ROH Night of the Grudges, Cambridge, MA
This is a request via Ko-fi. Styles is the NWA world heavyweight champion, won just three days prior in TNA. London had recently won a three-way in ROH against Styles and Low Ki, and Styles has a grudge. On the NIGHT of THE GRUDGES! And it’s a No. 1 contender’s match, too.
London is out first. Styles has Alexis Laree, now of course known as Mickie James, in his corner. This is FIRST TIME EVER (one-on-one). They knuckle lock to start, AJ slides for a takedown, doesn’t get it. London tries it on a second knuckle lock, they grapple around. There’s a “let’s go London” vs “let’s go AJ” chant happening.
Things are even in the opening seconds. London gets a headscissors on the mat, Styles escapes into a headlock. More good, aggressive grappling — Styles was, pardon the word choice, phenomenal at this sort of thing. He worked it with such angry aggression and hillbilly pissiness.
They shake hands again after coming out even on the mat. But there’s a tension. C&E, Styles with a snapmare and a hard kick to the spine. Styles offers the hand this time, all but mocking London, and London…just accepts it. London is too weird to be thrown off.
Knuckle lock again. Styles slides through the legs, takes London down, and goes for an arm, but London gets the ropes. They circle around. Styles picks the leg again, and grabs a leglock. They get back to their feet and shove a little. Now London offers a hand, and Styles turns it down this time. Some in the crowd boo. Imagine these fucking Feinstein era nerds.
Styles bulls London to the corner in a C&E, and gives a more or less clean break, in that he doesn’t take a clear shot at London. London offers the hand again. Styles goes nose-to-nose with London, and Paul slaps him in the face. AJ brushes him back with one. London offers the shake again. AJ chuckles and shakes.
C&E again, London to a side headlock. Off the ropes, nobody budges on a shoulderblock. Back to an aggressive C&E, working on the ropes, and the referee steps in, but it’s London who takes the first real cheapshot, throwing a forearm. A couple of standing switches, London with a waistlock takedown. They trade pretty and quick armdrags, then Styles misses a kick and London hits another armdrag. They go for a dropkick at the same time, and they’re back to a stalemate.
London steps out to the floor to annoy AJ, then comes back in. Styles steps out to the floor in return. Back in and they shake hands again, this time with the left hands so that AJ can throw a forearm. Now it’s heating up. Styles going for the Styles Clash, but London escapes into the ropes and a corner.
Styles charges, gets backdropped to the apron, AJ punches him in the face and hits a springboard dropkick. London bails. But AJ isn’t waiting this time. He slingshots out, but misses, landing on his feet but jamming his knee. Dropkick through the ropes from London! Laree checks on AJ, but London comes back over with a boot to the head.
Styles yanks London by the trunks and throws him into the guardrail with the metal ROH signs. Forearms to the back from AJ. I have seen a lot of terrific wrestlers live over the years — Styles, Eddie Guerrero, Chris Benoit, Chris Jericho, Rey Mysterio Jr, Juventud Guerrera, Chris Hero, CM Punk, Samoa Joe, Bryan Danielson, Steve “Mongo” McMichael, etc. — but I can say without a second thought in my mind that nobody that I’ve seen up close and personal hit any harder than AJ Styles in this period here. I’ve said before that Styles is the best live worker I’ve ever seen in my life, at least that I saw on more than one occasion, and that was a big reason why. And it’s not like he was just WALTERing people in the chest, either, but that’s a whole other discussion.
Anyway, Styles has the advantage on the floor. He whips London toward the railing, but London slides on the floor, Styles charges, and London drope toeholds him down, AJ glancingly hitting the rail. London being a real cock here, lightly kicking Styles in the face a few times.
London tells people to move, and goes back over to AJ. London whips Styles to the railing, but Styles leaps over and turns to come back. Instead, London catches his leg and smashes it down over the railing repeatedly. Then London gets caught trying to go over the railing, and both men are down on the floor.
Styles with another forearm to the back. He tosses London back into the ring, and follows him in. Styles with a chop. London back with a chop. They’re trading blows now, and Styles ends it with a hard kick to the left arm. AJ with a nice snap suplex, then a snappy, single-armed swinging neckbreaker.
London’s bleeding from the left arm just a bit. Styles with a charging forearm in the corner. He tries to follow up, but London kicks him off. Paul catches a boot, Styles with an enzuigiri, but London shakes it off and hangs on to the foot. AJ goes for another, London ducks, AJ goes for another, and London sorta cranks it into a dragon screw type move, fucking up AJ’s leg.
London stays on the leg. Laree roots Styles on from ringside as the dueling chants kick up again. Styles trying to fight back, off the ropes, caught with an elbow to the gut and a legsweep. London drops a quick elbow, kicks up, and drops a headbutt for two.
London staying on the legs now, taking away Styles’ speed and aerial game, grounding him and limiting his options. London calls for a brainbuster, but Styles blocks it and tries to reverse. London lands on his feet, blocks a neckbreaker, and they fight into Styles hitting a brainbuster of his own.
Both men down, Styles rolls over and gets a two count. Styles up by the ropes, London slides through his legs and drags AJ to the mat, smacking his knee over the apron, which we didn’t yet know was in fact the hardest part of the ring.
London slingshots in with a legdrop to Styles’ knee. Cover gets two. London cranks on the leg some more to keep AJ down, then sits down with a leglock submission. Styles trying to fist his way out of it, but London elbows back. Styles with a series of hard shots and he breaks free.
Both men down again, count is on. It reaches eight before they both get up and start trading shots again. Hockey fight! Styles with the discus lariat! Both men back down! Back up, Styles misses an elbow, but he hits a vicious pumphandle suplex, dropping London right on his head for a two count.
London gets sent to the corner, but shoots up to the second rope and hits a spinning heel kick from there. AJ up in the corner, backdrops London to the apron. London springs in but misses a moonsault, and AJ hits the moonsault inverted DDT! Two count!
Styles going for a superplex, London trying to fight him off. Headbutts and forearms. AJ with uppercut right hands. London goes to the leg to cut that off, then dumps Styles face first to the mat. London up top, he’s got the chance, and hits the shooting star to the leg!
After a little moment of recovery, London gets the figure four on, right in the center of the ring. Styles’ shoulders go down for two, but he gets the bottom rope to break the hold.
London has Styles up top, but AJ headbutts him down. AJ can’t follow up and London comes right back, hitting a kick to the ribs. Styles with a straight right hand, London back with a shot of his own and he’s back up for the superplex. Styles hammers him back down again.
AJ tries to stand on the second rope, but can’t plant his left foot because of the damage. So London’s back for another suplex, and AGAIN AJ fights him off. London staggering to get up, charges back, and goes for a frankensteiner or something, but AJ blocks it twice and hits a power bomb. STYLES CLASH! But he landed on his own knee and can’t pin!
Finally, he does cover, but it gets just two. He couldn’t hook a leg and he gave London the time to recover somewhat. They fight for the advantage, AJ hits a German suplex, three count — but both men had their shoulders down because AJ couldn’t bridge, so it’s a double pin. Crowd wants but does not receive five more minutes.
Rating: 4.5/5. Terrific match. I hadn’t watched this in YEARS and it more than holds up, and would stand out if it happened today, too, all 15 years later. London and Styles were both absolutely awesome in ’03 and brought their A-games to this match. The head games, the physicality, the limb work from London, everything mattered and everything connected.
Tape Machines Are Rolling 
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