Match #1: Deranged, Angel Dust, Hydro, and Yeyo vs. Dunn, Marcos, Oman Tortuga, and Diablo Santiago (Revenge on the Prophecy – 1/11/03)
This would be Lethal’s (Hydro’s) debut in Ring of Honor. I almost think play by play would be moot here. Hydro, Yeyo, and Angel Dust land stereo dives to the floor. Deranged follows with a springboard dive. In the ring, Marcos catches Angel Dust with a backbreaker and hurricanranas him into the middle turnbuckle. Santiago powerbombs Hydro and connects with a basement dropkick. Dunn hits a gory special slam on Yeyo. Deranged does a front flip to sell a chinbreaker and botches a hurricanrana. Very good. Commentary speculates that he’s under the influence of something. Tortuga hits a spinning inverted DDT on Deranged. Slugger enters the ring and randomly chokeslams Special K’s opponents. Special K start hitting contrived moves. Deranged actually pulls off a nice code red on Tortuga. Slugger plants Marcos with an ace crusher. Special K cover Marcos for the win at 7:07. This was a complete mess but it makes sense to include Lethal’s Ring of Honor debut on this compilation. *
Match #2: Hydro vs. Alex Shelley (Generation Next – 5/22/04)
Shelley controls on the mat to start the match. Hydro finds an opening to hit a snap suplex. He adds a back suplex but Shelley answers with a neckbreaker and a backbreaker. Shelley charges with double knees and comes off the top with a flying knee strike. Hydro escapes Shellshock and tries a quick rollup. Shelley almost reverses into the Border City Stretch but Hydro rolls through and applies a muta lock. Shelly hits Shellshock and synchs in the Border City Stretch for the victory at 7:29. If nothing else, this was an interesting match in ROH history as Shelley was trying to break out as a potential main event entity and Hydro was just trying to transition away from Special K. Both men put in a solid effort and effectively highlighted themselves. **½
Match #3: Hydro vs. CM Punk (Survival of the Fittest 2004 – 6/24/04)
This contest occurred immediately after Punk single-handedly defended the ROH Tag Team Titles in a four-team scramble involving Hydro. After the match, Punk asked for better competition and Hydro challenged him to a singles encounter. Hydro out-intensifies Punk, so he regroups on the outside. Hydro chases him back into the ring but springboards into a powerslam. Punk hits a backbreaker and takes control. Hydro blocks a charge but Punk recovers with a butterfly backbreaker. They exchange chops and Punk hits a slingshot senton. Hydro fights off the Pepsi Plunge and hits a superplex. Both men are down. Hydro connects with a leg lariat. Punk flips out of a german suplex and connects with a shining wizard. He covers Hydro but pulls his shoulders up at the two count. Hydro fires back with a backbreaker-gutbuster combination. He hits an overhead suplex and follows with a few quick pin attempts to no avail. Punk gets taken down by a clothesline. He catches Hydro with an implant DDT but pulls his shoulders up once again during the pin attempt. Punk snaps off a hurricanrana from the middle rope but Hydro rolls through into a sunset flip for a nearfall. More quick pin attempts follow. Hydro hits the dragon suplex but is too tired to make an immediate cover. Punk catches him with a bridging cradle for the win at 18:39. I would usually say that the “pulling your opponent’s shoulders up from the canvas” bit is tiresome, but Punk made it work and really put over Hydro in a believable way. I’m not sure that the crowd was convinced, but I think it’s safe to conclude that this was one of Hydro’s standout performances in his Ring of Honor career thus far. There was some solid action throughout the eighteen minutes and this match didn’t feel that long. ***
Footage from the opening segment of Reborn: Completion is shown. Samoa Joe asks to see Hydro in the locker room and calls him a “Special K clown.” Joe tells Hydro that he needs to start getting serious. Joe hints that he should begin with a name change.
Match #4: Jay Lethal vs. Low Ki (Midnight Express Reunion – 10/2/04)
Low Ki takes down Lethal and paintbrushes the back of his head. Lethal gets slapped a few times and fires back with a series of strikes. He lands a dive to the floor and hits a back suplex in the ring. A distraction from Julius Smokes allows Low Ki to connect with a dropkick. Low Ki takes control. During this time, we find out that Lethal’s mother is in the front row. The camera periodically pans to her. Low Ki connects with a flying double stomp and punishes Lethal at ringside in front of his mother. Low Ki actually spits on her. Lethal connects with a few punches and his mother gets a shot in as well. In the ring, Lethal hits a gutbuster and a gutwrench suplex. He follows with another gutbuster and hits a neckbreaker. Smokes saves Low Ki from a dragon suplex. Low Ki takes out Lethal with a kappou kick and synchs in a dragon sleeper for the victory at 14:23. Lethal started to become a lot more fluid and explosive with his offense around this time. He worked well with Low Ki, but interference from Smokes and Lethal’s mother stopped the action from peaking. That’s excusable, because as we’ll see later in the compilation, they were building to something greater. **¾
Match #5: Jay Lethal and Samoa Joe vs. Nigel McGuinness and John Walters (Weekend of Thunder Night 1 – 11/5/04)
Lethal and McGuinness have a fast-paced exchange to start the match. Lethal connects with a springboard dropkick on Walters. They trade reversals and Walters ends up with the slight advantage. Joe enters the ring and we have the world champion versus the pure champion. Joe makes it crystal clear that he doesn’t respect Walters. Joe attempts a facewash kick on McGuinness but Walters pulls him out of the way. McGuinness goes for his corner headstand but Joe yakuza kicks him. Joe and Lethal isolate him until he divorce courts Lethal’s shoulder and makes the tag. Walters hits a neckbreaker on Lethal and connects with a big lariat. He follows with a backpack chinbreaker from the middle rope. Eddie Edwards eat your heart out. Lethal fires back with a leg lariat and tags out. Joe powerslams Walters and locks in a cross armbreaker. McGuinness breaks up the hold. Walters springboards into a uranagi from Joe and Lethal adds a powerbomb. Walters hits a backcracker on Lethal. McGuinness gets caught by a DDT from Lethal. Joe throws Walters to the floor and dives onto him. McGuinness divorce courts Lethal’s shoulder again and applies an arm submission. Joe saves his partner and then turns his attention back to Walters with an ole! kick. McGuinness his the Tower of London on Lethal for a nearfall. McGuinness goes back to the arm submission for the win at 18:09. I think the goal of this match was to make Walters look like a credible champion, but it was McGuinness that was truly showcased here. Joe was determined to prove that the hype behind Walters and the Pure Title was unfounded. He was so determined that he left Lethal prone in the ring and McGuinness capitalized with his arm submission to pick up the victory. It was simple storytelling but the execution was terrific. ***¼
Footage from Lethal’s Pure Title match against John Walters from Trios Tournament 2005 is shown. I don’t know much about Walters, but I love his backpack chinbreaker from the middle rope. Anyway, a good portion of the match is shown. Lethal becomes the new ROH Pure Champion after a dragon suplex.
Match #6: ROH Pure Title: Jay Lethal © vs. Spanky (Stalemate – 4/16/05)
They start with some chain wrestling. Spanky gets a warning for inadvertently using a closed fist. He drop toe holds Lethal into the ropes. Lethal hits a back suplex and Spanky retreats to the floor. Spanky side-steps a dive from Lethal and his arm collides with the barricade. In the ring, Lethal hits a russian leg sweep and stretches Spanky with a bow and arrow. Spanky uses one of his rope breaks and then connects with another closed fist, costing him his second rope break. Spanky hits an armbar and locks in a fujiwara armbar. Lethal uses his first rope break. He creates some space with a leg lariat. Spanky flips out of a dragon suplex and connects with a superkick. Lethal reverses sliced bread into a gutwrench suplex. He irish whips Lethal hard into the turnbuckles, further working over Spanky’s back. Spanky avoids a diving headbutt and connects with a flying elbow drop. He lands a frog splash for a nearfall and applies a cross armbreaker. Lethal uses his second rope break. Spanky goes back to the cross armbreaker but Lethal powerbombs out of it. Lethal connects with a diving headbutt to the back. He comes off the middle rope with a leg lariat. Lethal hits a dragon suplex but Spanky uses his final rope break during the pin attempt. The ropes are in play for Lethal. Spanky stunners out of another dragon suplex. Lethal shrugs off sliced bread but gets booted to the outside. Spanky follows out with a dive. They battle on the apron and Lethal locks in a boston crab in the ropes. Spanky is forced to tap out and Lethal retains his title at 16:25. Say what you want about the Pure Title concept, but the rules added an interesting facet to certain matches and this was one of them. Spanky had recently returned to Ring of Honor and was unfamiliar with the Pure Title rules. As a result, he was penalized a rope break early on and that came back to cost him the match. Also, the limb work from both men was innovative and effectively played into the story. Great showings from both men. ***½
Footage of Lethal’s match against Low Ki from Death Before Dishonor III is shown. The contest ended in a disqualification when Julius Smokes entered the ring and blatantly interfered. The punchline is that Lethal came dangerously close to defeating Low Ki.
Match #7: Jay Lethal and Samoa Joe vs. Low Ki and Homicide (Punk: The Final Chapter – 8/13/05)
It’s a brawl from the opening bell. Joe lands a dive to the floor onto Homicide. Lethal connects with a springboard dropkick on Low Ki. Homicide and Low Ki take down Joe with a tandem clothesline. They suplex him and begin to work him over. Joe hits an overhead suplex on Homicide and makes the tag. Lethal connects with a leg lariat on Homicide. Low Ki enters the ring to rake Lethal’s eyes and now he gets isolated. Low Ki and Homicide hit a doomsday bulldog at one point. Lethal avoids a flying double stomp and comes off the middle rope with a leg lariat on Low Ki. Joe gets the tag and cleans house. He hits a death valley driver on Homicide followed by a powerbomb. Joe transitions into an STF but Low Ki breaks up the hold with a flying double stomp. Homicide plants Lethal with an ace crusher and sneaks in a low blow. Joe makes the save with a powerslam. Lethal connects with a diving headbutt on Homicide. Joe misses an ole! kick at ringside and Low Ki hits him with a chair. In the ring, Low Ki connects with repeated chops on Lethal along with a double stomp for a nearfall. He follows with a flying elbow drop. Homicide and Joe start brawling on the floor. Low Ki catches Lethal with a sickening flying double stomp. Joe enters the ring but gets met with a shotgun dropkick. Lethal hits a dragon suplex on Low Ki. Homicide elbow drops the referee, drawing a disqualification at 17:32. A huge brawl erupts after the match involving both teams. They brawl throughout the crowd, culminating in Low Ki double stomping Lethal from the top of the bleachers. Joe eventually fights off Homicide and Low Ki by throwing multiple chairs at them. Low Ki returns, dropkicks Joe, and hits a Ki Krusher on Lethal. This was an excellent over package. I never felt as though the post-match brawl was done to compensate for the disqualification finish. Rather, the post-match brawl was a logical progression from the finish. Lethal has come so close to defeating Low Ki and the payoff to this feud should be great. ***½
Match #8: Fight Without Honor: Jay Lethal vs. Low Ki (Glory By Honor IV – 9/17/05)
Low Ki comes through the crowd and attacks Lethal from behind. Lethal ducks a clothesline and connects with a leg lariat. He lays in multiple chops and hits a back suplex. Lethal follows with a guillotine leg drop. Low Ki dropkicks him to the floor. They trade chops on the apron and Lethal gets slammed onto the floor. Lethal narrowly avoids getting double stomped through a table. Low Ki props a table against the barricade. He dropkicks Lethal into the table and then throws him through it. Lethal is busted open. Low Ki grabs a broken piece of the table and grinds it across Lethal’s forehead. In the ring, Lethal avoids a flying double stomp and comes off the middle rope with a leg lariat. Lethal hits a gutwrench suplex and connects with a diving headbutt. A distraction by Julius Smokes allows Low Ki to connect with a shotgun dropkick. Low Ki follows with a flying double stomp for a nearfall. Low Ki adds a chair-assisted flying double stomp for the victory at 16:24. While there was still more to come from these two on this night, the match itself was a disappointing Fight Without Honor. The action started off too tentatively but they fortunately picked things up down the stretch. It’ll be better to analyze this match and the following match as a package. ***
Low Ki refuses a handshake after the match. Later in the show, Lethal comes out and challenges Low Ki to another contest…
Match #9: Jay Lethal vs. Low Ki (Glory By Honor IV – 9/17/05)
They begin brawling and the action quickly goes to the outside. This is how their match earlier in the evening should haves began. Low Ki gets thrown into the barricade. In the ring, they stare each other down. Low Ki slaps Lethal and punts his back. They exchange chops and Lethal connects with a superkick. Low Ki avoids a diving headbutt and connects with a shotgun dropkick. He locks in the dragon clutch. Lethal escapes a Ki Krusher. Julius Smokes tries to interject himself but Samoa Joe takes care of him. Low Ki connects with a flying double stomp. Homicide and Ricky Reyes attack Joe at ringside. Lethal hits a dragon suplex for a nearfall. Colt Cabana comes to Joe’s aid. Low Ki attempts a flying double stomp to the floor but gets crotched on the top rope. Lethal hits a dragon superplex for the win at 9:20. I think everyone can agree that these two didn’t need to have two matches on the same night. Low Ki’s victory earlier on the show took some of the luster away from Lethal’s eventual win. While I think the atmosphere was better in this encounter, I still prefer their previous match as it was given more time to play out. **¾
Match #10: Jay Lethal vs. Samoa Joe (Steel Cage Warfare – 12/3/05)
They start with some chain wrestling. They trade armdrags, avoid each other’s kicks, and find themselves at a stalemate. Lethal lands a springboard crossbody. He tries another one but Joe simply steps out of the way. Joe’s arrogance angers Lethal a bit. Lethal connects with a basement dropkick and lands a standing moonsault. He follows with a springboard dropkick and lands a dive to the floor. Back in, Joe finds life with a yakuza kick and a senton. He takes control until Lethal avoids a facewash kick and drives Joe’s leg into the ringpost. Lethal suddenly grabs a chair and starts attacking Joe’s leg. The crowd instantly turns on him. He keeps on the attack until Joe catches him with a powerslam. Joe connects with a big lariat. Lethal elbows out of a death valley driver and connects with a lariat of his own. He hits a running suplex and adds a diving headbutt to the bad leg. Lethal applies a half crab but Joe reaches the bottom rope. Joe swats away a springboard maneuver and hits a german suplex. His leg gives out on a Muscle Buster attempt. Lethal hits a dragon suplex for the victory at 20:41. I would argue that this win did much more for Lethal than defeating Low Ki. It was interesting to see the match transform from an athletic back and forth contest to a one-sided fight after Lethal turned. I remember enjoying their match from Manhattan Mayhem more, but that match was saved for Joe’s compilation. Still, the storytelling here was excellent and the in-ring action was about on par. ***½
We now move onto Lethal’s return to the company in 2011.
Match #11: Jay Lethal vs. Mike Bennett (Best in the World 2011 – 6/26/11)
Lethal receives a thunderous reaction from the crowd. There’s an audible “Randy Savage” chant to start the match. Someone even throws a Slim Jim towards the ring. Lethal lays in a few chops and cartwheels into a basement dropkick. He snaps off a slingshot hurricanrana and lands a dive to the floor. Brutal Bob gets involved and Bennett comes off the apron with a clothesline. Bennett takes control in the ring until Lethal avoids a charge and connects with a handspring elbow. Lethal comes off the middle rope with a leg lariat and goes up top. Brutal Bob grabs his feet, allowing Bennett to hit a superplex. Bennett whiffs on a flying elbow drop attempt and gets caught by a superkick. Lethal finds success with a flying elbow drop for the victory at 9:43. I don’t think that anyone had high expectations for this match once Bennett was revealed as Lethal’s opponent. However, this ended up being a fine reintroduction for Lethal and the crowd support that he received was phenomenal. **¼
Match #12: ROH World Television Title: El Generico © vs. Jay Lethal (ROH on SBG – 10/1/11)
Generico snaps off a hurricanrana but Lethal quickly answers with a headscissors. Lethal connects with a basement dropkick and hits a backbreaker. He applies a bow and arrow but eventually has to release the hold. Generico snaps off a few armdrags and lands a dive to the floor. After a commercial break, Generico connects with a leg lariat in the ring. He takes over until Lethal fires back with a handspring back elbow. Lethal connects with a missile dropkick as Bobby Cruise announces that there’s three minutes left in the time limit. He elevates Generico into a neckbreaker. Generico hits a tornado DDT. One minute remains. Generico hits a blue thunder bomb for a nearfall. Lethal blocks a yakuza kick and tries a quick rollup to no avail. Generico attempts a brainbuster but the time limit runs out at 15:00. The crowd wants five more minutes and Jim Cornette gives them three more minutes. Darn television show time constraints. They trade punches. Generico connects with a corner yakuza kick and hits a half nelson suplex for a two count. Lethal hits a running suplex. They battle on the middle rope and Generico gets shoved to the canvas. Lethal connects with a flying elbow drop for a nearfall. Generico hits an exploder into the turnbuckles. Lethal connects with a superkick and hits the Lethal Combination to become the new World Television Champion at 16:58 (shown). Everyone (myself included) hated the result of this match at the time. Ring of Honor was expanding to new audiences and Generico would have been the perfect wrestler to showcase as champion. However, if you can ignore the implications of the end result, the match itself was great. They displayed solid chemistry as expected and created some hot nearfalls once the match was restarted. ***½
Match #13: Jay Lethal and Homicide vs. Tommaso Ciampa and Rhino (Death Before Dishonor IX – 9/17/11)
Everyone starts brawling immediately. The Embassy take some time to regroup. Lethal out-wrestles Ciampa to cheers from the crowd. Lethal snaps off an armdrag and cartwheels into a dropkick. He connects with a handspring back elbow on Rhino. Homicide enters the match but gets military pressed to the canvas by Rhino. He recovers with a neckbreaker but finds himself in the wrong corner. Lethal eventually tags in. A distraction from Rhino allows Ciampa to dropkick him off the apron. The Embassy isolate Lethal until he connects with a superkick on Rhino and makes the tag. Homicide hits rolling suplexes on Ciampa and snaps off a headscissors on Rhino. He lands a dive to the floor onto Rhino. Back in, Ciampa hits a northern lights suplex on Homicide for a nearfall. He follows with a facewash knee strike. Homicide finds an opening to hit an ace crusher on Ciampa. Lethal hurricanranas Rhino over the top rope. Ciampa escapes the Gringo Killer and hits Project Ciampa on Homicide for the victory at 11:17. It’s easy to see why Ciampa has been a permanent fixture in Ring of Honor. He was really coming along at this point in his ROH career and this match was evidence of that. Rhino provided a decent brute for the Embassy and these two teams got the show off to a hot start. ***
Match #14: ROH World Television Title: Jay Lethal © vs. Mike Bennett (ROH on SBG – 10/22/11)
Lethal armdrags Bennett into a basement dropkick. Bennett responds with a nice dropkick of his own. Lethal knocks him off the apron but misses a baseball slide. Bennett rams him into the apron and takes control in the ring after a lariat. He’s still in control after a commercial break. Lethal comes back with a leg lariat and hits a handspring ace crusher. Bennett avoids a springboard kick and hits a spinebuster. There are two minutes left in the time limit. Lethal shrugs off a german suplex and plants Bennett with a DDT. Bennett runs into a superkick but Lethal misses a top rope elbow drop. Kevin Kelly has no idea what moves are called. Bennett reigns down punches. Lethal returns the favor but the time limit expires at 15:00 (13:01 shown). They managed to improve upon their match at Best in the World by a slight margin. I actually didn’t mind the action until the deflating finish. They tried to make it seem like Lethal and Bennett were both close to winning down the stretch but I never got that vibe. **½
Match #15: Jay Lethal vs. Mark Briscoe (Gateway to Honor – 11/6/11)
If Mark can defeat Lethal or last the time limit, he will receive a shot at the World Television Title. Lethal snaps off a hurricanrana and connects with a springboard dropkick. He lands a dive to the floor and connects with a leg lariat back in the ring. Lethal synchs in an indian deathlock. Mark crotches him on the top rope and knocks him to the outside. He throws Lethal into the barricade and takes over in the ring. Lethal comes back with a handspring elbow. They trade strikes and Lethal hits a handspring ace crusher. Mark responds with a death valley driver and an exploder. They battle up top and Lethal knocks Mark down to the canvas. They tease finishers and Lethal connects with a superkick. Lethal hits the Lethal Combination and lands a flying elbow drop for the victory at 11:17. These two wrestled an engaging back and forth contest but I think the finish came before the match could reach a higher gear. Mark never really looked like he was in a position to win this match, which is a shame because I could see these two having a quality title match if given more time. **¾
Match #16: Jay Lethal vs. Roderick Strong (Glory By Honor X – 11/19/11)
If Strong can defeat Lethal or last the time limit, he will receive a shot at the World Television Title. They begin with some chain wrestling and find themselves at a stalemate. Lethal connects with a basement dropkick. He attempts a springboard maneuver but Strong catches him with a dropkick of his own. Strong hits a backbreaker and takes over. Lethal comes back with a slingshot senton and throws Strong into the barricade. Back in, Truth Martini provides a distraction, allowing Strong to connect with a dropkick through the ropes. He drops Lethal back-first across the apron and regains control. Lethal fights back by winning a chop exchange. He connects with a leg lariat and trades punches with Strong. Lethal finds success with a handspring back elbow but almost gets caught by a quick pin attempt. Three minutes remain in the time limit. Strong hits a uranagi along with a gutbuster as two minutes remain. He applies the Stronghold but Lethal is able to reach the bottom rope. Lethal attempts a small package out of nowhere to no avail. Strong hits another gutbuster for a nearfall. They both try quick pin attempts as Strong tries to run away to last the time limit. Lethal locks in a figure four as thirty seconds remain. The time limit eventually expires and Strong has earned a shot at the World Television Title. Jim Cornette grabs a microphone and persuades Strong to use his title shot right now! They trade punches and Strong connects with a gamengiri. He follows with the Sick Kick for a nearfall. Lethal hits the Lethal Combination for a two count. Strong synchs in the Stronghold but Lethal powers out of the hold. Strong hits a gutbuster but walks into a superkick. Lethal hits a handspring ace crusher to retain his title at 17:03. The first fifteen minutes were actually a bit underwhelming, as both men looked off their game and appeared to be going through the motions. While the action picked up during the final two minutes, you have to wrap your mind around the stupidity of Strong immediately cashing in his title opportunity. These two would go on to have better matches against each other in 2012. **¾
Match #17: ROH World Television Title: Jay Lethal © vs. El Generico (ROH on SBG – 11/26/11)
Mike Bennett and Brutal Bob are at ringside. They wrestle to a stalemate and Generico appears to be game for this contest. Lethal snaps off a headscissors. They escape each other’s monkey flips and we’re at a standstill. Generico snaps off a few armdrags and hits a backbreaker. Lethal connects with a springboard dropkick, knocking Generico off the apron. In a nice touch, the unaired footage of the match that happened during a commercial break is shown. Generico attempts a moonsault off the barricade but gets met with a superkick. Lethal takes control in the ring until Generico fights back with a flurry of offense. Generico hits a blue thunder bomb along with a michinoku driver. Lethal blocks a yakuza kick and elevates Generico into a neckbreaker. Bennett grabs the title at ringside and puts it around his waist. Lethal hits a handspring ace crusher with two minutes remaining. Generico connects with a yakuza kick and hits a half nelson suplex. Lethal answers with a thunderous superkick. One minute remaining. Lethal punches Bennett at ringside and hits the Lethal Combination on Generico in the ring. Lethal connects with a flying elbow drop but Bennett distracts the referee so he can’t count the pinfall. The time limit expires at 15:00. The action was about on par with their first match but the finish left a terrible taste. The interference from Bennett was inevitable. However, I dislike how they’re playing around with the time limit during these title matches. Instead of being creative it just comes off as repetitive and predictable. If the time limit is such a problem, why not just extend it? ***
Match #18: Jay Lethal vs. TJ Perkins (Southern Defiance – 12/3/11)
If Perkins can defeat Lethal or last the time limit, he will receive a shot at the World Television Title. They have a nice sequence out of a knucklelock and Lethal hits a tilt-a-whirl backbreaker. He connects with a handspring back elbow followed by a basement dropkick. Perkins escapes a submission and applies a pendulum. He transitions into a quick pin attempt to no avail. Perkins connects with a hesitation dropkick and hits a backbreaker. He takes over until Lethal connects with a superkick. Perkins quickly responds with a brainbuster and both men are down. They exchange strikes and Perkins gets booted to the floor. He cuts off a dive from Lethal and hits a sit-out powerbomb. Perkins snaps off a hurricanrana. They trade quick pin attempts to no avail. Lethal hits the Lethal Combination for a nearfall. Perkins blocks a top rope elbow drop but Lethal recovers with a handspring ace crusher for the win at 11:34. These two had amazing chemistry and I can see them having an excellent rematch down the line if given more time. Although I wish the match would have settled down at points, the constant back and forth action invoked a great response from the crowd and put Perkins on Lethal’s level in Ring of Honor. ***
Match #19: Jay Lethal vs. Adam Cole (Northern Aggression – 12/4/11)
If Cole can defeat Lethal or last the time limit, he will receive a shot at the World Television Title. Cole snaps off a hurricanrana but Lethal quickly responds with a headscissors. Lethal hits a back suplex and connects with a basement dropkick. He comes off the middle rope with a leg lariat. Cole counters a handspring ace crusher into a german suplex and hits a northern lights suplex. He takes control until Lethal connects with a handspring back elbow. They trade punches and Lethal hits the Lethal Combination for a nearfall. Cole finds life with a backcracker out of the corner. Lethal elevates him over the top rope. Cole blocks a dive attempt with an enzuigiri. Lethal springboard dropkicks Cole off the apron. Cole blocks a baseball slide and wheelbarrow german suplexes Lethal into the apron. Both men are down on the floor. In the ring, Cole lands a flying crossbody but Lethal rolls through for a two count. They trade small packages to no avail as there are three minutes left in the time limit. Cole connects with a superkick for a nearfall. Lethal blocks the Panama Sunrise and hits a fireman’s carry chinbreaker. Lethal follows with a handspring ace crusher for the win at 13:14. These two were able to string together some visually-stunning exchanges and they made the most out of their thirteen minutes. I really got the feeling that Cole came extremely close to either lasting the time limit or actually beating Lethal and he looked great even in defeat. ***¼
Match #20: ROH World Television Title: Elimination: Jay Lethal © vs. Mike Bennett vs. El Generico (Final Battle 2011 – 12/23/11)
Maria Kanellis is in Bennett’s corner. The crowd chants “CM Punk” and “sloppy seconds” at him. Bennett stays at ringside and leaves his opponents to battle it out. He sneaks into the ring and attacks both of them from behind. They corner him and take turns punching and chopping him. Generico and Lethal have a disagreement over who should dive onto Bennett. They settle for stereo dives. In the ring, Lethal snaps off a headscissors on Generico and connects with a basement dropkick. Bennett blocks a springboard maneuver by Lethal and starts working over Generico. Lethal connects with a springboard dropkick on Generico after Bennett gets sent to the outside. Generico hits a tilt-a-whirl backbreaker on Lethal but Bennett sends him to the floor. Generico reenters the ring with a flying crossbody onto Lethal. They trade strikes and Generico snaps off a few armdrags. He connects with corner punches on Bennett and Lethal adds a basement dropkick. Generico overhead suplexes Lethal into the turnbuckles. Brutal Bob interjects himself and Generico punches him out. Bennett sneaks in a punch on Generico and hits a powerslam on Lethal. He follows with a TKO on Generico, who responds with a yakuza kick. Lethal superkicks Generico and all three men are down. Lethal hits the Lethal Combination on Generico for a nearfall. Bennett plants Lethal with a spinebuster for a two count. Generico hits a michinoku driver on Bennett but gets caught by an enzuigiri from Lethal. Lethal goes up top but Generico yakuza kicks him to the floor. Generico lands a rope-to-rope springboard dive onto Lethal and then jumps through the middle and bottom rope to plant Bennett with a tornado DDT. In the ring, Generico connects with a corner yakuza kick and hits a half nelson suplex on Bennett for a nearfall. Lethal lays out Generico with a neckbreaker and connects with a flying elbow drop for a two count. Lethal goes up top again but Generico gives chase and teases a turnbuckle brainbuster. Bennett rolls up Generico while holding his tights to eliminate him. Lethal quickly hits an ace crusher on Bennett to retain his title at 18:14. The early portion of this match didn’t work for me as it never really felt like a triple threat match with someone always on the floor regrouping. However, the action picked up significantly as the match progressed. I think everybody was expecting the worst when Bennett eliminated Generico, so Lethal’s quick elimination of Bennett was a nice surprise. There were also quite a few believable nearfalls as I kept wondering how long it would take for the first elimination to happen. We could have been looking at something here if it wasn’t for the slow and uninspiring first half. **¾
Match #21: ROH World Title: Davey Richards © vs. Jay Lethal (The Homecoming 2012 – 1/20/12)
They trade control on the mat. Lethal connects with a basement dropkick. They exchange chops and Richards finds success with a dropkick of his own. Lethal hits a tilt-a-whirl backbreaker followed by a back suplex. They battle on the apron and Richards hits an arm wringer. He goes to work on Lethal’s left shoulder. Richards connects with a diving headbutt to the injured shoulder and lays in multiple kicks in the corner. Lethal comes off the middle rope with a leg lariat. They trade punches and Lethal connects with a spin kick. He adds a handspring back elbow and elevates Richards into a neckbreaker. Richards responds with a missile dropkick but runs into a superkick. He recovers with a knockout kick and hits a german suplex. Lethal finds life after the Lethal Combination. He goes up top. Roderick Strong appears at ringside to distract him, allowing Richards to hit a superplex. Richards transitions into a falcon arrow and locks in a cross armbreaker. Lethal turns the hold into a pin attempt for a two count. They trade kicks and Richards connects with a big lariat. Both men are down. Lethal lands a dive to the floor onto Strong. He turns his attention back towards Richards with a flying elbow drop. Lethal hits a dragon suplex. Richards blocks a handspring maneuver and applies an ankle lock. Lethal rolls through and synchs in a modified indian deathlock. Richards counters back into the ankle lock. He connects with the Alarm Clock but Lethal fires back with the Lethal Injection. Whoever is commentating with Kevin Kelly is highly annoying. They battle on the middle rope and Richards hits a sunset bomb. He punts Lethal in the chest and connects with a flying double stomp for a nearfall. Richards lays in multiple kicks to retain his title at 25:48. Lethal was a fresh challenger for Richards in that he brought the fight to the champion in a different way than Eddie Edwards and Roderick Strong have done in the past. I think Richards’ title reign would have benefited from more matches like this one, where he had a new opponent to showcase some unique counters and reversals. The exchanges down the stretch were great and Lethal came off as Richards’ equal. Aside from some minor annoyances, this was a strong main event. ***¾
Overall: The first disc of Jay Lethal: Lethal Injection was a fun trip down memory lane. Lethal’s programs with Low Ki and Samoa Joe are what put him on the map, and I was happy with how much of the feud with Low Ki was included. However, the quality drops a bit on the second disc. I just don’t think that Lethal has been back in Ring of Honor long enough to have a whole disc dedicated to him. That’s not to say that he hasn’t been having good matches since returning – he just hasn’t had enough important matches. His recent feud with Tommaso Ciampa would have been a worthwhile inclusion, for instance. Twelve out of twenty-one matches on this compilation reach three stars and that’s a decent value. Still, due to some lackluster inclusions on the second disc, I can only recommend this compilation to Lethal fans that don’t already own most of the matches included from his 2005 run.
You can purchase this DVD at Ring of Honor’s store right here.
Lethal’s jobbing to Low Ki on the same night he got his major victory over him had to be because of Low Ki’s usual bitching. It just didn’t make sense to do it.