ROH BEATING THE ODDS

ROH BEATING THE ODDS 09/06/03


Homicide vs. Trent Acid
I think this smokes their Wrestlerave match tbh. And that match already ruled & had quite a few insane moments, but this is totally great & super consistent with its action (which is something I thought the Wrestlerave match wasn't). It feels very sprint-y with how fast they go right from the get go, and that adds a lot to the overall intensity & the feeling of the dislike they have for one another. Acid & 'cide both bring some truly fantastic offense w/ their own signature touches into the thing, and it's just awesome to watch them beat each other up, to put it bluntly. The blood added quite a bit too, and the ways they both got cut? Naaaaasty stuff. Superb match. ****

AJ Styles vs. Chris Sabin vs. Jay Briscoe vs. Samoa Joe
Good match. Was a fun looking line-up on paper, and they definitely delivered a fun outing. I enjoyed the Jay-in-peril segment -- solid stuff all around w/ Jay looking good selling his ass off out there & the other 3 looking good showcasing their offense on the lad. My favorite bit of the whole match was everything after AJ slipped on his springboard 450 attempt though; immediately afterwards it seemed like he kicked his intensity & aggression up a notch, which made everyone else also follow suit & it created for some really fun exchanges. ***

CM Punk vs. Raven
Another quality entry in this feud. Not as good as their previous singles meeting, but pretty close. It didn't take long for the blood to start flyin' as they introduced weapons very quickly into the thing; Punk cuffing Raven into the ropes was fun, and Raven's eventual one-handed comeback was pretty epic. Between that & his lariat-flurry in their previous match, I am digging the old school fire he is showing in these matches vs. Punker. ***1/4