Cambridge, MA – 3.15.2003

Commentary is provided by Chris Lovey & Ray Murrow.

The show starts with Christopher Daniels, Xavier and Allison Danger of The Prophecy backstage. It is an interminable, repetitive promo about how they hold the gold and thus all the power. Daniels relishes in withholding the ROH Tag Titles from being defended at the One Year Anniversary Show. Daniels also says he is still waiting for Steve Corino to cast the first stone in the Prophecy vs. Group rivalry. However, Allison Danger threatens to expose Corino’s secrets to Daniels if Corino goes after them. So does Chris want Steve to cast the first stone or not? Then Danger just dishes out some secrets anyways, how Steve used to force her to wrestle him when they were kids and broke her leg. Bad.

Matt Stryker vs. Chad Collyer

This is a rematch from “Revenge On The Prophecy”, which Collyer won by submitting Stryker to a Texas Cloverleaf. Rather than go with the same strategy, Collyer attacks Stryker’s left shoulder and elbow. Stryker himself goes for Collyer’s legs, wearing him down for the Trailer Hitch that he calls the Stryker Lock. Collyer clearly knows its efficacy, as he scrambles to the ropes as soon as Stryker goes for it the first time. After that, Colyer pivots his approach into attacking Stryker’s leg with multiple spinning toe holds. He gets Stryker in a deep half crab with his knee dug into Stryker’s ribs. Stryker uses the ropes to escape, but when he goes for a running high knee in the corner, Collyer moves out of the way and Stryker crashes his knee into the corner pad. Collyer gets the Texas Cloverleaf locked back in, and the ropes once again save Stryker. Stryker takes out Collyer with multiple forearm strikes, a back body drop, and a hard boot to the face, but can’t keep Collyer down. Collyer counters a powerbomb into a Gedo Clutch for two. Stryker fails to surprise Collyer with a victory roll. He does however cut back on a Magistral Cradle, which leads to him getting Collyer in an ankle lock. Collyer rolls forward to escape and goes for another cloverleaf. Stryker cradles Collyer into a pin and then goes back to the ankle lock momentarily. Stryker’s flying sunset flip is rolled through and Collyer gets him in the cloverleaf. When Stryker begins crawling to the ropes, Collyer pulls him into the middle of the ring, which forces Stryker to tap out at 16:06. This was a big improvement from the first encounter. They built off of that first encounter with Collyer’s cloverleaf cemented as his signature submission very well. Collyer may have pivoted mid-match, but once he did, he was solely focused on Stryker’s legs. Stryker, meanwhile, never picked a lane, and that approach may have gotten him licked. Collyer also knew he’d have to eventually stifle him from reaching the ropes to escape. A very strong start to the show. ***½

Backstage, Low Ki and Da Hit Squad are approached to do a promo. Ki takes the lead, and Mafia is not happy about that. Ki notes Mafia’s attitude, and Mafia says he understands that to Ki, him and Mack are just mid-carders while Ki is Mr. Ring of Honor. Mafia calms them down, and Low Ki turns his attention to the promo on Special K. Low Ki says that Special K has a lot of potential, but they won’t reach that potential without respect, and so Ki and DHS will beat respect into them tonight. Mafia then cuts off Low Ki’s ending line and says that they ain’t playing no games. Ki seems more confused by Mafia’s behavior than anything. Low Ki then asks Mack if Homicide is “bringing his thugs back here” again, and Mack says he thinks he heard that the thugs are already here. Ki then heads off to presumably find them.

The Amazing Red vs. Slim J

Special K members Hijinx and Slugger are in Slim J’s corner. It’s not often you see an Amazing Red match where the other guy is taking the crazier bumps. For example, Red turned Slim J inside out with a lariat and spiked him with a reverse Frankensteiner. Red busted out an F-5, because in how many matches is he the larger of the two competitors? Slugger tripping Red allowed for Slim J to take over with punches in the corner. Red quickly came back with a flying Complete Shot for two. When Slim J went for a moonsault, Red cut him off in mid-air with a cutter. Red was shocked when Slim J kicked out of the Red Star Press. When Slugger tried grabbing Red a second time, Red kicked him in the face. When Slim J attempted a wheelbarrow, Red countered into an inverted piledriver for the pin at 12:03. That was probably longer than it should have been. If it had burned hot and fast I think you could have had something more memorable. It was a good showing for Slim J, and fun to see Red in a position he usually is not. **½

Angry from the kick Red gave him, Slugger drops Red with the Body Bag (Big Ending) in the middle of the ring.

Gary Michael Capetta interviews CM Punk in the ring. Punk has never been to Boston before, so he introduces himself to the crowd. He also says he’s straight edge, meaning he is drug free, alcohol free, and better than you, earning boos from the crowd. He also says being straight edge means he is better than Raven. The crowd maturely chants that Punk is a homo. Punk says Raven is not here tonight, and that’s a good thing, because he’d “stink the place up worse than Konnan did in Philly.” Why the heck is Konnan catching strays? He says Raven didn’t have the balls to show up and answer his challenge. He says everyone in the crowd aspires to be like Punk – drug free, alcohol free, and better than Raven. Punk begins to leave, but just as he is about to head through the curtain, Raven appears. A frightened Punk backs his way to the ring and Raven follows. Raven speaks but is very hard to understand thanks to the production quality. Ultimately, Raven goads Punk into accepting a Raven’s Rules match. Punk tries to attack Raven, but Raven gets the upper hand and facelocks Punk. Punk slips away before Raven can DDT him. Audio issues and an overly long segment don’t make for a good mix.

ROH Tag Team Championship #1 Contender’s Match
AJ Styles vs. The SAT (Joel Maximo & Jose Maximo) vs. The Backseat Boyz (Johnny Kashmere & Trent Acid) vs. The Carnage Crew (DeVito & Loc)

The winner of this match challenges The Prophecy for the ROH Tag Titles later tonight. Styles’ original partner was Paul London, who had to pull out for emergency sinus surgery. He was replaced by The Amazing Red, but after being taken out by Slugger, Styles will wrestle this match without a partner. Alexis Laree is in his corner, and the crowd is very behind him. Styles wipes out Joel with the Stylin’ DDT on the floor, with Jose then taking out Styles with a suicide dive. That starts a chain reaction of everyone in the match diving onto one another, circling back to Styles landing a shooting star press off of the top turnbuckle onto everybody on the floor. Styles hits his head on the barricade when Acid low bridges the top rope and he goes to the floor .Styles gets him back later in the match with a pump-handle suplex that deposits Acid onto his neck. The SAT catch Styles on the top rope, looking for the Spanish Fly. The Carnage Crew pull them down, and then the Backseat Boyz drop Loc on his neck with the T-Gimmick. As Joel fights Kashmere on the floor, Jose goes after Styles. Styles comes off of the top with a sunset flip. He looks to convert into the Styles Clash, but when Jose grabs the ropes, Styles instead plants him with a powerbomb for the pin at 12:15. Not a lot of meat on this bone, just some really crazy looking bumps and cool double team offense. If nothing else, it made really want to see AJ Styles vs. Trent Acid, but this is sadly the only match they were ever in together. Commentary tells us Red will be Styles’ partner tonight if he is cleared. **½

The Outcast Killaz make their way ringside. They challenge SAT to a match on the spot. The bell never rings, but they do attack the SAT. Diablo Santiago ends up being spiked by a diving DDT, and the Oman Tortuga falls victim to the Spanish Fly. That’s a clever way to give the crowd the SAT signature move without it happening in the previous bout.

A Hotstuff Hernandez vs. Alex Arion match was cut from the show. Arion won.

Low Ki & Da Hit Squad (Mafia & Monsta Mack) vs. Special K (Angel Dust, Deranged & Dixie)

Special K members Brian XL, Hydro and Slim J are in Special K’s corner. Those three guys fake out a dive before the bell so that the other Special K members can land triple dives successfully. All that does is piss off Ki and DHS, who proceed to kick the shit out of Special K. Angel Dust especially takes a beating. Special K is able to isolate Mafia for a little bit, but when he tags Ki back in, Ki is able to run roughshod on all three of them by himself. Ki also stops Hydro from interfering and Mack stops Slim J from interfering, leading to a coast-to-coast headbutt from Mack. Deranged gets involved, hitting Mack with a chair, and suddenly all six Special K members are in the ring. The referee disqualifies them at 12:37. Low Ki gets the match to restart as six-on-three when Da Hit Squad pull Special K back into the ring. Dixie offers Low Ki a pill, and Ki uncharacteristically takes it. He appears to be messed up, but it was a rouse, a cunning attempt to trip them. Ki kept the pill on his tongue and spit it out before fighting off the entirety of Special K like he was in a Bruce Lee film. The match ends with triple finishers – Ki with a Ki Krusher to Dixie, Mafia with a Burning Hammer to Deranged, and Mack with a brainbuster to Dust at 18:12 (total). Another match that was fun but should’ve been tightened up. I was expecting something to happen between Mafia and Ki based on the promo earlier in the night, but we got nothing. Special K took one heck of a beatdown, and it was fun seeing Low Ki not take himself too seriously. ***

We’re at intermission and Gary Michael Capetta interviews The Carnage Crew backstage. They don’t care that they’ve made enemies of The Christopher St. Connection and the Texas Wrestling Academy students. Loc tries to make a point about not caring about pissing people off when your paychecks are cut by taxes, gas is $1.75 a gallon (I wish), and you hate your wives, but he doesn’t quite get there. Just lovely stuff.

GMC then tries to talk to Raven. Trinity happens to walk by at the same time, and Raven turns his attention to her instead. They walk off together, leaving GMC behind.

Ghost Shadow & Quiet Storm vs. The Ring Crew Express (Dunn & Marcos)

Speaking of Trinity, Quiet Storm’s usual partner Chris Divine is on tour with IWA Puerto Rico. However, Divine would never return to ROH. The rumor at the time was he and Trinity had broken up under less than ideal circumstances, and that cost him his spot in both TNA and ROH. By July of 2003, he’d be out of the business entirely. Ghost Shadow busts out the Muscle Buster in this match, just as he did in January, on Dunn. Storm gave Marcos a Spinal Shock. Dunn dropped Shadow out of a Gory Special. Storm launched Dunn into an Ace Crusher from Shadow. They attacked Marcos’ ankle before Storm locked him in a heel hook for the submission at 3:15. An inoffensive but pointless popcorn match. Shadow would be gone from ROH after this, and Storm would be right behind him after next week’s card. *

Raven’s Rules
CM Punk vs. Raven

Trinity is in Raven’s corner. Punk was very cocky on offense, especially in the early going. Raven introduced “plunder” into the match well before the ten minute mark, but it actually backfired with Punk throwing a chair at Raven’s head. Raven would also be busted open a little bit later in the contest, re-opening a wound he incurred a few days earlier wrestling AJ Styles in TNA. Raven got a second wind when he escaped a chinlock, firing off a rolling clothesline, knee lift, and pair of bulldogs to earn a few nearfalls. Raven would pull out a table after Punk escaped a sharpshooter. Unfortunately, Raven would not only dropkick that table into Raven’s face, but also put Trinity through it with a leg drop off of the top turnbuckle. If putting down the fans and being a cocky prick wasn’t enough to turn the crowd against them, putting his hands on Trinity did the trick. Although it is ROH fans in 2003, so maybe not. Raven was able to kick out of the Shining Wizard, so Punk gave Raven a taste of his own medicine by dropping him with a DDT. Punk debuted the “Devil Lock”, essentially the Tequila Sunrise, to submit Raven at 18:49. This one match really turned Punk around in ROH. Before this, he was just someone with a little buzz kicking around the undercard. He left this match as one of the most hated wrestlers in the company. Raven, for his part, made Punk look more than formidable, and the submission victory felt earned. This was both a great way to kick off this rivalry and to cement Punk’s persona. ***½

Punk offers Raven a handshake the match, mocking the crowd about how much they seem to care about the Code of Honor. Raven accepts and is instantly kicked in the stomach. Raven reverses and looks to give him the Raven Effect, but the referee stops him. Punk is able to escape, but Raven drops the referee with the Raven Effect as punishment.

ROH Championship #1 Contender’s Trophy Match
BJ Whitmer vs. EZ Money vs. Homicide vs. Samoa Joe

Some of Homicide’s “thugs” are in the front row (Julius Smokes and an anonymous Becky Bayless amongst them.) You may be surprised to hear that Money was the most dominant person in this match for quite some time. It made sense given he won the four way last month that he was the best at scouting people’s placement, finding time to interject when needed, and even getting in a blind tag. The heat between Joe and Homicide is palpable throughout the entire bout. Their interactions were brief, but intense, and got the crowd’s attention. The crowd also got amped for Homicide and Whitmer’s exploder suplex exchange. Homicide prevented Joe from submitting Whitmer to his STF. Homicide gets two with an Ace Crusher. When that doesn’t work, he kicks Joe low and looks to lock on his own STF. Money broke it up and took out Homicide with Cha-Ching. Whitmer broke up Money’s pin and also blocked the Money Clip with an exploder suplex. Homicide clotheslined Whitmer to the floor after both he and Joe broke up his pin. A jump-up knee to the jaw from Joe took out Homicide, leaving Joe and Money left to fight. Joe was German suplexed directly on his head, but Money decided to wait for Joe to get to his feet instead of capitalizing. Joe blocked Cha-Ching and pulled him down into the Coquina Clutch. Money tapped out at 15:50, just as Homicide jumped into the ring to try and break up the hold. Really strong wrestling from everybody in this match. We got enough of a taste of the Joe and Homicide’s rivalry to be satisfied, but left wanting more. Perfect for a match like this. Both Whitmer and Money looked very strong and like they fit in with the two top of the card competitors. Another really good four way bout. ***¼

Homicide looks in the camera and says “it isn’t over with Steve Corino” as he heads backstage. Joe antagonizes Homicide’s crew by kicking the guardrail in front of them. He walks away, but the crew goes ballistic and has to be sequestered by the ROH officials and The Carnage Crew. Homicide and Joe then come to blows and have to be broken apart by multiple members of the locker room. Gabe yells something about pressing charges and does his best to send the wrestlers back to the locker room. Mafia yells back at him and has to be pushed back into the locker room by security. The fans weren’t buying this as legit as they (allegedly) did in New York. These fans likely had heard about that riot happening, saw this occur and determined “oh they’re trying to replicate that again here.” This didn’t necessarily cheapen the first riot, but hopefully the lesson was learned to not try and make that a feature of ROH shows.

ROH Tag Team Championship Match
The Prophecy (Christopher Daniels & Xavier) vs. AJ Styles & The Amazing Red

The Prophecy have been champions since 9.21.2002 and this is their third defense. Allison Danger is in the Prophecy’s corner while Alexis Laree is in Styles and Red’s corner. Red won over the crowd by besting the champion with kicks. Commentary notes how he looks “concussed” when he bails to the floor, and that was apparently legitimate. Xavier did a remarkable job staying the match given his state, including taking out Styles with a cobra clutch suplex to gain the Prophecy control of the match. When Styles did tag out, Red’s comeback was quickly cut off by Xavier when he pulled him down neck first onto the top rope. Red quickly tagged out when Daniels accidentally clotheslines Xavier. The teams landed their signature offense on either, resulting in a lot of pinfalls needing to be broken up by the defensive wrestlers partner. Styles took out Xavier for good by wiping him out with a spin kick to the chin, followed by a brainbuster and the Cliffhanger. Daniels did a remarkable job fighting off Styles and Red by himself, with Styles having to save Red from being pinned after a BME, and Red having to save Styles from both a Koji Clutch and a pin after the Angel’s Wings. When Daniels attempted a superplex on Red, Styles snuck in from behind and pulled him down into a Styles Clash. As Styles is pinning Daniels, Red intercepts Xavier’s attempt to make the save, and Styles and Red win the match and the titles at 21:09. Despite being over twenty minutes the match did seem to end a bit abruptly. Xavier being dazed and Red and Styles not yet being a well-oiled tandem are I believe are the key factors to the match not being as good as one may expect. It was a good, even very good match, but not great. Credit has to be given to Daniels who worked his ass off though and more than help up the Prophecy’s fair share. It’s also a shame that the tag titles weren’t lost by the “true” champion tandem, but that is what it is. ***½

Backstage, Homicide re-iterates that his issue with Steve Corino isn’t over. Anytime he, CW Anderson, or Samoa Joe try to come after him, his people will be in attendance to watch his back. If Corino wants another riot, he’s ready to get violent. The camera man calls “cut” and Homicide’s crew comes into frame. That instantly takes away any credibility of them being disruptors if they’re just allowed backstage after creating a supposed riot. They ask what’s up Low Ki, asking if he’s forgotten where he’s come from. Homicide says not to worry about him and that he has everything under control. We get to hear Julius Smokes say that Low Ki’s “arms are too short to box with God”, one of his classic lines. A very strange segment.

Elsewhere, Quiet Storm, who is heading down the hallway, blows off Gabe Sapolsky asking him where Christopher Daniels is. Gabe finds Daniels in the next room and asks him for a promo to end the tape. When Daniels refuses, Gabe mentions him being under contract, insinuating that he is obliged to produce a promo at will, or something. Daniels then chases Gabe off saying he’s been screwed over and over by the promotion, and wonders what the heck the three count was in the main event. He then slams the door on Gabe.

Punk says wrestling for many is their hobby, but for him, his hobby is crushing the human spirit. He says after tonight, he knows he is in Raven’s head. Next week, they have a tag team match. In an attempt to play mind games on Punk, Raven has chosen Colt Cabana as his partner, while Punk has his trainer, Ace Steel in his corner. Punk says Raven chose somebody he can’t trust and somebody Punk knows everything about as his partner. Philadelphia is where some people say Raven was born, but next week, it will be where he dies. Raven’s time in Ring of Honor will be nevermore.

While not a home room show, it was well paced and easy to watch. It holds historical significance as including the first Punk vs. Raven match in ROH and the first ROH tag title change. Things get very interesting next show.