BRM Reviews ROH Final Battle 2002

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Big Red Machine
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BRM Reviews ROH Final Battle 2002

Post by Big Red Machine » Feb 26th, '11, 01:51

Final Battle 2002 (12/28/2002)- Philadelphia, PA

PUNK, ACE, & CABANA IN THE CAR- GREAT segment to build up to their match tonight.

STEVE CORINO PROMO- Pretty good stuff, but it broke kayfabe a lot, which annoyed me to no end.

WINNER GETS AN ROH CONTRACT: CM Punk vs. Colt Cabana- 6.5/10. I liked this match a lot. As for the feud itself, I think that the idea of feuding over a contract and a plane ticket made ROH seem small, but it did so in a good and inviting way. It said: “We are new and we don’t have that much money. We aren’t going to insult your intelligence by pretending otherwise. But we will be something special. The wrestlers all want to be here. Come and join us, and we will make history together.”

DANIELS PROMO- perfectly set up for…

ALEXIS LAREE vs. SIMPLY LUSCIOUS (w/ Christopher Daniels)- No Rating. GREAT heat on Daniels and Luscious!

DANIELS-CORINO CONFRTONTATION- Bad. Daniels reaction to Corino dumping Luscious almost seemed to turn him babyface. Once Daniels left, Corino’s interactions with the fans totally shat all over kayfabe. This ended with Corino calling Homicide out, then running away when Cide pulled a fork on him.

CARNAGE CREW PROMO- pretty good.

TAG TEAM SCRAMBLE: The Backseat Boyz vs. Da Hit Squad vs. Deranged & Angeldust (w/Special K)- 7/10! Great spotfest with some good psychology.

2 OUT OF 3 FALLS MATCH FOR THE ROH WORLD TAG TEAM TITLES: The Prophecy (Christopher Daniels & Donovan Morgan)(c) vs. the SAT- 6.75/10. This would have been better, but tow major things killed it for me. The first was one of the Maximos using a low blow. You are the babyfaces feuding against the pro-cheating, anti-HONOR faction! You shouldn’t be cheating!
The other was a botch on a dive by one of the Maximos (he got caught on the top rope, rather than going over it) just as they were starting to get some momentum, which really killed it for me. It was just a really bad time for botch.

HOMICIDE PROMO- AWESOME!

JODY FLEISCH vs. AMAZING RED- 5.5/10. After the match Special K (including their newest member, Fleisch) come out and beat Red down. The Maximos come out to make the save, but they get beaten down, too. Then Storm, Devine, & Trinity come out to make the save, but they get beaten down as well. Finally Da Hit Squad, JT Smith, & Slugger come out and Special K look scared, but them Slugger turns on Smith, joining Special K, and beating Smith and Da Hit Squad down.

ROH WORLD TITLE MATCH: Xavier(c) vs. Paul London- 7.5/10

AWESOME backstage segment setting up a feud between Special K and Da Hit Squad!

#1 CONTENDER’S TROPHY MATCH: Bryan Danielson vs. Samoa Joe vs. Low Ki vs. Steve Corino- 8.75/10. Awesome match, but it ended just as it felt like it was going to pick up even more.

(Homicide was originally supposed to be part of this match, but Corino assaulted him before the match, injuring him, and was given Cide’s place in the match by Rob Feinstein)

GREAT promo by the Carnage Crew!

Good promo by Low Ki

Corino introduces Simply Luscious as the first member of his new group (creatively entitled “The Group”): Simply Luscious.

Overall, this was a pretty good show, and was certainly a good inaugural event for one of ROH’s big shows.

Stupid Announcer Quotes:
1. Chris Lovey (about the Tag Team Scramble match)- “This match isn’t about armbars. It is about doing as many crazy moves as you can, and that is what we are seeing here”- An armbar is an effective move. Don’t’ tell me that any match isn’t about doing an armbar (or anything else). If it helps you win (cleanly, of course!) then you should do it! To suggest that a particular match type is “about doing as many crazy moves as you can” all but breaks kayfabe

2. Chris Lovey (after the ref saw a guy on the outside trip someone else up, then gave him a a warning, about two minutes after he had told us that ANY outside interference would result in an immediate DQ- “Ref Hanson making a judgment call, there, as the fans would be pretty angry if a DQ was called” By that logic, the referees shouldn’t count pinfalls for the heels! The right call is the right call, whether the fans want it or not.
Hold #712: ARM BAR!

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