ROH All Star Extravaganza: 15 Years Ago Today

[chazraps]

EDIT: This thread will now be discussion of classic ROH shows on their 15th anniversary. Check the thread title for most recent.

I think I'm going to fire up this very first ROH show and watch it tonight.

What were your memories first seeing it? When was the last time you watched it?

[MWC]

Remember hearing a lot about it and I found The Era of Honor Begins at a local CD/DVD shop around late 2003. It was the takedown masters version of it. At first I was taken back by how bad it looked quality wise but pushed through it. The first segment/match I think is something they look back and try to forget at this point. But Amazing Red/Briscoe kept me hooked to watch the rest. The main event I was floored...completely blown away. I immediately went out and bought the rest of 2002 and just kept going from there.

Today I own about 80% of the ROH library. That main event saved me from falling away from Wrestling.

[chazraps]

The very *very* first segment on the DVD of Da Hit Squad greeting the fans on the bus is actually really cool, especially in retrospect. It could have gone any sort of way, and there's really nothing else like it.

But then the Christopher Street Connection first match is so unbelievably awful in so many ways. The commentary makes it so much worse too with the supposed voices of reason advocating for "not wanting [their] kind," followed by the violence on women punctuated with "that's what you get" for not "staying with a straight tag team."

I know there's the whole "it wouldn't fly today" and "it was a different time" thing, but it's not like this was 1998, it was 2002 by this point. How did this even fly then?

[mcmahonfan85]

still one of the best main events in ROH history

Feb 23, 2017 18:27:10 GMT -5 chazraps said:

The very *very* first segment on the DVD of Da Hit Squad greeting the fans on the bus is actually really cool, especially in retrospect. It could have gone any sort of way, and there's really nothing else like it.

But then the Christopher Street Connection first match is so unbelievably awful in so many ways. The commentary makes it so much worse too with the supposed voices of reason advocating for "not wanting [their] kind," followed by the violence on women punctuated with "that's what you get" for not "staying with a straight tag team."

I know there's the whole "it wouldn't fly today" and "it was a different time" thing, but it's not like this was 1998, it was 2002 by this point. How did this even fly then?

its because it was a different time:

Gay gimmick - who were the reigning WWE Tag Team Champions at the time?



Violence against women - what happened less than one month after ROH's debut show?



(it also happened after they lost to Billy & Chuck)


i'm not saying it couldn't have been handled better (since the whole point of DHS attacking CSC wasn't because they were gay but because they were "sports entertainment", which seems to get lost in the shuffle), but it's unfair to criticize a small upstart company for doing something while overlooking/ignoring the world's biggest company doing the exact same thing

[froggyfrog]

My most vivid memory of that show other than Natural Born Killaz in their masks is Towel Boy cleaning the ropes and I'm not even sure that was from that show

[Dragonfly]

My first real experience with ROH (as in "outside of EWR") wasn't a show. It was a writeup of the then just happened Final Battle 2004. The report made it sound like the greatest show ever - one that I missed because I didn't live in Philly. It wasn't on sale when I had the money - I didn't realize how long it took to get the shows out - so I bought Joe vs Punk II instead. The main event was awesome, but what really sold me was the Jimmy Jacobs/Alex Shelley I Quit match. It wasn't a technical classic, but it was fun. It was that match that kept me coming back.

Oh... I ended up getting Final Battle a few months later. It lived up to the hype. Steve Corino's extra long entrance is still a favorite of mine. "Steve Corino is going to give his friend CM Punk the gift that keeps on giving. No, not the clap."

[Ishmeal Loves Kaseyhausen]

I remember my friend, who was an avid tape trader and RF customer, hearing about the show, the talent that was on it, and how good it was (especially the main event). We decided then that we needed to go to the next show, which was the Round Robin Challenge the following month. I didn't actually watch EOHB until after RRC, but I was a fan from the beginning. I still have the DVD somewhere, which I found aftermarket at FYE. I'll have to give it a watch.

[Ultimo Gallos]

No clue what the first ROH show I saw was. And honestly I didn't get hooked on them until they got bought by sinclair.

[BlackoutCreature]

Yeah, that first show had a bit of an identity crisis going on. It didn't seem to know whether or not it wanted to be something completely new to the US wrestling scene, or the second coming of ECW. Luckily it realized pretty quickly that the latter was not the way to go. I remember that first show there being a lot of very weird backstage skits that you almost never see in ROH anymore.

[chronocross]

I bought the first ROH DVD in the summer of 2004 and got hooked, I looked online on how to attend an ROH show and if they were running any in the NYC/NJ area, fortunately they had a bus running from Manhattan to NJ for the Glory By Honor 3 show w/Foley's debut and feat. Joe vs. Doug Williams and Aries vs. Punk at the Rexplex. Back then, I couldn't wait for the monthly shows to come out on DVD or to go in person, I fell out of touch with it around 08 when Nigel was champ and hadn't really followed it actively since aside from threads/live reports.

[AdamAFL was sooooo wrong]

I actually didn't see the first show until three or four years after it happened. I was only 10 when ROH had its first show and at that point (and for the next couple of years too) I thought there was only one wrestling company left in the world following WCW's closure and that was WWE (I didn't even know ECW had existed) but by 2005 my interest in WWE was starting to wane. I was still watching but it wasn't must-see as soon as humanly possible TV for me anymore, there were even weeks where I'd miss one or both shows.

So my discovery of ROH was pure coincidence, I went round to my cousin's house (we didn't see each other very often because my Dad and his sister aren't particularly close which makes this even more lucky). I hadn't seen him for a couple of years but remembered he liked wrestling and asked him his thoughts on modern day WWE. He was in much the same boat as me and started talking about how he preferred ROH. I had no idea what he was talking about and he started raving about them, he said he'd got their latest show a couple of days earlier and stuck it on for me to see. That show was Final Battle '04.

So we sat there and watched it and honestly - I wasn't too impressed. There had been glimpses of stuff I liked and I knew immediately I really liked this Gen Next group and thought the promo where they kicked out Shelley was awesome but for the most part I was distinctly underwhelmed not really understanding why my cousin loved this company so much. Then the main event happened (Joe vs. Aries for the World Title) and I was thoroughly blown away. Aries quickly became my favourite through his earlier promo and the work in this match and I popped so big when he won the belt. I've been an avid ROH watcher ever since. I've floated in and out of other companies but ROH has been my only constant for the past 12+ years.

I know the product isn't in the best place right now (although I'd argue even now isn't as bad as the height of the Cornette era or the very end of the Gabe era) but ROH is the only wrestling company in the world where I have an affinity with the actual promotion. Other promotions I can slip in and out of quite easily because - although I want all wrestling companies to do well because it's good for the business - they're the only company that I actively root for to do well. For the last twelve years, and for the foreseeable future, they have been, and will continue to be, my company. So that's not really a memory of their first show but it's my memory of the company as a whole and how much they've meant to me and my wrestling fandom over the years.

[Deleted]

I bought it from RF Video as soon as it was available. At the time, I remember enjoying it for what it was...probably more than I should have. Then again, I was 16 years old and I couldn't get enough wrestling.

[chazraps]

Road to the Title was 15 years ago tonight.

Looking forward to cracking into this one as on-paper it reads like one of the best possible indie shows one could book in 2002:

American Dragon vs. Bio-Hazard
Spanky vs. Paul London
Doug Williams vs. Jay Briscoe
Jody Fleisch vs. Jonny Storm
Low Ki vs. Prince Nana
Amazing Red vs. Xavier
Christopher Daniels vs. Scoot Andrews
A.J. Styles vs. Jerry Lynn
Spanky vs. Jody Fleisch
Doug Williams vs. American Dragon
Low Ki vs. The Amazing Red
Christopher Daniels vs. A.J. Styles

[MWC]

Jun 22, 2017 17:12:58 GMT -5 chazraps said:

Road to the Title was 15 years ago tonight.

Looking forward to cracking into this one as on-paper it reads like one of the best possible indie shows one could book in 2002:

American Dragon vs. Bio-Hazard
Spanky vs. Paul London
Doug Williams vs. Jay Briscoe
Jody Fleisch vs. Jonny Storm
Low Ki vs. Prince Nana
Amazing Red vs. Xavier
Christopher Daniels vs. Scoot Andrews
A.J. Styles vs. Jerry Lynn
Spanky vs. Jody Fleisch
Doug Williams vs. American Dragon
Low Ki vs. The Amazing Red
Christopher Daniels vs. A.J. Styles

I might have to give this one another watch. Remember it starting a bit slow but from Styles/Lynn and on it was fantastic. Oh, and that Low Ki/Red exchange is still among the craziest things.

[HMARK Center]

Taking me back a bit, here; I only got back into watching wrestling with any frequency in early 2004 after I had heard Chris Benoit had won the Royal Rumble (I really began losing interest circa mid-1999, and by 2000-2003 I would only occasionally watch a few segments here and there of WCW, then only WWF, shows), but realized pretty quickly that I was getting bored with Raw. I was happy to discover TNA during that time, and feeling as if I had found a new avenue to enjoy wrestling I started searching around for stuff involving some of the big names I was seeing bandied around by people on message boards, including the original version of this one.

That led to me finding the Paul London vs. Bryan Danielson Epic Encounter match online, and it kind of opened my eyes a bit to what I might've been missing. I started reading up more and more, and what got me to sit up and pay attention was all the talk about this Samoa Joe guy and "The Reign" he was on, especially once people started to say that Meltzer gave one of his matches five stars, something Big Dave hadn't done back then since 1997. Naturally, this led to me wanting to finally buy a show and see what the hype was all about, so I bought Joe vs. Punk II...but being a college student at the time I also noted that the 2002 DVDs were cheaper, plus ROH was doing their buy 3 get 1 free deal, so I ordered the first three shows with it.

Needless to say, that led to a DVD addiction that lasted with me for a solid 4 years, at least. I was amazed to see guys I even heard about in TNA working angles and matches that were so much more interesting, and I also found myself appreciating nuances in wrestling storytelling and match building a lot more than I ever had before. By the time January '05 rolled along I was completely fed up with WWE, kept giving TNA chances (always a bumpy relationship, there), but ROH was my brand through and through.

I could never keep up with it the way I once did after awhile, once it got to be around 2010 or so, and I fell out of touch with it, but I do like to check back in now and then. I've seen three recent PPVs of their's and haven't been disappointed, including going in person to Final Battle 2016, which might've been my first live ROH show since going to Death Before Dishonor in Toronto back in 2010. And, yes, for somebody who desperately wanted Christopher Daniels to win the ROH title from day one his win this year was a very sweet moment.

[chazraps]

Jun 22, 2017 17:46:39 GMT -5 MWC said:

Jun 22, 2017 17:12:58 GMT -5 chazraps said:

Road to the Title was 15 years ago tonight.

Looking forward to cracking into this one as on-paper it reads like one of the best possible indie shows one could book in 2002:

American Dragon vs. Bio-Hazard
Spanky vs. Paul London
Doug Williams vs. Jay Briscoe
Jody Fleisch vs. Jonny Storm
Low Ki vs. Prince Nana
Amazing Red vs. Xavier
Christopher Daniels vs. Scoot Andrews
A.J. Styles vs. Jerry Lynn
Spanky vs. Jody Fleisch
Doug Williams vs. American Dragon
Low Ki vs. The Amazing Red
Christopher Daniels vs. A.J. Styles

I might have to give this one another watch. Remember it starting a bit slow but from Styles/Lynn and on it was fantastic. Oh, and that Low Ki/Red exchange is still among the craziest things.

This cannot be overstated. Absolutely amazing, a shining example of what an alternative product ROH can be.

[mcmahonfan85]

Road to the Title was the first ROH show i saw, so i'll always have fond memories of it. i got the Takedown Masters edited version in early 2006, and it started me turning a corner on AJ Styles, Christopher Daniels and Paul London. i used to watch TNA's friday show, and Styles and Daniels would always get great reactions from the crowd (which wasn't hard with the Orlando crowd. a janitor could walk out with a mop to clean up some puke and that crowd would pop for it and start chanting), but the matches always ended around 2 minutes. that gets old fairly quickly, and leads to the feeling of them being overrated. London just suffered from shitty booking on Velocity. he'd come out overly excited and happy to be there, get his ass kicked, and still being excited and happy. that also got old quickly, and left a bad taste in the mouth. their ROH work showed not only could they work, but they were pretty damn good (same with Joe, who was in the same boat as Styles and Daniels).

however, there is one match on here that sticks out like a sore thumb due to how drastically wrestling has changed over the past fifteen years: Low Ki vs. Prince Nana. the match ends out of nowhere after Nana gets knocked out, and it started a brief concussion angle where he wrestled with a padded helmet and the commentators basically called him a pussy. not good in hindsight

[chazraps]

Tonight marks 15 years since Crowning a Champion. We open with Low-Ki recapping his (legitimately) incredible matches in ROH thus far, followed by a creepy Corino/SImply Lucious promo followed by a homophobic Christopher Street Connection "we don't want your kind of people here" promo, followed by Guido/Maritano trying to get Mamaluke to drop the FBI gimmick and then Homicide interrupts, and then finally the first match.

That's a lot of promos.

Anyone we get the first ROH champion tonight, as well as some match-ups that look kind of insane for an ROH show 15 years later including:

Joey Matthews (WWE Joey Mercury) & Christian York With Alexis Laree (WWE/TNA Mickie James) vs. Prince Nana & Jacob Ladder

James Maritato (ECW Little Guido/WWE Nunzio) vs. Jay Briscoe

NWA TNA X Division Title Match - "The Phenomenal" AJ Styles (WWE/NJPW/TNA) vs. David Young (TNA) vs. Adam Jacobs

and, of course, ROH Title Tournament Final Four Way 60 Minute Iron Man Title Match - Low-Ki (WWE Kaval/TNA Senshi/Low Ki) vs. "Spanky" Brian Kendrick (WWE) vs. Doug Williams (TNA) vs. "Fallen Angel" Christopher Daniels (TNA)

What are your memories of this show? How do you feel upon revisiting it?

[BorneAgain]

Let's be honest, that first year of ROH had things that were not just inexplicable but offensive to everybody's tastes to the point where I think we'd all sooner forget about it...

But enough about Xavier's title reign.

[chazraps]

Jul 27, 2017 18:51:46 GMT -5 BorneAgain said:

Let's be honest, that first year of ROH had things that were not just inexplicable but offensive to everybody's tastes to the point where I think we'd all sooner forget about it...

But enough about Xavier's title reign.

Ha!

But seriously, the Christopher Street Collection are all over the first half of this show, and this is as offensive and bad of a gay gimmick that's ever been run. The commentary just makes it so much worse.