The Pride of New England Tournament for Tomorrow began – while a friendship in Beyond ended on this week’s Uncharted Territory.
We’re back at the White Eagle in Worcester, MA as Rich Palladino calls Beyond “Cody Rhodes’ favourite promotion”. Paul Crockett and Sidney Bakabella return for commentary.
Jay Freddie vs. Brandon Thurston
Freddie’s off to Japan after this match and he wants to right a pretty big wrong before he heads off.
Thurston comes through the crowd and punts Freddie low… but this time around he’s wearing a cup! Before the bell, he hits Thurston with the cup, then launches in with a Thesz press as the bell finally rang, with Thurston getting taken into all the corners. A big back body drop waits for Brandon next, as was a dropkick, before Freddie got dragged to the outside.
He pulls up Thurston’s jacket like a hockey fight, before he chopped the wrestling statistician… Thurston tried to fight back, but got dropped on the apron with a back suplex, before a missile dropkick waited for him back in the ring. Hiptosses and chops keep Freddie’s momentum up, but a belly-to-belly got Brandon in as he began to work over Freddie’s left arm. Kicks follow, as does a snapmare, but Freddie refuses to stay down, before he blocked a stomp and hit a Dragon screw. A Figure Four follows, but Thurston got to the ropes as the match descended into back-and-forth strikes. It escalates to chops, then suplexes as they tried to finish each other off… and ultimately leading to them both crumbling to the mat.
Back to their feet, a corner-to corner clothesline led to a Diamond Dust for Freddie, with a shotgun knee strike and some rolling Germans adding to Thurston’s pain. Thurston’s Germans turn into a wheelbarrow roll-up before a La Mistica was countered into a crossface by Freddie… only for Thurston to roll his way free. A T-Bone suplex is next as Thurston worked into a crossface of his own, only for Freddie to stand up and hit a death valley driver to get free.
Freddie tries to follow up with a superplex, but Thurston slips out and hit a crucifix off the middle rope, then a Shining Wizard for a near-fall, before Thurston lifted Freddie up top for a superplex… only for Jay to slip as he crashed onto the ring steps, then down to the floor. Naturally the match is waved off as people rushed to check on Jay – on the VOD they added in a segment where Denver Colorado told us that Freddie was being checked over. We do see Jay walking away under his own steam, and it’s a shame, because they were well on their way to a hell of a match – I just hope the injury doesn’t cost Freddie his Japanese tour.
Pride Of New England Tournament For Tomorrow First Round: Anthony Greene vs. CJ Cruz
I originally thought this’d be a trios tournament, but instead the gimmick is it’s all guys from New England.
Cruz lost in a pre-show match a few weeks back, but he’s been put in the tournament for his biggest shot to date. I already love him for the nickname “the little brick shithouse”. Betchya Paul Crockett won’t say THAT. There some hand kissing to start as Cruz is being all gentlemanly here, before Greene started with a wristlock, before taking down Cruz with an armdrag/roll-up for a near-fall that got reversed. Chops follow, but Cruz trips Greene into the ropes before a 619 went awry… Cruz has better luck with headscissors before he was forced to scurry away from a teased superkick.
Cruz is showing off his agility, but couldn’t avoid a clothesline from Greene as the camera crew showed Josh Briggs watching on from ringside as he had his heart set on a final vs. Greene. A chinlock keeps Cruz down, but he fought free and found his way back with a roundhouse enziguiri. Cruz keeps up with a bulldog as he looked to be tiring, but some more headscissors take Greene into the ropes for a 619, before an elbow drop off the top almost led to the upset. Greene hits back with a half crab, but he’s right by the ropes… Greene hotshots Cruz to the floor after a rope break, following up with a tope, before landing a superkick back inside. A scoop slam off the ropes has Cruz back on top ahead of a Quebrada, before a cutter out of the corner led to another near-fall.
Greene tries to respond with a superplex, but he’s pushed down to the mat as Cruz looked for a missile dropkick… he’s rolled into a Boston crab, only for Cruz to roll free. He pushes out of the So Much Prettier too, as Greene gets upset with a roll-up… and CJ Cruz makes it to the second round! It’s the upset of the season, and Cruz suddenly has a target on his back for the remainder of the tournament. ***
Leyla Hirsch vs. AC Mack
Hirsch punked out Mack on his debut last week, as Wheeler Yuta chased Sidney Bakabella on commentary for this. Mack forces Rich Palladino to hold his titles so he could introduce himself… it’ll become annoying, I reckon.
Hirsch has Mack scurrying into the ropes from the off, as she eventually took Mack down… only for AC to return by tripping her into the corner. A basement uppercut and a rapid enziguiri catches our Hirsch, as did a clothesline as Leyla threatened a comeback. Leyla ducks a second enziguiri and hits a knee on the way back, before a snap Saito dropped Mack.
Another Saito follows for a near-fall, before she whiffs a moonsault, allowing Mack to hit a Pedigree for the win. Brief, but at least both AC and Leyla had some decent offence here. **½
Mack continues to attack Hirsch after the match, before Wheeler Yuta made the save as Hirsch was about to take a second Pedigree. He’ll pay for giving her that wedgie…
They announce that Bear Country will face Team Tremendous at Heavy Lies the Crown on December 31 in a Fans Bring The Weapons match…
Team Pazuzuhausen (Danhausen & Pinkie Sanchez) vs. Nerder Death Kill (Nick Gage & Thomas Santell)
Pinkie Sanchez attacks Gage during the intros, as Danhausen was shocked by the swearing.
Pinkie tries for a springboard DDT, but gets caught and dumped in a chokebreaker before they spilled into the crowd, where Sanchez got thrown over the merch tables. Nice kayfabe save there, Crockett! Back in the ring, Santell works over Sanchez with a suplex, then with a Boston crab, before Danhausen came in and was instantly grounded. A dropkick from Danhausen stops Santell’s European dropkicks, before he went outside for the Tequila stuff, but Santell was dancing along with him. Nick Gage was apoplectic with rage, and he broke this up by pulling Danhausen into the ring by his hair. I was rolling with laughter. For that.
Danhausen got back with a Northern lights suplex, before Sanchez dove on Santell. A scoop slam awaits Sanchez for a near-fall back inside, before Sanchez was caught in a stretch muffler… that danhausen broke up by pouring TEETH into Santell’s mouth. The big boot of Danhausen follows for a two-count, before a snap spinebuster from Gage led to him pulling out… SCISSORS?!
Santell tries to calm down Gage, and ends up helping with a double-team chokebreaker for a near-fall. Gage heads out for a chair, but Danhausen stops him and uses the chair for an atomic drop on Santell, who comes back with a rising clothesline out of the seat. Gage returns to catch Sanchez with a piledriver, before a stuff piledriver onto the chair got NDK the win. Another slice of fun, although you need to “get” that Nick Gage gets relaxed rules in Beyond to avoid turning into Sidney at the end… ***
After the match, Larry Legend comes out to taunt Sanchez and Danhausen with the Pazuzu knepad… Chuck O’Neil tries to capitalise, but he’s double-teamed briefly, before recovering with a Michinoku driver and an armbar before security made a save.
Discovery Gauntlet: Masha Slamovich vs. Aaron Rourke
Rourke’s back after he upset Gary Jay last week, and he starts by shoving Slamovich into the corner… then by pie-facing her.
A hair-pull helps Rourke into a side headlock, before a neat lucha sequence led to a springboard armdrag out of the corner for Masha. Rourke traps Slamovich in the corner and stamps on the back of her knee, before a handspring double knee drop led to a near-fall. More kicks to the leg, along with a DDT to the foot, keeps Rourke ahead, as did some mid-kicks, before Masha began to fight back.
She goes for a crossbody, but it’s caught and turned into a fallaway slam. Rourke misses a split-legged moonsault too, before he got caught with some rolling Germans, then a wheelbarrow suplex that almost dumped Rourke into the corner! Aaron pushes away from the corner but gets taken down with a back suplex, ahead of a Shibata-ish dropkick for a near-fall. A Widow’s Peak from Rourke sees him hit back massively for a near-fall, but Masha’s right back with a kick…
…only to head to the top rope and miss with a splash. That left her prone for a Figure Eight… and that’s enough for Rourke to get the win via stoppage. A nice little sprint of a match, and hopefully next week Rourke’s able to show off a bit more of a character to add to his rounded in-ring game. ***
The post-match promo has Rourke pretending to throw up in “this genetic cesspit town” before he shooed away Deana Rae.
Deana’s back straight away via a pre-tape with Wheeler Yuta and Leyla Hirsch… Yuta speaks first, mad at Mack for attacking Hirsch after the match, and challenges him to a tag match. Leyla drops the F-bomb for extra effect.
Pride Of New England Tournament For Tomorrow First Round: Alec Price vs. Josh Briggs
We’ve another newcomer here, with Alec Price coming out in wacky glasses and flipping off the crowd. He’s apparently related to Killer Kowalski, but I’m not quite sure if that’s just shtick on commentary. Will Briggs suffer the same fate as his friend Anthony Greene?
Price tries to attack Briggs at the bell, but his dropkick doesn’t work… and he’s quickly scurrying as he had to avoid a big splash. Briggs helps him out, but the Benny Hill chase backfires as Briggs had the rope kicked back to him repeatedly before Price went for a dive… and got caught. He’s avoiding Briggs well, and stomps him on the arse for good measure, but Briggs just looks unimpressed.
A knee sees Price counter a back body drop, before he went to goozle Briggs. It’s turned effortlessly into a backbreaker and a splash as Anthony Greene came out to watch, before a chokebreaker was turned into a wheelbarrow roll-up. A tornado DDT’s next for Price as he finally forced an opening. Price rakes the eyes and stomps Briggs into the corner, before Briggs countered a suplex into an X-Plex. Elbows stop Price, who then ate a Calaway Clothesline as a big boot wrecked Price in the corner. Alec tries to fight back still, hitting a rolling DDT, a Blockbuster, then a tiltawhirl snapmare driver… but the upset isn’t on as Briggs kicks out! Price looks to finish off with a Shining Wizard, but he’s caught and wrecked with a chokeslam, before a chokebomb looked to finish off Price… but Ava Everett comes in to distract the ref, as a superkick from Anthony Greene led to the upset! A heck of a match, and you have to be thinking Heavy Lies The Crown with that bombshell at the end! ***¼
Ava’s yelling at Greene after the match, as Briggs was left in disbelief… someone’s gonna pay.
Next week: Tony Deppen vs. a debuting Carlos Romo! Team Pazuzu’s back as Chris Dickinson’s back in the country… Leyla Hirsch and Wheeler Yuta vs. AC Mack and Fred Yehi… Aaron Rourke defends the Discovery Gauntlet vs. Anthony Bowens… Nick Gage and Thomas Santell vs. John Silver and Eddie Kingston.
John Silver vs. Jake Atlas
This is a “one time only” appearance for Atlas, and we start with Silver getting taken into the ropes as neither man was able to make a dent in the early exchanges.
On the mat, Silver catches Atlas in headscissors, but Jake flips free… prompting Silver to try the same. Silver goes back to a wristlock, then took down Atlas as they continued to jockey for position. Atlas responds as they traded holds, but an up kick from Atlas got him briefly ahead, as did a shoulder block as the pair again reached an impasse. Everyone does cartwheels, with the ref overshadowing Silver’s, before some springboard armdrags had Silver reeling. From Atlas, of course. A boot in the corner traps Silver, who responded by taking Atlas outside, where the two slugged it out. Atlas uses a 619 on the apron to hit Silver, before he had to grab the ropes to avoid being powerbombed off the apron.
Back inside, Atlas hit a springboard Flatliner for a two-count, before chops rang around the White Eagle. An eye rake helps Silver back into it, but Atlas replies with a clothesline, before getting taken into the corner for a knee strike and a brainbuster for a near-fall. Atlas nearly got sent outside, but was pulled into the ropes as a flying elbow to the back of the head led to another two-count.
More kicks to Atlas leave him in a heap, but only got Silver a one-count as the upcoming WWE-signee kept trying to fight on. Atlas catches another kick, and replied with a big boot before a spinning back kick and a bicycle knee almost put Silver away. Grabbing Silver by the beard, Atlas tries to add to things, but he’s just tossed from corner to corner with Beele throws, before another exchange of kicks led to a rolling death valley driver and a moonsault for a near-fall for Atlas!
Atlas’ strikes took Silver into the ropes, as the referee broke it up, allowing Silver to nick a near-fall with a spinning rack bomb. Silver keeps up with kicks, including a running one by the ropes, before a reverse ‘rana spiked Atlas… who’s right back up for a swivelling lariat! Silver rolls outside as Atlas goes for a dive… diving over a fan as Silver went walkies to evade him. Back inside, a moonsault from Atlas lands in Silver’s knees as we kept going, with Atlas’ knees leading to him getting clotheslined and punted as the “Meat Man” got the win. A cracking main event that kept a really high pace throughout – and the win for Silver gets him back on track after his recent stumble against Orange Cassidy. ***¾
Post-match, Anthony Greene and Josh Briggs came through the back as they had a pull-apart to close out the show.
Uncharted Territory could have gone south in a hurry this week with the nasty spill Jay Freddie took in the opener – but once he left under his own steam, the crowd managed to regain their energy and carried the show along. After some recent wobbles of their own, Uncharted Territory feels like it’s getting back into its groove – right in time for Beyond’s big end of year show!
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