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Beyond Wrestling “Looking California”
Enfield, CT
April 29, 2017
Beyond Wrestling makes their debut in the Enfield area as part of a doubleheader with the local Blitzkrieg Pro promotion. This is a stacked lineup and continues Beyond’s march toward their biggest show of the summer “Americanrana” around August.
Pre-Show Match: Rex Lawless v. Brandon Watts
Back and forth to start things off, and once it rolled to the outside, Watts drilled Lawless with a spinning DDT on the wooden floor. Oww.
They continued to go back and forth with Lawless playing the power role to Watts more athletic hybrid style. Both with really crisp, strong offense. Lawless went to the top, but Watts cut him off and hit a top rope hurricanrana, followed with a frog splash/elbow combo for the victory. Good match.
WINNER: Brandon Watts
MATCH ONE: “The Product” David Starr v. Jay Freddie
Freddie shot out of the gate with a running dropkick and a scary looking powerbomb for a two count. Starr came back with a flurry of his own including a flatliner as Freddie was in the middle ropes for a two count. Starr was looking for a name for that move recently. Not sure if he came up with one.
After trading chops and forearms, they went back and forth for a few minutes before Starr countered a Freddie attempt for a Shining Wizard and caught him in a Sharpshooter variation for the submission win. A fast but intense opener that got the crowd up.
WINNER: “The Product” David Starr
MATCH TWO: Deonna Purrazzo v. Jordynne Grace
After a successful tour with Stardom in Japan, Purrazzo is coming off a tough loss to LuFisto at “Caffeine” in Orlando to face one of Beyond’s stalwarts in Grace.
Really great chain wrestling to start things off. Purrazzo has always been technically gifted, but Grace hung right with her and it was a fun way to get things rolling. After a couple of good slams, Purrazzo was able to attack Grace’s left arm and she started working it from there.
Even though she’s hard to dislike, Purrazzo did a good job with subtle actions to establish herself as the heel in the match, which led to the crowd being really inti Grace’s comeback.
The story was Purrazzo constantly going for the arm and the submission while Grace kept going for a bear hug submission mixed with power moves. After a lot of exchanges and escapes, Grace finally got the bear hug for the win. Excellent match. An extremely effective job of storytelling that wasn’t complicated and really enjoyable. Kudos to both women.
WINNER: Jordynne Grace
MATCH THREE: Michael Elgin v. Jonathan Gresham
Gresham continues to be one of the more popular and fun to watch regulars with Beyond, and Elgin makes yet another appearance in 2017 having gone so long with not being in the promotion.
The story of this match was simple but fun. Elgin, having a very distinct size and strength advantage, versus Gresham who was attempting to use his superior technical skills to break Elgin down.
Eventually, Gresham found his target in the left arm of Elgin. He softened it up as his way of getting to the Octopus. A great sequence where both guys traded hard shots that lead to the double down.
The finish saw Elgin and Gresham rolling around on the mat jockeying for a pin when Gresham did some outstanding counter work and laid in a really tight small package to pin Elgin. He was SO happy and shocked that he jumped into the arms of referee Kevin Quinn in celebration for what was an awesome and really funny spot. Really good match with solid storytelling.
WINNER: Jonathan Gresham
MATCH FOUR: “Supercop” Dick Justice v. Jarek 1:20
Dick Justice is an obese “cop” and Jarek is a magician. Here we go.
Jarek brought a single lady into the ring and then did a card trick. The trick was so successful that it freaked Justice out and he called Jarek a witch. Okay.
Jarek did a top rope dropkick where he simultaneously threw a bunch of cards in the air. Justice used his hands as a fake gun to make Jarek freeze. Jarek then found a coin behind Dick’s ear via MAGIC and stole the gun. And since cops like donuts I guess, Jarek brought in a box of Dunkin munchkins and let Justice have one. I’m not making any of this up in case you’re wondering.
The finish saw Justice pin Jarek with a spinning sidewalk slam. The crowd enjoyed this one.
WINNER: “Supercop” Dick Justice
MATCH FIVE: Team Pazuzu (Jaka, Chris Dickinson, Angel Ortiz & Mike Draztik) v. Team JML (Dezmond Xavier, Zachary Wentz, David & Jake Crist)
The match started off with what seemed like an endless array of highspot after highspot, with different one-on-one matchups being showcased in the ring while everyone else fought on the outside. It did eventually become a traditional tag match. That lasted for about a minute then it went into more highspots. This is exactly what the crowd wanted, so it’s not a criticism.
There were way too many spots for me to attempt a play-by-play. The finish saw Dickinson finish off Wentz with a running Border Toss for the victory. Big round of applause and chants for both teams after the match.
WINNERS: Team Pazuzu
MATCH SIX: LuFisto v. Penelope Ford
Ford jumped LuFisto befoe the bell and we’re off. Ford with a double cartwheel into an elbow into the corner on LuFisto that was very crisp and well done. Later, LuFisto had Ford in an ankle lock and bent Ford’s leg over and started hitting Ford in the head with her own foot. Very impressive flexibility on Ford’s part.
They went back and forth from that point forward. The finish saw LuFisto finish Ford with a Burning Hammer. After the match, Anthony Greene and Brick Mastone jumped LuFisto, which brought in Jordynne Grace for the save. Grace got on the mic and said if you want a fight, you’ll get it tomorrow in Providence. This was a decent match which helped push forward the ongoing storyline between Grace and Alpha Sigma Sigma.
WINNERS: LuFisto
MATCH SEVEN: “Hot Sauce” Tracy Williams v. Ace Romero
Originally scheduled to face Davey Richards, this changed when Richards pulled out because of a family emergency. Williams got on the mic and called out anyone in the locker room. This brought out Romero.
The two went toe-to-toe throughout the match, with the 400-pound Romero throwing the athletic moves at Williams, believe it or not. Williams stuck to his hard hitting style.
Really good exchanges between the two. The crowd really dug Romero’s highspots considering the visual spectacle of it. Romero squashed Williams with a standing senton but it only got a two count.
Hot Sauce with a huge top rope dropkick followed by a top rope senton for a nearfall. They traded nearfalls from there, with the crowd getting more and more to the match with each one. After a nearfall for Romero on Williams following a sidewalk slam, Williams transitioned into a crossface for the win. Really good match and a nice showcase for Romero in Beyond.
WINNER: “Hot Sauce” Tracy Williams
MATCH EIGHT: John Silver v. Kyle O’Reilly
Silver has been on a roll in Beyond and continues to cement his place as a main eventer with the promotion. O’Reilly, recently having become a free agent, returns to Beyond after a long absence in what should be a great match of similar styles.
To no one’s surprise, this match was very technical and it had plenty of stiff strikes and hard hitting. Both guys spent time on top controlling things, and the crowd was respectful and enjoying the intricacies of what both men were doing.
O’Reilly was working toward submissions while Silver was selling. He was finally able to comeback and fire up. They went back and forth from that point, both trying to wear the other out. There was a great exchange toward the end where both guys hit each other at the same time with kicks, clotheslines and slaps which resulted in the double down.
O’Reilly was going for a triangle and almost finished Silver twice when Silver rolled out and put O’Reilly into a bully choke for a close call. After an exchange between them, Silver went back to the bully choke followed by a HUGE punt for the upset victory. Very good match.
WINNER: John Silver
MAIN EVENT: Donovan Dijak v. “The Bad Boy” Joey Janela
What an interesting start. Before the match started, Dijak jumped Janela and then took out Ford with a Feast Your Eyes. Not pumped about crushing women like that, but in the context of Beyond it works and the crowd went wild for it.
Dijak spent a lot of the match tossing Janela around and being very effective with his offense. Janela would make comebacks, but Dijak would always come back hitting a LOT harder each time. Dijak with an insane backflip plancha to the floor that has become a signature move for him.
They traded nearfalls back and forth when Dijak chokeslammed Janela from the ring to the apron, but it went REALLY poorly and he landed hard on the wood floor. I thought Janela might have broken his neck, but he answered the count and got back in at 9. Stunning to say the least.
Penelope finally recovered and hurricanrana’d Dijak into a superkick from Janela for a nearfall. Dijak with a Feast Your Eyes on Janela for a nearfall. Now the crowd was in a frenzy. Dijak went to chokeslam Ford, but Janela cut him off. Dijak went for another Feast Your Eyes but Janela countered into a crossface. Referee Kevin Quinn checked on Dijak’s arm, and it fell three times to give Janela the huge submission win. Both guys are lucky to be alive. Dijak continues to be an absolute freak and on an incredible roll of fantastic matches.
Dijak got on the mic and apologized for “killing your girl.” The crowd loved that. He talked about his obsession with Matt Riddle and not knowing if he can beat him or not, but tonight, he learned that if anyone has the chance to do it in Beyond it’s Janela. This plays into Riddle never having been pinned or submitted in Beyond.
Janela got on the mic and said he’s been a “shooter” on Twitter as of late and no one knows what he’s going to do next, but he says people love it. He then called out the ECWA Super 8 for not letting him double shot with Beyond, and then told ECWA to give him oral sex to put it mildly. He then listed all of the great names who have competed at the Super 8 like Reckless Youth, Christopher Daniels and AJ Styles, but said that in 2017 the independent scene is all about Joey Janela. Then he told Matt Riddle he would see him at Americanrana and the crowd erupted. An absolutely outstanding promo from Janela to end the show.
WINNER: “The Bad Boy” Joey Janela
Beyond delivered an excellent show from beginning to end. They continue a recent streak of awesome shows that have been timed a lot better and not burning out the audience. Everyone here worked hard and the booking has been really great as well. Definitely check out Beyond Demand and see this show as well as the other recent shows.
Check them out @BeyondWrestling
Check me out @HelloCrockett
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