ROH - Ring of Honor Samoa Joe "Don't Call It A Comeback" 2 Disc Set DVD

Brilliant dvd

This is a two disc DVD highlighting Samoa Joe. It's a match compilation that focuses both on his early ROH career and on his return to the company years later. It's the third Ring of Honor Compilation on Joe but there is some crossover with matches.Samoa Joe vs. Low-Ki - This first match was Joe's Ring of Honor debut. It was a good back and forth fight. They exchanged incredible strikes and painful wrestling holds and both seemed very even. They both took so much punishment, the match felt like more of an MMA style fight at times. It was an impressive debut as it showed how hard Joe can hit but also how hard he can be hit and keep on going.Xavier vs. Samoa Joe - This was Joe's shot at Xavier's Ring of Honor World Championship. It was a decent match. I didn't feel Xavier was all that good. He went after Joe's neck throughout the match and I liked that psychology but the action wasn't that great for a Samoa Joe match. It's probably one of Xavier's better matches but it's not one of Joe's. It's not a bad match but it didn't stand out either.Samoa Joe vs. CM Punk - This ROH World Title match was the second match in their famous trilogy. It's much better than their first fight. Their first one was still very good but this one improved on everything that one did. There was less down time in this one as Joe was exhausted in the first match as he wasn't expecting Punk's strategy of going long but this time he was ready for a long match. This was a very long match, the idea of sitting through an hour long match can put some people off but I definitely recommend sitting through this one. It's one of the best hour-long matches I've ever seen and also one of the best matches of either man's Ring of Honor careers. It starts slowly but it's with good strategy and the match does pick up as it builds towards it's climax. There are some really convincing near-falls and dramatic submission attempts as the match gets closer to the finish. It's a great old school style match that's definitely worth seeing.Jay Lethal vs. Samoa Joe - This was for Lethal's ROH Pure Championship. The rules were slightly different from a regular singles match, the main difference being each man is limited to only three rope-breaks. Lethal was more familiar with these rules so it allowed him to keep up with Joe and gain the rope-break advantage. They had a very good, competitive match, it's the best Jay Lethal match I've ever seen. I enjoyed the strategy of the match type and the action was always entertaining, with several convincing near falls and a strong finish.Samoa Joe vs. Kenta Kobashi - This was a great match. It was a back and forth fight with the two wrestlers exchanging painful chops, powerful strikes and their biggest moves. It sounds very average but it's hard to explain in words just why this match is so good. It feels like a huge deal from the very start, even without commentary to hype it up, and it stays that way through to the end. It was an intense battle that you really need to see. It's a great fight with some convincing near-falls, a load of punishment dished out and a strong finish.Samoa Joe vs. Homicide - This was the last match of Joe's original ROH run. It was good, better than I expected considering I really don't enjoy Homicide. It was a competitive fight with good reversals, some convincing near-falls and a really good, decisive finish. Try to ignore Homicide's manager though, his selling almost ruined the match completely. After the match Joe cuts his goodbye promo.Samoa Joe vs. Tyler Black - This match is from Joe's brief comeback in 2008. It was really good. They had a back and forth, entertaining match. There were good reversals, some convincing near-falls and a satisfying finish. The action was fast paced and exciting throughout and it was a very enjoyable match.Samoa Joe vs. Kyle O'Reilly - This, and the rest of the matches on this DVD, are from Joe's 2015 run in the company. Every match from that run is included. Before the match we see Joe's official return. The match was great. Kyle's target was Joe's arm and he went after it throughout with a variety of submission holds. Joe countered this with his power to create a very even match. I really liked all the arm work by O'Reilly and Joe was very good in this too. It was a fantastic match with a strong finish.Samoa Joe vs. ACH - This was another great match. ACH seemed outmatched early on by Joe's power and strength but he managed to find a way to make it competitive and turn it into a back and forth fight. The action was fantastic with some really good reversals and sequences. They got a good amount of time and had a strong finish. Another really enjoyable match.Samoa Joe vs. Michael Elgin - This was another good match, although not as good as the last two. It's a battle of two big power guys hitting their best moves and strikes on each other. It's the first time on the DVD Joe's really been matched for power so it did make the match feel different. The action was always entertaining and the finish was strong. It was a very good fight.Jay Briscoe vs. Samoa Joe - This was a Ring of Honor World Championship match. It was another great match. It was exciting from the very start with both men feeling so evenly matched. They just beat each other up, both in and around the ring. The action was great from start to finish with some good reversals, dramatic submission attempts and convincing near-falls leading to a clean and satisfying finish.Samoa Joe and AJ Styles vs. The Addiction - This was Joe's final match for Ring of Honor. It was a good back and forth tag match. It was probably the weakest of Joe's return matches but it's still entertaining and enjoyable throughout with good, competitive action, a few near-falls and interrupted pinfall attempts and a good finish. After the match we see Joe's final farewell promo.This is a great release by Ring of Honor. Joe's match quality is really high and there's a lot of quality matches on here. His fights with Kenta and Punk have been released before but are worth getting if you haven't seen them. All the matches from Joe's return are really good too so there's a lot to like. Any fan of Samoa Joe will be happy with this.