The Burning Hammer Video Review: Ring of Honor Breakout

Posted by Chris Lansdell on 07.18.2008

McGuinness defends vs. Hero in a cage, and Tyler Black tries his hand against the Best in the World!

Ring of Honor: Breakout

Greetings, humanity! Welcome to another Burning Hammer Video Review with me, Chris Lansdell. Today's show comes to us from Dayton, OH on January 25, 2008. Chris Hero gets his shot at the RoH title in the main event, in a rare cage match against Nigel McGuinness. Erick Stevens defends the FIP title against Austin Aries and Davey Richards, and Delirious and El Generico try to get revenge on two of The Hangm3n. This show comes highly recommended by Dunn, so I'm going in expecting great things. Last time I did that, I was a touch disappointed. Can the RoH boys deliver where SHIMMER did not? Let's find out!

Nigel McGuinness tours the cage in which he will fight Chris Hero tonight, telling him how badly he is going to annihilate him tonight.

Larry Sweeney has a rather different opinion of the result of the title match, however. Then again, you'd almost expect that. After some entertaining back and forth between the always-amusing Bobby Dempsey and Tank Toland, Hero talks about being born in Dayton and being robbed in Philly. But was he Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas?

The Briscoes vs Jigsaw and Matt Cross

I've never been to Delaware, but isn't it in the Northeast? Whey then are the Briscoes so stereotypically southern and wearing the Confederate flag on their trunks? Jigsaw's remixed Rock the Casbah is awesome. It's been a while since I saw any RoH, can someone explain to me why Matt Cross resembles Fidel Castro? The crowd are anxious for The Briscoes to perform violence, and we're under way Wristlock takedown and headscissors by Mark, into a facelock by Matt. They work a few early reversals and Mark ends on top with a headlock. Cross backs him to the ropes, shoulder block takes Cross down. Mark off the ropes, hip toss attempt and Mark lands on his feet, Cross goes behind ad tries a back suplex, again Mark lands on his feet. Cross yells out "I rule!" seconds before a rollup attempt by Mark, Cross holds the ropes to block it, Mark tries an Exploder early but Cross wriggles free and hits an elbow to the head in the process. Single leg by Mark, Cross avoids the first kick from the front but Mark hits the second from behind. Hammerlock, lucha escape by Cross, series of arm drags and a drop kick sends Mark to his own corner where he tags his brother Jay. Cross lays in a few shots, goes to the ropes, but eats canvas on a face-first powerbomb by Jay. Blind tag though when Cross went to the ropes, and Jigsaw comes off the top with a lucha armdrag! Jay comes back with a headscissors, armdrag by Jigsaw, then some stiff chops by Jay. Whip by Jaw, Saw ducks the clothesline and locks in the tilt-a-whirl Octopus hold! Love that. Mark breaks it up, gets legally tagged in and they hit the barking shoulder block for 2. Knee lift by Mark, shots in the corner, Jigsaw blocks the suplex, goes to a backslide position, lifts him up for a Gory special, but leans forward instead, stretching Mark out, THEN drops him on his face. Bet that sucked. Whip by Saw, leg lariat gets 1. Tag to Cross now, takedown and an elbow gets 2. Cross goes to stretch Mark in a modified half crab but Jay dislikes that idea and kicks Cross on the skull. Whip to the corner by Cross, Mark vaults up and over a charging Cross, ducks a clothesline and hits a forearm off the second, enabling him to tag Jay.

Hard chops by Jay, followed by a very high dropkick. Almost went over the top of Cross's head, not that it's hard to do that. Whip to the corner, Jay charges but meets Cross' boot. Jigsaw is tagged in, they work some counters before Jay smacks Jigsaw with a stiff as hell roaring lariat, basically folding Saw in half. His head may be in the third row. 2 count for Jay. Mark in, Northern lights and bridge gets 2. Jay locks in the figure four necklock, Jigsaw bridges forcing Jay's shoulders to the mat for 2. Jay was rather unhappy with that decision, so he turns over, wraps up Jigsaw's legs and pulls them forward, leaving Jigsaw upside down and in a headscissors. Yes, it's the headscissors Haas of Pain. Wowch. Tag to Jay, DOUBLE BEAL and Jigsaw fixes the lighting rig while he's up there. Cocky cover for a 2 count. Damn that was high, he came down with a pack of peanuts and a pair of shitty headphones. Snap suplex by Jay, scoop slam and a quick leg drop gets 2 more. Saw with a quick school boy gets 2, and he almost gets the tag. Tag to Mark, Saw fights back briefly, but the Briscoes hit the Yakuza/bulldog combo for 2. Jay back in, gets 2 off a big elbow. Another tag, Jigsaw avoids the double clothesline, comes back with a crossbody, but since he weights 18 pounds soaking wet with a brick in his mask. the Briscoes just catch him. He uses knee strikes to Mark to try and escape, does so, spins round Jay's head into a DDT position, grabs Mark in a reverse DDT and drops both men! Nicely worked. Tag made to Cross, and he is a House~! En~! Fuego~!!!1!!!eleven!

Fireman's carry to Jay, spins Jay's feet into Mark's face, then executes a Fireman's carry neckbreaker on Jay! Jay is in the corner, Mark is on the apron...Cross charges....Love me tender and call me Elvis! He dropkicks Mark off the apron while hitting a leaping clothesline on Jay in the corner. Awesome spot. Springboard double stomp to Jay gets 2. Forearm exchange leads to Matt coming off the ropes, dragon suplex attempt blocked but Jay turns it into a Fisherman's DDT! Jigsaw makes the save at 2, fights off the Jay Driller and hits the enziguiri on Jay! Cross goes for a sunset bomb on Mark, holds on before flipping all the way over, and Jigsaw hits a superkick to add to the momentum! For a thrown-together team, that was tremendous. 2 count only though. Jay thrown outside by Jay, who follows and whips him to the barricade. In the ring, Cross lands on his feet after a release German attempt by Mark, who blocks a clothesline and DROPS CROSS ON HIS HEAD with an exploder. Tag to Jay, suplex reversed into a schoolboy for 2 by Cross! Jay with a boot to Cross, a back elbow for Jigsaw on the apron, then a HUGE Yakuza kick to Cross! Springboard double stomp by Mark, who then FLIES over the top to take out Jigsaw!!! Jay has Cross...DAMN! Sick J Driller and that's all.

Winners:Jay and Mark Briscoe by pinfall (Jay on Cross) after a Jay Driller.
Rating: **3/4 Typical fast-paced opener from the Briscoes, and they had the right team to do it with. That said, there was nothing in this match you haven't seen a hundred times before from Jay and Mark, and nothing you won't see again. Apart from a couple of Matt Cross spots, there was nothing in this match I'll remember next month.

Post match, Jay Briscoe promises Age of the Fall that they'll be watching, and they want their belts back. Man Up!

It's too dark to see, but I presume, Lacey and Tyler Black cut a promo. Oh, I get it, it's dark because they're dark. Ooooh, symbolism.

Adam Pearce (with Shane Hagadorn) vs Claudio Castagnoli

The "Repo Man!" chants get started early. Pearce tries to get the crowd to "HEY!" for him, without much success. Even SINCLAIR gets more "Hey!". Golden. Arm bar exchange to start, every time Pearce goes "wooooooooooooooah" in preparation for a punch to get out of it, Claudio tightens up. "This is not funny" - Pearce. "Yes it is" - Claudio. Money. Pearce with some chops, a whip gets reversed, headscissors by Claudio, then an arm drag and another into a wristlock. Scoop slam by
Pearce but Claudio holds on and rolls through back to the wristlock. Pearce to the ropes and to the floor, but Claudio is still holding on to the arm, and drags Pearce back in! Pearce backs Claudio to the corner, whip to the opposite corner, but Claudio is STILL holding on. Pearce finally gets out, shoulder tackle by Pearce, to the ropes again but a back body drop by Claudio. Claudio charges, Pearce catches him and hits a stun gun, assisted by Hagadorn who is wearing Delirious' mask. Pearce in control with typical heel tactics. Crowd gets behind Claudio and he attempts to come back with some forearms but runs into a spinebuster for 2. Pearce applies the camel clutch! Break his back, make him humbell, then FACK HIS ASS old country way! Claudio shows signs of escaping so Pearce jumps on his back. Pearce takes some time to jaw with the crowd then beats Claudio down in the corner. Whip by Pearce, but he drops his head, and here come the Europeans! STIFFNESS! He hits the spinning facebuster for 2. Whip reversed by Pearce, Claudio catches Pearce's legs and GIANT SWING! Even watching that makes me dizzy. 2 count for Claudio. Running European by Claudio is blocked and turned into a rack bomb by Pearce. Pearce sells the dizziness from the spin, goes up top anyway and hits a big splash for 2. Pearce is only 245 but looks huge compared with most guys in RoH. Pearce goes to use a chain, but eats a European, the Riccola Bomb (sans Riccola) follows and gets the 3. I feel so cheated, no yodelling!

Winner: Claudio Castagnoli via pinfall (Riccola Bomb)
Rating: *½ Ah yes, now I remember why I'm not a Pearce fan. The majority of his offence is just vanilla striking. He's capable of more but doesn't seem to use it. Claudio is becoming another McGuinness, using mostly European uppercuts and the Riccola Bomb. Both guys should stick with what got them over, that being a more varied offence. Nigel has started that to an extent with the wristlock submission, now hopefully Claudio can follow suit.

Sweet N Sour, Inc. are backstage again, but it seemed pointless...

FIP Title Match: Davey Richards vs Austin Aries vs Erick Stevens (C)

Davey's entrance theme is awesome. His buzzcut, not so much. Davey charges Stevens right away, but Stevens just carries him like a sack of something not heavy and rams him into the corner. Stevens goes nuts on Davey, beating seven shades of shit out of him. Aries finishes his slurpee and asks for some beatings too, Davey gives him a chop, Stevens gives Davey a chop, Perfect gives Hogan a chop, Haku gives Perfect a chop...woah, Rumble flashbacks. The faces take turns kicking crap out of Davey, Aries hurts his hand with a SICK chop, Stevens can't match it. Oh this is great, they're using Davey's chest for a chop battle! Now they're taking turns with elbow smashes to the back of the neck. Fed up with being double-teamed more than Johnny Fairplay's wife, Davey bails to the outside. Stevens catches him by the foot, but Aries grabs his arms and tries to take him to the outside while Stevens stands on his back and tries to keep him inside. Aries finally wins the tug of war, only to roll him back on to the apron....NICE slingshot axe handle to Davey's chest while Davey is hanging over the apron! Davey rolls back in, right into a scoop slam by Stevens, fist drop, Aries slips in and gets a cover for 2 before Stevens breaks it up. Double whip, Davey ducks the double clothesline, shoves Stevens into Aries and tries a go-behind on Stevens, standing switch and a back suplex by Stevens. Aries gets up and is OFFENDED~!, so he and Stevens go for handbags at 10 paces. Davey gets up to admire his handiwork, but unfortunately for him, Aries and Stevens take offence at his presence and go back to work.

Whip to the corner by Aries, running forearm by Aries, here comes the CHOO CHOO...No! Aries with a clothesline to cut Stevens off, then takes it to Stevens in the corner! DOUBLE CROSS~! Stevens reverses things with shoulder charges in the corner, Davey comes back with a shot to the back and a big clothesline to Stevens. BIG kick to the chest by Davey, who advises us that he has NO REMORSE! Snap mare by Aries, spine tickler, kick to the chest. Aries goes for the cover, but Davey wishes to correctly instruct Mr Aries in the art of kicking the shit out of someone, so he pulls Aries off the pin and delivers a spine tickler and kick to the chest of his own. Poor Stevens. Aries goes for the quick cover, but Davey pulls him off. Aries is the Ultimate Opportunist~! Aries and Davey going to work on Stevens in the corner now, but they get fed up co-operating. Whip to Aries by Davey, back elbow. Snap suplex to Aries gets 1. Davey with a kick, tries for another suplex, but it's blocked by Aries who then hits a 3-handled credenza! No word on whether it was moss-covered. I love that move. Aries goes to work on Stevens, they exchange some shots then Aries hits an STO and the pendulum elbow, but before he can cover, Davey throws him out of the ring, and goes for the pendulum elbow himself! He misses! Aries back in, whip by Davey, Aries ducks the clothesline but runs straight into a powerslam from Stevens. Davey goes for the elbow to break it up but Stevens moves and Davey hits Aries. Stevens grabs Davey and hits a swank release German. He appears to be somewhat fired up. Off the ropes, clothesline blocked by Davey, rolls through with the armbar into the 14:59 kimmura lock! Shades of Daniel Puder! Stevens shows his POWER and stands right up with Davey in a powerslam position, goes for the Oklahoma Stampede, Davey slips out after the turnbuckle ram but before the slam. Davey with the go behind, standing switch, Aries feels left out so he grabs a waistlock on Stevens, they do a couple more switches, DOUBLE GERMAN! Aries was in front and takes the brunt of that move, while Stevens was at the back. Hardly a new spot but still one we don't see often. Aries and Stevens have a chop battle, Stevens goes to the ropes but Aries follows him with a leaping forearm sending Stevens to the outside. Aries charges and hits the tope through the ropes, driving Stevens into the guardrail! Davey comes running and hits the spiral tope, and all 3 men are dead on the outside!

Davey throws Aries in, goes up top...missile dropkick! Waistlock by Davey, Aries escapes with elbows, brainbuster reversed into a high-angle bridging German for 2! Whip by Davey, he charges in but Stevens is back in the ring and catches Davey, lifts him into DVD position, then DOES THE SAME TO ARIES! Double TKO! 2 only on the cover of Davey, so Stevens covers Aries and also gets 2. It looked kind of sloppy but it was impressive anyway. Davey is in the corner, Stevens backs up and goes for the CHOO CHOO...but Aries is waiting outside and trips Stevens! Dropkick in the corner to Davey! Aries sets for the brainbuster, but Stevens comes charging with the choo choo to both men! Doctor bomb try to Davey, countered to a crucifix for 2! Dragon screw by Davey, into a cloverleaf! Aries up top, comes down with the sledge to Davey to break the hold. Davey hits a chinbreaker, some stiff kicks, then goes for a powerbomb...countered into a facebuster! You can't powerbomb Aries! MMA Knees by Aries! Damn that looks like it could ruin your day. He flips over into the Horns of Aries inverted chinlock! Stevens in to break it up, he's stalking Aries....Stevens charges and Aries low bridges him to the outside! Forearm exchange between Aries and Davey, jumping headbutt from Davey, roaring elbow by Aries blocked into a backslide for Davey which gets 2! VICIOUS kick to the head by Aries! Aries goes for the brainbuster, but Stevens DECAPITATES him with a lariat and hits the Doctor Bomb on Richards for the win!

Winner: Erick Stevens by pinfall on Davey Richards (Doctor Bomb)
Rating: ***½ Are we at all shocked that Davey jobbed? No? Good. Solid match that was *just* this side of great. The slow burn Aries heel turn (or not)
continued here, and would get more interesting later in the evening.

Post match, Austin Aries will not shake hands! EVIL HEEL~!

The Hangm3n (Brent Albright and BJ Whitmer) vs Delirious and El Generico

This is a No DQ match. I would dearly love to know what is growing on Albright's head. The faces come out to Generico's music, and it appears we have Red Delirious tonight. However, the heels are allergic to Adidas (I wonder if anyone will actually get that one...) and attack the masked men as they come down the aisle. Bear with me, RoH No DQ tag matches are notoriously hard to recap. Generico is whipped into the railing by BJ, and then gets his spine realigned via steel chair. Head first into the rail now. Miscellaneous vanilla beatings from the heels, until BJ tries a noggin knocker on Delirious and Generico, who block it and throw BJ into the barricade. OK so with Hagadorn the Troll out there, this is effectively 3 on 2. Oh that's tremendous, Random Fan just gave Generico a belt, and he wails on BJ with it! EC Dub! Albright breaks up that idea. Generico is thrown in by BJ who follows. Whip by BJ, Generico ducks the clothesline, then hits a lucha headscissors. BJ gets right back up and hits a BIG forearm smash. Whip, but BJ ducks his head and Generico with a basement dropkick to the head of BJ by way of punishment. Whitmer rolls to the outside, Generico bounces off the ropes for a dive but Albright would prefer it if he just ran into a clothesline. Albright showboats so Serious Delirious charges in and catches Albright from behind with a forearm. Repeated headbutts in the corner by Delirious! Albright with a gut shot to stop the momentum, then a whip to the corner, but Delirious vaults over the ropes and snaps the neck of the charging Albright over the top rope. Delirious up top...lariat! Albright bails to the outside, Delirious wants to dive onto him, but the Troll is in with the STO! That was pleasant. OMG Pelle Primeau is out! Lou Thesz press to the back! Double stomp! Biggest pop Double P ever got. Rana by Primeau, BLACK MIST by Delirious to Hagadorn! Albright comes in to beat down Delirious, Primeau tries to continue his helpful streak by pounding on Albright. Mr Albright, always the gentleman, thanks Pelle for the back rub, piefaces him to the ropes, then executes a combo codebreaker/wheelbarrow suplex with BJ. Thanks for coming Pelle. Oh, they're not done? Frog Splash by BJ, NOW they're done. Generico is still alive and hits a running forearm to take Albright out of the ring. BJ with some stiff shots, whip, but he charges right into an elbow and then a boot from Generico. Flying crossbody from the top gets 2. Generico throws BJ to the outside. Both Generico and Delirious run...dive...tope by Delirious and tope con hilo by E! Deliri-von...GET THE TABLE!!11!

Delirious sets the table between rail and apron, BJ interrupts him and throws him into the crowd. And here comes the cluster. Generico and Albright exchanging blows, BJ and Delirious doing similar. Albright throws a trash can at Generico. Generico fires back with a beverage shot! Albright is upside down in the garbage can! Generico dropkicks it! Comedy hardcore! Poor Albright is the poorest muthafucker in RoH... ain't nobody helping him. Meanwhile Delirious is busy pounding BJ's
head into chairs being held up by fans. We cut back to Generico and Albright, Albright is still lying on the ground with his head in a garbage can, and Generico is throwing chairs at it. I have no words to adequately describe this awesome. Delirious has BJ, goes for a power bomb but is back dropped into some chairs! Trash can shot by BJ! Albright hits Generico with something heavy, couldn't see what. BJ has appropriated a belt and is using it on Delirious now. He's a government mule! Slam by BJ into the chairs! Albright and Generico are heading in the general direction of the ring, Albright is in control until Generico stun guns him over the railing. In the crowd, Delirious allegedly suplexes BJ. I say allegedly because the lighting is terrible. Nobody is bleeding yet. Generico throws Albright into the ring! Oh yeah, we're having a wrestling match.

BJ power bombs Delirious through the previously-erected table, standard table bump. Pretty sad when a table bump can be considered standard, but there we are. Generico tries the big Yakuza but catches nothing but turnbuckle! Backdrop/top rope clothesline combo to Generico gets 2. Demolition Decapitation gets 2 more! Tandem suplex by Albright and BJ is countered into a double DDT by Generico! Delirious is randomly hurling chairs into the ring. He comes in as well and is a
house~! en~! fuego~! Clotheslines abound, Albright to the outside. Delirious and Generico both have chairs now, BJ is in trouble. He tries to duck, so Delirious just whacks him on the back. They play tennis with BJ's head, until Generico's chair-racquet gets stuck on BJ's neck. Delirious tries to smack it off BJ's neck and succeeds, but unfortunately the makeshift ball seems to have collapsed in a heap. Every one of those shots was unprotected. Damn. Generico with the cover for 2 before Albright breaks it up. Albright with forearms now, whip, snap powerslam to Generico. Delirious has another table, but he gets pulled into the ring before he can set it. Albright has the table now, as well as a NASTY looking gash on his back. It's not gushing blood but it's VERY red. Albright now grabs the plastic binding from the broken table and hangs Generico with it! Generico smacks Albright with the ring bell! Enziguiri by Delirious, Generico to the top...big splash! BJ breaks up the pin at 2! BJ whips Delirious, it's reversed...YAKUZA by Generico! Panic Attack by Delirious! Lucha DDT by Generico! HIGH Shadows over Hell by Delirious! Here comes Adam Pearce! He breaks up the pin by dragging the ref out and starts laying into Delirious with chain-wrapped fists. Pearce wraps up Delirious with the chain and drags him to the back...that can't end well for our favourite masked madman. In the ring, Generico has carefully placed a chair on the face of Albright in the corner, probably the North so as to correctly align his chi. Yakuza to the chair! Only a 2 count though. Brainbuster try to BJ, who blocks and turns it into an exploder! Albright locks him up and lays in repeated knee strikes! Damn that looks sick! Ref Todd Sinclair stops the match and that's all.

Winners: The Hangm3n via ref stoppage (sickening knee strikes by Albright to Generico)
Rating: ***3/4 There are only so many "hardcore" spots you can do, but these guys managed to come up with a couple I hadn't seen. The table spots were a bit
bland, again not something i thought I'd ever say, but it doesn't come more generic than a power bomb and a splash through the tables. I could have done without the Pearce run-in, that feud had already been built enough by that point that one more attack wasn't going to put it over the top. I wouldn't want to be BJ's head or Albright's back after this match.

Sweet n Sour Int'l. are backstage discussing their plans for the title bout. Sweeney has the best maniacal cackle since Ted DiBiase.

Lacey (with The Age of the Fall) vs Daizee Haze

Jimmy Jacobs cuts a promo pre-match to tell everyone what they're going to do tonight. He then goes on a standard AotF rant, which is interrupted by Daizee Haze telling Jimmy that nobody wants to hear him bitch, and if he's feeling a little bloated, she has some Pamprin backstage. If it is possible, Lacey is even hotter in PVC and black hair. Daizee charges the ring and they pound on each other to start. This ain't no Divas match! Whip by Lacey, she ducks her head though and Daizee just throws her to the mat and tries to tenderise her face. Apparently, Random Woman in Lacey's corner is Allison Wonderland. Where have I heard that name before? Whip to Lacey who bails, Daizee tries to bring her in but eats some stiff kicks by Lacey. Both ladies outside, Daizee is whipped HARD into the rails. Lacey lays in some stiff forearms, rolls Daizee back in and gets 2. Drop toehold by Lacey, crossfaces and a rollup by Lacey gets 2. Lacey goes for a TKO but Daizee rolls her up for 2. Backbreaker by Lacey gets 2. Whip to the corner, Lacey charges, gets and elbow, charges again, missile dropkick by Daizee. Lacey ducks a couple forearms and nails a few of her own. Clothesline frenzy by Daizee, Lacey ducks one and then eats a German instead. Daizee hits a Yakuza, tries for a second but gets a lungblower for her troubles. Lacey charges with a clothesline to the back of the head, she charges again, Daizee catches her with a boot then rolls her with a sunset flip and bridge for the surprise 3!

Winner:Daizee Haze via pinfall (Bridging sunset flip)
Rating: *3/4 Well...it was there, it was short, but it was fine. Strange booking decision to have Haze go over when Age of the Fall are the big thing right now, but if they had to give a loss to one of the Age, then I guess Lacey was the right one.

Post match, Jacobs and Tyler Black approach Haze, and Lacey and Allison join in. This is bad mojo. But look, Smithers, the Briscoes are coming! Beatery ensues, with the Briscoes getting the upper hand until...JOEY F'N MERCURY, or Matthews rather, makes his re-debut and KILLS Mark with a chair shot. He's even wearing the MNM fur coat, fabulous. Jacobs locks in the End Times on Jay while Joey nails a double-arm DDT on Mark....to the chair. Ouch. "How's your face?" - Dayton, to Matthews. Matthews gets on the mic and cuts a hell of a promo. Why did the WWE never let this man talk? He finishes his promo saying that on the road to his recovery there will be No Remorse. I wonder who that's going to bring out?

No Remorse Corps (Roderick Strong and Rocky Romero) vs the Age of the Fall (Jimmy Jacobs and Joey Matthews)

We have been taught to hate both these teams, so it will be interesting to see how the crowd reacts. Tyler Black has remained at ringside. Jacobs and Strong to start. Strong shows his dominant strength early, then does a nice chain wrestling spot. Jacobs kicks him off and we have a stalemate. Exchange of strikes, Strong gets the upper hand and tags in Romero. Jacobs quickly gets the upper hand and here comes Matthews. Go behind by Romero, Matthews escapes with an armbar and a takedown. Romero counters into the cross armbreaker but Matthews is able to prevent it from being locked in and escaped to the floor for a summit meeting. Matthews back in, standard shoulder block spot, Matthews holds the ropes and Romero misses the dropkick Matthews runs off the ropes and Romero stops him cold with a kick to the shins. AZUCAR! Matthews blocks a suplex attempt, deposits Romero on the apron, Romero tries to springboard in but meets Matthews' forearm instead. Romero to the floor, Matthews follows simply to throw him back in. MNM pose! He goes for the double-arm DDT but Romero turns away from it. A kick is blocked, the enziguiri is ducked, back roundhouse connects. Meh. That spot was nice when RVD innovated it, OK when Jeff Hardy did it, but now it's just...there . Tag to Strong, chop and a whip but ducks his head and earns free dental surgery from Matthews. Why don't wrestlers ever learn? Whip by Matthews, Romero holds on and turns into a powerslam for 1. Romero places Matthews backwards on the turnbuckle in the NRC corner, tags to Strong who goes to the AotF corner to smack Jacobs. Jacobs blocks it with a shoulder and charges Strong, who drop toeholds Jacobs head first into the groin of Matthews who is hanging from the Tree of Woe in the NRC corner! Romero charges and Strong elevates him into a dropkick to the back of Jacobs. Cover by Strong on Matthews gets 2. Romero in with some kicks, a series of reversals and Matthews clips the knee of Romero, then tags in Jacobs. Jacobs goes to work on the leg, tags in Matthews who continues the job. Romero tries to fight back but he's a one-legged man in an emo-kicking contest. Matthews wraps the leg in the ropes and jumps on it from a great height. Romero is able to kick his way out of a leg grapevine by using his good leg, he rolls to his own corner and gets the tag.

Strong with a shoulder to stop a charging Matthews, then a slingshot shoulder block. Strong knocks Jacobs off the apron, runs off the ropes and a dropkick to Matthews. Whip to Matthews into the corner, Strong charges into the boot of Matthews who throws Strong to the outside. Jacobs has a chair into which he places Strong. Isn't that nice of him? Oh, he gets in the ring, runs the ropes and hits the slingshot plancha to Strong. Jacobs rolls him back in and gets the 2. Matthews to work on the midsection of Strong now. Tag to Jacobs, both AotF members up top, Jacobs gordbusters Matthews onto Strong and then hits a back senton of his own for 2. Jacobs is pummelling Strong, tag to Matthews who locks in the body scissors. Romero breaks that with a kick, but Matthews locks on a bear hug. Whip to the corner, Romero runs over and kicks Matthews right in the jaw, allowing Strong to hit the uranage backbreaker. Tag to Jacobs, who momentarily prevents the tag to Romero, but Strong hits a big back body drop and makes the tag. Series of stiff kicks by Romero, a rollup gets 2, and he uses the momentum of Jacobs' kickout to dropkick Matthews on the apron. Looks like he caught him a good one. Tilt-a-whirl backbreaker by Romero. Romero goes to the ropes but is tripped and dragged outside by Matthews, who proceeds to drop Romero on his face on the outside. Dental plan. Lisa needs braces. Dental plan. Strong slingshots himself into Matthews with a kick! Jacobs jumps off the apron and hits Strong with a clothesline, and everybody is down and hurting.

Romero is up first, still selling the leg from earlier. He throws Matthews in the ring, perches him on the top rope in position for the top rope armbar takedown, but Jacobs is in to break it up. Both AotF guys are up top, Romero is up before they can jump and climbs up with them. AotF still in control though and...DAMN! I don't know what that was, sort of an inverse superplex as the guys executing the move were the ones sitting on the turnbuckle. Still, a very nice visual. Strong breaks up the cover at 2, then throws Matthews to the floor. Jacobs grabs Romero and tries to run up the body of Strong in the corner for the Contra Code, but the NRC manage to block it. Chestbreaker by Strong! Top rope DDT by Romero! 2 count! Strong is in now, gutbuster on the shoulder and the big boot get 2. Matthews is in, gets a chop from Romero. Whip to the corner reversed, Matthews charges but Strong gets an elbow up. Strong climbs to the second rope on the inside, before he can jump Matthews pulls the referee between him and Strong. EVIL HEEL~! Matthews takes advantage of the hesitation to waffle Strong with a forearm and send him to the floor. Romero comes in from out of the blue with a stiff knee and a release German, he tries for the buzzsaw kick but Matthews ducks it and hits a jawbreaker, followed by a superkick and the double-arm DDT! Strong back in, he blocks the double-arm DDT and hits a rack backbreaker. Sets him up for the Gibson Driver, but Jacobs hits a spear to break that up. Shots in the corner by Jacobs, he emo screams and charges straight into Strong's boot. Strong to the second...Kick to Matthews, but Jacobs rolls him up for only 2. Contra Code attempted again, Strong blocks it but Jacobs slithers around and turns it into the End Time! Strong escapes and turns it into a Butterfly Lock, then the Gibson Driver!!!! 2 only! Great sequence. Strong locks in the Boston Crab, although I presume it's meant to be the Stronghold...and Jacobs taps??? Huh?

Winners: No Remorse Corps by submission (Boston Crab on Jacobs by Strong)
Rating: **3/4 This was heading for a lot more, but the last 10 seconds of the match was one big "WTF!?" Jacobs is coming off the biggest win of his life, against the best wrestler in North America. Matthews is making his debut. Why did they do the job? Even if you qualify it and say that Strong is being pushed as a legit main event guy, so losing to him is not a bad thing, then why do you need to protect a guy who is not a regular performer over an RoH mainstay and leader of the most over faction you have? In addition, the match should have ended with the awesome counter sequence - you're talking 3 finishing moves strung together. If you want to have Jacobs kick out of the Gibson Driver to keep him looking strong, then don't have him tap to a simple Boston Crab! Nobody taps to that any more! Frustration really hurt what was otherwise a very good match with good chemistry and flow.

Tyler Black has a mic now and says the third time would be the charm. Maybe they jobbed out Jimmy to give AotF something to cry about. Jimmy and Joey head to the back to cut themselves and post to MySpace while Black claims he will beat Danielson. Yeah, good luck with that. FINAL COUNTDOWN~!

"American Dragon" Bryan Danielson vs Tyler Black

By all reports this match was awesome. Please to don't let me down. Dayton believes Mr Black will be on the receiving end of a grievous cranial injury. They lock up, Danielson goes into a waistlock and takes Black down, Black slips out. I just realised I haven't seen Black before. Another takedown by Danielson and Black escapes easily again. Well then. Test of strength, Danielson takes Black down but Black fights up and to the ropes. Whip by Danielson, hip toss but Black lands on his feet. I am reminded of a line by the great Bobby Heenan. To paraphrase: "Check him for grease, ref, nobody gets away from Danielson that easy!" I miss Weasel. Headlock now by Danielson, headlock takedown, Black with the head scissors, Danielson rolls out and they work the bridge-up/backslide spot. Black is showing no respect to Danielson, and as if to accentuate the point he bitch slaps Danielson. Oops. They lock up, Danielson backs Black into the corner and reaches back for a bitch slap of his own, with interest...but Black ducks it and bitch slaps Danielson TWICE. CATFIGHT~! Danielson has the greatest look on his face, halfway between "I'm going to have to choke a bitch" and "Is this peon for real?" Arm wringer by Black, Danielson rolls around to escape and PAINTS Black with slaps. Several of them. Possibly a bad career move, Mr Black. He rolls to the outside to realign his jaw while Danielson smirks.

They lock up again and do some running, Danielson turns a leapfrog into a flapjack and it's time to go surfing! Black won't release the arms for the surfboard so Danielson simply grabs his nose and pulls back while hooking the legs in the surfboard position. Ow. Danielson has the arms now...WOAH! WOAH! WOAH! Surfboard applied, then he sits forward and turns it into a dragon sleeper/surfboard combo!!! I freaking LOVE that move, it looks like it legit KILLS. Black escapes so Danielson drops a knee to the face. Danielson is still not happy about being slapped and pie-faced, so he takes it out on Black with more slaps. Slingshot suplex with a floatover gets 2! Shades of Tully! Chinlock which Black escapes and piefaces Danielson again! Dumbass. Danielson comes back with some stiff forearms, goes to run off the ropes but Black follows and pushes Danielson through the ropes. Interesting spot. Black to the outside too, whip to the barricade, and a snap suplex on the outside. Black rams Danielson's head into the apron, and whips him hard into the barricade again. MOONSAULT OFF THE BARRICADE! He overshot it a touch, but still nice. Back in the ring, and Black is still slapping Danielson. Let's see what BlaccuWeather Meteorologist Ollie Williams thinks is going to happen next. Ollie?



He goin' get it!

Thanks Ollie. Now this! Black with a hard whip and Danielson goes down in the corner. Basement dropkick to the face by Black gets 2. Chickenwing applied by Black, Danielson escapes but eats an elbow and a knee drop. 2 count for Black. Mr Backlund would not approve, there is no escape from a properly-applied chickenwing! MORE slaps by Black! Danielson is turning green and his clothes are ripping. Black seems oblivious to his plight and keeps slapping. I swear I heard something snap and right away, Danielson starts European uppercut beatery. Knee lift, kick to the back and a 2 count for Danielson. Jawbreaker by Black, a shoulder in the corner and Black is back in charge. Whip by Black, Danielson runs up the corner, flips over Black, and hits a back elbow. Danielson up top...missile dropkick. Black is on the floor and Danielson hits the tope. Danielson is so awesome technically that you tend to forget he can fly too. Danielson tries to suplex Black back into the ring, but Black reverses it and suplexes Danielson to the outside! Black runs and CORKSCREW PLANCHA to the outside!!! Black misses a springboard lariat but hits a flapjack into a side kick to the chest which is allegedly called the Wall of Death. Damn emo kids. It looked nice anyway. ANOTHER slap by Black! Whip by Black, he gets some momentum and charges right into Danielson's boot, who then comes running out of the corner with the flying boot. Danielson grabs both arms of Black and just stamps on his face. Repeatedly. That only gets 2. Danielson looks like he's going for the crossface chickenwing, Black escapes and gets a sunset flip for 2, then they run the standard rollup chain. Both men up, they duck each other's lariat's and TRAIN WRECK mid-ring as both men collide.

Both men are up now and they exchange slaps and forearms mid-ring, bouncing off the ropes for momentum, until Black tries one and meets a roaring elbow instead. Danielson locks in a full nelson, could we see a dragon suplex? No, Black escapes into a rollup for 2. Darn. Dragon suplexes gain an extra star. CATTLE MUTILATION! Black rolls over to escape, stands up and rams Danielson into the turnbuckle repeatedly. Danielson will not let go and rams Black into the opposite corner. Danielson perches Black on the top, goes up with him....super back suplex!!! It gets 2.839!!! Danielson traps the arm...MMA elbows! Black manages to hold on to consciousness and Danielson stops the elbows, goes into the cover and gets 2. Cattle Mutilation again! Seriously, I would love to know where that name came from. Black will NOT quit, he rolls over and to his feet again, Danielson with a tiger suplex! Black lands on his feet! Back brain kick by Black! Schoolboy try is countered by Black, another kick to the head! Black has him in reverse DDT position, lifts him up...Curtain Call! Oh, I'm sorry, he calls it the Paroxysm. Either way, 2 count. Black up top...WHAT THE FUCK!!! Corkscrew moonsault 450!!!!!!!! 1...2...2.915 and Danielson rolls through it and ties him up!!! 1...2...3!!!! Jeebus H Crispus!

Winner: Bryan Danielson by pinfall (cradle)
Rating: **** Let's run through the elements of a great match. Storytelling? Check. Blacks lack of respect turns out to be a good game plan, but not good enough against the Best in the World. Technically sound? Check. No blown spots I could see, some nice chains, and some crisp moves. Exciting finish? Check. Black was so close, but so far, and I warrant many people thought he had it off the corkscrew. Crowd responding? Check. Any time you have duelling chants and you're in the ring with Danielson, you did well. Well paced? Check. Built up nicely. The only thing missing was some consistent selling, and the pacing could have been *slightly* better. And there was no "I have til 5!" Regardless, tremendous match and a perfect example of how to get someone over when they lose.

Post match, Black attacks Danielson with the hammer they use to ring the bell, going after the previously-injured eye of Danielson. Small package driver! The Briscoes come back to save Danielson and call out Age of the Fall for a future engagement.

Delirious is backstage to cut one of his great...WTF? He talks???? Oh, it's Pearce. Carry on. Pearce talks about the upcoming Dog Collar match. He's really rather good on the mic. And I wish i had ordered that DVD. Oh well.

RoH World Title Cage Match: Chris Hero (with Sweet and Sour International) vs Nigel McGuinness (C)

Hero is out with the entire Sweet and Sour crew, and his music starts with Sweeney chanting "Chris is awesome", which is...awesome. Both these guys have the potential to be called up to the big leagues, so this should be interesting.

Hero jumps on Nigel right away. Chop in the corner and that serves to wake Nigel up as he hits one of his own. Hero tries to escape over the top but Nigel catches him and starts laying in the Europeans in the corner. Nigel runs to the opposite corner, pushes off the turnbuckle for momentum and hits a charging European. Vintage Nigel~! Hero fights back with a backfist uppercut and a kick combo for 2. Hero tries to go over the top again but Nigel takes the opportunity to dart through the door, so Hero drops off the cage to stop him. Hero in charge now and working on the arm. He stamps on Nigel's foot a couple of times, bounces off the ropes...Oh my sweet honourable father he banged his head on the cage. Unassisted, he plain bounced too hard. Fabulous. Nigel recovers from a fit of laughing to nail Hero with a lariat for 2. Nigel tries to climb out but Hero grabs his foot and pulls him down, then nails a couple of shots. Headlock by Hero, who makes it look like a million bucks. Nigel backs him into the ropes, shoulder block by Hero. Hip toss reversed by Hero. Nigel up with an arm drag and then an armbar. Hero makes the ropes, which doesn't matter in the cage. Nigel scrambles for the door, Hero stops him then heads for the floor himself. They go back and forth a couple of times, with Sweeney actually using his head to block Nigel from escaping. Seriously, Sweeney's expressions on the outside are just money. Finally Nigel pulls Hero in and hits a back suplex. Nigel tries to climb again, Hero stops him, hits a forearm and bounds to the top rope in the opposite corner, trying to escape. Nigel recovers and starts smacking Hero, who rolls through off the top with a sunset flip. CRAVATE~! Nigel breaks out and hits a couple of Europeans, Hero ducks the lariat and gets a rollup for 2. Nigel kicks out, Hero uses the momentum to climb to the second rope and dives off with the Buff Blockbuster!!!! 2 count only. Hero believes that was 3. Hero then realises that this is all time that could be spent escaping and tries to climb. Ngel catches him. "Ow! It's stabbing me! The chain!" - Hero. Fabulous. Both men on the top, Hero with back elbows to knock Nigel back to the mat, Nigel is back up quickly to stop the ascent again. Super back suplex by Nigel! Both men are down, but why is Sinclair doing the 10 count?

Nigel up quickly, throws Hero to the corner chest first, kicks Hero in the back and then drops him with an elbow across the chest for 2. Nigel tries to climb again, he's favouring a leg. Not sure if that's legit, can't see where he hurt it though. Hero thinks about going for the door but changes his mind and dropkicks Nigel right in the ass, while Nigel is on the top. Impressive, most impressive. Basement dropkick by Hero to the knee. Hero calls for the door but Nigel has him by the foot. Hero gives up on the escape idea and instead decides to rip at Nigel's face. He gets tired of that and now goes to work on the leg. Smart move for a cage match. Hero tries another quick escape but Nigel's reflexes save him. Having pulled Hero in he tries to escape himself, Hero pulls him back by the good leg and then locks in a leg butterfly on Nigel. Believe me when i tell you how much that sucks. Hero stands up and applies a spinning toe hold, then bridges over, forcing Nigel's leg to bend in a most fucked-up way. That looks PAINFUL. Hero tries to climb this time but Nigel has enough left to stop him. Hero is thrown off the ropes and now Nigel tries to escape. Hero stops him and hangs him in the tree of woe, then climbs the cage while standing on Nigel's legs. Smart. Somehow Nigel still manages to block Hero, who gets down and lands a couple of boots to the face, before a running dropkick to the knee. Hero crawls for the door and Nigel frees himself in time to stop him. Toland slides a chair into the ring while Sara Del Rey gives Todd Sinclair her recipe for latka. Chair shot to the knee! Hero wraps Nigel's knee in the chair and PILLMANISES him with a senton. Hero to climb out again, but again Nigel manages to stop him. Hero has the chair again, locks in a half crab and SITS ON THE CHAIR!!! That's just awesome. Nigel uses his upper body to power up and roll out of the half crab. Dayton is chanting for Bobby Dempsey, so Hero smacks the chair into the cage and demands their attention. Yeah, that'll work. Hero climbs on top of the chair and applies a standing cravate, Nigel doesn't stay in it long and headbutts Hero in the gut, followed by a BIG European, then drives Hero's head into the chair seat.

Nigel's knee is holding up pretty well all things considered. maybe he's just doing a bad sell job. Nigel rams Hero hard into the cage, and Hero is juiced. Once more with feeling into the cage. Nigel measure Hero and hits a lariat for 2. Now it's Nigel's turn to climb, bum wheel and all. He gets one leg over the top before Hero stops himHero with a shot to Nigel's leg to bring him down, Cravate Buster from the second rope! Hero with the cover and a 2 count. Hero is cut pretty badly. Hero climbs again, Nigel stops him on the top rope, but Hero kicks him off, then loses his balance and crotches himself.Nigel sets the chair....TOWER OF LONDON TO THE CHAIR!!!!! That looked SICK. Nigel crawls v-e-r-y s-l-o-w-l-y for the door, but Sweeney closes the door on Nigel's head. Ref Paul Turner ejects Sweet N Sour! Meanwhile Hero is starting to stir, Nigel is still down. Hero tries to climb, Nigel runs across the ring, Hero kicks him off and he has both legs over! Nigel grabs his head just in time to prevent him dropping, slowwly pulls him back in...superplex off the cage!!!! Sweet N Sour have crept back out, Paul Turner goes to remonstrate with Toland and Sweeney but doesn't see Dempsey sneaking to the cage door! Jesus, how do you miss that? Nigel is crawling for the door, Dempsey is poised to slam it on his head while Hero climbs. Wait, Hero runs for the door and Dempey slams it on Hero instead! Ohhhh, Bobby, you got some 'splainin to do! Toland jumps the railing and holds the door closed, so Nigel tries to climb. Hero heads for the door, but Nigel gets over the top and wins the race to the floor to retain the title.

Winner: Nigel McGuinness by escape.
Rating: ***¼ A lot of people loved this match. I can't say I didn't like it, but I didn't love it either. Sure there were some amazing spots, but everything around them was a standard cage match. There was little use of the cage, too many escape tries, and Nigel's Magical Knee was a big turn-off. I'm normally a big fan of cage matches, and this one was certainly good, but it didn't leave me breathless like Jacobs-Whitmer, although that one is exceptional. Bottom line: I've seen it all before. They could have had almost the same match without the cage.

The 411: I can definitely recommend this DVD, if only for the triple threat and the Danielson-Black match. The cage match was decent, and really apart from the booking decision and the strange finish, the NRC-AotF match is very good. Nothing on the card was bad, although Pearce-Claudio came close. With the Final Battle 2007 reaction and the way the crowd was pro-Hero here, Nigel's heel turn was well under way. I can't say this was a disappointment based on the recommendations, but I was certainly expecting something more.

Final Score:  7.7   [ Good ]