Views from the Hawke’s Nest: Beyond Wrestling One Day as a Young Lion 2012

One Day as a Young Lion was a series of taped matches that took place at the Chikara Wrestle Factory after a daylong seminar with the head trainer of the Chikara Wrestle Factory, Mike Quackenbush. The matches consist of performers who are graduates of the Factory, current members of the Beyond roster, and outsiders looking to learn from Quackenbush and gain exposure through Beyond Wrestling. You can buy this show at Youtube for $2.99.

The first three matches of One Day as a Young Lion are rematches in Beyond. They are meant to highlight how all the performers have improved, learned from their mistakes, and to test how much progress they have made. I take a look at those three original matches first, before moving on to the main review.

Steve “Turtle” Weiner vs. Kobald from World of Hurt 2011

Due to technical problems, this match is currently only available from a single camera angle.

Kobald dropkicks Weiner off the apron, before Weiner even gets in the ring. Kobald follows that up with a slingshot plancha. They roll back into the ring, and the bell rings to officially start the match. Kobald hits a running elbow drop for an early elbow drop. Turtle comes back with some shell-based attacks. They end up on the floor, and Turtle slams Kobald’s head onto a chair. Kobald comes back with a spear. Back in the ring, Kobald hits a slingshot elbow drop for a nearfall. Turtle came back with some unique clotheslines and a shell senton: 1…2…NO! Turtle hit a big Hadouken that caused Kobald to twitch uncontrollably. Kobald avoided a top-rope splash, and Kobald hit another spear: 1…2…NO! Kobald then hit a double underhook FameAsser: 1…2…NO! Kobald then applied a modified Rings of Saturn, while raining down strikes to the head! Weiner either submitted or the referee stopped it. Either way, Kobald win.

For a matchup that sounds pretty “meh” on paper, I found this to be quite fun. It’s not going to set the world on fire or anything, but I was entertained.
Match Rating: **

Drew Gulak vs. Jonny Mangue from Ring Leaders 2011

This was Gulak’s debut in Beyond Wrestling. Gulak is probably best known for his work in CZW, but he’s not your stereotypical CZW wrestler. Mangue says he’s not going to be doing any Doom Patrol nonsense, and that he wants to get the win for himself.

Gulak was mostly in control to start the match, going after the right arm/shoulder of Mangue. Mangue came back with a big headbutt and a T-Bone suplex: 1…2…NO! That sequence slowed Gulak down. Gulak took a breather on the outside, and then came back with some strikes to get the advantage right back. Mangue came back with headbutts and a belly-to-belly suplex. Mangue locked in a body-scissors, but Gulak escaped and got an ankle lock with a grapevine. Mangue managed to survive, but Gulak gave him a big vertical suplex for a nearfall. Mangue came back with some chops and a dropkick. Mangue then hit a neckbreaker and a Rolling Thunder headbutt: 1…2…NO! Mangue got his fancy choke submission, but Gulak escaped and got the ankle lock again. Mangue made the ropes. Baldo Bomb from Mangue: 1…2…NO! Gulak got a small package for a nearfall, but Mangue came back with the Jaguar Choke. Gulak verbally submitted.

The wrestling here was quite good, but it wasn’t as engaging as I expected it to be given the talent in the ring. There was a lot of steak and very little sizzle.
Match Rating: ***

The Pitboss vs. Tim Hughes from Miracle Workers 2011
Hughes got in a bunch of offense early, but Pitboss quickly cut him off with a lariat. Pitboss got the heat, hitting a seated dropkick and a Stinger Splash. Hughes went for a tornado DDT, but Pitboss avoided it and hit a big spinebuster. Pitboss tried to hit a gutwrench move, but Hughes escaped the attempt. Moments later, Pitboss was able to hit a Gutwrench Dominator: 1…2…3.

This was basically a squash match. The Doom Patrol reasserts their dominance.
Match Rating: *

And now, onto One Day as a Young Lion:

March 31, 2012
Huntingdon Valley, Pennsylvania.

Drew Gulak vs. Jonny Mangue
While the big theme of the first three matches is that they are all rematches, it also needs to be pointed out that Gulak is actually been getting rematches with everyone who has beaten him in Beyond.

Mangue went for the Jaguar Choke early, but Gulak made the ropes. Gulak came back with a couple f pinning combinations and a big strike to the gut of Mangue. Mangue came back with a neckbreaker and a Rolling Thunder headbutt. Mangue then locked in a nerve pinch of all things, but thankfully, Gulak quickly escaped. Mangue took him down with another series of headbutts, and he then locked in another nerve pinch. Gulak escaped, but Mangue was able to lock in the Jaguar Choke. Gulak almost passed out, but he got his feet on the ropes. Mangue went for the neckbreaker again, but Gulak avoided it, and then Gulak made a big comeback. Gulak reversed a sunset flip into a pinning combination of his own for a good nearfall. Mangue went for the Jaguar Choke, but Gulak reversed it into a pinfall: 1…2…3!

This rematch was far more engaging than their original match in Beyond, and more importantly, it was a lot more fun to watch. Gulak is one of the more underrated performers in independent wrestling, and hopefully he starts getting more high profile bookings. Mangue is really talented, and he needs to get an opportunity in the right situation to break out.
Match Rating: ***1/4

Steve “Turtle” Weiner vs. Kobald
Since Turtle’s loss to Kobald in 2011, Turtle had suffered a series of embarrasments at the hands of Jon Harder and the rest of the Professional Revolution.

Turtle uses a series of kicks and a standing body splash for an early nearfall. Turtle dropkicked him out of the ring. Kobald came back with a spear and a running elbow drop for a nearfall. Kobald hit a spinning neckbreaker for another nearfall. Kobald hit a slingshot body splash for another nearfall. Turtle almost started to come back, but Kobald hit a running knee for another nearfall. Turtle then hit a big boot, which started his comeback. Turtle hit a running SHELL splash in the corner, but Kobald got his legs on the ropes. Turtle set up for a big Hadouken, but Kobald hit a running dropkick for a nearfall. Kobald went for another spear, but Turtle avoided it and Kobald crashed into the ringpost. Turtle then table-topped Kobald and rolled him up: 1…2…3! Turtle celebrates as Jon Harder looks on in disbelief.

I like Kobald more than most Chikara fans it seems, and here is another good example of his potential. As for the Turtle, his enthusiasm is his biggest asset as a character, and I think his in-ring work appeared sharper here too. I like how Beyond treats him like a wrestler and not an oddity that should be ostracized for being different. All and all, this match definitely showed how both guys had improved since they last met in Beyond.
Match Rating: **1/4

The Pitboss vs. Tim Hughes
Pitboss squashed Hughes at Miracle Workers. Pitboss seems to be going it alone here, which is very rare for the former member of the Doom Patrol.

Hughes had the advantage early, so Pitboss took a breather on the outside. Pitboss came back in and killed Hughes with a lariat. Pitboss started berating him, as he beat him down. Pitboss got the heat for a while, and Pitboss actually get a CRAVAT! What the fuck. All the other wrestlers had the exact same reaction as me. Hughes came back with some strikes, but Pitboss quickly cut him off. Hughes avoided a Stinger Splash, but Pitboss cut him right off with a lariat again. Hughes came back with a big two handed chop that the Pitboss took a great bump for. Hughes hit a jumping body press for a nearfall. Hughes then hit a diving chop, which brought Pitboss to his knees. Hughes delivered another diving chop. Hughes went for a third, but Pitboss avoided it and hit a big spinebuster: 1…2…3! Pitboss then kicked him a few more times after the match.

Of the three re-matches on this show, this match by far showed the most improvement. The Pitboss is probably never going to be a great in-ring technician, but he has got charisma to spare, and he could be a very valuable member of any heel stable. He’s probably best suited as a manager/occasional wrestler for six or eight man tag matches. While that may be the case, I appreciate watching Pitboss attempting to better his in-ring skills in this match. Hughes showed some good fire here, and hopefully he shows even more progress throughout 2012.
Match Rating: **1/4

Derek Ryze vs. B.J. Hancock
I assume the fact that “BJ” and “Hancock” coming together to form one name is not a coincidence. I’ve never seen Hancock before, but I did see Derek Ryze make a glorified cameo at Evolve 8, where he got eliminated in a Fray! two minutes after entering the match.

Hancock wants Ryze to use sanitize his hands first. Ryze slaps the sanitizer out of his hand and hits a great dropkick and then an even better springboard knee to the face: 1…2…NO! Hancock came back with a pop-up knee to the face. Hancock then delivered some clubbing forearms to the face. Ryze came back with a kick to the face, but Hancock cut him off with a brutal Brogue Kick: 1…2…NO! Hancock then hit an inverted Razor’s Edge into a turnbuckle, face first. That was fucking brutal. Ryze came back with some punches and a high knee in the corner. Ryze hit a stiff kick to the face for a nearfall. Ryze went for a RKO, but Hancock blocked it. Hancock went for a diving knee, but Ryze rolled out of the way. Hancock went for another pop-up knee move, but Ryze reversed it mid-air into a RKO: 1…2…3!!!

Well, this was sweet. Derek Ryze showed a ton of promise here and hopefully he is able to appear in Beyond again. Hancock’s shtick is nothing special, but he seems to be a natural heel. This match was a perfect example of two guys doing everything they can to get over and succeeding.
Match Rating: **3/4

The Professional Revolution (Leon St. Giovanni & JT Dunn w/ Jon Harder) vs. Anthony Stone & A.J. Evers
Stone’s partner, Kellan Thomas, wasn’t at this taping, and Evers’s stablemates, Mark Angel and Nick Talent, also weren’t there. Thus, they are teaming up to take on the Professional Revolution. Catch up on the Professional Revolution by watching the recent free Beyond Specials. Stone, Dunn, and LSG are all quite talented, but I have not seen enough of Evers to make a judgment on him yet.

Stone and Dutt started the match off. Stone had the advantage and tagged Evers in who hit a nice belly-to-belly suplex on Dunn. LSG ran in, but Evers hit him with a Dragon Suplex. Evers then hit Dunn with a German suplex. Stone tagged in, but Harder and LSG tripped up Stone from the apron to cut him off. LSG and Dunn then started to work over Stone. Dunn and LSG were illegally double teaming Stone, until they accidentally hit themselves, Stone then hit both of them with a double stomp and then madea hot tag to Evers. Evers quickly got cut off by LSG, but Evers sent LSG to the outside with a monkey flip. Dunn superkicked Evers. Dunn then hit Stone with a Saito suplex. Nick Talent then ran in out of nowhere and yelled at Evers to stop wrestling and pulled him out of the match. Stone had no idea what was going on. LSG then hit Stone with a flipping Rock Bottom, and then Dunn hit Stone with a Gibson Driver: 1…2…3! Jon Harder celebrated, as the other wrestlers threw water bottles at the Professional Revolution. Dunn claimed the trash was thrown at Stone for losing. That made me laugh. Jonny Mangue helped Stone out after the match.

This was a solid main event to close out the show, but it would have obviously been better to get a clean finish. The good news is that the Professional Revolution continues to look strong as they are in the middle of a big push in Beyond.
Match Rating: **3/4

For more info on Beyond Wrestling, check out their:
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To find out how YOU can train at the Chikara Wrestle Factory, go to its webpage.

Thanks everybody for reading! You can send feedback to Twitter or at my email address: [email protected]

PLUGS!

My Favorite Matches in 2012 So Far

I am now the editor of a brand new wrestling website, FreeProWrestling.com . What is this site, you ask? It’s a website that posts a free wrestling match every single weekday. All matches are legally provided by the promotions that originally put them on. Occasionally, we are lucky enough to have the wrestlers of the matches exclusively discuss the matches retrospectively. So far, we’ve been lucky to have thoughts from Eddie Kingston , Prince Devitt , Sugar Dunkerton , AR Fox , and more! If you like wrestling and you hate spending money, I think you will enjoy it!

The 411: This was a cool idea for a taping that simultaneously highlighted a lot of the brighter prospects in Beyond, while also providing an opportunity for outside wrestlers to step up and get attention (looking at you, Derek Ryze). I hope something similar to this becomes an annual event in Beyond. For $2.99, it's a real solid value. There is no excellent match that you need to go out of your way to see, but the whole definitely felt greater than the sum of it's parts.

Final Score:  4.5   [ Poor ]