ROH: MAIN EVENT SPECTACLES - 11/1/2003

RexPlex
Elizabeth, NJ
November 1st, 2003

ROH World Champion: Samoa Joe (Since 3/22/2002 - 7 Defenses)
ROH Tag Team Champions: Special K (Since 10/16/2003 - 1 Defenses)

Backstage, Colt Cabana is practicing transcendental meditation because of course he is. Punk walks over and asks if he’s ready for tonight. Cabana is chill and ready to go. Punk tells him tonight isn’t just about him vs. Danny Maff. It’s about Christopher Daniels and CM Punk. It’s about the Prophecy and the Saints. And he’s winning this tonight for CM Punk, because he’s a Saint. He pats him on the back and Colt says as long as he wins that’s all that matters.

Match #1: Dan Maff vs. Colt Cabana [Field of Honor Tournament Match]
I actually really enjoyed this. They did a lot with the 8-9 minutes they were given. Some decent laughs at the beginning with Colt faking Maff out on a handshake and then ballroom dancing with Danger against her wall after a missed slap. But then it turns into a slugfest and it’s great. Cabana targets shots at Maff’s jaw, including a running facewash on the outside which feels like it’s becoming more of an ROH spot than a Joe spot sadly. Cabana’s got this wrapped up but goes for a moonsault and misses. Maff quickly capitalizes with the Burning Hammer and wins, and we’ve got a tie in Block B now!
***ish

Post match, Maff celebrates his win, BUT SAMOA JOE HITS THE RING WITH JIM CORNETTE BEHIND HIM! CORNETTE USES THE RACKET ON MAFF AND RUNS OFF DANGER, AND JOE HITS MAFF WITH AN ENZUIGURI AND KNEE STRIKES. THEN DANGER GETS BACK IN HIS FACE, SO HE HITS HER WITH AN STO! Daniels comes out, but Joe throws him around and Daniels ducks under a racket shot, and gets out of there and guides the other two to the back.

Cornette gets on the mic and says he's back in town in The Ring of Honor. He told The Prophecy after they screwed him that nobody screws Jim Cornette, and you can ask that big pussy Ed Ferrara and Vince Russo. Shut UUUUP. He said he didn't just come to get even but to introduce some talent in ROH that he thinks is going to the top of the industry and will wind up making a lot of money and winning a lot of titles, and he wants to be part of it, all this while Joe is hyping himself up as clearly the one Cornette must be talking about. BUT…

The Briscoes come out, AND THEY COME OUT TO “GIMME BACK MY BULLETS” FOR THE FIRST TIME! They get on the apron and Joe’s ready for a fight. Cornette says these must be the Briscoes and he was getting ready to introduce true talent before he was interrupted, but it looks like he’s going to take a step back while Samoa Joe gives them what they have coming. Cornette takes a step back and the Briscoes get in the ring. BUT THEN CORNETTE BLINDSIDES JOE WITH A TENNIS RACKET SHOT TO THE BACK, AND THE BRISCOES START BEATING THR PISS OUT OF JOE! ANOTHER RACKET SHOT! THE TALENT CORNETTE WAS TALKING ABOUT WERE THE BRISCOES!

Joe gets taken away by refs to the back, and Cornette gets back on the mic. He asks why he'd manage a guy that's already a champion when he could take guys who are young and hungry and take them to the top. He says by the time they're finished, everyone in pro wrestling will know and fear the name of the Briscoes. BUT THEN AN IRATE JOE RUNS BACK DOWN IN PAIN, AND THEY HIGHTAIL IT OUT OF THERE. What a fun fucking angle, man.

Up in one of the pseudo skyboxes at the RexPlex, Special K are partying. Izzy and Dixie aren’t, as they’re worried about having to face the Briscoes tonight. Hydro tells them to chill out because the rest of them have a scramble cage match tonight and you don’t see them freaking out.

Oh you sweet summer child.

Match #2: Xavier/Nigel McGuinness vs. The Purists [Mamaluke/Walters]
I don’t know what I did to deserve this. I mean yeah Nigel’s fine but he’s not quite Nigel yet. But the other three? It’s like I’ve been stabbed in the heart. And even worse this is all being done just to continue the shitty Xavier/Walters feud. NOBODY cares. This sucks. Yes, I am overreacting and giving this a harsh rating but I cannot stress enough how I simply do not need this level of bullshit in my life right now. Xavier steals the pin from Nigel over Walters. Fuck off.
1/4*

Post match, Xavier mocks Walters on the mic. The camera follows Xavier to the back, and he passes by Prince Nana, who seems impressed and pleased. So at least something cool is starting soon.

Match #3: Justin Credible vs. Matt Stryker
Another forced undercard epic where Gabe thinks anyone gives a shit about Stryker, or that nobody’s been exposed to how terrible Credible is. Like he was the Kliq’s bag boy for a fucking reason. Stryker does some casual arm work that Credible casually doesn’t sell and I casually stop giving a shit. Hilariously, they both do spots where they kick out of each others finishers like it’s even supposed to mean something at this point, or any point. And then to hammer home how meaningless this all is, Stryker wins with the Strykerlock. That’s right. A leg submission after doing arm work most of the match. How much more betrayal can I take?
3/4*

Cornette is out with the Briscoes for the next match!

Match #4: Special K (Izzy/Dixie) (c) vs. The Briscoes [ROH Tag Team Championships]
Another awesome match. Izzy/Dixie bring their A game and have some really fun spots sprinkled throughout but this is mostly here to be a Briscoes showcase now that they’ve got the greatest tag team manager of all time in their corner. In a nice touch compared to their last tag matches in ROH, the Briscoes actually look like a cohesive unit under Cornette’s tutelage. I fucking love that. The match spills in to the typical ROH dive train, but in a nice touch, after Jay does his dive into all of Special K, Mark goes for the moonsault to the floor and Special K go scatter and only Jay is left there to take the hit! The Briscoes hit a Veg-O-Matic in a nod to the MX, but the ref fucks the count up and calls two when Izzy didn’t kick out. So the Briscoes make up for it by hitting the Doomsday Device to get the win and FINALLY get some real champs up in the ROH, brother.
***

Post match, Jay is a little emotional as they’re given the belts and they strap them on each other and hug and I won’t lie my eyes started to well up a little bit. Cornette raises their arms in victory.

Match #5: Homicide vs. BJ Whitmer [Fighting Spirit Match]
This is an incredibly stupid stipulation. Nothing changes in the ways to win/lose, except ROH doesn’t typically have a floor count, and in this match, there’s a 20 count on the floor. So dumb and corny and Gabe probably pulled on himself for an hour when he thought of it. Jerkoff. Homicide beats the fuck out of Whitmer in this, and to his credit, Whitmer takes it and dies on just about everything. He’s also got some half decent offense including a fun spot of doing three wrist clutch exploders back to back into a Powerbomb to get a 2.999. Sounds more bullshit than it looks. Whitmer misses a dive onto Homicide on the floor and collides hard with the guard rail. Again, dumb stip. In an incredibly dumb moment just to show you how Gabe had a knack for getting behind the absolute wrong guys at times, BJ WHITMER KICKS OUT OF THE FUCKING COP KILLA. Thats right. A move that’s been super protected since the conception of ROH was just kicked out of for the first time ever by BJ fucking Whitmer in a match with no story, no build, nothing. This is the indie equivalent of someone kicking out of the Tombstone on RAW in like 1996. Total horseshit. BJ is on the floor after that and is down, and that spot is the only time they even really tease the count out stuff. He gets back in and they work through the motions. Whitmer hits another Wrist Clutch Exploder and Homicide kicks out of that. NOT THE SAME, GABE, ESPECIALLY AFTER HE KICKED OUT OF 3 EARLIER. Homicide then hits the Ace Crusher off the top and then a GOD DAMNER of a lariat to get the win. Fun at points early and when Homicide was in control later on, but some of it is classic Gabe bullshit and I can’t get over the Cop Killa kickout, sorry.
**3/4

Post match, they make a big deal of selling the exhaustion and the beating to try and get this stupid stip over, but nobody gives a shit about that.

Homicide and Smokes celebrate to the back, BUT CORINO AND LEGRANDE AMBUSH THEM THROUGH THE CURTAIN! LeGrande takes down Smokes and Corino has a chain wrapped around his fist, AND HE STARTS PUNCHING AT HOMICIDES EAR AND GRINDING HIS FIST INTO IT! He gets up and yells “AN EAR FOR AN EAR” before leaving. Hell yeah.

In the back, it’s intermission time, and GMC goes and finds Samoa Joe and asks what he'll do about the events earlier. He says he has three of the best in the world coming after him tonight. He has other things to worry about, but if it's that important to know how he'll handle this situation, he can see him at the end of the night.

OH BOOOOO I THOUGHT THE BACKSEATS AND SAT WERE DONE.

Match #6: Backseat Boyz vs. Carnage Crew vs. Special K (Hydro/Angel Dust) vs. Teddy Hart/Jack Evans vs. The SAT [Scramble Cage Match]
There’s a lot to cover here. First and foremost, this isn’t a traditional scramble match just happening inside of a cage. There’s platforms in the top corner of each section of the cage for people to do dives off of. Also, two teams start off and the rest of the teams come in at timed intervals. The match cannot end until all five teams are in. There is no escape rule, meaning if you go to the floor, that is not a victory. You can only win by pinfall or submission.

Now, this match is extremely infamous for something that happens post-match that is NOT on the DVD release, but has been talked about online a ton over the last two decades. We’ll get to that in a bit.

The match itself is INSANE. It starts off with the Backseat Boyz and the debuting Teddy Hart and Jack Evans. Teddy is whatever, he’s fine. Jack is the star of this match. For starters, he DIES on everything. I don’t know if he has much of a choice considering his size and the absolute force people toss him around with, but it’s entertaining as well. The Backseats beat them down and literally toss them out of the cage door just to insult them.

The Carnage Crew are out next and start turning this into more of a hardcore affair and almost instantaneously, people are bleeding. DeVito at one point throws Evans from the ring OUT the door and head first into the guard rail. The Crew also hit picture perfect backdrops on the Backseats sending them hard into the cage.

The SATs are out next, and not to be outdone, they beat down Kashmere and fucking SPIKE HIM INTO THE CAGE WITH THE WASHING MACHINE. JESUS. Everybody is down at this point, and that’s when Special K’s team of Hydro and Angel Dust come out and start trying to capitalize on the insanity by just trying to pin everyone that’s down.

But while they’re doing this, Teddy & Jack go up to one of the platforms, AND TEDDY HURRICANRANAS EVANS OFF THE PLATFORM DOWN ON TO EVERYBODY ELSE!

The big spots and moves continue into Joel Maximo and Hydro battling up to another corner platform. They do a nice tease first of Hydro trying to Powerbomb Maximo down into the ring, and then a tease of Joel backdropping Hydro into the ring. But in this time, Jose Maximo climbs up, AND THEY HIT THE FUCKING SPANISH FLY ON HYDRO OFF THE PLATFORM!

People have now really begun brawling out to the floor around the ringside area. Teddy & Jack are back to their feet and they climb back up to the same platform they were on before…AND TEDDY COMES DOWN WITH A NASTY DIVE ON TO EVERYBODY!

More on this later. BUT THEN JACK EVANS. THIS MOTHERFUCKER. JACK EVANS HITS A *DOUBLE* MOONSAULT DOWN ONTO EVERYONE AS WELL!

This is FUCKING insane. Back in the ring, Carnage Crew whip out the belts to start beating on Special K in revenge. They hit Angel Dust with the Carnage Driver, but Trent Acid breaks it up! The Backseats dispose of the Crew and then hit Loc with the T Gimmick to win.

One of the absolute craziest stunt shows I have ever seen in my life. Fuck it.
***1/2

Alright, so, on the DVD release, they cut away pretty quickly once the match is done. I can’t find video of the incident myself. I know at one point, ROH released it on a compilation DVD, but whatever. Here’s a recap of what happened from a December 2003 issue of the PWTorch:

“Teddy Hart loses his f---ing mind. Okay, we’ve all see the Scramble Cage match at Main Event Spectacles (and if you haven’t, take advantage of that f---ing sale NOW!) This starts off with the finish of that match including Jack Evans hitting his death defying double moonsault off the top of the cage. JACK EVANS IS GOD! If you remember the finish was Loc taking a T Gimmick from the Backseat Boyz. Well, this is where the show ended for those of us who watched.

But it didn’t stop there. Oh no. Teddy Hart climbed to the top of the cage and hit a shooting star press onto Loc and AngelDust. You can hear someone yelling “GET HIM OUT OF THERE!” off screen. DeVito went APESHIT and immediately grabbed Teddy and slammed him. At this point the crowd was chanting “TEDDY! TEDDY!”

So what does Teddy do? Teddy went back to the top of the cage and hit some sort of crazy corkscrew move to some guys outside including Joel Maximo who looked like they had no idea what the hell was going on. The crowd was chanting, very loudly, “YOU SICK F---K!!!” The Carnage Crew were livid and DeVito kept whipping Teddy Hart with his strap. Jack Evans came over to stop the beating and was attacked as well. DeVito screamed all the way to the back. As the Backseat Boyz celebrated Teddy went BACK to the top of the cage and did a moonsault, landing on his feet. He then climbed to the top again and did another moonsault. DeVito came running out but was held back before he could get into the ring. Oh man, if you could have taken his blood pressure at that point the gauge would have exploded.

Teddy went back to the top and did another jump before promptly throwing up. This was like something out of the Twilight Zone. Teddy then got up on the top rope and threw up again. This was a lot of puke! Jack and Teddy finally left and the crowd was still going crazy.“

Backstage, things got ugly quick, as the locker room was heated and gunning for both Hart and Evans, but namely Hart. Evans had peripheral heat, but the locker room, namely Samoa Joe, wanted to “kill” Hart. Here’s Jim Cornette (I know, fuck him, but he was there that night) talking about it on an episode of his podcast a few years back:

“On the ROH show, he gets up on this huge cage and does a flipping shooting star press onto a bunch of guys on the floor... And climbed up again and he did a moonsault off the top of the cage and landed on his feet in the ring... I swear to God he climbed the cage and was up over the top of the cage and then just projectile vomited…Then he turns around so he doesn't vomit on any more of the fans, and he threw up from 20 feet up the cage into the ring. There were still more matches... But I remember, I was the one that was holding Samoa Joe back from going to kill him. Because he's got to go out and work in a puke-filled ring now. And I've got both arms around Samoa Joe's shoulders, going 'Joe, don't kill him.'"

More so, ROH banned Hart from future ROH events for an unspecified period of time. Here’s former ROH owner and ambassador, Cary Silkin, talking about the ban on Kevin Eck’s podcast back in 2021:

“Well there was an incident back in 2003 where Teddy Hart [had] gotten — you know about this? Well it was him and everybody [that it was a problem for]. But he took liberties. What did he do? People are gonna wanna know. There was some kind of crazy tag team match and Teddy Hart started doing backflips when the match was over, it wasn’t very professional. They threw his gear and his stuff out of the locker room but, you know Teddy Hart and it goes back to one of your early words of this podcast, there’s a lot of ‘resilience’. So yeah, after like a six or seven year ban, I guess he was let back.”

Teddy Hart was interviewed in the weeks after the show about the incident and told his side of the story, which most rebukes a lot of stuff being said while also defending his actions. I don’t have the direct source as I got this second hand. How? Because CM Punk famously took to LiveJournal to share his thoughts, and shared a transcript of the interview. Take a look:

“cmpunk
mood: aggravated
November 12, 2003, 00:59
Listens: soundtrack of my life…Hatebreed

My Turn

"My turn"

Well folks, even sometimes I break rules. Today, I break rule number 411. I will talk about somebody, more importantly a subject, and will inturn, give said person undeserved press. COMPLETELY undeserved press, but I gotta be me...I gotta get this off my chest....

The following is from an interview that Teddy Annis recently conducted on an internerd radio show. I will post his half retarded comments in italics, then I will post the truth.

He thinks the ROH match that he was involved in was one of best matches ever in wrestling. He says that the match was great and the cheers from the fans had his adrenaline rushing. He had a little left in the tank after the match so he did not think that the fans got all of their money's worth from Ted which is why he did the extra moves. He had a concussion after the match, but he is not using that as an excuse.

Not using the "concussion" as an excuse. Let's examine that statement, shall we Mr. Annis? Who called the ROH office 17 times the day after saying that you had no recollection of the match? You didn't even remember doing your post match antics the day after the show, NOW suddenly, "the crowd didn't get their monies worth". You're a liar, also, a bad one. Want proof folks? Teddys daddy called and said he had a concussion and couldn't fly out, while Teddy himself was on the other line saying he missed his flight because he was stuck in traffic. D'oh! Other highlights of the 17 phone calls is Teddys dad calling trying to get his job in ROH back, saying he could be the "new Brian Pillman". Brian Pillman as the loose cannon worked because it was believable that he could hurt somebody. You, my sad little friend, just annoy the shit out of people.

He did a 30 foot moonsault off the cage to the floor. He also did a shooting star press onto 3 guys and did a backflip off the ropes as a tribute to his uncle, the late Owen Hart. He states that anyone who has seen him in Calgary knows that he does the backflip tribute at the beginning and end of every one of his matches, win, lose or draw. The hosts say that they respect that he wanted to do a tribute, but ask how he can justify doing that in light of what was asked from him in the match.

This is where I could absolutely kill you. Owen Hart, fucking rest his soul, NEVER no sold a fucking thing in his life. You had just been in a CAGE MATCH. Summer Slam '94, Bret vs. Owen. Awesome cage match. NO MOONSAULT. A good tribute for you to do for Owen would be to sell your boots on Ebay, you knuckle head. Better yet, just swallow some jacks. This business is dangerous enough. We, the boys, risk out lives enough. We don't need a kid like you putting any of us in harms way more than we already are. All your post match bullshit was to get yourself over and ANY cost. You put "the three guys" you did a shooting star onto in SO much danger because they had no clue it was coming. You put yourself first, and others in danger, THIS, is why i'm even responding to all of this.

He believes people are jealous of the moves he can do.

You're seriously r*****ed.

When asked who these people are, he responds that Steve Corino did a shoot interview insulting him and calling him a goof. Teddy said when he saw Steve he shook his hand and said he would let it go. Corino responded why and that "you are a goof". He also cites how AJ Styles gave him a list of moves not do to do. Teddy feels this is unfair as AJ didn't invent the moves in question. He doesn't feel that he should be handcuffed and that he must give the fans everything he has. He does not believe the business has to work in such a manner and cites guys doing jobs to Goldberg and HHH as proof.

Hm...where to begin. AJ Styles may not have invented the moves in question, but he's been in TNA doing them for over a year. Any worker with a brain (i.e. NOT you) wouldn't walk into a WWE ring a start handing out pedigrees, so why would you use the spiral tap on an NWA PPV? I approached you after your match with Juvi and explained to you that AJ used the spiral tap, and you might want to talk to him about it in the future, and you just gave me your blank r****d stare and said, "I invented that". Did you invent being stupid too? Seriously, just asking. These guys that've done jobs for goldberg, did they use the Jackhammer? Teddy, really, please. Give the the names of the wrestlers that used the legdrop as a finish in the WWE from 1983 to the present.....douche.

He says that the locker room can't just band together and refuse to do a job. The promoter should step in and say that Ted Hart puts asses in seats.

I have no idea what you're talking about. I'd pay good money to bet that neither do you.

Teddy used to work at KFC and says that you can't tell your boss there you're only giving 50%. He says that if a fan spends $50 on a ticket to see Ted Hart they are going to get their money's worth. There is no option for him to only give 50%. He says if he was working under contract to Vince it would be different, but on the indy scene he can't understand holding back. He says that Rob Feinstein left the door open for him to do this as he told him that if the fans cheered his name then go with it. He believes a lot of the guys who were angry at him are just jealous and everyone knows his only plan is to go to WWE.

Teddy, I was there. The fans were not chanting "PLEASE CLIMB TO THE TOP OF THE CAGE AND DO THREE UNPLANNED SPOTS PUTTING EVERYBODY WHO HAS TO BREAK KAYFABE AND RUN TO CATCH YOU IN HARMS WAY". It's a catchy chant, but it didn't happen. Also, your plan...you ONLY plan is to go to the WWE, perhaps you forgot that you were already there. And you got fired. Idiot.

People who try and blackball him only add more fuel to his fire. He is there to please the fans and not the boys even though the boys have his life in their hands. If they drop him on his head then so be it. He won't stop because 5-6 guys who shouldn't be lacing up boots don't like him. He can't believe he isn't allowed to compete on an equal level because some guys do the same moves as him.

I don't believe for one second you have a fire. You don't love this business Listen to the things you say. Look at the things you do. You give no fuck about the boys, our well being. You only care about yourself. I can only hope that i'm one of the six guys that "shouldn't lace up boots", because then I did my job as one of the ROH locker room leaders. I can't say it enough, no excuse in the world can help you: You put some of the boys in a really horrible potentially dangerous position, and then you cry about being "blackballed". You whine about "not being able to compete on an equal level", and truthfully, that's nobodies fault but your own. Learn some etiquette.

If God wants him to make it in the WWE, then he will. He says there is a reason God lets him do 30 foot moonsaults.

There is no god, and the cage wasn't 30 feet.

Teddy is 23 years old and partially attributes people's jealousy to his age and that they don't have the same creativity and athleticism and feel challenged because they're not willing to follow the standards he sets. He says that we would still have communist countries if people weren't willing to take a chance. Sir A stops him as he states that the hosts don't read the newspapers and drink a lot. Teddy doesn't drink or smoke and compares himself to a preacher.

American Dragon is 22, and one humble motherfucker for how good he is. Nobody is jealous of you, the standard you set is a creepy little no selling troll that wears sunglasses in doors, and changes outfits four times before a show, mainly due to your insecurity as a person. Oh...Teddy? We still do have communist countries, dunce. Oh, and I won't mention the fact that you were asking people where you could score some pot while you were at TNA because you don't smoke.

Teddy is the only one of the Harts who was never stretched by Stu.

...Which is readily recognized from your lack of discipline. Learn how to sell.

So there's your extra press for the day Mr. Annis. No worries though, if it gets you anywhere, i'd bet my life and 100 dollars that you'd find a way to ruin it for yourself with your out of control ego as well as your piss poor attitude. There is no conspiracy, nobody is trying to blackball you. We're just looking out for our friends safety as well as ours. We're just looking out for the product we all believe in, because it's US that want to give the fans a good show. We're just policing our locker room from a cancer that has no business in a business that he acts like he knows all about, but knows so little. We're just protecting our business.

XxX”

The drama isn’t over there, by the way. Months later, as Punk’s tenure in TNA was nearing its end, Teddy Hart was signed to come in. The two ended up crossing paths in a cafe outside of Nashville. Words were exchanged, and some sort of physical altercation occurred outside of the cafe. Here’s Petey Williams recollection of it according to The Sportster:

“According to Williams, he was enjoying a nice meal with CM Punk, but then Teddy Hart walked into the cafe and words were exchanged between the two. Hart and Punk agreed to settle the beef outside and Williams recalls a quick exchange of punches before Punk tripped and Hart ended up on top of him. Sabu then jumped in and separated the two and that was the end of it.”

Sabu also has his own recollection, according to the Sporster:

“The Hardcore Legend himself remembered it as a short scuffle, and he did not pick out a winner, implying that it was pretty much a draw. Sabu did add that while he was separating the two, he got kicked between the legs by Teddy Hart, but it was entirely accidental. Sabu said that he was good friends with Hart at that time, and he was looking to pacify the situation, as he did not want either guy getting fired from TNA. Teddy Hart was terminated by the promotion in the aftermath and Punk stopped appearing as well, but he denied the speculation that he was fired due to his fight with Hart.”

A man who was, at the time, a road agent for TNA and is a noted bullshit artist, Bill Beherns, had this to say on the incident according to the Sportster:

“Bill Behrens, a TNA agent recounted a different account of the fight. According to him, the fight lasted 20 seconds, and it was all Teddy Hart. The third-generation wrestler took CM Punk down and just destroyed him until Sabu separated the two. He credited Sabu for saving Punk because, from what he saw, it was going to end badly for Punk.”

Years later, during CM Punk’s brief foray into MMA and the UFC, Teddy Hart gave an interview about the incident and said the following, also according to the Sportster:

“Hart confirmed that the animosity dated back to his time in ROH, and he praised Punk for having enough guts to come up to him. He said that the fight was short, but it went his way from start to finish. Hart claimed that he knocked him down, beat him up and talked crap to him, and he said that others wrestlers present at the scene, Jack Evans, Petey Williams and Sabu, would substantiate his claim. In the same interview, Hart said that he didn’t know who Punk was back then and how talented he was. After the fight, Hart said he became friends with Punk, and he respected his decision to fight in the UFC. Yes, this was during the time when Punk was preparing for his UFC debut. And of course, Hart said that he was willing to fight Punk in the UFC and said that he could last two rounds with any UFC fighter on the roster.”

Publicly, CM Punk has never commented on the fight or anything involving Teddy Hart’s incident beyond the LiveJournal entry, and out of the four accounts of the fight in Nashville, 3 of them come from some pretty unreliable narrators. Teddy Hart’s ban in ROH is eventually lifted after the ouster of Gabe Sapolsky, and Hart appears on some ROH shows in 2009.

So there you go. The entire story, for the uninitiated. Moving on!

It’s time for the four way match between Joe, Corino, Punk & Daniels. It’s the same bit as a couple of months ago where if someone pins Joe to win, they’ll get a title shot. But if Joe pins someone to win, that person doesn’t get another shot as long as Joe is champ.

During Punk’s entrance, one of the funniest fan interactions ever happens:

Jesus Christ.

Oh and of course, Corino’s whole entourage is here and Bobby Cruise gets on the mic. Cruise says two of these men in this ring reign as champions. For some unknown reason, Samoa Joe is NOT defending the ROH World Championship, and Samoa Joe follows a long storied line of ROH World Champions. Honored champions like… FELLOW PRO WRESTLING ZERO ONE USA MEMBER LOW KI...and Xavier. But this man also appears here before you tonight! The NWA Southern Heavyweight Champion! A championship dating back to 1946 held by such men as:

• Antonio Cortez
• Pat O'Hara

(Daniels sits down in a chair in the corner)

• Gene Sally
• Tom Mahoney
• Don McIntyre
• Danno O'Connor
• Ray Villmer
• Nick Carter

(Joe lies down...and a "SHUT THE FUCK UP" chant leads Guillotine to get on the mic and he says a champion is being introduced and they've got all fricking night so they need to shut up and let him continue...)

• Don Curtis
• Freddie Austin
• Eddie Graham
• Professor Boris Malenko
• Hiro Matsuda
• Cowboy Bob Orton
• Cowboy Bob Ellis
• Cowboy Bill Watts
• Tarzan Tyler
• The Missouri Mauler
• Johnny Weaver
• Red Bastien
• Danny Miller
• Dale Lewis
• The Great Mephisto
• Rene Goulet
• George Gaiser
• The Grappler
• JIM THE ANVIL NEIDHART!
• PISTOL PEZ WHATLEY!
• Jesse Barr
• BAD NEWS ALLEN!
• BIG CAT BOBBY DUNCUM!
• BOBBY SHANE!
• MR. WRESTLING TIM WOODS!
• BUDDY COLT!
• MEAN MARK LEWIN!
• NUMBER ONE PAUL JONES
• RON FULLER
• JOS LEDUC

(a "BORING" chant starts, so Corino makes Bobby stop. Joe takes a ringside camera and takes some shots with it.

• JERRY BRISCO
• JACK BRISCO

(a "SHOW YOUR TITS" chant starts at Simply Luscious, so Daniels gets up and flexes his chest to a big pop and a holy shit chant)

• PEDRO MORALES
• DICK SLATER
• THE DESTROYER
• CHIEF WAHOO MCDANIEL
• CHUCK R ERWIN
• GORGEOUS JIMMY GARVIN
• THE BIG CAT ERNIE LADD
• SWEET BROWN SUGAR
• BAD BAD LEROY BROWN
• BARRY WINDHAM
• HANGMAN BOBBY JAGGERS
• DAVID VON ERICH
• OUTLAW RON BASS
• MIKE ROTUNDO
• ANGELO MOSCA
• RAVISHING RICK RUDE
• THE TOTAL PACKAGE LEX LUGER

(MASSIVE BOOS)

• CLASSY FREDDIE BLASSIE
• JOHNNY VALENTINE
• TERRY FUNK
• THE MASKED SUPERSTAR
• DICK MURDOCH
• THE AMERICAN DREAM DUSTY RHODES

…AND ENTERING TO THE LEFT, THE BEST OF THEM ALL! WEIGHING IN AT A GLORIOUS 104 KILOS, WHICH IS 233 POUNDS FOR YOU NON GIRLFRIEND HAVING INTERNET GEEKS. FROM SEA ISLE CITY, NJ, HE IS THE CURRENT MLW WORLD CHAMPION, THE CURRENT NWA SOUTHERN HEAVYWEIGHT CHAMPION, THE EXTREME HORSEMAN, THE KING OF OLD SCHOOL, THE KING OF KINGS, THE FIGHTINGEST OF FIGHTING CHAMPION, AND THE FUCKING GOD OF PRO WRESTLING, STEVE CORINO.

God yes.

Corino, Punk & Joe then meet at center ring and do like a Three Stooges style triple handshake and Daniels still refuses.

Match #7: CM Punk vs. Steve Corino vs. Samoa Joe vs. Christopher Daniels [Non Title Four Corners Survival Match]
This rules! Super fast paced and high energy practically from the drop. There’s a lot going on in terms of story. You’re getting some closure on Daniels/Corino finally, you’re getting Punk/Daniels and Joe/Daniels continued, Punk/Joe has recently become a lower level think, Corino/Joe have a past and Corino/Punk have a strange relationship budding. On top of all of that, you’ve got everyone competing to hopefully beat Joe and get a title shot. Chaos ensues. One of my favorite bits was Joe setting Daniels and Corino up in chairs in opposite corners of the outside. He runs and hits the Ole Ole Kick on Daniels. He goes to run towards Corino, but Punk dives on to his shoulders and Joe POWERBOMBS HIM INTO THE GUARD RAIL, and THEN he hits Corino with the Ole Ole Kick. As expected, there’s some light move stealing and a dive train. It is ROH after all. Starts to slow down and we see some more story stuff, like Punk and Corino keep saving each other from moves and pins. There’s a move exchange spot between all four men and at one point Corino does hit Punk and the announcers make a big deal about it clearly not being an accident. Joe eats an Old School Kick and then the Angel's Wings, and Joe rolls out. I kind of hate that because everyone’s goal should be to try and pin the champ at this point. But whatever. Daniels goes for the BME on Corino but LeGrande gets in and rolls Corino away, causing Daniels to land on LeGrande’s back. Daniels goes to then quickly double DDT Corino & Punk, BUT THEY REVERSE IT INTO A DOUBLE NORTHERN LIGHTS SUPLEX AND THERES A DOUBLE PIN?!
***1/4

Post match, there’s chaos with a bunch of refs trying to figure out the call and Corino arguing he should win and the cameras kind of just cut away without an answer.

In the back, GMC is with Matt Stryker and Xavier, who are face to face, and announces that on the next show on 11/28, they'll meet in the final of their block to see who goes to the finals at Final Battle. They talk. I do not care. John Walters then shows up and says this is personal. He talks some more. I do not care. I guess there’s gonna be another Walters/Xavier match too because Zod hath forsaken me.

Elsewhere, Convicted Sex Offender Rob Feinstein is hanging around hoping for an alibi. He says the next two shows will be a double shot on 11/28 and 11/29. The 11/28 show will see the blowoff of the Raven/Punk feud where they’ll face off in a Steel Cage. I am so tired of this feud. They already had that cage match and it was bad. He also says the 11/29 show will be the blowoff to Homicide/Corino, AS THEY WILL FIGHT IN A NO ROPES BARBED WIRE MATCH OH MY GOD YES.

Oh hey look, Bryan Danielson still exists thankfully!

Match #8: AJ Styles vs. Bryan Danielson [#1 Contenders Trophy]
To probably nobody’s surprise, this was incredible. Two of the greatest of all time fighting at the start of their primes. Just fantastic stuff. AJ comes out of the gate with his really super aggressive mat work that Danielson has answers for the entire way. Danielson is also careful to protect himself to avoid letting AJ get that lucky kick that busted him open last match they said, which essentially cost Bryan the victory. They build up quickly to some strike exchanges, but feeling he’s in a losing battle after a big enziugiri from AJ, Danielson takes it back to the mat and opens up some really, really good arm work that AJ sells pretty okay. It does go on for a bit but for a pervert like me and I’m assuming whoever is reading this, I don’t mind that. Some fan in the crowd probably did, as he chants BO-RING, and based on where the fan is sitting, I *THINK* it may be the same fan that kept yelling DIE at Punk. Bryan finally addresses the heckler mid match, yelling “WHAT THE FUCK DO YOU KNOW ABOUT PRO WRESTLING? TELL ME, WHAT THE FUCK DO YOU KNOW ABOUT PRO WRESTLING? YOU SHUT YOUR FUCKING MOUTH.” Hell yeah. Bryan now gets super aggressive with the arm work, working over every possibly inch of AJ’s arm, including his elbow, wrist, and then he does a FINGER BREAK SPOT AND STARTS STOMPING ON THE HAND. YESSSSS. AJ then goes postal on a comeback and throws Bryan over the top, but Bryan’s knee buckles and AJ’s found his target! AJ goes to work on Bryan’s knee like a man incensed, and Bryan’s selling is otherworldly. Like I don’t know if I would’ve been as “meh” on AJ’s selling in this if it wasn’t against one of the best sellers ever in Bryan. AJ really continues to work the knee specifically, but goes after the whole leg, and eventually gets a long-ish figure four on Bryan. Bryan WILL NOT TAP, and AJ at one point yells out “JUST GIVE UP, I ALREADY BEAT DUSTY WITH IT” and he includes another word that I am not going to say, but it’s a word AJ said a lot in this time period. I’ll leave it at that. Bryan makes his dramatic, exhausted, super human comeback (that he still does so well even in 2024) and has AJ on the ropes. He traps AJ during a brief comeback into a triangle choke and he might have his number here, BUT AJ LIFTS BRYAN UP WHILE IN THE CHOKE AND HITS A ONE ARMED STYLES CLASH! JESUS. He’s lucky he didn’t break his own arm. AND THEN HE HITS THE REAL STYLES CLASH TO END IT. WOW. What an affair. AJs mid-tier selling and some personal issues I had with length aside, I loved this so much.
****1/4

Backstage, and live from “Chicago”, it’s time for GOOD TIMES, GREAT MEMORIES! CM Punk is gonna be on a little bit later, but first they have The Carnage Crew! They come in with beer and start chilling, and have the most 2003 ass shirts on ever:

Devito says he drank a lot of beer in college, for the month he went. Cabana says junior college in Nebraska doesn't count, and Devito asks where that is. Cabana says they had a big match tonight and the Backseat Boyz won. Devito says they stole a victory from them tonight. Loc says they don't mind bleeding and Devito says they stole their match, so they're coming after them. Devito says he's seen the Colt 45, and their Piledriver off the middle is the most devastating move in wrestling. Cabana asks if they invented that, and Devito says they invented the Piledriver, so yes. Cabana asks about Special K and Loc says they've been thuggin and druggin for a decade, and Special K is nothing. Devito says they're drunk anyways in the ring, so that part doesn't bother them. Cabana asks what they do outside of wrestling and they yell THE NUDIE BAR. Devito says he doesn't want to buy stuff for the house, wife, or kids, but he'll spend ALL his dollars at the nudie bar. Loc says that check is getting cashed and spent TONIGHT. Cabana reads them a poem (I know I’ve seen people credit this as a Cabana original bit, but sorry to say, he stole this from Married with Children, like word for word mostly):

At the nudie bar
Where you can look at a thigh
And blacken an eye

At the nudie bar
Where they show their butt
And their traps stay shut

At the nudie bar
Where you can't touch a breast
But you can cave in a chest

At the nudie bar
Where the girlies dance
In their underpants

At the nudie bar
Where the music stinks
And they water the drinks

At the nudie bar
Where the beer gives you gas
But the Carnage Crew kicks ass

At the nudie bar!

Cabana says they'll get Punk next time and Devito asks if he and Punk want a beer. Cabana asks if they have Yoohoo and they almost beat the shit out of him, but Devito says he liked the poem, so they shake hands and leave.

In a pretape that is labeled as having happened a week after this show, Steve Corino cuts a promo. He says only a few days ago, he nailed Homicide in the left ear with a chain wrapped fist. The same ear Homicide took out on him back on 8/16. He still can't hear, but he got some revenge. Now, on 11/28, ROH is giving him a young boy by the name of Josh Daniels. Good kid, star in the making, but you know what? It's a warm up for Steve Corino. He'll get some cardio going, and the next night, he won't just beat Homicide, but he's going to fucking cripple him. Because when his son stands to his left and talks to him, he can't hear him, and that hurts. When people laugh at him and ask if he's deaf, and he has to say yes, that hurts him inside. No ropes barbed wire, there's nowhere they can go but inside. He's not a violent man. He never liked hardcore wrestling. But he comes out fighting when he's backed into Punk. He never wanted this feud, he never even wanted to team with Homicide against the Backseat Boyz back in December of 2002. Yet another big ROH idea he had NOTHING to do with. Homicide needs to let all this go. Because they all know he'll beat him. But what HE knows is that he's going to cripple him. And after that, he’s done! His ROH contract is up, he has no more obligations. Win, lose, or draw, he's gone. This is it for him in ROH. It's not like anyone here will ever let him challenge Samoa Joe for the belt. ROH brass doesn’t want him holding that thing. And besides, he’s got a TON of other championships weighing his shoulders and waist down so he doesn’t even want the ROH belt. He is the greatest superstar to ever walk into ROH, and Homicide will feel that. Not only is he the King of Old School, the Extreme Horsemen, but the FUCKING GOD. And CM Punk? After the last two shows, he has to admit something…he's a lot more like him than he wants to admit. Awesome promo.

In the back, GMC goes to interview Cornette and the Briscoes. Cornette says these kids are in their early 20s and the most fascinating and most obviously scintillating team he's come across since the Midnight Express. Damn. They have the hunger and he's gonna take them to the top. He sends the Briscoes off to go party and have fun, and he'll take care of the rest. They leave and Cornette tells GMC that these kids do everything he tells them and after all, he's a savant in this industry. GMC says he's made a lot of enemies in ROH. Cornette says if The Prophecy was so good, they shouldn't have lost. And as for Joe? Samoans are happy if you give them some fish and coconuts. JESUS CHRIST. Joe was a means to an end. To hell with Joe. He's an idiot, he's not smart enough to compete with James E. Cornette, and GMC keeps trying to warn Cornette that he’s in real trouble but then Cornette kicks GMC out.

BUT THEN, Joe walks over towards the locker room once the camera is off and tells GMC and the camera man to stay right here. He goes in and Cornette puts on the nice guy routine, and Joe shuts the door and you can hear him beating the shit out of Cornette. He then leaves and says he wouldn't go in there if he were them, and leaves.

IN THREE WEEKS: THE BLOCK FINALS FOR THE FIELD OF HONOR! BRISCOES DEFEND AGAINST JOE & A PARTNER! PUNK/RAVEN BLOWOFF! AND THEN THE NEXT NIGHT — AJ GETS HIS WORLD TITLE SHOT! AND CORINO/HOMICIDE NRBW BLOWOFF!