by Daniel Johnson
Samoa Joe vs. Takeshi Morishima
Finally, ROH Throwback Thursday returns! Or at least returns by being uploaded on a logical day aka not Sunday.
Rarely does a match start off with the immediate message of just how hard hitting it will be. Samoa Joe and Takeshi Morishima plant their fists into each others faces before Morishima knocks Samoa Joe down. Joe does not stay down though as the match goes on to have an intensity vaguely reminiscent of Hulk Hogan/Stan Hansen in Japan (in a good way). However, unlike Hogan/Hansen these two showcase a lot more of their agility with Morishima hitting a top rope dropkick early on and Joe later taking Morishima down with a suicide dive to the outside. In between these two moves there is also some more grounded action such as when Joe begins chopping Morishima mercilessly and Morishima ends that offense with a simple yet effective butt bump.
As the match winds down Joe attempts to put Morishima away with a muscle buster, but Morishima just absorbs it. The big man from Japan fights back and eventually nearly embeds Joe into the mat with a backdrop driver, but Joe kicks out. For the finish Morishima gets locked in a rare naked choke and passes out.
The next night Takeshi Morishima defeated Homicide for the ROH World Championship. While the match in question was awesome in the long run it has to be considered a mistake at least in it’s relation to ROH’s follow-up booking. Having Morishima lose to a leaving star right before winning ROH’s top prize and then having a title reign which simply cannot compare to Samoa Joe or Bryan Danielson’s earlier reigns had at least a little to do with a bit of shine being taken off ROH.
Likewise, though it will undoubtedly create some buzz, the tournament for the vacant ROH World Championship reeks a little of desperation. Just looking at a list of participants announced, which includes Brian Kendrick, Paul London and BJ Whitmer, ROH may make the same mistake of emphasizing their past glory at the expense of their current roster.
Categories: Wrestling Clips
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