ROH Redemption
ROH Redemption (8/12/2005)- Dayton, OH
The show starts off with good promos by James Gibson (hyping up tonight’s main event and putting over the ROH World Title), and by Austin Aries (introducing Matt Sydal a prospective member of Generation Next… who will earn a full spot if Gen Next win tonight).
FOUR CORNER SURVIVAL: Ace Steel vs. Delirious vs. Matt Stryker vs. Sterling James Keenan- 4.25/10. Really short.
DANIELS PROMO- very good
COLT CABANA vs. BRIAN “SPANKY” KENDRICK- 5.25/10- Good comedy match, with Cabana working over the (I swear I’m not kidding here) a** of Spanky.
After the match, Punk comes out, and Spanky asks him for a shot at the ROH World Title. Punk tells him “I’d love to give you a title shot… but seeing as how you’re gonna be on Velocity, and I’m gonna be on Monday Night Raw, I just don’t see it happening.” Punk is awesome. Punk then proceeds to cut a great promo taking credit for ROH’s success.
ROH WORLD TAG TEAM TITLE MATCH: Jimmy Jacobs & BJ Whitmer(c) vs. Nigel McGuinness & Chad Collyer-6.75/10. Told an interesting story, with Nigel & Collyer using Jimmy as a weapon against BJ, constantly throwing him into BJ.
SAMOA JOE PROMO- good
THE EMBASSY (Alex Shelley, Jimmy Rave, & Abyss) (w/Prince Nana) vs. GENERATION NEXT (Austin Aries & Roderick Strong) & MATT SYDAL (w/Daizee Haze)- 7.5/10. Abyss was great here. After the match, Abyss destroyed Gen Next.
JAY LETHAL vs. LOW KI- 7/10. The finish made sense, but illustrates why I hated ROH’s old “no count-outs, but the ref can DQ both of you if he thinks you are on the outside for too long”-rule.
Ki and Lethal continue to fight. Then Homicide comes out and he and Ki beat Lethal down until Matt Hardy comes out and makes the save.
MATT HARDY vs. HOMICIDE- 7.5/10. Good match, to the point where I didn’t even mind the dirty finish.
FOUR CORNERS ELIMINATION MATCH FOR THE ROH WORLD TITLE: CM Punk(c) vs. Samoa Joe vs. Christopher Daniels vs. James Gibson- 9.25/10. An absolute masterwork of storytelling, with great action, too.
Overall, this was a solid show, which I would definitely recommend (it has one of Matt’s few appearances, and something else that makes it an important show in ROH history that I won’t spoil, so pick it up if you are into that), but it isn’t a top tier show by any means. It is, however, a must-buy for fans of CM Punk, James Gibson, Christopher Daniels, & Samoa Joe due to the awesomeness of that match.
The show starts off with good promos by James Gibson (hyping up tonight’s main event and putting over the ROH World Title), and by Austin Aries (introducing Matt Sydal a prospective member of Generation Next… who will earn a full spot if Gen Next win tonight).
FOUR CORNER SURVIVAL: Ace Steel vs. Delirious vs. Matt Stryker vs. Sterling James Keenan- 4.25/10. Really short.
DANIELS PROMO- very good
COLT CABANA vs. BRIAN “SPANKY” KENDRICK- 5.25/10- Good comedy match, with Cabana working over the (I swear I’m not kidding here) a** of Spanky.
After the match, Punk comes out, and Spanky asks him for a shot at the ROH World Title. Punk tells him “I’d love to give you a title shot… but seeing as how you’re gonna be on Velocity, and I’m gonna be on Monday Night Raw, I just don’t see it happening.” Punk is awesome. Punk then proceeds to cut a great promo taking credit for ROH’s success.
ROH WORLD TAG TEAM TITLE MATCH: Jimmy Jacobs & BJ Whitmer(c) vs. Nigel McGuinness & Chad Collyer-6.75/10. Told an interesting story, with Nigel & Collyer using Jimmy as a weapon against BJ, constantly throwing him into BJ.
SAMOA JOE PROMO- good
THE EMBASSY (Alex Shelley, Jimmy Rave, & Abyss) (w/Prince Nana) vs. GENERATION NEXT (Austin Aries & Roderick Strong) & MATT SYDAL (w/Daizee Haze)- 7.5/10. Abyss was great here. After the match, Abyss destroyed Gen Next.
JAY LETHAL vs. LOW KI- 7/10. The finish made sense, but illustrates why I hated ROH’s old “no count-outs, but the ref can DQ both of you if he thinks you are on the outside for too long”-rule.
Ki and Lethal continue to fight. Then Homicide comes out and he and Ki beat Lethal down until Matt Hardy comes out and makes the save.
MATT HARDY vs. HOMICIDE- 7.5/10. Good match, to the point where I didn’t even mind the dirty finish.
FOUR CORNERS ELIMINATION MATCH FOR THE ROH WORLD TITLE: CM Punk(c) vs. Samoa Joe vs. Christopher Daniels vs. James Gibson- 9.25/10. An absolute masterwork of storytelling, with great action, too.
Overall, this was a solid show, which I would definitely recommend (it has one of Matt’s few appearances, and something else that makes it an important show in ROH history that I won’t spoil, so pick it up if you are into that), but it isn’t a top tier show by any means. It is, however, a must-buy for fans of CM Punk, James Gibson, Christopher Daniels, & Samoa Joe due to the awesomeness of that match.