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Beyond Wrestling: "Head Over Heels"
April 24, 2016
by Paul Crockett
If Beyond Wrestling had a foundation, it would be storytelling. From the stories being told through the wrestling, to the stories being told before and after the matches, there is always a plan going forward. It's always refreshing to watch. Tonight was no different.
Before the first match started, JT Dunn took the mic and said HE is the true ace of Beyond. He was speaking directly to Dijak, who was on commentary on the balcony. Dunn started jawing at Dijak when he turned and knocked out referee Kevin Quinn with an elbow as a message.
- BRIAN FURY v. DREW GULAK
As was expected, the story to be told in this match was one of technical proficiency. The majority of the match was spent on the match trading really interesting submission holds, including an attempt by Fury at one of my personal favorites, the Stretch Muffler. It was not to be, unfortunately.
The best way to describe this match? Professional wrestling's version of Twister. The submission attempts by both men were unorthodox, but they all looked painful. The finish came when Fury was able to negotiate his way into a Boston Crab to get the submission. A show of respect afterwords with a handshake.
WINNER: Brian Fury
- CHUCK O'NEIL & ERIC SPICELY v. CAM ZAGAMI & ANTHONY GREENE
Greene wanted a hug before the match. He didn't get one from O'Neil, but he did get one from the referee. Chuck went for a hug but turned it into a belly to belly suplex much to the dismay of the crowd.
Cam (of American Grit fame) and Eric had a brief interaction in the ring. Cam was very excited and screamed to the crowd, "WE'RE BOTH ON FOX!" O'Neil & Spicely then unleashed their inner Rockers with a cool double dropkick.
The match went back and forth until a fun spot to finish it off. Cam, being on Cena's reality show, went for the "You Can't See Me" hand wave, which Spicely caught and rolled into an armbar for the victory.
WINNERS: Chuck O'Neil & Eric Spicely
- DA HOODZ (DAVE CASH & KRIS PYRO) v. DAVE COLE & ANTHONY STONE
This was dubbed as a grudge match stemming from Da Hoodz jumping Cole two months ago in Providence.
This was your basic, cut off the ring for the babyface style of match. The two teams traded near falls from there, with Stone hitting a nice Van Terminator (sans chair) on both Hoodz. Cole would get his measure of revenge when he got the win with a sit out tiger driver.
WINNERS: Dave Cole & Anthony Stone
- JOHN SILVER v. TOMMASO CIAMPA
Both of these men have a reputation for hitting really hard. To no one's surprise, they lived up to their reputations by destroying each other with everything they could think of. There was no bad blood or hype leading into the match, it was simply about who would be the toughest man.
By the time this match was over, the crowd realized they're both incredibly tough and both incredibly skilled. It was Silver, however, who stood tall after an incredibly flurry of offense including a spinning, reverse Burning Hammer into a sit out power bomb for the win. As they were about to go for a handshake afterwords, Ciampa poked Silver's eye and took his forearm compression pad. He came back in, said he was kidding, and then did it again and ran away. Silver got a much deserved round of applause and show of respect from the fans.
WINNER: John Silver
- SHYNRON v. CHUCK TAYLOR for the CLL World Title
With Lio Rush injured the night before in Maryland, a mystery opponent was on the docket for Shynron. To the delight of the crowd, out came "Kentucky Gentleman" Chuck Taylor.
There was a clear styles difference between the two, with Shynron doing a lot of hybrid lucha/general high flying and Chuck trying to keep everything on the ground. They were points in the match where it seemed like the difference in styles got the best of the them, but they were able to keep it together for the most part.
The finish saw Chuck going for the Awful Waffle off the top. Shynron caught him and got a jackknife roll-up for the win.
WINNER: SHYNRON
MASSAGE NV (DORIAN GRAVES & VSK) v. MILK CHOCOLATE (BRANDON WATTS & RANDY SUMMERS) (Special Referee: Johnny C*ckstrong)
The match was interrupted as the massage oil was coming out. Damnit. Crusade For Change came out on the mic and challenged all four to an ten-man tag as payback for their loss at Wargames. They accepted and Johnny, instead of refereeing, joined their team. That was different.
MASSAGE NV & MILK CHOCOLATE v. THE CRUSADE FOR CHANGE (DARIUS CARTER, TJ MARCONI, ANTHONY GANGONE, DEVIN BLAZE & TOMMY TRAINWRECK)
The match started off as a bit of a cluster, but broke down into a traditional tag as things settled down. TJ Marconi was almost on the end of a massage to a very private area, but he was able to use his size (physical strength) to get out of it.
It broke down into another cluster at the end with bodies flying all over the place. The finish saw Crusade For Change hit the Public Execution (Double Superkick into a Codebreaker) on Johnny for the win.
WINNERS: THE CRUSADE FOR CHANGE
MATT RIDDLE v. SUGE D
Suge came out to "Let's Get Crazy" by Prince and did a full-on Prince tribute including full-outfit and dancing.
Riddle continues to get a great heel reaction without even trying. He just acts like himself and the crowd gives him a negative reaction. It's why he's one of the best heels in the business at the moment.
The story of this match was Suge D consistently trying to represent pro wrestling while Riddle was still seen as the MMA outsider. With that being said, Riddle still incorporated some great suplexes into his offense. It evolved later in the match when he hit an awesome second rope springboard Shining Wizard to finish off Suge, Not only that, but he pinned him with one foot on his chest while pointing at Chuck O'Neil on commentary.
After the match, Riddle called out O'Neil, and "Cold Steel" ran into the ring. Eric Spicely followed and got in between them. While he had his back turned, Riddle high kicked Spicely and knocked him out. Riddle laughed and said, "PEACE!" and got out of dodge. A really great, heated angle that continues the Riddle-O'Neil feud.
WINNER: Matt Riddle
- TEAM PAZUZU (JAKA, MIKE DRAZTIK & ANGEL ORTIZ) v. THE COLONY (FIRE ANT, SILVER ANT & SOLDIER ANT)
If you've ever seen The Colony wrestle in CHIKARA, then you know exactly what they brought to this match. If you've never seen Team Pazuzu wrestle, then I'll do my best to describe what they brought to this match: hard hitting offense with a style inspired by growing up on the streets. It was an interesting clash of personal tastes, but all six men involved did a great job of making sure that clash of style didn't come across in the ring.
Team Pazuzu even went into the Colony business with a nice stereo plancha to the floor, so it wasn't all about staying grounded. The match stayed in control of Pazuzu as they cut off the ring on Soldier Ant, including an impressive 30-second spot where they all took turns holding him up in one continuous suplex.
The Ants made their comeback, which included some very crisp high-flying offense. Following their comeback, it broke down into a really well-done back and forth between the teams. The end of the match saw Fire Ant and Angel Ortiz square off, with Ortiz getting the better of the exchange and winning following a spinning leg lariat.
This was an outstanding six-man tag match that would have fit in on any New Japan or Ring of Honor show. It's worth checking out if you have the opportunity.
WINNERS: TEAM PAZUZU
- VEDA SCOTT & RYAN GALEONE v. JONATHAN GRESHAM & JORDYNNE GRACE
Grace & Gresham jumped Scott & Galeone before the match, as this has been a heated rivalry between the two for a few months. Galeone also has a significant size advantage over everyone, so the jump may have been necessary.
This match was well-constructed, with Gresham picking his spots in trying to hit Galeone on the apron. There were also some good double team spots by both teams. The overall story of the match was Gresham and Grace doing their best to overcome the size advantage, with Grace doing some good power spots.
Toward the end, Gresham executed a beautiful Shooting Star Press. One problem: Galeone got his knees up. Galeone then went for a somersault off the top but missed. Gresham didn't miss on the second Shooting Star and got the win for his team. They did just enough between the genders to keep it realistic and to keep it a fun and interesting encounter.
WINNERS: Jonathan Gresham & Jordynne Grace
- KIMBER LEE v. COLT CABANA
The story at the beginning of the match was Colt's reluctance to hit a woman. He would trade reversals with her, but once he had a clear shot at a punch, he would hold off and not want to do it. Kimber, meanwhile, had no issues taking full shots at him.
The most he would do at certain points was stand on her hair and walk on her as she was laying on the mat. That trend continued throughout, despite the fact that Kimber was throwing everything at him, including a big German Suplex for a near fall.
The big spot came near the end when Colt, getting caught in the heat of the moment, threw a giant punch that dropped her. Colt missed a huge moonsault, and Kimber caught him in a pinning predicament for the big upset.
Colt got on the mic after the match and said, "Tonight, you were the better wrestler."
WINNER: Kimber Lee
- DEATH BY ELBOW (CHRIS HERO & JT DUNN) v. DA HIT SQUAD (DAN MAFF & MONSTA MACK)
It was the mutual admiration society in this match as all four men showed each other a lot of respect in the early goings. Even though all four are traditionally know for having strong style or brawling tendencies, it was a lot of wrestling as things got going.
From there, it was a lot of elbows and a lot of kicks. It was also a lot of toe-to-toe trading of said offense. While some of the moves seemed to lack the zip and speed of some of the other matches during the night, the way everything was structured ensured that they all got the big reaction from the crowd that they were going for.
It looked like Mack was on his way to a loss when he pulled off a sit-out powerbomb on Dunn for the pin. Simultaneously, Hero had a pin on Maff, but the referee declared Da Hit Squad the winners.
After the match, due to their frustration, both Dunn and Hero knocked the ref out with elbows. That brought out Joey Janela and David Starr. Janela thought he and Starr were going to team up, but Starr pulled the legs out from under Janela. This broke down as Janela and Starr started fighting each other through the crowd and into the back.
WINNERS: Da Hit Squad
- CHRIS DICKINSON v. DONOVAN DIJAK
There was a poll recently on the Beyond Wrestling Twitter account in regards to who is the Ace of the company. Donovan Dijak finished first. Dickinson did not.
This was heated from the get go. There was no soft offense, and there was no wasted movement from either guy. Each move meant something, and every move had ill intentions. Dickinson looked especially crisp with his kicks, as everyone was stiff and sounded as painful as they looked.
After a really great, intense battle, Dijak went for two Feast Your Eyes and was denied both times, with Dickinson rolling into two unsuccessful submission attempts, including a modified Trailer Hitch that beat Brian Fury at the last show. Dickinson got a near fall after a Border Toss and thought he had it, but Dijak hit a Feast Your Eyes and it wasn't over as he kicked out! Before a finish, JT Dunn came out and elbowed the referee and Dijak. Hero came out to talk some sense into him when Hero decked Dickinson. They started stomping both guys when Gresham came out to try a save, but was taken out by both. Jordynne Grace and Kimber Lee came in the ring, but Kimber's roaring elbow attempt ended up dropping Grace when Hero and Dunn moved. Dunn then decked Kimber with an elbow from behind, and Death By Elbow stood tall to end the show.
WINNER: No Contest
Beyond Wrestling once again gave people a little bit of everything. Most importantly, though, they gave their fans more stories they can dig their teeth into. Not only tonight, but building toward future shows. Check them out on YouTube and Twitter and make sure to support an outstanding independent promotion.
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