Beyond continued their busy autumn as they hit the road – and gave Orange Cassidy one more chance to challenge for the IWTV title.
We’re coming from the House of Independents in Asbury Park, New Jersey. Famous home of Bam Bam Bigelow and lately, Joey Janela… Paul Crockett and Emil Jay are on commentary.
Wheeler Yuta vs. Kimber Lee
Kimber Lee jumped Yuta during the introductions, and started out by putting her foot through him with a boot from the off.
A chop keeps Yuta down as Kimber Lee worked her way up into a chinbar, before she trapped Yuta in the ropes. Yuta strikes back, eventually dropkicking Kimber into the corner before a slingshot roll through led to… an atomic drop. Yuta, do we need to go through human biology? He responds by taking Kimber Lee outside for a tope, but she turns the tide with some chops before throwing Yuta into the ring post. Back inside, German suplexes fling Yuta around, before he lands one in return for a near-fall, following up quickly with a Yutagatame, which eventually ends in the ropes.
Kimber Lee’s able to reply with a senton bomb, but she doesn’t go for a cover, instead picking up Yuta and taking him into the corner for an Electric Chair… but she’s caught with a Victory roll, and that’s enough for the win! Kimber Lee got a little too cocky and paid for it in a rather brisk opener. **½
Bear Country (Bear Beefcake & Bear Bronson) vs. Alex Reynolds & VSK
There’s something grating about Alex Reynolds using a cover of “My Way” for his entrance, and I’m not talking about the Limp Bizkit song. By the way, he’s back to being Bear Beefcake this week. That’s going to be so confusing for Cagematch and the like…
VSK’s in trouble from the off, as he’s hurled across the ring with an Exploder by Bronson, who then clotheslined Reynolds as Bear Country dominated early. Beefcake comes in, as does Reynolds, but a shoulder block just POUNCES Reynolds across the ring ahead of a back body drop that took Reynolds sky high. Bronson returns to whip Beefcake into Reynolds as the double-teaming continued, with VSK thrown onto Reynolds… rather than the wall.
An eye rake helps VSK get free, but he needed Reynolds’ drive-by knee to save him as Bronson went for a dive. That knee turned it around for Reynolds, who proceeded to trap Bronson in his team’s corner, using some double-teaming to keep the big man down. Knees from Reynolds keep Bronson down, before he struck out at Beefcake – making the big man distract the ref as he tried to enter the fray.
Reynolds goes dirty as he used Bronson’s wrist tape to tie him to the ropes – something that commentary almost missed. Eventually Bronson rips free and hits a discus lariat to dump Reynolds, as Beefcake came in with shoulder blocks… then caught Reynolds and VSK for a powerbomb/slam combo for good measure. From there, the Elevator Drop looked to follow, but VSK rolled outside… where he was met with a big tope from Bronson. Back inside a moonsault from Beefcake almost put VSK away… but VSK manages to mount a comeback, avoiding a shoulder charge before he traded forearms with Bronson.
A Spanish Fly from VSK stops Bronson in his tracks, but Beefcake just boots his face off seconds later. Alex Reynolds rushes in to try a lungblower, but he’s caught and tossed aside, then met with a spinebuster before the Elevator Drop onto Reynolds was stopped when VSK leapt off the top for a cutter to Bronson. Beefcake looks to fight back, but he’s snapmared into the corner while a double-team death valley driver took Bronson there too for a near-fall. Things continue on as Reynolds looked to throw a fireball… but he accidentally wiped out his own man, meaning that he was alone as Beefcake hit a powerslam before Bear Country finally hit the Elevator Drop for the win. Some good stuff, although Reynolds’ dirty tricks backfiring this early into their run as a team is puzzling. ***
Thomas Santell vs. Kenn Doane
So Club Cam’s theme music has a laugh at the start of it, as I continue to get Larry Sweeney vibes out of Zagami’s current look.
Doane gets into it with fans at ringside, so Santell just goes after him so he can get the match going. Doane’s offered up to a fan, who throws chops… and probably should run afterwards. The match starts in the ring with Santell going for the fingers ahead of a butterfly suplex that barely gets a count off, before a slingshot sent Doane into the corner. A Boston crab follows, before Santell let go of the hold to go for a Sugar Free Hold, but Club Cam pushed the ropes closer so Doane could get free. Doane misses a dropkick, then ate a Fisherman suplex for a near-fall, but Doane’s right back in as he looked to wear down Santell… only to get too cocky and flip off the crowd, allowing Santell to pull him into a Sugar Free Hold.
Thomas Sharp provides a distraction, prompting Santell to let go, only to get poked in the eye and rolled up by Doane for the win… before Club Cam mugged Santell’s attempt to fight back. Eh, this was fine, but again, felt like it was way too short… **½
Chris Dickinson’s music hits almost instantaneously as he ran out to make a save… and we have a Heyman Special!
Chris Dickinson vs. Christian Casanova
Dickinson started hot, throwing Casanova outside… but Casanova’s caught by Club Cam on the floor, before they were all ejected by the referee.
We get going with Dickinson catching a thrust kick, only to go after Casanova with chops in the corner ahead of a big back body drop. Clotheslines follow ahead of a running Fisherman buster for a near-fall, as he stayed on top of Casanova, tossing him outside once again. This time without a human safety net. Casanova slides back in to catch Dickinson with a kick ahead of a rewind legdrop in the ropes, quickly following in with a slingshot DDT to the apron for good measure. Casanova keeps up the pressure back inside with a springboard clothesline to Dickinson, hammering away on him for another near-fall, before Dickinson avoided a knee strike and charged back with a clothesline.
More clotheslines in the corner have Casanova on the deck, before a death valley driver led to another near-fall, only for Casanova to return with the Dirty Diana that almost swung it. Another death valley driver’s avoided as Casanova bounces back with a lungblower, only for him to run into a kick before Dickinson wandered backstage… and returned with a door. A door that looked to be used as a landing pad for a Pazuzu bomb, but instead Casanova slips out and ended up getting propelled into a massive body drop through the door for the win. I can’t hate that finish, can I? A heck of a sprint, and a finish I pop for. ***½
Cam Zagami comes out and seems to dismiss Christian Casanova… I guess time will tell if Casanova’s sticking around.
John Silver vs. Erick Stevens
Silver got a pep talk on Thursday from Eddie Kingston… will that kick start his career? Also, is it me, or is Erick slowly morphing into Bobby Fish?
Stevens takes Silver down early, but Silver switches around as the pair stayed at close quarters, looking for a body part before they reached a staredown. A staredown that quickly ended with a chop, then some lucha-inspired stuff as Silver landed a dropkick to take Stevens down. Mid kicks follow as Stevens invited them on, and sure enough, he got kicked flush in the ribs. A switcheroo helps Stevens ahead, as he took Silver down for a grounded Octopus hold, and did his damndest to keep Silver on the mat by hook or by crook. Silver tries for a tornado DDT and eventually gets it at the second attempt, only for Stevens to pull himself up by Silver’s beard and whale away on the “Meat Man” with some chops.
Forearms are the obvious next step, as Silver got taken outside for a low-pe, then onto the apron with a back suplex before Silver lawn darted him into the buckles. A boot to the back of the head leads to a rack bomb… and it’s still not enough! Silver adds a superkick before he got caught with a backslide… which he rolls out of ahead of a flurry of kicks, only for Stevens to dump him with another lariat! A pumphandled death valley driver nearly gets Stevens the win… so he ups the ante by looking for an avalanche death valley driver, only to get ‘rana’d down…but he’s right back, tossing Silver into the corner as a pair of lariats and a gutwrench powerbomb ragdolled Silver for a near-fall. Discus forearms continue to rock Silver, but he’s able to shake it off and land a crucifix bomb, then a running knee for the win! Two lads knocking seven shades of you-know-what out of each other, you say? Yup, this is very much my graps! ***½
Afterwards, John Silver called out Nick Gage again. Is he daft? He apologised for not shaking Gage’s hand, and offered a belated one now… which Gage accepts as we Heyman Special onto our next match!
Anything Goes: Nick Gage vs. Addy Starr
Apparently this was Addy’s first match in Beyond in six years – and her first time against Gage one-on-one… she’d previously been in the same ring with him over WrestleMania weekend in a fans bring the, erm, “plastic building blocks” match for Inter Species Wrestling.
Gage clocked Starr during her intro, and quickly went outside for some plunder, throwing in a door and some chairs. Addy’s thrown through a door by the hair seconds later, as we’re in a rush… before a Vader Bomb Elbow onto a bit of the remnants kept Addy down. Starr replies with some elbows to trap Gage in the ropes ahead of a chair-assisted knee drop, which sent Gage outside for more plunder… hey it’s another door! A baseball slide dropkick takes the door into Gage, before a crossbody saw Starr hit the door on her way down. Back inside, Starr stomps on Gage before she set up a door in the corner, only to get caught with a spinebuster by Gage. There’s a stumble as Gage tried to suplex Starr onto the chair, but instead got caught with an Exploder that narrowly missed it, before some Kamigoye knees from Starr got caught… with Gage trying to go for a chokebreaker, only for Addy to sweep the leg and hit a chair-assisted elbow for a near-fall.
From the kick-out, Gage goes for the chokebreaker but instead hit a Flatliner, then a Dragon suplex as he was busting out all the movez, before… One Winged Angel?! That’s only enough for a near-fall as Nicky Omega was clearly watching some Japan/AEW tapes… A superplex follows, as did a Falcon arrow before Gage’s face-washing boot was stopped with a chair, as Starr suckered him in for an Exploder into the door. She follows that up with a stomp into a bit of the door on Gage, but it’s only good for a one-count as Gage proceeded top batter her with another door remnant, following with a Chokebreaker for another near-fall. Gage looks to stack up a door and a chair, finishing off Addy with a piledriver on the pile for the win. This was wild, but way too brief… I have a feeling they’ve stuffed way too much onto this card. ***
We fast-forward past intermission…
Backyard Wrestling Summit: Alex Zayne vs. Johnny Cockstrong vs. Eric Corvis vs. Steve West vs. Daniel Makabe vs. Tony Deppen
Sadly, this wasn’t in someone’s backyard… and there’s one name in that pack which didn’t seem to fit in 2019. No, it wasn’t Steve West, who looked like what’d happen if MK McKinnan decided to get a Besties-style musical intro…
Cockstrong tries to log roll through everyone, but it doesn’t work as Makabe just grabs the wrist as the man in the AC Milan shirt rolled back to the days of the Spirit Squad and helped fling Johnny into the air. Things quickly turn into a revolving door of spots, with Makabe rolling Deppen through into a Trailer Hitch as Deppen was looking for a dive, but Corvis just stomps it away.
A toe hold stops Makabe from getting Johnny’s, erm, codpiece in his face, before West blew a snot rocket on him. Cockstrong took offence to that, then took West down for a crotch piledriver, before he had to pull the trunks off his head before a back body drop got him free. More snot rockets and a diving uppercut follow, before Zayne took him down for a slingshot senton and a running shooting star press.
Corvis is in for a stacked up Boston crab/surfboard combo, but Cockstrong slides in to apply a side headlock as a cavalcade of holds broke out, with Makabe topping it off by wrenching Deppen’s middle finger apart before he dismantled the stack with a baseball punch to Corvis. A slingshot roll through has Makabe create a new stack of submissions, wrapping Deppen into a triangle choke by Cockstrong, before he put West in an Octopus as he had Corvis in a deathlock. It’s a wacky pile of moves, but Zayne’s shooting star knees break it all up.
The pace quickens from there, with Corvis hitting a low-pe to the outside on West, before Cockstrong added a moonsault off the turnbuckles. Alex Zayne adds to it, but he’s given a hand by Makabe, whose wristlock on the top rope was countered with a big back body drop into the pile. I wonder… then Zayne joins in with a Spiral Tap! Back inside, Zayne’s going after West and Cockstrong, but things break down into a Parade of Moves as a, erm, G2C from Cockstrong looked to have him on top… before a super ‘rana on Cockstrong was stopped by a flip-up ‘rana from Zayne… who then got caught with an Air Raid Crash on the buckles. A Destroyer helps get rid of Johnny, before a flying back cracker from West drew a near-fall.
Makabe breaks that up before he went at it with Deppen again, rolling through to kick out the legs ahead of a Makabe Lock. Zayne tries to break it up with a 450, but whiffs and lands in an armbar, with Corvis having better luck on a frog splash before a package shoulderbreaker and a package piledriver dumped Deppen for a near-fall. We’re still going! Another crotch piledriver from Cockstrong drops Corvis for a near-fall, before Zayne traded chops with Johnny ahead of a Taco Driver for a near-fall. We. Are. Still. Going. West goes for a wrist-clutch Destroyer for a near-fall, but Deppen breaks up the cover and dives in with a knee on West for the win. This was a fun spotfest, but the crowd seemed to die towards the end of it. It was all kinds of fun watching Makabe bending people to his will though! ***
The Butcher And The Blade (Andy Williams & Pepper Parks) vs. Team Tremendous (Bill Carr & Dan Barry)
We’ve a hot start here as Team Tremendous tried to jump their opponents… and were quickly taken outside before the bell.
Dan Barry’s Asai moonsault keeps them outside, as did a cross body off the top by Andy Williams, before they finally hit the ring as we started with Parks kneeing Barry in the midsection. Barry’s left in there for a while, but this crowd has fallen quiet here, only making a noise as they tried to gee up Barry… to little avail early on. When Barry finally got free, Bill Carr came in to beat down on Parks, trapping him in the wrong corner with some chops before Dan returned with a nasty slingshot stomp. Carr uses a boot to choke on Parks some more, before some clubbing overhead forearms drew a near-fall and continued to make me wonder if the crowd had been frozen in time.
Team Tremendous double-team as a back body drop from Carr included a kick from Barry on the way down for another near-fall, before Parks finally struck back with a spinebuster. Barry’s quickly in to choke Parks down, but eventually Andy Williams got the tag in and cleaned house, squashing Carr in the corner before dumping Barry there with an overhead belly-to-belly. A running back elbow from Williams takes Carr down, before Parks is brought back in, perhaps way too quickly. Some double-teaming saw Barry thrown onto a knee for a near-fall, before Carr made a comeback, dumping Parks onto Williams with an F5, then a powerbomb for a delayed two-count.
Parks comes back with what was meant to be a Doomsday Shiranui, but Williams pulls the stack back for an elevated back suplex, as Carr and Williams proceeded to lay into each other. All four men stay in the ring as Carr ends up taking a cutter and a clothesline, before Barry tried to make a comeback, only to get caught with a Bossman slam for a two-count as Carr ended up making a save, pulling Parks outside… but Pepper’s back in, only for the referee to get distracted as Carr hits a low blow ahead of the doomsday Shiranui as Team Tremendous got the win. This was good, but the live crowd absolutely did not give a toss about this – which was sad. In one of Beyond’s regular towns, this’d have gone down a storm. **¾
Kris Statlander vs. Matthew Justice
Statlander had to evade Justice early, but a stomp broke a neck bridge attempt as Justice was seemingly a step ahead.
Some hand-walking from Statlander was scouted as Justice caught her and lawndarts her into the top turnbuckle, before following her outside with a pescado. Another dive from Justice is stopped with a forearm, before Statlander joined him outside with a boomerang moonsault, with some knees and a Saito suplex waiting for him back in the ring.
Statlander heads back up top for a moonsault, but she lands on her feet… only to get speared very quickly by Justice. Chops and forearms follow as Statlander tried to stay in it, but Justice again was a step ahead, scooping her down with a slam for a near-fall. More chops keep Statlander on the top rope as Justice followed with an avalanche death valley driver for a two-count, but Statlander responds by taking Justice into an electric chair on the top rope… falling back to the mat before she looked to add an Area-451 (450 splash).
Justice popped up at one from that, before Justice went for a Big Bang Theory… which she let go of because Kimber Lee appeared. Commentary had little idea because she was in street clothes, and as the ref missed a head kick, Justice was able to put away Statlander with a Jig ‘n’ Tonic for the win. This was fine, but again, crowd issues hurt this one badly. **¾
IWTV Independent Wrestling Championship: Orange Cassidy vs. Warhorse (c)
The former Jake Parnell’s reinvention as Warhorse (add all caps if you wish) has been one of the surprise stories on the US indies as of late. Characters… they work! Orange is forlorn with his empty briefcase, which he hopes to re-fill here by regaining the title for a third time.
Warhorse is snarling at the bell, as he proceeded to try and chop Cassidy… succeeding, despite Orange’s attempts to do his hands-in-the-pockets routine. An early orange spray misses as Warhorse lands a clothesline, then bust out a Dad joke to end all Dad jokes, before Cassidy caught him in the ropes, working the arm.
Warhorse gets sent outside from there, before he returned into the path of a DDT from Orange, as Cassidy went after the Warhorse’s arms to stop the chops and clotheslines. A wristlock from Orange continues to wear down the arm… but Warhorse wasn’t one-dimensional. Or at least, he wouldn’t be if he could get a shot in. Boots up in the corner stop Orange ahead of a missile dropkick, before rolling German suplexes that almost led to the win.
Cassidy tries some slow-mo wrestling to frustrate Warhorse, before he responded to chops in kind as the slow-mo stuff was replaced with fire, including a Michinoku driver from Orange for a near-fall. From there, Cassidy goes back to the cross armbreaker, but Warhorse got free and invited Orange to bring it some more… which he did, with a Shibata-ish dropkick in the corner finding its mark.
With one arm, Warhorse manages to respond with a Ligerbomb, before an Iconoclasm took Warhorse off the top… allowing Orange to go up, eventually finding his way down with a Twister superplex on Warhorse for a two-count! A clothesline from Warhorse stopped Cassidy from going for more OJ, but Cassidy got it anyway for another mist as he looked to push on for the win… Warhorse holds on despite a cross armbreaker, and powers out into a bucklebomb to get himself free. A diving boot adds to Warhorse’s offence, as does one massive lariat and a stomp to the back for the win. Orange came in with a different game plan here and it almost worked… but man, that Asbury Park crowd were seemingly counting down the seconds til the GCW show later here. A tremendous main event, and would have excelled in one of Beyond’s usual strongholds. ***½
Perhaps not helped by an abundance of short matches and a crowd that seemingly tired towards the end of a ten match card, Sodom and Gomorrah was a show that didn’t quite hit the heights I’d had in my mind for the card presented. Perhaps it was because it wasn’t in one of Beyond’s regular venues? Still, a bunch of matches around the three-star mark may make this look like a skippable show, but don’t – there’s a few hidden gems in here, and a few moments that’ll raise a smile at least.
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