The first season of Uncharted Territory wrapped up as the dust began to settle on Americanrana.
Of course, during Americanrana it was announced that we would be getting a new season of Uncharted Territory, starting every Thursday night in October at the new IWTV Studios in Pawtucket, Rhode Island. So for one final time for this season, we’re in the White Eagle in Worcester, Massachusetts with Paul Crockett and Josh Briggs on commentary. We’re meant to open with a six-man tag as… hey, Club Cam has theme music, and it’s got a wacky laugh on it – which means I can still make the Larry Sweeney comparisons in more than just his dress sense. Anthony Greene and the Platinum Hunnies were his opponents, except Richard Holliday attacked Greene during his entrance. Josh Briggs leaves commentary to save the Hunnies, and so we’ve now got an eight-man tag.
Just as well Sidney Bakabella was around to fill in on commentary!
Club Cam (Cam Zagami, Christian Casanova, Kenn Doane & Richard Holliday) vs. Anthony Greene, Josh Briggs & The Platinum Hunnies (Angel Sinclair & Ava Everett)
Greene throws Casanova into the ring to get us going as the pair started trading shots, but it’s Greene who lands the first few kicks to send Casanova packing.
Quick tags get us to Briggs and Doane, but Angel Sinclair’s in to stand up to Kenny… who tries to kick her, but it’s caught as she slapped back. Chops take Doane into the corner, begging away before Ava Everett came in… only to get distracted by a hair-pull from Holliday before she landed a knee. Doane has more luck with the hair pull as he yanked Everett to the mat, before Cam Zagami came in to look for a piledriver. Ava shoves away as Briggs comes in… Zagami tagged out too as Briggs went wild with big boots to Holliday. A backbreaker drops Holliday too as a Parade of Moves broke out, as Club Cam settled into an advantage.
Briggs dumps Casanova with a back body drop to give himself an opening, as Greene got the hot tag in to clear house, taking down Holliday with a springboard cutter out of the corner. A crossbody crashes into Casanova for a near-fall as Holliday breaks up the cover. Another comeback from Greene ends with a punch from Doane, who almost got rolled up by Everett for the win… and we’ve got a wonky finish as Doane rolled into the referee, who was down forever as Doane rolled up Everett with a handful of tickets for the eventual three-count. Finish aside, this was a wild tag that puts a little more steam into the Club Cam team. ***
After the match, Zagami formally introduces Holliday as a part of Club Cam. Sidney Bakabella on commentary threw in a dig about how Club Cam has a “load of topless men”. Oof.
Brad Hollister is introduced to the ring next – he’s out on crutches after he blew some ligaments during a match against Chuck O’Neil. He’s about to give an injury update to Rich Palladino, saying he tore his ACL and could be out for up to a year. We wish a speedy recovery to “Big Bacon”… who looked like he had to get out of there quick when Chuck O’Neil headed out.
We could barely hear O’Neil, who threatened to attack Hollister… only for Wheeler Yuta to head out to start the match.
Knockout or Submission Only: Chuck O’Neil vs. Wheeler Yuta
It’s an instant rematch from Americanrana, where O’Neil beat Yuta courtesy of a flash knockout.
The pair trade shots early on before things switched up to holds, as Yuta looked for a waistlock, before landing a springboard crossbody instead. Yuta began to work over O’Neil’s arm, with a trapped-arm armbar, but Chuck kicks his way free. A low dropkick from Yuta gave us our first standing ten-count of the bout, as Yuta was doing his best to keep O’Neil down, attacking him the very instant he beat the count. O’Neil rolls outside to break another count, but he’s quickly met with a tope and some chops, before they returned to the ring, where O’Neil landed a quick overhead belly-to-belly superplex. Yuta gets thrown into the ring post so hard the advertising magnet falls off, as O’Neil began to make a point of working the arm, mixing in suplexes with holds that targeted the body part.
Yuta slams his way out of a hammerlock, before he got caught with a head kick as O’Neil used a back suplex to start another standing ten-count. More kicks to the arm follow as Yuta was on the deck… and it meant that Yuta needed the ropes to pull himself up, as he narrowly beat a count, then hit a release German suplex. O’Neil makes use of the no-DQ rule to rake the eyes as he followed in with a running knee – echoes of Anericanrana – but somehow Yuta’s able to get back to his feet in the nick of time, only to trade chops with O’Neil one more time. Those upgrade to forearms until Yuta clotheslined O’Neil away as he was looking for another knee. Another superplex effort from O’Neil’s stuffed by Yuta, who came down with a missile dropkick instead, before locking in a Yutagatame… despite having a bad wing.
Chuck’s able to manipulate the hand to get himself free, quickly responding with a Falcon arrow into a cross armbreaker, but Yuta again got the reversal off, then clotheslines O’Neil to the outside. Another tope’s swatted away by O’Neil’s fist… right before O’Neil confronted Brad Hollister at ringside. The referee’s got to hold Hollister back as he looked to retaliate with his crutch, but Yuta gets hold of it in the end as he dropkicked a chair into O’Neil’s head, before a crutch-assisted Yutagatame got the win! A big win for Wheeler who finally overcame the bully – with a little help from a mutual friend. ***
Deana Rae’s backstage interviewing Bullet Joe – he’s this week’s Discovery Gauntlet entrant. There’s a big size difference in this one, as he’s even giving up size to Deana!
Discovery Gauntlet: Daniel Garcia vs. Bullet Joe
The winner gets brought back for season two…
Joe shoots out into a dropkick at the bell, before he tried to catch Garcia with a Codebreaker… he gets it at the second attempt for a near-fall. A double stomp off the top misses for Joe, who’s caught and dropped into a backbreaker, then a Fisherman’s buster for a near-fall, before a series of chops kept knocking Joe back down. Garcia looks for a piledriver, but Joe blocks it… then hit a slap. Which was a very bad idea. An exchange of palm strikes follows, but Garcia quickly ups the ante with elbows and forearms. Another piledriver’s blocked… so Garcia rolled backwards to switch it up on the way to a powerbomb, getting a near-fall before Joe found a second wind, landing headscissors and a flying stomp for a near-fall.
Joe tries to fire off a series of chops, but they all came up as blanks as Garcia booted him out of the ring. One pop-up forearm later, and Joe’s down for a Deathshooter as Garcia leant back to force the submission. Not quite a squash, but Garcia’s continuing to look impressive… here’s hoping he’s kept warm during the “off season”. **½
After the match, Garcia offered a handshake to Bullet Joe, before he demanded to face the best in season two.
Jay Freddie vs. Brandon Thurston
This was the undoubted show-stealer back on episode four of Uncharted Territory – so why not end the season with a rematch?
There’s a bit of venom in things as the pair charged at each other to start, trading forearms like they were going out of fashion. A leg sweep has Thurston ahead as he took Freddie into the corner… but the favours are returned as referee Steven Dumeng was trying in vain to separate everyone. He gives up as we get back-and-forth chops instead, complete with some slightly irritating camera cuts, before Freddie had Thurston on the mat. Freddie nearly wins it right there with a powerbomb, but Thurston goes back to work, focusing on Freddie’s left arm with a slingshot DDT to the arm. All that stuff got the fans on Thurston’s back – and he was only too keen to throw some verbal barbs in among the shots he was taking at Freddie… at least until he got caught with an implant DDT.
A guillotine from Thurston gets neatly countered into a Falcon arrow for a near-fall, before a sit-out side slam kept Freddie slightly ahead. Freddie’s left arm was beginning to cause problems though – problems that the adrenaline couldn’t quite compensate for – as Thurston elbowed away an Exploder suplex attempt, only to get caught with a Dragon screw. A Shining Wizard quickly followed, as Freddie scooped him for a tombstone slam a la Matt Riddle… but it’s still not enough! Somehow, Thurston finds a second wind, clocking Freddie on the way to a Tiger suplex… that barely gets a one-count, as a sheer drop brainbuster awaited for another near-fall. Thurston’s visibly getting frustrated with every passing near-fall, so he upped the ante with a death valley driver into the turnbuckles, hanging Freddie upside down… but he’s able to escape and respond straight away with a superplex. One Busaiku knee later, and it’s Freddie who’s exasperated with the near-falls!
Thurston snapped back in, rolling Freddie to the mat with a cross armbreaker, but Freddie rolled free and broke the hold with a powerbomb. Freddie couldn’t build momentum though, and got caught with a La Mistica as Thurston switched into a Fujiwara armbar… and there’s your submission. An unpopular win as Thurston got his win back from episode 4… so I guess we gotta do it again on season 2? This didn’t have the same wow factor (what do they say about sequels?), but was still a great wrestling match with a little bit of aggression that the first one lacked. ***¾
Top Dogs (Davienne, Skylar & Sierra) vs. Leyla Hirsch & Team Sea Stars (Ashley Vox & Delmi Exo)
There’s a nice touch as Davienne threw Sierra into Hirsch before the bell as they were playing to the crowd… but Hirsch was not thrilled as she rushed back into the ring… only to get triple-teamed.
The bell rings as Davienne and Skylar double-team her with a wheelbarrow facebuster onto some knees, as the Sea Stars were left arguing from the apron. Hirsch tries to fight back, but a low enziguiri from Skylar… just earned her an instant receipt. A tag brings in Ashley Vox alongside Davienne, as Vox goes straight in with the fish hooking, following up with some headscissors to keep Davienne in the wrong corner. A shotgun dropkick keeps her there, before Skylar’s attempt to help saw her share a missile dropkick as the Sea Stars proceeded to dive on them on the outside. Vox and Exo hit duelling tope, before Hirsch’s low-pe continued the never-ending dive train, all while Sierra just watched on like a helpless little puppy. Quaint. She decided to get involved, heading up top for a cross body into the pile… and she’s finally getting some offence in now!
A step-up enziguiri stops Exo, as does a knee and a low dropkick, before following up with a stunner as Exo was looking for a wheelbarrow. Hirsch returned as we seem to be under lucha rules, and it goes south as you’d expect as Hirsch decked her with a leg lariat to continue the Parade of Moves. Skylar’s hiptoss knee lands but Delmi catches a crossbody and throws her across the ring with a fallaway slam. Exo looked to follow up with something in the corner, but she’s caught on the top rope as Davienne and Skylar built up to a Tower of Doom… with Sierra being left out as she was still trying to get back to her feet. When she did, she took a while to recognise what had happened, as she proceeded to get a bunch of two-counts. All that did was earn her a spot in a chain of submissions that Davienne broke up, before Davienne and Sierra whipped Vox and Hirsch into each other.
Skylar’s left to try and get the win… but she’s’ come back with brass knuckles that she tried to get Sierra to use. Right in front of the referee too, which got her scared like a puppy, as Skylar and Davienne put away Exo with a powerbomb/backcracker combo. Like the opener, this was wild – but if you’re a stickler for tags, you’ll end up loathing this. I must say, the use of Sierra’s a good way to debut a new character here, especially since you know it’s going to build to something with her down the line. **¾
Beyond’s doing a beach show in September. That’s going to be wild…
Milk Chocolate (Brandon Watts & Randy Summers) vs. The Butcher And The Blade (Andy Williams & Pepper Parks)
In case you’ve been under a rock, Milk Chocolate have been annoying here… and also “jobbers to the stars” on Uncharted Territory. Remember when those were a thing?
Meanwhile, the Butcher and the Blade went down to the Rock ‘n’ Roll Express at Americanrana, so they’re looking to make a statement here. I think they’ll do just fine here. Parks and Summers start us off, with Randy getting taken into the ropes, before he took down Parks with a shoulder tackle. Andy Williams looked so unimpressed on the apron, and he was quickly brought in after Summer was dumped with a slam. Brandon Watts just bounces off him as Summers tagged back in, and Randy’s not faring much better here either.
A tag brings Parks back in, but he’s suddenly on the defensive as Summers began to throw chops in the corner, before Williams came back in for a dropkick-assisted gutwrench suplex as the status quo was restored. Chops follow from Williams, as the Butcher and the Blade wear down Summers in their corner, throwing together suplexes and clotheslines as they borrowed quick tags from the Rock ‘n’ Roll playbook. Summers tries to mount a comeback, and actually got enough of an opening to tag in Watts to try and build up some momentum… but Watts wastes time as he stole Parks’ mask and put it on. Hey there Slipknot-induced nightmares! Andy Williams is far from impressed, staring a hole through Watts, before catching his leap. Summers tried to make a save as Williams was briefly swarmed, leading to him getting dragged into the ring post by the luckless duo.
Milk Chocolate drag Parks to the outside too, throwing him into the ring post for good measure… but things change back in the ring as Summers gets small packaged for a near-fall. Summers mocks the crowd again as Parks was fighting back to his feet, but again there’s double-teaming as Milk Chocolate tried pretty much everything legal (and questionable) to force a win. A sunset flip from Parks finally takes Watts down for a near-fall, but Watts clings onto the leg to prevent a tag… as we then got the classic “bad guys distract the ref to stop a tag from counting” line. Oh, they’re gonna die when Williams gets the tag in.
For the time being, Summers keeps putting the boots to Parks in the corner, but he loses focus and gets suplexed into his own man in the corner… aand here comes Andy! Chops light up Summers as a crossbody flattened Watts as Williams then… did this. CLOVERLEAF POWERBOMB!
HOLY SHIT!!@andycomplains #UnchartedTerritory @beyondwrestling
(Sign up to https://t.co/6idE9Ze4v5 Using code UNCHARTED for a free 20 day trial!) pic.twitter.com/Z2QcD1BfSG— Jocay🇪🇨 (@Jocay19) August 1, 2019
It’s back to the cloverleaf from there, but sadly it’s not the finish as Watts superkicks it away… only to get threatened with a chokeslam. It bought enough time for Summers to get up as Watts’ back cracker and a flying stomp from Summers put Williams down for a near-fall, as Watts then tried to cheat to a win, with his feet on the ropes. The ref spots it and stops the count though, as Milk Chocolate corner him… before they punt Andy Williams low for a near-fall as the ref was cowering from impending doom. From there, the Butcher and the Blade get a second wind, blasting through Milk Chocolate en route to a shoulder block/powerbomb combo, before Watts got suplexed onto Parks’ knees for the win. Milk Chocolate put up more of a fight than they had any right to do, but in the end they fell to a familiar loss as that cloverleaf/powerbomb will remain etched in my brain forever. ***
Alex Reynolds vs. Solo Darling
This wasn’t for Solo’s Feast Championship Wrestling burger belt, as Alex Reynolds returned to the White Eagle with his gaudy robe. Oh, and his new consultant Mark Sterling, who isn’t officially smart here, I guess.
Sterling apparently told Reynolds to cut the “meaty fat”, which explains why the Beaver Boys aren’t a thing anymore. Solo tried to entice Darling into slapping her, but instead she caught him with an overhead suplex as she worked over Reynolds’ legs in the early going. Problem was, it was right by the ropes, so we had an instant rope break. Darling looked to keep up the aggression, but an eye rake allowed Reynolds to throw her outside… just as Mark Sterling wandered around to create a distraction, as Reynolds joined her outside with a baseball slide dropkick. Back in the ring, Reynolds used a crossface-like hold before he simply stood on Solo’s head… Darling tries to fight back with kicks, but she ends up getting thrown back into a backbreaker for a near-fall. Solo tries more kicks, as Reynolds was finally rocked, leaving him unable to block a pair of Honey Steamer tornado suplexes. A third one looked to follow, but it’s finally blocked as Solo looked for a Sharp Stinger… that’s pushed away as Reynolds came back in with a Complete Shot for a near-fall.
Reynolds drags Solo onto the apron, which seemed like a bad idea… and proved to be as she hit back with a death valley driver on the apron for a near-fall because Sterling put Reynolds’ foot on the rope. After some stomps, Solo locks in the Sharp Stinger… so Mark Sterling kidnaps Officer Magnum and threatens to throw the dog off the balcony. Of course he doesn’t, as Solo gets distracted and loses to a roll-up. ASPCA-baiting finish aside (you know SOMEONE is going to be mad at that), that was a tidy little match that establishes Reynolds’ new act for a new season. ***¼
Nerder Death Kill (Nick Gage & Thomas Santell) vs. Bear Country (Bear Beefcake & Bear Bronson)
Bear Country went from unknowns on episode 5 of Uncharted Territory to the aces of the tag division. On the same show, Thomas Santell debuted in the Discovery Gauntlet, probably propelling sales of Ovaltine in the Worcester area. Three of this show’s success stories in one match to close out the show, eh?
Gage stops Santell from giving a handshake as Santell and Bronson got us going with the search for a lock-up. Santell has more luck with a side headlock, but Bronson overpowers him with a uranage takedown out of the corner, before he whiffed on a back senton, giving Santell an opening to go for the Sugar Free Hold early on. Bronson’s no slouch on the mat as he rolled out, but found himself quickly going for the ropes as Santell went for the hold again… leading to another stand-off as Bear Beefcake and Nick Gage fought over a tie-up. Of course, the ropes force a break as the pacing in this one’s making me smell an impending rat.
Another tie-up sees Gage break in the ropes, before Beefcake scored with a shoulder tackle and a slam to have Gage reeling on the mat. The match spills outside, where Gage has to rake the eyes to avoid being thrown into the apron, as Beefcake instead ate the ring post before Santell literally BOUNCED off of him with a body press off the top. Bronson equalises things with a tope, as all four men continued to brawl around the crowd. Beefcake charges himself into the ring post as he was aiming for Santell, so the NDK crew work over Bronson for a spell… until Beefcake recovered and sent himself flying with a somersault plancha. Damn, those bears can fly.
Back in the ring, Gage bites his way out of a bearhug as he looked to take down Beefcake with a chokebreaker… and this is descending into a fight. Gage’s running forearms wobble Beefcake, before Santell came in for what I can only describe as a take on the Shatter Machine. Bronson’s in with cannonballs as he tried to restore the advantage, but he’s swiftly taken down into the Sugar Free Hold by Santell… only for Cam Zagami to pull out the referee. The rest of Club Cam hit the ring to attack both teams – and the bell’s instantly ringing as we have a no contest. ***
Chuck O’Neil’s out for some reason… and now the locker room empties as we get the sort of finish that usually happens before a Royal Rumble! The ring clears out a little, as all of the good guys were left in there to flatten Randy Summers for the hell of it, before the Platinum Hunnies came out to have Cam Zagami backpedalling. I think there’s an Ovaltine lover who’s still looking for payback… and sure enough, Cam heads into the ring for “safety”. By which I mean, he’s decked by Santell, who proceeded to whip him with his belt as Nick Gage looked on with absolute glee!
We’ve big dives too as Club Cam and the rest of the bad guys get squashed… and so, that brings an end to the first season of Uncharted Territory. Well, not before Denver Colorado announced post-stream that Heavy Lies The Crown will be back in the White Eagle on New Year’s Eve for their regular “Happy New Year” show.
Uncharted Territory was a show that started innocuously, just days before WrestleMania, but quickly exploded into life and brought so many new faces into our world. I think Mr. Lariato worked out that Beyond has had over 100 faces in the 18-episode series – which is a testament to the depth on the indie scene, in spite of everything. This show isn’t going to be gone for long, which is a good thing for me. Beyond have filled the Shotgun-shaped hole in my weekly wrestling schedule that had been empty for a year – and I can only hope that the momentum can be picked up and built upon when the show returns in October.
- Catch Uncharted Territory as part of a subscription to IWTV.live – sign up today and get a 20-day free trial with the code UNCHARTED