match 3rd Year Anniversary Part 3 2/26/05

This is fun, but again it is not sticking out.  Joe dominated a huge chunk of the match with Aries getting busted open.  I also felt like Joe really treat the match too seriously and the ending didn’t really do any favors for either party.  Again it passes the bare minimum. 

CM Punk vs. Jimmy Rave Cage Match ROH Nowhere To Run 5/14/05

For the most part, I feel this was a very good match.  The ending would have been better in my eyes if Rave wasn’t climbing the corner where the door was.  I did like the way Jade and Nana was used to make the victory seem more significant.  I got to take a better look at the beginning, because I don’t know if Punk made it interesting enough.  Another rewatch.

Austin Aries vs. Bryan Danielson ROH Nowhere To Run 5/14/05

Very good, but again it is lacking that standout moment.  There is nothing technically wrong with it, unless you want to count Aries kind of no selling the airplane spin (didn’t know it was possible).  Keep.

Spanky vs. Alex Shelley ROH It All Begins 1/15/05

A bit too overkilly for an opener.  The crowd heat was commendable and the leg selling was respectable.  In retrospect, there really isn’t anything wrong with the match, so I will keep this for now. 

Alex Shelley/Delirious vs Generation Next ROH Nowhere to Run 5/14/05

Fun match.  It did seem to have some rough patches in it, but everybody was fun in it and kept a good pace throughout.  Could be better then the Manhattan Mayhem tag. 

Homicide vs. Doug Williams ROH Nowhere To Run 5/14/05

God, this is on the line for me.  But, the usual Homicde issues and Williams only really selling the neck until the end (and not once for the time leading up to it) make me say no to this.

Bryan Danielson vs. Homicide ROH Steel Cage Match (Match 5 in the Best of 5 series) The Final Showdown 5/13/05

Suffers from the usual Homicide problems, doesn’t sell the opponent’s moves for long enough.  On top of that, it felt like a No DQ match guest starring the cage.  Even with that, it felt dull for a chunk of it.    No to this. 

Austin Aries vs. James Gibson ROH The Final Showdown 5/13/05

This match has a couple things going against it.  One, the crowd heat.  The crowd only seemed to care in the last 2-3 minutes.  Two, the fighting spirit section.  I’m not a fan of these, and I usually like it better when there is a degree of selling in it.  Three and four, the brainbuster that Gibson shook off and the weird abrupt ending.  However, Gibson’s selling of the arm was great.  I’ll put it on the rewatch list, but it just feels like there is something missing.

Jack Evans vs. Samoa Joe vs. Delirious vs. Ebetaroh ROH The Final Showdown 5/13/05

It was fun comedy, nothing to get your hopes up about.  Not listworthy.

Austin Aries vs. Alex Shelley ROH Manhattan Mayhem 5/7/05

It was very good.  It was not hate filled, but had a nice sense of tension which I feel suited the championship setting.  The neck may have been the focus, but I don’t think Shelly put it over well enough.  The build was good enough to put on rewatch.

Jimmy Rave vs. CM Punk Dog Collar Match ROH Manhattan Mayhem 5/7/05

This felt more like a No-DQ match guest starring the Dog Collar.  Mostly because CM Punk got busted open by a chair and that the final pinfall was from a chair.  Even if you ignore that, Punk didn’t really show the necessary aggression to make this match awesome.  AJ Styles showed more aggression in February in a normal match.  This was more of a match to put over Rave who didn’t get busted open.  The positive, Jade Chung, she’s hot.  The end. 

Samoa Joe vs. Jay Lethal ROH Manhattan Mayhem 5/7/05

Its reputation is a little overrated, but it’s still a very good match. The match was Lethal not being intimidated Joe and reeling the big man at points. However, I feel that Lethal didn’t push the envelope as hard I would have liked. Like he would take pauses at points, which kind of slowed the momentum of the match. Good enough for now.

Update: I’m going to remove Aries vs Homicide from the rewatch list. In hindsight, Homicide’s bullshit brought the match down too much. Plus, there enough matches in 05 that have a better grasp of the basics that it is not a problem for me to remove this.