After regaining some momentum by defeating Christopher Daniels on the April 12 ROH event, "The Epic Encounter", Homicide defeated CM Punk in a match for the number one contendership on April 26 at "Retribution: Round Robin Challenge II". Homicide faced ROH World Champion Samoa Joe on May 31 at "Do or Die", hoping not only to win the title, but to gain revenge on Joe for helping Corino defeat him in his hometown. Despite the support of his manager, Julius Smokes, and his close friend and former student, Low Ki, Homicide lost to Joe, after getting distracted by Smokes and Ki arguing outside the ring.