Ring of Honor

Ring Of Honor’s June 22nd “Road To The Title” event will go down as one of greatest nights of pure wrestling ever seen in the squared circle. Yes, that’s a bold statement. No, it isn’t hype. With five matches in the three star and over range as well as three matches in the four star and over range, how can you argue? Not only were there that many quality bouts, but every style of wrestling was offered from Lucha to hardcore and issues heated up and exploded. Here are the results and ramifications of each match in the order that they happened on the show (videotape and DVD of this event now available for pre-order at RFVideo.com or by calling 215-891-9404).

1) American Dragon won the first match of Tournament C with a victory over the big and impressive Bio-Hazard, who came from Rudy Boy Gonzalez’s Texas Wrestling Academy. Dragon proved why he is one of the best going today with an incredible assault before making Bio-Hazard tap to cattle mutilation. Bio-Hazard showed lots of potential and with a competitive showing vs. American Dragon earning a return to ROH.

2) Spanky “The Show Stopper” beat Paul London with Sliced Bread #2 in a Tournament A opening round bout that was over three stars. This was a very competitive, fast-paced match as Spanky continued to ascend to main event status while London earned even more respect from the educated, diehard ROH fans. This was a very competitive bout that really could have gone either way. London is primed to be the next man to make an impact in ROH.

3) “The Anarchist” Doug Williams defeated Jay Briscoe with an incredible rolling German suplex in a Tournament C bout that was another three star contest. Williams was unknown by the crowd when he first entered the ring, but quickly earned their acceptance for his European style and beautiful matwork. Briscoe continued to prove that he can hang with anyone in the business, which is so impressive considering he is just 18 years old. However, Mark Briscoe’s jealousy over Jay’s success may finally be getting to him as he was seen actually smiling when Williams had the advantage. Williams proved in this match alone that he is a force in ROH. Look for a Doug Williams feature on ROHwrestling.com in the next week.

4) “Phoenix” Jody Fleisch defeated “Wonderkid” Jonny Storm in a battle of the two best high-flyers from Britain to go to the finals of Tournament A. The third three star match in a row. This was a dazzling Lucha/Michinoku Pro style bout with lots of daredevil, quick moves. If you blinked, you missed something. Negotiations will take place to bring Fleisch and Storm back to ROH for a possible rematch.

5) Low Ki knocked out Prince Nana to advance in Tournament D. Nana gained an early advantage and kept it for several minutes until Ki delivered a well placed kick, knocking Nana out cold.

6) The Amazing Red beat “The All Around Best” Xavier in a back-and-forth, fast-paced Tournament D match that could have gone either way. Either man could have won this one, but in the end Red pulled out a pinfall to advance to fight Low Ki. Xavier, as always, was a sportsman about the defeat and upheld honor, even when Christopher Daniels yelled at both men in the locker room, which will be seen on the videotape and DVD.

7) “The Fallen Angel” Christopher Daniels pinned “The Black Nature Boy” Scoot Andrews in the first Tournament B bout. This one was off to a quick start and Daniels scored the win with his double jump moonsault. Before the bout, Daniels cut a promo saying that he saw a Prophecy and that The Prophecy will destroy ROH. Daniels has been ROH’s most controversial figure and has been at odds with the company since day one as he refuses to uphold The Code Of Honor. Daniels believes The Code Of Honor is a farce and is determined to destroy it. He introduced Simply Luscious as the first member of his group, The Prophecy. Luscious had become disgruntled over her spot in ROH. First, she was put with Prince Nana, but Nana deserted her in a match allowing her to be killed by Da Hit Squad. Then, Luscious was given a color commentary try-out on the “A Night Of Appreciation” tape, but all color guy Steve Corino did was hit on her. Now Luscious has taken a spot in The Prophecy. Who will join next? After the match Luscious taunted Andrews and “The Black Nature Boy” introduced Sumie Sakai as her opponent.

8) Sakai defeated Luscious with a moonsault in a non-tournament match. Daniels was yelling into the camera after the bout that now ROH has not only screwed Daniels, but also the entire Prophecy by having this non-scheduled match. Daniels said The Prophecy will be the end of ROH.

9) “The Phenomenal” AJ Styles beat “The New F’N Show” Jerry Lynn in the middle of the ring with the Styles Clash. This was just a tremendous wrestling match. This was simply a wrestling clinic and pure wrestling at its best. The first four star match of the night.

10) Ring announcer Bob Artese was making some announcements when the duo of Dunn & Marcos, who were destroyed last month by Loc & Devito (The Carnage Crew), interrupted him and declared themselves the top tag team in ROH. Da Hit Squad of Mafia & Monsta Mack hit to the ring to give Dunn & Marcos an absolutely vicious beating. This was too brutal. DHS then announced that they were the top tag team in ROH. Divine Storm of Chris Divine & Quiet Storm confronted DHS claiming they were the best; bringing out Jose & Joel Maximo, The SAT. All three teams ending up arguing before things broke down into a brawl. After some Lucha type moves, DHS was hit with a dive sequence by both the SAT and Divine Storm. When the ring emptied, YMCA played and The Christopher Street Connection of Buff-E & Mase with Allison Danger hit the ring and pranced around. Buff-E & Mase kissed until The Natural Born Sinners of Homicide & Boogalou destroyed them with a variety of suplexes and devastating moves including South Of Heaven and The Cop Killa. They also spanked Danger causing her to flee to the back. Loc & Devito jumped The NBS with the hubcaps, bloodying Boogalou. If things weren’t chaotic enough, the brawl ensued with the SAT, Divine Storm, DHS, NBS and The Carnage Crew. NBS and DHS, who are all friends outside the ring, cleared house together. Mafia put the finish on it by powerbombing Loc from the ring to the floor through a table with Devito on it. Mafia then declared DHS the top tag team, but Homicide and Boogalou took this as a sign of disrespect and it ended with some harsh words between the two teams and four training partners.

11) The finals of Tournament A saw Spanky defeat Jody Fleisch in another three star bout. This one was all action including Fleisch executing one of the most insane, daredevil high spots you’ll ever see with his shins destroying a section of guardrail. In the end, Spanky finished Fleisch with Sliced Bread #2.

12) In one of the finest pure wrestling bouts you’ll ever witness, Doug Williams shocked the crowd by winning Tournament C over American Dragon. If you are true wrestling fan, you need to see this scientific four-star classic. Williams took his spot and is ready to become the man to beat in ROH. Both men showed class after the bout with a handshake and you can count on seeing Williams vs. Dragon again somewhere down the line in ROH.

13) Low Ki captured Tournament D with a dazzling victory over The Amazing Red in a four star match unlike anything you’ve ever seen. The opening of this contest has been called the best opening of any match in the history of pro wrestling. It was right out of the movie “Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon.” Red took and survived all the punishment Ki delivered and fought back to almost win the contest. Ki scored the spectacular win with a top rope Ki Krusher.

14) In the Tournament B final, Christopher Daniels won a hard-fought classic over a bloody AJ Styles. This capped off the night of three and four star matches by being yet another contest in that range. Either athlete could have easily won this one, but the end Daniels’ Last Rites was too much for Styles. AJ cut a promo in the locker room basically saying it’s ok that Daniels doesn’t want to shake hands, because next time they are in the ring he’ll break it.

The best young play-by-play man in the business, Donny B, was brought into the ring to make ROH’s big announcement. Each time Donny tried to make the announcement, Daniels would cut him off. Finally, Spanky hit the ring and punched Daniels allowing Donny to announce that starting this September Ring Of Honor “High Impact TV” will be seen every week on WGTW Channel 48 in the Philadelphia area. For a complete listing of everywhere WGTW can be seen, check out the TV Listings section of ROHwrestling.com.

Doug Williams and Low Ki then joined Daniels and Spanky in the ring for the unveiling ceremony of ROH’s title belt. Before ref John Finnegan could take the belt out of its protective covering, Daniels grabbed it. This caused a melee that saw Low Ki snap and put the Dragon Sleeper on Daniels. Ki refused to let go and eventually he and Daniels were carried to the back still in the hold.

After the show, there was a backstage scene where Spanky made fun of American Dragon for not making it to the title match and for not even being booked on the next event. Spanky and Dragon have been rivals since they both first started in the first class at the Shawn Michaels’ Wrestling Academy. Dragon told Spanky that he would be back on August 24th when ROH would make its debut in the Boston area in Wakefield, MA just 10 miles outside of Boston at the Americal Civic Center. Dragon and Spanky will finally settle their career long issue in Boston in a 2/3 fall match.

Credit: Gabe of RF Video