ROH Generation Next
ROH Generation Next (5/22/2004)- Philadelphia, PA
DAN MAFF PROMO- Okay
The concept of this show was a tournament, after which the fans would vote on who they want to see in ROH... but that didn't happen thanks to four men looking to make a name for themselves...
SPECIAL K vs. JACK EVANS, AUSTIN ARIES, & RODERICK STRONG (w/Alex Shelley)- 5.75/10 Good opener.
Shelley starts running his mouth again, but Special K member Hydro (better known to most as Jay Lethal) jumps into the ring, and challenges Shelley to a match...
HYDRO vs. ALEX SHELLEY (w/Generation Next)- 6/10. Very good mat wrestling. After the match, Shelley puts Hydro over on the mic and offers him membership in Generation Next, but Hydro declines.
THE CARNAGE CREW (H.C. Loc & Tony Devito, & Justin Credible) vs. TRENT ACID, MASADA, & DANNY DANIELS- 5.25/10. Eh.
JOHN WALTERS vs. JIMMY RAVE- N/A Very well done, and set up perfectly for later.
JIMMY JACOBS vs. NIGEL MCGUINNESS- 5.75/10.
NO DQ’s MATCH FOR THE ROH TAG TEAM TITLES: Second City Saints (CM Punk & Colt Cabana) vs. The Prophecy (Dan Maff & BJ Whitmer) (w/Alison Danger) 7.75/10.
BRISCOE BROTHERS vs. OUTCAST KILLAZ (w/Prince Nana)- 4.75/10. Very short
- Gen. Next come out and say that they want the Briscoes spots, too. The Briscoes want to fight, and Rave and Walters come out to back them up, leading to
GENERATION NEXT vs. THE BRISCOES, JIMMY RAVE, & JOHN WALTERS- 8.5/10! 40 minutes of excellent wrestling and storytelling. I really liked that the story of the match revolved around individual match-ups (Jay vs. Roddy, Shelley vs. Rave, Evans vs. Mark, and Walters vs. Aries) just as much as it did around the tag team setting. Everyone got the chance to show off their stuff, and everyone impressed. The crowd gave it “MATCH OF THE YEAR!” chants.
PUNK-STEAMBOAT CONFRONTATION- GREAT! Punk offered to shake Steamboat’s hand (a HUGE deal at the time in ROH, since the code of Honor was still enforced heavily). Punk attacked Steamboat… 50 year old Ricky Steamboat FOUGHT BACK! He was about to go for his Crossbody, but Cabana came out and crotched him on the turnbuckle. Then Punk and Cabana beat the crud out of Steamboat, until a save by the Prophecy. This was more build towards the eventual intended Punk vs. Steamboat match that never happened. And I wish that it had. Steamboat proved that he could still go in 2009, just imagine how awesome Punk vs. Steamboat in 2004 would have been.
RELAXED RULES MATCH FOR THE ROH WORLD TITLE: Samoa Joe(c) vs. Homicide (w/Julius Smokes)- 7.75/10.
This got way too violent for what (IMO) a “relaxed rules” match should be. The chair is fine if it isn’t used that often… but a fork? That is a major cutoff point to me. If you are bringing a weapon like that… that passes the point where (IMO) the ref should decide that he has relaxed the rules enough, and should call for a DQ.
Finally, Sinclair takes the fork away after Cide BRUTALLY stabs Joe in the forehead, legit drawing blood.
I didn’t like the finish too much, as Joe won with a regular move, rather than a finisher. They told a good story, though.
Two additional notes about this show: First; WOW! Everybody looks so young. Roddy and Shelley are barely recognizable. The Briscoes still have teeth. Rave and Lethal look really young.
The second is that as amazing of a booker as Gabe is… he is that bad at commentary. He points out the subtle things that are important from the booking side, but at the same time, it has the opposite of the intended effect, and kills the excitement. There are things that fans want to notice for themselves. For example, when Homicide hit his lariat, which had pinned Kendrick and Dragon at the two most recent shows, Gabe pointed this out, and it made the thing fall flat. Fans want to get the chance to think: “He just beat two of the top guys in the company with this move… and now he hit Joe with it! Dragon and Kendrick couldn’t kick out! Will Joe be able to?”
He also kept repeating points that are the sort of thing that fans are intended to realize on their own: That Generation Next, the new stable, isn’t going to listen to anyone. That they have disrupted the idea of the “Generation Next Series (of matches)” and taken the name “Generation Next” for their new group. We don’t need someone telling us that they are a “rogue faction” over and over again, and constantly coming back to the idea of them “hijacking the name of this show.” It was like listening to the worst of Tenay and Dave Prazak combined, but without the stupidity to get annoyed at and make fun of, so all that remains is just irritating commentary to listen to.
Also, Gabe’s voice (or at least the fake voice that he uses for his announcing aliases (Jimmy Bauer & Chris Lovey) is really irritating. The other commentator (Mark Noltey, I believe) wasn’t very good either.
Overall, this show was not only very good, but would prove to be extremely important in ROH’s history. If you can find it, BUY IT!
DAN MAFF PROMO- Okay
The concept of this show was a tournament, after which the fans would vote on who they want to see in ROH... but that didn't happen thanks to four men looking to make a name for themselves...
SPECIAL K vs. JACK EVANS, AUSTIN ARIES, & RODERICK STRONG (w/Alex Shelley)- 5.75/10 Good opener.
Shelley starts running his mouth again, but Special K member Hydro (better known to most as Jay Lethal) jumps into the ring, and challenges Shelley to a match...
HYDRO vs. ALEX SHELLEY (w/Generation Next)- 6/10. Very good mat wrestling. After the match, Shelley puts Hydro over on the mic and offers him membership in Generation Next, but Hydro declines.
THE CARNAGE CREW (H.C. Loc & Tony Devito, & Justin Credible) vs. TRENT ACID, MASADA, & DANNY DANIELS- 5.25/10. Eh.
JOHN WALTERS vs. JIMMY RAVE- N/A Very well done, and set up perfectly for later.
JIMMY JACOBS vs. NIGEL MCGUINNESS- 5.75/10.
NO DQ’s MATCH FOR THE ROH TAG TEAM TITLES: Second City Saints (CM Punk & Colt Cabana) vs. The Prophecy (Dan Maff & BJ Whitmer) (w/Alison Danger) 7.75/10.
BRISCOE BROTHERS vs. OUTCAST KILLAZ (w/Prince Nana)- 4.75/10. Very short
- Gen. Next come out and say that they want the Briscoes spots, too. The Briscoes want to fight, and Rave and Walters come out to back them up, leading to
GENERATION NEXT vs. THE BRISCOES, JIMMY RAVE, & JOHN WALTERS- 8.5/10! 40 minutes of excellent wrestling and storytelling. I really liked that the story of the match revolved around individual match-ups (Jay vs. Roddy, Shelley vs. Rave, Evans vs. Mark, and Walters vs. Aries) just as much as it did around the tag team setting. Everyone got the chance to show off their stuff, and everyone impressed. The crowd gave it “MATCH OF THE YEAR!” chants.
PUNK-STEAMBOAT CONFRONTATION- GREAT! Punk offered to shake Steamboat’s hand (a HUGE deal at the time in ROH, since the code of Honor was still enforced heavily). Punk attacked Steamboat… 50 year old Ricky Steamboat FOUGHT BACK! He was about to go for his Crossbody, but Cabana came out and crotched him on the turnbuckle. Then Punk and Cabana beat the crud out of Steamboat, until a save by the Prophecy. This was more build towards the eventual intended Punk vs. Steamboat match that never happened. And I wish that it had. Steamboat proved that he could still go in 2009, just imagine how awesome Punk vs. Steamboat in 2004 would have been.
RELAXED RULES MATCH FOR THE ROH WORLD TITLE: Samoa Joe(c) vs. Homicide (w/Julius Smokes)- 7.75/10.
This got way too violent for what (IMO) a “relaxed rules” match should be. The chair is fine if it isn’t used that often… but a fork? That is a major cutoff point to me. If you are bringing a weapon like that… that passes the point where (IMO) the ref should decide that he has relaxed the rules enough, and should call for a DQ.
Finally, Sinclair takes the fork away after Cide BRUTALLY stabs Joe in the forehead, legit drawing blood.
I didn’t like the finish too much, as Joe won with a regular move, rather than a finisher. They told a good story, though.
Two additional notes about this show: First; WOW! Everybody looks so young. Roddy and Shelley are barely recognizable. The Briscoes still have teeth. Rave and Lethal look really young.
The second is that as amazing of a booker as Gabe is… he is that bad at commentary. He points out the subtle things that are important from the booking side, but at the same time, it has the opposite of the intended effect, and kills the excitement. There are things that fans want to notice for themselves. For example, when Homicide hit his lariat, which had pinned Kendrick and Dragon at the two most recent shows, Gabe pointed this out, and it made the thing fall flat. Fans want to get the chance to think: “He just beat two of the top guys in the company with this move… and now he hit Joe with it! Dragon and Kendrick couldn’t kick out! Will Joe be able to?”
He also kept repeating points that are the sort of thing that fans are intended to realize on their own: That Generation Next, the new stable, isn’t going to listen to anyone. That they have disrupted the idea of the “Generation Next Series (of matches)” and taken the name “Generation Next” for their new group. We don’t need someone telling us that they are a “rogue faction” over and over again, and constantly coming back to the idea of them “hijacking the name of this show.” It was like listening to the worst of Tenay and Dave Prazak combined, but without the stupidity to get annoyed at and make fun of, so all that remains is just irritating commentary to listen to.
Also, Gabe’s voice (or at least the fake voice that he uses for his announcing aliases (Jimmy Bauer & Chris Lovey) is really irritating. The other commentator (Mark Noltey, I believe) wasn’t very good either.
Overall, this show was not only very good, but would prove to be extremely important in ROH’s history. If you can find it, BUY IT!