The path to Americanrana ‘19 continues as David Starr made his return to Beyond after a few weeks away.
We’re back at Electric Haze in Worcester, Massachusetts for more build to Americanrana ‘19, and we’re straight to David Starr in the ring as he’s deriding Joey Janela as a sell-out. He was right – Rich was late…
Starr’s again repping Rev Pro in a foreign land, as he says he was creating movements and winning tournaments while he was in Europe. He takes aim at Beyond for not giving him a spot in the Lethal Lottery – so he doesn’t get to pick his opponent for Americanrana ‘19. Instead, Starr goes to tell us his plan, but he’s interrupted by Josh Briggs, who’s still mad about Starr beating him earlier in the year.
Briggs grabs hold of Starr by the throat, and demands a match tonight. Starr cheapshots him, then bails, and I guess that’s our main event tonight. By the way, Paul Crockett and Richard Holliday are your commentary pair this week, and will apparently find out Paul’s gender after the show.
Bear Country (Bear Bronson & Bear Beefcake) vs. The Butcher and the Blade (Andy Williams & Pepper Parks)
You have no idea how much I was looking forward to this match after it was announced last week…
Beefcake and Williams got in each other’s faces from the off, before the ring filled as everyone jumped each other. A double crossbody from Beefcake and Williams left both men laying, as the Bears end up on the defensive after a series of strikes led to an implant DDT on Bear Bronson. Pepper Parks lands a stunner on Beefcake as a lariat from Williams keeps the motif going… at least until Bronson came in and manages to spear Williams. Parks gets caught seconds later with a Fire Thunder Driver that saw Bronson sit down onto Williams at the same time… and that seemed to rile up Williams, who fought back 1-on-2 down for a spell.
Beefcake takes down his singlet as we got a chop battle, which upgraded to forearms and clotheslines before Beefcake surprised us all with a dropkick in the ropes. Parks is back to help with a swinging Fisherman suplex, before a Saito suplex on Bronson was shrugged off… and returned in kind. Oof. A pumphandle uranage from Williams puts Bronson back on the mat, before Beefcake lived up to his name as he caught the Butcher and the Blade for a fallaway slam/Samoan drop combo. NIIICE. Beefcake tries to follow up with a moonsault, but he misses as Williams comes right back with a suplex onto the back of Parks’ knees as these two teams weren’t pausing for air.
Bronson issues a reply with a death valley driver putting Parks onto Williams, before Beefcake helps out with an electric chair splash for the win. Perhaps a touch on the short side, but this was four big guys in a sprint… and I loved every second of it. ***½
Something tells me I’m going to get annoyed at Holliday’s “consumer” commentary lines.
We get a recap from a few weeks ago, highlighting the Beaver Boys’ infighting…
Jay Freddie vs. Alex Reynolds
Freddie’s back after winning in that impressive outing with Brandon Thurston a few weeks ago – but this time he’s up as opposition for Alex Reynolds in his first singles match in Beyond in several years…and it’s here I learn that there’s a Southampton in New York.
Freddie starts with a lock-up as the customary shoulder tackles take down Reynolds from the off, looking to end this in a lot less time than his prior match in Beyond. A monkey flip takes Reynolds down, as does a suplex, while I begin to wonder if Paul Crockett is a Futurama fan after the Freudian slip of “snu-suplex”. Context! A brief flurry from Reynolds ended when Freddie took him down for a Sharpshooter… but it was too soon in the match as the Beaver Boy got free and managed to catch Freddie in the ropes with a knee drop. Freddie keeps up with a cravat suplex as he eased into an advantage, grounding Freddie with a chin bar that’s broken up with a jawbreaker.
Freddie struggles to avoid a suplex, instead switching it into a reverse DDT before Reynolds elbowed his way free of a Saito suplex. A chop puts Reynolds back in trouble, until he replies with forearms… Freddie lands a Diamond Dust and the Saito suplex anyway for a near-fall, before a diving knee caught Reynolds unaware. A Shining Wizard follows, but Reynolds rolls out… and into the path of a tope. They’re quickly back in with a swandive headbutt for a near-fall for Freddie. Reynolds comes straight back with a submission, but he never really has it in as Freddie rolled out into a Sharpshooter, only for an eye rake to save Reynolds.
Reynolds tries to steal a win with a roll-up with his feet on the ropes, and after a rather eggy pause, Reynolds looked to whip Freddie into the corner, only for Jay to lift over and roll him into a Sharpshooter for a quick tap. Enjoyable stuff with Reynolds coming up short on his return to singles action. ***
More replays show Chuck O’Neil returning to Beyond as he went on a tear to “make Beyond legit again”… showing only the O’Neil and Rory Gulak stuff.
Rory Gulak vs. Chuck O’Neil
This wasn’t advertised coming in, nor was it on the IWTV synopsis… Electric Haze were firmly against O’Neil after his appearances throughout the series. Chuck tries to do his “to the camera” promo, but Gulak stops him, then unsights him with his cape before sending the MMA fighter to the outside. Gulak seems to be too emotional here, and he gets caught with a big knee, a Michinoku driver and an armbar for the quick submission from the more measured O’Neil. A squash then, but this felt more in keeping with O’Neil’s whole shtick – a dominant performance.
Post-match, O’Neil holds his black belt and calls it the “most legit belt in wrestling”. This sounds like Zack Gibson heat, and I don’t blame them! He says he’ll get the matches he wants if Beyond won’t book them for him.
Chris Dickinson vs. Eddie Kingston
Forty minutes in, and we’re onto our fourth match. Well, this week is tight and pacey, if nothing else!
According to Cagematch, this is only their second one-on-one meeting – the last being for Limitless Wrestling in January 2018 – and we start with a Greco-Roman knuckle lock that Kingston turned into an overhead suplex early on. The pair go to ground as Kingston looked for a leg lock on Dickinson, but it comes to nought as the pair reached a stalemate.
Dickinson comes back in with a suplex, then a kick to the back as he had the veteran on the mat… but more kicks only seem to rile up Kingston, who worked up into a series of chops before replies from Dickinson had Kingston rolling outside for cover. He’s followed outside as Dickinson clubbers Kingston with lariats by the ring apron, only to get met with a series of headbutts on the floor, before they returned to the ring where Dickinson ran into a STO.
Kingston takes Dickinson into the ropes, choking him against the middle strand before a chop in the corner rang around the room. A chinlock keeps Dickinson grounded, but he eventually elbows his way free (even if one of those looked very, erm, Kris Sprules-y), before he ran into a back elbow from Kingston. The pair exchange more chops as Richard Holliday began to sound bored on commentary… at least until Kingston poked Dickinson in the eye. Dickinson rebounds with a clothesline, then with a shoulder tackle off the middle rope, and a DDT. A death valley driver spikes Kingston for a near-fall, before Dickinson uncorked some more uppercuts.
A series of lariats from Kingston has Dickinson back on the mat, before a Fisherman buster almost led to victory… but they go back to throwing bombs at each other until a backfist from Kingston was caught. Eventually a step-up enziguiri from Dickinson and a rolling elbow connects, before the Pazuzu Bomb gets him the win. If you’re looking for crispness, this was never going to be your spot, but two big hosses throwing it all at each other is almost always going to get a thumbs up from me. Dickinson continues to build up steam ahead of his summer meeting with Daisuke Sekimoto. ***¼
A graphic reveals that the Rock ‘n’ Roll Express will be at Americanrana. I can only hope for more Destroyers!
Cameron Zagami’s backstage with a mic that has a cable… he’s interviewing Juan Francisco de Coronado as he’s entering the Discovery Gauntlet. He’s playing the older CHIKARA gimmick, rather than the recent excommunicated character here. I hope they speed up his entrance.
Discovery Gauntlet: Juan Francisco de Coronado vs. Thomas Santell
Santell’s gotten massively over here, and he’s out with a gift bag, presumably for Juan.
Of course, the present is a jar of Ovaltine, which Juan throws aside, much to Santell’s disgust. Rather than do the glasses prank, he stares down Juan and begins to shoot for the legs, then locks up as the pair do a wrestle. Francisco rolls out of a wristlock as he reverses the hold… so Santell just uses the ropes to get himself free and into an arm stretch that he used to try and pin the former CHIKARA Grand Champion.
After breaking in the ropes, Juan gets dirty with an eye poke and a chop block to the knee, with Santell all of a sudden on the defensive. A slam into the ropes isn’t helped as I remember the days when that move would get a call back to Rick Martel… but it continues Francisco’s targeting of the legs as Santell was forced to trip his opponent into the ropes. Juan gets pushes away before he returned with a dropkick for a near-fall, before a Figure Four has Santell in trouble. A rope break saves him, but Francisco continues with the clubbering only for a knee lift and some uppercuts to give Santell a fighting chance, ahead of a running clothesline.
Santell gets some retribution by poking Juan in the eye as a German suplex almost got him the win, before he kicked out of a roll-up and caught Juan in a Sugar-Free Hold. It’s quickly broken as Francisco tried to roll him into another submission, before Santell almost got put away with a backslide. Francisco goes for a Tiger driver, but instead a back body drop counter led to a near-fall for Santel before Francisco rolled through into a Tiger bomb for another two-count… then a Coronado lock (an inverted cloverleaf) that eventually ended in the ropes.
Santell heads up top, but can’t quite get a sunset bomb off as he just watches Juan crash and burn with a Whisper in the Wind, before a Sugar-Free Hold gets the submission. Santell won it to stay in it, after a fine technical display from the “Ovaltine Dream”. Drew had better be getting some kickback from this… ***½
After the match, Santell gets the customary post-match promo… getting distracted by a fan in a bow tie as he promises to win four in a row next week. It looks like this is heading all the way to Americanrana…
They announced that Women’s Wrestling Revolution returns on June 30 in Everett, MA for “Let Them Eat Cake”.
Shazza McKenzie vs. Solo Darling
It’s a Beyond debut for Shazza, whose extended tour of America rolls on against Solo Darling, who’s been building up steam in recent weeks.
Shazza looks for some early pins as they went back and forth on a sunset flip for a bunch of one-counts. Darling stops the tide as she sweeps the leg and began to unload with a series of mid kicks before the tornado DDT was blocked and turned into a Northern Lights for a near-fall. McKenzie keeps up the pressure with a deathlock, but she gets rolled up for a near-fall as Solo began a comeback… only to run into a right hand as McKenzie took her into the ropes for a knee to the back. Some kicks to the chest follow from the apron, but Solo catches one and comes back with a suplex, dumping Shazza awkwardly on the edge of the ring.
On the outside, Shazza tries for payback, but Darling blocks a suplex before kicking off the ring post for a bulldog. They return to the ring as a floatover suplex gets Solo a near-fall, before she took a ‘rana into the buckles as Shazza then tried to get the win with a running knee in the corner. Solo hits a quick pumphandle slam, but can’t follow up as a Saito suplex from Shazza keeps the pressure on.
Shazza followed up with a Splits Stunner off the top rope that would have led to a win, only for Solo to grab the bottom rope just in time. Some more kicks from Shazza looked to weaken Solo, but Darling gets free and quickly ties up McKenzie into the Sharp Stringer for an instant tap-out. This one felt a little weird and disjointed, but I’m guessing at this point they may have been rushed for time? **½
We get a recap from the Lethal Lottery where John Silver “no-showed” as he didn’t want to team up with Alex Reynolds…
Brandon Thurston vs. John Silver
Thurston’s back after his revelatory performance a few weeks ago here – one that earned him this return booking.
We’ve a scrappy start as Silver and Thurston checked kicks, before a knuckle lock sends Silver down to the mat for a quick count. A monkey flip gets Silver free, as Thurston has to bridge up before a wacky roll-up nearly took the win. Thurston looks to wrestle down Silver with a wristlock, only to get waffled with a lariat to end that spell of chain wrestling.
Shoulder tackles follow as Thurston and Silver trade blows, with the CZW champion Silver winning out ahead of a dropkick. Thurston tries to leap over Silver in the corner, but an uppercut cuts him off before Thurston hit back with a cross armbar attempt. From there, Thurston looked to work over the arm and lower back of Silver, dropping in a knee while holding Silver in a hammerlock, as Thurston began to build up momentum.
Silver cracks his way back into it with a mid kick as Thurston came off the ropes, but he couldn’t follow up with a gorilla press slam thanks to the earlier arm work, and ends up getting death valley driver’d into the corner. A Del Rio-ish stomp off the top keeps up the focus on the arm ahead of a wrist clutch Exploder from Thurston for a near-fall.
Silver tries to fight back with chops as Richard Holliday again continued his moaning on commentary about these tit-for-tat exchanges, and this time Silver ends up falling short after a kick to the arm. He does manage to surprise Thurston with a one-armed German suplex after a leap out of the corner was caught, but a cutter quickly followed as Thurston gets right back in it. The match descends into an exchange of kicks and forearms, before Thurston’s shot into the ropes for a lariat, as Silver manages to lawn dart Thurston into the corner. A hip attacks next, before a spinning tombstone led to a close near-fall. Alex Reynolds appears at ringside in a Beaver Boys shirt, looking to offer support to Silver who just shrugs it off as he kicks Thurston some more… before one’s caught and turned into a T-bone suplex.
Another barrage from kicks from Silver’s caught, but he avoids a counter before a brainbuster led to another two-count. Silver looked to edge further ahead, but Thurston catches him unawares with a La Mistica into a Fujiwara armbar, floating over onto the other arm, only for SIlver to stand up and turn it into a spinning rack bomb for yet another two-count. From there, Silver rolls Thurston back up before a big punt kick puts Brandon away for the win. A good showing from Thurston, but in the end Silver was just too much for him on the night. ***½
Post-match, Reynolds tries to hug it out with Silver… but the CZW champion shoves him off. Reynolds tries to guilt trip him into making things right, suggesting they return next week as the Beaver Boys… and the pair hug it out. All’s well that ends well?
They announce some matches for next week as the Beaver Boys take on Bear Country (interesting…), Solo Darling faces Skylar… and Chris Dickinson takes on Erick Stevens. WHAT?!
Stevens had been training to make a comeback, having last wrestled in October 2010 for ROH (per Cagematch), in a losing effort to Davey Richards. This’ll be his second match back… We’ve also got Whisper vs. Ophidian, and Nick Gage in action. That’ll be bloody.
Josh Briggs vs. David Starr
Starr looked to get his full intro here, only for Briggs to catch him with a knee after just three nicknames. Ah well!
Briggs steams ahead after that cheapshot, suplex tossing Starr across the ring for fun before he began to stomp on Starr… who replies with a chop, only to run into a backbreaker and a big splash as Briggs scored the first pinfall attempt. A big boot in the corner misses for Briggs as Starr went after the hip and leg of Briggs, whipping the leg into the mat before he wrapped it in the ropes.
Starr continues to focus on the knee, then got in the referee’s face as Kevin Quinn – whom he has history with – tried to force the break. More kicks to Briggs’ legs prompted him to run back with a clothesline as Starr was suddenly on the defensive. Shots send Starr onto the apron, where he tries to pull Briggs into a Cherry Mint DDT, only for the counter to see Briggs slingshot Starr in the hard way into a backbreaker.
Starr blocks a chokebreaker and tries to fight back with a forearm, only to get booted to the outside. Briggs follows, sending Starr to some sort of doom with a big boot in the crowd. The hip injury perhaps slowed Briggs a little as he got caught on the apron with a clothesline since Starr got back to the ring first, but he turns it back around with a chokeslam on the apron for an eventual near-fall.
Briggs keep up the pressure when he flipped Starr back into a knee before another chokebreaker attempt was blocked. There’s a big boot for Starr, who resists an Irish whip as Briggs’ hip looked to be causing problems… and that opens the door for Starr to leap in with a DDT before a Han Stansen sends Briggs crashing to the mat for a near-fall. A Blackheart Buster’s next for a near-fall as Starr then turned to his submission finisher – the Republican Remorse – but he’s too close to the ropes as Briggs got free. Starr gets distracted as he mouthed off at the ref, so he didn’t spot Briggs catching him with a kick from the mat, before the pair got back to their feet with the pair swinging for the fences.
They keep going back and forth with forearms, but Briggs takes Starr to ground with some punches at close range before the chokebreaker landed… but he couldn’t make the cover. Instead, he looks for an exclamation point, still bitter about losing his winning streak, as Briggs hobbled up towards the balcony to steal a chair from commentary. He teases hitting Starr with it, but instead Briggs throws it aside and boots Starr’s head off.
From there, Briggs looked to unhook the top rope, but the referee stops him and looked to repair it… allowing Starr to jab Briggs in the leg with a chair before a Product Placement got the win. A tainted victory, but I do like how Briggs’ injury continues to be a determining factor in his losses – a refreshing change in wrestling! ***¼
Post-match, Starr gets the mic as he mocks Briggs some more, before he bragged about being the best independent wrestler on the planet. Starr finally gets to tell us his “plan for Americanrana”, ruling out Josh Briggs, the “coward” Chris Dickinson, and Orange Cassidy… the crowd began to chant for their ace, right as one heckler asks Starr where his belt was. At the moment… somewhere in Japan.
Starr hits back with as he called out his Super Strong Style 16 win, before he turned the discussion towards the bloody matches he’s had with Joey Janela. There’s a hell of a dig at Janela here too, before Starr turned on him for selling out, as he left us with the news that his big plan for Americanrana was… to not be there. That’s a bit of a downer to close on, but I’m sure there’s more to come…
Another week, another good episode of Uncharted Territory – and I’m really enjoying the ongoing pay-offs here. Chuck O’Neil’s nuclear heat is a joy to behold, while the continued development of the big lads in the tag division is real good fun. Speaking of revelations, Thomas Santell’s really clicking with this crowd in the Discovery Gauntlet, and it’ll be a sad day when the former Heart Throb loses.
Given that some of the knocks on Beyond was their perceived lack of ongoing storylines, Uncharted Territory is blowing that perception out of the water as they continue to produce perhaps the best weekly wrestling show today.
- Catch Uncharted Territory as part of a subscription to IWTV.live – sign up today for a 20-day free trial with the code UNCHARTED