RING OF HONOR
Wrestlerave 03
Murphy Rec Center
Guesstimated attendance: 400-450

This will be a short one since my computer has already crashed 3 times, destroyig 3 previous drafts of this report in the process.

This was the first time I've been to ROH in Philly since they revamped the production. The new lighting and backdrops look great live and really make the show feel big time.

Showcase card:

Benny From The Bronx d. Lit. Eh. Looked like what it was, a tryout match for 2 less experienced guys. I like Benny's CARLITO'S WAY gimick, or at least the idea of it.

Hydro d. Angel Dust. Crowd was confused by an all Special K match but the high flying ring work got them into it. Good match.

Christopher St Connection d Outkast Killaz. Killaz seem to be the Barry Horowitz and Iron Mike Sharpe of this promotion. The usual very good CSC match. Funny crowd spot where 1 guy started yelling "Faggots!" at CSC and was drowned out by a huge and spontaneous "Homophobe" chant. Never thought I'd see that happen at a wrestling show, especially in Philly. In a bizarre way it kinda gives you hope for the world.

Main show:

DeAngelis opened by announcing that Tom Carter and Mikey Whipwreck would not be there but that Dany Maff, despite the fact that is father passed away only yesterday, would be there because he wanted to be with his friends - the ROH fans. Got to give INCREDIBLE props to Maff for fulfilling this committment.

Dunn & Marcos d. Prince Nana & Jimmy Jact Kash. Not up to the usual ROH standards. Crowd hated Kash but I didn't think he was *that* bad. The heel team argued afterwards.

Alexis Laree d. Sumie Sakai. The best womens' match I have ever seen firsthand. They did a rolling crade that went in for wwell over a minute and has to be seen to be fully apprecated. Laree, who ,looked good i her PWF/ICW match in NY, was excellent again here. Sumie Sakai is an awesome wrestler and, incidentally, a very nice person. The cute, diminutive Sakai is deceptively strong as she easily carried Laree on her shoulders during one spot. I've never been into Japanese womens wrestling but am now inspired to start checking it out.

Chad Collyer [subbing for Tom Carter] beat Matt Striker in a tapout match. The sort of grab-a-hold-and-stay-with-it strong style match that doesn't do much for me but most of the crowd seemed to like it. Collyer has NO charisma in there, tho again some fans were vocal in support of him so not everyone agrees with me. Afterwards they did an angle to lead to match on 7/19 where only pinfalls count and you *can't* win via submission. The fire Collyer showed during his promo needs to be brought to his in-ring work. I'm in a very small minority I'm sure, but I greatly preferred 6/14's Striker/Beckett to this. The "other" Stryker was in the crowd so I was on angle alert, but nothing happened. A number of pretty high up indy guys were there just watching the show, which says a lot about the product.

The Carnage Crew of DeVito, HC Loc, and surprise add-on Justin Credible beat Izzy, Dixie, and Deranged after Credible hit Thats Incredible on Dixie. Great, great match. Probably better than what had been booked. I really can't say one bad thing about this match. Crew are definitely 100% faces in this building and were over like mofos. I've been forced to completely change my opinion of K. All 3 guys were excellent and bumped like crazy. Credible looked very crisp and showed a ton of fire.

Samoa Joe retained the ROH title over Dan Maff. iirc Maff did not actually speak to the crowd but the emotion on his face spoke volumes, as did the repeated gestures he made toward the heavens. As you would expect Maff was over like nothing you've ever seen on this night. Forget trying to turn the guy heel in this building from now on. Good match that saw Joe BRUTALIZE Maff on the outside for about 5 minutes before the match finally made it into the ring. They stiffed the living hell out of each other. Joe had a great deal of crowd support even under these circumstances. I'd like to see rematch of these 2.

Intermission.

BJ Whitmer won the 4 way match over Tony Mamaluke, Jimmy Jacobs and Alex Shelley. Off the charts, a main event worth match. Jacobs and Shelley were excellent, looked good in everything they did, and definitely won over the Philly fans. I missed the intros so I dont know if its Jacobs or Shelley who does the HUSS gimmick, but the crowd ate it up and actually did a "HOLY HUSS!" chant after one especially death defying highspot. The finish was actually a double pin as Whitmer had one of the Michigan guys pinned while Mamaluke pinned the other, but the ref didn't see Mamaluke's pin. Looks like they are setting up a Whitmer vs Mamaluke match, which is something I'd like to see. I haven't seen the criminally underrated Mamaluke in a while and enjoyed his stuff here. Everything he does looks good and has psychology behind it.

CM Punk & Colt Cabana b. Raven and Christopher Daniels when Punk KO'd Raven with a chain after a ref bump. Yup Raven got screwed again, and the heels choked him out with the chain after. Most of the match was Daniels getting double teamed and trying for the hot tag. Once Raven did get in there you would have never have known he was injured from watching him. Daniels bled like crazy, something I don't recall ever seeing him do before. Daniels was a 100% babyface here too so perhaps it's time to give up on making the Prophecy heels. The fans just do not want to boo these guys. Good old style tag match with outstanding storytelling.

AJ Styles b. Chris Sabin with the Styles Clash to retain the NWA World title. Styles came out to Ric Flair's "2001" theme music, as befits an NWA champ I suppose. Good but kind of short, which makes sense since ROH said on their site that Styles was pretty ill. Wouldn't have guessed it from this match. Afterwards Styles did a promo putting over the importance of the title and thanking the fans for appreciating it.

Trent Acid pinned Homicide with a small package (!) to win the Fight Without Honor. Johnny Kashmere ran in in early on and he and J Smokes brawled to the back, which wisely eliminated any ringside partners for this match. Human beings should not do to each other the things that Acid and Homicide did to each other. Highlights included: DDT on a ladder that was propped up between the ring and ring rail, powerbomb thru a ladder which *destroyed the ladder*, and an Acid moonsault into the rail that I thought for sure he broke both legs on. Highlight was a great spot where Acid set up a table in the ring but didn't unfold it right, went to the top with Homicide, and while the fans were yelling 'fix the table', Homicide grabbed him and gave him a SICK suplex off the top rope thru a table much further way at ringside. Words don't do this one justice. A beautiful piece of misdirection that gave an already insane spot even more impact and meaning. And how cool is it that after all that Acid wins with, of all things, an amateur wrestling move?

Afterwards Special K hit the ring, put Acid and Johnny Kashmere thru a table, and held an 'impromptu' rave for about half an hour. I bailed on the rave, which was a weird way to end an otherwise great show.

Overall a tightly paced, well booked, well run show with a little something for everybody. Probably the best paced ROH event I have seen to date.

Credit Adam Dolan

What up everyone. Here are two fan reports from the ROH show. Let us know what you think of our new ROH recappers at declaration_of_independents@hotmail.com
Enjoy these reviews/results!

Review 1
OK. So let me introduce myself. My name is Marcus K. Dowling, and I'm a 25 year old environmental policy researcher from Washington, DC. I am an Aries, born on April 19th, who enjoys cooking Asian cuisine, psychedelic cinema from the 1960s...wait, this isn't match.com is it?...No, it's Declaration of Independents, and by god am I happy to be here. I am a 21 year wrestling fan who thinks that he has found the fountain of youth in the booking of Gabe Saplosky. I would like to thank the staff for inviting me to come and write some ROH show reviews here, and I hope that you, the readers with all enjoy my insane rantings.

So, I started this piece last night while trapped in a line at the famous Geno's Steaks in South Philadelphia, whose annoyance because of its length could only be topped by the reign of Shin'ya Hashimoto as All Japan Triple Crown champion. So...what did I get to eat you ask, Roast Pork with Cheez Whiz and onions, and a birch beer to go.

Last night's offering by Ring of Honor was another solid outing by a promotion whose use of common sense booking continues to shock the entire wrestling world, much to the amazement of the author.

Attendance was unusually high given the fact that the Combat Zone show was expected to "steal" so many ROH fans from the show. Another standing room only sellout.

The show opened with a few card adjustments due to cancellations.

"The Technician" Tom "Reckless Youth" Carter is an expectant father, and was unable to make the event. This changed the show's booking as Chad Collyer was moved out of a match with BJ Whitmer into the four corner survival match that now featured Jimmy Jacobs, Alex Shelley, Tony Mamaluke and BJ Whitmer. Furthermore, Matt Stryker was now set to rematch Chad Collyer in a "Tap Out" match in a rematch from numerous other shows in the past, a feud that was to culminate at the "Death Before Dishonor" show in Elizabeth, NJ on July 19th.

The Showcase card opened with glassy-eyed Special K (remember that name, it plays a VERY important role later in the coming of age of every teenage boy in that crowd) member Lit (literally, he stood in the entranceway awed by the lights for like 10 seconds...classic stuff) facing New York independent scene stalwart Benny Blanco. Blanco played the heel, using such bizarre retorts to "you suck" as "you gurgle." Wow. The match was nothing tremendously special, with Blanco getting the duke.

Next, both Angel Dust and Hydro of Special K (remember that name, it plays a VERY important role later in the coming of age of every teenage boy in that crowd) hit the ring, and everybody waited for the jobber tag team du jour that was to be wasted by these two well, "wasted" youth. Instead, Angel Dust and Hydro locked up and put on a fairly entertaining match with Hydro getting the victory following a new finisher. Before I continue, let me state that Jay Lethal is a great up and coming technical wrestler whose true worth to Ring of Honor is being underutilized in this gimmick. While the gimmick does offer him he opportunity to be involved on every show, I do feel that he has much more to offer.

The Showcase Main Event became a casualty to the juggling of the card, as in the place of Dunn and Marcos, the Ring Crew Express versus the Christopher Street Connection, we were instead treated to the warriors who take up the staff of homosexuals everywhere (pun not intended) working against Diablo Santiago and Oman Tortuga, the Outkast Killahs. Oman shows great charisma whenever I watch him work, incidentally. After the usual litany of homoerotic spots and chants of "Let's go homos," the CSC got the win at roughly the 7 minute mark with the Gay Basher. And, for all who weren't in attendance, it was so hot in the Murphy Rec Center that even Buff-E's lips were sweaty. Hey...when they come your way, you've gotta respect the gimmick!

During the pre-show intermission, I perused the merchandise table, and can report that ROH has released three new shirts, one of which is great (Second City Saints), one of which is alright (Christopher Daniels) and one of which bears a strange resemblance to Paul London's shirt (American Dragon). As well, worker Colt Cabana has a brand new design for his shirt, having unfortunately moved past the quintessential "Classic" Colt Cabana "Coca Cola" adaptation. Colt Cabana oozes charisma like Scott Hall once oozed Mad Dog 20-2...oops...machismo.

At 7:45 PM (you can set your watch to ROH starting a show) the show opened with the aforementioned Ring Crew Express taking on favorite of the author Prince Nana and his partner, Jimmy "Jact" Cash. Cash, who made his debut for the promotion at the 6/14 show in Boston during the Showcase card is Brian Christopher sans the maniacal goofball laughter. This is a good thing.

Nana explained his return to ROH describing himself as a "heavyweight player," and insulted the slightly "buck toothed" grin of the ROH fans, the author included. Ring the bells, and sound the alarms, as Dunn and Marcos defeated this makeshift team in a hard fought contest for their first victory as a tag team in ROH. Good for them as they are a very entertaining act. At this point, let me again note to quote Salt-N-Pepa's 1986 hit single "My Mic Sounds Nice," that it was "hot enough to scramble eggs on the floor" in the Murphy Rec at this point.

Sumie Sakai and Alexis Laree were outstanding. Indeed, Laree's entrance theme was correct, as it does take a "seven nation army to hold her back," as she defeated the Arsion superstar with a well-timed rollup. My partisan fan desire for Laree to birth my yet to be born children non-withstanding, Sakai and Laree had a great technical match. For those who wanted to be negative towards women's wrestling in this country, this match showed hope. The highlight of said match had to be a small package into a 20 second Oklahoma Roll that would have made Danny Hodge proud, which earned the first standing ovation of the evening.

In the "Tap Out" match, Chad Collyer made Matt Stryker tap out to the Texas Cloverleaf for the 952nd time. Solid stuff if you say, like wrestling. No, it's not really that many times, but they've done such a good job of putting over the importance of submissions by using Stryker as a crash test dummy that it must be applauded. It must be noted that the infusion of the Midwestern performers who seem to work every day of the year, sometimes twice, and seem to become more technically sound every time they step between the ropes, has really been a gift for the "pure wrestling" division of Ring of Honor. Highlights of the match included Chad Collyer giving me my first sighting of the "Stump Puller" submission in almost a decade, and Matt Stryker really getting an opportunity in this bout to show off his vastly improved matwork. As well, Matt Stryker does the slashing motion across his unibrow prior to going for his anklelock finish, which is great. If you're going to go the socially unacceptable route with your facial hair, at least point it out to me every single match. I'm going to shoot here and say that I appreciate that.

Post-match, most truthful wrestling author of all time who is still in great health Gary Michael Cappetta hit the ring for some discussion with the combatants. The point here is that since they've each tapped each other, they want a straight up pinfalls match at "Death Before Dishonor." Now, for the funny stuff. Some wrestlers are never given the mic in their career, and its a great shame, because these performers are often ultra-charismatic, and the world is a worse place without their voices. That being said, Chad Collyer sounds like someone grabbed Jamie Knoble by the gonads with a diamond-tipped vise. When he stated that it took "fohweur" people to work over his leg so that Stryker could get the tapout in Pittsburgh, water nearly shot through my nose. Sincere apologies to the residents of Liberyville, Indiana as Collyer is an amazing mat wrestler, but is not as gifted as a talker.

Next, the Carnage Crew came to the ring to face Special K (remember that name, it plays a VERY important role later in the coming of age of every teenage boy in that crowd). Of course, the 98,000 members of Special K (and Becky Bayless, their newest and HOTTEST member), hit the ring, so Tony DeVito logically evened up the odds a bit by introducing "a guy who's had a lot of pent up aggression for two years," Justin Credible. Was very interested suddenly to see what Justin was going to bring to the table. Credible got the win after That's Incredible. I've never seen a happier pro wrestler in a wrestling ring than Justin Credible last night. He looked happy as a pig in s*** in there. Plus, he adds a new dimension to the great working duo of HC Loc ad DeVito. This match had great pacing with Special K member Deranged shining as always with his knowledge of psychology. High point of the match had to be a parade of Special K planchas which only served to show that while amazing, Izzy, Dixie and Deranged may never make it to see what 21 feels like. The Carnage Crew are officially faces in ROH, as with most heels turned faces in the organization, their hard work and dedication earns them the respect of the crowd.

In the match that provided the emotional epicenter for the event, ROH World Champion Samoa Joe defeated Dan Maff in a hellaciously stiff match for the belt. For those not in the know, Maff's father, Ruffino Lopez passed away on Friday evening. Maff felt that working the match would be cathartic, and indeed it seemed to be. I would be remiss if I did not pass on my condolences to the family and friends of Dan Maff. Given the circumstances, Maff fought with valor, and continued to win over the Philly crowd as he got in all of his trademark offense, including a monster plancha to the outside. The match was built around Maff's inability to hit the Burning Hammer on someone' of Joe's girth. Unable to do so, Joe hit him with a monster dragon suplex, bringing the bout to an end. Before I go on, let me state two things. Joe's running "ole, ole, ole, ole" Yakuza kick to a seated opponent sounds 8 billion times more violent with the metal ROH sign catching a significant part of the blow. As well, Dan Maff is the 21st century definition of the term "hoss" in this business. And that's a good thing.

Intermission followed, which deserves a Murphy Recreation Center gripe from the author. I love 99% of the Murphy Rec. It's a great venue, not a bad sight line in the house, and of course, if you're slightly overweight in late June, you're going to drop five pounds like I did due to the oppressive heat. All that being said, it would be great if ROH officials could open an in-gymnasium concession stand in the southwest corner of the building so that people like myself, who stand in the northwest corner by the entrance do not have to emulate Carl Lewis in '84 during Steven DeAngelis' shilling in order to get a decent spot in line for food and/or water. They could break down the table during the "popcorn" match, and make 250 people on one side of the building very happy. No merch, just food, water and soda.

Following the intermission came one of those special bizarre moments that ROH provides its faithful. Tony Mamaluke, Alex Shelley and BJ Whitmer were involved in a four corner survival match with none other than "The Barbaric Berserker" Jimmy Jacobs. For those of you in the dark, Jacobs comes from the Michigan Indy scene, wears black furry boots, is crazy skinny, and goes "HUSS!" a lot. For obvious reasons, he is a person that the author has waited for many months to see in ROH. Plus, he bumps like a maniac and has a good selection of innovative spots in his arsenal. Needless to say, the humorous highlight of the evening was the NYC Bus Trip leading chants of "Let's Go HUSS" and "Holy HUSS" during key points in the match. Overall, Shelley and Mamaluke did not disappoint, and I do believe that they would work well against each other.

However, all these facts not forgotten, this match was an exhibition for the solidly tremendous performer that is BJ Whitmer. Whitmer has made a total 180 degree turn as a worker from when I originally saw him on Heartland tapes in early 2002. Whitmer was crisp and clean in his execution, and showed outstanding strength by hitting an exploder suplex on both Shelley and Jacobs at the same time while Shelley had Jacobs in a cobra clutch hold. Whitmer won after pinning Jacobs, while curiously enough Mamaluke had just made Shelley tap out at the exact same time. Just an outstanding outing from all four involved.

Following that, an out-of-sight basic tag grudge match took place between the Second City Saints of CM Punk and Colt Cabana with manager Lucy Furr (WCW's Daffney), and the "one night only team of Chris Daniels and Raven, accompanied by Allison Danger. Great match. Daniels got busted 2 minutes in after a Punk chairshot to Daniels' forehead as he was laying prone after a missed charge to the corner. Only a few minutes later CM Punk appeared to strike gold, as he had a crimson mask going that would even leave the late Gordon Solie in shock and awe. The match was textbook, as Raven's hot tag featured kneelifts that Mr. Wrestling II would have been proud of. Professional work as expected from all involved, and very inspired interactions between Daniels and Punk, continuing to set up the feud that I believe will bring ROH some unusually large gate receipts this winter. Punk got the win after nailing Raven with the dreaded Lucy Furr loaded purse, emptying a chain as its contents, and hitting a particularly violent form of swinging neckbreaker using the chain for the pinfall. Postmatch, Punk continued choking, until Daniels could run him off.

Postmatch, Raven said that "this was like the 12th time that Punk had left him laying in his own bile, and that enough was enough and it was time for a change." Well, he didn't really say that, but I'll leave it to you to figure out which part is false. Anyway, long story short, Raven challenged Punk to a Dog Collar Match for 7/19 at "Death Before Dishonor." Something tells me that this is an okay blow of for this feud. Piper/Valentine, here we come!

In the "goody goody gumdrops" treat of the evening, ROH did more to treat AJ Styles like the NWA Champion than anyone has ever done for him on PPV. Walking out to the strains of "Also Spake Zarathustra," (theme to 2001: A Space Odyssey...Flair's theme) Styles officially arrived last night as a legitimate superstar performer in the world of pro wrestling. Styles carried him opponent, Chris Sabin, the TNA X-Division champion, to a perfectly acceptable of NWA Championship quality 10-minute match. Highlights included innovative hurancanrana work from both men, and of course a Styles Clash for the win.

After the match, Styles imparted an impassioned NWA title belt history lesson on the crowd, referencing Lou Thesz, Flair and Dusty Rhodes, while not by name discussing Shane Douglas creating ECW by tossing the belt in a garbage bin. He then made a call for respect for the NWA title, which was warmly received. Easily, the classiest thing ever done by ROH in a long, growing list of classy behavior by the promotion.

In the main event, ROH got taken to Big Japan by Homicide and Trent Acid in a killer, killer main event. The match started slow, as the crowd was not sure how to react to rent Acid in his ROH solo debut being in a main event, and secondly, the length of time taken to set up the early spots, a trademark of Big Japan Pro Wrestling. Coincidentally, Homicide wore his Big Japan shirt to the ring, along with a headband featuring a Rising Sun/Nippon flag design. The first "Trademarked Mick Foley Oooh" of the evening transpired when Homicide was DDT'd on a ladder wedged between the ring and the guardrail. The insane spots continued until Homicide lived up to his work name and killed Trent Acid with an Ace Crusher through a table on the floor. Trent Acid, RIP, 200...wait...they're back on their feet...no f'n way. Somewhere in the midst of all the insanity, Johnny Kashmere ran in, assisted Trent in giving Homicide the T Gimmick, and was promptly hauled off to the back by "The Devil's Son in Law" Julius Smokes. He's referred to using a Rudy Ray Moore reference. That's just tremendous. The match ended as Homicide tried for the Cop Killer, but had it turned into a cheap rollup for the win. Immediately, "The Brooklyn Bull" Steve Mack, Low Ki, and Julius Smokes came out to check on their fallen trainer. And the show ended...or so we thought.

Remember how I told you to remember Special K. Well here you go. The lights went off, and the single greatest stable entrance at present in professional wrestling save Toryumon's Milano Connection occurred. Trent Acid and Johnny Kashmere were in the ring, overcome, drugged, laid on a table, and put through it with stereo legdrops by Deranged and Izzy. Deranged then got on the mic, and started a rave. Now, at this point, I remembered having seen Lori Fullington in attendance at the show, and I thought that the members of Special K, hot chicks, twelve lords a-leaping, eleven ladies dancing, ten drummers drumming, nine pipers piping, eight maids a-milking, seven swans a-swimming, six geese a-laying, five golden rings, four calling birds, three French hens, two turtle doves, and a partridge in a pear tree were going to get the snot beaten out of them by Sandman. However, he didn't show, and then the fun started as the members of Special K and their lady friends went into the crowd, and started dancing with the fans. Then, in the coming of age moment for every teenage boy in that crowd, some of the female rave participants began to kiss each other. And the fans rejoiced.

So, with the sounds of Louie DeVito playing in my head, along with a stomach filled with the finest grub Philadelphia has to offer, I bid you all adieu.

Please forward all comments and questions to MarcNova21@aol.com.

REVIEW 2
ROH Report – June 28th, 2003

Showcase card started promptly at 7:30, building was half-full but picked up a lot before it was over:

Benny from Da Bronx (not to be confused with Jenny from the Block) over Lit (from Special K) with a rolling brainbuster out of two floatover suplexes. Nothing too exciting here, wasn’t this the wanna-be gay guy when Buff-E “retired”?

In a battle of Special K teammates, Hydro beat Angel Dust with his scary side head drop finisher. They came out thinking they were a team but were told they were booked against each other. Crowd got behind Hydro, good little match and both guys had a solid showing.

The Christopher Street Connection beat the Outkast Killaz with the Gay Basher. CSC's best ROH match yet, tons of comedy spots I had never seen and the usual thuper stiff strikes from Buff-E.

Regular card kicked off around 5 ‘til 8, building looks pretty packed and already getting a little warm. Steven Deangelis announces the unfortunate passing of Danny Maff’s father and the crowd silences for a ten-bell salute.

Dunn and Marcos beat Prince Nana and Jimmy Jact Cash with the Unskinny Bop to get their first “official” ROH win. D&M were uber-over with the Philly crowd (as usual) and even Nana was decently received. The match itself wasn’t too much more than your average prelim bout, Cash also didn’t show me anything too exciting (other than a freakish resemblance to Chris Chetti).

Alexis Laree pinned Sumie Sakai with a reverse DDT. Light years better than any other womens match in ROH, these two definitely seemed on the same page. Sakai showed mad charisma and the fans ate it up, fun match in every way.

Chad Collyer made Matt Stryker submit with a Texas Cloverleaf. Great back-and-forth match which had the crowd split. I honestly really can’t recall either guy taking too many bumps, this was mainly on the mat as you would expect. They gave the match enough time to develop properly and the fans seemed attentive (for the most part) and really into the submission sequences towards the end. After the match Gary Michael Capetta ran out to get some sort of scoop and they agreed to a pinfall-only rematch on the big Jersey show.

The Carnage Crew beat Special K (Dixie, Izzy and Deranged) after Justin Credible hit That’s Incredible. Credible was unannounced and once again got a monster pop as he hit the ring (sans his cane thank god). Great effort by all six, the Special K all-star team hit everything nicely and the CC did a great job catching their spots and filling in the blanks. Loc and Devito are the two most underrated workers on the scene and the crowd is finally starting to appreciate them. Credible looked good but could still spruce up his offence a bit , I can easily see the fans getting tired of his more Stamford-esque stuff once the novelty wears off. Ended up being quite a good match with both teams looking great and the fans digging everything.

Samoa Joe beat Danny Maff to retain the ROH Title after a Dragon suplex. Maff got a HUGE pop as he came to the ring, yet again the crowd was completely split as to who to cheer for. Lots of the requisite brutality you’d expect, big slaps and bootscrapes (ever a few through the new steel guardrail plates, ouch). Very emotional match with Maff given a standing ovation as he exited the ring, definitely would like to see a more in-depth rematch at some point.

BJ Whitmer won a Four Corner Survival match over Tony Mamaluke, Jimmy Jacobs and Alex Shelly. Very well-layed out match with the newcomers looking strong, Jacobs and Shelly work a fast-paced technical style that the crowd loved. The opening sequences were all crisp and a lot of the cool tricked-out ROH-y type spots once things broke down. I believe Whitmer made Jacobs tap while Mamaluke had Shelly covered, maybe setting up something down the line between the two.

CM Punk and Colt Cabana beat Raven and Christopher Daniels in a bloody match. Punk bled like he forgot his blade and used a coping saw instead, it was everywhere. Match itself had the crowd on fire the entire time, even with it being arranged so Raven didn’t have to abuse his injured ankle too much (he still looked great on the hot tag sequence). Daniels was well-received as a near-face and his sections with Punk were particularly good; Cabana still continues to be the most overlooked guy on the roster by being the very definition of entertaining. The finish was met with mixed reactions, total Raven booking with a big ref bump, Lucy and Alison Danger doing run-ins and Raven eventually being pinned after taking a beating from a steel chain (no, Hercules Hernandez did not also run-in). Great booking though with Raven still not being able to beat Punk (or even hit the Raven Effect on him) and setting up a one-on-one Dog Collar Match for the Jersey show.

AJ Styles beat Chris Sabin with the Styles Clash to retain the NWA World Heavyweight Title. Really solid match but perhaps a bit short, also hurt by the fact that the crowd was really starting to feel the heat in Murphy Rec. Lots of innovative spots (as you’d expect), the finishing sequence itself was awesome and way too complicated to explain. Styles cut a post-match promo calling the NWA strap a “true World Title”, possibly hinting at a future angle with Joe.

Trent Acid beat Homicide in a crazy match that used tons of chairs, tables and ladders. I can’t imagine how both men didn’t end up with broken backs, they took mad abuse all over the building and somehow managed to kick out again and again. Trent won with a quick rollup which definitely brought a bit of hostility out of the crowd (don’t know if this was because Acid won or more the way he did so). Even though this was a “Match Without Honor”, they went to shake hands just as the house lights went out and Special K’s 20-minute entrance began (need I say how little sense this makes?).

When the lights came back on Deranged and Izzy put the Backseats through a table and everyone started dancing. Fine-looking women started popping out of the woodwork and ran into the ring dancing. There were girls dancing through the crowd, making out in the ring, crowd surfing, throwing glow sticks. A little different from you’d expect, the whole building basically turned into a big party and people were semi-into it (a lot of people just wanted to get out of the heat at this point though). Not every show has to end with Hogan posing in the ring, definitely a fun way to end a show. Once again the entire show was quality from bell to bell, no “match of the year” but something I would definitely recommend picking up on tape.

Jon “BarrMark” Kendall

(barrmark99@hotmail.com)

The DOI thanks these two men for sending in their eyewitness reports.

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