Beyond returned to their usual stomping ground at Electric Haze for the second half of their Welcome Home weekender on Powerbomb… with a bit of an Ace surprise at the end.
No, I don’t know how they can get the second half up before the first. For some reason the pre-show, the start of which I watched on YouTube, is only replaying on Facebook at time of writing… but factoring in the pre-game, you’re looking at a traditionally-long Beyond card. Fourteen matches, headlining with another Powerbomb.tv title defence… let’s get going and see if we can breeze through this!
Davienne vs. Solo Darling
This was Solo’s first match back in the States after a brief tour of Japan with Sendai Girls, and there’s a bit of a size differential here, which Davienne tried to put to use early… only to get taken down as Solo looked for early submissions.
Davienne heads outside, but avoids a hip attack in the ropes as she catches Solo on the apron for some kicks… but Darling returns the favour with a gamengiri-like kick on the apron, before being met with a facebuster. Back inside, Davienne keeps up the rough-housing, taking Solo into the corner for a baseball slide dropkick, eventually getting a two-count. Solo’s back with a suplex to counter out of a DDT as she looked for a Cloverleaf, before following back in with a suplex that looked more like a brainbuster for another near-fall. It’s back to the Cloverleaf, mixing it up with armbars and wristlocks as she tried to keep Davienne away from the ropes. Davienne shoves off eventually though and hits a DDT for a quick two-count, then a swinging side slam.
Davienne counters a tornado DDT into a suplex as Darling kept on fighting, trapping Davienne in the ropes for a stomp off the middle rope. Another kick from Davienne’s caught, and that’s turned into a Dragon screw as Solo yet again goes for the Cloverleaf… and that’s all! Pretty short, and a surprising result given Davienne’s performance over ‘Mania weekend, but for a pre-show opener, this was fine. **
Faye Jackson vs. Oceanea
Oceanea’s back against another, erm, larger opponent, having overcome Willow Nightingale at the last WWR show in March. Faye would have to go it alone because Stokely Hathaway had an impending death sentence against Nick Gage later on in the evening.
Tracy Williams joins commentary to muse over Oceanea’s pronounciation, as she struggled to whip Faye out of the corner, which led to the inevitable reversal and attempted hip attack. Oceanea escaped that and managed to use her quickness to evade Jackson before wearing her down with some eye rakes in the corner ahead of a Shibata-ish dropkick for a near-fall.
Jackson tried to use her assets again, but another hip attack attempt is cut-off as Oceanea nails a missile dropkick for a near-fall, before she tries to wear Faye down again. Some knees in the corner keep Jackson rocked, as Oceanea went back to the sleeperhold, dragging Faye down briefly. Faye mounts a comeback with some shots, before she rolled past Oceanea for a weird pause, as the offence resumed with those hip attacks and one big cannonball. A kick from Oceanea leads to a Rocker Dropper, but it’s not enough, as a back senton follows off the middle rope, before Oceanea turned around into a spear from Jackson… but it’s only a matter of time before Oceanea gets the win, dragging Faye to the mat with a fish-hooked chicken wing for a submission. Decent enough, but this one was a little on the slow side. *¾
Tasha Steelz vs. Karen Q
The pair started off evenly with a tie-up into the corners, as they worked into a stand-off as the hard camera’s white balance was getting messed up with the huge window in the background.
They keep it on the mat, with Q grabbing a headlock, before nailing a shoulder block and a backslide as Steelz tried to fight back, snatching a few pinning attempts that eventually gave way to the indyriffic pinning series before a test of strength kept the chain wrestling going. It’s effortless stuff, and really easy to watch… eventually giving way as Tasha switched things up with a ‘rana before running into Karen’s boot.
Q keeps up with a neckbreaker for a two-count, before a charging forearm into the corner and a back elbow as Steelz looked to be literally and metaphorically on the ropes. Tasha manages to cut off Q and renew the battle with back-and-forth forearms, but she eventually catches Karen with a knee… only to miss a charge in the corner as a Samoan drop from Q nearly ends things.
After an Oklahoma roll fails, Steelz almost nicks the win with a cutter, but a foot stomp from Q lets her get ahead… only for a Boston crab to be fought out of as Tasha sits down awkwardly on a sunset flip as the Bulldog/Hitman Summerslam finish gives Steelz the upset. This started out well and stayed steady – just a shame the finish looked a little wonky, but this would have improved with more time, I feel. **¾
Skylar vs. Tessa Blanchard
Your pre-show main event sees one of WWR’s rising stars against Impact’s newest signee.
Blanchard went straight for the arm of Skylar as the pair reversed back-and-forth, but Skylar fires back after Blanchard tried to lay into her in the corner. They stay evenly as Tessa tries to grab an arm, before a series of headlocks kept Skylar at close range, eventually leading to Skylar scoring with headscissors and a jack-knifed pin for a near-fall.
More pinning attempts keep Skylar on the up and up, but a forearm from Blanchard cuts that off, as Tessa went back to the corner with some boot chokes on Skylar. Running knees to the gut traps Skylar in the ropes, but she misses a sliding elbow as Blanchard sent herself into the rope, before rebounding with a forearm to the back and a dropkick as Skylar was kneeling against those ropes.
Blanchard keeps up with an abdominal stretch, but Skylar counters into a pinning attempt, before nailing a kick as Blanchard tried to resume the offence. The match just descends into back-and-forth forearms, with Skylar edging ahead, following up with Meteora off the top as the crowd roared behind the local hero. Tessa tries to hit a DDT, but has to make do with a cutter instead, but Skylar kicks out, before catching Blanchard with a lungblower for a near-fall after Tessa had leapt off the top for… reasons. Skylar keeps up, but she’s caught in the corner as Blanchard hits a Flatliner out of the turnbuckles for a near-fall, before another hammerlock DDT attempt was countered with a schoolboy as Skylar got the W! An impressive result and a decent match, but I can’t help but feel that they were perhaps rushed for time here? A rematch down the line certainly wouldn’t go amiss! **½
Jordynne Grace vs. Kimber Lee
The main show starts with an Electric Haze return for Kimber Lee, and the crowd was hot for this one as Grace engages with a test of strength, bending Kimber across her knee before pinning her to the mat.
Lee escapes and goes for an armbar, as the pair kept it pretty high-paced and on the mat, eventually going into some indy’riffic pinning attempts as Kimber spiked Jordynne with a DDT during an inside cradle attempt. Grace catches a kick and throws Kimber down into the splits, before getting caught with a jawbreaker and a lucha-style armdrag attempt… which gets stuffed as she has to go for a ‘rana instead.
Grace is firmly on the back foot here as Lee keeps up the offence, landing a facebuster before her attempt at a leap off the top is deflected with a headbutt. That turned the tide for Grace as she whips Kimber into the corners, before she tried to wear Kimber down even more with a bear hug. After an escape, Lee’s back with an enziguiri for a near-fall, but earned herself a press slam a la Ric Flair as she took too long on the turnbuckles.
Jordynne keeps up with some slams, but Kimber hits back with a bridging German suplex that almost led to the win… prompting Grace to throw her foe into the ringpost, before charging at her with knees and elbows in the corner. A Muscle Buster follows next, but Lee bridges out of the cover, only to get dragged into the corner for a Vader bomb as Grace keeps racking up those near-falls. In the end, Lee mounted one last fightback, dropping Grace with a headkick before squashing Grace with a senton bomb for the win. Some nice back-and-forth here, but Kimber’s still on her way back to her best after getting rusty in the WWE system. A fine way to get the show underway! ***
Commentary noted that’s two losses in a row for Grace, which is a weird way to go after all of the push she’s had so far this year.
Bill Carr vs. Shockwave The Robot
Carr came out first complaining that he was on the bill, but had no opponent. Cue an open challenge. Cue Shockwave.
Of course, it’s played for comedy, with Shockwave freezing up at the initial lock-up, as Carr threw his head into a turnbuckle. That reboots him, as Shockwave mounts a comeback with forearms, only to glitch out again. A water gun stops Shockwave in his tracks as Carr sprays him… causing the robot to malfunction… but he sinks to his knees and keeps punching away, as the water breaks down Shockwave’s limbs. One more spray to the face kills Shockwave… but he’s in the foetal position and not able to be pinned. Carr misses elbow drops, so he goes under the ring for a fork, and jams it into Shockwave’s control panel… electrocuting himself in the process…. Shockwave slowly rolls onto him, and that’s the cover. A-ha! A skit that perhaps went a little long, but it worked, so who’s gonna complain?
CHIKARA Young Lion’s Cup: Wheeler YUTA vs. Cam Zagami (c)
Zagami won the Young Lion’s Cup in March, beating Omari in the final, and he’s been forced to put it up against Wheeler YUTA, who won Beyond’s sort-of equivalent.
YUTA tried to force Zagami into a technical match, only for Cam to get put off by a barking dog. Lots of basics here too, with headlocks, takedowns and escapes, but it was YUTA who enjoyed the early offence, but Zagami switches it around, throwing YUTA into the turnbuckle on the apron before dropkicking him to the floor.
Back inside, a hiptoss across the ring gets Cam a two-count, but YUTA’s got fight left in him, scoring with a dropkick before some headscissors were countered into a facebuster as the tide kept on moving. A double springboard dropkick takes Zagami careering to the outside, where he’s met with a tope… only to roll through a crossbody back inside as Zagami hoists YUTA into a fireman’s carry.
That’s lost as Yuta pulls him into a Blue Thunder Bomb for a near-fall, then a STF, but Cam’s in the ropes before the hold is fully applied. An Olympic slam is next though as YUTA goes back to the STF, but another roke break follows as Cam began to fight back, dumping YUTA into the ropes with a release Exploder before following up with the American Grip – a grounded Million Dollar Dream. That too gets met with a rope break, before Zagami starts to cheat – choking YUTA with his ring jacket, before using his trophy on YUTA for the win. A typically heelish finish, but otherwise a really good match between two of Beyond’s future stars. ***
No Disqualification: Jonathan Gresham & Stokely Hathaway vs. Nick Gage
This was meant to be Nick Gage and Matt Tremont against the Dream Team, but illness to Tremont forced him off the show. But still, Stokely Hathaway had to contend with facing Nick Gage and teaming with an understandably reluctant Jonathan Gresham.
Faye Jackson sings a little song for Stokely, which goes down like a wet fart, just like ring announcer Rich Palladino throwing all of the Dream Team under the bus. To his credit, Hathaway starts off with Gage, but almost immediately tags in Gresham as Gage was in no mood for stalling tactics.Gresham was able to try and force Gage into his game, snapping the arm and working on it before Hathway tagged in and snuck in some shots on Gage.
Gresham’s back as Gage mounted a comeback, but he’s straight back on that left arm, and despite Gage getting away a body slam, he’s unable to follow-up as Hathaway keeps blind-tagging himself in when Gage was looking in trouble. Wash, rinse, repeat, with Gresham coaching Hathaway mid-match, only for the pair to get battered with clotheslines as Gage mounted another comeback.
Despite hitting a series of forearms, Gage gets knocked down by an enziguiri from Gresham as Hathaway tried to run away… but between the rock and a hard place that was Greshan and Faye Jackson, Stokely accidentally blind-tagged his way back in as Gresham walked out on the match. Cue an attempt at fighting back from Hathaway, one that fails miserably, with Gage landing some face-washing boots for good measure, ahead of a chokebreaker. Except Hathaway rakes the eyes to avoid it, but he tries for a move… which wasn’t working, so he punts Gage low, hits a DDT and gets a one-count. Stokely misses a dropkick into the corner, as Gage hit back with a chokebreaker, a powerbomb, a buckle bomb and finally an apron powerbomb. Ouch.
Back inside, Gage takes his time as he went for one more move, but out comes Thomas Sharp – the former Blaster McMassive in CHIKARA and one of Ethan Page’s old Gatekeepers! A big boot and a chokeslam from Sharp lays out Gage, before he holds him up for an Ace crusher from Stokely, who gleefully takes the pin. As a match, this happened, but was more there to set up for the arrival of yet another body to Stokely’s crew. I’m guessing Sharp would have been there anyway had this been a 2-on-2 deal, but this is a match you can really skip. *½
Josh Briggs vs. Martin Stone
Before the match, commentary teased some news for Martin Stone, who tries to start out as the aggressor here, only to get shoved outside… so Stone sits in the crowd, where commentary reveals that Stone had re-signed with NXT on a full-time basis.
Stone goes after Briggs’ left arm and shoulder, which isn’t the one that’s being aided by the shoulder support, but it sort of works as he kept Briggs back ahead of a missile dropkick. Briggs eventually mounted a comeback, crashing into Stone before stomping on his arm, and then following through with a pump kick in the corner and a gutbuster for a near-fall.
Stone tries to fight back from below, and succeeds to a level with an Ace crusher for a near-fall, which gave him some impetus for more offence, charging into Briggs with an uppercut and a swiping slap for a near-fall. Briggs takes over as he took Stone up top for an avalanche chokeslam, but it’s shoved away with Stone taking his time… and finally landing a knee before running into a backbreaker.
A butterfly suplex followed for Briggs, but he gets drilled with a German suplex as Stone avoids a chokeslam, before rolling onto the apron… Stone can’t quite suplex him in, but instead he dragged him back for a rope-hung DDT for a near-fall, following in with a pop-up powerbomb and a headbutt as those two-counts kept on coming for Stone.
Briggs thought he’d won it with the M5 – chokeslam into a lumbar check – but Stone’s up at two, before flipping off Briggs. More back-and-forth strikes follow, before they trade headbutts and collapse to the mat, leading to Stone rolling across at the count of nine to catch Briggs in a crossface. Josh rolls back a few times to try and pin Stone in the hold, but he stands back up and goes back to the M5 for the win. A nice back-and-forth outing, with Stone losing on his way out… Josh Briggs definitely has potential, it’s just a case of making sure that he stays the course and doesn’t burn out doing the same thing for too long. ***¼
After the match, Stone and Briggs hug it out, before Briggs put over Stone – verbally of course – as the Guv’nor bade farewell to the indys.
Flip Gordon vs. Puma
The last time we saw Flip in Beyond, he wasn’t flipping… but right now he’s still pushing to get booked for All In.
Fortunately, Gordon had gone back to his normal ways as he took to the limited-skies early, as the crowd chanted something that rhymed very closely with “book Flip”, right as Puma went for a backslide. Puma’s left stunned as Flip does his handstand dancing, before he just dropkicked Gordon in the gut, ahead of a stalling suplex to the frozen-out Flip.
After that, Gordon’s whacked with a superkick as Puma scoots across the top rope was on an assault course… and that seemed to anger the former Army veteran, as he gets up and kicked Puma into the corner, and brings him crashing back down to earth as Flip started to wear down the luchador. A running kick and a single-leg standing moonsault led to Flip, erm, flipping off the crowd as Gordon keeps Puma on the mat with various strikes and back rakes.
Puma’s able to get free though, as he rolls Gordon into a Rings of Saturn, ending in the ropes… but Puma uses a Gedo clutch for a near-fall as Gordon seemed to be clinging on. Flip’s back with a kick to the gut, before a roll-through Code Red planted Puma… who quickly responds with a deadlift powerbomb for a near-fall. The pair exchange strikes for a spell, but Puma’s headbutt knocks Flip loopy… only for him to shake it off and return with a spear before rolling out of a 450 splash attempt.
Flip keeps up with a reverse Finlay roll and a standing shooting star, before coming close with a Falcon arrow… but Puma’s right back with a springboard lungblower and a roll-up as he traded the near-falls. A Pele kick dumped Puma, before Gordon took his time with a springboard dropkick and a shotgun dropkick, following into the corner with yet another dropkick as Puma was on the proverbial jelly legs.
Puma escapes another reverse Finlay roll though, and dumps Gordon with a German suplex, only to get caught up top as Flip cuts off the luchador… only to get brought down with a top rope powerbomb before a La Magistral cradle wins a match for the first time in forever! Pretty decent stuff, but the Electric Haze’s low ceiling really neuters any kind of high flying, which forced these men out of their usual game. ***
Massage NV (Dorian Graves & VSK) vs. Beaver Boys (Alex Reynolds & John Silver)
John Silver’s now being portrayed as someone who’s taking any means necessary to keep his spot in Beyond – which makes a little sense given how long his losing streak went on for last year…
It’s a pretty quiet start as the crowd – and commentary – were focused on other things, with commentary instead catching us up on storylines as Graves and VSK worked over Reynolds. By working over, I mean “gave him a massage”, because of course they would. Those massages quickly gave way to double backbreakers before they targeted Silver with some nice double-teams.
VSK, who you may have seen on 205 Live, comes close with a standing moonsault before teasing using Dorian Graves oiled up back as a slip and slide. Given Graves was wearing the top half of a singlet, I’ve a feeling that that may not have worked as well as they’d hoped. That gave the Beaver Boys a chance to get back into it, with Silver kicking away at the hooded Graves, before a spinning rack bomb forced VSK to break up the cover.
VSK gets the hot tag in next, dropping Reynolds with a backbreaker and a slam, before kneeing Silver in the head… but that’s just left both Beaver Boys in the ring as VSK proceeded to blast through both of them with relative ease. Reynolds eats an enziguiri and a backcracker for a near-fall, before Reynolds was thrown to the outside as he crashed into his own partner.
Back inside, Reynolds eats the Revival’s Shatter Machine for a two-count, getting a foot on the rope just in time, before the massage guys go for the slip ‘n’ slide, this time with Graves taking down the straps… but VSK ends up eating turnbuckle as Graves has to fight by himself, only to take a barrage of kicks from Silver and a scoop tombstone… before VSK takes another tombstone from Reynolds for a near-fall. A Chaos Theory from VSK surprises us all, but Silver’s still got kicks left in him, along with a snapping brainbuster as the Beaver Boys looked comfortable, only for Silver to get pulled into a neck rub… which he rolls out from and pounds away on Graves to break free. Graves manages a sort-of Pounce, before Reynolds’ pop-up knee looked a little wonky ahead of a missed moonsault…
The referee has some oil in his pocket, whish VSK uses to oil up Alex Reynolds for another slip ‘n’ slide headbutt, this time connecting with John Silver in the corner, before Reynolds snatches victory with a roll-up and a big handful of tights. A fun outing, with Massage NV seemingly teasing “going serious” at the start… and with them losing because of their shtick, this may signal more change. ***¼
Maxwell Jacob Friedman vs. Matt Riddle
MJF wasn’t on his own, although he did send away Stokely Hathaway and Faye Jackson early on, as he was content “just” having Thomas Sharp by his side.
Riddle was all over MJF in the opening seconds, trying to force a submission as Friedman scurried to the outside… while still being mouthy, which earned him some kicks to the leg. A slap followed on the outside as Friedman looked to be getting his comeuppance, only for MJF to get a break when he caught a baseball slide from the ring to the floor, trapping Riddle in the ring apron.
MJF’s offence largely consisted of him booting Riddle, before he countered some palm strikes with a simple poke to the eye. An overhead kick from Riddle just earns him a German suplex… which he eventually popped up from as you know the score with that combination. You cannot German Riddle! From there, Riddle’s back with a bridging German suplex of his own, rolling them together for a bunch of near-falls, before a Fisherman’s buster somehow only got a two-count.
Friedman rolled to the floor after taking a back senton, before Thomas Sharp’s attempt to get involved earned him a slap. MJF gets in another poke to the eye as Riddle accidentally chops and kicks the ring posts, before a shoulder charge into the post weakened Riddle enough for MJF to even try for a Trapper Keeper shoulder breaker, almost winning with it.
Despite that, Riddle sneaks in a powerbomb before he kicked out of a roll-up… as MJF tries an armbar. That might not have been such a good idea, as Riddle just heel kicks his way free, before a Bro to Sleep left MJF in the corner for a vicious knee to the back. Sharp gets involved again, putting MJF’s foot on the rope to keep the match alive, and with Riddle distracted by Sharp, MJF rolls him him and puts both feet on the ropes for the win. A nice little outing here, but those early moments were a little off as it looked like someone had to be convinced into actually throwing strikes. ***
Team Pazuzu (LAX (Ortiz & Santana) & Doom Patrol (Jaka & Chris Dickinson)) vs. Amityville Project (Dan Barry, Mike Verna, Rex Lawless & Ryan Galeone)
Team Pazuzu reunited at the last “pure” Beyond show, following a months-long feud between them, and we finally have a clash between Pazuzu and the Amityville Project.
Ortiz and Santana were out in their EYFBO gear, but sod it, I’m using their Impact names here since they’ve flip-flopped round the indys. The match starts without introductions anyway as LAX dove onto the Amityville Project at ringside, before Galeone hit the ring and brawled against Doom Patrol as this eight-man match broke down at the bell.
Lawless and Verna hit the ring to try their luck against Jaka and Dickinson, eventually succeeding with boots before Verna powerbombed and slammed the pair at the same time. The referee misses a low blow from Ortiz to Lawless as LAX took over, press slamming Lawless into a cornered Verna as referee Steven Dumeng didn’t even bother with tags, which meant that the ring was really turning into a proverbial revolving door for the opening spell.
Ortiz gets isolated as the match calmed down, but Verna’s missed senton helped him get free to Dickinson, who gleefully tees off on Dan Barry before dropping him with an enziguiri, as Ryan Galeone’s springboard flip kick brought us right back into revolving door territory. A TKO from Lawless dumps Ortiz, but Santana’s in with chops, before he’s met with a swinging uranage from Verna… yeah, this is one long Parade of Moves, which is fun to watch, but an absolute pain to write! Barry saves himself from a Doomsday Device, but LAX quickly obliterate him with a step-up cannonball into the corner, before Jaka’s choke bomb almost ended things.
More craziness led to Dickinson nearly putting away Barry with a half-nelson suplex, as the rest of the Amityville Project was left laid out on the floor. Jaka gets some Pazuzu chants going, ahead of a Pazuzu Bomb on Barry, which proved to be the end. Well that was damn near a squash at the end, which makes me wonder… why build up the Amityville Project for that? Fun while it lasted, but I suspect you’d get a lot more out of this if you’d been invested more in the storyline. ***¼
Post-match, the Amityville Project hit the ring and offer their handshake in defeat… it’s not a ruse, with Verna and Lawless shaking hands and leaving, while Galeone and Barry stayed behind… so Ryan Galeone could try and finish off Barry, only for Bill Carr – formerly a partner of Darry in Team Tremendous – made the save. It seems that Dan Barry’s final hurrah will be as a part of his former team, having one more run before retirement.
Powerbomb.tv Independent Championship: Joey Janela vs. Tracy Williams (c)
In lieu of any official titles, the Powerbomb.tv strap seems to have become Beyond’s sort-of championship. So why not have the self-declared Ace of Beyond challenge for it?
They keep it on the mat early as Janela tries to go move-for-move with “Hot Sauce”… and while he held his own, it was only a matter of time before Williams started to take the upper hand, rolling Janela down for a knee bar as the “Bad Boy” was forced to reach for the ropes for safety.
Janela switches things up, scoring with crossbodies, but Williams rolled to the outside… and into the path of a tope instead as he tried to take over with chops. Except Williams happily hits back, and nails a teardrop suplex to pick up barely a one-count. Williams keeps on top of Janela in the corner, kicking him while he was down, before pulling him into an Octopus hold. A hiptoss gets Janela free, but Williams is back with suplexes before going to the arm as the match gets a little more even… until Janela pulls Williams into the turnbuckles by the back of his head. Janela capitalised with a running knee and a Falcon arrow, but that doesn’t do the deal as Williams kicked out at two, before he sparked a chop battle, with both champion and challenger bringing the fire.
Eventually Williams won out after he switched his chop to a lariat, before catching Janela in a crossface… Janela escapes and charges Williams into the corner, landing some forearms before he teases a superplex… but instead Williams flies off the top and brutally spikes Joey with a DDT! It’s back to the crossface from there, but Janela rolls out and takes Williams onto the apron, where he’s between the ropes and the wall.
Janela teases an apron bump there, but Williams escaped to throw some chope, before Janela catches one and threw the arm back into the wall. A Divorce Court followed for Janela, who gets a near-fall out of that, before he teases going for a submission… that backfires as Williams tries for the crossface again, but he can’t hold on after his arms had been thrown into the wall earlier, and Janela’s got a big bullseye to aim for.
There’s innovation from Janela as he trapped Williams’ arms behind his back and into his trunks, before a dropkick forced “Hot Sauce” to damage his arms further… but Janela’s insistence on going for a submission possibly wasn’t the best idea, as Williams was able to roll free of an armbar. Somehow, Williams goes for an O’Connor roll before taking Janela down for another submission as his arms were pretty much unavailable to him, thus weakening any submission attempts.
Using big boots, Williams tried to get ahead, before dumping Janela with a lariat… then reverts to chops as he became his own worst enemy, as he couldn’t follow-up, meaning that Janela was able to sneak in a package piledriver to come within a hair’s width of the title. Janela tries to top that with an avalanche package piledriver, but Williams chops his way free, before blocking a powerbomb as a running piledriver from the champion instead brought him closer to victory.
The pair end up on the apron as Janela looked for respite, but instead he had to fight out of an apron piledriver and instead turn it into a death valley driver onto the edge of the ring, as both men spilled to the floor to spark a count-out tease. For some reason the ref holds up the count to let both men get back into the ring… and as soon as they did that Janela instantly nails another package piledriver that drew a count of 2.9999 recurring.
Sensing victory, Janela goes up top and misses a stomp… so he tries again, only to be stopped by a guy in a hoodie who gives him a low blow. There’s the DQ… and seconds later we see it’s David Starr! An iffy finish to what had been by far and away the best match on this show, but it made a little sense as it ties into the ongoing/neverending Beyond storyline with Janela and Starr. I’d really like to see a rematch between these two, as Williams and Janela meshed well in spite of the clash of styles. ****
So yeah, barely 24 hours after appearing for Defiant in Newcastle, England, Starr’s back in the States to cost Joey Janela a title match. Starr was “done” with Beyond as he was removed from their WrestleMania weekend show without reason… that was suspected to be a storyline, and so it was proven to be. The Product may not be the Ace of Beyond, but he’s still gunning for Joey Janela… sending a message to him with a trapped-arm piledriver to Penelope Ford. He’s calling that one the Trapped Arm Bob Fossil, in a shout-out to the Mighty Boosh.
The crowd didn’t like that, and boo Starr as he rattles through his list o’ nicknames… and it seems he’s back on a collision course with Joey Janela once again, this time with beef against management. Well, I’m a fan of the edge-y Starr, so seeing it in another promotion isn’t something I’m against.
Fourteen matches deep, Beyond’s pre-show and main show was business as usual – way too much going on. There wasn’t much on this show that was bad, with a lot of the matches being consistent throughout, but at least the show ended on a high to break away from the “just a background” show with a good main event and a memorable angle to close out with. The “something for everyone” approach may well turn some off, but if you’ve got a Powerbomb.tv subscription, this is worth watching, even if you only give your undivided attention to the main event.