ROH Third Anniversary Celebration: Part 1
ROH Third Anniversary Celebration: Part 1 (2/19/2005)- Elizabeth, NJ
ALEX SHELLEY & JACK EVANS BACKSTAGE- good
CM PUNK & STEVE CORINO BACKSTAGE- Corino needlessly broke kayfabe which annoyed me. Punk was great, as usual.
SAMOA JOE & JAY LETHAL PROMOS- good
The show started off with most of the roster in the ring and they gave props to the fans, which was nice.
RODERICK STRONG vs. STEVE CORINO (w/Team Corino)- 6.25/10
Great opener.
IZZY, DERANGED, & LACEY BACKSTAGE- got the angle over perfectly!
WINNER GETS AN ROH PURE TITLE MATCH LATER TONIGHT: Jay Lethal vs. Jimmy Rave (w/the Embassy)- 6.5/10
ROH PURE TITLE MATCH: John Walters(c) (w/the Embassy) vs. Jay Lethal- 6.25/10
Lethal was just an awesome hometown babyface here. About halfway through this match, I was convinced that he was going to win the belt.
EBESSAN vs. BILLY KEN KID- 5.75/10
HOMICIDE PROMO- good
ALEX SHELLEY vs. JIMMY JACOBS- 6.75/10
Great match, with great aftermath. They have done a great job of getting Shelley’s angle over so far.
JIM CORNETTE PROMO- standard Cornette awesomeness.
CM PUNK vs. SPANKY- 7/10
AFTERMATH- Nana comes out to try to recruit Spanky but Spanky says no. Punk laughs at Nana, earning him Nana’s ire and kicking off one of the most violent feuds in ROH history.
ROH TAG TEAM TITLE MATCH IN WHICH IF MAFF & WHITMER LOSE, THEY MUST SPLIT UP: Ricky Reyes & Rocky Romero(c) (w/Julius Smokes) vs. Dan Maff & BJ Whitmer- 5.5/10
The post-match stuff with Danger was okay as a resolution to this angle, but the stuff with Danger claiming that it wasn’t a title match seems to me to still be unresolved. She ripped up their overall contract; she didn’t change the contract for this match.
SAMOA JOE vs. VORDELL WALKER (w/Mick Foley)- 4/10
Both Foley and the announcers talked Walker up as a top prospect and a big deal… then Joe beats him in under five minutes.
HARDCORE MATCH: Samoa Joe vs. Ebessan Jack (w/Cactus Jack)- no rating. Decent segment.
They got all of the correct emotions (laughter, irritation, anger) across at the right times, but it all felt kind of awkward.
BEST OF FIVE SERIES MATCH #2- TAPED FIST MATCH: Bryan Danielson vs. Homicide (w/Rocky Romero)- 7.25/10
The fork is legal, or it isn’t. The ref can’t just decide that you can’t use it anymore in the middle of match. I liked the finish… but if this is match is No DQ’s (and they were using both chairs and Cide’s fork before) why did they have to hide the brass knuckles?
DAN MAFF PROMO- okay.
BRYAN DANIELSON PROMO- decent.
STEEL CAGE MATCH FOR THE ROH WORLD TITLE: Austin Aries(c) vs. Colt Cabana- 7.25/10
SCRAMBLE CAGE MATCH IN WHICH THE WINNER GETS TEN TIMES THEIR NORMAL PAY AND THE LOSER IS OUT OF ROH FOR 90 DAYS: Roderick Strong & Jack Evans vs. Dixie & Azrieal vs. The Carnage Crew vs. The Ring Crew Express vs. Izzy & Deranged (w/Lacey)- 5.25/10
Nowhere near good enough or a main event. This was just a random spotfest.
ALEX SHELLEY PROMO- awesome.
CARNAGE CREW PROMO- decent.
DRAGON & HOMICIDE BRAWL AFTER THE SHOW- good segment
COLT CABANA & BOBBY HEENAN- good segment.
Overall, not good show from ROH. This show was supposed to be part of a series celebrating ROH but it was missing the thing that ROH was most known for: awesome in-ring work.
ALEX SHELLEY & JACK EVANS BACKSTAGE- good
CM PUNK & STEVE CORINO BACKSTAGE- Corino needlessly broke kayfabe which annoyed me. Punk was great, as usual.
SAMOA JOE & JAY LETHAL PROMOS- good
The show started off with most of the roster in the ring and they gave props to the fans, which was nice.
RODERICK STRONG vs. STEVE CORINO (w/Team Corino)- 6.25/10
Great opener.
IZZY, DERANGED, & LACEY BACKSTAGE- got the angle over perfectly!
WINNER GETS AN ROH PURE TITLE MATCH LATER TONIGHT: Jay Lethal vs. Jimmy Rave (w/the Embassy)- 6.5/10
ROH PURE TITLE MATCH: John Walters(c) (w/the Embassy) vs. Jay Lethal- 6.25/10
Lethal was just an awesome hometown babyface here. About halfway through this match, I was convinced that he was going to win the belt.
EBESSAN vs. BILLY KEN KID- 5.75/10
HOMICIDE PROMO- good
ALEX SHELLEY vs. JIMMY JACOBS- 6.75/10
Great match, with great aftermath. They have done a great job of getting Shelley’s angle over so far.
JIM CORNETTE PROMO- standard Cornette awesomeness.
CM PUNK vs. SPANKY- 7/10
AFTERMATH- Nana comes out to try to recruit Spanky but Spanky says no. Punk laughs at Nana, earning him Nana’s ire and kicking off one of the most violent feuds in ROH history.
ROH TAG TEAM TITLE MATCH IN WHICH IF MAFF & WHITMER LOSE, THEY MUST SPLIT UP: Ricky Reyes & Rocky Romero(c) (w/Julius Smokes) vs. Dan Maff & BJ Whitmer- 5.5/10
The post-match stuff with Danger was okay as a resolution to this angle, but the stuff with Danger claiming that it wasn’t a title match seems to me to still be unresolved. She ripped up their overall contract; she didn’t change the contract for this match.
SAMOA JOE vs. VORDELL WALKER (w/Mick Foley)- 4/10
Both Foley and the announcers talked Walker up as a top prospect and a big deal… then Joe beats him in under five minutes.
HARDCORE MATCH: Samoa Joe vs. Ebessan Jack (w/Cactus Jack)- no rating. Decent segment.
They got all of the correct emotions (laughter, irritation, anger) across at the right times, but it all felt kind of awkward.
BEST OF FIVE SERIES MATCH #2- TAPED FIST MATCH: Bryan Danielson vs. Homicide (w/Rocky Romero)- 7.25/10
The fork is legal, or it isn’t. The ref can’t just decide that you can’t use it anymore in the middle of match. I liked the finish… but if this is match is No DQ’s (and they were using both chairs and Cide’s fork before) why did they have to hide the brass knuckles?
DAN MAFF PROMO- okay.
BRYAN DANIELSON PROMO- decent.
STEEL CAGE MATCH FOR THE ROH WORLD TITLE: Austin Aries(c) vs. Colt Cabana- 7.25/10
SCRAMBLE CAGE MATCH IN WHICH THE WINNER GETS TEN TIMES THEIR NORMAL PAY AND THE LOSER IS OUT OF ROH FOR 90 DAYS: Roderick Strong & Jack Evans vs. Dixie & Azrieal vs. The Carnage Crew vs. The Ring Crew Express vs. Izzy & Deranged (w/Lacey)- 5.25/10
Nowhere near good enough or a main event. This was just a random spotfest.
ALEX SHELLEY PROMO- awesome.
CARNAGE CREW PROMO- decent.
DRAGON & HOMICIDE BRAWL AFTER THE SHOW- good segment
COLT CABANA & BOBBY HEENAN- good segment.
Overall, not good show from ROH. This show was supposed to be part of a series celebrating ROH but it was missing the thing that ROH was most known for: awesome in-ring work.