Views from the Hawke’s Nest: Review of the Free Matches from Beyond Wrestling Part 1

Many pro wrestling companies provide free matches online as a way of advertising their product. All the matches are available to watch here, and they will be reviewed individually. After that, there will be an assessment of the matches as a group to determine if they are a good advertisement of the promotion. This time, I look at Beyond Wrestling.

For more info on Beyond Wrestling, check out their:
Website
Facebook
Twitter
Youtube Page with Weekly Free Matches
My review of Beyond Wrestling’s Tournament for Tomorrow, which is available for free here .
Information for Beyond Wrestling’s next event, Off the Grid, is here.

Chris Dickinson vs. Davey Vega from Of Bosses and Busters

They started on the mat, which Dickinson was able to control for the most part…Vega came back with some stiff strikes to the head, but Dickinson got to the ropes to avoid further damage…Vega got hung up in the ropes, and Dickinson then hit a coast to coast spring board spike FameAsser (yes): that looked awesome…unfortunately, Vega almost immediately cut him off after that devastating move (I really feel that devastating moves like that should be sold big time for a while, so they seem more meaningful)…Vega worked over Dickinson for a while…Dickinson got hung up in the Tree of Joey Lawrence, and Vega flicked his balls after teasing a cannonball: HEEL, YAY!…Dickinson got in a few hope spots, but Vega maintained control…Dickinson finally made a comeback with some stiff strikes and a seated lariat…Dickinson went for a Springboard move but Vega caught him a triangle armbar; Dickinson came right back with the Rampage Jackson powerbomb….that led to a back and forth strike battle, which ended with a nice Bridging German by Dickinson: 1…2…NO!…more strikes by Dickinson, and he then placed Vega on the top rope…Dickinson went for a top rope hurricanranna, but Davey blocked it and hit a TOP ROPE FINLAY ROLE: 1…2…LEG ON THE ROPES!…Dickinson gets back to his feet, but Vega is able to hit a Discus Lariat to get the 3 count…I really enjoyed this match, because it had the tried and true psychology that almost always works: two guys who look like they are trying their best to win a fight

Of the two, Dickinson seemed to be the better prospect going forward; he mostly just needs to interject some more emotion into his performance…Dickinson stood out to me far more here than he did in his 4 Evolve matches…Vega also is clearly skilled, but his gear looks like Chris Hero circa 2007 without any of the goofiness to justify it…I understand the desire to look unique, but Vega seems to be playing a serious fighter and I think better gear would be more effective in getting that point across (it’s a nitpick but still). Vega has since gotten new gear, and he looks better for it.
Match Rating: ***1/4

Aeroform vs. The Jollyville Fuck-Its from Developmental Hell 2010

Myers tried to ground Kendrick early, but Kendrick was able to hit some FLIPS~! Lyndon tagged in, but Myers gave him a eye poke, which allowed Money to tag in. Money initially had the advantage, but Lyndon used some cool athletic moves to keep Money off-balance. Money cut off Lyndon, and the Fuck-Its were able to work over Lyndon. Lyndon got some rollups for nearfalls, but he got cut off again by Myers. Lyndon gave Myers a Monkey Flip into the corner: that was a cool spot. Lyndon crawled to the corner and made the tag to Kendrick who ran wild. Money’s selling for Kendrick was more comical than serious. Kendrick seemed to have the match won with a Arabian Press moonsault, but Myers made the save. The two teams went back and forth after that for the finishing sequence. Lyndon hit the Kenny Omega-Moonsault to the outside to wipe out Money. Kendrick went to the top rope, but Myers gave a top rope German Suplex. Myers went for a moonsault, but Kendrick got his legs up. Myers ate some big moves from Aeroform but Myers kicked out at 2. The Fuck-Its then gave Kendrick a Doomsday BackStabber!: 1…2…LYNDON DIVES IN TO MAKE THE SAVE! Lyndon gets a nearfall on Myers with a palm strike. Money eats some kicks from Lyndon; Lyndon puts Money on the top rope, but Money reversed it and hit a SUPER PACKAGE PILEDRIVER!: 1…2…3!

These two teams have a lot of potential. Aeroform does some cool moves, but more importantly, they have dynamic personalities that allow them to easily connect to the crowd. Aeroform should be getting more opportunities to improve in Chikara and Evolve. As for this specific match, I enjoyed it a lot but it suffered from some sloppiness during certain points.
Match Rating: **1/2

Super Smash Bros. vs. The Runaways from World of Hurt 2011

SSB had the advantage early with good teamwork…surprisingly, Gacy was the victim of most of their offense…Slater distracted Dos, which allowed Gacy to take him down and get the advantage back for the Runaways…Dos got worked over for a while…finally, Dos avoided a double team move and hit a double Pele kick to the Runaways…Uno got the hot tag and ran wild…Dos tagged in and hit a flying knee to Gacy for a nearfall…Slater blind tagged in and hit a nice tiger suplex for a nearfall…Uno and Gacy ran in and all 4 men ended up on the ground…Dos and Slater slugged it out until SSB hit a double Rock Bottom on him…Gacy then Buckled Bombed Uno into Dos; Super Blockbuster Powerbomb Combo!: 1…2…DOS MAKES THE SAVE!…double DDT to Dos!: 1…2…NO!…Slater went for a Code Red on Uno, but he got caught and ate a super inverted Blockbuster from Dos: 1…2…3!

Very good tag match here…SSB have long been a favorite of Indy fans and they impressed here…I had never seen The Runaways before but they are clearly talented
Match Rating: ***1/4

Aaron Epic vs. Dan Barry vs. Jarek 1:20 vs. JT Dunn from Ring Leaders 2011

Jarek quickly hypnotized the rest of them and made them dance to MC Hammer’s Hammer Time. Jarek went to the top rope and hit a drop kick on all of them. Jarek, Epic, and Dunn did a three-way abdominal stretch spot, which caused Barry to just kick all of them in the head. They did a creative tower of doom spot that caused Epic to be sent to the floor. Dunn then hit a somersault plancha on Epic. Jarek hit a moonsault onto both of them. Finally, Barry then hit a fosbury flop onto everyone. They all started to accidentally taking out the other wrestlers around ringside. The wrestlers in the crowd sold the beatings for the rest of the match. Dunn hit a wheelbarrow Bubba bomb on Epic, but then ate a running Canadian Destroyer from Jarek. Epic then gave Barry a Fastball Punch to get the win. This was a fun match, and a more lively crowd could have made it great.
Match Rating: ***1/4

Leon St. Giovanni (with Jon Harder) vs. JT Dunn from About Time

Giovanni immediately took it to Dunn and overwhelmed him in the early part of the match. The crowd was alternately chanting “Fuck you Leon” and “Fuck you Harder.” Dunn finally avoided a Stinger Splash and hit a rolling kick, a la Johnny Gargano. The crowd loved Dunn’s comeback. Dunn hit a big Frog Splash, but Harder put Giovanni’s foot on the ropes to stop the count. That distracted Dunn, and Giovanni hit a flipping STO: 1…2…NO! They started some big strikes in the middle of the ring, much to the delight of the crowd. Dunn avoided a big kick from Giovanni and hit a swinging neckbreaker. Dunn went to the top rope, but Harder threw his jacket at him. Giovanni then back raked Dunn and hit an Awful Waffle out of the corner: 1…2…3!

Really strong, if short, match that had the crowd rocking. These two are surprisingly crisp in the ring for such young workers, but their biggest assets is their ability to get the crowd into the action. This was a lot of fun and made me want to see more from these two going forward as a stable (as Dunn turned heel after this and joined Harder and Giovanni in their professional revolution).
Match Rating: **3/4

AR Fox vs. ACH from Tournament for Tomorrow 2011

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.

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

Sugar Dunkerton vs. Jonny Mangue from Tournament for Tomorrow 2011

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

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Kevin Steen Part 1 & Part 2
Eddie Edwards
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Lance Hoyt/Vance Archer/Lance Archer
Adam Cole
Gran Akuma

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The 411: This is a really strong collection of matches from Beyond Wrestling, and they represent the company well. The AR Fox/ACH match is arguably the best match in the young company's history and they are crazy to give it away for free. What I like about Beyond is that they pretty much give their young wrestlers full creative freedom, and I love watching artists express themselves. Not every match is a home run, but there is a lot of fun to be had in Beyond Wrestling, and I suggest you start checking them out (and when they have so much free content available, there is really isn't an excuse).

Final Score:  7.0   [ Good ]