Archive for category Classic Wrestling

CHIKARA 22 (8/16/03)

Match No. 1: Jack Marciano beat Gran Akuma via DQ

Match No. 2: Blind Rage beat Jolly Roger

Match No. 3: UltraMantis beat Hallowicked

Match No. 4: Eddie Kingston beat Icarus

Match No. 5: Mike Quackenbush & Sumie Sakai beat the Conundrum (Jigsaw & Rorschach)

ROH 24: Wrath of the Racket (8/9/03)

Show opens with Ace Steel and Colt Cabana backstage. They are talking about the Field of Honor. They go over to Homicide and Julius Smokes, appear to be rolling dice in the corner. Classic line as Steel asks if they are playing jacks. They ask Smokes about the Field of Honor and he rambles on about something. Next is A.J. Styles and Amazing Red who cut a quick promo.

Match No. 1: Texas Wrestling Academy (Fast Eddie & Don Juan) vs. Carnage Crew (Loc & Masada) vs. Special K (Hydro & Deranged) vs. Spanish Announce Team (Jose & Joel Maximo) in a scramble match. Deranged hits a couple of arm drags on Loc before Loc hits a massive clothesline on Deranged. Loc then drops him on his head with a saito suplex. Hydro hits a hurricanrana on Joel. Fast Eddie hits a weak hurricanrana on Joel. Joel holds him on his shoulders and Hydro hits a huge ddt from the top rope. Deranged hits a leg trap sunset flip powerbomb (Code Red) on Fast Eddie. Loc does a reverse facebreaker knee smash followed by a swinging neckbreaker. Special K working over Loc. Deranged botches a springboard something attempt. SAT pick him up and do a pendulum into a facebuster (Washing Machine). TWA gets Jose on the top rope and Fast Eddie does a fallaway slam while Don Juan does a neckbreaker. Masato drops Eddite on his head and then gives Don a hangman’s neckbreaker. SAT with a doubleteam hurricanrana on Masada. Hydro with a nice bridging german suplex on Loc. SAT hit the Spanish Fly on Hydro but can’t make the pin. Fast Eddie nearly kills himself with a moonsault to the floor that miss Joel and he winds up in the front row. Well, the kid is legally blind. Don Juan with a cross body block to the floor. Deranged does a springboard into a hurricanrana on Loc and gets the pin as Dixie grabs his hands. Typical crazy scramble match with tons of high spots. After the match, we get another rave. Yawn. Rating: ***

Jim Cornette comes to the ring. Wireless mic doesn’t work. Cornette cuts a promo on Special K. Cornette then introduces the tag team he brought to ROH. Midnight Express music plays and Dunn and Marcos come out. The Prophecy then jumps Dunn and Marcos. It looks like Cornette turned heel. Christopher Daniels and Dan Maff give Marcos a double flapjack. Maff slams Dunn then throws Daniels into the Rocket Launcher, where he splashes Dunn. Cornette then hits Dunn with the racket, then the Marcos. Daniels then introduces Cornette as the newest member of The Prophecy.

B.J. Whitmer shown backstage. He cuts a boring, average promo.

Match No. 2: Chet “The Jet” Jablonski vs. Nigel McGuiness. Our first look at Nigel in ROH. Before the match, Chet’s manager, Brock Guffman cuts a promo. Chet works the arm early. He then hits a huge shoulder block. Chet hits a t-bone suplex on Nigel. Huge lariat by Chet. Nigel turns him into a stepover toehold facelock (STF). Jablonski hits a fisherman’s northern lights suplex. He then hits a crazy side suplex. Jablonski misses a senton and then Nigel does a quick roll into a bridge for the pin. Short match but a bunch of nice moves. Rating: ***1/2

Match No. 3: Chris Sabin vs. Homicide. They trade moves and block moves early. Sabin with a nice fireman’s carry into a sitout powerbomb. Homicide hits  a running arched boot (Yakuza Kick). Sabin hits a shining wizard as Homicide is on his knees. Nice brainbuster by Sabin. Sabin hits a cross  body block, but Homicide rolls through. Homicide applies the stepover toehold facelock (STF). Sabin hits a nice snap neckbreaker. He goes to the top but Homicide catches him. Homicide wihttps://www.timharv.com/wp-admin/post.php?action=edit&post=2464th a hurricanrana. Sabin hits a side slam backbreaker (Sabalizer). Homicide barely kicks out. Homicide goes for his back to back double underhook piledriver, but Sabin blocks it. Homicide gives him a nut shot, then hits Da Cop Killa on his second attempt for the pin. These guys put on a great show, Sabin in particular. Rating: ****

Match No. 4: Alex Shelley & Jimmy Jacobs vs. Second City Saints (Colt Cabana & Ace Steel). Jacobs with a nice swinging headscissors. Jacobs and Shelley do double facebuster on Cabana. Cabana works over Shelley outside the ring. Steel hits a nice slingshot suplex on Shelley. Cabana holds Shelley and Steel with a huge dropkick to the face. Double knee to the chest by Cabana. Steel then hits a backbreaker on Shelley. Shelley with a nice swinging double neckbreaker on the heels. Jacobs with a double dropkick. Double arched big boots by the faces. Cabana on the top rope and Shelley goes up to meet him. Steel throws him down and then Cabana catches him with a ridiculous release german suplex onto his head. Steel then catches Jacobs with a gory neckbreaker (Spinal Shock) from the middle rope. Shelley breaks up the pin attempt. Shelley then hits a crossed-arm scoop brainbuster (It Came From Japan) on Cabana. Cabana and Steel then do a vicious doubleteam as Cabana gives Shelley a double underhook canadian backbreaker drop as Steel hits a hangman’s neckbreaker (Colt .46) for the pin. Another damn good match with a bunch of nasty moves. Rating: ****

Match No. 5: Matt Stryker vs. Justin Credible. I don’t know what it is, but I don’t like either of these guys. Stryker is jacked, he’s gotta be on the juice. Stryker gets on the mic and says he’s leaving. Stryker brings him back to the ring. Credible takes a big bump into the ring barricade. And a second. They are now in the front row. They continue to brawl in the crowd. Stryker takes a bump into the barricade. Credible gets posted. He’s busted open. Credible blocks a death valley driver attempt. He slams Stryker on the floor. Crowd is behind Stryker. He hits a springboard moonsault and then goes to the top. Stryker catches him with a boot as he dives to the mat. Credible with a cross body but Stryker rolls through. Credible blocks the death valley driver again and then catches Stryker with a kneeling belly to belly piledriver (That’s Incredible) but he kicks out. On his fourth attempt, Stryker hits a death valley driver (Stryker Driver) for the pin. Decent match but a bit sloppy in spots. Rating: ***

Les Thatcher outside the building with Christopher Daniels and Jim Cornette. Great promos by both. Maff chases away Thatcher. The Prophecy acts like they have a plan. Colt Cabana and Ace Steel backstage as Lucy films them making jokes, talking to Chris Sabin. Sabin says he was invited to the Field of Honor and Cabana is upset and goes looking for Rob Feinstein. Daniels and Maff are shown running down the hall. They attack Amazing Red and the SAT. Daniels gives Red several chairshots to his bad knee. A.J. Styles comes out as they help Red back to the lockerroom.

Match No. 6: Slyk Wagner Brown vs. Hotstuff Hernandez vs. Scoot Andrews vs. Michael Shane in a four corner survival match. Nice leg lariat by Hernandez. He then hits an overhead choke suplex (Crackerjack) on Bentley. Shane gives him a kick to the balls and then a forearm. Andrews now in against Brown. They mess up an armdrag spot. Slyk and Hernandez trade huge chops. Hernandez does a slingshot splash from the apron. Shane with a nice side suplex on Brown. Nice shot of Hunter and her humongous rack. Scoot hits a nice old school suplex. He then gives Shane a spinning inverted powerbomb. Scoot goes for a cross body block but Hernandez catches him and gives him a spinning sitout powerbomb. He follows with another sitout powerbomb. Hernandez takes a shot in the balls again. Brown then goes to the top and hits a neckbreaker on Hernandez. Brown puts Hernandez in a headscissors and then does a handstand on the apron. Andrews puts him in a facelock and then Shane puts Andrews in a boston crab. Nice four-way tandem spot. Hernandez then gives Brown and inverted side powerbomb. Another four-way move as Slyk hits a legdrop on the three from the top rope. Brown misses a moonsault. Brown nearly kills himself as he hits a moonsault from the second rope to the floor and lands on the barricade torso first. Hernandez then does a plancha to the floor. Hernandez gives Brown a nasty throwing crucifix powerbomb (Mega Bomb). Shane hits Hernandez with a dropkick and then Hernandez goes to spear Shane but he moves and Andrews takes the full force of it. Shane catches Hernandez with a superkick. As Scoot gives Shane a double underhook sitout powerbomb, Brown does a shooting star press on Hernandez but lands on his head. Andrews then catches Brown in a pumphandle reverse piledriver (Force of Nature) but Shane breaks it up. Shane blocks a Force of Nature and then gives Andrews a fisherman’s ddt for the pin. Match started slow and there were a couple of sloppy spots, but damn did these guys put on a great show. Rating: ****

Match No. 7: Slim J vs. Jimmy Rave in a Field of Honor qualifying match. No idea why these guys are so high on the card. J with a northern lights suplex early. Huge clothesline by Rave. J with a nutshot on Rave outside. Nice release german suplex by Rave. J blows a spot but comes back and drops Rave on his head with a spinning cradle ddt. J then hits a standing somersault neckbreaker. Nice inverted ddt by Rave. J follows with a swinging neckbreaker. Huge shining wizard by Rave. He somehow kicks out. Rave with a back suplex into a bridge. From the second rope, J hits a tornado double underhook suplex. J follows up with a wheelbarrow half nelson suplex. Damn this kid has some original highspots. Rave answers with a release german suplex. Power bomb by Rave, but J kicks out. Rave then hits a spinning headscissors into a crossface (From Dusk Till Dawn) for the pin. Another really good match with some innovated moves and highspots. Rating: ****

Match No. 8: B.J. Whitmer vs. Samoa Joe for ROH title. Joe with a nasty single boston crab. They trade some huge kicks. Then some huge slaps. Nice backdrop driver by Whitmer. Whitmer gets caught in a one-armed sides slam (STJoe). Joe with a big knee to the throat. More chops by Joe. Joe catches Whitmer with a nasty suplex. Joe working over Whitmer outside the ring. Whitmer puts Joe into the ring barricade. And a second time. And then a third time. Joe throws Whitmer headfirst into the barricade. He then gives him a running arched big boot to the barricade (Ole Kick). Joe follows with a second Ole Kick. Whitmer hits a diving forearm. Suplex by Whitmer, followed by a northern lights suplex. Joe with some nasty knees to the face. Joe choking out Whitmer, but he makes it to the ropes. Joe with a sunset flip and then a rolling cradle. Whitmer catches Joe with an exploder suplex and then a backdrop driver. Joe kicks out. Joe hits a german suplex, followed by a dragon suplex, followed by a crossed-arm german suplex (X-Plex). This was reminiscent of a Japanese match as these guys beat the hell out of each of other. Damn good match. Rating: ****1/2

Colt and Ace are still looking for Feinstein. Comedy segment with Ring Crew Express.

Match No. 9: Christopher Daniels & Dan Maff vs. A.J. Styles & ??? for ROH tag team titles. Christopher Daniels has one of the best ring entrances in the business. Too bad TNA ruined it. Styles has a mystery partner since Red was jumped earlier and had to be taken to the hospital. Styles picks Homicide to be his partner. Mayhem early. Heels get thrown into the front row. Damn, Styles and Homicide both just did double suicide dives into the crowd. Even Cornette is impressed. Faces do a rowboat on Cornette and Allison Danger. Sweet dropkick by Styles on Daniels. Faces with a double backdrop on Daniels. Nice snap suplex by Styles on Daniels. Homicide catches Daniels with a suplex. Maff then catches him with a suplex. Maff nails Homicide with a cannonball, followed by a headbutt to the groin. Heels hit a double flapjack. Daniels has abdominal stretch on Homicide and Cornette gives him racket for leverage. Heels working over Homicide. Maff does Rocket Launcher on Daniels but Homicide moves. Styles gets the hot tag. He gives Maff a hurricanrana, but Maff botches it. Daniels is on the apron and Styles gives him a headscissors into a hotshot. He then clotheslines Maff. Styles misses his moonsault press and Maff gives him a release german suplex. Styles misses another moonsault press but then recovers and gives him an inverted ddt (Phenomenon). Daniels tags in and catches A.J. with a spinning sitout powerbomb (Blue Thunder Driver). Daniels hits a double jump moonsault (Best Moonsault Ever) but Styles kicks out. Styles goes for a backflip kick (Pele) but it barely grazes Daniels and he sells it anyway. Maff hits a sitout facebuster on Styles and then heels do another Rocker Launcher. Homicide gives Daniels a cutter from the top rope but he barely kicks out. Maff with a half nelson suplex on Homicide. Homicide with a suicide dive (tope) but he hits Smokes. Homicide throws Maff head first into the barricade. Homicide goes for his back to back double underhook piledriver (Da Cop Killa), Daniels blocks it and then hits a 90 degrees spinning lifting sitout double underhook facebuster (Angel’s Wings) but Styles barely makes the save. Daniels throws A.J. in the referee. Cornette throws the racket to Daniels who swings at A.J. and misses. A.J. then gives him belly to back inverted mat slam facebuster (Styles Clash) for the pin. Pretty damn good match. Sadly, a couple of missed moves hurt the rating. After the match, Cornette and Daniels argue. Heels then beat on Cornette. Red then makes the save with the tennis racket. Joe then clears the ring. Cornette then lifts the arms of Red and Joe. Cornette then cuts a promo after the match and puts over ROH and the crowd. Great post match action. Rating: ****1/2

Homicide cuts a promo on Steve Corino. Enough already, we haven’t seen that f’ing guy in like six months. Joe puts over B.J. Whitmer. He asks who’s next, Stryker, Cabana or Punk? Or maybe Low Ki or Daniels? Corino cuts a promo from who the hell knows where. Blah, blah, blah. Enough already. He puts over Japan and shits on ROH. Actually kind of funny, yet too long and rambling.

Steel and Cabana continue their backstage hijinx. They finally find Feinstein and he still can’t act. Except when he gets caught on an undercover sting tape. Feinstein says the Cabana is invited to the tournament and leaves. Thankfully. Cabana is happy and he and Steel go to celebrate. As the show goes off the air, we see “Rust Never Sleeps” on a hand-written note.

MLW 6: Rise of the Renegades (7/26/03)

Show opens with Stephen DeAngelis telling the crowd this show will be taped for TV and they will be live in five seconds. Like the last show, why show that on the DVD?

Match No. 1: Los Maximos (Jose & Joel Maximo) or Spanish Announce Team as everyone else in the world calls them vs. Jimmy Yang & Tony Mamaluke. Before the match, Joel cuts an incomprehensible promo. Supposedly, SAT is a booker’s nightmare, no showing like crazy. I’m betting Court Bauer puts them over. Huge dropkick by Yang on Joel. Yang then hits a corkscrew pescado to the floor. Mamaluke puts Joel into an armbar. Jose with a weak clothesline on Mamaluke. Yang with a nice leg lariat. Joel blows a baseball slide spot and then nearly kills himself with a moonsault to the floor. SAT hit a double bulldog. They then do a taffy machine but Joey Styles has no idea how to call it. Nice prep work, douche. Mamaluke drops Jose on his shoulder. He then works on the shoulder some more. Yang goes for a super powerbomb, but Jose hits a crazy Frankensteiner. SAT does a doubleteam moonsault on Mamaluke. They blow another double team as Mamaluke reverses it into a powerbomb. Yang with a nice double clothesline from the top rope. Mamaluke gives Jose a brainbuster. He goes to the top rope but the Maximos catch him with the Spanish Fly for the pin. Typical MLW booking. Yang put on the best show, clowns go over, Styles puts them over. Decent match, but nothing special. Rating: **1/2

DeAngelis nearly trips climbing into the ring.

Match No. 2: Rich Criado vs. Josh Daniels. A battle of two nobodies. Nice snap suplex by Daniels. These guys are trying but the crowd is shitting all over them. Daniels with a suicide dive to the floor. Crowd with a “You still suck” chant. Huge backbreaker by Criado. Match starting to drag. Huge brainbuster by Criado. Fans  really giving it to him. Release german suplex by Daniels. Criado with a sitout scoop slam piledriver (Michinoku Driver II) but Daniels kicks out. Daniels with a dragon suplex for the pin. Pretty good match despite the idiot fans. Rating: ***

Match No. 3: Da Hit Squad (Monsta Mack & Mafia) vs. Samoan Island Tribe (Samu & Ekmo). DHS is back months after breaking up in ROH. Let’s see if Court Bauer jobs them, which I expect. DHS is actually dwarfed by the Samoans. They brawl right away. Ekmo sets up a table and goes to spear Mafia, but he moves and Ekmo destroys the table. DHS then doubleteam Samu in the ring. Ekmo then superkicks Mafia. DHS with a double suplex on Ekmo. Mafia puts him in a leg lock and then Monsta hits a frog splash. DHS would have gotten the pin but Samu pulls the ref from the ring. Wow, Ekmo catches Monsta and then gives him a swinging side slam (Styles calls it a uranage). Samoans working over DHS now. Samoans throw referee Mike Keener over the top rope. Security comes to the ring. I guess that means its a DQ. Well, the good news is that Court didn’t job DHS. The bad news is that he came up with a weak fucking finish. They continue to brawl with security in the ring. Piss poor finish downgrades average match. RIP Eddie “Ekmo” Fatu. Rating: **

To show that they are an ECW mark promotion, MLW has hired Atlas Security and their huge guys with mullets.

Match No. 4: C.W. Anderson vs. Steve “Dr. Death” Williams. And speaking of ECW ripoffs, here is C.W., who attacks Williamshttps://www.timharv.com/wp-admin/post.php?action=edit&post=2421 right away. Williams recovers. And then hits a crazy cross body block to the floor. Doc sets up a table and nearly fucks up throwing Anderson into it. Table is on the ground with one side raised and Anderson snap mares Williams onto it. The leg breaks and the table falls several inches to the floor. Worst fucking use of tables ever. Williams tries to clothesline Anderson into the front row. He fails. Then he throws him into the crowd. Lame chair shot by Doc. Anderson kicks chair into Doc’s face. He then gives him a lame chair shot. Anderson working on Doc’s arm. Anderson hits a belly to back suplex. Crowd is nearly dead and I’m falling asleep. Clothesline by Williams but he hurts his arm. Anderson catches Doc with a superkick after two weak shoulder blocks. Williams goes for a power slam, but Anderson’s legs hit the referee. Weak ref bump spot. Simon Diamond superkicks Williams but he kicks out. Sandman chases Diamond to the back. Williams hits a high angle belly to back suplex (Backdrop Driver) for the pin. Another average match and another overbooked match. RIP Doc. Rating: **1/2

Match No. 5: Jerry Lynn vs. Homicide. Lynn comes out with James Mitchell. Before the match, Lynn cuts a promo on Paul London for leaving for WWE. Lynn attacks Homicide at the bell. Ok, let’s see, Lynn is the heel and Homicide is the face. Nice booking, Court. Homicide does a nice satellite headscissors. Lynn works over Homicide outside the ring. Homicide is being book liked a pussy, good job Court. Homicide finally on the offensive. But that is short-lived. Homicide is holding his jaw. Lynn drops Homicide face-first on his knee for a near fall. Homicide with a somersault tope (Tope con Hilo) to the floor. Lynn hits a running sitout powerbomb for a near fall. Lynn with a fireman’s carry cutter. Homicide fucks up a spot. Lynn escapes from back to back double underhook piledriver (Da Cop Killa). Lynn hits a hurricanrana but Homicide rolls through for the pin. Strange match, flashes of good and bad. Rating: **1/2

Match No. 6: Simon Diamond vs. Sandman. More ECW mark booking material. Sandman’s entrance takes a good five minutes. Diamond cuts a promo. Superkick by Diamond. Sandman misses a legdrop as Diamond is draped across the top rope. He’s horrible. He nearly kills Diamond with a hurricanrana. Out of nowhere, Diamond hits a three-quarter facelock bulldog (Gem Cutter) for the pin. Piss poor match with piss poor booking of a pissed drunk has-been. Rating: *

Match No. 7: Mikey Whipwreck vs. Sabu. Yet another broken down ECW guy. Make that two. Enough already, Court. They trade blows as the bell rings. Springboard leg lariat by Sabu into a camel clutch. Poor Mikey, his back is already fucked up. Mikey hits a front kick. Mikey puts Sabu on a table. He drops Mikey facefirst on the apron. Mikey on the table now. Sabu goes for a moonsault but Mitchell pushes him into the ring. Mikey with a clothesline. Table is now in the ring on its side. Mike atomic drops Sabu on the table and he takes the side of it in the nuts. Another front kick by Mikey. Mikey takes a ddt from Sabu. Sabu sets up the table in the corner. Mikey gets put on it and Bill Alphonso holds him. Sabu goes for a legdrop but Mikey moves and Sabu takes out Alphonso. Mikey nearly gets the pin. Sabu with another camel clutch. Mitchell on the ring apron. He throws a fireball in Sabu’s face. Mikey then with several chair shots. Mikey puts his arm in a chair and hits it with another chair. Mikey then gives him a taste of his own medicine with a legdrop onto a chair to his face (Arabian Facebuster) for the pin. Mikey attacks him with a chair afterward. Decent match, although a cliche ECW tables and chairs brawl. Rating: ***

Match No. 8: Rich Criado vs. NOSAWA. Criado is back for his second match. Does this guy have compromising pictures of Court Bauer or something? NOSAWA kicking the shit out of him early. Criado hits a sitout powerbomb for the pin. No idea what the hell this is all about. Rating: **

Match No. 9: CM Punk & Michael Shane vs. Raven & Norman Smiley. Francine is with Shane. Very nice one piece outfit. Punk grabs the mic. He rips on Orlando and Disney World. Crowd starts the “You Suck Dick” chat. Francine asks the crowd who they’re talking to. Crowd says “You”. Smiley comes to the ring with GI Ho, who shows off her nice ass. Another match out of the broken ECW mold. Punk doesn’t want to start against Raven. Smiley does the same old schtick on everyone. Punk dropped by a Raven right hand. Nice spot as Raven bulldogs Punk and then clotheslines Shane. Smiley clotheslines Punk to the floor. Punk and Shane doubleteam Smiley with kicks. Heels do a phantom tag. Nice suplex by Punk. Then they do a doubleteam suplex on Smiley. Francine gets into the act with a choke on Smiley. Raven with a huge kneelift on Punk. Raven sets up a chair. He gives Shane a drop toehold on the chair. And does the same to Punk. Raven gives Punk a flowing snap ddt (Raven Effect) but Francine breaks it up. GI ho comes in and we get the cat fight spot. Shane gives Ho a superkick. Shane with two chairshots on Smiley. Shane goes to hit Raven with the chair, but Raven ducks and he hits the top rope and hits himself. Raven goes to give him the Raven Effect, but Punk throws powder in his eyes. Punk gives Raven the Raven Effect for the pin. Decent match, but piss poor booking again. We had fire two matches ago and no powder. What’s next, salt in the main event? Rating: **1/2

Match No. 10: Terry Funk vs. Abdullah the Butcher. This match is sad on so many levels. You should be ashamed, Court. At the time, Funk was 59 and Abby was 62. Steve Corino comes to the ring. Funk cuts a promo that we can’t hear. Corino cuts a promo on Funk. Semi-entertaining. Corino says he sent Abby home. Then, of course, when Funk confronts Corino, Abby jumps him from behind. Abby then opens Funk up with a broken bottle. Funk is a mess. He’s also bleeding from his arm. Abby breaks out the trademark fork. Funk gets the fork and digs it into Abby’s scar tissue divots in his forehead. Abby gives him a nut shot with the fork. Haven’t seen that one before. Funk replies with several nut shots of his own. Funk throws a chair at Abby. Abby is one fat fucker. But I would go to his restaurant. Out of nowhere, Funk does a cross body block and pins Abby. This was an old school blood bath not much else to say. An extra star for these guys taking this abuse at their respective ages. Rating: ***

Match No. 11: Mike Awesome vs. Steve Corino for MLW title. And the ECW theme continues, of course. Mike has an Awesome mullet. Awesome attacks Corino at the bell. Awesome hits a release german suplex and then clotheslines him to the floor. Corino backdrops Awesome into the front row. Awesome hits a slingshot shoulder block. Followed by a clothesline. Corino brings a chair into the ring. Chair shot to the head. And another. Corino then ends with a shot to the back. Corino to the top with the chair. Awesome catches him. Huge superplex. Corino barely kicks out. Awesome with three chairshots to the head on Corino. Awesome to the top and he hits a huge chair shot on Corino. Awesome with a sitout powerbomb (Awesome Bomb). Awesome back to the top. Frog splash (Awesome Splash) but Corino kicks out. Awesome brings a table into the ring. He then brings in a second one. Awesome sets up a table in the corner. Awesome goes to throw Corino into the table but he escapes. Awesome goes to clothesline Corino but he ducks and Awesome decks referee John Finnegan. Corino with a superkick but no referee. Awesome gives Corino a throwing crucifix powerbomb into the table. He does the same thing into the second table. He covers Corino but Finnegan slowly counts and Corino kicks out. Fans chant “Bullshit” and they must be talking about the booking. Corino hits Awesome with something but Awesome kicks out. Diamond and Anderson attack Awesome and then hold him. Funk comes out and cleans house with a trash can. Funk throws a chair at Corino but he ducks and it hits Awesome in the face. Corino then covers him for the pin. Bullshit, overbooked Dusty finish. Heels attack Funk afterwards. Corino chokes Funk with tape and then they hang him over the top rope. Dr. Death and the Sandman make the save. Rating: **1/2

Match No. 12: Sandman & Williams vs. Corino & Anderson & Diamond. Sandman challenges heels to an impromptu match. Fans start a “Pussy” chant. They brawl outside the ring. Faces will get a title shot if they win the match. Anderson hits a spinebuster on Williams. Heels hit a triple superkick on Sandman. Funk comes out to even the odds. Funk hits a stunner on all three heels. Sandman hits a senton on Diamond for the pin. Corino and Funk still fighting outside the ring. Now they are behind the bar. Funk is breaking glasses over Corino’s head. Sandman goes into the crowd as his music. Another average match, although this may have been the best due to its length. Rating: ***

CHIKARA 21: Tag World Grand Prix (7/26/03)

Match No. 1: Gran Akuma beat Eddie Kingston.

Match No. 2: American Gigolo beat Jolly Roger.

Match No. 3 : Ultra/ZERO (UltraMantis & Mister ZERO) vs. The Night Shift (Hallowicked & Blind Rage) in the Tag World Grand Prix final. Hallowicked and Mantis start things. They trade moves before tagging in ZERO and Rage. ZERO uses a straight jacket camel clutch on Rage. Rage then takes a nasty back drop to the floor. Rage catches Mantis with a back suplex. Rage with a huge suplex on Mantis. Heels then give him a double suplex. Mantis finally makes the hot tag. ZERO cleans house. Hallowicked catches him with a swinging neckbreaker followed by a sitout powerslam. Rage uses a reverse suplex on Mantis. Mantis then applies a ground octopus hold on Rage. Rage puts Mantis in a stepover toehold facelock (STF) but ZERO breaks it up. Mantis and ZERO give Rage a last shaven unicorn cutter but he kicks out. Hallowicked then hits a super fisherman’s buster on ZERO for the pin. Heels continue the beating after the match. Icarus and Grand Akuma make the save. Match started out slow, but good action leading up to the finish. Rating: ***

Match No. 4: Icarus vs. Jack Marciano. Camera focuses on one of Icarus’ terrible tattoos. They do a test of strength and Marciano pulls the hair. Referee Bryce Remsburg then pulls Marciano’s hair. Nice chain wrestling before Marciano takes a nice bump through the ropes. Marciano snaps Icarus’ throat over the top rope. Marciano hits inverted ddt on Icarus. Nice move by Marciano as he steps on the hair of Icarus and then pulls his arms. Pretty good dropkick by Icarus. Icarus hits a samurai ddt. Marciano with a wheelbarrow dropkick but Icarus kicks out. Marciano to the top. He misses a moonsault. Icarus then hits a springboard backflip three-quarter facelock falling reverse DDT (Shiranui). Kingston distracts the Remsburg. Icraus then takes out Kingston and Icarus hits a hurricanrana for the pin. This was on of the matches of the year in 2003 in CHIKARA and while it wasn’t spectacular it was pretty damn good for a couple of guys early in their career. Rating: ***1/2

Match No. 5: Mike Quackenbush, Sumie Sakai & DJ Skittlez beat The Conundrum (Jigsaw & Rorschach) & Mercedes Martinez two falls to one.

PWG 1: The Debut Show (7/26/03)

Match No. 1: Charles Mercury & Sara Del Rey & Supa Badd vs. Topgun Talwar & Zokre & Ryan Drago. Zokre with some nice moves early. First an armdrag and then a slingshot armdrag. Del Rey with a huge hip toss on Drago. Supa Bad with a huge suplex and then a dropkick. Drago working over Del Rey. Heels work over Del Rey. Talwar can barely pick her up for a slam. Del Rey gives Drago a ddt. Supa Badd unloads on the heels. Mercury with a springboard cross body block to the floor. Talwar nearly misses a cross body block to the floor. Del Rey then does a cross body to the floor. Zokre does a corkscrew flip to the floor. Supa Badd to the top rope. He does a dive. Drago buts Badd into a texas cloverleaf but Del Rey breaks it up with several forearms to the face. Mercury misses a legdrop from the top rope. Del Rey gives Drago a bridging german suplex for the pin. These six were pretty green, the match wasn’t great, but they gave a pretty good effort. Rating: *1/2

Match No. 2: Excalibur vs. Chris Bosh. Bosh with a nice spot where he does a satellite headscissors to the floor. Excalibur hits a huge knee from the top rope. He follows with an armbar. Huge lariat by Excalibur. He then hits a double underhook piledriver for the pin. Pretty good match. As an added bonus, Excalibur does commentary on his own match. Actually, the self commentary schtick got a bit old in the end. Rating: ***

Match No. 3: The Ballard Brothers (Shane & Shannon) vs. The Aerial Express (Scorpio Sky & Quicksilver). The Ballard Brothers are doing a Slapshot gimmick, complete with Charlestown Chiefs hockey jerseys and red mullets. Nice suplex by Sky. Quicksilver hits a leg lariat. Sky hits a sweet suicide senton onto the Ballards. Quicksilver nearly kills himself as his suicide dive goes awry and it looks like he grabs the top rope and hits the ring apron with his head. Ballards working over Quicksilver in the corner. They do a crazy double russian leg sweep. Shane hits a springboard splash on Quicksilver. Scorpio with a huge dropkick. Nice doubleteam by the faces as Excalibur holds Shane in front of him and Sky does a leap frog and then Quicksilver gives him a sitout facebuster. Quicksilver with a high cross body block. But Shannon catches him and does a big spin and Shane dropkicks him in the face. Scorpio makes the save. Shane hits a nice brainbuster on Sky. Shannon has Scorpio on his back in a fireman’s carry and he starts spinning. Quicksilver kicks him and then Scorpio rolls him up but he is under the ropes. Quicksilver holds Shannon, Scorpio dropkicks him in the chest and then Quicksilver drops him into a piledriver for the pin. Nasty looking move. These guys put on a pretty good show. Rating: ***1/2

Match No. 4: Super Dragon vs. M-Dogg 20. Nice opening sequence as they start in a test of strength and then transition into several moves while keeping their hands together. M-Dogg with a pommel horse move. He then does a crazy handspring suicide senton but he touches the ropes and his flip over the top rope comes up a bit short. Luckily Dragon adjusts and he catches Dragon with a hurricanrana on the floor. These guys did a great job averting disaster. Nice standing moonsault by M-Dogg. M-Dogg does a split-legged moonsault and lands on his feet but catches a boot in the nuts. Looks like they botch a move and Dragon does a dragon screw. He hits another dragon screw. Dragon with a double foot stomp. M-Dogg with another high risk move to the floor, this time with a corkscrew. M-Dogg with a tarantula on the guardrail. He then does a split-legged corkscrew moonsault. M-Dogg blocks a power bomb and turns it into a ddt. Dragon does a double foot stomp from the top rope. Dragon with a senton for a near fall. M-Dogg hits a swinging ddt. M-Dogg goes for a crazy hurricanrana from the top rope. It looks like he misses, but at the last moment Dragon flips to the mat. With Dragon’s back turned, M-Dogg does a springboard into a botched move. He then hits a hurricanrana from the back. M-Dogg misses his corkscrew 450 splash (Death From Above). Dragon then hits a springboard spinning wheel kick (UFO) but M-Dogg kicks out. Dragon then hits his corkscrew 450 splash (Dragon Twister) for the pin. Damn good match. These guys missed a couple of spots, but considering the difficulty of the numerous moves they attempted, no big deal. Rating: ****

Match No. 5: TARO vs. Babi Slymm. Taro cuts a promo before the match. He issues an open challenge. Oh, shit. This guy is twice his size. Slymm with a couple of huge shoulder blocks. Taro does a headscissors, but Slymm with a huge clothesline. Massive hip toss by Slymm. He then gives TARO a huge release german suplex. Slymm goes for a chokeslam but TARO turns it into a ddt. TARO with two spears and a leg lariat that send Slymm to the floor. TARO to the top rope where he does a tope con hilo onto Slymm. TARO with a lariat from the top rope. Slymm then hits a sitout chokeslam. He pulls him from the mat at two. Slymm with a sitout swinging side slam (Birdman) but he doesn’t cover him. He gets a chair and then sets up between the first and second rope. He charges TARO who moves and Slymm goes face first into the chair. TARO then covers him for the pin. Decent, yet predictable match. Rating: ***

Match No. 6: Mr. Excitement & Disco Machine vs. Hook Bomberry & Apollo Khan. Excitement exchange huge elbows. Hook working over Disco’s arm. Hook puts on a hammerlock on Disco and then bridges. A lot of matwork early. Apollo also does hammerlock into a bridge on Disco. Disco finally gets the hot tag. Excitement with a pair of overhead suplexes before Apollo gives him a backdrop driver. Apollo with a nice space tornado ogawa (sto). Kahn fucks up a move on the ropes, but then gives him a spear from the second rope. Disco dropkicks Khan and then Excitement gives him an exploder. Hook with two huge clotheslines on Excitement. Hook with a pair of snap suplexes and then a swinging neckbreaker. Disco tags in a gives Hook a snap suplex followed by a sitout facebuster but Apollo breaks it up. Hook goes back to work on Disco’s arm. Disco goes for a chokeslam, but Hook catches him in an arm bar and then locks it on for the tap. Match started slowly, but picked up and was pretty decent. Rating: ***

Match No. 7: Hardkore Inc. (Adam Pearce & Al Katrazz & Hardkore Kidd) vs. X-Foundation (Joey Ryan & Funky Billy Kim & Scott Lost). Six-way brawl starts things. Billy Kim with a dive onto Kidd. Lost does the same. Ryan works over Al. Kim and Lost hold Al and then Ryan gives him a sitout powerbomb. Leg lariat by Pearce. Kidd drops Lost hard onto the top rope. Al does the same. Back suplex by Pierce on Ryan. Heels work over Ryan outside the ring. Al walks the ropes. Ryan hits a super swinging neckbreaker (Duff Drop) from the top rope on Pearce. Faces with some nice doubleteam moves. Al clotheslines Kim over the top rope. It looks like he misses but Kim takes a nice flip bump to the floor. Kidd hits a sitout facebuster on Lost. Ryan gives Kidd a release german suplex. Al with a nice implant ddt on Ryan. Pearce nails Kim with a piledriver. Lost then superkicks Pearce. Ryan and Kim hold Al over their knees and Lost hits a huge elbow from the top rope. With the referee distracted, Pearce gives Ryan a crazy belt shot for the pin. Very good match. Rating: ***1/2

Match No. 8: A.J. Styles vs. Frankie Kazarian. Before the match Samoa Joe says he can’t wrestle due to injuries. All mat wrestling early. Kaz does a springboard to the outside of the ring and ddt’s Styles on the apron. Huge dropkick by Kaz. He then hits a springboard legdrop. Huge boot by Kaz. Styles hits a nice brainbuster. Huge discus lariat by Styles. He then hits a springboard moonsault into an inverted ddt (Phenomenon). Kaz follows with a bridging wrist lock electric chair drop (Back to the Future). After two attempts were blocked, Styles hits the belly to back inverted mat slam (Styles Clash) for the pin. Real good match, but a bit short and I expected better. Maybe this was their first match together as they didn’t totally click. Rating: ***1/2

ROH 23: Death Before Dishonor (7/19/03)

Show opens with CM Punk backstage cutting a promo on Raven. He says this is the most important match of his career. Colt Cabana interrupts Punk and he gets pissed and storms away. Cabana then cuts a comedy promo that turns somewhat serious.

They then show a montage of clips from the show. This is my big ROH pet peeve. Hey Gabe, I don’t want to see highlights of matches I haven’t seen yet. Save that shit for after the show.

Special K inside and outside the ring dancing to their rave music, just like the ending of the last show.

Gary Michael Capetta backstage with Samoa Joe. Joe cuts a promo on Paul London, who is in his last match for ROH. Capetta is terrible as always, he just tries too hard and his acting sucks.

We cut back to the stupid rave.

Idiot Capetta backstage again. This time with Homicide. He asks what happened after the last show. They keep talking about Steve Corino for some unknown reason. Julius Smokes cuts a promo on Corino. Homicide challenges Corino to a strong style match.

Back in the ring, the rave continues. Special K keeps fucking with ring announcer Stephen DeAngelis. Christopher Street Connection breaks things up as they play their disco music. Crowd chants “You suck dick” at CSC. Buff E. asks if anyone knows if they suck or swallow. That shuts up the crowd. CSC says they will turn everyone on to disco. Special K then jumps CSC as the rave music starts again. Low Ki then comes out and grabs the mic. He says he came for a fight and most of Special K bails.

Match No. 1: Low Ki vs. Special K. Low Ki slaps the shit out of Cloudy. Hijinx laughs and Low Ki quickly puts him in a dragon sleeper. Deranged then gives Low Ki a nut shot. Slugga carries those two to the back and Deranged is left. Deranged goes for a springboard moonsault, Low Ki catches him but Deranged gives him an arm drag. Deranged then hits a hurricanrana and a spin kick. Deranged working on Low Ki’s injured shoulder. He then hits a nice moonsault from the top rope to the floor. Deranged comes back into the ring with a springboard missile dropkick. They fuck up a move and then Low Ki gets pissed and gives him numerous Kawada kicks to the face. He then hits a rolling wheel kick. Ki follows with a cartwheel jumping high kick (Tidal Krush). Slugga grabs Ki from behind. Ki grabs Slugga in the balls to escape. Ki then puts Deranged into a lifting leg hook front facelook and rams him into the top turnbuckle twice before dropping him with a fisherman driver (Ki Krusher). He then immediately locks on a dragon sleeper (Dragon Clutch) as the bell rings. Interesting match. Ki got his ass beat early and after a botched spot, he just destroyed Deranged. After the match, Ki steps on Deranged right in the nuts. Rating: ***

They cut to a shot of Christopher Daniels talking on his cell phone in front of a paneled wall. The graphic says it is from Japan and we see Daniels wearing a cool New Japan Pro Wrestling t-shirt. He is talking to Allison Danger and tells her to offer the spot to him, whoever that is. Daniels then cuts a promo. He then says he will ask for a title shot when he gets back to Japan.

Match No. 2: Jimmy Rave vs. Matt Stryker. Rave in control early, working over Stryker’s arm. These guys are trading a bunch of tehncial moves and crowd is into it. Rave hits a belly-to-belly suplex from the top rope, then Stryker throws Rave from the top rope. Big knee by Rave followed by a shining wizard. Stryker hits a leg lariat and then a power slam. Rave gets a sleeper hold but Stryker breaks it with a jawbreaker. Rave does a spinning headscissors into a crossface
(From Dusk Till Dawn). Stryker reaches the ropes. Stryker then hits a death valley driver (Stryker Driver) for the pin. Decent opener, but a bit short. Rating: ***

Match No. 3: Carnage Crew (Loc & DeVito & Justin Credible & Masada) vs. Texas Wrestling Academy (Fast Eddie, Don Juan & Hotstuff Hernandez & Rudy Boy Gonzalez) in a weapons tag team match. All eight guys brawl before the match officially starts. DeVito beating the shit out off Eddie outside. Hernandez and Eddie go for simultaneous drop kicks on Masada straddling the top rope, but Eddie is late and he nearly breaks his neck. Justin now working over Don Juan, giving him a nasty power bomb. Rudy and Justin brawl in the crowd. Fast Eddie does a crazy moonsault to the floor. Don Juan then does a cross body block to the floor. Fast Eddie gives Masada a wicked german suplex onto a folded chair. Loc gives Don Juan a suplex onto a section of fence. Masada sits on the top rope and then throws Fast Eddie over his head and he lands headfirst on a chair set up in the ring. Rudy gives DeVito a suplex into a ladder in the corner. Loc destroys Don Juan with a chair thrown into the back of his head. He then gives him a neckbreaker on a chair. DeVito gives Hernandez a ladder shot to the head. Don Juan gives Masada a ddt onto a chair from the second rope. Don Juan gives a Masada a swinging neckbreaker from the apron onto a chair on the floor. Loc gives Fast Eddie a huge superplex from the top of a 10-foot ladder. Loc and DeVito then give Don Juan a ridiculously crazy spike piledriver from the apron through a table. Hernandez with a tope to the floor on Masada. He then sets up several chairs in the ring. He gives Masada a throwing crucifix powerbomb (Mega Bomb) through the chairs for the pin. Damn, this match was a train wreck but great if you like this kind of violence in a match. Rating: ***

Match No. 4: Outcast Killaz (Oman Tortuga & Diablo Santiago) vs. The Purists (Tony Mamaluke & John Walters). No idea why there is a squash match this high on the card. Boring shit early, nothing worth writing about. Purists with a double hangman’s neckbreaker on Santiago. Nice dropkick by Walters. Diablo hits a blockbuster on Walters. Oman holds Mamaluke and Diablo hits him with a nice dropkick. Mamaluke plants Oman with a powerbomb. He then does a crazy leglock. Meanwhile, Walters puts his leg behind Oman’s head and pulls his arm. Oman submits to both moves. Match was decent but nothing special. Rating: **1/2

After the match, the Ring Crew Express (Dunn & Marcos) come to the ring. Then Xavier comes to the ring and gives RCE a double clothesline. No idea what’s going on here. Xavier gives Dunn a cobra clutch suplex and then Marcos a pumphandle sitout facebuster (Kiss Your X Goodbye). Gary Michael Capetta interviews Xavier in the ring. Fans do the A.C. Slater chant. Xavier says he wants to be in the Field of Honor tournament.

Match No. 5: Tom Carter vs. Doug Williams. They trade technical moves early. Williams all over Carter. Nice hangman’s neckbreaker by Williams. Carter recovers and works on the arm. Williams withe a nice old school suplex. He then hits a nice tornado ddt. Carter barely hits a dropkick on Williams and then hits a somewhat sloppy moonsault press. Williams hits a huge knee off the top rope but Carter kicks out. He follows with a big knee lift. Carter replies with a facebuster. Carter with a wicked swing ddt from the top rope followed by a frog splash. Williams rolls Carter and then goes for a bridging german suplex (Chaos Theory) but he can’t hit it and holds his arm. Carter grabs the arm and rolls Williams over for the pin. Not sure about this one, nobody gives a shit about Carter, except Gabe I guess. Rating: ***

After the match, Carter is walking back to locker room. Allison Danger offers him a spot in The Prophecy but he turns her down. Weak.

Match No. 6: Colt Cabana vs. B.J. Whitmer vs. Dan Maff vs. Homicide. Winner gets a title shot at the next show. Maff opens with Homicide. Maff quicly tags to Whitmer. Cabana now in with Maff and Cabana hits a huge clothesline. Homicide nearly kills himself with a tope con hilo to the floor. Whitmer hits a nice northern lights suplex on Homicide. Homicide and Cabana trade chops. Homicide and Whitmer trade kicks to the back. Maff does a crazy dive and ends up in the front row. Cabana hits a moonsault to the floor. Two huge spots by the big men in this match. Whitmer and Maff trade some brutal chops. Maff gives Whitmer a half nelson suplex and he  lands on his head. Homicide hits a cutter on Maff. Huge boot the face by Maff on Homicide. Cabana goes for a fisherman’s suplex on Homicide and Maff gives him a german suplex. Nice three-way spot. Whitmer catches Maff with a huge knee. Cabana goes for a double underhook canadian backbreaker drop (Colt .45) but Whitmer blocks it and gives him a falling reverse ddt (inverted ddt). Homicide breaks up the pin attempt. Homicide goes for his back-to-back inverted piledriver (Da Cop Killa) but Whitmer escapes, tries to hit him with a superkick but Homicide hits a huge lariat. Maff misses a cannonball on Homicide. Cabana goes for an airplane spin on Homicide but then drapes his legs over the top rope and gives him a nasty bulldog. Maff with a nut shot on Cabana. He then gives Cabana an inverted death valley driver (Burning Hammer) but Whitmer breaks it up. Whitmer hits a T-bone suplex (wrist clutch exploder suplex) on Maff but Homicide breaks it up. Whitmer gives Homicide a german suplex from the top rope. Whitmer then gives Cabana the wrist clutch exploder from the top rope for the pin. Damn good match with tons of high risk moves. Rating: ****

Daniels shown on the phone in Japan. He acts upset about Xavier coming back and not telling him. He then cuts a promo acting like Xavier came back as planned.

Capetta backstage with Low Ki. Same monotone promo by Ki. Fittingly the audio doesn’t match the video.

They show a clip from the previous show where Special K destroyed the Backseat Boyz through a table.

Match No. 7: Backseat Boyz (Trent Acid & Johnny Kashmere) & Spanish Announce Team (Jose & Joel Maximo) vs. Special K (Mikey Whipwreck, Brian XL, Angel Dust & Hydro) in a scramble match. Hydro opens with Joel. Huge lariat by Joel. Angel Dust hits a springboard dropkick. He offers some pills to Kashmere. Kashmere puts them in his mouth and gives  him a chop. Followed by a spear. Brian XL with some nice moves on Jose. Mikey blows mist into Acid’s eyes. All  four faces do a tandem suplex on the heels. Next is a crazy multi-man move as Hydro is on his stomach. SAT hold Angel Dust and Acid clotheslines him from the top rope. SAT then powerbomb him onto Hydro’s back. Jose then puts Hydro in a camel clutch while Joel has Angel Dust in a boston crab. Boyz and Joel then do a triple dropkick on Hydro. SAT all do jumps onto Jose, held by Mikey who did a stepover toehold facelock and then turned it over. Crazy moves now. Kashmere drops Lit from a cradle suplex into a neckbreaker (Cradle Breaker). Mikey then hits a shining wizard on Kashmere. Acid then nails Whipwreck with a running boot (Mafia Kick). SAT hits the Spanish Fly on Hydro. Trent holds Mikey and Joel goes for kick put Mikey moves and he hits Acid. Mikey then gives Acid a three-quarter facelock jawbreaker (Whipper Snapper) for the pin. Entertaining match with a bunch of spots. After the match, the Boyz give Joel a doubleteam crucifix powerbomb (T-Gimmick) and then they do the Dream Sequence on Jose. Rating: ***

Match No. 8: Krazy K vs. Joey Matthews vs. Jeff Hardy. Fans don’t like Hardy. After he slips on the ropes, they quickly start a “You fucked up” chant. Then they start a “You got fired” chant, followed by a “We want Matt” chant. Matthews attacks K and then Hardy. He then goes after Hardy’s mask. Girls scream as Hardy takes off his mask. Fans booing the hell out of Hardy as he works over K. They botch a move. K does a corkscrew plancha to the floor and nearly kills himself. Hardy nails K with a powerbomb. Matthews knocks Hardy off the top rope and the fans go crazy. He then gives K an inverted ddt. Hardy hits a swanton on Matthews. He then does a double legdrop on K for the pin. Interesting match on many levels. Hardy got booed and deservedly so as he wasn’t all there. Fans give it to him on the way back through the curtain. Rating: **1/2

Clips of Punk and Raven building up to the match. Great package.

Match No. 9: CM Punk vs. Raven in  a dog collar match. Punk cuts a great promo, asking how the crowd feels in a building that doesn’t sell alcohol. Crowd starts a “Shut the fuck up” chant. Crowd starts an “alcohol” chant. Punk calls out Danny Doring in the crowd. Crowd starts a “CM Pussy” chant. Punk tries to run away but Raven pulls him back into the ring. He then works him over with the chain. Punk gets posted, then crotched by the chain. Raven gives him a russian leg sweep into the barricade. Punk is busted open. Punk takes another leg sweep into the barricade. Raven crowns him with the ring bell. Punk is a bloody mess. Raven sets up a table in the corner, but Punk gives him a nutshot. Raven replies with a kneelift. Raven goes to whip Punk into the table but Punk reverses it. Punk now working him over. Raven thrown into the barricade. He’s busted open but it’s only a trickle. They are fighting in the crowd. A fan holds a chair and Raven runs Punk face first into it. Another fan participation spot. They are now in the bleachers. Raven goes to the top, but Punk drags him all the way down with the chain. Punk now beating him with the chain. They finally go back into the ring. Punk gives Raven a snap suplex. Punk grabs the mic and taunts Raven. Raven with multiple clotheslines. Raven sets up a chair in the ring. He gives Punk a drop toehold onto the chair. Punk kicks out. Raven goes for a chairshot on Punk but he moves and Raven crowns referee Paul Turner. Raven hits a flowing snap ddt (Raven Effect) but there is no referee. Colt Cabana to the ring and he gives Raven a nutshot followed by a ddt onto a chair. Doring then clotheslines Cabana to the floor. Punk then covers Raven for the pin. After the match, Punk ties Raven to the ropes with tape. Punk grabs the mic and then douses Raven with several beers. Tommy Dreamer then comes to the ring and lays out Punk with a vicious chairshot to the head. Punk then gets up but Dreamer gives him a ddt. He then ties Punk to ropes and unties Raven. They hug and then Dreamer hands Raven a beer. Raven then pours the beer on Punk. Pretty good old school match, but great angle afterward lifts it to four stars. Rating: ****

Paul London cuts a promo about his last match before leaving for WWE.

Match No. 10: Briscoe Brothers (Jay & Mark Briscoe) vs. A.J. Styles & Amazing Red for ROH tag team titles. A.J. and Jay trade heavy shots and then fall to the floor. Back in the ring, Red hits a leg trap sunset flip powerbomb (Code Red) on Jay. Huge dropkick by A.J. on Mark. Briscoes going after Red’s bad knee. Mark gives Red a dragon screw. Red is in trouble. Nice spot in the corner as Jay powerbombs A.J. and he superplexes Mark. Jay nails double underhook piledriver (Jay Driller) on Red. Mark hits springboard clothesline on A.J. Red hits a shining wizard on Jay and then Styles uses belly to back inverted mat slam (Styles Clash) for the pin. Awesome match. Rating: ****

Jim Cornette cuts promo putting over ROH, previewing upcoming show in Dayton.

Match No. 11: Paul London vs. Samoa Joe for ROH world title. Baseball slide by London. He then does a moonsault off the ringside barricade. Joe drops London with a side suplex slam (sidewalk slam). Joe drops London throat first over the top rope. He then gives him a couple of facewashes. London goes for a slingshot crossbody block to the floor but Joe catches him and drops him to the floor. Joe does running arched big boot (Ole Kick) on the floor as London is seated. Joe hits a second kick. Joe with a nice german suplex on London. They trade pinning attempts. London hits a ddt and then goes to the top rope. He hits a shooting star press (London Star Press) but Joe kicks out. Joe with a huge dragon suplex but London kicks out. Nasty lariat by Joe but London kicks out. Joe catches London in the choke, then he takes him to the ground. London fighting but he finally goes out. Another damn good match, although it seemed a bit short and a bit of a letdown. Still nothing to complain about when it comes to the show these two put on. Rating: ****1/2

After the match, the entire locker room comes to the ring to congratulate London. Fans start a “Thank You Paul” chant. Wrestlers take a knee as London cuts a farewell promo. He puts over Joe. He also puts over his trainer Rudy Boy Gonzalez. London hugs all of the boys and then kisses the ROH logo.

Raven cuts a promo talking about his losing ways. Talk about a buzz killer after the London segment. Raven now wants to lose in a cage against Punk. Same cliche ending.

Carnage crew cut promo. Same old shit from them too. Fat wife, blah, blah, blah.

Christopher Daniels with another promo from in front of the wood paneling in his basement, er, in the locker room in Japan.

Rob Feinstein asks Punk to cut a promo. Punk gets pissed and shoves him to the ground. Feinstein still can’t act, but Punk is great.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_London

CHIKARA 20: Tag World Grand Prix (7/5/03)

Match No. 1: The Night Shift (Hallowicked & Blind Rage) vs. Brad Bradley & Jimmy Jacobs. Jacobs is over doing his Bruiser Brody gimmick yelling Huss. Bradley gorilla presses Jacobs and tosses him to the floor, where he hits a plancha on The Night Shift. Bradley then follows with a dive over the top rope (Tope Suicido). Blind Rage with a nice reverse suplex on Jacobs. Shoddy camera work and poor lighting make this one hard to follow. Heels working over Jacobs. Bradley gets the hot tag and cleans house. Bradley does rocket launcher with Jacobs splashing Rage. Bradley does a jacknife powerbomb on Hallowicked followed by a side slam (Air Raid Crash) on Rage. Rage then hits a rolling reverse prawn hold on Jacobs for the pin. Decent match, hard to see, Jacobs was over for a guy likely not seen before in this territory. Rating: **1/2

Match No. 2: The Superfriends (Mike Quackenbush & Chris Hero) vs. Skayda & Arakencito. Since Arakencito is a mini, he only needs to pin Quack or Hero with a two count; they must pin him with a four count. Quack and Arakencito open and trade holds and reversals on the mat. Quack catches the mini with a cerebro lock. Hero working over the Skyda’s legs. Skyda reverses it and grabs a single leg grapevine. Skyda putting on a clinic with several holds. Nice chain wrestling by Quack and the mini, who hits a flip dive over the top rope (Tope con Hilo). Hero with a big elbow on Skayda. Skayda does several arm drags and then a drop kick that sends him outside the ring. Nice suplex by Quack on the mini, followed by an elbow. Quack gets him in a standing scorpion deathlock. Hero tags in and punishes the mini’s legs. Quack misses a senton dive from the top rope. Mini to the top. He does a 450 splash but Quack kicks out at one. Quack hits a tiger driver but the Mini kicks out at three. Skayda working over Quack, hitting a twisting face slam. Skayda uses an abdominal stretch but hero breaks it up. Quack hits a black tornado driver. He goes for a move outside, but the mini cuts him off. Hero tags in and the mini headbutts him in the arm. Hero then clotehslines the hell out of the little guy, who then gives him a jawbreaker. He then gives Hero a super jawbreaker from the top rope. Hero gives him a brainbuster, followed by a hangman’s clutch for the tap. Real good technical action, crowd not into it much unfortunately. Rating: ***

Match No. 3: Team F.I.S.T. (Gran Akuma & Icarus) vs. The Conundrum (Jigsaw & Rorschach). Akuma and Rohrschach open. Jigsaw then tags in as does Icarus. They goof around with a mirror spot before Icarus clotheslines him over the top rope. Akuma hits a tope to the floor. Heels now working over Icarus. He nearly gets the hot tag. More working over Icarus. Jigsaw misses a corkscrew senton. Icarus finally makes the hot tag. Akuma cleans house. The Conundrum with a crazy double team belly-to-back piledriver on Akuma. Rohrschach uses a swining frankensteiner on Icarus followed by a victory roll, but Akuma breaks it up. After a blown spot, Akuma backdrops Rohrschach to the floor. Akuma then hits a high cross body block on Jigsaw for the pin. Pretty decent match for guys very early in their career. Rating: **1/2

Match No. 4: Jolly Roger & American Gigolo vs. Ultra/ZERO (UltraMantis & Mister ZERO). Looks like match is joined in progress. ZERO working over Roger early. These two are working well together. Gigolo now working Mantis. Apparently Gigolo worked for AAA in Mexico although I’ve never heard of him before. Roger with a nice hip toss into a sitout power bomb (hip toss driver). Things getting a bit sloppy. ZERO gets the hot tag. But he gets caught in an overhead abdominal stretch by Gigolo. ZERO and Mantis then catch Roger with a double cutter (Last Shaven Unicorn) for the pin. Decent match, but a bit sloppy, open must have sucked if they cut it and finish came out of nowhere. Rating: **

Match No. 5: Swiss Money Holding (Claudio Castagnoli & Ares) vs. Senior Assault Team (Melvin Snodgrass & Lester Crabtree). This may be Castagnoli’s first U.S. appearance. Very quick squash as Ares holds Lester and Castagnoli hits a neckbreaker (Cash Flow) for the pin. Rating: **

Match No. 6: The Wild Cards (Eddie Kingston & Jack Marciano) vs. Mercedes Martinez & Sumie Sakai. Marciano gets a slap to the face by Martinez. Marciano then gives her a snap mare by the hair (Hair Mare). She gives him a huge hip toss and then a slam. She then works him over. Sakai does a cross body block to the outside (Plancha Suicida). Girls doubleteam the heels. Sakai puts Marciano in the camel clutch. Heels all over Sakai. Nice snap suplex by Marciano. Sakai recovers and gives Marciano a drop toe hold into the corner and then two drop kicks from up top. He then catches her in a backbreaker. Marciano misses a frog splash and Sukai makes the hot tag. Mercedes with a nice swinging ddt on Kingston. Sakai hits a moonsault press but the ref is distracted. Sakai witha nice satellite headscissors on Marciano. She also does the same to Kingston. She then gives him a hurricanrana. But she accidentally dropkicks Martinez and then Kingston schoolboys her for the pin. Pretty good match, Wild Cards work the crowd very well. After the match, Martinez takes out Sakai. Rating: **1/2

Match No. 7: The Night Shift (Hallowicked & Blind Rage) vs. Team F.I.S.T. (Gran Akuma & Icarus). Icarus and Blind Rage open. Both are sporting new looks from the first year. Icarus lost the mask and that was actually a bad thing as the long red hair is not a good look. Hallowicked hits a nice ddt on Akuma. Icarus and Rage trade some nice moves. Rage hits a sto. Icarus with some loud lariats on Rage and then a swinging ddt. Rage hits a crucifix sitout powerbomb (Niagara Driver) on Icarus. Hallowicked hits a frankensteiner on Akuma. Action starts to pick up. Hallowicked then hits a sitout powerbomb (Michinoku Driver) for the pin as Rage holds his legs down from outside the ring. Pretty good match with some real good moves. Rating: ***

Match No. 8: Swiss Money Holding (Claudio Castagnoli & Ares) vs. The Superfriends (Mike Quackenbush & Chris Hero). Claudio and Quack open things. Quack gets Claudio in a stretch muffler. Hero and Ares in. They do a nice sequence led by Hero. Quack back in. He wraps the arms and legs of Ares in a la nieblina. Claudio gets Hero in a body scissor. They do a crazy move where they are tied up upside down and the slap each other in the face several times. Quack catches Claudio in a pendulum and he rams his head into the bottom turnbuckle. Quack and Claudio get on their partners’ shoulders and trade some spots. Claudio with a pair of nice european uppercuts on Hero. Quack with a nice flip dive (Tope con Hilo) followed by a dive (Tope Suicido) by Claudio. Hero then hits a corkscrew tope to the floor. Heels hit a combo sto and russian leg sweep on Quack. Ares picks up Claudio and he spears Quack in the corner (tandem spear). Match dragging and things starting to get sloppy. Ares chokes Hero with his tie. Hero avoids the tandem spear and counters with a double power bomb. Ares hits a swinging neckbreaker on Hero. Heels working over Hero. Hero catches Ares with a cradle back suplex. Hero makes the hot tag. Quack with a tornado ddt on Claudio followed by a senton. Ares breaks it up. Ares hits a gorrilla press sitout powerbomb (Michinoku Driver) on Quack. Ares does an airplane spin drop (Pyramid Drop) on Hero. Heels hit the Cash Flow on Quack but he kicks out. Hero hits an inverted swinging neckbreaker (Hero’s Welcome) but Ares kicks out. Quack and Hero do a double Hero’s Welcome but Claudio makes the save. Hero applies stepover toehold inverted crevatte (Hangman’s Clutch) while Claudio puts Quack in a bridging cobra clutch (Swiss Sleeper Hold) and the bell rings. Turns out it is a time limit draw. Both team are eliminated from the tournament. For booking reasons, match had to go 30 minutes, but damn did it drag and lose the crowd. Guys did some great moves but lacking several things to make it outstanding match. Rating: ***

Match No. 9: The Wild Cards (Eddie Kingston & Jack Marciano) vs. Ultra/ZERO (UltraMantis & Mister ZERO). Heels attack at the bell. Marciano with a double axe handle to the back of Mantis. Mantis with a nice flip dive (Tope con Hilo) on Marciano. Kingston with a nice lariat on Zero. Heels working over Zero in the corner. Wild Cards using great heel tactics keeping Zero from tagging. Marciano with a side indian deathlock on Zero. Zero finally makes the hot tag and Mantis cleans house. Heels then work him over hitting a double sto. Mantis with a nice double underhook sitout facebuster (Reverse Tiger Driver). Marciano with a huge yakuza kick on Zero. Marciano with a knee from the top as Kingston holds Mantis but Zero makes the save. Kingston with a nice uranage suplex. Match skips forward. With Kingston on the top rope, Mantis goes for some kind of double underhook toss. Kingston lands awkwardly and grabs his balls in pain. Zero covers him for the pin. No idea what happened nor why they skipped right to the finish, which lowers the match rating. Rating: ***

ROH 22: Wrestlerave ’03 (6/28/03)

ROH Showcase Match A: Lit vs. Benny Blanco. Lit comes out acting like he is fucked up. Blanco hits a nice neckbreaker onto his leg. And then a roaring forearm. He misses a reverse splash. Blanco then hits three suplexes for the pin. Not much here. Rating: *

ROH Showcase Match B: Hydro vs. Angeldust. No idea why these guys are wrestling each other. They don’t either. They trade moves early. Nice springboard by Angeldust. Hydro with a german suplex but he can’t hold the bridge. He then hits the splash. Angeldust with a side suplex on Hydro from the top rope. Hydro then hits an inverted over the shoulder back to belly piledriver (That’s All She Wrote). Short but a couple of decent moves. Rating: *1/2

ROH Showcase Match C: Christoper Street Connection (Buff E. & Mase) vs. Outcast Killaz (Oman Tortuga & Diablo Santiago). Buff E. with with some huge chops on Diablo. OCK hits double dropkick on Buff E. Diablo with a decent side suplex on Mase. Buff E. holds Oman and Mase hits gay basher on him for the pin. Trademark CSC spots. Rating: *1/2

Low Ki cuts a promo backstage. Same monotone, cringe-worthy promo as always.

Speaking of bad promos, Rob Feinstein is backstage. Horrible segment with Ronnie Stevens.

Match No. 1: Ring Crew Express (Dunn & Marcos) vs. Prince Nana & Jimmy “Jac’t” Cash. Cash is juicing big time. All heels early. Marcos with a nice northern lights suplex. Nana holds Dunn and Cash hits legdrop from the top rope. He then hits a huge spinebuster. Dunn drops Marcos into a senton. Dunn lifts Marcos who hits a shiranui for the pin. Quick match, but decent. And an upset as RCE wins their first match in ROH. Rating: **1/2

Match No. 2: Alexis Laree vs. Sumie Sakai. Yawn. Laree hits inverted ddt for the pin. Rating: **

Christopher Daniels cuts a promo backstage. Allison Danger has now has pink and blonde hair to go with the black. Talk about the tramp look. Dan Maff also cuts a promo on Samoa Joe. Raven is shown sitting down with a terribly bruised ankle.

Match No. 3: Chad Collyer vs. Matt Stryker in a tap out match. Gabe says that Tom Carter was supposed to face Collyer but his wife is giving birth. First he quit CHIKARA as a trainer to work with her business. Now this. I guess we know who wears the pants in the family. Stryker working on Collyer’s legs early. Collyer goes for a figure four but Stryker makes the ropes. Collyer now working Stryker’s arm. He hits a fujiwara armbar but Stryker turns it into a texas cloverleaf. Collyer runs Stryker’s leg into the ring apron twice and then into the ring post. He continues to work Stryker’s leg. Collyer hits the figure four. But Stryker reverses it. Collyer breaks it and then goes back for the leg. He again applies the figure four. Stryker reverses it again before it’s broken. Stryker with an ankle lock on Collyer but he reaches the ropes. Collyer hits the cloverleaf but Stryker makes the ropes. Stryker applies the reverse figure four (Stryker Lock) but Collyer makes the ropes. Collyer with the cloverleaf and Stryker taps. Damn good technical match. Rating: ***1/2

Match No. 4: Special K (Deranged & Dixie & Izzy) vs. Carnage Crew (Loc & DeVito & Justin Credible). Loc drops Dixie hard with a sitout facebuster. DeVito beating on Izzy. Justin hits a superkick on Deranged and then Loc gives him a saito suplex. Justin chopping the hell out of Deranged. DeVito misses a moonsault. Dixie with a plancha and then Deranged hits a tope con hilo. Izzy follows with a crazy springboard corkscrew to the floor. Things get crazy before Credible hits a kneeling belly-to-belly piledriver (That’s Incredible!) for the pin. A bit sloppy, but decent overall. Rating: **1/2

Match No. 5: Dan Maff vs. Samoa Joe for the ROH title. Maff attacks Joe at the bell. Maff does a crazy tope to the floor on Joe. Joe misses a running arched big boot (Ole Kick) but he hits it the second time. And then a third. Maff then thrown into the ring barricade. Joe with several chair shots. Joe with a release german suplex but Maff gets up and hits a huge lariat on Joe. Maff hits a cannonball and then a heel kick on Joe. Maff goes for an inverted death valley driver (Burning Hammer) but Joe blocks it. Joe goes for the choke but Maff breaks it up. Maff hits a nasty backdrop driver for a near fall. Joe catches Maff in a one armed side slam (STJoe) in the corner. Powerbomb by Joe followed by a stepover toehold facelock (STF) but Maff makes it to the ropes. Maff then gives Joe an sto in the corner. Maff goes for another Burning Hammer but Joe escapes. Joe hits a nice dragon suplex for the pin. Wow, damn good match that was very physical. I wasn’t expecting Maff to step it up like this. His father died the day earlier and he definitely honored him. Rating: ****

Gary Michael Capetta backstage with Homicide and Julius Smokes. Smokes with his standard gibberish.

Match No. 6: Alex Shelley vs. Jimmy Jacobs vs. B.J. Whitmer vs. Tony Mamaluke in a four-corner survival match. Shelley opens against Mamaluke. Our first look at Shelley in ROH. Jacobs doing the hilarious “Huss” gimmick. Nice moves back and forth. Shelly now in against Jacobs. Hard to believe Shelley is only 19 during this match. More great moves by Jacobs. These guys look great together. Whitmer in against Mamaluke. Mamaluke works on his bad knee. Then moves to the arm. Camel clutch by Mamluke but Whitmer reverses it into one of his own. Whitmer nails Jacobs with a huge boot to the face. Mamaluke hits a sick-looking backdrop driver on Shelley. Whitmer hits a nice snap suplex on Shelley. Jacobs goes for a hurricanrana on Shelley, but Shelley catches him and instead of doing a power bomb, he drops him forward and Jacobs hits his head on the top turnbuckle. Great looking move as Jacobs does a Flair bump on his face. Mamaluke hits a russian leg sweep on Shelley. Whitmer hits a brainbuster on Mamaluke but Jacobs breaks it up with a senton on Mamaluke. Whitmer catches Jacobs in a spin-out power bomb (Blue Thunder Driver) but Shelley dropkicks Whitmer in the face. Whitmer nearly takes off Shelley’s head with a lariat. Mamaluke breaks it up with a fujiwara armbar but Jacobs breaks it up with a double stomp to the chest. Mamaluke puts Jacobs in a hammerlock and then bridges. Shelley with a huge dive to break it up. Whitmer hits another huge lariat, this time on Mamaluke. Whitmer then goes for an exploder suplex but Shelley blocks it nearly gets the pin with a small package. Whitmer destroys Shelley with a wrist-clutch explode. Whitmer then hits another exploder on Jacobs for the pin while Shelley simultaneously taps to Mamaluke’s grounded dragon sleeper (Sicilian Stretch). Damn good match with some awesome action and moves. Shelley and Jacobs were superb. Rating: ****

Match No. 7: Second City Saints (CM Punk & Colt Cabana) vs. Raven & Christopher Daniels. Raven cuts a pissed off promo before the match. Raven lies down in the ring, but moves when Cabana goes for a frog splash. All four guys brawl outside. Faces catch heels in old school rowboat move. Faces then bulldog Cabana into Punk’s nuts. Raven sets up a chair, but misses leg drop. Punk goes to hit Raven with the chair but Daniels hits him with another chair. Punk gives Daniels a huge chair shot to the head. Daniels is busted open. Punk is also bleeding from the earlier chair shot. Punk working over Daniels’ arm. Heels taking it to Daniels now. Punk is a mess. Cabana now in with Daniels. Daniels gets Cabana in a crazy submission, but Punk comes off the top rope to break it up. Daniels hits inverted ddt on Cabana and then makes the hot tag to Raven, who cleans house. Raven catches both Cabana and Punk with knee lifts. He does drop toe holds onto a chair on both Punk and Cabana. Raven bulldogs Punk and on the way down, clotheslines Cabana. Cabana goes for his spingboard moonsault but takes out the referee. Raven nails Cabana with a flowing snap ddt (Raven Effect) but there is no ref. Allison Danger and Lucy Ferr fight each other in the ring. Punk then superkicks Danger. Daniels then gives Punk a sitout double underhook facebuster (Angel’s Wings) but Cabana gives him a double underhook backbreaker drop (Colt .45). Raven hits another Raven Effect on Cabana but Punk gives Raven a hangman’s neckbreaker with a chain. He then beats the shit out of him with the chain. Ref comes back in and Punk gets the pin. After the match, Punk hangs Raven with the chain in the corner. Gabe and Gentry act outraged on commentary. Match was decent, but a bit short. Rating: ***

Raven cuts a promo after the match. I guess this wasn’t a blow off match. He says they will have a dog collar match at the next show.

Cameras on Punk and Cabana backstage. Punk cuts another promo on Raven. He compares Raven to his drunk father.

Match No. 8: Chris Sabin vs. A.J. Styles for the NWA World Heavyweight Title. Sabin comes to the ring with his TNA X Division belt. Lot of matwork early. Styles goes for a belly-to-back inverted mat slam (Styles Clash) but Sabin blocks it. Sabin then gets his neck snapped over the top rope by Styles. Sabin gives Styles a head scissors into the barricade outside. Sytles does a suplex and then drops Sabin with a neckbreaker. Styes then hits a brainbuster. Styles ties up Sabin’s legs and then lifts him by the neck into a submission attempt. Styles hits a quick powerslam. Double enzuigiris put both men down. Sabin does a crazy release german suplex on A.J. Sabin goes for a fisherman’s buster, but A.J. blocks it and gives Sabin a side powerbomb. Styles uses a springboard moonsault but Sabin blocks it and then A.J. spins around into a crucifix. Sabin gives A.J. a spinning backbreaker (Sabalizer). Styles then gives Sabin a Styles Clash for the pin. Damn good match, but again a bit short. Rating: ****

Styles cuts a promo after the match and puts over his NWA title.

Gary Michael Capetta with another stupid segment. He tells Low Ki that Homicide wants to meet him after the show.

Match No. 9: Trent Acid vs. Homicide in a Fight Without Honor match. Acid jumps Homicide before the match. Acid with a crazy springboard moonsault to the floor that nearly kills himself. Acid is playing to the ladies and Homicide catches him with a mafia kick. Homicide working him over in the corner. Homicide with two t-bone suplexes followed by a northern lights suplex. Homicide blocks a superkick but Acid hits the second. He then gives Homicide a double knee to the face and then a missile dropkick. Acid sets up a ladder in the corner. Homicide gives Acid a belly-to-belly suplex into the ladder. Homicide hits Acid with a chair. He then does a crazy cross body block to the floor. Homicide puts the ladder on the apron and the ring barricade. Acid gives Homicide a ddt on the ladder. Acid dropkicks the ladder onto Homicide. He then brings the table into the ring along with two chairs. Homicide takes a chair to the head. Acid sets up two chairs and puts the ladder between them. Acid gives Homicide a sitout powerbomb (Acid Burn) onto the chairs. Homicide puts Acid into a stepover toehold facelock (STF). Homicide gives a Acid a brainbuster on a chair. Homicide brings a big ladder into the ring. Homicide goes to give Acid a back-to-back double underhook piledriver (Cop Killa) but Acid blocks it. Johnny Kashmere comes into the ring and he and Acid give Homicide a double crucifix powerbomb (T-Gimmick). Smokes takes out Kashmere. Ref is late and Homicide kicks out. Acid puts Homicide on the top rope and gives him a skylift powerbomb (Backseat Driver) but he barely kicks out. Homicide gives Acid a cutter and then a northern lights bomb. Homicide puts Acid on a table outside the ring. He goes to the top but Acid throws a chair at him and knocks him down. Acid brings a table into the ring. Homicide gives Acid a cutter on the table on the floor. Fans start a “Holy Shit” chant. Back in the ring, they trade kicks to the face. Acid sets up the big ladder. He slams Homicide and climbs to the top. Homicide knocks the ladder over and Acid falls to floor and nails the guardrail. Homicide leans a ladder on the guardrail and puts Acid on it. He does a somersault tope (Tope con Hilo) but Acid moves. Homicide goes for another Cop Killa but Acid rolls through and gets the pin. These guys beat the shit out of each other. Rating: ***1/2

After the match, Homicide goes to shake Acid’s hand, but the lights go off. Special K’s music plays and they come to the ring. When the lights come back on, the Backseat Boyz are on a table and Deranged and Izzy do elbow drops through the table. Special K rave in the ring.

Jim Cornette cuts a promo and puts over “The” Ring of Honor and then the Midnight Express, Smoky Mountain Wrestling and OVW.

We see more of the rave.

Loc & DeVito cut a promo backstage on Mikey Whipwreck and the boys from the Texas Wrestling Academy, who they will meet on the next show.

We see more of the rave.

Samoa Joe cuts a promo backstage on Paul London. We then go to commotion in the locker room. Capetta tries to go in and see what’s happening, but he is threatened by one of the gangsters. Show ends.

MLW 5: Hybrid Hell (6/20/03)

Typical MLW. Ring music is fucked up right off the bat. And they don’t edit the fuck-up off the DVD. Christopher Daniels comes out with Daniels and cuts a promo on the fans. Lynn also rags on the fans. He then cuts a promo on Paul London for not showing up. He says he will take on anyone. They replay the ring music correctly this time.

Match No. 1: Jerry Lynn vs. Kid Romeo. Lynn jumps Romeo at the bell. Place looks pretty full. They must have papered things heavily. And there probably is nobody on the hard camera side of the arena. Romeo hits a hurricanrana and a leg lariat. Daniels beats on Romeo outside the ring and then runs him into the ring post. Lynn goes for a springboard leg drop on the apron and fucks it up. Fans let Lynn know that he fucked up the move. Romeo hits a bulldog but Lynn barely kicks out. Lynn hits a fireman’s carry cutter on Romeo. Romeo hits an over the shoulder belly-to-back piledriver (Last Kiss) but Daniels distracts the ref. Lynn then hits the cradle piledriver for the pin. Decent match, but nothing special. Rating: **1/2

Before the next match, Dawn Marie comes out and cuts a promo. Who cares what she says, she’s got one smoking hot body. Must be cold in the arena, but nobody is complaining.

Match No. 2: Michael Shane vs. Homicide. Homicide gets the early advantage and Shane takes a powder. Plus he wants to get closer to Francine’s voluptuous breasts. Homicide with a nice release overhead suplex, followed by a somersault tope (Tope con Hilo). Shane with a nice side suplex and then he does and ground and pound followed by an atomic drop. Shane goes for the pin and puts his feet on the ropes. Homicide hits a nice scoop lift piledriver. Shane hits a release overhead suplex and then Homicide cracks him with a punch. Homicide nails Shane with an exploder suplex. Homicide then hits a back-to-back double underhook piledriver (Da Cop Killa) but Shane kicks out. Homicide chases Francine outside the ring and then Shane catches him with a facebuster. Homicide barely kicks out. Homicide puts on the stepover toehold facelock (STF) but Francine distracts the ref. Homicide is distracted by her again. Shane rolls him up and Homicide kicks out. Big boot by Homicide. Francine distraction again. Homicide makes her headbutt Shane in the balls several times. Enough of this shit already. Homicide goes to gived her a move and Shane superkicks him. Homicide kicks out. Ok, both guys have kicked out of each other’s finisher. Homicide then rolls up Shane for the pin. Good job by the guys, but this fucking match was way overbooked, which dropped the match quality. Rating: ***

After the match, Shane teases that he is going to hit Dawn Marie, but they embrace. Enough already.

Match 3: Billy Fives vs. Christopher Daniels. Have to admit, I haven’t heard of Fives. And its typical of MLW to have Daniels in the opening half of the card when there will be several stiffs later in the show. Fives slaps Daniels, who gets pissed. Fans not into this match at all. Huge dropkick by Fives. Fives hits a plancha on Daniels. Daniels clotheslines Fives to the floor and Lynn works him over outside. Ok, so this is three matches in a row with outside interference. Enough already. Fives hits a hangman’s neckbreaker. Fives hits what looks like a shining wizard but he doesn’t hit it correctly. Styles has no idea what to call it. Daniels hits a facebuster on Fives and then goes to the top. He then hits a double jump moonsault (Best Moonsault Ever) but Fives kicks out. What the fuck? Every ROH guy tonight has someone kick out of their finisher? Again, enough already with this overbooking. Fives does a suplex where he drops Daniels on his face. Fives hits a cutter but Lynn distracts him. Daniels then hits a rolling cutter (Last Rites) for the pin. Another match that should have been better, but was over booked. Congrats, Court Bauer. You figured out a way to book a shitty Christopher Daniels match. That, my friend, is hard to do. Rating: **1/2

Match No. 4: Spanish Announce Team vs. Samoan Island Tribe (Manu & Samu). So far, this card has been SHIT so I guess it’s fitting we have SAT vs. SIT in this match. They hit the ring and start brawling before Stephen DeAngelis can make the ring intros. Joel hits a moonsault on Samu, who looks to be 300 pounds plus. The Samoans fight each other for a second. Who knows why. Manu hits a sitout double underhook facebuster on Jose. Samu throws Joel backstage. Manu just beats the shit out of Jose. But Joel makes the save with a chair. He gives him two chair shots to the head that don’t work. He finally dropkicks the chair into his head and he falls over Jose. The SAT’s roll him up for the pin. Not much with this match. Rating: **

Match No. 5: Kenzo Suzuki vs. Norman Smiley. Smiley is seconded by GI Ho. Real creativity with that name, Court. Nice clothesline by Suzuki. They fuck up a snapmare spot. Suzuki chops the shit out of Smiley. More chops by Suzuki. Norman uses an ankle lock. Suzuki makes the ropes. Big knee by Suzuki. He then applies the boston crab. Smiley does the wiggle on Suzuki. Crowd doesn’t care. Huge spear by Suzuki. Nice belly-to-back suplex by Suzuki, followed by a shining wizard for the pin. Another average match that the crowd doesn’t care about. Rating: **

Court Bauer is in the ring with a briefcase holding the MLW tag team titles and wearing a suit that looks like a burlap sack. Why the fuck is booking himself to be on TV? The Extreme Horsemen come to the ring. Simon Diamond cuts a promo, but Steve “Dr. Death” Williams interrupts. He is about to reveal the name of his mystery partner but the heels attack him. I guess we’ve got a match, who the fuck knows?

Match No. 6: The Extreme Horsemen (CW Anderson & Simon Diamond) vs. Steve “Dr. Death” Williams & D’Lo Brown. Horsemen give Doc a double superkick. Out comes D’Lo Brown for the save. Joey Styles goes crazy like it’s Stone Cold Steve Austin or The Rock. C’mon, it’s D’Lo fucking Brown. Styles puts over Bauer and his shitty booking and the fact that this isn’t a title match. Hmmm. I guess the faces win? Thanks for giving away the finish, you fucks. Heels going to town on old ass Doc. Crowd is dead for this shit match. D’Lo hits a spinning lifting high-angle sitting powerbomb (Sky High) on Anderson but Diamond makes the save. Williams cleans house. Brown then hits a swinging side slam on Anderson. He misses a frog splash and Anderson gives him a spinebuster for the pin. Ok, I take back the part about giving away the finish, but the match still sucked as does the booking. I mean, c’mon, these two mid-carders are your tag team champs? Rating: **

DeAngelis puts over a fan fest at the Days Inn as well as the post event party at a strip club. Having an event at a fleabag motel is sure Major League. Why the fuck wasn’t this part edited out of the DVD?

La Parka comes out with James Mitchell, who unmasks him as Mikey Whipwreck. Nice swerve, Court, you’re a fucking ECW mark just like the crowd.

Match No. 7: Mikey Whipwreck vs. Sabu. Both of these poor bastards destroyed their bodies in ECW. Styles is acting like Mikey has been retired. Meanwhile, he’s been wrestling on ROH shows for months. Mikey puts Sabu in an arm bar and we hear a whistle. Out comes Bill Alfonso with a cast on his arm. Alphonso throws a chair into the ring to Sabu. Sabu then hits a slingshot double axe handle in the front row. Sabu hits a hurricanrana from the top rope. Sabu goes for a triple jump moonsault but Mikey trips him and he does a faceplant on the chair. Mike then drops Sabu face first on the guard rail. Sabu sets up a table in the corner leaning against the turnbuckle. Mikey nails him with a chair. He then gives him a russian leg sweep onto the chair. Mikey misses a senton. Sabu hits triple jump moonsault. Mikey kicks out. Mikey hits a three-quarter facelock jawbreaker (Whipper-Snapper) from the top rope. Mikey with a slingshot plancha (pescado) to the floor. Sabu puts Mikey through the table with a triple jump hip strike. He then does a triple jump leg drop followed by a camel clutch. Sabu sits on a chair and Mikey taps. Totally old school ECW match which just did’t work for me. Rating: **1/2

After the match, Sabu goes to hit James Mitchell with a spike. He gets jumped by Christopher Daniels and Jerry Lynn.

Match No. 8: CM Punk vs. Raven. Punk cuts a promo before the match. Simply Luscious shown at ringside. Punk hits a baseball slide on Raven and then tosses him in the guard rail. Raven then does the same to Punk. Raven hits Punk with a chair shot. He goes for a piledriver on the floor put Punk runs him into the apron. Raven goes for a bulldog on the chair but misses badly. Back in the ring, Luscious throws chair to Raven but Punk catches him. Punk hits a slingshot senton. He puts a chair in the corner between the top and middle rope. Raven takes an irish whip hard into the chair. Punk goes for a slingshot cross body block to the floor but Raven nails him with a chair. Punk applies the cobra clutch on Raven. Raven breaks it and then hits a decent looking superkick. Two clotheslines by Raven followed by a knee lift. He then hits a bulldog but Punk kicks out. Raven with a chair. He sets it up and gives Punk a drop toehold into the chair. Punk kicks out. Raven now sets up the chair between the top and middle turnbuckle. Punk with a nutshot. He follows with a shining wizard. He then gives him a shining wizard using a chair but Raven kicks out. Raven hits a flowing snap ddt (Raven Effect) but Michael Shane pulls him to the floor. While the referee is distracted, Shane runs him into the post. Punk then gives him the Raven Effect for the pin. Decent match, at least Punk got the win this time. Rating: ***

After the match, Shane and Punk put the boots to Raven. Punk sets up a chair. He then gives him a drop toehold onto the chair. Punk then beats him some more. He gives him another drop toehold to the chair. Norman Smiley makes the save with a chair. He wants to tag with Raven on the next show against Shane. Styles puts it over like it’s a big deal. Whatever.

Match No. 9: Mike Awesome vs. Satoshi Kojima for the MLW world title. They trade crazy hard chops to the chest. Kojima goes for a slingshot plancha (Pescado) but misses pretty badly. Nice world champion. Kojima barely backdrops Awesome over the railing. Surprisingly, Awesome’s mullet is not as bad as one of the Atlas Security guys. Kojima hits a stepover toehold facelok (STF) but Awesome makes the ropes. Awesome gets a chair from the stage. Horrible kick by Kojima. Then they fuck up a move. Awesome hits him with numerous chair shots. Kojima kicks the chair into Awesome’s face and then gives him some chairshots. Crowd is pretty dead. Kojima hits a release german suplex on the big fucker. Huge lariat by Awesome. He then gives him a sitout powerbomb (Awesome Bomb) followed by a splash from the top rope. Kojima with a superplex but Awesome kicks out. Kojima hits a shining wizard, but Awesome kicks out. Awesome with a huge running powerbomb. Kojima kicks out. Awesome gets a table and sets it up in the ring. Awesome goes for a powerbomb but Kojima hits the referee who goes down. Kojima then hits a three-quarter facelock bulldog (Koji Cutter) followed by a lariat. No referee. Awesome spears Kojima then gives him a power bomb through the table for the pin. Weak match with weak Dusty finish. Fans don’t care. Awesome has gyno issues just like Court Bauer has booking issues. Rating: **1/2

Steve Corino comes to the ring. He puts over Awesome and says he wants a title shot. Right now.

Match No. 10: Awesome vs. Steve Corino. Corino jumps him at the bell. Awesome tosses him into the front row. Awesome with a huge chair shot from the top rope. Corino kicks out. Crowd still dead. Awesome sets up a table in the corner. Awesome power bombs Corino into the table. He goes for another power bomb but C.W. Anderson interferes. Corino then superkicks Awesome for the pin. Corino is the new champ. Fans don’t care again. Rating: **1/2

After the match, fans chant bullshit. I agree, the booking is pretty bad. Corino cuts a promo and holds up the belt.

Match No. 11: Corino vs. Terry Funk in a barbed wire match. This match is sad on so many levels. Court Bauer should be kicked in the balls for booking a 59-year-old Funk, let alone in a barbed wire match. Not much early. Funk hits a hangman’s neckbreaker on Corino. Funk throws him toward the barbed wire, but he slides under it. Corino rakes Funks forehead into the barbed wire. He does it a second time. Funk is a bloody mess. Funk thrown into the barbed wire. He then gives Corino a nutshot. Funk stuck in the barbed wire and Corino working on his arm. Corino’s turn to get the barbed wire to the forehead. Corino takes a bump into the barbed wire. Corino is busted open. Funk all over Corino, who is bleeding like crazy. Funk drops the referee and then piledrives him. Funk ddt’s Corino, but C.W. Anderson cuts the barbed wire. Funk goes outside the ring and wraps the barbed wire around his face. Simon Diamond tries to make the save but Funk decks him. Funk gets a barbed wire bat. Corino takes three bat shots to the arm. Funk gives Corino two stunners for the pin. Barbaric match. Rating: ***

After the match, Horsemen beat on Funk until Williams makes the save. He then gets beaten down by the heels. Funk getting destroyed while Sandman makes his ring entrance very slowly. Sandman finally cleans house. Funk walking around with barbed wire wrapped all around him. Corino cuts a promo afterwards. Funk also cuts a promo and calls Corino chicken dick. Crowd continues the chant. Sandman then gives Funk a beer as the show goes off the air.

ROH 21: Night of the Grudges (6/14/03)

ROH Showcase Match A: Lit vs. Jimmy “Jac’t” Cash. Cash is one big SOB. He’s about twice the size of Lit. Jump cut. Cash with a huge power slam. Jump cut. Lit with a nice swinging neckbreaker on the big guy. Lit puts him down with a discus punch. He goes for a moonsault without the flip and misses. Cash drops him hard for the pin. Rating: None.

ROH Showcase Match B: Ring Crew Express (Dunn & Marcos) & Slyk Wagner Brown vs. Special K (Slugga & Angel Dust & Deranged). The prelim feud continues from the last show. Marcos and Deranged traded near falls. Marcos hits a swinging neckbreaker and tags Dunn. Deranged hits a sitout side slam from the top rope on Dunn. Angel Dust and Dunn trade chops. Angel Dust goes for a backslide and Dunn falls back and drops him on his face. Brown comes in. He press slams Angel Dust and drops him before hitting a standing shooting star press. RCE and Brown do a spot where all three guys leapfrog Angel Dust, Dunn kicks him in the midsection and Brown does a leg drop on him from the top rope. Dunn picks up Marcos and does an electric chair drop into a senton. Shelton Benjamin looks a lot like Brown did six years earlier. Slugga tags in. Marcos tries to clothesline him several times before getting hit with a huge side slam (body bag). Slugga gives him a vicious pump handle slam. Dunn takes a sitout slam of some sort from Slugga. Slugga then gives him a release german suplex. Slugga has Dunn and is about to slam him and Marcos jumps from the top rope and lands on his shoulders. Slugga plants both men to the canvas. Damn, RCE is taking a lot of abuse. Angel Dust tags in and destroys Dunn with kicks to the front and back. Brown tags in and does his springboard into the ring. He then hits a swinging side slam (Haterbreaker) on Angel Dust for a near fall. April Hunter trips Angel Dust and he swings at her but she ducks. She then slaps him and Brown gives him a lifting sitout spinebuster (Appreciation Bomb) for another near fall. Hunter and Becky Bayless roll around outside the ring in the catfight spot. Angel Dust distracts the ref, Slugga drops Brown on his face and Angel Dust gets the pin. Decent prelim opener that went longer than I thought it would. Angel Dust advances to four corner match, which I guess is later in the show. Rating: **1/2

Show opens with promo by Paul London. He recaps some of his great ROH matches. He talks about his match tonight with A.J. Styles.

A.J. Styles cuts a promo holding his new NWA title belt. He’s still got the thick redneck accent. Pretty weak promo.

Match No. 1: Christoper Street Connection (Buff E. & Mase) with Ariel vs. the Carnage Crew (Loc & DeVito). This is the first appearance of CSC in a while. CSC does the obligatory gay spot on the bullies where Buff E. kisses Loc instead of doing a move while Mase has him over his knee. Mase grabs DeVito’s ass then spanks him. No idea why the Carnage Crew is booked to look like pussies so far. Finally, DeVito gives Mase a huge clothesline. Carnage Crew then follow up with a double team swinging neckbreaker (Carnage-Plex). Several clubbing blows to the head on Mase by DeVito. Mase getting his ass kicked but he responds with a swinging ddt on Loc. Buff E. is a house of fire. Mase gives both guys a bronco buster. CSC then makes out. Carnage Crew go for their tradmark spike piledriver (Carnage Driver) on Buff E., but Mase makes the save. Loc gives Buff E. a swinging neckbreaker and DeVito does a moonsault for the pin. Not a fan of this match as Carnage Crew looked weak before finally winning. After the match, they give a Ariel a nasty Carnage Driver. Rating: **

Match No. 2: Chance Beckett vs. Matt Stryker. Never heard of Beckett. Stryker working the arm. Beckett finally breaks it with a mule kick type move. Beckett with a single boston crab. Stryker makes the ropes. Not much so far. Back and forth which is surprising since Beckett is a nobody and Stryker is being pushed as a rising technical star. Stryker goes for a texas cloverleaf but Beckett reverses it into a leg lock. Stryker reverses it into a reverse figure four leg lock (Stryker Lock) for the tap. Wasn’t into this match either. Rating: **1/2

Match No. 3: John Walters vs. Justin Credible vs. Chris Sabin vs. Homicide in a four corners match. Damn, crowd is really into Credible. Well, New England fans were always marks. Gary Michael Capetta comes into the ring to interview Credible. Capetta grabs the mic and cuts a promo. Wow, an early look at Sabin. Angel Dust was supposed to be in the match, but Credible jumped him and took his spot. Homicide opens with Walters. Homicide gives him an overhead double underhook suplex into the corner and onto his head. Walters stretches Homicide with a facelock. Sabin tags in. They then do a nice spot where Homicide goes to roll up Walters and Sabin does a sunset flip over both guys. Sabin then does a nice hurricanrana. He flips out of a backdrop onto his feet and responds with a dropkick. Credible tags in and gives Sabin a lifting ddt (187) . Credible with a sitout powerbomb. Sabin tags in Homicide who gives Credible an overhead suplex. Homicide gives Sabin a nasty sitout powerbomb from the top rope. Sabin with a nice swinging sideslam backbreaker (Sabalizer). Homicide gives Sabin and overhead release belly-to-belly suplex. Walters tags in. He works on Sabin’s shoulder before Sabin gives him an enzuigiri. Sabin tags in Credible. Credible tags out pretty quickly. He’s wearing a shirt so he must be gassed already. Walters puts Sabin in a bow and arrow type move. Homicide comes in and Credible superkicks him to the floor. Credible with a springboard cross body block (Pescado) to the floor. Walters with a suicide dive (plancha) to the floor followed by Sabin’s somersault suicide dive (plancha). Homicide’s turn for a crazy bump as he hits a somersault dive (tope con hilo) to the floor. Credible then catches Homicide with a kneeling belly-to-belly piledriver (That’s Incredible!). Sabin breaks it up. Walters gives Sabin an overhead gutwrench backbreaker rack into an implant ddt (Hurricane DDT). Homicide breaks it up. Walters does a slingshot sunset flip on Homicide. Homicide replies with a dragon screw. He then hits a nasty looking scoop piledriver on Walters. Homicide applies the stepover toehold and instead of a facelock he grabs the hair. Walters taps. Pretty good scramble match with a bunch of good moves. Rating: ***1/2

After the match, Homicide and Low Ki meet backstage. Ki, wearing a Jason Kidd jersey and looking a lot like him, walks away as he doesn’t like the Julius Smokes influence.

Match No. 4: Second City Saints (CM Punk vs. Colt Cabana) vs. B.J. Whitmer & Raven. Before the match, Punk cuts a great promo, reminiscent of his current WWE promos. Shut the fuck up, Gabe. Raven cuts a promo before the match as well. Same old shit. Here’s a question: If Raven is so smart, if his IQ puts him in MENSA, why the fuck did he destroy his body with drugs? Punk stomps the shit out Raven early. Superkick by Raven on Punk. Whitmer hits a nice suplex on Cabana. Punk cracks Whitmer in the head with a chair shot. Raven returns the favor on Cabana. Raven gets a trash can lid and nails Punk in the head. He’s busted open pretty good. Whitmer clotheslines Cabana over the top rope as Punk and Raven brawl in the crowd. Whitmer is also busted open. Cabana and Punk both get leg tripped into chairs. Things are finally back in the ring. Cabana beating the shit out of Whitmer. Punk gives him a hard side suplex. Then a facewash and big boot. Punk goes for a hurricanrana on Whitmer, but he moves and Cabana takes the move. Whitmer makes the hot tag and Raven cleans house. Raven gives Punk an faceplant ddt (Raven Effect). Cabana breaks it up. Whitmer hits a flying headbutt. He then drops Cabana with a wrist clutch exploder suplex. No referee. Punk then runs into the ring and gives Whitmer a shining wizard using a chair. Punk makes the cover but still no ref. Finally, the ref starts the count but Whitmer kicked out. Cabana then gives Whitmer a double underhook backbreaker rack drop (Colt .45) for the pin. Punk destroys Raven afterwards. He also gives Whitmer and Punk blows with the chair. Cabana sets up Raven on the table outside the ring. Punk then does a legdrop through the table on Raven. Pretty good match and brawl. And beating afterwards was also great. Rating: ****

Capetta interviews Matt Stryker. Yawn. Prince Nana then saves things. Barely.

Match No. 5: Diablo Santiago vs. Prince Nana. Diablo with a back suplex. Followed by a neckbreaker. Nana getting beaten down early. He rebounds and hits a running hip strike. Nana goes for a suplex, but drops Diablo on his face with a ddt for the pin. Fairly quick squash. Rating: **

Match No. 6: Mikey Whipwreck & Dixie vs. Spanish Announce Team (Jose & Joel Maximo). Mikey goes for a head scissors but Joel is a bit heavy and it doesn’t look good. Mikey doesn’t skip a beat and he gives the fat fucker a(n) hurricanrana. Joel replies with a hurricanrana and they do a WWE jump cut so you can’t tell if it hits or not. Mikey rolls out. Dixie and SAT both a move before Jose drops Dixie back first onto Joel’s knees. SAT then give heels a boston crab/camel clutch combo. SAT with another doubleteam move on Dixie, some kind of double flapjack on Dixie. Mikey hits a couple of slingshot leg drops on the SAT. Dixie gets destroyed with a shoulder mount into a ddt (Maximo Explosion) on the ring apron. Mikey with a crazy suicide swanton from the top rope. Mikey hits double underhook suplex. Jose hits tornado ddt on Mikey. Joel with three power bombs followed by a sitout powerbomb for a near fall. Joel goes to the top. Mikey catches him with a hurricanrana from the top rope and then gives him a three-quarter facelock jawbreaker (Whipper-Snapper) but Jose breaks it up. Joel puts Dixie on his shoulders and Jose goes to the top rope and gives him a swinging ddt for the pin. Decent action but several missed spots lowered things a notch. Rating: **1/2

After the match, Special K jump SAT. Carnage Crew then beat the shit out of Mikey. Mikey recovers, but Justin Credible then gives Mikey a superkick. He is the new member of the Carnage Crew. Gabe is marking out for the ECW in this segment.

Match No. 7: Paul London vs. A.J. Styles. They trade holds on the mat early. Styles with a huge kick to London’s back. They are playing some head games now. They trade slaps and then shake hands. Good back-and-forth action as they trade arm drags and then drop kick each other. A.J. hits a nice springboard missile dropkick. A.J. misses a pescado to the floor and London nails him with a baseball slide. A.J. puts London into the barricade but London replies with a drop toe hold into the guard rail. London rams A.J.’s legs into the barricade. They trade chops before A.J. hits a kick. Styles with a snap suplex and then hits a one-handed swinging suplex. A.J. goes for an enzuigiri but London turns it into a dragon screw. Great move. Styles catches London with a brainbuster. London goes back to work on A.J.’s leg. They trade blows before A.J. catches a huge clotheslines that flips over London. Styles catches London with a pump handle power bomb. London hits a leg lariat from the second rope. London then does a springboard moonsault but lands on his feet. Styles then catches him with his own springboard moonsault into an inverted ddt (Phenomenon). London does a shooting star press (London Star Press) onto the leg of Styles. Styles catches him with a small package. London hits the figure four leglock. A.J. reaches the ropes. Styles hits a power bomb from the top rope and then gives London a belly-to-back inverted mat slam (Styles Clash) but he cannot make the cover. Styles hits a german suplex but he is unable to bridge. Gary Moyer looks to count pin on both men and bell rings. The match is ruled a draw as both men’s shoulders were down for the three count. Fans want five more minutes. Not sure about the finish, although A.J. had just won the NWA title and there was no way he was losing to London. Gabe says it was a match of the year candidate, although I’m not sure. Match was pretty damn good as expected, but not the best of the year. Rating: ****1/2

Match No. 8: Michael Shane & CW Anderson & Samoa Joe vs. Donovan Morgan & Dan Maff & Christopher Daniels. Shane & Daniels open things. They punch each other in the face and then tag out. Anderson and Maff square off. They trade chops. Joe tags in as does Morgan. Daniels and Morgan doubleteam Joe. Now Shane tags in and takes it to Daniels. Maff tags in and beats on Shane, giving him a boot to the face. Maff and Morgan give him a double elbow. Joe comes in. He catches Morgan with a space tornado ogawa (STO) in the corner. Anderson tags in and works on Morgan’s arm. Shane in now. He continues to work on Morgan’s arm. This match is dragging and crowd is nearly dead. Maff cleans house. He gives Shane a senton for a near fall. Huge superkick by Shane on Maff. Shane up top but Allison Danger distracts him. He gives Maff a tornado ddt. Maff goes for a burning hammer on Shane but Anderson gives him a superkick. Maff outside and Joe gives him a running arched big boot (Ole Kick). Maff hits a huge release german suplex on Shane. He finally tags in Daniels. Nice move by Daniels as he gives Joe a ddt and CW a facebuster. Daniels hits a double jump moonsault (Best Moonsault Ever) but Anderson barely kicks out. Morgan gives Joe a side suplex (Saito Suplex). He follows with a swinging cradle suplex (Golden Gate Swing). Anderson catches Morgan with a superplex. Shane follows with an elbow from the top rope and Maff hits Anderson with a diving headbutt. Daniels and Morgan give Shane a neckbreaker/powerbomb (Revolutions) but Anderson makes the save. Anderson gives Morgan a spinebuster but Daniels breaks it up. Tons of near falls. Maff goes for a burning hammer on Maff but can’t keep him up. Joe now beating on Maff who does a leg trip and bridge to pin Joe. Finish was a huge surprise. Pretty good match that really picked up at the end. Group must disband as a result of losing. Rating: ***1/2

Daniels cuts a promo backstage after the match. He puts over Maff. Afterward, Raven asks Daniels to be his partner at the next show. Daniels accepts.

Joe cuts a promo on Maff. Damn, does he have a big fucking nose.

Special K tries to get the sound guy to cut the lights. Finally, he listens to Slugga. They do some dancing before getting jumped by Carnage Crew. Loc and DeVito then cut a promo, as does a pissed off Justin Incredible.

CHIKARA 19: You Be The Booker! (6/13/03)

Match No. 1: Reckless Youth beat Mike Kruel via DQ.

Match No. 2: Icarus beat Hallowicked in Sudden Death Rules match.

Match No. 3: The Wild Cards (Eddie Kingston & Jack Marciano) beat Ultra/ZERO (UltraMantis & Mister ZERO).

Match No. 4: Jigsaw beat Gran Akuma.

Match No. 5: Mike Quackenbush & Blind Rage wrestled to 30-minute draw in Best of 3 match.

ROH 20: Do or Die (5/31/03)

ROH Showcase Match A: Ring Crew Express (Dunn & Marcos) vs. Special K (Slugga & Hydro). First look at ROH’s venture into TV. Well, highlights, at least. Hydro hits a lariat on Marcos. Jump cut. Hydro goes for what looks like a suplex but Marcos flips and lands on his feet. He makes a hot tag to Dunn. Hydro hits an elbow. Jump cut. Slugga holds Dunn and Hydro hits a drop kick from the top rope. Jump cut. RCE working over Hydro. Jump cut. Slugga gives Dunn a huge suplex. Jump cut. Dunn hits elbow from top rope on Hydro. Jump cut. Slugga gives Dunn pumphandle slam. Hydro to the top and does a diving head butt for the pin. Almost a squash match. Rating: None

ROH Showcase Match B: Persephone vs. Alexis Laree. This on the card where it should be. At the beginning, optional and short and sweet. Wow, Persephone gets the pin with a facefirst ddt. Laree won the last match so they are even. Again, only highlights. Rating: None

Show opens with Homicide cutting a promo about his rough upbringing. He talks about selling dope and giving up a chance to play football at the University of Miami. Julius Smokes is doing his crazy shtick in the background. Homicide cuts a promo on Samoa Joe. Pretty good promo.

Special K is backstage doing what else but a little rave action. Hydro gets the idea of taking over the ring and turning it into a rave. The light guy won’t go for it.

Match No. 1: B.J. Whitmer vs. Dan Maff. Gabe, er, Chris Lovey on play-by-play. CM Punk joins him on color. Whitmer wants to shake and Maff slaps him. Whitmer gives him several forearms and Maff slaps him some more. Punk rags on Whitmer. Maff with some big chops but Whitmer responds with an exploder suplex. Whitmer misses a high knee and Maff bails. Whitmer whips Maff into the new sheet metal guard rail. Damn, they’re still using those today. Maff again into the rail. And a third time. Maff reverses it and Whitmer hits the guardrail. Not sure if I like the new lighting. Too many dark spots. Reminds me of old NWA TV tapings from Bumfuck, SC. Maff hits a back senton. Shot of Allison Danger with her new green hair. Yuck. Her bangability quotient just went down. Earlier, Punk said it was seaweed in her hair. Huge lariat by Maff. Facewash by Maff. Ass to the face by Maff. Whitmer finally hits the big knee. High knee by Whitmer. Maff with a nasty half nelson suplex. Whitmer is coming off a concussion and that can’t be good. Whitmer Hulks up. Maff hits a release german suplex again on Whitmer’s head. Maff goes for a death valley driver but Whitmer blocks it and then hits a german suplex of his own on Maff. Danger interferes now Maff hits a burning hammer on Whitmer for the pin. Pretty good opening match. Whitmer took too many moves on his head coming off a concussion though. Maff has a catchy tune as his ring music. Rating: ***

Julius Smokes comes down to the ring. He’s got the mic. He wants to know what’s up with Maff, apparantely, as I can barely understand him and Gabe and Punk aren’t faring much better. Smokes drops the n-bomb and Maff gets pissed. Low Ki comes to the ring with his arm in a sling. Couldn’t tell from watching, but he got hurt at the last show in England. Maff bails as Ki gets in the ring. He cuts a promo on Maff. Same monotone as always from Ki. He now cuts a promo on Smokes. He says the ring is not for thugs. Smokes takes off his shirt. Homicide comes out to try and mediate things. Ki tells Homicide he doesn’t need distraction by Smokes. Trent Acid comes out and gives Homicide a yakuza kick to the face.

Match No. 2: Tony Mamaluke vs. Jason Cross. Have to admit, haven’t heard of Cross. Mamaluke is in his first ROH match in six months. Annoying graphic of future events. Cross hits a nice corkscrew plancha. Mamaluke then throws him into the guardrail. Cross hits a somersault plancha. Mamaluke hits a side suplex (saito suplex). With Cross’ legs on the top rope, Mamaluke hits a ddt. High knee by Mamaluke. Nice snap suplex and then a northern lights suplex by Mamaluke. Cross with a crazy move that looks like a sunset flip but we then does double underhook ddt type of move. Punk compares it to the signature finishing move of Tommy Rogers of the Fantastics, an inverted double underhook facebuster (Tomikaze). Cross hits a neckbreaker from the top. Mamaluke applies the dragon sleeper (Sicilian Stretch) but Cross backdrops him into the corner on his head. Cross with two brainbusters put Mamaluke kicks out. He hits a third and goes up top. He goes for a shotting star leg drop (Crossfire) but Mamaluke moves. Cross hits a release dragon suplex. Cross up top again. Mamaluke pushes the ref into the ropes and Cross falls to the top turnbuckle. Mamaluke hits a suplerplex and then applies the grounded dragon sleeper (Sicilian Stretch) for the submission. Pretty good match with some good high spots. Rating: ***

Backstage with Rob Feinstein. No comment. Iceberg thanks Rob for his shot and he turns around and has thumbtacks in his head spelling ROH. Outcast Killaz ask for a shot and Rob tells them they are wrestling iceberg. Feinstein sucks. As an actor.

Match No. 3: Oman Tortuga vs. Iceberg. Iceberg all over Oman. He gives him a ddt. Then Homicide’s move, a back to back double underhook piledriver (Cop Killa) followed by a senton for the pin. Squash match. Rating: *

After the match, he gives Diablo Santiago a side suplex. Dunn & Marcos come in for the save.

Match No. 4: Matt Stryker vs. Tom Carter. Gabe talks about Punk getting his skull broken while wrestling against Carter. Punk no-sells it. Matwork early. Stryker with a bow and arrow type move. Did I mention the lighting sucks? This match is putting me to sleep so far. Carter gets a stepover toehold facelock (STF) but Stryker makes the ropes. Stryker hits a plancha to the floor. Carter does a ddt type move on the apron on Stryker. Carter to the top rope. Styker catches him with a release german suplex from up top. Leg lariat by Stryker. Carter with a brain buster followed by a frog splash. Stryker barely kicks out. Styker tries a death valley driver but it is blocked. He catches Carter with his second attempt. Stryker goes for a dvd from the top rope but Carter reverses it and drops Stryker hard on his back. Stryker kicks out at last possible second. Crowd into things now. Carter with double dragon screw. He then gets the texas cloverleaf on Stryker but he makes the ropes. Carter tries texas cloverleaf again, but Stryker rolls him over for the pin. Match was decent, although it picked up in the end. Rating: ***

After the match, Carter refuses to shake Stryker’s hand. Gary Michael Capetta comes to the ring for some reason. He asks Carter why he wouldn’t shake. As Carter grabs the mic, a fan says “Quackenbush would have shaken his hand.” Carter whines about the pin. He says he pioneered the junior style. And will re-invent pure wrestling in ROH. Carter challenges Stryker to a tap-out match. Stryker cuts a promo on Carter. He accepts the challenge. Allison Danger comes to the ring. She offers Carter a spot in the Prophecy if he doesn’t shake hands. He thinks about it, then shakes hands.

Match No. 5: Special K (Izzy & Dixie) vs. Carnage Crew (Loc & DeVito & Masada) vs. Second City Saints (CM Punk vs. Colt Cabana) vs. Briscoe Brothers (Jay & Mark Briscoe) in tag team scramble match. This should be crazy. Cabana starts against Jay.

They “cut” to Capetta in the back. Samoa Joe has a scoop. He offers to show Capetta. Capetta’s acting is horrible as he tries to act excited. Joe goes into the locker room and gives Dan Maff a vicious knee to the face. Capetta tries to act disgusted.

Match No. 5 (continued): Nice hurricanrana by Cabana. He then hits a big knee. Briscoe then hits a plancha to the floor. DeVito in against Dixie. Dixie hits a swinging ddt. DeVito then hits an overhead suplex. Mark and Loc. Loc hits a swinging neckbreaker. Izzy gives both Loc and DeVito a moonsault dropkick as Gabe calls it. Izzy gives Mark a sitout backflip three quarter facelock diving reverse ddt (Shirunai). Mark then gives him a nasty saito suplex on his head. Punk in. Loc jumped him. Crazy move where Punk and Izzy backdrop Dixie and Mark over the top rope. Dixie lands on Loc pretty hard. Izzy makes a sign of smoking weed to Punk, who clotheslines him hard to the floor. Jay and Punk trade forearms. Punk goes for a tiltawhirl but misses. He then holds one of Jay’s arms in a chicken wing and gives him a hard clothesline. Loc dropkicks Punk. Cabana in. He holds Loc over his knee for a pendulum backbreaker and Punk does a slingshot somersault senton onto him. Dixie and Izzy fuck up a move from the top. Gabe covers saying they are high. Crazy spot where Izzy is on Cabana’s shoulders. Punk gives him a missile dropkick (Doomsday Dropkick), but Izzy gives Cabana a hurricanrana and he lands on his head. DeVito gives Izzy a belly-to-back suplex and Loc catches him with a swinging neckbreaker (Carnage-Plex). Mark gives DeVito a saito suplex onto his head. Loc clotheslines him hard and Jay gives him a mafia kick to the face. Loc gives Jay a saito suplex of his own. Carnage crew go for spike piledriver on Dixie but Izzy makes the save. Dixie then gives Loc a hurricanrana off the top rope. Dixie dives to the floor on Jay. Mark does a crazy backwards dive to the floor. DeVito then does an insane moonsault to the floor hitting the guardrail hard. Cabana gives Dixie a double underhook overhead backbreaker rack drop (Colt .45) and then Punk drops Izzy from the top rope with a diving double underhook facebuster (Pepsi Plunge) ontop of Izzy for the pin. Great action with a bunch of highspots. Rating: ***1/2

After the match, Punk cuts a promo on Special K and Christopher Daniels calls out Samoa Joe.

Match No. 6: John Walters vs. Andy Anderson. They trade nasty slaps. Punk back on commentary. Anderson goes for a snap mare and Walters lands on his. Kind of. Anderson with a suplex into a sitout powerbomb. Walters hits a nice slingshot into a sunset flip powerbomb. Anderson with a crucifix powerbomb. Walters then hits a overhead gutwrench backbreaker rack into a impant ddt (Hurricane DDT) for a near fall. Anderson with a spinning crucifix powerbomb for the pin. Wow, that came out of nowhere. And I don’t think the better wrestler won either. Decent, but short and questionable outcome. Rating: **1/2

Match No. 7: Jimmy Rave vs. Frankie Kazarian vs. CM Punk vs. Christopher Daniels. Supid question, but why isn’t Rave a part of Special K? My first look at Rave and Kazarian. In ROH, that is. Rave with a huge chop on Punk who hightails it over the top turnbuckle and to the floor. Kazarian in. Rave hits a release overhead belly-to-belly suplex. Daniels in and hits Kaz with a nice dropkick. Kazarian hits neckbreaker on Daniels, who tags in Rave. Kaz unloading on Rave and he hits sweet dropkick. Who knew two of these guys would later become Suicide? Daniels vs. Punk. Good heel psychology. Punk working arm of Daniels. Nice spot by Punk as he is sitting in the corner and he grabs the top rope with each hand. Daniels goes to pull his legs and Punk flips to his feet (Jackie Chan) and gives him a jawbreaker. Rave tags himself in. Daniels backdrops Punk to the floor, then Rave clotheslines Daniels to the floor. Rave with a plancha to the floor and Kazarian hits a springboard plancha (Pescado) to the floor. Punk rocks Rave with a brainbuster. Then hits a power slam. Rave backdrops Kaz. Daniels with lariat in the corner on Kaz. Punk in vs. Daniels. Elbow by Daniels. Daniels with a gutwrench suplex. Rave in. He gives Daniels a leg lariat. Kaz in. Rave gives him an enzuigiri. Rave gives Punk a shining wizard. Rave then hits a double underhook inverted ddt on Daniels. Rave on fire. He gives Punk a spinning head scissors into a crossface (From Dusk to Dawn). Kaz breaks it up. Rave gives Kaz a back suplex into a bridge. Punk hits superplex on Daniels. Then a double underhook backbreaker (Welcome to Chicago, Motherfucker). Allison Danger trips Punk. Then Lucy trips Daniels. Tit for Tat. Or is it Tit for Tit? Daniels goes for a 90 degrees spinning lifting double underhook facebuster (Angel’s Wings) but Punk backdrops him. Punk attempts a shining wizard but Daniels blocks it. Kaz hits superkick on Punk. Then a springboard legdrop. Punk responds with a hamerlock legsweep ddt (Devil Lock DDT). Rave in and Kaz gives him a swinging reverse sto (Wave of the Future). Nice move by Kaz as he gives Daniels a bridging wristlock electric chair drop (Back to the Future). Kaz hits a lariat on Daniels followed by a springboard revolving legdrop. Daniels gives Kaz a space tornado ogawa (STO). Daniels then hits a rolling cutter (Last Rites) for the pin. Damn good match with a bunch of great moves. Rating: ****

After the match, Daniels takes the mic. He cuts a promo on Steve Corino. Enough already. The guy hasn’t wrestled in ROH in over three months. And before that it was another three months. Daniels says Kaz is a candidate for the Prophecy. He also puts over Rave. He then cuts a promo on Punk. He gets interrupted by a fan and then puts him in his place by saying, “Hey look, Asshole, if I want shit from you, I’ll scrape your tongue.” Daniels asks Punk what he would say if he asked him to join the Prophecy. Punk says he’ll join under one condition, if Daniels shakes his hand. Daniels goes to shake his but won’t. Great mic work by these two.

Match No. 8: Special K (Jody Fleisch & Slim J) vs. Backseat Boyz (Trent Acid & Johnny Kashmere). Fleisch and Acid open things. Fleisch does a springboard moonsault and lands on his feet. Acid responds with a springboard crossbody block. They trade leg sweeps before Acid lands a nasty dropkick as Fleisch is on his knees. Acid and Fleisch are great together. They do the choreographed Kung Fu spots perfectly. Fleisch goes for the twisting springboard tornado ddt (Phoenix DDT) but Acid catches him. Fleisch narrowly ducks a yakuza kick. Slim J and Kashmere tag in. Instead of shaking hands, Slim J grabs his package. J with a nice handstand into a headscissors. Kashmere responds with a punch. Fleisch and J make numerous tags while working Kashmere’s arm. Nice spot by the Boyz as Kashmere catches Fleisch in a full nelson right as Acid superkicks him and then Kashmere throws him to the mat. J does a dive from the top rope and the Boyz catch him. They then give him a sky lift and Kashmere gives him a neckbreaker while Acid power bombs him (Backseat Driver). Boyz then do a tandem somersault plancha on the all of Special K on the floor. Great doubleteam action by the Boyz. J and Fleisch working over Acid. Fleisch hits a nice cross bodyblock from the top rope. And then two standing shooting star presses. Acid still getting worked over. Fleisch goes for the Phoenix DDT again, but Acid drops him. Acid gives Fleisch a crazy hurricanrana from the top rope. Another nice move by the Boyz as Acid leapfrogs Fleisch and then Kashmere hits a nasty missile dropkick. Kashmere grabs J’s leg and flips him over into a hard powerbomb. Dream Sequence time as Acid hits a clothesline, then a legdrop and as he’s about to give the dropkick finisher, Fleisch gives Acid a tornado ddt. Kashmere can’t believe it. Slim J gives Acid a hurricanrana to the floor. They battle in the crowd and Fleisch and Slim J climb to the top of a scaffold. They do tandem moonsaults off the moonsault. Fleisch is holding is knee. This is probably when his knee problems started. Back in the ring, J covers Acid but he somehow kicks out. Fleisch covers Kashmere and both Boyz kick out at two. Fleisch tries to climb to the top rope but he can’t. Slim J to the top rope. Boyz catch him with a vicious doubleteam crucifix (T-Gimmick) for the pin. Damn good match with some insane highspots. Rating: ****

Match No. 9: Homicide vs. Samoa Joe. Joe works on Homicide’s arm early. Big knee to the face by Joe. Big forearm by Homicide but Joe no-sells it. Homicide kicks him in the corner hard. Joe then replies with a vicious space tornado ogawa (STO) from the corner. Homicide nearly kills Joe with an overhead suplex. Homicide slides to the floor and Joe throws him into the guardrail. Joe gives Homicide a release belly-to-belly suplex on the floor. He puts him in the chair and here comes the running arched big boot (Ole Kick). He then hits a second and nearly destroys both Homicide and the sheet metal on the guardrail. Homicide is busted open. Joe with a german suplex, followed by dragon suplex and then a cross arm suplex. Homicie barely kicks out. Homicide hits a swinging ddt. They are now on the floor. Homicide grabs a table and sets up on the guardrail. He goes for a tope con hilo but Joe puts him through the table. These guys are beating the shit out of each other. Huge powerbomb by Joe and he then puts Homicide into a stepover toehold facelock (STF). Low Ki comes to ringside. Homicide reverse the STF. Ki is now coaching Homicide. Huge knee by Joe after Homicide’s lariats don’t phase him. Another big knee by Joe. Ki slaps Homicide and he snaps out of it. Huge suplex by Homicide. Followed by a cutter. He goes to the top and hits a double stomp but Joe barely kicks out. Homicide then gives Joe a suplex on his head, kind of a brainbuster but he couldn’t get him all the way up. Joe is out on the floor. Homicide drags Joe into the ring. Joe kicks out again. Two huge kicks to the head by Homicide. And a third. Ki and Smokes argue outside the ring as Homicide has Joe on the top rope. Homicide is distracted and Joe gives him a nasty double legtrap brainbuster (Muscle Buster) from the top rope for the pin. Incredible strong style match. These guys busted their ass, the match told a story and you can’t fault anything in this one. Rating: *****

After the match, Joe cuts a promo in the lockerroom. His left eye is swollen. He calls out Daniels. Pretty good promo. Christopher Daniels is in the ring and calls out Joe. They fight in the ring before it is broken up by 15 guys. Backstage, Daniels cuts a raging promo. He is still pissed after the promo is over. He yells “Get the fuck out of here” and slams the lockerroom door as the show ends. Awesome finish that immediately builds up the next show.

CHIKARA 18: Aniversario (5/24/03)

Match No. 1: Double Jeopardy Battle Royal. First two are Ninja and Lester Crabtree. Clowning early. Ninja with a huge chop on Lester. Love Bug next in the ring. Love Bug throws out Ninja. Lester starts beating on Bug. Brock Singleton next in the ring. He throws out Bug who takes a nasty bump on his head. Dragonfly next in the ring. Lester pokes Brock in the eyes. Brock drops Lester with a clothesline. Marshal Law next in the ring. Marshal throws Lester out. Melvin Snodgrass next in the ring. Brock and Law doubleteaming Dragonfly. Mike Kruel is in next. Dragonfly jumps on Brock who throws him over the top rope. Jolly Roger is next in the ring. Brock throws out Melvin. Reckless Youth next in the ring. Law and Brock throw Jolly Roger out of the ring. Brock turns on Marshal and clotheslines him out of the ring. Then Reckless Youth and Mike Kruel eliminate Brock to win the Battle Royal and will wrestle later. Semi-entertaining opener. Rating: **

Match No. 2: Private Eye vs. Phantasmo. This is a grudge match as the two have split their matches on the previous two cards. Phantasmo cuts a promo in Spanish. Nobody understands him. Phantasmo jumps Eye at the bell. He gives him a clothesline for a near fall. Phantasmo to the top rope. He misses a senton. Phantasmo back up top. He hits a cross body block for a two count. Phantasmo goes for an hurricanrana but Eye catches him with a power bomb. Eye throws powder at Phantasmo. Then hits a ddt for the pin. Another match that was semi-entertaining. Rating: **

Match No. 3: DJ Skittlez vs. Blind Rage. Match stipulation is the winner picks the loser’s entrance music. Rage with a dive on Skittlez as he comes through the curtain. They trade punches. Skittlez the face is getting booed. Decent dropkick by Rage. Brainbuster by Rage who has a new look since the last televised CHIKARA card. Skittlez misses a senton after nearly falling off the top rope twice. Rage puts him in a camel clutch. Skittlez hits an atomic drop, then a clothesline followed by a backdrop. Skittlez back to the top where he hits a flying clothesline. Rage with a stepover toehold facelock (STF) but Skittlez makes the ropes. Skittlez then puts Rage in the STF. Rage with a running powerbomb into an STF. Big headbutt by Rage. From the top rope, Skittlez hits a spinning powerbomb for the pin. Not bad. Rating: **1/2

Match No. 4: Mike Kruel vs. Reckless Youth in Double Jeopardy match. They trade arm bars and escape early. Release german suplex by Kruel. Kruel then hits a decent suplex. And a huge knee to the midsection. Double clothesline puts both guys down. Knee from the top rope by Youth. Kruel hits a neckbreaker on Youth. Leg sweep by Youth followed by a nice flog splash. Kruel kicks out. Huge forearm by Kruel. He goes to the top rope but Youth catches him with a ddt. Kruel gets his leg on the rope. Youth charges him in the corner, Kruel drops on him and puts his feet on the ropes for the pin. Slow early, picked up and turned into decent match. Rating: ***

Match No. 5: Team F.I.S.T. (Gran Akuma & Icarus), Ultra/ZERO (UltraMantis & Mister ZERO) & Mike Quackenbush vs. The Wild Cards (Eddie Kingston & Jack Marciano), The Conundrum (Jigsaw & Rorschach) & Hallowicked. UltraMantis and Hallowicked open things. Audio is terrible on the camera from the balcony. Mantis works the arm. Quack tagged in. Jigsaw now in. He works Quack’s arm. Quack escapes with a break dance move. It looks like he goes for one of his Lightning Lock’s, but Rorschach breaks it up. Quack gives both members of the Conundrum an atomic drop and then a double single leg boston crab. Quack tags in Zero. He works on Rorschach who then tags in Kingston. Zero works the arm. Zero tags in Akuma who works the arm. Kingston tags in Marciano and Akuma tags in Icarus. What’s up with the hair. No wonder he was under the hood the first year. Marciano has Icarus in a dragon sleeper type move but Icarus flips over and then catches Jack in the same move. Jack breaks it up with a pair of knees. They do the comedy spot where Kingston has his back turned and Jack gives him the arm of Icarus and he works it up and down. Next is Mantis. They try the move on Quack but he reverses it and gives Kingston his partner’s arm. Kingston works the arm and Marciano gets pissed. Great spot. Heels argue and Quack eggs them on. Heels make up. Quack then nails Marciano with a loud palm strike and a couple of chops. Quack with some nice moves. He does a headscissors into a roll that puts Marciano over the top rope. More comedy as Quack smacks Marciano in the back and he makes it look like Rorschach did it. Heels fight some more. Rorschach blames some kid at ringside and they mess with him. Kingston takes his hat and throws it. Back in the ring, Zero and Jigsaw go at it. Another comedy spot where they run the ropes until they get tired before Zero superkicks Jigsaw in the ass and out the ring. Icarus in against Kingston. Eddie hits some big chops but gets caught in an arm drag, satellite headscissors, monkey flip and senton by Icarus. He did all his moves in one sequence. Rorschach slams Icarus but he recovers and tags in Mantis. They trade arm rags. Huge atomic drop by Mantis. Hallowicked tags in against Akuma. They do some crazy spot where all 10 guys spin around like they are doing a leg sweep and then jump in tandem. Akuma with a nice spinning headscissors. Kingston tags in and drops Akuma on his head with a release german suplex. That had to hurt. Jigsaw in. Now Hallowicked. Heels do a bunch of doubleteams on Akuma. Jigsaw leapfrogs Rorschach and then leg drops Akuma in a nice spot. Kingston back in. He continues the beating on Akuma. Missed spot as Marciano goes for a cross body block and takes out Akuma’s knees. Marciano with an elbow from the top rope. Kind of weak. Akuma goes for the hot tag. Mantis takes out several heels before tagging Quack who nails Jigsaw with a huge dropkick. Icarus goes for springboad backflip ddt type move but he lands on Kingston’s shoulder. Marciano hits a knee from the top rope and then Kingston plants him with a slam. Crazy move where the heels hold arms and then toss Rorschach high in the air before he comes down hard on Icarus. Nice dropkick on Marciano by Icarus and then he makes the tag. Zero cleans house. He then hits a tope on Kingston which doesn’t look that impressive in the small ring. Mantis and Rorschach with some nice dives to the floor. Marciano also does a dive and Akuma nearly kills himself with a corkscrew dive. Hallowicked’s turn with a dive. Quack does a nice springboard spining dive to the floor. Time for the chain wrestling. The kind where all 10 guys put each other in submissions one after the other. The last guy in the chain then breaks the hold and puts one on the last guy at the other end. They finally break it. Another cool spot. Marciano fucks up another move. Quack has some problems as well as his mule kick nearly misses. He then gives Marciano a palm strike and a double foot stomp. Zero hits a sitout powerbomb on Rorschach. Jigsaw with a long distance dropkick on Zero and then he does a flip dive to the floor. Kingston hits Icarus with a capture suplex. Icarus then hits a ddt. Rorschach hits a nice northern lights suplex followed by a second. Mantis then gives him a sitout double under backbreaker. Hallowicked with a sitout power bomb on Akuma. Akuma then hits a suplex into a sitout powerbomb. Now comes another group spot as there are five simultaneous pin attempts. Quack has Marciano in an abdominal stretch but Kingston gives Akuma a leg sweep and his legs hit Quack and he breaks the hold. Wildcards give Akuma a double russian leg sweep but Quack breaks it up. Marciano and Kingston are back-to-back and they go to give Quack and Akuma power bombs but they grab hands. Then both hit hurricanranas. Another group pin attempt as the Conundrum roll up the faces and the Wild Cards get on top. The Wild Cards hold the faces and the Conondrum go for superkicks but Quack and Akuma duck. Great double surfboard by Quack and Akuma. Great double team roll up by the Conundrum. Suicide dives by Quack and Akuma. Sitout powerbomb by Hallowicked on Icarus. Icarus then hits a springboard backflip three-quarter facelock inverted ddt but Rorschach makes the save. Nice doubelteam work by Conundrum on Ultra/ZERO. Zero and Mantis then give Jigsaw and Rorschach back to back double underhook piledrivers. Somehow, they kick out. Wildcards and Ultra/ZERO square off. Kingston with a suplex that looks like a capture into a side slam. He then gives Zero a huge boot to the face. Kingston gives Zero a windmill ddt. Mantis then gives Kingston side suplex. Zero with a sitout reverse power bomb on Marciano. Another group submission spot. Things starting to get crazy. Hallowicked with a nasty superplex on Icarus. Jigsaw with a corkscrew dive on Icarus. Finally, Quack puts Jigsaw in what looks to be the crossface over the shoulder cloverleaf (Lightning Lock) for the submission. These guys put on one hell of a show. Sure they botched a couple of spots but the choreographing and the moves used for a bunch of very young wrestlers was nothing short of damn impressive. Rating: ***1/2

After the match, Quack cuts a promo. He talks about being an alternative and he then thanks the fans for their support.

ROH 19: Frontiers of Honor (5/17/03)

Show opens with a shot of dreary York Hall in London. Actually, it’s not any more dreary than those outside shots of Philly in the early ROH shows.

Match No. 1: James Tighe vs. Paul London. Female ring announcer has a voice that reminds me of fingernails on the chalkboard. I guess this is a ringside fancam with no commentary. London hits a nice standing shooting star press. He then does his flip dropkick. Crowd totally into the match. London with nice springboard hurricanrana. He hits a leg lariat and then another dropkick. London to the top rope and he gets launched into the guardrail. Tighe goes to work on London’s arm. London hits a superkick outside the ring. He then follows with a running shooting star press from the ring apron. He hits a rolling oklahoma stampede from the outside. His enzuigiri gets a two count. London then follows with a springboard senton for a near fall. Tighe hits a nice overhead horizontal suplex into a bridge. Tighe then hits a german suplex with a bridge. Followed by a sitout sideslam. Tighe works on London’s arm. He then follows with a springboard moonsault to the floor. London misses a shooting star press. Tighe hits some kind of cradle brainbuster followed by a standing shooting star press for the pin. Very good opener. London was great and so was Tighe. Bunch of good moves, including some variations by Tighe I hadn’t seen before. FWA 1-0. Rating: ****

Match No. 2: Jack Xavier vs. Mikey Whipwreck. Mike clowns early. They finally lock up. They botch a spot early. Mike is looking old and slow. Xavier goes for a plancha and Mikey moves. Mikey puts bell on Xavier’s groin and rings it. Mikey does a flip in the crowd and Xavier moves. Superkick by Mikey but Xavier kicks out. Mikey drops Xavier on a chair face first. Mike with a russian leg sweep. Xavier kips up and then gives Mikey an enzuigiri. Mikey hits a three-quarter facelook jawbreaker (Whipper-Snapper) for the pin. Scratch that. Xavier kicked out. Xavier rolls up Mikey for the pin. Hometown booking for sure as this guy sucked and a beat an ECW guy. Weak match. FWA 2-0. Rating: **

Match No. 3: Paul Burchill vs. Double Dragon (Raj Ghosh & Ross Jordan). The Duke of Danger is in the ring with his butler, Simmons, and his maid, Buttercup. He can’t wrestle because of the cast on his hand and he brings out a pair of cruiserweights as his replacment. Dean Ayass comes out and introduces Burchill, who destroys the two. Burchill hits a sitout powerbomb but the butler stops the count and the little guys take advantage of him. Burchill does a release german suplex on both guys at once and the fans go crazy. Burchill then does an insane flip dive over the turnbuckle and ringpost onto both Dragons on the floor. Crowd goes nuts. Burchill hits a pair of standing shooting star presses. Impressive for a big guy. He finally walks out of the ring and the Dragon win by countout. But they are motionless in the ring. Squash match but Burchill looked great. He beats up a security guy afterwards. Rating: **

Match No. 4: Jonny Storm vs. AJ Styles. Styles is over with the Brits. Storm is cocky little bastard who looks like Bret Hart. He slaps AJ in the back of the head. AJ does some moves and gives him a slap of his own. Looks like the fuck up a spot as both attempt dropkicks. Great move as AJ does a russian leg sweep, he and Storm kip up at the same time and Styles drops him with a lariat. Styles goes for a dive to the floor but Storm gives him a nasty superkick. Followed by a second. Styles goes for a springboard moonsault into an inverted ddt (Phenomenon) but Storm blocks it. Styles then hits a release german suplex but Storm lands on his feet. Styles then hits a somewhat sloppy Phenomenon. Followed by a nice snap suplex. Storm with a corkscrew leg lariat. He then hits a sitout powerbomb on Styles followed by a moonsault. Crowd is dead all of a sudden. Storm then hits a springboard, Styles catches his legs and Storm responds with a ddt. Styles hits a nice old school brainbuster. They miss what looks like a satellite headscissors attempt by Storm. Outside the ring, Styles gets backdropped on the ramp. They fight on the stage but the ref is in the way. Storm takes a slam on the ramp. I guess there are no countouts in Britian. Back in the ring, Styles hits a high end belly-to-back suplex (Starmaker). Match is starting to drag. Stom nearly botches a springboard hurricanrana (Rewind Hurricanrana). Styles barely kick out. Storm goes for a dive but Styles catches him with a belly to back inverted mat slam (Styles Clash) but Storm kicks out. Homer booking as that scrub should been pinned. Storm does some kind of powerbomb where he flips Styles. Storm then goes for a hurricanrana from the top rope but Styles catches him and goes for a Styles Clash. Storm falls back and then goes back up and gives Styles an hurricanrana. There’s a jump cut so who knows what happened. Styles hits a lariat followed by a springboard 450 splash (Superman Splash) for the pin. FWA 2, ROH 1. This match went too long, dragged a bit and was sloppy. Styles was pretty good though. Rating: **1/2

After the match, Storm won’t shake hands but finally does. When Styles turns his back he jumps him and gives him a beatdown. He goes to hit him with a chair but Jody Fleisch makes the save. I guess those two are feuding.

Match No. 5: Zebra Kid vs. Samoa Joe. Before the match, Joe grabs the mic. He says the match will be for the ROH title. Joe opens with some kicks and then gets Zebra in a leg lock. Zebra replies with a pair of enzuigiris. Joe outside the ring and Zebra hits a high cross body block. Zebra puts Joe in a chair and hits an elbow from the ring apron. Joe is in the corner and Zebra goes for a clothesline, but Joe catches him with a nasty one-arm side slam (STJoe). He then gives him several facewashes followed by a running boat to the face. Joe sits Zebra in a chair next to the guard rail and gives him a running arched big boot (Ole Kick). Joe celebrates like he scored a goal in soccer and British fans go crazy. Zebra beats down Joe and gives him a leg drop in nuts. Zebra with a ddt off the top rope. He then hits a missle drop kick on Joe. Zebra goes for a move from the top rope and Joe catches him in an arm bar. He then gives him several knees to the head. Joe takes his elbow pad off and gives Zebra a huge lariat. Zebra is a tough bastard. He is hanging with Joe and pounds him several times. Joe responds with a german suplex, followed by a dragon suplex and then another german suplex for the pin. Pretty good match. Zebra was able to hang without a problem. Crowd into Joe. FWA 2, ROH 2. Rating: ***

Match No. 6: The Family vs. Alex Shane & Ulf Herman & Nikita. The Family comes to the ring carry burning crosses. Their manager cuts a promo. Shane & Herman get jumped but then clean house. Shane and Herman are some big bastards. Shane does a flip dive onto the heels on the floor. Heels head back to the lockerroom. I have no idea what the hell is going on. Now the match starts as a six man or five man and one woman. Bunch of high spots. Nikita blows a move. Ulf with a dive off the turnbuckle onto the heels. His knees must be shot. Ulf brings weapons into the ring. Ulf destroys Solid Gold Scott Parker with weapons. Alex Shane uses a staple gun on some boor bastard. Nikita does a crazy dive from the balcony onto the guys. Shane gives some unlucky bastard a powerbomb off the stage and through a table. One of the heels tries a springboard and busts his ass. Another follows with a dropkick into a chair on Herman’s face. This shit is dragging and getting sloppy. Weak ref bump spot. Nikita takes several bumps and finally gets pinned. These guys tried but this was low level indy stuff. Rating: *1/2

Match No. 7: Flash Barker vs. Low Ki. Barker is a big son of a bitch. He’s wearing MMA gloves. They trade leglocks early. Then kicks to the leg. More kicks. Ki hits a vicious dragon screw on Barker. Then some hard chops. Huge clothesline by Barker. And a big leg drop. Ki with several kicks to the chest followed by a nasty kick to the head (Krush Kombo). Damn these guys are going strong style. Ki with a kick to the back. Ki nails a springboard roundhouse kick (Tidal Wave). They trade huge uppercuts. Wow, Barker hits a hurricanrana. Barker ducks a shining wizard but Ki gives him a back kick. Barker hits a spinning spinebuster on Ki. Ki responds with a cartwell jumping high kick (Tidal Krush). Barker with several punches to the head. Ki gets him in an arm bar but he breaks it. The bell rings as they reach the 20-mintue time limit. Crowd chants, “Five more minutes!” Ki grabs the mic and says he didn’t come all the you to London for a fucking draw. Samoa Joe and AJ Styles come to the ring to support Ki. Barker takes the mic and asks for five more minutes. Bald ref is adamant that it is a draw. Fans start the bullshit chant. This was a great match ruined by stupid fucking booking. FWA 2, ROH 2, Draw 1. Rating: **1/2

Match No. 8: Christopher Daniels vs. Jody Fleisch. Fans into Daniels. He grabs the mic and insults the crowd and the annoying ring announcer. He says he doesn’t represent ROH but rather the Prophecy. He starts to turn the crowd masterfully. I’m looking forward to this match, which will determine the winner of the challenge. Unless the FWA booker blows it, which is entirely possible. Daniels is awesome working the crowd. Groundwork early. Good stuff as Fleisch gets Daniels in several pinning postions. Daniels works the crowd again. Fleisch uses a headlock on Daniels several times. Fleisch does a springboard moonsault off the top rope, Daniels moves and Fleisch lands on his feet. He then hits a satellite headscissors on Daniels. Fleisch hits another moonsault, this time landing it on Daniels outside the ring. They fight on the ring entrance. Daniels goes for a suplex but Fleisch lands on his feet. He then gives Daniels a hard suplex on the stage. Fleisch gets a chair and then jumps off the chair and does a hurricanrana. Back in the ring, Fleisch hits a corkscrew cross bodyblock. Daniels responds with a clothesline that flips over Fleisch. Daniels hits a nice exploder suplex. Another jump cut. Bastards. Daniels with a pair of backbreakers. He then hits the double jump moonsault (Best Moonsault Ever). Nice dropkick by Fleisch. Then a leg lariat. He hits a pair of standing shooting star presses. Followed by a springboard hurricanrana. Daniels responds with a space tornado ogawa (STO). Daniels with another BME but he misses. Daniels gets a near fall with an enzuigiri. They trade several rolling pin attempts. Daniels nails a palm thrust. Fleisch with a sweet springboard shooting star press. Fleisch goes for a springboard move of some kind and gets nailed with a chair. Jonny Storm maybe? Daniels hits a 90 degree spinning lifting sitout double underhook facebuster (Angel’s Wings) for the pin. ROH wins the challenge 3-2-1. Damn good match. Rating: ****

After the match, Storm beats on Fleisch. Daniels is about to hit the Angel’s Wings from the top rope, but the faces run in for the save. Storm cuts a promo afterwards and nails some guy with a chair. He does a terrible blade job. All the wrestlers come to the ring after the match. Decent show, although the British wrestling was a bit odd at times.

CHIKARA 17 (5/10/03)

Match No. 1: Senior Assault Team (Melvin Snodgrass & Lester Crabtree) beat the Wildcards (Eddie Kingston & Jack Marciano).

Match No. 2: Phantasmo beat Private Eye.

Match No. 3: Icarus beat Brock Singleton.

Match No. 4: Blind Rage beat DJ Skittlez.

Match No. 5: Mike Quackenbush, Gran Akuma & Mister ZERO beat Hallowicked, Rorschach & Robbie Ellis.

MLW 4: Revolutions (5/9/03)

Stephen DeAngelis is everywhere. Show opens with a 10-bell salute. Of course, you can’t hear who it is for and there is no graphic. Thanks, MLW, nice minor league touch. A local Orlando DJ comes out to plug the promotion. Another minor league touch.

Match No. 1: Paul London vs. Jerry Lynn. Fans have no idea who London is. Of course, London is only in ROH at this point so it’s somewhat understandable. London thinks he’s in ROH and extends his hand. Lynn refuses to shake. Good technical matwork early. London hits hurricanrana and Lynn doesn’t take it well. London with his trademark flip dropkick. Daniels is in Lynn’s corner. Lynn is vicious as a heel. Terrible camera work early. Daniels interferes and Lynn gives him a guillotine leg drop. Daniels interferes again. Idiot fans in Orlando are dead. These are probably the same fans that love TNA. Lighting is horrible. Lynn with a form of the bow-and-arrow. He thin hits a backbreaker for a near fall. Styles makes a reference to Sabu’s uncle, The Sheik, and that was who the 10-bell salute was for. I’m sure the fans had no idea who he was. Lynn with a spinning ddt for another near fall. London with a big enzuigiri. Great flip dropkick by London. Lynn with a sunset flip powerbomb. London barely kicks out. Lynn hits a fireman’s carry cutter (F5) but London kicks out. London hits a shooting star press in the dark but Daniels pull the referee outside. He thin hits a springboard cross body block (Pescado) on Daniels. London goes for a sunset flip but Lynn holds Daniels arms and the ref makes the count. They then do the old NWA finish where the referee breaks it apart with a kick and London gets the pin. Crowd warmed up as did the match. Unoriginal finish and weak production values hurt the match. Rating: ***

After the match, Daniels gives London a space tornado ogawa (STO) and lays the boots to him. Lynn then gives him a cradle piledriver. Crowd hot for London after the match.

Match No. 2: Fast Eddie vs. Don Juan vs. Masada in a Texas Wrestling Academy challenge match. Like London, all three are ROH regulars at the time. Crowd not into these guys early. Masada with a nice northern lights suplex. Don Juan tries for a springboard moonsault and botches the spot. Crowd chants, “You fucked up” at him. Fast Eddie hits the move on both. With the MLW camera work, these guys look in slow motion. Fast Eddie hits a springboard moonsault to the floor, nearly killing himself. Masada with a flip dive on both on the floor. Masada is wearing glitter, what the hell is that all about? Now it’s Fast Eddie’s turn to fuck up a move. Masada picks up Don Juan for a power bomb and Eddie tries to do a slingshot but falls on his head. He hits Masada’s leg and he drops Don Juan. Masada is in the corner and Don Juan hits a dragon sleep type move onto his knee. Don Juan goes to the top. Hope he doesn’t kill himself. Fast Eddie catches him. He hits a corkscrew powerslam on Juan. Masada to the top rope. He gets Eddie on his shoulders and hits a death valley driver for the pin. These guys tried but failed. Rating: **

Match No. 3: Homicide vs. Christopher Daniels. Another match taken from ROH. Nice work early. They blow a spot but it’s invisible to the crowd since they play it off perfectly. Homicide hits a suicide flip dive to the floor. Crowed into this match now. Homicide nails Daniels with a running kick to the face. Lynn distracts Homicide and Daniels catches him with an space tornado ogawa (sto). Homicide with a hurricanrana from the top rope. Homicide misses a diving headbutt. Daniels with a double jump moonsault (Best Moonsault Ever) for a near fall. Both men go for their finishers but they are blocked. Out of nowhere, Homicide hits a mafia kick for the pin. Leave it to MLW to make this match not as good as it would have been in ROH. Rating: ***

After the match, Lynn attacks Homicide and then Daniels gives him a rolling cutter (Last Rites). Styles obviously hasn’t been watching ROH or studying his moves as he calls it a Twist of Fate, which is a front facelock and not an inverted facelock like the Last Rites.

Redundant booking as once again the face wins and the heel gets his heat back with a post-match beatdown. Also, no promos at all just matches. Nothing major league about this promotion, except maybe their debt.

Match No. 4: The SAT (Joel & Jose Maximo) vs. The Samoan Island Tribe (Mana & Samu). M. Before the match, Joel and Jose try to speak. Bad idea. Jose hits a crazy dive as the Samoans come through the curtain. Styles tries to put over the Samoans, who are journeymen. Samu with a belly-to-back suplex from the top rope. Mana runs Joel into the ringpost back first. Joel with a senton on Mana. Mana catches Joel with a samoan drop. Joel with a moonsault on Samu. Mana puts Joel on the top rope. Then gives him the samoan drop from the top rope for the pin. This match was a disaster, akin to this promotion. Rating: **1/2

Samoans continue the beating after the match. Yawn.

Match No. 5: Michael Shane vs. Norman Smiley. Before the match, Shane cuts a cocky heel promo. He puts over Norman Smiley and the wiggle, mockingly I guess. He then introduces Francine. She looks totally slutty, per usual. Smiley cuts a promo and calls Francine the nastiest bitch he’s seen in his travels across the world. He says he has a woman of his own. He brings out a woman with humongous breasts. It’s Taylor Vaughn, who played Barbara Bush in WWF. Smiley is over with the Orlando crowd. Smiley all over Shane. Francine interferes and Shane hits a leg lariat. Francine chokes Smiley in the corner. Smiley takes a Flair bump in the corner and to the floor. Francine gives him a nut shot. Smiley with a backslide and small package. Bentley hits a backslide and an enzuigiri. Shane misses a Shawn Michaels elbow from the top rope. Smiley with a double underhook into a slam. The woman go at it. Norman does the big wiggle on Francine. They first go to the wrong side of the ring. Smiley goes for his crossface chickenwing but Shane escapes and hits a superkick for the pin. Not as good as it should have been. Rating: **1/2

Match No. 6: CM Punk vs. Raven. This feud is straight out of ROH, like most of the undercard. Only difference is booking and production values are worse. Styles buries Vampiro, who apparently was supposed to wrestle Raven. Styles says the wrestled before and that Punk upset Raven. He asks if it can happen again. Answer is likely not with the piss poor booking we’ve seen so far. Actually, I’m disappointed Vampiro is not wrestling Raven. I would have gotten the chance to seen the two most overrated wrestlers in the world going at it. Speaking of overrated, Joey Styles is also in that class. He says Raven is in the best shape of his life as the camera shows his gut. And this was around the time Raven was having his health issues after years of who-knows-what kind of abuse. Oh yeah, the match. Pretty boring early, thanks to Raven. Punk gives him drop toe hold to the floor. They fight outside. Things pick up as Punk goes on the attack. The only thing missing is Styles lifting Raven’s skirt and servicing him. Punk hits a shining wizard. Styles calls it a knee. Raven nails Punk with a superkick. Raven hits a pair of knee lifts and then a clothesline. Crowd is dead for this match. Raven hits a ddt for the pin. Typical. Worst Punk match I’ve ever seen and it wasn’t his fault. Rating: **1/2

Match No. 7: Fuego Guerrero (Amazing Red) vs. Ikuto Hidaka. Nice hurricanrana by Red. The fight outside the ring. Hidaka hits a slingshot senton. They totally fuck up a spot in the corner. Red does a handstand and Hidaka tries to dropkick him but misses badly. Red hits the leg trap sunset flip powerbomb (Code Red). Hidaka hits a sitout powerbomb. Red hits a hurricanrana followed by a standing shooting star press (Red Star Press) for the pin. Another match that should have been better. And why the fuck is Red wearing the hood? Rating: **1/2

Match No. 8: Simon Diamond & CW Anderson vs. Steve “Dr. Death” Williams & P.J. Friedman. Heels nail Friedman with a chair as he walks through the curtain. Williams on his own but he nails both with lariats. Heels double team Williams and drop him on his face. Friedman comes to the ring bleeding from the head. It looked like he got hit in the knee and the back but who the hell knows with this promotion. Williams tags Friedman in for some reason. He’s holding a chair and the chair gets kicked in his head twice. The heels give him a superkick for the pin. That could be the worst finish of all time. Anderson and Diamond win the tag team titles? What a joke. Williams beats up his partner afterwards. Terrible match with worse booking. Fans call for a Doctor Bomb but the kid leaves. Rating: *

Match No. 9: Mike Awesome vs. Masato Tanaka in Number One contender’s match. This is the main event? No title match? Didn’t Awesome confront the champion after the last show? Nice cock tease by Court Bauer, the “booker” of this mess. They trade chops. Awesome with a release german suplex. They fuck up a simple clothesline spot over the top rope. Nice spot as the fans hold a chair and Tanaka rams Awesome’s head into it. Missile dropkick by Tanaka. Awesome hits Tanaka with three massive chair shots to the head. He gets up. Awesome gives him a ridiculous chair shot to the head. Awesome then gives him a running chair shot to the head, followed by a sitout power bomb (Awesome Bomb). Tanaka kicks out somehow. Fans are chanting for tables. Another chair shot to the head by Awesome. Awesome to the top rope and he hits a huge splash. Awesome up aBlogger: Random Wrestling Mark – Edit Post “MLW 4: Revolutions (5/9/03)”gain but Tanaka catches him. Tanaka gives him a superplex. Followed by a tornado ddt on some chairs. Tanaka with a chair. He nails the referee in the head. Awesome drops Tanaka over the top rope and through a table. The bell rings. Awesome is the winner and No. 1 contender and he will face Satoshi Kojima at the next show. Decent match if you like carnage. Rating: ***

Match No. 10: Sabu vs. La Parka in a Mexican Massacre match, whatever the hell that is. Bill Alfonso not in Sabu’s corner, but the Cuban Assassin is instead. Sabu throws a chair and nails Parka in the face. He throws him into the crowd. Sabu sets up a chair. He does a triple jump botched move overshooting Parka in the crowd. Parka nails Sabu with a chairshot. Parka misses a senton. Sabu with a springboard dropkick followed by the camel clutch. Styles puts over The Sheik. In tribute, Court Bauer is killing the territory. Parka into the ring post. Sabu off the chair with a hell kick (Air Sabu). Parka sets up a chair. He drops Sabu face first onto the chair. Parka with a crazy suicide dive. Parka into a table in the corner. Parka slams Sabu and then dances. Sabu does his legdrop on the chair (Arabian Facebuster) on Parka. Parka gives Sabu a sitout powerbomb. Sabu holds Parka and Cuban Assasin goes for a chair shot, Parka moves and Sabu gets nailed. Sabu on the table and Parka to the top rope and he hits a cross body block. Clusterfuck. Sabu with a sloppy triple jump moonsault. Crowd is dead. Park with a corkscrew moonsault for the pin. Another average match on a bad card. Sabu jumps Parka after the match. Rating: **1/2

Match No. 11: Steve Corino vs. Terry Funk. Funk cuts a promo and calls Corino a piece of shit. Funk and Corino beat on each other early. Funk tosses him to the floor. Corino slams Funk into the steel support holding up the curtain and the lights. It nearly falls down. Funk is bleeding already. He’s a mess. Corino gives him a ddt. Funk replies with a nut shot. He drops him with a left. Outside, Funk gives Corino a neckbreaker. Followed by a chairshot to the head. And a second one. Corino is now bloody. He hit a gusher. And he is a complete mess. Corino with a nasty piledriver. But Funk kicks out. He gives Funk a second piledriver. They go outside the ring and Corino gives Funk a piledriver on the floor. Funk kicks out again. Corino sets up a piece of the table in the corner. Funk responds with a stunner. Corino then gives Funk a piledriver on the table shard but Funk kicks out again. Corino gets another table from beneath the ring. He sets it up and puts a chair on top. From the top rope, Funk tries to superplex Corino through the table. Corino blocks it and applies a sleeper. Funk then snap mares him and he hits the table but it doesn’t break. Anderson and Diamond interfere but Funk gives them chairshots. Corino gives Funk a superkick. Corino goes for a piledriver but Funk reverses it into a backdrop on the table. Again, the table doesn’t break. Funk goes for a piledriver but Corino reverses. Corino goes for a rollup and Funk rolls through for the pin. Anderson and Diamond attack him after the bell. All three then put him into the table in the corner. Doctor Death makes the save. Average match, sad to see Funk still wrestling, even sadder to see him bleed and take a bunch of abuse. Rating: ***

Corino cuts a promo after the match on Funk. Now it’s Funk’s turn. We can’t hear the old bastard or understand him. Now they turn the mic up. Funk challenges Corino to a barb wire match. He says the people in Florida don’t give a shit if you die or not. DeAngelis says the barb wire match next month will be an exploding barb wire match. His promo was one of the best things on the show. And that ain’t saying much.

ROH 18: Round Robin Challenge 2 (4/26/03)

Show opens with a promo by Christopher Daniels. Same quality stuff as always. Donovan Morgan talks about his full-time job with Pro Wrestling NOAH. Daniels then cuts a promo on Samoa Joe. Steve Corino is also mentioned even though we haven’t seen him in several shows. Allison Danger cuts a promo on her brother, Corino. Daniels then welcomes Dan Maff to the Prophecy. He finishes by cutting a promo on Amazing Red and Paul London.

Before the first match, the ROH champions and rankings are shown. Pretty interesting six years later. ROH Champion: Samoa Joe (TNA). ROH Tag Team Champions: A.J. Styles (TNA) & Amazing Red (TNA). No. 1 Contender: Doug Williams (TNA). No. 2: Homicide (TNA). No. 3: Low Ki (WWE Developmental). No. 4: CM Punk (WWE). No. 5: Paul London (ex-WWE).

Match No. 1: Amazing Red vs. Christopher Daniels. Paul London is the third participant in the round robin tournament. Daniels manhandling Red early. Red hits a nice satellite head scissors. Red then hits a springboard hurricanrana on the floor. Daniels destroys Red with a clothesline. He then hits an inverted ddt on Red. Great back-and-forth action, finally Red hits a springboard ddt. He misses an hurricanrana attempt. Sloppy action. Red hits a springboard hurricanrana that is also a bit sloppy. Daniels with a sweet Space Tornado Ogawa (STO). Daniels follows with his double jump moonsault (Best Moonsault Ever). Red kicks out. Red gives Daniels a hurricanrana from the top rope. Red then hits his leg trap suset flip powerbomb (Code Red) but Daniels kicks out. Both guys have kicked out of each other’s finishing moves. Red goes to the top rope but Daniels kicks the referee into the ropes and makes him fall. First time I’ve ever seen that brilliant move. Daniels then hits rolling cutter (Last Rites) on Red for the pin. Very good match hurt by a couple of missed spots. Daniels 1-0. Rating: ***1/2

Scott Chong is the guest timekeeper. I have no idea who he is.

Match No. 2: Da Hit Squad (Mafia & Monsta Mack) vs. Second City Saints (Ace Steel & Colt Cabana). This is the final DHS match as Mafia is now Dan Maff of the Prophecy. Cabana clowning early. Maff drops Steel on his head with a full nelson back suplex. Steel and Maff trade slaps, chops and then forearms Japanese style. Damn impressive exchange. Maff stuck in the corner and the Saints go to town on him. Mack hits a powerslam on Cabana followed by a nasty vertical suplex powerbomb (Orange Crush). Steel breaks it up. Mack hits a huge lariat on Steel. Steel follows with a swinging ddt on Maff. Steel and Cabana then give Mack a double underhook overhead backbreaker rack drop (Colt .45) for the pin. Great physical tag team match. Rating: ****

Before the show, Dunn & Marcos cut a promo as they are setting up the ring. Diablo Santiago & Oman Tortuga cut a promo. Dunn & Marcos laugh at them.

Match No. 3: Ring Crew Express (Dunn & Marcos) vs. Special K (Brian XL & Hydro) vs. EZ Money & Sterling James Keenan vs. Spanish Announce Team (Jose & Joel Maximo) in tag team scramble match. RCE tries to do a high five with Chong. Slugga is out with Special K and the guy even bigger than him is at ringside. Hydro, a young Jay Lethal, hits a nice tope on Money on the floor. Crazy action in the ring. Dunn and Marcos blow the stage dive to the floor. XL hits a nice somersault tope and ends up in the front row. Nice doubleteam work by SAT. Way too many moves to keep up with. EZ Money makes crazy dive to the floor. SAT hits Spanish Fly for the pin. Slugga takes out Joel after the match. The big guy then comes in the ring. He faces off with Slugga. Slugga takes him out with a power bomb. Good match, tons of high spots as expected. Rating: ***

Match No. 4: C.M. Punk vs. Homicide for No. 1 Contender’s Trophy. Before the match some guy is in the ring in flannel, similar to Raven. Lucy takes him out. Punk cuts promo on the crowd. These guys trade moves back and forth early. Bunch of arm drags. Homicide hits t-bone suplex on Punk. Followed by mafia kick and knee to the head in the corner. Punk nails Homicide with a shining wizard. Homicide rolls to the floor and Punk hits tope to the floor. Punk then uses a jumping hammerlock followed by a twisting short-range lariat. Nice move. Punk puts Homicide in the tree of woe and then gives him several facewashes with his boot. Punk puts Homicide in a hammerlock and then drops him on his knees. Punk goes for a springboard senton but Homicide moves. Homicide grabs Punks hair and kicks him several times in the back. Homicide gets Punk in the bow-and-arrow. Punk recovers and puts Homicide in a stepover toehold facelock (STF). Punk nails a northern lights suplex. Punk gives Homicide a belly-to-belly suplex on the floor. Homicide does huricanrana off the top rope for a near fall. Punk goes to the top rope and hits a vicious diving double underhook facebuster (Pepsi Plunge). Somehow, Homicide kicks out at 2 9/10. Punk can’t fucking believe it. Homicide hits a cutter on Punk. Followed by a huge lariat. Punk somehow kicks out. Punk then replies with a hammerlock legsweep ddt (Devil Lock DDT). Again, Homicide somehow kicks out. Homicide hits a nasty looking scoop lift piledriver on Punk. Punk gets his foot on the rope. Homicide attempts his back-to-back underhook piledriver (Da Cop Killa), but Punk escapes. They botch a move before Punk hits a death valley driver. Homicide grapevines Punk’s legs, then rolls him into a stepover toehold facelock (STF). Punk taps. Damn good match with one slight miscue. These guys put on a helluva show. Rating: ****1/2

Match No. 5: Carnage Crew (Loc & DeVito & Masada) vs. Texas Wrestling Academy (Fast Eddie, Don Juan & Hotstuff Hernandez) with Rudy Boy Gonzalez in a No DQ match. DeVito cuts a promo on Gonzalez and Loc cheap shots him as the bell rings. I feel bad for Hernandez. He was in the semi-main event in the last show vs. Joe. Two weeks later, he’s teaming with a pair of pussies in a no DQ match. Hernandez takes a hubcap shot to the head outside while the whitemeat babyfaces dropkick a screen and knock down the heels. Don Juan takes Masada and drapes him over the top rope and sets up a chair. He then drops him on the chair hard. Fast Eddie then does a springboard somersault corner-to-corner missle dropkick (Van Terminator) on Masada. Ok, looks are deceiving but these guys are not wrestling like pussies. Masada is busted open. Loc nails Fast Eddie with a swinging neckbreaker on a chair. Masada gives Eddie a vicious chair shot to the head. Hernandez gives DeVito an inverted sitout reverse powerbomb. Loc is a bloody mess. Hernandez picks up Masada and gives him a throwing crucifix powerbomb (Border Toss) of at least 10 feet. Loc hits a nice Saito suplex on Hernandez. DeVito takes massive chairshot. Loc then throws a chair and nails Hernandez. Masada hits a death valley driver from the top rope on Don Juan. Fast Eddie is a bloody mess. Eddie goes to the top rope and gives Masda an hurricanrana to the hard wooden floor. Damn crazy bump. Hotstuff then puts Eddie on his shoulders and does the throwing crucifix powerbomb to the floor on Loc and DeVito. Another crazy ass bump. Hernandez nearly kills himself as he does a somersault tope to the floor and everyone moves. Actually DeVito nailed him with a chair on the way down. Carnage Crew then give Fast Eddie a triple spike piledriver (Carnage Driver) from the middle rope. Another ridiculous move and this one is finally over. If you like bloody matches with crazy spots, this match delivers. Rating: ****

After the match, the Carnage Crew beat the shit out of Chong. Turns out he was on the third season of the WWE reality show Tough Enough.

Match No. 6: Paul London vs. Amazing Red. This is a grudge match as sorts as Red replaced London as AJ Styles’ partner and the two won the ROH tag team titles. Red nearly misses a springboard moonsault but London catches him. He then hits a satellite headscissors. London with a nice knee to the face from the top rope. London does a hiptoss and kicks Red in mid-air. He then hits that nice flipping dropkick. London drops Red on the guardrail. He then hits a nice springboard senton. London hits a pair of nice double underhook german suplexes. Red reverses a London suplex into a small package. Red with a german suplex for a near fall. Red goes for a sunset flip but London turns it into a northern lights suplex. Followed by a second. London mocks AJ Styles as he goes for the pin. Red hits a leg trap sunset flip powerbomb (Code Red) from the top rope but somehow London kicks out. Red then hits standing shooting star press (Red Star Press) but London kicks out again. London hits a belly-to-back inverted mat slam (Styles Clash) for the pin. Red was a bit shaky in places, but in all fairness this was his second match of the night. These guys did some innovative moves and the finish was original. London 1-0. Daniels 1-0. Red 0-2. Rating: ****

Gary Michael Capetta interviews Matt Stryker backstage. Chad Collyer interrupts him. Michael Shane is backstage with Simply Luscious. He manhandles Capetta who is overly dramatic. Shane cuts a promo on Daniels.

Match No. 7: Persephone vs. Alexis Laree. Presephone is the greek goddess of growth. No comment. As usual, Gabe obsesses over Laree. Wonder what his wife thinks of that. Oh yeah, the dvd commentary is a work. Laree hits an inverted ddt for the win. Rating: **

After the match, Luscious gives Laree a death valley driver. Shane holds Persephone, who is bigger than he is. Luscious has problems picking her up before finally giving her a dvd. Shane gets a chair and sits in the ring. Capetta comes to the ring.

Great backstage promo by CM Punk. Cabana and Steel look at each other as he goes on a rant. He introduces Lucy, formerly Daffney and now Daffney again who will counteract Trinity. Steel and Cabana then do the comedy routing as Punk shakes. Awesome segment.

Match No. 8: Matt Styker vs. Chad Collyer vs. Donovan Morgan vs. B.J. Whitmer vs. Michael Shane. Shane has put himself in this match making a four-way match into a five-way match. Shane starts with Morgan but quickly tags out. Whitmer opens against Morgan. Shane gets beat down by Morgan and quickly tags out again. Stryker and Collyer square off again. Collyer has made Stryker submit to the texas cloverleaf in their last two ROH matches. Whitmer hits a couple of loud chops on Collyer. Collyer responds with a beautiful dropkick on Whitmer. Morgan hits a pair of snap suplexes and then a swinging fisherman suplex on Whitmer. Shane with the beatdown on Collyer. He then gives him a cheapshot to the knee. Shane is a great chickenshit heel. Shane works on Collyer’s leg. Whitmer does the same. Stryker also works on the leg of rival Collyer. All four guys work on Collyer’s leg. Collyer finally tags to Morgan who pounds on Shane. Shane slows Morgan with an enzuigiri. Whitmer in and he gets nailed by Morgan’s sitout double underhook facebuster (Sayonara). Shane in and gives Morgan a superkick. Stryker in and he gives Shane a death valley driver. Collyer with a cross body block on Stryker. Stryker kicks out. Collyer with a dragon screw on Stryker and then a texas cloverleaf. Shane breaks it up with a superkick on Collyer. Morgan hits a swinging crade suplex (Golden Gate Swing) on Shane. Morgan goes to hit Luscious on the ring apron but he moves and Whitmer takes our out with a forearm. Whitmer hits a wrist clutch exploder suplex (Exploder 98) on Morgan. Collyer holds Whitmer and Stryker gives him a leg lariat and Collyer gives him a german suplex. Stryker puts Collyer in the reverse figure four (Stryker Lock) for the pin. Great old-school technical match. Rating: ****

Match No. 9: Christopher Daniels vs. Paul London in round robin challenge final. Gabe points out Japanese female stalker fan who flew from Tokyo to see London. Matwork early. Daniels pissed. Both take turns talking smack on the house mic. Daniels puts out his hand and then suckers London. London with a springboard cross body block to the floor (Pescado). London then hits a springboard oklahoma roll from the ring apron followed by a nice flip dropkick. Daniels responds with a knee to the midsection. Daniels with an abdominal stretch. London recovers but Daniels nails him with a huge lariat. He then follows with the 90 degrees spinning lifing sitout double underhook facebuster (Angel’s Wings). London kicks out. London hits a springboard forearm on Daniels. London makes the comeback but holds his ribs. From the ring apron London does a springboard into a moonsault but Daniels moves. Daniels with a nasty palm strike as London is sitting on the top rope. He follows with a big snap mare. Daniels goes for a double jump moonsault (Best Moonsault Ever) but London moves. Daniels blocks a sunset flip attempt. London to the top rope. Daniels catches him and tries a superplex. But London drops Daniels and hits the shooting star press. He is unable to make the cover. As he does so, Allison Danger distracts the ref. London blocks a slap attempt and kisses her. Wonder what the stalker fan thought of that? London backdrops Daniels onto Danger on the floor. London hits tope on Daniels. Both slow to get up from the floor. London hits a legsweep ddt but Daniels barely kicks out. London back to the top rope. He goes for a shooting star press but Daniels gets the knees up. Daniels hits a facebuster (Flatline) followed by a double jump moonsault (Best Moonsault Ever) for the pin. Damn good match by two incredible wrestlers. Rating: *****

Match No. 10: Doug Williams vs. Samoa Joe for ROH title. These two have a tough act to follow. Williams goes to work on Joe’s arm. They trade moves and then Joe hits some hard chops on Williams followed by some big elbows. Joe with some facewashes followed by a running boot to the face. Joe with a brainbuster. Williams hits a big uppercut but Joe responds with a slap to the face. Williams hits a big knee lift. Williams goes back to the arm. Joe nails Williams with a form of the space tornado ogawa (STO). Joe puts Williams in the stepover toehold facelock (STF). He breaks it and Williams grabs the arm again. Williams uses a knee to the arm and goes up top with another knee to the arm. Huge lariat by Joe. Williams goes for his backwards roll into a german suplex with a bridge (Chaos Theory) but Joe blocks it. Joe with several vicious knees to the face followed by a rear naked choke. Williams taps. Real good title match between two technical heavyweights. Rating: ****

After the match, Maff and Morgan attackd Joe. Shane comes in for the save and he battles Morgan. Daniels comes in to give his group the advantage and he and Morgan drop Shane. Daniels hits a rolling cutter (Last Rites) on Joe.

Fast forward in time as Carnage Crew tape promo prior to May 31 show. As the chant goes, same old shit, talking about their wives and kids. Actually it was probably taped before this show but since Loc’s head was busted open and he went to the hospital they had to explain something.

Daniels and Morgan and Maff backstage. Great promo by Daniels. Joe cuts a promo after the show. He points at his nose which is big and in this case, bruised or broken.

ROH 17: The Epic Encounter (4/12/03)

Show opens with the huge black guy from the last show who is bigger than Slugga entering the arena. Next we go backstage as Alexis Laree cuts a promo with A.J. Styles and Amazing Red. After she’s done, Paul London confronts A.J. and asks why they are no longer partners. Weird promo by London and A.J.’s redneck accent makes him nearly incomprehensible.

Match No. 1: Backseat Boyz (Trent Acid & Johnny Kashmere) vs. Da Hit Squad (Mafia and Monsta Mack). Boyz clown around early. DHS gets in some licks and Boyz head back to the locker room. DHS goes to the back and drag them back to the ring. Mafia does suicide dive to the floor. Monsta Mack powerbombs Kashmere hard into the turnbuckle. Mafia goes for burning hammer on Kashmere but he escapes. He then goes to clothesline Kashmere but he ducks and Mafia hits Monsta Mack. Boyz then hit double team crucifix powerbomb (T-Gimmick) on Mafia for the pin. Mafia is pissed after the match and walks out on Monsta Mack. Decent opener but a bit short. Rating: **1/2

The lights go out, the rave music begins and Special K hits the ring with Mikey Whipwreck. The Backseat Boyz are still in the ring and Mikey cuts a promo on them. Dunn & Marcos hit the ring. Followed by the Loc & Devito. The Backseat Boyz challenge the winner of the scramble match to meet them next month.

Match No. 2: Special K (Dixie & Hydro) vs. Ring Crew Express (Dunn & Marcos) vs. the Carnage Crew (Loc & Devito). Loc hits huge german suplex on Marcos. Devito suplexes Dixie on his head. Dunn & Marcos hit stereo slingshot crossbody blocks (Stage Dive) to the floor. Carnage Crew hits stuff piledriver on Dunn, but referee is distracted as Mikey comes into the ring and gives them both a three-quarter facelock jawbreaker (Whipper-Snapper). Hydro then covers Dunn for the pin. Another short match, but a lot of action and a bunch of high spots. Rating: ***

After the match, Slugga gives Marco a body bag. Then the big guy from the opening segment comes to the ring. Special K holds Slugga back.

Match No. 3: Briscoe Brothers vs. A.J. Styles & Amazing Red for ROH tag team titles. Briscoes attack champs at the bell. A.J. and Red do crazy criss-cross dives to the floor. Red hits leg trap sunset flip powerbomb (Code Red) on Mark. Jay hits a nice snap suplex on Red. Mark follows with a basic suplex and then a northern lights suplex on Red. Red can’t make it to the corner for the tag. Red hits huge ddt on Mark. He finally makes the hot tag to A.J. Styles cleans house. Red climbs A.J.’s back and hits a Shining Wizard on Mark. Nice doubleteam moves by the champs. Briscoes hit huge powerbomb on Red. Mark goes for hurricanrana outside the ring on A.J., who catches him and then gives him belly-to-back inverted mat slam (Styles Clash) on the floor. Jay goes for a double underhook piledriver (Jay Driller) but Red blocks it. He then hits a shoulder mount ddt (Maximo Expolsion) followed by a standing shooting star press (Red Star Press) for the pin. Damn good match by four excellent wrestlers. Rating: ****

Match No. 4: B.J. Whitmer vs. C.M. Punk. Before the match, Trinity comes to the ring and sits in the corner similar to Raven. She’s looking smoking hot. She nearly busts her ass as she dives to the floor but Colt Cabana catches her and takes her to the back. Matwork early. Punk takes bump to the floor. Whitmer goes for a flip dive but he doesn’t rotate all the way and cracks his head on the floor. Whitmer misses a move. Punk looks pissed and snaps his neck over the top rope and hits a big missile dropkick. Punk gets a table from beneath the ring. He tries to throw Whitmer onto it but he blocks it. Punk nails him with a Shining Wizard. (This is the second straight match with the move.) Whitmer hits high knee followed by a chop to the throat and a northern lights suplex. They trade huge forearms. Whitmer hits several Kawada kicks on Punk. More huge forearms. Punk hits german suplex on Whitmer through the table on the floor. Bell rings as both guys are motionless on the floor. Both are then helped to the locker room. Pretty good match that dragged in the middle. Couple of missed spots, including finish. Rating: ***

Match No. 5: Homicide vs. Christopher Daniels. Allison Danger is looking smoking hot, in a trampy sort of way. No idea why they joined this in progress. Back and forth early, Daniels nice ddt on Homicide. Homicide with capo kick and knee to the face, followed by a flip dive to the floor. Daniels hits double jump moonsault (Best Moonsault Ever) and Homicide barely kicks out. Homicide hits a pair of back suplexes. Daniels replies with one of is own. They block each other’s finishing moves and then Homicide hits huge lariat. Daniels hits spinning lifting sitout double underhook facebuster (Angel’s Wings) for a near fall. Out of nowhere, Homocide does some kind of grapevine for the three count. Decent match, but nothing special. Wasn’t as good as I expected. Rating: ***

After the match, Homicide was trying to get Daniels to shake when Samoa Joe, CW Anderson and Jack Victory attack both of them. Joe chokes out Homicide and Mafia makes the save. Mafia and Daniels are about to go at it. Daniels rips off his shirt and he has a Prophecy shirt underneath. I guess he’s a heel now. He drops his shirt on Homicide and walks out.

Gary Michael Capetta interviews B.J. Whitmer. Poor bastard is hurting. CM Punk gives him props, then totally shits on him for quitting. They cut to the hallway outside where Julius Smokes and his thug friend are beating down nobodys, then run away with their wallets.

Match No. 6: Alexis Laree vs. Ariel. Match must have sucked since they are only showing highlights and the match went less than two minutes. Wonder if this was before or after Alexis did the porn shoot. Alexis wins, Ariel needs to lose some weight. Rating: *

Match No. 7: Hotstuff Hernandez vs. Samoa Joe in a non-title match. Joe’s first match as ROH champion. Of course, the belt’s not on the line. Joe controlling the action early. Huge clothesline by Hernandez. He dives over the top rope and crashes into the guard rail pretty hard but gets right up. Damn impressive. Hernandez with an impressive release german suplex. He then hits a some kind of choke into a sitout powerbomb. Joe puts him in a leg scissors with an arm bar and Hernandez taps. Finish came out of nowhere. Decent match between the big guys, but a little short. Rating: ***

Gary Michael Capetta interviews Joe after the match. Best line comes from the crowd about Capetta being on his knees. Joe cuts a promo. He says Hernandez busted his ass for the title. Crowd tells him it was a non-title match. He says Philly deserves a title match and to hit the music.

Match No. 8: Samoa Joe vs. Matt Stryker vs. Colt Cabana vs. Tom Carter. Joe says that if anyone pins him, they will get the belt. Cabana and Carter trade some nice moves. Cabana hits a nice swinging snap suplex. Not sure what happened, but there was a jump cut as Stryker and Carter were going at it. Stryker does some kind of hammerlock/leglock submission on Carter. Huge dragonscrew by Stryker on Cabana and he turns it into a leglock. Stryker backdrops Cabana onto the floor and he takes a big bump on the apron. Stryker then does a slingshot cross bodyblock to the floor. Joe goes for a dive to the floor but Carter nails him in the face with a boot. He hits a sunset flip followed by some kind of spinning facebuster. Carter goes for a lariat but Joe catches him with a Space Tornado Ogawa (STO or in this case, STJoe). Stryker makes the save. He hits a death valley driver on Joe but Cabana makes a save. Cabana then hits an over the shoulder belly to back piledriver onto his knee. Cabana goes for a power bomb from the top rope but Carter reverses it into a huge ddt. Joe with Kawada kicks on Cabana. Joe blocks Cabana’s double underhook overhead overhead backbreaker rack drop (Colt .45). Joe puts Cabana in a rear naked choke and as he is about to tap out, Carter does frog splash on both of them. Joe holds onto the choke and Cabana taps. Pretty good match between four really good wrestlers. Rating: ***1/2

They cut to David Young and Iceberg fighting outside the arena. No idea what that’s about. This must have been before Young’s TNA run.

Match No. 9: Bryan Danielson vs. Paul London. This should be a damn good match, let’s see if it delivers. It’s two out of three falls. They trade holds early. Danielson with a vicous kick to the face of London. London hits nice belly-to-belly suplex. Danielson hits a nasty forearm uppercut on London. These guys are beating the hell out of each other Japanese style. Danielson nails a back suplex for a near fall. Danielson uses an old-school abdominal stretch. Fifteen minutes in and no falls yet. Huge lariat by London. Londen then follows with a beautiful springboard sunset flip from at least 10 feet away. Danielson slingshots London who puts himself over the top rope and then uses headscissors to take Danielson to the floor. Danielson does a risky tope to the floor. Nice snap suplex by Danielson. He goes to the top rope and hits a diving headbutt for a near fall. Several quick near falls. Danielson nails a german suplex but London barely kicks out. Danielson goes for a back suplex from the top rope but in mid-air, London turns it into a crossbody block for the pin. London 1-0. London gets hung up in the ropes and Danielson goes after his knee. He then runs his knee hard into the corner turnbuckle. Twenty-five minutes into the match. Nasty dragon screw by Danielson. Danileson puts on a half boston crab. London taps. Tied 1-1. London nails Danielson with several boots to the face. London hits a legsweep ddt for a near fall. Massive roaring forearm by Danielson, followed by a bridging grounded double chickenwing (Cattle Mutilation). London escapes using the ropes. Danielson nails London with an enzuigiri. Followed by a second. Danielson gets a near fall with a dragon suplex. He then puts London back in the half crab. He again gets to the ropes. London with a nasty powerbomb on Danielson. London goes to the top rope slowly favoring his knee. Thirty-five minutes in. Danielson puts London on the top rope and he nails him in the back several times. Danielson with a massive back suplex. London kicks out. Danielson again with the half boston crab. It’s in deep. Somehow he makes the ropes for the break. Danielson puts him on the top rope again. London him knocks him to the canvas. Danielson back up to the top rope with London. London hits a huge spinning ddt on Danielson. London slowly climbs to the top rope as we hit forty minutes. London hits a shooting star press (London Star Press) onto Daniels for the pin. Damn good match, it doesn’t get much better than this. Danielson shaken up afterwards. Rating: ****1/2

Match No. 10: Bunkhouse Brawl starts with David Young and Iceberg. Young does senton off the stage onto Iceberg. Homicide and CW Anderson brawl in the ring. Jack Victory and David Young gang up on Homicide. The Midnight Rider comes to the ring. Dusty Rhodes comes from behind and drops Young, Victory and Anderson. Homicide with nasty cowbell shot on Anderson. Homicide busts open Victory with a fork. Anderson is also bloody. Iceberg is bloody and he splashes Young. Rhodes is busted open. Homicide is bloody after a cowbell to the forehead by Anderson. Victory puts Homicide hard through a table. Homicide puts Victory hard int the table. Dusty gives Anderson a nut shot. Bionic elbow by Rhodes on Young. Young gives Dusty a nutshot. Things break down as Julius Smokes fights a guy from the crowd. He then dropkicks him from the apron. Dusty kisses Simply Luscious. Victory getting destroyed with a trash can. He quits after Homicide forks him several times. If you like bloody carnage, this was a good match. Rating: ***

Dusty cuts a rambling promo backstage. Homicide then cuts a promo on Steve Corino. Julius Smokes then chips in with his gibberish. Colt Cabana and CM Punk backstage. Punk cuts promo on Raven. Thought that feud was over. I guess not. After the promo, Cabana asks Punk about his new catch phrases. Loc and DeVito beat up some more ring crew guys. Christoper Daniels cuts a promo on Michael Shane. Daniels and Simply Luscious welcome Dan Maff to the Prophecy. Monsta Mack interrupts and asks Maff why he joined the Prophecy. Maff cuts a promo on Mack. He then cuts a promo on Ace Steel and Colt Cabana. Mack says he is now the Brooklyn Bull Steve Mack and gets fired up as the show ends.

CHIKARA 16 (4/12/03)

Match No. 1: Blind Rage beat DJ Skittlez.

Match No. 2: Private Eye beat Phantasmo.

Match No. 3: Hallowicked beat Icarus to retain Young Lions Cup.

Match No. 4: Gran Akuma beat Jolly Roger.

Match No. 5: Ultra/ZERO (UltraMantis & Mister ZERO) & Mike Quackenbush vs. The Wild Cards (Eddie Kingston & Jack Marciano) & Rorschach. Quack and Marciano start things. Quack grapevines the legs and gets a cross face right away. Jump cut. Quack now unloading on Marciano. He gets a sleeper but Marciano breaks it up by ramming him into the turnbuckle. Another jump cut as now Zero is laying the boots to Kingston sitting in the corner. He then gives Kingston some facewashes and a running big boot to the face. Zero is one of my favorite CHIKARA wrestlers. Hilarious gimmick and he’s pretty sound technically for his time in the business. Kingston is also great early. Zero gets an armbar but Kingston reaches the ropes. Mantis tags in against Rorschach. Hugh hip toss by Mantis followed by a clothesline to the floor. He goes to the top and does a flip suicide dive to the floor. Another jump cut. Zero and Kingston in the ring. Marcino distracts Zero and Kingston gives him a lariat. Wild Cards give Zero a double russian leg sweep. Rorschach tags in. He gives Zero a leg lariat. Followed by a suplex. Heels all over Zero in the corner. Zero gives both Wild Cards a clothesline but he gets superkicked by Rorschach. Another jump cut. Marciano on top of Zero. He goes for a moonsault but misses. Fans into it as Zero makes the hot tag to Quack. He cleans house and there is another fucking jump cut. Enough already. Marciano gives Mantis a spinning bulldog. Mantis recovers and then gives Kingston a death valley driver. Rorschach makes the save. Quack all over him. They are now the legal men, I guess. Quack gets nailed with a hurricanrana from the middle rope. And a second. Quack does a crazy handstand springboard onto the apron. He then does a springboard swinging ddt (Tail of the Dragon) for a near fall. Kingston holds Quack on his shoulders, Marciano gives him a knee from the top rope and Kingston slams him. I’m sure they have a name for that move. Rorschach hits a splash and count gets broken up. Quack with a suplex on Marciano, then Quack and Mantis give him another. Quack and Mantis give him a third suplex but it knocks down Zero. Weak looking spot as Marciano gives Zero a leg trip onto Marciano’s knee. Rorschach nearly rolls up Zero. Crazy spot in the corner as Kingston goes to power bomb Zero in the corner. Quack gets on Zero’s back as Rorschach climbs to the top. Quack then gives him a superplex. Marciano and Zero are in the same position and Marciano then gives Mantis a sunset flip powerbomb. Zero finally backdrops Kingston and Quack hits a senton. Kingston kicks out. Quack with a suicide dive onto Rorschach in the third row. Kingston then unmasks Zero and the heels get disqualified. Decent match but not shown in its entirety. Standard Lucha finish that isn’t seen in the U.S. so we’ll say it was a creative finish. Rating: **1/2

CHIKARA 15 (4/12/03)

Match No. 1: Blind Rage beat Jolly Roger.

Match No. 2: DJ Skittlez beat Hallowicked.

Match No. 3: Mike Quackenbush, Mister ZERO and Gran Akuma beat Rorschach & The Wild Cards (Eddie Kingston & Jack Marciano).

CHIKARA 14 (4/5/03)

Match No. 1: Icarus & Matt Vandal won the Double Jeopardy Battle Royal.

Match No. 2: Eddie Kingston beat UltraMantis.

Match No. 3: Jack Marciano and Mister ZERO were both DQ’d.

Match No. 4: Blind Rage beat Private Eye.

Match No. 5: Matt Vandal beat Icarus in Double Jeopardy Battle Royal singles match.

Match No. 6: Mike Quackenbush, Gran Akuma & DJ Skittlez beat Hallowicked and the Conundrum (Jigsaw & Rorschach). Skittlez pinned Rorschach.

CHIKARA 13 (3/29/03)

Match No. 1: UltraMantis & Mister ZERO beat the Wild Cards (Eddie Kingston & Jack Marciano) in a Double Jeopardy Battle Royal.

Match No. 2: Icarus beat Hallowicked.

Match No. 3: UltraMantis and Mister ZERO were both DQ’d in the Double Jeopardy Battle singles match.

Match No. 4: Eddie Kingston beat Private Eye.

Match No. 5: DJ Skittlez & Gran Akuma & Mike Quackenbush beat Blind Rage & The Conundrum (Jigsaw & Rorschach). Akuma pinned Rorschach.

ROH 16: Night of Champions (3/22/03)

Show opens with tape of Steve Corino promo sent from Japan. Next we see Special K backstage raving. Mikey changes the music from rave to rock and the guys freak out. Christopher Daniels cuts his typical good promo. He shows off his FWA belt. Xavier calls out Samoa Joe. He stumbles over his words and looks down, kind of like he may be losing the belt tonight?

Match No. 1: Matt Stryker vs. B.J. Whitmer vs. Alex Arion vs. Dixie in four-way match. Stryker opens with Whitmer. Good moves early by the two. Arion does monkey flip on Whitmer who (almost) lands on his feet. Stryker hits an overhead release suplex on Dixie. Arion and Stryker look good together. Of course, they both are the same size, barely taller than the top rope. Dixie and Arion rack each other with cross body blocks. Whitmer and Stryker trade huge chops and then forearms. Stryker hits a death valley driver (Stryker Driver) on Whitmer for a near fall. Dixie then hits an inverted neckbreaker on Stryker. Arion breaks it up. Arion hits a sitdown power bomb on Dixie. Whitmer breaks it up. Stryker uses ankle lock on Arion. Dixie hits weak hurricanrana on Stryker. Whitmer follows with wrist clutch exploder suplex (Exploder ’98) on Dixie for the pin. Pretty good opener. Rating: ***

Mikey Whipwreck in the ring with the mic. He’s talking to Quiet Storm and the SAT. Special K attacks the faces.

Match No. 2: Special K (Deranged, Izzy and Angel Dust) vs. Spanish Announce Team and Quiet Storm in a scramble match. SAT all do highspots onto the floor. Quiet Storm hits a spinal shock on Deranged. Nice triple team by the faces on Izzy. SAT mess up cutter (Ace Crusher) from the top rope on Angel Dust, whose head hits the canvas. Jose hits two brainbusters and a sitdown powerbomb on Deranged. Storm hits storm cradle driver on Angel Dust. Ref Hanson is distracted and Whipwreck hits a stunner (Whiper-Snapper) on all three faces and Special K pins them simultaneously. Another pretty good match. Rating: ***

After the match, Slugga gives Quiet Storm a body bag. A big brother then comes into the ring from the crowd. He’s actually bigger than Slugga. They have a stare down and Slugga backs down and walk away.

They show Julius Smokes and friend arguing with Gabe Sapolsky in the crowd. I guess that’s supposed to be a carryover from the “riot” in New York.

Match No. 3: Ring Crew Express (Dunn & Marcos) vs. Backseat Boyz (Trent Acid & Johnny Kashmere). Boyz do their trademark double team moves. Say what you will, but the fuckers are fun to watch. Dunn suplexes Kashmere on the floor. A lot of offene for RCE. Boyz hit Dream Sequence on Marcos. Boyz go for double team crucifix powerbomb (T-Gimmick) on Dunn, but Marcos blocks it and they do a double roll up on the Boyz. Boyz then use T-Gimmick on Marcos for the pin. Another good match, even though it was a squash. Rating: ***

Trent Acid on the mic after the match. He calls out the ROH tag teams. As the Boyz go through the curtain, Da Hit Squad blocks their path.

Match No. 4: Doug Williams vs. Christopher Daniels for FWA title. All Williams early and Daniels is pissed as he bails from the ring. Daniels now on the offensive. Williams drops Daniels hard with a back suplex. Crowd is dead. Daniels hits nice slingshot elbow drop. All Daniels at this point. He puts Williams in an abdominal stretch. Williams uses high knee on Daniels. Followed by a huge lariat. Things are picking up now. Williams hits overhead release belly-to-belly suplex followed by a fisherman’s buster suplex. Williams jumps off middle rope and nails Daniels with a tornado ddt. Williams puts Daniels in a crossface. Daniels hits moonsault for a near fall. Williams goes for bridging german suplex (Chaos Theory), but Daniels blocks it. Daniels goes for a rolling cutter (Last Rites) but Williams blocks with a snap mare. Williams uses swinging cobra clutch. He goes to the top and hits a knee to the back of the head. Daniels goes for spinning lifting sitout double underhook facebuster (Angel’s Wings) but Williams counters. Williams then hits Chaos Theory for the pin and the belt. Damn good match between two studs. Crowd got into it as it picked up late. Rating: ****

Samoa Joe, C.W. Anderson and that tramp Simply Luscious in the ring. They jaw with Julius Smokes. Security comes over and then Jack Victory throws Smokes over the guardrail and Joe and Anderson beat on him. Homicide and Da Hit Squad come out and attack the heels. Homicide hits huge tope on Anderson.

Match No. 5: Da Hit Squad & Homicide vs. Samoa Joe & C.W. Anderson & Jack Victory. Monsta Mack with a huge clothesline on Joe. Homicide all over C.W. DHS doubleteams Joe. C.W. hits spinebuster on Mafia. Joe does tope on Mafia. Homicide uses cutter (Ace Crusher) on C.W. C.W. hits belly-to-back suplex on Homicide. Simply Luscious fights with Becky Bayless. Homicide gives Luscious back-to-back double underhook piledrive (Cop Killa). Anderson puts Homicide in scissored armbar (Anderson Tradition). Anderson gives Homicide spinebuster on a trash can. Bell rings as this one is thrown out. Julius Smokes comes running down to the ring with a bat. The other thugs are with him. Entertaining brawl. Rating: ***

Gary Michael Capetta backstage with Doug Williams. Capetta is wearing a 10-year old jacket and tie. That was a one-minute waste of time.

Match No. 6: Mace & Hotstuff Hernandez vs. Carnage Crew (Loc & DeVito). Mace says Buff E. can’t wrestle because his ass is hurting. Hernandez opens with his power spots. Mace hits a bronco buster on DeVito. Loc drops Mace on his head with a release suplex. CC jump Hernandez in the corner. He then gives them a double ddt. Hernandez catches Loc and gives him a sitdown powerbomb. Hernandez hits the amazing vault over the top rope clothesline on the floor. DeVito drops Hernandez on guardrail and then nails him with a chairshot. CC give Mace ridiculous spike piledriver from the middle rope. Buff E. kisses Loc and clotheslines DeVito afterwards. Ok match. Rating: **

Match No. 7: Briscoe Brothers vs. A.J. Styles & Amazing Red with Alexis Laree for ROH tag team title. Red and Jay open with some great spots. Red and Mark also trade nice moves. A.J. hits nice release german suplex on Mark. A.J. holds Jay and Red superkicks him and then A.J. gives him a release german suplex. A.J. and Red do stereo dives onto Briscoes on the floor. Briscoes doubleteam Styles giving him a double boot to the face. Jay gives A.J. a nice snap suplex, shades of Dynamite Kid. A.J. hits a huge brainbuster on Mark. Red hits standing shooting star press (Red Star Press) on Mark. Jay hits huge clothesline on Red. Red hits a crazy hip toss into a sitout powerbomb on Mark. Red goes for Code Red but Briscoes drop him on his head. Styles does springboard moonsault and catches Mark before he can give him a ddt (Phenomenon), he kicks Jay and then ddt’s both of them. A.J. blocks double-underhook piledriver (J-Driller), then Jay blocks belly-to-back inverted mat slam (Styles Clash) and hits a sitout suplex slam (Falcon Arrow) on Styles. With Jay on the top rope, Red hits leg trap sunset flip powerbomb (Code Red) for a near fall. Mark is on the top rope and Red does huricanrana and Styles catches him and hits Styles Clash for the pin. Outstanding match, one of the best I’ve seen in a long time. Rating: ****1/2

Match No. 8: Jody Fleisch vs. Low Ki. Mat work early. Fleisch goes for a twisting springboard tornado ddt (Phoenix DDT) but Ki blocks it. Fleisch does some kind of backwards hurricanrana and drops Ki on his head. Fleisch hits a crazy springboard flip to the floor. Fleisch does a springboard back flip and Ki then hits a springboard roundhouse kick (Tidal Wave) and destroys Fleisch. Ki hits a clothesline followed by a german suplex with a nice bridge. Fleisch hits nice corkscrew cross body block from the top rope. Ki does running fireman’s carry into the turnbuckle (Krush Rush). He follows it with a rolling wheel kick and then some Kawada kicks to the face. Ki does a crazy power bomb into a bridge. Ki goes for a Fisherman’s Driver (Ki Krusher) but Fleisch rolls him into a small package. Ki then does a cartwheel and hits a jumping high kick (Tidal Krush). Fleisch hits a springboard shooting star press and nearly kills Ki. Ki gives Fleisch some Kawada kicks from the top rope. The two nearly lose their balance and fall before Ki gives him another Ki Krusher. Crazy move and fans go nuts. Ki then rolls over and gets the pin. Very good match with a bunch of high spots. Rating: ****

Special K is in the dressing room having a rave. Fleisch comes back holding his head. He gets a dropper full of drugs and gets to his feet and stars dancing.

C.M. Punk comes to the ring with Ace Steel and cuts a promo on the crowd.

Match No. 9: C.M. Punk & Ace Steel vs. Raven & Colt Cabana. Raven cuts his standard promo and Cabana says something meaningless. Punk gets back on the mic. Now we finally get some wrestling. Punk and Raven start things. They take turns tagging before Steel and Raven tie up. Raven nails Steel with garbage can lid. Ace Steel is tremendous as a cowardly heel. Punk is also a great heel, which explains why WWE now uses him as a face. Punk takes a drop toe hold on a chair from Raven. Cabana uses double underhook overhead backbreaker rack drop (Colt .45) on Punk but Steel breaks it up. Punk follows with a double underhook backbreaker on Cabana. Raven goes crazy with a trash can. He then hits a huge bulldog on Steel. Wow, old ass Raven does suicide dive onto the floor on Punk and Steel. Cabana does moonsault to the floor on Punk and Steel and grabs his ankle and screams in pain. Steel and Punk double team Raven and put him on a table. Punk goes for an elbow drop, but Raven moves. Steel breaks up the count. Raven hits flowing snap ddt (Raven Effect) on Steel for the pin. Finish comes out of nowhere. Decent match, but strange finish. Rating: ***

Raven gets on the mic after the match and tells Punk to shake his hand. Punk gives him the finger. He goes for Raven Effect on Punk, but he bails. Raven then gives Steel another Raven Effect. Raven tries to lure Punk back into the ring and Punk sneaks in and drops him. Cabana tries to get Punk to step laying the boots to him. Cabana then turns on Raven and Punk and Cabana beat him down.

Homicide cuts promo on Jack Victory. He says Dusty Rhodes will join him in bunkhouse match. Julius Smokes cuts a crazy, rambling promo.

Match No. 10: Samoa Joe vs. Xavier for ROH title. Michael Shane and CW Anderson attack Christopher Daniels and Alison Danger at ringside. Then Joe attacks Xavier in the ring. Xavier is taking a beating early. Joe hits huge ole kick on Xavier outside the ring. Joe follows up with several Kawada kicks. Xavier hits double knee backbreaker on Joe, followed by several european forearms. Xavier hits release overhead suplex on Joe. He follows with a nice dropkick. Xavier hits a tope on Joe outside the ring, but Joe catches him with a swining ddt onto the floor. Xavier hits a 450 legdrop on Joe, followed by a suplex. They trade chops and Joe gets the better of things. Joe with a ridiculous clothesline on Xavier. Joe hits a german suplex, followed by a dragon suplex, finished up with an x-plex (Chimera-Plex sequence). Xavier somehow rolls over and gets a two count on Xavier. Xavier goes for a straight jacket hangman’s neckbreaker (X Breaker), but Joe blocks it. Joe goes for a suplex but Xavier knees him in the head. Xavier then hits the X Breaker. Xavier goes to the top rope. He goes for a 450 splash but Joe gets his knees up. Joe hits several knees to the head, then he puts Xavier in a rear naked choke. Xavier’s hand goes down one, twice and then a third time and Joe gets the win. Pretty good match, but not as much heat as expected, although the crowd popped at the end. Rating: ***1/2

Raven cuts promo on Punk in the locker room. Daniels is distraught days after the event as he mourns the loss of the tag title belts, the FWA title and the ROH title. He calls out Michael Shane and Steve Corino and says The Prophecy may get a new member. Show ends as it started as Steve Corino cuts a promo from Japan on Homicide.

ROH 15: Expect The Unexpected (3/15/03)

Show opens with Christopher Daniels promo. He congratulates Xavier, who gloats over his title win at the one-year anniversary show. Daniels says Xavier will be his partner in tag team title match as Donovan Morgan is in Japan. Daniels cuts long promo and Alison Danger even cuts promo her on her brother Steve Corino.

Match No. 1: Matt Stryker vs. Chad Collyer. For the first time, ROH lists the top five ranking system: 5) CM Punk; 4) Low Ki; 3) Steve Corino; 2) Bryan Danielson; 1) vacant. Mat wrestling early between the two. Crowd in Boston is hot early. Stryker does a leglock facelook on Collyer and then follows up with a modified reverse figure four (Stryker Lock). Collyer gets to the ropes both times. Collyer now working on Stryker’s leg. He uses his texas cloverleaf finisher. Stryker makes the ropes. Tons of reversals and near falls. Collyer hits texas cloverleaf again for the tap. Great opener that started slowed and finished hot. Rating: ***

Da Hit Squad and Low Ki backstage. Mafia and Low Ki argue and Monsta Mack tries to keep the peace. Low Ki cuts a promo on Special K. It’s the same tired promo. Mafia cuts him off and Ki ges pissed.

Match No. 2: Slim J vs. Amazing Red. Fast back-and-forth action early. Crowd approves. Red hits huge clothesline on Slim J who flips and falls on his head. Red does flip dive over the top rope onto J on the floor. Slim J points outside, ref Moyer looks and he punches Red in the balls. Red hits nice reverse hurricanrana. Slim J hits cradle ddt. Red drops J on his face for a near fall. Slim J goes for moonsault and Red hits diamond cutter on him. Red hits standing shooting star press (Red Star Press) but J kicks out. Red hits back to belly piledriver (Red Spike) for the pin. Decent match with some good moves. Slugga gives Red a body bag after the match. Rating: **1/2

Gary Michael Capetta in the ring with CM Punk. Punk cuts a(n) heel promo and says he is better than the fans and better than Raven. Fans chant “homo” at Punk. Great promo. Raven comes out and Punk cuts promo on Punk. They jaw back and forth to hype their match. Punk tries to jump Raven but Raven works him over and goes for a ddt, but Punk rolls out of the ring and leaves. Great segment.

Match No. 3: Carnage Crew (Loc & Devito) vs. Backseat Boyz (Trent Acid & Johnny Kashmere) vs. A.J. Styles & Amazing Red vs. Spanish Announce Team (Joel & Jose Maximo). Red is not out as the match starts. Nice work by Jose and Acid early. From the ring apron, Styles does a springboard moonsault onto Joel and gives him a reverse ddt (Phenomenon). Jose does tope on Styles. Loc does running somersault dive onto floor. Boyz both do dives over top rope onto crowd on the floor. Devito does moonsault from top rope onto crowd. Joel then does senton onto the floor. Styles follows with shooting star press onto the floor. Boyz doubleteam A.J. Devito with a double clothesline on the Boyz. SAT does tandem leg locks into a flip slam (reverse Washing Machine?) on Styles. Boyz hit Dream Sequence on Joel. Loc hits neckbreaker on Kashmere and Crew does double back suplex on Acid. Joel holds Loc on over rope and Jose hits moonsault. A.J. hits sitout facebuster on Joel. Boyz with nasty double crucifix powerbomb (T-Gimmick) on Loc. Styles with sunset flip on Jose and he tries belly to back inverted mat slam (Styles Clash) but Jose blocks it. Styles then hits sitout powerbomb into a bridge for the pin. Entertaining match with some awesome high spots. Rating: ***1/2

Outcast Killaz (Oman Tortuga & Diablo Santiago) cut a promo in the ring on SAT and they start wrestling. Joel holds Diablo on his shoulder and Jose hits a tornado ddt (Maximo Explosion). Oman is on the top rope and SAT uses moonsault slam (Spanish Fly).

Match No. 4: Special K (Deranged, Angel Dust & Dixie) vs. Low Ki & Da Hit Squad (Mafia & Monsta Mack). Julius Smokes is seen and heard in the crowd. Special K does dives on all three foes outside the ring. They dive again but Da Hit Squad catches them and Ki kicks Deranged in the face. Dixie with hurricanrana on Mack, but Mack gives him a release german suplex into the corner. Low Ki pounding on Angle Dust. Ki kicks the shit out of Angel Dust’s back. Low Ki then follows with hanging dragon clutch. Angel Dust is holding Dixie and Mafia gives both a release german suplex. Mafia crushes Angel Dust with a cannonball. Mack headbutts chair into Dixie’s nuts. Things break down and Low Ki & Da Hit Squad win by DQ. Shitty finish but it was fun watching Special K get their ass kicked. Low Ki challenges all six to continue the match and they brawl outside. Low Ki takes an ecstasy pill and feels the effect immediately. Ki was playing possum and spits out the pill. He goes to town an all of them. Ki hits a cartwheel jumping high kick (Tidal Krush) on Dixie. Ki uses a fisherman driver (Ki Krusher), Mafia uses a burning hammer and Mack uses some kind of stuff piledriver simultaneously for the pin. Real finish bumped the rating up a bit. Rating: ***

Capetta interviews the Carnage Crew backstage. Loc cracks on his fat wife. Same schtick. Devito talks about kicking ass. Capetta is with Raven. He hits on some skank who walked past. Opps, it was Trinity. Maybe Raven is the one who fucked up the relationship between her and Chris Divine.

Match No. 5: Ring Crew Express (Dunn & Marcos) vs. Quiet Storm & Ghost Shadow. Marcos can’t get the mic to work. He gives their catch phrase. Shadow uses some kind of spinning elbow. Marcos fucks up a head scissors. Shadow with a shining wizard and then a muscle buster. Storm hits spinal tap. Shadow with dragon screw on Marcos. Quiet Storm uses some kind of rollover leglock for the submission. For a bunch of jobber types, this was a pretty damn good match, albeit short. Rating: ***

Match No. 6: CM Punk vs. Raven with Trinity. Punk clowing with Raven, who is getting a little pissed. Raven launches his fat ass over the top rope onto Punk on the floor. It is said that Raven has the IQ of a genius. That’s debateable considering all the damage he’s done to his body over the years. Punk brings a chair into the ring. Punk hits himself with the chair as it ricchochet’s off the top rope and cracks him in the head. Raven hard into the guardrail. Punk into the guardrail. Punk sets up a chair in the corner. He throws Raven into it hard. Raven gives Punk a suplex on the wooden floor. Punk misses a legdrop. Raven is busted open. Raven all over Punk, gives him a bulldog. Raven puts Punk on top turnbuckle. Raven puts Punk in the sharpshooter. Raven throws Trinity hard into the guardrail. Punk hits tope on Raven who is a mess. Trinity hits moonsault onto Punk on the floor. Punk throws chair to the head of Raven. Punk legdrops Trinity through a table. Punk hits weak shining wizard but Raven kicks out. Punk hits ddt, followed by arm trap cloverleaf (Devil Lock). Raven ducks and Punk takes out the referee. Punk sets up a chair in the middle of the ring. Raven does drop toe hold and Punk hits the chair. No ref. Punk uses nutshot on Raven. Punk hits Devil Lock again and Raven taps. This match didn’t have much hype and it just wasn’t as good as I expect from the two. In fact, I don’t get why these guys are over so much. After the match, Punk goes to shake Raven’s hand and cheap shots hitm. Raven gets advantage, but ref stops him from using flowing snap ddt (Raven Effect) on Punk. Raven gives it to the ref instead of Punk bails. Rating: ***

Match No. 7: B.J. Whitmer vs. EZ Money vs. Samoa Joe vs. Homicide for No. 1 Contender’s Trophy. Julius Smokes shown again at ringside. Why the fuck are B.J. Whitmer and EZ Money in this match? They’re good, but they haven’t done anything to earn the right to be in this match. EZ Money won a four-way last show, but that was the opener. And Whitmer lost in a four-way two shows ago. Homicide and Joe all over each other. Joe with huge slam on Homicide. Money uses springboard into the ring for a clothesline (Money Clip) followed by a pendulum. Joe with a boston crab on Whitmer. Homicide breaks it up with a punch between the eyes. Homicide with a tope con gilo through the ropes on Whitmer, Joe does tope and Money uses body press from top rope to the floor. Homicide misses hurricanrana from the top rope and Money follows up with a blockbuster. Joe and Homicide beating each other again. Joe with some huge knees to Homicide’s head. Homicide and Whitmer trade suplexes. Joe powerbombs Whitmer then puts him in stf. Homicide breaks it up. Money with moonsault but Whitmer lifts his knees. Homicide hits ace crusher on Joe. Whitmer hits exploder 98 on Money. Joe and Homicide break it up. Joe knees Homicide in the face. Money drops Joe on his head. Joe puts rear naked choke (Coquina Clutch) on Money and he taps. These guys put on a damn good match. Joe looks like a beast. Julius Smokes tries to go after Joe and it gets broken up. Lockerroom clears again. Rating: ****

Match No. 8: A.J. Styles & Amazing Red vs. Christopher Daniels & Xavier for the ROH Tag Team titles. Alexis Laree looking hot. This was before her implants and about the same time she spread her legs on the Internet. I bet the Christian Styles had no idea his valet was a harlot. Heels attack at the bell. A.J. and Red do a pair of tope’s and Red lands in the front row. Red and Xavier fuck up a spot. They recover well and it’s barely detectable. Daniels and Styles square off. Daniels with a nice escape from a leg scissors. A.J. hits nice senton on Daniels. Huge lariat by Styles on Xavier. Xavier recovers with a power slam. Xavier then with a cobra clutch Suplex on Styles. A.J. withe nice dropkick and flip, similar to London. Red with nice dropkick that catches both guys. Red gets nailed with hotshot by Xavier as Daniles holds him. Styles with springboard moonsault into reverse ddt (Styles Clash) but he doesn’t go for the pin. Alexis Laree with spear on Allison Danger. Xavier catches A.J. with pumphandle sitout facebuser (Kiss Your X Goodbye) but Red breaks up the count. Red follows with leg trap sunset flip power bomb (Code Red), but Daniels makes the save. Styles hits brainbuster on Xavier. Styles hits sitout facebuster on Xavier. Daniels makes the save at the last second. Daniels hits double springboard moonsault (Best Moonsault Ever) on Red but A.J. makes the save. Daniels with a spinning lifting sitout double underhook facebuster (Angel’s Wings) on Styles but Red makes the save. Styles with a belly to back inverted mat slam (Styles’ Clash) for the pin. Excellent match with tons of high spots. Great job by all four guys. Rating: ****

Homicide cuts a promo on Steve Corino. Julius Smokes in the locker room afterwards talking as only he can talk. Daniels won’t do a promo and acts pissed off at the camera guy. Punk closes with a real good promo talking about his tag match the following week with Ace Steele against Raven and Colt Cabana.

CHIKARA 12 (3/8/03)

Match No. 1: DJ Skittlez beat Blind Rage.

Match No. 2: Hallowicked beat Private Eye.

Match No. 3: Don Montoya beat CM Punk.

Match No. 4: Gran Akuma beat Mitch Ryder.

Match No. 5: UltraMantis & Mister ZERO & Mike Quackenbush beat Jigsaw & The Wild Cards (Eddie Kingston & Jack Marciano). Quackenbush pinned Jigsaw.

ROH 14: One Year Anniversary Show (2/8/03)

Low Ki cuts promo outside the arena. Same old monotone kung fu talk that is vaguely amusing.

Nice video recap of first 13 shows from the previous one-year period.
Paul London cuts a promo on the way to the arena.
Match No. 1: Chad Collyer vs. EZ Money vs. Colt Cabana vs. Michael Shane in four-way match. Collyer and Money open things. Not much before they tag in Shane and Cabana. Cabana with a springboard moonsault. Shane replies with a Japanese arm drag. Money puts Collyer in a pendulum. Money with the first ROH placement ad as he has the URL for his trunks company on his tights. Shane working on Money. Shane uses a stepover toehold facelock (STF) on Money. Collyer reminds me of Dean Malenko. Money is kind of like Val Venis. Money hits Collyer with flying clothesline. Shane working on Money. Money hits enzuigiri on Shane. Money tries handspring into the ropes but botches the move. Money drops Shane from the top rope with a sitdown facebuster. Cabana with a big backdrop and dropkick on Collyer. He then gives Collyer an over the shoulder belly to back neckbreaker. Shane makes the save and Cabana catches him in a bearhug and gives him a cradle sitdown powerbomb (Cabanarama variant). Money makes the save. He gives Cabana a back-to-belly backmounted tombstone piledriver (Money in the Bank). Collyer makes the save. Shane hits powerbomb on Money and Collyer makes the save. Cabana takes a hard bump to the floor. Collyer does tope onto the floor. Money to the top rope. He hits a clothesline on Collyer and Cabana on the floor. Shane does somersault plancha onto Money. Collyer hits release german suplex on Cabana for a near fall. Shane goes to the top rope and goes for an elbow but Cabana catches him in a three-quarter facelock bulldog (cutter/Ace Crusher). Shane makes the save. Money then hits Cabana and Collyer with a springboard top rope flip into a double clothesline (Money Clip). Shane rolls up Money from behind and grabs the tights but can’t get the pin. Shane to the top rope. He misses an elbow. Cabana puts Shane up for Colt .45, but Collyer breaks it up. Shane gives Cabana superkick. Collyer puts Shane in a cloverleaf. Shane makes the ropes for the break. Money hits vertical suplex powerbomb (Cha-Ching) on Collyer for the pin. Damn good opener with some great technical moves. I’m very surprised Money went over in this one. Maybe Gabe owed him some money for ring attire. Rating: ****
A.J. Styles cuts a promo backstage. His accent his thick and his promo pretty short and weak.
Match No. 2: Fast Eddie & Don Juan & Hotstuff Hernandez vs. Carnage Crew (Loc & Devito & Masada). Fast Eddie and Masada start things. Eddie hits Japanase arm drag. Hernandez nails Devito with a lariat. He then gives Masato an inverted sitting powerbomb. Don Juan follows with a springboard moonsault (Quebrado/Lionsault) as does Fast Eddie, who lands on Don. Maybe it’s because he’s legally blind. Loc drops Don with side suplex. Nice pair of suplexes by Masada on Don. Don Juan getting his ass beaten. Loc & Devito give him double boston crab and Masda hits legdrop from top rope. Devito misses a moonsault. Hernandez drops all three with chop clotheslines. Fast Eddie does springboard moonsault outside the ring and Loc nails him with a hubcap. Bell rings as other two get nailed with the hubcap. Hernandez gets destroyed in the ring. Devito gives Fast Eddie a spike piledriver from the top rope. Rudy Boy Gonzales comes into the ring. He gets nailed with a chair by Loc. Mace and Buffy come to the ring. They clean house. Good match, lousy finish, great post-match. Rating: ***1/2
Match No. 3: Mark Briscoe vs. Jay Briscoe. Nice matwork. Jay kicks Mark to the head and it looks like he is knocked out. He was playing possum. More nice matwork. Jay hits snap suplex on Mark. Jay gives Mark a vertical suplex. Mark blocks double underhook piledriver (J-Driller) with hurricanrana. Jay drops Mark with a side suplex. Jay hits huge mafia kick. Mark responds with Japanese arm drag. Mark uses half boston crab on Jay, who reaches the ropes. They beat the shit out of each other with fists and forearms on the outside. Mark hits springboard somesault plancha on the floor. Jay is bleeding. Mark hits moonsault to the floor. Jay hits superkick. Then a backbreaker. Followed by a death valley driver. Mark hits a shining wizard, follwed by a springboard cutter (Ace Crusher). Mark goes for a cut-throat inverted death valley driver (Cut-Throat Driver), but Jay blocks it. Jay goes for double underhook piledriver (J Driller) but Mark blocks it. Mark goes for cutter, but Jay reverses it and gives him the cutter. They chop the hell out of each other. Jay hits huge mafia kick and Mark takes huge 360 degree bump. Jay hits sitdown powerbomb (Liger Bomb). Then a senton bomb. Mark kicks out. Mark hits J-Driller but Jay kicks out barely. Mark misses moonsault. Jay hits J-Driller, a second one and a third one for the pin. Damn good match. Rating: ****
Mafia and Monsta Mack cut promo outside with New York skyline in the background.
Homicide cuts a promo on Steve Corino. He says Corino will be going to the hospital.
Match No. 4: Steve Corino vs. Homicide. Samoa Joe gets in Homicide’s face as Corino cuts a promo. Corino announces the newest member of his group, Michael Shane. Corino calls out C.W. Anderson, who has heat with ROH, allegedly. Corino then calls out the final member of his group, Low Ki. Homicide says Low Ki isn’t down with Corino. Homicide and Corino brawl. Huge mafia kick by Homicide. Corino gives Homicide a flying bulldog from the middle rope. Homicide gives Corino a cutter (Ace Crusher). Corino with a big boot to the face. Homicide replies with a clothesline. Homicide gives Corino reverse ddt and referee Paul Turner gets hit in the balls. Homicide gives Corino a shining wizard. Homicide uses a chair on Corino. Homicide goes for tope con gilo but Corino moves. C.W. Anderson yells at Gabe Sapolsky. Corino hits inverted facelock neckbreaker slam (Old School Expulsion) but Homicide kicks out. Corino hits northern lights bomb but Homicide kicks out. Corino applies cobra sleeper. Homicide makes the ropes. Corino reapplies the cobra sleeper. Homicide is out and the bell rings. Corino reapplies the sleeper and Homicide’s boys jump the guard rail. Huge brawl ensues. A couple of fans get their ass kicked. Homicide is pissed afterwards. Decent match, great post-match riot. Rating: ****

Christopher Daniels also cuts a promo on Corino. Great, as always.

Match No. 5: Outcast Killaz (Oman Tortuga & Diablo Santiago) vs. Ring Crew Express (Dunn & Marcos). Start of match is interrupted by C.W. Anderson. Anderson takes out all four guys. He issues a challenge to anyone in the back. CM Punk comes out. They will have a match. CM Punk vs. C.W. Anderson. Mat work early by the two. They trade chops. Anderson hits a superplex. Suplex by Punk. Punk hits a tilt-a-whirl backbreaker. Followed by a shining wizard for a near fall. Anderson replies with a super kick. Anderson goes for a spinebuster, but Punk rolls over Andreson and gets the pin. Match started slow and was a bit short with surprise finish. Rating: **1/2

Match No. 6: “American Dragon” Bryan Danielson vs. Samoa Joe. Joe working on Danielson’s leg early. Danielson replies in kind on Joe’s leg. Danielson uses indian death lock and bridges over into facelock on Joe. Joe hits boston crab on Dragon, who makes the ropes. They trade huge chops. Then big slaps. Joe catches Dragon with huge lariat/slam. Joe uses a bow and arrow on Dragon. Joe hits stf on Dragon. Danielson with enzuigiri and another on Joe. Danielson with several forearms and chops, followed by running forearm. Danielson with a ddt for a near fall. Joe hits german suplex. Huge facewash by Joe. Superplex by Danielson who goes up to the top. He hits a diving headbutt for a near fall. Danielson with two huge discus forearms that knocks down Joe. Danielson wins with a small package. Pretty good match but not epic. Rating: ***1/2

Xavier comes to the ring. He acknowledges the A.C. Slater chant. He says he is scouting the three way where the winner will face him for the title.

Match No. 7: Paul London vs. A.J. Styles vs. Low Ki. Low Ki springboards off A.J.’s back onto London. London does baseball slide grabbing top rope onto the floor on Styles. Styles and Ki trade chops until Ki drops him with big kick to the head. London does frog splash to the floor on Styles and Ki. London springboards into the ring and nearly rolls up Ki for the pin. Huge dropkick by Styles on Ki. London hits missile dropkick on Styles from behind. London with two northern lights suplexes followed by a fall away slam. Huge elbow drop by Ki. A.J. with his trademark springboard moonsault, but Ki kicks him in the head before he can hit the reverse ddt (Phoenomenon). Ki applies Dragon Clutch on London. A.J. does another springboard moonsault, this time ddt’ing Ki. A.J. gives London a backbreaker, a reverse backbreaker and then a t-bone suplex. A.J. with indian deathlock on London. Ki uses dragon clutch on Styles. London puts neck lock on Ki. Ki sprinboards off middle rope and kicks Styles in the head for a near fall. Ki hits running fireman’s slam into top turnbuckle (Crush Rush) on Styles. London breaks it up. Ki goes for Crush Rush on London, who reverses it into a ddt. Styles, on the middle rope, goes for belly to back inverted mat slam (Styles Clash) on Ki, but Ki reverses it into a hurricanrana and London catches Styles on the way down and turns it into a power bomb. London goes for the pin but Ki breaks it up with a kick to the head. Awesome spot. Capo kick by Ki on London in the corner. A.J. goes for german suplex but Ki rolls through and puts Styles into dragon clutch. Ki hits cartwheel followed by jumping high kick (Tidal Krush) onto Styles in the corner. London and Ki on top rope. Styles joins them. Ki sets up A.J. for a fisherman driver (Ki Krusher) and hits it from top rope. London hits shooting star press (London Star Press) on Styles for the pin. Damn good match. One of the best I’ve seen in a long time. Rating: ****1/2

Xavier comes to the ring with the mic. He says London will only get a title shot if he fights him immediately.

Match No. 8: Paul London vs. Xavier for ROH Championship. Allison Danger distracts London and Xavier attacks him at the bell. London is looking winded. He couldn’t do his trademark flip after the dropkick. Danger tries to trip London and Xavier responds with overhead release suplex. Alexis Laree comes out to counteract Danger. London nearly rolls up Xavier for the pin. Xavier uses german suplex on London. Xavier throws London over the top rope and he goes through the ringside table. Xavier working London over outside the ring. He throws him into the ring post like a lawn dart. London is busted open. Xavier hits nice cobra clutch suplex. Xavier sits London on the top rope. He goes for a move, but London reverses in mid-air and hits cross body block for a two count. London with two dropkicks as he catches fire. He hits springboard forearm but cannot cover him. London to the top rope. Xavier rolls out to the floor. London hits high cross body block to the floor. London with springboard moonsault but Xavier grabs the bottom rope. Xavier kicks London in the balls. London ducks clothesline and hits backslide for a two. London goes for plancha and Xavier sacrifces Allison. Xavier then spears Danger (accidentally?). London with shooting star press from the guard rail. Gabe says London is going to win, which means he won’t. London hits nice legsweep ddt for near fall. London to the top rope. Xavier catches him and goes to the top. London hits shooting star press (London Star Press) but Danger drags Xavier out of the ring. Alexis and Allison fight in the ring. Xavier hits pumphandle sitout facebuster (Kiss Your X Goodbye) and goes to the top rope. He hits a 450 splash but London somehow kicks out. London rolls up Xavier but he rolls up London and grabs the tights for the pin. Another very good match. Gabe’s announcing and the bullshit interference knock this down a bit. Rating: ****

Match No. 9: Da Hit Squad (Mafia & Monsta Mack) & The SAT (Jose & Joel Maximo) & Divine Storm (Chris Divine & Quiet Storm) & Mikey Whipwreck vs. Special K (Angel Dust, Deranged, Izzy, Dixie, Slim J, Hydro, Jody Fleisch & Brian XL). Tons of back and forth. Deranged botches a couple of spots against Monsta Mack. Mack destoys Deragned with overhead throw into the corner. Fleisch with a nice springboard of the top rope. Mafia with overhead throw on Deranged into Fleisch. Whipwreck all over Slim J, including legdrop as his head is draped over the bottom rope. Fleisch hits crazy springboard somersault plancha onto the floor on Mafia. Mikey hits a flip dive from the top rope. Mikey turns on his partners and he gives them all Whippersnappers. Slugga gives Trinity the Body Bag. Joel with a nice blue thunder driver. Tons of spots. Monsta Mack with huge clothesline on Deranged. All the guys do superplexes. Pretty impressive. Mafia throws Slim J over the top rope onto the crowd on the floor. Tons of near falls. Crowd is getting restless. Fleisch hits nice 720 ddt. Mafia with huge burning hammer from top rope on Deranged for the pin. Crazy as hell match. Went a bit long. All spots but it was damn entertaining. Rating: ***1/2

Daniels cuts very good promo on Corino. Sytles asks London to be his partner. Punk tries to cut a promo but Cabana interrupts. He then cuts a strong promo on Raven. Raven follows up with great promo. All the boys are eating a cake backstage. Feinstein comes up and, of course, gets the cake in the face. Classic old school finish to the first year and to the show.

ROH 13: Revenge on the Prophecy (1/11/03)

Recap from last show of Corino announcing Simply Luscious as first member of his faction.

Corino promo from ROH Impact announcing second member of his stable, Samoa Joe.

Corino and Daniels backstage at ROH Impact taping. Daniels announces Allison Danger — Steve Cornio’s sister — has replaced Luscious.

Special K comes to the ring. Deranged cuts a pretty funny promo. Da Hit Squad and SAT jump them. Mafia cuts a promo. Idiot Pittsburgh fans are dead.

Simply Luscious and Allison Danger fight before the show.

Paul London cuts a promo. Average.

Match No. 1: Matt Stryker vs. Chad Collyer. Chris Lovey and Ray Murrow on commentary. Mat work early. Collyer working on Stryker’s leg. Collyer hits texas cloverleaf. Stryker makes the ropes. Stryker hits two lariats, followed by an elbow. He then hits a neckbreaker, but misses a quebrada. Collyer does nice gedo clutch. Stryker hits ankle lock, but Collyer reverses it. Colyer goes for texas cloverleaf but Stryker reverses it. Collyer goes back to colverleaf and he gets the tap. These guys started out a bit slow, but crowd got into what turned into a really good technical match. Rating: ****

Punk cuts a promo backstage.

Match No. 2: C.M. Punk vs. Michael Shane. Nothing notable early. Punk goes for a shining wizard, but Shane ducks. Punk catches him with a dropkick from behind. Shane throws Punk over the top rope and beats on Punk outside the ring. Punk blows a kiss to a couple of hotties in the crowd. Punk hits jawbreaker. Punk goes to top rope and goes for a cross body press, but Shane gets his knee up. Action goes outside briefly. Huge back body drop by Punk. He follows with a shining wizard. Punk calls out to crowd, who is dead. Shane flips off the crowd. Punk does split leg moonsault for a two count. Punk goes back to the top rope. Shane nails a superkick but Punk barely kicks out. Punk hits rollup for the pin. Decent match but a bit sloppy in spots. Rating: ***

Match No. 3: Spanish Announce Team (Joel & Jose Maximo) & Ghost Shadow vs. Divine Storm (Chris Divine & Quiet Storm) & Konnan. Divine and Ghost Shadow open things. Decent work by these two. Joel and Storm are next. Storm is a stocky, half-pint but he can wrestle. Konnan and Jose enter. Another nice sequence. Divine back in with Shadow. Ghost Shadow hits huricanrana. But they blow a spot. Everyone hits missile dropkick. Jose hits a nice suplex. Jose hits moonsault onto the floor. Ghost Shadow does somersault plancha. Trinity does moonsault off the top rope. Nice doubleteam by the SAT. Shadow hits climbing shining wizard. Followed by a muscle buster type move where he drops the guy onto the mat. Divine does tope to the floor. Storm with nice drago suplex. Joel responds with release german suplex. Joel hits top rope brainbuster but Storm kicks out. Shadow with tornado ddt and then a flipping elbow. Shadow with sitdown powerbomb. Konnan with splash mountain on Konan. Konan uses tequila sunrise on Ghost Shadow for the pin. These match had a lot of innovative move but was a bit sloppy. Good to see Konnan in ROH. Rating: ***

Match No. 4: Carnage Crew (Loc & Devito) vs. Da Hit Squad (Mafia and Monsta Mack). The fight on the floor as the match starts. Devito into the post. Mafia gets the railing in his head. He’s busted open. He then gets suplexed onto the barricade. Devito nails Mafia with a baking pan. Devito is busted open. Mack takes a hubcap to the head. Mafia uses cowboy boots on both Loc and Devito. Loc is busted open. Mack gives Devito a frog splash. DHS uses ladder on both Loc and Devito. Ladder buckles as Mack tries to jump from it. Loc nails Mack in the abdomen with the ladder. Loc cuts Mafia with the cowbell. Mafia with huge clothesline on Loc. With ladder on Loc and Devito, DHS hits them with chairs. Mafia brings table into the ring. Loc sets up the table. They place Mack on the table. Mafia gives Loc huge chairshot to the head. Devito put on the table. Mafia powerbombs Loc onto Devito and through table for the pin. Good old school brawl. Rating: ***1/2

Special K skit. They are fucked up in the locker room.

Match No. 5: Ring Crew Express (Dunn & Marcos) & Outcast Killaz (Oman Tortuga & Diablo Santiago) vs. Special K (Deranged, Angel Dust, Yeyo & Hydro) in scramble match. Triple tope by Special K. Deranged hits springboard senton to the floor. Hydro with huge clothesline on Marcos. Deranged hits crazy spinning drop. Slugga chokeslams Oman and Diablo and Dunn. And finally Marcos. Angel Dust and Hydro hits some nice new moves. Deranged hits sunset flip power bomb. Slugga gives Marcos the body bag. They all pin him. Decent moves in this one. Rating: ***1/2

Match No. 6: B.J. Whitmer vs. Colt Cabana vs. Paul London vs. Homicide in a four-way match. Whitmer opens with London. Nice work early by these guys. London hits overhead belly to belly suplex. Homicide and Cabana in now. Homicide hits knee to the head of Cabana. Whitmer working on Homicide’s arm. Homicide gives Cabana a superplex. Huge clothesline by Cabana on London after they miss a similar spot. London hits cross body block, but Cabana nails him with an elbow. Nice suplex by Whitmer on London. He follows with a camel clutch. London hits signature drop kick on Cabana. Cabana fakes a tag to Homicide, which pisses him off. London tags Homicide. Whitmer hits german suplex on Homicide. Cabana goes for suplex on Homicide but London does cross body block from top rope. Whitmer hits exploder 98 on Homicide. Homicide does tope on Whitmer on the floor. Cabana tries to follow but London hits nice dropkick. Cabana flips London over top rope on to Whitmer and Homicide on the floor. Great action by these guys. Cabana does springboard somersault senton to the floor. He takes a hard bump. Whitmer misses knee, Homicide gives him three-quarter facelock bulldog (Ace Crusher) from top rope. Homicide hits vertebbreaker (Cop Killa) on London. Cabana makes the save. Cabana hits double underhook overhead backbreaker drop (Colt .45) on Homicide. Whitmer makes the save. Whitmer hits three dragon suplexes on Cabana. As he bridges for the pin, London hits shooting star press on Whitmer for the pin. Incredible moves in this one. Rating: ****1/2

Match No. 7: Samoa Joe vs. Bryan Danielson. Mat work early. Dragon kicks Joe in the knee and then hits dragon screw. He works on the leg. Joe takes Danielson down with a release suplex. Dragon back to the leg. Huge lariat by Joe. Joe suplexes Danielson to the floor. Joe gives Dragon a running boot to the face as he is sitting next to the guard rail. Joe hits stepover toehold facelock (STF). Huge running forearm by Dragon. Followed by a second one. Joe nails Danielson in the side of the head with a knee. Joe then follows with sitout side powerslam (Island Driver) for the pin. Pretty good strong style match, but a bit shorter than I expected. Rating: ****
Low Ki and A.J. Styles backstage. Ki calls out the Prophecy. A.J. doesn’t say a word.
Match No. 8: Christopher Daniels & Xavier vs. Low Ki & A.J. Styles. Heels jump faces at the bell. Ki with nice dropkick on Xavier. Nice doubleteam by the faces. Styles holds Xavier for styles clash and Ki drop kicks him from behind. Nice dragon suplex by Ki on Daniels. Styles uses brainbuster on Xavier. Xavier follows with ddt on Styles. Styles bleeding from the nose. Styles hits vertical suplex into neckbreaker slam (Styles Suplex Special). Styles gives Xavier a lariat on the floor. Ki puts Daniels into Boston crab but he makes the ropes. Styles puts Daniels into Muta lock but Xavier breaks it up. Ki suplexes Daniels and bridges. Nice powerslam by Styles on Daniels. Ki has Daniels in camel clutch. Kicks by Xavier fail to break it up. Nice bridging suplex by Daniles on Ki. Daniels does spinout powerbomb (blue thunder driver) on Ki. Xavier does crucifix powerbomb into the ring pad on Ki, followed by a camel clutch. Styles hits springboard moonsault followed by reverse DDT (Phenomenon) on Daniels. Styles hits enzuigiri on Xavier. A.J. hits jawbreaker on Daniels. Ki hits springboard enzuigiri (Tidal Wave) on Daniels. Ki with wheel kick on Styles. Ki picks up Daniels and uses running fireman’s carry into Xavier. Xavier uses reverse pumphandle sitout facebuster (Kiss Your X Goodbye) on Ki. Xavier goes up for 450. A.J. hits the ropes and knocks Xavier down. Ki has Xavier in abdominal stretch on top rope. Daniels breaks it up. He gives Ki a superplex. Styles tries for superplex on Xavier but Xavier drops him on his face. Daniels tries spinning lifting sitout double underhook facebuster (Angel’s Wings), but Ki blocks it and A.J. puts Daniels in belly to back inverted mat slam (Styles Clash), but Xavier breaks it up. Ki does suicide dive onto Daniles on the floor. Xavier tries to do a dive, but Ki gives him wheel kick from outside the ring and he falls back into Styles, who gives him a german suplex and face first slam. Daniels breaks it up. Xavier uses cobra clutch suplex on Styles. Ki breaks it up. With Daniels in the corner, Ki hits cartwheel and jumping high kick (Tidal Krush). Allison Danger makes the save. Daniels tries to hit Ki with forearm but he moves and Daniels nails Danger. A.J. hits corkscrew dive to the floor. Ki slingshots Xavier into the post. Payback as Ki gets concrete block and puts it on Xavier. Followed by a chair shot to the post of the block. Daniels hits sto on Ki. Daniels hits Angel’s Wings on Styles. A.J. somehow kicks out. Daniels sets up a table on the floor. He goes to give Angel’s Wings to A.J., but he blocks it. Styles then gives Daniels Styles Clash through the table. Ki puts dragon clutch on Xavier on the ropes. Xavier submits. Damn good match with some damn good moves. Sloppy couple of moves keeps this from top rating. Rating: ****1/2
Daniels backstage. He cuts typical great promo. He says Allison Danger is now a full fledged member of The Prophecy and will help in the fight against her brother, Steve Corino.

CHIKARA Best of 2002

Match No. 1 (5/25/2002): Goldbond Mafia (C.M. Punk, Colt Cabana & Chris Hero) vs. Black T-shirt Squad (Mike Quackenbush, Reckless Youth & Don Montoya). Damn good main event for CHIKARA debut. Crowd is very over for Punk. Quack does nice Spaceman Plancha. Cabana’s antics are spectacular. Props to Quack for booking these guys before ROH. All six do submissions at the same time. Quack misses reverse frankensteiner. It looks like Cabana blew the spot. He hits it a second time and Reckless then pins Cabana with a Northern Lights Bomb 2K1. Great, entertaining match by six professionals. They went 30 minutes and it never dragged. Rating: ***3/4

Match No. 2 (6/14/02): Mister Zero & La Parka vs. Black T-shirt Squad (Mike Quackenbush & Reckless Youth). La Parka is over with crowd. His chair has Latino World Order sticker. Quack & Youth hit nice Double Tope. Nice highspots outside of ring. Zero gets mad at La Parka. Parka nails him with his chair. Park DQ’d for hitting Quack with the chair. Very good match with international superstar. Great moves, only blown spot was Parka slipping off top rope and nearly breaking his neck. Rating: ***3/4

Match No. 3 (6/21/02): Night Shift (Blind Rage & Hallowicked & Ichabod Slayne) & Mister Zero vs. Black T-shirt Squad (Mike Quackenbush & Don Montoya & Reckless Youth) & UltraMantis. Rage cuts promo before the match. He gives mic it Ichabod who is mute. He then gives mic to Hallowicked who is unintelligible. Again, funny bit. All eight guys do submission moves on each other. Actually, make it seven as UltraMantis stands outside waiting for tag. Nice Triple Tope by faces. Ichabod hit Reckless with pumpkin and Hallowicked got pin. Good match, liked the bits. Rating: ***

Match No. 4 (10/12/02): The Wild Cards (Eddie Kingston & Jack Marciano) vs. Senior Assault Team (Lester Crabtree & Melvin Snodgrass). Melvin chokes on his medication and then spits it in Marciano’s eye. Topes by the Senior Assault Team. Kingston hits yakuza kick on Crabtree. Moonsault by Marciano on Snodgrass. Then Kingston. Crabtree with a sweater-gree on Kingston. Kingston his uranage then an exploder suplex. Crabtree gets his foot on the ropes. Snodgrass rolls Marciano up for a two. Marciano does swinging ddt into a bulldog. Marciano hits flipping drop kick and Kingston hits royal flush on Crabtree for the pin. Decent comedy match, guys did a good job for their first match. Rating: ***

Match No. 5 (10/12/02): Mike Quackenbush & UltraMantis & Dragonfly & Gran Akuma vs. Blind Rage, Mister ZERO, Ichabod Slayne & Hallowicked. Slayne wearing a dress in the match. Monkey flip on Rage by Quack. Quack misses spinning kick but Rage sells it. Akuma looking good in his first match. Mantis tries to walks the rope but misses springboard. Quack gives Rage a monkey flip to the floor. Then puts him in a gory gallows submission. Nice group wrestling by the faces. Then slingshot giros by all three. Zero uses camel clutch on Dragon Fly. Rage uses muta lock type submission on Fly. Faces use fans to help with abdominal stretch leverage. Hallowicked hits swining neckbreaker on Fly. Rage gives Fly a michinoku driver. Mantis hits figure four on Hallowicked. Everyone in the ring with a submission hold. Then then all do suplexes. All eight do submission holds. Very nice. They all do headlocks. Then Zero does a ddt and everyone follows. Zero hits german suplex on Akuma. Akuma uses flying body press for a two count. Tons of finishing moves. Rage uses stf on Quack who makes the ropes. Both teams use triple team maneuvers. Quack hits tiger driver from top rope on Slayne for the pin. Tons of great moves and highspots. Really good match considering how young these guys are. Rating: ***1/2

Match No. 6 (11/9/02): DJ Skittlez vs. Hallowicked in Young Lions Cup quarterfinals match. Nice tope by Skittlez. Skittlez follows up with suplex. Hallowicked uses handspring splash in the corner. Hallowicked does hurricanrana and then plancha over the top rope. Hallowicked uses a cattle mutilation type move. Skittlez uses spinning bulldog. Then an inverted ddt. Hallowicked hits michinoku driver. Skittlez uses tiger driver for a near fall. Skittlez hits spinning seated power bomb but Hallowicked reaches the ropes. Hallowicked pins Skittlez with his feet on the ropes. Pretty good match. Rating: ***

Match No. 7 (11/16/02): Gran Akuma vs. Hallowicked in Young Lions Cup semifinals match. Nice lucha chain wrestling by these two. Hallowicked with a waterwheel slam. Then a release northern lights suplex. Akuma hits tope over top of referee Bryce Remsburg to the floor. Akuma uses a moustrap. Hallowicked misses handspring. Falcon arrow by Akuma, followed by a leg drop from the top rope. Hallowicked uses springboard frankensteiner for the pin as he holds the ropes. Lots of nice moves, nothing out of place. Rating: ***1/2

Match No. 8 (11/16/02): UltraMantis vs. Mister ZERO in Young Lions Cup semifinals match. Chain wrestling early. Now they trade slaps. Mantis uses double underhook suplex. Flying hip attack by Mantis. Zero responds with huge forearm. Followed by a snap suplex. Zero uses newspaper gimmick on Mantis. Nice sto by Mantis. Mantis uses torture rack backbreaker type of move. Gory special by Zero. Mantis uses unprettier. Zero uses last shaven unicorn for the pin. Another very solid match. Rating: ***

Match No. 9 (11/16/02): Mister ZERO vs. Hallowicked in Young Lions Cup final. Hallowicked attacks zero at the bell and takes it into the crowd. Nice dropkick from middle turnbuckle by Zero. Snap suplex by Hallowicked. Followed by neckbreaker. He hits a ddt and continues the assault with a knee to the back of the head. Hallowicked to the top but misses a frog splash. Zero on the offensive. Huge clothesline and elbow. They tumble to the floor from another clothesline, especially Zero who takes huge bump. Hallowicked tumbles into the chairs. Hallowicked misses cartwheel. Zero throws him into gimmick table. They are in the balcony wearing each other’s masks. Zero uses spotlight. Hallowicked tries to throw Zero from the balcony. They head back down to the floor. And have their own masks on. German suplex by Zero. Blind Rage at ringsade. UltraMantis also comes to ringside. Zero hits rydeen bomb and blue thunder bomb. Hallowicked uses michinoku driver for a near fall. All of the competitors are at ringside cheering. Zero hits last shaven unicorn but can’t make the pin. Hallowicked hits super fisherman’s buster from the top rope for the pin. Rudos jump into the ring to celebrate and they put Hallowicked on their shoulders. Great match by these two with some classic brawling. Rating: ****

ROH 12: Final Battle 2002 (12/28/02)

Punk and Cabana in the car on the way to the show. Cabana talks, Punk gets pissed.

Gary Michael Capetta with Steve Corino. Corino cuts excellent promo.

High Impact TV taping highlights. Homicide beats Jay Lethal.

Match No. 1: C.M. Punk vs. Colt Cabana for ROH contract. Chris Lovey and Ray Murrow on commentary. Punk walks the rope, but Cabana makes him lose his balance and he crotches himself. Cabana with a huge lariat. Great rollup by Punk from his back in the corner. Cabana blocks shining wizard. Punk does nice tope on Cabana on the floor. Cabana does superplex type move dropping Punk on his face. Punk does belly to belly suplex from the top rope. Airplane spin by Punk, followed by split legged moonsault. Punk hits shining wizard but Cabana kicks out. Punk does running face wash on Cabana. Punk hits diving double underhook facebuster from the top rope for the pin. Great opener between two future stars. Rating: ****

Homicide runs into Johnny Kashmere and Trent Acid backstage.

Gary Michael Capetta in the ring. Christopher Daniels comes out. He takes the mic from Capetta. He calls out Alexis Laree. Simply Luscious attacks her from behind. Laree gives her a spear. As the ref is attending to Luscious, Daniels gives Laree a rolling cutter and Luscious then makes the pin.

Steve Corino comes to the ring and cuts a promo. He says he made more money in 2002 than Paul Heyman owes him. He tells Daniels he’s putting the Prophecy on notice. He tells Luscious they are done. Daniels gets pissed and leaves. Corino calls out Homicide. They go at it. Homicide pulls out a fork but Corino bails.

Dunn & Marcos cut promo before the show. Highlights from High Impact TV taping. Christopher Daniels & Donovan Morgan destroy Dunn & Marcos.

Mafia & Monsta Mack cut promo on Special K & Backseat Boyz.

Match No. 2: Special K (Deranged & Angel Dust) vs. Backseat Boyz (Trent Acid & Johnny Kashmere) vs. Da Hit Squad (Mafia & Monsta Mack) in three-way scramble match. Nice opening sequence with Acid and Deranged. Angel Dust blows a spot. Mafia hits dragon suplex on Angel Dust. DHS powerbombs Kashmere on Acid. Angel Dust does moonsault to the floor. Camera nearly misses it. Deranged does springboard flip to the floor. Monsta Mack throws Hydro (Jay Lethal) onto Special K on the floor. Acid & Kashmere do tandem suicide flip onto the floor. Mafia does tope onto the floor. Backseat hits dream sequence on Angel Dust. While Angel Dust is holding Deranged, Mafia hits german suplex on him. Acid hits mafia kick on Mafia, then Mack. A second kick on Mack but Mafia hits huge lariat on him. Special K pins Mafia after he gets hit behind with cane and then cast then double team rollup. A bit sloopy but good match with tons of high spots. Rating: ***1/2

High Impact TV match with Ace Steele vs. Jay Briscoe. Briscoe wins with Jay Driller.

Match No. 3: Spanish Announce Team (Joel & Jose Maximo) vs. Christopher Daniels & Donovan Morgan in two out of three falls for ROH tag team titles. Morgan and Jose aren’t clicking early. Joel and Daniels next in the ring. Not much to report. SAT work over Daniels. They hit double bulldog. Then camel clutch/boston crab combo on Prophecy. Daniels uses springboard split legged moonsault on Jose. Jose rolls up Daniels but Morgan distracts the ref. Jose hits tornado ddt on Daniels. Prophecy uses revelations on Jose for the pin. Prophecy 1-0. Prophecy hits double suplex on Joel. Jose hits double dropkick then double backdrop. Jose hits spinning ddt on Mogan but Daniels makes the save. SAT hit spanish fly on Daniels for the pin. Tied 1-1. Joel hits ddt on apron on Morgan. Jose botches flip move. Nice fisherman’s buster by Morgan on Jose. Daniels hits spinning lifting sitout double underhook suplex, then misses double springboard moonsault. Daniels hits sto on Jose. Daniels hits rolling cutter on Joel for the pin. Daniels was great, other three had issues at times. Rating: ***

ROH High Impact match. Samoa Joe vs. Outcast Killaz.

Match No. 4: Carnage Crew (Loc & Devito) vs. New Christopher Street Connection. Bloody squash. Rating: **

Homicide cuts promo backstage. Pretty good job.

Match No. 5: Jody Fleish vs. Amazing Red. Nice opening sequence. Fleisch did springboard moonsault and landed on his feet. Red does plancha onto Fleisch on the floor. Fleisch hits springboard shooting star press onto Red on the floor. They go to the top rope and both do moonsaults and land hard. Special K comes to ringside. Fleisch hits another springboard moonsault. Fleisch to the top rope. Red knocks him down. Red does corkscrew senton but Special K pulls Fleisch out of the way. Fleisch hits twisting springboard tornado ddt for the pin. A bit short, but pretty damn good spot fest. Rating: ****

Special K with a beatdown on Red afterwards. SAT tries to make the save. Quiet Storm tries to make the save. Both are beaten down. Da Hit Squad and J.T. Smith come to the ring. Slugga gives Smith a chokeslam. DHS gets the beat down.

Xavier cuts a promo in the ring.

Match No. 6: Xavier vs. Paul London for ROH title. Xavier jumps London at the bell. Xavier drops London on his face as he was going for head scissors. They trade hard chops. Huge clothesline by Xavier. Xavier hits nice german suplex. Big elbow by Xavier after he snaps his throat over the top rope. London tries to superplex Xavier to the floor but he blocks it and drops him on the top turnbuckle. Xavier gets crotched by London. London with nice flip dropkick. Huge powerbomb by London. London hits shooting star press on the floor on Xavier. London misses shooting star press. Xavier rolls him up for a near fall. London hits some kind of spinning facebuster for a near fall. London fakes that he’s hurt. London hits ddt for three count but Xavier has his foot on the ropes. Xavier uses cobra clutch suplex and then jumping hangman’s neckbreaker for the pin. Great match. Rating: ****

Gary Michael Capetta tries to interview Special K. They clown with him and his hair. Slugga kicks out the camera man. Then he won’t let Da Hit Squad into the locker room.

Steve Corino comes out to the ring. He grabs the mic and takes a seat. He says you can’t have a main event without him. Corino attacks Homicide with a fork then gives him a pile driver. Corino gives Homicide another pile driver. And a third one.

Match No. 7: Homicide vs. Samoa Joe vs. Low Ki vs. Bryan Danielson in number one contenders match. Rob Feinstein says to give Homicide’s spot in the match to Corino. Danielson opens with Ki. They do test of strength then some mat wrestling. Danielson fakes a tag to Joe, who gets pissed. Danielson does giant swing on Ki. Joe tags in. Danielson uses shoulder block and both go to the floor. Corino tags in. Corino and Joe trade forarms and then Joe hits enzuigiri. Joe beating the shit out of Corino, who rolls out to the floor. Corino runs into the camera man on his way to the floor again. Low Ki tags in. Huge shoulder block by Corino. Ki responds with big elbow. Danielson tags in and his all over Ki. Huge chop by Ki but Danielson responds with knee lift and slam and elbow drop. And a second one. Joe tags in. He hits Ki with a shoulder block. Corino tags in. Ki kicks Corino twice to the chest and once to the face. He follows with some crazy hard chops. Joe tags in. As does Danielson. Joe suplexes Dragon. Huge chops by Joe. Ki tags in. And gives Dragon a back suplex. Huge forearm by Dragon. And then fall away slam with a bridge. Corino tags in. Ki hits boot to the face. He tries dragon sleeper but Corino turns it into a ddt. He then uses an abdominal stretch on Ki. Ki escapes with a kick to the head and tags in Dragon. Two head butts by Dragon. Corino tags in Joe. Dragon does bridging grounded double chicken wing. Joe escapes and hits german suplex. He tags in Corino. Joe back in. He does half boston crab on Dragon. Joe hits two more chops. Followed by a choke. Joe gets two count with a back suplex. Joe tags in Ki. Danielson escapes dragon clutch. Twice. Ki uses running fireman’s slam into top turnbuckle. Danielson hits fisherman’s buster suplex on Ki. Ki hits brainbuster on Danielson. Ki gives Danielson a suplex on the floor. Ki tags in Joe. Joe hits knee drop. And then overhead belly to belly suplex. Joe holds Dragon and Corino drops him with a clothesline. Joe tags in Corino. He slaps Danielson. Then uses a chinlock. Ki breaks it up with a kick to the face. Danielson tags in Ki. Joe chops Ki hard. Joe tags in Corino. They exchange moves and then Ki hits cartwheel jumping high kick. Joe tags in. He gives Ki facewash. Corino with dragon screw on Joe. Then a figure four. Ki and Dragon break it up with double head butts. Joe power bombs Corino and puts in an stf. He gives Ki a half boston crab. Joe gets stf on dragon. Ki breaks it up with baseball slide to the face. Low Ki does springboard kick on Corino. Low Ki blocks cattle mutilation. Ki and Danileson trade blows. Danielson hits discus elbow smash. Ki and Joe take off the tape. They trade huge chops and slaps. Corino and Dragon hit them from behind. Corino gives Ki a tbone suplex from the top rope. Danielson to the top rope. Corino goes up. Then Joe. Joe gives Corino ace crusher. Dragon breaks it up. Double enzuigri by Joe and Dragon. Ki gives Joe a fisherman’s driver. Ki has dragon sleeper on Corino but bell sounds before he taps. Match was long and crowd was a bit dead but it was damn good. These four put on a helluva show. Rating: ****1/2

Wrestlers take back their locker room from Special K. Carnage Crew cuts promo in the locker room that was longer than their match. Ki cuts his robotic promo. Capetta backstage with Corino. The first member of his faction is……Simply Luscious. He says next week he will introduce the second member.

MLW 3: King of Kings (12/20/02)

Match No. 1: Nosawa & Masada vs. Hot Commodity (Julio Dinero and EZ Money). Heels jump Japs before the bell. Masada does springboard pescado and Dinero and Money catch him on the floor. Nosawa does baseball slide and knocks them to the floor. Nice doubleteam by Nosawa and Masada. Dinero with a nice corkscrew brainbuster. He follows with a fireman’s carry dropped into a suplex. Money hits a nice backflip splash. Money goes for a move and Masada botches it. Fans chant “You fucked up” and Money points at Masada. Classic. Money hits the bank roll on Masada and looks pissed. Masada hits release german suplex on Money. Nosawa hits shining wizard on Dinero. Nosawa hits sitout scoop slam piledriver (Nosawa Driver) for a near fall. Commodity hits ocean cyclone suplex on Masada for the pin. Real good opener. Rating: ***

Segment with Steve “Dr. Death” Williams working out with his student, P.J. Friedman. Williams has cut the mullet slightly and there’s some blond in the bangs. Major League Mullet.

Match No. 2: Christopher Daniels vs. Super Crazy vs. Fuego Guerrero (Amazing Red) in triple threat match. Crazy and Daniels open things. Crazy action right off the bat. Daniels tries some mic work, but fails. Nice body scissors by Fuego. Daniels with a sweet slingshot legdrop. Daniels bulldogs Fuego as he clotheslines Crazy. Daniels hits picture perfect moonsault on Crazy for a two count. Fuego hits Amazing Red’s leg trap sunset flip powerbomb (Code Red) on Daniels. Crazy hits a spinning sitdown powerbomb on Fuego. Fuego hits running standing shooting star press (Red Star Press) for a near fall on Crazy. Actually, Fuego got the pin. I missed it and the crowd was dead for the finish. Weak finish, terrible use of Daniels. Crazy tries to pull of Fuego’s hood and the Maximos make the save. Rating: **1/2

Promo with Fat Ass Dusty Rhodes. Boy, he looks like shit. He’d be great if this was radio. He rips on Corino. And speaking of ugly, Bill Alfonso cuts a promo with Sabu.

Match No. 3: Jimmy Yang & Mike Sanders vs. Steve “Dr. Death” Williams & P.J. Friedman. Friedman and Yang blow a spot. Williams hits huge power bomb on Sanders. Williams hits Sanders with a drink. Then drops him through a table. Crowd is mostly empty. This match sucks. Great missile dropkick by Yang. He has some serious ups. Yang follows up with nice corkscrew moonsault. Yang goes up again and get crotched. Williams hits press slam on Yang and Friedman follows with an elbow drop. Another botch as both Williams and Friedman both try to make the pin. Williams hits a gutwrench powerbomb (Doctor Bomb) on Sanders. Yang uses nice head scissors on Williams. Williams then hits high-angle belly to back suplex (Backdrop Driver) for the pin. Match sucked, early picked up at the end. Rating: **1/2

Promo with Simon Diamond and C.W. Anderson. Simon says they have been compared to Tully and Arn.

Match No. 4: Simon Diamond & C.W. Anderson vs. The SAT (Joel & Jose Maximo). Not much early. Jose hits an Asai moonsault on to all three on the floor. Diamond hits a Northern Lights suplex on Jose. Anderson his a nice superplex which he held long from the top rope. Joel hits a german suplex with a bridge. Joel follows with a moonsault. He then hits a back to belly piledriver (Beach Break) on Anderson for a near fall. Jose goes for a 540 from the top rope and appears to botch it as his foot hits Diamond in the face. SAT goes for the Spanish Fly but Diamond breaks it up. Anderson hits a spinebuster on Jose for the pin. Pretty good match. Rating: ***

Corino cuts a promo from outside of the War Memorial Auditorium, which looks like a shithole from the 1950s. He rips on Terry Funk and Dusty Rhodes for not giving him an autograph when he was a kid. Mike Awesome cuts promo on Jerry Lynn.

Match No. 5: Sabu vs. La Parka. Parka throws his chair at Sabu. Sabu’s back is a mess. Not sure if it is steroid acne or scars, probably a combination of both. Standard Sabu spots early. Parka tosses Sabu into the front row. He follows up with a chair shot. They fight in the crowd. Parka hits an axehandle from the top rope over the barricade into the front row. His knees will be shot before too long. Sabu holds down top rope and Park flips over and hits table that doesn’t break. Sabu gets scissors and stabs Parka in the mask. Sabu does spot where he jumps on chair and springboards off top rope into front row on Parka. Parka is a bloody mess. Sabu gets the scissors again and carves up Parka some more. Sabu legdrops Parka through a table. Parka is a bloody mess. Sabu hits an Arabian Facebuster. He then hits a triple jump moonsault for the pin. Decent bloody brawl. Rating: ***

After the match, Sabu tries to shake hands with La Parka. They finally shake and embrace. Another promo from that freak Alfonso. Parka then jumps him and throws him into a trash pile.

Match No. 6: Mike Awesome vs. Jerry Lynn for No. 1 contender to MLW tite. Awesome is a big bastard. Hard to believe he is the brother of that scrawny bastard Bill Alfonso, although they both have that trailer park aura. Huge spear by Awesome. Awesome vaults railing and clotheslines Lynn. Huge boot by Awesome. Awesome with a splash for a two count. Awesome hits a one shoulder powerbomb (Awesome Bomb) for the pin. Match was too short and Lynn didn’t get to do much. Rating: **1/2

After the match, Awesome raises his hands and you can see the gyno on his chest. Steroids will give you man boobs if you don’t watch out. Even Rock was cursed with the bitch tits for a while, wearing a shirt until he had surgery.

Daniels gets the mic and tells Lynn he is disappointed. He rips on Lynn for losing tonight and at the previous show. Daniels asks Lynn to join him and he accepts.

Promo with Terry Funk. Boy, is he looking old. He calls Dusty a fat ass. He says Dusty backed him up at left guard at West Texas State. He says Dusty was in his platoon in Vietnam with “those nips”. He says Dusty went AWOL and he shot him in the ass with his rifle. He says Rhodes rode a couple of fat pigs in Tampa. Great promo.

Match No. 7: Terry Funk vs. Steve Corino vs. Dusty Rhodes. Funk was right. Dusty is a fat ass. he must be pushing 350. Thankfully, he is leaving his Dusty Rhodes t-shirt on. Corino and Funk doubleteam Rhodes. He gives them both the bionic elbow. Corino crowns Dusty with a trash can. Funk does the same. Corino holds Rhodes and Funk instead clocks him with the trash can. Rhodes pulls down Funk’s pants exposing his flabby ass. Thanks Dusty. Rhodes is busted open. Funk nearly breaks his leg going over the guard rail. Rhodes hits Funk in the head with a shovel. Corino is now busted open. Rhodes takes a nut shot from Funk. Funk nails Corino in the throat with the shovel. Simon Diamond and C.W. Anderson jump Rhodes. Cheap fucking finish. Funk makes the save. He beats on Corino with the trash can afterwards. All three then attack Funk. Rating: **1/2

Rhodes makes the save and he and Funk then beat on Corino. Long post-match brawl. Funk and Rhodes flip each other off. They mug for the crowd, then hug each other.

Corino cuts bloody promo. Diamond is next, with his stupid Notre Dame jersey. Anderson rambles on.

Vampiro cuts promo. I hate this clown even more. He can’t wrestle and his promos suck. Why the fuck is he in the main event for this company?

Match No. 8: Satoshi Kojima vs. Vampiro for MLW title. Vampiro whips Kojima into the guardrail and fan in the front row falls on his ass. Kojima suplexes Vampiro on the floor. Vampiro jumps off camera stand 10 feet above stage and clotheslines Kojima. Dumbass grabs knee that already has a brace. Crowd is dead and I’m nearly falling asleep. Nice main event, Court Bauer. Kojima hits big elbow from the top rope. Dumbass Vampiro is wearing his wedding ring. Vampiro misses a corkscrew moonsault. Kojima hits a dragon screw and then kicks Vampiro’s knee. He hits another dragon screw. Kojima puts stepover toehold facelock (STF) on Vampiro. He then hits a cutter (Koji Cutter) on Vampiro followed by a lariat for the pin. Finish came out of nowhere and fans barely popped. Average match with pretty good finish. Rating: ***

Mike Awesome confronts Kojima after the match. He hits a sitout powerbomb and then walks away. I guess that is the main event for the next show. Awesome brings a table into the ring. He sets it up in the corner. And throws Kojima into the table. He then takes the belts and poses with it as the show goes off the air. Another average show.

CHIKARA 11 (12/7/2002)

Match No. 1: DJ Skittelz beat Jigsaw.

Match No. 2: UltraMantis & The Senior Assault Team (Lester Crabtree & Melvin Snodgrass) beat Mister ZERO & The Wild Cards (Eddie Kingston & Jack Marciano).

Match No. 3: Love Bug beat Marshal Law.

Match No. 4: Hallowicked beat Gran Akuma in a Young Lions Cup match.

Match No. 5: Mike Quackenbush beat Mitch Ryder.

Match No. 6: Blind Rage beat Ichabod Slayne in a hair vs. mask match and Slayne was unmasked.

ROH 11: Night of the Butcher (12/7/02)

Show opens with Da Hit Squad in the locker room. Divine Storm arrives. Trinity is in tow. She’s looking hot as always. They all leave to warm up and Special K takes over the locker room and starts to party.

Michael Shane cuts a promo backstage on Jeremy Lopez.

Da Hit Squad and Divine Storm return to the locker room. They are pissed at Special K.

Match No. 1: Jeremy Lopez vs. Michael Shane. Jeff Gorman and Chris Lovey on commentary. Senile Frank Talent of the Pa. Athletic Commission is talking in the hallway, not watching the match. Lopez hits nice neckbreaker. Shane uses back suplex to slow him down. Lopez hits double underhook ddt followed by a tiger driver. Shane fakes a superkick, Lopez ducks, then Shane hits superkick for a near fall. Shane to the top rope. He hits elbow drop for the pin. Decent opener. Rating: ***

Match No. 2: Colt Cabana vs. CM Punk. Cabana hits nice Japanese arm drag. Punk grabs Cabana’s arm and walks the rope like Undertaker. Punk gives Cabana a facewash. Cabana clotheslines Punk over the top rope. Cabana uses moonsault onto Punk outside of the ring. Cabana hits frog splash. Cabana uses snap suplex. Followed by double knee in the corner. Punk uses cross body block for near fall. Huge clothesline by Cabana. Punk hits a huricanrana from behind. Cabana takes a big bump but kicks out. Punk hits shining wizard but Cabana kicks out. Cabana hits colt .45 (double underhook overhead backbreaker drop) for the pin. Pretty good match, but a bit sloppy at times. Rating: ***

Gary Michael Capetta comes to the ring. He says the will have a rematch. And the winner will receive an ROH contract. Punk offers to cash in plane ticket for gas money. Cabana says he will fly if he wins.

Match No. 3: EZ Money vs. Paul London in No. 1 contenders match. Interesting match between a man who makes tights and a man who is an actor and model. Money uses a pendulum swing on London. Nice money clip by Money, who does springboard flip from outside and clotheslines London. He follows with standing moonsault. London does somersault plancha to the floor. Money uses an ez driver for a two count. London hits enzuigiri and Money staggers before falling. Nice springboard by Money. London hits legsweep ddt for the pin. Money looked good in his debut. One sloppy spot downgrades the match a bit. Rating: ***

Match No. 4: Chad Collyer vs. Bryan Danielson in No. 1 contenders match. Dragon works on the arm early. Collyer then works on Danielson’s arm. Dragon hits big shoulder block. Back-and-forth action between these two. Fans getting a little restless. Collyer working on Dragon’s leg. Big knee lift by Dragon. Dragon’s hits nice bridging german suplex. They trade blows. And chops. Collyer sinks in texas cloverleaf. Dragon reaches the ropes. Dragon hits dragon suplex for the pin. Very sound technical match. Rating: ****

Match No. 5: Special K (Joey Matthews & Deramged) vs. Jay Briscoe & Amazing Red vs. Spanish Announce Table (Joel & Jose Maximo) vs. Da Hit Squad (Mafia & Monsta Mack) in four-way scramble match. Jose and Jay trade arm locks. Mafia beating the shit out of Deranged. Red in against his cousin Joel. Nice work by these two. Trinity getting beat down by Special K outside the ring. Joel uses dragon screw leg whip and then figure four on Deranged. Jay hits nice snap suplex on Joel. Jay and Red to flapjack on Joel. Jose makes the save. Joel with a big clothesline on Jay. Jay and Mafia trading forearms. Red and Mafia botch a spot. Monsta Mack with a powerslam on Jay. Jay uses yakuza kick on Monsta Mack. Joey uses hangman’s neckbreaker on Monsta Mack. Red does superplex to the floor on Delirious. Mafia does suicide dive and takes out the guard rail and front row. Mafia misses headbutt from the top rope. Deranged misses a tope. Joel misses a tope. Red misses a frog splash. Joey misses elbow drop. Monsta Mack splashes Joey. He somehow kicks out. Monsta Mack hits big piledriver on Joey. Delirious with floating ddt on Monsta Mack. Jay with a huge powerbomb on Deranged. Jay goes for jay driller on Delirous, but Mafia spears both of them hard. Red hits f5 on Joel. Followed by red star press. Joel kicks out. Jose piledrives Red five times. Then a face buster and a swinging german suplex. Joey breaks it up. SAT uses tapping machine on Special K for the pin. Tons of high spots. Match went a bit long. Rating: ***

Special K argues with the ref after the match. Large black man gives ref a bodybag and leaves the ring.

Highlights of ROH High Impact TV taping. Paul E. Normous destroys Buff E. Dragon pummels Marcos. Paul London all over Angle Dust. Da Hit Squad beat Outkast Killaz. Jimmy Rave beaten by A.J. Styles.

Match No. 6: Jeff Starr & Shockwave vs. Divine Storm (Chris Divine & Quiet Storm). Quiet Storm with three northern lights suplexes. Starr doesn’t belong out here with these guys. Storm hits shockwave and storm cradle driver for the pin. Squash. Rating: *

C.W. Anderson hits the ring and beats up the two jabronis. Gabe tries to act like he hates C.W. and wants to edit him off the tape. C.W. rips on ROH. He says Gabe was an internet geek who became booker and used to kiss his ass in ECW. He calls out Gabe. C.W. goes to the back and him and Sapolsky yell at each other. If this was an angle, it was pretty damn good.

Match No. 7: Paul London vs. Brian Danielson in No. 1 contenders trophy final.
They trade hard chops and slaps early. Nice mat work by London. He hits a japanese arm drag. Tons of knife edge chops by Danielson in the corner. London hits two flip dropkicks. And a standing moonsault. Danielson uses cross arm german suplex on London. They both take a nasty bump over the top rope onto the floor. On the floor, London gives him a superkick. London hits cross body block for a two count. London goes to the top rope. Dragon catches him. And gives London back suplex from the top rope. London barely kicks out. Danielson hits cattle mutilation. London reaches the ropes. London hits shooting star press from the pin. Real good match between two great wrestlers. Rating: ****

After the match, London cuts promo and gives Dragon props. Dragon returns the kudos.

Match No. 8: A.J. Styles vs. Xavier. Styles hits styles clash immediately. Luscious puts his foot on the rope to save the title. A.J. hits nice back suplex, followed by clothesline and flipping dropkick. Styles does corkscrew plancha over the top rope. Xavier does release overhead suplex on Styles. He goes back to the chin lock. Styles hits superplex but he can’t make the cover as he is holding his head. They trade knife edge chops before Styles his enzuigiri. Styles uses springboard moonsault into ddt. Xavier catches him with waterwheel slam. Several near falls by both guys. Xavier uses shoulder block into A.J.’s back. He then uses a camel clutch. A.J. hits nice piledriver after reversing out of move by Xavier. Xavier hits pumphandle sitout suplex, but A.J. kicks out. Xavier misses 450 and A.J. hits superkick. A.J. hits styles clash from the top rope. He he hurts his knee and can’t cover him right away. Xavier gets his arm on the rope. Xavier ties up A.J.’s knee, rolls over and gets the pin. Solid match, with a couple of rope slips. Grade: ***1/2

Match No. 9: Carnage Crew (Loc & Devito) vs. Homicide & Abdullah the Butcher. Abby is one fat bastard. Homicide attacked early. Abby goes right to the fork, cutting Loc in the head. Devito hits moonsault on Homicide. Loc bleeding already. He’s a mess. Devito and Homicide are also bloody. Loc cracks Homicide in the head with a hub cap. Abby using fork again on Loc, this time in his mouth. Homicide puts Loc on the table and hits him with a chair shot. Homicide goes for flip dive on table but Loc moves. Loc and Devito double team Abby. Abby now has a chain. Homicide nearly gets cop killa on Loc but he reverses it into back suplex. Loc hits Abby with a chair but nothing happens. Except that he gets pissed. Homicide hits cop killa on Loc for the pin. Homicide has noose around Loc’s neck. Abby pounding on guys from the locker room. Mafia uses some vicious char shots. Him and Monsta Mack double team Abby. Homicide holds him back. Abby uses fork on some poor bastard. Entertaining bloodbath. Rating: ***

Homicide leads a chant for Butcher. Butcher goes back after some bastard who is a blood mess. Butch has a crazed look on his face as he leaves with Homicidee. They show the poor bloody bastard.

Homicide tells Carnage Crew their feud is over. He talks about his match with Low Ki. Carnage Crew is a bloody mess in the locker room and they are happy about their match. They cut a long promo on how much they like bleeding. Colt Cabana and Punk are driving home together. Colt is rambling and Punk is getting pissed. Punk gets out of the car and starts walking. Christoper Daniels cuts another great promo.

CHIKARA 10 (11/23/02)

Match No. 1: Phoenix beat Ambery Holly in Kiryoku Pro Showcase Match.

Match No. 2: Gran Akuma beat Jigsaw.

Match No. 3: Hallowicked beat DJ Skittelz.

Match No. 4: Macaela beat Lexie Fyfe in Kiryoku Pro Showcase Match.

Match No. 5: Blind Rage beat Ichabod Slayne.

Match No. 6: Mister ZERO beat Dragonfly.

Match No. 7: Mercedez Martinez beat Alexis Laree in Kiryoku Pro Showcase Match.

Match No. 8: Mitch Ryder & The Wild Cards (Eddie Kingston & Jack Marciano) beat Mike Quackenbush, UltraMantis & Melvin Snodgrass in an elimination match. Ryder pinned Quackenbush to win the match.

ROH 10: Scramble Madness (11/16/02)

Show opens with promo by Christopher Daniels. Samoa Joe is smirking in the background. Dunn and Marcos stop Daniels as he tries to leave. They ask for a title shot. Daniels laughs his ass off. Nice comedy bit.

Jeff Gorman and Chris Lovey (Gabe Sapolsky) on commentary. Jay Brisco cuts a promo, calls out his brother. Mark comes out, introduces his dream tag team partner — Christopher Daniels. Daniels on the mic. He says Mark is the new member of the Prophecy.

Match No. 1: Jay Briscoe & Amazing Red vs. Mark Briscoe & Christopher Daniels. Mark gives Jay a cheap shot. Nice segment by Mark and Red. Damn good since they are 17 & 20. Daniels gives Red huge backdrop to the floor. Daniels and Mark double-teaming Red. Red uses small package on Daniels but Mark distracts the ref. Daniels hits double springboard moonsault on Red. Briscoe follows with ace crusher from the top rope. Red makes the hot tag. Jay hits ddt on Mark. Jay goes for jay driller but Daniels breaks it up. Mark clotheslines Jay over top rope. Red hits code red (leg trap sunset flip powerbomb) for near fall. Daniels hits last rites (rolling cutter) for the pin. Very good opener. Rating: ***1/2

Joey Matthews backstage with Special K. Alexi Laree interrupts. Joey just laughs at her and she walks off.

Match No. 2: Mace with Alison Danger vs. Alexis Laree. Alexis grabs Mace by the balls. Then hits ddt for the pin. Pretty weak finisher. Rating: **

Steve Corino backstage with a patch over his eye. He rips on ROH and its fans.

Match No. 3: Jeremy Lopez vs. Xavier. Xavier with some big chops. He hits a samoan drop. Lopez uses ankle lock. Lopez hits double underhook ddt, followed by a tiger driver. Xavier uses cobra clutch suplex. Lopez hits elevated ddt. Xavier hits x breaker (jumping hangman’s neckbreaker) followed by 450 splash for the pin. Started slow, but good finish. Rating: **1/2

Match No. 4: Tony Mamaluke & Matt Thompson vs. Da Hit Squad (Mafia & Monsta Mack). Gabe says Thompson is 6-8. And it’s only his fourth match. No idea why they are putting him on this show. Thompson hits a huge cross body block. He tries a satellite head scissors, but doesn’t quite hit it. Thompson botches something. Monsta Mack makes him pay with a clothesline. He then hits belly to belly suplex. Mafia hits facewash on Mamaluke. Mamaluke takes a double clothesline. Mafia hits clothesline on Mamaluke after Monsta Mack gives him a wheelbarrow suplex. Thompson clotheslines Monsta Mack from the ring apron. Mamaluke hits legdrop from the top rope. Then a swinging ddt. Thompson tags in. And hits a lionsault on Mafia. He goes to the top rope but gets knocked off his feet. Mafia then hits nasty burning hammer for the pin. Mamaluke got tap out on Monsta Mack but it was too late. Decent match with green freak show element. Rating: ***

Match No. 5: Special K (Joey Matthews, Izzy, Slim J, Deranged & Angel Dust with Dixie) vs. Devine Storm (Chris Devine & Quiet Storm with Trinity) & SAT (Jose & Joel Maximo) & Amazing Red. Deranged starts with Jose. Red and Slim J with some nice moves. Red gives him a vicious clothesline and he takes a flip bump. Joel drops Izzy with an enzuigiri. Holy shit is right. All five members of Special K dive to the floor. Three suicide dives and a couple of flip dives. Joel with a nasty clothesline on Joel. SAT with great triple team. Deranged gets hung in the ropes and all five faces give him baseball slide to the face. Devine hits brainbuster on Deranged. Deranged hits ddt. Devine takes five elbows. Red drops Slim J on his face. Izzy then gives Red a shooting star drop kick. Joel hits nice sitting power bomb on Deranged. Quiet Storm hits spinal shock on Joey. The faces hit four top rope power bombs after Red does flip dive onto the floor. Four moonsaults by the heels. Red and Deranged trade some nice high spot moves. Quiet Storm hits storm cradle driver on slim j but Izzy makes the save. Joel gives Deranged four power bombs and a maximo explosion. Red hits infrared on Angel Dust for the pin. Tons of high spots. Purists may not like it, but I enjoyed the match. Rating: ****

Match No. 6: Ring Crew Express (Dunn & Marcos) vs. Samoa Joe. RCE tries to double team Joe, but it doesn’t work. He hits Marcos with an elbow and Dunn with a running boot. He gives Dunn a powerslam and then clotheslines Marcos after blinding him with his t-shirt. He follows with a sitout side powerslam on Marcos. Joe then hits the sitout side powerslam on Dunn for the pin. A handicap squash match. Rating: **

Match No. 7: Rudy Boy Gonzalez & Paul London vs. Michael Shane & Biohazard in a street fight. London & Gonzalez attacked before the bell. London takes bump through the guardrail. Gonzalez puts Biohazard through a guardrail. London and Shane in the ring. They trade some nice moves. London hits his dropkick where he flips. Gonzalez gives London a backdrop onto Shane. He then backdrops London over the top rope onto Shane & Biohazard. London uses standing moonsault on the floor on Biohazard. Gonzalez does tarantula on Shane. London puts Biohazard through the guardrail and into the crowd. Shane ddt’s Gonzalez on fence guardrail on the floor. London, seated in chair in the ring, gets snap mare from Biohazard from the second rope. Rudy Boy posted by Shane. Biohazard gives London a death valley driver. He then grabs a ladder from underneath the ring. He sets it up on guard rail. London sets ladder up between ring apron and guard rail. London crotches himself on the ladder. Gonzalez kicks Shane who bumps through table at ringside. Biohazard suplexes Gonzalez on the ladder in the ring. Biohazard hits senton on Gonzalez on the ladder. London hits standing moonsault on chair on Biohazard. Shane goes for superplex on London. London blocks it and Gonzalez superkicks him. London hits shooting star press on Shane for a two count. Shane hits superkick on Gonzalez for two. London and Gonzalez clothesline Shane over top rope. Gonzalez power bombs Biohazard from the top rope and London hits standing shooting star press for the pin. Damn good match. Rating: ****

Match No. 8: Carnage Crew (Loc & Devito & Masato) vs. Alex Arion & Don Juan & Fast Eddie. Fast Eddie does moonsault outside the match on all three members of Carnage Crew. Crew triple teams Arion. Loc drops Don Juan on his head using a back suplex. Masato hits huge power bomb on Don Juan. Devito superplexes Don Juan and Masato hits leg drop from top rope. Devito misses moonsault. Fast Eddie hits hurricanrana on Masato seated on top turnbuckle. Arion follows up with a splash but the ref is distracted. Loc hits him with a chairshot in the head. Arion kicks out. Loc and Devito hit spike piledriver from top rope for the pin. Decent match. Rating: ***1/2

Match No. 9: Samoa Joe vs. Homicide. Nice mat work early. Joe with several kawada kicks. Followed by facewashes and two big boots. Joe hits two hard forearms. Homicide does suicide flip dive through the middle rope. Homicide uses running knee on Joe. Joe responds with uranage suplex. Joe takes irish whip into the guard rail. Joe responds with enzuigiri. Joe drops homicide on his head with a dragon suplex. Homicide does huricanrana off top rope, followed by lariat, on Joe. Joe hits death valley driver and huge clothesline on Homicide. Homicide drops Joe on his head with a side suplex. He hits two yakuza kicks. Joe blocks the third and hits a power bomb. He hits an stf and turns it into a kokina clutch. Homicide makes the ropes. They trade hard slaps to the face. Homicide rolls up Joe for the pin. Awesome strong style match. Rating: ****

Match No. 10: Christopher Daniels vs. A.J. Styles for No. 1 Contender’s Trophy. Nice mat work early. Both hit the mat after simultaneous cross body blocks. Styles nails a nice dropkick. Daniels monkey flips Styles hard into the corner. Daniels drops Styles over the guard rail. Styles replies with same move. Styles hits facebuster. Styles gets crotched on the top rope and flips onto Daniels. They trade chops to the chest. Daniels hits back suplex. He does double jump moonsault but Styles moves and he lands on his feet. He then hits a flatliner. Styles nails a brainbuster for a two counts. Daniels hits nice blue thunder driver. Then an sto. He hits the double springboard moonsault. Styles kicks out. Daniels hits backslide, Styles replies with small package. Styles uses styles clash for the pin. Great match between two pros. Mark Briscoe and Xavier attack him after the match. They beat his ass. Jay Briscoe tries to make the save. He gets beaten down. SAT then make the save. Styles gives Xavier the styles clash. Rating: ****

Match No. 11: Bryan Danielson vs. Doug Williams in 30-minute iron man match. Nice work early. Williams working on Danielson’s arm. Danielson tries for stf. Williams hits judo throws, but Danielson responds with a hip toss. Danielson uses some european uppercuts. Nice back and forth action. Danielson hits superplex. Both are slow to get up. Danielson gets near fall with northern lights suplex. He gets another near fall with dragon suplex. He hits a second one for the pin. Danielson up 1-0. Williams hits tope on Danielson. Williams hits several knees for a near fall. Williams uses german suplex. Followed by swinging cobra clutch. Dragon to the top rope. He uses flying headbutt. Williams barely kicks out. Danielson blocks chaos theory by going through ropes to the floor. Williams uses rollup for near fall. Five minutes left in the match. Williams with floating ddt. Dragon kicks out. Danielson somehow kicks out of chaos theory. Williams to the top rope. He hits a big knee from the top rope. Danielson kicks out again. Williams with two german suplexes and chaos theory. Danielson makes the ropes. Williams with a brainbuster. Danielson kicks out again. One minute left in the match. Williams uses cross face near the end of the match. Danielson holds on for the win. These guys put on a great technical show. Rating: ****1/2

Danielson cuts a promo. Not bad. Williams cuts promo. He’s pissed. He wants a best of three match. Prophecy promo. Luscious is on the phone and Samoa Joe walks out. He’s wearing a Curry Man t-shirt. A.J. Styles is talking to Alexis Laree. Prophecy jumps them.

CHIKARA 9: Young Lions Cup, Night 2 (11/16/02)

Match No. 1: Gran Akuma vs. Hallowicked in Young Lions Cup semifinals match. Nice lucha chain wrestling by these two. Hallowicked with a waterwheel slam. Then a release northern lights suplex. Akuma hits tope over top of referee Bryce Remsburg to the floor. Akuma uses a moustrap. Hallowicked misses handspring. Falcon arrow by Akuma, followed by a leg drop from the top rope. Hallowicked uses springboard frankensteiner for the pin as he holds the ropes. Lots of nice moves, nothing out of place. Rating: ***1/2

Match No. 2: UltraMantis vs. Mister ZERO in Young Lions Cup semifinals match. Chain wrestling early. Now they trade slaps. Mantis uses double underhook suplex. Flying hip attack by Mantis. Zero responds with huge forearm. Followed by a snap suplex. Zero uses newspaper gimmick on Mantis. Nice sto by Mantis. Mantis uses torture rack backbreaker type of move. Gory special by Zero. Mantis uses unprettier. Zero uses last shaven unicorn for the pin. Another very solid match. Rating: ***

Match No. 3: Mike Quackenbush & Love Bug & DJ Skittlez & Icabod Slayne beat Blind Rage & Jigsaw & The Wild Cards (Jack Marciano & Eddie Kingston) in two out of three falls.

Match No. 4: Marshal Law beat the Senior Assault Team (Lester Crabtree & Melvin Snodgrass) in a handicap match.

Match No. 5: Mister ZERO vs. Hallowicked in Young Lions Cup final. Hallowicked attacks zero at the bell and takes it into the crowd. Nice dropkick from middle turnbuckle by Zero. Snap suplex by Hallowicked. Followed by neckbreaker. He hits a ddt and continues the assault with a knee to the back of the head. Hallowicked to the top but misses a frog splash. Zero on the offensive. Huge clothesline and elbow. They tumble to the floor from another clothesline, especially Zero who takes huge bump. Hallowicked tumbles into the chairs. Hallowicked misses cartwheel. Zero throws him into gimmick table. They are in the balcony wearing each other’s masks. Zero uses spotlight. Hallowicked tries to throw Zero from the balcony. They head back down to the floor. And have their own masks on. German suplex by Zero. Blind Rage at ringsade. UltraMantis also comes to ringside. Zero hits rydeen bomb and blue thunder bomb. Hallowicked uses michinoku driver for a near fall. All of the competitors are at ringside cheering. Zero hits last shaven unicorn but can’t make the pin. Hallowicked hits super fisherman’s buster from the top rope for the pin. Rudos jump into the ring to celebrate and they put Hallowicked on their shoulders. Great match by these two with some classic brawling. Rating: ****

CHIKARA 8: Young Lions Cup (11/9/02)

Match No. 1: DJ Skittlez vs. Hallowicked in Young Lions Cup quarterfinals match. Nice tope by Skittlez. Skittlez follows up with suplex. Hallowicked uses handspring splash in the corner. Hallowicked does hurricanrana and then plancha over the top rope. Hallowicked uses a cattle mutilation type move. Skittlez uses spinning bulldog. Then an inverted ddt. Hallowicked hits michinoku driver. Skittlez uses tiger driver for a near fall. Skittlez hits spinning seated power bomb but Hallowicked reaches the ropes. Hallowicked pins Skittlez with his feet on the ropes. Pretty good match. Rating: ***

Match No. 2: Gran Akuma beat Jack Marciano in Young Lions Cup quarterfinals match.

Match No. 3: UltraMantis beat Eddie Kingston in Young Lions Cup quarterfinals match.

Match No. 4: Mister ZERO beat Super Orka via tapout in Young Lions Cup quarterfinals match.

Match No. 5: Mike Quackenbush & Dragonfly & Love Bug beat Blind Rage & Brock Singleton & Ichabod Slayne.

ROH 9: All Star Extravaganza (11/9/02)

Steve Corino goes up to Low Ki in the locker room. Corino says the Zero One office wants them to face Otani and Tanaka and asks if he is interested. Homicide interrupts and he and Corino argue.

Match No. 1: Special K (Dixie & Joey Matthews) vs. Devine Storm (Chris Devine & Quite Storm) vs. SAT (Jose & Joel Maximo) vs. Da Hit Squad (Mafia and Monsta Mack) in a four-way scramble match. Jeff Gorman and Chris Lovey (Gabe Sapolsky) on commentary. Joel hits hurricanrana on Storm. They do a great power bomb spot from the top rope with all six guys. Monsta Mack hits spike piledriver from the top rope on Jose. Joey gets out of burning hammer attempt by Mafia. Mafia then does german suplex. Mafia goes to press slam Dixie, but Dixie rolls him into a ddt. Storm hits german suplex on Dixie, followed by a spinal shock (gory neckbreaker). Quiet Storm takes several suplexes from the Maximos. They both go to the top rope across from each other. One hits a moonsault and the other hits a legdrop timed perfectly. Dixie destroyed by DHS. SAT hits spanish fly on Dixie for the pin. Great moves, real good match if you like frantic tag team action. Rating: ***1/2

Christopher Daniels cuts promo backstage. Samoa Joe looks bored. Luscious showing off her ample bosom. Luscious gives Xavier a hard time again. Xavier cuts promo on Jay Briscoe. Joe walks out of promo.

Match No. 2: C.M. Punk vs. Michael Shane in No. 1 contenders gauntlet series match. This is Punk’s ROH debut. Mat wrestling early. Punk starts to work the arm. He walks the ropes and does a thesz press on the arm. It doesn’t work a second time as Shane gives him a back suplex. Back to the mat. Punk misses a dropkick. But he hits a senton for a near fall. Punk puts on arm breaker submission hold. Punk does a split leg moonsault but Shane gets the knees up. Punk goes for cross body block but Shane kicks him in the face. Punk hits shining wizard but Shane kicks out. Punk goes for rollup, Shane reverses it and holds the rope for the pin. These guys must have never worked together since it was sloppy in places. But still a pretty good match. Rating: ***

Match No. 3: Paul London vs. Michael Shane in No. 1 contenders gauntlet match. They trade punches right away. London chops the hell out of him and follows with some kicks. London takes a bump and takes out the barricade. Shane does standing suplex on the floor. London hits ddt out of nowhere for the pin. Good match, pretty short though. London bitches after the match. Fans chant shut the fuck up. Shane leaves without a handshake. Tommy Dreamer comes and brings Shane back to the ring. Dreamer cuts a promo, tells Shane he is not leaving the ring without shaking hands. He makes a joke about actually getting a paycheck now. Shane shakes London’s hand then cheap shots him. Dreamer hits a dreamer ddt (vertical snap ddt) on Shane. Post-match action bumps the rating. Rating: ****

Match No. 4: Paul London vs. Amazing Red in No. 1 contenders guantlet match.. Fast opening, but a bit sloppy. London grabs Red by the ankes and swings him into the guard rail. Red hits red star press (standing shooting star press) for a near fall. Red does huricanrana from the top rope. London kicks out. London hits shooting star press for the pin. Rating: ***1/2

Match No. 5: Paul London vs. “American Dragon” Brian Danielson. Mat wrestling early. Danielson starts to pound on London. London goes for moonsault and Danielson dropkicks him in the knees. Danielson goes for hip toss, but London ddt’s him. London with the nice dropkick into the flip. He hits a standing moonsault. Danielson then hits huge clothesline. Dragon goes for a suplex off the top rope, but London blocks hit. London with a russian leg sweep from the top rope. Danielson then does a superplex. Dragon nails a dragon suplex followed by cattle mutilation (bridging grounded double chickenwing). Great technical match. Rating: ****

Match No. 6: Christopher Daniels & Donovan Morgan & Samoa Joe vs. Homicide & Low Ki & Doug Williams for ROH tag team titles. Joe gets pissed as Daniels blind tags him from behind as he is about to lock up with Low Ki. I can’t believe I’m saying this, but Joe actually looks cool with blonde hair. Not sure why he went back to the natural look. Homicide looks good cleaning the ring. He does some nice fast spots with Daniels, although they nearly botch one. Low Ki and Homicide hit double yakuza kicks on Daniels. Tons of crazy spots outside the ring. Joe ends it with a flip over the top rope onto everyone. Joe hits dragon suplex on Williams. Everyone does their finishers but pin bets broken up. Joe puts stf on Homicide then hits rear naked clutch for the submission. Great match, helluva finish. Joe shakes hands, Daniels gets pissed. Rating: ****

Match No. 7: Allison Danger vs. Alexis Laree. Laree wins with an inverted ddt. Mace suplexes her afterwards. Rating: **1/2

Match No. 8: Ring Crew Express (Marcos & Dunn) vs. The Carnage Crew (Loc & Devito). Spike piledriver on Marcos ends the squash. Rating: *1/2

Gary Michael Capetta calls out J.T. Smith, making his first return in six years. Special K comes to the ring and interrupts him. They then jump him until Omar Tortuga and Diablo Santiago make the save. Slugga jumps them, but then shakes the hand of J.T.

Match No. 9: Jay Briscoe vs. Xavier for the ROH championship. Simply Average makes the ring intros. Nice recovery by Jay after they lose grip with each other. Xavier bridges from his back. Xavier blocks a jay driller. Brisco clotheslines Xavier over the top rope. Xavier responds by suplexing Brisco over top rope and to the floor. Xavier then hits flying elbow from the ring apron. Xavier hits nice springboard moonsault onto Brisco. Jay is busted open after dropkick from a chair. Xavier hits jumping hangman’s neckbreaker but Brisco kicks out. Jay is a mess. Xavier blocks jay driller again. Brisco hits superplex. Then a german suplex. Xavier kicks out at two. Brisco hits death valley driver. He goes to the top rope. Luscious throws chair into the ring. Brisco hits leg drop from the top rope for a near fall. Jay just missed jay driller. Xavier hits cobra clutch suplex, followed by pumphandle sitout facebuster, but Jay somehow kicks out. Brisco hits power bomb. She throws chair in to distract the ref and trip Brisco from the top rope. Xavier hits nasty jumping hangman’s neckbreaker for the pin. Match was a bit sloppy in places and lacked heat, but nonetheless very good. Rating: ***1/2

Match No. 10: A.J. Styles vs. Brian Danielson in number one contenders gauntlet final. Great matwork early. Fans go crazy. More technical wrestling. Danielson knocks A.J. silly with huge shoulder block. They take it back to the mat. Danielson jumps in a drop kick attempt but Styles hits dropkick of his own. Danielson hits big elbow. A.J. jumps over guard rail and then hits Danielson with superkick. Danileson hits two head butts, but A.J. responds with forearm. Danielson goes to work on A.J.’s arm. He continues with some head butts to the arm. Styles does springboard suplex but Danielson catches him with fisherman’s suplex. Danielson is bleeding from the fac. A.J. hits a brainbuster. Dragon with a bridging german suplex. He then hits headbutt from the top rope for a near fall. A.J. with a german suplex followed by a facebuster. A.J. to the top rope. Danielson knocks him off balance and climbs to the top. Danielson hits back suplex and drops A.J. on his face. They trade slaps to the face and punches before clotheslining each other. They trade blows 0n their knees. Styles hits springboard moonsault and reverse ddt, but Danielson kick out. Syles hits styles clash (belly to back inverted mat slam), but Danielson kicks out. Danielson hits bridging dragon suplex but Styles kick out. Danileson uses cattle mutilation (bridging grounded double chickenwing) but he can’t hold it. He rolls A.J. over for near fall. Styles hits styles coash again for the pin. Damn good match. Rating: ****1/2

Danielson goes to the locker room and is jumped by Prophecy members Christopher Daniels, Donovan Morgan and Xavier. They then jump A.J. Styles in the ring. Jay Brisco and Bryan Danielson make the save.

Match No. 11: Steve Corino & Low Ki vs. Masato Tanaka & Shinjiro Otani. Tanaka hits sitout powerbomb on Ki. Otani and Tanaka make a wish on Ki. Otani hits double boot to the face as Tanaka holds him in camel clutch. Otani chops the hell out of Ki. Otani hits facewash on Corino. Followed by a big boot to the face. And another. Otani hits huge spinning sole kick on Ki. Tanaka spears Lo Ki and hits a stunner on Corino. Tanaka with a huge frog spash on Low Ki. Low Ki hits several kawada kicks on Tanaka. Otani hits tornado ddt on Corino. Tanaka hits same move. Corino responds with exploder suplex on Otani. Corino uses fisherman’s buster on Otani. Corino holds Otani and Ki does springboard enzuigiri Otani ducks and he hits Corino. Tanaka gives Ki a lariat and Otani hits springboard missile drop kick on Corino followed by a spiral bomb (spinning sitout powerbomb) for the pin. Great match, Otani is the man. Rating: ****

Da Hit Squad backstage. Homicide is sharpening his fork. He’s still pissed at Corino. He attacks Corino with the fork and leaves him laying on the ground.

CHIKARA 7 (10/26/02)

Match No. 1: DJ Skittlez vs. Ichabod Slayne. Missed spot early. Slayne uses moonsault onto Skittlez on the floor. Nice sitting powerbomb by Skittlez. Blind Rage goes to hit Skittlez with the pumpkin but he hits Slayne. Skittlez hits spinning powerbomb for the pin. Decent match. Rating: **1/2

Match No. 2: Marshal Law vs. Dragonfly. Dragonfly can’t do anything in this one. Marshal hits blockbuster suplex. And a side slam. Nice bump over top rope by Dragonfly. Marshal hits amaze impact followed by senton for the pin. Nice finisher by a big guy. Squash. Rating: **

Mister ZERO cuts a promo. He says he is looking for the perfect partner. He brings out Brock Singleton and Sasha.

Match No. 3: Mister ZERO & Brock Singleton vs. Melvin Snodgrass & Lester Crabtree. Mostly comedy. Melvin spits his pills into Brock’s face. Lester hurts his back trying a suplex. Brock uses a torture abdominal stretch on Lester. Followed by a sitting power bomb. Zero hits camel clutch on Melvin. Lester spanks Brock and Zero. Melvin spanks Sasha. Zero hits last shaven unicorn drop for the pin. Average comedy match. Rating: **1/2

After the match, Zero fires Brock.

Match No. 4: Chris Divine vs. Don Montoya vs. Slyk Wagner Brown. Match joined in progress. Slyk does nice moonsault on Montoya. Divine and Slyk argue. Slyk hits some loud chops on Divine in the corner. Montoya powerbombs Slyk who superplexes Divine. Sadly, neither April Hunter or Trinity is at ringside. Slyk accidentally hits moonsault on Divine and Montoya rolls up Slyk for the pin. Decent for what was shown. Rating: **1/2
Match No. 5: Mercedez Martinez vs. Stephanie Star. Match not shown.
Match No. 6: Gran Akuma vs. Blind Rage. Sloppy work early. Pretty nice cross body block by Akuma. Ichabod Slayne comes to the ring. His interference backfires and Akuma gets the pin with a sitting power bomb. Decent match for what was shown. Rating: **
Match No. 7: April Hunter vs. Nikki Rox. Match not shown.
Match No. 8: Hallowicked & The Wild Cards (Eddie Kingston & Jack Marciano) vs. Mike Quackenbush & Love Bug & UltraMantis. Kingston and Marciano trade slaps and chops. Nice doubleteam work by the wild cards. Faces do group leverage move. Marciano misses 540 from top rope. Submissions by all wrestlers at once. Quack takes some punishment. He uses a razor’s edge into a sitting powerbomb on Hallowicked for the pin. Nice moves in this one. Rating: ***

CHIKARA 6 (10/12/02)

Match No. 1: Double Jeopardy Battle Royal. Joined in progress. Match is short and sweet. Winners are Marshal Law and Love Bug. Rating: None

Love Bug cuts a promo. Marshal Law drops Love Bug. He then cuts a promo and says they are done as a team. 

Match No. 2: The Wild Cards (Eddie Kingston & Jack Marciano) vs. Senior Assault Team (Lester Crabtree & Melvin Snodgrass). Melvin chokes on his medication and then spits it in Marciano’s eye. Topes by the Senior Assault Team. Kingston hits yakuza kick on Crabtree. Moonsault by Marciano on Snodgrass. Then Kingston. Crabtree with a sweater-gree on Kingston. Kingston his uranage then an exploder suplex. Crabtree gets his foot on the ropes. Snodgrass rolls Marciano up for a two. Marciano does swinging ddt into a bulldog. Marciano hits flipping drop kick and Kingston hits royal flush on Crabtree for the pin. Decent comedy match, guys did a good job for their first match. Rating: ***

Match No. 3: DJ Skittlez vs. Phantasmo. Nice suicide dive by Skittlez. Phantasmo hits cross body block on Skittlez on the floor. Skittlez hits a tilt-a-whirl power bomb for the pin. Rating: **

Match No. 4: Love Bug vs. Marshal Law. Double jeopardy match. Match highlights. Bug takes hard bump to the floor. Marshall Law destroys Bug. Not much to this one. Rating: **

Match No. 5: Mike Quackenbush & UltraMantis & Dragonfly & Gran Akuma vs. Blind Rage, Mister ZERO, Ichabod Slayne & Hallowicked. Slayne wearing a dress in the match. Monkey flip on Rage by Quack. Quack misses spinning kick but Rage sells it. Akuma looking good in his first match. Mantis tries to walks the rope but misses springboard. Quack gives Rage a monkey flip to the floor. Then puts him in a gory gallows submission. Nice group wrestling by the faces. Then slingshot giros by all three. Zero uses camel clutch on Dragon Fly. Rage uses muta lock type submission on Fly. Faces use fans to help with abdominal stretch leverage. Hallowicked hits swining neckbreaker on Fly. Rage gives Fly a michinoku driver. Mantis hits figure four on Hallowicked. Everyone in the ring with a submission hold. Then then all do suplexes. All eight do submission holds. Very nice. They all do headlocks. Then Zero does a ddt and everyone follows. Zero hits german suplex on Akuma. Akuma uses flying body press for a two count. Tons of finishing moves. Rage uses stf on Quack who makes the ropes. Both teams use triple team maneuvers. Quack hits tiger driver from top rope on Slayne for the pin. Tons of great moves and highspots. Really good match considering how young these guys are. Rating: ***1/2

ROH 8: Glory By Honor (10/5/02)

Match No. 1: Devine Storm (Chris Devine & Quiet Storm) vs. Special K (Izzy & Dixie) vs. Homicide vs. SAT (Joel & Jose Maximo) in tag team scramble match. Jeff Gorman and Chris Lovey (Gabe Sapolsky) on commentary. Nice chain wrestling by Jose and Quiet Storm. Guys do chain submissions. Joel lariats Dixie from the top rope. Then hits Maximo Explosion. Izzy hits floating DDT. Devine hits Dragon screw on Izzy. Homicide hits flip dive outside of the ring. Tons of dives follow. Guys do multiple superplex. Storm hits muscle buster into power bomb. Homicide hits Cop Killa on Izzy and STF on Dixie for the pin. Tons of great high spots and moves. Rating: ****

After the match, Backseat Boyz come to the ring. Trent Acid says CPW and ROH will work together. They challenge Homicide to a match. Homicide says he will tag with anyone. Steve Corino comes to the ring.

Match No. 2: Steve Corino & Homicide vs. Backseat Boyz (Trent Acid & Johnny Kashmere). Homicide does ace crusher on Kashmere. Homicide does drop toe hold onto chair outside of ring on Acid. Homicide does flip dive through middle rope on Acid. Kashmere with spear on Corino. And then Homicide. Boyz hit dream sequence on Homicide. Homicide goes for forearm on Kashmere. He ducks and Homicide nails Corino. Homicide goes for cop killa but Corino kicks homicide. Boyz hit t gimmick for the pin. Damn good tag team match. Great ending. Rating: ****1/2

Match No. 3: Christoper Street Connection (Buff E. & Mase) & Allison Danger vs. Christian York & Joey Matthews & Alexis Laree. Mase hits gay basher on Alexis. Allison gets the pin. York superkicks Japanese Pool Boy after the match. Then does a legdrop as Joey holds him. This one wasn’t the greatest. Rating: **

James Maritato talks about the FBI gimmick. He says if Tony Mamaluke wins, he can have the FBI gimmick. If he wins, FBI gimmick is dead forever.

Match No. 4:
Tony Mamaluke vs. James Maritato. Mamaluke jumps him at the bell. They do some mat wrestling. Mamaluke does dragon screw and then half boston crab. Maritato uses fujiwara armbar. Mamaluke responds with front chancery. Mamaluke does superplex into front chancery. Maritato taps in what turns out to be his final ROH match before going to WWE. Decent match although crowd wasn’t really into it, which downgrades rating. Rating: **1/2

Match No. 5: Ikuto Hidaka vs. Amazing Red. These guys do some nice choreographed moves, ending in both missing dropkicks on each other. Red does crazy flip over the top rope, misses Hidaka and goes hard into the chain link fence/guard rail. Somehow, he gets up. He misses red star press. Red hits spinning karate kick. Hidaka uses ankle lock. They trade rolling moves. Then double clothesline. Hidaka hits superkick. Then spinning ace crusher. Red hits 619. Followed by sunset flip power bomb. Red hits infrared and red star press for the pin. These guys did a great junior heavyweight style match. Tons of great moves. Rating: ****

Match No. 6: Don Juan vs. Fast Eddie. Eddie does a nice bridge. Don Juan hits neckbreaker type move. Fast Eddie hits german suplex. Don Juan takes nasty bump through the middle rope. Fast Eddie does springboard moonsault but misses and hits the guardrail. Don Juan hits ace crusher as Eddie enters the ring for near pin. Eddie nails Don Juan with knee. Eddie does fallaway slam blockbuster for the pin. These guys were a little slower and not as technically sound as the ROH guys, but they put on a nice show. Biohazard destroys both after the match. Rudy Boy Gonzales makes the save. Corino comes out. And rags on Rudy. Rudy says he’s a Dusty Rhodes wannabe. Then hits him with the mic. Rating: **1/2

Match No. 7: Rudy Boy Gonzales vs. Steve Corino in Texas Death Match. They jaw at each other on the mic. Rudy says Corino is a Dusty Rhodes wannabe. Gonzales hits Corino with the mic repeatedly. Corino already bleeding. Gonzales hits superkick for the pin. Corino beats the count. The brawl into the crowd. Corino hits some face washes with the boots. Corino hits cobra sleeper. Corino get the decision. Rudy can’t beat the 10 count and Corino wins the match. Rudy won’t shake so Corino puts on the sleeper again. London makes the save with a ladder. London does shooting star press from the ladder and hits the guardrail hard. Good match, great postmatch. Rating: ****

Match No. 8: Samoa Joe vs. Low Ki in Fight Without Honor. Joe making his ROH debut. They put him with Low Ki right away. These guys pounding on each other early. Joe goes after Low Ki’s leg early. They trade face slaps. Ki hits rolling wheel kick. Joe hits a huge lariat. Ki hits a tiger suplex. They trade slaps to the face again. Joe hits a couple of facewashes. Ki hits back suplex. Joe counters dragon clutch with a death valley driver. He hits island driver but Ki puts his foot on the ropes. More trading of slaps. And kicks to the face. Joe hits a big lariat. Ki with numerous kawada kicks. Joe is dazed. Low Ki hits some clotheslines to the head for the pin. Physical technical masterpiece. Grade: ****1/2

Match No. 9: Prince Nana vs. Elax. Elax does comedy spot and Nana attacks him. Squash. Dunn & Marcos confront Nana afterwards. He leaves but Slugga destroys them and walks back to his spot in the crowd. Grade: *

Match No. 10: Jay Briscoe vs. Xavier in a non-title match. Xavier hits nice belly-to-belly suplex. Jay with death valley driver. Then he clotheslines Xavier over the top rope. Jay goes for Macho Man double axe handle off top rope and misses. Xavier spears Jay in nuts as he is in tree of woe. Xavier ddt’s Briscoe from top rope. Jay does nice german suplex for near fall. Xavier nails cobra clutch suplex but Jay kicks out. Jay hits double underhook piledriver (Jay driller) for the pin. Nice upset win for Briscoe, but a bit short. Daniels and Joe attack Jay after the match. Low Ki and Doug Williams make the save. Grade: ***1/2

Match No. 11: Carnage Crew (Loc & Devito) vs. Da Hit Squad in falls count anywhere match. DHS hits CC with fence from the guardrail. Devito is bleeding. Mafia does suicide dive onto all three and through the guard rail. Devito takes chair shot to the head. Huge brawl in the crowd. Loc nails Mafia with chair and Devito follows. Loc uses hub cab on Mafia. Devito hits spike piledriver on Mafia from stage down through table. Great brawl, killer finishing spot. Grade: ****

Joey Matthews is all fucked up backstage. Special K laughs about it.

Match No. 12: Brian Kendrick vs. Michael Shane vs. Paul London. Spanky jumps Shane. London hits dropkicks and he tries a backflip but lands on his head. London and Spanky go at it. London walks over Spanky and hits shooting star press on Shane. Great move as Spanky skins the cat and Shane hits London with a baseball slide. Spanky then does pescado on both guys. London misses shooting star press. Spanky does sliced bread No. 2 off Shane’s back. But Shane superkicks Spanky and pins London. Shane now faces Spanky. Spanky tosses Shane into the guard rail. Shane blocks slice bread No. 2 with clothesline to the back of the head. He follows with flying elbow from the top rope. Spanky hits springboard drop kick. Spanky with a frog splash but Shane kicks out. Shane nails a floating ddt for a near fall. Shane with a superkick and flying elbow for the pin. The three guys were awesome, it slowed down after London was eliminated. Grade: ****

Match No. 13: Christopher Daniels vs. Doug Williams. They do a nice job of trading holds and escaping early. Williams can’t hit chaos theory. But he does deliver flying knee drop. Daniels hits a nice sto. Williams kicks out of best moonsault ever (double spingboard moonsault). Another chaos theory but Daniels grabs the rope. Williams argues, then Daniles drops Williams to the mat and Daniels puts his feet on the rope for the pin. Great match, but a bit short. Dick Togo cracks Daniels with a crutch afterwards. Jay hits him with a jay driller. Grade: ****

Tony Mamaluke leaves the building with his suitcase. James Maritato asks if he’s going to say goodbye. They hug. Maritato asks him to become a serious wrestler. Mamaluke seems to listen.

Daniels and Xavier and Samoa Joe cut promo. Simply Luscious interrupts Xavier. After the promo is over, Corino comes over to Luscious. Daniels asks him why he is hanging out with Michael Shane. Shane comes into the room. Xavier and Shane jaw at each other. Daniels won’t let Luscious leave with Corino and Shane. But Joe starts to and Daniels gets upset.

MLW 2: Reload (9/26/02)

Show opens with Joey Styles saying the MLW title has been vacated. He doesn’t say why. After Shane Douglas talked shit about everyone in the industry on the last show, he is obviously done. Here’s the he said/she said recap of why Douglas was stripped of the title. Sounds like Bush League Wrestling to me. Styles says four men were in a lottery to determine who will wrestle for the title: Taiyo Kea, Satoshi Kojima, Sabu and Jerry Lynn. Lynn and Kojima will wrestle for the title, while Sabu and Kea will wrestle to become No. 1 contender. Hey Court Bauer, why not just have all four guys wrestle a mini-tournament to determine the champ? Again, questionable title booking is starting to piss me off when it comes to MLW.

The four guys from the lottery fight in the ring before the show. I think. Styles doesn’t identify them, or say anything, as they fight. Like I’m supposed to know what Kojima looks like?

Christopher Daniels cuts a promo with Dick Togo and Ikuto Hidaka.

Match No. 1: Super Crazy vs. Fuego Guerrero. Guerrero is Amazing Red using a mask. Two nice spinning arm drags by Red. Red then hits a flying head scissors. Huge kick to the head by Crazy. And another to the back of the head. Red hits springboard somersault plancha on Crazy on the carpet? Crazy with a springboard moonsault from the second rope followed by a standing corkscrew elbow. Cray plants Red on his face and then hits a slingshot legdrop. They do the spot where the crowd counts in Spanish as crazy punches Red. Red hits tornado ddt. It looks like they botch a spot. Crazy hits brainbuster but Red kicks out. Red with a nice corkscrew suicide plancha. He hits a standing shooting star press, but misses a senton. Crazy hits powerbomb for the pin. Damn good opener. Rating: ***1/2

Match No. 2: La Parka vs. Shocker. Good back and forth early. These guys have wrestled with or against each other hundreds of times and it shows. Shocker fakes a highspot to the floor and does a springboard handstand and stays in the ring and struts. Both guys plaing to the crowd. Huge springboard bump to the floor by Parka and then Shocker hits cross body block to the floor. Park hits corkscrew suicide dive. Park with a suicide senton. Park misses a chair shot but is dropkicked in the face with the chair. Shocker goes for dive through the ropes and Park nails him with the chair in the head. Russian leg sweep by Parka. Shocker from the top rope but Parka drop kicks him in the face. Parka hits missile drop kick from the top rope. Shocker hits superplex from top rope. Shocker hits huge bulldog. Shocker with La Magistral for near fall. Shocker uses Bronco Buster. He tries again but Park gives him a boot to the balls. Parka hits corkscrew moonsault for the pin. Another real good match. Rating: ***1/2

Match No. 3: Spanish Announce Team (Joel & Jose Maximo) & Quiet Storm vs. Far East Connection (Ikuto Hidaka & Dick Togo) & Christopher Daniels. Togo with a nice ddt on Joel. All six guys are fighting outside the ring. Idiot doing the graphics uses Joe L. instead of Joel. Fans are into Daniels. It just doesn’t look right seeing Quiet Storm in the ring with Daniels. Fans chanting for Dick. Jose holds Togo and Joel runs the ropes and dropkicks him in the face. Togo with a nice tornado ddt. Togo hits senton bomb on Joel. He then hits huge clothesline on Joel. Hidaka with a slingshot senton on Joel. Togo hits brainbuster on Joel. Joel makes hot take to Jose. Togo gives Storm tornado ddt onto the floor. Daniels hits springboard moonsault to the floor, followed by suicide dive by Hidaka onto all five guys. Storm hits northern lights suplex on Hidaka. Daniels with picture perfect moonsault on Joel. Joel hits frog splash on Daniels. Tons of high spots as match climaxes. SAT uses spanish fly on Togo and he hurts his ankle. Daniels uses Dragon Sleeper and then sweeps into neckbreaker on Storm for the pin. Match started slow, but built up at the end. Rating: ***1/2

Match No. 4: Chris Candido vs. Terry Funk. Tammy Sytch is at ringside. She looks horrible. Fans chant “she’s a crack whore” and she gives them the finger. Candido is all juiced up and his back is covered in pimples. He’s also got a gut. Funk is busted open. He’s too old to juice. This match is sad on so many levels. Including the idiot in the crowd with the sign that asks “Funk, got knees?” Moron. One of the security guards looks just like Don West. Bill Apter is at ringside taking pictures. Funk suplexes Candido on the floor. Funk is bloody mess. Funk with a ddt. Funk ddt’s Candido on the entrance ramp. Candido brings a ladder to the ring. He bumps onto the ladder. Fans boo as he takes weak bump in the corner. Funk nails him with the ladder. Candido hits diving head butt. Funk barely kicks out. Candido takes weak bump to the floor. Sytch gives Funk a low blow and slaps him. He gives her a ddt’s her and we get a shot of her fat, flabby ass, which Funk bites. He goes for a piledriver and Candido nails him with a chair from behind. Candido with a hangman’s neckbreaker. Candido sets up chairs in the ring. Funk gives Candido a weak hangman’s neckbreaker on the chairs. He does spinning toe hold but Candido catches him with a punch. Funk goes for spinning toe hold, Candido gets inside cradle, Funk reverses it for the pin. Candido piledrives Funk after the match. Sad match on so many levels. Rating: **1/2

Match No. 5: Steve Corino vs. Vampiro. Corino on the mic in the ring. He says the match will be an old fashioned street fight. He rips on Vampiro for sucking Vince Russo’s ass. He also rips on the crowd. Vampiro rips on Corino and ECW. He points out Corino’s faggot ass boyfriend in the front row. Sandman comes out before the match starts. Corino and Vampiro both give Sandman a superkick. Match becomes a three-way street fight. Corino is great drawing heat from the crowd. Vampiro suplexes Sandman onto entrance ramp. Corino takes a backdrop on the ramp from Vampiro. Vampiro cleans house with Sandman’s cane. Corino takes chair to the face from a Vampiro kick. Corino bloody as usual. Sandman throws a barricade into the ring. Corino uses a facewash on Vampiro. Sandman suplexes Corino onto the barricade. Corino sets up chairs in the ring. Sandman superplexes Corino onto the guardrail on the chairs. Vampiro then pins Sandman. Vampiro uses camel clutch on Corino. Several near falls by both guys. Crowd is dead. Corino finally goes to the top rope and hits inverted facelock neckbreaker slam (Old School Expulsion) for the pin. Corino tried, but he was working with a couple of hacks. Match really dragged in spots. Rating: **1/2

Match No. 6: Taiyo Kea vs. Sabu in No. 1 contenders match. Bill Alfonso is out with Sabu. Too bad, I thought we’d seen this last of that ugly, scary bastard. Kea chops the shit out of Sabu. Crowd is dead. Kea looks like a dipshit with his head shaved. A combination of Baron Von Raschke and Vito. Sabu’s back is scarred pretty bad. He uses chair and does springboard jump onto Kea in the front row. Crowd barely pops. Sabu with a nice ddt as Kea’s legs are draped over the top rope. Sabu catches chair and Kea kicks chair into his face. Crowd barely pops. Sabu props table over barricade and apron does leg drop on Kea. Crowd actually pops. Sabu does chair jump springboard moonsault. Kea kicks the shit out of Sabu, dropping him. Sabu throws chair at Kea and hits him in the face. Crowd is dead. Kea hits backbreaker rack neckbreaker (Hawaiian Five Out) for the pin. These guys tried hard but crowd was dead and match dragged. Rating: **1/2

Match No. 7: Satoshi Kojima vs. Jerry Lynn for the MLW title. Lynn is pumped. He’s gotta be juicing. Fans are into Kojima. Kojima with a standing senton to open things. Kojima hits a stf. Kojima with huge chops on Lynn. Lynn hits an inverted ddt for a near fall. Kojima takes off the elbow pad. Here comes a lariat. Lynn ducks. He hits a german suplex. Lynn follows with a tornado ddt. Kojima catches Lynn with a sitout powerbomb. Lynn hits a spinning fireman’s carry into a diamond cutter. Kojima uses a sitout powerslam for a near fall. Kojima destroys Lynn with a lariat for the pin. Decent match with semi-decent heat, but it didn’t feel like a title match. Rating: ***

Kea comes out after the match as the promote an All Japan title match. Kojima grabs the mic and cuts hilarious promo. He poses for pictures with the Japanese photographers as the show goes off the air.

ROH 7: Unscripted (9/21/02)

Show opens with Paul London in the ring with Stephen DeAngelis. Audio sucks, but London says something about American Dragon being his partner. Danielson comes to the ring. Michael Shane comes limping to the ring and confronts London. They trade blows. Then London hits a fucking shooting star press onto Shane on the floor. London then says he and Shane will be in a street fight tonight. And he will use a ladder. London climbs to the top of the ladder as Shane leaves. DeAngelis asks Dragon who his partner will be now. He says he doesn’t know, but he has an idea. Not a match but damn good segment worth a high rating. Rating: ****

Match No. 1: SAT (Joel and Jose Maximo) vs. The Prophecy (Christopher Daniels & Donovan Morgan) with Simply Luscious. Chris Lovey (Gabe Sapolsky) and Ray Murrow (Doug Gentry) are on commentary. SAT start with some nice double team moves on the heels. Lovey explains this is a tag team title tournament. Now the opening segment makes sense. Jose puts Morgan in camel clutch and Joel puts Daniels in boston crab. Some chick comes from the stands and does reverse moonsault on Luscious and then takes her to the back. SAT hits spinning DDT from top rope on Morgan for near fall. Joel does one half of Spanish fly on Daniels. Morgan does sit down pedigree on Jose for the pin. Short opener but very solid. Rating: ***1/2

Togo & Hidaka are backstage and Christopher Street Connection confront them in comedy skit. James Maritato gives the sound guy new music but Tony Mamaluke switches it with their old music.

Match No. 2: Dick Togo & Ikuta Hidaka vs. James Maritato & Tony Mamaluke. Maritato is pissed they are playing his old music. Hidaka does a couple of handstands. Hidaka and Maritato trade some moves and get a hand. Togo and Mamaluke do some matwork and trade reversals. Fans give them a huge hand. Togo has Maritato in abdominal stretch and Hidaka kicks him in the face. Then he does a baseball slide to the face. Stiff moves so far. Mamaluke all over Hidaka. Hidaka hits sitdown power bomb on Mamaluke. Togo hits something, a senton without the flip, on Mamaluke for the pin. Enjoyable match with some stiff blows. Rating: ****

Match No. 3: Mamaluke and Maritato argue after the match. They hug and Mamaluke gives Maritato belly-to-belly suplex. This is now a match. They then battle on the floor. Maritato goes to hit Mamaluke with the ring bell but he moves and Maritato cracks his head on it on the guard rail. Maritato is a bloody mess. Mamluke gets the pin as Maritato has his hand on the rope. Decent match. Rating: ***

Danielson is backstage with Capetta and introduces his partner, Michael Modest.

Match No. 4: Devine Storm (Chris Devine & Quiet Storm) vs. American Dragon & Michael Modest. Modest pummels Devine with forearms to the face. Then drops him on his head with an exploder suplex. Modest hits fisherman’s buster from top rope on Devine for the pin. Short, but some real good high spots. Did see a blown spot. Rating: ***

Loc and Devito are pissed about not being in the tag tournament so at the fanfest, they destroy the ring crew. Again.

Match No. 5: Da Hit Squad (Mafia & Monsta Mack) vs. Natural Born Sinners (Homicide & Boogalou). Before the match, Loc and Devito attack DHS with hubcaps. They destroy Mafia with chair shot and then spike piledriver. No contest. According to Lovey, Loc and Devito jumped NBS in the locker room and sent Boogalou to the hospital. Rating: ***

Match No. 6: Togo & Hidaka vs. Danles & Morgan. Nice mat wrestling by Hidaka and Morgan. Daniels does elbow drop on Hidaka from the apron onto the floor. Togo does springboard senton onto Daniels. Morgan gets near fall with side suplex on Hidaka. Daniels does leg drop on Hidaka who is draped over the top rope. Togo puts leglock on head of Morgan, who does likewise to Hidaka. Daniels breaks it up with flying elbow on Togo. Hidaka hits tornado DDT on Daniels. Mogan hits sliced bread no. 2 on Togo. Togo hits SFT on Morgan. Hidaka does springboard senton onto Daniels outside of ring. Morgan hits fisherman’s buster then fisherman’s neckbreaker on Togo but Hidaka makes the save. Daniels hits angel’s wings on Hidaka but he kicks out. Hidaka with german suplex into a bridge on Daniels for near fall. Daniels does german suplex on Hidaka, who lands on his feet. Hidaka hits sitdown power bomb on Daniels and gets 2 7/8 before Morgan makes the save. Daniels his STO on Hidaka and gets the pin as Morgan holds his leg from outside of the ring. Awesome match between four international pros. Rating: ****1/2

Match No. 7: Dunn & Marcos vs. Prince Nana & Alex Arion. Nana says he can’t wrestle so it is Arion vs. Dunn. Arion hits splash for the pin. Not much in this one. Nana destroys Marcos after the match. Rating: *

Christopher Street Connection in the ring. Alexis Laree interrupts. Beats the shit out of Japanese Pool Boy.

Match No. 8: Xavier vs. Low Ki for ROH title. They trade stiff kicks early. More kicks by Ki. Xavier blocks one, but Ki then nails him in the head with another kick. Xavier hits samoan drop. Ki does rolling heel kick on Xavier. And a second knocking him out of the ring. Ki hits suplex with a bridge. They trade chops to the chest. Xavier hits what looks to be a dragon suplex into a bridge. Elbow drop from top rope by Ki gets a two count. Daniels comes to ringside. Xavier misses 450. Ki with several Kawada kicks. Ki comes after Daniels outside of the ring and Lo Ki chop blocks him from behind. He puts cement barricade on Ki’s chest. Then drives the barricade into his chest with a chair. Ki bleeding from the mouth. He’s crawling back to the ring. Xavier hits 450 for the pin. He’s the new champion. And the newest member of The Prophecy. Another damn good match. They bury Ki in an ROH sign. Rating: ****1/2

Match No. 9: Takao Omori vs. Sonny Siaki. Huge forearm by Omori. Siaki with some horrible chops. Siaki hits neckbreaker on Omori. Omori hits some kind of reverse piledriver on Siaki for the pin. Rating: **1/2

C.M. Punk cuts a promo. He’s acting like a face for some reason. Colt Cabana comes to the ring. He cuts promo, says he pissed that Punk got a date but he didn’t.

Jay Briscoe cuts a promo. No idea why they are showing a closeup his mug.

Match No. 10: Jay Briscoe vs. Amazing Red. Backstage, Mark asks Red if he can manage him. Red says no and then superkicks him. Briscoe hits pretty hard clothesline on Red. Red misses swanton. Red hits sunset flip power bomb from the top rope, then red star press. Briscoe kicks out. Briscoe hits jay driller for the pin. Short match, but great moves near the end raise the rating. Rating: ***1/2

Special K jumps Red after the match, SAT make the save. From top rope, Jose does torture rack on Dixie and leg drop on Elax. Then They gave spanish fly to Elax.

Black guy with dredlocks comes out of crowd and does bodybag on Ref Hanson.

Match No. 11: Michael Shane vs. Paul London. Shane puts London into post. London launches Shane from top rope and he crotches himself. Big forearm by London. London gets thrown over top rope, tries to skin the cat but Shane shoulderblocks him to the floor. Shane throws London hard into barricade. London grabs chair, Shane does flip over top rope on top of him. London is bleeding. Shane sets up chair in the corner. He tries to run London into it, but London reverses it and Shane goes headfirst into the chair. Shane is busted open. He grabs a ladder. London superkicks ladder onto Shane. London does headscissors from ring apron onto Shane who flips through a table on the floor. London with flying knee to the head. London backdrops Shane onto ladder leaning on top turnbuckle. London runs up ladder and does flip dive onto Shane. Crazy fucking move. London leapfrogs ladder from top turnbuckle but Shane catches him and turns it into power bomb. Shane hits flying elbow on London. London hits shooting star press but Shane kicks out. Shane climbs to top of the ladder. He hits picture perfect elbow but London kicks out. London does springboard off middle rope and spinning heel kick onto Shane on the ladder. Fans chanting, “Please don’t die.” London hits shooting star press from top of the ladder for the pin. INCREDIBLE FUCKING MATCH. Shane clotheslines London after they shake hands and hug. Then another clothesline. Rating: *****

Before the show, Donovan Morgan is in the ring with Michael Modest and Morgan tries to give him some advice, but Modest not interested. They then go at it in the ring.

Match No. 12: Christopher Daniels & Donovan Morgan vs. Michael Modest & American Dragon for ROH tag team titles. Daniels working the shit out of Dragon’s leg. First a couple of “Dragon” screws, then laying the boots. Daniels taking a beating outside of the ring as Morgan puts him into the guard rails twice. Modest finally gets the pin. Modest puts Morgan into barricade. Daniels does springboard moonsault onto Modest and Morgan. Dragon does dive through ropes onto Daniels but hurts his knees. Morgan hits reverse neckbreaker on Modest. Dragon hits cattle mutilation on Morgan, but he cannot bridge properly because of the knee. Daniels pins Dragon with spinning neckbreaker. Another great match. Modest attacks heels after the match and takes trophy. Dragon then destroys it with a chair. Rating: ****

Prophecy is backstage celebrating. Daniels says Xavier will wrestle Jay Briscoe in non-title match at the next show.

ROH 6: Honor Invades Boston (8/24/02)

Low Ki cuts promo backstage holding ROH belt. He can sure wrestle, but his promos annoy the hell out of me.

Izzy and Dixie shown outside the arena. Elax is in a dumpster.

Match No. 1: Quiet Storm vs. Amazing Red. Donnie B and Steve Corino on commentary. Nice fast opening sequence. Red hits nice tope on Quiet Storm. Most of the match so far from ringside camera at ringside, which hides the fact that they are both about 5-6. Storm hits nice Running Sunset Flip Piledriver, a move similar to Petey Williams’ Canadian Destroyer. Maybe Williams got the idea from Storm. Red hits an Infrared and then Red Star Press for the win. Great opener. A bit short, but great moves by both guys. Rating: ***1/2

Special K (Brian XL, Izzy, Dixie and Elax) attack Storm and Red after the match.

Match No. 2: Special K (Brian XL, Izzy & Dixie) vs. SAT (Joel & Jose Maximo) & Chris Devine in scramble match. Izzy and Dixie do nice dives to outside of ring. XL hits Flying Tiger Star Press, which is a back flip over the top rope to the floor. Elax does flip dive from top turnbuckle. XL does standing star press. Joel does double power bomb from top rope. Devine does full nelson from top rope onto Elax. SAT hit Spanish Fly on XL for the pin. Great moves, tons of high spots. Crowd really into the match. Rating: ****

Devine puts over ROH after the match. He asks for match with Low Ki. Low Ki accepts.

Match No. 3: Chris Devine vs. Low Ki. Ki hits several Kawada kicks, then Dragon Sleeper for the tap. Low Ki looks impressive in a squash. Rating: **

Christoper Daniels cuts promo from Japan. There is a Japanese wrestling poster behind him, as well as a picture of Curry Man.

Match No. 4: Dunn & Marcos vs. Christopher Street Connection with Allison Danger. Mace pins Dunn with Gay Basher. Average match. Rating: **

Match No. 5: Mike Tobin with Danny Drake in a wheelchair vs. Scoot Andrews. Andrews pins Tobin with Force of Nature. Another quick squash. Rating: **

Xavier comes to the ring and challenges Scoot to match right now.

Match No. 6: Scoot Andrews vs. Xavier. Fans start A.C. Slater chant. Xavier jumps from top turnbuckle and does springboard moonsault to outside of the ring, nearly missing Scoot. Xavier hits 450 for the pin. Another short but decent match. Rating: **1/2

Michael Shane arrives in silver Lexus. It has New York tags so it is not his. He tells Bio-Hazard to get his bags and park the car.

Match No. 7: Michael Shane with Bio-Hazard vs. Paul London. London backdrops Shane over top rope onto Bio-Hazard. London dives through the ropes onto Shane. Shane pushes London from top rope onto guard rail, which he destroys. London hits crazy springboard flip onto Shane. Shane fakes leg injury and rolls up London for the pin. Great match, classic chickenshit heel finish. Rating: ***1/2

Simply Luscious comes to the ring. She offers Shane a spot in the Prophecy. Fat ass Rudy interrupts. Rudy mumbles some shit. Shane superkicks Danger. Then Rudy. Then him and Bio-Hazard destroy London, including Picture Perfect Elbow at the end.

Match No. 8: “American Dragon” Brian Danielson vs. Donovan Morgan. Corino says Donnie B’s brother, Simon Dean/Super Nova, has heat with the boys. All Dragon in early part of the match. Morgan throws Dragon into three different ring barriers. Dragon hits head butt from top rope. Dragon hits Cattle Mutilation. But time limit expires. Real good match with solid matwork. Fans ask for five more minutes. Dragon puts over Morgan after the match. He asks for him to shake his hand. Morgan goes to shake, but hits Pedigree-type move. Rating: ****

Promo outside the arena with Da Hit Squad. Carnage Crew destoyes ring crew, again.

Match No. 9: Carnage Crew (Loc & Devito) vs. Da Hit Squad (Mafia & Monsta Mac) in Boston Massacre Match. Mafia nails Loc with German Suplex. Devito hits Mafia with barbed wire. Mafia is bloody. Mafia returns favor with barbed wire on Devito. Monsta Mac is also bleeding. Devito shows color. He dropkicks chair into Mafia’s head. And gives him a chairshot. Monsta Mack wraps barbed wire around Loc’s head, busting him open. Devito takes chairshot to lower back from Mafia. Devito nails Mafia with cow bell. DHS head to locker room. They return with barbed wire plywood boards. Devito looks happy. Devito hits Mafia with hubcap. Monsta Mack first into barbed wire board. Mafia spears Devito into board, which breaks. Mafia hits Burning Hammer on Loc for the pin. A good bloody, hardcore match, if that is the kind of thing you like. Rating: ****

Match No. 10: Don Juan vs. Bio-Hazard with Michael Shane. Not sure why these two are on so late in the card. Crowd is spent from last match, not that it would matter with these two. Bio-Hazard hits suplex for a pin. Short match, nearly a squash. Rating: **

Match No. 11: Maverick Wild vs. Alex Arion. Battle of little-known New England indy guys. Again, these guys are way to high on the card, although a better match than the last match. Fans also into these two local guys. Arion pins Wild with victory roll. Average match. Rating: ***

Match No. 12: Natural Born Sinners (Homicide & Boogalou) vs. James Maritato & Tony Mamaluke. Back and forth action early in the match. Crowd not into this match. Maybe because it is the 12th of the night. Mamaluke nearly pins Homicide with german suplex into a bridge. Homicide gets two count with Ace Crusher on Maritato. Mamaluke hits superplex on Homicide, but Boogalou makes the save. Homicide can’t hit Cop Killa on Mamaluke, but does the second time for the pin. Average match, picked up at the end. Rating: ***1/2

Match No. 13: Jay Briscoe vs. Mark Briscoe. The Briscoes are as good as they are dumb and ugly. Jay all over Mark early. Great show so far by these guys. Mark runs Jay into the post. And a second time. Jay is busted open. Huge clothesline by Jay. Mark hits a release german suplex. Mark hits hard DDT on Jay. Mark hits springboard ace crusher from top rope. Mark hits tombstone piledriver on Jay. Jay responds with dragon screw. And a second one. Big backbreaker by Jay on Mark. Mark hits exploder suplex on Jay. Mark sells knee injury. Then gives a nut shot to Jay. Crowd into the match. Mark blocks jay driller. But Jay hits huge suplex. Mark hits german suplex on Jay. Then a full nelson dragon suplex. Then a fisherman buster suplex. Mark to the top rope. He misses a moonsault. Jay hits huge lariat. Then death valley driver. Jay goes to the top. Mark hits shining wizard. Then cut throat driver for a pin in his debut. Outstanding match. Especially for two high school-aged kids. Rating: *****

Mark taunts Jay after the match.

Match No. 14: A.J. Styles vs. Low Ki for ROH title. Mat wrestling early. Then they trade kicks. Low Ki with hard chops. And a big elbow. Low Ki nails styles with thrust kick. But Styles surprises him with head scissors. Styles does mule kick on Ki. Ki goes for big kick but Styles does sweep. Low Ki blocks styles clash. Styles hits big lariat. A.J. goes for dive between rope, but Ki meets him with a kick to the head. Tons of Kawada kicks by Ki. Styles bleeding from the nose. Lo Ki blocks styles clash into hurricanrana. Styles goes to the top. He misses 450 corkscrew. Ki hits brainbuster. Only gets two. Ki goes for phoenix splash but Styles gets his knees up. Styles hits brainbuster. A.J. nearly gets pin with small package. Low Ki hits ki crusher for the pin. Another spectacular match that turned an average card into a great one. These guys worked their asses off and A.J. bled hardway and Ki’s face looks bruised. Hats off to both of them. Rating: *****

Xavier meets Low Ki backstage after the match. Xavier asks for a shot at the title.

Michael Shane cuts promo after show and asks Rudy how he feels after his beating. Shane rips on London, calls out Spanky.

Dunn & Marcos cut promo and camera cuts to Carnage Crew beating up ring crew. Again.

ROH 5: Crowning a Champion (7/27/02)

Low Ki cuts same old promo. He can wrestle but he can’t talk for shit. Jackie Chan speaks better English.

Next is a true professional promo by Steve Corino. Does Corino give Simply Luscious a rub or does she give a rub? They make out again.

Christopher Street Connection eating bananas backstage. Brian XL and company steal one of them.

Tony Mamaluke asks Little Guido if he has any FBI T-shirts left. Homicide & Boogalou challenge the former FBI to a match in Boston.

Match No. 1: Jeremy Lopez vs. Tony Mamaluke. Not much to report. Average match, not much heat. Rating: **

CSC throws banana at Devine Storm.

Match No. 2: Prince Nana & Jacob’s Ladder vs. Christian York & Joey Matthews. Donnie B and Steve Corino on commentary. Corino sounds like he is in a phone booth. Alexis Laree at ringside, in corner of York & Matthews. Nana leaves after getting kicked in the head and York hits legdrop on Ladder while Matthews holds him on his back. Rating: ** Meaningless squash.

CSC tries to console Nana. CSC heads to the ring to confront York & Matthews. Corino makes crack about Donnie B’s brother, Simon Dean/Nova, being gay. He makes a second crack. Teams go at it and highlight is Allison Danger smacks Alexis Laree in the ass.

Texas Wrestling Academy guys arrive in minivan.

Match No. 3: Michael Shane & Bio-Hazard vs. Paul London & Don Juan. Winner of the fall gets ROH contract. London nearly kills himself with flip over top rope that nearly misses. Corino rips on Rudy Boy. Shane drops London on his head in the corner. London hits nice leg scissors on Hazard. Shane hits nice superplex on Don Juan. London does drop kick on Shane and then does back flip onto Bio-Hazard. London hits back suplex onto Shane. Shane & London get pin at the same time. Referee says Shane gets the win and the ROH contract. Rating: ***1/2 Great moves by London and Shane. Other guys just took up space.

Shane cuts heel program after the match, challenging Spanky. London interrupts. The two go at it. London misses a Shooting Star Press. Shane nails him with a lariat. And then misses a flying elbow. Rudy breaks up fight. London and Shane argue backstage. And try to fight some more. Rudy sets up match between the two next month.

Match No. 4: Da Hit Squad (Mafia & Monsta Mack) vs. Devine Storm (Chris Devine & Quiet Storm). Mack nails Storm on his head with a suplex. Storm hits Diamond Dust on Mafia. Mack nails Devine with power bomb for the pin. Rating: *** Match was short as DHS gassed.

Xavier wishes Low Ki luck tonight. Mr. Monotone says something.

Match No. 5: Jay Briscoe vs. James Maritato. Nice technical moves by the two. Briscoe hits Death Valley Driver. Maritato nails Briscoe with dropkick. Mark leaves, gives Jay the finger. Maritato hits the Kiss of Death for the pin. Rating: ***1/2 A bit short, but quality moves and match.

Christopher Daniels backstage promo with Simply Luscious.

Doug Williams cuts promo while stretching some jabroni.

Match No. 6: Natural Born Sinners (Homicide & Boogalou) vs. Carnage Crew (Loc & Devito) in a bunkhouse match. Devito hits Homicide with his boot. Then throws him into barbed wire. Homicide is busted open. Homicide returns favor to Devito. Camera has blood on it. Devito is busted open. Homicide takes three hard chairshots to the head. Homicide is a mess. Devito takes chairshot to the head. Boogalou hits Loc with cow bell. Homicide hits Loc and Devito with weight belt. Loc also bleeding from the left arm. Homicide hits Shining Wizard but Devito kicks out. Devito blocks Cop Killer and nails Homicide with clothesline and toss into the barbed wire. Devito puts barbed wire on Homicide and does moonsault onto him. Boogalou makes the save. Homicide hits Diamond Cutter on Loc. Homicide does flip driver outside of rope and crashes through rail. Devito taps after Boogalou wraps barbed wire around his face and mouth. Rating: **** Brutal match with many good moves and a lot of blood. CC destroy NBS with hubcaps after the match. DHS makes the save. Homicide pissed that DHS made the save.

Spanky cuts promo backstage, talks about his hardships.

Danny Drake & Mike Tobin backstage. Drake is in wheelchair injured. Tobin asks Rob Feinstein who will be his partner for six-man match. Pedostein says Dunn & Marcos.

Match No. 7: Adam Jacobs vs. David Young vs. A.J. Styles in three-way elimination match for NWA TNA X-Division title. Jacobs misses move, Young looks fat, Styles looks great as always. Young does moonsault on Styles outside of the ring. Jacobs does flip dive onto Styles and Young. Styles bleeding like crazy. He hits Asai moonsault into double underhook DDT. Young hits spinebuster on Jacobs. Styles hits flip into hurricanrana off top rope. Styles hits corkscrew dive onto Young for the pin. Styles hits huge forearm on Jacobs. Jacobs nearly gets pin with swinging DDT. Styles goes for Styles Clash but turns it into sitdown Boston Crab. Styles goes to top rope. And gets crotched. Styles blocks hurricanrana from top rope and hits Styles Clash for the pin. Rating: ***1/2 Pretty good match. Started out slow and sloppy but really picked up at the end.

Rudy Boy Gonzales cuts promo in the ring on Corino. Says he will face American Dragon.

Match No. 8: Dunn & Marcos & Mike Tobin vs. Black Gordman Jr. & Brian XL & Dixie. XL & Dixie turn on Gordman. Dunn gets pin on Gordman. Rating: None (highlights only).

Large black man with dreadlocks chokeslams Tobin, then double chokeslams Dunn & Marcos. He rolls Drake into ringpost.

Devito bloody backstage, challenges DHS to Boston Barbwire match.

Match No. 9: Scott Andrews vs. Xavier. Xavier busted open. Xavier hits forearm for the pin. Xavier hits Razor’s Edge, but Scoot kicks out. Scoot gets pin after dropping Xavier on his head. Rating: None (highlights only).

Match No. 10: Low Ki vs. Spanky vs. Doug Williams vs. Christoper Daniels in iron man match for the ROH title. Daniels and Williams great together early. Daniels pins Low Ki with Last Rites. Daniels 2, Low Ki -1. Spanky taps to Dragon Sleeper. Daniels 2, Low Ki 1, Williams 0, Spanky -1. Daniels get near fall with back moonsault. Williams kicks out from Picture Perfect Mooonsault from Daniels. Williams kicks out of cross body block from Spanky. Low Ki hits Phoenix Senton on Williams for pin. Low Ki 3, Daniels 2, Williams 0, Spanky -1. Low Ki hits Tombstone Piledriver on Spanky but Daniels saves. Williams hits piledriver on Daniels but he gets his foot on the ropes at two. Williams hits power bomb on Low Ki but Spanky makes the save. Low Ki hits 450 splash on Spanky, but can’t pin him. Spanky hits frog splash on Daniels but Low Ki breaks it up. Williams hits spinning DDT on Spanky on the floor. Daniels has Low Ki in Dragon Sleeper but he escapes. Time expires. Low Ki is first ROH champion. Rating: ***** These guys went 60 minutes. And had a helluva match. There’s no reason to downgrade from five stars.

Daniels teases shaking hands with Williams. And then leaves. Low Ki poses with the belt. Boys congratulate him in the locker room. He nearly passes out. Then cuts victory promo. He mentions the late Russ Haas, and his brother Charlie.

Mark still laughing at Jay for losing his match. Jay challenges Mark to match next month in Boston.

Daniels gets pissed at one of the referees and says ROH hasn’t seen the last of him.

ROH 4: Road to the Title (6/22/02)

Mafia and Homicide give Low Ki words of encouragement in the locker room. Low Ki gets fired up and tells Christoper Daniels the ROH title is his.

Match No. 1: Bio-Hazard vs. American Dragon in Block C match. American Dragon hits Cattle Mutilation pretty quickly. Rating: ** Squash match. Short, but nothing bad in this match.

Match No. 2: Paul London vs. Spanky in Block A match. Why is this match in the first round of the title tournament? Spanky drops London on his head with a back suplex. Spanky dropkicks London in the head. London misses shooting star press. London does sunset flip over top rope onto Spanky. Spanky botches suplex off the top rope and drops London on his head. Spanky wins with Sliced Bread No. 2. Rating: ***1/2 Pretty good match. Couple of missed moves keeps rating down.

Match No. 3: Doug Williams vs. Jay Briscoe in Block C match. Mark comes to the ring. Mark hits a pair of snap suplexes and then a front suplex. Briscoe gets a couple of near falls. Williams blocks Jay Driller. Williams wins with Chaos Theory. Rating: *** Good technical match, but a bit short. Mark is happy that Jay lost.

Match No. 4: Jonny Storm vs. Jody Fleisch in Block A match. Storm look like Bret Hart with long wet black hair and shades. Duo opens with great chain wrestling spot. Storm does a flip off the top rope onto the floor. Fleisch does shooting star press of top rope onto floor. Numerous near falls between these two. Storm hits release german suplex from top rope. Storm hits Frankensteiner off top rope. Fleisch wins with power bomb as Storm jumps from top rope. Rating: ***1/2 Guys worked great together which is no surprise since they are both from U.K. Tons of high spots and only one slight missed move.

Christopher Street Connection give Jerry Lynn a banana.

Match No. 5: Prince Nana with E-lax vs. Low Ki in Block D match. Nana attacks Low Ki as he jumps in the ring. Nana destroying Low Ki early. Low Ki chopping the hell out of Nana. Low Ki hits nasty enziguri on Nana. Ref stops the match due to head injury. Rating: *** Another good match, a bit short with the stoppage.

ROH officials and wrestlers attend to Nana after his “injury” in the ring.

Xavier and Jerry Lynn shake hands in the locker room. SAT and Chris Devine wish Amazing Red good luck in his match.

Match No. 6: Xavier vs. Amazing Red in Block D match. Red hits tope on Xavier. Xaver does nice handstand into ropes and then kicks Red in the face. Xavier misses 450. Red hits corkscrew dive and then Red Star Press for the pin. Rating: ***1/2 Another very solid match with some great moves.

Backstage, Daniels yells at Xavier and then Red.

Sheldon Goldberg introduces Scoot Andrews to Sumie Sukai. Who knows why.

Christopher Daniels introduces Simply Luscious as first member of The Prophecy.

Match No. 7: Christopher Daniels vs. Scoot Andrews in Block B match. Scoot gets near fall with neckbreaker. Daniels hits Best Moonsault Ever for the pin. Rating: ** This match was way too short. Daniels hit the finisher out of nowhere.

After the match, Simply Luscious tries to get Scoot Andrews to hit her. He then brings out Sukai for an impromptu match. Sukai wins with moonsault.

Match No. 8: Jerry Lynn vs. A.J. Styles in Block B match. Great chain wrestling in the opening. Several near falls. Styles nails superkick. Sytles hits twisting senton and Lynn kicks out. Styles wins with Styles Clash. Rating: **** Damn good match. They were given a decent amount of time and delivered.

Marcos and Dunn say they are the best tag team in ROH and then get destroyed by Da Hit Squad during intermission. Quiet Storm then comes out and challenges DHS. SAT comes out. All six battle. Tons of high spots. Christopher Street Connection then come out. And get destroyed by Natural Born Sinners as Homicide hits Cop Killa on Buffy. The Carnage Crew then attack NBS. Mafia power bombed LOC onto Devito and through a table.

Match No. 9: Spanky vs. Jody Fleisch in Block A finals. This one opens quickly. Fleisch blocks Sliced Bread No. 2. Fleisch does reverse moonsault off top rope and misses, hitting guard rail. Somehow he gets up. Spanky nails Sliced Bread No. 2 for win. Rating: ***1/2 These guys put on a great show. Fleisch is selling his knee, hopefully he didn’t hurt it.

Match No. 10: Doug Williams vs. American Dragon in Block C finals. Williams nails some forearms. And some knees. Williams wins with neck bridge after trading moves. Rating: **** These guys put on a classic mat wrestling match.

Match No. 11: Low Ki vs. Amazing Red in Block D finals. Great opening karate spot. Low hits spinning heel kick on Red on the apron and he hits the barricade hard. As Red goes for dive, Low Ki knees him in the jaw. Low Ki does front Muscle Buster move on Red. Red does Reverse Frankensteiner. Red misses Infrared. Low Ki hits Ki Crusher into turnbuckle and onto the floor. Low Ki misses twisting senton. Red hits spinning wheel kick. Low Ki hits Ki Krusher from top rope and gets the pin. Rating: **** Another great match with several great moves and near falls.

Brian XL comes out after the match. Crowd starts Little Bow Wow chant. He attacks Red. SAT makes the save, gives XL the Spanish Fly.

Backstage promo with Homicide and Boogalou hyping bunkhouse match with Natural Born Sinners.

Match No. 12: A.J. Styles vs. Christopher Daniels in Block B final. Good matwork early. A.J. takes nasty-looking bump into guardrail and comes up with some color. Daniels goes to work on Styles. Styles his nice brainbuster. Daniels blocks Styles Clash and turns it into an anklelock. Daniels hits Last Rites for the pin. Rating: **** A bit short, but you can’t discount the work of these two professionals. Great match.

After the match, Donnie B. heads to the ring. Damn, he looks just like his brother Mike, Nova/Simon Dean. Spanky enters the ring. And hits Daniels. Big announcement is ROH TV. Yawn.

Spanky, Low Ki, Christoper Daniels and Doug Williams in the ring for the unveiling of the ROH title. All four battle in the ring. Low Ki puts Daniels in Dragon Sleeper and he won’t let it up.

A.J. cuts bloody promo and says his Southern boys will be at the next show. Rudy Boy is looking for Simply Luscious. Spanky rips on Brian Danileson. LOC and Devito walking out of the building past the ring attack the ring crew. Corino and Simply Luscious are making out in the parking lot.

CHIKARA 5 (6/21/2002)

Match No. 1: UltraMantis vs. Ichabod Slayne. Hallowicked trips Mantis, Slayne falls on top of him for pin as Hallowicked holds his feet down so he can’t kick out. Rating: None (highlights only)

Match No. 2: Night Shift (Blind Rage & Hallowicked & Ichabod Slayne) & Mister Zero vs. Black T-shirt Squad (Mike Quackenbush & Don Montoya & Reckless Youth) & UltraMantis. Rage cuts promo before the match. He gives mic it Ichabod who is mute. He then gives mic to Hallowicked who is unintelligible. Again, funny bit. All eight guys do submission moves on each other. Actually, make it seven as UltraMantis stands outside waiting for tag. Nice Triple Tope by faces. Ichabod hit Reckless with pumpkin and Hallowicked got pin. Rating: *** Good match, liked the bits.

Match No. 3: Dragonfly vs. Ninja Mexicano vs. Super Orka. Dragonfly pins Ninja Mexicano, Dragonfly pins Super Orka. Rating: None (highlights only)

Love Bug cuts promo. Marshal Law comes out. Yawn. The Shoot Club come out laughing. Yeah, those guys do suck at promos, not to mention the gay chick music.

Match No. 4: Beauty & the Beast vs. The Shoot Club (Brock Singleton & Mason Hunter). Brock hits Bug with Six Shooter and Mason gets the pin. Rating: ** Not much to write home about.

Match No. 5: Zane Madrox vs. Phantasmo. Another Zane fiasco. He gets win in rematch with Cop Killa. Rating: None (highlights only)

MLW 1: Genesis (6/15/02)

Show opens with Shane Douglas walking out of the curtain before the show. He’s back in the ECW Arena, now called Viking Hall. He says he’s going to make history — again.

Opening montage. I hate when they show highlights of matches I haven’t seen yet. Of course, since this is the debut show, I guess they have no choice.

Joey Styles opens the show with the blue screen behind him showing the ring. He will be doing commentary.

Match No. 1: La Parka vs. Jerry Lynn. La Park working over Lynn early. He does his dance and the crowd pops. La Park with nice springboard somersault plancha. Lynn with nice flying headscissors. Crowd pops for him. Lynn with a cross body block onto Parka on the floor. Lynn hits a corkscrew ddt for the pin. Pretty good opener. Rating: ***1/2

Corino cuts a promo in the bathroom. Damn, he’s got a ton of scar tissue on his forehead. He cuts great screaming promo on Douglas.

Match No. 2: Christopher Daniels vs. Vampiro. Vampiro isn’t wearing makeup and he has a crew cut. He looks like a skinhead. Styles says it is their first ever meeting. Matwork early. Vampiro uses a leg submission but Daniels makes the ropes. Vampiro with a spinning leg lariat. They are outside the ring. Daniles hard into the barricade. Vampiro with a chair shot. Vampiro drops a knee into Daniels’ balls. Vampiro uses the hammer for the bell to nail Daniels in the nuts again. Daniles with nice springboard outside the ring. Daniels with a Thesz Press for a two count. Daniels with a double jump moonsault. Vampiro with belly to belly superplex from the top rope. Daniels somehow kicks out. Vampiro hits uranage for the pin. This match was a disappointment. It was the worts match I’ve ever seen Daniels in, and I blame Vampiro for that. Vampiro over Daniels? I blame Court Bauer for booking that one. Rating: **1/2

Backstage interview with The Wall. He cuts a weak promo. So does Taiyo Kea.

Match No. 3: The Wall vs. Taiyo Kea. I have to admit, I haven’t heard of either of these guys, although despite what Wikipedia says, I actually know Kea better by his real name. Styles buries Bam Bam Bigelow, who must have no-showed. Fans throw streamers at Kea. Wall is a big bastard. Wall drops Kea on his face and gives him a strange lariat. Kea uses dragon screw legwhip. Another dragon screw. Wall hits a superplex. Kea hits a northern lights suplex and bridges for the pin. This matched sucked as Wall was terrible. RIP Wall. Rating: **

Match No. 4: Steve Corino vs. Shane Douglas. Douglas is such a cocky prick, which explains why the Philly fans love him. He cuts a promo and drops the f-bomb numerous times. He puts himself over and puts down Flair. Corino cuts another great promo on Douglas and Paul Heyman. Fans chant Fuck Paul Heyman. Corino says Douglas is going to put him over by pin or countout. Douglas jumps Corino. Fans chant Where’s Your Skateboard at Douglas. Douglas with huge suplex on Corino. Douglas with a punch to the balls. Corino takes a chairshot to the head. Corino with a running boot to the face of Douglas. Corino uses arm bar on Douglas, who is wearing a brace on his right elbow. Corino all over the elbow. Douglas with a northern lights suplex into a bridge. Douglas hits belly-to-belly suplex for the pin. Another match that wasn’t as good as I expected. Rating: **1/2

Daniels tries to recruit Lynn backstage.

Match No. 5: Lynn vs. Douglas. Shane jumps Lynn after offering handshake. Lynn with nice legdrop on the apron that knocks Douglas to the floor. Lynn with a baseball slide. Shane gets posted. Will he blade? Doubtful. He gets posted again. Lynn also runs his shoulder into the post. Douglas does blade, but it’s a trickle. I’ve cut myself worse shaving. The guy rips on Flair, but he can’t even bleed properly. Lynn has to work hard with some punches to get some blood flowing. Double clothesline allows Douglas to rest his fat ass. Douglas with a kick to the balls. Lynn gets a near fall with a spinning ddt. Douglas with a belly to belly suplex for a near fall. Douglas hits fisherman buster (Pittsburgh Plunge) for the pin. Another match were the better wrestler loses. Nice booking Bauer. Also another match were the winner hurt the match quality. Shot of senile Frank Talent from the state atheltic commission at ringside also downgrades the match. Rating: **1/2

Match No. 6: Vampiro vs. Taiyo Kea. Back and forth early. Nice hurricanrana by Kea. Crowd is fucking dead. Kea with a springboard splash of some sort. Kea hits a sitdown powerpomb. They go to the floor. Vampiro kicks Kea in the nuts. Shot of one of the Atlas Security giants with a mullet. Even he’s bored. Kea with a couple of powerbombs. Vampiro does some weak looking throw. Followed by a back suplex. Huge chop by Kea. Vampiro replies with average one. Vampiro is wearing a ring on his finger. Idiot. Vampiro with a top rope hurricanrana for a two count. Kea with a jaw buster that Styles calls the Hawaiian Crush. Bell rings and it is a time limit draw. Well, at least the better guy didn’t lose this match. But again, match was a disappointment. Rating: **

Match No. 7: Vampiro vs. Taiyo Kea vs. Shane Douglas for the MLW title. Since the last match was a draw, both guys advance to face Douglas. Fans are dead again. Kea holds Douglas and Vampiro goes for a spin kick. Douglas moves and he hits Kea. Douglas hits belly-to-belly suplex for the pin. Weak fucking match. Fans seem happier that the match was over than Douglas is the new champ. Weak match, way too short. Rating: **

Douglas grabs the mic. He drops the f bomb again. Multiple times. He rips on McMahon, Heyman, Hogan, Flair, the Clique. What an egotistical fucking prick. Major League Wrestling, Minor League Booking, Bush League Champion. He throws down the belt and spits on it. Styles acts outraged that Douglas throws down the belt again. Referee John Finnegan takes the mic. He says if Douglas pulls this shit again and doesn’t defend the title, he will be suspended from wrestling in Pennsylvania. They show senile Frank Talent at ringside. He remembers his cue and agrees with Finnegan. Douglas acts pissed. Fans are dead, just like this stupid fucking angle. And one final thing. To the idiot who produced the DVD, which showed highlights at the beginning of the show, including Douglas holding the belt. Thanks for ruining the surprise.

CHIKARA 4 (6/14/2002)

Match No. 1: Don Montoya vs. Blind Rage. Rage gets the pin after hitting Montoya with the pumpkin. Rating: None (highlights only)

Match No. 2: Hallowicked vs. UltraMantis. Phantom DQ for second straight show as Hallowicked throws loaded sock to Ultra and then falls down like he was hit. I guess the rules education continues. Rating: None (highlights only)

Match No. 3: Zane Madrox vs. Phantasmo. Another Madrox match in highlight form. He must really suck. Phantasmo wins with a Thesz Press type of move, holding the ropes. Rating: None (highlights only)

Mister Zero cuts promo, puts over La Parka.

Match No. 4: Mister Zero & La Parka vs. Black T-shirt Squad (Mike Quackenbush & Reckless Youth). La Parka is over with crowd. His chair has Latino World Order sticker. Quack & Youth hit nice Double Tope. Nice highspots outside of ring. Zero gets mad at La Parka. Parka nails him with his chair. Park DQ’d for hitting Quack with the chair. Rating: ***3/4 Very good match with international superstar. Great moves, only blown spot was Parka slipping off top rope and nearly breaking his neck.

CHIKARA 3 (6/7/2002)

Match No. 1: Reckless Youth vs. Hallowicked. Youth comes out to Copa Cabana, in tribute to Gold Bond Mafia? Hallowicked cuts promo but you can’t understand him. Youth tells him to lift his mask. He does, but you still can’t understand him. Funny bit. Ichabod Slayne comes out and distracts Youth. When Youth turns around, Hallowicked grabs his package and falls down like he received a low blow. Ref thinks it happened so he DQs Youth. Rating: *** Youth got a good match out of the kid. A sloppy spot or two but I liked the finish, as Quack is educating the CHIKARA fans. Last show, it was a real low blow, this time a phantom nut shot.

Mister Zero cuts a promo. He is wearing a more traditional wrestling mask, with a bald spot and comb over. He picks Zane Madrox as his new partner.

Match No. 2: Beauty & the Beast (Love Bug & Marshal Law) vs. Mister Zero & Zane Madrox. Marshal pins Zero after Rock Bottom by Love Bug. Rating: None (highlights only)

Mister Zero cuts promo on Madrox and then fires him. Madrox then lays him out.

Match No. 3: UltraMantis vs. Brock Singleton. Singleton wins with a spear. Rating: None (highlights only)

Match No. 4: Don Montoya vs. Ichabod Slayne. Montoya moves pretty well for a fat ass. Slayne pins Montoya with his feet on the ropes. Rating: **1/2 Average match, couple of missed spots.

Match No. 5: Mike Quackenbush vs. Blind Rage. Imitating Japan, fans throw streamers at Quack. He ties up Rage with La Nieblina. Quack hits nice Tope Con Hilo. We see first CHIKARA ref bump. Quack hits palm thrust and alligator clutch but no ref. Ichabod hits tornado DDT on Quack. Multiple run-ins. Ref sees everyone fighting and chases them to back. Quack hits Quackendriver. He runs to the back to get the ref. As he is entering the ring, Ichabod hits him with the pumpkin and Blind Rage gets the pin. Rating: ***1/2 Solid match with good moves, creative finish boosts rating. Give Quack credit for not being afraid to put over the young guys.

The Night Shift destroys the Black T-shirt Squad after the match.

CHIKARA 2 (5/31/2002)

Match No. 1: Zane Madrox vs. Matt Vandal. Madrox wins with legdrop off top rope. Rating: None (highlights only)

Match No. 2: Marshal Law vs. Brock Singleton. Marshal wins with some sort of camel clutch rollover pin. Rating: None (highlights only)

Match No. 3: Night Shift (Blind Rage & Hallowicked & Ichabod Slayne) vs. Black T-shirt Squad (Mike Quackenbush & Reckless Youth & Don Montoya). Quackenbush starts out solo. He does nice Kama Gatame on Hallowicked and Cerebrolock on Ichabod at the same time, which looks like he is surfing. Youth and Montoya join the match. Nice spot where faces trick Blind Rage into doing Pumphandle on Hallowicked. Another nice spot features all six guys do submission on each other at same time. Quack does nice Suicida onto the floor. Quack hits Quackendriver but no ref. Ref distracted as Ichabod hits Quack with pumpkin allowing Blind Rage to get the pin. Rating: *** Good entertaining match with decent moves.

Match No. 4: Blind Rage vs. Love Bug. This was actually opener, but shown in this spot. Love Bug wins after Blind Rage is DQ’d for low blow. Rating: **1/4 Average match, kind of short with questionable finish. Since this is second show, maybe Quack is trying to get over Lucha style of rules.

Match No. 5: Mister Zero vs. UltraMantis. Mantis wins with Butterfly Suplex. Rating: **1/2 Solid match, nothing spectacular.

CHIKARA 1 (5/25/2002)

Match No. 1: Mister Zero vs. Dragonfly. Love the pop-up video captions that give background, name the wrestling holds (VHS version only). Zero is wearing a classic Halloween style mask depicting a bald, middle-aged man. Zero has classic move: Camel Clutch while reading the newspaper. Zero also drinks coffee from his mug during the match. Zero wins with nasty Last Shaven Unicorn Drop. Rating: **1/2 Two rookies wrestle good, solid match.

Match No. 2: UltraMantis vs. Blind Rage. Blind Rage wins with Gory Catapult. I’ve never seen this move before so I take no credit for getting the name correct. Thanks, pop-up video. Rating: **1/2 Another good but not great match. No blown spots, but Mantis calls audible spot within earshot of camera.

Match No. 3: Zane Madrox vs. Kid Kruel. Madrox taps to arm bar. Rating: None (highlights only)

Match No. 4: Beauty & the Beast (Love Bug and Marshal Law) vs. Night Shift (Hallowicked & Ichabod Slayne). Love Bug makes Ichabod tap to Boston Crab. Rating: None (highlights only)

Match No. 5: Goldbond Mafia (C.M. Punk, Colt Cabana & Chris Hero) vs. Black T-shirt Squad (Mike Quackenbush, Reckless Youth & Don Montoya). Damn good main event for CHIKARA debut. Crowd is very over for Punk. Quack does nice Spaceman Plancha. Cabana’s antics are spectacular. Props to Quack for booking these guys before ROH. All six do submissions at the same time. Quack misses Reverse Frankensteiner. It looks like Cabana blew the spot. He hits it a second time and Reckless then pins Cabana with a Northern Lights Bomb 2K1. Rating: ***3/4 Great, entertaining match by six professionals. They went 30 minutes and it never dragged.

ROH 3: A Night of Appreciation (4/27/02)

Opening segment: Before the show, Loc is on the phone and he is joined by his new partner, Tony Devito. Devito roughs up a couple of the ring crew on his way to the locker room.

Quiet Storm asks Brian XL if he can try a submission on him. Christopher Street Connection cuts a promo on the crowd outside before being chased away by Da Hit Squad. Quiet Storm asks American Dragon to show a submission move to Brian XL, which he does. Devito tells Boogalou to watch out. As Frank Talent from the state athletic commission is giving another rambling speech, he sees Spanky with headphones and tells him to “take that shit off his ears”

Donnie B has replaced Eric Gargiulo on play-by-play. Steve Corino remains on color. Da Hit Squad calls out Christopher Street Connection.

Match No. 1: DHS vs. CSC. Allison Danger cuts promo on DHS and Corino makes crack on his sister, saying she enjoys alternate lifestyle. Danger says match is now a three way, adding Prince Nana & his servents. Corino makes a crack about Donnie B’s brother, Super Nova/Simon Dean, being gay. Mafia gives Luscious a Burning Hammer to get the pin. Rating: *1/2 This match was a squash but Allison Danger and Elax getting destroyed increased the rating.

Jay Brisco cuts promo, Mark interrupts him. Dissension in the making between these two.

Match No. 2: Jay Briscoe vs. Tony Mamaluke. Donnie B cracks on Briscoes for being ugly. He called that correctly. Jay looks like Boris Zubov. Brisco wins with Jay Driller. Mark is mad that Jay won. Rating: **1/2 Solid match but not great.

The Briscoe parents are backstage. Old man Briscoe is a big bastard. James Maritato is mad at Tony Mamaluke for using the FBI gimmick.

Match No. 3: Divine Storm (Chris Divine & Quiet Storm) with Brian XL vs. Christian York & Joey Matthews. Matthews taps out to some kind of leg lock by Quiet Storm. (If Donnie B and Corino couldn’t name it, don’t expect me to.) Rating: **1/2 Another solid match, a bit sloppy at times. Finish came out of nowhere.

James Maritato and Scoot Andrews both cut veteran, old school promos.

Match No. 4: James Maritato vs. Scoot Andrews vs. Xavier in three-way dance. Xavier taps to Fujiwara Armbar by Maritato. Rating: *** Pretty good match, a bit short.

Allison Danger is pissed, cuts promo on Rob Feinstein, who is horrible on the mic. A.J. Styles cuts very short promo.

Match No. 5: A.J. Styles vs. Low Ki. Crowd is really into this match. Great back-and-forth action. Both guys area beating the hell out of each other. Styles reverses Ki Crusher into DDT. Crowd is going crazy. Many near falls. Low Ki wins with quick roll-up. Rating: ***** Spectacular match, tons of heat.

Christopher Daniels cuts promo on newcomer Donovan Morgan.

Match No. 6: Ring Crew Express (Marcos & Dunn) vs. Carnage Crew (Loc & Devito). Crowd is already crapping on this match, which is pissing off Carnage Crew. Devito pins Dunn with wicked power bomb. Rating: * Squash. Marcos & Dunn get destroyed afterwards with hub cabs.

Donovan Morgan cuts quick promo.

Match No. 7: Donovan Morgan vs. Christopher Daniels. Match starts slow, but they pick it up and crowd warms up. Morgan wins with swinging neckbreaker. Rating: ***1/2 Very good match by two vets.

After the match, Daniels tells Morgan he has his back if he wants it.

Match No. 8: Paul London vs. John Hope in Texas Wrestling Academy gauntlet match. London wins with Shooting Star Press. Rating: none (only match highlights)

Match No. 9: Paul London vs. Michael Shane in Texas Wrestling Academy gauntlet match. Shane wins with elbow drop. Rating: *** Good match, but short.

Match No. 10: Michael Shane vs. Spanky in Texas Wrestling Academy gauntlet match.
Spanky wins with Sliced Bread No. 2. Rating: **1/2 Good match, dragged near finish.

Match No. 11: Spanky vs. Brian Danielson in Texas Wrestling Academy gauntlet match. Spanky’s pants are totally shredded. Danielson kicks out of Sliced Bread No. 2. Spanky wins with Sliced Bread No. 2 from top rope. Rating: *** Match was sloppy early, but picked up at the end.

Spanky cuts hilarious promo after the match. Dragon tries to cut promo on Spanky. Daniels comes to ring and rips on both of them says they are not in his league. Scoot Andrews comes to ring and cuts promo on Daniels, challenges him to first round tournament match. Xavier comes to the ring, throws his name into the hat. Jay Briscoe is next and he says he’s in the tournament. Prince Nana wants his spot. Finally, Low Ki comes out and cracks Nana in the chin with a punch. Low Ki cuts same rambling Kung Fu promo.

Match No. 12: Eddy Guerrero & Amazing Red vs. Spanish Announce Team (Jose & Joel Maximo). Eddy misses frog splash on Jose, but pins him with Gory Special. Rating: ***1/2 Wasn’t the greatest without Guererro in the ring, but they really picked it up at the end.

Brian XL cuts promo on Guerrero after match. Eddy calls him Little Bow Wow. Then destroys him. It looks like he hit the frog splash extra hard on him. Fans start Eddy chant. He cuts emotional farewell promo. (RIP, Eddy.)

Danielson and Low Ki confront Spanky for not paying respect to Guerrero. Morgan and Daniels ask them if they are finished marking out for Guererro. The four fight. Spanky is upset at Daniels and Morgan for causing him heat with Low Ki.

ROH 2: The Round Robin Challenge (3/30/02)

Opening segment: Daniels cuts promo, rags on ROH; highlights from last show; Da Hit Squad cuts promo, goes outside again with fans, similar to last show. Again Mafia does great job getting crowd fired up; Devine Storm practice hold and in comedy spot, Danielson comes in and puts hold hard on Chris Devine.

Match No. 1: Christopher Daniels vs. American Dragon in Round Robin Challenge match. Great opener. Daniels wins with cross face out of nowhere. Rating: ***1/2 Match was a bit short, crowd wasn’t into match as much as you would think.

Eric Tuttle shines Nana’s shoes; CW Anderson cuts promo, picks Elax as his partner.

Match No. 2: Prince Nana & Eric Tuttle vs. Da Hit Squad. Corino puts over girlfriend Simply Luscious. Nana cuts promo, makes Tuttle shine his shoes. DHS jumps Nana and Tuttle. Mafia pins Tuttle with burning hammer. Rating: ** Another squash win for DHS. Extra star for Christopher Street Connection attending to Tuttle and DHS throwing Luscious out of the ring.

CSC tries to give Tuttle CPR before Nana saves him; Danny Drake and Mike Tobin try to steal Natural Born Sinners’ chainsaw

Match No. 3: Christian York & Joey Matthews vs. CW Anderson & Elax. York pins Anderson with a diamond cutter. Rating: ** Solid match, but lack of heat and presence of Elax dragged down match. Anderson destroys Elax after match.

Xavier says Scoot Andrews broke his leg and can’t wrestle him in rematch; Little Guido says he will change back to James Maritato

Match No. 4: James Maritato vs. Xavier. Fans start A.C. Slater chant at Xavier. Xavier gets surprise pin in middle of match. Rating: *** Solid match.

Frank Talent gives rambling speech to wrestlers; Natural Born Sinners promo on Boogie Knights

Match No. 5: Boogie Knights (Danny Drake & Mike Tobin) vs. Natural Born Sinners (Homicide & Boogalou). Boogalou uses chainsaw during entrance. Pretty much a squash. Rating: **

Low Ki cuts same tired promo

Match No. 6: Christoper Daniels vs. Low Ki in Round Robin Challenge Match. Daniels is a great heel with a killer ring entrance. (Naturally, in 2007, TNA utilizes neither.) Low Ki has early advantage as Daniels has already wrestled tonight. Slow methodical match. Daniels hits Angel’s Wings, but Lo Ki kicks out. Daniels then gets to rope after Ki Krusher. Daniels taps to Dragon Clutch. Rating: **** Great technical match that built to finish with several near falls.

Daniels acts contrite, then won’t shake Low Ki’s hand and cuts promo. Xavier congratulates Daniels behind the curtain.

Match No. 7: Chris Marvel vs. Paul London in Texas Wrestling Academy challenge match. London does nice acrobatics early. London then does Moonsault onto Marvel outside of the ring and match is stopped after Marvel suffers gruesome broken leg. Rating: None

Jay Briscoe cuts promo, there is growing dissension with brother Mark.

Match No. 8: Jay Briscoe with Mark Briscoe vs. Brian “Spanky” Kendrick. Kendrick is in great shape. He’s not in great shape after getting thrown into the corner and hitting his head on the ringpost. In fact, he’s a bloody mess. Match picks up at this point. Spanky wins with Sliced Bread No. 2. Rating: ***1/2 Mark Briscoe gives his brother hard time after the match.

Match No. 9: Divine Storm vs. SAT vs. Amazing Red & Brian XL in lucha style match. Match drags until they hit several high spots outside the ring. These guys are hitting nice moves, but at times, things seem a step slow. Red hits Red Star Press on Quiet Storm for the pin; Divine Storm is eliminated. Brian XL and Red each try for pin and argue; Joel Maximo pins Red. Rating: **1/2 Match had some nice moves, but sloppy mat work cost it low rating.

Match No. 10: American Dragon vs. Low Ki in final Round Robin Challenge Match. Ken Shamrock comes to the ring, cuts promo, offers to referee the match. Dragon and Ki agree. Danielson bleeding from a cut next to the eye which happened in first match of the night. With Shamrock as the ref, match is kept on the mat in early going. Low Ki hits Ki Krusher from the second rope. Crowd goes crazy. Low Ki passes out in Cattle Mutilation. Rating: ***** This was a classic old school match that built perfectly to the finish. This match was even more impressive considering they went 30 plus minutes in their second match of the match.

Dragon cuts post-match promo, thanks Shamrock, puts over Low Ki.

Mikey Whipwreck breaks up his guys arguing in the locker room; London, Kendrick and Danielson argue about ROH internet balloting, Rudy says he will try to get a match with all of them against each other.

ROH 1: The Era of Honor Begins (2/23/02)

Opening segment: Mafia and Monsta Mack cut a promo on a bus full of New York fans before the show. Da Hit Squad then cut a promo in front of some Boston fans.

Match No. 1: Christopher Street Connection with Allison Danger vs. Da Hit Squad. Corino rags on his sister. Kinda funny. Fans not sure how to react when Buffy kisses a male fan. Buffy and Mase then make it more awkward by making out. Da Hit Squad then destroy CSC. Mafia then powerbombs Danger onto Buffy on a table. Rating: ** In a symbolic opening match, ROH destroys “sports entertainment” in a squash. While the match wasn’t much, the symbolism and crowd heat raise it from one star to two.

Match No. 2: Jay Briscoe with Mark Briscoe vs. Amazing Red. Red wins with shooting star press. Rating: *** Good match for guys that young. Some good moves, none obviously blown. Great heat.

In vignettes, they show Low Ki in front of some Karate banner; Homicide in his old neighborhood; Xavier giving advice to Eric Tuttle; Scoot Andrews talks about Xavier match.

Match No. 3: Xavier vs. Scoot Andrews. Scoot enters to Ric Flair’s 2001 entrance music. Fans start A.C. Slater chant at Xavier. I admit it. I had to look on the Internet to figure out A.C. Slater is the Mario Lopez character from Saved by the Bell. Xavier wins with a neckbreaker. Rating: *** Another very solid match with several near falls.

Match No. 4: Boogie Nights (Mike Tobin and Danny Drake) vs. Natural Born Sinners (Homicide & Boogalou). Classic entrance. Homicide comes out with Michael Myers mask, Boogalou is carrying a working chainsaw. NBS disqualified for using a rubber chicken. Rating: *** Match was a squash, but it gets three stars for the ring entrance and post-match beating of referee H.C. Loc. In shades of Abdullah the Butcher, Homicide used a fork or spike to the head of Loc and busted him open. And then gave Loc his Cop Killa finisher for good measure.

Drake and Tobin, armed with bats, look for NBS; Buffy and Mase bemoan their loss as Spanky dances in the background.

Match No. 5: Quiet Storm & Chris Divine & Brian XL vs. SAT & Amazing Red in elimination match with Mikey Whipwreck as guest ref. Match opens with tons of high spots onto the floor. Jose Maximo pins Red. Chris Divine pins Brian XL. Quiet Storm pins Jose Maximo and Joel Maximo pins Chris Divine simultaneously. Quiet Storm pins Joel to win the match. Rating: **1/2 Match dragged near the end and there were a couple of sloppy and/or slow moves. Still a decent match.

Homicide curses at the camera; Feinstein gives Eric Tuttle a match. He probably met the kid on the Internet.

Match No. 6: Prince Nana vs. Towel Boy Eric Tuttle. Nana wins a squash. Rating: * Popcorn match.

Match No. 7: Michael Shane & Oz vs. Spanky & Ikaika Loa in Texas Wrestling Academy challenge. Kendrick and Shane in the ring for most of the match, thankfully. Spanky pins Oz to win an ROH contract. Rating: **1/2 Would have been *** if the two meatballs had not been in match.

Mikey goes off on his guys in the locker room; a bloody H.C. Loc makes a phone call, threatens to quit

Match No. 8: Super Crazy vs. Eddy Guerrero for IWA Intercontinental Championship. Eddy looks ridiculously big and it isn’t natural. (RIP, Eddy.) Super Crazy wins with a small package. Rating: ***1/2 Very good match, may have been four stars if it went longer.

Low Ki cuts his signature Kung Fu promo

Match No. 9: American Dragon vs. Low Ki vs. Christoper Daniels. Very stiff match. Very technical match. What can you say other than these guys are great. Tons of heat. In one crazy spot, Daniels superplexes Dragon who superplexes Low Ki. Low Ki pins Daniels with Ki Krusher. Rating: ***** I can’t say one bad thing about this match or think of a reason to downgrade it from a perfect rating of five stars.

Daniels refuses to shake hands after the match; in the locker room, Eddy Guerrero puts over ROH for being pure; the show closes with a video montage of match highlights.

ECW (5/28/96)

Show opens with a Brian Pillman video.

Clip shown from “A Matter of Respect” as Rob Van Dam shakes hands with Bill Alfonso and Sabu is taken out on a stretcher.

Fan Cam segment with Paul Heyman. He makes UFC reference. He cuts promo on Van Dam. Then drives away in a Camaro. Cheeseball.

Match No. 1: 2 Cold Scorpio vs. Chris Jericho from house show on Fan Cam joined in progress. Jericho is all juiced up. Scorpio gets pin with reverse 540. Rating: None.

Highlights of Sandman gettting his knee fucked up by Shane Douglas at a house show. Stevie Richards interrupts Joey Styles with cheesy promo.

Raven interview in the ring at house show in Allentown, Pa. Same old Raven shit. He asks Richards to find him a slut.

Richards interrupts Styles again.

Highlights of Dudleys vs. Damian Kane and Devon Storm. Storm takes backdrop over top rope onto D.W. Dudley. Devon hits Kane, Storm and the Bubba with a chair. The the ref Paul Richards. Richards rings the bell for the DQ. Bubba and Devon argue.

Cheesy skit with Bubba trying to call Big Dick Dudley. Stevie Richards says he has signed pictures of Big Dick in his bedroom and nobody is a bigger fan of Big Dick than him.

Match No. 2: Brian Lee & Eliminators vs. Gangstas & Tommy Dreamer. Crazy brawl, as always. Kronus with a nice flying tiger drop over the top rope. Saturn uses a moonsault (Saturnsault). They brawl all over the arena including on the stage below Styles. Lee suplexes Dreamer through a table and off the stage. Mustafa hits Kronus with a toy robot. New Jack gets ball shot splits into the post. Dreamer getting triple-teamed. He’s a mess. Dreamer gets superkicked in the back of the head by Stevie Richards. Kimona and Beulah then grab his balls and take him off. Dreamer puts a cinderblock on Lee’s chest and hits it with a chair. Saturn then gives him a spike piledriver. Saturn sets up a table in the corner of the ring and lifts Dreamer onto it. Saturn to the top rope. Dreamer gives him a ddt through the table. Kronus makes the save. New Jack gives Kronus nasty chairshot to the back. New Jack jumps off top rope with a chair and hits Saturn with it for the pin. Crazy as hell brawl in typical ECW fashion. Damn good stuff. Rating: ***1/2

ECW (5/13/96)

Match No. 1: El Puerto Ricano vs. Damian 666. Match joined in progress. Both are fighting on top of a table. Sabu comes into the ring. Sabu does cross body block over the top rope onto both guys then throws chairs at them. He lays them both on the table and does a springboard legdrop onto both guys and through the table. I guess this would be considered a squash. Rating: *

Match No. 2: Shane Douglas vs. 2 Cold Scorpio for ECW TV Title. Long time before they lock up. Is Heyman trying to get this one match to fill the entire show? Boring back-and-forth early. Douglas throws chair at Scorpio and gets a two count. Douglas backdrops Scorpio to the floor and he hits a baseball slide. Followed by a springboard corss body block to the floor. Shane hits slingshot suplex on Scorpio who gets dumped on the guard rail and falls on his head. Scorpio with huge clothesline on the floor. Douglas throws Scorpio into the crowd after he tries a leap. They fight in the crowd. Douglas takes a crutch shot to the back. Followed by a chair shot to the head. Douglas lifts Scorpio up for power bomb and drops him on the floor. Scorpio kicks Shane in the balls. Then gives him two chair shots. Scorpio hits a handspring and catches Douglas with a kick as he flips, followed by a moonsault to the floor. Douglas hits the barricade hard. Scorpio lays Douglas on the ringside table. Douglas hides from him and then catches him from behind. Scorpio does victory roll and bridge but Douglas kicks out. Scorpio hits superkick. Douglas hits corkscrew suplex. Scorpio hits another superkick. Scorpio with a moonsault but he gets up before the three count. He goes up again and hits a 450 splash (Scorpio Splash) but doesn’t try for the pin. Scorpio with a legdrop. Douglas hits back suplex and bridges for a two count. Douglas with a fisherman’s suplex for a two count. Douglas hits power bomb from the top rope but Scorpio kicks out. Shane hits belly-to-belly superplex for the pin. Damn good match. They really picked it up at the end. Rating: ***1/2

Scorpio looks like he is going to cry afterwards. Shane cuts a promo. He puts over Steamboat, Funk, Malenkos, Guerreros, Benoit and Heyman. He also puts over Scorpio. He tells Scorpio to put on his belt. Scorpio gives him a belt shot, a piledriver and a legdrop from the top rope with a chair and the belt on his face.

Pulp Ficton montage with Sandman and Missy; Eliminators cut a promo; Dudleys are idiots; Dreamer cuts promo with a nice mullet; Douglas babbles; Taz actually speaks; Douglas babbles some more; D.J. Ran, whoever the fuck he is, cuts a promo and intros Gangstas and New Jack cuts long crazy promo.

ECW (5/6/96)

Show opens with Buh Buh in the ring with the mic. Francine makes fun of Bubba’s unit. Devon enters the ring and takes the mic.

Match No. 1: Dudley Boys vs. The Pitbulls. Dudleys attack Pitbulls before the bell. Action spills outside. They brawl into the crowd. Tons of chair shots. They brawl on the stage next to the announce booth. Joey Styles cuts into taped match with a “live” update that the Pitbulls were injured as they were about to film a training video in Long Island. Action is finally in the ring as we return. More chairshots in and out of the ring. Devon gets planted face first into the chair by Gary Wolfe. Anthony Durante gives Buh Buh a super bomb. Devon makes the save with several chair shots. Referee Paul Richards gets a chair shot as well from Devon. Durante then gives Richards a super bomb. I guess that’s it. No real finish but tons of stiff brawling. RIP Durante. Rating: ***
Segment with Sandman and Missy Hyatt that is interrupted by a “live” report by Styles. Dreamer taken away in a second ambulance. Pitbulls apparently were taken away in the first ambulance. 
Match No. 2: Rob Van Dam vs. Sabu. This is their first match together. Van Dam does Rolling Thunder into a vertical splash. Sabu throws him to the floor. Sabu pulls Van Dam into the ring with his back on the middle rope. He hits guillotine leg drop on Van Dam. He follows with a camel clutch. Then a single leg boston crab. Sabu tries to land on his feet out of backdrop but falls. He’s such a sloppy technical wrestler. Sabu sets Van Dam on the top turn buckle. He climbs to the top rope and drop kicks him to the floor. Sabu then does a flip dive onto Van Dam on the floor. Van Dam tries moonsault off the barricade but Sabu shoves him into the crowd. Sabu hits him with a chair shot in the crowd. Sabu does Triple Jump Arabian Press onto Van Dam in the front row. Crazy fucking move, no wonder he is nearly crippled. Sabu sets up table between ring and barricade. He puts Van Dam on the table. Van Dam moves and Sabu jumps over the table onto the floor. No wonder his knees are shot. Sabu tries to jump on Van Dam but slips on the table. Another trademark sloppy spot by Sabu. With Sabu on the barricade, Van Dam jumps onto chair then ring apron then gives Sabu a kick to the solar plexus. Van Dam does flip from ring apron with chair onto Sabu. Van Dam hits springboard leg drop. Van Dam fucks up bow and arrow the first time but hits it the second time. Dumb move to do with a broken wrist. Van Dam goes for a power slam but Sabu spikes him on his head. Van Dam does somersault plancha onto Sabu on the floor. Sabu goes for top rope move on Van Dam but Van Dam shoves him onto the table on the floor. Sabu gets another table. He puts Van Dam on it. Sabu holds onto the top rope and flips onto Van Dam. Table doesn’t break. He does it again and the table breaks. Sabu his split legged moonsault for a two count. Sabu misses a clothesline. Van Dam hits german suplex for a near fall. Van Dam misses somersault neckbreaker from the top rope. Van Dam hits guillotine leg drop onto Sabu, followed by a slingshot leg drop. Sabu drops both knees on Van Dams back and he goes face first into the chair. Van Dam is sitting on the top rope and Sabu gives him a ddt. Van Dam kicks out somehow. Sabu hits triple jump moonsault for the pin. Styles calls it the greatest match in the career of both men. Four missed moves say otherwise, although they did punish the hell out of each other. Too sloppy to be called a classic. RIP Sabu’s body. Rating: ***
Dreamer with Kimona and Beulah. Styles interrupts again with “live” report. Eliminators cut promo. Saturn has blood on hands. 
Taz and Joey Styles put over Heyman and his limited production crew. 

ECW (4/29/96)

Match No. 1: Raven vs. Shane Douglas. Boring early. Best part is chant of “Stevie swallows” to Stevie Richards. Raven takes bump into the guard rail. Shane does a nice dive over the top rope. Raven takes another hard bump to the floor. Shane beating on Raven in the crowd. He even uses a cheese grater. Twice. Raven gets the upper hand and tosses Shane onto the stage. Raven is busted open. Shane gives Raven a piledriver as they get back in the ring. Shane hits a belly to belly suplex. No referee. Brian Lee had come into interfere and Tommy Dreamer got rid of him. Douglas then doublecrosses Dreamer. They fight in the middle of the match. Douglas drops Raven on the top rope, then turnbuckle. Douglas hits cross body block but Raven rolls through. Douglas hits figure four. Meanie goes for moonsault, causing Douglas to break the hold. Douglas uses half boston crab, but Richards gives him a superkick. Raven gets a near fall. Shane hits ddt for a near fall. Douglas unlaces Raven’s boot. He puts on the figure four. One of the Bruise Brothers interferes as the referee is distracted. Raven then hits Douglas with his boot for the pin. Crazy match, but pretty damn good. Rating: ***1/2

Crybaby Shane cuts a promo. He gets interrupted by 2 Cold Scorpio who cuts a promo on Shane. Shane jumps him from behind. And beats him with his belt. Sandman comes in. Shane gives him a belly to belly suplex. Shane canes Sandman and Scorpio. He then piledrives Scorpio on his belt.
New Jack cuts a promo on the Eliminators as their classic feud continues. Saturn cuts a promo wearing a gay pink t-shirt. Kronus giggles like an idiot.
Match No. 2: Axl Rotten vs. Little Guido. Guido hits Axl with a chair. Axl uses inside cradle but J.T. Smith is distracting the referee. Guido misses a leg drop from the top rope. Axl with a huge clothesline. Axl drops Guido on his head for the pin. Short average match. Rating: ***
Match No. 3: Taz vs. Devon Storm. Damn is Joel Gertner skinny. Storm has a terrible ring outfit. A cross between the Rock & Roll Express and Green Lantern. Bill Alfonso pisses off the crowd by stepping on a Flyers jersey. Taz hits an exploder (T-Bone) suplex. Storm actually hits a baseball slide on Taz and gives him a chair shot to the head. He sets Taz in a chair and hits flip dive on top of him. Storm then hits a moonsault for a near fall. Wow, he’s getting a lot of offense on Taz. Storm misses a moonsault with a chair. Taz hits Storm with a chair. Taz suplexes Storm over the top rope and onto the floor. He took a huge bump and missed the table that was supposed to break his fall. Storm is counted out. Taz uses half nelson choke (Tazmission) for good measure. Taz didn’t get a chance to show much as Storm obviously could not continue. Rating: **1/2
Pulp Fiction montage with Bill Alfonso & Taz; Miss Hyatt shows off her tits; Kimona shows off her pussy, which she is holding in her arms and appears to be a tabby; Bubba & Devon act like fools; Blue Meanie acts like a fool as well; New Jack calls out the Eliminators; Blue Meanie does his same old schtick; Alfonso rambles; New Jack says he spray painted the Eliminators’ belts; Eliminators jump Gangstas in the parking lot and spray paint their backs.

ECW (4/22/96)

Gangstas in the ring with Joey Styles. New Jack cuts a promo. He calls out the Eliminators. They come to the ring and brawl. Great action. Scrubs come out to break things up. Not a match, but we will treat it like one. Rating: ***1/2

Match No. 1: Super Nova vs. El Puerto Ricano. Nova does handstand dive off the top rope onto the floor. Nice move. Nova hits nice tiger bomb. Ricano does moonsault from middle rope onto Nova outside the ring. Eliminators beat up both guys. Bullshit finish, but decent match between the two rookies. Rating: **1/2
Saturn calls out the Gangstas. They come to the ring with weapons. They fight in the ring, in the crowd, outside the ring and back in the ring. Mustafa gives Kronus a belt shot to the head. Scrubs again breaks things up. 
Little Guido and J.T. Smith at Geno’s. Nice skit.
Match No. 2: Brian Lee vs. Tommy Dreamer. Dreamer does jawbreaker on Lee using chair. They go into the crowd. Dreamer gives Lee a bulldog on the stage. They fight on the bleachers. Lee gives Dreamer three nut shots with the bottom of the barricade. Referee takes a bump. Dreamer hits ddt but no ref. Bruise brothers come into the ring. Dreamer takes double chairshot from kicks to the head. He somehow kicks out. He hits a ddt. Bruise Brothers back in the ring. They put cinder block on Dreamer’s groin and hit him with chair shot. Lee gets the pin. Pretty good brawl. Rating: ***1/2
Montage with Sandman and Missy Hyatt. She was still fairly hot. 
Raven comes to the ring with Stevie Richards and Blue Meanie. Shane has the big announcement. He says Beulah was cheating on both Dreamer and Raven. With Kimona. That motherfucking Heyman cuts away before they kiss. Styles explains that stations like MSG dropped ECW for showing the kiss.

ECW (4/15/96)

Kenny Albert interviews Shane Douglas at Madison Square Garden. How the hell did they get Kenny Albert? Shane rips on The Clique and WCW. 

Match highlights: Devon Dudley debuts, crowning J.T. Smith with a chair shot. Little Guido also takes a chair shot to the head. Sabu and Mikey Whipwreck destroy each other. Ten years later, both of their bodies are destroyed. 
Match No. 1: Taz vs. Chris Jericho in a shoot fight. Alfonso nails Jericho in the head with a chair. Taz uses Tazplex for submission. Alfonso then pays off the ref, who was Taz’s sensei. Decent but quick. Rating: **
Montage with the Dudleys. 
Match No. 2: Eliminators vs. Joel Hartgood & El Puerto Ricano. Squash. Rating: **
Gangstas brawl with Eliminators afterwards. Damn good brawl. New Jack and Mustafa cuffed after New Jack decks a “cop”.
Match highlights from Sandman & Scorpio vs. Headhunters. Gangstas come back wearing handcuffs and they attack the Headhunters. Eliminators come to the ring with chairs and attack Gangstas. Styles makes a crack about a stolen production truck, referring to Johnny Grunge’s arrest a couple of months earlier for taking a WCW production van without permission. 
Eliminators cut a quick promo.
Raven slaps Kimona for some inexplicable reason after some tramp jumps in the ring and makes out with Blue Meanie.
Match No. 3: The Pitbulls & Tommy Dreamer vs. The Bruise Brothers & Brian Lee. All six guys fight in the crowd, then outside the arena, then outside the ring. Dreamer goes for the pin on Lee, but Raven breaks things up. He then ddt’s Dreamer. Bruise Brothers win after putting two chairs to Dreamer’s head and double dropkicking the chairs. Raven is in the ring after the match and Dreamer sets up a table. He puts Raven on the table and Pitbul No. 2 power bombs Dreamer onto Raven, breaking the table. Great brawl. Rating: ***
Pulp Fiction montage with Shane Douglas; Raven; Bill Alfonso; J.T. Smith; Damian Kane and Alexandra; J.T. Smith again; Taz; Brian Lee; Tommy Dreamer; Eliminators; Shane Douglas again; Kimona sporting a black eye; Raven again 

ECW (4/8/96)

Show opens with a recap of the promo by the Eliminators from the previous week.

Raven & The Bruise Brothers (Ron & Don Harris) in the ring with Raven’s doctor. He says Raven’s foot is completely hosed. Sandman comes to the ring and interrupts things. As Sandman drinks a beer, Raven hits him. The Harris boys lay the boots to him. Shane Douglas tries to make the save but he gets beaten down. Tommy Dreamer also comes out and he piledrives Raven as the others fight outside the ring. He then puts Raven in the figure four. Brian Lee, the younger brother of the Harris twins, then attacks Dreamer and leaves him laying.

Raven and the Bruise Brothers pissed off in the locker room as they cut a promo.

Match No. 1: Joel Hartgood vs. Broad Street Bully. This is a nothing match. They cut backstage and Raven and the Bruise Brothers are still pissed. Hot as hell Kimona Wanaleia is massaging Raven’s foot. Back in the ring, Axl Rotten has a barbed wire bat. He hits the bully in the gut. Then he clotheslines Hartgood and beats on him. He hits another huge clothesline and gets the pin. Paul Heyman gets credit for entertaining squashes. Rating: **

Match No. 2: Sandman & Tommy Dreamer & Shane Douglas vs. Raven & the Bruise Brothers. Sandman is in the crowd with Missy Hyatt. So are the other two. Stevie Richards nails Sandman with two chair shots to the head. Blue Meanie and Richards work over Sandman. Others are fighting in the crowd. Back in the ring, Dreamer worked over by the Bruise Brothers. He takes a boot to the face and takes a nice bump from the apron into the guard rail. He then bumps into a table that doesn’t break. But Raven drops an elbow on him and the table collapses. Raven headbutts Dreamer in the balls. Dreamer then dropped on his throat on the top rope. Raven ddt’s Dreamer onto a chair. Dreamer ducks a big boot and one Harris nails the other. Douglas finally tags in. He uses a belly to belly suplex and a cross body block. Raven beating on Douglas outside the ring. Harris brothers doing the same inside the ring. Brian Lee all over Dreamer outside the ring. Raven with a fist drop in Douglas’ nuts. He’s getting beaten by the three of them as Lee and Dreamer fight to the back. Raven gives Douglas a piledriver. He barely kicks out. Raven gives him a ddt on a chair and kicks out again. Sandman comes back to ringside. Raven sets up a chair in the corner. Douglas bumps hard into the chair. A second time. The third time he hits Raven with the chair. Douglas makes the tag and Sandman hits everyone with the cane. Raven destroys Sandman with the cane. Everyone is fighting in the crowd. Douglas bumps hard through the table at the snack bar. Dreamer then bumps hard into a metal door. Sandman into the door. Dreamer gives Raven a nutshot and a chair to the back. Dreamer brings the door into the ring. He piledrives Raven and is about to get the pin but it is broken up. Sandman hits a leg drop from the top rope. Douglas hits belly to belly on Raven on the door for the pin. Douglas takes a chair to the face from a kick. Twice. Damn good old school brawl. Reminds me of Memphis, where Heyman learned the trade. Beulah jumps on Raven’s back. The Harris brothers hold her. Raven hits Kimona as the show goes off the air. Rating: ****

ECW (4/1/96)

Joey Styles interrupted by Damien Kane. He cuts a promo alongside his hot valet and wife, Alexandra, showing off her cleavage.

Match No. 1: Damien Kane vs. El Puerto Ricano (Pablo Marquez). Kane attacks the poor kid before the bell, gives him a huge clothesline and then suplexes him over the top rope onto the concrete. He takes a nasty face first bump onto the concrete. Mikey Whipreck comes to the ring. Mikey with a cross body block on Kane on the floor. He tosses Kane over the guard rail. Kane uses slingshot suplex on Mikey. He hits a frankenmikey for the pin. Entertaining mic work and match. Rating: ***

Match No. 2: The Gangstas (New Jack & Mustafa) vs. Blue Meanie & Chad Austin. New Jack beating the shit out of Austin. Mustafa whipping up on Meanie. New Jack drops chair from the top rope on Austin for the pin. Entertaining squash. Rating: **

New Jack cuts a promo. He calls out the Eliminators.

Match No. 3: The Eliminators (Perry Saturn & John Kronus) vs. The Dark Riders (Billy Black & the Stud). Billy Black with a nice flip dive off the ring apron. Stud with a huge elbow drop. Saturn hits an elbow on Black. Saturn with a brain buster on Black, follwed by a moonsault. Black hits splash on Kronus. They use total elimination for the pin. Highlights only, but it looked like a pretty good match. RIP Kronus. Rating: ***

Saturn cuts a promo and calls out the Gangstas. They brawl in the ring. And outside the ring. Mustafa piledrives Kronus. Saturn and New Jack fighting outside the arena. Mustafa takes total elimination on the stage. Eliminators have New Jack in the ring. They put him between two tables and tape it together. Then they give him the total elimination. Damn good brawl. Rating: ****

New Jack gets stretchered from the ring.

Match No. 4: Bubba Ray Dudley (with Sign Guy, Big Dick and Chubby Dudley) vs. Taz (with Bill Alfonso). Bubba tries to say his name and Taz smacks the shit out of him. Nice standing dropkick by Bubba. Bubba goes to the top rope. Taz sneaks behind him and pulls him to the mat hard. Bubba splashes Taz. Taz hits northern lights suplex. Bubba to the top rope. He misses a splash. Taz hits an exploder suplex. He wins with tazmission. Taz won’t break the move so Big Dick hits him with a steel crutch. Dick goes to press slam Alfonso but Taz chop blocks him in his bad knee. Taz then puts him in a leg lock. Alfonso gives Sign Guy a nasty chair shot to the head. Taz cuts a promo afterwards. Damn good match. Rating: ****

Pulp fiction montage. Taz calls out Pillman. The Pit Bulls call out the Gangstas and the Eliminators and all others. Raven’s doctor tells him not to wrestle anymore. Sandman pounds a beer with Missy Hyatt’s rack in his face. J.T. Smith cuts promo on Hack Meyers. Eliminators call out Gangstas. Shane Douglas rambles like the pussy that he is.

ECW (3/4/96)

Show opens with Brian Pillman wrestling a pencil.

Promo with Shane Douglas. What a cheesy douchebag. He is the perfect face for 1990’s Philadelphia.

Tommy Dreamer promo talking like Raven. Nice ECW jacket.

Highlights from Cyber Slam 1996.

Match No. 1: Sabu vs. 2 Cold Scorpio for ECW TV title. Obvious move call by Scorpio. Then he takes a weak-looking bump from spin kick. Scorpio thrown into the crowd. Sabu does suicide flip dive into front row. Scorpio recovers with a huge power bomb. Then hits a leg drop from the top rope. Sabu does header into a folding chair. Sabu does crazy ass clothesline on Scorpio and they both go over the top rope landing hard on the flooor. Sabu then does flip dive from the apron on to Scorpio on the floor. Scorpio takes two chair shots to the head. Scorpio does running chair shot to Sabu’s head. Sabu gets two with a victory roll. Sabu racks himself after hitting slingshot somersault legdrop. Scorpio hits nice moonsault. He gets two with a sunset flip. Sabu hits top rope victory roll for a near fall. Sabu with a suicide dive through the middle rope. Sabu goes for moonsault to the outside but hits the guardrail. He sets up a table in the crowd. Sabu does flip suicide dive onto Scorpio in the crowd. Scorpio kicks out from moonsault press. Sabu then misses a moonsault. Scorpio hits reverse 360 legdrop but Sabu kicks out. Scorpio hits legdrop onto chair on Sabu. Sabu somehow kicks out. Sabu hits top rope hurricanrana, but Scorpio kicks out. Scorpio hits 450 splash from the top rope. But he doesn’t go for the cover. Sabu goes for some desperation moves, but time expires. A bit sloppy in places, but these guys busted their ass. There were some great high spots and bunch of near falls. Rating: ****

Pulp Fiction montage with the Pitbulls; Sandman and Missy Hyatt; Stevie Richards and Blue Meanie with D.W. Dudley; Blue Meanie and Bubba Ray Dudley; Brian Pillman with his lawyer; J.T. Smith; the Eliminators; Bill Alfonso and Taz. RIP Anthony Durante and John Kronus.

ECW (2/25/96)

The Bruise Brothers (Ron & Don Harris) jump Tommy Dreamer and crotch him. This after Raven is pissed at him for getting his girlfriend, Beulah, pregnant.

Raven cuts a promo with the Bruise Brothers. Beulah takes her top off but she is facing the three and not the camera.

Fan Cam clip of Shane Douglas and Raven match. Brian Pillman with a camera is ringside. Pillman distracts Douglas with the camera flash. Security tries to break up the two.

Match No. 1: J.T. Smith vs. Axl Rotten. J.T. jumps Axl before the bell. They fight outside the ring. J.T. tossed over the guard rail. he takes a huge chair shot. And a beer can to the head. And a piece of wood. And then Axl chokes him with a rope. He goes over the barricade again. J.T. hits Axl with a blind chair shot. J.T. gives him a ddt to the floor. Back in the ring, Axl does huge back body drop on J.T. Then hits monster clothesline. J.T. falls from the top rope and feigns injury. With his back turned, J.T. nails Axl with chair shot for the pin. J.T. beats on him afterwards, including a moonsault with a chair. He then beats on Hack Myers afterwards. They brawl outside the ring. Rating: ***1/2

Match No. 2: Shane Douglas vs. Cactus Jack. Brian Hildebrand and his mullet is the referee. Douglas jumps him before the bell. Outside, Jack hits Shane with a crutch. Jack is wearing a tee shirt that says “Forgive me, Uncle Eric” with a picture of Bischoff on the front. Douglas nails Jack with a crutch. Douglas suplexes Jack onto guard rail. Douglas jumps off top turnbuckle onto Jack behind the guard rail. Douglas puts Jack’s leg through a chair then jumps off top rope onto the chair. Jack slingshots Shane’s throat onto bottom rope. Then drops some elbows. Shane takes nice bump through the ropes and onto timekeeper’s table. Jack puts table on top of him and does running splash onto the table. Jack spits a luger into the air and catches it in his mouth. Jack sets up a chair and hits Douglas with drop toe hold onto the chair. Jack nails Douglas with a piledriver, but he kicks out. Hildebrand gives handcuffs to Douglas. He hits jack and then cuffs him. Jack takes four nasty chair shots to the head. Then three more. Hildebrand asks Jack if he quits. He calls for Vince. And gets two more shots to the head. Jack calls for Mikey Whipwreck. One more chair shot, followed by a figure four leglock. Mikey acts like his going to hit Shane, but hits Jack in the head and knocks him out. If you’re keeping score, that was 11 fucking chair shots to the skull. Great match. Jack took some major punishment. Rating: ****

Match No. 3: Taz vs. Joel Hartgood. Hartgood takes nasty clothesline. Taz gives him a taz plex. Another taz plex on his head. Taz hits taz mission for the submission. Entertaining squash. After the match, a bunch of jobbers come in and all get a tazplex on their head. Mikey Whipwreck comes out and gives Taz a big dropkick. Then a hurricanrana. Taz drops him on his head. An puts him in the taz mission. Rating: **1/2

Shane Douglas gives lessons in life. He tells Jack to tell Vince hello. He says Pillman claims he is the loose cannon. And shows clips of himself doing the same thing. Pulp fiction montage starts. Douglas rambles on about Tommy Dreamer. They show Dreamer and he says something about Dreamer. Joey Styles deciphers things, saying Dreamer will alow Douglas to go for Raven’s belt since he promises to keep Beulah and his future kid safe. What can you say, it was Heyman’s early stuff. A bit raw, but it got a helluva lot better. Rating: **

History of the WWWF/WWF/WWE Championship

WWWF/WWF/WWE Title belt lineage (footage only)
1963, Buddy Rogers wins title
1963, Rogers loses to Bruno Sammartino in 48 seconds
1971, Sammartino loses to Ivan Koloff

Match No. 1 (2/8/71): Ivan Koloff vs. Pedro Morales in Madison Square Garden. Holy shit, Koloff looks huge, even bigger than Morales. He must have really shrunk in his NWA days in the mid-80s. Ross says he’s at 295 pounds in this match. Great heat from the MSG crowd. Morales at 246 pounds looks tiny. Koloff chokes Morales with a strap from his singlet. Morales hits a huge monkey flip. Koloff does a back suplex on Morales, but Morales gets his shoulder up at two to get the pin on Koloff. Rating: *** Outstanding heat, but weak finish.

1973, Morales loses to Stan “The Man” Stasiak
1973, Stasiak loses to Sammartino

Match No. 2 (4/29/74): Bruno Sammartino vs. Killer Kowalski. Kowalski looks more like a mental patient than a wrestler with his unkempt hair and small arms. Of course, he was nearly 50. Vince McMahon is the lone commentator on this match. He is horrible. Some guy at ring side as a humongous afro. Shot Arnold Skaaland at ring side. Sammartino juices. And he goes ape shit on Kowalski. Bell rings. No idea if it is a DQ or double DQ. Rating: None (joined in progress). Match is ruled a draw.

Match No. 3 (4/30/77): Bruno Sammartino vs. Superstar Billy Graham. Graham looks huge. The ring in Baltimore is massive for some reason. It looks to be at least 25 feet wide. Bruno wins test of strength. These two trade bear hugs. Graham gets pin with feet on top rope for leverage. Rating: *** This one doesn’t last long and there isn’t much that’s memorable other than the title change.

Match No. 4 (2/20/78): Superstar Billy Graham vs. Bob Backlund. Backlund hits the atomic drop for the pin. Rating: None (joined in progress). That was the finish?

Match No. 5 (1/16/82): Bob Backlund vs. Greg “The Hammer” Valentine. This match is in a cage. Valentine keeps trying to escape. Valentine takes a header into the cage and gets busted open. Valentine takes another header. Backlund hits piledriver and leaves cage for the win. Rating: None (highlights only).

Match No. 6 (5/23/83): Bob Backlund vs. Sargent Slaughter. Backlund has marks on his chest and back from the riding crop. Backlund attacks him before the bell. All Backlund early. Fans are really into Backlund. Slaughter hits huge clothesline. Backlund hits ugly-looking piledriver and only get two. Slaughter gets DQ for using the riding crop. Rating: *** Sloppy match in spots. I expected more from these two.

(They skip Iron Sheik beating Backlund and Hulk Hogan beating Iron Sheik)

Match No. 7 (4/5/86): King Kong Bundy vs. Hulk Hogan in Wrestlemania II. Bundy was a big bastard. Tommy Lasorda is the ring announcer. Ricky Schroeder is also in the ring. I remember watching this event on Showtime. The chain link fence is so much better than the blue steel cage. Hogan’s offense is pretty damn weak. Bundy goes headfirst into the cage and juices. Hogan tries to slam the fatass but he falls on him. Bundy hits avalanche and splash on Hogan, who then does Superman comeback. Hogan finally slams him. He hits legdrop. And then climbs over the cage for the win. Rating: *** Average match. Heenan takes huge bump into the cage after the match.

Match No. 8 (1/3/87): Mr. Wonderful Paul Orndorff vs Hulk Hogan. The stupid blue steel cage is back. Orndorff attacks Hogan and hits him with title belt. Both leave cage and jump to floor at the same time so match is restarted. Orndorff drags Hogan into the ring. Hogan does Superman comeback. Orndorff goes face first into the cage three times. No color. Orndorff gets it a fourth time. Finally, some color. Heenan keeps Hogan from leaving the cage. Heenan takes nasty bump into the cage. Hogan gets out of the cage first for the win. Rating: ***1/2 Orndorff looked good, Hogan average. Interesting and creative finish, which boosts the rating.

Match No. 9 (3/29/87): Andre The Giant vs. Hulk Hogan in Wrestlemania III. Detroit fans throwing all kinds of shit at Andre, who looks old and a bit frail. Hulk tries to slam Andre but can’t and he falls on him. Andre nearly gets the pin. Andre slams Hogan twice. And then walks on him. Andre somehow lifts his foot and Hogan runs into it. Andre backdrops Hogan onto exposed floor outside of ring. Hogan drops Andre with a clothesline. Hogan begins Superman comeback. He slams Andre. Does leg drop. And gets the pin. Rating: ***1/2 Average match, but rating is bumped up because of historical importance. Fans continue to throw shit at Andre after the match. RIP Andre & Joey Marella.

Match No. 10 (2/5/88): Andre The Giant vs. Hulk Hogan. Hogan gives the boot to Ted DiBiase and Virgil before the match. Andre slams Hogan. Andre chokes Hogan with the strap to his singlet. He fucks it up and the Dave Hebner sees it. Hogan floors Andre with a weak clothesline. Virgil grabs his leg. He leg drops Andre but Hebner is distracted by Virgil. Andre grabs Hogan from behind by the hair and headbutts him. Hebner counts to three despite Hogan’s shoulders being up. Andre gives the belt to DiBiase. Rating: *** Another average match.

4/1/88, Ted DiBiase loses to Randy “Macho Man” Savage

Match No. 11 (4/2/89): Randy “Macho Man” Savage vs. Hulk Hogan at Wrestlemania V. Savage hides behind Elizabeth. Savage nails Hogan with double ax handle to the head. Hogan is bleeding. Not sure how it happened, maybe hardway. Savage all over Hogan, including running knee to the back. Superman comeback for Hogan. He throws Savage over the top rope. Elizabeth tries to help Savage and he gets pissed. This is probably a shoot. Hogan tries to run Savage into the post but Elizabeth blocks it. Hogan then gets the post. Elizabeth made to go to the back. Savage goes to the top turnbuckle and and hits Hogan with a double ax handle outside of the ring. Savage pounding on Hogan. Savage chokes Hogan with tape from his wrist. Savage hits elbow from the top rope. Hogan kicks out. Superman comeback again. Boot and leg drop and Hogan gets the pin. Rating: ***1/2 Pretty good match, Savage deserves most of the credit.

Match No. 12 (4/1/90): The Ultimate Warrior vs. Hulk Hogan at Wrestlemania IV. Warrior runs to the ring. He’s already blown up. Dumbass Gorilla Monsoon says he’s in great shape. Yeah, if you count the juice. Test of strength. Boring, but fans going crazy. No actual wrestling so far. Warrior clotheslines Hogan to the floor. Hogan’s knee is injured. Warrior goes after it. Hogan hits clothesline. Nearly gets pin. Warrior clotheslining the shit out of Hogan. Ref bump. Warrior hits ax handle from top rope. And a second one. Warrior hits backdrop but no referee to count pin. Hebner gets up, nearly counts to three but Hogan kicks out. Hogan does roll up but Hebner out of position. Hogan elbows Warrior over top rope. Hogan into the steel post. Warrior press slam and splash on Hogan. But he kicks out. Superman comeback. Hogan misses leg drop. Warrior pins Hogan with splash. Can’t believe Hogan did the job. Match picked up a bit at the end, but this wasn’t a classic. After the match, Hogan hands belt to Warrior, raises his hand and hugs him. Rating: **1/2

Match No. 13 (8/29/94): Owen Hart vs. Bret Hart in WWF version of steel cage. Owen attacks Bret at the bell. Davey Boy is shown ringside with terrible hear wearing Coke bottle glasses. Guys beating each other on top rope. Owen hits missle dropkick. Then nearly makes it over top of the cage. Shot of Stu and Helen Hart watching the match in the front row. Also, a shot of Niedhart. Owen pulls Bret from top of the cage and crotches him. Owen does Samoan drop on Bret. Shot of Bruce Hart at ring side. Owen takes a nasty header into the cage. Owen does a back suplex on Bret from the top rope. Owen hits piledriver on Bret. Owen takes nasty crotch drop on top rope. Bret slingshots Owen into the cage. Owen takes another header. Bret hits superplex on Owen from top of the cage. Owen puts Bret in sharpshooter. Bret reverses it. Bret wins as they are both outside of the cage but Owen gets hung up and Bret jumps to floor. Outstanding cage match. Long match, but it didn’t drag. RIP Owen, Stu and Davey Boy. Rating: ****1/2

Best of Japan 1989 — April

Match No. 1 (4/4/89, All Japan): Stan Hansen & Genichiro Tenryu vs. Jumbo Tsuruta & Yoshiaki Yatsu for PWF tag team titles. Lord James Blears is reading the proclamation. (Great story about Blears’ escape from the Japanese in World War II and check out his monocle and ring attire in a match from the ’50s.) Hansen and Yatsu start things. Hanson hits huge forearm. Double shoulderblock by Hansen and Tenryu. Yatsu hits nice gutwrench suplex on Tenryu. Big knee by Tsuruta on Tenryu. Tsuruta hits big knee on Hansen. Tenryu uses abdominal stretch on Yatsu. Tenryu working on Yatsu’s legs. Tsuruta and Yatsu with a nice double high knee on Tenryu. Tsuruta hits a huge lariat on Tenryu but Hansen makes the save. Very physical match. Hansen tags in and hits dropkick on Tsuruta. He then follows with a boston crab. Yatsu hits several headbutts on Hansen. Followed by a piledriver. Hansen makes the tag and Tenryu is on fire. Huge lariat on Tsuruta followed by enzuigiri. And clothesline in the corner. Tenryu hits several chops on Tsuruta, who replies with big boot to the head. Double team suplex on Tenryu. Yatsu nails Tenryu with a bulldog. Hansen and Tenryu hit double suplex on Yatsu. Fans booing the hell out of Tsuruta. Tsuruta goes to piledrive Hansen and Yatsu comes off top rope to make it a nasty spike piledriver. Hansen somehow kicks out. Tsuruta puts Hansen down with high knee and enzuigiri. Yatsu also gives him an enzuigiri. Tenryu tags in and sweat flies as Yatsu gives him a nasty lariat. All four men in the ring as things break down. Tenryu hits huge lariat on Yatsu. Hanson goes for big lariat on Yatsu, who ducks. Hansen kicks him in the back of the head. Yatsu really getting worked over. Tenryu hits a powerbomb but Tsuruta barely makes the save. Hansen puts Tsuruta into the guardrail and they fight in the crowd. Tenryu hits big lariat on Yatsu who is in bad shape. Clothesline by Tenryu puts yatsu down in the corner. Outside the ring, Tsuruta gives Tenryu a side suplex on the announcers table. Ref is counting and Hansen rolls Tenryu back into the ring. Tsuruta pulls him back to floor and holds him back as the ref rings the bell. I have no idea why. The ref saw Tenryu make it back into the ring but maybe he wasn’t supposed to and it was a count out. Hansen drops several elbows on Yatsu after the bell. Hansen chokes Tsuruta with his rope. Tsuruta and Tenryu than exchange blows. Damn good match and post-match brawl, but uncharacteristic weak finish knocks down rating. Rating: ***1/2

Match No. 2 (4/13/89, New Japan): Southern Boys (Tracy Smothers & Steve Armstrong) vs. George Takano & Super Strong Machine. Smothers opens with Takano. Southern Boys have the curly mullets going along with the confederate tights. Both teams work over the arm early. Nice drop kick by Takano. He finally tags in the Machine. They go to work on his arm. Not much early. Takano now stomping the hell out of Smothers. Nice double dropkick by the good ole boys. Back to Takano’s arm. Nice snap suplex by Machine. Weak looking spinning leg kick by Takano off the top. Flying headbutt by Machine on Armstrong followed by a nice back suplex. Double flying shoulder block misses by Smothers and Armstrong. Huge lariat by Machine on Smothers. Machine with a diving head butt for the pin. Pretty sloppy match. These guys must have been working together for one of the first times. Hard to see how this was one of the best matches of 1989. Rating: ***

Match No. 3 (4/14/89, UWF): Akira Maeda vs. Kazuo Yamazaki. It’s always interesting to watch the evolution of mixed martial arts from pro wrestling. Both guys trade kicks early. Now they are working arm and leg submissions. Not much action just back-and-forth grapping. Yamazaki with several kicks to the head but Maeda responds with kicks of his own and knocks down Yamazaki. 1-0 Maeda. Maeda with a german suplex into a bridge. Yamazki goes for an armbar but the referee breaks it up as Yamazaki is bleeding like crazy. He tried to headbutt Maeda earlier, but it looks like he busted himself open. The referee has stopped the match, but Yamazaki still wants to fight. Not much to this one, not sure how this was a top match either. Rating: ***

Bonus match (11/17/88, All Japan): Jumbu Tsurutu vs. Stan Hansen for unified Triple Crown. They pound on each other early. Tsuruta with a big boot. Now they are outside. Tsuruta beats on Hansen with a chair. He uses a knee to the head from the top rope. Hansen goes for a piledriver but Tsuruta reverses it. He pounds on Hansen who counters with a huge head butt. Tsurutu just pounding on Hansen, who recovers and beats on Tsuruta. Intense, physical match. Huge clubbing blows by Hansen. They are back on the floor. Hansen with a chair shot. Now he drops the big elbow. Hansen hits a lariat but it doesn’t land with all the force. Another big elbow by Hansen. And a second. John Tenta is on the outside of the ring. Tsuruta gets the chair and beats on Hansen. They fight outside the ring. Tsuruta goes for a huge lariat but Hansen ducks and Jumbo goes into the front row. Hansen with several chair shots. Ref calls for the bell. It looks like a double count out. RIP Jumbo and Tenta. Rating: ***1/2

Match No. 4 (4/18/89, All Japan): Jumbu Tsurutu vs. Stan Hansen for unified Triple Crown. Previous match was the last meeting between the two. They trade loud, hard chops. Tsuruta hits a big elbow. He locks his legs around Hansen’s head and works him over. Hansen escapes and drops an elbow. Tsuruta catches him again in a leg scissors. Hansen makes the ropes. Hansen posts Tsuruta outside the ring. Tsuruta pounding on Hansen in the corner, first with fists then with boots. Tsuruta hits the big boot. He runs Hansen into the ring post. Hansen misses a running elbow in the corner and goes to the floor. Tsuruta catches Hansen in the abdominal stretch. He makes it to the ropes. Hansen walks to the dressing room but Tsuruta catches him and brings him back to the ring. Tsuruta chopping the hell out of Hansen in the corner. Now he drops the boots on him. Tsuruta misses a big knee and Hanson suplexes him. Hanson with a huge knee drop. Tsuruta rolls to the floor. Hansen works over Tsuruta with a chair. Tsuruta is busted open from the last chair shot. Hanson suplexes him back into the ring. Tsuruta barely kicks out. Hansen hits a piledriver and a big elbow for a near fall. Hansen with an elbow and a fist drop from the second rope. Hansen goes for the lariet and misses. He slingshots into the ropes and Tsuruta pins him. Pretty good match, both guys took a ton of abuse. Finish came out of nowhere. Rating: ****

Match No. 5 (4/20/89, All Japan): Jumbu Tsurutu vs. Genichiro Tenryu. Tenryu opens quickly, hitting a lariat for a near fall. Tsuruta follows with a nice dropkick. Tenryu hits a knee and then puts Tsuruta in a head scissors. Jumbo with two elbows to the back of the head followed by a bulldog. Flying knee by Jumbo gets a two count. Sleeper hold by Tsuruta. Big boot by Tsuruta and a chop puts Jumbo on the floor. Tenryu hits a tope and then a huge clothesline and Tsuruta tries to get back into the ring. Tenryu suplexes Tsuruta into the ring but he recovers and gives him several big boots. He goes to the top rope and gets caught by Tenryu who slams him but Jumbo rolls through for a very near fall. Tenryu goes for a piledriver, but Tsuruta counters with a backdrop, but Tenryu holds on for a near fall. Running knee by Jumbo but Tenryu puts his foot on the ropes. Tsuruta drips Tenryu on his head with a nasty sheerdrop powerbomb for the pin. Damn good physical match. Rating: ****1/2

Match No. 6 (4/24/89, New Japan): Big Van Vader vs. Shinya Hashimoto for IWGP title.  Vader does his gimmick with the steam coming out the shoulder pads/headgear. This never gets old. Hashimoto has a terrible beard and is in decent shape, unlike in later years when he was a clean-shaven, lard ass. Vader with a reverse palm strike that knocks Shinya to the mat. Vader knocks down Shinya with a clubbing blow. Shinya with a nasty kick and then he tries for a hammerlock. The referee looks American. Is turns out it is Lou Thesz. Shinya with several hard kicks before Vader clubs him to the ground again. Vader hits the bell clap (Vader Attack) in the corner but misses a second attempt. Shinya working on the arm again. Vader hits a dropkick and gets a hand from the crowd. Vader to the top but Shinya hits a spinning heel kick. Shinya slams him and then applies an arm bar. Hashimoto with a bunch of kicks before Vader knocks him down with a punch. Huge clothesline by Vader. For an all-time great, Thesz counts like a pussy, shades of Branko Lubich. Huge lariat by Vader. Thesz counts two, hesitates and then counts to three. He sure sucks as a ref. Vader acts like he is going to attack him but unfortunately does not. Decent match, but nothing spectacular. Rating: ***

Match No. 7 (4/26/89, All Japan Women): Cutie Suzuki vs. Mayumi Ozaki. Ozaki attacks Suzuki at the bell. A lot of grappling early. Ozaki with some forearm blows. A lot of screaming from the wrestlers which is getting old. Huge knee lift by Ozaki. Ozaki kicking her ass so far. Anoying chant from the females in the crowd. Thankfully, it stops. Finally, some offense by Suzuki. A clothesline followed by a suplex. She then hooks a single leg boston crab. This a boring as hell match so far. I’m ready to hit the fast forward button. Several rest holds and this thing just started. Suzuki with a double-underhook suplex. She goes for a clothesline but Ozaki drop kicks her leg and she then uses a leg lock. Haven’t seen that move before, I’ll have to admit. Ozaki working over the leg. Ozaki hits a nice fisherman’s suplex but Suzuki barely kicks out. Suzki hits what looks like a blockbuster suplex with a bridge. She then hits a weak side suplex for a two count. Next is a nice double underhook suplex with a bridge. Suzuki with a very weak piledriver. Ozaki hits a bulldog. Ozaki with another decent suplex. They are trading suplexes until Ozaki catches Suzuki in midair and suplexes her for the pin. Nice finisher after starting slow. Rating: ***1/2

Match No. 8 (4/30/89, Pioneer Senshi): Atsushi Onita vs. Ryuma Go. Onita throws Go outside the ring and when he tries to get back in, he kicks him hard to the head. He then hits a crazy tope. There is only one hard camera and we can’t see the action on the floor. Go is slow getting back in the ring. Several headbutts by Onita as he is on the ring apron. Onita finally suplexes him back into the ring. He goes to the top and hits a flying headbutt to the arm. Onita goes for a suplex but Go blocks it and applies an arm bar submission. Go is busted open. It must have happened on the floor out of the view of the camera. Or maybe from the head butts. Either way, he’s a mess. Onita reaches the ropes. They are back on the floor. Onita nails go with a chair shot. They are in the crowd and it looks like they went back to the locker room. They come back into the ring from the other side of the crowd. Onita gives Go several more headbutts. He goes back to the top rope and hits a missile dropkick. Huge lariat by Onita. He’s beating the shit out of Go. He’s now working on Go’s leg. Go makes the ropes but Onita uses a figure four. Go reverses it, but Onita makes it to the ropes. Go now working on Onita’s leg. Onita able to grab the ropes. Huge headbutt by Go. Onita goes for a clothesline but Go ducks and hits a side suplex. Go back to working on Onita’s leg. Onita with an enzuigiri. He tries a second but Go ducks and then works on the leg. The bell rings. I guess Onita submitted, couldn’t tell. Fans seem pissed. Onita still wants to fight. Pretty physical match, finish came out of nowhere. Rating: ***1/2

Best of Japan 1989 — March

Match No. 1 (3/8/89, All Japan): Mighty Inoue vs. Masa Fuchi for PWF junior heavyweight title. Match joined in progress. Inoue working on Fuchi’s leg early. Fuchi tossed into the ring barricade. Inoue hits flying forearm. He tries a second, but Fuchi moves and Inoue goes over the top rope. Fuchi throws Inoue into the barricade. Inoue does springboard sunset flip. Fuchi uses Boston crab but Inoue reverses it and Fuchi rolls over for a one count. Fuchi uses victory roll for a two count. He hits enzuigiri and side suplex for a two count. Inoue replies with a slingshot on Fuchi. Inoue gives Fuchi a standing senton. He misses a second. Fuchi hits a backslide for a two count. Inoue does nice rolling head scissors for a two count. Inoue does inside cradle for a two count before Fuchi rolls him over for the pin. Pretty good match but I didn’t like the finish. Rating: ***

Match No. 2 (3/8/89, All Japan): Tiger Mask II (Mitsuhara Misawa) vs. Ricky Steamboat for NWA world title. Match joined in progress. Misawa hits a flying knee. Tiger Mask gets a two count with a dropkick. Steamboat with some hard chops. He hits reverse atomic drop. Tiger Mask with a baseball slide. He pile drives Steamboat on the floor. Steamboat with huge chop from the top rope. Tiger Mask with nice side suplex. He goes to the top rope. And hits a frog splash for a near fall. Tiger Mask follows with a german suplex for a near fall. Steamboat goes for a piledriver but Tiger Mask blocks it and falls onto Steamboat. Steamboat rolls him over for the pin. Another real good match, but again, I wasn’t too keen on the finish. Rating: ***1/2
Match No. 3 (3/16/89, New Japan): Yoshiaki Fujiwara vs. Antonio Inoki. Inoki gets Fujiwara in leg scissors. He finally escapes. They trade holds on the mat. Fujiwara headbutts Inoki to the floor. Inoki kicking the shit out of Fujiwara’s leg. He then puts on the manji-gatame (octupus hold) for the submission. Average match. Rating: ***
Match No. 4 (3/16/89, New Japan): Shiro Koshinaka vs. Hiroshi Hase for IWGP junior heavyweight title. Koshinaka goes right to the eyes. Hase working on the legs. Hase now working on the arm. They trade headbutts. And slaps. Koshinaka now working on the legs. Koshinaka hits a side slam and then applies a camel clutch. Koshinka hit the sleeper but Hase breaks it up. Hase hits powerslam. Koshinaka hits a huge clothesline and applies a leg lock. Hase hits nice Northern Lights suplex. Koshinaka hits powerbomb but Hase kicks out. Nice clothesline by Hase. Hase hits sambo suplex (Golden Arm Bomber) and goes to the top rope. He misses a flying elbow. Koshinaka hits flying hip attack. He tries a second one but Hase catches him. Hase hits nice german suplex followed by another overhead suplex where he bridges. Koshinaka kicks out. He hits the suplex again for the pin. Damn good match with some great moves. Rating: ****

Match No. 5 (3/16/89, New Japan): Riki Choshu & Masa Saito vs. Super Strong Machine (Junri Hirata) & George Takano for IWGP tag team titles. Saito puts Takano in the sleeper hold. Choshu then applies the sleeper. Saito drops Takano over the top rope on his throat twice. Saito working on Machine’s arm. Machine reverses it. Takano does spin kick from top rope on Choshu. Takano hits spin kick followed by a splash from the top rope. Big clothesline by Machine on Saito. Machine with diving headbutt. Takano hits side suplex. Choshu hits knee drop from top rope on Machine. Choshu hits a vertical suplex. Saito & Choshu hit double suplex. Saito holds Takano and Choshu hits him with huge lariat. Saito pounding on Takano’s head and he’s busted open. Choshu gives him a hard boot to the head. Saito smacks Takano hard to the chest. Heels hit a double headbutt. Saito stomping on Takano’s head. Choshu kicks him in the ribs. Takano is a fucking bloody mess. Choshu applies Sasori-Gatami (Scorpion Deathlock/Sharpshooter) on Takano. Machine breaks things up. Takano makes the hot tag to Machine. Machine hits huge lariat on Saito. And then big dropkick. Machine hits flying clothesline on Choshu followed by an underhook suplex (Devil Windmil Suplex). Saito breaks it up. Choshu ducks a clothesline and gives matchine a huge clothesline. Choshu hits huge clothesline but Takano breaks it up. Saito hits a side suplex on Machine for a near fall. Machine makes the tag. Takano does spin kick on Saito. Takano knocks Saito out of the ring and goes for springboard cross body block. Saito moves and Takano hits the floor. Machine dives onto Saito on the floor. Choshu throws Machine into the guardrail. Machine then goes to top rope and dives onto Saito on the floor. Takano makes it back into the ring to beat the countdown. Choshu and Saito put the belts on Takano and Machine. Great fucking match. I didn’t expect much but these guys were awesome. Rating: ****1/2

Match No. 6 (3/16/89, New Japan): Jerry “The King” Lawler vs. Tatsumi Fujinami for IWGP Heavyweight title. Match joined in progress. Fujinami kicking the shit out of Lawler’s legs and knees. Fujinami uses spinning toe hold and a leg lock as he continues working on Lawler’s leg. Lawler finally mounts some offense as he hits a headbutt and weak looking clothesline. Fujinami back to working on his leg. He hits a dropkick then misses a second attempt. Lawler with a diving fist for a near fall. Lawler with a suplex and then he drops Fujinami throat first over the top rope. He goes to the top rope and hits another diving fist. Lawler tries to suplex Fujinami from the apron but he reverses in mid-air and catches him in a sleeper. Lawler with a heel kick in the balls to break it up. Lawler hits a pile driver and goes to the top rope. He tries another diving fist but Fujinami catches his fist and then kicks his hand. He has trouble applying the figure four but finally gets it on Lawler. Lawler makes it to the ropes. Fujinami with a weak powerslam followed by a flying forearm. Lawler tries a suplex but Fujinami reverses it and falls on top of him for the pin. Decent match but you would have thought two champions of the time would have done better. Rating: ***

Best of Japan 1989 — February

Match No. 1 (2/3/89, New Japan): Naoki Sano & Shiro Koshinaka vs. Hiroshi Hase & Hiro Saito. Saito hasn’t missed too many meals. He’s got a larger gut than most American couch potatoes. Hase with a nice drop kick on Sano. He looks to be the jobber of the three. Hase hits an elbow from the top rope. Sano taking a ton of abuse so far. Sano finally makes the tag. Koshinaka uses the dreaded hip strike. Twice. Hase bails. Hase goes to work on Koshinaka’s knees. Saito does the same, using a splash and leg drop on the leg. Sano goes for boston crab but Hase gets to the ropes. Sano hits nice monkey flip on Hase. Hase hit by double dropkick. Koshinakak hits bulldog on Saito. Sano with a huge dropkick on Saito. He’s got some ups. He hits a suicide cross body block on Saito outside the ring. Hase hits a nice move that is a suplex like a samoan drop except that he bridges. Sano nearly pins Hase with a victory roll. Hase hits nice northern lights suplex. Koshinka goes to drop kick Saito from the top rope but Saito moves and he hits Sano. Koshinaka recovers and uses backslide for the pin on Saito. Started a bit slow, but they really picked it up at the end. Enjoyable match. Rating: ****

Match No. 2 (2/9/89, New Japan): Vader vs. Tatsumi Fujinami. This was back when Vader was wearing the mask. Fujinami was 36, in his prime and in great shape. In fact, he was named both outstanding and best technical wrestler by the Wrestling Observer the year before in 1988, which is damn impressive. Fujinami takes the big guy over with a hip toss. Vader has a second in his corner. Not sure who he is but he looks like Dick Slater. Vader drops Fujinami on the top rope on his throat. He then gives Fujinami a lariat. Now he drops him over the railing outside the ring. Fujinami hits a flying forearm followed by a slam. He goes to the top. Vader catches him and drops him again on the top rope. Huge bump by Vader as he catches Fujinami and they tumble over the top rope. Fujinami hits, big surprise, dragon sleeper. Vader goes to the top. He hits a bell clap from the top rope and then a huge lariat for the pin. Wow, Fujinami does the job to Vader. He got a good match out of the big bastard. Rating: ***1/2

Match No. 3 (2/12/89, All Japan): The Rock ‘n’ Roll Express vs. The British Bulldogs. The mat says AWA and it turns out this was the only match ever between the two teams in Kansas City of all places. Verne Gagne is a moron. I’ve seen a lot of bad AWA TV. Yet two of the best tag teams in the world once wrestled each other in your promotion and you never show it? Dynamite and then Davey Boy working on Ricky’s arm. They are keeping him from making the hot tag. He finally makes it. Robert hits two nice dropkicks and two back body drops. Ricky hits a piledriver on Davey Boy but he is in the ropes. Double drop kick but Davey Boy kicks out. They trade pinning attempt in the final minute but time expires. The ring announcer looks to be Eric Bischoff. Only last 5 minutes or so of the match aired. But what aired was pretty good. RIP Davey Boy. Rating: ***1/2

Match No. 4 (2/12/89, All Japan): Stan Hansen & Terry Gordy vs. Jumbo Tsuruta & Yoshiaki Yatsu. This match is also in Kansas City. And for the PWF tag team titles, no less. It looks like Bob Geigel read the match proclamation. And it appears Bischoff is again in the ring, although it is a bit tough to tell with the beard. Gordy opens with Yatsu. Hansen and Yatsu trade kicks and blows. Tsuruta hits high knee on Gordy. Damn, Hansen and Gordy are a tough tag team. They are beating Yatsu’s ass right now. Hansen grabs a chair and clocks Yatsu with it. Gordy goes for a piledriver but Yatsu blocks it, and hits a backdrop. Gordy rolls him over for a pin attempt. Hansen misses a shoulder block in the corner. Tsuruta posts Hansen. Now Yatsu is working on his arm. Hansen takes a header into the camera. It’s hard to believe a match this good is taking place in an AWA ring. They are still working on Hansen’s arm, trying to neutralize the dreaded lariat. Gordy with a nice dropkick on Yatsu followed by a samoan drop. He goes for an abdominal stretch. All four men in the ring. Gordy hits a power bomb on Yatsu but Tsuruta breaks it up. Tsuruta goes for a lariat but Hansen trips Gordy and he misses. Tsurata hits a nice german suplex on Gordy. Hansen makes the save. No he doesn’t. Ref counted to three and we have new tag team champs. Hansen beat the shit out of someone with a suit. Hopefully it was Bischoff. Damn good strong style match. Idiot fans in Kansas City sat on their hands. RIP Gordy and Tsuruta. Rating: ****

Match No. 5 (2/22/89, New Japan): Antonio Inoki vs. Riki Choshu. Choshu sporting a nice mullet. Inoki in pretty good shape for 46. Choshu uses some kind of jumping head scissors move to take Inoki to the mat. Choshu escapes from a headlock by taking Inoki down. Choshu hits two belly to back suplexes on Inoki. He goes for a lariat, but Inoki grabs his arm and puts him in an arm bar. Inoki nails him with enzuigiri followed by a hard punch to the head. And another enzuigiri. Inoki uses what looks like a single chicken wing suplex. Inoki has Choshu in a key lock, long before Pride or UFC. Well, he did spend some time in Brazil as a kid. Choshu kicking and punching Inoki to the mat. Ionoki with suplex. Choshu responds with a belly to back suplex followed by a huge lariat. Inoki kicks out and Choshu looks surprised. He hits another lariat. And another huge one. Inoki kicks out again. Another lariat. And another kick out. A lariat from behind and one from the front finally finishes him. Damn good old school physical match. Rating: ****1/2

Match No. 6 (2/23/89, All Japan): Jumbo Tsuruta & Yoshiaki Yatsu vs. Genichiro Tenryu & Toshiaki Kawada. Damn, Kawada looks young. Kawada starts with kicks on Yatsu. Yatsu answers with some knees. Kawada missing spinning kick. Tsuruta working over Kawada’s arm. Then he chips the shit out of him. Crowd goes crazy as Tenryu and Tsuruta go at it. Tsuruta hits a huge knee. Yatsu hits spike piledriver on Tenryu. Tenryu responds with huge clothesline. Yatsu hits nice belly to back suplex on Kawada. Tsuruta does samoan drop on Kawada. Kawada hits clothesline on Tsuruta. Tenry whips Kawada into Tsuruta. Tenryu follows with huge suplex. Tsuruta and Yatsu drop Kawada with double clothesline and Yatsu hits two bulldogs on him. Kawada blocks the third and uses high-angle belly to back suplex. Tenry drops Yatsu with heavy dropkick. Tsuruta gives Kawada huge knee to the face. He uses abdominal stretch but Tenryu breaks it up. Tsuruta holds Kawada’s leg and Yatsu drops the elbow. Tenryu stomps on Yatsu’s head. Yatsu does nice side suplex on Kawada and then puts him in a leglock in which he is sitting top of his legs. Kawada makes the ropes. He’s holding his knee. Poor bastard is taking a beating. And will likely have to do the job. Tsuruta stalking him. Kawada makes the tag. Tenryu hits a enzuigiri followed by a bridging german suplex for a two count. Tsuruta responds with lariat. Kawada tags in. Tsuruta drops him with a knee. And a second. All four brawling outside the ring. Kawada kicking the hell out of Tsuruta, who is busted open. Tenryu tags in. Now Kawada taking a beating again. Tenryu power bombs Jumbo for a two count. Tenryu takes a knee from the front and back. Tsuruta power bombs Tenryu but Kawada makes the save. Damn, these guys are going at it. Kawada drops Yatsu with back suplex but Jumbo makes the save. Yatsu replies with a german suplex on Kawada. Jumbo drops Tenryu on the top rope on his throat. They trade small packages for a two count. Tenryu with another small package and an enzuigiri. Kawada and Yatsu trade kicks. Yatsu hits german suplex on Kawada but Tenryu saves. Jumbo destroys Kawada with a boot to the face. And then pins him with a belly to back suplex. Excellent tag team match. It doesn’t get better than this. Rating: *****

Match No. 7 (2/27/89, UWF): Nobuhiko Takada vs. Kazuo Yamazaki. They trade kicks early. Yamazaki tries for an ankle lock. Not much happening so far. Takada does some kind of suplex/throw and follows with an arm bar attempt. Yamazaki counters. They trade hard kicks. Takada gets a half boston crab. Yamazaki escapes. Takada goes for an arm bar. Takada hits a choke. Yamazaki reaches the ropes. More kick trading. Yamazaki gets an ankle lock, which he turns into a half boston crab. Takada escapes but takes four kicks and hits the mat. Yamazaki 1-0. Takada takes another high kick and hits the mat. Yamazaki 2-0. Takada responds with three kicks that knocks down Yamazaki. Yamazaki 2-1. Takada gets knee bar. Yamazaki taps. This was decent, but don’t see how it was one of the best matches of the year. Rating: ***1/2

Best of Japan 1989 — January

Match No. 1 (1/4/89, All Japan Women): Chigusa Nagayo vs. Madusa Micelli for Nagayo’s IWA Championship. Chigusa looks like a dude. Madusa looks punk rock hot. Tons of young girls screaming. They actually have a ton of young cheerleaders in the crowd. Wow, Chigusa is busted open right away. Women showing color? Only in Japan. Madusa pulls a Jake Roberts and brings a snake into the ring. Now they have the snaked wrapped around her outside the ring. Fans are going ape shit. Madusa wins via count out. Rating: **** Heat was off the charts, match was damn good. Madusa wins title I guess.

Match No. 2 (1/4/89, All Japan Women): Chigusa Nagayo vs. Madusa Micelli for Madusa’s IWA Championship. I guess this is a same-day rematch. Chigusa is bloody for the first match. She has a chain and is wearing jeans and a sweatshirt. Maybe this is a bunkhouse match. Ref finally takes away the chain. Madusa takes nasty bump outside of ring. And nasty pile driver. Chigusa wins after putting Madusa out with sleeper hold. Little girls go crazy. Rating: ***1/2 Another very good match between these two.

Match No. 3 (1/7/89, All Japan): Jumbo Tsuruta & Yoshiaki Yatsu vs. Genichiro Tenryu & Toshiaki Kawada. Jumbo forearming the shit out of Kawada. Kawada kicks out of spike pile driver. Yatsu really working over Kawada. Jumbo tries to piledrive Kawada on the floor, but Kawada reverses it. Kawada finally makes the hot tag to Tenryu. Kawada hits huge lariat on Yatsu. Tenryu hits Jumbo with big lariat. Tenryu misses elbow from the top rope. Jumbo suplexes Kawata on his head and gets the pin. Rating: **** Hard-hitting match with tons of near falls. Not surprised Kawada did the job with the three vets in the ring. RIP Jumbo.

Match No. 4 (1/8/89, New Japan): Antonio Inoki & Tatsumi Fujinami vs. Vader & Bam Bam Bigelow. Vader comes out with classic smoke-spewing shoulder pads/helmet. Vader and Bigelow use smoke screen to attack Fujinami and Inoki at bell. Fujinami actually slams Bigelow. Inoki clotheslines Bigelow over the top rope. Bigelow hits Inoki with headbutt. Bigelow and Vader splash Inoki, then Bigelow shoves the ref for the DQ. After the match, Vader goes crazy and throws chairs and tables. Rating: *** Match was a bit sloppy, but brawl at the end was at least entertaining.

Match No. 5 (1/10/89, UWF): Akira Maeda vs. Nobuhiko Takada. These guys look nearly identical. These guys trade nasty kicks early. Maeda gets nasty keylock on Takada but he gets to the ropes. They put a one on the screen. Not the score, but maybe counting the number of breaks. Takada gets armbar on Maeda, but he gets to the ropes for a break. I guess the one means it is his first break. Maeda gets leglock on Takada but he grabs ropes to escape. Maeda kicks Takada to head and gets pont. Maeda 1-0. Maeda has headlock on Takada and gets a point. Maeda 2-0. Maeda hits fisherman’s suplex and then keylock but Takada gets to the ropes. Takada hits back suplex. Takada puts single boston crab on Takada but he gets to the ropes for a break. Takada hits several kicks to the face on Maeda. Takada hits chinlock but Maeda gets to the ropes. Takada goes back to the boston crab but Maeda makes the ropes. Takada gets a point. 2-1 Maeda. Maeda hits arm bar, Takada makes ropes but Maeda gets point. 3-1 Maeda. Maeda gets ankle lock on Takada. He gets free with kicks to the head. Takada does side suplex on Maeda and gets point. Maeda 3-2. Takada does overhead suplex on Maeda and gets two count. I guess you also get a point for a pin. Maeda hits boston crab and sinks it in. Takada taps. Rating: **** For a worked shoot, this match was great and the crowd was totally into it. Nice historical look at the precursor to MMA.

Match No. 6 (1/16/89, New Japan): Hiroshi Hase vs. Shiro Koshinaka for IWGP junior heavyweight title. These two trade blows like an MMA fight. Hase uses keylock. Koshinaka suplexs Hase onto the floor then drops knee on him from top rope. Hase hits figure four. Koshinaka gets to the ropes. Hase drops Koshinka hard onto guard rail. Koshinaka hits suplex into a bridge but Hase grabs rope. Koshinaka wins with small package. Rating: ***1/2 Match was a bit short, but heated up toward the end. Solid yet unspectacular.

Match No. 7 (1/26/89, New Japan): Riki Choshu vs. Vader. Vader wearing classic getup shooting steam. Choshu sporting nice mullet. Vader does side suplex. Choshu holds the back of his head. Choshu sends Vader hard into rail. Vader with a big clothesline to Choshu’s head. Choshu drop kicks Vader over top rope. Vader suplexes Choshu over top rope into ring. Choshu wins by countout. Rating: ***1/2 Choshu got decent match out of Vader. Bam Bam Bigelow attacks Choshu after ther match. RIP Bam Bam.

Match No. 8 (1/28/89, All Japan): Genichiro Tenryu & Toshiaki Kawada & Hiromichi “Samson” Fuyuki vs. Jumbo Tsuruta & Yoshiaki Yatsu & Masa Fuchi. Fuchi looks about 50. Tsuruta with high knee on Kawada. Yatsu with a ton of headbutts on Kawada. Kawada with nasty clothesline on old man Fuchi. Tenryu with enziguri on Fuchi and then elbow drop off top rope. All six fighting outside the ring. Tsuruta and Tenryu go at it. Kawada kicking the shit out of Yatsu. Many near falls with saves. Yatsu pins Fuyuki with power slam. Rating: ****1/2 These guys put on a great show. Even the old farts picked it up a notch. RIP Jumbo and Samson.

Match No. 9 (1/28/89, All Japan): Joe & Dean Malenko vs. British Bulldogs (Dynamite Kid & Davey Boy Smith). Dynamite is juiced so much it is coming out of his ears. Dean Malenko’s robotic facials are perfect for Japan. Davey Boy is same height, but twice the size of Dean. Dynamite with great shoulder block and signature snap suplex on Dean. Davey Boy does bow and arrow on Dean. Dynamite tackles Joe and they fall outside the ring. Davey Boy presses Dynamite and Dean dropkicks them over the top rope. Joe tries victory roll but Dynamite falls on him and gets the pin. Rating: **** Long match with a lot of matwork. Not the most creative finish and it came out of nowhere, but maybe that was done purposely by the meticulous Japanese. RIP Davey Boy, good health Dynamite.

WWF (12/26/87)

Match No. 1: Iron Mike Sharpe vs. S.D. Jones. Interesting match-up of two jobbers. Gorilla Buffoon and Lord Alfred Hayes joined by Bobby “The Brain” Heenan on commentary. S.D. nearly blows an arm drag. Heenan is hilarious. He says S.D. looks like Bill Cosby. Sharpe gets pin after nailing Jones with clubbing blow to the head/shoulder. Decent match among jobbers. Rating: **1/2

Match No. 2: The Rougeau Brothers vs. The Conquistadors (Jose Luis Rivera & Jose Estrada). Jacques is tied up in the ropes and a Conquistador goes for a cross body block, Rougeau ducks and he does cross body block on his partner outside of the ring. Nice move. Jacques goes to the top rope, holds Raymond’s hands and does flip onto a Conquistador for the pin. Unfortunately, the camera angle shows Jacques land on his feet and not the opponent’s body. Weakly executed finish for boring match. Rating: *1/2

Match No. 3: Hacksaw Jim Duggan vs. Sika. Duggan wins with clothesline from three-point stance. These guys were slow and went long. Rating: **

Match No. 4: Sensational Sherri vs. Rockin’ Rebel. Fast forward. RIP Sherri. Rating: None

Match No. 5: Brutus “The Barber” Beefcake vs. Greg “The Hammer” Valentine with Jimmy Hart. Hammer cracks Beefcake in the back with the heavy padded chair. Beefcake does Hulk comeback. Fitting since the Hoaxster got him the job. Beefcake chases Hart to the back. Valentine wins by count out. Shitty finish downgrades rating for boring, average match. Rating: *1/2

Match No. 6: Ricky Steamboat vs. Ravishing Rick Rude. Fans going crazy for Steamboat. Rude surprisingly pale. Several near falls by Steamboat. Things picking up near the end. Steamboat with a chop from the top rope. Bell rings. Time limit draw. Another shitty finish. Rude jumps Steamboat afterwards. Rating: ***

Craig DeGeorge interviews Greg Valentine and then Honky Tonk Man. Honky cuts classic promo.

Match No. 7: Cowboy Lang & Chris Dube vs. Lord Littlebrook & Little Tokyo in midget tag team match. Fast forward. Rating: None

Match No. 8: Honky Tonk Man vs. Randy “Macho Man” Savage. Jimmy Hart is in cage above the ring. Peggy Sue, none other than Sherri Martel, is in Honky’s corner. She trips Savage early. Nice suplex by Savage. Savage hits double ax handle from top rope. He does the same outside of the ring. And another inside the ring. Honky throws Savage into the referee. Peggy Sue grabs Elizabeth, distracting Savage. Honky gives Savage a belt shot to the head and he hits the barricade hard. Savage wins by DQ. Another shitty finish. This was a good match until then. RIP Liz and Sherri Rating: ***1/2

Stampede (10/31/86)

The cheesy Ed Whalen has an even cheesier sidekick, Jim Davies, who opens the show with a terrible Halloween poem.

Match No. 1: Vladimir Krupov vs. Tom Kavitis joined in progress. Back and forth action until Krupov throws Kavitis into the corner and rolls him over for the pin. Boring match. Rating: **

Interview with Drago Zhivago with the Cuban Assasin and Krupov. Ed Whalen interviews Brian Pillman. Damn is he big. He talks about his debut next week. Terrible promo.

Match No. 2: Ted Arcidi vs. Brad Foster. He press slams him and drops him on the corner turnbuckle. Arcidi wins with backbreaker. Another terrible match. Rating: **

Interview with Makhan Singh. He rips on Bill Kazmaier for using steroids unlike Mr. Natural, Ted Arcidi. Singh is hillarious on the interview. WCW wasted him as Norman.

Whalen interviews Owen Hart, the new Commenwealth champion. He’s holding a tiny belt. Stu must be a cheapskate.

Match No. 3: Bill Kazmaier & Mr. Hito vs. Adolph Barbee & Cuban Assassin. Referee Wayne Hart pulls out a yellow card. What the hell is that all about? Stu must be turning senile. Kazmaier doesn’t look that big compared to Arcidi. He barely press slams fatass Assassin. He powerslams Barbee for the pin. Another terrible match. Rating: **

Interview with Arcidi. Kazmaier rips on Arcidi.

Match No. 4: Les Thornton vs. Ben Bassarab joined in progress. J.R. Foley at ringside is dressed up as Adloph Hitler. That shit wouldn’t fly these days, surprised it made WWE TV. Foley hits Thornton accidentally and Bassarab wins. Another weak match. Rating: **

Bassarab cuts a terrible promo in the ring. He has a mullet and he’s going bald.

Makhan Singh with another great interview. He’s in the ring with some skank. Whalen keeps eyeing her.

Match No. 5: Viet Cong Express (Hiroshi Hase & Fumihiro Niikura) vs. Keith Hart & Johnny Smith. Stu Hart is also a stereotypical wrestling racist. A Russian wrestler, a Russian manager who speaks perfect English, a German ref, three Brit heels, including one dressed up as Hitler, two North Koreans who are really Japanese, an Amerian wrestler who thinks he is Pakistani, a wrestler from India, a Japanse wrestler who has Mr. in his name but is not a salt-throwing heel surprisingly and two steroid pumped American bodybuilders. Stu is also big on nepotism as one son is a referre, two sons are wrestlers and a son-in-law is a wrestler. Whatever. Viet Cong wins with piledriver. Another waste of time match. Rating: **

Another interview with Dr. Drago Zhavago, who is awful on interview. He does have a good line calling Bassarb, Bassa-hart.

Match No. 6: Makhan Singh vs. Owen Hart for North American Heavyweight title. Singh is sure a fat hair bastard. But a funny one. Owen is doing a great job of selling. Nice knee drop by Owen. Hart has Singh tied up in the ropes and he runs the ropes and “a fan” in a mask pulls down the top rope and Hart hits the floor. He then gets posted. Owen juices big time and he gets counted out. He then gets beaten on by Gama Singh and company before Pillman and Bassarab make the save. Even Stu comes to the ring with his grey trousers hiked up his ass. Rating: ***

Whalen interviews Bassarab and Pillman. Pillman acts pissed and says he will put an end to the bullcrap going on here.

Show ends with all the hells in the ring. Whalen acts outraged. I’m outraged at how piss poor the announcing was for the show. Great final angle though.

WWF (11/9/85)

Match No. 1: Rene Goulet vs. Corporal Kirschner. Boston Garden has classic wooden ring steps with metal railings. Kirschner blows an arm drag attempt. Hard to believe Goulet is 53. Goulet uses the claw on Kirshner. Kirschner pins Goulet with a Samoan backdrop. Rating: **1/2 Kirschner is a bit sloppy, but nothing blatant. The veteran Goulet is obviously playing the teacher role.

Match No. 2: Leaping Lanny Poffo vs. Bret Hart with Jimmy Hart. Poffo does handspring. He looks like an 80s porn star with the hair and moustache. Hart looks very solid in one of his early WWF matches. Hart blocks a monkey flip and gets the pin. Rating: *** The crowd isn’t into it, but Hart’s strong style makes this into an entertaining match.

Match No. 3: Tony Garea vs. Jim Neidhart with Jimmy Hart. Like Hart, this is an early match in Niedhart’s WWF career and they use an old-timer who later became a road agent to help school Niedhart. Hart is using the megaphone ringside. This is also one of Hart’s early appearances in WWF. Niedhart isn’t showing much in singles competition, which may be why the Hart Foundation became a tag team. Niedhart is blown up in about 10 minutes. Niedhart wins with a power slam. Rating: **1/2 Niedhart doesn’t show much besides power moves in this match.

Match No. 4: Mr. USA Tony Atlas vs. Randy “Macho Man” Savage with Elizabeth. This is also an early WWF match for Savage. Atlas is huge. Savage gives on the kids in the crowd a hard time. Elizabeth looks 80s gorgeous with the feathered hair and ton of makeup. Savage wins after taking a power slam from Atlas and rolling him up with small package. Rating: ***1/2 Entertaining match thanks to Savage. RIP Liz.

Match No. 5: Cowboy Bob Orton vs. Pedro Morales. Morales in pretty good shape for 43. Orton is wearing his legendary cast. Tons of Boston cops around the ringside area. Yet another match with a veteran vs. a youngster and/or relative newcomer. Orton is beating the shit out of Morales. Orton takes nice sliding bump onto the floor. Orton takes bump into ref. Maybe Dusty is watching. Morales has pin but no ref. Orton hits Morales with cast for the pin. Rating: ***1/2 Another entertaining match between two veterans. Orton is a pleasure to watch despite the pale, flabby, unkempt appearance.

Match No. 6: Don Muraco with Mr. Fuji. vs. Ricky “the Dragon” Steamboat. Crowd throwing shit at Muraco. This is also one of Steamboat’s early WWE matches. Steamboat choking Muraco with his black belt. Gorilla Buffoon says Steamboat (a Hawaiian) was Pearl Harbored by Muraco (a Hawaiian with a Japanese manager). I’m waiting for Buffoon to call Fuji a sneaky Oriental. Like Savage, Steamboat is very sharp and quick. (This match is about a year-and-a-half before their classic match in Wrestlemania III). Nice dropkick by Muraco. Steamboat takes nice bump over the top rope. Fuji uses dreaded cane on Steamboat. Muraco looks like Big Pussy from Sopranos. Muraco takes nice Flair-esque bump into the corner. Steamboat slingshots Muraco over turnbuckle into the ringpost. Unfortunately, Muraco juices while on the mat and before he hits the post, and the idiot Buffoon actually points it out. Muraco is a mess. Idiot Hayes tries to cover for missed spot. Steamboat DQ’d for using cane on Muraco and/or shoving referee. Rating: **1/2 Weak finish, ref bump and early blade job downgrade this match.

Segment: Piper’s Pit with Bruno Sammartino. Piper says everything in Boston is old, including the broads. Piper makes crack about Boston’s school segregation. Sign in crowd says Piper has AIDS. Piper cracks on guy with the sign. Piper says Sammartino is afraid to appear. Sammartino then runs to ring and attempts to cut a promo. Pro-Italian Boston crowd overlooks his terrible mic skills. Piper calls Sammartino a piece of shit and slaps him. Sammartino then mounts Sammartino before Orton hits him with the cast. Orton holds Sammartino and Piper then kicks him in the nuts. Rating: **** Great segment. Vince Russo and TNA should take notes.

Match No. 7: Mike Rotundo & Dan Spivey vs. Greg “The Hammer” Valentine & Brutus Beefcake for the WWF tag team titles. Rotunda is teaming with Spivey after U.S. Express partner Barry Windham quit WWF months earlier. Spivey is in a second from the top match with only one year of wrestling experience. Buffoon alludes to this by saying he is not familiar with Spivey. Cops make beeline into crowd for what must be a fight. Absolutely no heat for this match. Fans don’t care about the faces. Beefcake rolls over Spivey for pin, to retain tag title. Rating: *** Average match, Spivey way too green for this spot on the card.

Match No. 8: Terry Funk with Jimmy Hart vs. Junk Yard Dog. JYD is in main event after one year in WWF. Funk also is about a year into his first WWF stint. Typical JYD match. Funk plays a good foil. JYD wins with small package after Hart interferece. Funk attacks JYD after the match. Rating: *** Short, average match. Funk and Hart save this from a lower rating. RIP JYD.

Match No. 9: Moondog Spot & Barry O vs. The British Bulldogs (Davey Boy Smith & Dynamite Kid). Bulldogs are on major juice. Barry O is high on the card and his brother, Bob Orton, the much better wrestler, is on the undercard. Dynamite is a pleasure to watch. Idiot Hayes is putting over Dynamite’s physique. The guy is 5-8, 200. Sure, that’s natural. Spot wrestling decently in this match. Damn, he’s actually got a decent resume despite the gimmick. Dynamite pins O with cross body block. Rating: *** Surprisingly good match, considering heels are basically in the jobber role. RIP Davey Boy & Spot. Hang in there, Dynamite, you tough bastard.

AWA (10/8/85)

Match No. 1: Nick Bockwinkel vs. Sgt. Slaughter. Gary Michael Capetta is the ring announcer. Larry Zbyszko and his mullet are in Bockwinkel’s corner. Match was taped at the Tropicana in Atlantic City. Bockwinkel offers his hand to Slaughter. He finally shakes. Pretty boring early. Five minutes in and already a rest spot as Slaughter works on Nick’s arm. Nice corner bump by Slaughter. Bockwinkel hits huge piledriver but Slaughter kicked out. Slaughter piledrivers Bockwinkle reaches the ropes. Boris Zhukov shown at ringside. Bockwinkel hits Slaughter in his enourmous gut and he reacts like he was shot. Kid in front row has a Wrestlemania t-shirt. Camera quickly cuts away. Slaughter does a Hulk Hogan impersonation with a no-sell comeback. Bockwinkel hits a sleeper on Slaughter. Slaughter hits big clothesline and applies the cobra clutch. Zhukov distracts Slaughter, who breaks the hold. Idiot Slaughter gets counted out. Shitty finish to average match. Nice booking job, Verne, you dumb bastard. Rating: **1/2

WWF Prime Time Wrestling (1/1/85)

Prime Time Wrestling with Jesse Ventura and Jack Reynolds.

Match No. 1: “Dr. D” David Shultz vs. Salvatore Bellomo. This match aired four days after the infamous John Stossel interview where Shultz slapped the shit out of the 20/20 reporter. The interview likely happened the same day as this match. Shultz his flying elbow from second rope but Bellomo kicks out. Gene Okerlund and Gorilla Buffoon on commentary. Shultz gets the pin with a suplex. I give this an extra star for him bitch-slapping Stossel before/after the match. Actually, this was the same day as Howard Finkel announces the decision on the MSG mics. Rating: **

Match No. 2: Dick Murdoch vs. Samoan No. 1. No idea why they don’t just call him Afa. Murdoch doing some great clowning after taking a headbutt from Afa. Murdoch goes to the eyes. Hillbilly Jim shown at ringside. Murdoch chokes Afa with the tag rope. Murdoch is great reacting to the moves by Afa. Murdoch nails Afa in the head with brown bag holding bottle of some kind. Bell rings. Match is a draw. Murdoch asks for five more minutes. Match restarts. Murdoch takes headbutt and heads to the locker room. Entertaining match between two vets. Murdoch’s antics worth an additional star. RIP Dick. Rating: ***

Gorilla Buffoon interviews Mad Dog Vachon. He’s a scary looking bastard.

Match No. 3: “Mad Dog” Vachon vs. “Quickdraw” Rick McGraw. Vachon is 56 and still wrestling. This match was about a year before McGraw’s death. He’s a bulky guy and it was obviously steroid related since he was only 30. Vachon with a a rest hold right away. Weak dropkick by McGraw. Vachon kicks out several times. McGraw misses dropkick. Vachon hits spike piledriver for the pin. Terrible match. RIP Rick. Rating: *

Buffoon interviews David Sammartino. Terrible.

Match No. 4: Moondog Spot vs. David Sammartino. Shot of Chuck Wepner at ringside. This is a snoozer. Sammartino hits knee drop. Spot kicks out. Spot goes for the pin, but Sammartino hits small package for the pin. Nothing much in this one. Spot jumps him after the match. RIP Spot. Rating: *

Buffoon interviews Tito Santana, kisses his ass.

Match No. 5: Tito Santana vs. Greg “The Hammer” Valentine. Fans throwing shit at Valentine during the intros. First time I’ve seen Lou Albano in a long time. Santana attacks Valentine immediately. These guys are beating the shit out of each other. Valentine takes chair shot. Before he picks up the chair, you can see him reach into his boot for the blade. Bell rings as Santana beats on Valentine. Santana gets DQd. Good action, fans realy into the match. Rating: ***

Match No. 6: Adrian Adonis vs. Sika. This one starts slowly. Adonis starting to put on some weight. But he is still quick in the ring. Adonis pulls out of glove. Swings at Sika, who ducks, and he hits the ref. Adonis DQd. Short and not much to this one. RIP Adrian. Rating: *

Match No. 7: Brutus Beefcake with Luscious Johnny Valliant vs. Tony Garea. Garea has teamed with both Pat Patterson and Rick Martel in his career. Yikes. Right as I type that, Garea mounts Beefcake. Beefcake hits flying knee for the pin. Another weak match. Rating: *

Match No. 8: Big John Studd vs. Hulk Hogan. Hogan wearing all white. Actually looks better than the gay red and yellow. Studd beats on Hogan. Now it is time for the Superman comeback. Hogan wins with a clothesline. Way too short for a main event. Heat is worth second star. RIP John. Wow, five of the competitors have passed away, six if you count Buffoon. Rating: **

WWF (12/10/84)

Match No. 1: Jose Luis Rivera vs. Playboy Buddy Rose. Gary Michael Capetta does the ring announcing and Howard Finkel joins Gorilla Monsoon on commentary. While Monsoon is bad, Finkel is just horrible. Rose is well on his to becoming a fat ass. He gets a horrible looking woman with bad feathered hair to take off his robe. Rose actually does some one arm push ups. Rivera messes up his hair and he gets ringside hag to brush it. Rivera is blown up, while soon-to-be-fat ass Rose, is fine. Hispanic referee helps out Rivera, kicking Rose’s hand of the rope. Rose wins with DDT. Average match, but Rose made it watchable. Rating: ***

Match No. 2: Steve Lombardi vs. Johnny Valliant. An early Lombardi match. Standard teaching vet vs. green rookie match. Valliant wins with elbow drop. Squash match. Lombardi must not have made Patterson happy tonight. Another average match, Valliant made it watchable. Rating: **1/2

Match No. 3: George Wells vs. Charlie Fulton. Who the fuck are these two guys? Fulton making his WWF debut. This is should have been the first match on the card. Wells has an interesting background, having played in the Canadian Football League. Naturally, he wrestled in Calgary, although he didn’t start out there. Long, boring match between two no-names. Rating: **

Match No. 4: Jim Powers vs. Ken Patera. This was after the McDonalds incident and before Patera’s prison stint. This is an early match for Powers, who is juiced big time. Patera nearly wins with elbow drop but he lifts Powers at two. He then hits a suplex where he holds him for five seconds. Patera wins with the swinging full nelson. Another squash match, but Patera’s post-match antics raised it a bit. Rating: **1/2

Match No. 5: S.D. Jones vs. Bobby Heenan. This is one of Heenan’s early WWF appearances. This is one of his rare in-ring appearances for WWF. Heenen grabs tights for the pin. Great job by Heenan in this match taking bumps, cheating for the win. Rating: ***

Match No. 6: Penny Mitchell & Peggy Patterson vs. Desiree Petersen & Velvet McIntyre for WWE women’s tag team titles. One question: why? Pop corn match. Fast forward. Rating: None

Some Jersey clown interviews George Wells. He says he sacked or hit Joe Theismann so many times he came to the NFL.

Cal Rutman is the clown’s name. He interviews Luscious Johnny Valliant. He introduces a young Brutus Beefcake. Dipshit calls him Johnny Valentine.

Dipshit interviews Bobby Heenan and Big John Studd.

Match No. 7: Mr. Wonderful Paul Orndorff vs. Junk Yard Dog. Hennan is in Orndorff’s corner. Both guys are in their first year with WWF. First five minutes is all clowning around. Orndorff slams JYD who rolls him over for the pin. Orndorff and Heenan are pissed. Average match made semi-interesting by three vets. And boosted by post-match action. Orndorff jumps JYD afterwards to regain his heat. JYD meets the ring post. He juices. Orndorff crowns him with a hard chair shot. Rating: ***1/2

Piper’s Pit. Scheduled guest is Junk Yard Dog. Piper rips on New Jersey. Fans are pissed, throwing shit at him and Orton. Piper brings some guy from New Jersey to the ring. Then some woman wearing a Hulk Hogan button. Piper calls out JYD. Salvatore Bellomo comes out. Piper calls him a dumb wop. Orndorff joins Piper and Orton. Bellomo about to get jumped. JYD makes the save with a chain. Great segment. Rating: **** RIP JYD.

Match No. 8: Cowboy Bob Orton vs. Jimmy “Superfly” Snuka. Orton jumps Snuka at the bell. Both go over top rope. Ref calls for countout. Shitty finish to short match. After the match, Orton goes for superplex. Snuka blocks it with headbutts. Snuka climbs to top rope but Orton rolls out of ring. Rating: *

Match No. 9: Salvatore Bellomo vs. Brutus Beefcake with Johnny Valliant. Beefcake wins with flying knee in squash match. Rating: *

Match No. 10: Big John Studd with Heenan vs. Hulk Hogan for WWF world heavyweight title. Crowd goes crazy for Hogan. Heenan says $15,000 body slam challenge is still on. Hogan tries to slam Studd. He can’t get him up. He tries several times. He nearly gets him up. Hogan goes into stell post. He’s showing color. Studd drops forearm from top rope. Hogan slams Studd outside of the ring. Studd counted out. Another short match, shitty finish. Weak card. Rating: **

WWF (11/29/84)

Match No. 1: Bret Hart & Dynamite Kid vs. Mike Sharpe & Troy Alexander. Vince is doing play-by-play. Dynamite is 20 pounds smaller than Hart at this point, which is both amazing and sad. And part of the reason he is in a wheelchair today. Sharpe is beating on Hart. Dynamite does a snap suplex and drops Alexander on his head. Angelo Mosca on color and he’s terrible. Heels doubleteam Hart in the corner. Damn Dynamite was fast and crisp back then. Dynamite hits a nasty headbutt from the top rope. Dynamite then hits a gut wrench suplex for the pin. Pretty weak match although Dynamite showed flashes of greatness. Rating: **

WWF (8/25/84)

Match No. 1: Jesse Ventura vs. Ivan Putski in Madison Square Garden

Ventura cuts great promo, calling him Peduski numerous times.

Ventura is in great shape, as is Putski. There is enough testosterone in the ring for six normal men. Ventura has multi-colored hair. Commentators are Gorilla Buffoon and Lord Alfred Heinous. Yup, I hate both of those clowns. Ventura not doing much in this match. MSG is packed. Ventura has his chest hair shaved so it is an arrow pointing down. Looks like a ripoff of Sterling Golden (Hulk Hogan) a couple of years earlier. Ventura does classic bit where he chokes Putski with athletic tape. Ventura pulls out a foreign object and hits Putski, who is then counted out of the ring. Rating: **1/2 Average match, hurt by piss-poor finish. Ventura didn’t really do any wrestling in the match, only bits and some selling.

WWF (8/4/84)

Match No. 1: Rocky Johnson vs. Jesse “The Body” Ventura. Damn, Rocky is jacked. Ventura challenges Johnson to pose down. Vince calls Johnson The Rock. Vince McMahon has a woody calling this. Ventura nails Johnson from behind with ax handle from top rope. He then pile drives Johnson, who rolls to the floor in convulsions. Ventura has his hand raised. Boring pose down, but damn entertaining action afterwards. Johnson does great sell job. Rating: ***

AWA (3/13/83)

Match No. 1: Jesse “The Body” Ventura & Ken Patera & Bobby Heenan vs. Hulk Hogan & the High Flyers (Greg Gagne & Jim Brunzell). Eric Bischoff and Nick Bockwinkle stand in front of blue screen that shows empty ring and talk about the match. Gene Okerlund does the ring announcing along with some commentary. Gagne is announced at 217 pounds. Maybe if his boots were 20 pounds each. Vince sure pissed on Verne. Five of the six in this match were in the WWF within a couple of years. B. Brian Blair took Gagne’s spot in the High Flyers with Jim Brunzell as they formed the ripoff Killer Bees. Heenan could take same damn good bumps back in the day. Damn, it must have sucked to have to sell punches from that weakling Gagne. Thankfully, I didn’t grow up in the Midwest, like these poor suckers in Minneapolis. Instead of an old, bald champion and his loser son, I got Ric Flair and the NWA. Thank God. Dumbass Rod Thorngard calls a backdrop a monkey flip. Hogan pins Heenan with a legdrop. Damn, the place is packed. Packed full of Midwest marks. Average match with great heat. Rating: ***

World Class (1/29/83)

Show opens with clip Kevin Von Erich pinning Terry Gordy. He gets attacked by Santa Claus, who turns out to be Michael Hayes.

Bill Mercer with a(n) horrible beard and bad suit opens the show. No idea why the show a closeup of his ugly mug.

Match No. 1: The Great Yatsu (Japanese wrestler Yoshiaki Yatsu) vs. The Samoan. No idea who the fuck The Samoan is or later became, if anyone. Mercer points out they are both from the Pacific. Brilliant commentary. Yatsu puts a “sleep hold” on, then pins the Samoan in a squash. Mercer now says he used the deadly cobra hold for the pin. Squash. Rating: *

Ringside interview with David Von Erich. He looks very unimpressive. He can’t speak well either. In fact, his body looks like Will Ferrell. He tries to act pissed, but stumbles over his words. He says he boss is his Dad. No shit.

Match No. 2: Michael Hayes vs. Jose Lothario. Lothario signs autographs before the match. Somehow, this flabby old man is way over in Dallas. Stupid fucking rednecks. Mercer tells us Hayes, Terry Gordy and Buddy Roberts comprise the Freebirds. More great commentary. Hayes stalls. Dumbass Mercer says Hayes is 21. Wrong. Almost 25 at the time. Mark Lowrance shown at ring side. He was probably the only one in the promotion who couldn’t get laid. Including Chris Von Erich. Mercer calls Yatsu an Oriental assassin. Good job, redneck. Hayes starting to beat up the old man. Puffs of smoke visible ringside. Yup, rednecks smoking during the match. There is a sign attached to the ring apron that says $25.00. The fine for not smoking? Match is a draw. Roberts and Gordy run in after the match. Gordy has a(n) horrible perm. Pretty boring match. Rating: **

Mercer does sitdown interview with King Kong Bundy. He only looks to be 350 pounds. Bundy makes a phone call to mysterious boss.

Match No. 3: Bugsy McGraw & Al Madril vs. Great Kabuki & King Kong Bundy. Al Madril looks like a 70s porn star. What a shitty main event. And how is it possible none of the Von Erichs are wrestling? Slams and kicks and nothing that exciting. Bundy splashes McGraw for the pin. Less than average match. Thanks for wasting my time, Fritz. Rating: *

Mercer interviews Roberts & Gordy. Gordy rambles about his title match next week. RIP Terry.

AWA (12/25/82)

Match No. 1: Hulk Hogan vs. Jesse “The Body” Ventura. Gene Okerlund is the ring announcer. Ventura works over Hogan’s arm. Ventura gets advantage twice by pulling Hogan’s hair. He goes back to the arm. Yawn. Leave it to AWA to fuck this match up. Hogan takes charge. Ventura works the arm again. Time for Hogan to make his comeback. Ventura takes great exaggerated bumps. Bell rings as two are fighting outside the ring. Hogan tries to hit Ventura with a chair, but he escapes. Typical AWA. Short match with little actual wrestling and a shitty finish. Too bad, you Minneapolis marks. Rating: **

Mid-Atlantic (9/1/82)

Show opens with Bob Caudle. I hated him when I was a kid. But I guess he was over in the South since he reminds you of a deacon in your church. Nice TV trick. The TV screen is right next to the ring, but Caudle looks at the screen, which shows Paul Jones and Jack Brisco in the ring. After the commercial, Jack and Jerry Brisco are being interviewed by Caudle before the match. Jerry doesn’t want Jack to wrestle. Jack wants to wrestle. Neither can explain what they are thinking. Wahoo chips in. No idea why the hell he is even out there. 

Match No. 1: Paul Jones vs. Jack Brisco for the Mid-Atlantic title. Brisco goes to work on Jones’ legs. Classic. Sir Oliver Humperdink is smoking a cigar at ringside. Brisco still working on the legs. Ditto. Brisco goes for the Figure Four. Humperdink distracts him. He chases Hump but hurts his leg jumping to the floor. Jones goes to work on his leg. Jones hits Brisco in the throat, rolls him up and holds the tights for the pin and the belt. Decent old school match. Nice booking. Rating: ***1/2
Interview with a young Kelly Kiniski. Pretty bad promo. 
Match No. 2: Jos LeDuc vs. Kelly Kiniski. LeDuc drops Kiniski on his head, but picks him up. He then gives him a back breaker for the pin. Sqush. RIP Jos. Rating: **
Interview with Paul Jones. Jones is wearing a terrible cowboy hat. LeDuc cuts a promo. He has a nasty gash on the top of his head.
Interview with Sir Oliver Humperdink. They show footage of Abdullah The Butcher, who is also a member of the House of Humperdink stable. Valentine cuts a pormo. 
Match No. 3: Mike Rotundo vs. Greg Valentine. Rotundo has a terrible perm. Humperdink does color during the match. Valentine working on Rotundo’s leg. He hits two elbow drops for the pin. A bit longer than one would expect. Rotundo looked good in squash. Rating: **1/2
Humperdink gets even more mic time. He cuts a pretty good promo. 
Match No. 4: Roddy Piper & Wahoo McDaniel vs. The Medic & The Gladiator. Piper has some horrible checker tights. Gotta love the jobbers wearing masks. Piper gives Medic a neckbreaker and Wahoo follows with a hard chop for the pin. Semi-entertaining squash. Rating: **
Bob Caudle interviews Jerry Brisco. He is crying over his brother’s loss. Wahoo cuts a rambling promo. Piper cuts great short promo. 

WWF (3/14/82)

Match No. 1: Jesse “The Body” Ventura with Classy Freddie Blassie vs. Bob Backlund with Arnold Skaaland for WWF Heavyweight title. Match is from Madison Square Garden and Ivan Putski is the referee. Ventura clowning around early. Backlund wins after escaping backbreaker with rollup and bridge. Ventura hits Putski after the match. Decent match, thanks to Ventura. Rating: *** RIP Blassie & Skaaland.

AWA (8/30/81)

Match 1: High Flyers (Jim Brunzell & Greg Gagne) vs. East-West Connection (Jesse Ventura & Adrian Adonis)

Jesse and Adrian cut a promo with Gene Okerlund.

Damn, Greg Gagne is skinny. And speaking of skinny, Adrian Adonis is two hundred pounds lighter than his “Adorable” days. Boy can he work at this weight. Brunzell is in great shape. Adonis takes a couple of great bumps in the corner. Ventura doesn’t show me much. Ventura holds Gagne and Adonis comes down to make it a spike pile driver for the pin.

Rating: ***1/2 Thankfully, I didn’t grow up in the Midwest and have to endure a bald champion and his skinny son as the top two babyfaces. Standard match, work of Adonis increases the rating.

Stampede (12/8/79)

Match No. 1: Keith Hart vs. Joe Ventura. Ed Whalen opens with a cheesy poem. And some bad jokes. What a hoot. This program was shot in film. It looks pretty damn good for the late 70’s. Hart sidesteps a knee lift and rolls up Ventura for the pin. Decent old school physical match. Rating: ***

Interview with Keith Hart. With Whalen’s sportscasting background, there is less promo and more interview. 
Interview with Don Gagne, better known as Frenchy Martin.
Match No. 2: Andre Zvezda vs. Bruce Hart. Zvezda is billed as being from Ukraine. He is wearing all red, naturally, since he is from the USSR. Hart hits a huge clothesline for the pin. John Foley hits Zvezda afterwards. Squash. Rating: **
Interview with Bruce Hart. John Foley interrupts. A very young and very small Dynamite Kid is in the ring along with Mr. Sekigawa, better known as Japanese hardcore wrestler Mr. Pogo. Dynamite cuts pretty bad promo.
Match No. 3: Leo Burke & Hubert Gallant vs. Tatsumi Osura & Tommy Stanton. Old school match. Burke and Gallant irish whip Osura and Stanton into each other, Stanton cross body blocks his partner for the pin. Average match, but creative finish. Rating: ***
Interview with Burke and Gallant. 
Match No. 4: Dynamite Kid vs. Hiroshi Yagi. Yagi was later known as Ryuma Go and Ninja Go. It’s hard to believe how tiny Kid was at this time. He’s listed at 208 but he’s maybe 180 or 190 tops. Yagi is bleeding from the mouth. Dynamite with nice double underhook suplex. He barely picks up Yagi. Yagi dropkicks Kid from middle rope and he takes huge bump. Yagi then does cross body block onto Kid onto the floor. Bell rings. Great match, bullshit finish. Rating: ***1/2
Yagi does interview. He challenges Kid and cuts a better promo than Kid.
John Foley does interview. Kid grabs the mic. His face is all busted up. 
Match No. 5: Don Gagne vs. Mr. Sekigawa. Match joined five minutes in. Sekigawa slams Gagne on the floor. Stu Hart is outside the ring. He looks in pretty good shape for a 64-year-old. These two beat on each other in an old school match. They cut away from the match and said it ended as a no contest. That was beyond weak. Rating: *
Stu Hart does interview. He makes no sense. Just like his booking of the last match — or at least the way they showed it on TV. Leo Burke will be the guest referee next week.

Stampede (2/17/79)

Ed Whalen opens the show with John Foley in the ring. He’s talking about all the money he now has. He wants to pay Big Daddy Ritter to get rid of his problems.

Match No. 1: Hercules Ayala vs. Louie Lawrence. Ayala with some big fists follwed by an elbow and then some stomps. He uses a bear hug and Lawrence submits. Squash. Rating: **

Whalen in the ring with Bruce Hart and Mr. Wrestling II. They both talk about Dynamite Kid, who was only 20 at the time. Mr. Wrestling is terrible on the mic.

Match No. 2: Mr. Wrestling II vs. Dynamite Kid. Dynamite is tiny, maybe 175 pounds. His frame just wasn’t big enough to support all the muscle he packed on using the juice. Dyanamite cheap shots Mr. Wrestling and he gets pissed. Nice head scissors by Dynamite. Crowd is dead. This one is mostly mat work. This one is putting me to sleep. Wrestling uses a bulldog. Dyanamite opens the ropes for Wrestling, then when he climbs through, Dynamite rolls him up for the pin. Average match, but I liked the finish. Rating: ***

Ed Whalen interviews Stu with a couple of fans

Match No. 3: Big Daddy Ritter vs. Gilbert Hayes. Like Dynamite, Ritter is a lot smaller than he was during his Junk Yard Dog days and in pretty good shape. Not sure what to think of this one. Hayes is actually getting most of the offense, working on Ritter’s leg. Jim Neidhart is in the corner of Hayes. Ritter misses a headbutt. Neidhart, who has hair, holds back John Foley on the ring apron and Ritter runs into him and Hayes rolls him up for the pin. This is a best-of-three falls match, which is now tied. These guys are sloppy. Either Ritter isn’t working well with Hayes, or Hayes just sucks. That’s two botched roll up attempts so far. Ritter is winded so even when he was in shape his cardio still sucked. Neidhart comes into the ring and Hayes is disqualified. Boring match, with a somewhat interesting ending. Rating: **1/2