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Beyond Wrestling – Uncharted Territory Episode 9 Review

June 16, 2019 | Posted by Jake Chambers
Beyond Wrestling - Uncharted Territory Episode 9
7
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Beyond Wrestling – Uncharted Territory Episode 9 Review  

Previously on Uncharted Territory: Episode 8 Review

Match Results

Nick Gage defeated Jay Freddie by pinfall @ 6:30
– a fired up Freddie tried to match the intensity of the always wild Gage, and the result was exquisite violence.
Beyond Discovery Gauntlet: Thomas Santell defeated DL Hurst by pinfall @ 10:02
– the weekly treat that is Thomas Santell delivers another crowd-rousing come-from-behind performance.
Allie Kat defeated Davienne by pinfall @ 7:22
– at the end of this one, seems like a tag team match is coming to continue to the rivalry between the women on Beyond’s roster.
Bear Country defeated 2 Infinity & Beyond by pinfall @ 14:07
– the big Bears were thoroughly tested this week in a match that was surprisingly dominated by the veterans
VSK defeated Dorian Graves by pinfall @ 14:32
– the former Massage Force explode, so to speak.
Chuck O’Neil defeated Anthony Greene by submission @ 6:53
– Greene had a spirited showing but O’Neil was possibly just too legit and forced his opponent to quit.
Chris Dickinson defeated Tom Lawlor by pinfall @18:40
– Dickinson does it again in another triumph on his 2019 resume for the Best Wrestler of the Year.

Episode Summary

We start the show with Nick Gage in the ring and ready for a fight. Never a good sign for the competition, but Jay Freddie was up for the challenge. This one hit the ground chopping, and there weren’t many rest holds.

Episode 09 - 05/29/2019

We got an awkward walk-by after the match, when Gage was going to the back just as Thomas Santell was coming to the ring. Uncharted Territory definitely planting the seeds for some of the matches possible once Santell loses his Discovery Gauntlet and is no longer matched up against up-and-comers to Beyond each week.

The actual challenger for the Gauntlet this week, DL Hurst, attacked Santell before the bell, took control and even did a Lawler-esque mid-match promo. Santell getting some brief hope submissions in-between dominating power moves by Hurst, which just hook the crowded into the comebacks for the man who has won their Worcester hearts over the past month.

The cat-gimmicked Allie Kat made her Uncharted Territory debut against the Boston-area bad ass Davienne. She was looked to be on the verge of giving up one of those nine lives, until mayhem on the outside with Skylar and Solo Darling caused a distraction that let Allie hit a “Lari-kat” for the win.

Recent Uncharted Territory stars, Bear Country, looked to keep up their winning streak against the indie veterans Colin Delany and Cheech. Unexpectedly, Bear Country were on their heels though most of this one, which continues to add layers to their character and build sympathy with the live audience who had already bought into them as devestating monsters. This time they had to overcome the savvy ring-generalism of their opponents, and it made for a great watch.

Episode 09 - 05/29/2019

VSK recently heel-ishly dissolved his tag team with his opponent Graves and is on track to be the next jerky heel balancing the scales in Beyond. This match got a lot of time, which Beyond will do on these shows with new-ish characters since the stories flow out of the matches here and not from extended bits or soap opera-y drama. Hoping there’s a follow up in the coming weeks with this rivalry as the match was pretty good.

Former UFC-er Chuck O’Neil turned himself into a despised villain throughout Uncharted Territory by mocking the fighting styles and general goofiness of professional wrestlers compared to his legit background. So what better an opponent to stick up for pro-wrestling than the “retro-sexual” Anthony Greene and his usual mix of old school moves and over-the-top personality. However, Greene was really just forced to play by O’Neil’s rules here, by that sheer Lesnar-like conundrum of bringing an umbrella into a tornado, and the outcome for Greene was inevitable.

Episode 09 - 05/29/2019

We did get Josh Briggs come to the aid of his friend, after rooting him on throughout the match on commentary, and set up a match between Briggs and O’Neil for next week.

And, of course, as is the routine on Uncharted Territory, next up was Chris Dickinson having another show-stealing match, also with another ex-UFC-er. Rather than a clash of styles and philosophy, this was a catch-as-catch-can meeting ground for two guys with legit skills who were willing to trade pro-wrestling holds and strikes in as realistic and compelling a manner as possible in a squared circle.

Episode 09 - 05/29/2019

The aura of sporting competition was prevalent in the ebbs and flows of the physicality, while also being another piece in the macro-story of Dickinson preparing himself every week with dangerous opponents en-route to the deadliest match of his career, his hand-picked dream opponent of Daisuke Sekimoto at Americanrana in July.

Move of the Night

Santell hit an absolutely beautiful textbook top-rope super butterfly suplex on Hurst.

Episode 09 - 05/29/2019

Shock of the Night
After the Discovery Gauntlet match, Ken Doane made his second week of “Shock of the Night” appearances, once again showing up to mouth off to the fans, take off his shirt, and then start measuring up Santell. Doane then tried to grab the mic from Cam Zagami who wasn’t letting go, and so he just knocked the dude out.

Episode MVP
Chuck O’Neil
This could easily go to either Dickinson or Bear Country this week as well, but I’ll go with O’Neil for making good on his promo promise as a Beyond big bad who didn’t just squash his out-matched opponent this week (on paper) but engaged him in a compelling match that utilized his MMA skills while also showing a flair for pro-wrestling that rubbed off on him from the charismatic Anthony Greene. He also set up a match for next week against the more equally matched Josh Briggs, at least in size, and thus the storytelling continues without needing to just insult the crowd or roll over smaller guys.

Best Match
Dickinson vs. Lawlor
It’s getting to be ridiculous at this point just how good of a run Chris Dickinson is on. However, you’ve got to give Beyond a lot of the credit for promoting these matches, giving Dickinson something to sink his teeth into weekly, and having it consistently pay off.

How Did It All End?
After some friendly praise from the competitors in the main event, Tom Lawlor announced that he’d be back next week, and Dickinson announced that he’d face Josh Alexander!

7.0
The final score: review Good
The 411
We've just hit a regular consistency with these weekly shows, after what is apparently the half-way point of "Season 1". To establish such a great flow in such a short amount of time is really commendable, and hopefully any Season 2 just picks up one week after Season 1 ends. Dickinson, Bear Country and Santell continue to be weekly must-sees for any hardcore wrestling fan - highly recommended.
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