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Beyond Wrestling “Americanrana”
July 30, 2017
Worcester, MA
It’s the biggest show of the year for Beyond Wrestling and the main event has been in the works for a long time. Matt Riddle and Joey Janela will finally collide in front of a packed house in Worcester. Along with a lot of other marquee matches, this should be an incredible show.
MATCH ONE: Team PAWG (Jordynne Grace & LuFisto) v. Doom Patrol (Jaka & Chris Dickinson)
This match has been brewing for months as Dickinson has had issues with Grace and her boyfriend Jonathan Gresham.
No one pulled any punches on this one. After some early offense from PAWG, Jaka and Dickinson got the heat on Grace, and boy were they rough on her, particularly Dickinson. He hit a brutal German and a piledriver on her. Doom Patrol did an excellent job building the heat to the hot tag as the place erupted when LuFisto finally got in.
They went back and forth and were super aggressive. Lots of nearfalls from both teams and the crowd kept getting up for each progressive finish. To say the match was wild is an understatement.
The finish saw PAWG hit their running duel hip attacks on the head of Jaka for the win.
While I’m personally not a fan of intergender wrestling, this crowd very much is and they really enjoyed this match, and frankly, that’s all that matters on this level.
After the match, Dickinson cut a very impassioned promo about the importance of Beyond Wrestling and how much it means to him and everyone in the locker room. It was a great way to keep the momentum going.
WINNERS: Team PAWG
MATCH TWO: Brian Cage v. Jonathan Gresham
Talk about a styles clash. Cage, being the significantly bigger man, spent a lot of the match tossing Gresham around the ring until Gresham was able to finally find a body part to pick apart. In this case, it was Cage’s leg.
He wouldn’t be able to work it over for very long until Cage would power his way out and continue to throw Gresham around.
This was a really good, very entertaining match that made great use of the difference in size. Gresham with a nearfall after a Shooting Star Press, and also came close with a submission. The finish came out of nowhere as Gresham rolled through one of his submission attempts for a pinning combination to get the upset. Well done match.
WINNER: Jonathan Gresham
MATCH THREE: JT Dunn v. John Silver
Silver has been a fast rising singles star in Beyond. He faces one of the long standing stars in the company in Dunn.
This was heated from the get-go. They did a great job showing animosity and creating a built-in reason to care about the match.
Really hard hitting and a lot power based offense, especially from Silver, who at one point tossed Dunn across the ring. Silver fired up with a huge forearm, followed by a Death by Elbow for a nearfall.
They traded a few nearfalls, including one following a Dunn tombstone on the apron. I think that’s when I tuned out. Then they did an absurd Canadian Destroyer followed by a PK for the win. The crowd completely disagreed with me as they loved it, so the Crowd 2 – Me 0. And they matter more than I do.
WINNER: John Silver
MATCH FOUR: Tables, Ladders & Chairs – Chuck Taylor (w/Orange Cassidy) v. Swoggle
The match STARTED with Taylor hitting Swoggle with a chair. Where do you think it went from there?
I couldn’t do this justice if I tried. This included run-ins from Massage NV, Swamp Monster, Johnny Cockstrong, Stan Stylez and “Supercop” Dick Justice. They all did their stuff.
Lots and lots of comedy that the crowd was going nuts for. Swoggle kicked out of a piledriver into thumbtacks at one. Okay sure. Then Baretta came in and Snapchatted the carnage and left. Taylor then rolled him up for the win.
Like I said, the crowd loved it.
WINNER: Chuck Taylor
MATCH FIVE: EYFBO (Mike Draztik & Angel Ortiz) v. The Lucha Bros (Penta El Zero & Rey Fenix)
Hot start to the match with lots of lucha spots from the Bros. Then it went from a hot start to a hot match with no tags and a ton of highspots and double team moves. In between all of the high flying, these guys hit each other REALLY hard.
They pulled out all the stops in this and gave the fans what they wanted. Lots of wild high flying action and crazy spots. If you like selling, I wouldn’t suggest the match.
The finish saw EYFBO finish it with a spike package piledriver. This was really wild.
WINNERS: EYFBO
MATCH SIX: Donovan Dijak v. “The Product” David Starr
Starr has claimed that he is Mr. Americanrana, while Dijak has been known as the Ace of Beyond for the past couple of years.
They had a prolonged staredown that set the tone for the match. It was a mixture of intensity and respect. Well done to start things off.
Dijak was able to hit Feast Your Eyes within 5 minutes, but he hurt his knee doing it and sold from that point on.
One spot had Dijak in control and Starr ended up biting his crotch. I don’t think the match needed that, but that’s just my opinion. Starr followed it up with a Feast Your Eyes for a nearfall.
Lots of trading of nearfalls. Starr had Dijak down and took the mic. He said he is the new Ace of Beyond and that it’s his time and it’s time for Dijak to go away. Then he called Dijak a sell out. Starr turned his back and Dijak hit a Feast Your Eyes for a nearfall. Starr then finished it with a brainbuster into his knee, followed by a German with a bridge. Good match.
After the match, Starr said when Biff Busick left, Dijak filled the void. Starr said Dijak is one of his favorite wrestlers and people and he is honored to be in the ring with him at Americanrana. He said if Dijak ever needs anything, he can look on YouTube at his stuff and steal it, which got a huge ovation. Dijak then said his last match for Beyond will be August 13 against WALTER.
WINNER: “The Product” David Starr
MATCH SEVEN: Roppongi Vice (Rocky Romero & Baretta) v. Da Hit Squad (Dan Maff & Monsta Mack)
Baretta tweeted out a few weeks ago that he was going to get payback on Mack for what Mack did to him when he was 18 (which was throwing Baretta from the ring to the floor in what was a gruesome spot).
The early going had Rocky and Maff in the ring while Mack and Baretta kept jawing at each other on the apron. They kept trying to get at each other but they stayed apart for most of the match. DHS went to throw Rocky into the crowd but Baretta stopped it, then he and Mack finally faced off.
From there it was a lot of action in the ring without tags. Mack went to recreate the spot from Twitter but Baretta cut him off. He ended up hitting a Dudebuster for a nearfall. They went back and forth until Roppongi Vice finished it with the Dudebuster/double stomp combo for the win.
Mack went to shake Baretta’s hand after the match but then pulled away and left.
WINNERS: Roppongi Vice
MAIN EVENT: Matt Riddle v. “The Bad Boy” Joey Janela (w/ Penelope Ford)
It didn’t take long for Janela to take insane risks. There was a moonsault from the top to the floor. Then a moonsault onto the apron, but Riddle rolled out of the way. Riddle also hit a Death Valley Driver on the apron.
Janela ended up getting the win with a crossface submission in a big upset.
Decent main event, but considering how long they’ve built up the undefeated streak of Riddle, I don’t think this match did it justice unfortunately. Both guys worked very hard and deserve a lot of credit for that.
WINNER: “The Bad Boy” Joey Janela
Everyone on the show worked very hard. These men and women deserve a lot of credit for how much effort they put forth in the ring tonight. As a show, however, I felt that Americanrana didn’t live up to its expectations. Partially, it was the venue. The White Eagle was certainly unique, but to me, it wasn’t a Beyond building. It didn’t have the right look or vibe to capture what Beyond is truly about. Secondly, I felt that while all of the wrestlers worked their asses off, they simply did way too much in the ring in terms of moves in their matches. Forgive my inner Cornette coming out, but that was just my personal taste.
With that being said, the crowd LOVED this show and were buzzing at they left the building. So in that sense, Beyond certainly catered to their crowd and gave them what they wanted.
You can follow them online @BeyondWrestling
You can follow me @HelloCrockett
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