By Derek Burgan, Torch Media Guy

Torch DVD Review
ROH Do or Die 2 & 3
March 13, and July 17, 2004
Elizabeth, NJ at the Rex Plex




Before some of their larger events, Ring of Honor will offer a showcase card during the afternoon prior to the main show. These events are generally used for ROH to check out new independent talent that is not regularly booked by the company. In this DVD we will get a chance to look at Daizee Haze, Rainman, Shawn Daivari, and Super Dragon, among others. Do or Die II also had the ROH debut of future world champion Austin Aries.

On to the DVD!




Do or Die II – held before At Our Best

(1) Mellow beat Jerelle Clark in 5:45. Mellow is Sal Rinauo of NWA Wildside in his Special K gimmick. Clark can be seen wrestling down in Full Impact Pro and also had a brief run as “Mr. 630” down in TNA land. He reminds me of Chris Turk on NBC’s Scrubs while Mellow is a wrestling version of Howard Stern’s hairdresser, Ralph Cirella. Big crowd to watch the matches, which is needed because the Do or Die matches inexplicably have no commentary. Personally, I can’t even fathom that decision since these wrestlers definitely need a person to go over their background since the audience will certainly know much less about them than a guy such as C.M. Punk. I’ll get more into this later in the review, though. The lights in the Rex Plex were turned off to give the show a more main event type feel. Both guys looked pretty good, and Clark went hoss at the end hitting both a Burning Hammer and a 630 off the top rope. After Clark hit the 630 he was given a small package by Mellow, who got the three count. WTF? Interesting call on the first match.

(2) The Solution (Havok & Papadon) beat Todd Sexton & Jared Steel in 5:10. With his long shorts, Sexton looked like a white-albino, skinhead version of C.M.Punk. Someone may want to clue Sexton in to the wonderful invention of the tanning bed. I’ve always thought of The Solution as a poor man’s version of Da Hit Squad. They just don’t have the charisma or moves that Dan Maff and Monsta Mack bring to the table, but they get points for having a coordinated look. The Solution looked pretty good in the match, including one sequence in which Papadon speared Steel out of the ring and, along with Havok, gave a slingshot T-Gimmick-like move. Steel was then finished off with The Problem Solver (top rope Blockbuster/powerbomb). Not that bad.

(3) Caprice Coleman beat Rainman in 5:10. The first spot of this match was both guys dancing around the ring like Muhammad Ali, and then charging at each other, ending with both guys throwing a punch to the jaw. I think that’s how Rocky III ended, if I remember right. There was a huge botched spot early when Rainman was thrown into the corner and went to flip up when Coleman charged, but Rainman came down right on Coleman’s back. It looked horrible. That was erased later on, however, when Coleman nailed a fantastic sequence of three straight northern lights suplexes that seemed like an indie-rific version of Benoit and Guerrero’s suplex spots. The finish was really weird as Coleman flipped himself behind Rainman, then grabbed Rainman’s hands between Rainman’s legs, and made some sort of weird pin.

After the match, Julius Smokes came to the ring and wanted to know, “What is this? Black on black crime?!” Smokes said that Coleman and Rainman should compete together in a tag team scramble match later on the card. Both men agreed. Smokes was over big time with the crowd.

Julius Smokes

(4) Allison Danger (w/BJ Whitmer) beat April Hunter in 2:00. One thing I didn’t like was the fact that, for the entire Do or Die II event, no one got to come out to their entrance themes. Each match started with both opponents in the ring. So not only is there no commentary to help get anyone over, they also don’t get any help with music. It may seem like a small thing, but it makes a difference. Danger slapped the taste out of Hunter’s mouth to start the match and quickly went for a pin attempt, but Hunter kicked out at two. Hunter then got the advantage and began tossing Danger all over the ring, finishing her off with a Samoa Joe-like stiff kick to Danger’s back. As the ref was distracted by Danger, BJ Whitmer came into the ring and powerbombed Hunter. OH!! Danger then made the pin. Quick, but made its point.

This brought out C.M. Punk, who battled Whitmer through the crowd and eventually up some stairs. After they went up the stairs they were never seen again. Tracy Brooks ran to the ring to attack Allison Danger, but Dan Maff made the save. This was during the height of the fantastic feud between the Second City Saints and the Prophecy and the crowd was going apeshit.

CM Punk and BJ Whitmer battle up some stairs

(5) Jimmy Jacobs beat Brad Bradley in 7:05. Bradley is a Chicago area wrestler and is currently a tag team champion in IWA Mid South. Jacobs is exactly the type of guy who is helped out by having his entrance. The music (“The Touch” by Stan Bush, expertly used in both Boogie Nights
and Transformers: The Movie) and the crowd chanting “HUSS!” is just incredible to watch. Of course none of that is here. Jacobs also recently became the first ROH star to get a win on WWE television by beating Eddie Guerrero by DQ on SmackDown. Granted, Jacobs didn’t get any offense, but you take what you can get. That’s better than John Walters getting squashed by Chris Masters or Punk being on Heat and being called “Chad Collyer of the team CM Punk.” Bradley appeared to be seven feet tall next to the diminutive Jacobs, and went for a chokeslam early that Jacobs countered into an arm submission. This was a really cool visual, as Jacobs was hanging off Bradley’s arm as Bradley was still standing up. Jacobs finally got the big man down by doing a chop block to Bradley’s leg, followed by a couple of drop kicks. The Jolly Green Giant (that’s a play on words kids) went down. Jacobs gave Bradley a kick to the face while he was on his knees and then came off the top rope with a double stomp to Bradley’s back. This got a two count. Jacobs went for a Contra Code (Sliced Bread #2), but was stopped in his tracks and slammed by Bradley. Jacobs then got his head taken off by a Bradley lariat. Jacobs played dead, but eventually head butted Bradley right in the nut sack and finished Bradley off with a Contra Code. Fun match.

(6) Hydro (w/Becky Bayless) beat Roderick Strong in 8:35. Hydro is currently known as indie sensation Jay Lethal. Roderick Strong is in the group Generation Next, who had his ROH debut on an earlier showcase card in front of Glory By Honor 2. Tons of stiff chops throughout the match, including my personal favorite, a CHOP BATTLE in the middle of the ring. Strong also hit his trademark variety of backbreakers. If Strong learns how to deliver a, pardon the pun, strong promo, he is going to be money one day. At the eight minute mark, Strong had Hydro up for a Splash Mountain, but instead came down with a Stunner. That looked cool. Strong made the pin, but Becky Bayless put Hydro’s boot on the ropes. Hydro went on offense soon after and polished off Strong with a diving headbutt. Hydro then hit a Dragon Suplex for the pin. Awesome match.

Jay Lethal and Roderick strong

Becky Bayless

(7) Austin Aries beat Danny Daniels in 11:20. This was Aries’ ROH debut. I’ll never understand what people see in Danny Daniels and his Daredevil rip-off logo on his chest drives me up a wall. I actually liked Daniels in Totally Tool Wrestling playing an effeminate homosexual, so maybe all he needs is a gimmick change, as in his normal persona, he just comes across as a low rent member of the Carnage Crew. Both guys looked good though, and Aries hit a fantastic looking brainbuster. Aries went to the top rope, but missed a 450 splash. Aries then jumped onto Daniels’ back in a crucifix, which he segued into an arm submission. Daniels tapped. Good stuff.

Austin Aries applying a stretch

(8) Super Dragon beat Excalibur in 8:45. This was the match I was looking forward to the most, as it is Super Dragon’s one and only match in ROH, which is mind boggling to me. Anyone who watched Super Dragon: Evolution 4 will tell you that Dragon deserves a spot. Excalibur, like Dragon, is from Pro Wrestling Guerrilla. The crowd loved the match, and they should have, because both guys tore it up. In one spot I loved, Dragon had Excalibur in a half Boston crab and Excalibur tried to crawl his way to the ropes by using his hand, but Dragon just stepped on the hand to stop that shit. Dragon also did a double stomp on Excalibur and I swear to God that he legit jumped halfway across the ring to deliver it. Crowd went nuts for the curb stomp, and thanks to the great camerawork it looked even more painful than usual. Excalibur hit a nice plancha to Dragon outside the ring, but not to be outdone, Dragon later hit what looked to be a Tope Con Hilo on Excalibur. This match ruled. Dragon finished off Excalibur with a top rope doublestomp on Excalibur’s head, followed by the Psycho Driver. I’ll be damned, I thought for sure the Hydro/Strong match was going to be my favorite, but this topped that.

Super Dragon, setting up Excalibur for the Curb Stomp

OUCH!

(9) Fast Eddie & Don Juan beat Outcast Killaz (Oman Tortuga & Diablo Santiago) and Caprice Coleman & Rainman (w/Julius Smokes) and The Ringcrew Express (Dunn & Marcos) in a tag team scramble match in 9:20. As with all scrambles, just a ton of spots throughout the match. Crowd was behind Dunn and Marcos early with a rather loud chant. In a weird spot, the Ringcrew Express actually got the Outcast Killaz on their knees and began to “play” them like air guitars. This got even more surreal as Fast Eddie and Don Juan came into the ring and danced. Coleman later hit a piledriver on Eddie that should have killed Eddie dead. As with every scramble, there was the mandatory sequence in which everyone gets their shot doing a top rope move to the outside. Reminds me of the old Rob Van Dam line, ”make sure I get all my shit in!”Finish came when Fast Eddie and Don Juan worked together to give Oman Tortuga a fallaway slam off the top rope, and then got the pin. If you like scramble matches you’ll like this match and if you hate them, you’ll hate this one as well. A good tag team scramble, but not a great one.

Do or Die III- held before Reborn: Completion

(1) The Outcast Killaz (Diablo Santiago & Oman Tortuga) beat Gabe Roach & Mike Foxx (w/Rudy Boy Gonzales) in 4:10. Roach and Foxx come from the Texas Wrestling Academy, the same place that Michael Shane, Spanky, Bryan Danielson and Paul London graduated from. This card was also held at the Rex Plex, but the lights were on, whereas in Do or Die II they were off. I have no idea how to tell Roach and Foxx apart, another reason commentary is desperately needed. Outcast Killaz dominated the match and won by nailing either Roach or Foxx with a combination superkick/STO. I do like the fact that Do or Die gives teams like Outcast Killaz a chance to shine.

Oh yeah, this card also has the FULL INTROS for each person in the match. YAAAAAAAAAAY!

(2) Daizee Haze beat Allison Danger in 4:30. Daizee is based out of the Midwest and is hot as hell. Here’s hoping that ROH is committed to building up the women’s division in 2005 and beyond. Danger was on offense for most of the match, hitting Haze with several clotheslines, a spear, and several punches. NOT THE FACE! Daizee got the win out of nowhere by driving Danger’s head to the mat and pinning her. Should have been better given the talent involved, and Danger should always be shooting promos before her matches because she is damn good at that.




(3) “Tornado” Tony Kozina beat AngelDust (w/Becky Bayless & Hi-Jinx) in 8:10. AngelDust, currently making his name on the indie circuit as Azreal, looked good here. Solid back and forth action with a lot of false finishes. Kozina at one point hit a top rope huracanrana that sent AngelDust to the floor. The finish came out of nowhere as Kozina just planted (copyright Michael Cole) AngelDust to the mat and got the pin. Surprising finish, but good match. Whatever happened to Kozina? And as much as I love the group Special K, Jay Lethal and Azreal needed to leave the group in order to take off as singles wrestlers. I can still remember all those matches in 2002 where I thought AngelDust was pulling a rib by always being late on moves that the whole team was giving to an opponent.

(4) The Ring Crew Express (Dunn & Marcos) beat Don Juan & Jared Steel (w/Rudy Boy Gonzalez) in 4:20. Once again, Dunn & Marcos were HUGE crowd favorites. Don Juan did a comedy spot to start the match, challenging Dunn to a test of strength, but after repeatedly switching hands, Juan just started to dance. Weird. Finish came as Don Juan climbed to a corner and waited for what seemed like FOREVER for his partner to stumble his way over and “accidentally” be hit by a moonsault. Steel was then kicked out of the ring while Don Juan was double teamed and finished off with an assisted senton by Marcos. Fun match because of the Ring Crew antics, but horrible spot wise. Another reason commentary is needed is to cover up stuff like that. Dave Prazak and C.M. Punk could make a match on the legendarily bad Heroes of Wrestling PPV watchable, let alone a Do or Die card.

Shawn Daivari

(4) Rainman beat Shawn Daivari in 7:55. Daivari is currently in the WWE as Muhammad Hassan’s mouthpiece, Khosrow Daivari. Solid match, and Daivari got to pull out the Magic Carpet Ride, although he found no one home. Daivari again went to the top rope, but was caught by Rainman, who finished off Daivari with an X-Factor. I really enjoy watching both of these guys.

Shawn Daivari, about to use his magic carpet on Rainman

Colt Cabana came to the ring and shot a promo saying that he was glad to be at “Do or Die 12.” Cabana then said he finally understood what wrestling is all about now. During this promo, the fans chanted “shut the f--- up,” which caused Cabana to ask, “do you want me to leave?” Cabana then walked to the back, but right before he got to the curtain he turned around and said, “that’s right, you guys shut up fast.” Cabana got back into the ring and said he finally knew the key to wrestling and it was “making sure that your opponent can not get out… you tie up every orifice and you pin his shoulder 1, 2, 3.” Cabana said that he could beat anyone in the ROH locker room with this knowledge and made an open challenge.

Cue, “Y.M.C.A.” by the Village People.

The Christopher Street Connection (Buff E. and Mace Mendoza w/Ariel) came out to their full entrance, complete with kissing male fans in the crowd. Cabana said that while he was talking about roll ups, he wasn’t talking about fruit roll ups. Buff E responded with this gem, “Tell you what. I’ll be a fruit roll up. You’ll be a Skittle. And we’ll (Buff E and Mace) taste the rainbow.”

Oh it’s on now.

(5) Colt Cabana beat the Christopher Street Connection (w/Ariel) in a handicap match at 4:15. Tons of pretty funny gay-themed spots throughout the match. Finish came when Buff E and Mace kissed, which allowed Cabana to knock them into each other and debut his overly complicated roll up to pin Mace for the win. Cabana used this roll up on several ROH shows and it just about made me want to roll my eyes out of my skull. Cabana intertwines himself with his opponent and then forces the opponent down by the neck and somehow gets the shoulders down for a pin. This might work for a guy like Nigel McGuinness, but is completely out of place for Cabana. To me, it is like Jack Evans doing a Bonzai Drop for a victory. I loved this match however as the Christopher Street Connection is a blast to watch.

After the match, Cabana then did that goofy roll up to Ariel and got another pin. Cabana claimed the hold was UNBREAKABLE. This brought out Caprice Coleman.

(6) Colt Cabana beat Caprice Coleman in 8:10. Coleman got a little offense, and even locked an arm submission on Cabana, but Cabana made it to the ropes to break the hold. Coleman went to apply the submission again, but Cabana countered it into that goofy roll up for the pin.

(7) Matt Sydal beat Delirious in 13:00. Both of these guys are from IWA Mid South. I love how Delirious’ gimmick is that he has a lizard face under his mask. He definitely needs more time on the ROH main shows. Delirious is also billed as being from “the edge of sanity.” These two guys really brought it for this match and it wouldn’t have looked out of place on the main card later that night at all. At the nine minute mark, Sydal hit Delirious with the best looking monkey flip I have ever seen. Delirious took such a great bump that I have to steal the catchphrase for the original Superman movie, YOU WILL BELIVE A MAN CAN FLY! Delirious rolled out of the ring and was immediately hit by a moonsault by Sydal. This looked awesome as well. Even better was Sydal getting some water from the front row fans afterward.

One of Delirious’ gimmicks is that he just spouts gibberish throughout the match, and for some reason this really started to make my day by the end of the match. Delirious was hit by a Tiger Driver, but kicked out at two. Sydal went to give Delirious a huracanrana off the top rope, but Delirious held his ground, sending Sydal to the mat. Delirious then came off the top rope himself with a splash to Sydal’s back. Sydal kicked out at two. The two men then went back to the top rope, ending with Sydal hitting Delirious with a belly to belly suplex and holding on for the pin. Great match. GABE, GET THESE GUYS ON THE MAIN ROSTER!




(8) Joshua Masters versus Brian Gamble went to a No Contest at 4:40. We all know Masters from Full Impact Pro as part of C.M. Punk’s New Dawn group. Lots of boos while the match was going on, and the crowd really liked it when Homicide came into the ring and threw Gamble out of the ring. Homicide then gave Masters a lariat. Homicide side stepped a Gamble missile dropkick and then took Gamble’s head off with a lariat. Homicide grabbed a mic and yelled to Masters, “tell your guys in FIP that I’m coming to Florida to kick some ass!” Homicide then tore up the ringside area before leaving.

(9) Josh Daniels beat B-Boy in 10:05. B-Boy, like Super Dragon, should have a spot in ROH. He has a lot of charisma and would fit in perfectly with the Rotweillers. Josh Daniels was formerly in the Embassy, but I think that angle was just dropped. Another fantastic match that ended out of nowhere with a roll up by Daniels. WTF?




Overall Thoughts: There is a lot to enjoy on this DVD, including a fantastic Delirious/Matt Sydal match-up, but unfortunately I think this disc is only going to have great appeal to hardest of the hardcore ROH fans. I honestly feel that a commentary track, either a straight one with Jimmy Bower and Dave Prazak, or an anything-goes track with Prazak, C.M. Punk and Colt Cabana, would have greatly raised this DVD’s profile and made it a Must Buy. Regardless, it’s cool to be able to see Austin Aries’ ROH debut and the match between Jay Lethal and Roderick Strong contains two of wrestling’s brightest up and comers, both of who should be in the WWE by now. Also, how often do you get to see Super Dragon and B-Boy on a Ring of Honor release? Click Here to purchase the disc or head on over to ROHwrestling.com and check out all the other DVDs they have to offer.

Special thanks to Mike Roe and Keith Lipinski for their help with this review.

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

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