Homicide faced A.J. Styles at "The Battle Lines Are Drawn" on January 10, 2004. After Styles was thrown from the ring, Homicide dove 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.