We’ve more Uncharted Territory as Chris Dickinson’s latest test ahead of Daisuke Sekimoto came in the form of “Filthy” Tom Lawlor.
It’s back to the Electric Haze in Worcester for our favourite slab of weekly wrestling, with Paul Crockett and Josh Briggs on commentary. We’re straight into action as the answer to “for whom the bell tolls”, as it always should be, is Nick Gage…
Nick Gage vs. Jay Freddie
Well, this is quite a clash of styles… and we start out without a bell. Altogether then, DING DING DING!
They don’t pull any punches to start us off with, trading chops as Gage quickly switches it up with a neckbreaker. Freddie replies with a Saito suplex, but Gage is right up for a receipt… which he too popped up from as the fight resumed. A diving European uppercut took Gage outside, where he’s quickly met with a tope, but that just left him outside as the brawl continued, with Freddie getting tossed onto the merch table.
The merch table’s then thrown onto Freddie, as they return to the ring for a short spinebuster from Gage. Freddie cuts off Gage on the top rope, going for a superplex instead, and he lands it for a two-count! From the kick-out though, Gage goes straight into a piledriver that nearly puts Freddie away… before a running boot probably made him wish he did stay down.
Freddie manages to come back as he got the knees up to block a twisting Vader bomb elbow out of the corner, before he brushed Gage with a Shining Wizard. He followed that up with the “big Taker” tombstone, which gets another close near-fall, before Freddie slipped out of a Chokebreaker attempt and locked in a Sharpshooter. The ropes save Gage, who avoids a stomp off the top before chaining together a piledriver and a chokebreaker to put away Freddie. This was fine, but in the battle of styles, I guess hitting your big moves close together overcomes ground-based stuff. ***
Nick Gage gets a mic, but it doesn’t work, so he just addresses the crowd directly. We then get a ships passing in the night moment between Nick Gage and Thomas Santell. I WANT THAT MATCH.
They then pitch to Cameron Zagami backstage with DL Hurst, who is the latest challenger in the Discovery Gauntlet. Hurst is bitter that the fans abandoned him last summer after he broke his leg, and he’s going to unbottle it tonight against Santell.
Discovery Gauntlet: Thomas Santell vs. DL Hurst
The ever-respectful Santell applauds Hurst for his entrance, and gets jumped by Hurst before the bell, as the referee was forced to separate them so he could ring the bell.
When it sounds, Hurst continues to pound away on Santell, choking him with his own ring jacket… before Santell swapped places! A jacket snapmare takes Hurst outside, but he just charges Santell into the apron, then throws him into the ring post and into the wall as the aggression continued from the newcomer. On the apron, Hurst squashes Santell with a back senton that looked nasty, before he commandeered Rich Palladino’s live mic to cut a mid-match promo. He cuts it off to go back to Santell, dumping him with a slam, before Santell caught him in a rear naked choke… but an eye rake saved Hurst.
A Northern Lights suplex followed from Hurst for barely a two-count, before an attempt at a torture rack was slipped out, with Santell slipping out into TAKA’s Just Facelock… but Hurst easily gets to the ropes. Hurst keeps on Santell, choking him and throwing clubbering forearms to the back, before a suplex almost became a brainbuster on the way down for another two-count. Hurst goes back for the torture rack, but Santell slips out and goes for the Sugar Free Hold, only for Hurst to get to the ropes before he could get it locked on. Santell continues by taking him into the corner for a superplex, recovering after he was shoved down before he scored with a butterfly superplex!
Rolling to the floor, Hurst avoids being covered, and comes back with a hotshot rom the floor before he caught Santell in the ring with a pop-up death valley driver. That’s not enough for the pin, nor was a Twisting Fisherman Buster, which just got a one-count, before Hurst finally scored with a torture rack lungblower… but still Santell kicks out!
Finding a second wind, Santell lands some clotheslines before he dumped Hurst with a Fisherman buster… a German suplex is wheelbarrowed out of for a near-fall, before another scramble on the mat led to the Sugar Free Hold for the submission. Hurst looked good firing out of the gates, but he wasn’t the one to unseat Santell… and whomever does beat Santell is going to be a made man on this show. ***¼
The post-match promo with Zagami followed, but they’re interrupted by Kenn Doane, who tells Santell he “couldn’t cut it in the big leagues”. I don’t know what he’s talking about. Doane jumps Zagami, then get escorted out of the venue.
Davienne vs. Allie Kat
Davienne was out with Skylar, who’s had a change in attitude during her time off. Well, I guess some will see that as a huge upside on the old Team Black and Blue…
Allie Kat tries to outwrestle Davienne early, snapmaring her to the mat before asking for a belly rub. Yeah, I don’t think that’s happening. Davienne sparks a series of shoulder tackles, but Allie Kat edged ahead before Skylar got involved, tripping Allie Kat. It doesn’t quite work though, as Allie hit back with a back senton before she went to rub Davienne’s belly. That sent Davienne outside as Allie faked a dive… and again got tripped by Skylar as the referee, right next to it, was distracted. Davienne slides back in to hit a back suplex for a near-fall, before she whipped Allie Kat from corner to corner.
Charges into the corner follow, before a baseball slide dropkick sent Allie Kat into the ring post. Skylar’s there to mock, but it doesn’t help as Allie Kat kicked out while Josh Briggs continued to pepper us with cat puns. A whoopee cushion out of the corner gets Allie back in it, as she came back with hip attacks and cannonballs, before a German suplex out of nothing put Davienne right back on top. Shoving away a superplex, Allie Kat looks for a back senton off the top, but she comes up short, allowing Davienne to hit a Fisherman buster for a near-fall.
Allie counters a pop-up with a headbutt, with Skylar having to save Davienne by lifting her foot onto the rope… which prompts Solo Darling out to make the save… and while Skylar and Solo scrap, Davienne’s distracted and gets hit with the Lari-cat for the win. Another decent match, and the post-match stuff with Skylar sure as heck looks to be looking to build to a tag match down the line, doesn’t it? ***
Bear Country (Bear Bronson & Bear Beefcake) vs. To Infinity and Beyond (Colin Delaney & Cheech)
We’ve an Uncharted Territory debut for the Buzz Lightyear-inspired pairing of Colin Delaney and Cheech. Yes. THAT Colin Delaney. Yes. THAT Cheech.
Delaney tries to outmuscle Beefcake early on, which doesn’t work… as Delaney falls into the ropes. A Test of Strength ensues, but Delaney just high-fives Beefcake before Delaney strained in an Irish whip… then again with a bodyslam, before he began to stick and move. A forearm surprises Beefcake, as Cheech tagged in… and ends up taking his half of a double back suplex.
Bronson comes in and chops through Cheech, before Delaney acted as a human barrier to stop Cheech from taking another corner. It works, as Cheech comes back with a back suplex, before Delaney returned to help with a double hiptoss and a sliding lariat for a near-fall. Beefcake’s brought back in to press slam Delaney into Cheech, before Bronson’s back senton squashed the pile. Ah well!
Delaney tries to fight back from a belly-to-belly, but Bronson’s back to chop him silly. So silly, in fact, he tries to chop back, but ends up getting sent into the ropes for a back elbow instead. An elbow drop from Beefcake takes Delaney off all fours for a near-fall, before his attempt to keep Delaney away from a tag led the former WWE ECW star into a uranage and another back senton. Cheech breaks up the cover at two, but can’t help Delaney in a bear hug… forcing Delaney to escape himself with a stunner. A tag brings Cheech in to try and wear down the big guys, but he’s quickly overwhelmed as a step-up ‘rana off of Beefcake’s back was caught. Instead, Cheech uses knees and elbows to get free before landing a satellite DDT, only to get dumped with a Sambo suplex by Bronson for a near-fall. From there, a forearm to the back of the head led to a gutwrench powerbomb from Beefcake for a near-fall as Delaney needed to make a save.
Delaney scores with a Stundog Millionaire as Cheech took down Beefcake with a ‘rana into the corner, and now Cheech and Delaney mount some offence, tripping Bear Country onto the edges of the ring. A Drive By dropkick takes down Bronson before a springboard stunner from Delaney and a splash from Cheech almost caused the upset. Bear Country mount a comeback, blocking a double-team suplex before Bronson piledrives Cheech onto Delaney, before the Elevator splash flattened them both for the win. Cheech and Delaney gave Bear Country more trouble than I expected, but this was a good competitive outing as the newcomers continue to rack up Ws. ***½
They replay Dorian Graves promo from Lethal Lottery as he tries to put Massage Force behind him… and we come back to Cheech and Delaney getting “please come back” chants.
VSK vs. Dorian Graves
With Massage Force having been away from Beyond for a while (not seen here since November’s Tournament for Tomorrow… then last summer’s Americanrana before that), the crowd’s a little muted for his battle of former partners.
Dorian Graves has a new look – in the form of what looked like a slightly-ripped body suit – and he charges at VSK at the bell, taking him outside for a swift apron PK. A Whisper in the Wind off the middle rope greets VSK on the outside, before a spinning heel kick back inside led to a near-fall.
Chops await VSK back in the ring, before a dropkick caught VSK in a Tree of Woe… and yeah, he’s not getting going. VSK finally lands a shot to stop a Graves springboard, before a ‘rana snapped Graves out of the ropes for a tope. On the floor, VSK slams Graves down hard, almost leading to the count-out as VSK ends up unleashing with some more kicks. A Quebrada followed for a near-fall, before VSK looked to rip off Graves’ mask.
He’s unsuccessful, so he keeps up with a dropkick for a near-fall before going back to the mask. An uppercut to the back of the head keeps Graves trapped in the ropes as VSK followed back with a senton atomico for a near-fall, before he dragged Graves into the corner for a tornado DDT… but it’s blocked as Graves hit back with an enziguiri. A missed head kick left VSK open for a pumphandle backbreaker, then a butterfly suplex, before he pancaked VSK for a near-fall.
VSK throws some desperation forearms before he slapped Graves after a massage. A satellite pancake left VSK down again for more massage… but he fakes out and hits a double stomp, then a lariat for a near-fall. A Saito suplex sees VSK mount a comeback, following it up with a boot into the corner, then a German suplex out of it for barely a two-count. Graves elbows out of a Fireman’s carry as the match remained evenly poised… but he runs into a Spanish Fly for another two-count, before a superkick gave us one more near-fall. Graves is dead weight at this point, but he finds a second wind with a Ki Krusher for a near-fall, before an attempted Gory bomb was blocked when VSK ripped off the mask and rolled up Graves for the win. On paper, this was fine, but I feel that had the team been more of a regular act as of late, this’d have had more heat. ***
Chuck O’Neil vs. Anthony Greene
O’Neil’s crusade to clear Beyond of what he sees as “garbage” continued – having demolished Rory Gulak in double quick time.
Greene jumps Chuck with a dropkick before the bell… but a German suplex from O’Neil flings him across the ring as Greene was instantly on the defensive. O’Neil’s sent outside for a tope, as Greene just about got to him, following up with a crossbody back inside for a near-fall. A kick from O’Neil takes out Greene’s arm, as the former MMA fighter started to focus on that part of the body.
A back suplex keeps Green down, as does a series of forearms. Greene tries to fight back, ducking a clothesline before a cutter out of the corner was caught and turned into a German suplex. Another kick to the back rocks Greene, but he’s got plenty left in him to avoid a Michinoku driver and land a couple of superkicks. Greene’s release back suplex drops O’Neil on his face for a near-fall. O’Neil gets back with a Michinoku driver, but Greene lands with his foot under the rope, so the pin doesn’t count… instead, O’Neil goes for a cross armbar, also in the ropes, as Greene got free and landed that springboard cutter out of the corner.
Chuck’s straight up, and drops Greene with a German suplex… but Greene is right back up too! A superkick cracks O’Neil, who’s back with a leaping knee, before a cross armbreaker out of a roll-up led to the quick submission. This was pretty good, helped by Paul Crockett on commentary emphasising danger for just about everything O’Neil did. ***¼
Post-match, O’Neil continues to beat down on Greene, forcing Josh Briggs to run down from commentary to make the save… and challenge O’Neil to a match next week. Also announced for next week: Davienne & Skylar vs. Allie Kat & Solo Darling, while Joey Janela’ll be here with a live mic. Oh, and Orange Cassidy faces Shawn Spears.
Chris Dickinson vs. Tom Lawlor
We’re still on Dickinson’s path to Daisuke… and on commentary, Richard Holliday’s back to replace Josh Briggs.
Dickinson tries to get under Lawlor’s skin, taking Lawlor’s mouth guard and shoving it down his trunks. Lawlor still uses it anyway, sending Dickinson to the back in disgust.
Dickinson returns, and gets going as the pair end up in the corner, where Lawlor scored with a hiptoss as the referee tried to separate the pair. Looking to return the favour, Dickinson took down Lawlor by the arm, before a waistlock takedown just about got Dickinson down… where he looked for a knee bar right by the ropes.
Things get a little scrappy with Lawlor throwing kicks as Dickinson was on his back, before he used a banana split to try and roll Dickinson into a pin. Dickinson returns the favour with a kneebar, but Lawlor’s got the same idea as the pair end up in the ropes. From there, the pair look to upgrade to strikes, with chops taking the fight outside as Dickinson and Lawlor fought by the bar, before they headed in front of the VIP area with chops.
Dickinson gets chopped by the wall, before he threw a couple of kicks to force his way back in, throwing some lariats by the ring post that eventually led to the obligatory “Tom ducks, Chris hits the post”. Lawlor wraps Dickinson’s arm around the post after that, as they go towards the merch table, then back into the ring. Lawlor looks to pick his shots in the ring, peppering Dickinson with kicks before he choked away on him in the corner. A hammerlock slam dumped Dickinson on the arm, as Lawlor remained focused on that body part, using a hammerlock/armbar combo to try and force a submission. Shots from above keep Dickinson on the back foot, as does a kick to the chest… but he seems to fire up, demanding that Lawlor prove why he was in the UFC.
More kicks see Lawlor whale away on Dickinson, who pops up with some chops with his good arm, only for another kick to take him back down. Dickinson comes back with a variety of shots… but he left that left arm open as Lawlor looked for a Rings of Saturn, only for it to be powered out of as Dickinson came back with a death valley driver out of nothing. A series of lariats put Dickinson back in it, before a one armed death valley driver looked suitably dangerous, with Lawler almost being dropped vertically for a near-fall.
Dickinson keeps up the pressure with a superplex attempt, but Lawlor blocks and gets himself free, landing a gamengiri instead before he teased Dickinson with a Burning Hammer… and instead hit Ryback’s old Shell Shock for a near-fall. A rear naked choke’s thrown away by DIckinson, who’s met with a knee strike and some chops, following up by tossing Dickinson from a monkey flip and into a rear naked choke… but he somehow gets free! Lawlor keeps up with a rear naked choke, but Dickinson escapes with a Saito suplex, before an attempted Pazuzu bomb was scaped and countered with a nasty tombstone for a near-fall. The crowd look to get behind Dickinson again here, but he’s forced to absorb some chops before he launched a flurry of his own. They go back and forth with strikes, with a discus lariat from Lawlor taking down Dickinson briefly… he’s back with an enziguiri and a lariat of his own, for just a one count!
Dickinson looks to finish off Lawlor with a spinning back kick, but that’s only good for a two-count, before a spinning enziguiri finds its mark – proving to be enough to get the win. This was suitably scrappy, as a fight should be, before it settled down… then frayed again at the end as Dickinson found a way past the MLW champion. ***½
After the match Dickinson asked for a handshake, but not before he put over Lawlor. Tom got “please come back” chants, along with “every week”… and Tom makes them happy by saying he’ll be back next week. Lawlor leaves as Dickinson reveals that next week he’ll be facing the newly visa’d Josh Alexander on Uncharted Territory. That’ll be good!
We wrap up with the Americanrana plug, and then the latest Wheeler Yuta vlog, focusing on his training in the wXw training academy and some sorta-touristy stuff in Essen before the show came to a close.
One of my favourite things about Uncharted Territory, as we’ve said, is just how much talent they’re giving exposure to. It’s not just a small pool of talent that’s being shuffled into new combinations every week – and we’re seeing here that anyone who connects with the crowd are being brought back pretty much straight away. Whereas other groups would perhaps wait and lose any momentum, Beyond’s striking while the iron is hot – which is perhaps a benefit of not overly stuffing your shows with storylines.
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