ROH Punk: The Final Chapter, Chicago Ridge, IL
Picking and pecking my way through some ROH shows I’ve got lying around. I was at this one, which was headlined by CM Punk’s Ring of Honor farewell at (near) home in Chicago (Ridge). (He actually would do one more match with the company in Feb. 2006, but that’s one of them asterisk deals). I remember this match being really good but very little about it, because I’ve never watched it back on tape.
Homicide and Ki are part of the Rottweilers stable along with the Havana Pitbulls (Rocky Romero and Ricky Reyes) and Julius Smokes. Homicide and Joe are still mortal enemies, I always thought they had sort of a Wahoo-Greg Valentine kind of a thing.
Joe’s long reign as ROH world champion came to an end in late 2004 but by this point he’s the new ROH Pure Wrestling champion. Lethal is billed as Joe’s “protege” at this point, which gives him some credibility early in his ROH career, which continues to this day.
Joe hits his tope suicida fast on Homicide, and they’re out on the floor battling, leaving Lethal and Ki in the ring. The cameras can’t hope to follow everything happening right now, but it’s an absolutely burning start, they wasted zero time here.
They do settle in for a regular match, though, and it’s Joe on the defensive, with Homicide baiting young Jay Lethal, the idiot. Should also note that Lenny Leonard has joined ROH commentary by this point, making for the first good ROH commentary team ever with Dave Prazak.
Ki and Joe, old rivals, trade chops, Joe getting the better of it by enough to notice. Joe ends it throwing a hard European uppercut, then Ki goes low with a kick, an acknowledgement that he can’t win this stand-up fight, as good as he is in that game. Homicide in, and shortly after Lethal gets the tag. For the group, Lethal is very much the most basic of the wrestlers, hasn’t really found his own distinct style like the others have. I’d argue Lethal never really did find a truly distinct style, maybe.
Homicide and Ki cut off the ring on Lethal, dominating the youngster, and now Ki is able to bait Joe’s emotions from the apron, too. Rottweilers hit the cool Steiners double team bulldog, Homicide flying off the top with Lethal up on Ki’s shoulders, and now Ki is torturing Lethal on the mat a little bit.
Samoa Joe finally gets the hot tag and he is just destroying both guys immediately. He gets Homicide up for a Death Valley Driver, kicks away an attempt by Low Ki to intervene, and hits the move. But Ki flies off the top with a double stomp when Joe has Homicide down on the mat for a submission attempt, and the heat is turning back up.
Lethal gets the tag and it’s time for a vertical suplex and an elbow drop so never mind. One of the main stories here is Lethal trying to get a pinfall on either of these guys, which he’s been close to before but it hasn’t happened yet, so Lethal gets some of the real focus. And he’s in there with three early ROH kings.
Homicide with a great mule kick on Low Ki, which draws Joe in to catch Homicide off the ropes with a powerslam. Ki and Joe spill outside while Lethal hits the flying headbutt on Homicide inside for two, which nobody pays attention to because Joe is going for the ole kick outside, which misses and winds up with Joe hit by a chair over the back.
Ki tags back in legally. Homicide and Joe are both pretty much out of it outside. Ki throws the machine gun chops, but commits the cardinal sin. Doesn’t matter, he rolls through the sunset flip and crushes Lethal with a double stomp for two.
Ki up top for a flying elbow, which is not his best move. For a guy who prides himself on great execution it’s a pretty wack flying elbow, to be honest. It’s not funny like Jerry Sags or CM Punk, but it’s not worthy of Ki’s usual level of pride. Homicide and Joe back to fighting outside while Lethal tries to hold his ground with Ki, which isn’t going well as he gets destroyed by a flying double stomp.
Lethal does make it to the ropes. Homicide and Joe are back in the ring now too. Tornado DDT attempt by Homicide is blocked, but Ki drills Joe with a shotgun dropkick into the corner. Lethal hits the dragon suplex (a release style) on Ki, and that’ll do it, but Homicide hits the referee for the DQ, meaning Lethal has still not pinned either man.
The fight goes on and spills into the crowd, and I mean, they really go at it a while all over the building. The climax appears to be Lethal eating a double stomp on the floor (it’s a basketball court floor at the Frontier Fieldhouse, basically) from the bleachers, but then we also get Samoa Joe throwing — and I’m going to count here — 21 chairs or so at Homicide and Low Ki, who finally get the fuck out of there.
The match is a blast. Lethal, again, isn’t really on the level of the other three in status or fully formed ability yet, but a great prospect given a chance to hang with established ROH stars, flanked by arguably the biggest established ROH star. Tons of great offense, everyone looks good, and there’s a nastiness to it because the Rottweiler boys both excel at that, and Joe is someone who was able to meet that energy head on.
Tape Machines Are Rolling 
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