Beyond said goodbye to the old and hello to the new, as Heavy Lies the Crown rang in a whole new decade.
Before the show, IWTV announced they’d merged with Smart Mark Video, which means that the catalogue on IWTV is only going to get bigger. We’re back at a packed White Eagle in Worcester, MA… and this time we’ve got monster lighting! Paul Crockett and Mark Sterling are on commentary.
Wheeler YUTA vs. Fred Yehi
Yehi’s had sporadic appearances on Uncharted Territory this year – but last time out he went after Wheeler Yuta, so we’ve got this opener.
They work at a quick pace, with Yehi and Yuta scrambling for a body part. It’s Yuta who edges ahead, getting Yehi’s left wrist until his ear was pulled to force a break, as Yehi began to strike back with chops. A slam and a swift stomp seemed to give Yuta some impetus, taking Yehi outside before the former EVOLVE tag champion stuffed Yuta’s arm in the hollowed ring post to trap him.
Yehi has to style it out as he tried to do a Ric Flair flip from the ring to the apron, and we quickly forget that as he dumps Yuta with an Exploder on the floor. Stomps keep Yuta down, as did a neck crank, before an amateur-style takedown looked to have Yuta in deeper trouble. Even more so when Yehi took his back and ground his elbow into the back of Yuta’s neck. Eventually Yuta gets back in, landing a dropkick in the corner, before Yehi missed an enziguiri… and styled it out with a Koji clutch on the mat. Yuta rolls free and began a comeback with an enziguiri of his own, taking Yehi outside for a tope, then brought him back for a missile dropkick.
Yehi tries to snatch victory with a small package, but Yuta kicks out and comes right back with a tornado DDT for a near-fall before he went for a Yutagatame… that Yehi bit away! Yehi keeps nibbling on the way to a Shining Wizard, before a sheer-drop brainbuster led to a near-fall. The Koji clutch looks to follow, but Yuta rolls out… and ate another Shining Wizard before he scored the win with a jack-knife roll-up! A nice sprint of an opener… and more proof that Fred Yehi needs to be in more high-profile places in 2020. ***½
No Disqualification: Slade vs. Nick Gage
Slade made his Beyond debut last Thursday, beating Aaron Rourke in the Discovery Gauntlet. He’s a bit unhinged, as witnessed by him challenging Nick Gage to a no-DQ match here.
We eschew the intros as Slade and Gage start with a brawl on the outside, and yep… Nick’s going straight for chairs. He doesn’t use them as a weapon though, as he instead sits down Slade for a bar fight in the middle of the ring, before he gave up and just chucked the chair at Slade. You knew it was coming. Slade gets up to avoid a face-washing boot, before he speared himself into a chair… and came up none the worse for wear. Out comes a door, which Slade chucks Gage into with an Exploder, wiping out the bottom third as he then went to set up some chairs for an attempted slam… but Gage just suplexes him through the chairs.
From there, Gage tears apart a bit of the door as the pair whack each other over the head with fragments, ending with chops and a nasty chokebreaker from Gage for a near-fall. Another door’s passed into the ring as Gage’s gang members helped out… as did the ref as a door bridge was set up across some chairs, only for Slade to superplex him through the structure. Slade gets a two-count out of that, but Gage is quickly back with a spinebuster and another chokebreaker, before a piledriver and a folding powerbomb completed the win. Very plunder-iffic – and perhaps way too soon for Slade to be in this spot, as he was eclipsed by Gage here. **
IWTV Independent Wrestling Championship: 1 Called Manders vs. WARHORSE (c)
Since the wacky count-out win over Josh Briggs on Thursday, WARHORSE has had TWO title defences since… so we’re up to defence 21 here.
WARHORSE opens up with chops early on, before a one-handed Gorilla press slam from Manders was shrugged off, with WARHORSE returning with a goddamn Saito suplex. Manders pops up next, but WARHORSE knee slides under a clothesline as the sprint continued, with shoulder charges and a Northern lights from the champion. WARHORSE heads up top, but gets crotched and taken down with a stalling suplex before a stranglehold kept the horse down. After getting free, WARHORSE has to get the boot up to block some charges, then followed up with a missile dropkick that barely got a one-count. Manders gets right back in with a spinebuster for a near-fall, only for a hattrick of German suplexes to turn it back around… and we’re not done with suplexes as Manders hits a Northern Lights superplex and a gutwrench powerbomb as the momentum continued to swing.
The struggle continues as Mander goes for another Gorilla press, turning it into a Snake Eyes before he obliterated WARHORSE with a lariat… but it’s not enough! WARHORSE cuts off a Dusty elbow, but couldn’t avoid a slam as we’re back to chops, which led to Manders heading up top for an avalanche slam… but WARHORSE headbutts free and hits a Goomba stomp instead for the win. A nice sprint of a match – Manders is pretty raw, but there’s a tonne of potential there… get him more reps in 2020 and he’ll be one of the bigger names on the scene. ***¼
WARHORSE barely had time to celebrate before Joan Jett hit… David Starr’s here early – barely 27 hours after wrestling a death match for PROGRESS. He goes straight for WARHORSE, and I guess that title he talked about a few months ago is back at the top of his list of priorities.
David Starr vs. Erick Stevens
We’re Heymaning this as we bleed into the next match, which on paper ought to be a real cracker. Starr comes in for a headlock, but Stevens blocks and rolls free, only to be caught out as Starr rolled into a deathlock. They keep it on the mat, with Starr working the wrist and arm, before a wrist-clutch takedown just looked to piss off Stevens, who came back with a double-leg takedown of his own.
Stevens looks for an arm triangle, but they end up in the ropes, before a strike exchange ended with the pair hooking each other’s arms. Erick just headbutts Starr away, and that causes a trickle of blood as Starr looked to perhaps reopen a wound from that PROGRESS show the prior night. That blood just fired up Stevens as he threw chops to keep Starr down, before elbowing the cut some more. A Pretty Pumped and a diving forearm has Starr back in it, ahead of a sliding splash into the corner that led to a delayed near-fall. Starr uses a chinlock to keep Stevens down, but Stevens powers up and hits a slam as he struggled to get even a one-count out of Starr.
A pendulum backbreaker keeps the frustration up as Starr just got up from every pinning attempt, and almost got caught with a Sharpshooter as he head to make the ropes to prevent the hold from being applied. Stevens shocks everyone as he monkey flips Starr to the outside, but a dive’s cut-off as Starr pops right back with a Cherry Mint DDT, following up with an elbow drop for a near-fall. Starr keeps the pressure up with a forearm into the corner before he lifted Stevens up… a superplex is headbutted away as Erick comes down with a clothesline instead, before a fireman’s carry gutbuster and a Tiger Bomb almost led to the win. After Starr spat blood, Stevens kicks him outside and hits a tope, then a back suplex onto the apron, only for Starr to catch him back inside, spiking him with a Product Recall in the ropes.
A dive from Starr returns the favour from earlier, before the pair slugged it out again, leading to Starr catching Stevens out with a cartwheel/back elbow. A lariat attempt from Stevens he headbutted away, but Erick comes right back with a suplex into a backbreaker, before a Roderick Strong-like Boston crab. Starr escapes as Stevens’ attempt to reapply led to him getting rolled through, before he just tossed Starr into the buckles. Stevens tries to finish off with a powerbomb, but Starr counters into Code Red as the tempo continued to increase, until Starr’s Blackheart Buster cut off the momentum in a heartbeat. A German suplex from Stevens doesn’t have much effect as Starr runs back with a Han Stansen, but he needs to throw some more… and ends up eating a lariat from Stevens before a uranage bounces Starr into the corner.
More shots from Stevens leads to a superplex… but Starr counters into a goddamn avalanche Blackheart Buster for a near-fall! A Han Stansen gets the one-count kick-out, so Starr hits some more before a piledriver, a thrust kick and a running Han Stansen spun Stevens inside out and earned the dramatic W. This really picked up towards the end as David Starr made a late claim to get higher up those wrestler of the year lists… a deserved win, and a monstrous weekend of transatlantic criss-crossing for this maniac. ****
After the match, Starr and Stevens shook hands, while fans threw money into the ring.
Legit Legends (Chuck O’Neil, Dominic Garrini & Kevin Ku) vs. Team Pazuzu (Chris Dickinson, Jaka & Pinkie Sanchez)
Violence Is Forever – Ku and Garrini – won tag team of the year in the IWTV awards before the show… and they’ll have a hell of a challenge as Team Pazuzu here features a returning Jaka.
It’s a clubbering at the bell as all six men paired off, spilling outside while Garrini punched out Sanchez in the ring. Pinkie recovers to land a springboard moonsault, but fell for a distraction from Larry Legend, and got swarmed by Ku and Garrini. Chuck O’Neil’s in to antagonise Dickinson and Jaka, which just leaves Sanchez isolated as Garrini looked to have the match in control. Ku’s in to hit a backbreaker for a near-fall, before he restrained Sanchez in an armbar, but eventually Pinkie gets free and tags in Dickinson, who instantly spins Ku with a clothesline. Forearms into the corner follow, but Ku kicks him back before Larry Legend tripped Dickinson to prevent a death valley driver.
Chuck O’Neil’s back in to clear the apron, as we’re back to square one as Dickinson was suddenly playing the Pinkie role of being cornered and kicked on. Garrini uses a leglock to subdue, as the proverbial ring was cut in half. Ku uses a sunset flip to buy some time, but an enziguiri gets Dickinson free… and here comes Jaka! Jaka slings O’Neil across the ring with an Exploder suplex, then leapt onto Ku and Garrino on the floor with a crossbody. Back inside, he slips on the way to a crossbody on Chuck for a near-fall, as Dickinson returned with forearms for O’Neil, before a superkick and a German suplex almost forced the win.
Sanchez superkicks Ku as the ring began to fill, but O’Neil tries to shut out the match with a rear naked choke on Dickinson. Garrini mirrors the hold on Jaka, while Ku lost Sanchez… and broke up the holds with a Burning Hammer. Jaka and Sanchez take to the skies with topes while Chuck knees and drops Dickinson with a Michinoku driver. Except Dickinson’s up at the count of one, and they’re back with back-and-forth shots until Jaka walloped Chuck from behind, leading to Dickinson lifting Chuck up for the Death Trap… and the classic Doom Patrol finish gets the win! An absolute war of a trios match, and we end with Chuck getting back the precious knee pad. Shame on Danhausen for losing it in the first place, eh? ***½
Post-match, Jaka rolls Larry Legend into the ring as he gets laid out with a right hand from Pinkie, who followed up with a double stomp as we headed into intermission.
Daniel Garcia vs. Brandon Thurston
It’s student vs. teacher here – and a battle of two of the Buffalo wrestlers who’ve stood out on Uncharted Territory in 2019.
Thurston tries to sucker punch Garcia, but had more luck with a snap German suplex as the pair traded those in the opening moments. They tee off on each other with right hands, before they went back to the German suplexes, with Garcia again getting folded up ahead of stereo crossbodies that led to the pair crashing into each other. Garcia just wallops Thurston with a clothesline after taking some kicks, before he followed up with the Three Amigos… only for Thurston to reply with a rolling elbow to block the third. Thurston goes up top, but gets chopped to the floor as a suplex from Red Death left the trainer down. Back inside, Garcia goes for some pins, but Thurston reverses a backslide and catches Garcia with some boots.
A running death valley driver into the corner gets Thurston a near-fall, before Garcia returned to the suplexes, throwing a Saito suplex and a Shining Wizard for a near-fall of his own. Thurston’s back with an enziguiri, and with some big lariat that almost turned into a STO-like takedown… We’re back to the strikes as they throw jabs and headbutts, but it’s Garcia who crumples to his knees. He gets back up to buckle bomb Thurston, then chuck him into the corner ahead of a death valley driver of his own… as a folding powerbomb gets a near-fall. The Deathshooter looks to follow, but Thurston gets free and uses a leg to seemingly knock Garcia out… before the pair spasm back to their feet as they looked to continue.
Garcia’s running on fumes though, and after he swung wildly – and missed – he was dropped with a sheer drop brainbuster as Thurston got the win. A keenly-fought match, with Thurston not having to resort to dirty tactics here – a good showing from Red Death, but today was not his day. ***¾
Christian Casanova vs. Tony Deppen
Casanova won the Tournament for Tomorrow last week, and called out Tony Deppen for what could be a sleeper match here.
Casanova trips Deppen early on, working in with a toe hold before Deppen rolled out into an omoplata as the early scramble ended with a stand-off. Deppen’s back in with a side headlock on the mat, before an escape led to some rope running that ended with Deppen clipping Christian’s Casanovas as he went under a leapfrog. They keep going though, as Deppen blocks a Dirty Diana, before missed PK attempts led to another stand-off.
Armdrags eventually get blocked as Deppen tries for a stomp, but instead eats a dropkick before a springboard hooking lariat misses from Casanova. Deppen doesn’t miss a shotgun dropkick though, and proceeds to tie up Casanova with a figure four stump puller. Ow. Crossface punches keep Casanova down, as did a stinging right hand, but Casanova boxes his way free, only to get caught as Deppen rolls over him for some more rights.
Casanova responds with the springboard clothesline, before a forearm and a roll-through into a spin-out butterfly facebuster led to a near-fall. As did a springboard rewind legdrop, and a cutter too, before a snot rocket from Deppen changed the trajectory of the match. Deppen tries to snatch a win with a brainbuster, but Casanova is back with a slingshot DDT onto the apron before missing a flying legdrop back into the ring. Deppen counters with an apron STO to keep Casanova outside, following up with a wild tope con giro, then a diving forearm to the back of the head for a near-fall. A thrust kick to the head has Casanova down too, but he’s back to flip Deppen out of a back suplex, following up with a flying Sucka kick for the win. This was an absolute cracker of a match with both men swinging for the fences… the win for Casanova perhaps puts him closer to the top tier in Beyond’s roster, and it’s well deserved too. ****
Josh Briggs vs. Anthony Greene
Best friends, bitter enemies here – and we’ve got a special referee here in the form of Ava Everett, who actually had her own music… and was way too happy and smiley for what she was about to be in the middle of.
Greene attacks Briggs before the bell, unsighting him with his ring jacket as Everett was checking Briggs’ knee pads. Anthony gets a quick comeuppance as he’s booted while he ordered Everett to ring the bell again, and it’s pretty one sided from there as Josh threw Greene around before a backbreaker forced Greene to bail. Another boot knocks Greene off the apron, but Greene crawls under the ring… and appears on the other side so he can rush through for a dive. Smart. Back inside, Greene spikes Briggs with a DDT for a near-fall after he’d faked a knee injury – which drew Briggs back in. Shoulder charges keep Briggs at bay, as do superkicks before a springboard crossbody was rolled through by Briggs…
Greene stops again to mouth off at Everett, before he went back into Briggs with a dropkick that left Josh hanging by the bottom rope. An enziguiri from Greene stops a brief fightback, before Briggs sent him outside… and added to it with a Calaway clothesline for good measure. A big boot traps Greene in the corner, but he’s back with a release back suplex that barely drew a two-count on Briggs. An abdominal stretch driver gets Greene another near-fall as he proceeded to roll Briggs into a half crab that ends in the ropes. Greene refuses to break the hold, so Ava uses snapmare to aid things… which is certainly different. Greene went to superkick Ava, but she gets out of the way as Briggs took the shot, as more jawjacking led to Briggs catching Greene from behind with a Go to Hell knee.
Everett fast-counts for Briggs, getting a near-fall as she seemed to mouth that she was trying to help… and the bias continues to show when Ava refuses to count a pin as Briggs’ pop-up powerbomb was countered into a ‘rana. Greene flips out of a chokebomb, then hits a low blow… but Ava’s stopped from DQ’ing him as Greene grabbed her arm. She tries to throw a superkick, but hits Briggs, before a piledriver led to a slow two-count as I thought we were going all Shawn Michaels/SummerSlam 1997.
Greene rolls outside as Everett checks on Briggs… and Greene’s back in with a chair. Of course Ava stops Greene from using the chair, trying to talk him out of it, before Briggs hit a low blow to stop the shot. One choke bomb later, and Briggs gets the win in a match that kinda showed us that Sidney Bakabella may have had some truth behind all those snarky comments towards Everett and Briggs in the past. This was decent, even though it started to wander into “sports entertainment” territory with the special referee stuff. ***½
Post-match, Greene (whose voice sadly wasn’t high pitched from the low blow) “apologised” to Ava, then called her out for choosing sides. That led to him “dumping” Ava, and with Angel Sinclair having been AWOL in Beyond, I guess the Platinum Hunnies are done here as a tandem?
John Silver vs. Kris Statlander
This was an “Elite” rematch from Beyond’s Please Come Back card, as commentary brought up how a clash of bookings led to her having to put off an AEW Women’s title match.
Silver and Statlander were having fun, with Silver copying Kris’ pose in the entrances, before we started with a lock-up as they backed each other into the turnbuckles. It’s perhaps a little too friendly early on, as the early exchanges often ended in stalemates. A knuckle lock led to a Test of Strength as Silver and Statlander forced the other to bridge, before they booped each other. Statlander strikes next, making Silver give himself a wet willie ahead of a back body drop, and that’s where the aggression comes in. Kicks from Silver have Kris reeling, before she got tossed across the ring with Beele’s and no-bump suplexes. Kris tries to fight back with some right hands, but Silver’s kicks drop her for another near-fall.
A brief fightback from Statlander ends with a snap brainbuster from Silver, who then went up top… and got caught with a release German superplex! Silver bounces her with a German suplex for a near-fall, as more kicks staggered her into the corner, forcing the referee to separate them… but Kris charges out with a spear! Silver quickly cuts her off with a superkick, only to get met with a retaliatory clothesline, then the I Am Your Leader electric chair drop, and an axe kick for a near-fall. Some clubbering shots and a grounded stranglehold from Silver looked to force a stoppage, only for Statlander to power up and go for the Big Bang Theory, which is rolled through.
They keep going, with Silver catching Kris up top, but she counters back… only for Silver to roll out of an avalanche Big Bang Theory and come back with a lawn dart as both Silver and Statlander were swinging for the fences. Right hands follow from the pair of them, then forearms, before Statlander ducks a forearm, only to get murdered with kicks and a reverse ‘rana. She’s back up and tripped into the ropes for a boot to the back of the head as Silver’s Spin Doctor almost got the W, only for Statlander to powerbomb her way back in ahead of an Area 451 splash…
…but Silver gets the knees up and cradles Statlander for the win! This started off light-hearted, but as they progressed things got more serious, and added another cracker of a match to what’s becoming a late contender for Beyond’s show of the year. ****
We’ve another intermission, and return just as Kevin Quinn teased retirement… and instead proposed to his girlfriend. Thankfully, she said yes, and now my heart’s gone all gooey… yet another break brings us to just before midnight, and a goddamn FULL RING OF FAN-MADE WEAPONRY. Jesus Beyond fans, you’ve gone all out!
Bear Country come out as Beyond ring in the New Year… and Team Tremendous don’t wait too long into 2020 before they rush the ring to start the first match of the year!
Fans Bring The Weapons: Bear Country (Bear Boulder & Bear Bronson) vs. Team Tremendous (Bill Carr & Dan Barry)
We’re eschewing intros here, as Bear Boulder and his fantastic Zubaz put the boots to Bill Carr in the corner, and it’s not long before we’re into the plunder, as Bear Bronson found… a barbed wire painting?!
That masterpiece is smashed on Bill Carr’s back before it’s wrapped into his head while Dan Barry took a thumbtack’d Barbie doll. Boulder’s got a pillow, but… it’s not a regular pillow, as it’s making a hollow sound on impact. Meanwhile, Bronson’s got a barbed wire globe that goes into Barry’s globes, which is helped by someone’s infinity gauntlet. Things spill outside as Dan Barry staple-guns a streamer to the arm of Bear Bronson, before Dan Barry smashed a fan’s light sabre on Bear Country. Dan Barry grabs a familiar-looking tennis racket, before he and Bronson clobbered each other with whatever they could find. Including traffic cones…
That “Clownette” racket’s used by Bill Carr as the brawling goes into the crowd, before Dan Barry set up for an Asai moonsault… but he spills on the landing and goes elbow-first on the hard wood floor. I winced at that. Barry’s up quickly though, throwing Bear Boulder outside via the fire exit, and now this (briefly) becomes a handicap match. Bronson uses a uranage to drop Barry in the ring, while he moved onto Bill Carr with some hammer fists… only for Bill to glass him with a bottle from the crowd. JESUS. Well, GCW’s being added onto IWTV, so there’ll be plenty more glass shots to come…
A cheese grater’s next as Bronson’s double-teamed and bloodied, before Bill Carr unboxed a Prime delivery of… a barbed wire duvet?! Nope, it’s a barbed wire wedding dress, and one that Kevin Quinn would be best served not suggesting, while Dan Barry hit a thumbtack’d Guitar Hero guitar into Bronson’s back! Carr followed up quickly by suplexing Bronson into the barbed wire dress, before we had a blow up doll that got suplexed onto Bronson. No drawing pins or anything, just the insult. WHAT THE HELL? Bear Boulder’s in with a bumper off a car, whacking Team Tremendous with it ahead of a tope from Bronson. In the ring, Boulder bites open a piñata, and of course it’s filled with a Lego and drawing pin cocktail… but it’s Dan Barry who tastes it, as his superplex was cut off. Boulder adds to it with a moonsault, but the springboard moonsault goes awry as he slipped and landed arse first on a keg of beer. That’s just about better than the Lego and pins that he was going to have landed in, but Bill Carr makes sure he takes them anyway.
Out comes a box of golf balls, but a bloodied Bear Bronson uses a bin on Bill, before he hit a Fire Thunder driver on Barry onto Carr… who had a box of something or other on his chest. That ring’s full of plunder, and was about to get even fuller as Bronson pulls out a door, with the aim of hitting a backpack cannonball. Dan Barry and Bill Carr break it up, with the latter using a mop, before Barry dumped Boulder through the door in the corner. Oof.
Team Tremendous followed that up with a double-team pop-up Flatliner for a near-fall, before an Irish Car Bomb from Barry led to another near-fall. HOW?! Chairs come in from the crowd – the non-folding kind – as Dan Barry wandered backstage to come back with… a mouse trap door! The door’s set up across the chairs, but Bronson blocks a powerbomb with some skewers… which he proceeded to jab into Bill Carr’s head. Like a wooden peacock! Dan Barry gets the look too, before they retaliated as all four men ended up with wooden mohawks. Barry tried to headbutt Boulder, but gets powerbombed into the mouse trap door instead as that trope of wrestling continued – he who brings the plunder, takes the plunder.
From there, Bear Country go for the backpack cannonball into Carr in the corner, before an Elevator Drop connected… for a near-fall! All four men pull themselves up to their feet and slug it out anew, leading to Bronson getting powerbombed onto his own man, as the Irish Car Bomb’s attempted again, but Boulder breaks it up by stapling Barry and Carr, with the latter then getting suplexed onto chairs and a toilet seat. A double chokeslam drops Barry onto his own man, before Bronson hauled himself up for a sandwich Elevator Drop for the win. This perhaps went a smidge too long, but this was impressive in terms of the sheer variety and innovation of weaponry brought by the crowd. More than a regular plunder match, as Bear Country start the new year on top of Beyond. ***½
The show closes out there, but quickly follows with a trailer announcing GCW is adding it’s back catalogue to IWTV. That trailer featured the first Joey Janela’s Spring Break, and a banner for FloSlam. Whatever happened to that outfit?
Heavy Lies The Crown was a phenomenal show from Beyond as they neatly stepped from 2019 and into 2020. While the second half of the year may have been turbulent in terms of talent losses and the availability of names as AEW joined WWE in snapping up talent, Beyond were still able to pull out a hell of a show to keep things rolling on into the new year. With Uncharted Territory done for now, we’ve got a month before Beyond’s next show – Please Come Back 2020 – which should give us a bit more of an idea in terms of the new new direction of the company. For now though, Heavy Lies The Crown will give you plenty to mull over – with three excellent bouts that you’ll want to rewatch time and again.