Dave Prazak and Lenny Leonard are back to welcome viewers for this collection of matches, sending us to our first match out of July 2003 - CM Punk vs. Raven in a Dog Collar Match. Punk tries to change the stipulation before the bell rings, but Raven won't have any of it and Punk eventually attaches the collar to himself. Raven controls early, busting Punk open early and delivering a pair of russian leg sweeps into the barricade. Back in the ring, Raven attempts to whip Punk into a table but the Straight Edger reverses it and Raven ends up going through the plywood. Punk hits a neckbreaker and then gets a little innovative, wrapping the chain around his knee and dropping it on Raven's head. Onto the floor they go and now its Punk's turn to send Raven into the barricade. Into the crowd they go and now we've got chairs involved. The brawling in the crowd really makes this feel like a throwback to ECW. Raven ends up posing at the top of the bleachers and Punk yanks him down before whipping him with the heavy chain. Punk brings a garbage can back to the ringside area and drops it on Raven before sending him back into the ring. Punk grabs a mic and calls Raven an "old timer," asking him if he's had enough before hitting him with a suplex and an enziguiri. Punk goes to the top rope, but Raven pulls him down. Punk eggs him on and Raven explodes with a series of huge clotheslines in a wild sequence. Raven sets up a chair and hits his trademark drop toe hold-into-a-chair but only gets 2 with it. Raven goes for a chairshot but Punk dodges and the ref eats it instead. Raven hits the Evenflow but there's no ref to make the count! Colt Cabana shows up instead and delivers a low blow and then an Evenflow DDT on the chair to give CM Punk the win. (3.5/5)
Homicide challenges Samoa Joe for the ROH World Championship in the next bout from Death Before Dishonor II (July 2004). Homicide is backed up by manager Julius Smokes and a large segment of the crowd, though Joe has his fair share of fans in Milwaukee too. A minute into the match, Rocky Romero, Low Ki, and Julius Smokes are all ejected from ringside, allowing Samoa Joe to have a fair defense and leading to a "Na Na Hey Hey" sing-along from the crowd. Joe's offense early on is nothing flashy, but the crowd adores it and there's plenty to admire in the precision, the calculated strikes, the way Joe makes the simple stuff look fresh and exciting. In 2004, Joe's back-to-basics style was revelatory and its still cool today to see him craft a story built on grit. Homicide has to rely more on character as his offense, especially early on, leaves much to be desired and is almost extensively boots, rakes, and headbutts. The first big spot of the match comes when Homicide hits a guillotine leg drop across the apron, but Joe doesn't stay down and strikes back with even more hard slaps to the face and chest. Out of the ring they go and Joe whips Homicide gets sent into the barricade. The crowd wants the Ole Kick but Joe puts Homicide back into the ring for another series of strikes. Homicide manages to reverse the momentum, hitting a beautiful knee drop from the top rope onto the back of Joe's neck. Joe stumbles to the outside moments later and Homicide calls for a tope but fakes out the fans instead and flips them the bird. Joe strikes him with a kick to the head and now its time for the Ole Kick. Homicide sees it coming and Joe ends on the chair instead. Homicide goes for the Ole Kick himself, but Joe catches him with a belly-to-belly on the floor. This time Joe wastes no time and connects with an Ole Kick that sends Homicide's head into the barricade. Joe follows it up with a double stomp onto Homicide's recovering body and then tosses him back into the ring. In the minutes that follow, we get some nearfalls and the pace quickens a bit as Joe starts trying to end things, delivering slams and throws a plenty. Just as it seems like Homicide is done, he hits a back elbow and follows it up with some neckbreakers and an attempted piledriver that doesn't quite work out. Homicide tries a lariat but Joe stays standing, withstanding another before falling to the third for a 2 count. Homicide tries another but ends up walking into a series of slaps and chops and then a nasty cobra clutch back suplex for another nearfall. Homicide goes to the top but Joe catches him in the Muscle Buster for the - no! Homicide kicks out. The crowd chants "Holy Shit" in shock and watching it myself I was shocked too as that move is usually a game-ender. Joe hits an Island Driver but only gets 2 again. After hitting him with more boots, Joe applies the Rear Naked Choke and Homicide is out. This was good, but not great. Some of the set-ups were a touch too telegraphed for me, like these two were playing a Greatest Hits set instead of something more nuanced. The post-match beatdown and Homicide's promo is classic heel stuff but adds nothing on a DVD like this except extra minutes. (3/5)
Jimmy Rave vs. AJ Styles with Mick Foley as the Ringside Enforcer (given this role to neutralize Prince Nana on the outside) is next from September 2005. Rave goes right after his ex-mentor, but AJ comes right back with some fiery offense. There's no referee for this match because it is being fought under the stipulation that a winner can only be declared if they hit their finish - the Styles Clash or Jimmy Rave's version of it (the Rave Clash). Styles goes for the Clash early but Rave crawls out to the outside. I like Styles' intensity - this is the type of no-nonsense tone that fans wanted to see him bring to his feud with Samoa Joe years ago. The commentators note that this was Foley's final night in Ring of Honor, but don't mention that he was probably already gearing up for a return to the WWE in 2006 where he'd add a pair of great matches to his resume against Edge and then, teaming with Edge, against Terry Funk and Tommy Dreamer. A mysterious run-in causes a shift in the match and Rave takes over, eliciting a loud "Die Jimmy Die" chant. Rave hits a nice reverse suplex to maintain control but gets momentarily distracted by an un-PG comment from Foley on the house mic. To the outside they go where Rave sends Styles into the barricade repeatedly. They fight up to the entrance and Rave attempts a Rave Clash but Styles counters with a back drop. Back in the ring, Rave crotches Styles on the top rope and looks to be fully in control. Rave looks to try the Clash again, but AJ counters with an eziguiri. Both guys attempt German Suplex and we get a nice sequence that ends with a headscissors takedown and then into yet another stunning sequence of counters and suplexes ending in Rave's Gonorrhea move. Rave grabs a table (which is legal in this match) and slides it into the table with help from Nana. I really like Styles' attention to detail here. Obviously they're building to a table spot, but Styles doesn't just let it happen, trying to prevent Rave from positioning the thing at every turn. Styles and Rave again trade suplex attempts, neither guy giving up anything easy. This match feels and looks tiring, like a genuine fight, each sequence transitioning seamlessly into the next and feeling organic. They end up on the top rope, teasing something big and both men end up crashing through nearby table in a heap. Simple but effective stuff. This is the opposite of "my move/your move" bullshit. Styles goes for a piledriver back in the ring, but Rave escapes and hits a nasty knee strike to the face. He sets up a chair and attempts a brainbuster on it, but AJ counters it and drops him chest-first onto it the chair instead. That's gotta hurt. Styles sets up the table but out comes a gaggle of masked wrestlers! Foley neutralizes them but gets hit from behind by Prince Nana. Rave lands a vicious lariat and is the last man standing. Rave sets AJ up in the corner for a superplex through the table but AJ won't budge and instead turns it into a Styles Clash through the table! Holy Shit! This one is over. And to add a cherry on top, Mick Foley hits the DDT on the steel chair to Prince Nana! Mick Foley goes on to cut a promo praising the company. That was a fantastic match. Top, top shelf. (4.5/5)
I was not super pumped about this next - The Briscoes vs. Austin Aries and Roderick Strong from August 2006 in Liverpool, England for Aries and Strong's Ring of Honor Tag Team Titles. Long ago I heard that the Briscoes were not the greatest human beings and their views on LBGTQ lifestyles and support for the Confederate flag (Jay would eventually feature it on his custom Ring of Honor World Championship) only bolster that view. Meanwhile, based on podcast interviews and some of his questionable antics, its just hard to root for Austin Aries. Granted, that might be kind of the point of Austin Aries in 2021 - a guy that blurs the line between being a real life asshole and an on-screen heel that fans want to see get beat up - but it doesn't necessarily work when you go back to a match like this (where he is, if I'm not mistaken, clearly positioned as a babyface). Despite not being a huge fan of the politics or personalities of 3 out of 4 competitors, though, you can't really knock the work. This is a crisp, physical, athletic, exciting match. This is a smorgasboard of expertly-timed, devastating moves. Guys flip and fly into and over each other, get suplexed and slammed every which way, and even get double-stomped in the face. The crowd is very, very into the proceedings, rooting on both teams and counting along for every near fall down the stretch. A loud "This is Awesome" chant breaks out around minute 15, stopped only a series of "Awws!" as Strong and Aries deliver a series of insane dropkicks and we get another two near falls. A well-deserved "ROH" chant breaks out after a Briscoe dive and it seems like things might over after a Spike Jay Killer, but the fight continues, Aries and Mark Biscoe ending up on the entrance ramp. A springboard Doomsday Device - an awesome move - only gets 2 soon after, but when they try it again, Aries and Strong counter with their own tandem offense to get the W. This one really won me over after being a bit indifferent at the start. (4/5)
BJ Whitmer vs. Jimmy Jacobs in a steel cage match from March 2007 follows. After some brawling on the outside, Whitmer and Jacobs get inside the cage and Jacobs ends up being sent into the walls a number of times. A chair gets put to use soon after, Whitmer using it to add some extra damage to a dropkick and a spinebuster. After front face-dropping Whitmer into the chair, Jacobs gets handed a railroad spike - but Whitmer has one too and they end up busting eachother open simultaneously. The crowd pops HUGE for Whitmer and Jacobs stabbing eachother in the head and becoming bloody messes. Whitmer hits a Buckle Bomb followed by a running kick. This match feels like it skipped some steps, going from a relatively standard opening to an insane amount of violence within moments. A staff member hands Whitmer a barbwire baseball bat, but Jacobs stops him and ends up driving it into Whitmer's head and side himself. Jacobs uses the bat to tear into the arm of Whitmer as the crowd chants "You Sick Fuck" in unison. Jacobs grabs the spikes and jabs them into Whitmer, who is now sporting a crimson arm to match his face. Jacobs sets up a chair in the corner but is in no rush to send Whitmer into it, instead just continuing to grind the spike into Jacobs. Whitmer mounts a comeback and Jacobs goes head-first into the chair before eating an Exploder. Whitmer takes over on offense, bashing Jacobs with the barbwire bat before delivering an absolutely nasty brainbuster onto the chair that gets 2.8 and a "Holy Shit" chant. Whitmer can't maintain control, though, and Jacobs regains control, hitting him with a back splash from the top rope for a 2 count of his own. Whitmer comes back, though, hitting a series of german suplexes and a powerbomb for 2. A table gets brought ringside as Whitmer undoes the top turnbuckle pad. Both men end up on the top rope and Whitmer attempts a powerbomb only to be head-scissored to the center of the ring. Jacobs goes for the Acid Drop but Whitmer counters it into a tombstone piledriver! Lacey comes into the ring and Whitmer piledrives her too in a bit of a nod to ECW. Whitmer goes to the top of the cage and attempts a frog splash, but Jacobs rolls out of the way and ends up hitting his Acid Drop-like maneuver (the Contra Code) for another nearfall. Jacobs demands the table to be slid into the ring and sets it up near the corner. Jacobs climbs to the top of the cage but Whitmer follows him up, only to get beat backen down to the mat. Whitmer ends up back on the table, allowing Jacobs to go back to the top of the cage to deliver a backsplash through the table for the victory. I didn't love the finish, but this was a solid steel cage match and one that would please any fan of blood-and-guts 'rassling. (3.5/5)
Bryan Danielson vs. Austin Aries from November 2007 is next up. The crowd is SUPER psyched for this, chanting from the very moment it starts for both guys. This was the culmination of a Best of 3 series pitting the two company "aces" against each other to find out who the number one contender for the RoH World Championship would be (Nigel McGuinness was the champion at the time). Unlike the previous contest, this is a straight-up technical wrestling match, but its no less hard-hitting than anything else on this disc, even if it does feature considerably more actual wrestling holds. Danielson is in super-serious "shooter" mode here, a style that he rarely worked once he came to the WWE even when facing guys of a similar size to Aries or smaller. The final 6-7 minutes of this match are phenomenal - each counter and cut-off throws sweat into the air, both guys' execution of every strike and suplex is impeccable, and I love the way they transition through a number of complicated sequences without ever making it feel overtly choreographed. This could've easily gone another 5-10 minutes and been an unforgettable match, but they kept things under 20 minutes and trimmed any fat that a longer runtime might've had. As close to a "must see" match as possible without being necessarily "must see," even if you're a huge Danielson fan. (3.5/5)
From April 2006 in Dayton, Ohio, this next match is one of the bouts from the extended CZW/ROH feud, this match pitting Samoa Joe against Necro Butcher...or at least that's how things start until Super Dragon and Nate Webb show up to help Butcher out, only for Ace Webb and Colt Cabana to even the sides. There's no commentary for the first few minutes of this match, so it feels more like a wild fight than an actual "match." Claudio Castignoli comes out, the future multi-time WWE Tag Team Champion having turned on ROH prior to this show. Despite having a broken neck, BJ Whitmer shows up with a chair in hands and tries to even the sides (as Samoa Joe had been tied up). Adam Pearce joins the fray, this brawl looking more and more like a Royal Rumble. Even after sending the CZW squad to the ground, the Ring of Honor crew aren't done, continuing the brawl on the arena floor and into the crowd. Its hard to rate a match like this because its so formless, so loose, so void of any tangible story beyond watching guys get bashed by and into all sorts of furniture. Miraculously, there's almost no blood spilled. Equally miraculous is watching BJ Whitmer wrestle with a "broken neck." When Necro Butcher goes for a pin in the middle of the ring, it feels "off" just because a wild brawl doesn't seem like it would or could end just because somebody has their shoulders down for three seconds. The best spot of the match is an absolutely perfect table spot that sends Cabana into the table off of a Castignoli uppercut. Wow. Back in the ring, Claudio sets up Whitmer for what would've been a career-ending chair spot, but Steele makes the save and the brawl continues on the floor. After a vicious chairshot from Super Dragon to Whitmer, Ace Steele delivers a superplex on the Butcher off the bleachers onto the arena floor that gets a "Holy Shit!" chant. Back in the ring, again Castignoli has Whitmer positioned with his head on the chair. Dragon looks to go to the top, but Cabana momentarily makes the save. Dragon fights him off, though, and Whitmer takes a DOUBLE STOMP on a chair from Dragon! What should've been a match-ender (maybe even a career-ender) is slightly tarnished by having Castignoli hit a Muscle Buster to get the W. Was a bit of a hat-on-a-hat ending there as Whitmer taking the double stomp was as definitive an ending as one could've ever wanted or written and the crowd reacted accordingly. (3/5)
Roderick Strong vs. Erick Stevens for the FIP Title from the Final Battle 2007 show in December of that year. That last sentence is features two things I must admit to knowing little about - Erick Stevens and the FIP Title. Let's start with Stevens - he was a decorated indie guy based out of Florida, trained by Strong, that never got a big break in TNA or WWE. However, he did have some big victories in his day and mixed it up with a real Who's Who of top guys on the indie scene during the 2000s. The championship their competing over is the Full Impact Pro World Heavyweight Championship, the top title of the Full Impact Pro company, which was based in Florida and started in 2003. The FIP Championship had quite a lineage already at this point, its first champion being Homicide (he defeated CM Punk in a tournament final) followed by Bryan Danielson and then Roderick Strong, who was in the midst of a 365+ day reign at the time of this match. Anyway...If you're like me, you might believe Roderick Strong is the quintessential "vanilla midget," a guy that will dazzle you with his arsenal of moves, incredible dives, and pinpoint accuracy but doesn't have enough natural charisma to truly get over. This match might convince you otherwise, though, as it is a stunning showcase of everything he can do - including drawing heat and even getting a lit bit hardcore (his delivery of a Gibson Driver on the entrance ramp popped me watching alone in my living room). Stevens, meanwhile, comes across as equally void of character at first - but the heart and fire he ends up showing as the match wears on won me over (and seemingly won over any of his doubters in the Manhatten crowd that night). By the time you get to the finish, you feel like you've truly seen a World Heavyweight Championship match, a battle between two never-say-die athletes that take the sport of pro-wrestling very, very seriously. I'm not sure this match is for everyone - if you like over-the-top characters and pageantry, this match isn't where you should look - but this match feels so real and the performance is so passionate that it is far more than just an exhibition of "movez." (4/5)
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