TNA: Homicide, Part 4

Homicide was undefeated in ROH throughout June and July, and on August 16, 2003, at Bitter Friends, Stiffer Enemies he defeated Corino in a rematch of their February encounter. After twenty minutes of fighting which saw both men bleeding and carrying injuries, Homicide trapped Corino in a modifed STF, prompting Corino's corner man, Guillotine LaGrande, to throw in the towel, awarding the match to Homicide. In the course of the match, Corino suffered a legitimate ruptured eardrum, and permanently lost most of the hearing in his left ear following a stiff slap to the side of the head from Homicide.

Following high profile victories over Samoa Joe and B.J. Whitmer, Homicide faced Corino for a third time on November 29, 2003, at War of the Wire in a barbed wire match. This time Julius Smokes threw in the towel for Homicide after Corino throttled him with a length of barbed wire. Corino offered Homicide a handshake after the match, indicating that he finally respected Homicide, but Homicide refused to shake his hand.

On December 27 at Final Battle 2003 the ROH roster faced a number of All Japan Pro Wrestling wrestlers in an inter-promotional contest. Homicide lost to Satoshi Kojima a wrestler whose influence can be seen in Homicide wrestling style unfortunately in this match Homicide suffered a hard bump to the head, which resulted in a match that was below expected standards.

2003 is regarded as Homicide's best year in ROH in regards to the amount of quality matches he was a part of leading to him receiving the ROH MVP of that year.

Homicide faced A.J. Styles at The Battle Lines Are Drawn on January 10, 2004. After Styles was thrown from the ring, Homicide dived over the top rope in pursuit, and landed in the third row of the audience, briefly knocking himself unconscious and injuring his shoulder and ribs. Styles quickly capitalized on Homicide's vulnerabilities, defeating him following a Styles Clash. After defeating CM Punk at The Last Stand, Homicide took a hiatus from Ring of Honor to "find himself", sending word through Julius Smokes that when he returned, he wanted a shot at Samoa Joe and the ROH Heavyweight Championship.

Homicide challenged Samoa Joe for the ROH World Championship once more at Reborn: Stage 1 on April 23. Homicide showed signs of anger and frustration throughout the match, and was eventually disqualified for throwing a fireball at Joe. After the match, Homicide turned heel by attacking several referees and trying to further injure the badly burned Joe. In subsequent weeks, Homicide defeated fan favorites American Dragon and Spanky, cheating and threatening referees in both matches. Homicide faced Joe for the ROH Heavyweight Championship for a third time on May 22 at Generation Next, with Joe retaining in a match which saw him bleed for the first time in ROH. Homicide and Joe continued to feud throughout the summer of 2004, with Homicide recruiting a stable known as The Rottweilers (originally Low Ki, Rocky Romero and Julius Smokes) to help him defeat Joe. Despite the best efforts of The Rottweilers, Joe defeated Homicide to retain his title in a fourth match on July 23 at Death Before Dishonor II: Night 1. The Rottweilers worked as a unit throughout the remainder of 2004, helping one another win matches.