Literally “between ROH contracts”, Maria Manic’s back in Beyond for a wild main event against Nick Gage on this week’s Uncharted Territory…
We’re back to the White Eagle in Worcester, MA, with the usual commentary pairing of Paul Crockett and Sidney Bakabella on the call.
Kris Statlander vs. VSK
Statlander’s been tied to Mark Sterling’s charges in recent weeks, and has a lot of payback to collect here.
VSK jumps Statlander before the bell, then crushed her with a lumbar check for an early near-fall. Statlander rolls outside, but is still on the defensive until she shrugged off a distraction… a UFO moonsault off the apron’s caught, but she still manages to post VSK before taking him inside for a missile dropkick that gets her a near-fall. Statlander lands on her feet from a monkey flip as she tried to outsmart VSK, ducking a boot before a Victory roll turned it around as VSK managed to turn defence into attack. Another lumbar check’s blocked as Statlander gets a legdrop in for a near-fall, only to get tossed into the turnbuckles with a German suplex as the pair were unable to maintain any momentum.
A scoop slam and a quick body splash gets VSK a near-fall as he tried to build, making good use of some assistance on the outside as Sterling choked her in the ropes. Statlander tries to float over VSK in the corner, but instead had to go for a Victory roll of her own before a tiltawhirl backbreaker has VSK back on top. Statlander’s back with a Finlay roll, but she has her knees kicked out from under her in the corner as VSK was right back in it.
VSK climbed the ropes for a stomp, but Statlander crotches him and brings him down with a superplex to buy her some more time. Getting back to her feet, Statlander nails VSK with right hands, then Matrix’s out of a clothesline as she began to build up team, cracking VSK with a running knee and a Falcon arrow for a near-fall. From there, Statlander looks for the Big Bang Theory (package tombstone), but VSK rolls out and hits a spinning Saito suplex after some boots for another near-fall. An enziguiri blocks VSK’s superkick before he’s rolled down into a grounded Octopus… prompting Mark Sterling to climb on the apron for a distraction. He’s knocked down, then met with an errant VSK tope as Statlander found her mark with a tope of her own…
Sterling runs backstage as Statlander crushes VSK with a 450 knees for a near-fall, before she missed an axe kick, and brought VSK in with an Implant DDT for a near-fall. VSK argues with the ref, before a kick exchange led to VSK landing a standing Spanish Fly for a two-count. A Code Red from Statlander gets a similar result, before an axe kick and the Big Bang Theory spiked VSK for the win. A hell of an opener, with Statlander getting a modicum of payback… ***½
…except Alex Reynolds immediately hit the ring to beat down Statlander. Chris Dickinson runs out for the save, and we’ve a Heyman special!
Alex Reynolds vs. Chris Dickinson
Dickinson mached Reynolds to the ring as our second match got going with chops. Lots of chops.
There’s a big back body drop early on from Dickinson, who proceeded to clothesline Reynolds to the outside. Sterling provides another distraction as Reynolds was about to get Pazuzu Bombed, and that got Reynolds a lot more offence in than he got for AEW a week earlier…
Sterling clips Dickinson’s leg as he tried to fight back, but Reynolds stays in charge, slipping out of a suplex before hitting a back suplex for a two-count. Sterling again provides a distraction, but it backfires as Dickinson still back body drops Reynolds to the outside, before a clothesline back inside had Dickinson back on top… with a running death valley driver almost getting the win as Sterling put Reynolds’ foot on the rope.
Annoyed, Dickinson heads out after Sterling, then charged him through a fire exit and onto the landing… shutting the door behind him! Reynolds capitalises with a tope as Dickinson was celebrating his handiwork, before a crossbody off the top was rolled through… more back-and-forth almost gets Reynolds the win, but an enziguiri and a Pazuzu Bomb puts Alex away. Decent stuff, with Dickinson getting some nice payback on the annoying manager too. ***
“Chris Dickinson is a regular Mel Phillips”. I’m not touching Sidney Bakabella’s comment with anyone’s barge pole.
Pinkie Sanchez vs. John Silver
Silver blocked a takedown from Sanchez early on, as the pair showed they were pretty much even against each other.
Silver snuck ahead early when he took Sanchez down, working his way into a crossface, but they were right by the ropes as an instant break was called. Sanchez lands an armdrag, but belittled Silver… and got lariated to death for a near-fall as Silver responded violently. Ow. A back body drop from Silver keeps up Beyond’s love affair with the move (not that I’m complaining!), before a mid kick rattled Sanchez some more. There’s another one for the hell of it, before Sanchez tried to fight back with a tornado DDT, only to get lawn darted into the corner as Silver smashed him with a brainbuster for another near-fall.
Sanchez tries to fight back, but Silver responds to the forearms in kind… so Pinkie goes for chops, and just gets kicked to death in the ropes. Pinkie’s backslide doesn’t go well as more kicks and a powerbomb awaited for him on the other side. Yet more kicks trap Sanchez in the ropes, before he fought back with headscissors and an Exploder into the corner. A Burning Hammer dumps Silver on his head for a near-fall, only for Pinkie to moonsault onto some knees ahead of a massive shotgun dropkick!
Sanchez comes right back with a Destroyer after he was popped up, following up with a moonsault DDT for a near-fall as Silver was almost throwing this match away… but back inside Silver wrecks Sanchez with a lariat before a spinning Blue Thunder Bomb got the win. Another banger of a match, with Silver keeping on track – even if there threatened to be a wobble at the end! ***½
Jay Freddie vs. Brandon Thurston
Thurston beat Puf last week to supposedly deny this match… but offered out Jay Freddie anyway. Freddie’s pissed after their rubber match earlier in the season was lost to a low blow…
…and this one doesn’t last long, as Thurston just punts Freddie in the balls for the blatant DQ. Ding ding! Thurston’s easiest pay day yet.
Discovery Gauntlet: Tony Deppen vs. Joshua Bishop
I stick by what I said last week – Joshua Bishop is the spitting image of Matt Cappotelli. Bishop was the guy who was in that blood and guts match with Dominic Garrini over WrestleMania weekend, for those who remember that feast of wrestling…
Deppen plays around on the mat with some bouncing push-ups, before Bishop beasted Deppen in the opening minutes, catching him with a powerslam for a quick two-count. A sidewalk slam drops Deppen for another near-fall, before Deppen took him outside for a helluva tope con giro to the outside. Back inside, Deppen stays on top of Bishop with right hands and stomps, before taking him into the corner for some running double knees for a near-fall – but only after he had some issues dragging Bishop out of the corner. A nasty back senton’s blocked by Bishop’s feet, before some huge chops left Deppen on the mat ahead of a running powerslam that almost got Bishop the win.
Bishop stays on top with a Bossman Slam, but Deppen’s right back with a PK after he kicked out of an O’Connor roll, before Bishop’s X-Plex almost left Deppen on his feet! A chokeslam from Bishop is good for a near-fall, leaving Deppen a ragdoll as he was lifted to the top rope… but Deppen fought back as he floated over and hit a powerbomb out of the corner, before a diving knee completed the comeback for the win. That’s a hell of a knee as Deppen really came from behind, but you sense the crowd aren’t fully on board with his shenanigans here… ***¼
Apparently Tony Deppen doesn’t know his opponent for next week, but he promises to go 5-0 next week.
No Disqualification: Josh Briggs vs. Matthew Justice
This was announced as no-DQ, and it started out rather typical, as a tie-up took Justice into the ropes… which he climbed before he tried to flip free. It didn’t work, as the tie-up was held firm before they swapped shoulder tackles and forearms. Neither man blinked.
Briggs scored the first blow with a Calaway clothesline, before a sidewalk slam and a big splash kept Justice in trouble… but just like that, Justice is back with a Thesz press. A big boot subdues Justice, before a fight of Irish whips led to a Cactus Clothesline that took both men to the outside.
Here comes the plunder! Justice uses a chair on Briggs’ back, before he popped up Briggs into the ropes, then chopped him into a chair and cannonballed him out of it. Back inside, Briggs is kept in danger as chops pin him into the corner, as do Stinger splashes, before Briggs caught one and took him up top for a superplex… but Briggs gets shoved down, then caught in the back of the head with a flying knee. Justice is back outside as he sets up a chair bridge on the floor, but he’s booted off the apron and lands elbow-first in the open chairs. Ow. Justice gets rolled into the ring with a chair, which he uses instantly, before another boot decks him… ahead of a spinning backbreaker for a near-fall.
A Chokebomb from Briggs just gets a one-count, before Josh tried another Calaway clothesline and got brained with a chair. GOOD GOD. A Death Valley Driver into a chair wrecks it, but somehow Josh is up at one, then at two following a spear, before he tossed the chair at Justice on the top rope… before planting him with an Iconoclasm off the top for the win. Good GOD. A LOT of risks here, which made for a spectacular, if not scary, outing. Briggs win keeps momentum on his side, even if there doesn’t seem to be an end point yet. ***½
Bear Country (Bear Beefcake & Bear Bronson) vs. Violence Is Forever (Dominic Garrini & Kevin Ku) vs. The Butcher And The Blade (Andy Williams & Pepper Parks) vs. Team Tremendous (Bill Carr & Dan Barry)
Bear Beefcake is Bear Boulder again as the “toss-the-coin” on his name continues. Oh Christ, this is under lucha rules. This may get a little wild…
Garrini and Parks start, but Dominic’s instantly chopped into the corner before he rolled Parks for a cross armbar… forcing Williams in to stomp it apart. Kevin Ku and Andy Williams come in, but Ku’s lariats prove ineffective, before they traded chest-blistering chops. It didn’t work out for Ku, who tagged in Bear Beefcake/Boulder, who just fell to a Shining Wizard as the referee quickly lost control.
A double clothesline knocks down Parks and Williams, prompting Barry and Carr to attack Bear Country from behind, but a lariat from Bear Bronson put Barry down as Kevin Ku rushed in to break up the cover. A single-leg crab just gets Ku clotheslined by Williams, before a wild exchange led to Garrini choking out Bill Carr as everyone tried to break it up. All eight men end up in the ring as it turned into a Pier Six brawl, spilling to the outside as Dan Barry’s somersault plancha hit a pile, before Dominic Garrini hit an Asai moonsault. BAREFOOT! Christ, Dominic! Bill Carr hits a somersault plancha of his own to complete the dives, as hell continued to break loose on the outside.
Back inside, a short-arm clothesline from Carr wiped out Williams, but Parks is back with a stunner as Williams’ lariat left everyone laying. Williams is up first as he, Carr and Beefcake engaged in three-way chops, before a leg lariat from Beefcake cleared things. A High/Low from Ku and Garrini looked to clear the way, but Ku’s quickly squashed with a quebrada for a near-fall, before a doomsday shoulder tackle from the Butcher and the Blade looked to get the win… only for Bear Bronson to hit a Fire Thunder Bomb onto the pile. The insanity continues as a back body drop into a piledriver from Garrini almost wiped out Bronson… but Bear Country are right back in with cannonballs, before Beefcake moonsaulted into Garrini’s arm triangle, only for a death valley driver from Barry to break it all up. In the end though, Bear Country went for the Elevator Drop on Ku, but Carr pulls Beefcake out while Barry superkicked Bronson and stole the pin! A fantastically-wild four-way – a tag match that JR will surely hate, but if you’re up for a sprint of a four-way, get this watched! ***¾
Next week on the Hallowe’en episode: Willow Nightingale & Solo Darling vs. Team Tremendous… Leyla Hirsch vs. Jody Threat… Tony Deppen vs. X… Team Pazuzu (Chris Dickinson & Pinkie Sanchez) vs. Gaytanic Panic (Danhausen & Effy)…
Nick Gage vs. Maria Manic
If you believe the folklore, Maria Manic let her ROH deal expire so she could get this match. She’s signed with ROH again, and this time I hope she gets a match, having debuted and literally done nothing after that…
Maria’s out with a dustbin full of plunder, which explains why the crowd were told to step back a little…
We’ve got a muted start as Gage opted to slide outside for more plunder: A DOOR! TWO DOORS! Manic watches as Gage sets them up in the corners, as I howl that Nick’s self-censored his MDK t-shirt. From there, the pair start with tie-ups, before Gage picked up Manic and planted her through door number one with a death valley driver. A fragment of the door’s used to try and carve up Manic in the corner, before a cheese grater came from somewhere… Yup, Maria’s forehead gets grated like Parmesan, and she comes up all red.
Gage tossed the grater away, but the crowd hand it back as they want some more… and get it too, before Gage bit at her with his snaggle-tooth. You’re not getting any of this in ROH! The door remnant’s used again to stab Manic in the forehead, before her attempt to fight back ended with Maria eating a DDT in the middle of the ring. Gage heads under the ring again for some chairs, before Manic pushed a chair towards Gage as she began a fightback. Maria’s busted open Gage, as he got more chairs thrown at him ahead of a dropkick to the outside. She follows him out with some chops, then posted him before Gage just bonked her with her full trash can of plunder. Back inside, Gage uses the can and suplexes Manic through it, before things briefly spilled outside.
A face-washing boot from Gage drops Manic back inside, before he set up a door fragment on her for a Vader Bomb Elbow. Gage grabs two chairs and sets them up back-to-back… which never ends well. Manic got up and choked Gage, before he got slammed through the chair bridge… following up with a Torture Rack in the middle of the ring! Manic lets go, but gets caught by Gage who went for a suplex… before he made do with a Flatliner instead. The door’s pushed away as Gage took Manic up top for a superplex, and got it, before he dropped her off a chair with a brainbuster for a near-fall. Chairshots to the head follow from Gage, before a piledriver almost turned into a Tiger Driver in the middle of the ring… and that’s all folks. An absolute war, and a collector’s item if you’re into Sidney Bakabella screaming… although if you’re already a little unsure on intergender wrestling, this one probably won’t sway you. ***¼
After the match, Gage took the mic and talked about people getting signed and making a name off of him… something which he didn’t take lightly. That took Gage to Shotzi Blackheart, who’s on her way to WWE… and he challenges her to a thumbtacks match. That… could get nasty. Much like the way he butchered her name…
Another week, another banger of a show out of Beyond – depending on how you take your wrestling. Continuing their “something for everyone” theme, Uncharted Territory continues to be the best regular watch in indie wrestling at the very least – and if you’re turned off by the glitz and glamour of the “big budget” graps… then perhaps the best two hours of weekly wrestling on your calendars. Keep your eyes on Beyond for the rest of the year – this is a product that definitely shouldn’t be floating under your radar…
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