wrestling / TV Reports

411’s Beyond Wrestling Tournament for Tomorrow Review

November 28, 2011 | Posted by TJ Hawke

This is an advanced review of the Beyond Wrestling “Tournament For Tomorrrow,” which will be released for FREE on Youtube for your viewing pleasure in the coming weeks. This tournament took place on November 19th and it is single day, 8 man tournament. If you have never seen Beyond before, the thing they are unique for is that their shows are only performed in front of wrestlers (with the exception of two shows, which will be reviewed shortly). For more information about Beyond Wrestling (and to find out when the tournament is released for free), check out their:
Website
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Youtube Page with Weekly Free Matches
My Reviews of Selected Free Beyond Matches

Quarter-Finals

AR Fox vs. ACH
Fox is a product of Mr. Hughes training school in Georgia and has been getting a lot of exposure in the last year through Evolve and Dragon Gate USA. ACH is independent wrestler based in Texas. Beyond Wrestling raised money online (similar to a KickStarter campaign) to fly ACH in for the show.

Surprisingly, these two high flyers start out on the mat trading holds. Things start getting testy early, as both men seem to immediately dislike each other. ACH gets the better of an early exchange and hits an axe kick on the ring apron, while shouting “BOOKER T!” ACH hits a running forearm elbow in the corner and an exploder suplex for a nearfall. Fox comes right back with his nifty kip up Ace Crusher. ACH cuts him off though with a running clothesline to the corner (where he dove through the ropes to the floor). ACH then proceeded to hump the wall outside the ring in celebration. Fantastic! Fox avoided a top rope dive and hit a Trouble in Paradise variation to get back in the match. Fox hit a Skin-The-Cat double boot in the corner (exactly like it sounds) and a split legged senton. ACH then came right back with a Pay Dirt variation for a two count. ACH got trapped in the middle rope (619 style) and Fox gave him a running crossbody. Fox then put him in a HEADLOCK on the ground. After all these cool athletic moves, a headlock being used made me chuckle. ACH came back with some slaps, and then they started trading some big forearms. Both men ran at each other and did the double crossbody spot, which caused the wrestlers in the crowd to mark the fuck out. One of them audibly complained about this match going on first, because that means they would have to follow it. Only in Beyond! ACH hit a cool series of moves for another nearfall. Fox lured ACH to the floor and HIT A SPRINGBOARD 450 SPLASH TO THE FLOOR! THAT WAS SICK! Fox set ACH up on the apron and went for his top rope legdrop, but ACH rolled out of the way and FOX WENT SPLAT! Ok, I will try to explain what happened next. Fox grabbed ACH on the floor with a headlock but ACH escaped by running up a pillar like he was in the fucking Matrix. I didn’t do that spot justice. Fox booted ACH in the face and then did his run up the turnbuckle moonsault to the floor. That is never not awesome. Back in the ring, ACH ends up on the turnbuckle and eats a Trouble in Paradise. FOX THEN HITS THE LO MEIN PAIN: 1…2…NO! ACH gets up and traps Fox in the ropes: RUNNING MORTAL KOMBAT KICK! DRAPING CROSS RHODES: 1…2…the ref stopped for no reason. ACH tells him to count again: 1…2…3.

I don’t know what happened at the end with the ref (and it may be edited out by the time you see it), but other than that, this match ruled. Fox and ACH are natural rivals, and them trying to one-up each other made for a fun story. My one nitpick is that they showed a lot more personality early in the match, and I wish they kept that up towards the end. Everything was still fun at the end, but a little more intensity and visible tension between the two men would have definitely added to it.

Fox has gotten a good platform in DGUSA and Evolve to get over, but this has been his breakout match as far as I am concerned (without seeing any of his non-DGUSA/Evolve stuff before). If you are one of the people who donated to the cause of getting ACH to Beyond, I think you feel that you got your money’s worth on this match alone. It’s hard to believe that ACH has not already been booked by PWG or DGUSA yet as his athleticism and personality will instantly get him over there.
Match Rating: ***3/4


Both men are understandably dead after that match

Aaron Epic vs. Drew Gulak
This is my first time watching either of these guys, but I have heard good things.

Sugar Dunkerton and Pinkie Sanchez came out with Epic as his corner men. Gulak came out without kneepads, which I disapprove of. Protect your knees boys. Also, it just looks weird. They traded holds for the first part of the match, with neither man getting the advantage for very long. Epic got control of Gulak’s left arm on an armdrag, and held onto it for a while. Epic then started to work over that arm. Gulak locked in a leg submission…and the bell just rang out of nowhere. No one had any idea what was going on. The ref called for the match to restart again, and Gulak kicked Epic’s leg out and went back to work on that leg. Epic tried to escape a leg submission with clubbing blows to the back and then locked in a CROSS ARMBREAKER ON THE INJURED ARM! Gulak escaped though and hit a leg DDT on Epic’s injured leg. Gulak started jawing with the ref, and Epic pounced and got an armbar, but Gulak made the ropes again. Both men to their feet, and Gulak quickly hits a bulldog for a nearfall. Gulak then locks in another leg submission, and Epic screamed and screamed before making the ropes. Epic came back with some chops, but Gulak cut him off with a headbutt to the chest. They started trading rollup nearfalls, and Epic was able to get the win with a backslide variation.


BACKSLIDE!

Solid match with real good psychology (which was a good idea since they had to follow the ridiculous opener). Both men went after a body part throughout the match hoping to land a submission victory. I wish Gulak sold the arm a little more throughout the match, as they probably could have gotten more drama on the late arm submissions by Epic. Also, they spent the whole match building to a submission victory and then it ended during a rollup sequence. Sure, that could happen in a shoot fight theoretically, but in entertainment it is not the best idea for dramatic tension.
Match Rating: **1/2

Sugar Dunkerton vs. Jonny Mangue
Sugar has been in Chikara for a couple years and has recently been getting looks in DGUSA and Evolve (where he had a real solid match with Silas Young). Mangue has been with Beyond for a while, but I have not seen much of him.

Mangue has gotten rid of his furry boots, which is a positive. Sugar did not come out to “We’re Playing Bas-ket-ball” which is the biggest fail ever. Sugar says that Mangue is going to have to earn this victory, because “he ain’t got no one backing him up.” As Excalibur would say: “This is SERIOUS!” Sugar took Mangue down early. Mangue was able to get back to his feet, but Sugar started mocking him a little, trying to get under his skin. They started shoving each other and both men got a nearfall on a rollup. Mangue hit a top rope crossbody for another nearfall. Sugar rolled to the outside. Sugar lured Mangue to the outside and took him down. Sugar started kicking a mudhole in him and banged Mangue’s leg against the ring apron. Back in the ring, Sugar started working over Mangue’s injured leg some more. Sugar gave him a shinbreaker and then a big lariat. Sugar left the ring and started jawing with The Pitboss. The Pitboss then punched Sugar. Aaron Epic and Pinkie ran the Pitboss off. That evened things up for Mangue. Sugar got back in the ring and the two men started slugging it out. Sugar then hit a running shoulder block on Mangue’s injured leg, which was cool. Sugar started berating Mangue again, but MANGUE LOCKED IN A TRIANGLE! Sugar escaped and got a leglock, as he berated Mangue some more. Mangue headbutted his way out of the submission. The two started trading strikes on their knees. Mangue locked in another triangle choke! Sugar was knocked out and the ref called for the bell!

I really enjoyed this match. This was a different side of Sugar than I have ever seen before. He was not comedic at any point, which was a really good call. Sugar’s intensity really carried the match as far as I am concerned. He made the result of the match matter to the viewers with his facials and attitude alone. Also, Mangue’s selling of his leg was top notch.

The deal with The Pitboss was that he and Mangue used to be associated with Chris Dickinson (who is out with a knee injury) in Beyond. With Dickinson gone, Mangue is questioning whether or not he should stay with The Pitboss who is staying heel. Sugar yelling at Mangue about “being your own man” was supposed to be about trying to make him realize that he doesn’t have to stay with The Pitboss.
Match Rating: ***1/4

Sugar made Mangue shake his hand after the match, and Mangue obliged. Sugar said that Mangue can be his own man.


Sugar D stares down Mangue after their match, looking for a handshake.

Pinkie Sanchez vs. The Pitboss
Pinkie is now a regular roster member for DGUSA and Evolve. He was also in Chikara for a while, but he seems to be no longer a part of their plans (at least for the time being). I have never seen The Pitboss before.

The Pitboss jumps Pinkie before the bell rings. I just noticed that Pitboss’s belt is made up of rifle bullets. Fantastic. The two start brawling around the ring. Pitboss went to throw a big right hand, but Pinkie open a door to block Pitboss’s arm. Pinkie tried to jump off a chair onto Pitboss, but Pitboss caught him and send him into the ring apron. Pitboss then lifted Pinkie up and tossed him back in the ring on his head. That looked brutal, but apparently, Pinkie was ok.


The Pitboss jumps Pinkie before the bell rings, leading to a pre-match brawl

Pitboss is confronted by several crowd members, which gives Pinkie a chance to recover. Pinkie then hit a springboard DDT. The bell finally rings, and Pinkie gets a two count. Pinkie gives Pitboss three kneeling superkicks. Pinkie goes for some running move, but Pitboss caught him and cut him off. Pitboss went for a German suplex, but Pinkie landed on his feet and delivered a forearm and a dropkick to Pitboss’s leg. Pinkie went to the top rope, but Pitboss met him up there. Pinkie forearmed Pitboss down and hit a flying ass splash. SHINING WIZARD: 1…2…NO! Pitboss missed a lariat, and Pinkie hit an Ace Crusher for another nearfall. Pinkie went for a moonsault, but Pitboss rolled out of the way. Pitboss hit a big lariat and a Jay Briscoe-Spinebuster for a nearfall. Pitboss followed that up with a DOMINATOR: 1…2…NO! Pitboss went for powerbomb, but Pinkie reversed it with a hurricanranna. Pitboss hit a Stinger Splash. The referee gave Pitboss a 5 count, but Pitboss threw him down for the DQ. That’s the first DQ I have seen in Beyond. Pitboss started to choke Pinkie out, but Sugar and Epic chased him off.

This was a fun, heated brawl. It’s disappointing (if not annoying) to have a DQ in a tournament match, but it was foreseeable given the violent and brawling nature of the match. Pitboss isn’t as crisp or as smooth in the ring as the other guys in this tournament, but he has a good personality and seems to have a talent for getting under people’s skin. Pinkie is always a lot of fun to watch, and it’s interesting to watch him in Beyond because he is treated a lot more seriously by the promotion.
Match Rating: ***


Sugar and Aaron Epic check on Pinkie as The Pitboss basks in all of the glory and riches coming his way that naturally follows from losing in the first round of a tournament via disqualification

Semi-Finals

Jonny Mangue vs. Aaron Epic
Epic asks for a handshake. Mangue shakes his hand and then gives him a Baldo Bomb: 1…2…NO! Mangue goes right back at Epic with headbutts. Epic avoided a neckbreaker and hit a pair of leg lariats to get back in the match. EZUGIRI FROM EPIC: 1…2…NO! Mangue got hung up in the middle rope, and Epic gave him a Munenori Sawa style baseball punch, which knocked Mangue to the floor. Epic brought Mangue into the ring, and put him in a series of submissions, but Mangue escaped. Mangue came back with some headbutts, but Epic cut him off with a kneeling DDT-TRIANGLE CHOKE FROM MANGUE! Epic made the ropes though. Mangue ended up on the top rope, and Epic gave him the Iconoclasm . 2K1 Bomb from Epic: 1…MANGUE KICKED OUT AT 1! BALDO BOMB: 1…2…TRAINSITIONED INTO THE TRIANGLE CHOKE! EPIC ESCAPES-KICK TO THE HEAD! BASEBALL PUNCH! 1…2…3!

This was a fun match, but it felt like they were holding back because Epic still had the Finals to work that night. This often happens with the semi-finals of a one night-8 man tournament. Still though, they put in a good effort. I was mostly just disappointed that Mangue didn’t go after Epic’s injured leg from the first match, because that would have made for a good tournament long injury angle.
Match Rating: **3/4

The Pitboss jumped Aaron Epic after the match. Pitboss was waiting for Mangue to join him, but Sugar Dunkerton ran down and made the save before Mangue made a decision. Will Mangue turn face, or side with Pitboss?


The Pitboss beats down Epic as Mangue decides whether or not to join him

Pinkie Sanchez vs. ACH
ACH has had the longest break of any of the semi-finalists, whereas Pinkie had only a one-match break.


THIS IS SERIOUS!

Both men were cautious out of the gate, trying not to make a mistake. After surviving a backslide nearfall, Pinkie rolled out of the ring, and went underneath the ring. Pinkie came out the opposite side of the ring, and tried to sneak up behind ACH, but ACH caught him. They held onto a Grecco Roman Knucklelock for a while (including rolling to the floor), until Pinkie broke free and slammed ACH’s head into the ring apron and a chair. ACH came back with some big chops and a lariat. Pinkie cut him off with a pair Dragon Screw Legwhips. Pinkie slammed him into a wall and brought back into the ring to work him over more. Pinkie went straight to work on ACH’s injured leg. ACH tried to block a running attack from Pinkie, but Pinkie caught his foot and gave him a REVERSE Dragon Screw Legwhip. Awesome. ACH was hobbled but came back with some big forearms; Pinkie quickly cut him off with a dropkick to the injured leg. ACH kicked Pinkie to the floor and wiped him (and Sugar) out with a slingshot plancha. ACH followed that up with a dropkick off the apron. ACH rolled Pinkie back to the ring and went for a top rope dropkick, but Pinkie avoided it. Pinkie went right back to work on the injured leg. ACH hung up Pinkie in the ropes and gave him a enzugiri and the running Mortal Kombat Kick. Mouse! ACH sold the leg after everything he did. ACH gave him a Sole Butt, but Pinkie hit a big cartwheel spinning heel kick to cut ACH off again. FIGURE FOUR LEGLOCK FROM PINKIE! ACH was able to slap Pinkie until he let go of the submission. Pinkie missed a cartwheel splash in the corner. ACH hit some running strikes in the corner. ACH went for a HADOUKEN but PINKIE BLOCKED HIM WITH A HADOUKEN!


DUELING HADOUKENS!

ACH kicked one of Pinkie’s hands and finished his Hadouken. ACH tried to pull out his throat, but Pinkie kicked out at 2. ACH followed that up with a sick enzugiri, but Pinkie kicked out at 2 again. ACH put Pinkie on the top rope. ACH went up too, but Pinkie crotched him and hit a top rope BUTT STOMP: 1…2…NO! Burning Snicklefritz: 1…2…ACH KICKED OUT! Pinkie missed a running knee, and ACH gave him a pair of brutal running knees: 1…2…3

Really strong match here. Pinkie’s work on the leg was a sound strategy, and ACH sold the leg fairly well throughout the match. My only nitpick is that the legwork did not play a part in the finish, and in fact, ACH was able to do back-to-back running knees for the finish. Small nitpick though. Once again, ACH impresses and shows why he has to be considered one of the great undiscovered talents in the business. Also, if you have only seen Pinkie in DGUSA or Chikara, than you haven’t seen the real Pinkie.
Match Rating: ***3/4

Finals

Aaron Epic vs. ACH
Both men are selling their leg injuries from earlier in the tournament. ACH usually does an acrobatic entrance, but he instead hobbled to the ring, and gingerly got into the ring. ACH ran at Epic when the bell rang, but Epic kicked his leg out. They started brawling on the floor. Epic slammed ACH’s injured leg on the apron. Epic rolled ACH back in the ring, but ACH locked in an arm trap, half-Japanese stranglehold out of nowhere. Epic managed to escape and then went right back to work on ACH’s injured leg. ACH punched him a few times from his knees to get back in the match. They started trading strikes, and ACH hit the Mouse kick. Running knee in the corner from ACH. HADOUKEN: 1…2…NO! ACH went for a middle rope 450 splash, but Epic rolled out of the way. ACH managed to hit an enzugiri, and running knee to the back of the head. Epic survived it though and hit his big baseball punch: 1…2…3!

A solid end to the tournament. The match wasn’t up to the standards of ACH’s first two matches in the tournament, but the match sold the physical exhaustion of competing in 3 matches in one evening well
Match Rating: **1/2


The end.

Epic and ACH both got standing ovations from everybody after the match.

The 411: This was a very strong one-night tournament. As far as other one night tournaments from this year go, it was definitely better (leagues better, really) than CZW’s Best of the Best, but it wasn’t at the quality of this years BOLA. Aaron Epic may have won the tournament (and delivered several solid performances in doing so), but ACH was the real winner of this show. The kid needs to be booked everywhere right now. Good for Beyond for getting ACH to their show, and for putting the spotlight on him.

Recommendation: Considering this was a free show, it is as easy of a recommendation that I can make. While the atmosphere at Beyond Wrestling is initially strange, it quickly grows on you because of the uniqueness. Be sure to subscribe to their youtube page, so that you can watch the tournament when it is released.

Thanks everybody for reading! You can send feedback to Twitter or at my email address: [email protected]. If you are a wrestling personality who would like to be interviewed by 411mania, you can also contact me in either of those ways.

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TJ Hawke

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