BJ Whitmer/Jimmy Jacobs/Adam Pearce vs Jimmy Yang/Jack Evans/Matt Sydal Tag Wars 1/27/06

Very fun. Fast energetic sub 10 minute match with nothing I can really point out that is wrong with it. May not stand out down the line, but there has just been a sweet amount of quality so far. Keep.

Bryan Danielson vs. Chris Hero Hell Freezes Over 1/14/06

For a match I was told was not going to be any good, this held up really well. Man, was Hero’s arm work fucking incredible. Dragon sold the arm work well, although the ending kind of negated everything. Your mileage may vary when it comes to the beginning. Some will say it’s slow, others may feel it is good defensive wrestling. I don’t as of yet, but I feel it is one of Dragon’s 3 best title defenses so far. Rewatch.

AJ Stlyes vs. Matt Sydal Hell Freezes Over 1/14/06

Very fun match. Felt like a match you would see in TNA. I think Sydal should have sold the neck for all its worth. Not that he didn’t, I think the match would have been possibly an “ROH top 10 of 06” match if he really showed more vulnerability. As is, it’s defiantly very good and is on the list right now.

Best ROH match of 2005

1. Samoa Joe vs. Kenta Kobashi Joe vs. Kobashi 10/1/05
2. Bryan Danielson vs. James Gibson Glory By Honor IV 9/17/05
3. Low-Ki vs. KENTA Final Battle 2005 12/17/05
4. Generation Next vs. The Embassy War Games Cage Match Steel Cage Warfare 12/3/05
5. Austin Aries vs Samoa Joe ROH World Title Match 3rd Year Anniversary Part 3 2/26/05
6. Jay Lethal vs. Samoa Joe Steel Cage Warfare 12/3/05
7. Matt Hardy VS Roderick Strong ROH Punk: The Final Chapter 8/13/05
8. Alex Shelley/Delirious vs Generation Next ROH Nowhere to Run 5/14/05
9. Spanky and CM Punk vs. Samoa Joe and Jay Lethal Back to Basics 3/12/05
10. Austin Aries, Roderick Strong and Jack Evans vs. Jimmy Rave, Alex Shelley and Abyss Six Man War Buffalo Stampede 10/15/05
11. Kenta Kobashi & Homicide vs. Samoa Joe & Low-Ki Unforgettable 10/2/05
12. Bryan Danielson VS Austin Aries Enter the Dragon 10/14/05
13. James Gibson vs. Black Tiger ROH Manhattan Mayhem 5/7/05
14. Bryan Danielson vs. Roderick Strong This Means War 10/29/05
15. Samoa Joe and Bryan Danielson vs. Jack Evans and Austin Aries ROH Third Anniversary Celebration Part 2 2/25/05
16. CM Punk vs Jay Lethal ROH World Title Match Sign of Dishonor 7/8/05
17. Jimmy Rave/Alex Shelley/Abyss vs Austin Aries/Roderick Strong/Matt Sydal ROH Redemption 8/12/05
18. Samoa Joe vs. Colt Cabana vs. Nigel McGuiness vs. Alex Shelley ROH Double Stakes Four-Corner Survival Match Stalemate 4/16/05
19. CM Punk vs. James Gibson ROH Fate of An Angel 7/16/05
20. Roderick Strong vs. James Gibson Unforgettable 10/2/05
21. Bryan Danielson vs Rocky Romero ROH World Title Match Steel Cage Warfare 12/3/05
22. James Gibson vs. Austin Aries ROH World Title Match Stalemate 4/16/05
23. Jimmy Rave & Alex Shelley vs Samoa Joe & Jay Lethal Enter the Dragon 10/14/05
24. CM Punk vs. Jimmy Rave Cage Match ROH Nowhere To Run 5/14/05
25. Samoa Joe & Jay Lethal vs. Low-Ki & Homicide ROH Punk: The Final Chapter 8/13/05
26. Bryan Danielson vs. Spanky ROH Best of the American Super-Juniors Tournament 4/2/05
27. Alex Shelley vs. Claudio Castagnoli This Means War 10/29/05
28. Austin Aries vs. James Gibson ROH The Final Showdown 5/13/05
29. Low Ki vs. Jay Lethal Fight without Honor Glory By Honor IV 9/17/05 (1st match)
30. Jimmy Rave VS AJ Styles ROH 3rd Year Anniversary Part 2 2/25/05
31. AJ Styles vs. Roderick Strong ROH Fate of An Angel 7/16/05
32. CM Punk vs. Christopher Daniels ROH Title ROH The Homecoming 7/23/05
33. Jay Lethal vs BJ Whitmer vs Christopher Daniels vs Samoa Joe Final Battle 2005 12/17/05

Danielson/Strong I 3rd watch

This is 70% a great match with kind of an odd final 30%.  Like that final 30% felt like it went longer then it should have.  What I mean is that the final 11 minutes could have gone half the time if they made some effort to push the pace.  Even then I thought they could have brought it home sooner.  As is, this is the better Danielson/Strong match, but what could have been if they shaved some time.  Listable.  Final list coming soon.    

Danielson/Aries 3 3rd watch

Holds up pretty well.  Austin’s control section lacked a purpose, but was still enjoyable.  The second best Danielson singles match of 05 (still have Strong/Danielson I).  A match like this would have stuck out more in 02, but in 05 there are many better matches.  Keep.

Ki/Homicide vs Joe/Lethal 3rd watch

Still too many flaws.  Even with the frantic beginning, it takes a bit too really get going and some stuff doesn’t come off as well as it should.  Good control section, but not as brutal as I would have liked.  The ending run was fun, but went a bit too long.  Post match stuff is fun, but needed better selling.  Reminds me of Rave/Punk.  Has that rough charm to it, but is not really great.  Keep.

Rave/Shelly/Abyss vs Aries/Strong/Sydal 3rd watch

It was a little back and forth in the beginning but held up well.  This and the poor transition into Aries control section prevent this from being elite level.  Keeper.

Punk/Gibson 3rd watch

I still don’t understand why a match involving blood loss got 28 minutes.  I felt like the match got worse the farther it got.  Punk’s arm selling was OK, and Gibson’s blood loss selling was real good.  Still, this was stretched out far too long and stuff should have been cut from this match that would not have affected the quality and may have improved it.  Not to say I didn’t like it, but I’ve seen better versions of matches involving blood loss.  Listworthy. 

Joe/Aries 3 3rd watch

Good match, but lacking a purpose.  The February match had way more to offer then this one.  Get it you are a completist but this is not listworthy.

Rave/Punk Cage Match 3rd watch

This still has too many flaws and just isn’t consistently great enough to be a classic.  Listworthy but not the greatest cage match. 

Aries/Gibson 2 3rd watch

I’ve noticed this time that this takes a while to get going.  Combined with the lukewarm crowd heat for a title match and I’m confident that there first match was better.  Yes, this was the smarter match with Gibson’s arm selling, but the excitement doesn’t feel sustained for as long of a period of time as the first half of the Stalemate match.  Stalemate had the better first half, while The Final Showdown had the better second half.  Combine the good of both those matches and you have a MOTYC.  Separately, there are too many flaws in both matches to be that great.  This match, there is enough cool stuff to be included on the list, but it’s not a classic.

Danielson/Spanky 3rd watch

Stuff needed to be cut out at the end.  Especially, the arm work and the sharpshooter at the end.  It held up better this time, but still not great.  I can say with confidence that this match is listable.

Joe/Walker/Danielson vs Gibson/Spanky/McGuinness 3rd watch

For the third time, this was good.  But I still don’t see a high end match here.  Didn’t have a standout moment in it, and wasn’t cohesive enough throughout.  It is alright, but I have to say no.

Ki/KENTA rewatch

Holds up really well on rewatch.  The middle looked more like a ware down section as apposed to working the ribs.  Some strikes were kind of no sold which led to eventual transitions.  I do think they gave themselves enough time to not make it come off as no selling.  It could go as high #3, but I need to look through everything and do my 3rd watches.  I think I’m going to give Joe/Aries 3 one more look.

Daniels/BJ/Lethal/Joe rewatch

This was fun but not great.  The story was Joe trying to get his hands on Lethal which was built up well.  This was match that has some of my pet peeves when it comes to wrestling matches.  You got a fighting spirit spots in the beginning (at least it was the beginning), you got work on the back which wasn’t sold in the middle (doesn’t make sense to do body part in a 4-way sprint), and there was back and forth during the home stretch (which is normal in a 4-way).  There is enough good in it to keep this. 

GenNext/Embassy War Games Cage Match rewatch

Sweet match.  First 5 minutes were still slow, but then Shelly got in and ruled it.  Sydal came in and was running things for a little bit.  Abyss came in and tore shit up.  Strong was fun, Nana was a great coward, and Evans dies for our pleasure.  Holds up, but I’m not 100% if it’s top 5.  I need to think this over. 

Joe/Lethal II rewatch

I totally feel this is better then there first match.  All the work was really solid and the Lethal turn which led to the leg work was pretty great.  They didn’t build this like a Midsouth turn, but sprung in the turn at the midway point to surprise.  Possible top 10 fro ROH 05.  Keeper.