[2003-04-26-ROH-Retribution: Round Robin Challenge II] Doug Williams vs Samoa Joe

[ShittyLittleBoots]

Holy hell what a gem. They pack so much compelling, excellent wrestling into the 12-minutes or so that they go. Williams' focus on Joe's arm was really fantastic; he was like a snake with the ways he targeted that bodypart, always going after it any & every chance he got. Joe sold being in trouble brilliantly throughout, as any time he was on the offense himself busting out some sweet stuff, he never forgot to sell the damage Williams had done to his arm. And talking bout that sweet stuff, the finish w/ him countering Doug's Chaos Theory attempt into some GENERAL SAMOA JOE BADASSERY was aaaawesome & a truly superb way to cap off a great match. Everything about this ruled. ****

[ohtani's jacket]

This was a bit of a styles clash. You had Joe trying to match Williams for holds, which wasn't Joe's forte, and Williams trying to match Joe with forearm smashes. An interesting fight, but a bit clunky at times, and surprisingly short given how long most ROH matches are. They seemed to be putting Joe over as this dominant champ who chokes out opponents, but you'd think a promotion like ROH would be better served by a champ who has epic matches.