Beyond wrapped up 2021 with the return of their Heavy Lies The Crown event, featuring a Fans Bring The Weapons match with Kimber Lee and Masha Slamovich.
Quick Results
Rickey Shane Page, Bobby Beverly & Gregory Iron pinned Bobby Orlando, Bryce Donovan & Aaron Rourke in 9:34 (**¾)
Eel O’Neal submitted Vincent Nothing in 9:04 (***¼)
Max The Impaler pinned Jody Threat in 11:32 (***)
Kevin Ku & Dominic Garrini pinned Kylon King & Dustin Waller in 12:01 (***½)
JD Drake pinned Slade in 8:58 (***½)
Megan Bayne defeated Trish Adora via referee stoppage in 15:43 (***½)
Vincent pinned Dan Barry in 10:57 (***)
Becca pinned Willow Nightingale in 11:53 (***¼)
Alec Price pinned Ryan Galeone in 14:18 (***½)
Tracy Williams & Wheeler Yuta pinned Jonathan Gresham & Rhett Titus in 19:30 (****)
Fans Bring The Weapons Death Match: Masha Slamovich pinned Kimber Lee in 12:32 (***½)
We’re back at the White Eagle in Worcester, MA as the Wrestival weekender continued. Paul Crockett and Sidney Bakabella are on the call…
44OH! (Bobby Beverly, Gregory Iron & Rickey Shane Page) vs. Aaron Rourke & Shook Crew (Bobby Orlando & Bryce Donovan)
This was the first time 44OH! had been in Beyond as a group… and there’s no Cam Zagami here today, after he lost his unbeaten run the previous night.
Iron chops Rourke early on, but gets taken into the corner for some receipts before he floated out of a ‘rana from Iron. Tags bring in Beverly and Donovan to trade forearms ahead of a suplex from Beverly for a one-count, while RSP’s thumb to the eye of Donovan gave him a brief opening.
Bobby Orlando’s in, and seems a little nervous as he has his goat thrown in to defend against RSP… Bobby Jr’s kicked into the front row, while Orlando’s met with a snap slam. Iron tries to leap off the top into Bryce Donovan, but only ends up eating a Black Hole Slam for a near-fall, as the Club Cam members ended up exchanging rapid tags while trying to isolate Iron.
The referee stops them as RSP swapped in and took Iron’s place – the ref allowed it briefly as Iron eventually pulled himself back in. Beverly quickly tags in as things keep going, but he’s overwhelmed briefly as all hell broke loose, leading to Iron getting suplex-thrown onto Club Cam on the floor. RSP followed with a tope into the pile, before Iron’s swinging DDT to Orlando kept things going back inside.
Rourke and Orlando combine with a dropkick-assisted German suplex to Iron for a near-fall, while Rourke’s split-legged moonsault keeps it going, before a Doomsday Meteora to RSP should have gotten the win – but Rourke wasn’t legal, and couldn’t get Orlando to the pin in time. Instead, Donovan’s piledriver lofts Beverly for a near-fall, before 44OH!’s double-teams cleared the ring, leading to Orlando taking a GTF for the win. A decent opener, but the crowd seemed to go flat early on – perhaps not used to 44OH! either being in Beyond, or cheered. **¾
Vincent Nothing vs. Eel O’Neal
This one started with things going to the mat, with both men looking for an initial advantage.
Nothing keeps it grounded before he pulled up and slammed O’Neal, then followed up with an Exploder. Another one followed, as Nothing added a series of chops in the corner, before O’Neal’s attempt to stick and move led to him hanging Nothing’s arm in the ropes. A hanging armbar followed from O’Neal, as he began to target Nothing’s arm with a snapper before Nothing retaliated with a German suplex and a Samoan driver. Another crack at an Exploder’s elbowed away as O’Neal ends up coming back with a mounted key lock, only to get met with another Exploder.
The finish comes pretty quickly as O’Neal takes a superplex, but popped up to apply another Kimura… forcing Nothing to tap quickly as Eel ends 2021 with a W. A good little match, but I want to see where this is going to head going into the New Year. ***¼
Max The Impaler vs. Jody Threat
Max is back, but they’re looking for their first win in Beyond, having lost to Willow Nightingale and Megan Bayne so far.
Threat ran at Max early on, leaping in for a side headlock before they resisted a Fireman’s carry and clubbed Jody away. A ragdolling waistlock chucks Threat aside, before a Thesz press dumped Threat, who ended up getting choked and stomped on afterwards. A mounted rear naked choke from Threat looked to get her back in, but Max just throws her aside before catching Jody’s crossbody, turning it into a Fire Thunder driver.
Max continues to overwhelm Jody, but they missed a shoulder charge into the corner, which allowed Jody back in with a spear. Forearms from Threat keep Max on the back foot briefly, before a Whoopee Cushion off the top added to it… as a clothesline nearly puts them away. Threat takes Max outside after a German suplex, but stayed on them with a F5, but Max kicks out at two. Max can’t quite make the cover as they get back up to powerbomb Threat instead, before they tried to choke out Threat instead. The ref breaks it up as Threat returned with a Code Red for a near-fall.
Threat’s second crack at a spear ends up getting caught into an over-the-shoulder backbreaker… and that’s your lot as Max leaves with their first win. ***
Post-match, Brian Milonas hits the ring and laid out Max with chairshots as they continued their feud that started at ROH’s Final Battle. A swiping chairshot leaves Max laying as Milonas left with his catchphrase… but not before he sandwiched the chair between the buckles and flung Max into it for good measure.
They then start to dish out the IWTV awards for 2021 – Violence is Forever win tag team of the year… and wouldn’t you know it, they’re up next after a sarcastic acceptance speech.
Violence Is Forever (Dominic Garrini & Kevin Ku) vs. The Miracle Generation (Dustin Waller & Kylon King)
Waller comes through the crowd to jump start the match with a crossbody off the top as the Miracle Generation came out all guns blazing.
A wheelbarrow splash, back senton and standing shooting star press nearly puts Ku away early, before Garrini came in and began to wear through Dustin Waller. Ku’s back to tie up Waller’s legs for a STF, as the three-peating IWTV tag team of the year were having their way with the Discovery Gauntlet winners. Vile kicks from Garrino keep Waller down, as did Ku’s strikes, but Waller floated over Ku… then came in with a gamengiri and a flying forearm. Ku quickly tags out as Garrini stops a tag from being made on the other side, before a powerbomb/half crab combo drew in Waller to break things up.
Ku’s back to trade chops with Waller, who then floated out of a Dragon sleeper before tagging in Kylon King, who ran wild with clotheslines and back elbows. Waller caught enough of a somersault plancha on the outside, before King’s wheelbarrow German suplex nearly put Ku away. A suplex from King’s escaped by Ku as a kick-assisted Regal-plex dumped King for a near-fall, while Waller broke up the pin after a couple of high/lows… Garrini and Waller trade strikes, with Waller pulling ahead before King leapt off of Garrini’s back to dropkick Ku off the apron. Garrini’s kept down, but catches Waller’s 450 into a triangle armbar, which King breaks up by throwing Ku into the pile.
King and Waller combine for a slam/powerbomb on Ku, before the Miracle Generation lads went for a powerplex… but Garrini shoves Waller off the top rope as Ku rolled through the superplex, landing a Fisherman buster. Garrini hits a Snow plow next, before a Chasing the Dragon put King away. A really enjoyable tag as the Miracle Generation looked to keep their hot run going, but were ultimately overwhelmed by the surly vets. ***½
Sam Leterna’s back to present another IWTV award… Wrestler of the Year’s given to Daniel Garcia, who isn’t here tonight, so Sam accepts on his behalf. AC Mack interrupts and claimed he should have been given the award because he beat Garcia in the SCI finals. Slade interrupts and chokes out Mack, and that’s the end of that!
Slade vs. JD Drake
This one should be a balls-to-the-wall fight… amazingly, this was only Drake’s second match in Beyond, after appearing on one of the monster 18-match cards for Beyond in 2014.
The pair go nose to nose to start off with, exchanging chops before Drake rolled Slade down for a kick to the back. Slade’s right back up, landing a leaping clothesline and an Exploder to take Drake outside. Following him, Slade chops and clubs away at Drake, who replied with a pop-up forearm on the apron, before Machine Gun chops wore out Slade. Drake powerbombed Slade onto the edge of the ring, then rolled him back in so he could poke Slade in the eye. A slam and a headbutt keeps Drake ahead, before Slade caught a floatover in the corner and turned it into a slam. Drake’s back with a Bossman slam for a two-count, before we go back to chops.
We’ve a Tim Thatcher-like slap to the face that just wakes up Slade, who returned with a wrist-clutch Exploder. Drake ends up eating a chokeslam too for a near-fall, before he hit a kick-wham stunner to catch Slade off guard. A follow-up cannonball misses, as a Hidden Blade from Slade sends Drake to the outside. Back inside, Drake hits a mule kick, then the Drill Bit to lay out Slade, before JD went up top… and hits a moonsault that proved to be enough to put Slade away. An enjoyable sprint, with Drake perhaps underscoring that Slade’s not quite there yet in terms of being able to win without plunder. ***½
Megan Bayne vs. Trish Adora
Hey, Denver Colorado (the man, not the place) finally got the match on! Guess all those messages to your religious figure of choice paid off…
A terse handshake opens things up as Adora and Bayne lock up into the ropes, before Adora looked to work over Bayne’s left arm and shoulder, throwing her into the corner ahead of an armbar. Shoulder blocks follow as both women looked for an advantage, but it’s Adora who pulled ahead before she went back to the arm as Bayne tried for the tombstone. Bayne manages to get free with a slam, but a bridging back suplex nearly nicks it for Adora, only for Bayne to hit back with an overhead belly-to-belly. Adora’s forced to fight back, but a stalling no-bump suplex drops her to the mat, before a hopeful roll-up only got her a one-count. An attempted tombstone ended up turning into a slam for another two-count, before a bear hug looked to wear down Adora.
Adora sidesteps a charge in the corner as she found a way through with a head kick, but a German suplex resets things… only for Bayne to miss a splash as Adora was having to pick her spots for her offence. Chops looked to create an opening, which Adora eventually used to hit a backbreaker for a near-fall, before a double-leg takedown gets another near-fall. Another slam from Adora gets her close, as did a crossface… but Bayne makes it to the bottom rope to force the break. Bayne snaps back with a Samoan drop, before Adora floated out of a tombstone attempt… she then sat down on a sunset flip attempt, sparking back-and-forth pins, before an Air Raid Crash nearly won it for Adora.
Out of nowhere, Bayne lands a F5 to Adora then pulled her into a triangle armbar… and the ref calls it off. This had a big fight feel, and not just because the match had been delayed multiple times. Bayne felt elevated by this win – and her long run continues, having beaten someone who’d had a lot of focus in Beyond this year. ***½
Dan Barry vs. Vincent
Dan’s feud against the Righteous continues here, with Vincent having attacked Dan after his match against Dutch earlier in the month…
We’ve some mind games in the introductions, which sparked a brief chant of “not Bray Wyatt” to Vincent, before we started off hot as a tope wiped out Barry on the outside. Dan returns the favour with a somersault plancha, following with a superkick on the apron before Vincent elbowed out of a death valley driver.
Instead, Vincent nails a brainbuster onto the edge of the ring, then a Saito suplex back inside as Barry was getting overwhelmed here. Barry retaliates by grabbing the dreadlocks as he fought back, but Vincent took him into the corner for a snap Side Effect that nearly won it. A roll-up out of some headscissors from Barry gave him hope, but a German suplex turned it back around, only for Vincent to take an age to go up top.
Barry catches him with a gamengiri and a superplex, then a back suplex and a delayed flip senton… before a DDT planted Vincent for a near-fall. A second superplex is fought out of as Vincent’s slingshot roll-up nearly nicks it, as did a senton bomb, before Vincent stole the win with a roll-up and a handful of tights. ***
They announce Matt Cardona for the Day 91 show on February 4… then we go to an edited-out intermission so we can have the show bleed into 2022. Sam Leterna opens up the second half with more of the IWTV awards, with the “moment of the year” going up to Matt Tremont getting blown up against Atsushi Onita back in October. Kennedi Copeland accepts on his behalf, and dedicated the award to Markus Crane.
Willow Nightingale vs. Becca
Willow was meant to have wrestled Jordynne Grace, but a late withdrawal means that Willow takes on Becca in a rematch from earlier in Uncharted Territory.
An early attempt at the POUNCE from Willow saw her hit a back suplex instead, taking Becca outside… but a switcheroo sees Becca hit the ring, only to crash and burn on a dive. Back inside, Becca tries to chop her way back in, but she’s caught in the corner with a running leg lariat and a cannonball for a near-fall. A distraction from Price opened it up for Becca to take advantage, kicking Willow in the ropes ahead of a backbreaker, before a bulldog kept Becca ahead. Willow sidesteps a running kick and scored a roll-up for a two-count, before Becca hit back with a cartwheel kneedrop for a near-fall.
Becca throws Willow into the corner while Alec Price popped up onto the apron and removed a turnbuckle cover. The ref caught him and ejected Price, before Willow reversed a whip and nearly took Becca into the exposed corner. Instead, clotheslines bounce Becca ahead of a dropkick, before Willow kicked away a springboard cutter attempt. A death valley driver nearly puts Becca away, as a rebound lariat followed, before the pair traded forearms, which led to a Code Red from Becca. She keeps going with a running forearm to the corner, only for Willow to strike back with a brainbuster off the top rope for a near-fall. Becca’s Scorpion kick delays Willow a little, before another superplex effort ended with Willow getting dropped across the exposed buckle.
From there, Becca headed up top for a 450 splash, landing it perfectly for the win. This was a good little impromptu match, with Becca taking the win – although what that’ll lead to in 2022 remains to be seen. ***¼
Alec Price runs out to celebrate as the ring crew re-attach the turnbuckle… and since Price has a match, why not get to it?
Alec Price vs. Ryan Galeone
Galeone’s coming into this off the back of a win on Uncharted Territory 24 hours earlier… where he ended up getting attacked by Price afterwards to set this up.
Galeone swings for Price early, taking him into the corner before Price rolled away… only to get levelled with a forearm instead. Chops keep Price down, as did a German suplex as Price was just being treated like a human tackling dummy here. A dropkick out of a pop-up gives Price some hope, as he proceeded to hit a double stomp as Galeone threatened to close the door on him.
Price’s offence comes to a shuddering halt when Galeone struck back, but Becca interferes from the floor as Price leapt on Galeone in the ropes a la the Bossman. A springboard splash from Price gets just a one-count, but Galeone continues to swing for the fences and took down Price with an attempted leapfrog into a reverse ‘rana.
A leaping knee from Galeone rocks Price, ahead of a pop-up chokeslam, before Price’s swinging DDT caught the big man out. Price slips out of the corner ahead of a springboard Blockbuster, which actually got some of the Worcester crowd on-side with him. Except Price celebrates too much on the top rope and gets press slammed into a Go 2 Sleep by Galeone, while Becca leaps into a backbreaker for the hell of it.
Galeone powerbombs Becca into Price next, nearly winning with that, before a half-and-half suplex from Price got him close to the win. A big boot knocks Galeone off the apron ahead of a pescado from Price, as he followed up with a flying leg lariat that didn’t even get a one-count. Price keeps up the pressure with a boot, but a dropkick wrecks him into the corner as Galeone goes up for the springboard Molly Go Round… and nails it.
Price kicks out at two before he backflipped out of a powerbomb… then ran in with a Su-Prize Kick. A second one followed, and that’ enough to drop Galeone for the win. Some good stuff from Price to slay the monster… Price has built a good base for himself in 2021 – and now seems to be adorned with that “Ace of Beyond” label going into 2022. ***½
Sam Leterna’s back with another award, as they revealed the IWTV Match of the Year for 2021… Daniel Garcia vs. Wheeler Yuta from IWTV 100 won it out, and luckily Wheeler Yuta’s here to accept the award, and do a wrestle…
Hot Wheelz (Tracy Williams & Wheeler Yuta) vs. The Foundation (Jonathan Gresham & Rhett Titus)
This one should be an absolute cracker from what some may call the remains of ROH. Tracy Williams paraded with the Foundation flag as Yuta was the odd man out here, and he started with Gresham, going tit-for-tat in the opening stages.
Some double-teaming from Yuta and Williams led to a Hart Attack-like clothesline off the middle rope on Titus, before Yuta’s deathlock had Titus in trouble. Gresham tags in and cornered Yuta to start with, but Titus is quickly back to spam pinning attempts as the Foundation just frustrated Yuta in their part of the ring. Yuta eventually fires back, trading slaps with Gresham as the crowd woke up… right as both men fell down after those slaps. Yuta manages to push Gresham away and tag in Williams, who cleared the apron before going to Gresham with knees and almost a gutwrench piledriver for a near-fall. Ow.
A slam from Williams leads to a big splash off the top from Yuta for a two-count, before Williams tried to tie up Gresham’s legs. Gresham gets free, but Williams goes back to the leg, as Yuta gets a tag in… and began going back to the striking game. That’s where Gresham pulled ahead as Titus tagged in, running in with a forearm and a monkey flip to propel Yuta out of the corner, before a spinning back suplex dropped Yuta.
Gresham tries an O’Connor roll on Yuta, but had more luck with a Quebrada before he landed a German suplex, as Titus returned to boot Yuta out of the corner. Titus’ kneedrop’s good for a two-count, before tags got us to Williams and Gresham. Gresham’s knee looked to give out, so Williams leaps in with a STF, but that quickly ends in the ropes. Gresham manages to muscle up Williams for a bridging German suplex that forced Yuta in to break up the cover, before another German suplex and a sliding forearm showed Williams’ annoying stubbornness. “Hot Sauce” retaliated with a clothesline for a near-fall, then again, as the pace quickened… Titus hits his big dropkick to take Yuta off the top rope, following him outside with a tope con giro.
In the ring, Gresham snaps at Williams’ arm again, but a brainbuster in return forces Titus to make another save. Rhett’s chucked outside, then taken out with a Cactus clothesline from Yuta as the match looked to be heading into the home stretch… an Octopus stretch from Gresham has Williams down to a knee, only for Williams to slip out and apply an ankle lock, before a wacky take on the cradle piledriver put Gresham away. Perhaps not the cleanest of finishes, but it worked as this looked to feed into a Williams/Gresham singles match down the road. Well worth your time if you’re a fan of that style of wrestling! ****
…and now for something completely different. They ask the fans to step back from ringside so they can wheel out the fan-provided weapons for the main event, including a far-too-nice-for-a-deathmatch “Beyond Box of Plunder.”
Fans Bring The Weapons Death Match: Kimber Lee vs. Masha Slamovich
The introductions happen at the tail end of 2021 so they can start the match at the top of 2022, as is tradition… Masha’s brought her sickle with her, and with both women wearing white, I have a feeling we’ll be seeing a lot of the red stuff here.
Slamovich and Lee wheel away with punches and kicks to start, before Masha’s pancaked in the middle of the ring. First up, Kimber Lee smashes a walking stick over Masha’s back, before she threw Masha into a road sign. A clapper’s used to whale away on Slamovich next, as we start with some of the tamer weapons, and then we upgrade to a cheese grater.
Heading outside, Kimber Lee grabs a chair and wedged it between the buckles, before she whacked Masha with a baseball bat with Lego bricks glued on. Kimber Lee ends up taking the chair in the corner, before spilling outside as more weapons came into play, including a fish slice and a frying pan. More Lego bricks get thrown as Masha then bounced a plastic orb off of Kimber Lee’s head. Slamovich tries to smash Lego bricks into Kimber Lee like they were skewers, but Kimber’s back to boot a bin lid into Masha’s head. The rest of the bin’s put over Masha s Kimber Lee goes all Jeff Jarrett on it, but the guitar doesn’t break, while a drawing pin-laden bat was smashed over Slamovich. It feels like we’re getting close to the commentary team laying out due to violence, as Masha’s back is literally like a pin cushion…
A piñata’s used next, laden with more thumb tacks as Masha ends up taking a German suplex into the pins and plunder. She quickly pops up… and takes a Tiger suplex into the same pile, before returning with a take on a sidewalk slam for a near-fall. More goodies come into play as Masha sets up a chair bridge and sets up for a Snow Plow off of it… and that’s the win. Ah, we never got to see the Beyond Box of Plunder – but this got wild in a hurry, as Masha Slamovich wrapped up her murderer’s row of opponents in Beyond with a bloody win to start off 2022. ***½
We’re not done quite yet, as Sam Leterna’s back to announce the Breakout Star of 2021 – and I’m guessing it’s Masha because of the timing… and sure enough, Masha leaves all bloodied with the trophy.
If you’ve been reading my Uncharted Territory reviews, or keeping up with Beyond by actually watching it, you’ll know how disrupted their 2021’s been with signings, covid and injuries. So this year’s Heavy Lies The Crown wasn’t chock full of storyline-based matches – but those that were delivered plenty – while that semi-final tag was worth the cost of the IWTV sub alone and then some!