ROH EMPIRE STATE SHOWDOWN

ROH EMPIRE STATE SHOWDOWN 10/25/03


Christopher Daniels vs. John Walters
This was looking to become a full-on Chris Daniels 03 classic akin his matches vs. Doug Williams & Xavier, but in the last third (or so), they decide to pretty much say "fuck you" to the whole story of Walters' working over Daniels' leg vs. Daniels doing a number on Walters' back. Daniels in particular disappointed me a lot when it came down to that, as he was doing his moonsaults as clean as ever & running full speed -- I think it's especially disappointing when you know that he could also sell extremely well if needed. OH WELL & all that. I still enjoyed this tremendously, because the hold-for-hold back n' forth technical rasslin' in the beginning was really good, and then the mentioned bodypart-targeting story that happened was really great. More selling and this could've & probably would've been one of the years highlights. ***3/4

CM Punk vs. Steve Corino
This is SUCH a blast right from the introductions to the post-match promos by both men. It's two huge personalities going at it, and they play off of each other wonderfully throughout. The "actual wrestling" part of the match rules too, with them blasting each other with some fantastic looking punches, forearms, chops & kicks. Corino faking that ear injury in a nice ode to his fantastic fight vs. Homicide was awesome, and the flurry he went on after revealing that he wasn't actually hurt was some truly great stuff. And yeah, then there's indeed the joyous pre-match w/ their ridiculous introductions + the post-match with them bonding over Corino swerving the crowd & Punk giving them a usual Punk-like jawing on the mic. A real lovely piece of business as an overall package. ***3/4

Homicide vs. Samoa Joe
This doesn't reach the level of their ass-kicking match at Do Or Die, but it's a pretty badass match in its own right. There's some minutes in the match that feel kind of "dead" & don't keep you (or at least me) hooked, but then they redeem themselves with some awesome violence like a lil' slapfest or the finish w/ Homicide choking Joe out. Definitely worth a watch if you love these two motherfuckers like I do. ***1/4