Ring of Honor 4/27/2002 A Night of Appreciation

Ring of Honor 4/27/2002 A Night of Appreciation

The last show is here: https://prowresblog.blogspot.com/2025/01/ring-of-honor-3302002-round-robin.html

HC Loc and Tony Devito meet in the back. Devito pushes someone over then throws someone else into seats.

Divine Storm and Brian XL talk in the back. Storm asks to try a new submission on XL. XL says no and Storm says he will love it. XL says he's a high flyer and he doesn't do submissions. XL says they are "beotches'.

The Christopher Street Connection then go out to see the fans saying they will do it better than The Hit Squad. They kiss out there and Da Hit Squad chase them away. The Squad says no one opens the show and rattles them up like them. Maff says when they think they have all the answers, they change the questions. He says not to throw rocks at people holding a machine gun.Mack says it doesn't matter where you're from as long as you're chanting "Hit Squad". Maff says everyone is here to see Ring of Honor.

Quiet Storm goes up to American Dragon Bryan Danielson. He says Brian XL wants to learn a submission from him. Storm tells him to come over and stretch him. XL calls Divine a "beotch". XL says he doesn't get stressed out for nobody. Storm tells Dragon to put the submission on extra tight.

Storm and Dragon come in and Divine runs away. Dragon puts a hold on XL and taps him out.

Da Hit Squad and Boogalou talk. Boog says Homicide is in Japan and not here. Devito asks if Boog is ready. He says it's coming at him. Boog doesn't know what he's talking about.

We see the PA State Athletic Commissioner talk. Spanky walks in. The Commish says all the big bosses will be here tonight. He asks for applause from Eddy and says it'll be his last night here as he's going to the WWF. The Commish tells Spanky to take his headphones off and says to pay attention. He says to give 110% for Eddie Guerrero tonight.

Da Hit Squad come out and take the mic from the announcer. The announcers runs into Maff on accident and runs. Maff calls out The Christopher Street Connection.

Prince Nana, Elax and Simply Luscious vs. The Christopher Street Connection (Buff-E & Mace) vs. Da Hit Squad (Mafia & Monsta Mack)

The Hit Squad goes after the CSC.  Maff slaps up one of them outside. Allison Danger gets on the mic but we can't hear her. The Squad corners Danger. Danger says it'll be a three way match tonight. Nana, Elax and Simp attack The Squad. Maff gets his face humped by The CSC then hits a double german on one of them and Elax.

Nana flapjacks Maff. Maff takes corner attacks. Nana throws Elax out for some reason, shakes Simp's hand and Simp corner dropkicks Mack in the crotch. Danger plays with Simp's hair as hse tries to flirt with her. The announcers say, "she's as gay as them". The Squad then spears everyone but Danger and Elax.

Maff running facekicks and sentons Nana. Mack hits a high overhead belly to belly suplex. A CSC takes a half-nelson suplex. Simp is popped up and takes a flatliner from The Squad. Simp then takes a burning hammer and is pinned.

Thoughts: These segments continue to confuse me and seemingly go against everything ROH is supposed to be about. I thought the first time they did it was to show that this was going to be a company against the entertainment side of wrestling, but they keep going on and The Squad keep getting the better of everyone else. The Squad throwing everyone around is working some though with me.

Maff lariats Elax. Mack hits a top rope butt drop onto Elax on a table. 

The Briscoes talk in the back. Mark says Jay lost 2 in a row. Jay says he's tired of Mark making fun of him. Mark says Jay hasn't had a match yet and doesn't do nothing. He tells him to shut up.

Tony Mamaluke vs. Jay Briscoe

Mark Briscoe tells Jay not to lose again. Tony and Jay shake hands and stare down. The two mat wrestle. Tony takes down Jay then Jay hits mounted shots. Tony takes down Jay and Jay headscissors him. Jay kimura takeovers Tony. Tony flying snapmares Jay. They hiptoss and upkick each other. Jay leg lariats Tony.

Jay snap suplexes Tony and rakes his eyes with his heel. Jay suplexes Tony for 2. Tony armbar takedowns Jay. Tony does a nice belly to belly on Jay while grabbing the arm. 

Tony works Jay's arm around the ropes and hits shots. Jay rolls him up for 2. Tony russian legsweeps Jay then does a grounded octopus. Jay 2nd rope sitout gordbusters Tony. Jay chops down Tony then pop-up drops him. Jay rolls up Tony for 2. Tony victory rolls him for 2. Jay rolls out of a backslide and hits a jay driller. Jay then gets the pin.

Thoughts: I liked it. Tony worked the arm for a bit and Jay kind of won by surprise at the end. The two did have some good chemistry and the first part of this one was fast.

Mark walks out after and Tony flicks his chin at Jay after the handshake.

Mark tells Jay he almost lost in the back. I think their parents tell Mark to stop and tell him Jay won the match. James Maritato then yells at Tony as he comes to the back. James tells him to drop the comedy act. Tony says he knows who he is. James tells him he can keep doing the comedy stuff but it's without him.

York and Matthews talk. They said they shut down CW Anderson last time. They say they will be in full effect against Divine Storm tonight.

Christian York & Joey Matthews vs. Divine Storm (Chris Divine & Quiet Storm)

Joey and Storm go at it. Storm hammerlocks and headlocks him. Joey rolls and kips up out of an armlock then hits an armdrag. Joey drops Storm with a shot. York top rope dropkicks Storm for 2. Storm flying headscissors him and dropkicks him. York hits chops on Chris then Chris armdrags him off the casadora.

Chris goes up and over but is caught with an alabama slam. Chris is then put in the rocking chair. Chris spinebusters York for 2. York takes a dropkick + sto combo for 2. Storm leg lariats York. Yok jumps off Chris' back with a lariat on Storm.

York is sent out. Bryan XL then comes in and fosbury flops York. Divine Storm yell at XL for this. Chris sitout powerbombs York for 2. York 2nd rope atomic drops Chris. Joey hits lariats on Storm then back body drops him. Joey hits a stroke on Chris then neckbreakers Storm. Chris back body dropped over the top. Storm takes a double burning hammer.

Chris pulls York over the top. Storm hits forearms on Joey. Storm rolls him into a reverse figure four. Joey then taps out.

Thoughts: The finish was a little random but there was some structure here and the two teams complemented each other. This was the best outing that Divine Storm has had so far and no doubt it's due to getting away from The SAT. 

James Maritato talks. He says Xavier beat him last time and beat Scoot before it. James says we have a 3-way dance tonight and everyone knows he's the master of it. He says he will show what the true shooter is all about. he says he will submit someone tonight.

Scott Andrews does a promo. He said he broke his leg last month and said Xavier didn't get what he deserved. He says everyone knows Maritato is the king of the 3-way. He says all 3 ways end with him getting the pin with the force of nature. He says there's no walking out, there's just getting carried out.

James Maritato vs. Scoot Andrews vs. Xavier

James and Scooty lock up. They double boot X and double back body drop him. James waistlock takedowns Scoot then side headlocks him. Scoot reverses it. James rolls up Scoot for 2. X dropkicks Scoot.

Scoot drops X off the flying headscissors. X kicks James in the gut and clubs his neck. X hits shots on James and jumping knees him. James hits a stiff dropkick off the buckles.

They do a botched tower of doom spot with Scoot powerbombing the two. The three trade punches. James hits chops on X. James goes for a slingshot suplex on X and ends up sending him into a fire thunder driver from Scoot. Scoot powerslams James for 2.

James backdrops Scoot for 2. Scoot reverse ddt's James for 2. James russian legsweeps Scoot from the 2nd rope. X flies off the top onto James and James catches him with an armbar. James then gets the win.

Thoughts: It had the usual clunkiness than 3-ways have. Most of the big spots were sloppy here and it just wasn't that good.

Allison Danger pushes someone in the back. She goes up to Rob Feinstein. She says she came here from Texas and wants to do something better than teaming with Nana. Rob says to trust him for next month's show.

AJ Styles does a promo. He says it's the south vs the north. He says they should give the people what they want and that's a battle.

AJ Styles vs Low-Ki

They go to the mat and Ki side headlocks him. AJ headscissors him. They do a double knuckle lock. Ki hits kicks from the mat and is stomped on. They trade leg kicks and Ki takes him down. They front facelock each other.

Ki chops AJ. AJ takes him down. Ki Kawada kicks him in the face. AJ runs the ropes and runs into a kick to the face. AJ headscissors him from the mat and hits a big lariat. AJ neckbreakers him off a suplex attempt.

Ki hits a stiff superkick out of the corner. Ki bckbreakers him then elbow drops him for 2. AJ enzugiri's him and Ki goes out. Ki high kicks him and superkicks him. AJ brainbusters him for 2.  Ki koppo kicks AJ then facekicks him hard out of the ring. Ki does a dragon clutch on AJ on the ropes. Ki goes for a ki krusher and AJ rolls him with a ddt off of it.

Ki rolls him into a dragon sleeper. AJ moonsaults into a reverse ddt for 2. AJ goes for a hurricanrana and is powerbombed for 2. Ki hits Kawada kicks. Ki tiger suplexes AJ for 2. AJ lariats him. AJ drops him face and chest for 2. Ki sitout gordbusters AJ. 

Ki hits chops then handspring cartwheel kicks him in the corner. AJ gets his knees up on Ki's phoenix splash. AJ hits a disgusting looking over the shoulder ddt onto Ki. AJ misses a spiral tap. They trade chops and Ki enzugiri's him from the mat. AJ puts Ki on his shoulders and Ki rolls him up for the fast-count pin.

Thoughts: It was a good match but I didn't like the ending. The pin was just too fast and they might as well have had a more epic finish since they went all out here. They had a very stiff match with a fast pace. It put AJ on the map and made him look like one of the best in the promotion in his first appearance. Ki took a horrible over the shoulder ddt on his head as you can above. 

Christopher Daniels does a promo. He says ROH has finally done something right. He says ROH has brought in a talent of his caliber in Donovan Morgan. He says they know Morgan's name means top notch talent and a #1 wrestler. Daniels says he doesn't have to go through a 3-way or some round robin match. He says he will pin him tonight and prove he's the top man in ROH.

Dunn & Marcos vs. Carnage Crew (DeVito & Loc)

The crew run in with hubcaps and run off Dunn and Marcos. The Crew hit punches to start and Devito stomps on one of them in the corner. Loc hits a backdrop on Dunn. Marcos is catapulted into a facekick.

Dunn gets his sunset flip dropped and takes a b-driver from Loc for 2. Dunn is put in the electric chair and dropkicked. Devito slaps Dunn around and hits short arm lariats. Dunn is then overhead suplexed into the buckles.

Devito misses a top rope moonsault. Dunn then hits a ddt on him. Marcos comes in and hits a top rope dropkick on Devito. Marcos hiptoss neckbreakers Loc. Dunn and Marcos are dropped at the same time. Dunn then takes a razor's edge + neckbreaker combo and is pinned.

Thoughts: It was a squash as expected with The Crew running over Dunn and Marcos.

Dunn and Marcos are hit with hubcaps after.

Donovan Morgan does a promo. He says it's his first time in ROH. He says he will prove the kind of wrestler he is. He tells ROH to get ready.

Christopher Daniels vs. Donovan Morgan

CD waistlocks him then is tripped into a single leg crab. CD hammerlocks him and knee drops the arm. DM side headlocks him. CD fireman's carry takeovers him. DM then headscissors him. CD armlocks him. DM wristlocks him. CD then does it to him and DM takes him down.

DM side headlocks him. DM shoulders CD over then side headlocks him. CD backdrops him. CD hiptosses him into a legdrop for 2. CD chinlocks him. CD backdrops him then back body drops him.

DM neckbreakers him. DM pulls CD's neck over the top rope. DM suplexes him for 2. DM basement dropkicks him. CD running lariats him. CD leg lariats him. DM sunset flips him then leglocks him. DM overhead suplexes him for 2.

DM back elbows him. CD germans him. CD hits lariats and back elbows. CD then neckbreakers DM. CD hits a double jump moonsault for 2. DM diving ddt's him from the buckles. DM lariats him from behind and backdrops him.

CD crossfaces him. CD shoulders him over then CD rolls him up for 2. DM lariats him for 2. DM hits a twisting fisherman neckbreaker on CD for 2. DM then does another and wins.

Thoughts: The match didn't make sense booking wise. Daniels had a 3-way with Dragon and Ki then they had a round robin with them where the score ended up with everyone tied. One would think we'd get some other kind of match to determine who is the best of those three. Instead, everyone is off doing different things.

This was similar to the AJ/Ki match booking wise. They used the wrestler the fans know to build up a new person here in Donovan Morgan. It was a fast paced match with lots of moves and action but not much selling or story. I still kind of liked it as they didn't overdo it, but I would not have had Daniels lose here as he's clearly been established as one of the top guys and it's too early for him to lose to newcomers. 

Daniels gets on the mic. He said said he's been forced to do three ways and round robins. He said he got beat in a straight singles match. He then offers to shake DM's hand. DM comes back in and Daniels says to wait a second. CD says he won't shake anyone's hand in this ring and says the code of honor is a farce. He says DM proved he is a top talent. He calls Low-Ki a punk and says people like him are gonna come after DM. Daniels offers to watch DM's back here in ROH.

Spanky talks to fellow TWA in the steps. He says they remind him of ding-a-ling jabroni's. Rudy Boy Gonzalez says he's proud of the wrestlers. Michael Shane tells him to have some respect. They argue about it and Rudy says to go out and do your best. Spanky says Rudy will be proud of him when he wins the gauntlet. They ask who will go first in the gauntlet and Rudy says he will determine it because he's the trainer. 

Heartbreak Gauntlet Match - Michael Shane vs. American Dragon vs. Spanky vs. Paul London vs. John Hope

Leg 1 - Paul London vs John Hope

We only saw clips of this which I don't understand. Paul wins.

Leg 2 - Paul London vs Michael Shane

Paul side headlocks him and shoulders him over. Paul goes for the powerbomb and is ddt'd. MS corkscrew kicks him for 2. Paul hurricanrana's him then dropsaults him for 2. Paul northern lights suplexes him. Paul rolls him up for 2 then Shane spears him. Shane does a calf crusher on Paul.

Paul chickenwings Shane and drops him chest first. Paul misses a top rope ssp. Shane top rope elbow drops Paul and pins him.

Leg 3 - Michael Shane vs Spanky

They shake hands and slap each other. They push that these two hate each other. They trade chops. Spanky comes off the top and is dropkicked in mid-air. Shane TKO's him on the knee then neckbreakers him for 2. Simply Luscious is on commentary and leaves after Steve Corino hits on her.

They fight up top and end up going out. Spanky sends Shane into the rails. Shane is busted open. They trade shots outside. Spanky sends Shane into the post. Spanky hits forearms and Shane hits punches back. Shane lariats him over the top.

Spanky's head is banged off the buckles. Shane hits punches. Shane then gets pulled over the top to the floor. Spanky hits punches outside. Spanky suplexes him for 2. Spanky hits knees to the head. They trade more shots. Shane forearms Spanky then hits a whisper in the wind off the top onto him.

Spanky hits punches to the head then Shane lariats him. Shane back body drops him then flying forearms him. Shane bengs over and is kicked. Spanky is back body dropped out. Spanky tries to skin the cat but is dropkicked. Shane hits a nice tope con hilo outside.

Spanky hits a bad sliced bread #2. Spanky is knocked off the top then Shane falls off the top like a drunk man in a bad spot. Spanky gets a 2 count off of it. Shane superkicks Spanky. Spanky hits a sliced bread #2 and wins. 

Leg 4 - Spanky vs "American Dragon" Bryan Danielson

BD waistlock takedowns him then armdrags him. BD tries to handstand out of a headscissors and Spanky stops him. BD bridges and Spanky gets on top of him. Spanky gets a 2 count on him. Spanky stomps BD's hands then side headlocks him. BD headscissors him. BD chops him. BD shoulders him over, slams and elbow drops him. Spanky slips on the ropes and crotches himself. BD then high kicks him.

BD hits chops. BD's head is banged off the apron. Spanky then hits a slingshot club on him. BD sunset flips him for 2 then Spanky lariats him. Spanky cravates him. BD cravateplexes him.

BD enzugiri's him. Spanky's pants are ripped in the crotch and BD forearms him as he comeso ff the top. BD back elbows him. BD hits chops and goes up and over. BD backdrops him. Spanky leg lariats him. Spanky running knees him.Spanky snap suplexes him for 2. BD release german suplexes Spanky on his neck. BD running facekicks him for 2. BD powerbombs him for 2. Spanky hits a sliced bread #2 for 2. BD spinning forearms Spanky. BD dragon suplexes Spanky for 2. Spanky hits a sliced bread #2 off the buckles and wins.

Thoughts: It was a long gauntlet here and it was even longer in reality, as the first match was clipped. I don't have any thoughts on the first match as we didn't really see it. London/Shane didn't get enough time. Shane/Spanky had Shane as the face which is something you don't see a lot. I thought he did a good job as a face and looked better as one than he did as a heel. He did some high flying he usually didn't do and showed me some potential. The last two matches were similar. Both got a ton of time and this was clearly a way to show off the TWA crew and figure out who was worth pushing. I wanted to like Shane/Spanky but Shane's spot where he fell off the top looked so hokey and they kept the match moving, but they didn't sell much. Spanky/Dragon got ruined by Spanky ripping his pants half-way through and wrestling the match with his underwear exposed. That's not something you want to have in a showcase match like this. Like the last match, they kept it moving but the selling was just non-existent here. At least they didn't overdo it though. I didn't like Bryan losing here as like with Daniels earlier, this is the 3rd ROH show and he needs to be protected. I think they did a good job in showing off London/Shane/Spanky though and it's clear that these guys were talented despite being younger wrestlers. I would say this was a success overall and did what it was supposed to.

Spanky gets on the mic after. Bryan's down and he wants Bryan to come and shake his hand. Spanky mocks him. Spanky says this is his is first step in the road to the title and calls himself The New Show stopper (as he's a Shawn Michaels student). Bryan says this is the first time that Spanky has ever beat him.

Christopher Daniels comes out. He calls them both youngsters. He says they aren't in the same league as him. He says he will be the first ROH champ.

Scoot Andrews comes out. He talks but we can't hear him. Daniels runs him down and says he doesn't deserve to be in the same ring as him. Scoot yells at him and challenges him to a match in the first round of the ROH Title tournament. Daniels says it's up to the booker to determine who fights who.  

Xavier then comes out. X says it's about honor and he wants to throw his name into the tournament. Jay Briscoe comes out and says he wants in the tournament. Prince Nana comes out and talks. Low-Ki then comes out and talks. Nana talks to him and slaps him. Nana tries another shot and is dropped by Ki. Ki says everything everyone has done has gotten them to this point. Ki talks to all the people in the ring. Ki says the first champ needs to uplhold honor and says Daniels can't so it won't be him. Ki says it's not the size of the fighter but the size of the fight he brings and talks about seeing them in June.

Thoughts: It was a long segment that was impossible to understand due to sound issues. But they set up the matches for the upcoming title tournament here which they needed to do.

Eddie Guerrero & The Amazing Red vs. The SAT (Joel Maximo & Jose Maximo)

Eddy comes out with the WWE Intercontinental Title. Jose backs up Red in the corner. Jose shoulders him over then Red hurricanrana's him. Red hits armdrags. Jose dropkicks him then Red hits an assisted headscissors. Eddy tilt-a-whirl backbreakers Joel.

Eddy wristlocks Joel and armlocks him. Joel shoulders Eddy over then flying headscissors him. Eddy does a sharpshooter off a sunset flip attempt and Joel ropebreaks. Eddy backdrops then slingshot swantons Joel. Eddy takes a back body drop then is dropkicked.

Eddy is double tripped. He is then put in a surfboard + dragon sleeper combo. Jose basement dropkicks Eddy for 2. Jose chinlocks Eddy. Eddy superplexes Jose. Red ddt's Jose then standing ssp's him. Jose catches Red's hurricanrana and hits a sitout powerbomb.

Jose suplexes Red for 2. Red gets superkicked for 2. Red is put in a reverse rocking chair then takes a slingshot legdrop on the back of the neck. Jose comes off the buckles and gets corkscrew kicked by Red.

The locker room comes out ot watch. Eddy comes in and pounds on a Maximo. Eddy hits a brainbuster. Eddy is rolled up for 2 and he hits a lariat on Jose. Red does a slingshot tornillo out then Eddy's top rope hurricanrana is blocked. Eddy pops Red up into a hurricanrana on Jose. Red tope con hilos out. Eddy hits a splash mountain on Joel and pins him.

Thoughts: It was the best SAT match in ROH so far. They hit most of their offense and the match was structured alright. It wasn't great and was not trying to be some epic but I thought it worked and put over The SAT. 

Bryan XL comes out after and complains about something. We can't hear as usual due to audio issues. Eddy offers Bryan a piece of him if he wants it and XL accepts it.

Eddy Guerrero vs Bryan XL

XL hits shots on Eddy then is pop-up dropped. Eddy powerbombs XL then brainbusters him. Eddy then hits a top rope frogsplash and pins XL in a short one.

Thoughts: I'm not sure why this was on here but I'm sure XL was thrilled to work with Eddy.

Eddy gets on the mic after and the crowd chants, "we will miss you". Eddy talks but it's too hard to understand him. I think he says he's happy when he's in the ring. He talks about his early career and says he's happy whether people are cheering him or booing him as they are here. Eddy thanks everyone and hugs The SAT and Red. He puts the IC Title on Red's shoulder.

We see Ki and Bryan Danielson walk down to the locker room and talk about Eddy. They see Spanky in the locker room talking to a slice of pizza. Ki asks why Spanky wasn't paying respect to Eddy. Ki throws Spanky's headphones. Spanky says people don't pay to see Eddy, they pay to see him. Daniels and Donovan Morgan come in. Daniels cals them girls and a fight fight breaks out. Security breaks it up and Spanky goes with Daniels and Morgan. Spanky asks what what's wrong with them. Morgan asks if he wants to do something about it and he says not to them. Daniels said if he still had hair, this place would make it grow gray.

Overall thoughts: It was a long show. Wrestling wise, it was the best show so far as The SAT and friends didn't do their usual botchfest. They are clearly pushing Spanky as the next big heel and set up a partnership with Daniels and Morgan. They also debuted AJ Styles here and he looked like a top guy on day one. I didn't like them having Danielson and Daniels losing here though as I thought they should be protected as the top guys. I'm still not sure what the idea is with Nana and The Christopher Street Connection though and they clearly don't fit in with what this company is doing. The Eddy stuff was fine. I'd give this one a 6 out of 10 overall as the wrestling was better overall than the first two shows, they built up the title tournament for the next show and some of the prospects they gambled on are starting to shine.