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FANN’S BEYOND WRESTLING “UNCHARTED TERRITORY’ REPORT
EPISODE 4
APRIL 24, 2019
WORCESTER, MASS.
ELECTRIC HAZE
AIRED LIVE ON INDEPENDENTWRESTLING.TV AND FITE TV
Announcers: Paul Crockett and Josh Briggs
The show started with MJF hitting the ring to the chagrin of everyone in the crowd – and working at Beyond. MJF made way for Richard Holliday to join him as a thank you for helping MJF against Dirty Daddy last week. Fans made snake noises as MJF described Holliday as a blue chipper. Alexander Hammerstone, the third member of MLW’s The Dynasty joined his stablemates in ring, described as having “more abs than you idiots have brain cells”.
Before the trio could crow further, Chris Dickinson arrived. Rather than beating up all three of them alone, Dickinson declared he had a better idea – and LAX hitting the ring with him evened the odds! The Dynasty mouthed off for a few more moments, then an MJF cheap shot gave an opening for the heels to bail. Dickinson and LAX celebrated in ring to close the segment.
(Fann’s Analysis: Great segment, really liked The Dynasty being introduced as they were and Dickinson is a great firey face. LAX is always a welcome treat. No word if this match will happen tonight or in a future episode yet.)
(1) Jay Freddie vs. “The Patron Saint of Professional Wrestling” Brandon Thurston
The first match of the evening was a battle of New Yorkers – Syracuse vs. Buffalo. Crockett and Briggs highlighted that the two were longtime friends and that this match would be a great showcase of their talents. After a clean break, the two began to exchange holds, while the crowd held a respectful demeanor throughout.
After some small joint manipulation, the pair exchanged bridges and pinfall attempts, which made the match a little testier after a near double pin. Chops were exchanged between the erstwhile friends, and then escalated to arm drags and leg sweeps. Thurston made some space after what was thought to be a clean break turned into a chopfest in the corner, and a ripcord knee by Freddie sent Thurston flying. A diamond dust attempt by Freddie was countered into an armbreaker, and Thurston found an opening via the injured appendage. It was alleged by commentary that because of their relationship, Thurston may have been aware of the injury prior to the match.
Freddie attempted a sharpshooter, but the weakened arm made for a poor attempt. When Freddie turned the tables on Thurston, the back of the Patron Saint was the target, leading to both men having something exploited. A Thurston German suplex to Freddie was no sold and Freddie hit a Shining Wizard for a standing 8 count for both men.
Jay Freddie was then tied in the tree of woe for a stomp, then kicked out of a head and arm suplex from Thurston for a 2.9. The pair then exchanged reversals and power moves, until Freddie locked in a modified sharpshooter in the middle of the ring for the win.
WINNER: Jay Freddie in 18:51 by submission (***1/2)
(Fann’s Analysis: Really liked this segment. I wasn’t familiar with Freddie to start, but between the course of the match and the commentators filling in gaps I felt really comfortable with their journeys – well done by all. I loved the comment that because of the roster limits only winners could get more shots, which added to the drama.)
Post match, the fans showed respect to both competitors, as Thurston limped to the back with the aid of the referee.
The boss man of Beyond Wrestling, Denver Colorado then entered the ring to announce that Team Pazuzu and The Dynasty would be wrestling on various dates, then screamed “f*** that, it’s happening tonight!”
(2) “The Rapscallion” MICK MORETTI vs. LD “Mantis” Montesanti – Discovery Gauntlet match
Moretti has won the last 3 Discovery Gauntlet matches, which has added to his cockiness week by week. Moretti then pulled Cam (ringside interviewer) into the ring to intimidate him, and then used the mic to hit Mantis to open the match. Moretti ducked out of the ring, giving Mantis a chance to go high risk to the outside – but Moretti was waiting, nailing a bulldog on the ring apron.
Back in the ring, Moretti maintained control, attempting to drive Mantis’ head into the mat via head scissors and punches/elbows. The announcers highlighted Manti being trained by Johnny Rodz, while in ring the Brooklyn native began to fight back on the mad Australian.
Moretti hit A Series of Unfortunate Events (a german followed by a stalling german converted to a dragon suplex) for a long 2. A kick from Mantis busted open Moretti in the mouth and sent both men to the mat. Both men back up, Mantis hit a Benadriller for a 2 count. Before Mantis could get to the top rope, Moretti recovered and attempted his finisher from the top rope. However, Mantis countered and hit a top rope poisoned rana – but only for a near 3. Mantis then hit a cradle piledriver for a 3 count, moving on in the gauntlet!
WINNER: Montesanti in 8:41 by pinfall (***)
Post match, Mantis was interviewed by Cam. Mantis declared he would be future of Beyond and all would hail his name.
(Fann’s Analysis: Great showcase for Mantis – and while Moretti’s gone, he had a heck of a run on the first 3 eiposdes. Towards the end I got worried with the usage of the ring equipment to steady them on the top rope, but a solid match overall.)
A preview of upcoming events leading to Americanrana ‘19.
(3) PUF vs. Coach Mammone
Coach opened the match challenging Puf to a cardio test via rope runs. Puf hit the ropes, as Coach got the fans to chant along with him to “let’s go Puf!”. As Puf ran out of gas he fell onto Coach for a 1 count. Coach then did several deep squats and missed a legdrop onto Puf.
Coach Mammone then attempted a German suplex onto Puf, but Puf jiggled and wiggled his way free. An avalanche in the corner and a stinkface left Mammone groggy, and Puf did a few squats of his own and missed a splash onto Coach.
At this point, both men were worse for wear and began to get a little more violent. Coach grabbed his whistle, blowing it every time he stepped on Puf – but only got a 2 count for his trouble. Puf then hit his dancing splash for a 3 count and the win.
WINNER: Puf in 6:13 by pinfall (**)
(Fann’s Analysis: After the two serious matches, this was a fun respite. )
Coach and Puf danced in the ring, until Chuck O’Neil hit the ring, and German suplexed Puf. Chuck mentioned how he’s sick of folks wanting to be funny in the ring, instead of “legit”. Chuck would continue until he made “Beyond Legit Again”.
A video of Chuck Taylor promo’ing a future match played while the Beaver Boys were entering the ring, which made both hard to hear.
(4) The Butcher and the Blade (Andy Williams & Pepper Parks) vs. The Beaver Boys (John Silver & Alex Reynolds)
The match started with both teams trying to kill each other with chops and violence.
As the match progressed, Pepper Parks was isolated, as both Beaver Boys taunted Andy Williams from the apron. Eventually the big man got tagged in and uranage’d Silver into Valhalla. Afterward the Beaver Boys attempted to leave Dodge, but the Butcher and the Blade in front of the Worcester crowd brawled with the heel tandem back to the ring, leading to someone catching a bottle to the head with a sickening shatter.
Back in-ring, Parks ate a stomp, but Williams evened the odds and the pair nailed a dropkick/gutwrench combo on Reynolds. Silver entered the ring, and received a double chokeslam for a near-fall.
The tandem of Parks and Williams were looking at a win after an assisted gutbuster turned powerbomb, but Silver grabbed the ref and superkicked him before he could count. With the ref out, the tandem hit another move for a visual 8 count, but with no ref there was no resolution.
While Parks tried to wake the ref, Reynolds low-blowed Williams, and then Parks was slammed and pinned by the Beaver Boys.
WINNER: Beaver Boys in 18:07 (***3/4)
(Fann’s Analysis: The Beaver Boys were their usual jerk selves, and the Butcher and the Blade were a solid tag team I need to see more of. My friends in Buffalo/Rochester are judging me. HARD. I did not like the finish, especially given the way)
After the match, next week it was announced that Slither – Janela and Dickinson – would face off with The Beaver Boys.
(5) Solo Darling vs. Davienne
There was no time wasted with this match, as Davienne and Solo hate each other. Solo Darling was folded up throughout the match by Davienne, one spot in particular in the corner post looked gruesome.
After a brutal back and forth late, Solo gritted it out and somehow slipped her Sharp Stinger in for the submission.
WINNER: Solo Darling in 9:46 by submission (**)
(Fann’s Analysis:.A little sloppy, but with the disdain the pair had for each other it made for more of a fight which was appealing.)
Post match, Cam interviewed Solo, who said the next step for her was the Lethal Lottery May 5th.
A promo for next week previewed Penelope Ford vs Veda Scott vs Ashley Ford vs Solo Darling in a four way match.
(6) Team Pazuzu (Chris Dickinson & LAX) vs. The Dynasty (MJF & Richard Holliday & Alexander Hammerstone)
The main event for this week’s episode started with The Dynasty doing a team huddle outside the ring, for an 8 count before they entered the match. Ortiz and Holliday kicked off the proceedings with a few exchanges, with Ortiz getting the upper hand.
In next were Hammerstone and Dickinson, who brought the power moves. Hammerstone held Dickinson up for 20 seconds on a delayed suplex, and the Dirty Daddy did not care a lick, no selling and back body dropped Hammerstone. The behemoth wouldn’t be denied and nailed a dropkick, which allowed Hammerstone to tag in MJF. MJF mugged, not realizing he was alone against Team Pazuzu, which didn’t end well for him. After some exchanges, Team Pazuzu tagged in and assisted each other with a delayed suplex for a full minute – an amazing feat for them all, while MJF screamed.
MJF’s only recourse at that point was to cheat, and after some trickery gained the upper hand. With Dickinson down, MJF decided it was time to mug and preen, which led to him eating a foot from the Dirty Daddy. Both men got tags and LAX cleared the ring, with Ortiz and Dickinson teaming up on Holliday. A crazy spot happened late in the match, as Santana kicked out of a triple pin from The Dynasty.
Blind tags a-plenty by Team Pazuzu led to MJF lit up by chops, until after a brawl the finish arrived via LAX clearing the deck and Chris Dickinson getting MJF alone to nail a Pazuzu Bomb.
Winners: Chris Dickinson in 17:00 via pinfall (****)
Post match, Ortiz addressed the crowd and mentioned the new team hitting their house – Chucky T and Trent. Despite that, “this is still our mother-****** house!” – and challenged them to a match. With that the show closed as Team Pazuzu led the crowd in a rendition of ‘Shout at the Devil’.
(Fann’s Analysis: Crazy match. Despite Hammerstone and Holliday being relatively new, they did well with the experienced tandem of LAX and Dickinson. Very worthy main event and felt like something that needed to happen tonight as opposed to something they needed to trick you into seeing.)
Overall thoughts (7.5): Really good show – I liked the hot open and despite the issues with the video transition for Best Friends a great 2 hours well spent. I highly recommend both tag matches in particular.
Contact Rich at PWTDive@gmail.com. Follow him on Twitter at twitter.com/rich_fann.
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