Ring of Honor Reports
DVD Review: ROH Breakout featuring Nigel McGuinness vs. Chris Hero in a Steel Cage, Tyler Black vs. Bryan Danielson, Jimmy Jacobs & Joey "Mercury" Matthews vs. Rocky Romero & Roderick Strong
By James Bullock
Jun 16, 2008 - 8:39 AM

Controversy arose early in Nigel McGuinness’ ROH World title reign; including an argument that Chris Hero was cheated out of the title shortly after his Survival of the Fittest 2007 win. To prove that he’s better than Hero, Nigel’s given Chris the chance to break out of a steel cage to win the title. Is Nigel right in his thoughts of superiority? Or was Hero truly cheated, and ready to win the ROH World title for a first time? But the most important question is Breakout Worth Your Money?

Breakout

Dayton, OH

1/25/08

ROH World champion Nigel McGuinness stood in the steel caged ring, getting ready for his title defense against Chris Hero. McGuinness promised to start his legacy by defeating Hero tonight.

In another area of the building, Larry Sweeney was here to show the challenger getting ready like never before: by doing a handstand against the wall. Bobby Dempsey decided to encourage Hero, only to anger Tank Toland. Hero felt that coming to his home/stomping grounds of Dayton would be the determining factor in his destiny in winning the ROH World title. You know, since Metropolis is a couple of miles down the road.

The Briscoes vs. Matt Cross & Jigsaw

Some back and forth action highlight the opening minutes of this match. Jigsaw was able to gain the advantage for his team after locking Mark Briscoe in the Gory special. Cross tagged in, only to lose his team’s momentum, allowing Jay to tag in. Jay worked Cross around the ring, but let the speed of Cross outwork him. Jigsaw tagged back in, nearly getting decapitated with a clothesline by Jay. Jigsaw tried to fight his way to the tag, but got double hip tossed across the ring, then hit with a big boot/bulldog combo. Jigsaw finally made it to his corner to tag out after swinging into The Briscoes, hitting a DDT and reverse DDT on both. Cross came in, using Jay to leg lariat Mark. Cross nearly got the pin on Mark after the springboard double stomp. Jay ran back in, looking for the J-Driller on Jigsaw. Jigsaw disposed of Jay; super kicking Mark into the code red by Cross. Jay recovered, sending Jigsaw into the guardrails. Mark was able to tag in Jay after dropping Cross with an exploder suplex. Mark hit the ropes, taking Jigsaw down with a plancha to prevent Jigsaw from breaking up Jay’s pin after Jay J-Drilled Cross. Honorable handshake afterwards. Jay grabs the mic, proclaiming that the ROH Tag Team belts will be coming back to them Briscoes sooner than later.

In the snow covered parking lot, Age of the Fall, minus Jimmy Jacobs, talks about how this city, like every other, has no direction because they follow false truths and idols, like Tammy Sytch. Lacey steps in, saying that like Tammy, Daizee Haze will be run out of ROH by Lacey. Tyler Black warns his opponent, Bryan Danielson, that he’ll become the best in the world tonight.

Adam Pearce w/Delirious Hagadorn vs. Claudio Castagnoli

Hagadorn comes out chained to Pearce while wearing Delirious’ mask. Wow, that’s a sick thought. Very formulaic match here. Claudio gets the opening momentum. Pearce cheats his way to advantage with the help of Hagadorn. Castagnoli makes a comeback, leading to both men using their big moves in hopes of winning. Pearce got so obsessed with showing his plans for tomorrow night’s Dog Collar match with Delirious, that he ran into the Ricola Bomb to give Claudio the victory.

Sweet & Sour Inc. was doing everything to get Hero ready for tonight.

FIP title: Erick Stevens (c) vs. Davey Richards vs. Austin Aries

No eliminations in this one. Stevens focuses on NRC member Richards, causing Aries to get a little angry in the fact that Stevens was taking the fun of beating Davey away from him. This led to a chop contest between the former Resilience members. Poor Davey just got beaten by both men, who felt it was fun stomping Richards while the other elbowed Davey in and out of the ring. It wasn’t until Aries went for the pin after a Stevens fist drop did everything go downhill for the cohesion. Aries was the first to get the jump on Stevens, clotheslining him after avoiding the choo-choo rush in the corner. Davey got a little brave, kicking the snot out of Stevens’ chest and back. This led to a kicking contest between Aries and Richards. Aries didn’t like Richards enough to work with him like he did with Stevens, going move for move with the NRC member. Aries drilled Stevens into the mat with the STO before hitting the pendulum elbow. Davey dumped Aries on the floor before going for a pendulum elbow of his own. Davey missed it, with Aries reentering the ring. Aries ran into that press into the power slam by Stevens before Stevens mowed down Richards. Stevens, showing that power once again, German suplexed both challengers at the same time. Aries somehow recovered, knocking Stevens to the floor before taking him down with that low tope. Davey flew through the ropes next, taking both men down with a plancha. Davey had Aries rocking when Stevens came back in, catching Richards on his shoulders. Stevens hoisted the incoming Aries onto his shoulders, on top of Davey, hitting a double TKO. Aries recovered, stopping the choo-choo rush again, looking for the Brain Buster on Richards. Stevens ran into the corner they were in, choo-chooing Aries out of the ring. Davey pulled Stevens to the mat, putting the champ in the Texas cloverleaf. Aries stopped the submission, putting Davey in the Horns of Aries. Before Richards could tap, Stevens broke it up. Aries used Stevens' momentum to send Stevens back to the floor. Aries was looking for the Brain Buster when Stevens came flying off the ropes, clotheslining Aries before pinning Richards with the Doctor Bomb. Aries, uncharacteristically, refused to shake hands after the match.

No Disqualification: BJ Whitmer & Brent Albright w/Shane Hagadorn vs. Red Poison Delirious & El Generico

The Hangmen 3 jump their opponents in the aisle, with Generico getting whipped from one side of the area to the other by Whitmer. Thankfully for Generico, Delirious was going crazy on Albright, and had energy to spare to help his partner. Hagadorn got involved, helping Albright as Generico whipped Whitmer with some fan’s belt. Whitmer and Generico moved into the ring, with Generico taking Whitmer down. Before Generico could fly, Albright jumped into the ring, knocking the “Generic Luchador” out of the ring. Delirious ran in to get Albright, sending Albright out of the ring with a flying clothesline. Hagadorn got involved again, bringing out Pelle Primeau. Pelle was able to force Hagadorn into the BLACK MIST (!!!) of Delirious. Before Pelle could continue, Albright dumped him on his head. Whitmer followed up by frog splashing Pelle out of the ring. Generico reentered, going after BJ. Delirious slipped back in, telling Generico to dive through the ropes with him. Delirious pulled out a table after the tope, setting it up between the ring and the railing. Before Delirious could do anything, BJ pitched him into the crowd with Generico and Albright. Whitmer crowned Delirious with a chair as Albright did the same to Generico with a trashcan. On the other side of the arena, Delirious used a fan held chair to clock BJ. Generico actually got Albright in the trashcan, raining chairs on him. BJ began whipping Delirious with someone’s belt before politely giving it back to him. Generico and Albright finally made it back to the ringside area, with Albright being driven chest first into the guardrails. Delirious and BJ found their way back to the ring, as Generico and Albright did the same. Whitmer was able to hoist Delirious up, power bombing him through the table Delirious set up earlier. The Hangmen 3 began beating Generico down with double teams. Generico valiantly kicked out of every pin attempt, long enough for Delirious to recover. Delirious came in like a masked house of fire, clotheslining Albright to the floor. The masked men double chair attacked Whitmer until he was out on his feet. Albright was able to run in before the easy pin. Albright set up a table in the ring before grabbing the rubber from the broken table to hang Generico over the top rope by his throat. Delirious ran in, enzuguri’ing Albright onto the table for Generico to splash Albright through for a near fall thanks to Whitmer. Delirious grabbed Whitmer, hitting the Panic Attack after Generico’s Yakuza Kick. Before Delirious could get the pin after Shadows Over Hell, Adam Pearce ran out, hanging Delirious with the chain he had earlier. Pearce used the chain to drag Delirious to the back by his neck. In the ring, Generico went for the Brain Buster on Whitmer, only for BJ to turn it into the Exploder Suplex. Albright grabbed El Generico, kneeing him in the face until he was unconscious for the win.

Sweet & Sour Inc. had some kind of plan involving Dempsey. Sweeney informed us that Hero could escape the cage to win the title tonight. Like in all cage matches…

Lacey w/Jimmy Jacobs & Allison Wonderland vs. Daizee Haze

Jimmy cuts a promo before the match, proclaiming power with his newly won ROH Tag Team title. Jimmy felt tonight would be the best night in Age of the Fall history as tonight Lacey gets rid of Daizee, while Jacobs and his partner (you know, the Question Mark Guy) take out Rocky Romero & Roderick Strong. And finally, Tyler Black proves that Bryan Danielson is not the “Best Wrestler in the World” tonight when he beats him. Jimmy began to ramble until Daizee interrupted him in hopes that he’d shut up. Daizee gets the early jump on Lacey. But The Haze’s urgency costs her as Lacey ties her up in the ropes, kicking her back like it was a soccer ball. Lacey’s focus on Daizee’s back quickly disintegrated into Lacey trying to humiliate Haze. Allison got a few cheap shots in, as the ref wasn’t looking. Haze took all of it, firing back with chops. Lacey quickly ended it with a back breaker. Somehow, Daizee came flying off the ropes, dropkicking Lacey. Haze used that momentum to German suplex Lacey. Daizee was looking for a Yakuza kick, only to run into the Back Cracker. Haze was able to get a pair of boots up to stop the incoming Lacey, rolling her up to get the pin. Jacobs wasn’t too pleased with this, bringing out Black to block Haze’s exit. Before they could attack Daizee, The Briscoes ran in. They were beating the life out of Black and Jacobs when a sparkly bear ran into the ring. Oh wait, that’s Joey “Mercury” Matthews. Matthews busts The Brsicoes in the head with a chair before showing allegiance to the Age of the Fall. Joey talked about how his addictions caused him to lose everything he had. But Jacobs was there to help pick the downtrodden Matthews up in hopes of Matthews making the greatest comeback ever.

Jimmy Jacobs & Joey Matthews w/Tyler Black vs. Roderick Strong & Rocky Romero

Strong out-powered and outwrestled Jacobs early, asking for Joey to come in. Jacobs refused to let Matthews in until Rocky tagged in. Matthews hadn’t been in a ROH ring since 2003, but hadn’t lost his ability, countering and blocking everything Romero had in mind. Matthews pulled out his old MNM actions, taking some pics of Romero before grabbing him. Rocky kicked his way out of it, tagging in Strong, who just powered Matthews off of his feet with a slam. Jacobs ran in, only to get drop toehold into Matthews groin as Matthews hung in the tree of woe. NRC followed up with that Azucar springboard dropkick. Matthews recovered, going for a roll up. Rocky blocked it, but Matthews was able to catch Romero with a chop block to the back of Romero’s left knee. Knowing how strong Rocky’s kicks are, AOTF used their bodies to wrench that leg. Rocky was able to kick with his right leg, getting the tag out in the process. But Roderick’ momentum didn’t last long as Matthews dumped him onto the floor. Jimmy placed Strong in some fan’s chair before knocking him out of the seat with a plancha. AOTF focused on Strong’s upper body, using a gordbuster/senton splash combo to put a hurting on the leader of NRC. Strong, with some help from Romero, turned the tides with that half nelson backbreaker. Jimmy tagged in as Strong did the same. Romero dropkicked Matthews off the corner before using a tilt-a-whirl backbreaker on Jacobs. Matthews pulled Rocky out of the ring, slamming him face first into the floor. Strong uncharacteristically, flew over the top, dropkicking Matthews into the rails. The fans cheered as Jacobs clotheslined Strong off the apron. Strong was able to recover, saving Romero after a double superplex. Jacobs survived a gut buster/super DDT combo. Matthews ran in to help Jacobs, but got kneed by Romero. Romero couldn’t hit the knockout kick, getting DDT’ed. Strong reentered the ring, backbreaking Matthews. Before Strong could hit the Gibson Driver, Jacobs speared him. Jacobs was looking for the Contra Code but turned it into the End Times. Strong slipped through it, putting Jacobs in the Stronghold to make Jacobs tap out. Huge loss for the Tag Team champions.

Tyler Black, upset over the fact that out of the two matches AOTF members have been involved in they’ve lost, felt he would be the good luck charm by pinning Danielson right now.

Bryan Danielson vs. Tyler Black

Unlike typical “American Dragon” matches, Black actually held his own with Danielson on the mat, getting a little cocky in the process. Bryan slapped the cockiness out of Black against the turnbuckles after finally cornering Black. Black was too frustrated to think, giving Danielson an easy chance to wrestle Black to the mat, torturing him in the surfboard that turned into a dragon sleeper. After rocking Tyler with forearms, Danielson hit the ropes for some momentum. Black started running behind Danielson, pushing Danielson out of the ring before Bryan could come off with an attack. Black followed up with a suplex on the floor, using the guardrails to his advantage. Black even used the barricades to moonsault the downed “American Dragon.” Remembering the slaps by Danielson from earlier, Black returned the favor. After whipping Danielson into the corner, Black dropkicked Danielson square in the jaw. Black started hitting some combos that had Danielson wondering where he was. Black pulled Danielson up, slapping him in the face. Danielson started to fire up due to the slaps, hitting the ropes before unleashing a European uppercut. Danielson picked up the pace, coming off the top with a missile dropkick that sent Black to the floor. Danielson dove on top of him, bringing the fans to their feet. Black blocked the suplex back in, suplexing Danielson to the floor before hitting that twisting back flip plancha.   Black followed up with a flapjack into a front kick to the chest of Bryan before slapping Danielson as hard as he could. Black started stomping like a mule, only to run into two Danielson sized boots. Danielson hooked Black’s arms, stomping Black’s head. The referee stopped Danielson, causing a near fall contest. A clothesline collision followed, causing the fans to give a nice Japanese style clap. Danielson pulled Black to the mat, locking in Cattle Mutilation. Black refused to tap, rolling through before rushing Danielson into the turnbuckles. Danielson held on, doing the same thing to Black before putting Black on the top for the belly to back superplex. Black valiantly kicked out after the move, causing Danielson to attempt to knock Black out with the elbows. Danielson floated over into Cattle Mutilation again. Black rolled through the move once again, flipping out of the tiger suplex before knocking Danielson down with an enzuguri. After a big boot, Black hit Paroxysm for a near fall. Black headed to the top for the Phoenix Splash, hitting it, only for Danielson to small package Black upon impact, getting the three count. Instead of taking his win like a man, Black grabbed the ring bell, hammering the face of Danielson. The Briscoes ran out to make the save, with Jay stating that the belts would be coming back to Delaware. The funny thing during The Briscoes’ promo is the fact Danielson is laid out in between them the whole time, and they make no acknowledgement of it.

In the back is Delirious Pearce, a.k.a. Adam Pearce with Delirious’ mask on. Pearce feels that Delirious only wears this mask to hide his true personality, the same personality that was hung in NYC by Pearce with the same chain he used on him tonight.

ROH World title Steel Cage match: Nigel McGuinness (c) vs. Chris Hero w/Sweet & Sour Inc.

Hero is almost as tall as the cage. Instead of entering through the door, Hero uses the top of the cage to flip into it. Chris is awesome! Hero immediately jumps Nigel when the champ entered the cage. After getting chopped a couple of times, Hero tried to make a run for the exit. Nigel tried to unleash a lariat early, but got a back fist to the jaw instead. Announcer Dave Prazak brought up the fact that with the cage, Nigel is unable to hit the Jawbreaker Lariat, a move he loves to put people away with. Hero tried to hit the ropes, only to bump the back of his head on the steel. This stumbled Hero long enough for Nigel to drop him with a lariat. Hero fought out of the pin, putting Nigel in a headlock. Hero, feeling brawling wasn’t working, just start hip tossing and head locking the champ. Nigel got angry, hooking Hero’s arm for the London Dungeon. Nigel gave up on the submission, going for the door. Every time Nigel went to exit, Sweeney blocked him. Tank Toland begged for Dempsey to do something besides stand there, looking all fat. After a series of counters, Hero propelled off the top with the blockbuster. Hero tried to make a run to the top of the cage, but Nigel stopped him. Chris yelled that Nigel “Is stabbing me!” With no items in his hands, I hate to find out what the champ was using. McGuinness pulled Hero off the cage with the belly to back superplex. Instead of trying to leave, McGuinness started abusing Hero’s body. Nigel got up, showing signs that maybe his right leg was hurt after a kick to the back of Hero. Hero recovered, going after the leg in hopes of preventing escape by the champion. McGuinness stopped Hero from escaping through the door. Seeing that Nigel still had some fight in him, Hero stomped and locked the face and leg. Hero put Nigel in a unique leg lock, using the ropes for assistance. Somehow Nigel powered off the mat, preventing Hero from scaling the cage. Hero lost his balance, with Nigel trying to climb. With only one leg, Hero easily stopped the champion, hanging Nigel in the tree of woe. Nigel grabbed Hero’s left boot before Chris could jump over the cage. Nigel somehow got free in time to prevent Hero from leaving through the door. With the door still open, Toland slid in a chair for Master Hero. Hero stomped the chair into the leg, sending screams of pain from the champion. Sweeney mocked Nigel from the outside as Hero stuck the leg between the seat and top of the chair. Hero senton splashed the chair, going for the escape afterwards. Nigel, with his face flush red, grabbed Hero’s legs to stop him from jumping over the top of the cage. Hero set the chair up, using it to sit down on as he put Nigel in the single leg Boston crab. Nigel powered out of the predicament. Hero was still feeling good, using the chair to lock in the cravat. Nigel got free due to Chris’ height on the chair, slamming Hero into the seat of the chair. Hero was bleeding as Nigel drove him face first into the cage. Nigel waited until Hero stumbled into the lariat for a shocking near fall. Nigel hobbled to his feet, trying to make the climb up the cage. Hero was able to stop him, pulling Nigel to the mat with the Cravat-plex. Hero could barely see as he tried to climb. Hero lost his balance on the top rope, crotching himself on the top rope. Nigel pulled him off, hitting the Tower of London on the seat of the chair. Nigel crawled toward the door, only for Sweeney to swing the door into the champ’s face. The referee finally decided to throw S & S Inc. out…even though they’d been interfering the entire match. Great time to grow a pair, ref. Hero staggered to his feet, making a climb up. Hero was on the other side of the cage when Nigel got up, grabbing Chris by the back of attire. Nigel pulled him back in, superplexing Hero off the top of cage. Hero immediately clutched his left knee in great pain. Dempsey returned to the ring by orders of Sweeney from the crowd. Dempsey, distracted by the fight between Sweeney and referee, swung the door…into the escaping Hero! Toland threw Dempsey to the floor as Nigel made the climb. Toland held the door open for Hero to escape, but Nigel was too far ahead, jumping from the cage, to the floor to retaining the belt. Chris was furious, slamming Dempsey back first into the guardrails before Sweeney laid the boots to Bobby. The fans began to chant for Bobby, angering Hero to the point that he tore the ROH sign from the entrance.            

Is It Worth Your Money: Like most double shot weekends for ROH, the Friday night show isn’t the strongest. But ROH put forth a solid card, with a big time main event. Though it started off strong, the main event kind of fumbled after the halfway point when the leg work began. It just looked too unbelievable with Nigel’s win, and I was less enthralled than I should’ve been. Before that match, we saw Tyler Black and Bryan Danielson put on a heck of a contest. It was a back and forth affair that was as hard-hitting as you can get. The rest of the show was just average, and some below average. Even though the Danielson/Black match was great, I can’t say it saved the show. For the first time I have to say ROH Breakout Is Not Worth Your Money.