Want more wrestling news, rumors, and results? Be sure to visit PWInsider.com and PWInsiderXtra.com.
Beyond Wrestling “Americanrana Matinee”
July 30, 2017
Worcester, MA
It’s the biggest day of the year for Beyond Wrestling. So big they need two shows. Before the big one later in the day, they have their matinee featuring the Beyond debut of former UFC star “Filthy” Tom Lawlor and one of the final independent dates for Bobby Fish before his full-time NXT duties.
MATCH ONE: Ace Romero v. Brian Milonas
The former partners in XXXL have imploded and now they go one-on-one. The match was predicated on Romero, near 400 pounds, doing insane spots to get the crowd to pop. This included a tope to the floor within a minute of the bell.
Milonas was in control for most of the match building to Ace’s comebacks. Romero tried to pick up Milonas twice and couldn’t get him in the fireman’s carry. The finish saw Milonas finish with a Vader bomb. As a spectacle, I could see what they were going for with this opener, but the match never clicked and the finish was anti-climactic. Tough break.
WINNER: Brian Milonas
MATCH TWO: Cam Zagami v. Josh Briggs
Zagami got on the mic and welcomed everyone to AmeriCAMrana. He called himself a TV star and then said he saw a few other TV stars in the crowd from “To Catch a Predator.” He said this is his ring and no one has enough GRIT to face him. Fantastic promo. Out comes Briggs.
Cam jumped him and threw his jacket at him. He tried to get the better of him, but Briggs quickly finished it with a reverse Razor’s Edge into a Falcon Arrow for the win. A squash, but a really fun one. This should be the start of something big for Briggs in Beyond, and I’d like to see more from Cam with this character.
WINNER: Josh Briggs
MATCH THREE: Mikey Webb v. “Hot Sauce” Tracy Williams
Webb out with dreads. Didn’t I see him in 10? Really good back and forth match from the two veterans. Williams went for a lot of submissions while Webb went for more power based offense. They also threw a lot of ridiculously hard chops.
Williams was close to finishing with a crossface when Webb powered out. Williams ended up finishing the match with a huge jumping piledriver.
WINNER: “Hot Sauce” Tracy Williams
MATCH FOUR: Mike Verna, Ryan Galeone & Dan Barry v. Da Hoodz & Anthony Stone
Good promo from Barry before the match. He asked for a very serious tag team and said they’re opponents aren’t serious and Stone hasn’t been relevant in Beyond since 2012. Barry said they’re so great they don’t even need him to wrestle, so it’s now 2-on-3.
Both Stone and Pyro ended up selling leading toward hot tags. Verna and Galeone, who are both massive, ended up getting the heat on them with a lot of impressive power moves. Really good job by Pyro selling in getting Galeone and Verna over as monsters.
Stone got the hot tag and his comebacks got great reactions from the crowd. Really cool spot with Kash going a running kick into the corner on a fallen Galeone while Pyro and Stone both did Van Terminators from opposite corners.
Verna has both Hoodz held up (powerbomb/fallaway slam style) when Stone went to the top. Before he could jump, Rex Lawless hit him with a crutch. Galeone then threw Stone into Da Hoodz and Verna powerslammed them. I’m not describing it properly to do the impressive strength justice. Cool finish as Verna and Galeone got the pin.
WINNERS: Verna, Galeone & Barry
MATCH FIVE: Rory Gulak v. Jay Freddie
Pretty decent mix of hard strikes and technical work. Scary spot when Freddie suplexed Gulak on the apron, and I don’t think Gulak got all of the apron. Not sure the match needed that kind of risk, but there it was.
The finish saw them trade some nearfalls before Freddie fired up and finished it with a high angle Fireman’s Driver for the win.
WINNER: Jay Freddie
MATCH SIX: Bobby Fish v. “Filthy” Tom Lawlor
Lawlor hasn’t been at wrestling for long, but he looked composed in there against Fish. The two traded holds on the mat and it all looked slick and very good. Lawlor with some really impressive power at different points of the match. He ended up going for a rear naked choke on multiple occasion, as well as standing front chokes.
Lawlor ended up with the big win after he had a standing guillotine and spun Fish around in a circle with it held, then dropped him to the mat and locked in the guillotine as he kneeled on the mat. Fun match that the crowd was really into.
WINNER: “Filthy” Tom Lawlor
MAIN EVENT: AR Fox v. “Shred God” Brandon Watts – Special Referee: Shynron
This is their third match. Fox and Watts each hold a win.
This was pretty wild from the get go. Shynron wasn’t doing much referring or admonishing. He did finally administer a ten count at one point, but Watts got in the ring before it. This after Watts went for a frog splash elbow throw a barrel held up by two chairs as Fox was prone across it, but Fox moved.
Lots of wild offense and dives from both. Fox got the heat on Watts after he beat the ten count. Fox went for a springboard back elbow but fell right into a huge lungblower, which got a huge reaction.
Fox did two insane somersault planchas to the floor. The first from the top rope, then the second on a straight run and leap over the corner to the outside. Crazy.
Fox ended up unintentionally taking out Shynron with a jumping boot. Watts hit a swinging DDT but there was no count since Shynron was down. Referee Kevin Quinn, who involved in the first two matches, came to the ring and prevented Fox from using a chair. Fox pushed him, and Quinn pushed back and ripped off his shirt looking for a fight and the crowd went insane. Fox threw a punch, Quinn blocked and hit his own and Watts rolled up Fox for a two count.
They went back and forth before Watts finished it with a frog splash elbow. Good main event.
After the match, Shynron said he’s back and that he’s enjoyed watching Watts climb to the top of the card. So he challenged him to a match and Watts accepted.
WINNER: Brandon Watts
This was a fun primer for the main show. It was a definitely conclusion for a couple of storylines and the beginning of some new ones that I'm excited to see.
Follow them online @BeyondWrestling
Follow me @HelloCrockett
MORE COVERAGE ON PAGE 2!
If you enjoy PWInsider.com you can check out the AD-FREE PWInsider Elite section, which features exclusive audio updates, news, our critically acclaimed podcasts, interviews and more by clicking here!
Bang On Casino
