Honor Rises: A Look at Samoa Joe’s ROH World Title Reign
6. Samoa Joe vs. Paul London (July 19, 2003)
Paul London was one of ROH’s early homegrown stars. He was known to have outstanding matches with AJ Styles, Bryan Danielson, and the like throughout his early ROH career. He was well on his way to becoming a superstar, but there was one thing that eluded him. The ROH World Championship. The time finally came for London to challenge Joe, another one of ROH’s homegrown stars.
While it can be argued that London was ROH’s first homegrown star, Joe was quickly becoming the star by which the promotion was defined. It was inevitable that the two would clash and, goodness, did they ever. On the very first ROH Death Before Dishonor (one of ROH’s biggest shows of the year), Joe managed to defeat London in an excellent main event. However, there was a feud lower in the card that was seeing the rise of a new star in ROH, and one that would take Joe’s reign to the limit later, as CM Punk was in an absolute war with Raven, but Punk is still awhile down the road yet.
7. Samoa Joe vs. BJ Whitmer (August 9, 2003)
BJ Whitmer made his debut in Ring of Honor earlier in the year, and had a few excellent matches. One such match saw him take a German suplex off the apron through a table from CM Punk that caused the match to end in a draw because both men couldn’t continue. Whitmer’s feud with Punk continued off and on as Whitmer helped Raven against the then heel Punk. Whitmer earned a title match by winning two Four Corner Survival matches in a row and earning the Number 1 Contender’s trophy.
Whitmer, however, was not ready for Joe, but we have not seen the end of his run here in Ring of Honor.
8. Samoa Joe vs. Christopher Daniels (September 20, 2003)
While there were several matches prior to this on in Joe’s reign that could be considered big, there is no question that this was the biggest one to date. Christopher Daniels had been a main event player in Ring of Honor since the very first show, and he was on a mission to win the ROH World title from that day forward to prove the truth of his Prophecy.
Joe, who was originally brought in as the Prophecy’s hired assassin, had a long history with Daniels. This was the culmination of a long build, and it did not disappoint as Joe and Daniels went to war. Sadly for Daniels, his prophecy was left unfulfilled, for the time being, and Joe continued to establish himself as the top guy in ROH and the standard that everyone had to meet.
9. Samoa Joe vs. Ares (October 3, 2003)
Samoa Joe’s mission to take the ROH World title around the world, representing Ring of Honor on a global scale, continued here. Joe took the title to Germany, and defended it in a Title vs. Title match, where he defeated Ares and became the GWA Heavyweight Champion alongside being the ROH World Champion. Joe’s reign has gone international more than once now, further cementing himself as the one name that people began to associate with ROH.
10. Samoa Joe vs. Jay Briscoe (October 16, 2003)
Jay Briscoe was destined to be come one of the bigger stars in ROH, but that legend had a rough beginning, as Samoa Joe was able to defeat Briscoe. Briscoe was put in a position to shine, and looked like a future star for ROH, but Samoa Joe was still too much to handle, as Joe collected another victory over the Briscoe clan. Mark and Jay were both crushed by Joe in their matches, and Joe’s reign of destruction continued. This isn’t the last time we see Briscoe on this list, but the first one set in motion a story that would eventually pay off a few months later.
11. Samoa Joe vs. AJ Styles (November 29, 2003)
AJ Styles was already a major wrestling star in 2003, as a former NWA World Heavyweight Champion, and multi-time NWA:TNA X-Division Champion. He was the first ever triple crown champion in TNA history, and he also helped build ROH. Styles was a legitimate main eventer, and a match against Joe was considered an independent dream match, even back in 2003.
When Joe and Styles met, it did not disappoint, as they went to war. Ultimately, Joe earned the biggest win of his career, and a feud that still goes on until this day was born.