Welcome back to our regular series of reviews covering RING OF HONOR DEE-VEE-DEEZ! For more information visit www.ROHWrestling.com and don't forget to buy a few DVD's of your own while there. This week we're covering the ROH 2nd Year Anniversary Show from February 14th, 2004 in Braintree, Massachusetts. Starting today I'm going to include a feature called CURRENT CHAMPIONS in the opening of every review for two reasons - to give you a feel for the state of ROH as it existed at the time and to compensate for any gaps in my ROH video collection. So without further adieu here are the CURRENT CHAMPIONS for February 14th, 2004:
* ROH Tag Team Champions: Jay & Mark Briscoe
* ROH Pure Champion: {to be crowned tonight}
* ROH World Champion: Samoa Joe
Incidentally I know right now this is going to be a long review since this show is so big they split it into TWO DISCS. Hopefully the split between halves occurs at the intermission. We open with Joe wearing a suit and tie and holding the ROH strap over his right shoulder. Joe talks about respect, discipline, competition and honor. "One year ago I took this title from a man who was a disgrace, then I took this title all around the world to anyone who wanted to challenge me. But tonight is a night of celebration - tonight we crown our first Pure champion. On a night that exemplifies everything that Ring of Honor is about, we celebrate a Pure wrestling title. Not a title that was defended all around the world, not a title that was put on the line against the very best - that the world had to offer. Instead we celebrate the founding of a new belt and a new champion, while I'm put in the ring against three of the deadliest competitors in the world because it seems ONE MAN can't do the job. Well that's fine. I'm all for a little competition, so we'll leave it at this. Tonight, we crown a Pure wrestling champion, but the only reason there is a Pure champion is because nobody can take the world championship from me. I'm Samoa Joe. I am pro wrestling. But most importantly I am YOUR Ring of Honor World Champion."
Allison Danger cuts a promo on behalf of Christopher Daniels, saying she's upset that the Second City Saints left him injured and unable to compete. She says BJ Whitmer and Dan Maff have "hatred, desire and courage" and those three things will bring us the title - and when they hand that title to Daniels "his pain will be healed and OUR pain will be healed." Maff: "BJ Whitmer look at me - I can't STAND your ass. You make me SICK - SICK TO MY STOMACH. But you know what turns me even more is not delivering to Christopher Daniels and not completing our mission and bringing you the ROH Heavyweight Title. In Baltimore it took us ONE NIGHT to complete three missions successfully, but tonight we have only one, and when it's completed the Prophecy will return to glory. RIGHT HERE TONIGHT THE PROPHECY REGAINS ITS POWER! And we return to the limelight, you know it. It's all for you Christopher Daniels. But one thing turns my stomach into a twist even more than BJ Whitmer, and that's you Low-Ki. For the first time since August I get to look at you in your beadie eyes YOU LITTLE SON OF A BITCH!!!" Allison tells him to calm down and get focused, and Whitmer says you don't want to get too close to Ki anyway - he might knock you out again. Maff: "Chris we're always thinking of you, and Ring of Honor will soon be yours again."
Speaking of Christopher Daniels, the lights are out and his entrance music is playing. I thought he was at home injured! Well there's definitely a hooded figure coming down to the ring to his music wearing his robes, but dollars to pesos it's not him. SURE ENOUGH he flips up the hood and it's actually CM Punk. The heat he gets for this is AMAZING. Punk grabs a mic as the crowd yells "WE WANT DANIELS" and he just stands there and lets them bitch. "Oh you expected somebody else! I left Daniels laying in a heap after his ass was busted from the top rope through a table, ending his reign in Ring of Honor. A new era dawns, the era of straight edge. We have adopted the Prophecy's credo, not the lack of respect without handshakes, but the quest to gain every Ring of Honor title. Samoa Joe I'm coming for you." The crowd screams FUCK YOU PUNK and he says wait a minute, let me get the Halloween costume off. Music starts playing and John Walters makes his way down to the ring.
* CM Punk v. John Walters (ROH Pure Title - First Round)
This Braintree crowd is insanely hot - they're already chanting "FUCK HIM UP WALTERS, FUCK HIM UP" before the ref even signals for the opening bell. Punk jumps down to the floor to cut a promo about how the Bears whupped the Patriots in 1986, and tonight Chicago's going to do it again - and he's doing it for Mike Ditka. Punk gives Walters a disdainful handshake as we get underway. Punk was apparently a "mystery seed" according to our announcers. Punk grounds Walters early and he gets to the ropes for a break. Walters hits an arm drag and goes to the back stretch as Allison Danger unexpectedly joins the announce team and interrupts Chris Lovey. Punk gets a rope break with his feet. It sounds like the crowd started a "bor-ing" chant so Punk's response was to lay across the top ropes and take a break. You have to love the way ROH wrestlers play the crowd - playing to them when it suits and playing against them to whip them up even more. Walters grounds Punk, Punk goes for a cheap shot and gets a headlock, Walters shoots him off, Punk floats him over the apron, Walters does what I can only call a sunset flip armdrag back into the ring. Walters cranks the arm of Punk with a knee and continues to work it, the two end up in a stalemate trading off armdrags and Punk rolls to the floor for a breather.
Collar and elbow tie-up back in the ring. Walters goes back to the left arm and he forces Punk down to the ground with a foot to the knee, when he breaks there's another arm drag to the ground. Punk manages to get momentum back by tossing Walters over the top and hitting a topei through the ropes to the floor. Punk and Walters trade brawls and uppercuts on the outside. Walters throws Punk back in but Punk gets a gutbuster and a two count. Walters fights out of a submission but Punk catches him with a knee to the gut when he runs the ropes. Backbreaker follows. Punk stomps Walters face right into the mat not once but twice with a leg lock and foot to the center of his back. Snapmare into a triangle choke but Walters will not tap and gets a rope break with a foot. Punk puts Walters on he top, hits a 'rana, but Walters rolls through for 2 and they exchange rolling 2 counts. Walters with a big clothesline that takes Punk off his feet and gets a 2.9. Walters calls for his finisher but Punk blocks with a modified STO and locks on an STF. Walters gets the rope break to survive. Punk with a back heel to Walters face but Walters does Black Machismo's Lethal Combo to CM Punk and goes for the cover for another 2.9999 near fall.
Punk comes back with forearms, scoops Walters up for a Michinoku driver and covers Walters for 2. Both men are slow to get up and the crowd applauds them to their feet. Punk sets Walters on the top again, Walters shoves him off and hits a flying crossbody which hurt him more than Punk as he holds his ribs. Walters waits for Punk to get up and hits a hurricane DDT for 2.5 before Punk gets a boot on the ropes to stop the count. Walters picks him up for another hurricand DDT, Punk counters out to his feet, Walters gets a go behind and tries to back bridge a pin, but Punk kicks him off the cover over his head and bridges up while Walters shoulders are down and HE gets the three count. ADVANCING TO THE SECOND ROUND: CM PUNK. Punk: "I showed you Cabana. I'm not even breathing heavy!" Punk stands in the ring waiting for Walters, gives the handshake and hits a straight edge pose.
* Chris Sabin v. Doug Williams (ROH Pure Title - First Round)
Doug seems to be the heavy crowd favorite going into this match. Sabin is announced as the #5 seed, Williams as the #4 seed. It's ROH 101 early as we have tie-ups, mat wrestling, counters, reversals, early pin attempts and standoffs to the applause of the crowd. Williams trips Sabin and has a front headlock on, then he backflips over Sabin and cranks the neck backward. Sabin fights out and attempts a roll-up for 2. Williams stays locked on the neck, Sabin tries to arm drag out, so Williams switches to having his legs around Sabin's neck. Sabin sneaks out so Williams takes the back and cranks the neck from behind, then drops a knee right on the bean. Big scoop slam and a rope assisted knee to the neck followed by a 2 count. Williams continues to work uppercuts and neck attacks, even going for a crossface before Sabin gets a rope break, selling the neck like it's been snapped in two.
Williams pulls Sabin up for knees to the face then hits the Harley Race knee lift for two. Williams whips Sabin to the corner for a running knee, snaps off a suplex, goes to the top rope as Sabin is prone face down and Williams hits a flying knee to the back of his head for 2. Williams goes to the well again but Sabin cus him off, climbs up, Williams throws him off, Sabin rolls out of the way of a senton and both men are down. Both men get up at 7. Sabin hits a springboard dropkick and goes on offense. Williams snaps off Williams with a 'rana, tries to hit a vertical suplex, but sells he can't do it because of the hurt neck so he hits Williams with a neckbreaker instead. Chaos Theory is blocked. Sabin hits a springboard DDT for a near fall. Sabin nails a sitdown Death Valley driver for 2.9999. Sabin is whipped to the corner and Williams connects with the Chaos Theory for the three! ADVANCING TO THE SECOND ROUND: DOUG WILLIAMS. Williams acts a little gassed afterwards, Sabin is still selling the neck, the two give respectful handshakes afterwards. Williams puts him over in a backstage promo afterwards as an excellent competitor, saying he underestimated him, but he won't underestimate anybody else in ROH and the Pure wrestling title will be all his.
* Josh Daniels v. Matt Stryker (ROH Pure Title - First Round)
You may remember from our last ROH review that Stryker won the Field of Honor finals, a tournament that was a precursor to ROH creating the Pure title. As such you'd expect him to be a favorite in this 2nd Year Anniversary tournament to officially crown a Pure champion. Stryker is announced as a #3 seed, Daniels as a #6 seed, and the winner of this will face the winner of AJ Styles v. Jimmy Rave. ROH 101 early and dueling chants for both men. I've seen enough of Stryker to like him but I know nothing about Daniels and the only thing this match says about him is that he has really hard chops. Therefore I'll be perfectly honest here - I fast-forwarded through a lot of this one, especially knowing that Rave v. Styles was the match afterwards. When you've got five hours of ROH to watch and review, SOMETHING is going to end up getting cut. The crowd reactions say it all to me, as they are much quieter here than they were for the two previous battles. Stryker eventually pretzels Daniels' legs up with his patented Strykerlock and Daniels taps out. ADVANCING TO THE SECOND ROUND: MATT STRYKER. Stryker cuts a promo backstage putting over Daniels, but he keeps getting tongue tied and I'm getting disturbed staring at his unibrow so I fast forward through most of this too.
* Jimmy Rave v. AJ Styles (ROH Pure Title - First Round)
Rave's reaction on entering doesn't seem that favorable, while the crowd goes gonzo for Styles the second his "You Are, I Am" music hits and then really explodes when he hits the ring with a big "AJ, AJ, AJ" chant. Respectful handshake and we're underway. Styles is the #1 seed and Rave is the #8 seed, so I think we all know how this will turn out, but nonetheless it should be hella entertaining. Styles and Rave duel over working an arm early, then both go to forearms, then Rave rolls out to the floor to avoid an AJ Styles dropkick. The two do the "walls don't fall" shoulder tackles but Styles eventually hits an inverted DDT into a backbreaker and takes control of the match. Rave sells the backbreaker as Styles lays into him with a kick. Rave scoots out of a delayed vertical and tries a roll-up that fails. Rave does a russian leg sweep into a submission, Styles breaks out, so Rave goes for a crossface. AJ gets the ropes for a break.
Back to their feet, Styles misses with a dropkick but connects with a kip up 'rana and snaps off a powerslam on Rave for 2. Gutbuster by Styles, one arm neckbreaker, two count. "FUCK HIM UP STYLES, FUCK HIM UP" chant breaks out - hey nobody said Ring of Honor crowds were rated PG. Rave comesback with a kick and goes top rope, Styles tries to counter a 'rana attempt into a Styles Clash, Rave counters that into a shining wizard and gets a near fall. Rave goes for punches so AJ dumps him on his head with a suplex for 2. Rave with a facebreaker but Styles tries for a flip neckbreaker and starts feigning that he twisted his knee when he landed. Rave hits a dropkick to the injured knee and a dragon screw, AJ crawls to the ropes for the break. More kicks to the knee but when Rave charges him for more punishment Styles unloads a VICIOUS discus clothesline and Rave is dead dead dead. ADVANCING TO THE SECOND ROUND: AJ STYLES. Respectful handshake afterwards as Rave walks to the back and Styles limps around the ring in victory before heading out. Rave and Styles discuss it backstage afterwards and Styles tells Rave to apologize for nothing, because he did exactly the same thing that Styles would have done if the roles were reversed - attack the injured knee.
* Scott Clark & Jerk Jackson v. Dunn & Marcos (The Ring Crew Express)
I like the fact the Ring Crew Express come out to "Unskinny Bop" now, and they get a nice pop from the crowd as a result. Unfortunately this is another one of those matches that is going to suffer on a five hour card, but thankfully ROH saves me the trouble of having to fast forward through it by sending the Outcast Killaz out to cut a heel promo. The Killaz start ripping on everything in sight - not least of which is the fans, but they save most of their wrath for Dunn & Marcos. Clark & Jackson just jump down and walk away during this so I'd call it NO CONTEST just for history's sake. Outcast Killaz achieve the desired effect, getting Dunn & Marcos over as babyfaces, particularly when they say "we're not going to take it any more" and start beating up the Killaz as the song of the same name plays.
Every ROH show needs a good little comedy break after an hour of strong wrestling action, and this segment is perfect. Dunn & Marcos vow to go on a "We're Not Gonna Take It Tour" afterwards. Backstage Cornette cuts a promo saying the Backseat Boyz aren't even 5 to 1 odds in Vegas, because Cornette thinks they won't even show up to face the Briscoes. He also discusses Jay Briscoe wanting the world title more than a sick man wants penicillin, and he'll jump off the top of the cage into the 14th row just to be the first to escape if that's what it takes. Then we go back to the darkened ring as an ominous voice says "CAN YOU FEEL THE ENERGY" and "GET READY TO LOSE YOUR MIND" and rave music starts playing. You know what that means!
* Special K v. The Carnage Crew (Country Whipping Match)
It's not hard to guess that Carnage Crew specially requested this format to get revenge on Special K, especially after the promo from the last review about Carnage Crew wanting to kill Special K. The announcers remind us that in particular DeVito is angry that his daughter has joined the Special K in their raver lifestyle. Speaking of joining - Justin Credible appears to be a member of the Carnage Crew now. Huh, shit. Anyway there's really not much to say about this match since there's nothing technical about it - it's just a bloodbath of a brawl all over the ringside area. Dixie gets the worst of the beating, but Izzy and Hydro (Jay Lethal) get their fair share too. Special K eventually get a comeback in the ring with the help of a steel chair but it doesn't last long as DeVito gives a double strap choke drop to Special K and go back on offense. It's a good thing half of the ROH ring canvas is red, otherwise Dixie's blood would be painting it for them. Eventually Credible and DeVito give chase to a female valet while all of Special K all run wild on Loc in the ring. Hydro gives Loc a piledriver through a table on the outside to a huge HOLY SHIT chant. Loc is thrown back in and his limp carcass is covered for the pin. WINNERS: SPECIAL K.
The crowd chants for Loc as the referees and Ring Crew Express check on him and the announcer calls for a five minute break. Special K laugh about their victory backstage even though they're a bloody beaten bruised up mess. Next up Gary Michael Capetta interviews Julius Smokes in the ring, asking if he knows Homicide's whereabouts, and after Smokes does his "BRRRRRAP BRRRRRAP" and sings for the crowd for a bit before admitting he has no clue where Homicide is because he's not returning his phone calls. "I'm begging you PLEASE, give me a call! Get on that cell phone and stop frontin, and tell me a little somethin somethin!" Capetta thanks him for the promo as Smokes cuts a psychotic pose and his theme music plays. With that out of the way let's get on to our next match!
* CM Punk v. Doug Williams (ROH Pure Title - Second Round)
As much as I like CM Punk in ECW, it's times like these I miss his days in ROH. He's an incredible heat machine when he wants to be, as he stalls forever coming out to the ring, letting the fans scream things like "get the fuck out here" and "I hate your fucking guts." Punk ups the ante by saying the next fan to lay a hand on him is going to get seriously hurt. The crowd is ecstatic when Williams comes out, BEGGING him to kick CM Punk's ass. Punk and Williams exchange a handshake and it's on. Williams immediately goes for a submission, Punk punches him in the face to get out, it breaks into a war of fists and uppercuts before Punk dumps him over the ropes and goes for a topei which backfires when Williams uppercuts him coming in then throws him back in. Williams goes for a quick pin back in the ring. Williams baits him with a handshake and turns him inside out for another near fall. Punk has had enough and rolls out to the floor for a break as the crowd chants "CM PU-SSY!"
Punk grounds Williams when he gets back in the ring but Williams manages to wriggle out of the hold. Williams eventually gets Punk into a modified crossface but Punk gets the ropes and rolls out for another breather and some more crowd heat. Williams follows him out which is a big mistake since Punk gets back in first and then attacks Williams coming through the ropes, mocking the crowd with the words "WHO'S A PUSSY NOW!" Neckbreaker by Punk for 2. "Let's go Williams" chant breaks out. Delayed vertical by Punk and he wipes his hands with satisfaction at how easy it was. Williams eventually comes back with a splash in the corner but Punk grounds him again then puts him in the corner for chops, punches and a face wash. A running face wash but Williams comes back with a modified Chaos Theory and goes to the top rope for a flying knee but Punk rolls out of the way. Punk does a dropkick and elbows to the injured knee trying to take Williams out of the match.
Dragon screw, cover, two count. Tree of woe, chops to the knee, and a knee wash instead of a face wash. Williams is groaning in pain and selling the heck out of the knee. Punk puts him back in the tree again, goes for a running something or other, Williams rolls through it into the Chaos Theory but can't hold onto it as Williams Knee gives out and since it was a double pin Punk gets his shoulder up and gets the three count. The crowd is livid but there's nothing they can do. ADVANCING TO THE FINALS: CM PUNK. Punk jaws with the crowd on his way out. "That's two!" Backstage we get a promo from Steve Corino talking about "the times of our lives" and he talks about the One Year Anniversary Show riot. He says he doesn't care about anything going on tonight except watching "his hero" CM Punk wrestle, and that everybody should thank Punk for keeping ROH on the map.
* Matt Stryker v. AJ Styles (ROH Pure Title - Second Round)
Handshake and we're underway with Stryker and Styles circling each other warily before the lockup. The announcers try to put over that Styles injury may have healed a little over the last hour. Styles grounds Stryker and goes after the unibrow, which gets a huge laugh and a pop from the crowd. They continue to put over the lack of Styles selling the knee as Stryker grounds Styles, stomps on his chest and mocks him right back. Styles gives Stryker a stiff kick to the quad. Stryker gives Styles a stiff forearm to the head. There's a whole lot of stallin' goin' on! Four count in the corner leads to Stryker and Styles getting nose to nose, which leads to Styles hitting a drop kick and a sweet suplex for two. War of chops and punches breaks out. Styles bends Stryker like a pretzel, whips him from one corner to the other, then does a springboard flip off Stryker's chest to a big crowd pop.
Stryker tries to float over Styles head, Styles sees it coming and waits for him, then nails him with a discus clothesline for two. Styles grounds Stryker and applies a chinlock as the crowd tries to applaud Stryker back into the match. He finally gets to his feet and scores with a leg lariat for two, then stretches out AJ's arms with a knee to the back. AJ kicks his way out and does a takedown before grapevining the legs and going for a back bridge neck crank, then rolling it upside down to apply even more pressure before Stryker escapes. Stryker charges in the corner, catches Styles putting a boot up, and Stryker goes outside the ring to work over Styles previously injured knee - eventually twisting it into a figure four around the ringpost - the same thing he did to BJ Whitmer during the Field of Honor tournament. Styles eventually escapes and shoulderblocks Stryker into the guardrail.
Stryker gets back on offense and hits a chinbreaker and a dragon screw for 2. Stryker goes back to a leg lock twisting AJ's knee, but Styles reverses it and Stryker is forced to grab the ropes for the break. He pulls AJ back to the center of the ring and it's a war of chops and punches again. Stryker wins with an uppercut and goes to a modified ankle lock. Styles kicks out with his free leg and twists Stryker inside out on pure leg strength. Styles charges Stryker and gets floated over the ropes straight to the floor. Stryker goes out and attacks Styles on the floor as the fans yell at him. Stryker slams him into the apron, but Styles recovers and punches out before Stryker gets slumped into a chair at ringside. Styles drops him over the barricade and throws him back in. Chop block by Stryker to AJ to take out the knee. Stryker is on fire with kicks, a snapmare, more kicks and a 2. Uppercut by Stryker, but Styles comes back with a reverse kick - both men end up down, exhausted. Two lariats by Styles, Stryker goes for the knee but Styles gets a roll-up for two. Stryker goes for the eyepoke but it's for naight as Styles faceplants him for 2.8. Uppercuts by Stryker but Styles gets a backslide cover for 2.9. Neckbreaker and a big boot to Styles face before he applies the Strykerlock, but Styles crawls to the ropes for the break.
Stryker pulls him back up and whips him into the corner hard. AJ stands up slow Stryker charges in but Styles hits an elbow. Stryker grounds him and Styles counters out. Stryker sets Styles up on the rop rope, Styles punches him off, Stryker climbs up and Styles throws him off again. Styles jumps off the ropes with a springboard 360 out of nowhere and gets the cover on Stryker for three! ADVANCING TO THE FINALS: AJ STYLES. Styles limps around selling the knee again after the match, while Stryker is on the ground in disbelief and gets up very slowly, eventually coming over to Styles for a respectful handshake. They both show each other respect as wounded warriors and we go backstage for a CM Punk promo. "You people will finally understand what makes me better than you. Ace Steel, in Japan, Doug Williams was for you. While you are on a plane back to Britain eating some beans I'm going to be drinking a Pepsi and partying with Tracy Brooks. Styles I know your knee is hurt and I'm bloodthirsty. After tonight I'll be crowned the Pure wrestling champion, then I'm coming for the tag belts, then the world belt, because straight edge mans I'm better than you." Loc cuts a promo afterwards screaming his head off about Special K to Capetta but honestly this is getting cut too - fast forward is a beautiful thing.
* Briscoe Brothers {C} v. Backseat Boyz (ROH Tag Team Titles)
Backseat Boyz do a long intro and dance around for the crowd. Briscoes head straight for the center of the ring with no fanfare to their good ol' boy rock music. Since this is a title match we get the full introductions for Trent Acid and Johnny Kashmere as well as the champions Jay and Mark Briscoe, complete with "weighing in at" and the whole nine. The Backseat Boyz are getting the bigger pop, but I'm guessing that all the heat on the Briscoes is from the storyline putting over Cornette as their heel manager. These days the exact opposite would happen - the Briscoes would be worshipped as heroes and the Backseaters would be booed out of the building. Actually I stand corrected as a dueling chant breaks out when the bell rings - even in 2004 the Briscoes are pretty well over. Kashmere and Jay to start. Kashmere pushes him into the corner and the ref calls for our first clean break. ROH 101 in the early going. Trent Acid tags in for more of the same as Mark waits patiently until he can get the bling tag and hit a dropkick.
Things slow down as the announcers put over all the people who couldn't be here tonight for the second anniversary show. Meanwhile the blind tags are all over the place and so are the wrestlers - to be honest this match is a bit of a mess, which the announcers acknowledge by saying it's "like a Scramble" and to me that's NOT a compliment. Trent Acid gets dumped on his head and double teamed by the Briscoes as they continue to put over men like Donovan Morgan, Amazing Red, Jeff Hardy and Chad Collyer - even namechecking "Les Thatcher and the HWA" on play by play. Backseat Boyz go for a double team and it's become a clusterfuck as all four men are in the ring. Jay Briscoe hits a mafia kick but Trent Acid hits a few of his own. Mark Briscoe goes to the top and takes Trent Acid off the apron to the floor with a flip. Double team J-Driller on Kashmere mercifully brings this match to an end as Chris Lovey screams "DANGEROUSSSSSSSSS!" WINNERS AND STILL TAG TEAM CHAMPIONS: BRISCOE BROTHERS. Afterwards we get a backstage promo from Spanky talking about how he once wrestled for an hour for the title, and how he'd be willing to do it again. Next Capetta is outside the Styles' lockerroom and tries to get in to talk to him about the knee, but they're not letting anybody in so we go back out to the ring.
* Samoa Joe {C} v. Low-Ki v. BJ Whitmer v. Dan Maff (ROH World Title)
With only twenty minutes left to go on disc one I have to assume the finals of the Pure title tournament are on disc two. Joe of course comes last to the Godzilla introduction and a huge pop from the crowd. Joe and Low-Ki face off in the center as the two Prophecy members look on. We once again get the full introductions with "accompanied by" as well as weight and city of origin for each wrestler. Joe offers Ki a handshake and the points at both members of the Orphecy, who argue with the ref as well as their opponents. Apparently this isn't a fatal four way - you have to tag in to be legal to wrestle. Maff tags in right away and we get another "walls don't fall" spot with the two colliding with each other repeatedly. Joe plays possum and suckers Maff in for a series of stiff chops to the back before Maff blind tags in Whitmer. Joe tags in Ki.
Ki does a tarantula spot with Whitmer in the corner causing the crowd to pop for him and wish him to do great harm to Whitmer. Ki stalks Whitmer, takes an arm with ease, Whitmer tries to fight out and finally dumps Ki on his head and grabs an arm of his own. Ki sells it, rolls through to his back and kicks Whitmer in the head. Whitmer stalls and goes to the corner for a break then comes back on Ki with punches in the corner. Ki is whipped to the opposite corner and is dragging. The ref forces a four count break and Ki unloads with a chop, then a bigger chop, then a punch that knocks Whitmer down. Whitmer comes back with a knee and two suplexes, the second for a 2 count. Whitmer pulls Ki back up and gets chopped for his trouble. Snapmare and an elbow followed by a bridge suplex for 2. Ki pulls Whitmer up and Joe tags himself in to attack Whitmer.
Dan Maff tries to tag in to no avail but the ref won't allow it since he didn't see it. Joe applies a crab and drags Whitmer to the center of the ring then sits down on it. Maff comes over to break it up before a tap. Low-Ki tags back in and Ki works over Whitmer with chips and a dropkick before kipping back up to his feet. Whitmer tries to go to the floor so Ki gives him a dragon clutch in the ropes. Joe topeis to the floor onto Maff. Whitmer suplexes Low-Ki to the floor right in front of him. Joe throwsWhitmer into the rail and Ki over a chair into the barricade - there are no friends left now. Joe signals for the OLE OLE kick but Ki catches him coming in and hits a double mongolian chop. Somehow Joe bloodied his hand during all of this and it's a big mess. Joe stacks up all of his opponents like cordwood in the corner as he shows his bloody hand to the crowd. It's actually dripping out of his hand onto the canvas so the ref finally forces the match to stop for a second while it's taped up, and Joe continues to stomp on Whitmer the whole time.
Maff does a senton onto Joe and makes a cover but it's only for two. Maff bites the taped hand and the crowd responds with a chant of "YOU SICK FUCK!" Whitmer tags in and continues to work over Joe, even kicking his taped hand. Maff and Whitmer keep cutting off the ring with tags, Joe tries to come back with punches, Joe hits an enzuguiri to break it up but to no avail as they knock him back down again and Maff nails Joe with a DDT. Whitmer comes in and stomps on his head as Allison Danger looks on. Whitmer drags him over to Maff for a tag and they hit a double suplex. Maff goes to bite the hand again. Maff drops an elbow on the leg as the ref checks the tape on his hand again. Maff and BJ almost collide on miscommunication but pull up short. Whitmer drives an elbow into Joe's head and then goes behind for a release german suplex. Ki breaks up the count. Whitmer tries to charge Joe in the corner but Whitmer is hit with a one hand takedown. Ki blind tags in, Joe argues with him, Ki dropkicks Joe and then hits a flying kick on Maff then goes for a standing submission on Whitmer and a tiger suplex bridge for a near fall.
Ki and Whitmer are locked in a stalemate of counters and double counters with Whitmer eventually getting the upper edge and tagging Maff in. Maff goes for a burning hammer and Ki escapes, so Maff goes for a spear instead and connects. Half nelson suplex on Ki but Joe breaks up the three count. Maff mises on a cannoball, Ki misses on a cartwheel kick, Joe tags in on Ki by bitchslapping him in the face! Maff gets a near fall on Joe. Joe comes back with a kick to the back and a huge powerbomb. Joe rolls Maff over for a submission and Ki comes in to break it up by kicking him in the face. Whitmer gets tossed aside as the two start kicking and chopping the whit out of each other. Joe seems to get the better of it with knees and headbutts, but Ki peles him in the head. Joe enzuguiris him right back even as he stumbles around, and both men are down on the canvas.
The announcers are left speechless by the action and the crowd chants R-O-H! R-O-H! All four men are in the ring. Maff has Ki up for a burning hammer but Ki counters out of it into a standing submission; meanwhile Joe drives knees into Whitmer's face and goes for the choke. Both men are trying to get a submission and stare into each other's eyes, then give up and stand off face to face. They start jawjacking, Ki slaps him in the face and snapmares him over for a kick to the back. Joe shakes it off, slaps Ki in the face, snapmares him over and hits a kick to the back of his own. Ki takes off the tape off his hands and the announcers say it's Final Battle 2002 all over again. Joe slaps his fist into his hand and he's ready for Ki to bring it but Maff spears Ki right through the ropes. Joe dumps Whitmer on his head and locks in a choke but Whitmer can't get to the ropes for a break and taps out. WINNER AND STILL ROH WORLD CHAMPION: SAMOA JOE. Ki and Joe have a staredown and shake hands afterwards. That's all for Disc One, see you back here for the next review for the Pure title finals and any other action on Disc Two!