By Derek Burgan, Torch Media Guy

Torch DVD Review
ROH Road to the Title: Takedown Masters Edition
July 27, 2002
Philadelphia, PA at the Murphy Rec



Believe it or not, this is the third completely different copy I have of this show and it is rivaling the amount of DVDs I have for the Army of Darkness film. The first copy was reviewed here on the Torch last year and can be found HERE. However, late in 2004, Ring of Honor came out with a “remastered” edition of the show which had a cover that was about a billion times better looking than the first copy along with long-needed chapter breaks. You see the first edition was basically one long chapter and if you wanted to skip to, say, the eighth match you would have to physically fast forward through the whole show to get to that point. Trust me when I say it was a pain in the ass. So I picked up the “remastered” copy up when I went to see Scramble Cage Melee down in Boston. Lo and behold a third copy came out, which we are going to review below.

But first, announcing the ROH: Road to the Title CONTEST!: For those interested, I am running a contest to win this DVD over at GumGod.com. The rules are simple – just send your name and address in an email - and the deadline is Friday, March 11, 2005 to enter. Click HERE to check it out. Don’t worry, clicking on the link will open another browser window so this review will still be here when you get back.

On to the show!



The Takedown Masters series of ROH shows is a cheaper alternative than just jumping into ROH blind. One of the complaints I have read by fans who have never watched a Ring of Honor show is that they are hesitant to purchase a twenty dollar DVD without knowing if they are going to like it or not. I think the low price point of the Takedown Masters series, less than ten dollars, is an excellent chance to grab some of these fans and I believe the DVDs are also available to buy in mass market chains like FYE, Coconuts and Best Buy. This type of situation couldn’t be better for Ring of Honor. The big difference between the Takedown Masters edition of the show and the regular version is that all the skits have been taken out. For some ROH fans this is actually a plus as the company is so match-driven that many find the backstage stuff superfluous. This is especially true with Road to the Title as it had the worst skit in ROH history involving Jerry Lynn, the Christopher Street Connection and a banana. There is a little bit of a recap of past shows before each match, my favorite being “The Slap” and “The KO” from the Prince Nana/Low Ki encounter at Night of Appreciation.

You can read my earlier review of the show for a more detailed account of the matches, but here is a quick rundown. And let me state that if you are only used to watching WWE or TNA pay per views, you’re about to have your mind completely blown. The concept is that Ring of Honor was going to award their title in a Four Way Iron Man Match and to get to that, 16 wrestlers would enter a one night tournament to get down to the final four.

(1) American Dragon vs. BioHazard. (2:30) It says a lot that this is basically the only match you don’t need to watch on the entire card. BioHazard was from the Texas Wrestling Academy (the same one that produced current stars Paul London, Michael Shane and Spanky among others) but just never caught on in ROH. Probably because he sucked. His Mortal Kombat gimmick, or whatever he was going for with that outfit and haircut, is kinda funny though. The American Dragon is this generation’s Chris Benoit, and that’s not hyperbole.

BioHazard, having another bad hair day

(2) Spanky vs. Paul London. (9:55) To tell you the truth, I’m glad I discovered Ring of Honor late because if I would have known how badly the WWE screwed up both Brian “Spanky” Kendrick and Paul London I would have been livid back when I was reviewing SmackDown for the Torch. These guys are simply two of the most fun wrestlers you will ever watch in the ring. London’s rise was truly spectacular because he never really was pushed in an upper card feud, or had any blow-away promos behind the mic, he just had one great match after another and the hooked the crowd not unlike Quint hooking the shark in Jaws. London almost died during this match as well after taking a DDT off the top rope. I’ve watched that spot at least 25 times and I don’t know how he survived. I think this is one of the reasons he had that “Please Don’t Die” shirt.

(3) Doug Williams vs. Jay Briscoe. (6:15) I’m going to be honest, I was never a big Doug Williams fan, but I can see how people really get into him. Williams is a giant in ROH and works in a William Regal-like European style. Maybe I should say Nigel McGuinnes-like for the ROH crowd. Jay Briscoe, along with his brother Mark, would go on to become – in my mind – the best tag team in America shortly after this show. This match also has the first time I ever saw Williams hit the Chaos Theory, which I described quite bizarrely in my original review. I guess I shouldn’t goof on Donnie B so much.

Jody Fleisch locking up with Jonny Storm

(4) Jonny Storm vs. Jody Fleisch. (7:00) I remember asking my friends who follow ROH about Jody Fleisch because I thought he was amazing. I couldn’t believe he wasn’t signed by a major company, but I was watching matches he was doing in 2002 and by 2004 apparently he was already retired. DAMN! The springboard shooting star press to the floor by Fleish is still incredible to watch and overall the two put on a great performance that is slightly marred by so many missed spots.

You can't even imagine how stiff this forearm really was

(5) Low Ki vs. Prince Nana. (3:50) I don’t think I could praise Low Ki enough and he is certainly the man who carried Ring of Honor on his back for the first half of its existence (while Samoa Joe carried it for the second half). He has the intensity of Chris Benoit, the stiff punches and chops of Kenta Kobashi, the serious persona of an MMA fighter like Vanderlei Silva, and the ability to do high flying cruiserweight moves like Rey Mysterio. Forget Lex Luger, Low Ki is the total package. Ki also takes wrestling and kayfabe more seriously than they did in the Glory Days. So much so that I’d be afraid to ask for his autograph as I’m half certain he would punch me in the mouth just for asking. The Prince Nana of 2002 is a far cry of the one in ROH today and this match is just a massacre. In fact Nana is never even pinned, he is just knocked out.

(6) Xavier vs. The Amazing Red. (4:20) Keep in mind that this match was before Red came back from an injury way too soon and basically became a shell of his former self. This was when he was ROH’s version of the Hardy Boyz circa 1999, just a visual marvel that you can’t stop watching even if you wanted to. Xavier reminds me a little of the Rock, minus just about all the charisma. Overall, probably the best four minute match you will ever seen in wrestling and if this type of stuff was happening on RAW or SmackDown people would be going apeshit over it.

(7) “The Fallen Angel” Christopher Daniels vs. Scoot Andrews. (2:30) There’s no two ways about it, Christopher Daniels should be a bigger star in wrestling than he is. The guy can cut an incredible promo, has the goods in the ring and on top of it all has a killer gimmick as The Fallen Angel. In my mind he’s been completely wasted in TNA as being part of Triple X with Elix Skipper and should be given a main event push. Who wouldn’t love the promos Daniels could cut on Jeff Jarrett? This match, along with the Low Ki one, was for the most part a squash.

(8) Jerry Lynn vs. AJ Styles. (15:30) Styles, as you all should know, is probably the best wrestler in America not in the WWE right now. Jerry Lynn meanwhile is – in my mind – the most overrated wrestler today. I’m not denying the guy can have a great match, and the one he had with Rob Van Dam (included on the RVD: One of a Kind DVD) was fantastic, but I can’t see any charisma in the guy whatsoever. Lynn’s just too bland for my taste, but both guys went all out here and had a great match.

Brian "Spanky" Kendrick

(9) Spanky vs. Jody Fleisch. (5:10) This match is notable for an insane springboard moonsault that Fleisch does to Spanky outside the ring but there was absolutely no room for a move like that, so Fleisch came down onto the guardrail in one of those moves that make you want to look the other way and cringe. However almost immediately after that spot Fleisch is up and about as if nothing happened. Some guys need to learn how to sell. I was really expecting more from these two.

(10) Doug Williams beat the American Dragon. (13:35) One match of many to go out of your way to see just on this show alone. It says a lot about the dept of awesome talent ROH had at this point considering either won of these guys could have gone over and done just as good a job in the Iron Man match for the title.

Amazing Red and Low Ki stare each other down

(11) Low Ki vs. The Amazing Red. (11:15) A lot of people remember this show for the first minute of this match, and rightfully so. Seriously, it is like watching something straight out of the Matrix or some Crouching Tiger shit and part of the fun is just seeing the crowd go NUTS after they finish. The following ten minutes are action packed as well with a ton of great moves finishing with a Ki Krusher off the top rope. “Jesus Christ!” – Dean Hill, Ohio Valley Wrestling

(12) AJ Styles vs. Christopher Daniels. (21:45) I don’t think you need me to tell you how good this is, and the last ten minutes of this match is just two of the best indie wrestlers today completely tearing it up. I was really impressed by the finish of Daniels reversing Styles’ patented quebrada inverted DDT move into the Last Rites.

Overall Thoughts: If you already have this show in your Ring of Honor collection, there’s no reason to pick up the Takedown Masters edition, but this is an excellent chance for people who are hesitant to check out ROH because of the cost. Once you watch this DVD I’m certain you will be hooked on the Ring of Honor product and feel much better about buying future shows. Click Here to purchase the disc or head on over to your local Besty Buy, FYE, Coconuts and other type stores.

Torch Media Guy Derek Burgan has been writing for the PWTorch website for over three years. If you have any questions, corrections, feedback, comments and ideas, he can be reached at: derek@gumgod.com

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