This week on the Signature Series, the Nouveau Aesthetic get new names, and the Greatest Rivals Round Robin series continues!
Quick Results:
Aaron Rourke pinned Delmi Exo in 9:24 (**¾)
Edith Surreal & St. Jackson DuPont pinned Bobby Orlando & Bryce Donovan in 9:08 (**¾)
Matt Makowski submitted Wheeler Yuta in 10:51 (****)
We’re back in the H20 Wrestling Center… but first, Denver Colorado’s not as close to the camera as he runs down today’s card and last week’s recap. Paul Crockett and Sidney Bakabella are running on commentary…
Delmi Exo vs. Aaron Rourke
Rourke was a holder of the Discovery Gauntlet when Uncharted Territory was around… he lost it to Slade last time around.
From the opening lock-up, Exo takes Rourke into the corner for a break. Rourke returns the favour, but cheapshots on the break, slapping Exo in the corner before getting shoved down. She’s back with kicks to the legs, before she lifted herself up into headscissors, taking Rourke into the corner for a leaping elbow.
Rourke elbows out of an Exploder suplex, but had to kick out of a sunset flip before a series of swings and misses leads to a Northern Lights suplex for a two-count for Delmi. Rourke yells as Exo works his hand, snapping the fingers before she got pulled between the ropes by the “Dimepiece” Rourke.
Exo tries to fight back, but Rourke’s knee to the midsection keeps her doubled-over… while some boot choking tries to push Delmi to the outside. Forearms and chops from Exo see her force her way back in, but Rourke blocks a cutter then ragdolls her with a German suplex to nearly win the match.
Rourke yells that Exo will “never be one of the boys” – a dig at her nickname – then caught her in a chinlock as he continued to mug for the cameras. After getting free, Exo trades forearm shots, then spinning back-chop before a leaping knee dropped Delmi. Exo’s back with a cutter, then a shotgun dropkick, folding up Rourke for a near-fall.
Exo tries to put Rourke away, but he comes back with an enziguiri for a near-fall, then with a Shining Wizard for another two-count as Rourke threw a tantrum. A 450 off the top’s aborted as Rourke then misses a dive into the corner, eating the turnbuckle before an Exo Exploder landed for a hattrick of near-falls. Delmi keeps going though, despite having been busted open a little… but Rourke traps her in the corner and hits a package DDT out of the corner for the win. A solid opener, with Rourke getting the W despite losing focus halfway through. **¾
Tournament For Tomorrow 2021 First Round: Shook Crew (Bobby Orlando & Bryce Donovan) vs. Ephemera (Edith Surreal & St. Jackson DuPont)
Yes, that’s a name change as the former Nouveau Aesthetic are going by new names. BLANK is now St. Jackson DuPont, while Still Life is now going by Edith Surreal. That tag team name… Ephemera means “collectable items that were originally expected to have only short-term usefulness or popularity”, which feels like a deserved dig somewhere.
DuPont and Orlando start us off, with a Northern lights from DuPont getting an early one-count before he began to chuck Orlando around the ring. Back inside, Orlando charges DuPont into the corner for some shoulder charges, but DuPont’s back with some Dusty punches before Orlando held up his “emotional support goat” to avoid a Bionic elbow. In comes Surreal, who takes a Fireman’s carry onto Orlando for a brief pinning attempt,
Donovan tags in, but gets caught with an uppercut from Surreal as DuPont returned with a corner dropkick. A discus punch from DuPont misses as Donovan ripcords DuPont into a Bossman Slam for a near-fall, as the Shook Crew began to double-team. A Bobby Slam gets Orlando a two-count (and a deserved groan from commentary), before a suplex makes sure Orlando racks up those two-counts. A double team hiptoss pulls DuPont into almost a powerbomb for a near-fall, before Donovan’s chinbar on the mat had DuPont in trouble. DuPont misses a clothesline and gets taken up top by Donovan… a chop from Orlando knocks DuPont into a Tree of Woe for a dropkick from Donovan for a near-fall.
A tag brings Orlando back in as he stomps away on DuPont in the corner, but DuPont gets free and finally rolls through for a spear before tagging in Surreal. She clears house after tagging in, handing a springboard missile dropkick to Orlando, then a back body drop to Orlando as she single-handedly turned Ephemera around.
Surreal’s spinning bulldog has Donovan down as Orlando ate a back elbow for a two-count. Donovan broke it up with a stomp, before DuPont saves Surreal from a suplex as the ring filled. A back cracker from Orlando drops DuPont before a cross-armed DDT from Surreal got the win. Another solid outing for the former Nouveau Aesthetic, who had to come from behind to pick up the win, with Surreal looking particularly good in her comeback. **¾
After some ads, we’ve got a video from Joseph Montecillo, building up the Greatest Rivals Round Robin tournament. If you’ve seen any of his other work on YouTube, you’ll know how good his work is – and was a fantastic recap piece for anyone new to Beyond, highlighting the relevant touchpoints among all four men in this round robin – including some stuff outside of Beyond, which is a great touch.
Greatest Rivals Round Robin: Wheeler Yuta vs. Matt Makowski
We open with a handshake and an eventual lock-up as Makowski takes Yuta to the mat.
Yuta escapes and tries for a waistlock, but Makowski gets back up to his feet as they reset. A wristlock from Yuta leads to a hammerlock that they go back-and-forth on, as an early spot of grappling yielded no clear advantage. Makowski goes for Yuta’s arm in a torqued wristlock, but Yuta escapes it with a slam… only to get pushed back into a corner, then Judo toss’d to the mat as a side headlock has Makowski ahead.
Yuta spins around to armdrag Makowski, but gets lifted onto the apron… a springboard armdrag sees Yuta roll through for a seatbelt pin, getting a two-count, before another dropkick forces Makowski to kick out at one. Grapevining the legs, Yuta tries to keep Makowski down, rolling him up for a Deathlock that Makowski quickly escapes from.
Stomps from Yuta keep Makowski down, but an Irish whip sees Makowski float over onto the apron before he rolled in under the middle rope to surprise Yuta with a rear naked choke. That was picturesque stuff right there. The cross armbar followed, but Yuta tries to block it… so Makowski rolls in for almost a Lebell lock, before rolling back in for the cross armbar. After getting the break via the ropes… Yuta’s wrecked with mid kicks. CHRIST. Makowski just waits for him to get back in, but Yuta pulls Makowski out of the ropes as he tried to suplex him back in… and now Yuta’s firing away with some ground and pound. Makowski covers up, but can’t avoid a flying elbow off the top as Yuta almost nabbed the win.
Makowski blocks an attempt at a bow and arrow, then slipped out of a suplex as he batters Yuta with a flurry of strikes. Yuta tries a sunset flip, but instead gets rolled up by Makowski for a two-count to start some back-and-forth pinning attempts, ending with a Doctor Bomb from Makowski for a two-count. It’s back to the cross armbar from Makowski… but Yuta counters out with a cross armbar, coming in with an ankle lock before he countered a counter with a back suplex.
Makowski hits back with a spinning back kick, but Yuta escapes a torture rack and comes close with a German suplex… Yuta heads up top again but gets caught as Makowski went back to the torture rack… flipping him out to the mat from the middle rope, before the cross armbar for the submission. This was a delightful sprint between two guys whose styles complemented each other beautifully – while Makowski’s less than two years into this wrestling lark, his prior career in MMA has put him in good stead. Give him time and I guarantee he’ll land on TV somewhere… The win means Makowski and Chris Dickinson lead the round robin series with a win each, while Wheeler Yuta and Tony Deppen will need to come from behind. ****
Next week: Atticus Cogar takes on Jody Threat… the Tournament for Tomorrow continues with Rickey Shane Page & Vincent Nothing vs. Randy Summers & Brandon Watts… and Matt Makowski takes on Tony Deppen in both men’s second Greatest Rivals Round Robin tournament match.
What else can I say about that main event! I’ve always been a fan of short matches that pack in a tonne of action, and this week’s round robin match more than delivered on that front. While the Tournament For Tomorrow puts fresh eyeballs on tag teams that have perhaps gone underappreciated in the past year. If you weren’t already, make a date with Beyond’s Signature Series – you’ll be glad you did!