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ROH packed 800-900 fans in the Inman Sports Club last night for a show that started slooooowww but picked up right before the intermission and was topped by what could be argues as the best Junior Heavyweight match in ROH history.

Match #1
Jimmy Rave Vs Milano Collection AT

Rave won with the pedigree in a so-so match that really did not showcase the numerous talents of AT at all. Disappointing to me but actually a very solid match. **3/4

Match #2
Colt Cabana Vs Azriel

OK match that has some miscommunication between the two early. A lot of comedy as usual in most Cabana matches. Cabana won but the match was overall forgettable. **
After the match Homicide came out with a sling on. He said he was putting his problems with Cabana on the back burner until he got his Revenge ! on Corino for injuring his shoulder. He told Cabana that if he got in his business he was going to KILL Cabana. Decent promo.

Match #3
ROH Pure Title Championship
Nigel McGuiness (c) Vs Claudio Castagnoli

The match would have two refs, one on the outside to offset all the cheating McGuiness had gotten away with in his last few defenses. Second ref came into play early as he caught McGuiness using a close fist to lose a rope break early. Maybe it is just me but McGuiness seems to only put minimal effort into matches some time, or maybe that is his gimmick, since the back of his shirt says "No Bumps Necessary". Later in the match, Castagnoli went for a tope and wiped out the outside ref. After that McGuiness tried to cheat when he could. Guys did a lot of stalling and the match was a bit lackluster. In-ring took a bump and Nigel went for his iron.&! nbsp; He threw the iron to Claudio and tried the Eddy spot where he pretended to be hit but the ref never woke up. Nigel got up but then Castagnoli used the iron and the ref woke and counted the pin. Castagnoli was announced as the champ but then the 2nd ref came into the ring and reversed the decision DQ'ing Claudio for use of the iron. Crowd was not very receptive to the finish. **1/2

Match #4

Alex Shelley Vs Steve Corino

Corino looked as if he had not tanned or worked out in the last six months. Nana interfered a lot in this match and Shelley got the pin with a whacky pace plant move.
** 1/2
After the match, Homicide ran out and attacked Corino with Ricky Reyes. He had a bottle of Drano with him. He tried to pour it in Corino's mouth but Cabana made the save. Homicide then poured the Drano into Cabana's mouth who! p began to throw up. Maybe it is just me but this whole thing was just stupid. I understand the whole "suspension of disbelief" but the fact that Homicide was trying to murder someone was just ridiculous, but the crowd was into it so whatever.

Gary Michael Carpetta came out to interview Jay Lethal and ask him why he had turned on Joe. Lethal said he was in Joe's locker room when he saw Joe's paycheck and he wondered why Joe was making so much more money than him. Um, probably because he is a lot bigger star than you, I mean he was ROH champ for 20 months or whatever. This was actually not a bad job by Lethal.

Match #5
Jay Lethal Vs BJ Whitmer Vs Christopher Daniels Vs Samoa Joe

Joe cam out last and got a hyooge pop. He also came out with the X-Division championship belt. He went right after Lethal who bailed early. Joe wanted to st! art with Lethal but he wouldn't get in with Joe. Eventually the match started and the story was Lethal running from Joe forever. Joe did not get in the match for the first ten minutes. The match was great and really picked up over the last ten minutes. When Joe finally got in with Jay the place went nuts. Joe unloaded on Lethal and then screamed "I'm Rich, Beeyatch" right before killing Lethal with a kick. Joe is AWESOME~!~! Finish saw everyone hit a finisher. Joe hit the Muscle Buster on Daniels on the X-belt. Whitmer broke up the pin and then hit something on Daniels but Lethal came in and dumped Whitmer outside and then hit the HYOOGE flying headbutt and STOLE the victory by pinning Daniels. Awesome match. ***3/4

Intermission

Match #6
Ricky Reyes Vs Davey Andrews

Andrews came out with a TROFEO~! It was for! being the best ROH student or something or the other. Basically a competitive squash match that saw Reyes win with his reverse guillotine.
After the match Reyes destroyed the trofeo with a big pipe. Aries, as new ROH school instructor took offense and came out to run off Reyes and Smoke. He cut a promo on Reyes calling him a bully and a fake tough guy. He said the only time Reyes was over was when he was drunk and then told him to go have another beer. This was a good little segment.

Match #7
ROH Tag Team Championship
Austin Aries/Roderick Strong Vs Tony Mamaluke/Sal Rinauro(c)

Great match. All 4 guys busted their asses in this match. Strong brutalized Rinauro with chops early. Match was contested at a breakneck speed and never slowed done. Strong now waits to do any of his back breakers toil late in the match and then when he doe! s the crowd goes apeshit. Strong should win most improved award in this year's Observer awards hands down. Finish was fast and furious and saw Strong hit a half nelson/German back breaker on Rinauro and then Aries hit the 450 for the pin and NEW tag team champions. This is the second straight year Aries has won a title at Final Battle as last year he ended Joe's reign and this year he won Tag Team gold with Strong. ***3/4

Match #8
ROH World Championship
Bryan Danielson(c) Vs Naomichi Marafuji

Match started very slow. Daniel son did not look as pasty as he normally does and Corino was actually whiter than him tonight. Marafuji seemed to have a few problems early as he missed a few moves and threw some very week chops which made very little noise. Crowd was very forgiving, him being a Japanese Superstar and all. After about ten minutes the! y guys really started to click and the match picked up. Marafuji hit the Shirunai for a close three count. Dragon came back and went for a top rope back suplex but Marafuji escaped and tied Dragon to the tree of woe. Marafuji gave him a running kick and then hit a Van Terminator. Dragon's selling is off-the-charts great. Dragon came back and went for the Cattle Mutilation twice but Marafuji made the ropes. By this time, the crowd which had been very quiet early was WAY into this match by this point. Dragon hit a ginormous top rope dropkick. They guys went for a Malenko/Guerrero pin trade spot and then out of nowhere Dragon rolled up Marafuji for the pin. The finsihing sequence was almost perfect and I love how Dragon wins all of his matches with a different move each time. It makes hard to tell when a finis is coming. As I said the match started slow but really developed into a great match. ***1/2
! After the match, Nana and The Embassy came out on the ramp to watch and clapped for Danielson. Foreshadowing perhaps.

Match #9
GHC Junior Heavyweight Match
KENTA(c) Vs Low Ki

What can be said about this match. I would rate this as one of the top 5 matches in ROH history that I have seen live. 2nd stiffest match in ROH history behind Joe/Ki from Glory By Honor and was probably stiffer than Joe/Kobashi. Guys worked for ten men in this match and Ki was especially feeling it tonight. Gus brutalized each other with shoot kicks all through the match. Guys went 20 + minutes and never once slowed the pace down. Guys mixed submissions with strikes and high spots flawlessly. Ki at least four "Holy Shit" spots himself in this match. The first coming when he laid KENTA out on the middle rope and then came off with a double foot stomp to his back. Ki got hims! elf caught up in the ropes on this spot and tumbled to the floor. Later when KENTA was outside Ki jumped to the top turnbuckle Shelton Benjamin style and then leapped about 14 feet in the air and flew on KENTA with a KARATE CHOP. KENTA came back with a shitload of HARD strikes. Ki went up to the top rope and KENTA hit his Shelton jump to the top rope and hit a Super Falcon Arrow. Amazing spot. Ki then got KENTA tied to the tree of woe and leapt straight up in the air and murderized KENTA with a double foot stomp to the face. 50 STAR SPOT~!~!~!
Guys kept beating the shit out of each other. Ki hit about 25 machine gun chops on the rope and the crowd BOOED! That's gimmick infringement man. KENTA went for the Go To Sleep but Ki reversed it and hit a sloppy Ki-Krusher. Ki came back and hit a second Ki-Krusher and went up top for the Phoenix Splash. KENTA came back and hit his trademark series of strikes and then! IT happened. KENTA put Ki up in the Fireman's Carry, tossed Ki high into the air and decapitated Ki with a knee to the face. GO TO SLEEP BITCH~!~!~!~!~!~!~! He then hit the Running Knee of Death and got the pin. Crowd exploded and all was right in the world. ****1/2
What an amazing match. KENTA was awesome as usual and I feel he is the best pound-for-pound Japanese style performer in the world and an overlooked candidate for Most Outstanding Wrestler of 2005. Ki put on his best performance of the year and these guys got a much deserved looooong standing ovation. These guys worked as stiff as Joe and AJ the other night and delivered an early candidate for 2006 Match of the Year. The second half of this show and the 4-way more than made up for an otherwise average undercard, but that is what an undercard is for. Another great ROH show and a great table setter for 2006.

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Who was the guy who beat him though? Homicide?