Ring of Honor 2/23/2002 The Era of Honor Begins
The Christopher Street Connection come out to YMCA. They talk on the mic but it's hard to hear them. they kiss and rile up the crowd. Da Hit Squad then attack.
Da Hit Squad vs The Christopher Street Connection
The CSC takes a german and a belly to belly suplex. One of the CSC takes a sky high. Maff hits a senton then a burning hammer and picks up the win.
Thoughts: I remembered this segment 20 years after it happened so they did something right here. This segment would not be allowed in 2024. I don't know if this was the best way to start a serious workrate promotion but it popped the crowd and got things off to a wild start. They didn't really tell you who was who in this segment.
The CSC's female valet tries to low blow Da Hit Squad. She gets caught and grabbed by the hair. One of the CSC is put on a table and their valet is powerbombed onto that member.
People come in to check on the valet and the CSC member. Monsta Mack gets on the mic and says ROH is all about hard hitting action. Maff says it's good to be back here and says welcome to Ring of Honor.
The Briscoe Brothers do a promo. Jay says he will prove The Briscoe name is the best in the business, whether it be in singles or in a tag team.
Amazing Red does a promo. He says Jay is getting hit with infrared and says to expect the unexpected.
Amazing Red vs Jay Briscoe
Red waistlock takedowns him. They roll on the mat and Red kips up. Red flips out of a snapmare and they stand off. Jay shoulders Red over and throws him over the top. Jay slingshot plancha's Red outside. Jay leg lariats him then Red dropkicks him. They both clap and Jay offers a handshake. Jay then punches him off of it.
Red corkscrew kicks him. Jay blocks a tornado ddt and hits a muscle buster. Red brainbusters him for 2. Red hits kicks and spin kicks him. Jay facekicks him. Red back body drops him off a double underhook attempt.
Jay blocks a hurricanrana attempt and hits a nasty jay driller for 2. Jay goes up top and is crotched. Red runs up the buckles on the other side of the ring for some reason, isn't anywhere close to Jay and gets speared in mid-air.
Jay hits a half and half suplex. Jay misses a top rope senton. Red hits a top rope corkscrew moonsault leg drop then standing ssp's him to win.
Thoughts: I didn't like this. They didn't really use their size differences to their advantage and it was an obviously indy match with a jay driller not meaning all that much. Red's corkscrew moonsault legdrop was nice. That mid-air spear spot was dumb and I don't know what we were supposed to think Red was going for there.
They shake hands after.
Low-Ki does a promo. He says the top competitors came from around the country to prove they belong here. He says he's not here to prove he's the all around best, he says he's here to prove it's not the size of the fighter, but the size of the fight he brings. He says all you can do is be ready.
We see Homicide and Boogalou in a dirty field his neighborhood. Hom says he sold drugs and did drive-by's here. They have a rubber chicken with them for some reason. They show their masks and says they are bringing the streets to ROH. He says we will find out why they are called The Natural Born Sinners. Hom says he will bring the streets to the ring and says we will find out why they are bringing this ghetto to ROH.
Xavier talks to someone in the back and says give it some time and keep his head up as he will get his chance.
Scott Andrews talks. He says 2001 was a great year for him. He says 2002 will be his year. He says he's sorry it has to be Xavier, but it has to be someone to be his stepping stone.
Xavier vs Scoot Andrews
X wristlocks him. Scoot rolls out and hammerlocks him. X reverses it and is armdragged down. X monkey flips him into an armlock. Scoot hits forearms and X shoulders him over. Scoot slams him and takes an up kick. They then switch roles and repeat the spot. X waistlock takedowns him then Scoot does the same.
X hits punches and is dropped face first on a tilt-a-whirl headscissors. Scoot hits a nice dropkick. Scoot double underhook suplexes him for 2. Scoot leg lariats him. X drops on his face in a botch for 2.
X hits punches in the corner. X tries an up and over but takes an alabama slam. They trade chops. X tries to facebuster him from the side off the ropes but takes a big lariat. Scoot misses a top rope legdrop. X hits punches then elbow drops him. X running forearms him.
X hits forearms in the corner and jumping knees him. X backdrops him. Scoot blocks a sunset flip then hits a reverse ddt. Scoot hits a pumphandle fire thunder driver for 2. X goes out to recover.
They get back in. X hits some punches and is hit in the back of the neck. X neckbreakers him and wins.
Thoughts: I didn't like this. They had some sloppy moments. The two didn't match up that well together either. I thought them doing a fire thunder driver kick out then ending it like 2-3 minutes later with a neckbreaker was dumb.
The announcers talk about a rematch after. The two shake hands and Scoot raises X's arm.
We go to the back. Michael Shane and someone else are running away from The Natural Born Sinners.
Boogie Knights (Danny Drake and Mike Tobin) vs The Natural Born Sinners (Homicide and Boogalou)
HC Loc is the special ref for this for some reason. Hom and Boog come out with masks and chainsaws. They all shake hands. Hom takes down one of his opponents and hits mounted shots. Hom armbars him. Hom armdrags the other Knight and goes for an armbar.
Hom trips Drake into a nice pin attempt. Drake takes an exploder from Boog. Drake takes a double team powerbomb on the knee. Boog lariats Drake over the top and goes with him. Drake is sent into the rail outside. Hom hits Drake with a nice tope con hilo throug hthe ropes and destroy the rails. Tobin then dives on The NBS.
Tobin is sent hard into the post. Drake takes an underhook suplex then Hom top rope double stomps him. Hom hits punches on Drake. Boog alley oops Drake into the ropes. Drake hits a reverse ddt for 2. Drake hits a sky high on Boo for 2.
Tobin springboard swantons Boog for 2. Tobin and Boog trade then Boog fisherman busters him. Hom atomic drops Drake and headkicks him in the side. Hom cutters Tobin. Drake takes a half and half suplex + a lariat combo.
Hom hits his opponents with a rubber chicken and the NBS are DQ'd.
Thoughts: This was dumb. The NBS were in control and looked to be on the path to victory, then they got themselves DQ'd. I don't know what what the rubber chicken was supposed to signify. Homicide was entertaining here.
The Boogie Knights are trying to escape in the locker room after.
The Christopher Street Connection whine and cry in the back. They see Spanky/Brian Kendrick dancing and say, "I really think we belong here in Ring of Honor" and one of them gives the thumbs up.
We see Towel Boy Eric Tuttle clean the ropes to cheers.
Ultimate Aerial Elimination Match (Special Referee: Mikey Whipwreck) - Quiet Storm vs. Joel Maximo vs. Jose Maximo vs. The Amazing Red vs. Brian XL vs. Chris Divine
Mikey Whipwreck talks beforehand but it's too hard to hear what he said. They say all these people were trained by Mikey. Joel (the heavy one) and Storm go at it. Joel is tripped and hits an armdrag then takes an armdrag. Joel hits a flying headscissors. Chris armdrags Joel and dropkicks him out.Jose hits an armdrag then XL armdrags Jose off the casadora.
XL top rope diving headscissors Jose. Red and Xl go at it. Red springboard dropkicks him. Jose armdrags Red twice. Joel hits a top rope dropkick on Storm. XL hits a top rope dropkick then Jose, Chris, Storm and Red each hit one. Storm tope con hilos through the ropes then Jose topes. Chris hits a tope. Red springboard swantons out. XL springboard moonsaults out. Red hits punches and kicks on XL. XL and Red flip over each other on the 2nd rope.
XL is on Red's shoulders. The SAT lift both of them then Chris and Storm hit neckbreakers on the SAT as they do this. Chris and Jose trade and Chris headscissors him. XL hits kicks on Joel and northern lights suplexes him. XL stands on Joel and moonsaults him for 2.
XL armbars Joel then Joel crossfaces him. Chris northern lights suplexes Joe. Jose is dropped onto Chris and Red is powerbombed onto Chris. Chris is catapulted into a facekick and slingshot legdrop. XL is put in a crab and Red legdrops him there. Red hits a canadian destroyer ddt on XL for 2. XL sunset flips him and hits a code red out of it.
Jose capture suplexes XL. Jose pins Red with a backslide. Amazing Red is eliminated. They argue about it. Chris hits a widows peak on XL and Bryan XL is pinned. Chris is crotched up top. Chris takes a top rope double spanish fly then Chris and Jose get pinned at the same time.
Storm and Joel trade and are the last two remaining. Joel germans him and armbars him. Joel then does an armbar. Storm misisng a spinning move on Joel and calls for the storm cradle driver. Joel hits a big lariat on him for 2. Joel hits a driver on Storm.
Storm hits forearms on Joel. Storm tries a storm cradle driver on Joel but just drops him down chest first and wins.
Thoughts: The finish was botched and Bryan XL had multiple slips on move attempts here. This was a high flying spotfest as you would expect. It was hard to tell who was who at times. I'm not sure why they had 2 people get eliminated at once here. They didn't overdo it at least but I didn't love this one.
The Natural Born Sinners are in the back. They are mad about the chicken and threaten the camera guy.
Prince Nana is in the back and asks who he's facing tonight. Rob Feinstein tells him he has an opponent. Rob then tells Eric Tuttle to go out there. Steve Corino tells him to "get yourself over".
Prince Nana vs "Towel Boy" Eric Tuttle
Eric motions that he will break Nana. Eric wipes the ropes off with a towel. Nana running lariats him. Nana hits a corner lariat and a corner hip attack. Nana hits a nice overhead belly to belly suplex and wins.
Thoughts: It was just a squash as expected. Nana was in his chubby days here.
Brian Kendrick and Michael Shane talk to some other wrestlers in the back. Shane says they will do what they always do.
Michael Shane & Oz vs. Ikaika Loa & Spanky
They say the winner of this gets a contract. These guys are all from the Texas Wrestling Academy and they talk about how they drove 26 hours to get here. Spanky comes out to "Genie in a Bottle" and is dancing. Oz hammerlocks Spanky. Spanky side headlocks him and Oz side headlocks him. Spanky wristlocks him and moonsaults off the 2nd rope to escape a wristlock. Oz spin kicks Spanky and hits lariats. Spanky slingshots over Oz then runs into a kick.
Loa takes an exploder from Oz. Shane la mistica drops Loa and spinning heel kicks him. Shane suplexes him for 2. Shane and Spanky shove each other. They slap and forearm each other. Spanky shoulders him over and armdrags him. Shane armdrags him back.
Spanky goes for a leapfrog and is powerslammed. Shane hits punches on Spanky and back elbows him. Shane lariats Spanky from the apron then is pushed off the top. Loa lariats him Shane and hits punches. Loa slams and elbow drops Shane for 2. Shane hits punches on Spanky then Spanky leg lariats him. Spanky surfboards Shane then they double lariat each other. Loa backdrops Shane for 2. Loa suplexes Shane for 2.
Shane does a twisting dropkick off the top on Loa. Oz back body drops Spanky and hits lariats on him. Oz suplexes Spanky for 2. Loa is thrown out and somehow hits his throat on the bottom rope. Oz kicks Spanky down for 2.
Shane top rope elbow drops Spanky. Loa chops Shane. Spanky flips off of Shane, dances and is caught with a german. Loa takes a double flapjack and a double submission hold that Spanky breaks up. Spanky runs into Shane's superkick for 2. Spanky pins Oz with a sliced bread #2.
Thoughts: It was just so-so. You'd think Spanky would have gotten a lot in since he was going to win and get the contract but he didn't. Loa was green here. Shane had a good showing. Spanky really seemed like he had a lot of potential at this point as he was good looking, could move and had some personality.
The other TWA people get in the ring after and Spanky dances.
Mikey Whipwreck yells at the people in the 6-way. Super Crazy joins in. They try to set-up a 3-way and they yell at them. The 6 then argue.
HC Loc is all bloodied in the back and calls someone. He says he's fed up and humiliated. Loc says he got beaten up and they pulled out a "spike gimmick". He says his neck is still killing him. He says we'll get them. He tells the person on the phone that he got beaten up because he called a DQ while reffing. He says he's done. He says he's done everything everyone asked him for 7 years and waited to get his spot. He said he's tired of doing that and will make his own spot. He says it's time for them to see the real "us".
IWA Puerto Rico Intercontinental Title Match - Super Crazy vs. Eddy Guerrero
Eddy comes out to "Smooth". They hit each other in the face. Eddy rakes his face with his foot and stomps on him. Eddy back elbows him then brainbusters him. Eddy side headlock takeovers him. Crazy headscissors him and Eddy side headlocks him again. Crazy backdrops him.
Eddy euros him then backdrops him. Eddy chinlocks him. Eddy shoulders him over. Crazy hiptosses him then armdrags him twice. Crazy top rope diving armdrags him. Crazy hits corner punches.
Crazy is pulled down face first on the apron. Crazy is sent into the post then Eddy brainbusters him on the floor. Eddy slingshot swantons him for 2. Eddy hits a fallaway slam then does a grounded abdominal stretch. Eddy sunset flips him, Crazy escapes and basement dropkicks him in the back of the neck. Crazy slingshot 2nd rope moonsaults him. Crazy top rope dropkicks Eddy for 2.
They fight up top. Eddye hits a top rope hurricanrana. Crazy spinning heel kicks Eddy. Eddy powerbombs him for 2. Eddy hits a tilt-a-whirl backbreaker. Eddy hits 2 brainbusters. Eddy goes for a tilt-a-whirl and Crazy gets a pin out of it to win.
Thoughts: It didn't really get enough time and ended suddenly. I didn't like the brainbuster on the floor not meaning anything in this one. They did move around well though and the match was fast paced.
Christopher Daniels shakes his head at Super Crazy as he passes by.
Low-Ki does a promo. He says tonight will prove who the top athlete is in ROH.
American Dragon vs. Christopher Daniels vs. Low Ki
We get a triple lock-up spot. CD gets kicked by both then takes a double back elbow and double chop. Bryan and Ki lock-up and CD dropkicks both. The three all get a shot in.
CD hits punches on both then slams Ki. Ki dropkicks Bryan then CD backdrops Ki. Bryan is suplexed onto the top rope, gets put in tree of woe and Ki baseball slides him. Ki koppo kicks CD and hits kicks to the chest.
Bryan goes for cattle mutilation and CD breaks it up. CD slams Bryan then slams Ki. Bryan is slammed on Ki then CD picks up Ki for a legdrop on Bryan. CD crabs Bryan while doing a camel clutch to Ki. Bryan works CD's arm. Ki hits Kawada kicks on Bryan. CD suplexes Ki. CD leg lariats Ki then gutwrench suplexes Bryan for 2. Ki chops CD. Bryan chops both opponents. Bryan ties up CD's legs while pulling on his arms. Ki facekicks Bryan. Bryan keeps the hold on and Ki facekicks him. Bryan northern lights suplexes Ki while keeping the hold on CD.
Bryan and Ki trade chops. CD hits headbutts on Bryan. Bryan armdrags CD then kimura's him. Ki kicks Bryan in the back then walks on CD. Ki kicks Bryan in the back. They stare down. Bryan kicks Ki in the back and they stare down more. Kid kicks CD in the back. Bryan pushes him and says that's not how you do it. He then hits kicks on CD. Ki then hits more back kicks on CD.
CD takes sandwich kicks from the two opponents. Ki and Bryan kick each other at the same time when CD moves. Ki chops up Bryan and headbutts him. CD neckbreakers Ki and Bryan. CD lion tamers Ki. CD hits a neckbreaker + ddt combo.
CD is thrown off the top by both opponents then takes a double boot. Bryan hits Kawada kicks on Ki. Ki upkicks him while down. CD belly to belly suplexes Ki. CD throws Ki into a tornado ddt on Bryan. Ki springboard kicks CD. Bryan is stuck up top and CD abdominal stretches him on the top rope. Ki breaks it up and does a hanging dragon to CD. Ki enzugiri's Bryan into a blue thunder from CD for 2. Ki misses a handspring kick in the corner. CD 2nd rope backdrops Bryan while he superplexes Ki.
Bryan ddt's CD then dragon suplexes CD. Ki sits on Bryan's back and does a dragon sleeper. CD breaks it up. CD and Ki punch each other. CD sto's Ki. CD hits a double jump moonsault then lariats Bryan over. Ki handspring cartwheel kicks CD. Bryan hits forearms on both opponents then he puts cattle mutilation on CD. Ki phoenix splashes Bryan while cattle mutilation is on. Ki hits a ki krusher on CD and pins him.
Thoughts: I always had remembered this as one of the best three ways I ever saw. I still think it ranks up there as one of the best. All 3 men were fighting for the majority of this instead of having 2 men fight while one watches. It was Bryan and Ki vs Daniels for some of this and Ki and Bryan also had their own battle going on in this separately. The timing in this was good. They didn't go overboard and the crowd was good for this. The three matched up well despite being different types of wrestlers. They did some cool spots but made it look realistic and all three of them felt like going for the win. There were no botches and I couldn't really come up with many issues with this one. This one really made me want to see Bryan vs Ki.
The crowd applauds them after and chants "Match of the Year".
Bryan gets on the mic after and says Ki didn't beat him. Bryan asks for a singles match at the next show to decide who is the best. Daniels interrupts. He makes it seem like he will be respectful but tells both of them to go to hell. He says he can beat both of them in singles matches in the same match. Ki gets on the mic and agrees to a match. Ki says they should do a round robin challenge.
Ki and Bryan shake hands. They ask Daniels to do it but Daniels pulls his hand away and leaves.
Eddy Guerrero does a promo in the back. He says we have a bunch of people giving their all in ROH. He says it's not about angles, money or who wants to be a bigger star. He says it has to do with honor. He says he was either off his game, guys are getting better or he needs to get hungry again. He says this is where he wants to be and continue. He says he sees nothing but hunger here. He says it's not over.
We see Christopher Daniels leave and he doesn't look thrilled. He says, "Ring of Honor...jesus".
Overall thoughts: It had an unusual opening segment that I guess was to show that this company was not going to be about entertainment. It was a very memorable segment though even 20 years later so I can't say it didn't work.. Red/Briscoe had issues and wasn't the best match but it did show off two people who would be an important part of early ROH. Scoot/Xavier didn't click. Homicide's tag match had a bad finish that I didn't really understand but it did serve as Homicide's intro to ROH. The 6-way was a spotfest as expected though I expected them to go even more over the top. I'm not sure why we needed to see Nana/Tuttle. The TWA Texas match wasn't the best but it gave us a look at Bryan Kendrick, who had a lot of potential. I didn't think Crazy/Guerrero was that good but the two worked well together and it gave the show more legitimacy. The main was the classic that it needed to be that help put the company on the map. They also threw various segments in between the matches so we got a sense of who these guys are and set up the second show at the end of the night which was smart.
While not the greatest quality wise outside of the main, it was one of the most important shows in indy history. It gave a lot of people their first look at people like Ki, Daniels, Homicide, Amazing Red, The SAT and Bryan Danielson. It was also the starting point for ROH, which was at times the #2 or #3 promotion in the US. I'd give it a 6 out of 10, mostly for the main. It's historically significant and definitely one you should see just to understand what the 2000's were like for indy wrestling.
No comments :
Post a Comment