At the "Second Anniversary Show" on February 14, 2004, Stryker unsuccessfully entered a tournament for the newly created ROH Pure Wrestling Championship. After becoming the number one contender to the ROH World Championship, Stryker lost to the defending champion, Samoa Joe, at "Reborn: Stage Two" on April 24, 2004. Following the vacation of the ROH Pure Championship by A.J. Styles, Stryker once again attempted to win the title, but was thwarted by Alex Shelley. At "Death before Dishonor 2: Part One" on July 23, 2004, "Team Steamboat" (Stryker, John Walters and Jimmy Jacobs) defeated Shelley's faction, Generation Next, in a six-man tag team bout.