Bryan Danielson vs. Tyler Black

[9.0] "My favorite of their trilogy! Tyler/Seth's always been at his most fun when he's a terrible conniving heel. It's fun watching Bryan try to curb him. Emphasis on try, because Tyler never quite goes down as much as you'd want him to. There's already hints of that young underdog babyface energy under the annoying heel tendencies. This match is also so so important to Seth's career. The only parts that kind of suffer are the bits where Tyler is in control. He still wasn't great at directing the flow of a match."

[8.0] "Sort of similar in dynamic to Bret and Owen at Mania in that its the arrogant young upstart against the wilier vet, yet the reason I don't think it is as good is because it's also worked as a complete clash of styles, old school vs. new, with the ground game of Danielson against Black's flashier style, and because of that the arrogant young heel ends up getting cheered. It makes for a hot crowd, but... I feel like it needed more character work in there from him to keep the heat. Anyway, he gets it back after the match, and the finish is an incredibly perfect way to cap a match of this nature."

[9.0] "I'm really surprised that this doesn't have a higher rating. This is a great example of how to put over a young prospect against a member of the old guard. There is some really simple and effective storytelling and character work here. I love how Tyler shows repeated disrespect to Bryan in the opening minute or so. Bryan responds in kind, giving Black a taste of his own medicine and laying a beating on the newcomer. What sets this match apart is that even after Bryan ups the aggression, Tyler does not acquiesce and let Danielson steamroll over the top of him. He continues to disrespect Bryan, immediately looking to pie face Dragon as he attempts to regain his bearings and take control of the veterans. He shows defiant attitude in continuing to slap Bryan across the face. He will not go quietly in to the night. By the time they reach the part of the match where they are going 50/50 and mirroring some of each other's movements (like the roll up trading or the simultaneous running crossbody) it feels earned instead of rote and cliche. Could Tyler's cockiness in the opening have not been so misplaced after all? Does he have the potential to equal Dragon in the ring? My only real gripe here is that I don't really like the finish. It always kinda bugs me when somebody hits a high impact move off the top then immediately gets rolled up. Bryan sells it here better than most, but I just find it strange. It's a small grievance, however, as ultimately I think that this is a great contest that was true to the event name 'Breakout', as this really was Tyler's first truly standout performance. It is important for people who go back to watch this match without context to understand that this is only Black's second significant singles match in ROH, so a lot of the ROH faithful weren't completely certain of his abilities, and taking Bryan to the limit like this really felt like a big deal. This was a very important match in the development of Tyler Black, and I would consider it to be much better than a lot of his more praised matches (particularly those in WWE)."

[7.0] "***Ÿ - of course don't get me wrong it is a really good match and I loved it, but I expected a tad more I guess"

[10.0] "What an amazing match! This was the first meeting between Bryan Danielson & Tyler Black, and you could see from the get go that they had an amazing chemistry w/ each other. They told a simple, but great story; Tyler Black was the young, arrogant & cocky heel who wasn't gonna be respectful towards The American Dragon, and Danielson made him pay for it. The action was gripping from start to finish. Great match. ****1/2"

[8.0] "A great match, though they would certainly go on to have better ones in the future. Any slight lulls in the action are forgiven when you look at the wealth of great moves, Danielson was clearly the veteran but that works within the story so all's good."

[9.0] "This is the first in a series of matches that Black & Danielson would have over the years. It was pretty awesome. Black really shined in this one, probably his Breakout performance. He & Danielson put on a great match."