Recap Of Honor - ROH Wrestling #304

5. A Nightmare Open

Starting on a high note, the show opened with a textbook promo from reigning ROH Champ, Cody, who was clearly still riding high from his championship victory over Christopher Daniels at June's Best in the World iPPV.

With a noticeably positive reception from the ROH faithful, the son of a son of a plumber made the most of the positive crowd reaction by channelling the crowd’s energy towards his absent foe. With both barrels loaded, “The American Nightmare” got the show off with a bang, taking aim squarely at the former ROH Champ.

Focusing in on Daniels alleged bitterness at losing the ROH Title, Cody went on to brand his fallen opponent with the dreaded “boo-boo face” moniker - a term associated with unprofessional workers not happy with doing the honours. The smart fans in attendance would react in kind, kicking off a “boo-boo face” chant of their own and confirming the perception that the fans themselves had turned their back on Christopher Daniels.

Taking it even further, Cody then compared Daniels sour sportsmanship to that of Shawn Michaels “losing his smile” in 1997, which in itself has some pretty extreme negative connotations. The pro-Cody crowd ate up every word, capped off by the champ ultimately laying out the challenge to Daniels for “2 Out of 3 Falls” title rematch.

With Cody already set to defend the ROH Title at War of the Worlds against Sanada of New Japan’s Los Ingobernables de Japon stable, it looks like it’ll be a busy few weeks for the Ring of Honor Champ. In an era of ROH where the company looks set to prove itself, the ROH Champ himself seems to be leading by example and looking to prove his worth to the indie wrestling world.