Disc 2: Best of AJ Styles In IWA Mid-South - Part 2
8) AJ Styles vs. Chris Hero - Winter Wars 2003 - 12/19/03
This was the first ever meeting between these two men in any promotion. Prior to this match, I had only seen them face off once and it was 2 years after this encounter out in PWG at their Chanukah Chaos event. That match was good however I felt like they only scratched the surface of what they could do. I felt like this match was just as good as their PWG encounter that would happen two years later if not a bit better. The first half of the match saw AJ work over the leg of Hero in a number of ways including dropping him knee first on a chair. Hero sold it very well throughout the entire match. He finally was able to create some separation by hitting a backbreaker on Styles with the only downfall being that he used his hurt knee to do so. It ended up being the turning point in the match though as things were more evenly matched from that point. Styles was never able to hit the Styles Clash in this match despite several attempts. Hero came up with several unique counters to the move, one of which earned him a victory as Hero rolled out of the move and locked in a crossface variation to get the win via submission. Solid match, very well executed.
Match rating - ***1/4
9) AJ Styles vs. Michael Shane - 12/20/03
After Styles' match with Hero, Shane came down to the ring and had a staredown with him which was a nice precursor to this bout considering it took place just one night after the encounter with Hero. For that reason, I expected this one to be intense and blow me away since it had somewhat of a backstory, but unfortunately it was just an average bout. Not really much to talk about here aside from the finish where Styles hit a Styles Clash off the top rope for the victory.
Match rating - **1/4
10) AJ Styles vs. B-Boy - April Bloodshowers - 4/9/04
I've always been a fan of B-Boy's style so I was really looking forward to this one. Styles is pretty underrated when it comes to hitting hard because he certainly hung in there with the strong style thug here. Despite B-Boy being looked at as the underdog in this match, I think Styles could have been looked at as the underdog when it came to the striking. Although AJ proved he was in the same category as B-Boy when it came to strikes as he gave it right back to him when the match came down to both men slugging it out on their knees. Both guys worked hard and the result was a solid match.
Match rating - ***1/4
11) AJ Styles vs. Matt Sydal - Simply The Best 5 - 4/10/04
The story here was whether or not Sydal could hang with the likes of AJ Styles considering he was a young up & comer at the time. I THINK this was the first encounter between these two then again I'm not sure because this match was flawless. If they had never worked each other prior to this match, they must have some unbelievable chemistry. None the less, Sydal proved he could more than hang with Styles by taking him to his limit here. Both guys busted out alot of crazy moves that I haven't seen them do in forever. It's crazy to think that this match took place over 10 years ago, but it's also something interesting to consider when watching this match as you can see how much both men have progressed over the years. And as I mentioned before, the chemistry these two had was just awesome to watch. There were many unique counters and reversals such as Sydal countering out of Styles inverted DDT and Sydal countering out of the Styles Clash and nailing AJ with a vicious spike hurricanrana which produced one of the closest near falls of the match. Sydal hit an array of crazy manuevers here including a corkscrew plancha over the top rope, a lionsault turned into a senton in mid air, and even a shooting star press which he landed on his feet because Styles moved out of the way. This was an awesome match that left the fans chanting "Match of the Year!" Yet another forgotten gem on this set.
Match rating - ****
12) AJ Styles vs. Petey Williams - 5/22/04
I'm not sure where this match took place and what event it was on because it immediately cut to the match instead of airing a graphic displaying the info like normal. The camera work here wasn't very good either as it was low quality. So much so that it was hard to tell these two apart during the match because they both were wearing blue tights and kickpads. Despite that, Styles & Williams put together a decent little match although it was nothing compared to their TNA encounters. Rightfully so though, there wasn't much of a crowd for this one so there was no reason to go all out.
Match rating - **3/4
13) AJ Styles vs. Delirious - Stylin In The Summertime
If you've read any of my other reviews, you can probably tell that I've never been a big fan of Delirious. I've only seen one other of his matches from IWA Mid South and ironically it was around this same time during his light heavyweight title reign. Delirous was facing off against Claudio Castagnoli and it wasn't a good match at all. With that being said, I was really surprised when I ended up enjoying this one. I guess it should have been no surprise though because Styles rarely has a bad match. These two put together a solid title match here despite it ending with a screwy finish thanks to Kid Kash.
Match rating - ***
DISC 3:
14) AJ Styles vs. Matt Sydal - A Phenomenal Invasion - 9/15/04
There's alot of hype surrounding this considering their encounter earlier in this set from Simply The Best 5 recieved Match of the Year hype. It was utter insanity so I'm pumped for the big rematch here. Therefore, I'll say right off the bat that this match lived up to expectations. It wasn't as good as the previous encounter however it came very close. Just awesome stuff from these two men who are so much alike. Back & forth early on with some nice matwork. Sydal ends up taking control after dropping AJ backfirst on the hard wood floor off the apron and nailing him with a beautiful moonsault off the turnbuckles. Sydal targets AJ's back from this point with various submissions. This is where many cool counters began taking place in route to the closing sequence. They also had several callbacks to the first match such as Sydal reversing out of Styles' signature inverted DDT, Styles catching Sydal during a pop up hurricanrana attempt & going for a Styles Clash and Sydal avoiding the lariat that put him away last time. Other highlights here include Sydal bumping like crazy for Styles on several occassions and countless jaw dropping manuevers. Great match that was a worthy successor to the first bout between the two despite not meeting or exceeding it.
Match rating - ***3/4
15) AJ Styles vs. Bryan Danielson - An IWA Homecoming - 9/16/04
This was the night prior to the big Ted Petty Invitational and there wasn't too big of a crowd so we didn't get an all out clinic between these two like one may expect. Beyond that, Dragon was coming off a big 2/3 Falls Match with Chris Hero from the night before. None the less, they still managed to put together a solid match. They trade momentum early on until Bryan, who was clearly the heel here, took control. Danielson controlled Styles for a bit and worked on the neck/back. He went for the big suplex off the top turnbuckle, STYLES COUNTERS INTO A CROSSBODY! Nice little moment there. Danielson ends up hitting that move later on in the match after beating on Styles some here. It doesn't put away The Phenomenal One though and AJ eventually goes for the Styles Clash. DANIELSON PULLS HIMSELF UP AND HEADBUTS AJ TO BREAK IT, TRIANGLE CHOKE! They begin rolling around and Bryan catches AJ in a pinning predicament for the three count. As you can tell, this wasn't as amazing as you'd expect from a match between these two that went 20 minutes although it certainly had it's moments that make it worth a look. Just don't expect a classic like they had in ROH a year before this.
Match rating - ***
16) AJ Styles vs. Jimmy Rave - 2004 Ted Petty Invitational Night One - 9/17/04
Meh. I really didn't get anything out of this. CM Punk was on commentary which was cool. Aside from that, this match was kind of sloppy. I expected this to be good due to the history between Styles & Rave in NWA Wildside, but it just fell flat. It had potential, it just seemed like every time I'd start to get into it, a slip up or something would happen. I think a better way to put it is that this felt like they were just throwing stuff out to see what would stick and never had a true gameplan or story to tell. Things didn't click. Not a horrible match by any means, just worse than I expected. After Rave attempts the Styles Clash, AJ locks him in a nasty submission where he just wrenches his fucking neck. Rave taps immediately. Styles advances.
Match rating - **1/2
17) AJ Styles vs. Matt Sydal - 2004 Ted Petty Invitational Night Two - 9/18/04
It's AJ Styles & Matt Sydal so you already know this ruled. They killed it once again here and I loved it. Just based off watching all three matches recently, I think this was the shortest one of their series which makes sense considering AJ would end up wrestling three times on this particular night. The time constraint didn't really damper on this match as they were still able to get most of their spots in. The Styles Clash attempt into the dragon spike rana from Sydal made the crowd pop hard and made me jump out of my seat. Styles somehow kicks out and ends up getting Sydal up top for an avalanche Styles Clash. This earns AJ the victory. Another extremely enjoyable match between Styles & Sydal.
Match rating - ***1/2
18) AJ Styles vs. Arik Cannon - 2004 Ted Petty Invitational Night Two - 9/18/04
Another good match here on the night of the Ted Petty from AJ. The winner of this goes on to the finals. Cannon controls the early portions after gaining the advantage on the outside and nailing Styles with a rope assisted DDT. He works him over and sets him up for his shining wizard finisher, STYLES DUCKS AND KICKS THE LEGS OUT FROM UNDER HIM! That was a sick counter! Styles starts hitting all his stuff. The moonsault into inverted DDT, flying forearm from across the ring. Cannon makes a comeback, goes for the shining wizard again, Styles ducks, DISCUS LARIAT TURNS THE ANARCHIST INSIDE OUT! Styles ends up hitting the clash for the victory. Good match.
Match rating - ***
19) AJ Styles vs. Bryan Danielson vs. Samoa Joe - 2004 Ted Petty Invitational Night Two - 9/18/04
The bell rings and the entire crowd gets on their feet. The hype is real for this one. The three men exchange holds for awhile before going through a sequence of dives to the outside. This leads to Joe going for the ole kick on Styles. Dragon wants in and hits an ole dropkick of his own. Then, Styles sets Dragon up in a chair and does one of his own in the form of the running forearm that floors Danielson. The action back in the ring is hard hitting. All three men end up on the top rope. Back drop suplex from Danielson to Joe. Styles falls down. Bryan catches him and DRAGON SUPLEX TO AJ FOR A TWO COUNT! A paylay kick into a choke from Joe ends up putting Bryan away as he taps out. This leaves AJ & Joe to battle it out and it was exactly that - a battle. Two awesome strike exchanges that ended in stalemates as both men gave all they had then fell to the mat. It took Styles several times to get Joe up for the clash which was a great visual as when he finally got him up, it felt epic. Massive Styles Clash to Joe in the center of the ring earns Styles the victory. I've seen people compare this to the Unbreakable three-way and while I wouldn't go that far, this was still a GREAT match and the best final round match you could possibly ask for.
Match rating - ****
The entire locker room comes down to the ring afterwards which was an amazing visual. I don't think we will ever see all these men in the same ring again and that made this really special for me as a huge fan of many of them. You had Styles, Joe, Bryan, CM Punk, Claudio Castagnoli (Cesaro), Mike Quackenbush, Jimmy Jacobs, Nate Webb, Austin Aries - it was just really cool to see. Everyone thanks AJ and begin exiting the ring. Joe and Petey Williams are the last to leave. Petey pats AJ on the back and begins talking to him. CANADIAN DESTROYER OUT OF NOWHERE! Petey & AJ were having issues in NWA-TNA at the time so I guess thats where that came from. Ian Rotten, Samoa Joe, & Bryce Remsburg check on AJ before helping him up. Good sendoff promo from AJ to close out this disc.
Disc 4 features matches with CM Punk, Tiger Mask IV, Chris Sabin, & others so I'll likely review it sometime in the next few weeks. Until then, follow me on Twitter @EthanPWT and this blog @ThePWTruth to keep up with future articles/reviews/projects. Thanks for reading!
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