Beyond Wrestling: Hit And Run
Providence, Rhode Island 1/31/15
Before the opening match, AR Fox came out with his valet, Roxy, and with Shynron’s CLL International All-Star Title. He suffered a pretty bad concussion on an Evolve show a few weeks prior, meaning that the match he was supposed to have on this show (a Ladder Match against Shynron for the CLL International All-Star Title) was put on hold. AR Fox says that it’s heartbreaking that he can’t beat Shynron tonight, but adds that despite being injured, he wouldn’t miss a Beyond Wrestling show. He then says that he’s sorry that the fans in Providence have to sit through a less talented show, since he’s no longer on it. Shynron then comes out and confronts him. He essentially talks about the importance of the CLL International All-Star Title, and asks for his belt back. AR Fox seemed willing to do so, but wants him to shake his hand first. They get into a tug of war over the title, and this leads to Shynron chasing AR Fox off.
1.) Dave Cole vs. Davey Vega: ***
At the last show, Ends Meet, Dave Cole was in the main event in a 3/5 Falls Match with Anthony Stone. Now, he’s in the opening match taking on Davey Vega. Apparently these two wrestled each other on one of the first Beyond Wrestling events in 2009. I thought this was a pretty fun opening match. It went about six or seven minutes, but they packed a fair amount of action into this one. I enjoy watching Davey Vega, and I’ve come to like Dave Cole as I’ve watched more of him in Beyond Wrestling. In the end, Dave Cole picked up the win in this opening match.
2.) Team Create-A-Pro (John Silver & Ryan “Rush” Galeone) vs. The Gentlemen’s Club (Chuck Taylor & Orange Cassidy with The Swamp Monster): ***1/4
Similar to Dave Cole, Ryan “Rush” Galeone had a big change in terms of card placement. At Ends Meet, he teamed with Brian Myers against Chris Hero & JT Dunn, but on this show, he’s teaming with John Silver to take on The Gentlemen’s Club. I actually thought this was a really fun match. It was far from the best match on the show, but it was pretty entertaining to watch from start to finish. Chuck Taylor & Orange Cassidy do very well in these types of matches. John Silver did a nice job play along with them, while Galeone played the serious guy. It was just a fun undercard tag team match. The Gentlemen’s Club scored the win here after Taylor hit the Awful Waffle on Silver.
After the match was over, Jimmy Preston came out. Apparently he is (or was, I don’t know at this point) a YouTube sensation. He says that when he looks a Ryan “Rush” Galeone, he sees unlimited potential, but he doesn’t like him being involved in comedy matches like we just saw. Preston talks about some of the people Galeone has beaten, and (I guess) offers his services. Galeone decides to leave with Preston.
3.) Matt Cross vs. Anthony Stone: ***1/2
Anthony Stone had a big win over Dave Cole in a 3/5 Falls Match at Ends Meet. Now, he’s taking on Matt Cross, who had just started in Lucha Underground as Son of Havoc. I thought this was one of the standout matches on the first half. This was very good match that featured a lot of entertaining action. There was also some fun spots in here involving the beards of these two men. After some solid back & forth action, Anthony Stone ultimately got the win.
4.) No DQ Match - Rickey Shane Page vs. Matt Tremont: **3/4
Matt Tremont had a rough end to 2014, losing matches to Silver Ant and Stockade, but he was able to bounce back here with a victory over Rickey Shane Page. When looking at my ratings, this was technically the worst match on the show, but it was still fine for what it was. This was billed as a No DQ Match, though if you looking for a brutal hardcore match, that’s not what we got here. They used a couple of chairs towards the end of the match, but those were the only weapons used in the match itself. Again, for what this was, I thought this was solid.
After the match was over, The M1nute Men (who are now part of the Crusade For Change) attacked Rickey Shane Page. Davey Vega came out to make the save, but then Darius Carter came out, and the Crusade For Change took out both Davey Vega & Rickey Shane Page.
5.) Da Hoodz vs. The Hooligans: ***1/4
Similar to Matt Tremont, Da Hoodz were on a bit of losing streak towards the end of 2014, but they turned their fortunes around here with a victory over The Hooligans. I thought this was a pretty fun tag team match. There was some good brawling on the outside, and some good action in the ring as well. For a mid-card tag team match that clocked in at just under nine minutes, this was enjoyable.
6.) Fire Ant vs. Shynron: ***1/4
This match came about after the card had to shuffled around a little bit due to AR Fox getting a concussion. While I was expecting this to be better than it ended up being, this was still a pretty good match. It was right around ten minutes, but they packed in a fair amount of action in that time. Shynron is always exciting to watch, and I really love seeing members of The Colony in singles matches. Both guys looked good, and (while I might come off as a broken record saying this), it was a fun match to watch. Again, it could have been better, considering who was involved, but it was still a good match. It should be noted that, AR Fox was watching this match from ringside. At one point, AR Fox pulled the referee out of the ring after Shynron hit a bottom rope 450 Splash, but the referee just punched him! That was funny. Shynron then hits a Coast-To-Coast dropkick diagonally across the ring, and finally puts Fire Ant away with a 630 Splash.
After the match, AR Fox attacks Shynron. He hits him with the CLL International All-Star Title, and then, he gets Roxy (his valet) to hit Shynron with a Canadian Destroyer! A referee tries to help Shynron to the back, but AR Fox attacks him again, and rips off his mask! The issue between these two was far from over, and I thought this was a really good segment that built well to their (eventual) Ladder Match.
7.) “Speedball” Mike Bailey vs. Silver Ant: ***3/4
Here we have another match that came about after parts of the card had to be changed due to AR Fox suffering a concussion. I was really looking forward to this match going into it, and when the dust settled, it delivered. I thought this was a very good match! Both guys were great here, and the match featured a ton of back & forth action. Similar to the prior match, you had one guy who never fails to be exciting (Mike Bailey) against a member of The Colony. Silver Ant (formerly Green Ant) has always been my favorite member of The Colony, so whenever he’s in a singles match (which is sadly a rarity outside of CHIKARA), I get excited. What I also liked about this match was that Silver Ant was playing a bit of a different role here. He wasn’t exactly a heel, but he was doing subtle things in the match that made him come across as slightly more heelish, which made sense here, since the fans were really behind Bailey. In the end, Mike Bailey was able to put Silver Ant away to score the victory. This was one of the best matches on the show, and I loved watching it.
Almost immediately after the match ended, Team Pazuzu (minus Chris Dickinson) attacks Mike Bailey, but Team Quebec is quick to make the save! A brawl breaks out, and it looks like we’re getting a multi-man tag up next!
8.) Eight-Man Tag - Team Pazuzu (Jaka, Pinkie Sanchez, & EYFBO) vs. Team Quebec (Buxx Belmar, Franky The Mobster, & Le Tabarnak de Team): ***3/4
This was originally going to be a Ten-Man Tag with Chris Dickinson & Mike Bailey on their respective teams, but Dickinson got an opportunity on a ROH show in Dayton, Ohio, so this was changed to an Eight-Man Tag. The match started off with Team Quebec takes out Team Pazuzu initially with a series of dives, which leads to all eight men brawling outside of the ring. I wasn’t sure what to expect from this match, but when it was over, I thought this was a really good multi-man tag team match. You wouldn’t think much of this match on paper, considering some of the people involved, but all eight guys delivered here. This match was just packed with action right from the opening bell, and there honestly weren’t any dull moments. It seemed so weird to say, but again, this was just a very good match. I don’t know what it was, but everything just clicked here. Ultimately, Team Pazuzu got the win here in an Eight-Man Tag that exceeded all expectations.
9.) Kimber Lee vs. David Starr: ***1/4
These two met in a singles match on the last show, Ends Meet, which Kimber Lee won. Before the match even begins, David Starr cuts a promo saying that nobody “sucks more dick” than Kimber Lee. He makes a few more derogatory comments before Kimber Lee makes her way out to the ring. She takes out Starr immediately was streamers flood the ring. I actually liked this match a bit more than their match at Ends Meet. What I really enjoyed about this is that they were able to make this match seem different from that initial encounter. This was pretty much a brawl, as they spent a good portion of the match on the outside. The action throughout was pretty solid, and I enjoyed the match. It wasn’t the best match on the card, but it was still a fun match that continued the issues between these two. Towards the end of the match, Kimber Lee kept trying to get an armbar on Starr. He kept trying to fighting back, but finally, he has no choice but to tap out.
After the match, Kimber Lee asks for a handshake, but Starr hugs her instead. Unfortunately, this was just a ruse, as Starr then gave her a superkick from behind. JT Dunn comes out to make the save, and the two nearly come to blows before Chris Hero comes out to separate them. Starr tries to instigate things more, and Hero responds by knocking him out with a rolling elbow. Hero then calls for Busick & Gulak to come out, and it’s time for our main event!
10.) Biff Busick & Drew Gulak vs. Chris Hero & JT Dunn: ****1/2
These two teams haven’t been together long, but they’re both formidable teams. Out of the two, Busick & Gulak was the more successful team, up to this point, as they won the Tournament For Tomorrow 3:16. I had a feeling this was going to be really good, but it definitely exceeded my expectations. I thought this was a fantastic tag team match!! It was a relatively long match, clocking in at just over thirty minutes, but I loved it. There were some great exchanges in the first few minutes, until Busick & Gulak began isolating JT Dunn which, of course, built to a hot tag to Chris Hero. All four guys worked really hard, and their efforts showed here. There was a ton of great action in this one, featuring everything from hard strikes, to submissions and grappling. I can see some people not liking this match as much, but honestly, I thought this was an awesome tag team match. Eventually, Biff Busick & Drew Gulak managed to get the win over Chris Hero & JT Dunn. Again, this match was great, and I think the result tells a pretty good story, as Hero & Dunn lose once again, despite being a team that, on paper, is really strong.
After the match, Busick takes the mic. He calls out Team Tremendous for a match at some point in the future. They leave, while Hero & Dunn console each other following the loss. They do shake hands as the show comes to a close.
Overall: 8.25/10
This was a pretty good start to 2015 for Beyond Wrestling. The main event was fantastic, and was clearly the best match on the entire show. While no match on the undercard came close to that main event, there were a number of really good matches. “Speedball” Mike Bailey vs. Silver Ant and the Eight-Man Tag between Team Pazuzu & Team Quebec were easily the highlights of the undercard, with Matt Cross vs. Anthony Stone not that far behind. As a whole, this was a very good show from Beyond Wrestling, that was highlighted by an incredible main event.
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