Ring of Honor: Glory By Honor October 5th, 2002

October 5, 2002

From the Murphy Rec Center in Philadelphia, PA

Your hosts are Jeff Gorman and Chris Levy

Scramble Match

Divine Storm w/ Trinity vs. Special K vs. Homicide vs. Spanish Announce Team

This is a tag match, despite the fact that Homicide is by himself as he play off the angle from last week were Boogalou was taken out by the Carnage Crew backstage and as a result, his career has ended. In reality, he left the company to sign with XPW in a move that did not pay off at all. Special K refuses to shake hands and gets their asses beat as a result. Trinity, called as such this week, takes Elax on her shoulders and walks backstage. Scramble rules mean anyone can tag in at a given time. Joel and Izzy start off and work at a fast pace with some matwork mixed in that looks decent. Jose tags then Quiet Storm steps in as Izzy stepped out and they work a sloppy and over choreographed sequence. Homicide and Divine are in and they go back and forth for a bit. Homicide goes for a pin after a shoulderbreaker but Dixie breaks that up and it leads to a wacky spot in which everyone is involved in a submission hold which pumps up the crowd. Everyone now empties the ring and brawls outside. Izzy and Joel fight on top and that ends with Joel flipping Izzy inside out with a lariat. Joel then hits a backdrop driver but Dixie makes the save. He hits a tornado DDT on Joel but Divine breaks that up and hits a few suplexes before putting him in a leg lock. Jose hits Divine with a tornado DDT but Homicide comes in and hits him with the shining wizard after Jose flipped out of a Cop Killa attempt. Storm hits Homicide with a back suplex then Izzy comes flying in with a rana from the top rope. Izzy tries to dive outside but Homicide flattens him with a big boot then flies outside with a somersault plancha. Jose then flies out with a crossbody and that leads to a trainwreck spot highlighted by a springboard corckscrew plancha by Izzy. Everyone then meets up top and that leads to a tower of doom spot that luckily did not cause a major injury. Divine hits Dixie with a super Dragon Plex that just looked weird. Storm hits Jose with a Muscle Buster Driver that gets broken up by Joel. Storm sets up for the Storm Cradle Driver but Joel hits him with a Blue Thunder Driver for a nearfall. Izzy hits Homicide with a moonsault dropkick but misses the moonsault off of the top rope. Homicide then hits Izzy with an Alabama Slam then the Cop Killa. Dixie runs in and Homicide locks him in the STF and gets the win (14:57) **1/2.

Thoughts: At least this was all action with minimal blown spots. Izzy stood out the most with his high-flying moves. Divine and the SAT’s were useless as usual and everyone else was fine. There was not much of a purpose for the match.

Immediately after the match, the Backseat Boys (Trent Acid & Johnny Kashmere) run out as the announcers let us know about the agreement between RoH and CZW for that involves a ticket deal for shows on the same day. Backseat Boys let the crowd know that they are the best tag team and challenge the Natural Born Sinners, which are no more, as Homicide welcomes his partner, Steve Corino, who apparently quit as a color commentator as he wanted to be a wrestler again.

Backseat Boys vs. Homicide & Steve Corino

The Backseat Boys follow the Code of Honor but Corino cheapshots Acid after the handshake. Homicide hits Acid with a top rope Ace Crusher that looked impressive. Kashmere takes Corino down with a flying headscissors. Outside of the ring, Acid gets sent into a chair with a drop toehold courtesy of Homicide, who then flies out with a senton onto a seated Acid. Kashmere sets up for a diving attack but Corino catches him with a super kick then gets a nearfall with a Northern Lights Bomb. Corino is in the ring standing tall as everyone else is down but gets speared by Kashmere, who then spears Homicide. Corino puts Kashmere in a Cobra Clutch that Acid breaks up with a Yakuza kick. The Boys hit Corino with the Hart Attack then with a lightning-fast array of other double-team moves. Corino then fights back and hits a super Fisherman’s Suplex on Acid. Homicide follows with a splash but Corino breaks up the pin. Homicide accidentally elbows Corino, who kicks him in the nuts when he has Kashmere up for the Cop Killa then walks out of the ring and the Boys hit Homicide with the T-Gimmick (Double Crucifix Powerbomb) for the win (6:44) *1/2.

Thoughts: The match was essentially under tornado rules and unmemorable to say the least. I have no idea where they are going with Corino as he left the booth to turn to Homicide for some reason. This was also the debut of the CZW invasion.

Christopher St. Connection & Allison Danger w/ Japanese Pool Boy vs. Christian York & Joey Matthews & Alexis Laree

The guys start by brawling all over the place. Laree yells at the Japanese Pool Boy, who gets accidentally clotheslined by Mace. York comes in and hits Mace with a gutbuster and a senton for a nearfall. York & Matthews hit Mace with some double-team moves. Japanese Pool Boy trips up Matthews, who responds by hitting Buff E. on the apron but ends up walking into a clothesline. Buff E. hits a spinebuster and follows with a headbutt to the groin. Matthews tries to fight out of the corner but the CSC cut off the ring. The CSC use some homoerotic antics on Matthews, who comes back with an inverted DDT. Levy make note of Matthews hanging out with Special K before the show as the hot-tag was made to Laree. She slaps around the CSC as this match has gotten really bad. Japanese Pool Boy shoves Matthews off of the top rope then the CSC hit Laree with the Gay Basher and Danger covers for the win (4:47) DUD. After the match, York and Matthews hit Japanese Pool Boy with a double-team move.

Thoughts: Terrible match. The antics of the CSC are getting really old and York & Matthews never really impressed anyone. Laree looked pretty bad when she was in the ring.

James Maritato addresses those who ask him why he is against the FBI gimmick. This promo looks like it was filmed in a classroom. He runs down everyone who was part of the stable. Maritato mentions how it got better when he run the belts with Mamaluke but then ECW closed down and ever since, he has worked a lot of independent shows as his career as reached a plateau and now it is time to drop the comedy act and to get serious and if Mamaluke wants to keep the comedy act going, they will not gel and is career will not climb so in order to take care of this problem, they will face off and if he is pinned, he will give Mamaluke the FBI gimmick. However, if Mamaluke loses, the gimmick will be gone forever.

Tony Mamaluke vs. James Maritato

Mamaluke attacks Maritato from behind to start the match. They take it to the mat after that and go back and forth in an entertaining sequence. Maritato takes down Mamaluke after he offered a handshake and puts him in a cross armbreaker. Maritato then targets the leg and even rolls through a slam attempt to put Mamaluke in an ankle lock. Mamaluke now targets the leg then puts Maritato in a butterfly lock. Maritato shoves Mamaluke off of the top rope and hits him with a dropkick that gets two. They botch Maritato’s Kiss of Death spot as Mamaluke fell before the move was performed and that gets two. Maritato tries a move off of the top rope but Mamaluke climbs up and hits a superplex then rolls through that and puts Maritato in a butterfly lock then uses a body scissors as Mamaluke taps (8:29) **3/4.

Thoughts: Solid match. Mamaluke wins and gets the FBI gimmick. At the time, Maritato was signing with the WWE so it made sense for him to pass it on to someone else who could use it, even if it was to Mamaluke, who while he was a capable wrestler, never had any star potential.  

Ikuto Hidaka vs. Amazing Red

The crowd is pumped for this match. They end up trading moves in a nice fast-paced sequence. Hidaka tosses Red outside and they trade chops before they head back inside and continue their exchange. They then trade armdrags before ending in a standoff. Red counters a tilt-a-whirl into a DDT. Red tries to dive outside but slides underneath Hidaka instead and drags him off of the apron. Red tries a pescado but gets hit with a dropkick in midair by Hidaka. In the ring, Hidaka works the knee for a bit. Hidaka lands on the top rope after missing a handspring then Red hits a spinkick. Hidaka fights back and ends up hitting a DDT after Red blocked the initial attempt in an odd looking spot. Red kicks Hidaka off of the apron as he attempted a springboard and flies outside with a flip dive but overshot Hidaka and bounces off of the guardrail. Ouch. Hidaka sells his already injured shoulder with that move. Red rolls Hidaka back inside and targets the shoulder. He then catches him with a spin kick after a reversal sequence but gets dropkicked in midair after a float over attempt in the corner. Red rolls back inside and Hidaka catches him with a kneebreaker then hits him in the knee with a springboard missile dropkick. He then hits Red with a German suplex then floats over and puts him in a leg lock. They then have a pinfall reversal sequence that ends with a double clothesline. Hidaka puts Red in the Gory Special then from that he hits a cutter and that gets two. Red comes back with the 718 (Mysterio’s 619) then gets a nearfall with a sunset bomb. Red climbs up top but Hidaka cuts him off with a dropkick. He tries to powerbomb Red but that gets countered into a leg drop then Red climbs up top and hits the Infrared, which legitimately broke Hidaka’s orbital bone, then gets the pin with the Red Star Press (13:43) ***3/4. They zoom in on Hidaka’s face and that looks fucking painful.

Thoughts: Really good match. These two had fantastic chemistry until the end, where Red crushed Hidaka’s face.

ETW TV Championship Match

Don Juan vs. Fast Eddie (Champion)

Rudy Boy watches the match from ringside. Eddie has “Better Than You” written on the back of his trunks and legally blind. Juan dropkicks Eddie off of the middle rope and that gets two. Eddie comes back with a German suplex but Juan takes him down with headscissors. Eddie dumps Juan then hits a quebrada with his legs crashing down on the guardrail. Juan takes Eddie back in the ring with a cutter for a nearfall but heads up top and gets cutoff with a knee smash before getting the win with a flip slam (3:22) *. After the match, Biohazard and Michael Shane attack both guys. Rudy Boy corners them in the ring until Corino interrupts and tells him that he has stolen his students but Rudy calls him a “Dusty Rhodes wannabe” and that leads to their Texas Death Match.

Thoughts: Just a segment to set up the Texas Death Match. Eddie looked okay out there and Juan has never stood out in his few appearances for the company.

Texas Death Match

Rudy Boy Gonzalez vs. Steve Corino

Rudy attacks Corino and takes him down with a clothesline. Rudy comes back with a super kick then attacks him in the corner as Corino is busted open. The action spills outside as Rudy Boy misses an attack and collapses the guardrail. Corino hammers away on Rudy Boy in the crowd. He takes the action to ringside as he continues his assault on Rudy Boy. In the ring, Corino comes back with a seated dropkick in the corner then uses boot scrapes on Rudy Boy until he spills to the floor. Rudy Boy rolls back in as Corino beats on him some more. He locks Rudy in the Cobra Clutch and gets the win as Rudy could not beat the count (8:04) *. After the match, Corino along with Shane and Biohazard beat on Rudy Boy until Paul London makes the save with a ladder. London then attempts to run up the ladder and dive outside onto Shane but ends up in the crowd instead.

Thoughts: Bad match. This was way too slow and plodding and seemingly little need for the Death Match stipulations either. The end also furthers along another feud, this time between Shane and London.

Samoa Joe vs. Low Ki

This is the RoH debut of Samoa Joe, who was brought in as a “hired assassin” by Christopher Daniels to take out Low Ki. This is also billed as a “fight without honor” as the handshake deal is out the window. Joe takes Ki down and delivers some stiff elbow strikes while on the mat. He then bends Ki in half with a single leg crab. Ki fights out and that leads to a chop battle that Joe wins by kicking down Ki. He charges and misses a big boot in the corner, allowing Ki to fight back. Ki knocks Joe down with a rolling Koppu Kick as the crowd goes nuts. However, Joe kicks out at one then comes back and takes Ki down with a clothesline. Ki kicks out of that at one as Joe kicks the shit out of him then hits a suplex that only gets one. Joe locks on a cross armbreaker but Ki comes back and works the arm himself. Ki hits a Tiger Suplex for a nearfall then they slap the shit out of each other until Ki knocks down Joe with an enziguiri that gets two. Joe comes back and boots Ki in the face in the corner. Joe locks Ki in an STF but Ki counters that with a cross armbreaker. Joe reaches the ropes and they have another exchange of strikes. Ki wins then drops Joe on his head with a back suplex then puts him in the Dragon Clutch but Joe blocks that and picks him up and hits a Death Valley Driver as both men are down. Joe gets two with the Island Driver. Now, both guys no-sell each other’s kicks then remove their tape and slug it out. Joe wins that battle but Ki comes back with repeated kicks to the face. Ki then comes back with a flurry of strikes that knocks Joe down then he covers and gets the win (16:29) ****1/4. After the match, Joe shakes the hand of Ki and together they hold up a Zero One banner.

Thoughts: Excellent debut for Joe, who was a hired gun at this point. On commentary, they pushed hard the fact that Joe has been the only guy to match Ki strike for strike. This is a match to seek out, especially if you are a fan of hard-hitting action.  

Prince Nana vs. Elax

Nana attacks Elax from behind then chops him in the corner. He then hits a running thump and a senton before putting on his crown and headbutting Elax, then getting the win with a double underhook suplex (0:55) NR. After the match, Dunn & Marcos come into the ring and declare that they are in fact the top tag team in RoH until the unnamed big black guy (Slugger) comes in and destroys them.

Thoughts: A giant waste of time, as is everything else involving these wrestlers. Between Elax and Brian XL, it was tough to pick out the company’s worst wrestler in 2002.

Jay Briscoe vs. Xavier w/Simply Luscious

This is a non-title match. Xavier pie-faces Briscoe instead of shaking his hand before the match begins. They start on the mat as they switch off working the arm. After slapping each other, Briscoe comes back with a back elbow smash and a rollup as Levy talks about the next show having a #1 Contender’s Trophy match. Briscoe hammers away until Xavier knocks him down with a forearm smash. Xavier shows very little in terms of heel charisma by the way. Xavier gets two with a facebuster out of the torture rack position then he uses a choke. Xavier misses a charge as Briscoe fires away. He comes back with a Death Valley Driver then knocks Xavier to the floor with a clothesline. Xavier dodges a baseball slide then a flying body press that has Briscoe crash into the guardrail. Back inside, Xavier kicks down Briscoe then places him in the tree-of-woe. He knocks Briscoe down then places him on top and hits an inverted DDT that only gets two as Xavier uses a cocky cover. Xavier puts on a chinlock as Levy explains to use that whoever wins the #1 Contender Trophy will have to defend it until they get a title shot. Briscoe comes back with a German Suplex for a nearfall as both men are down. They get up and Briscoe fights back. He hits a gordbuster then heads up top and hits a leg drop for a nearfall. Xavier blocks a Jaydriller attempt and puts him in a Cobra Clutch. Xavier then turns that into a Cobra Clutch suplex and that only gets two. They have a pinfall reversal sequence that ends with Briscoe hitting the Jaydriller for the win (13:29) **. The crowd pops huge for the win. After the match, the Prophecy runs in and attacks Briscoe until Low Ki and Doug Williams run in for the save.

Thoughts: Another match that was paced way too slowly. Xavier was never any good to begin with and lacks the necessities it takes to carry yourself as a credible champion of a promotion. He did not stand out in any way what so ever. Briscoe looked good but had to really slow things down in the match to work with Xavier, who lost his first match as a champion to a guy billed as a loser.

Falls Count Anywhere

Carnage Crew vs. Da Hit Squad

 Da Hit Squad come in through the crowd and bring in part of the guardrail into the ring with them. They attack the Carnage Crew from behind. As Devito is lying in the corner, Mack puts the guardrail over him as Mafia runs into it all full speed. Devito comes back and sends Mafia into the corner with a suplex. The Carnage Crew beat on Mack with hubcaps outside of the ring until Mafia flies out with a tope and takes out everyone including the guardrail. They brawl in the crowd now as the camera work isn’t the greatest but by the looks of it we are not missing a whole lot. Mack breaks up a DDT attempt by Loc with a clothesline. Mafia attempts to powerbomb Loc off of the stage and through a table but he blocks then Carnage Crew use a spike piledriver to send Mafia through the table in a brutal spot as Mafia is screaming in pain after he was pinned (6:58) *1/2. Ki comes out to check on Mafia, who was billed as his training partner.

Thoughts: Typical garbage brawling that you would have seen at the end of ECW. The finish was sick though. I cannot stand Da Hit Squad personally as they come across as a low-rent combination of Public Enemy and The Gangstas.

Spanky vs. Michael Shane w/ Biohazard vs. Paul London

Spanky jumps Shane from behind after the handshake, continuing the bad blood between those two. London and Spanky work together briefly until Spanky tricks him in a cool spot in which he hits Shane with a short-arm clothesline instead of whipping him near London for a double-team move. Spanky and London then argue about who gets to beat on Shane and they have an exchange of chops. London comes up short on a dropkick then Spanky hits one of his own and that gets two. London gets hit from behind with an enziguiri by Shane, who tosses Spanky to the floor. Shane beats on London for a minute then knocks Spanky off of the apron. London comes back with consecutive Northern Light suplexes then gets two with a fallaway slam into a bridge. Shane comes back with a facebuster and a neckbreaker that gets two. In a cool spot, London launches off of Spanky’s back to hit Shane with a shooting star press and that gets two. London heads up top but Spanky shoves him to the floor. Spanky tries to fly outside but Shane clotheslines him down. Shane hits Spanky with knee strikes then hits London with a baseball slide afterwards. Spanky then takes out Shane with a pescado. Shane then chokes out Spanky as the announcers talk about Shane taking offense to Spanky using the “Showstopper” nickname. London kicks Shane in the face as he attempted to use a chair on Spanky then rolls him back inside. London sets up for the Shooting Star Press but Spanky cuts him off. He tries a superplex but Shane gets underneath him and hits a powerbomb. London comes off the top with the SSP but Shane ducks that and takes a breather in the corner as Spanky hits the Sliced Bread #2 on London then Shane nails Spanky with a super kick and covers London for the pin (9:20). Shane then beats up Spanky on the floor for a bit. He rolls him back inside and quickly tosses him through the ropes. Spanky reverses an Irish whip and sends Shane into the guardrail. They go back into the ring where Shane catches Spanky with a dropkick as he comes off of the top rope. Shane locks on a sleeper then hits him with a lariat to the back of the head. Shane then gets two with a top rope elbow drop that is called the “picture-perfect elbow” that gets two. Spanky then lands on his feet after a German suplex attempt and hits the Sliced Bread #2 but cannot make the pin in time as Shane kicks out. They brawl for a bit then Spanky comes back with a springboard missile dropkick for two. Spanky then comes back with a facecrusher and an enziguiri that gets two. He hits a Northern Lights Bomb then a frog splash from the top but that only gets two. Spanky charges but Shane catches him with a tornado DDT that gets two. Spanky comes back with a backslide but gets caught with a super kick then Shane drops the Picture-Perfect elbow for the win (19:30) **3/4. After the match, Shane cuts a promo that I can barely hear due to the audio quality and at the end says that he is the new showstopper.

Thoughts: They tried to establish Shane as the star here. Spanky was also leaving the company to sign with the WWE at the time so he did not need the win. The match itself never really clicked at any point and was underwhelming given who was involved.

Christopher Daniels w/ Simply Luscious vs. Doug Williams

Originally, this was supposed to be Williams vs. Dick Togo, who got injured and had to withdraw. If Daniels wins, Williams can never shake hands in RoH and if Williams wins, Daniels must follow the Code of Honor. They start on the mat with Williams working the leg. Daniels rolls outside and runs away from Williams, who gets his leg grabbed by Luscious, allowing Daniels to suplex him back into the ring. Williams is able to go back to working the leg then puts him in a painful looking stretch. Daniels escapes and hits a neckbreaker then hits a few elbow drops. Williams blocks a suplex attempt but Daniels instead turns it into a Russian leg sweep for a nearfall. Williams gets a backslide then tries the Chaos Theory but Daniels blocks that with a STO then works the arm. He hits a Manhattan drop then a neckbreaker and that only gets two. Williams fights back but Daniels is able to counter the Chaos Theory yet again. Williams hits a tornado DDT then hits a few flying knee smashes. He hits a knee drop off of the top rope but that only gets two. Fisherman’s Buster gets two. Daniels fights back and hits an STO as both men are down. Daniels us up first and gets the Best Moonsault Ever but that still cannot put Williams away. Williams catches Daniels with an overhead suplex as both men are down again. Williams finally hits the Chaos Theory but Daniels is able to reach the ropes to break the count. Williams comes over to Daniels in the corner but Daniels takes him down then puts his feet on the ropes as he cradles him for the win (12:29) **1/2. The Prophecy mocks Williams after the match but Togo hits him from behind with a crutch then Jay Briscoe nails him with the Jaydriller.

Thoughts: The middle of this match was really dull and the ending came out of nowhere, making it another disappointing match. With Briscoe beating Jay and hitting Daniels at the end, it seems like they are making him a face who will be feuding with the Prophecy.

In the back, Mamaluke and Maritato say goodbye. Mamaluke thanks him for everything as Maritato tries to convince him to reconsider continuing the FBI gimmick and to be serious and fill his shoes to become a shooter. Mamaluke tells him that he is right and it is time to be a man as they hug and say goodbye. This was done as Maritato signed with the WWE and would debut in a few months as Jamie Noble’s crazy cousin Nunzio.

The Prophecy is backstage as Daniels introduces Samoa Joe as part of the stable. Xavier cuts a promo on Jay Briscoe as Luscious cuts him off to remind Xavier that he lost to him tonight. Corino interrupts as Daniels questions him why he has been hanging out with Michael Shane and tells him not to diss the Prophecy. Shane then appears as Xavier asks if he is man enough to take the belt from him as Shane tells him that he will have to look him in the eyes and shake his hands when he beats him for the title as he is the better man. Shane is part of the #1 Contender’s Trophy match next month. Daniels then gets upset as Corino wants to leave with Luscious and Joe wants to head with him to ”Norma Jean’s” as he wants to conduct business. Joe tells Daniels he is paid to handle business in the ring and if he wants him to be his “boyfriend backstage” that will cost extra then he heads off with Shane and Corino. Again, I have no idea where they are going with Corino other than the fact he pisses people off.

Final Thoughts: Not the best RoH show by any means. Sure, there was a few good matches but a lot of segments just did not click and the crowd was the quietest it has been for an RoH show to date. I cant blame them as this show really dragged at points. Xavier still seems like a terrible choice as the champion and they need more faces as besides Low Ki, there next two seem to be London and Jay Briscoe, who while they are good in the ring, are not ready to be put in those spots. In closing, seek out Joe/Ki and Hidaka/Red and skip the rest.


Here is my schedule for the next several days:

Sunday: WWF Wrestling Challenge 9/14/86
Tuesday: WWF Superstars of Wrestling 9/20/86
Thursday: RF Shoot Interview with Christopher Daniels (2014)
Friday: WWF Wrestling Challenge 9/21/86
Saturday: RoH All Star Extravaganza 11/9/02

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