Background: During the second half of 2006, ROH didn’t stand for “Ring of Honor”, but “Ring of Homicide”. Why? Because the company was all about “The Notorious 187” as he chased Bryan Danielson for a shot at the ROH World title. In May, Homicide believed his destiny was to win the ROH title at the aptly titled event “Destiny”. There, Homicide held back his dirty tactics to avoid a disqualification, but ended up succumbing to an early referee stoppage, and an anti-Homicide Jim Cornette taking away his possible last shot. Thankfully for Homicide, he was given a chance to wrestle his way to one final title shot against Danielson by defeating foes such as The Briscoes and Steve Corino
Final Battle 2006
Philadelphia, PA
December 23, 2006
Bryan Danielson vs. Homicide
The fans give Homicide one of the loudest ovations in ROH history; goose bumps level. We get an extended feeling out process for the first ten minutes of the match. Homicide actually goes hold for hold with Danielson, getting the advantage after hitting the Three Amigos suplex combination. Just as Homicide had the momentum in his favor, Adam Pearce and Shane Hagadorn ran in, causing a disqualification. They drilled Homicide with a spike shoulder breaker. The fans were about to riot as Danielson ran out with his belt. The referee didn’t want to end the final show of 2006 like this, restarting the match.
Homicide tried to keep the action fast to ignore the pain and, hopefully, end it quickly. But Danielson pulled Homicide to the mat, wrenching the arm. Homicide was able to fight back, knocking Danielson to the floor before sailing into the front row with the tope con hilo. The champion got up, showing signs of pain emanating from his right shoulder. Homicide tried to focus down it, but Danielson turned it into a brawl, sending Homicide over the guardrails before diving on top of him. Julius Smokes, who came out during the disqualification fiasco, cheered the challenger as Danielson nipped to his feet with one arm after a missile dropkick when the action returned to the ring.
Homicide was able to recover from the belly to back superplex, avoiding a lariat before hitting the t-bone suplex. Bryan Danielson pulled Homicide off the top, elbowing his challenger in the face before locking in the Crossface Chickenwing. The match seemed to be over as Homicide’s arm dropped three times to the mat. Before the ref could turn to signal for the bell, Homicide locked onto the referee’s pants, showing he was still in it. The ROH World champion refused to let go of the hold when Homicide struggled to the ropes. The referee had to pull Danielson off of Homicide, refusing to allow the champion to disqualify himself.
Homicide yanked Danielson down after the distraction, locking in the STF. Danielson fought out of it, sidestepping the lariat into Cattle Mutilation. The fans began to rise as they begged for Homicide to not tap out. Danielson turned the hold into a tiger suplex before converting back to Cattle Mutilation. Homicide held on, powering his way to his feet before running up the ropes, forcing Danielson’s shoulders to the mat. The champ kicked out, forearming his way to his feet. Homicide ducked a strike, picking Danielson up to execute the Cop Killa … for a near fall thanks to the ropes!
Homicide, frustrated, grabbed the ring bell. Homicide’s history of snapping in World title matches was coming back. The referee took the bell away, missing Danielson kicking Homicide in the balls. Danielson tried to small package Homicide, but the challenger kicked out. Homicide rolled to his feet, rebounding off the ropes with an explosive lariat … for the three count! Homicide finally won the ROH World title.
Winner: Homicide (30:36)
Is It A Classic: While the first ten minutes leading to the match’s restart didn’t set the world on fire, it certainly added a sense of urgency and emotion to an already highly emotional contest. The rest of the match progressed until it reached the zenith of greatness. The crowd certainly made it even more enjoyable as they were into everything. This is one of those matches every fan of great wrestling should see.
