How To Watch The WWE In A Focused, Fun Manner, Whether You're New Or A Long Time Fan, 9: Pure Honor

We're not there yet, but we're about to enter a kind of dismal era in wrestling. Even more than usual predicatable matches, unbeatable babyfaces that the audience doesn't like, the same matches over and over and over, dominant nostalgia acts. Oooof.

But first, there's some reason to celebrate. An ECW reunion! Then, behold, the first ever Summer Of Punk! One of the hottest indie wrestlers in Ring Of Honor signs a contract with the WWE and THEN wins the ROH belt for the first time, so he sticks around to torment the fans. It's beautiful.

It's hardly downhill from there, as WWE introduces some new blood to intersperse with their headliners and nostalgia acts, and we get to see WWE's biggest 80s star and one of its biggest 90s stars team up, and then feud, leading to a hilarious penultimate match for Hulk Hogan (we'll end the season with his final WWE performance). Daniel Bryan dominates the punkless ROH. And we get a brief glimpse at  Combat Zone Wrestling, when they invade ROH and some of their stars stick around.

Season 9:
​Pure Honor

Starring: Shawn Michaels, Daniel Bryan, Samoa Joe, AJ Styles, Christopher Daniels, CM Punk, Triple H, John Cena, Rey Mysterio, Ric Flair, Rhino, Kurt Angle, Edge, Randy Orton, Lita, Trish Stratus, Jeff Jarrett

901. One Night Stand, 2005

ECW? ECW? Well...sort of. Vince McMahon will go all-in on a resurrected ECW in a few episodes, but first, it's a reunion show featuring only talent that worked in ECW. Then Smackdown and Raw show up in the audience, and we get a satisfying brawl to close out the show.

Announcers: Joey Styles, Mick Foley, Joel Gertner, Stephen DeAngelis, Bob Artese  

1. Lance Storm vs Chris Jericho
2. Sabu vs Rhino
3. Chris Benoit vs Eddie Guerrero
4. Mike Awesome vs Masato Tanaka
5. The Dudley Boyz vs Sandman & Tommy Dreamer

---

902. The Summer Of Punk, Part 1, 2005

CM Punk is the most chanted phrase in wrestling history. We've been seeing him rise through the ranks of Ring Of Honor, and have some matches in Impact, but here he wins the championship the night AFTER it's announced that he's leaving for the WWE. It's pandemonium, will he leave with the belt?

Announcers: Chris Lovey, Lenny Leonard 

1. Samoa Joe (ROH Pure Champ) vs Nigel McGuinness
2. Austin Aries (ROH Champ) vs CM Punk
3. Samoa Joe (ROH Pure Champ) vs Austin Aries
​4. CM Punk (ROH Champ) vs Roderick Strong

---

903. Unbreakable, 2005

Hey, look, it's all the Ring Of Honor guys, plus some Attitude-era WWE midcarders catching all the spotlight in Impact. What an improvement over the dinosaurs that Impact began with. The storylines are still kind of threadbare, and the promos aren't much to sneeze at, but the wrestling is top notch, and it just looks like a fun promotion to work for.

Announcers: Mike Tenay, Don West, Jeremy Borash, Shane Douglas

1. X-Pac vs Jerry Lynn
2. Samoa Joe vs AJ Styles in Super X Cup Tournament Final
3. Austin Aries vs Roderick Strong
4. Christopher Daniels (Impact X Champ) vs Samoa Joe vs AJ Styles
5. Rhino vs Jeff Hardy vs Abyss vs Sabu in a Monster's Ball Match
​6. AJ Styles (Impact X Champ) vs Christopher Daniels in an Iron Man Match

---

904. The Summer Of Punk Part 2, 2005

The main story here is that CM Punk is still the champ, and still in ROH, despite being contracted to WWE. But the B-story is that WWE mainstay and future legend, Matt Hardy is getting some wrestling in after the WWE fired him because (checks notes) he was upset that his girlfriend cheated on him with another wrestler, Edge, and left him. That is harsh. Luckily, he has ROH to let him take out his frustrations on some past and future champions.

Announcers: Chris Lovey, Lenny Leonard ​

1. CM Punk (ROH Champ) vs James Gibson
2. Christopher Daniels vs Matt Hardy
3. Generation Next vs The Embassy
4. CM Punk (ROH Champ) vs Samoa Joe vs ​James Gibson vs Christopher Daniels

---

905. The Master Lock Challenge, 2005

There's not a lot of Chris Masters in this chronology or in wrestling history, in general, but when he first showed up in WWE, and challenged people to escape his full nelson hold, dubbed The Master Lock, it looked like he might end up being on the level of Brock Lesnar. Alas. But here is his complete rise in the WWE. He'll pop up in team matches, but I don't think we'll see him solo again. And, oh look! Matt Hardy is back in the WWE. In a Steel Cage match. Against the guy who, in real life, ended up with the love of Matt's life. That sounds like a fun way to end a show.

Announcers: Jim Ross, Jerry Lawler, Michael Cole, Tazz, Jonathan Coachman, Todd Grisham, Josh Mathews, Steve Romero, Maria, Tony Chimel, Lilian Garcia

1. Chris Masters vs Stevie Richards
2. Rey Mysterio vs Eddie Guerrero
3. Chris Masters vs Tajiri
4. Chris Benoit vs William Regal
5. John Cena (WWE Champ) vs Chris Jericho
6. Chris Masters vs Shawn Michaels
7. Matt Hardy vs Edge in a Steel Cage

---

906. Taboo Tuesday, 2005

On our way to a real Survivor Series match, we see the biggest terror in 80s and 90s WCW go head to head with his former Evolution stablemate (I believe they've all fought each other at this point), the biggest terror in early 21st century WWE in a Steel Cage, and then a Last Man Standing match. Plus, John Cena goes against two former mega-champs.

Announcers: Jerry Lawler, Michael Cole, Tazz, Joey Styles, Steve Romero, Todd Grisham, Tony Chimel, Lilian Garcia

1. Ric Flair (WWE Intercontinental Champ) vs Triple H in a Steel Cage
2. John Cena (WWE Champ) vs Shawn Michaels vs Kurt Angle
3. Trish Stratus (WWE Womens Champ) vs Melina
4. Ric Flair (WWE Intercontinental Champ) vs Triple H in a Last Man Standing Match
5. Team Raw vs Team Smackdown in a Survivor Series Match
Big Show, Carlito, Chris Masters, Kane, and Shawn Michaels vs Batista, Bobby Lashley, JBL, Randy Orton, and Rey Mysterio

---

907. Punk, The Final Chapter, 2005

Say it ain't so. CM Punk's final (so far) ever ROH match as he leaves for WW...wait..for WWECW? Interesting. Plus, AJ Styles and Samoa Joe each take on a different Japanese legend.

Announcers: Chris Lovey, Lenny Leonard ​

1. The Rottweilers vs Samoa Joe & Jay Lethal
2. AJ Styles vs CIMA
3. Samoa Joe vs Kenta Kobashi
3. CM Punk (ROH Champ) vs Colt Cabana in a 2/3 Falls Match

---

908. Re-Enter The Dragon, 2005

ROH Champs usually have pretty lengthy reigns, and yet we're skipping over Colt Cabana's, and most of James Gibson's. Daniel Bryan finally takes the title here, and establishes him as The Next ROH Superstar the WWE sets their eyes on.

Announcers: Chris Lovey, Lenny Leonard ​

1. Samoa Joe (ROH Pure Champ) vs Nigel McGuinness
2. James Gibson (ROH Champ) vs Daniel Bryan
3. Alex Shelley vs Caesaro (as Claudio Castagnoli)
​4. Daniel Bryan (ROH Champ) vs Austin Aries

---

909. The Ultimate Opportunity, 2005, 2006

In this episode, we have the most fitting tribute to Eddie Guerrero (who died of a heart attack) we end this episode of cruiserweights and superstars with a new champion stealing the title after a thrilling Elimination Chamber match.

Announcers: Jerry Lawler, Michael Cole, Tazz, Jonathan Coachman, Joey Styles, Maria Kinelis, Tony Chimel, Lilian Garcia

1. Tribute to Eddie Guerrero
2. Chris Benoit vs Booker T
3. Juventud Guerrera (WWE Cruserweight Champ) vs Kid Kash
4. The Undertaker vs Randy Orton in Hell In A Cell
5. Trish Stratus (WWE Womens Champ) vs Mickie James
6. Elimination Chamber for WWE Championship
John Cena, Carlito, Chris Masters, Shawn Michaels, Kane, Kurt Angle, Edge

---

910. Joe Is Gonna Kill You, 2005, 2006

Technically, we can't call the first match a Survivor Series match, as WWE owns that term, but Impact puts it to good use here. There are a few team matches here, and we see the Impact X title come to rest on a certain former ROH champion. Wonder how long he can hold on to this title?

Announcers: Mike Tenay, Don West, Jeremy Borash, Shane Douglas
​
1. Survivor Series Match
Chris Sabin, Matt Bentley, Sonjay Dutt, & Austin Aries vs. Samoa Joe, Alex Shelley, Roderick Strong, & Christopher Daniels

2. Jeff Jarrett & America's Most Wanted vs Rhino & The Dudley Boyz
3. AJ Styles (Impact X Champ) vs Samoa Joe
4. America's Most Wanted vs The Dudley Boyz
5. Samoa Joe (Impact X Champ) vs Christopher Daniels

---

911. Tribute, 2005

WWE is not alone in honoring Guerrero, as Ring Of Honor, where he went to fight his way back into WWE, honors him as well. We also get out first glimpse at Caesaro, the past and future Claudio Castagnoli.

Announcers: Chris Lovey, Lenny Leonard ​

1. Daniel Bryan (ROH Champ) vs Chris Sabin
2. The Embassy vs AJ Styles & Generation Next
3. Jay Lethal vs Samoa Joe
4. Daniel Bryan (ROH Champ) vs Christopher Daniels

---

912. Guerrero Rumble, 2006
​
Eddie Guerrero has one last prank on Rey Mysterio from Beyond The Grave, as 2006 sees one of the most feel good rumbles of all-time. Then Randy Orton swoops in to try and take it all away.

Announcers: Jerry Lawler, Michael Cole, Tazz, Joey Styles, Todd Grisham, Josh Mathews, Kristal Marshall, Tony Chimel, Lilian Garcia

1. The Royal Rumble
Triple H, Rey Mysterio, Simon Dean, Psicosis, Ric Flair, Big Show, Jonathan Coachman, Bobby Lashley, Kane, Sylvan, Carlito, Chris Benoit, Booker T, Joey Mercury, Tatanka, Johnny Nitro, Trevor Murdoch, Eugene, Road Warrior Animal, RvD, Orlando Jordan, Chavo Guerrero, Matt Hardy, Super Crazy, Shawn Michaels, Chris Masters, Viscera, Shelton Benjamin, Goldust, Randy Orton

2. Booker T (WWE US Champ) vs Chris Benoit
3. Rey Mysterio vs Randy Orton
4. Kurt Angle (WWE Heavyweight Champ) vs Undertaker

---

​913. The TNA Backstep

Some decent matches from this era of Impact but not a lot of interesting story development to speak of. But, hey, two matches that include Jeff Jarrett that don't feel like he's included because he started the company.

Announcers: Mike Tenay, Don West, Jeremy Borash, Shane Douglas, 

1. Rhino vs Abyss in a Falls Count Anywhere match
2. Samoa Joe (Impact X Champ) vs AJ Styles vs Christopher Daniels
3. The Dudley Boyz vs Team Canada
4. Jeff Jarrett (Impact Champ) vs Christian
5. ​Chris Sabin vs Petey Williams vs Sonjay Dutt vs TJ Perkins
6. Survivor Series Match
Abyss, Jeff Jarrett, America's Most Wanted vs Rhino, R-Truth, Dudley Boyz

---

914. Big Time

It's all Wrestlemania 21 here, as we get a series of classic matches, as well as one of the last interesting Vince McMahon vendettas/matches. We pass the torch from the greatest WWE womens' wrestler (not Divas, she wrapped up her time in the WWE as a legitimately great wrestler) from the Attitude era to a woman who is still a champion in the industry, almost two decades later. And we get a feel good championship win, which sadly, didn't translate to a stellar run, but it was nice to see them at least win the belt.

Announcers: Jim Ross, Jerry Lawler, Michael Cole, Tazz, Gene Okerlund, Todd Grisham, Jonathan Coachman, Lilian Garcia

1. Money In The Bank Ladder Match
RvD, Bobby Lashley, Finlay, Matt Hardy, Ric Flair, Shelton Benjamin

2. Edge vs Mick Foley in a Hardcore Match
3. Mickie James vs Trish Stratus
4. Shawn Michaels vs Vince McMahon
5. Kurt Angle (WWE Heavyweight Champ) vs Rey Mysterio vs Randy Orton
6. John Cena (WWE Champ) vs Triple H

---

915. The Dragon's Lair

Bryan Danielson (aka Daniel Bryan) absolutely owned ROH for years. Here we celebrate his dominance during his lengthy title reign.

Announcers: Chris Lovey, Lenny Leonard ​

1. Daniel Bryan (ROH Champ) vs Naomichi Marufuji 
2. Daniel Bryan (ROH Champ) vs AJ Styles
3. Daniel Bryan & CM Punk vs Adam Pearce & Jimmy Rave
4. Daniel Bryan & Samoa Joe vs Naomichi Marufuji  & KENTA 

---

916. Sunset Flip, 2006

I originally had this episode feature the tag team match between the McMahon and family and the team of Shawn Michaels and God, but I feel like we've had enough of Vince's wrestling, and it was time to give the spotlight to more, you know, wrestlers.

Announcers: Jim Ross, Jerry Lawler, Todd Grisham, Maria Kanellis

1. JBL (WWE US Champ) vs Bobby Lashley
2. Shelton Benjamin (WWE Intercontinental Champ) vs RvD
3.  John Cena (WWE Champ) vs Triple H vs Edge
4. MNM (WWE Tag Team Champs) vs Paul London & Brian Kendrick
5. Chris Benoit vs Finlay
6. Rey Mysterio (WWE Heavyweight Champ) vs JBL

---

917. That Was Awesome  (Clap Clap Clap Clap Clap), 2006

There's a trio of great Generation Next matches at the heart of this episode bookended by two stellar title matches.

Announcers: Chris Lovey, Lenny Leonard ​

1. Nigel McGuiness (ROH Pure Champ) vs Caesaro (as Claudio Castagnoli)
2. The Briscoes vs Generation Next
3. Blood Generation vs Generation Next
4. Generation Next  (ROH Tag Team Champs) vs Matt Sydal & Samoa Joe
5. Daniel Bryam (ROH Champ) vs Lance Storm

---

918. If Cena Wins, We Riot

ECW is baaaaaaaaaaaaaack. But, you know, WWE flavored.

Announcers: Joey Styles, Tazz, Jim Ross, Jerry Lawler, Stephen DeAngelis, Lillian Garcia

1. Rey Mysterio (WWE Heavyweight Champ) vs Sabu
2. Edge, Mick Foley & Lita vs Tommy Dreamer, Terry Funk & Belulah McGullicutty
3. John Cena (WWE Champ) vs RvD
4. Extreme Battle Royal
Big Show, Sabu, Tommy Dreamer, Al Snow, Stevie Richards, Balls Mahoney, Big Guido, Little Guido, Tony Mamaluke, Dany Doring, Roadkill

5. Randy Orton vs Kurt Angle
6. RvD (WWE Champ) vs Edge

---

919. CZW Invasion

Combat Zone Wrestling was the replacement for ECW in the early 2000s. It was a violent, extreme wrestling federation with a bunch of backyard wrestling stars who rose to prominence in Japan and the American indies. We're not really going to spend a lot of time with them, as it's not my area of expertise but they did briefly infiltrate Ring Of Honor, creating some classic matches, and introducing a working relationship between the two companies, allowing us to see some of their stars return to battle the ROH crew.

Announcers: Chris Lovey, Lenny Leonard 

1. Team CZW vs Team ROH
Chris Hero, Necro Butcher & Super Dragon vs Adam Pearce, BJ Whitmer & Samoa Joe

2. Bryan Daniels (ROH Champ) vs Nigel McGuinness (ROH Pure Champ) in a Unification Match

3. Team CZW vs Team ROH in a Cage Of Death Match
Chris Hero, Caesaro, Eddie Kingston, Nate Webb & Necro Butcher vs Ace Steel, Adam Pearce, BJ Whitmer, Daniel Bryan, Homicide & Samoa Joe

---

920. So, I Guess We Riot, Right?

John Cena, the dominant face of the PG era of the WWE is at his peak here (and it will stay his peak for several years). He's Hulk Hogan but he doesn't cheat. He's Steve Austin but he's all about positivity. He's Brock Lesnar, but you don't need to run and hide when he smiles at you. We also see the debut of Mr. Kennedy, whose professional wrestling career was brief but eventful. I wanted to end this with Hogan's final WWE match, against The Legend Killer Randy Orton but apparently putting over the next generation just didn't work for the compulsively lying hot dog, brother, so we won't bother watching him fill his red and yellow diapers while somehow beating a superior wrestler who was a quarter century younger than him and a thousand times more talented. So we'll just end on an incredible match between two of the legends of 2006, and have our goodbye be Trish Stratus's final match (for several years...don't worry, she'll eventually come back).

Announcers: Jim Ross, Jerry Lawler, Michael Cole, JBL, Joey Styles, Tazz, The Miz, Todd Grisham, Maria Kanellis, Lillian Garcia, Tony Chimel, Justin Roberts

1. RVD (WWE Intercontinental Champ) vs The Spirit Squad
2. Rey Mysterio (WWE Heavyweight Champ) vs Kurt Angle
3. John Cena vs Sabu in an Extreme Rules Lumberjack Match
4. Mr. Kennedy vs Funaki
5. Rey Mysterio (WWE Heavyweight Champ) vs Booker T (as King Booker)
6. Ric Flair vs Mick Foley in an I Quit Match
7. Lita (WWE Womans Champ) vs Trish Stratus
8. Edge (WWE Champ) vs John Cena in a TLC Match​​