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Views from the Hawke’s Nest: Beyond Wrestling/St. Louis Anarchy’s Double Trouble 2012

August 24, 2012 | Posted by TJ Hawke
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Views from the Hawke’s Nest: Beyond Wrestling/St. Louis Anarchy’s Double Trouble 2012  

June 16, 2012
Cleveland, Ohio

Commentators: Denver Colorado, Johnny Cockstrong, RD Evans, Sugar Dunkerton, Eric Corvis, Aaron Epic, Christian Rose, Jonny Mangue, Evan Gelistico, Gary Jay, & Drew Gulak

Team Beyond (Jonny Mangue, Eric Corvis, Chase Burnett, & Zane Silver) vs. The Beasts (The Pitboss, dany only, Stryknyn, & Matthew Justice)
The Beasts is the new stable of The Pitboss, who is perpetually causing mayhem in Beyond Wrestling. Team Beyond is made up of people who are loyal to the foundations of Beyond (essentially). Mangue used to be in The Doom Patrol stable with Pitboss, but he has since seen the error of his ways.

Team Beyond came out to “Separate Ways” by Journey, which actually automatically makes them the winners of the match (it’s a little know rule in professional wrestling that not nearly enough people take advantage of). If an effort to not disappoint the fans apparently, all the wrestlers continue with the actual match as if the winners haven’t already been determined. How nice of them.

Huge brawl all over the arena to start the match. They made their way back to the ring with Mangue dominating Stryknyn. Silver and Burnett than did some double team moves to Stryknyn. Silver was going for the ten punches in the corner, but Stryknyn cut him off with a massive powerbomb. The rudos started to work over Silver for a while. Silver was eventually able to escape Justice long enough to tag in the Artist Formerly Known As Corvis Fear. Fear ended up on the outside, but Justice took him out from the ring with a diving dropkick. Back in the ring, Corvis was worked over some more. only went for a superplex on Corvis, but Corvis knocked him down and hit a frogsplash. Mangue and Pitboss then entered the ring. The other members of the Beasts tried to interfere, but Mangue took them all down. Burnett tagged in and took everyone down with flips. Silver went for a suicide dive on Pitboss, but Pitboss caught him (kind of). Burnett took them out with an Asai Moonsault. Mangue wiped out only and Stryknyn with a slingshot plancha. Corvis wiped out Pitboss and Justice with a somersault plancha. The tecnicos piled all the rudos in the middle of the ring and Silver then dived onto all of them. Burnett and Silver got tied up together by only and only took them both out with a German suplex. Corvis took out Stryknyn with a springboard Ace Crusher. Justice then kicked Corvis in the balls. Justice followed that up with a pair of Buckle DVDs: 1…2…3.

This match was way more fun than I expected when I looked at the match on paper. While guys like Mangue and Burnett are talented and fun, because I’m not as high on everyone else, I definitely didn’t expect this match to work as well as it did. I think the whole “rudo stable invades Beyond and tries to take over or whatever” deal is played out, but if we keep getting fun matches like this, I won’t complain (too much). This was a very good opener.
Match Rating: ***1/4

Arik Cannon, Darin Corbin, & Christian Rose vs. The Submission Squad (Pierre Abernathy, Evan Gelistico, & Gary Jay)
Cannon, Corbin, and Rose all wearing matching camouflage vests is fantastic.

Cannon and Gary Jay started the match. The early goings weren’t that interesting until Jake Clemons gave Jay a scoop slam. Corbin and Abernathy then did the slow motion wrestling, as RD Evans did slow motion commentary. Fantastic. Corbin apparently got tired of it and just took down Abernathy with a lariat. The Submission Squad eventually cut off Christian Rose. The heat went on for a while. Rose managed to scoop slam Jay onto Gelistico. Cannon and Corbin’s expressions on the apron could only be described as “Look at how many fucks we give.” Cannon then made a fun comeback though to make up for it. They proceeded to hit all the moves on each other. Cannon caught Gary Jay with a Buckle Bomb and a huge lariat: 1…2…NO! Wow, I thought that was the finish. Jay then rolled Evans up with a handful of tights: 1…2…3.

This was a very “house show” effort from these men, as none of them seemed especially motivated. There were some moments of fun though, so I didn’t have a bad time or anything like that. Without Davey Vega, Mat Fitchett, or ACH involved, none of the members of the Submission Squad interest me in the slightest. They are a part of fun online web series though, so there’s that.
Match Rating: **1/2

Reed Bentley, Tripp Cassidy, & Nate Stone vs. Remi Wilkins©, Dale Patricks, & Heidi Lovelace [Summit Match for the School of Roc Cup]
This is a School of Roc showcase match that features the stars of the Class Wars web series. In Class Wars, Bentley and Cassidy are a part of a stable known as The League with Sue Jackson. However, Jackson is injured, so they got a partner picked out of a hat. Stone and Bentley were enemies throughout season 1 of Class Wars. Bentley and Wilkins also feuded. The Summit match is an elimination match that only ends with one man or woman standing. So, it’s like a Cibernetico. This match was for the School of Roc Cup, but no one on the show seemed to make mention of that. It probably didn’t help that Remi Wilkins didn’t bring the cup with him. Lame.

Stone and Patricks start the match. Stone hit a Vader bomb variation for an early nearfall. Tripp tried to force a tag into the match, but Stone fought back. Tripp then knocked Stone (his own partner) the fuck out with a punch and Patricks pinned him: 1…2…3. Nate Stone is eliminated. Cassidy and Heidi got into the match. Heidi delivered a lot of slaps, so Tripp tagged out to Bentley. Bentley hit a fisherman buster for a nearfall. Tripp tagged back in and ate some fancy armdrags from Heidi. Heidi then hit a crucifix driver on Tripp. Reed came back in and managed to hit a pop-up forearm: 1…2…3. Heidi Lovelace was eliminated. That was sick. Bentley and Cassidy worked over Patricks for a bit. Cassidy hit Patricks with a Michinoku Driver for a nearfall. Cassidy was showboating, which lead to Nate Stone running out and tripping up Cassidy. Patrick got Cassidy with an O’Connor Roll: 1…2…3. Tripp Cassidy was eliminated. Bentley worked Patricks over for a bit. Patricks escaped and tagged in Wilkins. I guess the heel is getting worked over by the babyfaces. Ok. Bentley managed to avoid a charging Patricks and then caused Patricks to spear Wilkins. Bentley and Patricks traded a bunch of strikes. Patricks managed to hit a big German suplex: 1…2…3. Reed Bentley is eliminated. Wilkins and Patricks will now face off and the winner will walk away with the Cup (well, the Cup wasn’t there). Patricks pointed to the sky in honor of his late father. Patricks hit a Brogue Kick for a nearfall (Despite Sugar insisting that it was not “quite” a Brogue Kick, I will call it a Brogue Kick). Patricks hit a top-rope cross-body for another nearfall. Wilkins caught him with the Purple Stuff: 1…2…NO! Wilkins then hit a Torture Rack Neckbreaker: 1…2…NO! Wilkins then hit a combination of head smashing moves: 1…2…3. Remi Wilkins retains the School of Roc Cup.

As a big fan and supporter of the web series, Class Wars, this was a disappointing match. While there was some nice storyline aspects of the match that continue a lot of the main feuds and whatnot going on in Class Wars, I don’t think this match was designed especially well for a crowd that has probably seen only a few of these wrestlers before (nevermind how many in attendance actually watch the web series). Even if the crowd was into it, Dale Patricks’s “Incredible Hulk” routine is not a personal favorite of mine. It also needs to be mentioned again that either the ring announcer or the commentators should have mentioned that the School of Roc Cup was on the line in the match. Also, Remi Wilkins should have had the physical Cup with him for the match.
Match Rating: **

Davey Vega & Eric Ryan vs. The Hooligans (Devin & Mason Cutter) vs. The Kentucky Buffet (Matt Cage & Alex Castle) [Elimination Tag Match]
Ryan had recently won the AIW Absolute Championship (the main title of the Cleveland promotion), so he was very over with the local crowd. He was a replacement for Vega’s usual partner, Mat Fitchett, who had recently torn his quad.

One of the Hooligans (who are both VERY big boys) hit a standing moonsault early. Cage then DDTed him into a turnbuckle. Cage then took out both Hooligans with a tope suicida. Vega and Ryan then hit stereo tope suicidas. One of the Hooligans then hit a fucking ASAI MOONSAULT. Ho. Lee. Shit. Back in the ring, everyone went back to hitting big moves. Cage hit one of the Hooligans with a Gibson Driver for a nearfall. Vega then hit Cage with a Liger Bomb for a nearfall. Vega held Cage as Ryan hit a Ghetto Stomp. The Hooligans then returned and destroyed Cage with a series of moves. The Hooligans are the greatest team ever. The Hooligans then hit Cage with a wheelbarrow/diving DDT combo: 1…2…3. The Kentucky Buffet were eliminated. They all traded moves until everyone was down. Independent Wrestling Tag Spot #1. Ryan and Vega hit a Total Elimination variation on one of the Cutters: 1…2…3.

This was a really fun match that made everyone look great. The match was pretty much all spots, but all the spots went well for the most part. I had never even heard of the Hooligans before this match, but now I want to see them everywhere. They are such a fun team. I hadn’t seen an Eric Ryan match in a while, but he looked really good here (and it definitely helped that the local fans treated him like a star). Davey Vega and The Kentucky Buffet continue to impress me the more I see of them
Match Rating: ***1/4

Drew Gulak vs. Mark Angel (w/ Nick Talent)
Mark Angel is the Wins Leader in Beyond. Gulak is looking to avenge all of his losses in Beyond. He already defeated Carter and Mangue. Gulak was pretty damn over. Angel was at +14, whereas Gulak was at 0 (same number of wins and losses).

Angel stayed on the floor at the start. He finally got back in the ring, and he and Gulak traded holds, battling for control. Gulak tried for a cross-armbreaker, but Angel escaped and hit a high angle back suplex. Angel got control of the match after that. Angel then hit the rolling moonsault deal. Gulak came back with a nice missile dropkick for a nearfall. Gulak was gaining control of the match, but Talent tripped him from the outside. Gulak got distracted and Angel cut him off again. Angel worked him over more. Gulak ended up on the apron at one point and hit a huge forearm and then a diving lariat: 1…2…NO! Angel managed to send him to the floor with a dropkick. Angel was looking to grab Gulak through the ropes, but Gulak caught him with an exploder to the floor!!! FUCK! Gulak chased off Talent again and then hit a suplex to the floor! Back in the ring, Gulak scoop slammed Angel onto the ropes. Angel came back with a back suplex/cutter move: 1…2…NO! Angel set up for a superplex, but instead hit a super hurricanrana: 1…2…NO! That was not the cleanest super hurricanrana. They traded head butts. Angel avoided a lariat and hit another big back suplex for a nearfall. Gulak then hit his big lariat to the back of Angel’s head and then a backbreaker: 1…2…NO! Talent jumped on the apron. Gulak went to punch him, but accidentally elbowed the referee when he wound up. Gulak then locked in the Gu-Lock on Angel. The bell rang and Gulak thought he won via submission. The ring announcer said that Gulak was disqualified for striking the referee.

Gulak snapped and attacked Nick Talent. Gulak locked in the Gu-Lock on Talent and refused to let go. Jonny Mangue and Eric Corvis had to pull him off. Gulak went after him again, but Corvis and Mangue dragged him to the back. This was awesome.

Drew Gulak is a great professional wrestler that needs to be booked in more places. He and Angel are probably the two best wrestlers in Beyond and they showed why here. It’s a shame that this match didn’t have a proper finish, but the angle afterwards really got me excited to see a rematch down the line (which must happen in my eyes). This angle came off much better than a lot of past Beyond angles because it was done in front of the live crowd.
Match Rating: ***1/4

Johnny Gargano vs. ACH© [ACW Heavyweight Chanpionship]
If this match isn’t great, I may cry. Gargano was also the Freedom Gate Champion of DGUSA at this time (and he still is as of August 18th).

They went back and forth early on. ACH blocked a kneeling superkick. ACH caught him with an inverted dropkick and a dropkick. ACH was on the apron. In order to avoid a strike from Gargano, ACH moonsaulted off the apron and landed on his feet. Awesome. Gargano didn’t skip a beat and wiped him out with his tope suicida/rolling senton combination of dives. Back in the ring, Gargano was in control. ACH came back with a suplex and then hit a snap Falcon Arrow for a nearfall. ACH managed to send Gargano to the floor and then hit a heat seeking missile a la Austin Aries. They ended up on the apron, where Gargano hit a neckbreaker. Ouch. Back in the ring, ACH avoided the Gotcha Spear and then got a nearfall with a nifty pinning combination. Gargano went for slingshot spear, but ACH avoided it and hit a slingshot Ace Crusher: 1…2…NO! Both men got to their feet and traded a lot of strikes. ACH hit a big rolling elbow, but Gargano came right back with a superkick. Both men went down. They got to their feet and did a reversal sequence. Gargano locked in the Gargano Escape, but ACH escaped, only for Gargano to lock it in again. ACH escaped again and Gargano pinned him with his own shoulders on the mat: 1…2…3. Double pin. The crowd wants five more minutes. Gargano wants five more minutes. ACH wants five more minutes. The crowd chants “Fuck Jake Clemons!” since I guess they blame him for the double pin.

The match restarts and ACH hits a double stomp out of the corner. Gargano comes back with the Lawn Dart and a kneeling superkick: 1…2…NO! Gargano went for the Hurt’s Donut, but ACH reversed it into a God’s Last Gift: 1…2…NO! Gargano went for a missile dropkick, but ACH caught him and locked in a Texas Cloverleaf. Gargano made it to the ropes. ACH went for a slingshot move, but Gargano caught him with an Ace Crusher. Gargano hit the Hurt’s Donut for a nearfall. Gargano locked in the Gargano Escape again! The bell rang again, as the five extra minutes expired. “Fuck Jake Clemons!” chants rang out again.

ACH gets on the microphone and puts over Gargano as someone who inspires him to be better. Gargano then buries Rich Swann and says that ACH is much better than Swann. Well, if you bury Swann, saying someone is better than him doesn’t mean much. Gargano says that ACH is a true one of a kind.

This was a very strong first chapter in what will hopefully be a never ending series of matches between these two. There was some miscommunications right before the double pin, but they still managed to put on a really fun match. These two need to have a rematch soon (with a clean finish), and I think AIW would be crazy to not book a rematch for this same building by the end of the year. Based on this, I am confident their next match will be great.
Match Rating: ***1/2

#KOA (Sugar Dunkerton, Aaron Epic & Pinkie Sanchez) vs. Slaughterhouse (KJ Crush, Tony Banks, & Maserati Rick)
Before the show, Pinkie Sanchez announced that this would be his retirement match. KJ Crush got a haircut and now doesn’t look like Kevin Steen. That makes me sad.

Not much of note happened in the early goings. Everyone did some stuff. It felt like a “house show” match. Slaughterhouse was getting frustrated with Sugar’s basketball antics. Then R. Kelly’s “I Believe I Can Fly” started playing over the loudspeakers. They did some slow-motion comedy that ended with Sugar dunking the ball on all of Slaughterhouse’s heads. Pinkie and Epic hit stereo tope suicidas on Rick and Crush. Sugar hit a double sledge off the apron onto Banks. Rick recovered and hit a tope con hello on everyone but Sugar. Back in the ring, Crush killed Pinkie with a dropkick to the head. Pinkie was worked over for a bit, but he managed to roll away and tag in Sugar. Sugar hit Crush with a sliding dropkick. Banks hit Sugar with a spinebuster. Pinkie hit Banks with several ass stomps. Rick killed Pinkie with a torture rack driver. Crush hit Epic with a DVD for a nearfall. Epic then ate an urinagi/backbreaker combo: 1…2…NO! Sugar gave Rick a lariat. Pinkie went for a moonsault, but Rick got his knees up. Rick then killed Pinkie with a tombstone variation: 1…2…3!

The crowd chants “Thank You Pinkie!” and “We Will Miss You!” Pinkie seems to be getting emotional. He makes a speech and then spits water in Sugar’s face and kicks Epic in the gut. Arik Cannon gets in the ring and gives Sugar a DDT and Epic a brainbuster. Some in the crowd chanted “D.U.F.” Cannon was barefoot for all of this. This angle was flat and lame. Pinkie was announced to no longer being welcome on Beyond shows going forward after this. Read into that what you will.

The match itself was nothing to write home about (but it did make me want to watch Aaron Epic vs. Maserati Rick). The angle at the end came off very flat, and if there is no payoff to it ever, I won’t be disappointed.
Match Rating: **1/2

Dan Walsh© vs. Rickey Shane Page [SLA Heavyweight Championship]
RSP quickly wiped out Walsh with a tope con hello before Walsh made it to the ring. RSP follows that up with a Necro chair slam on the floor. RSP set up some chairs, but Walsh slammed RSP onto those chairs. Back in the ring, the bell finally rings. RSP came back with a stunner and a Trouble in Paradise. Walsh came back and hit a lariat for a nearfall. RSP came back with a bridging German suplex for a nearfall. Walsh ended up on the outside. RSP went for a triple jump dive, but Walsh threw a chair in his face before he completed the dive. That busted RSP open. RSP came back with a discus forearm: 1…2…NO! RSP only went for a senton atomico, but Walsh avoided it. Walsh then hit a TKO and an urinagi: 1…2…NO! RSP came back with a step up enzuigiri. Walsh came back with a DDT and rolled into a guillotine choke! Rickey taps out!

Dan Walsh puts Page over and invites him back to St. Louis. Page puts over Walsh and St. Louis Anarchy.

This was a fun brawl that didn’t overstay its welcome. A few matches on this show went way too long, so I’m very appreciative that this match didn’t do that. I don’t have much else to add, other than I think Rickey Shane Page is someone that could be used by the major independent promotions, and I don’t understand why he hasn’t been given a serious look.
Match Rating: **3/4

Johnny Cockstrong vs. RD Evans
Cockstrong said he would retire if he lost this match. Cockstrong was at one point the Wins Leader of Beyond. These two have been feuding for a year ever since Evans cost Cockstrong his Captains Match against Davey Vega.

Evans wanted a handshake. The crowd chanted “Shake His Dick!” Evans responded that he is asexual. Evans went for the handshake again, but Cockstrong shoved Evans’s head in his tights. Cockstrong was in control early. They were on the floor and they did my favorite spot: Cockstrong held him so that all the fans could chop him in the chest. One giant fucker pretty much just punched him in the chest plate. Evans managed to cut Cockstrong off with a gutbuster on the apron. Evans got the heat after that. Evans got a nearfall with a bridging German suplex. Cockstrong managed to force Evans to the floor. Evans crawled to the back and the Submission Squad came out and attacked Cockstrong. I guess the referee WILL allow it. Whatever. Back in the ring, Evans locked in a claw. Cockstrong tried to open up his tights, but Evans blocking the Cock allowed Cockstrong to break the hold and hit a flying shining cocksucker. Both men are down. Cockstrong got a nearfall with a running bulldog. Cockstrong hit a Michinoku Driver variation: 1…2…NO! Evans hit a Glam Slam for a nearfall. Evans went for a headbut, but Cockstrong countered it with a Cock Headscissors. Evans made the ropes. Evans hit another gutbuster for a nearfall. Cockstrong avoided another one and hit a shining cock wizard. Evans brought Cockstrong to the top rope and hit a super gutbuster: 1…2…NO! They got to their feet and traded more strikes. Cockstrong hit a standing moonsault for a nearfall. Evans hit a Gory Special: 1…2…NO! Evans went to the top rope and hit the diving headbutt: 1…2…NO! Evans was frustrated. Cockstrong just came right back with an In-The-Pants Piledriver: 1…2…NO! Cockstrong went to the top rope. Evans ran up with a kick to the gut. Evans set up for another super gutbuster, but Cockstrong avoided it and hit a YES WAY (super air raid crash), followed up by an air raid crash on the mat: 1…2…3!

I think this match could have accomplished the exact same story in half the time, and it would have been twice as fun. The crowd was really into it as Evans cut Cockstrong, but the heat went too long and they never got anywhere near as hot again. Evans’s work on Cockstrong’s mid-section was sound in theory, but it never seemed to register with the crowd. All that being said, I enjoyed this match. These are two of my favorite performers in Beyond (Evans is one of the most talented independent wrestlers period), but I think they just went too long on a show that was already too long.
Match Rating: ***1/4

Thanks everybody for reading! You can send feedback to my Twitter or to my email address: [email protected]. Also, feel free to check out my own wrestling website, FreeProWrestling.com.

For more info on Beyond, check out their:
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DVD Store
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For more info on SLA, check out their:
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The 411: This show had lots of good parts, but overall the show didn’t come together as a whole like it could have. If the fat were cut out, this could have been a better live event, and it possibly would have been the best Beyond DVD ever (I have no SLA DVDs to compare it to). Instead, it’s a DVD that I can’t help but feel underachieved (while still being entertaining). The biggest problem with this DVD is that while Gulak/Angel and Gargano/ACH were both very good, neither got a proper conclusion. It would be much easier to get excited about this DVD, if I could say that you should go out of your way to see those two matches. The show is probably worth the money at the cheaper pricing options. Buy this DVD for $12 at the Beyond Wrestling store. You can also go to Smart Mark Video and get the show as a $15 DVD, a $11.99 MP4, or as a $9.99 Video on Demand. I also want to add that I'm glad that Beyond Wrestling and St. Louis Anarchy worked together on this show. There is too much fighting among independent promotions, and the real losers of the fighting are usually the fans. While this DVD is far from perfect, I still think it was really cool, and I would hope that it became an annual event.
 
Final Score:  7.0   [ Good ]  legend

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