Christopher Daniels competed in the main event of the debut ROH show, "The Era of Honor Begins", against Low Ki and American Dragon. After losing to Low Ki, Daniels became a villain and refused to shake hands with either opponent, breaking the Code of Honor. The three competed against each other the following show in a Round Robin tournament. After defeating Dragon on the opening match, Daniels forced him to shake his hand because "the better man won". However, after losing to Low Ki in his second match, he refused to shake his hand, and said he would not wrestle Low Ki again unless the ROH Championship (which had not been created yet) was on the line. At "Night of Appreciation", Daniels wrestled Donovan Morgan in a singles match. Before the match Daniels said in a backstage interview that he had a lot of respect for Morgan because they were both California wrestlers and they had both won the ECWA Super 8 Tournament, but after he lost he refused to shake Morgan's hand. He said it was not because he did not respect Morgan, but because he believed the Code of Honor was a lie. The two then formed a partnership.