The Independent Mid-Card 02.06.07: Joe vs. Gibson

Samoa Joe © vs. James Gibson
ROH Pure Title Match
Ring of Honor – New Frontiers – Williamsville, NY – June 4, 2005

The Wrestlers:
Samoa Joe – Coming off of an ROH World Title reign that lasted 21 months, Samoa Joe spent the first part of 2005 redefining his place in Ring of Honor after losing his belt to Austin Aries. After a failed attempt at regaining the strap from Aries, Joe spent a lot of time teaming with his protégé Jay Lethal, who had recently won the ROH Pure Title. After earning a shot at the ROH Tag Team Titles, the duo lost a title bout for the vacant titles to BJ Whitmer & Jimmy Jacobs. At Stalemate in late-April, Joe won a shot at Lethal’s Pure Title in a Double Stakes Four Corner Survival by forcing Colt Cabana to tap out, and then went on to win the belt by pinning Lethal at ROH’s landmark Manhattan Mayhem show. After winning the belt, Joe, who had disrespected the title on numerous occasions while he held the ROH World Title, decided to focus on making the Pure Title equally prestigious to the World Title. This is Joe’s first Pure Title defense.

James Gibson – A product of the WCW Power Plant, James Gibson wrestled in both WCW and WWE as Jamie Noble before being fired from the latter due to alleged steroid abuse. Having wrestled at Starrcade and Wrestlemania, Gibson was the kind of cagey veteran presence that Ring of Honor had rarely had before his arrival. Gibson won his debut match against good friend (and fellow WWE castoff) Spanky and would go on to tear through a good segment of the ROH roster. He fought ROH World Champion Austin Aries to a draw (via double pinfall) in April and then lost the outstanding rematch in May, in between finding the time to have an excellent (and often overlooked) match with Rocky Romero (wrestling under the Black Tiger mask). Seemingly willing to wrestle anywhere on the card and against any competition, Gibson’s no-nonsense style resonated with ROH fans as he continued to put on show stealing matches against all comers. Though Gibson had fought on two previous occasions for the ROH World Title, this is the first Pure Title shot of his ROH career.

The Match:
A Country Boy Can Survive starts up and challenger James Gibson makes his way to ringside, draped (as was his custom) in the Confederate Flag, and looking particularly focused and calm. The pounding to the beat begins even before Samoa Joe’s music does. Joe’s intro starts up, followed by The Champ is Here by Jadakiss, Joe’s traditional theme while holding a Ring of Honor title. Referee Todd Sinclair checks both men and then the two men meet in the center of the ring for the instructions. For the record, the rules for a Pure Title match are as follows:

-Each competitor receives THREE rope breaks to break up a pinfall or submission attempt
-After a wrestler has used all of his rope breaks, his opponent may use the ropes to assist in a pinfall or submission attempt, and furthermore
-A strict 20 count will be enforced on the floor
-No closed fist strikes to the face, with the first infraction drawing a warning and any subsequent infraction causing a one rope-break penalty
-A closed fist strike to the face with no rope breaks remaining causes an immediate disqualification
-The Pure Title can change hands on a disqualification or a countout

With all of that explained, Joe and Gibson shake hands and return to their corners. Joe surrenders the belt to Sinclair who shows it to Gibson and then holds it up mid-ring. Sinclair prepares to ring the bell, but is interrupted by a LARGE chant of “Gibson!” from the crowd. The crowd then switches to a “Joe!” chant before the ref finally rings the bell to start us off. (Note: I will be marking the major rules in bold to help keep things straight)

Both men are tentative to lockup in the early going, with Joe trying a few light kicks and both men reaching for a knucklelock. Both men back off to allow the crowd a dueling chant. A double knucklelock starts and Joe gets the best of a test of strength. Gibson flips backwards to force a break from Joe and then gets a single leg takedown into a cover for one. They knuckle up again and this time Joe gets a standing armbar into a wristlock. Gibson flips around into a wristlock of his own in a nice looking sequence, but Joe does an almost European style counter and takes Gibson down to the mat. Joe thinks about some crossface forearms, but settles for a camel clutch instead. Joe looks for a modified dragon sleeper and then a cobra clutch, but Gibson counters out and gets a key lock and Joe has his shoulders down for another one count. Joe then reverses back to a wristlock as both men are back on their feet. Joe holds the wristlock for a bit, but eventually Gibson reverses to another key lock and rolls Joe to the mat for another one count. Gibson wrings Joe’s arm into a hammerlock and then rides him to the mat before bridging over. Joe avoids grabbing the ropes to break and works his way to his feet, reversing to an over the shoulder wristlock. Joe bridges Gibson down to the mat, drops a knee to the arm and then grabs an armbar. Gibson fights his way to his feet, but Joe holds the standing armbar. Finally, Gibson reverses to another single leg takedown and turns the big man over into a single leg crab. Joe is able to power his way out and the two men back off one more time.

They lockup again and Joe gets a legsweep into a leglock, but on the mat Gibson reverses to a armbar. Joe elevates Gibson off of the mat (while still in the hold) and places him on the top rope. The referee calls for the break and charges Samoa Joe his first rope break. Joe is none too happy, and Gibson gets a slap to the face while still sitting on the top rope. Joe goes for a strike, but Gibson kicks away to avoid it and then jumps over Joe and dropkicks his knee when he comes charging. The crowd loved that series. Gibson kicks away at Joe’s leg and then uses the rope to jump on his knee. Gibson drops a couple of elbows to Joe’s knee and then holds a leglock. Joe slaps away at Gibson’s back to try to break the hold, but Gibson just rams Joe’s leg into the canvas. Gibson picks Joe up in the corner and grabs a rope-assisted leglock that the referee makes him release. Note: because the hold was illegal, Joe is not charged a rope break. Joe strikes away with forearms, but Gibson dropkicks the knee to stop the flurry. Gibson comes off the ropes for presumably another dropkick, but Joe gets free and hits him with the STJoe (STO with opponent running into the corner). Joe takes a moment to yell at a heckler in the crowd (telling him to leave) before collapsing because of the bad knee.

Joe makes his way to his feet, but continues to sell the leg. He gets a snapmare takedown and then his chop to the back-kick to the chest-running kneedrop combination. However, after hitting the kneedrop, Joe retreats to the corner and goes down to one knee. Probably not the smartest move with an injured leg, actually. Joe limps back towards Gibson and chops away, sending the challenger to the corner. Joe gets a cross corner whip and then comes running with a knee strike to the face that sends Gibson rolling out to the floor. Joe just sits down in the ring and tries to stretch out the leg. Gibson rolls in as the referee’s count reaches 13. Joe picks up Gibson and gets a headbutt that sends Gibson crashing to the mat like a ton of bricks. Gibson gets picked up again and this time Joe hits him with a series of hard kicks to the chest to put him down one more time. Joe goes for a traditional surfboard stretch, but Gibson (not going for a rope break) tries to leverage his way out of it. The two men end up cross-armed until Joe gets a knee to the midsection to break. Another dueling chant breaks out.

Gibson stands in the corner, so Joe gets a series of forearms and then a European uppercut to put Gibson back on the canvas. Gibson looks to be in a bad way as Joe gets another headbutt. Joe gets a cross corner whip, but runs into an elbow on the blind charge. Another blind charge meets Gibson’s boots and then Gibson ducks a clothesline and counters to a swinging neckbreaker that puts both men down. That was yet another great sequence where everything was really crisp. Gibson gets a couple of forearms while both men are kneeling down and then goes for a suplex, but can’t lift the big man up and gets a series of headbutts instead. The headbutts actually stagger Gibson, thus proving that headbutting the Samoan might not have been the wisest course of action. Gibson runs the ropes, but Joe gets a rolling legsweep and a running back senton that Gibson sells like a car crash. Joe grabs his high-angle Boston crab and Gibson grabs the ropes for his first rope break. Joe is frustrated, seemingly having wanted the submission, as the crowd starts another dueling chant.

Joe picks Gibson up and places him on the top rope. Joe gets a slap and goes up to the second rope. Gibson gets some more headbutts, but now even the announcers agree that using those against Joe is an odd strategy at best. Joe gets some of his own and seems to go for some kind of second rope suplex, but Gibson wriggles out, leaving Joe standing on the second rope. Gibson strikes away from behind and then goes up and drops Joe with a beautiful belly-to-back superplex. Both men are hurt, but Gibson eventually rolls Joe over and gets a close two count. A “Fuck him up, Gibson, fuck him up!” chant has started, which is pretty surprising considering who his opponent is.

Joe follows Gibson to the corner, but Gibson gets a kick and then goes for a tornado DDT. Joe tries to stop the momentum mid-move, but Gibson simply turns it into the front guillotine choke. Joe is still standing while in the hold and tries to break by running Gibson back first into the turnbuckle, but no dice. Joe backs up to try again, but Gibson releases and sends Joe chest first into the corner before getting a schoolboy cradle for another close two count. Gibson gets a long series of knee strikes to the head and goes off of the ropes, but Joe gets a snap powerslam for two and transitions right into a cross armbreaker. Gibson clasps his hands to keep Joe from getting the hold properly applied, but finally has to go to the ropes and use his second rope break. Gibson now has only one rope break remaining. The crowd goes back to the dueling chant once again.

Joe gets some boot scrapes in the corner and goes for the facewash, but Gibson pops up and grabs Joe’s leg before hitting a dragonscrew legwhip. Gibson runs the ropes and dropkicks Joe’s knee before applying the original Trailer Hitch (modified reverse figure four leglock). Gibson has the moved totally locked in with perfect ring positioning, blocking Joe from reasonably making the ropes. Joe finally works his way to the ropes and uses HIS second rope break. Now both men are down to one final rope break.

Joe needs the ropes to get back to his feet as Gibson just starts kicking away at Joe’s injured leg. Joe hits a series of open hand slaps, but Gibson ducks a roaring clothesline and dropkicks Joe to the outside. Gibson goes for a pescado (slingshot cross body), but Joe catches him and just tosses him into the guardrail. The referee’s count reaches 11 before Joe rolls Gibson back in. Joe struggles to get to his feet, but then gets a powerbomb for two. Gibson kicks out, but Joe grabs an STF on the rebound. Gibson inches towards the ropes as Joe wrenches back. Finally, Gibson grabs the bottom rope for his third and final rope break.

Joe encourages the crowd to chant for the Musclebuster, but one guy chants pretty loudly for the Tiger Driver. Joe puts Gibson on top and hits another series of slaps. Joe goes to hit the Musclebuster, but Gibson slips out of it and right into the front guillotine choke. Gibson has the move completely locked in, but Joe stays on his feet. Joe tries to power out, but Gibson releases and pushes Joe to the ropes. Gibson gets a rolling reverse cradle for two, but Joe pulls him back and applies the rear naked choke. Gibson gets his foot on the ropes, but has no rope breaks left and is forced to tap out at 23:55.

Joe is laying on the mat exhausted as a nearly unconscious Gibson is down next to him. The Champ is Here plays again and Joe waits for Gibson to regain his composure so they can shake hands. The crowd chants “ROH!” as Joe stands above a kneeling James Gibson. Joe extends the hand, which Gibson grasps from a kneeling position, bowing his head to the champion. Joe seems genuinely touched by the gesture and lifts Gibson to his feet where the two men hug out of respect. Gibson then raises Joe’s hand before the champion makes his way to the back, leaving the challenger to soak in a LOUD chant of “Gibson!” while he recovers in the ring. Gibson bows to the crowd before making his way out of the ring.

The Analysis:
I said in the Roundtable, and I will restate it here, that I think this is the best Pure Title defense outside of the Danielson-McGuinness unification match. Joe and Gibson are two of the top wrestlers in the world, and both were hitting on all cylinders during the Summer of 2005. Though I realize that I didn’t mention a lot about it during the play-by-play, both men are just fantastic sellers, who really make their opponent look outstanding. When you get two great performers who are good at making their opponent look good together, you have a recipe for a classic encounter.

There were a lot of little things that made the match as good as it was. For example, when Joe had Gibson in the STF, he held the hold until Gibson grabbed the ropes to use his final rope break. Normally, Joe segues the STF into a crossface or a double armlock, but in this case, he knew that forcing Gibson to use his final rope break would be more advantageous in the long run. Also, Gibson didn’t allow Joe to hit a lot of his signature moves, countering the Musclebuster to the front guillotine choke and forcing the big man to work with him on the mat for the first half of the match. Joe was finally able to lock in the rear naked choke to finish the match, but even that was a reversal of a Gibson rollup.

The match, on paper, would seem to have been a huge mismatch with Gibson weighing in at almost 100 pounds lighter than Joe. However, Gibson wrestled a smart match, utilizing his great chain wrestling skills, superior speed and pinpoint striking precision to gain a number of advantages. The best example is when Joe was going for a move off of the second rope, Gibson was able to slip out and strike quickly enough to hit a belly-to-back superplex of his own.

The crowd (as I mentioned a number of times) was vocally behind both men, but at a number of moments it seemed like Gibson was clearly the crowd favorite. It might be overstating it to call this James Gibson’s coming out party, especially after his great pair of matches against then ROH World Champion Austin Aries and his fantastic debut match with Spanky, but Gibson was certainly portrayed as being on Joe’s level throughout the match by both the announcers and the fans.

The Aftermath
After his loss to Joe, James Gibson went on a losing streak of sorts, coming up short against Homicide on the next show and then being unable to win a fall in three straight Four Corner Survival matches. Gibson was then granted an ROH World Title match against freshly heel-turned champion CM Punk in mid-July despite not having been victorious in a match since the opening contest of Nowhere to Run in mid-May. Gibson was unable to wrest the belt from Punk and then went on to lose another match at the next show, but was still considered one of Punk’s top challengers and outlasted Punk, Joe and a recently returned Christopher Daniels in a Four Way Elimination match to win the ROH World Title on the appropriately named Redemption show in mid-August.

By that point, it had been announced that Gibson would be returning to WWE after completing his Independent bookings. Gibson would go on to successfully defend the belt four times before losing it to “American Dragon” Bryan Danielson in an instant classic. After a farewell match loss to his protégé Roderick Strong, Gibson returned to WWE and teamed with former TNA and ECW wrestler Kid Kash as the Pitbulls. However, after Kash was released from the company, Gibson became caught in the bottom-of-the-card pileup and has rarely been able to show the outstanding ability that quickly turned him into a crowd favorite and World Champion in Ring of Honor.

Samoa Joe would go on to defend the Pure Title five more times before losing it to Nigel McGuinness in late-August. Interestingly, McGuinness would hold the Pure Title for nearly a year before the belt was unified with the World Title in August of 2006. During his Pure Title reign, Joe was also positioned as a roadblock for CM Punk during his final run with the company, and was a major piece of Gibson’s eventual title win. Christopher Daniels’ return to Ring of Honor also had a major impact on Samoa Joe, as the two re-ignited their age-old ROH feud, battling back-and-forth into the spring of 2006.

One of the most historic moments in Samoa Joe’s Ring of Honor run came in October of 2005, as he faced off with Japanese legend Kenta Kobashi in a singles match that has been hailed as amongst the best in wrestling history. At the same time, Joe was becoming one of Total Nonstop Action’s fastest rising stars, and had won that company’s X-Division Title on more than one occasion while nursing a lengthy undefeated streak.

Back in ROH, Joe spent time feuding with former protégé Jay Lethal before becoming a centerpiece of the cross promotional feud pitting ROH against a fellow Philadelphia-based promotion, Combat Zone Wrestling. At the conclusion of the ROH-CZW war, Joe turned his focus to defeating ROH World Champion Bryan Danielson. Though Joe was often portrayed as superior to the American Dragon, Danielson was always able to escape their encounters with his title intact. In late 2006, Joe began to wheels turning on a ROH vs. Pro Wrestling NOAH feud, but with the recent announcement that Joe will be leaving Ring of Honor (it is assumed to focus completely on his work with TNA), it is unclear whether that storyline will continue past the company’s upcoming Fifth Year Festival.

The Final Word
Samoa Joe is amongst the greatest performers in Ring of Honor history. In my opinion, trying to parse out his importance by comparison to those of, say, CM Punk or “American Dragon” Bryan Danielson, is ludicrous, as it misses the point that all three of these men (as well as current ROH World Champion Homicide amongst others) have been major forces in ROH history. Regardless of what you think Samoa Joe’s “place” is in relation to the other ROH icons, it is impossible to ignore his contributions to both Ring of Honor and wrestling as a whole.

For his part, James Gibson’s 2005 run in ROH was one of the best in the company’s canon. Nothing is being overstated when I say that Gibson routinely was involved in one of the best matches on a given card. In particular, his work against Joe, Austin Aries, CM Punk and Roderick Strong was truly some of the best in ROH that year, and is often criminally forgotten by reviewers and fans alike.

If you’d like to see this week’s match, ROH New Frontiers is available at rohwrestling.com. Also on the show, Austin Aries defends his ROH World Title against Spanky and Alex Shelley fights Roderick Strong in a really fun brawl.

As always, some other stuff to check out this week on 411 includes Ari Berenstein’s Column of Honor, Stuart Carapola’s Friendly Competition and the 411 Roundtable Retrospective on Samoa Joe’s time in Ring of Honor.

Also, be sure to check out my other column, The Box in the Attic, though the most recent edition is marred by a VHS recording snafu that I’m blaming on my sister. Consider yourself warned.

Thanks for reading, and I’ll see everyone next week when we go back to the *actual* middle of the card in another week of The Independent Mid-Card.