ROH Final Battle 2003
ROH Final Battle 2003 (12/27/2003)- Philadelphia, PA
BRYAN DANIELSON vs. JAY BRSICOE- 6.75/10
FIGHT WITHOUT HONOR: Xavier vs. John Walters- 8.25/10 Can you say “show-stealer?” Great aftermath, too, including the creation of The Embassy
FIELD OF HONOR FINALS: BJ Whitmer vs. Matt Stryker- 7/10
ROH WORLD TITLE MATCH: Samoa Joe(c) vs. Mark Briscoe (w/Jay Briscoe)- 6.75/10
PROPHECY-SECOND CITY SAINTS CONFRONTATION- GREAT! The stuff with Maff was an awesome twist that takes a heel and gives him some character depth. It would have been so easy to have Maff say “I lied when I swore on my father’s grave that the Prophecy didn’t take Lucy out”… but to have him be pissed off about it, and to have Daniels apologize for it was great!
CM PUNK & COLT CABANA vs. TOMIAOKI HONMA & KAZUSHI MIYAMOTO- 7/10
AJ STYLES vs. KAZ HAYASHI-7.5/10
SATOSHI KOJIMA vs. HOMICIDE (w/Julius Smokes)- 5.5/10
As if mocking Julius Smokes and giving him a DX crotch chop weren’t enough to make me a Kojima fan, at one point in the match Kojima has Cide in the corner and the ref counts to four for the break… at which point Kojima turns to him and says “I don’t understand” (which is funny because they count in English in Japan, too), then turns back to Cide and keeps the hold on. The ref counts to four again, then starts to get between the two, and explains to Kojima, using motions, what he needs to do. Kojima proceeds to go back and do the same thing, and ref the ref reaches four, Kojima turns to him and shouts “I’m Japanese G-d damn it!” At this point I was laughing my a** off. This proves anyone who has ever said that non-gimmick Japanese wrestlers can’t work American comedy dead wrong.
AJPW TAG TEAM TITLE MATCH: The Great Muta & Arashi(c) vs. Christopher Daniels & Dan Maff (w/Allison Danger)- 6.75/10. Just falls short of being an acceptable main event, but I am willing to overlook this because it was THE GREAT MUTA in an ROH ring!
COLT CABANA INTERVIEWS SPECIAL K- The Carnage Crew beat people up, and Cabana stares at Becky Bayless' breasts (say that 10 times fast). The Carnage Crew's reason for hating Special K is just... wrong. Someone slipped Devito's daughter some Ecstasy at a Rave... so the Carnage Crew want to take it out on the only ravers they know. By this logic, if his daughter had been attacked by a Hispanic person, they would go after the SAT. It is just so wrong for a babyface to use this logic.
PROPHECY SEGMENT- good promos, but the actions in the background of those who weren't cutting their promos at the time were perfect!
Overall, this was a very good show. Everything was between good and great, aside from the Fight Without Honor, which was awesome, but the show just doesn’t feel that great because of a slightly disappointing main event and ROH World Title Match. Definitely worth buying, but not amazing.
BRYAN DANIELSON vs. JAY BRSICOE- 6.75/10
FIGHT WITHOUT HONOR: Xavier vs. John Walters- 8.25/10 Can you say “show-stealer?” Great aftermath, too, including the creation of The Embassy
FIELD OF HONOR FINALS: BJ Whitmer vs. Matt Stryker- 7/10
ROH WORLD TITLE MATCH: Samoa Joe(c) vs. Mark Briscoe (w/Jay Briscoe)- 6.75/10
PROPHECY-SECOND CITY SAINTS CONFRONTATION- GREAT! The stuff with Maff was an awesome twist that takes a heel and gives him some character depth. It would have been so easy to have Maff say “I lied when I swore on my father’s grave that the Prophecy didn’t take Lucy out”… but to have him be pissed off about it, and to have Daniels apologize for it was great!
CM PUNK & COLT CABANA vs. TOMIAOKI HONMA & KAZUSHI MIYAMOTO- 7/10
AJ STYLES vs. KAZ HAYASHI-7.5/10
SATOSHI KOJIMA vs. HOMICIDE (w/Julius Smokes)- 5.5/10
As if mocking Julius Smokes and giving him a DX crotch chop weren’t enough to make me a Kojima fan, at one point in the match Kojima has Cide in the corner and the ref counts to four for the break… at which point Kojima turns to him and says “I don’t understand” (which is funny because they count in English in Japan, too), then turns back to Cide and keeps the hold on. The ref counts to four again, then starts to get between the two, and explains to Kojima, using motions, what he needs to do. Kojima proceeds to go back and do the same thing, and ref the ref reaches four, Kojima turns to him and shouts “I’m Japanese G-d damn it!” At this point I was laughing my a** off. This proves anyone who has ever said that non-gimmick Japanese wrestlers can’t work American comedy dead wrong.
AJPW TAG TEAM TITLE MATCH: The Great Muta & Arashi(c) vs. Christopher Daniels & Dan Maff (w/Allison Danger)- 6.75/10. Just falls short of being an acceptable main event, but I am willing to overlook this because it was THE GREAT MUTA in an ROH ring!
COLT CABANA INTERVIEWS SPECIAL K- The Carnage Crew beat people up, and Cabana stares at Becky Bayless' breasts (say that 10 times fast). The Carnage Crew's reason for hating Special K is just... wrong. Someone slipped Devito's daughter some Ecstasy at a Rave... so the Carnage Crew want to take it out on the only ravers they know. By this logic, if his daughter had been attacked by a Hispanic person, they would go after the SAT. It is just so wrong for a babyface to use this logic.
PROPHECY SEGMENT- good promos, but the actions in the background of those who weren't cutting their promos at the time were perfect!
Overall, this was a very good show. Everything was between good and great, aside from the Fight Without Honor, which was awesome, but the show just doesn’t feel that great because of a slightly disappointing main event and ROH World Title Match. Definitely worth buying, but not amazing.