Philadelphia, PA – 6.22.2002

Commentary is provided by Donnie B and Steve Corino.

ROH skipped May 2002, as the weekend they would have run would be Memorial Day Weekend. I believe this is the only month to go without an ROH show until March 2020 when the COVID-19 Pandemic canceled their 18th Anniversary weekend.

The show opens with Da Hit Squad and Homicide pep talking Low Ki backstage as he gets ready for the ROH Championship Tournament. Ki gets especially fired up when Christopher Daniels’ name is mentioned. He throws forearms at the wall before telling the camera that the issue between him and Daniels is not over, and that the Ring of Honor Title will be his.

ROH Championship Tournament Quarterfinal Round Match – Block C
American Dragon vs. Bio-Hazard

Bio-Hazard is another Texas Wrestling Academy trainee, and this is his ROH debut. During the Code of Honor, he kicks Dragon in the left leg, which allows him to control the match in the early going. Dragon kicks out of a Blockbuster and a Northern Lights suplex, and fires up from Bio-Hazard’s chops. He takes down Bio-Hazard with his own chop and a running back elbow. A snap suplex and reverse suplex leads to the Cattle Mutilation, getting Dragon the win in a swift 2:31. Bio-Hazard looked decent when he was on offense but Dragon was the clear favorite in this one. This was a pretty impactful two and a half minute bout. *

ROH Championship Tournament Quarterfinal Round Match – Block A
Paul London vs. Spanky

The fast back-and-forth between the two of them at the beginning of the match ends with a dropsault and spinwheel kick from London. Spanky takes a respite on the floor, and when he comes back into the ring, he blocks London’s armdrag and takes him down with a reverse suplex. Spanky keeps on London until London stops him with a back elbow out of the corner and takes him down with a tumbleweed senton body block. Spanky comes out of the corner with a headscissors. London ducks the subsequent leg lariat and nails Spanky with a superkick. London misses a shooting star press. Spanky looks for Sliced Bread #2 but gets crotched on the top rope. London sankakugeri’s Spanky to the floor and lands a tope con hilo. London comes in from the apron with a lionsault, but Spanky gets his foot on the bottom rope to avoid being pinned. London comes back with Waffle Face for two. London goes to the top rope again and gets cut off by Spanky, who brings him down with a gnarly super DDT. London halts Spanky as he climbs the ropes, but Spanky can jump down before London can do anything else. London tries a roundhouse kick. Spanky ducks and delivers Sliced Bread #2 for the pin at 9:58. To nobody’s surprise, these two work together well. I liked Spanky surprising London with the Sliced Bread to win, as both guys had each other well scouted throughout the match. A match with a ton of action and momentum swings makes for a really fun time. ***¼

ROH Championship Tournament Quarterfinal Round Match – Block C
Jay Briscoe vs. Doug Williams

This is Williams’ ROH debut. He is best known for competing in the FWA in England, but also was part of the famous King of Indies tournament. Mark Briscoe is in Jay’s corner. He encourages Jay after he uses the ropes to escape a leg submission. Mark also smirks when he sees Williams escape Jay’s grounded headscissors and put on a side headlock. Jay surprises Williams with a falling jab, but Williams uses his legs to pull Jay back into the side headlock. Jay Saito suplexes his way free. Jay gets a two count after a dropkick and a Gourd Buster. Williams takes down Jay with a knee lift and comes off the top with the Bomb Scare for two. Jay dumps Williams on his shoulders with a powerbomb. When that doesn’t get him a pin, Jay lands a flying legdrop off of the top rope for another two count. Williams resists the Jay Driller. Jay goes up and over Williams when being whipped into the corner. Williams does a standing switch out of a waistlock and hits the Chaos Theory for the pin at 6:17. This was both a strong debut for Williams and a good continuation of the Briscoe Brothers drama. The fans took to Williams instantly, and he and Jay were a really good pairing, despite looking to be opposites on paper.. Even though Jay finally won last month, he still wrestled like he had something to prove, and Mark’s judgmental shadow loomed large during the contest. That would continue as Mark laughed at Jay as they walked to the backstage area. ***

ROH Championship Tournament Quarterfinal Round Match – Block A
Jody Fleisch vs. Jonny Storm

Like Williams, Fleisch and Storm are British independent wrestlers, primarily known for their work in FWA. Fleisch had also competed in Michinoku Pro. Storm slows down the match by choking Fleisch with his boot, and then wipes him out with a somersault senton off the top and to the floor. Back in the ring, Fleisch backflips out of the corner and takes down Storm with a Japanese armdrag. Fleisch evades an attack, sending Storm crashing into the barricades. Storm comes back into the ring on his own accord but is sent back out with a superkick and clothesline. Fleisch follows with a springboard shooting star press. Back in the ring, the two of them trade pin attempts. Storm follows Fleisch up the ropes and brings him down with a release German suplex. After they both recover, Storm takes down Fleisch with a super Frankensteiner. Storm also gets a two count with a rebound huracanrana. Fleisch lands the Phoenix DDT but Storm is too close to the ropes to get a pin. Storm tries a rebound huracanrana again, but this time Storm counters into a sit-out powerbomb for the pin at 7:01. The stuff they did was impressive but it was way too much to process in such a short period of time, and not all of it looked good. They gave Storm’s super German suplex time to breathe but that’s about it. I understand wanting to do as much as you can to get buzz but it didn’t make for a compelling, coherent match. **¼

The Christopher St. Connection try to watch Jerry Lynn eat a banana in the locker room and make jokes about it. Pointless garbage.

ROH Championship Tournament Quarterfinal Round Match – Block D
Low Ki vs. Prince Nana

Elax is in Nana’s corner. We’re reminded that Ki and Nana had an exchange during last month’s show where Ki knocked out Nana with a punch. Nana surprises Ki with an attack before the bell and violently sends him back first into the corner. He strings together a corner splash and hip attack. He chops down Ki in the opposite corner before delivering a second hip attack, and then in another corner for the third hip attack. Ki finally gets in some offense with some chops. He moves out of the way of another hip attack attempt and cracks Nana with a leaping enzuigiri. Referee John Finnegan checks on Nana and ends the match at 3:53, declaring Nana knocked out.
Not much of a match, but I appreciate this as a follow up from the previous show, and that they subverted expectations by having Nana in control for the majority of the match. *

We go backstage again where Xavier shakes Jerry Lynn’s hands and commiserates with him over the heavy metal music he’s jamming to. This was as pointless as the other Jerry Lynn backstage segment, but inoffensive. The SAT and Divine Storm approach The Amazing Red as he’s lacing his boots and wish him luck in the tournament.

ROH Championship Tournament Quarterfinal Round Match – Block D
The Amazing Red vs. Xavier

Xavier throws Red across the ring, but Red quickly turns things in his favor with a tope con hilo. Xavier cuts off a headscissors with a powerbomb When Red goes for the headscissors again, he pulls it off, but Xavier handsprings off the ropes and nails an enzuigiri. Red responds with two enzuigiri’s of his own and the Code Red for two. Xavier reverses a whip and pump-handles Red into Kiss Your X Goodbye for two. Xavier misses a 450 splash. Red stomps on his hands and uses the ropes for a moonsault DDT (ala Halloween Havoc 1997) for two. Xavier pulls Red off of the turnbuckles. Red however knocks him down with a rolling enzuigiri. The Infrared and a standing shooting star press gets Red the pin at 4:20. They went with the power versus speed story and it worked for me. The kick outs got a little ridiculous before the match ended, but the crowd was with them so I can’t knock that decision too much. **¼

As Xavier comes through the curtain, Christopher Daniels admonishes him for losing, saying he was counting on him to be the person to knock Low Ki out of the tournament. Daniels then turns his attention to the Amazing Red, and says he will pay if he doesn’t take Ki out of the tournament. Xavier tells Daniels to pick on somebody his own size. We’re then reminded that Scoot Andrews challenged Daniels to a first round match last show. Andrews is introduced to Sumie Sakai from the Jd’ promotion during a photoshoot.

ROH Championship Tournament Quarterfinal Round Match – Block B
Scoot Andrews vs. Christopher Daniels

Before the match, Christopher Daniels says Ring of Honor has discriminated against him since February. However, one night, he saw a prophecy that foretold him leading an elite group of wrestlers towards the goal of ending Ring of Honor. The first athlete to join him in his crusade against Ring of Honor is Simply Luscious. Daniels brings her into the ring and the two of them exchange words privately before Andrews makes his entrance.

Daniels knocks down Andrews with a clothesline. Andrews counters a headscissors with a facebuster and delivers a clothesline of his own. Daniels cuts off Andrews with a neckbreaker. When he tries a bulldog, Andrews instead brings him down with a uranage. He calls for the Force of Nature. Daniels slips out, but Andrews is able to deliver a sit-out Tiger Driver for two. Daniels catches Andrews coming off of the ropes with an STO. A stunned Andrews walks into a uranage and Daniels pins him with the BME at 2:28. It is surprising that the match was so short. Not that I mind a quick, decisive victory, but the way they’ve handled Andrews these past four shows has been perplexing. ¾*

Simply Luscious gets in Andrews’ face after the match. I can’t understand her on the microphone due to poor acoustics, but Andrews says he won’t strike a woman, and brings out Sumie Sakai to face her instead. Sakai is wearing a Phillies hat, which helps get the crowd behind her. This leads to an impromptu match, the first ever women’s match in ROH history.

Sumie Sakai vs. Simply Luscious

Both are unsuccessful in attempting an early pin, but Sakai successfully pulls off two dropkicks and a bodyslam. Luscious dropkicks Sakai in the stomach and drops her with a sit-out powerbomb for two. Sakai climbs the corner after being whipped across the ring and comes off the top with another dropkick. She follows up with another dropkick off the top for two. Luscious reverses a suplex attempt, and she’s admonished by Daniels for it only getting a two count. Sakai wears Luscious down with an abdominal stretch before slamming her and landing a moonsault for the pin at 3:26. I was curious why ROH didn’t put the first ever women’s match in the company on the Women of Honor compilation in 2012, and Corino’s horny commentary answered that question very quickly. This was fine for what it was, albeit a bit sloppy. *¼

ROH Championship Tournament Quarterfinal Round Match – Block B
AJ Styles vs. Jerry Lynn

This is Lynn’s ROH debut. Styles had an impressive debut on the previous show. Styles and Lynn wrestle to a stalemate when they go for an armdrag at the same time, eac hurting their own shoulder and elbow in the process. Styles flips out of a bow and arrow stretch and into lateral press, with Lynn emphatically stomping Styles after kicking out of his sudden pin. Lynn gives him a tilt-a-whirl backbreaker for two. After a series of reversals, he sends Styles into the corner with a belly-to-belly suplex. Styles ducks a clothesline and superkicks Lynn in the ear for two, and then gets another two count with a neckbreaker. Styles decides to give Lynn a divorce court and apply an armbar until Lynn gets the ropes. He continues his attack on Lynn’s left arm until Lynn stops him with a legdrop to the neck in the ropes. Styles however reverses a suplex into a neckbreaker and goes back to work on Lynn’s arm. Lynn backdrops out of a Styles Clash attempt. Styles flips out of a cradle piledriver attempt. Lynn knocks him down with an enzuigiri and takes the moment to recover himself. After a pin exchange, Lynn German suplexes Styles, and the two of them catch their breath once more. Lynn tornado DDT’s Styles for two. Styles catches Lynn coming off of the ropes with a neckbreaker onto his knee. He hits the Spiral Tap for two, shocked Lynn was able to kick out of it. Lynn DDT’s Styles before giving him a TKO for two. Styles slips out of the Cradle Piledriver and hits the Styles Clash for the pin at 15:30. This could’ve been better if Styles’ arm work had more focus, and if they didn’t burn through so many nearfalls in the last few minutes. You could feel the crowd care less about each successive fall, though they at least came alive for the Styles Clash. This was good, but not great, and I think some of the time this match received could have been spread out across a few of the other tournament matches. ***¼

Dunn and Marcos make an unscheduled appearance during intermission. They try to claim that they’re the top tag team in ROH. As a reminder, they are 0-1. Da Hit Squad then come out and beat the shit out of them. Monsta Mack declares themselves the best tag team in ROH, but Divine Storm argue that point with him, saying they haven’t had a match with them yet. The SAT come out and take umbrage with this statement as well. This leads to Divine Storm taking out Mack and The SAT taking out Mafia. Those two teams then go at and end up on the floor. The Christopher St. Connection then make out in the middle of the ring until The Natural Born Sinners take them out. Boogalou and Homicide spank Allison Danger for good measure, and Homicide leaves Mace laying with a Cop Killa. Da Carnage Crew wipes out Homicide and Boogalou with hubcaps. Da Hit Squad takes them out with spears. With the Sinners help, Maff powerbombs Loc onto Devito through a table on the outside. The Natural Born Sinners note their displeasure with DHS declaring themselves the best tag team in ROH. Both Da Hit Squad and the Sinners complain to Low Ki, who leaves to handle “family business” between the two teams. This was a complete filler segment to get some people on the show who weren’t in the tournament. It built up one match, which is good, but that point is diluted when the segment includes more than a dozen other people.

ROH Championship Tournament Semifinal Round Match – Block A
Jody Fleisch vs. Spanky

Spanky goes to the floor after taking a spinwheel kick, and hops up to the apron to crotch Fleisch on the top rope when he goes for a springboard attack. Spanky takes down Fleisch with a brainbuster and leg lariat back inside of the ring. Fleisch blocks Sliced Bread #2 and knocks Spanky to the floor. This time, he successfully pulls off a springboard moonsault, but smashes his legs on the barricades in the process. Impressively, he is able to make it back to his feet on his own accord. Spanky rolls out of the way of the Phoenix DDT and Magistral cradles Fleisch for two. Fleisch pulls Spanky onto his shoulders, but Spanky slips out and hits Sliced Bread #2 for the pin at 5:13. Like Fleisch vs. Storm, they went at a pace where not enough time was left to absorb and process the impressive action, but it was a pretty fun five minutes. **

ROH Championship Tournament Semifinal Round Match – Block C
American Dragon vs. Doug Williams

This is a rematch of the APW King of Indies tournament, where Dragon submitted Williams to the Cattle Mutilation in the quarterfinals. An angry Dragon asks for Williams to “come on” after taking him down with an enzuigiri. Williams ducks a kick and takes down Dragon by his left leg, with Dragon having to adjust his kick pad before getting back to his feet. Williams has his legs wrapped around Dragon’s on the mat, and Williams cracks him in the side of the head with a forearm strike. Dragon escapes an abdominal stretch, but Williams rolls through an O’Connor Roll attempt and catches a crossbody by Dragon. He slams Dragon’s back across his knee and stretches him out in a Bow and Arrow. He drives Dragon ribs first into the corner and takes him down with a running knee lift. Dragon dropkicks Williams out of mid-air to block the Bomb Scare and takes him down with a dragonscrew leg whip. Dragon applies a heel hook, and so Williams grabs a heel hook at the same time. They end up rolling to the floor, but keep the hold applied on the outside until the referee makes them let go. Back in the ring, Williams rolls Dragon around on the mat and takes him down with a tornado DDT. Dragon ends a forearm strike exchange with a big boot and snap suplex, and follows up with a diving headbutt. Williams goes up and over in the corner and hits the Chaos Theory for two. Dragon throws some high kicks at Williams before placing him on the top turnbuckle and bringing him down with a belly-to-back superplex. He looks for the Cattle Mutilation, but Williams counters with a reverse suplex. He pulls Dragon over using a neck bridge into a cradle, pinning Dragon at 13:17. With as big a part as Dragon was for the first few ROH shows, this has to be considered an upset. Williams defeating Jay Briscoe and Dragon in one night was a great way to give him instant credibility, and pitting him against Dragon was a surefire way for him to be able to have an impressive showing in front of the Philly faithful. This was slightly beneath their APW encounter, but the match of the night to this point. ***½

ROH Championship Tournament Semifinal Round Match – Block D
Low Ki vs. The Amazing Red

The opening minute of this match is far and away the most memorable part of this show, and would be replayed to death in subsequent video releases. Red evading Ki’s strikes and stomps whipped the crowd into a frenzy, ending with a stalemate after Red dove over Ki’s basement dropkick attempt. Out of this, Ki blasted Red with forearm strikes while holding onto a double knuckle lock as well as two chest kicks. Red ducked a fallaway kick and landed a standing shooting star press for two. Red shuts down Ki again with a diving neckbreaker. Red attempts a powerbomb, but Ki pops him off of his shoulders and knocks him out with a Koppu Kick. Red dropkicks Ki out of mid-air to stop the Tidal Wave. Ki cracks Red with a chest kick after Red hops to the apron. Ki then Koppu Kicks Red off of the middle rope and into the barricades. In the ring, Red uses a tornado DDT to shut down Ki. Ki rolls to the apron to catch his breath and ends up being dropkicked to the floor. Ki cuts off his dive attempt with a jump-up knee to the head. Red flips Ki forward to block a Ki Krusher and small packages him for a two count, and then spikes Ki with a crucifix driver. Red misses the InfraRed. When he tries a reverse Frankensteiner, Ki remains still and uppercuts Red. He then hoists him up into a Ki Krusher into the corner, with Ki depositing Red out to the floor after releasing the clutch. Ki brings Red back in the ring. Red impressively tornado enzuigiri’s Ki from the floor. Red goes to the top in the hopes of a super Frankensteiner, but he ends up taking a super Ki Krusher. It takes Ki moments to gain his bearings, but he ultimately covers Red and pins him at 11:16. Red had some good moments in the first three shows, and being associated with Eddy Guerrero provides immense value, but Ki made him a bonafide ROH star in this showing. Ki has a well earned reputation for not being selfless, which is made even more frustrating when you see just how beneficial the matches where he is selfless are to his opposition. It is remarkable that he managed to make Red, who to this point had only been featured in tag matches against goofs (and Eddy Guerrero), seem like a credible opponent. This match was really fun, and it is easy to see why this match got the buzz it did at the time. It’s still got some solid juice to it 21 years later. ***¾

Brian XL slides into the ring after the bell. He does some inaudible trash talk on the microphone before dropping Red with an electric chair driver. The SAT stop XL from delivering a move off of the top turnbuckle, and decide to bring him down with the double Spanish Fly. Backstage, The Natural Born Sinners challenge The Carnage Crew to a Bunkhouse Match on July 27th. Homicide promises to kill them both. Seems extreme. Elsewhere backstage, Brian XL angrily asks Divine Storm why they didn’t come to his aid, and they say they don’t agree with the disrespect he has been showing lately either. Brian XL says he will find someone who will have his back.

ROH Championship Tournament Semifinal Round Match – Block B
AJ Styles vs. Christopher Daniels

Simply Luscious is in Daniels’ corner. This is also a rematch from the APW King of Indies quarterfinals, which Daniels won with the Angel’s Wings. A lot of time is spent on the mat, with Daniels wearing down Styles’ neck. Styles takes Daniels with a snap Frankensteiner from the mat and dropkicks him to the floor. When the two of them fight on the ring apron, Daniels knees Styles low enough for it to be questionable, and knocks Styles off the apron and into the barricades. Styles is busted open from making contact with the barricade, which Daniels immediately exposes with punches to the wound. Daniels flattens him with a flapjack, but Styles rolls out of the way of a lionsault and drops Daniels with a brainbuster. Styles delivers his own lionsault to Daniels as he is laying on the middle rope. Daniels ducks a clothesline and pulls Styles down into the Koji Clutch. Styles rolls Daniels onto his shoulders for a pin, and Daniels mows him down with a clothesline. Daniels legdrops Styles’ neck as he lay across the top rope and drops him with a Falcon Arrow for two. Styles knocks down Daniels with an enzuigiri to buy a moment of rest and powerslams Daniels moments later for a two count. He also gets two with a wheelbarrow facebuster. Daniels ducks a roundhouse kick from Styles and drops him with an STO. After Styles kicks out of a Blue Thunder Bomb, Daniels goes for the BME. Styles shakes the ropes to send Daniels crashing down to the mat. Styles drops him with the Cliffhanger. When he sets up Daniels for the Styles Clash, Daniels grabs an ankle lock. Styles fights his way free and tries the Phenomenon. Daniels counters with the Last Rites to get the pin at 21:49. The ending was a bit sudden, but it worked given that Daniels had damaged Styles neck plenty in the early portion of the match. The crowd also gave the match a standing ovation so they didn’t seem to mind the suddenness either. It’s no surprise that these two would have a very good match together, but they have had and would have better matches together. Regardless, it was a great match to end the night, with Daniels threatening to take the ROH title as a first step in killing the company. ***¾

Donnie B. makes his way to the ring while Daniels and Simply Luscious are still in the ring. He is ready to make a big announcement, when Daniels grabs the microphone and declares the Code of Honor to be a farce. As Daniels interrupts Donnie again, Spanky comes into the ring and cracks him in the face with a forearm. I think he makes a comment about Daniels sucking his dick too. Donnie B. announces ROH High Impact TV debuting in September.

Doug Williams and Low Ki then join Daniels and Spanky in the ring. Referee Jim Molineaux and Mike Kehner are ready to reveal the Ring of Honor Championship, but Daniels tries to steal the title, and it results in a brawl between the four tournament finalists. Spanky wipes out Williams on the floor and Ki has Daniels in the Dragon Clutch. Despite multiple members of the locker room trying to pull him off and Mafia talking to Ki, Ki refuses to release the hold. They end up carrying Ki and Daniels to the backstage area with the hold still applied, which is extremely goofy. This was a really strange way to hype the tournament finals, as it put all the focus on Daniels and Ki, with Williams and Spanky feeling like afterthoughts.

Backstage, a bloody AJ Styles says the boys from NWA Wildside will come to Philadelphia next month to show ROH what the South is all about. He also says he is going to break Daniels’ hand the next time they’re in the ring together. Elsewhere, Rudy Boy Gonzalez is unable to find Simply Luscious. Spanky then brags to American Dragon about proving that he is the best graduate from Shawn Michaels’ academy, regardless of what internet polls say. He’s in the finals of the ROH Title tournament, and Dragon isn’t booked next month. Dragon does tell Spanky he is booked for ROH’s debut in Boston in August, and challenges Spanky to a 2 out of 3 Falls Match for that show. DeVito and Loc toss around some of the ring crew as they leave the building, and say that’s what the Sinners will be subjected to on July 27th. Outside, the cameraman films Steve Corino making out with Simply Luscious, and Corino stops to creepily thank Rudy Boy. So weird.

This was the easiest ROH show to watch of the first four, with a tighter focus on the matches and way less offensive gaga. While nothing reached the peaks of those shows, nothing came close to their lows either. I’m pleased to say Ki vs. Red holds up, as does Dragon vs. Williams and Styles vs. Daniels.