Donnie watches ROH 2002

[BigVanDonnie]

With the heartbreaking passing of Jay Briscoe, i feel like it's time to watch this from start to finish as it's has one of the best peaks of wrestling ever that helped build the current foundation of pro wrestling that's still doing it's thing today, and then the downfalls that would change the face of the company several times until we end up with TK owning it in 2022. Which is a crazy story in and of itself, that we need to talk about as well. So it's time to MAN UP.

RING OF HONOR
THE ERA OF HONOR BEGINS
23/2/02
PHILADELHIA, PA​

To kick off the show, we get an awesome techno hype video that has both aged terribly, and really well


On the street, we meet Da Hit Squad (Dan Maff and Monsta Mack) making their way towards a bus full of fans, but Spanky has already beaten them to it which leads to Mack complaining about people "stealing their heat", which is the stuff i loathe and wish would fuck off forever. They get on the bus and cut a promo about kissing sports entertainments ass goodbye forever, and hey, i hate everything. They leave the bus and hype up some more fans waiting out the front of the building.


In the building, we're greeted by our horrible commentary team of Steve Corino and Eric Gargiulo. Both guys suck at this, and it's the start of ROH struggling to get anyone good to call matches until CM Punk finally gets a chance in 2003.


The Christopher Street Connection and Allison Danger (Corino's real life sister) make their way out to the ring doing a horrendous gay gimmick designed to get them hated, and all i can say is it's 2002 and it was wrong then, and its wrong now. They kiss a bunch of fans and then each other (after calling ROH "Ring of homosexuals' for some more heat). DHS then run out and murder them in brutal fashion with some gross headdrops and a ref counts 3, but fuck that noise on counting it as a real match. They then put Danger through a table with a superbomb for the big pop. Bad stuff to kick off a company that just spent 20 minutes declaring sports entertainment dead.


In the back, Jay and Mark Briscoe are standing by!!! Jay says he's going to prove the Briscoes name is the best in the business, be it singles or tag teams.


In the back, Red says he's going to hit Jay with the Code-Red, and he needs to expect the unexpected.

Match#1 Jay Briscoe w/Mark Briscoe vs Amazing Red
Nothing more fitting (and heartbreaking tbh) than Jay being in the 1st singles match in company history with his brother by his side. Mark is only 17 and can't legally wrestle in the state yet, so Corino wonders if maybe he's a little jealous of Jay getting to be in the ring! This is a really fun back and forth for 8 minutes as they slowly escalate things until they go nuts trying to hit their kill move. Jay throws some nasty right hands and really beats the fuck out of Red when he gets a shot, and we get to see Red's awesome selling and crazy bumps. He does a full backflip off a Yakuza kick, and keeps dying on stuff. Jay hits a disgusting Jay Driller that bends the kid in half, but he gets his foot on the ropes. Jay keeps trying to end it and catches Red off the top with a cool shoulder-block, but Red fights through and moves when Jay tries a senton, and he quickly hits the Infra-Red and the Red-Star Press to win.
**3/4


In the back, Low Ki cuts a promo. He says he's not here to prove he's the all around best or show that this is his gospel BUT IT IS NOT THE SIZE OF THE FIGHTER, BUT THE SIZE OF THE FIGHT HE WILL BRING! AND WHEN THE TIME COMES, ALL YOU CAN DO IS BE READY.


In a pretape, we meet the Natural Born Sinners (Homicide and Boogaloo) They're wandering around a shady looking neighborhood where Ci says is where he used to deal drugs and drive-byes, but he's done with that life and now he's pissed. He finds a rubber chicken and says it reminds him of his mum who used to make him dinner every night. He says they wear masks because they used to survive the streets by covering their faces, and now they will bring the streets to ROH. Wonderful stuff that immediately explains who they are and what they're about (or, at least what we think Homicide is about at this point)


In the back, Xavier tells a young wrestler his time will come.


Also in the back, Scoot Andrews says 2002 is his year.


Match#2 Xavier vs Scoot Andrews
The start of a short but fun little feud between the vet and an upstart. It's short, but you get a lot of cool moves and stuff, and there's way worse things than these two doing stuff for 6 minutes. Xavier is very much an unfished product, but he moves well and hits hard, and Scoot holds his hand through the rest, so not bad at all. There is one NASTY botch where Xavier drops Andrews on his face and it's clear it fucks him up for a minute and he has to collect himself before getting back into it. It turns into a back and forth and Xavier hits a bad looking Arm-Trap Neckbreaker (where he crosses the other persons arms and drops him onto their backs) to win
*3/4


Post match, Scoot teases walking out on the handshake, but he does it because he respects THE CODE OF HONOR.


Match#3 Natural Born Sinners vs The Boogie Knights (Drake and Tobin)
Gargulio is very upset about NBS having chainsaws, which is bullshit because he works for CZW. Also, the ref is former ECW wrestler HC Loc, and seems upset about being here. The NBS wreak the jobbers on the mat and Corino explains they're legit shooters and to not let their appearance fool you into thinking they can't wrestle. Homicide is the better wrestler of the team as we know, but Boogaloo isn't a slouch and holds his own when asked. It eventually turns into a fight and Ci hits his incredible Tope Con Hilo that breaks the shitty chain-link barricade, along with the jobber. Homicide uses the rubber chicken from the earlier promo and whips them across their faces with it, and HC DQ's them. OH NO
**1/4


Post match, NBS snap and beat the fuck out of HC for being a bitch. HOMICIDE USES THE FORK FOR THE FIRST TIME AND CUTS HIS SHITTY SKULL OPEN. CI HITS THE COP KILLA AND THEY LEAVE HIM LAYING IN A BLOODY HEAP.


In the back, The Boogie Knights run away.


Also in the fucking back, The CSS decide to stay in ROH when they see Spanky dancing backstage.


Match#4 Quiet Storm vs. Joel Maximo vs. Jose Maximo vs. The Amazing Red vs. Brian XL vs. Chris Divine (Ultimate Aerial Elimination Match. Special Referee: Mikey Whipwreck
Oh Jesus. The start of the worst series in early ROH history. A long, sloppy botch filled mess that murders any and all enjoyment. After a million minutes and million and one botches, fucking Chris Divine wins in an attempt to make him a thing, but he sucks and goes nowhere, so fuck this.
1/2*


In the back, The NBS are mad and chase a cameraman out of their locker-room


PRINCE NANA makes his debut and yells at noted nonce RF about not telling him who he's facing tonight. He storms off and RF walks down some steps and finds the towel boy, Eric Tuttle and compliments him on his body (JESUS CHRIST). He tells him to fight Nana. The kid agrees and walks past Corino who tells him to get himself over. One of the worst segments ever.


Match#5 Prince Nana vs Eric Tuttle
Fun little squash for Nana. He wins with an Edgeuction
*


Post match, Nana shakes his dead hands.


In the back, Shawn Michaels students, Spanky, Michael Shane, Oz and Ikaika Loa are talking about their upcoming match where the winner of the fall will be given a ROH contract. Spanky dances a lot which is the most interesting part of this.


Match#6 Michael Shane & Oz vs. Ikaika Loa & Spanky (Winner gets a ROH contract)
Not great as Spanky is the only one whose good at this point, Shane is still rough as guts, and the other two are complete nothings. There is at least a cool story of Spanky and Shane hating each other as they want to be the next showstopper, so they beat the crap out of each other whenever they get a chance, and it should have been a singles match. The other dudes get chances to do stuff and it's very bad and dull, and it's sad watching the start and end of their careers all in one match. Spanky finally ends it with the Slice-Bread #2
*3/4


Post match, Shane is very mad and Spanky is a massive dick and makes him shake his hand before he dances off again.


In the back for the 100th time tonight, Mikey yells at all the kids in the earlier match because he trained them, and they let him down (by sucking, i guess) He also yells at XL, who he didn't train and keeps calling hm Bow-Wow. Super Crazy walks in and Mikey gets him to translate that the next show will be a tag match between all of them.


Somewhere in the back, HC is on a massive brick of a phone and bitches to someone about being forced to do the extreme ref gimmick, and then getting murdered by the Sinners. He says he's done with this shit and he's going to make his own spot, and the other person can join him as well. Something awesome has just happened.


Match#7 Eddie Guerrero vs. Super Crazy (IWA Intercontinental Championship)
Eddie looks in tremendous shape and it's clear he's in a WAY better place than when he got fired, and it's such a great thing to see. Eddie slaps Crazy right away and beats the shit out of him, and MY GOD he looks amazing. Clean and crisp and mean as hell on everything he does. Everything has that classic snap to it, and Crazy is the perfect person to take the beating, and the person to fight back and make Eddie eat shit when the time comes. Eddie hits a gross Brainbuster on the floor and the sound is gnarly as hell. Eddie keeps kicking the crap out of him but he never ends it, and Crazy eventually catches him with a fancy cradle to win the title
**3/4


Post match, Eddie shows respect and follows the CODE.


Crazy and Eddie walk backstage where all the boys pat them on the back, expect for Christopher Daniels who shakes his head and looks PISSED.


Match#8 Bryan Danielson vs Low Ki vs Christopher Daniels
Here we go. Famous match as it's the one that put ROH on the map along with these 3 men, and it's the one that other companies would try and recreate (Joe/Daniels/AJ etc) as THE match that all others have to follow. Loads of cool shit and little stories being built such as Bryan and Ki trying to outdo each other with brutal strikes, and clearly not liking each other all, and Daniels being a prick that everyone wants to murder, but also showing how tough he is and how he can hang with anyone. They escalate everything really well and it gets crazier and crazier and the crowd LOSES it, and it's one of the most endearing moments ever as ROH is made before our eyes. Ki destroys Daniels with the Ki Crusher 99 to win. Not as amazing as it seemed at the time, but still one of the coolest and most important matches ever.
***1/2




Post match, Bryan says Ki never pinned him tonight and wants a singles match at the next show. Daniels snatches the mic and cuts a babyface promo thanking the fans and talking about the emotions right now, and he just has one thing to say... YOU CAN BOTH GO TO HELL. IT TOOK TWO OF YOU BUMS TO BEAT HIM, AND HE COULD BEAT THEM BOTH IN SINGLES MATCH ON THE SAME NIGHT. Ki snatches the mic back and says Daniels is brave for a man who just got beat, and he accepts the challenge from both men, and suggest a round robin challenge for the next show. He will prove he is the best talent in the Ring of Honor. He shakes Bryan's hand and they both offer theirs to Daniels, and Chris walks out on it. BAW GAWD HE DOESN'T RESPECT THE CODE.

In the back, Eddie says he needs to get hungry if he wants to win more matches. Or, you could sign a WWF contract and show everyone you're one of the best to ever do it, but both work.

We get another techno music video highlighting the show.

After the show, Daniels walks past the ring being taken down and shakes his head and mutters "Ring of Honor, Jesus" as he storms out.

Not a great debut show, but a super historic and important one, and one that will kick off the next era of pro wrestling.

 

[BigVanDonnie]

RING OF HONOR
ROUND ROBIN CHALLENGE
30/3/02
PHILADELPHIA, PA​

Christopher Daniels kicks us off with a promo. He says ROH thinks they're something special, but he's been in every Indie in the country and they aren't special, and trust him he knows. He says the code is a joke and he won't be shaking anyone's hand because he's here to pin shoulders to the mat. Yeah, he lost at the 1st show, but it took 2 men to do it. and tonight he's beating both men in singles matches. All you can do you is say your prayers.

Another hype video hits, this one set to some really bad screamo band.

DHS do another terrible job of hyping up the crowd, with the only highlight being the entire thing is blue for some reason. Really showing how far we've come in the last 21 years.

• CODE OF HONOR!!!!!
• You must shake hands before and after every match
• No outside interference
• No sneak attacks
• No harming the officials
• Any action resulting in a disqualification violates the Code of Honor

In the back, Divine Storm are training and Quiet wants to show off a new move but Devine refuses and gets mad at the idea of learning and getting better. Quiet slaps on a crossface chicken wing, and Danielson is watching from the sidelines and looks mad. HE SHOVES QUIET OUT OF THE WAY AND CHOKES DEVINE OUT AND SCREAMS "THIS IS HOW YOU DO IT" He kills the kid and walks off very angry. Love that dude.

Match#1 Bryan Danielson vs Christopher Daniels (Round Robin Challenge Match #1)
They have a killer back and forth to start with both dudes fighting for control. Wonderful struggle on everything and Bryan is already fucking amazing at this, and Daniels is there to meet him every step of the way. Just some really great pro rasslin building a match from the ground up, and there's very few better than these two. Bryan breaks out the AJ Styles dropkick and blasts Daniels in the head, but Chris fights back and drops Bryan on his neck with a gross exploder, and Dragon is hurt badly. Daniels goes nuts on it and the work is tremendous and mean, and Dragon sells it really goddamn well. Constantly holding and grabbing at it whenever he can, and it's just a masterful display of selling. His comeback is awesome, but short as the neck holds him back and they go into the finishing run. Really great back and forth, and Bryan locks in the Cattle Mutilation ("Oriental Scorpion" as that fucking goof Gargulio calls it) he can't bridge and ends up collapsing and has to let it go. He keeps trying for it, but Daniels hits a gross piledriver then a STO and locks in a Crossface to win.
***

Post match, Daniels gets the mic and shits on the code again, but says he made him tap out, so he needs to respect the code. Bryan gets the mic and says unlike him last month, he'll show some class and shake his hand. They shake hands and another cool little wrinkle has been added to Daniels' story.

In the back, Prince Nana makes the Towel Boy shine his shoes. Really feel like we're watching RF's fucked up fantasty.

In a pre-tape, CW Anderson is standing by. He says he's fighting York and Matthews tonight and he could beat them alone, but ROH doesn't allow handicap matches so he picks one of the ring boys to be his partner. The kid is future Special K member Elax

Match#2 Da Hit Squad vs Prince Nana & The Towel Boy w/Simply Luscious
Awesome squash for the low-rent Dudley rip offs. Nana gets hurt and bails on the match, and the poor Towel Boy is murdered with a Burning Hammer.
*3/4

Post match, the CCS come out to fight, and MAFF THROWS THE TOWEL BOY OUT OF THE RING BUT THE HEELS MISS CATCHING HIM AND THE POOR KID EATS NOTHING BUT FUCKING SHIT ON A GODDAMN BASKETBALL HARDWOOD FLOOR. Monsta Mac then throws Luscious out of the ring and the heels do their jobs this time and catch her.

In the back. The Boogie Knights try to steal the chainsaw from the Sinners, but they fuck it up and run away when the chainsaw is heard in the background.

In the back, York and Matthews cut a TERRIBLE promo.

Match#3 Christian York and Joey Matthews vs CW Anderson & Elax
ECW 2000 called and they want their mediocre house show match back. A perfectly decent little tag match that feels like a way of starting the tag division, but Gabe could have picked two teams that were way better. CW dominates for a while by himself, but Elax tags in and fucks it up and causes CW to get hit with the Snapshot for the loss.
*
Post match, CW kills the kid.

In the back, Xavier says he's here to prove he's the all around best.

In the fucking back, James Maritato aka Little Guido aka Nunzio makes his debut. He says he's not here for comedy gimmicks like the FBI, but to rep the shooter style. He then puts on a UWFI shirt like a big dork.

Match#4 Xavier vs James Maritato.
The crowd chants "Damien Stone" which was his first wrestling name, and it's the best chant from the Philly shitheads in a decade. Really fun grappling to start and Guido guides the kid through some fun exchanges and makes him look way better than he actually is. Xavier takes over when he throws Guido off the top rope, and his control is pretty fun with power stuff, and Nunzio takes some big bumps for him. He fights back and it turns into fun little back and forth. They get back on the mat and Xavier does a fancy backslide to steal it
**1/4

Earlier today, the head of the athletic commission Frank Talent adresses the lockeroom and thanks them for putting on a great show last match, and he hopes they keep it up. During all of this, Spanky is dancing with a toothbrush and he mockingly claps afterwards.

In the back, the Sinners promise to kill the Knights.

Match#5 The Natural Born Sinners vs The Boogie Knights
Short brutal squash for the Sinners. Homicide hits a gross Lariat to win.
*3/4

In the goddamn fucking back, Low Ki says he's here to prove he's the top athlete all around (poor Xavier). He says two men didn't beat Daniels last month, it was HIM. At the end of the night, Daniels will respect him.

Match#6 Low Ki vs Christopher Daniels (Round Robin Challenge Match #2)
Awesome 10 minute sprint. Ki is pissed and mauls Daniels right away and it fucking rules. loads of gross LOUD strikes to poor Daniels, who takes a tremendous shit kicking. He keeps kicking the cunt out of him, and it's just a wonderful beating of a really big asshole who pushed things a little too far. Also, adds to Low Ki's future heel turn as a dude who will not be disrespected by anyone. Daniels finaly catches him coming through the ropes and drops him with series of leg sweeps, and he targets the neck like he did to Dragon. Awesome control work once again from Daniels. Just super crisp and mean, and Ki sells it really well. Ki moves out of the way of the BME and hits a gross springboard kick to finally cut him off. Both dudes sell exhaustion really well as they move into the finishing run. They trade counters and Ki slips out of the Last Rites and locks in a Dragon Clutch and Daniels taps.
***1/4

Post match, the bad commentary team are sure Daniels will shake Ki's hand. Daniels gets the mic and he made Dragon shake his hand after he made him tap out, and well Ki made him tap out, so he has one thing to say...THAT DOESN'T PROVE A DAMN THING. YOU WOULDN'T HAVE BEATEN ME IF IT WASN'T MY SECOND MATCH OF THE NIGHT. He won't wrestle him again until the RNG OF HONOR TITLE IS ON THE LINE. He bails, and the terrible commentary team scream over everything and don't let a cool moment breathe for even a second.

Daniels walks into the back and Xavier is standing by a door and he pats Daniels shoulder. OH SHIT. Daniels walks down some stairs and is met by a very angry DHS and NBS who scream at him for disrespecting Ki. Daniels runs away, and then we see Spanky singing and dancing.

Earlier today, all 5 terrible flippy losers and Red play basketball.

We get 2 minutes of Paul London vs Chris Marvel, where it ends when Marvel snaps his ankle in half. BRUTAL shit.

In the back, DEM BOYS are standing by. Jay tries to hype his match with Spanky, but Mark cuts him off and asks if he's going to win, so Jay shoves him and storms off. Adore this feud.

Match#7Jay Briscoe w/Mark Briscoe vs Spanky
fuck yeah! They have a killer fight on the mat and they're both already so good at the little things like fighting over positioning and the like, and it's rad as hell watching them go at it for a few minutes on the mat. They fight on top and Spanky DROPS Jay right on his face when slams him off the top, and he beats the shit out of him in wonderful fashion. He targets the head and neck with cool strikes and headlocks, and it's amazing when combined with him dancing like a prick the entire time. Jay's selling is awesome and you can already sense how fucking great he'll be at it. He throws Spanky off a Slice Bread attempt and Spanky hits the turnbuckle and he's busted wide open, and Jay fights back and whips his ass. The blood adds to it as Spanky sells like crazy and looks like he could pass out at any second. Awesome finishing run that gets progressively bigger and bigger. Spanky counters a backdrop and hits the Slice Bread #2 to win.
***

Post match, the Code is followed and Mark yells at Jay like a real bastard. Again, this is the best feud.

In the back, Gabe and his war-crime of a voice makes his debut. He's reading a poll on the ROH website about the best Shawn Michaels student, and he announces Dragon is winning with 64% if the vote, and then adds "Yeah, he's AWESOME" like a complete jerkoff.

Match#8 Brian XL & The Amazing Red vs. Divine Storm vs. The SAT
No thanks. SAT win via a bad move.

In the back, Ki repeats his earlier promo about proving he's the best.

Before the main event, Ken Shamrock shows up and cuts a promo about the show being great and whatnot, and then he makes himself the guest ref. Cool idea to sell some VHS/DVD's by adding Shamrock to it with his big MMA comeback and the TNA stuff.

Match#9 Bryan Danielson vs Low Ki (Round Robin Challenge Match #3 )
This is a long drawn out mat war of a match thar It lasts nearly all of the 32 minute run time., The entire thing is a struggle over control and it's mostly awesome as hell watching them go at it .I guess Gabe was right because that Dragon fella is pretty fucking awesome on the mat beating the piss out of someone in an attempt to take control, and Ki is just as mean and violent and throws some gross knees to the temple at one point to get something going. Just a beautiful thing all round (best). They keep beating the fuck out of each other and Bryan gets revenge for the temple kicks with a nasty headbutt of his own. Really sums both dudes up as masters of technical stuff, but both are willing to fuck someone up given the chance . KI FINALLY SAYS FUCK IT AND PUNTS DRAGON RIGHT IN THE GODDAMN EYE AND HE HAS AN INCREDIBLE KO SELL. AS HE HITS THE FLOOR. Bryan wakes up and drags himself back in and somehow fights back on the mat and stretches' Ki. Weird choice given how insane that was, but Bryan being woken up by some brain damage is very on brand. KI is loses his shit and goes insane with Kawada kicks to the face and he fucks Bryan up something awful. Bryan's head turns purple and his eye starts swelling shut in an incredible visual, AND DRAGON WAKES UP AGAIN AND TACKLES LOW KI DOWN AND THEY FIGHT FOR CONTROL AGAIN. WHAT THE FUCK. It keeps going like this as both dudes get their shots in for a time, and then the other is able to fight back. Both target the neck for their respective finishers, and it's a killer chess game just waiting for one of them to make that fatal mistake. After nearly 30 minutes, they finally stand and trade bombs and it's awesome as hell, but they could have cut off 10 minutes and it would have been better because it started to drag in the middle. They at least escalate everything really well, and Ki hitting the Super Ki Crusher feels like the biggest thing in the world. Bryan rolls out of the ring because he's finally dead, but once again he comes back to life and rolls back in and catches Ki trying a kick and drops him on the back of his skull, He finally gets the Cattle Mutilation on and Ki eventually passes out.
***1/4

Not the classic i remembered it being as it really dragged at points, but still a great match for 90% and one everyone should see at least once.

Post match, the code is followed. Bryan gets the mic and makes a joke about his interviews being bad, and it's just a super retable thing for him to do. Also, anyone that says he can't talk is a fool. He thanks the fans for being here and whatnot, and pays his respects to Ki. He ends it by telling the fans to have a nice evening. The best guy.

Another music video hits with the big part being how NOTHING HAS BEEN SETTLED.

NEXT SHOW AJ STYLES MAKES HIS DEUBT AND EDDIE SAYS GOODBYE AFTER SIGNING WITH THE WWF.

In the back, Mikey yells at the loser flippy guys, and kicks XL out of the room. He promises to find Red a partner.

In the back, Bryan, London and Luscious are hanging out, and Spanky walks over to talk some shit about being better than Bryan, and the vote being bullshit, and how if he knew how to work a computer he could have stuffed the ballot box as well. Bryan gets mad and says he's clearly better than him, and London chimes in that he could have won if he had been on the ballot. Their trainer Rudy walks over and says he's going to get a gauntlet booked for the next show to settle this. Really awesome to see LONDRICK in the same place for the first time, and Bryan getting pissy at anyone trying to say they're better than him. All the little character stuff is starting, and i love it.