Hamilton’s Beyond Wrestling Project Reality 05.06.2021 Review

Quick Results
Chris Dickinson submitted Teddy Goodz in 11:23 (***¼)
Alec Price pinned Edith Surreal in 8:01 (**¾)
Robo The Punjabi Lion pinned 1 Called Manders in 10:11 (***)
Ashley Vox & Delmi Exo pinned Victor Benjamin & Lady Frost in 10:30 (**¾)
Matt Makowski defeated Cam Zagami via referee stoppage in 0:07 (NR)
Matt Makowski submitted Richard Holliday in 12:02 (***¼)
Aaron Rourke pinned Solo Darling in 6:17 (**¾)
Bryce Donovan & Bobby Orlando pinned Mike Verna & Rex Lawless in 12:00 (**¾)
Kimber Lee pinned Masha Slamovich in 10:28 (***½)
Wheeler Yuta X Lee Moriarty in 52:15 to win the IWTV Independent Wrestling Championship (****¾)

— If you’re on Twitter, give me a follow over on @IanWrestling – and check out the GoFundMe that’s still open for Larry’s family.

We’re back at the White Eagle in Worcester, Massachusetts… opening with a pre-tape of Wheeler Yuta mockingly congratulating Lee Moriarty for winning the Masked Wrestler tournament, and coming just above him in the PWI500. Yuta brings up how he beat Moriarty last year, but that’s all been forgotten because of the Masked Wrestler – and he’s going to claim what he reckoned should have been his all along. A really good promo that sets the stage for today’s main event.

Sidney Bakabella’s finally getting his chance to fill in for Rich Palladino, who had to miss out with a family emergency. Bakabella and Paul Crockett are on the call.

Teddy Goodz vs. Chris Dickinson
Goodz made his return on the Beyond comeback show last month, and he started out by trying to restrain Dickinson and his new shiny gear.

Working the arm, Goodz ends up getting pushed into the ropes… but he pops up and charges Dickinson down before returning the favour. Dickinson tries to respond, but gets chopped down to the outside, with Goodz following out with a tope. Back inside, Dickinson caught Goodz with a Judo throw that segued into a cross armbar, but it’s broken in the ropes.

Dickinson stays on the arm, and rolls Goodz away from the ropes into an armbar… then floated over to try and delay Goodz making it to the ropes. A kneedrop to the arm follows, as did kicks as Dickinson pulled ahead in the proverbial race. Goodz tries to get back in it, landing a cutter at the second attempt, before he battered Dickinson with elbows to the shoulder in the corner.

Goodz throws too many as Dickinson caught him… but ends up getting caught in the corner with an Iconoclasm that almost gets the upset. Goodz manages to hit a backpack stunner, but Dickinson goes right to the cross armbar, before a running death valley driver gets a two-count… so Dickinson unloads some more, only to take a death valley driver as Goodz’ second wind quickly ran out as Dickinson went back to the cross armbar again.

A roll-up breaks the hold as Dickinson charges back in with clotheslines, which led to a quick strike exchange as Goodz’s leaping knee just led to Dickinson rolling into a cross armbar for the submission. This was a nice, fast-paced opener with Goodz being more than a proverbial warm body here, coming close to the upset before Dickinson slammed the door on him. ***¼

After the match, Dickinson put over Goodz as the man who helped him fall back in love with wrestling

Edith Surreal vs. Alec Price
Commentary compared Alec Price to the recently-retired Kenn Doane – at least in terms of his mentality…

Price and Surreal trade headlocks early, as Price had vowed to remove Surreal’s mask in this one. A whip takes Surreal to the corner as she gets caught with some leaping knees in the ropes, before a short pull-out powerbomb out of the corner got a quick pin attempt in.

A spin-out back suplex gets Price a two-count, before Surreal trapped Price in a scissored ankle lock. The ropes save Price, who keeps going back to Surreal’s mask, before a wacky pumphandle Regalplex landed for another two-count for Price. Surreal throws strikes to get back in it ahead of a flying bulldog, as a trip to the top rope leads to a frog splash that almost gets her the win.

Price goes for a running knee, but Surreal counters by rolling him into a deathlock… Price saves himself by undoing Surreal’s mask to force a break, before a Scorpio kick gets Price the win. Short, but effective for what it was as Price came in with a game plan and got the tainted win. **¾

Robo The Punjabi Lion vs. 1 Called Manders
Ring announcer Sidney Bakabella seems to dislike the “one fall” stuff… Robo’s taken to the corner early as commentary mentions that both Robo and Manders have sports history at the University of Iowa – cricket vs. American football… a side headlock from Robo’s pushed off, as the pair begin to trade chops with Manders throwing in some elbows to the head… only to get tossed with an overhead belly-to-belly.

Manders rolls outside for respite, but gets chopped on the floor before he posted Robo. Back inside, Robo fought back with right hands, but an eye rake stopped him as Manders chopped him in the back. A stalling suplex dumps Robo to the mat, but he’s able to retaliate with a dropkick before a scoop slam left Manders laying.

Forearms from Robo keep Manders on the back foot, before Robo tripped him onto the apron ahead of a slingshot between the ropes. A front kick from Robo keeps Manders in the corner ahead of a flying Codebreaker, but Manders is up at two as he manages to return by chucking Robo into the buckles.

From there, Manders calls for a lariat, and decks Robo with it for a near-fall, before an Oklahoma Stampede was escaped, with Robo nearly winning with a roll-up. A headbutt follows, but Manders is able to get the Oklahoma Stampede in for a near-fall. Robo escapes a move off the top to superkick Manders on the ropes… then pulled him down for a sit-out death valley driver for the win. A good hoss fight, with Robo coming from behind to take the win. ***

The Sea Stars (Ashley Vox & Delmi Exo) vs. Pretty Proper (Lady Frost & Victor Benjamin)
Exo and Frost start off on the mat, with Exo trying her luck with an early seatbelt pin for a two-count, before an attempted Exploder was elbowed away. Instead, a Northern Lights gets Exo a two-count, before tags bring in Benjamin and Vox. Benjamin offers Ashley a free shot, which she takes, before some rope running led to a hiptoss by Vox.

A ‘rana follows for a two-count, but Benjamin takes Vox into the corner and brought in Frost. Vox cuts her off with a headbutt as Exo returned, but their double-team rebound suplex was caught by Benjamin… so the Sea Stars just dropkick them both down. Frost and Benjamin return with head kicks before a spear from Benjamin had Exo on the deck.

A handstand knee drop from Frost gets a two-count, before she pushes Benjamin into a cornered Exo. Some kicks from the mat from Exo barely faze Benjamin, but Frost misses a standing moonsault and calls on Benjamin again… only for Pretty Proper to fall to a missile dropkick.

Vox makes the hot tag in, catching Benjamin with a tornado stun gun and some headscissors too, before a fish hook and a clothesline gets a near-fall. Frost breaks up a pin as Exo went for a Northern lights, before she went up on Benjamin’s shoulders for the old Quebecers elevated senton that almost gets the win. Frost ‘rana’s her partner onto Exo for another two-count, before Benjamin’s attempt to hit a death valley driver on Frost onto Exo was stopped, with a pair of spears ending that plan. From there, a senton from Vox off of Exo’s shoulders lands on Benjamin… and that’s enough to get the win. **¾

Cam Zagami interrupts to turn up the sleaze factor. At least Slade didn’t kill him last time out… Zagami runs his mouth to “reopen” Club Cam, and issues an open challenge. Out comes Matt Makowski, who would really benefit from having the crowd recognise his music (that’ll come with time).

Cam Zagami vs. Matt Makowski
Zagami thought Makowski was going to join him, but instead the referee starts the match… and quickly stops it after a gut punch and a head kick laid out Zagami. Thanks for coming.

They called it a Beyond record for the shortest match – Cagematch listed it at seven seconds – but Makowski wanted more…

Matt Makowski vs. Richard Holliday
This was Makowski’s scheduled match… and we start as the crowd posed with the still-lifeless Zagami at ringside.

Holliday made full use of the outside of the ring, sliding out as he looked to stifle Makowski’s early aggression. When they eventually lock up, Holliday takes Makowski to the corner and threw some right hands, before a hiptoss took Makowski into the corner. Makowski returns with a mid kick and a Judo throw, before a bridging German suplex gets Makowski a two-count.

Holliday returns with a draping DDT to catch Makowski off guard for a two-count, before some boots kept Holliday in the corner. A neckbreaker gets a two-count, as did a Northern lights suplex, before Makowski countered a neckbreaker into a backslide. Kicks follow, with a spinning heel kick getting another two-count as Makowski goes to a cross armbar that Holliday quickly rolled out of for another pinning attempt.

Makowski defends a Boston crab, and just gets stomped on before an inside cradle picked up another two-count. A torture rack from Makowski ends with an eye rake as Holliday nails the butterfly backbreaker for a two-count… then bodyscissored Makowski, who rolls back to go for another pin (while getting the escape).

Out of nowhere, a rebound enziguiri out of the corner catches Holliday as Makowski began to build momentum. An overhead belly-to-belly, a rear spin kick and a double underhook suplex lands for a two-count, before Holliday elbowed out of a waistlock. Holliday blocks an O’Connor roll, and came back with an inverted gutwrench suplex before a sit-out powerbomb almost got the relative upset.

Clotheslines take Makowski to the corner, before they headed up top, with Makowski slipping out of a superplex… but he can’t get a powerbomb off as he instead nailed a hook kick before a spin-out torture rack put Holliday into the cross armbar, turning it into an ankle lock. Holliday rolls out and tries to cradle Makowski with his feet on the ropes, then landed a DDT for another near-fall.

Makowski fires back with a flurry of strikes as Holliday cowered in the corner… they head up top again, with Makowski throwing Holliday down into a cross armbar, and as he finally locked it on, Holliday quickly tapped. This was a lot more even than I was expecting, but I enjoyed Holliday furiously defending that cross armbar before he hurriedly tapped. ***¼

Post-match, Cam Zagami returned from the dead and tried to partner with Holliday again… but he’s pushed away.

The crowd make Sidney Bakabella crack as they one-falled where there was no one-fall…

Aaron Rourke vs. Solo Darling
Apparently this one was made personal in the run up to the match via social media, and Solo burst out of the blocks with a dropkick and a Honey Steamer as we eschewed ring introductions.

Rourke quickly hit back, but Solo clubs back ahead of a mounted guillotine that looked to end this in the opening minute. She switches the submission and hits a suplex for a two-count, before Solo pulled Rourke’s ears in the ropes.

Rourke comes back with a slingshot roll through, before he mocked the crowd’s booing as he proceeded to boot Solo back into the corner. A wheelbarrow into a backbreaker drops Solo ahead of a powerbomb, before she hit a German suplex, almost out of instinct. Kicks keep Rourke down as Solo picks up another two-count, before a fireman’s carry facebuster looked to lead to the Sharp Stinger.

Solo quickly has to break as they’re in the ropes, and gets caught with a bicycle kick after the reset for a near-fall. Rourke continues to play around with the crowd before his mouthing off at Solo led to her firing back, only to get flipped back into a superkick. Another kick to the back of the head follows, before a Fisherman DDT gets Rourke the definitive win. Short, but pretty intense, and it says a lot that Beyond gave Rourke such a big win over someone who not too long ago was in the discussion for that fabled “Ace of Beyond” moniker. **¾

Shook Crew (Bobby Orlando & Bryce Donovan) vs. Goodfellas (Mike Verna & Rex Muscarella)
Last time out, the Shook Crew fell to Bear Country – but are back to take on another staple of Beyond’s not-too-distant past.

Muscarella – the former Rex Lawless – booted Orlando at the bell, as the Shook Crew started out on the defensive… but things changed a little when Bryce Donovan came in. A Finlay roll squashed Donovan as Verna came in for a shoulder tackle, before a back body drop dumped Orlando.

Verna’s buckle bomb and powerslam drops Orlando for a two-count, before a blind tag stops an O’Connor roll as Donovan slammed Verna onto Orlando’s knees. The Shook Crew keep Verna isolated in their corner for a spell, stopping to throw him into the bottom buckle… before a brief fightback from Verna allowed him to make the tag out to Muscarella.

Right hands and clotheslines from Muscarella clear house, before he suplexed Orlando into Donovan for fun. A MASSIVE Sky High from Muscarella gets a two-count, with Orlando diving in to break up the cover. Orlando blind-tags in and hits a missile dropkick to Muscarella, before a double-team DDT spiked the big man for a near-fall.

Verna’s back in with an electric chair drop/DDT combo for another two-count, but Donovan’s back to stop a superplex as the Shook Crew countered back with a Doomsday Device for a near-fall. Muscarella’s in to save Verna from a double suplex as the Goodfellas proceeded to hit a double hiptoss/facebuster on Orlando for another two-count.

Muscarella chucks Donovan into the corner, but gets low bridged as he went for a follow-up kick… a roll-up nearly gets Orlando the win, before a swinging side slam from Verna was neutralised by another blind tag, as a ripcord Black Hole Slam from Donovan nearly ended it. Donovan heads over to Muscarella as the pair get in a brief struggle… it leads to the referee separating them as Verga charges at Donovan… who sidesteps and runs into a chairshot from Orlando on the floor. Feet away from the ref, who was otherwise distracted… and that’s enough for Donovan to steal the pin. I wasn’t a fan of the finish, just because of the referee placement, as the Shook Crew claimed an undefeated streak. That was their first W in Beyond, for those counting… **¾

Donovan stays in the ring as Slade came out from the back… and chokeslammed him. Orlando tries to cheapshot Slade with a chair, but to no avail as Slade just swats away the chair and chased him with a big lariat in the aisle for good measure… before Slade chokeslammed Orlando off the stage and through a conveniently-placed table. OW. After all that, Slade challenged Max Caster to a fight, and vowed he’d be “pissing blood” afterwards.

Masha Slamovich vs. Kimber Lee
A first-time meeting here, with Slamovich built up something of a run of wins in Beyond as of late…

Lee’s the early aggressor, snapmaring Slamovich down before a kick and a rear naked choke ended in the ropes… Slamovich tries to hit back, and has luck with a head kick before Lee dropped down to avoid an enziguiri. Kimber Lee rolls back in headscissors to bridge Slamovich for a two-count, but the Russian is right back with strikes before she was taken into the corner.

Slamovich throws Kimber Lee into the ropes and kicks them into the throat before slowing the pace down with some hair pulling and stretching. Some hairmares from Slamovich lead to a PK for a two-count, before Slamovich went back to the hair and face as she hooked away on Lee. A step-up enziguiri gets Kimber Lee a near-fall, before the pair struggle over a suplex, leading to Slamovich draping Lee in the ropes ahead of a dropkick.

A chop exchange leads to a German suplex on Slamovich, who pops back up to hit one of her own… with Lee also back to her feet quickly as they resumed strikes ahead of a double head kick. Back to their feet, the pair trade headbutts, then running forearms, before a kick to the ribs on Kimberlee led to her ‘rana’ing her way back in for a near-fall. See-saw sunset flips lead to Kimber Lee rolling in for a half crab, but Slamovich manages to break in the ropes.

Kimber Lee stays on top as she lifts Slamovich to the top rope… but there’s a quick turnaround with a bridging German suplex that nearly ends it. That’s followed with a half-and-half for a near-fall, before Kimber Lee nailed a pop-up powerbomb out of nowhere, folding her into an alligator clutch for the win. Not exactly what some would call a sprint, but this was an action-packed match that crammed a lot into their ten minutes – and left you wanting to see more down the line. ***½

Post-match, Slamovich flipped off Kimber Lee’s handshake and powerbombed her in the middle of the ring.

IWTV Independent Wrestling Championship: Wheeler Yuta vs. Lee Moriarty (c)
With around an hour left on the VOD, and just one match, you know this one’s going to tickle that one-hour time limit… so I’m going to sit back and refrain from going too deep into play-by-play here. Bakabella finally does the one-fall, to the delight of the crowd…

Yuta won his shot at the title in Tampa by beating Adam Priest on the Family Reunion shows, while Moriarty was two months into his reign, having beaten WARHORSE at a New South show back in March.

Despite his change of attitude, Yuta wasn’t totally despised by the Worcester crowd as we had a settled start with neither man really charging out of the blocks. Commentary mentions how Moriarty lost a lot of non-title matches recently as Yuta looked to take the upper hand, only to watch on as Moriarty scooted out of a side headlock on the mat. The tit-for-tat continues with knuckle locks and wristlocks, but it’s Moriarty who pulled ahead.

Yuta tried his luck with a full nelson, but Moriarty’s able to break free and wheel away before a knuckle lock takedown saw Yuta try and eke out a pin, only for Moriarty to escape by cartwheeling out of a side headlock, which looked to get under Yuta’s skin. Shaking it off, Yuta tries to tie up Moriarty’s legs, but to no avail as they’re quickly off the ropes as Moriarty’s armdrag gets replied to with a slam. Moriarty’s flash pins lead to him taking a tiltawhirl backbreaker as Yuta again tried to keep Moriarty from pulling ahead, and then went back to the bow-and-arrow hold.

Chops look to have Yuta ahead, but Moriarty pulls the door to a little, dropkicking Yuta to the outside. Back inside, Moriarty works the arm, bridging back on a trapped-arm armbar, before an enziguiri nearly put Yuta away. Twenty minutes in, Moriarty starts to show signs of frustration as he remained on the arm, hauling Yuta into a Gory stretch… only for Yuta to respond by kicking Moriarty squarely in the inner thigh.

A Figure Four has Moriarty in trouble, as did a Deathlock, with Yuta bridging back for extra torque as Moriarty eventually dragged his way to the ropes. For the first time in the match, Yuta’s enjoying some prolonged offence, rolling the champion into a half crab, before a back suplex continued to keep Yuta ahead.

Moriarty found a way back in, cornering Yuta for a diving crossbody, before another one back off the top rope landed, before an inverted slam dropped Yuta for a near-fall. It’s back to the arm as Moriarty scissors Yuta’s body for an armbar, but that ends with Yuta grabbing the ropes as he pulled himself to the outside. Both men take their time to recuperate, with Moriarty rolling out to throw Yuta into the side of the ring, before throwing Yuta back inside… except Yuta just rolls straight back outside.

We cross by the 30 minute mark as Yuta DDT’s Moriarty on the edge of the ring, before hauling up Moriarty for a delayed brainbuster. It’s only enough for a two-count, so Yuta goes for a crossface that quickly ended in the ropes. Yuta reapplies it, but Moriarty rolls through for a pin… that offence ends as Yuta countered a superplex with a DDT off the top to the turnbuckle, before a lariat and a crossface put him back ahead as neither man found themselves able to maintain the upper hand for long.

Moriarty drives Yuta’s wrist into the mat to break the crossface, before he chucked Yuta over the top rope and down to the floor with an Exploder-like throw to the floor. Yuta’s thrown back in… but again he rolls right back outside, so Moriarty chases him with a tope suicida, but Moriarty looked to tweak his ankle on the landing as Yuta continued to crawl away. Moriarty caught him with a suplex on the floor, then a swinging DDT, pushing off the stage for extra momentum, before they beat the count-out, rolling back into the ring just in time.

Yuta’s forearm from his knees looked to have little behind it, as did Moriarty’s response, but things built up again as they get to their feet… only for Moriarty to knock Yuta down. More shots knock Yuta into the ropes, but he’s quickly back with an enziguiri and a German suplex for a near-fall, only for a satellite DDT from Moriarty to pull that proverbial door closed a little bit. Moriarty tries to follow with a crucifix, but Yuta’s able to kick out and race up to the top rope for a missile dropkick.

Yuta somehow finds a second wind, hitting an Angle Slam for a near-fall as we entered the final 15 minutes of the match. Paul Crockett on commentary all but suggested this could go to the hour-long limit, as Yuta seemed to find fresh impetus from the time call as he mounted Moriarty for some punches.

Chops sting Moriarty in the corner again, but he strikes back with some right hands before a European uppercut decked Yuta for a near-fall by the ropes. A sunset flip attempt from Yuta’s countered with an armbar attempt… he tries to roll out of it, but Moriarty switches into a triangle armbar that Yuta eventually powerbombed his way free of.

We hit the final ten minutes with both men looking to get back to their feet… but it’s Yuta who got up first as the pair swung for the fences again. Moriarty pulled Yuta back into a Fujiwara armbar, but a roll-up gives Yuta a two-count before Moriarty countered a Cipher UTAKI into the Yu-tap – a suspended tombstone with a cloverleaf thrown in. Yuta escaped and applied the Yu-tap… but opted to dump Moriarty from the tombstone position, and fell on top of him for the pin. Worcester popped for that finish, despite Yuta being the baddie… but what the hell. This was an absolute delight – starting off slowly with both men going tit-for-tat on the same holds, before they slowly slipped into their usual routines, only with neither competitor able to enjoy too much of an advantage until Yuta took that questionable shot. It’s a lengthy match, but one that’s absolutely worth the investment. ****¾

8.0

The final score: review Very Good

The 411

It feels like a lot of the bigger shows I’ve watched as of late have been proverbial “one match shows” - and while the undercard of Project Reality wasn’t bad, the entire show was absolutely buoyed by that main event. Two (regular) shows back with crowds, and Beyond look to be back on form already as they showcase a fine blend of the independent scene. If nothing else, put an hour aside for that main event - especially if the promotions you’re currently following aren’t delivering what you want in-ring...