Moments Ago
Forgotten Classics in RoH
I was watching some of my older Ring of Honor DVDs today, and I decided to write about some of the great matches that have taken place over the years. Of course everyone remembers the amazing matches that Low Ki had in his first five shows, the triple threat match from Era of Honor Begins, against Brian Danielson at Round Robin Challenge, against A.J. Styles at Night of Appreciation, Crowning a Champion and so on. There are also the classics of 2003, Homicide vs. Samoa Joe at Do or Die, Brian Danielson vs. Paul London at Epic Encounter, the Homicide vs. Steve Corino blood baths and countless others. Who can forget the trilogy of Samoa Joe vs. CM Punk that made the biggest waves of any independent wrestling match in recent memory? And already in 2005 we have seen classics from James Gibson, Austin Aries, Samoa Joe, Spanky and others.
This column however is not about those matches. This column is about matches that for lack of a better term have gotten lost in the shuffle. These matches certainly were great, but for whatever reason they have gotten overshadowed by the other matches on the cards. This is far from a comprehensive list, but these are matches that I have thoroughly enjoyed. So here is a look at some of the Forgotten Classics in Ring of Honor.
Round Robin Challenge featured three great matches involving Low Ki, American Dragon, and “The Fallen Angel” Christopher Daniels. There was one other great match on that card: a young Jay Briscoe taking on Spanky who was just starting to make waves on the east coast. This match had just about everything a wrestling fan could want. Hard hitting action, big moves, lots of blood on Spanky’s part and a great finish. There were a few storylines going on in this one as well. It was the beginning of Spanky’s push towards being a top star in RoH, a role he excelled in going undefeated until the one hour iron man match at Crowning a Champion. Besides that, Jay Briscoe’s luck was more in the other direction. He had lost on the first show, and lost at this one, all the while being taunted by his younger brother Mark who was not allowed to wrestling in Pennsylvania because he was too young. This was just a great match that with good reason got overshadowed by the other definite classics on this card. On any other show Spanky vs. Jay Briscoe could easily have been match of the night, but RoH was on such a role at this point that it probably was the fourth best.
We are now going to fast forward to Do or Die on May 31, 2003. This was my first live experience with Ring of Honor, and I have obviously been a huge fan ever since. The match in question from this card is Matt Stryker vs. Tom Carter. Stryker has received a lot of hate from the RoH fans, especially on the east coast. I honestly don’t know why. I enjoyed every match I saw him wrestle in RoH, and although he may have been on the generic side, he put on great technical clinics every time out. The best of these was probably the match with Tom Carter. They traded submissions, holds and counter holds for a long time before Stryker eventually scored a roll-up victory. It seemed to be the beginning of a feud between the two as Carter challenged Stryker to a tap-out match at the next show, but it was not to be as Tom Carter missed the next show for a very good reason. I believe his wife gave birth to their child that night. The match was never revisited, much to my chagrin, so I can only imagine how great of a series they could have had. Heck maybe Matt Stryker would still be around today.
A little later that year, Ring of Honor presented perhaps its best show to that time in Main Event Spectacles. The show featured three big main events, Samoa Joe vs. Christopher Daniels vs. CM Punk vs. Steve Corino, A.J. Styles vs. American Dragon, and the wild, controversial Scramble Cage. The forgotten classic from that show is the “Fighting Spirit” match between Homicide and B.J. Whitmer. In a lot of ways, Thank God this match was great. Homicide vs. Low Ki was the original match booked, and needless to say A LOT of fans were looking forward to this classic in the making. Sadly it was not to be, and taking Low Ki’s place was Whitmer. Up to this point, Whitmer had yet to find his niche in Ring of Honor, so fans were disappointed in the choice of replacement. Whitmer certainly did not disappoint though.
The match was outstanding and certainly defined “fighting spirit,” whatever that means. Homicide hit Whitmer with everything he had, and Whitmer fired back with all he had to offer. Whitmer was also the first, and to the best of my knowledge the only person to kick out of Homicide’s Cop Killa. Homicide ended up winning with the lariat and both men received standing ovations afterwards.
It is interesting to think, this was the only “Fighting Spirit” match in Ring of Honor, and it was contested under slightly different rules than regular matches. The two main differences were there was a strict 20 count on the floor, and the match could be won by pinfall, submission, or knockout. Could it be that this was the first foray into the world of a “gimmick” belt? It seems that the RoH officials removed the knockout rule and added the rope breaks and came upon the Pure Wrestling division. It was only a few months before the Pure Title surfaced… It really makes you think.
Let us now fast forward several months to May of 2004 and the Generation Next show. I have mentioned before that this is one of my favorite Ring of Honor shows. The forgotten classic from this show is the impromptu 8 man tag featuring Generation Next (Alex Shelley, Austin Aries, Roderick Strong, and Jack Evans) vs. John Walters, Jimmy Rave, and the Briscoes. This stands as one of my favorite Ring of Honor matches, and while it does receive lots of love, it got overshadowed (justifiably so) by the Samoa Joe vs. CM Punk trilogy.
It could be the impromptu nature of the match. It could be the talent of the wrestlers involved, it could be any of a number of factors, but this match flat out ruled. It even got a “Match of the year!” chant from the fans. How soon the fans change their minds. I do admit Joe vs. Punk 2 or 3 were certainly better, but I love this match.
The next match on my list comes from Glory by Honor III. Up until this weekend, I think it was the best Pure Title Match that RoH has presented, and it featured John Walters facing Nigel McGuinness. The match had one of those atmospheres in which a title change was not impossible. The change didn’t happen, but the match was amazing nonetheless. The major thing that overshadowed this exciting athletic contest was the debut of Mick Foley in Ring of Honor, and as time goes on, it will be Mick Foley’s involvement and not any of the matches that people will remember.
I think I will end my list at these five matches. There are countless more that I have forgotten, and some that I may not consider classics that you readers might. So, you’re mission this week is to e-mail me with your thoughts on some forgotten classics in Ring of Honor, or any match that you really love that doesn’t get the love that you feel it deserves.
As always, you can e-mail me at bigandymac@yahoo.com
I’ll see ya next time.
