Uncharted Territory’s pre-Christmas episode may have been lacking wrestling Santas, but we did have some crackers!
We’re back at the White Eagle in Worcester, MA as Eddie Kingston is back on commentary and talking over the IWTV intro. He’s joined by Paul Crockett on the call…
David Starr vs. Leyla Hirsch
It feels like forever since David Starr came out to Joan Jett… and considering how much he was jumping for joy at Leyla’s performance at wXw’s Femmes Fatales tournament this year, this could be something special.
The early exchanges see Starr and Hirsch scramble, ending in the ropes before Hirsch looked to take Starr down and grab his back. An armdrag from Hirsch quickly ends with headscissors in the ropes, before another takedown was quickly pushed away by Starr. There’s a wristlock from Starr as he built up to an armbar on Hirsch, torquing the wrist for good measure before Leyla escaped and covered up as we reached another stalemate.
A headlock takedown has Starr back on top, but headscissors got Hirsch free before a simple cravat from Starr led to him trying to take her head off. Hirsch gets snapmared, but she comes in with a dropkick to the arm of Starr, before a ducked clothesline allowed her to come right in with an armbar that ended in the ropes. Hirsch goes back to the arm, but Starr stands up and slams his way free, before some knuckle locks forced Hirsch to bridge up out of pinning attempts.
Starr breaks a bridge, but Leyla rebuilds it and keeps hold of the knuckle lock, reversing it as Starr had to roll free, before he pinned her arms behind her back. It’s transitioned into a half crab, but Leyla’s right by the ropes and we get the instant break. Another slam drops Hirsch in the middle of the ring, following up with a deathlock that rolled into a Trailer Hitch… but again, Leyla could get to the ropes instantly.
Hirsch fires back, then countered a Pretty Pumped into a DDT, following in with a dropkick before she slid under Starr and almost stole the win with a Euro clutch. Starr comes back with forearms before he got walloped into the corner with a clothesline… running double knees keep him there, as Hirsch rolled him out for a two-count. Leyla keeps up with the forearms as Starr got back to his feet, and slipped out of another slam, eventually finding her way into a mounted rear naked choke.
That had Starr face-down on the mat before he fought back up, and squashed Hirsch into the corner to break the hold. She quickly reapplies it, only for Starr to whip her down. A small package nearly gets the upset, as did a German suplex, before Hirsch went up top for a German moonsault… which misses. Starr comes straight back with a brutal Blackheart Buster for a near-fall, and keeps going with chops as Hirsch was rocked.
Hirsch asks for more… and gets more, before she slipped out of the Kaepernick and hit a Saito suplex! She doesn’t go for a cover, and instead pulls herself up to the top rope, where she’s caught by Starr… who looks to work the arm again ahead of a back superplex… but Hirsch readjusts on the way down as Starr almost landed on his head! Leyla goes back up to try for that moonsault, which lands flush for a near-fall… as did a running knee, which sent Starr outside. Cue a dive, with a low sending Starr backwards, as does a second, before some misdirection allowed Starr to hit a retaliatory tope. Back inside, Starr rolls up from a cross armbar, before another series of knee strikes ended with Starr catching a third, turning it into a backbreaker before a Kaepernick drew a near-fall. HOW?! Hirsch ducks a Han Stansen to nearly win with a backslide… Starr hits the lariat seconds later, almost killing her, before the big’ ol Han Stansen planted Leyla for the win. That was tre-men-dous. Hirsch brought it, and I tell you what… I want to see that rematch asap! ****¼
Sidney Bakabella replaces Eddie Kingston from here on in…
Pride Of New England Tournament For Tomorrow Semi-Final: Alec Price vs. Christian Casanova
Price shocked Josh Briggs in the first round, albeit with a little help, and he’s got a shot here given that Christian Casanova has issues with Club Cam… who were conspicuous by their absence here.
Price and Casanova start off by trading arm wringers, before an armdrag from Casanova had Price in the corner. A superkick decks Price after a roll-up attempt, before Casanova took him back into the corner for a Stinger splash. A goddamn lucha armdrag had Price ragdolling to the outside, but Alec’s back with an uppercut to stop a dive, then a running Blockbuster that stuck Casanova on his head. JESUS. Forearms from Price keep Casanova in the corner, but Christian’s back with a superkick and a stunner after Alec had been trapped in the ropes. A Rough Ryder off the top gets Price a near-fall after he avoided a springboard legdrop, but Casanova’s able to force a now opening with a spin-out facebuster.
Casanova throws lefts and rights to stun Price, before a springboard clothesline turned it back around. A spin-out butterfly suplex is good for a near-fall for Casanova, before a flapjack from Price swung things his way again. Price misses a Shining Wizard, and ends up taking a knee of his own, before Casanova got the win with the Dirty Diana. A good back-and-forth outing, but the crowd perhaps weren’t so sold on Price here. ***¼
Pride Of New England Tournament For Tomorrow Semi-Final: Richard Holliday vs. CJ Cruz
We instantly bleed to the next match as Cam Zagami’s out in so much pleather it hurts. Christian Casanova jumps on commentary here, as he’ll be facing the winner of this one.
Those chants of “shithouse” at Cruz are of a loving nature, by the way…
Holliday hands off his Airpods before the match, as they presumably need charging, and it almost costs him as Cruz starts with a few roll-ups for near-falls. A shoulder tackle from Holliday stops him in his tracks, but a lucha roll-through nearly shocks as Holliday ends up taking a roundhouse enziguiri, taking him to the outside. A superkick off the apron stops Holliday, as does an Asai moonsault, before he avoided a 619 back inside and clotheslined Cruz.
Holliday builds momentum from there, but nearly got caught with a small package before a spun-out backbreaker and a spinebuster drew a near-fall. Another turnaround in the corner led to Cruz getting chopped, before whips into the turnbuckles showed just how deristory Holliday was here. Cruz capitalises on that nature with a dropkick and some uppercuts, before Holliday tried to count out of a backslide and ended up in the ropes for the 619. An elbow drop off the top follows, before Holliday countered a double-jump dropkick into a powerbomb. All that’s left is the 2008 – the spin-out suplex – and that’s the win for Holliday. A decent match, as this tournament’s taken a wild turn from being the backdrop for a friendly feud… and became a battlefield over Club Cam. ***
We get a promo video from Anthony Greene… but he’s interrupted by Ava Everett, who’s pissed at him turning on Josh Briggs. Speaking of, Josh is there to attack Greene, as we have a pullapart brawl.
Team Pazuzu (Chris Dickinson & Pinkie Sanchez) vs. Whatever It Takes (Alex Reynolds, Mark Sterling & VSK)
We’ve got a handicap match here, with some background as Mark Sterling tried to ban Chris Dickinson’s trunks strings…
So instead, Dickinson’s wearing Speedos, and we end up with the crowd showering the ring with their commemorative “dick strings”. Just like ECW, but without the furniture… Dickinson and VSK start, but chops from the latter just anger Dickinson, who hit back with some chops and running forearms. Sanchez and Reynolds come in as we got those pesky “Join Dark Order” chants, as Sanchez used some headscissors and a nice back body drop too. Back rakes follow for Reynolds, as does a double-team shoulder tackle, before Dickinson tried to clear the apron… only to get caught from behind by Reynolds.
A neckbreaker from Reynolds gets a two-count, but Sterling comes in and takes a beating as Dickinson was making this a cathartic experience for himself. Sanchez gets the mic as Sterling had his hands stood on, as Dickinson revealed he was telling porkies… and the dick strings are back! A back body drop sends Sterling scurrying, but VSK and Reynolds rush the ring to turn it back around, with VSK hooking away on Dickinson’s face in the ropes. Sterling’s back to take us to “Snapmare City”, only for Dickinson to clothesline him away. Sanchez comes in to come close with a DDT on Sterling, before VSK’s Destroyer was countered with a big clothesline as the director misses a Sanchez moonsault that nearly won the match.
Things settle down again as Sterling got double-teamed with kicks, before Dickinson’s rack bomb was stopped as he was pulled outside… while Sterling rolled up Sanchez with a big handful o’ tights for the win. That’s another loss for Pazuzu, and as they’re going into New Year’s Eve and another handicap match, things need to change, eh? ***
Sanchez argues with Dickinson after the match that they need a third-man for Heavy Lies The Crown. They hug it out while I wonder… is Jaka free?
Discovery Gauntlet: Aaron Rourke vs. Nick Stapp
Stapp, who used to be called CPA, is calling himself the “Human Burner Account”. He’s heavily leaning into sharing a surname with the front man of Creed as well…
Rourke starts out hot on Stapp… but runs into a series of dropkicks before he kicked out Stapp’s knee. A lungblower from Stapp gets him a near-fall, before he got caught on the apron with a handstand kick. Stapp cuts off a dive and hits a cannonball off the apron as the Creed gags were coming thick and fast… Back inside, Rourke’s forearms led to an exchange of palm strikes before a thrust kick caught Stapp in the ropes for a middle-rope X-Factor.
A whiffed big splash gives Stapp a new opening, which he makes the most of with a deadlift German suplex, only for Rourke to return with a high kick. Stapp’s dropkick only delays Rourke’s offence, as a Fisherman’s DDT ends up getting the win. Stapp showed a little, but this felt way too brief for me. **½
Legit Legends (Chuck O’Neil, Dominic Garrini & Kevin Ku) vs. Kris Statlander, Nick Gage & Wheeler YUTA
YUTA was subbing for Thomas Santell, who was out with a knee injury… he took out Ku and Garrini from behind, before he stared down O’Neil, and began a brawl straight out of series one!
A hattrick of dives follow as the makeshift trio pulled ahead, before an Octopus stretch from Yuta turned into a sunset flip for a quick two-count. O’Neil got into it with a fan as Garrini… they cut away as Sidney Bakabella and crew separated the pair, while some triple-teaming led to a wet willie and a low dropkick for Garrini.
Larry Legend trips Yuta, allowing O’Neil to come in with backbreakers before a suplex nearly put Yuta away. Chuck keeps goading Nick Gage, before he bounced Yuta off the turnbuckles as Ku came in to just stand on him. Yuta manages to get free, but there’s nobody to tag… bar a Dominic Garrini who was taking the piss, tagging in to double-team Yuta. Eventually Yuta gets free, crotching Ku on the top rope before rolling through to Gate, who cleared house with spinebusters and clotheslines.
Statlander’s in next, hitting an axe kick before she slugged it out with Ku… things break down as Gage and O’Neil went toe-to-toe. A jumping knee from Chuck took Gage outside, but Yuta’s able to recover against Garrini, only to get caught in a rear naked choke that Statlander had to break up. Gage and O’Neil brawl to the outside, and the crowd’s following them as they miss Statlander taking a kick-assisted brainbuster… and that’s the win for the Legit Legends. A fun, violent trios match… and I can only hope that this continues to play out. ***¼
Next week: WARHORSE defends the IWTV title against Josh Briggs… Kris Statlander vs. Anthony Greene… Legit Legends (O’Neil, Ku and Garrini) vs. Buffalo Brothers (Puf, Blackwood and Garcia)… John Silver vs. Jody Threat… Rickey Shane Page vs. Chris Dickinson… and the Pride Of New England Tournament For Tomorrow Final as Richard Holliday takes on Christian Casanova.
John Silver vs. Eddie Kingston
They were aiming for this match for Heavy Lies The Crown but, erm, plans change. We’ve no intros as Eddie charges at Silver before the bell, so we start with brawling around ringside.
Kicks from Silver have Kingston rocked by the apron, before a running uppercut in the ring left Kingston on the ropes for another kick. Kingston’s back with a STO that left both men down, but Eddie’s back to his feet and throwing headbutts, before a short-arm clothesline led to a near-fall. Kingston chokes on Silver in the ropes as he looked to push ahead, throwing some brutal chops that knocked Silver all the way back to the other side of the ring.
Silver eventually fights back with some forearms, then with some kicks, before a brainbuster drew a near-fall. The pair exchange chops and forearms for a spell, before more kicks from Silver led to him taking a slam and a sliding lariat for a near-fall. Eddie keeps the heavy hits up, landing a uranage for a near-fall, before Silver flipped out of a German suplex and booted Kingston in the head. That left Eddie woozy, to the point where he collapsed as he tried to hit a backfist, and that left him prone for a running knee as Silver got the W! A hard-hitting main event – one that I felt could have gone longer, but this was a heck of a redemption story for Silver. ***¾
Post-match, Silver gets the mic and called himself “All Elite”… while also mentioning he doesn’t know how long he’ll be able to stick around. The crowd chant “go get paid”, which was nice, before Silver told them he’d be able to still do Beyond. He looks for an opponent for New Year’s Eve, which led to the crowd chanting for Kris Statlander… who Silver calls out. She accepts, before the segment ended awkwardly to close out the show.
So, the penultimate Uncharted Territory of the year was a nice step up as the promotion continues to head to Heavy Lies The Crown. Opening with an undeniable cracker of a match always helps shows to a good start, and things largely continued along the same pace until the main event – which for me felt like it perhaps should have been on a bigger stage, but there you go.
- Catch Uncharted Territory as part of a subscription to IWTV.live – sign up today and get a 20-day free trial with the code THURSDAY