[2006-04-22-ROH-100th Show] Samoa Joe & B.J. Whitmer & Adam Pearce vs Chris Hero & Necro Butcher & Super Dragon

[Loss]

Talk about it here.

[supersonic]

This match is officiated by ROH's #1 referee Todd Sinclair and a CZW referee I don't recognize. There is also no commentary for this match as it would be unnecessary.

The heat in this match was just unreal, just right behind Joe's singles match against Kenta Kobashi in NYC and Aries vs. CM Punk @ Death Before Dishonor III. Fucking brutal hardcore match, just stiff shit and unprotected chairshots all over the place. I should note that Joe and Hero, the true captains of their respective teams, took by far the least amount of punishment in this instant storytelling classic. But what those two brought was extra crowd heat for their segments with the other participants, and specifically against each other.

Pearce appeared to get busted open early on his scalp, showing the most crimson of all the participants. His blood would stain Necro's neon CZW shirt. Those two had a great moment in the ring. They had a literal slugfest, exchanging punches to their bodies, and Necro won that little battle much to the CZW section's delight. Moments later, Pearce would deliver a receipt in another slugfest, winning that battle.

Every matchup in this was fucking great. Joe and Necro got big pops. Joe and SD did as well.

After about 25 minutes of just brutal, brutal action in front of this excellent crowd in attendance, CZW owner John Zandig attempts to insert himself into this masterpiece, drawing Joe to come beat the shit out of him, but Hero & Necro come help out. Sinclair isn't happy about this, wanting this to be a fair fight. After conducting themselves without altercation up to this point, the CZW ref gets in Sinclair's face, somehow rationalizing that "this is CZW!" to justify this becoming an unfair fight, and Sinclair ain't taking his shit. Necro knocks Sinclair out from behind.

Out comes Castagnoli, wearing a glittery ROH jacket, and I should note that he had appeared earlier in the match to take a barb-wire baseball bat away from Zandig, drawing him to the back. Castagnoli throws Zandig out of the ring and grabs Hero, holding him for Joe. When Joe runs to the ropes for momentum to strike Hero, Castagnoli pushes his trainer away and gives Joe a European Uppercut, just hours after having the honors of getting the first genuine handshake Daniels had delivered in ROH.

The Kings of Wrestling embrace, but this is interrupted seconds later when Pearce dropkicks Castagnoli. As this is going on, the ROH crowd is chanting for Homicide, the man in ROH who has shown to thrive better than anyone else in this type of environment.

Also during this match, in what has to be the most insane spot, SD took out Whitmer with an Argentine piledriver from the apron through a table laid out on the concrete floor. An all-time highlight reel spot in ROH's rich vault.

SD & Necro take out Pearce, who then gets finished off with what looks like a double-team swinging gut-wrench Ace Crusher from KOW. The CZW referee gladly counts Pearce down for the three. The CZW representatives walk over to their section and celebrate as a pissed-off Joe glares at them while standing besides his fallen ROH colleague. He says to let the CZW theme music play, as it'll be the last time it's heard in the ROH environment.

Whitmer is carried out on a board while Pearce is dripping blood. Meanwhile, Zandig poses with CZW fans and the CZW stars take the back door out of the building.

With the exception of a totally illogical officiating moment when the refs were doing a 10 count on guys knocked down in the ring, this was fucking epic and deserving of the "Match of the Year" chant coming from the crowd afterwards. Excellent, excellent, EXCELLENT brawl and the booking was top-notch, giving CZW the last laugh yet again.

Rating: ****3/4

[ShittyLittleBoots]

This was on par w/ the Cage of Death match that ended this all-time great feud; just pure brutal frickin' chaos from start to finish. Brutal spots, amazing atmosphere as w/ every ROH vs. CZW match up, everyone playing their part perfectly & just amazing, super heated action. An instant classic. ****3/4

[cactus]

This was a wild and chaotic brawl that managed to keep the hate flowing throughout the entirety of the 25-minute match. The fans are well into the ROH vs. CZW storyline and it makes for an incredible atmosphere. Necro was probably my man of the match, his slugfest with Pearce looked vicious, and anytime Necro and Samoa Joe are in the ring you can expect magic. My main gripe about this is that it went a touch too long and I couldn't buy BJ Whitmer kicking out of that devastating double foot stomp chair spot. The homophobia during that pre-match promo can right in the bin too. ★★★★¼