Match #1: Samoa Joe and Jay Lethal vs. CM Punk and Spanky (Back to Basics – 3/12/05)
Punk and Lethal trade control on the mat. They attempt some signature moves to no avail. Spanky snaps off a headscissors on Lethal. Joe enters the ring and Spanky can’t quite figure him out. Punk and Joe square off and Punk goes back to his headlock strategy from their infamous one-hour draw. Lethal hits an innovative backbreaker on Spanky and Joe adds a facewash kick. They isolate him until he connects with a leg lariat on Lethal and makes the tag. Punk punishes Lethal on the floor and works him over in the ring. Spanky attempts a sliced bread but Lethal flips out of it and tags out. Joe hits a belly to belly suplex on Punk and powerslams Spanky. He applies a cross armbreaker on Spanky but Punk breaks up the hold with a slingshot senton. Joe powerbombs Spanky and locks in an STF. Lethal adds a diving headbutt for a nearfall. Punk escapes a dragon suplex and hits a german suplex. Joe lands a dive to the floor onto Spanky. Punk catches Lethal coming off the top rope with a dropkick. He gets into position for the Pepsi Plunge but Stevie Richards of all people comes out. Richards superkicks Punk and walks away. Lethal hits a dragon suplex on Punk for the win at 25:46. If nothing else, this match was interesting for giving us previews of what potential Lethal/Punk and Joe/Spanky singles encounters would look like. The action took awhile to pick up but the exchanges down the stretch were excellent as expected. That is, until the interference from Richards. While the crowd popped when he superkicked Punk, the interference led to an anticlimactic finish. ***¼
Match #2: ROH Pure Title: Jay Lethal © vs. Samoa Joe (Manhattan Mayhem – 5/7/05)
Joe is the aggressor at the opening bell but Lethal just slaps him. After a quick exchange on the mat, Joe cheap shots Lethal. Lethal hits a russian leg sweep and synchs in a modified indian deathlock. Joe uses his first rope break. He walks away from a crossbody but Todd Sinclair gives him a warning for a closed fist. Lethal hits a neckbreaker. Joe uses his second rope break to escape a crossface. He catches Lethal with a uranagi out of the corner. Joe instinctually delivers another closed fist and loses his last rope break. Joe hits a powerbomb, applies a boston crab, and transitions into an STF. Lethal uses his first rope break. Joe connects with a running knee strike. Lethal blocks a facewash kick and connects with a corner dropkick. He hits a suplex and follows with a diving headbutt. Joe kicks him to the floor and takes him out with a dive. They battle on the apron and Lethal applies a sleeper. Joe sends them both crashing through a table at ringside to break the hold. In the ring, they trade chops and Joe hits a powerslam. He synchs in a cross armbreaker and Lethal uses his second rope break. Lethal comes off the middle rope with a DDT. Joe fires back with a northern lariat but falls victim to a dragon suplex for a nearfall. Joe escapes a second dragon suplex and hits a german suplex. Joe adds a dragon suplex of his own followed by an arm-capture german suplex to become the new Pure Champion at 16:32. The quintessential example of how effective the Pure Title rules could be at times. The desperation that came over Joe when he realized that he had lost all of his rope breaks was captivating to watch play out. I think a lot of people remember the table spot, but there were so many little nuances throughout the match that not only added to the quality, but made Lethal look like a true threat. My rating might seem high, but this match just worked on so many different levels. ****
Match #3: Samoa Joe and Jay Lethal vs. Low Ki and Homicide (Manhattan Mayhem – 5/7/05)
This was an impromptu match that took place at the end of the show. Joe and Lethal land stereo dives to the floor. In the ring, Joe facewash kicks Low Ki. Homicide takes out Lethal with a dive. Lethal gets rolled back into the ring, where Low Ki double stomps his face. Dear Lord. The Rottweilers go to work on Lethal, with Low Ki connecting with a flying double stomp. Homicide hits a piledriver and taunts Joe from afar. Lethal hits a dragon suplex on Homicide, dropkicks Low Ki, and makes the tag. Joe uranagis Low Ki out of the corner and overhead suplexes Homicide into the turnbuckles. Homicide saves Low Ki from a Muscle Buster. Low Ki connects with a sick flying double stomp on Joe. Lethal hits a running suplex on Homicide. Low Ki shotgun dropkicks Joe into the turnbuckles. All four men are down. Lethal and Low Ki battle on the top rope. Lethal gets shoved down to the canvas. The Rottweilers follow with a flying double stomp-Cop Killa combination for the victory at 10:07. While it’s beneficial to view this match in context, I think it’s still easy to see that this brawl was able to get its point across without being familiar with 2005 storylines. The Rottweilers were on a mission to severely injure Lethal and they were able to overwhelm Joe long enough to keep him at bay. The action was great while the match lasted with a finish that really put an exclamation point on things. **¾
Match #4: ROH Pure Title: Samoa Joe © vs. James Gibson (New Frontiers – 6/4/05)
They trade control on the mat. Joe powers out of a cross armbreaker by lifting Gibson onto the top rope. Todd Sinclair controversially charges Joe a rope break. Gibson connects with a basement dropkick and starts working over the left leg. Joe anticipates a charge and hits a uranagi. He rocks Gibson with a running knee strike and takes control. Gibson comes back with a neckbreaker. Joe sweeps out his legs, hits a senton, and locks in a boston crab. Gibson uses his first rope break. They battle on the top rope and Gibson hits a back superplex. He slaps on a guillotine choke and tries a quick rollup to no avail. Joe shakes off repeated knee strikes and hits a powerslam. Gibson uses his second rope break to escape a cross armbreaker. Gibson blocks a facewash kick and hits a dragon screw leg whip. He locks in the Trailer Hitch and Joe is forced to use his second rope break. Gibson dropkicks Joe to the floor. Joe catches him on a plancha attempt and just hurls him into the barricade. In the ring, Joe hits a powerbomb and transitions into an STF. Gibson uses his final rope break. Gibson reverses a Muscle Buster into a guillotine choke. Joe powers out and synchs in a rear-naked choke to retain his title at 23:54. Commentary noted that this was a first-time encounter and they worked well together to deliver a worthwhile title defense for Joe. The story of Joe’s title reign seems to be that he foregoes trying to do anything cute or deceptive with the Pure Title rules and just focuses on beating up his opponent. We saw that story play out here, as Gibson was almost able to look past Joe’s aggression and find ways to win the title. While part of me thinks that they have a better match in them, this was still an engaging contest that rewarded paying close attention to detail. ***½
Match #5: ROH Pure Title: Samoa Joe © vs. Austin Aries (Escape from New York – 7/9/05)
They begin with a feeling-out process – much different from how their Final Battle match started. Aries comes off the middle rope with a back elbow but runs into a spinebuster. Joe hits a senton and locks in a boston crab. Aries uses his first rope break. Joe connects with a running knee strike and a facewash kick. Aries takes some time to regroup on the floor. He dropkicks Joe off the apron and lands his heat-seeking missile. In the ring, Aries takes over and causes Joe to lose a rope break. Joe comes back with an STO and lands a dive to the outside. He follows with two ole kicks. Back in, Aries synchs in an STF and Joe uses his second rope break. Aries misses a 450 splash and falls victim to a powerslam. Joe applies a cross armbreaker and Aries uses his second rope break. Joe transitions into an STF and Aries is fresh out of rope breaks. Aries hits a nice crucifix bomb followed by a brainbuster. He lands a 450 splash but Joe uses his final rope break during the pin attempt. Awesome. Joe misses an enzuigiri and gets kicked in the face. Aries goes up top but falls victim to a Muscle Buster. Joe retains his title at 17:11. This was a case where the Pure Title rules didn’t really come into play until the final thirty seconds of the match. Instead of mattering all that much, the rules were politely enforced. Still, Joe and Aries played enough off of their previous encounters to make the action intriguing in parts. This match was a far cry from their Final Battle match contest, but it’s a solid exhibition that didn’t feel like seventeen minutes. ***¼
Match #6: Samoa Joe, Jay Lethal, and James Gibson vs. Homicide, Low Ki, and Ricky Reyes (The Homecoming – 7/23/05)
Everyone starts brawling before the opening bell. Thankfully, Todd Sinclair is able to restore order. Joe nearly murders Reyes with a uranagi after a kick exchange. Low Ki and Gibson trade control and provide some nice back and forth action. Lethal enters the ring and Low Ki wants nothing to do with him. Lethal holds Reyes in place while Joe facewash kicks him. Homicide interjects himself from the apron, allowing Reyes to overhead suplex Gibson. The Rottweilers isolate Gibson until he takes down Homicide with a dropkick and makes the tag. Lethal cleans house while Low Ki does his best to avoid him. Low Ki sneaks in a cheap shot and the Rottweilers now work over Lethal. He hits a running suplex on Homicide and makes the tag. Joe hits a powerslam on Reyes and sweeps out Homicide’s legs. He hits a senton on Homicide and Gibson adds a flying crossbody. Low Ki catches Gibson with a springboard enzuigiri. Lethal connects with a leg lariat on Low Ki and hits a gutwrench suplex. He follows with a missile dropkick. The Rottweilers triple team Lethal in the corner. Gibson breaks up a flying double stomp-Cop Killa combination attempt. The Rottweilers get elevated to the floor and the faces follow out with stereo dives. Joe ole kicks Homicide into the barricade. In the ring, Homicide grabs a chain and hits Gibson with it. Homicide covers him for the win at 23:33. I appreciated the emphasis on the issue between Lethal and Low Ki, as that was a major program in Ring of Honor at this time. The six-man tag concept added a fresh dynamic to the action as well. There were points down the stretch where everything was clicking but there were also times when things seemed too chaotic and difficult to follow. However, the good far outweighs the bad here and this was a nice showcase for the feud. ***½
Match #7: Samoa Joe vs. Kenta Kobashi (Joe vs. Kobashi – 10/1/05)
It’s usually a good sign when you’re watching a match that’s also the name of the show. Ring of Honor smartly presents this match without commentary. Joe slaps Kobashi and that’s most likely a huge mistake. Kobashi responds with a loud chop. Joe hits a suplex out of a knucklelock and lands a dive to the floor. He applies a stretch plum in the ring. They have a strike exchange which Joe wins with an enzuigiri. Kobashi gets fired up once again but Joe repeatedly knees him in the head. Jesus. The action goes to the floor where Joe finds success with an ole kick. Kobashi chops him into the front row and hits a DDT onto the floor. In the ring, Kobashi takes over with a series of chops. Joe fires back with some chops of his own but Kobashi puts him down with another flurry. Joe blocks a backfist, hits an STF, and follows with a senton. Joe hits a bucklebomb and connects with a facewash kick. He adds a Muscle Buster for a nearfall. The powerbomb-STF sequence won’t keep Kobashi down either. Kobashi blocks a charge and hits the nastiest half nelson suplex you’ll ever see. Both men are down. Kobashi connects with a backfist and follows with fifty or so chops in the corner. He hits another half nelson suplex for a two count. Kobashi drops Joe on his head with a sleeper suplex for a nearfall. Joe just starts swinging away with strikes. Kobashi connects with numerous backfists and finishes with a lariat for the victory at 22:13. This was everything that anyone could have asked from a Joe/Kobashi match and more. It’s extremely rewarding in professional wrestling when dream matches live up to the hype and this was definitely one of them. The atmosphere was unparallel and I don’t even think a rating is all that necessary. Sure, this match might not be for everyone, but it’s still a spectacle nonetheless. ****¼
Match #8: Samoa Joe vs. Christopher Daniels (Vendetta – 11/5/05)
Daniels attempts to ground Joe early on to mixed results. Joe is able to lay in some strikes before getting caught by a leg lariat. He recovers with an STO out of the corner. Joe locks in a boston crab but Daniels is able to reach the bottom rope. Joe connects with a running knee strike and a facewash kick. Daniels blocks a second facewash kick and hits a dragon screw leg whip. He connects with a basement dropkick to the left leg and takes control. Joe comes back with a powerslam. He hits a powerbomb and transitions into an STF. Daniels slips out of a Muscle Buster and hits an STO. Daniels goes back to the leg with a kneebar. Joe slaps Daniels during a figure four attempt and both men are down. Joe connects with a corner yakuza kick and applies a rear-naked choke. Daniels escapes the hold and hits a uranagi. He lands the BME for a nearfall. Joe crotches him on the top rope and hits a Muscle Buster for the win at 20:34. This was a very cerebral match in that both men were just trying to avoid making a mistake and attempting to capitalize on a flurry of offense. I liked the leg work from Daniels, as he found out from the beginning that his best chance of winning was to ground Joe. However, the leg work never really led to anything interesting and as cliché as it sounds, this match was just missing something to take it to the next level. ***½
Match #9: Samoa Joe vs. Christopher Daniels (Dragon Gate Challenge – 3/30/06)
A video package is shown before this match highlighting the history between these two in Ring of Honor. They start brawling before the opening bell. Joe side-steps a leg lariat and sweeps out Daniels’ legs. He connects with a flying knee strike. Daniels bodyscissors him to the floor and follows out with an arabian press. In the ring, Daniels comes off the top rope with a shoulder tackle. He snaps off a headscissors and comes off the middle rope with a tornado DDT. Joe blocks another headscissors with a gourdbuster. He takes over until Daniels escapes a Muscle Buster and hits an iconoclasm. Daniels follows with a blue thunder bomb and an STO. Joe catches him with an atomic drop but finds knees on a senton attempt. He fires back with a powerslam. Joe hits a powerbomb and transitions into an STF. A distraction by Allison Danger allows Daniels to connect with an enzuigiri. Joe slips out of Last Rites and applies a rear-naked choke. Daniels stunners out of the hold and hits Angel’s Wings for a nearfall. Daniels lands three consecutive BMEs for the victory at 16:58. This was a nice contrast to the previous match on the compilation as this encounter was less cerebral and more of a brawl. Even when the action slowed down, both men were persistent about attempting finishers and ending the match. The finish paid off a few aspects of this feud such as how much credit Daniels gave Joe and how determined Daniels was to finally defeat him. As a result, I prefer this match to their outing at Vendetta. ***¾
Match #10: Samoa Joe vs. AJ Styles (Time to Man Up – 8/4/06)
Styles attacks before the opening bell. He snaps off a headscissors and connects with a dropkick. Styles effortlessly lifts Joe into a backbreaker. He can’t quite get him into the Styles Clash, however. Styles bodyscissors Joe to the outside. Joe kicks out his legs on the apron, throws him into the barricade, and connects with an ole kick. Joe takes control until Styles catches him with a dive. Styles connects with a springboard forearm in the ring. Joe counters a springboard maneuver with an ace crusher and follows with a big lariat. He applies a crossface but Styles is able to reach the bottom rope. Styles ducks an enzuigiri and hits an inverted DDT. Joe snaps off a powerslam. Styles sunset flips out of a Muscle Buster and hits the Styles Clash for a nearfall. Joe powers out of a sleeper hold and locks in a rear-naked choke. Joe hits a sleeper suplex for the win at 11:59. I found the length of this match surprising, especially considering that it was the main event of the show. However, Joe was on his way to an ROH World Title match against Bryan Danielson and making relatively short work of Styles was a way to make him look like a real threat. That’s not to say that Styles didn’t get a good bit of offense, as this was probably the best exhibition they could have delivered given the shorter duration. ***¼
Match #11: Samoa Joe vs. Roderick Strong (Glory By Honor V, Night 1 – 9/15/06)
Joe blocks a chop in the corner by just tripping Strong to the canvas. Strong hits a side slam and a butterfly suplex. Joe avoids a dropkick and throws Strong down on a leapfrog attempt. Joe connects with some brutal kicks and takes control. Strong finds an opening after a saito suplex. He elevates Joe into a falcon arrow but falls victim to an STO out of the corner. Joe connects with a facewash kick and regains control. Strong comes back with a backbreaker and connects with a leg lariat. He lands a dive to the floor. In the ring, Joe hits a powerbomb and transitions into an STF. He snaps off a powerslam but gets caught by a half nelson backbreaker. Strong impressively hits a superplex and applies the Stronghold. He hits a gutbuster. Joe sweeps out his legs to avoid a Sick Kick. Strong comes off the middle rope with a kick and hits a butterfly suplex for a nearfall. They battle on the middle rope and Joe hits a death valley driver for the victory at 19:13. I loved the story of this match. Joe showed early on that he wasn’t going to tolerate Strong’s flashy offense and there were many points throughout the match where Joe would do something minimal to completely avoid Strong’s offense. Instead of trying to ground Joe, Strong brought the fight to him through chops and power moves. All of this was executed perfectly and the action really clicked. I don’t remember these two wrestling each other much in their ROH runs, but this contest is a forgotten-about gem. ***¾
Match #12: Samoa Joe and Homicide vs. Jay and Mark Briscoe (Glory By Honor V, Night 2 – 9/16/06)
Everyone starts brawling before the opening bell. Joe and Homicide land stereo dives to the floor. In the ring, Joe side-steps a springboard crossbody attempt by Mark and connects with a series of strikes on Jay. Homicide comes off the top rope with a splash onto Jay and hits rolling suplexes. They continue to work him over until Homicide gets thrown to the floor and Mark rams his head into the barricade repeatedly. The Briscoes isolate Homicide until he ducks a boot from Mark and makes the tag. Joe just kind of enters the ring and stares down Mark. He hits his atomic drop-yakuza kick-senton combination. Jay interjects himself from the apron, allowing Mark to catch Joe with a spin kick. The Briscoes hit stereo shoulder tackles on Joe. Homicide hits a belly to belly suplex on Jay and DDTs Mark from the middle rope. Mark recovers by landing a dive to the floor onto Homicide. Jay yakuza kicks Joe, sending him to the outside. Homicide reenters the ring with an ace crusher on Jay. Mark hits an exploder on Homicide but gets met with a lariat from Joe. All four men are down. Homicide and Joe hit a clothesline-saito suplex combination on Jay. Joe kicks Mark’s head into the barricade. Homicide hits the Cop Killa on Jay for the win at 17:57. The last seventeen minutes of the match didn’t necessarily reflect the tone set in the opening minute. Both teams worked well together and there was nothing technically wrong with the structure of the match, but I was expecting more of a brawl. The pace quickened down the stretch but even at that, the finish felt a bit out of nowhere. I guess what I’m saying is that the crux of the match was solid but there were a few small problems holding it back. ***
Match #13: Samoa Joe vs. Takeshi Morishima (Fifth Year Festival: New York – 2/16/07)
They trade forearms. Morishima comes off the apron with a shoulder tackle and cartwheels into a corner splash in the ring. He takes over with a big missile dropkick. Joe catches him with an atomic drop, connects with a yakuza kick, and hits a senton. He follows with a facewash kick. Morishima is bleeding from the nose, so Joe drops an elbow across it. Morishima retreats to the floor where Joe takes him out with a dive. Joe connects with two ole kicks. Back in, Morishima hits a side slam and levels Joe with a few rolling hip attacks. Joe finds life with an STO. He connects with an enzuigiri and hits a death valley driver. Morishima sits down on Joe’s sunset flip attempt and goes up top. Joe follows him up and hits a Muscle Buster for a nearfall. They have a nice strike exchange which Morishima wins with a lariat. He gets a nearfall after a thesz press. Not too many wrestlers can pull that off. Morishima hits a uranagi followed by the backdrop driver for a two count. Joe shrugs off a northern lariat and hits a half nelson suplex. Morishima stunners out of a rear-naked choke but Joe reapplies the hold. Morishima becomes unconscious, giving Joe the victory at 18:09. I’m unsure if it’d be fair to compare this match to Joe/Kobashi. While the atmosphere of Joe/Kobashi is almost unmatchable, I still consider this match a spectacle in a lot of ways. There’s just something incredibly unique about watching these two big men trade moves. If you can get around the fact that Morishima lost to Joe (who was leaving ROH) on the night before he won the ROH World Title, you’ll enjoy this match a great deal. ***¾
Match #14: Samoa Joe and Homicide vs. Takeshi Morishima and Nigel McGuinness (Fifth Year Festival: Chicago – 2/24/07)
There appears to be a basketball game happening in the other part of the venue. Homicide and Morishima waste no time squaring off. After losing a shoulder block battle, Homicide smartly tags in Joe. Morishima catches Joe with a flying hip attack and a cartwheel splash in the corner. Joe kind of hits an STO but McGuinness blocks a dive attempt from him. Homicide knocks McGuinness to the floor. Joe and Homicide attempt stereo dives but Joe gets his foot caught on the middle rope. The action goes into the crowd. At ringside, Joe connects with an ole kick on Morishima. In the ring, Homicide connects with a facewash knee strike on McGuinness. Joe holds him in place while Homicide picks up the momentum to connect with a basement dropkick. McGuinness levels Homicide with a lariat and Morishima adds an overhead suplex. They isolate him until he hits an ace crusher on McGuinness and makes the tag. Joe elevates Morishima into a death valley driver. Homicide comes off the top rope and kind of hurricanranas McGuinness. He DDTs McGuinness from the middle rope and connects with a flying elbow drop. Homicide follows with rolling neckbreakers and a piledriver. Morishima connects with a missile dropkick on Homicide. McGuinness follows with the Tower of London for a nearfall. He takes out Joe with a short-arm lariat. Homicide ducks the rebound lariat and connects with one of his own. More lariats follow and all four men are down. Joe blocks a headstand from McGuinness with a yakuza kick. Morishima almost legally murders Homicide with a backdrop driver. He side slams Joe, who responds with a Muscle Buster. McGuinness slips out of a Muscle Buster and connects with a rebound lariat for the win at 23:08. Perhaps this match would have worked better in front of a different crowd but I really can’t blame them, as the action would sometimes become sloppy and disordered. All four men tried to string some sequences together but they never were able to find their rhythm. The finish was also rather deflating and I don’t understand why Morishima couldn’t get his win back against Joe from New York. **¾
Match #15: Samoa Joe vs. Nigel McGuinness (Fifth Year Festival: Liverpool – 3/3/07)
They are pretty tentative early on. Joe trips McGuinness on the apron and swings him into the barricade. He connects with two ole kicks but McGuinness quickly answers with a lariat. In the ring, McGuinness finds success with his corner headstand and begins to work over the left shoulder. Joe uses his good shoulder to hit an STO out of the corner. McGuinness finds an opening to hit his kick-lariat combination in the corner. He takes control until Joe comes off the middle rope with a flying knee strike. Joe snaps off a powerslam, hits a powerbomb, and transitions into an STF. McGuinness gets his foot onto the bottom rope. He connects with a lariat out of nowhere. They battle on the apron and Joe hits a Muscle Buster! Referees come out to check on McGuinness. They start carrying him to the back as Joe demands that McGuinness shake his hand. McGuinness clambers back into the ring and slaps Joe. The match will continue! McGuinness connects with a superkick. Joe avoids the rebound lariat and hits a Muscle Buster for a nearfall. A lariat won’t keep McGuinness down. He tries a quick rollup on Joe for a two count. Joe interrupts a headstand with a yakuza kick and applies a rear-naked choke. McGuinness turns the hold into a pin attempt for a nearfall. Joe reapplies the choke for the victory at 22:51. I know the potential referee stoppage rubbed a lot of people the wrong way, but I didn’t mind all that much. What I strongly disliked about the match was McGuinness not winning. After defeating Morishima the night before he won the ROH World Title, a lot of people thought that Joe also defeating the next world champion was a bit much. Arguing about Joe’s farewell tour five years later won’t accomplish anything, but the action itself was very good bracketing the end result. ***½
Match #16: Samoa Joe vs. Homicide (Fifth Year Festival: Finale – 3/4/07)
This would be Joe’s final match in Ring of Honor except for a one-off appearance against Tyler Black in November of 2008. Homicide uses his agility to avoid some power offense early on. Joe retreats into the crowd to avoid a dive. He actually goes to the bar and grabs a beer. In the ring, Joe side-steps a crossbody and Homicide actually gets angry with him. Homicide connects with a facewash knee strike and takes over. Joe comes back with his atomic drop-yakuza kick-senton combination. He connects with an enzuigiri followed by a facewash kick. Homicide comes off the middle rope with a tornado DDT and regains control. They battle on the apron and Homicide hits an ace crusher. Joe connects with a lariat and both men are down. Joe snaps off a powerslam and comes off the middle rope with a knee strike. He hits an STO out of the corner. An interjection from Julius Smokes allows Homicide to hit a superplex. He follows with rolling neckbreakers and a piledriver. Joe catches him with two powerbombs and transitions into an STF. Homicide fights off a Muscle Buster and hits a DDT from the middle rope. Joe kicks away a lariat but falls victim to an ace crusher. Joe ducks a lariat and locks in a rear-naked choke. Smokes once again interferes but Joe takes care of him. Homicide hits Joe with the ring bell behind the referee’s back. Joe finds life with the Muscle Buster but Smokes pulls the referee out of the ring during the pin attempt. Joe takes out Smokes with an ole kick. Homicide dives onto Joe to save Smokes from a second ole kick. That was pretty awesome. In the ring, Homicide connects with a lariat for a huge nearfall. They battle on the middle rope and Joe hits a super Muscle Buster for the win at 22:58. While there were a few too many bells and whistles to commemorate Joe’s final match, this was a fine way for him to go out. For what it’s worth, Joe and Homicide usually showed great chemistry together and this was a good example. A lot of people (including myself) were concerned with Joe’s dominance during the Fifth Year Festival, but this was a nice opportunity to sit back and watch him say goodbye, as Homicide was leaving the promotion as well. ***¼
Overall: Samoa Joe: Total Domination ends up hitting all of the right chords and is an enjoyable look back at Joe’s time in Ring of Honor. Fourteen out of the sixteen matches crack three stars, with Joe’s classic against Jay Lethal and his war with Kenta Kobashi hitting the four star mark. Say what you want about the Fifth Year Festival, but it was Joe’s farewell tour and four out of his five matches from it are on this compilation. Joe made some tremendous contributions to Ring of Honor during his run and this compilation was able to capture that without even delving into his ROH World Title reign. As a result, Samoa Joe: Total Domination earns a solid recommendation.
You can purchase this DVD at Ring of Honor’s store right here.