That Was Then 1.21.06: The History Of Ring Of Honor - 2003

Posted by Stuart Carapola on 01.21.2006

Ring Of Honor begins to hit their stride in their sophomore year.

Upon its creation in early 2002, Ring of Honor set itself apart from all the other promotions in the United States by focusing on the in-ring product over storylines. This proved to be a successful formula for the fledgling promotion, as their events regularly drew good numbers, and they were even able to sign some big name talent helping to bring in those crowds. In 2003 the focus would still be on the in-ring action, but there was also the introduction of the first real long-running feuds and storylines in ROH. Still careful to not venture over the brink into the realm of sports entertainment, the exploits of the competitors in ROH would quickly hook the fans without overshadowing the wrestling, and the fanbase grew and grew through word of mouth, tape trading, and DVD sales.

A lot happened in ROH in 2003, but perhaps the biggest player that year was a man who didn't hold any titles, and didn't even spend much time in contention, yet events in the promotion seemed to revolve around him, and that man was CM Punk.

Part I: Punk, Chapter I - Better Than You

CM Punk had made his entrance into Ring of Honor late in 2002, and he didn't get off to a good start. He lost matches to both Michael Shane and his training partner Colt Cabana. Once 2003 began, Punk turned things around by scoring wins over both Shane and Cabana, then went on to gain an impressive victory over CW Anderson at the First Anniversary Show. Punk seemed on course to be a rising babyface certain to do battle with the top heels of ROH in the very near future.

That all changed with zero notice at Expect the Unexpected. Punk heard that former WWF, WCW, and ECW star Raven was on his way into the promotion, and this was something Punk had a major problem with. Punk was straight edge, which meant he didn't drink, he didn't do drugs, he didn't smoke, he didn't even like taking medicine, going so far as to pass up painkillers one time when he fractured his skull in a match. And it was all totally legit, as Punk was very forthcoming and vocal about his beliefs, and when Raven, who was very open about all the stuff he had done over the years, was on his way to Ring of Honor, Punk felt he had to take it upon himself to "save" ROH and the fans from a bad influence like Raven.

Punk came out to the ring early in the show and launched a diatribe that caught the crowd totally off guard, since they had only known him as a soft spoken babyface up to that point. Punk held nothing back, telling the crowd that he's drug free, he's alcohol free, and that made him better than everyone in the crowd. He then started riding the crowd for going to a crappy job they hate, then coming home to a family that they don't love, and going to church every Sunday to worship a god he knows doesn't exist. Everything he believed in was tattooed on his skin (including "D-R-U-G F-R-E-E" across his knuckles, and "straight edge" across his midsection), and it was fine if Raven wanted to chicken out, because he was probably laying in a gutter somewhere getting drunk at that moment.

This certainly caught the attention of Raven, and as Punk finally finished up his diatribe and headed to the back, Raven came out and confronted him. Raven admitted that maybe life had taken its toll on him, and maybe he's not the man he once was when he was younger, but he still can bring it and challenged Punk to a match later in the night. Punk accepted, and they had a match set up where the first 10 minutes were under Raven's Rules (which meant no DQ), then after 10 minutes were up they would return to regular ROH rules. Punk lasted the 10 minutes and then, to the shock of the crowd, scored a major upset by forcing the multi-time former ECW World Champion to tap out in the middle of the ring. Raven went to shake Punk's hand after the match, but Punk suckerpunched him instead, then bailed out of the ring before Raven had a chance to retaliate.

Raven wouldn't let it go, and after the loss to Punk, he went out and got Colt Cabana as a partner and challenged Punk and his mentor Ace Steel to a tag team match. Punk and Steel came out and again, Punk went off on the crowd, telling them that they can hate him all the want because it feeds him. He said that he doesn't know what it's like to wake up with a hangover and not remember who he slept with the night before. Finally Punk stopped talking and the match began, which Raven and Cabana won when Raven DDT'd Steel for the win. Raven had won the match, but hadn't beaten Punk. Raven held the barely conscious Steel in the ring and dared Punk to come in the ring. He kept DDT'ing Steel repeatedly until Punk agreed to another match. Punk slipped into the ring and he and Raven would start brawling again, but this time the numbers would be on Punk's side as Cabana turned on Raven and rejoined his friend and trainer in a beatdown on Raven. The Second City Saints of Punk, Cabana, and Steel were formed. Finally, Punk pulled Raven to his feet and gave him his own Raven Effect DDT and, to add insult to injury, Cabana got on the house mic and called Raven a washed up hasbeen.

Raven wasn't on the next few ROH shows, and in the meantime Punk had a match against newcomer BJ Whitmer, which ended when Punk German suplexed Whitmer off the ring apron and through a table onto the floor. Both men were knocked out and the match was stopped. Later in the night, Punk found Whitmer in the back and asked him how he was doing. Punk seemed uncharacteristically concerned, and when Whitmer told him that he doesn't remember anything that happened in the match, Punk tells him that Whitmer gave him a hell of a match and that the fans love him. Punk then promises to go easier on Whitmer next time they wind up in the ring so that Whitmer doesn't have to quit on him again.

Raven saw this little incident and decided that he had found somebody who could help him in his battle against Punk, and a match was made for Night of the Grudges, with Punk and Cabana teaming to battle Raven and Whitmer. Punk went on another monologue before the match, this time saying that he knows what it's like to be shunned at an early age because he was different, but has taken it upon himself to take the outcasts of the world on his back and lead his straight edge revolution against Raven and the hardcore revolution. He claimed that he was just like Malcolm X and Martin Luther King, Jr and everybody else they wanted to shut up and get rid of, but couldn't. Raven and Whitmer came to the ring and faced the Saints, but even with his new partner backing him up, Raven again fell short as Punk and Cabana would walk out the winners. Punk decided that it wasn't enough to have scored another win over Raven, and he and Cabana put Raven through a table at ringside. Punk had again embarrassed Raven and now Whitmer as well. Punk seemed to take extra pleasure in adding Whitmer, who he would continually mock for months after this, to his list of victims.

Things were now getting desperate for Raven, who no matter what he did seemed unable to get an edge on this youngster that he should have no trouble dominating. At Wrestlerave, Raven got another partner that he thought could help him beat Punk, Christopher Daniels. Punk and Cabana, joined by Punk's new girlfriend Lucy, again beat and embarrassed Raven. After everybody else left the ring, Raven got on the microphone and said that Punk had left him laying several times, and that this had to come to an end, and challenged Punk to a Dog Collar Match.

In the back, Punk accepts the challenge, and also revealed a major piece of the puzzle of Punk's hatred of Raven, and that's that Raven reminds Punk of his own alcoholic father. When Punk was a kid, he didn't know any better when his dad came home smelling like beer. He used to think that his dad was just unwinding after a hard day at work, but work turned out to be the unemployment office. He thought it was normal that he'd have to come out of his bedroom in the middle of the night and turn his father on his side so he wouldn't choke on his own vomit. He finished by saying that he hates Raven for everything he had that he pissed away for drugs, for booze, and for women.

The Dog Collar Match came at Death Before Dishonor. As had become the norm, Punk came out before the match and ragged on the crowd, asking them how it felt to be in a building that doesn't serve alcohol. He tells the crowd that they were all led down the wrong path and that he's not mad at them, he just feels sorry for them. According to Punk, Raven had led everybody down the wrong path and that he reminds Punk of his lousy drunk father. He asks Raven where being extreme had ever gotten him, then pointed out former ECW Tag Team Champion Danny Doring in the crowd, and mocked him for having to buy a ticket to get in. Raven came to the ring and although Punk tried to get out of the dog collar stipulation, Raven was unwavering and forced him to honor the stipulation he had agreed to. The two men engaged in another horrific brawl, with Colt Cabana trying to interfere at one point, but Doring jumped the rail and chased Cabana off, leaving Punk alone with Raven. Even though Raven now finally had Punk one-on-one in a situation where Punk wouldn't be able to run from him, Raven again lost the match.

Punk had scored yet another victory over Raven, but that wasn't enough for Punk, who wanted to embarrass this man he hated so much one more time. He taped Raven's arms to the ring ropes and grabbed a beer from ringside. He tells Raven that he's going to send him back to rehab where he belongs and is about to pour the beer down Raven's throat when out of nowhere, Raven's former archrival from ECW, Tommy Dreamer, entered the ring and smashed Punk with a chair, then laid him out with a DDT. Dreamer then taped Punk to the ropes and freed Raven. They stare at each other for a few seconds, then embrace. Raven goes over to Punk and, now that the tables have turned, mocked Punk for being straight edge, and Punk suffered the fate that he had planned for Raven, as Raven poured a beer in Punk's mouth.

This was the worst thing Punk thought could be done to him, that Raven had taken something Punk had believed in his entire life and destroyed it, and there was only one way to settle the score once and for all, and that was in the steel cage. The match was made, but was still a couple of shows away, as Punk made his first tour of Japan in August and missed Wrath of the Racket. Unfortunately, somebody who didn't like Punk chose this opportunity to attack his girlfriend Lucy backstage. Nobody seemed to know who it was who attacked her, and Punk was very distraught at this attack. He vowed that he would find out who attacked Lucy, but before he was able to concentrate on that, he still had to settle things with Raven.

And so Raven and Punk faced off one more time in ROH's first even steel cage match at Beating The Odds. The two engaged in yet another brutal match, and Raven finally pinned Punk after giving him a DDT off the top rope through a table. Raven had beaten Punk at last, but it would not be the end, as the lights went out in the arena, and when they came back up, Raven had been crucified on a straight edge "X" in the middle of the ring. Raven may have won the battle, but he had not won the war. Punk had dominated Raven, and for the time being that feud would have to be put on hold, because he had other business to attend to.

Part II: Paul London - The Departing Hero

2003 was the year that Paul London planned to break through to the next level. He had finished 2002 by defeating TWA classmate Michael Shane to lay claim to being the top graduate of the Texas Wrestling Academy. Now in 2003, it was time for him to focus on getting some gold around his waist. He had earned a shot at Xavier late the previous year, but had fallen short. Now with the coming of the new year, he decided that with no clear top contender and with the field wide open, it was a perfect time to fight his way to the top.

London would have a tough road to hoe, because in order to get another shot at Xavier, he would have to win a three way match at the First Anniversary Show. The problem London would be faced with was that his opponents in that three way match were AJ Styles and Low Ki, two of the top names in ROH and the indy scene in general. Although he was clearly the underdog going in, he was able after 20 minutes to win the match and earn his title shot. He had taken that important first step, now after an hour or so to rest, he would step in the ring with Xavier for his title shot. At least, that was the plan. Xavier came to the ring right after London scored the pin and declared that the match was to start right then and there. Even though he was already tired and beaten up from being in the ring with Styles and Low Ki for over 20 minutes, London still gave Xavier everything he had. London went over another 20 minutes and scored several near falls, but was unable to get the three count on the champion. Finally, the fresh Xavier was too much for London to overcome, and London went down in defeat after being in the ring against three different guys for a total of over 45 minutes.

London was unable to win the title from Xavier that night, but in trying he earned the respect of AJ Styles, and together they decided that they would form a team and make a bid to wrest the ROH Tag Team Title from the Prophecy. Their shot at the title was scheduled for Expect The Unexpected, but unfortunately for London the stars were not aligned for him that night, either. London had to be rushed to the hospital for emergency sinus surgery the day before. Styles would still take the match, choosing Amazing Red as his new partner, and the pair defeated Christopher Daniels and Xavier (subbing for the AWOL Donovan Morgan) and walk out of the show with the titles.

As you can imagine, this didn't sit well with London, who felt that he had busted his butt since walking into ROH just to have the rug yanked out from under him at every turn. He was openly critical of the situation, and determined to show that he was better than either Styles or Red. At Epic Encounter, he engaged in another classic 45 minutes of wrestling, this time in a 2 out of 3 falls match against Bryan Danielson. Although London again went in as the underdog, he pulled out an impressive victory against his fellow TWA graduate. Danielson pretty much disappeared from ROH after this match, so for at least the time being, that was one less person standing in London's way.

The next step for London was validation against the team that held what he considered to be the title that should have been his, AJ Styles and Amazing Red. He got his shot at Red at Retribution: Round Robin Challenge II. London beat Amazing Red, but then lost in the finals of the tournament to Christopher Daniels to finish with a 1-1 record. Even though he didn't win the tournament, he felt he had vindicated himself with a victory over Red, even beating him with AJ's finishing move, the Styles Clash. Finally, it appeared that the showdown between London and Styles was imminent, and indeed they faced each other in a #1 Contender's Match at Night of the Grudges. Again, London went the distance, and the match ended in a draw when both men were unable to continue.

This was an interesting situation because although London was unable to beat Styles, Styles hadn't beaten him either. Around this time it became known that London had signed a deal with WWE and was on his way out of ROH. Due to this fact and also London's higher standing in the Top 5 Rankings at the time of his draw with Styles, he was named #1 Contender and got his shot at new ROH Champion Samoa Joe at Death Before Dishonor. London wouldn't put it on cruise control on his way out the door, as even though most observers figured there was no way he was getting the title in his last match in the promotion, there were several occasions where it seemed London had Joe down and out and would win. In the end though, Joe was able to put London down with the choke and retain. The crowd gave him a standing ovation, and in fact the entire locker room came out while London got on the microphone and put over ROH, saying that no matter where he ended up working from now on, he was never going to forget his time in ROH, and thanked the fans. Life in ROH would continue without London, but he left an impression on the fans and the promotion that everybody would be hard pressed to put behind them.

Part III: Samoa Joe And The Briscoe Brothers - Year Of Champions

Samoa Joe's career was made in Ring of Honor in 2003. The previous year he had lost a close decision to Low Ki in his debut in the promotion and then had gone to a 45 minute draw in a four way #1 Contender's Match at Final Battle 2002 to close the year. In 2003, Samoa Joe became without question the dominant force in ROH.

His first obstacle in the new year would be another one of ROH's founding fathers, Bryan Danielson. He split matches with Danielson, dominating and defeating him at Revenge On The Prophecy, then lost their second match at the First Anniversary Show. However, Danielson left ROH soon after the second match and Joe would have to wait quite some time for their tiebreaker. In the meantime, he concentrated his energies on trying to win the ROH Title. At Expect The Unexpected, Joe won a Four Corner Survival to become the new #1 Contender, and earned his shot at Xavier for the ROH Title.

Now if you read the first part of this ROH history series, you'll know that Joe was brought into ROH by Christopher Daniels as hired muscle for the Prophecy, of which Xavier was also a member. Although the Prophecy didn't follow the Code Of Honor, choosing to instead play by their own rules, Joe didn't agree with this philosophy and decided instead to show respect for his opponents and the Code Of Honor. It all came to a head at Night Of Champions, where Joe almost effortlessly dispatched Xavier and became the third ever ROH Champion.

Joe quickly established himself as a dominant, fighting champion. At Epic Encounter, the first show after he won the title, he quickly defeated Hotstuff Hernandez in a non-title match, then declared that he was not going to be a closet champion like Xavier was, and that he would be out there defending that title every chance he got. He interjected himself into a Four Corner Survival match against Colt Cabana, Matt Stryker, and Tom Carter right after beating Hernandez, and said that if anybody could pin him in the match, they would win the ROH Title. Joe won the match, and then over the course of the next several shows Joe went on a tear, racking up win after win. He successfully defended the title against Doug Williams, Homicide, Dan Maff, Paul London, and BJ Whitmer. He also scored a non-title victory over a man he would come to know very well down the line, CM Punk.

In the meantime, Jay and Mark Briscoe were starting to establish themselves as well, only they preferred to work in the tag team division. Jay Briscoe had been wrestling in ROH since the first show, and although he gave it everything he had in every match, he didn't wind up with the best win-loss record. Mark, who at 17 years old was too young to legally compete in most of the places ROH ran shows, seconded his brother for most of his matches and would always ride him really hard when he lost. Eventually Jay couldn't take it anymore and challenged Mark to put his money where his mouth was and get in the ring with him to prove who was the better brother.

Well, that feud never really developed. Mark beat Jay in his ROH debut in Boston, but outside of Massachusetts (which ROH only ran sporadically), Mark couldn't compete due to being under the legal age. He finally turned 18 early in 2003, but right around that time a mutual friend of the Briscoes died unexpectedly. Jay and Mark decided that they would have one last match as a tribute to their friend, and then put their differences behind them and work as a tag team instead. Jay won the match at First Anniversary Show to end their series against one another, and then started to focus on their quest for the ROH Tag Team Title.

They got their first title shot almost immediately. At Night Of Champions, Jay and Mark challenged new ROH Tag Team Champions AJ Styles and Amazing Red. It was a terrific match, easily the match of the night and possibly the best match of the year at that point. Styles and Red retained, but they found themselves across the ring from Jay and Mark again at Epic Encounter. The four of them put on an even better match than the first one, and Styles and Red again retained. After that, the Briscoes decided to take a short break from ROH. That break only lasted a couple of months, and when they returned, they were entered into, and won, a voting on the ROH website where the fans decided the next challengers for Styles and Red at Death Before Dishonor. Styles, Red, and the Briscoes had yet another great match, and again Styles and Red retained.

The Briscoes must have begun getting frustrated at this point, however they lucked out and got an unexpected shot at the Tag Team Title. AJ Styles and Amazing Red were forced to vacate the title after Red went down with a serious knee injury, and to fill the vacancy the titles were put on the line in a gauntlet series at Glory By Honor II, and the Briscoes were entered into the match. They were able to beat a team from Special K and then Dunn & Marcos, but were defeated by a second Special K team, who then lost in the final match to the Backseat Boyz, and the Boyz would walk out with the titles.

Their inability to win the Tag Team Title after coming so close so many times must have been weighing heavily on them, but luckily for the Briscoes, the Tag Team Title wasn't the only title they were in contention for. Backtracking in time a bit, Jay had won a Four Corner Survival match that also included ROH Champion Samoa Joe. Although Jay didn't pin Joe himself to win the match, the win was enough to earn Jay a shot at the Joe, who felt he had something to prove. Joe successfully defended the title against Christopher Daniels the same night the Briscoes were competing in the gauntlet series, and then Jay got his shot at the title at Tradition Continues. Jay put up a good fight, but wasn't able to put Joe away and went down in defeat. Joe wasn't satisfied, and also wanted to send a message to the Briscoes, which he sent by grabbing Mark after the match and choking him out as well. This did not sit well with the Briscoes at all. They could handle losing, that was one thing. But to be embarrassed the way Joe had done to them was another thing altogether. They would soon get what they wanted, however. At Main Event Spectacles, the Briscoes again confronted Joe and manager Jim Cornette, who had joined Joe after Joe saved him from an attack by the Prophecy. Cornette had a funny way of showing his appreciation, however, as he turned on Joe and joined in an attack on the champion by the Briscoes. The final piece of the puzzle was in place for the Briscoes, as nobody would be able to teach them more about tag team wrestling than Jim Cornette. Indeed, Cornette's influence was immediately apparent, as the same night he joined the brothers, Jay and Mark defeated Izzy & Dixie of Special K to win the ROH Tag Team Title.

Now it was Joe's turn to look for revenge on the Briscoes for embarrassing him. He thought the best way to do this would be to take what the Briscoes coveted most: the ROH Tag Team Title that they had worked so long and hard to win. He just needed a partner, and he found that in former ROH Tag Team Champion AJ Styles. Styles was hungry to regain the title he had never lost, but his team with Joe came with a price: Styles would get a shot at Joe for the ROH Title the night after their shot at the Briscoes. At The Conclusion, Joe and Styles got their title shot, and Jay and Mark showed that while Joe may be dominant on the singles circuit, they were the top tag team in ROH by defeating Joe & Styles when Mark scored an upset pin on Joe to retain.

The Briscoes had retained, but there was no rest for the weary. As promised, Styles got his shot at Joe and the ROH Title the next night at War Of The Wire. Joe proved that despite his unexpected loss the night before, when the title was on the line nobody would be able to put his shoulders to the mat. Styles gave Joe everything he had, but in the end Joe walked out with the title. The same night, the Briscoes defended the Tag Team Title against two men who had both come very close to ending Joe's ROH Title reign earlier in the year, Prophecy members Christopher Daniels and Dan Maff. The Prophecy were a force to be reckoned with to be sure, but the Briscoes pulled it through again and defeated Daniels and Maff.

After dealing with their mandatory title defenses, the feud between Joe and the Briscoes would continue. `Based on his pinfall win over the champion at The Conclusion, Mark was automatically awarded the position of #1 Contender, and got his first shot at the ROH World Title at Final Battle 2003. Unfortunately for Mark, that first title shot ended in defeat, as Joe retained yet again with a dominating performance over the young Briscoe. At this point, Joe and the Briscoes had fought to a stalemate, with each side getting their share of wins over the other. Fortunately for both sides, they all finished 2003 with gold around their waists, but their feud would continue well into 2004.

Part IV: Homicide - MVP

2003 was a year of rebirth for Homicide. He spent most of 2002 working the tag team scene, but in 2003 the goal was to establish himself on the singles scene. His first target on the path to that goal was Steve Corino. He and Corino had teamed late the year before, but lost their first match as a team when Corino unexpectedly turned on Homicide and left him high and dry. So at the First Anniversary Show, it was as much about revenge against Corino as it was about climbing the rankings. Homicide was pumped from working in front of his home crowd in New York City, but wasn't able to get it done, as Corino put him out with a cobra clutch to win the match. Homicide was out cold and Corino had his hand raised, but decided to get cute and disgraced a Yankees jersey in the middle of the ring. This was too much for the rabid NYC crowd, and as Corino began getting HUGE heat, a group of "fans" jumped the rail and started brawling with Corino and his crew of Michael Shane and CW Anderson. The entire locker room cleared out and helped the other wrestlers fight off the group, before going to an early intermission. It was booked perfectly to look real, but the riot was a work, the group who jumped the rail was a bunch of local workers that Homicide had trained.

Corino, as would be a recurring habit of his, bailed out of ROH soon after, leaving Homicide without much to do. Since his arch enemy had left, he instead focused his efforts on becoming ROH Champion. He beat Christopher Daniels at Epic Encounter and CM Punk at Round Robin Challenge II, then got his first shot at the title at Do Or Die. He had Joe on the ropes and was about to put him away when his new manager Julius Smokes got into an argument at ringside with Homicide's running buddy Low Ki. Homicide got distracted trying to calm the two men down, and Joe took the opportunity to hit him with a Muscle Buster off the top rope to score the win and retain.

Having lost his chance to be ROH Champion, Homicide became a bit aimless, and didn't seem to know what to do next. He won a Four Corner Survival at Night of the Grudges, lost to Trent Acid in the main event of Wrestlerave, and then beat BJ Whitmer at Main Event Spectacles, but just seemed to be lacking a direction to take. Luckily for him, Steve Corino soon made his return to ROH and faced Homicide again at Bitter Friends, Stiffer Enemies. This time Homicide beat Corino within an inch of his life, legitimately costing Corino hearing in one ear that never returned. The end came when Corino's cornerman, Guillotine LeGrande, threw in the towel to save Corino from serious injury at the hands of Homicide.

Homicide had gotten a measure of revenge for his earlier loss to Corino, but hadn't actually beaten him. What's worse, Corino ran off again, this time claiming an unsafe working environment in ROH. Now that Corino was gone again for the time being, Homicide put his free time to good use by settling some old scores. At Beating the Odds, Homicide avenged his earlier loss to Trent Acid, then at Empire State Showdown he returned his loss to Samoa Joe, beating him in a non-title, no DQ match by choking him out with a noose. He also notched a win over Chris Sabin at Wrath of the Racket.

Perhaps hoping Homicide would be too preoccupied to notice him, Corino again started poking his nose around in ROH. Homicide did notice his return, however, and decided that it was time to settle up with him, as well. He even helped Josh Daniels score a fluke victory over Corino at The Conclusion by distracting Corino and allowing Daniels to get the surprise pin. At this point, the two men knew that the feud had to be settled, and they signed to lock horns one more time, in a Barbed Wire Match in the main event of War of the Wire. This would be one of the sickest, most brutal matches ROH had seen, and Homicide gave it everything he had, but came up short again, as Corino walked away the victor. Corino offered Homicide a handshake, but Homicide blew him off and stormed to the back.

Homicide's year in ROH would end at Final Battle 2003. As part of the All Japan-ROH series that ended the show, Homicide was set to face Japanese headliner Satoshi Kojima. He brought his A-game, but Kojima was the one who got his hand raised at the end.

Although he would be called the MVP of 2003 by many people, perhaps rightly so, this was a year of ups, downs, and disappointments for Homicide. The feuds with Corino, Joe, and Acid produced some great matches, but also several key losses. Homicide hadn't made the progress he had wanted to make since going out on his own, and the frustration at doing so well but being unable to truly break through started to show after the last match with Corino. One question on people's minds as 2003 ended was whether Homicide would ever be able to score that breakthrough victory and, if not, how would this continued frustration manifest itself in the future?

Part V: Punk, Chapter II - Who Attacked Lucy? (aka The Prophecy Reborn)

Having put his feud with Raven on hold after Beating The Odds, Punk decided that it was time that he start seriously working on trying to figure out who had attacked his girlfriend Lucy and put her out of ROH at Wrath Of The Racket. He opened the show at The Conclusion by coming out and telling the crowd that at one time, nothing meant more to him than wrestling. He sacrificed everything he ever cared about for wrestling, and he never thought twice about it until he met Lucy. In Lucy (who you might remember as Daffney in WCW), he found somebody who cared about wrestling as much as he did, but somebody took that all away from her and took Lucy away from Punk by attacking her while Punk was in Japan. And the man that Punk suspected was behind the attack was none other than Christopher Daniels, leader of the Prophecy.

Daniels may have been Punk's top suspect in the Lucy mystery, but he had other things on his mind that he was forced to deal with that year. Even though 2002 was as good a start in ROH as any group could have hoped for, with Xavier winning the ROH Title and the team of Christopher Daniels and Donovan Morgan winning the Tag Team Title, the new year hadn't been so kind to the Prophecy. Because of his commitments elsewhere, Morgan couldn't make it to ROH shows regularly, leaving Daniels and Xavier to hold down the fort by themselves. Daniels and Xavier began the year by losing to Low Ki and AJ Styles at Revenge On The Prophecy. Although Xavier was able to successfully defend the ROH Title against Paul London at the First Anniversary Show, albeit under dubious circumstances, it appeared that the Prophecy's luck had begun to run out. Christopher Daniels and Donovan Morgan were set to defend the Tag Team Title against AJ Styles and Amazing Red at Expect The Unexpected, but Morgan again did not appear, so Xavier was forced to sub in and the makeshift team lost the title that night. At the very next show, Night Of Champions, Xavier lost the ROH Title to Samoa Joe in a one-sided affair, and Daniels lost a #1 Contender's Match and the FWA Title to Doug Williams the same night.

It was clear that the current lineup was having trouble accomplishing Daniels' goals, so while Morgan was still off fulfilling his other commitments and Xavier took time off to rest some injuries after losing the ROH Title, Daniels took the opportunity to rebuild the Prophecy from the ground up. The first new member to join was Dan Maff. Previously known as Mafia of Da Hit Squad, Maff had become frustrated by his lack of progress despite his work upholding the Code Of Honor and fighting in the name of ROH. At Epic Encounter, Maff finally made the turn, leaving his partner Monsta Mack to twist in the mind and joining up with Daniels. After the addition of Maff, Christopher Daniels defeated Paul London and Amazing Red to win Round Robin Challenge II. He then went on to win a Four Corner Survival against CM Punk, Frankie Kazarian, and Jimmy Rave at Do Or Die. After the match he offered Punk a spot in the new Prophecy, but Punk turned it down. It didn't matter to Daniels, however, because the Prophecy was on a roll and he had his eye on other prospects who would help bring the Prophecy back to the top of ROH.

Indeed the Prophecy was back on track. Xavier had returned later in the year, but seemed to distance himself from his former teammates. It didn't matter to Daniels, because he defeated Xavier in a #1 Contender's Match to gain a shot at Samoa Joe for the ROH Title, and Maff was making a very good showing of himself in the Field Of Honor tournament. They did suffer a couple of setbacks, including Daniels teaming with Raven to lose to Punk and Colt Cabana. Daniels also lost his title shot against Joe, and Maff was knocked out and injured by Low Ki, but despite these bumps the Prophecy was once again at the top of the card and always a title threat.

Punk didn't care about all this, however. By the time late autumn rolled around, he was dead set on one thing, and that was finding out who attacked Lucy, and the Prophecy were his prime suspects. Punk confronted Christopher Daniels after Daniels defeated Jimmy Rave at The Conclusion and asked him point blank if he was behind the attack. Daniels responded not with a yes or no, but by telling him that the Prophecy had accomplished everything there was to do in Ring of Honor, while the Second City Saints had done nothing of note. He then made a cryptic comment that when Punk found out who actually was who attacked Lucy, he wouldn't be able to handle the truth. Daniels left the ring without either admitting nor denying being involved in the attack, but he definitely knew something.

Punk decided that since Daniels wouldn't talk, he'd try reasoning with his teammate, Dan Maff, later that night. He asked Maff face to face, man to man, if the Prophecy had attacked Lucy. Maff said that while the Saints and the Prophecy did not see eye to eye on a lot of things, he swore on his father's grave that the Prophecy was not behind the attack on Lucy. Punk wasn't convinced, but he had other business to attend to that night. He met Raven for the last time in a cage rematch, and this time he walked away the winner to claim victory in the feud.

Now that the feud with Raven was conclusively at an end, all that remained for Punk was to find the culprit in the Lucy attack. At Final Battle 2003, Punk came out after Samoa Joe had successfully defended the ROH Title against Mark Briscoe. They had a short standoff before the Prophecy ran out of the back and attacked both men. Joe and Maff fought to the back, leaving Punk and Daniels alone in the ring. Colt Cabana ran in and the two of them overwhelmed Daniels and tied him in the ropes, then Punk grabbed Daniels' valet, Allison Danger, and threatened to kill her if Daniels didn't own up to what he knew about Lucy's attacker. Daniels finally admitted that it was indeed a Prophecy member, but it wasn't him, Maff, or Allison Danger that had done it. The unasked question was quickly answered, as BJ Whitmer came out and attacked Punk and Cabana with a chair. Whitmer got on the microphone and told Punk that he had never forgotten when Punk had dropped him on his head all those months ago and the endless ridicule from Punk that he had been forced to endure since. Dan Maff came out and questioned Daniels, protesting the choice and saying that he had sworn on his father's grave that the Prophecy wasn't behind the attack. Daniels told him that just like when Maff joined the Prophecy, the plan was for Whitmer to join all along, and that they were a team. The Prophecy had indeed been reborn, but there were cracks in the foundation that could very well prevent them from being able to stay atop ROH in 2004.

Part VI: A Few Other Things

For a promotion in their second year of existence, a lot happened in Ring of Honor in 2003. In addition to the things mentioned above, 2003 also saw:

-The Field Of Honor

This round robin style tournament was a major focus of ROH throughout the second half of 2003. Instead of running the entire thing on a single show, there would be one or two Field of Honor matches on each show until the final winner was crowned at the end of the year. The Field consisted of eight men broken up into two blocks of four, and the winner of each block would meet in the finals. One block came down to Colt Cabana, Dan Maff, and BJ Whitmer, who had finished the regular tournament bouts with a 2-1 record each. Whitmer won the tiebreaking three way match to advance to the finals, where he would meet Matt Stryker, who had scored a big victory over former ROH Champion Xavier to win his block. Stryker defeated Whitmer at Final Battle 2003 to win the tournament and set himself up as a major player heading into 2004.

-Steve Corino's Group

The Prophecy vs The Second City Saints would become the first true feud between two supergroups in ROH the following year, but Steve Corino's Group vs The Prophecy was the aborted first attempt at such a feud. In late 2002, Steve Corino put together a group that included Samoa Joe, Simply Luscious, CW Anderson, Jack Victory, and Michael Shane and announced that he and his partners would take the spot of top supergroup from the Prophecy. Before the two groups got a chance to go head to head, however, Corino took one of his vacations from ROH and left the Group without a leader. The "feud" was quickly killed when the Prophecy beat Joe, Anderson, and Shane (who had been hastily booked to replace Corino in the match) in a six man tag. Steve Corino's Group hasn't been spoken of in ROH since.

-John Walters vs Xavier

After losing the ROH Title to Samoa Joe, taking some time off, and then returning to lose a #1 Contender's Match to his former partner Christopher Daniels, Xavier entered himself into the Field of Honor tournament. Although he didn't win the tournament, he did beat John Walters via dubious means in a tournament match at Glory By Honor II. He then followed that up with a second victory over Walters, this time in a Four Corner Survival match at Tradition Continues, again cheating his way to victory. At Main Event Spectacles, Xavier scored a third pin on Walters, teaming with Nigel McGuinness to defeat Walters and Tony Mamaluke. Walters challenged Xavier again, scoring a surprise pin on him at War Of The Wire, before finally scoring the decisive victory over Xavier in a Fight Without Honor at Final Battle 2003. Xavier finally shook Walters' hand to end the feud (and apparently any involvement he still had with the Prophecy), and joined Prince Nana's Embassy.

-Special K

The ever-growing group of rich young raver kids lost a lot more than they won this year, but Special K members Izzy & Dixie did manage to hold the ROH Tag Team Title for about a month, winning it from the Backseat Boyz at Tradition Continues, then losing it to Jay & Mark Briscoe shortly afterward at Main Event Spectacles. They also had a mini-feud with (and regularly got their asses handed to them by) Low Ki, and towards the end of the year picked a feud with the Carnage Crew when they attacked Crew member Justin Credible during a Q&A session at Beating The Odds to get revenge after losing to the Crew earlier in the night. The Carnage Crew had trouble beating Special K after that, but it was far from over, as the feud would continue into 2004.

-Chad Collyer vs Matt Stryker

An underappreciated bright spot of ROH in early 2003 was the mini-feud between Chad Collyer and Matt Stryker. Although this feud ended up being overshadowed by most other major events going on that year, the two of them had some of the best technical wrestling matches to be found anywhere that year. Collyer won win the first two matches of the series at Revenge On The Prophecy and Expect The Unexpected, both by forcing Stryker to tap out to his Texas Cloverleaf submission hold. Stryker got a measure of revenge by forcing Collyer to tap out in a five way match at Round Robin Challenge II, but Collyer, saying that Stryker couldn't beat him in a one on one match, challenged him to a tapout match to settle things once and for all. In that final match of the series, Collyer again defeated Stryker via tapout with the Texas Cloverleaf.

-Ring Of Honor vs All Japan Pro Wrestling

The main selling points for Final Battle 2003 were the final four bouts, which were all ROH vs All Japan Pro Wrestling matches. CM Punk and Colt Cabana defeated Tomaoki Honma and Kazushi Miyamoto, followed by AJ Styles defeating Kaz Hayashi to bring to score to 2-0 in ROH's favor, but Satoshi Kojima pinned Homicide in match three to narrow the margin to 2-1. Then in the main event of the evening, All Japan Tag Team Champions The Great Muta and Arashi defeated Christopher Daniels and Dan Maff. The series ended in a 2-2 draw, but ROH gained a lot of recognition and respect in the wrestling world from bringing in the Japanese star power and having their talent hang with them.

Epilogue

As good as Ring of Honor was in 2002, the promotion got even better in 2003. The first long feuds and storylines, as well as improved production values gave the shows a more professional, big time feel. But just as with the end of 2002, 2003 left us with several questions going into the new year.

CM Punk had, amazingly, dominated and humiliated Raven in their feud, and Raven was never heard from again in ROH after his final loss to Punk. With Raven out of the way, Punk concentrated on his search for Lucy's assailant, but the revelation of BJ Whitmer as the culprit shocked many. It seemed that the main feud to begin 2004 would be the newly retooled Prophecy of Christopher Daniels, Dan Maff and BJ Whitmer against the Second City Saints of CM Punk, Colt Cabana and Ace Steel. In the first serious battle between two supergroups in ROH, who would emerge victorious? Would the Prophecy members be able to hold it together well enough to fight the common enemy, or would their differences be too much for them to overcome?

Samoa Joe won the ROH Title early in the year and had dominated everybody who had challenged him for the title from that point on. But equally dominant were the Tag Team Champions, Jay and Mark Briscoe. With Amazing Red on the shelf and AJ Styles primarily concentrating on singles competition, it didn't seem that there was a tag team in ROH capable of dethroning the Briscoes. Likewise, it didn't seem that anybody could come close to beating Joe for the ROH Title. The two sides had challenged each other several times, and their feud would continue into 2004. Would either side wind up with a double champion, or would the stalemate continue?

Homicide had an amazing year, beating nearly everybody that had been thrown in front of him. Unfortunately, he had also lost several key matches against top competition. He had beaten Samoa Joe, but couldn't win the ROH Title from him. He won a match against Steve Corino, but never actually beat him. He had the chance to make a name for himself against Satoshi Kojima, but lost. Homicide clearly had the talent and ability to win the ROH Title and stand atop the promotion, but it seemed that for every step forward, he took a step backward. The seeds of frustration were planted in Homicide, and it remained to see what Homicide would be driven to do in order to attain his goals in the coming months.

2003 also saw the departure from ROH of many of the top names that had helped build the promotion, including Low Ki, Bryan Danielson, Michael Shane, Paul London, Doug Williams, Amazing Red (via injury), and Steve Corino. This left some gaping holes in the roster, and men like the Briscoes, the Second City Saints, Matt Stryker, and BJ Whitmer were quick to fill those spots. But at times it seemed their grasp on these spots was tenuous at best. Would we see more new, young talent break through in 2004?

All of these questions would be answered in 2004, but unexpectedly, ROH would also face a major threat to its very existence early in the year, and Ring of Honor would be changed forever as a result. For the story on that and more, tune in next week as we take a look at the tumultuous year Ring of Honor would face in 2004.