What would be your ideal New Year’s Eve celebration? Most folks choose to spend it with friends or loved ones, whether out and about or at home, but what if you could have that AND attend a live wrestling show? Beyond Wrestling made that dream a reality with “Heavy Lies The Crown”, a show designed for fans to ring in the new year with a stacked show back at the White Eagle venue that they packed for Americanrana five months prior.
For years, John Silver was making his name as THE man in Beyond Wrestling. However, since Brion Milonas disrupted his momentum in September, Silver has been unable to pick up a victory. Tonight he was pitted against Jordynne Grace, who on her own has been on a roll in her tag team with LuFisto and on her own in both Beyond and WWR. In fact, Grace won the women’s Tournament For Tomorrow the previous month. With the recent losses, Silver’s attitude has shifted to call for more trash talking and taking more enjoyment in the pain he unleashes on an opponent, such was the case whenever he kicked Grace in the chest or shut her down with a kick to the face. Grace was not to be denied, as she matched Silver’s strength and overpowered him several times during the bout, winning over the crowd in the process. They especially got behind her when she endured a hellacious grounded beatdown from Silver and then gave Silver one of his own. Grace’s running powerbomb didn’t keep Silver down, so she decided to try the Vader Bomb. She missed, and Silver latched on a half straight jacket choke in a crossface position. Grace did not tap out, but the referee called for the bell as she seemingly lost consciousness. When it seemed like Silver was going to celebrate her for being a worthy adversary, Silver knocked her down with a clothesline. This was a very good competitive match and probably Grace’s best singles outing in Beyond to date. Silver was desperate to get back in the win column and was a sore winner to boot. It’s clear this is the first chapter in a story between these two, and the quality of this bout has me looking forward to what’s next.
The ever serious Amityville Project were pitted against the not-so serious Pull-It Club, which welcomed Joey Ryan back into the fold on this evening. Both teams were in need of a win to get back on track and go into the new year with some momentum. The Project were having absolutely none of the Pull-It Club’s shenanigans, forcing Ryan, Johnny Cockstrong, and Massage NV to step up their wrestling game. This led to a brawl between the eight competitors, leading to Galeone dropkicking a lone Cockstrong in the ring and the Project to wear him down. Unfortunately, the leader of the Project, Dan Barry, found himself in position to be dropped head first on the top turnbuckle with a Kryptonite Krunch. Ryan helped Pull-It together for his team, with Massage NV jumping in to assist when Galeone wiped Ryan out. As things broke down, Ryan found himself alone with Barry and treated him to the infamous penis suplex. As soon as he finished, however, Verna snuck in a roll-up and pinned Ryan to get his team the win. This isn’t a match that will change your mind on Joey Ryan or his partners, but I personally enjoyed this match quite a bit. The Amityville Project are at their best when in full force and in team situations, and with this group being born out of Barry’s frustrations of being earmarked as a comedy wrestler and seeing some of his proteges lose their way, the friction existed without a deeper issue at hand. The comedy was used sparingly and effectively from beginning to end with plenty of good, solid wrestling in the mix. After a poor showing three weeks prior, this match was exactly what the Amityville Project needed.
The Tournament For Tomorrow continued to be cursed. Instead of Wheeler YUTA wrestling Ace Romero in the tournament finals as scheduled, he would wrestle Flip Gordon in a first time contest. Flip, naturally, showed off his uncanny flipping abilities until Yuta shut him down with a single leg dropkick. It wasn’t long after that Gordon took over, nailing a flip to the floor. YUTA went after Gordon’s legs to both slow him down and also attempt a submission victory with a leg locked STF. Gordon managed to escape that, but feel victim to YUTA’s knees as he came crashing down with an attempted 450 splash. That opening allowed YUTA to hook Gordon up in a small package and secure the pin. While it’s unfortunate the tournament finals could not occur as planned, YUTA got an opportunity to showcase himself against someone of Gordon’s talent level and thrive. It put him in an environment where he was the one looking to slow down the opposition, and it showed him as being adaptable and intelligent. This was a match where both guys did exactly what was needed of them and provided a fun bout.
Team Pazuzu had slowly eroded over the few months, with the group coming to a definitive end at “Unprofessional” when EYFBO attacked Doom Patrol from behind. Doom Patrol were salivating to get their hands on EYFBO at “Cold Brew”, and after an altercation that took a dozen or so folks to break up, a TLC grudge match was made for tonight to settle the issue between the four competitors. On paper, this seemed like a can’t miss. Two teams who seem crazy and ready to impress. But it lacked a certain je ne sais quoi. There certainly were plenty of T’s, L’s, and C’s utilized, but with no cohesion to it and not much intensity behind it. The crowd seemed to become unfocused. The 24 minutes weren’t filled appropriately. All that said, the botched finish may have made this match worth watching, as Doom Patrol attempted to recreate the double top rope leg drop through two tables spot from the RVD/Sabu vs. Hayabusa/Jinsei Shinzaki tag match. Jaka landed first, breaking the table clean in two, and Dickinson landed ass first on the edge of the table. Jaka pinned Angel Ortiz after and the match was over. This wasn’t bad as much as it was disappointing. I expected this epic tale to be unraveled over the course of the match with weapons used to accentuate that story, crescendoing to the craziest moment to the end the match. While the craziest moment did end the match, it lacked all the nuance before it to make it meaningful. For the end of such a long running, important stable to Beyond’s tapestry, I can’t help but feel very let down by this match.
Perhaps this isn’t the last we’ll see of Team Pazuzu together, as the entire Amityville Project group attacked them after the contest. After all, the enemy of my enemy is my friend.
An injury prevented Jimmy Jacobs from making his return as a singles competitor to Beyond tonight in a first time meeting with Matt Riddle. Riddle instead would have a meeting with an old rival in Matt Tremont. In Worcester, Riddle had successfully defeated Tremont twice, the latter contest being in Tremont’s specialty of a deathmatch. With two Beyond wins behind him since, and catching Riddle off guard as a surprise, perhaps the third time would be the charm for The Bulldozer. After all, the last time Beyond was in the White Eagle, Joey Janela ended his undefeated streak. Riddle however said he would only compete in a straight up wrestling match as he did not sign up for a deathmatch. Tremont agreed by telling the timekeeper to “ring the fucking bell.” Fired up, Riddle took to a striking game with Tremont, which Tremont kept even. He tossed Riddle around the ring, surprised him with a Canadian Destroyer, and immediately followed that up with a Death Valley Driver. That would not keep the “King of Bros” down, but Riddle’s Bro 2 Sleep also could not take Tremont off of his feet. After a powerbomb, Riddle attempted a running knee. Tremont avoided the knee, rolled up Riddle, and served up Riddle his second only singles loss in Beyond. While on paper I was a little let down by the replacement, Tremont had a very good showing with Riddle. The two of them got the crowd into the match with a healthy portion of fans hoping Tremont cound defy the odds. They told a great story, didn’t overstay their welcome, and Beyond had a moment of redemption for Tremont if they choose to utilize him more in the future. Color me impressed.
Since making quick work of Cam Zagami at the Americanrana Matinee event in July, Josh Briggs has become a stand out rookie in Beyond. On this event, Briggs returns to the same venue he made his Beyond debut against an opponent to match his size in Keith Lee. For Briggs who at this time had only been wrestling for a calendar year, being put against someone the caliber of Lee is a career making opportunity. The match was evenly matched with each guy going strike for strike, slam for slam, and big move for big move with one another. Sadly, it wasn’t very exciting or interesting.
The only memorable moment was when a pounce from Keith Lee sent Briggs into the bottom rope and temporarily broke the whole thing. Otherwise, this was a fine but unremarkable match.
AR Fox vs. Rickey Shane Page was really fun and really good. They kept a quick pace with both competitors putting their best foot forward. Fox’s agility and athletic game was absolutely on point, with Page matching Fox in smarts and power. Fox’s coast-to-coast dropkick while Page was outside the ring and Page hitting a reverse super powerbomb were both jaw dropping. Right after that powerbomb, Page pinned Fox in a folding press, but Fox reversed the momentum and sat down on Page to sneak the victory out. I would not have expected this to be my favorite match of the show so far, but it was. The dynamic of high flyer versus power doesn’t always work, but this is a textbook version on how to pull it off successfully. These are two guys I think folks can take for granted because they’ve been around for awhile, but after this, I’m a renewed fan of both competitors and hope we see more of them in Beyond going forward.
The year 2017 started with an intense “Anything Goes” battle between Joey Janela and David Starr in Worcester, MA, which Starr won after running Janela’s head into a brick wall. It’s only fitting to end 2017 and ring in 2018 the same way, especially with Starr and Janela both growing into the new Ace’s of Beyond since that contest. Last time in White Eagle, Starr and Janela each defeated two men who claimed the Ace throne at the time, Donovan Dijak and Matthew Riddle (respectively.) This match would be a violent way to start Beyond’s 2018, but also give one man the right to the Ace namesake.
This match was insane. Kudos to the fans for some creative machinations, like a tower of champagne cups, plastic forks jetting out of styrofoam, and…a dildo with thumbtacks in it. Penelope Ford was a nuisance to Starr for the first portion of the match, but after taking her out of the equation, the match became much more even and really dangerous. Both guys fought with determination, showcasing just how much being the Ace of Beyond meant to them. They took each other to their physical limit and bled for the fans enjoyment (and enjoy the match they did.) Despite taking Pretty Pumped onto a chair full of forks, a slam off the top onto a beer keg, a brainbuster with skewers in his head, a cheese grater to the head, plus a ton more damage, Janela relented. Starr himself took a lot of damage, including a tombstone onto soda cans chopped in half, and a Package Piledriver off the second rope through four chairs. It was after the Package Piledriver though when Janela locked on the LaBell Lock. When Starr didn’t seem like he would tap, Janela added a chair to the equation and finally made him submit. This accomplished what the TLC match didn’t. They started hot and took the crowd through a roller coaster ride of violence until the end, where Janela won the same we he did against Riddle to end Riddle’s undefeated streak. With Janela defeating Dijak in April, Riddle in July, and now Starr tonight, there’s no denying he is the Ace of the company. The show ended with a barn burner, the best match of the show, and set the table for 2018 with Janela as THE man to topple.
The show just couldn’t have ended on a positive note, could it? Instead of being a good sport, Janela showed major disrespect to Starr after the hard fought battle.
Overall: The main event was a whole lot of fun and lived up to the hype. The rest of the card failed to maintain a flow, with multiple matches dragging on far too long. Graded as a whole, I’d say you can skip it, but the main event is worth your time.
This show is available through Powerbomb TV, the exclusive home of Beyond Wrestling’s library on demand. Powerbomb TV is an independent wrestling VOD and live streaming service that live streams events several weekends out of the month and boasts a catalogue that includes promotions such as IWA Mid-South, AIW, CZW, Alpha 1, NOVA Pro, and countless others from all over the world. You can use the code PWP20 or BEYOND to get 20 days FREE to the service.
You can purchase the DVD from Smart Mark Video. For a reduced price, you can also download the show as an mp4 from Smart Mark Video or watch it On Demand through SMVOD.
For more information, visit Beyond Wrestling’s official website. For a bunch of free matches, clips, and other fun stuff, check out Beyond’s YouTube page. You can also follow them on Twitter and through their Facebook page.
Quick Results/Match Times/Star Ratings
1. John Silver made Jordynne Grace pass out in a grounded straightjacket choke in 10:46. **¾
2. The Amityville Project (Dan Barry, Ryan Galeone, Mike Verna & Rex Lawless) defeated The Pull-It Club (Johnny Cockstong, Joey Ryan & Massage NV (VSK & Dorian Graves)) in when Verna rolled up Ryan at 17:39. ***
3. Wheeler YUTA pins Flip Gordon in 11:42, catching Gordon in a small package after using his knees to block a 450 splash. ***
4. TLC Match: Chris Dickinson & Jaka defeated EYFBO (Mike Draztik & Angel Ortiz) in 24:17 with a leg drop from Jaka to Ortiz through a table. **½
5. Matt Tremont pinned Matt Riddle with a schoolboy in 7:36. ***
6. Keith Lee put away Josh Briggs with Ground Zero at 16:35. **¾
7. AR Fox pinned Rickey Shane Page in 9:41, reversing a folding press. ***¼
8. Fans Bring The Weapons: Joey Janela submits David Starr with a chair-assisted LaBell Lock in 25:07. ***¾