ROH: Reborn Completion...Thoughts~!

[Agent Kev]

Roderick Strong/Jack Evans vs. Izzy/Dixie

FUN little opener here. The action was hot and heavy and although some of the stuff was off it was still overall pretty fun. Nice finisher combo of a faceplant by Roderick and a 630 by Evans. There was also a nice spot where Roderick had Izzy on his shoulders and Evans jumped from the turnbuckle to on top of Izzy and then did a moonsault onto Dixie.

Doug Williams vs. Nigel McGuiness vs. Jay Lethal vs. John Walters

This was good and every looked pretty much on their game. Williams was top dog and I really enjoyed his sequences with Nigel in this match. Nice tease of two matches in this one with Williams facing off against Nigel and Walters matching up with Lethal. Lethal took a ton of head drops towards the end of the match.

Loc/Devito vs. Masada/Danny Daniels

This one was good for what it was. Nothing special but some good brawling and object thrown in for fun.

Up Next: Aries vs. Shelley vs. Punk vs. Stryker

[Voltage XX]

I actually just reached the same point you seem to be at, having just finished the weapons match. So far I've gotta say that I'm absolutely loving the show, and Punk on commentary is certainly helping that fact out.

[Agent Kev]

Alex Shelley vs. Austin Aries vs. CM Punk vs. Matt Stryker

This one looks a lot better on paper than it turned out. I liked parts of this match but overall I just wasn't digging it. Shelley cut a nice promo to start things off. I liked how GenNext worked as a team and cut off Punk and Stryker at different times and worked them over using teamwork. Shelley and Aries had a nice combo submission that they used on Punk at one point. Stryker hit a nice combo at one point also that I hadn't seen him use before, he had his opponent up and drop him on his knees chest first and then immediately pulled him up and nailed him with a DVD. Ending came when Shelley and Punk executed double victory rolls but the ref only saw and counted Shelley's.

One great storyline opportunity could come out of this match and that is how Punk has been screwed repeatedly from being the Pure champion. He OWNED the Pure title tournament (match quality and storyline wise) but lost out to AJ Styles due to some questionable officiating. Same thing happend at the AJ vs. Punk re-match at "At Our Best". Now Punk has been screwed a third time since he actually pinned Aries at the same time that Shelley pinned Stryker but it was not counted. So this sets up an interesting perspective match-up between Punk and Doug Williams, a re-match from the pure tournament where Punk beat Doug Williams and if Punk were to win could lead to that Pure vs. World title showdown that Gabe was flirting with between AJ and Joe. Also...during the commentary for the next match Punk talks about the Pure title and how he has been screwed out of the title (just like I mentioned above).

And one more thing....Austin Aries is the new hotness.

Dan Maff/BJ Whitmer vs. Ace Steele/Colt Cabana-Falls Count Anywhere

This was a real FUN brawl and a great change of pace from the last match. I'm not a big fan of brawls but I thought this was well done.

Jimmy Rave vs. Trent Acid

Where to start? This just wasn't very good. There was no flow, too much interference, Acid was off on a lot of his stuff (although some of his moves were good, just not well placed in the context of the match) and Rave looked way too tenative.

Pure Title Match: Doug Williams vs. Alex Shelley

Best match of the night so far HANDS DOWN. This was great, especially in the context of being a "pure title match". It is truely a joy to watch guys like Doug and Alex perform their craft to their strengths. Both guys showed tremendous scientific wrestling ability in this match using numerous holds, counter-holds/reversals and innovative moves and submissions. This match is truely what the Pure Title is about (not the 4-ways from earlier). This match also told a great story of a young and talented but disrespectful upstart (Shelley) against a skilled veteran grappler. The match had a great feel or flow to it as both guys just seemed to work so naturally with each other. Both wrestlers targeted in on a body part of their opponent. Williams targeted in on Shelley's arm (which would cause him difficulty in performing his "Border City Stretch" and if he had tried "It Came From Japan")and Shelley targeted in on Williams neck trying to soften him up for the two moves that I previously mentioned. Shelley did a tremendous job of selling in this match.
The match also told the story of one man who had more experience in the Pure Wrestling Divison than the other (Williams had wrestled in the Pure Wrestling Tournament and was 1-1, whereas Shelley had wrestled a match under the pure rules in January but had lost). Williams really controls the "rope break" part of this match as he incorporates it into his "plan of attack". He worked to a 2-0 advantage over Shelley in rope breaks when he continued to work over Shelley's arm and placed Shelley in a submission move near the ropes knowing that Shelley would instinctively go to the ropes and use his last rope break. This put Williams at a 3-0 advantage in rope breaks and meant that Shelley was out of rope breaks and essentially must score a victory over Williams while also avoiding anytype of submission moves. Unfortuantely for Shelley this did not happen. Dispite wrestling a very good match Shelley came up short because Doug used the Pure Wrestling Rules to his advantage (ties Shelley up in a submission move in the ropes and Shelley has no choice but to tap) and truely deserved to become the 2nd ever Pure Wrestling Champion. Great match, highly recommended.

CM Punk/Ricky "The Dragon" Steamboat": The Final Confrontation

Sometimes I find the most joy in unexpected places. Sometimes when I'm not expecting much from something is truely when you feel that something hits a home run. This is that moment. Going into this "confrontation" I wasn't expecting much. I liked the build of the Steamboat/Punk fued but I already knew the outcome of this encounter and was unsure of what I thought of it.
After watching this segment I was blown away. I don't think it was truely anything special, I just think it was very well done and surpassed my expectations. Punk comes down to the ring first and then Steamer follows and hits the ring and he and Punk brawl/fight for about 5 minutes. Steamboat finally gets the upper hand and stands above Punk and talks to him about the talent Punk has but also his flaws and tells him that he needs to step up and be the man that Steamboat knows he can be. GenNext (Shelley/Aries/Strong/Evans) hit the ring and attack Steamboat. Punk then takes the mic and stands over a fallen Steamboat and teases him being the newest member (and possible leader) of the new generation of ROH superstars known as GenNext. Punk tells Steamboat that he listened to Steamboat wanting Punk to be the man Steamboat knows he can be. Punk said he has made that choice and then hauls off and nails Shelley and then attacks the rest of GenNext before being overcome by the 4 young superstars. As Punk is being beaten down Steamboat gets to his feet and comes to the aid of Punk and they together clean house. After the ring clears, Steamboat sizes up the situation and offers Punk his hand and Steamboat takes it as the crowd chants "CM Punk...CM Punk...CM Punk". Steamboat then leaves Punk in the ring to the cheers of the crowd as it takes a knee to soak up the situation. GREAT segment.

This leads me to the evolution of CM Punk in ROH. Over the last year Punk has become one of the top guys in the company. He is the man who took out Raven and Christopher Daniels (and essentially The Prophecy) from ROH (via storylines and matches). He essentially has been a part of the last 3 biggest storyline driven fueds in ROH IMO, Raven vs. Punk, SCS vs. Prophecy, Punk vs. Steamboat. Punks face turn, while I disagreed with it at first, is part of this era of wrestling. When you get too good at being a heel (see also: Christopher Daniels in ROH, Eddy Guerrero in WWE) the fans cheer you anyway because of your talent (I think Punk, while still not universally liked, was starting to get more and more cheers). Punk's turn was also made possible by the emergance of Homicide (and his new persona) as the top heel in ROH and by the elevation of GenNext as a brash, young upstart heel group. This put Punk at a crossroads and ROH made the decision to turn him face. Punk is now truely at a crossroads in ROH and truely in the position to "Be The Man" in that he is involved in a number of storylines that if played out could take him to the top of ROH. He is a key player in the World Title picture since he took Samoa Joe to a 60 minute time-limit draw. Can CM Punk truely be the man that Ricky Steamboat thinks he can be? Or will that man be Austin Aries, Homicide, or someone else?

[Agent Kev]

Homicide/Havana Pitbulls vs. Samoa Joe/Briscoes-6 Man war

This was GREAT. That's pretty much all I can say to describe it (besides maybe intense, stiff or brutal-in a good way). I am totally digging Cide's new attitude and The Havana Pitbulls are a tremendous addition to the ROH roster as they are the best damn tag-team in North America PERIOD. On the other side of the ring you have Samoa Joe, who looks brutally stiff in this match (especially since he is working with his buddies the Pitbulls) and The Briscoes, who are the best young tag-team in the World. This match definitely had me on the edge of my seat throughout. Towards the end there was a crazy (scary) spot where Mark slips while doing an SSP and lands on his head (luckily more on his back than Brock) but comes back with some sick offensive moves and goes back up top to try another SSP but Cide climbs the ropes and takes him down with a suplex. Shortly thereafter Cide throws a fireball at Mark and all hell breaks loose with The Rotweilers destroying Joe (while Jay takes Mark to the back) and then Jay comes back and gets taken out. Cide gets on the mic and says that NO ONE can stop him. Then Low-Ki's music hits and the crowd erupts and shivers go down my spine.....Ki comes between Joe and The Rotweilers and looks to come to Joe's aid as he confronts Cide. Ki tells Cide that no one can disrespect the ROH Title...except for him as he turns around and nails Joe with the belt and The New Rotweilers are formed and they proceed to destroy Joe.

This, much like the Punk/Steamboat/GenNext storyline, was very well done and leaves a lot of room for where ROH can go with this. I haven't been a big fan of Low-Ki's since he left ROH, as he really hasn't been around much in the US indys, but he is one of the guys who can really make an impact for ROH during the later part of this year. Low-Ki is one of the guys that ROH was built one, and IMO helped carry the fed during it's first several months having great match after great match, whether it was the 3-way vs. AmDrag and Daniels, or the one-on-one match versus AmDrag, or the matchups versus AJ, or the phenomenal match vs. Red, or the 4-way Iron Man match for the ROH title Low-Ki was the one guy that personified ROH. And here ROH brings him back and has him disrespect the company that he helped build. Very interesting, especially when you consider the storyline battle that Ki had with The Prophecy and Chris Daniels when they were trying to destroy ROH. This also sets up the New Rotweilers as unstoppable. Think about it....Homicide, Low-Ki and The Havana Pitbulls (the best DAMN tag-team in North America).

Overall Tape Thoughts:

I REALLY enjoyed this show from a storyline perspective. I think that ROH has put on several shows this year that have better in-ring WRESTLING but this show really stood out because of the great storylines that took place leading up to this event, at this event and storylines that will still be realized in the future. It is truley "ROH Reborn: The Completion". I couldn't think of a more fitting name. As far as wrestling goes everyone should check out the Alex Shelley vs. Doug Williams match as it was just a tremendous display of two guys working at the top of their game in a style that they live and breathe. I would HIGHLY recommend this tape to all ROH fans and non-ROH fans (as there are many highlights leading up to many of the matches to help out fans who may not be familiar with the current storylines). ROH is truely on a roll and I am in hook, line and sinker waiting on the next tapes to come out.

Updated ROH 2004 Show Rankings:
1. ROH Reborn: The Completion (must-see)
2. 2nd Year Anniversary (must-see)
3. Generation Next (must-see)
4. ROH Reborn Stage Two (need-to-see)
5. Survival of the Fittest (need-to-see)
6. The Battle Lines are Drawn (need-to-see)
7. ROH Reborn Stage One (good to see)
8. World Title Classic (good to see)
9. Round Robin Challenge III (good to see)
10. At Our Best (good to see)
11. The Last Stand (good to see)

[NewFnShow]

WOW, this show looks awesome.

Man Kev, you are putting it at #1? I really need this show. I'm just so intrigued by so much on the show.

[Agent Kev]

NewFnShow said:

WOW, this show looks awesome.

Man Kev, you are putting it at #1? I really need this show. I'm just so intrigued by so much on the show.

Yeah I decided to put it at number 1. Like I said in the review I think there have been several shows that were better "wrestling" wise but this show just had the whole package.

[IWSfan4life]

I'm watching the shows I have in order, but this makes me wanna watch this show 1st. I'll get to it soon though, as i'm a fast ROH watcher lol.

-Jason Burke

[Agent Kev]

Stylesclash2004 said:

I'm watching the shows I have in order, but this makes me wanna watch this show 1st. I'll get to it soon though, as i'm a fast ROH watcher lol.

-Jason Burke

I would definitely recommend watching them in order as it will probably make this event look better due to the build of the angles.

[archeng]

To be honest, I don't own a single ROH show from 2004. Yeah, and it's already August! In any case, when I heard about ROH Reborn: Completion, I knew I wanted that show.