Match #1: Samoa Joe vs. Homicide vs. BJ Whitmer vs. EZ Money (Expect the Unexpected – 3/13/03)
Whitmer and Money wrestle to a stalemate to a subdued reaction from the crowd. They come to life when Joe and Homicide enter the ring, however. They trade armdrags and Homicide gets monkey flipped across the ring. Joe hits his STO out of the corner. Whitmer tags into the match but Homicide catches him with a facewash kick in the corner. Whitmer becomes isolated for a bit. Money blocks a hurricanrana from Homicide and hits a nice neckbreaker. Everyone connects with a strike and all four men are down. Homicide and Whitmer exchange suplexes. Joe applies an STO on Whitmer but he’s able to break free. Money finds knees on a springboard moonsault. Homicide hits an ace crusher on Joe and low blows him behind the referee’s back. Homicide synchs in an STF of his own but Money breaks it up. Money hits the “cha ching” on Homicide for a nearfall. What a name. Unfortunately, he misses the “money clip.” Whitmer hits an exploder on Money for a nearfall. Money almost breaks Joe’s neck with a german suplex. Joe responds with the coquina clutch for the win at 16:35. The crowd was hot for Joe and Homicide, but the parts involving Whitmer and Money seemed to slow the match down considerably. Still, this is how Joe won the #1 Contender’s Trophy so it’s a fitting addition to this compilation. **½
Match #2: ROH World Title: Xavier © vs. Samoa Joe (Night of the Champions – 3/22/03)
Michael Shane and CW Anderson brawl to the back with the Prophecy members at ringside. Joe shrugs off a few chops from Xavier and stops him from skinning the cat. He connects with the ole kick at ringside. Back in, Xavier creates an opening with a backcracker. He dives to the floor and hits a tornado DDT mid-flight. Joe fights back with a big lariat. He hits a german suplex followed by a dragon suplex. Xavier finds life with the X-Breaker but finds knees on a 450 splash attempt. Joe connects with repeated knees to the head and locks in the Coquina Clutch to become the new ROH World Champion at 11:55. Xavier had a couple of nice tricks, but Joe’s dominance was clearly the story of this match. His dominance here would foreshadow the lengthy title reign that was to come. This wasn’t the best match of 2003, but its inclusion is important for historical purposes. **¾
Match #3: ROH World Title: Samoa Joe © vs. Doug Williams (Retribution: Round Robin Challenge II – 4/26/03)
Joe is the aggressor early on as Williams does a nice job of fending off the attack. They trade control on the mat and neither man is able to generate an advantage. Joe hits a delayed vertical suplex. Williams lays in repeated knees to the face and takes the champion down to the mat with a judo throw. He starts working over Joe’s left arm. Williams tries for some pretty grotesque submissions until Joe eventually comes back with his STO out of the corner. Joe follows with a german suplex and a powerbomb. He transitions into an STF. Williams reaches the ropes and goes right back to work on the left arm. He comes off the top rope with a knee strike. Joe creates some space with an enzuigiri and adds a lariat. They exchange reversals. Joe blocks Chaos Theory and applies the coquina clutch to retain his title at 11:46. Surprisingly short but well-worked. Williams is criminally underrated and it was fun watching him attempt to match Joe’s aggression down the stretch. I don’t think anyone bought a title change, but I think the crowd would have been willing to invest in a longer match. ***
Match #4: ROH World Title: Samoa Joe © vs. Paul London (Death Before Dishonor – 7/19/03)
London grabs hold of a side headlock and attempts a quick rollup to no avail. He pushes Joe to the floor and connects with a dropkick through the ropes. Joe throws London into the barricade. London blocks an ole kick and lands a moonsault off the barricade. In the ring, London lands a slingshot splash. Joe hits an STO out of the corner and takes control. Joe crotches himself on a facewash kick attempt. He catches London on a plancha attempt and slams him into the ringpost. Now Joe is able to connect with his ole kicks. Back in, Joe finds success with a missile dropkick and hits a german suplex. London finds an opening to hit his leg-sweep DDT. He follows with a shooting star press for a nearfall. Joe traps London in the Coquina Clutch. London is able to leverage out of the hold. Joe lays in repeated knee strikes and goes back to the Coquina Clutch to retain his title at 14:12. This match started around midnight, so I’m assuming they kept things short to hedge against burning out the crowd. London was on his way to the WWE, so the finish wasn’t in doubt. A bit disappointing given the circumstances. ***¼
Match #5: ROH World Title: Samoa Joe © vs. BJ Whitmer (Wrath of the Racket – 8/9/03)
Whitmer has a broken nose due to an incident with Homicide. Joe locks in a boston crab and really wrenches on it. That turns the intensity up as they begin trading kicks. Whitmer takes off his faceplate as they exchange slaps. Good idea. Joe falls victim to a back suplex but recovers with his STO out of the corner. The action goes to the floor where Joe connects with two ole kicks. Whitmer slowly crawls back into the ring. Whitmer escapes an Island Driver and connects with a nasty superkick. Whitmer comes off the top rope with a forearm in an awkward spot. Joe lays in some knees and synchs in the coquina clutch. Whitmer grabs the bottom rope. Whitmer hits an exploder for a nearfall. Joe fights back with a back drop driver. Joe connects with an enzuigiri and hits a german suplex. Joe follows with a dragon suplex and a straight jacket german suplex to retain his title at 12:21. Considering that Whitmer had a broken nose and was in his hometown, you would’ve expected the crowd to get behind him a lot more than they did. They wrestled a solid exhibition, but I’m beginning to notice a trend with the length of these title defenses. **¾
Match #6: ROH World Title: Samoa Joe © vs. Christopher Daniels (Glory By Honor II – 9/20/03)
Joe connects with a mafia kick at the opening bell. He charges with a forearm smash and drops a knee. Daniels finds an opening with a russian leg sweep but eats a backfist. Joe connects with a facewash kick and sits back deep on a boston crab. Allison Danger helps Daniels to the ropes. Joe drags her into the ring and corners her. He teases a facewash kick but Daniels cuts him off and lands an arabian press to the floor. Joe finds an opening to connect with a facewash kick on the floor. Daniels hits a german suplex but Joe responds with a snap powerslam. Daniels musters up some strength to hit a samoan drop. He follows with a uranagi and the BME for a nearfall. Joe connects with a lariat but finds himself in the koji clutch. He’s able to get his foot onto the bottom rope. Daniels hits a blue thunder bomb and hurricanranas Joe off the middle rope. Daniels hits Angel’s Wings for a nearfall. Joe counters Last Rites into the Coquina Clutch. Joe transitions into the Island Driver to retain his title at 15:00. Again, I would like to see what these two could do with more time. They delivered a very solid fifteen-minute match here, though. Daniels’ characterization in Ring of Honor has been great, as he was able to survive Joe’s early onslaught and lure Joe into unfavorable positions. They kept things interesting despite Joe being early into his title reign and there’s something to be said for that. ***½
Match #7: ROH World Title: Samoa Joe © vs. Jay Briscoe (Tradition Continues – 10/16/03)
Joe is coming into this match with a vengeance because Jay won a four corner survival that he was also in. They trade control on the mat and Jay does not back down. Joe fires off a flurry of offense. Every time Jay attempts to fight back, Joe arrogantly knocks him down to the canvas. He applies a boston crab but Jay reaches the bottom rope. Jay sends the champion to the floor and lands a dive off the top rope. Joe gets sent into the barricade. In the ring, Jay hits a snap suplex but runs into an STO out of the corner. Joe connects with ole kicks at ringside. Back in, Joe hits a powerbomb and applies an STF. Jay is able to reach the bottom rope. Joe tries a rolling cradle to no avail. Jay hits a back drop driver and elevates the champion into a falcon arrow. He comes off the top rope with a leg drop. Joe synchs in an abdominal stretch but Jay counters into a death valley driver for a two count. Joe hits a dragon suplex and the Island Driver. Joe connects with a lariat to retain his title at 15:03. It’s fitting to watch this match in light of recent events. They successfully developed the vibe that Joe’s title was in jeopardy and that was enough to raise Jay’s stock significantly. The match progressed how you would expect but it did exactly what it needed to do. ***¼
Match #8: ROH World Title: Samoa Joe © vs. AJ Styles (War of the Wire – 11/29/03)
Styles snaps off an early hurricanrana but Joe quickly answers with one of his own. Joe lays in a barrage of kicks but almost gets caught in an ankle lock. Styles hits a suplex. Joe blocks a discus lariat by punching Styles in the face and booting him to the floor. Styles connects with a lariat over the barricade. In the ring, Joe hits an STO and connects with a facewash kick. The champion takes control until Styles connects with a pele kick and moonsaults into a DDT. He synchs in a muta lock. Joe escapes the hold and connects with an enzuigiri. Styles fires back with a series of punches. They start swinging at each other. Styles connects with a gamengiri and both men are down. Styles hits the Styles Clash for a nearfall. Joe blocks a second DDT attempt and hits the Island Driver for a two count. Styles roars back with a discus lariat. Joe hits the Muscle Buster and wrenches on a Coquina Clutch to retain his title at 16:35. These two have such well-defined roles that it’d be hard for any of their singles matches to be bad. Joe knocked Styles around like a ping pong ball. While Styles found the openings to hit his signature maneuvers, he couldn’t get an extended enough period of offense to win the match. ***½
Match #9: ROH World Title: Samoa Joe © vs. Low Ki vs. BJ Whitmer vs. Dan Maff (Second Anniversary Show – 2/14/04)
Low Ki immediately throws a kick at Joe. Maff blind tags into the match and flicks Low Ki off. Glad to see that everyone is friends here. Maff and Joe have a shoulder block battle but neither man budges. They elect to trade strikes instead. Joe judo throws Maff down to the canvas and repeatedly chops his back. Low Ki traps Whitmer in a cross armbreaker and starts working over the left arm. Whitmer fights back with a series of suplexes. The match eventually breaks down as everyone enters the ring. Joe lands a dive to the floor onto Maff. Whitmer suplexes Low Ki from the apron to the floor. Joe ole kicks Whitmer at ringside. In the ring, Maff and Whitmer start working over Joe. They specifically target his hand, which somehow started bleeding. Low Ki gets the tag but falls victim to an exploder from Whitmer. Maff attempts a burning hammer on Low Ki but has to settle for a spear and a half nelson suplex. Joe powerbombs Maff onto his neck and transitions into an STF. Low Ki kicks Joe in the face to break up the hold. They have a nasty strike exchange. Joe and Low Ki apply their signature submissions on their opponents while staring at each other. They both break their holds and brawl again. Maff spears Low Ki out of the ring. Joe applies the coquina clutch on Whitmer to retain his title at 24:01. This was an unconventional four-way that didn’t go in the traditional route. No one liked anyone else and any sort of alliance was clearly for selfish reasons. Joe and Low Ki provided a nice preview of what might be in store for them and while the match was focused on those two, Maff and Whitmer did not feel like afterthoughts. On a show that was going long, even the crowd was into the action for all twenty-four minutes. This match delivered exactly what it promised. ****
Match #10: ROH World Title: Samoa Joe © vs. Homicide (ROH Reborn Stage 1 – 4/23/04)
They trade armdrags and Homicide connects with a dropkick. Joe shoves off a monkey flip attempt and tries an early STF to no avail. Homicide gets frustrated and throws a chair into the ring. Joe works in some kicks and grounds his challenger with crossfaces. Homicide works his way to his feet and the strike exchanges begin. They tie up in a knucklelock and headbutt each other. Joe catches Homicide with a uranagi and lands a dive to the floor. Joe back drops Homicide into the front row and hip tosses him onto the floor. The champion takes control until Homicide blocks a charge and hits a piledriver. Joe gets knocked to the outside by an enzuigiri and Homicide follows out with a dive of his own. Joe fires back with an ole kick at ringside. He hits a powerbomb in the ring and transitions into the STF. Homicide is able to reach the ropes. Homicide connects with a lariat. He fights off the coquina clutch and rolls up Joe for a two count. Homicide punches out the referee out of frustration. The lights go out and a fireball goes into Joe’s face. The disqualification gets called at 19:04. This match did so much for Homicide’s character that him snapping would be a running theme throughout the rest of his ROH career. They had a very solid back and forth match and you can tell that they have great chemistry together. The finish didn’t put too much of a damper onto things, as it was productive in some ways and the crowd made the fireball feel like a big deal. ***½
Match #11: ROH World Title: No Disqualification: Samoa Joe © vs. Homicide (Generation Next – 5/22/04)
Homicide attacks before the opening bell and they brawl amidst many streamers. Julius Smokes tries to help Homicide to no avail. Joe lands a dive to the floor but Homicide blocks an ole kick. Smokes accidentally clotheslines Homicide and Joe ole kicks him. In the ring, Homicide misses a flying knee and falls victim to a powerslam. They battle up top and Homicide bites Joe’s ear. Homicide hits a series of neckbreakers. Joe comes back by stretching him in various submissions. Homicide escapes an Island Driver and enzuigiris Joe to the floor. Homicide misses a dive and goes crashing through a table. He recovers by stabbing Joe with a fork and throws a chair at his head. Joe is busted open and commentary notes that he has never been busted open before in Ring of Honor. Homicide comes off the middle rope but Joe plants him with a uranagi. Joe hits a powerbomb and transitions into a boston crab. They battle up top and Homicide counters a super Muscle Buster. He connects with a lariat for a nearfall. Joe hits an alabama slam but gets caught by a hangman’s neckbreaker. Joe escapes an STF but gets stabbed once again. Joe fires up and hits the Island Driver for a nearfall. Joe connects with a lariat and hits a brainbuster to retain his title at 19:50. Much different from their last match but just as good. It was interesting to see how Joe reacted to the blood loss and Homicide’s willingness to do anything to win the title made for an engaging story. Homicide makes a unique challenger because he’s willing to take a beating to see if the tricks he has up his sleeve ultimately pay off. ***½
Highlights are shown from Samoa Joe vs. CM Punk at World Title Classic (6/12/04). The last twenty minutes are shown of the sixty-minute draw. I would highly recommend watching the entire match if you haven’t seen it.
Match #12: ROH World Title: Samoa Joe © vs. Shinya Makabe (New Japan USA – 6/24/04)
CM Punk is on commentary to explain Ring of Honor’s principles. Makabe hits a spear and takes the fight to the floor. In the ring, Makabe is able to lift the champion for a suplex. Joe tries a few headbutts but Makabe but shakes them off. Joe hits his STO out of the corner to finally gain an advantage. He connects with an ole kick at ringside. Makabe clotheslines him into the guardrail while he reenters the ring. Makabe hits a powerslam and wears down Joe with a half crab. Joe traps him in an STF but Makabe reaches the bottom rope. Joe hits a fisherman suplex for a nearfall. Makabe unloads some strikes but runs into a lariat. Joe hits a saito suplex and adds a lariat to retain his title at 9:23 (shown). This was a fun exhibition for the time given. Punk did an excellent job on commentary of explaining the action and this is a unique addition to the compilation as I’m unsure if this was released on DVD before. **¾
Match #13: ROH World Title: Samoa Joe © vs. Colt Cabana (Death Before Dishonor II Night 2 – 7/24/04)
Cabana is his jovial self in front of his hometown crowd and Joe is not pleased. They stay pretty even chain wrestling. Cabana tries to lift Joe and eats an uppercut. Cabana stares him down and actually wins a shoulder block battle. Joe sends Cabana to the floor after a strike exchange and hits his STO out of the corner. The champion takes control until Cabana finds an opening to connect with double knees. Cabana goes up top for a moonsault but Joe pushes him to the floor. Cabana blocks an ole kick and throws a chair at Joe’s head. Cabana connects with an ole kick of his own. That might be a bad idea in the long run considering Joe’s temper. Cabana hits a saito suplex and lands a frog splash for a nearfall. He locks in an STF but Joe reaches the bottom rope. Cabana did not have the hold fully synched in. Joe connects with an enzuigiri. Cabana rolls out of the coquina clutch but walks into a lariat. Joe catches Cabana up top and hits a Muscle Buster to retain his title at 17:25. Cabana didn’t rely on his own signature moves because he knew that Joe would have them scouted. Instead, he tried using Joe’s own moves against him. The problem is that no one can perform Joe’s offense better than Joe himself. Cabana made for a great underdog story here and the match was really well-executed. ***½
Match #14: ROH World Title: Samoa Joe © vs. Doug Williams (Glory By Honor III – 9/11/04)
Williams comes out of the gates with a knee strike but runs into a shoulder block. Williams fakes a test of strength and wraps Joe in a bodyscissors. He continues to frustrate Joe on the mat. Joe finds some momentum with his STO out of the corner. There’s a hippy concert going on next door and you can hear some of the music. Jimmy Bower thankfully makes fun of the concert on commentary. Joe connects with a facewash kick and follows with an ole kick at ringside. He enzuigiris Williams off the apron but Williams is able to block a dive attempt. Joe gets caught by a flying crossbody. Joe attempts a cross armbreaker but Williams reaches the bottom rope. Williams counters the powerbomb-STF combination and lays in a knee strike. He applies a sleeper but Joe fights out of the hold. Joe connects with a lariat for a two count. The Muscle Buster gets a nearfall as well. Another lariat and Joe retains his title at 17:44. Much like their first title match together, no one bought Williams winning the title. Though he showed some glimpses of hope by relying on his mat game, the contest quickly turned into Joe’s style of match and the crowd tuned out. ***
Match #15: ROH World Title: Samoa Joe © vs. Bryan Danielson (Midnight Express Reunion – 10/2/04)
They begin the match very tentatively, cautiously approaching each other with counter wrestling. Danielson wins in that kind of match, as he snaps off a dragon screw leg whip. Joe makes Danielson keep his distance by throwing some kicks with his good leg. Danielson lures Joe into a dropkick. Joe starts swinging wildly and Danielson runs away. Just an awesome game of human chess early on. Danielson grounds Joe for a bit but gets sent to the floor. Danielson blocks an ole kick and lands a springboard dive. He connects with a running dropkick at ringside and takes over in the ring, grounding the champion. Joe comes back with a knee to the midsection. Danielson finds an opening to connect with a diving headbutt and hit a double underhook suplex. Joe sends Danielson to the floor with an enzuigiri and follows out with a dive. He’s successful with the ole kicks this time. In the ring, Danielson finds an opening to start working over the leg once again. Danielson comes off the middle rope with a diving uppercut. Joe hits his STO out of the corner. He applies an STF but his bad leg gives out and he’s forced to break the hold. Danielson ducks a lariat and dropkicks the bad leg. He synchs in some bridging leg submissions that looks like it hurts a great deal. Danielson hits a regalplex for a nearfall. He goes for Cattle Mutilation and transitions into a rollup for a two count. They stare each other down and Joe charges with a lariat. Danielson responds with strikes of his own and hits a dragon suplex for a nearfall. Joe survives Cattle Mutilation once again. They exchange knees on the mat. Joe wins that battle and applies the coquina clutch to retain his title at 39:14. Danielson approached Joe in a way that no one else has. CM Punk tried to physically wear down Joe but Danielson was content with letting Joe wear himself down. The increasing desperation that came across Joe down the stretch was a treat to watch and it’s fitting that a wildly-thrown knee strike was enough to setup Danielson for the choke. Not only was this a terrific match, but you came out of it wondering whether or not Danielson would be champion had a few things gone his way. ****¼
Match #16: ROH World Title: Samoa Joe © vs. Rocky Romero (ROH Gold – 10/15/04)
They stay cautious with each other until Homicide interjects himself, allowing Romero to lay in some kicks. Todd Sinclair ejects Homicide from ringside. Homicide, of course, is not a happy camper. Joe blocks a kick to the head and slaps Romero down to the canvas. Joe fights out of a cross armbreaker and Romero keeps throwing kicks. Joe actually catches Romero with a kick and he regroups on the floor. Back in, they trade control on the mat but as soon as the match turns strike-based, Joe gains the upperhand. Romero turns the tide with a springboard DDT and both men are down. They both deliver a flurry of strikes and Romero lays in a knee to the face. Joe nearly gets pinned but grabs the bottom rope at the last second. Romero thought he won. Joe hits a saito suplex for a nearfall. Joe falls for a cross armbreaker once but counters the second attempt into a powerbomb. He transitions into the STF to retain his title at 18:00. Once Homicide was ejected, you knew that Romero was going to be given a real opportunity to take Joe to the limit. This match bordered on mixed martial arts at times and every strike exchange was believable. This match adds quite a bit of variety to this compilation and should be seen as a hidden gem in ROH history. ***¾
Highlights from Samoa Joe vs. CM Punk at “Joe vs. Punk II” are shown. This is their match together that everyone talks about and once again, if you haven’t seen this contest in full, I’d highly recommend it. The last twenty minutes are shown of the one-hour draw. It looks as though we need one more match…
Match #17: ROH World Title: Samoa Joe © vs. CM Punk (All Star Extravaganza II – 12/4/04)
There is no time limit in this match. They trade control on the mat and Joe connects with a chop. Punk suffers another chop and stares down the champion. Punk reverses another chop into a backslide and starts going with the headlock game plan. Punk takes control, keeping Joe grounded and slowing down any momentum with dropkicks. Joe attempts a comeback but gets cut off by a springboard dropkick. Punk goes back to the headlocks. They get into a strike exchange and Punk is able to knock Joe down to the canvas. Joe comes roaring back with a couple of brutal knee strikes. He punts Punk to the floor and Punk is busted open. Joe immediately goes to work on the cut as the crowd starts to rally behind the challenger. Joe locks in an STF but Punk survives. He follows with a facewash kick and lands a dive to the floor. Joe connects with an ole kick. Punk blocks a second one and creates an opening with a dropkick from the apron. In the ring, Punk charges with clotheslines but Joe won’t back down. Punk hits a tornado DDT but Joe counters a shining wizard into a powerslam. Joe locks in a cross armbreaker but Punk quickly counters into a rollup for a nearfall. Punk lands a moonsault and his knee comes down across Joe’s face. Ouch. They battle up top. Joe counters a powerbomb attempt with a hurricanrana and connects with a lariat for a two count. Punk connects with a shining wizard. Joe synchs in a sleeper after countering the Pepsi Twist. It looks as though Punk’s arm drops three times but Ricky Steamboat sees differently at ringside and stops the timekeeper from ringing the bell. Punk starts trying quick rollups to no avail. Punk lands a flying crossbody. They enter into a strike exchange as the crowd comes alive. Joe tries a pin attempt while using the ropes for leverage. The crowd DOES NOT like that. Punk rolls up Joe but finds himself in the coquina clutch. Joe transitions into a german suplex and a dragon suplex. Joe goes back to the coquina clutch to retain his title at 31:30. I think everyone genuinely hates the Steamboat interference. That aside, this was a near-classic when looked at in the context of their previous two matches. They made the shorter duration make sense with Punk’s blood loss and it was interesting to see how the blood loss ultimately affected Punk’s game plan and Joe’s response. Both men showed desperation down the stretch, with Punk’s rollups and Joe’s cheating. In fact, in hindsight, this match nicely sets up Austin Aries’ eventual dethroning of Joe. I think they were able to successfully meet expectations and deliver a fitting end to their trilogy. ****½
Overall: There’s no denying that Samoa Joe’s ROH World Title reign was terrific, but this compilation is only recommended for diehard Joe fans. While there are certainly some key inclusions (the four-way from the Second Anniversary Show, vs. Romero, and vs. Danielson), some matches included are found on previous compilations and the Punk trilogy is not shown in full. To get a better sense of the Joe vs. Punk feud, I would highly recommend checking out the collector’s edition set that was released through the ROH store. While the match quality on Samoa Joe: A Championship Legacy is quite good, it seems as though a lot of its content is found elsewhere in better packages.
You can purchase this DVD at Ring of Honor’s store right here.
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The Makabe match was on “The Champ Is Here: The Best of Samoa Joe, Vol. 2”