wrestling / TV Reports
Hamilton’s Beyond Wrestling Shangri-La Magistral 09.20.2020 Review
Loading...Quick Results:
Jay Freddie pinned VSK in 13:35 (***)
Mike Verna & Rex Lawless pinned Cheech & Colin Delaney in 9:48 (**¾)
Richard Holliday pinned Bullet Joe in 12:00 (***)
Brandon Watts & Randy Summers pinned Nate Carter & Dave McCall in 11:26 (***)
Robo the Punjabi Lion pinned Max Caster in 7:30 (***)
Solo Darling & Willow Nightingale submitted Still Life & BLANK in 15:25 (***)
Chris Dickinson submitted Matt Makowski in 15:58 (***½)
We’re at an undisclosed, outdoor location overlooking a lake. We’ve got a card that’s been changed several times from original plans. Beyond had asked fans to pick names that they’d not seen in the promotion lately, and here’s what we got.
The show opens with the roster surrounding the ring, slapping the mat to Pennywise, and oh my the white balance on the lake. Denver Colorado is solo on commentary today. Oh, and ring announcing too. It’s a real skeleton crew as the promotion’s gone back to their “studio” taping roots.
Jay Freddie vs. VSK
That bottom rope is loose – reminds me of old SHINE shows…
VSK shoves Freddie at the bell, but Jay comes in with a wristlock before they switched around holds. A grab of the ear helps VSK break a side headlock, before he ran off the ropes into a Manhattan drop, as a forearm got Freddie a two-count. Freddie comes in with a side headlock, but he’s taken into the ropes as VSK doesn’t break cleanly, only to take a hiptoss for a two-count.
They’re back to the ropes as VSK cheapshots again, before a slam and a leaping splash got him a two-count. He whiffs on a knee drop as Freddie fought back with chops, building up to a back suplex for a two-count of his own. A side Russian legsweep from VSK took Freddie into the corner for a two-count, with a snap suplex and the knee drop landing for another two-count moments later.
VSK looks to maintain control with his knee drops, following up with uppercuts and a big boot in the corner as Freddie looked to be caught totally off guard. Freddie manages to return fire with a crossbody for a two-count, following up with a slingshot sunset flip for a two-count, then a big dropkick to boot. My feed drops out, returning with Freddie eating a dropkick as the match descended into a strike battle… leading to a double clothesline in the middle of the ring.
They both pop up at a count of one… then clobber each other again. More back-and-forth strikes see VSK almost uppercut his way into a backslide, as Freddie came in with a knee strike and a diving uppercut for a near-fall. Freddie adds a backpack stunner out of the corner for a near-fall, before an O’Connor roll is blocked. VSK hands up Freddie in the ropes for a hanging Cross Rhodes, but it’s not enough, and Freddie’s able to come back with a diving knee before he was caught with an over-the-knee brainbuster for a near-fall.
VSK heads into the corner to remove a turnbuckle… but he’s caught. Of course it’s a ploy aas he instead goes to his coat for something, but the camera misses it as Freddie rolls him up for a near-fall. The referee stops VSK from rummaging in his pockets, and the distraction means that VSK is able to hit a diving knee, then a Tiger Driver for the win – with VSK kicking out just on three. This was sound, as they say, but the confusion at the finish was clear. ***
Mike Verna & Rex Lawless vs. To Infinity & Beyond (Colin Delaney & Cheech)
Verna was last seen doing adverts for Philadelphia cheese spread, which is 100% no joke…
Delaney and Verna start us off, but it’s Verna who was on the defensive first, taking a wristlock before he bounced Delaney away with a shoulder tackle. Headscissors keep Verna on the mat as the feeling-out process continued, before Verna took Delaney across the ring with a monkey flip… only for Delaney to return the favour.
Cheech comes in to hit his part of a double armdrag for a near-fall, following up with an Irish whip and a shoulder charge into the corner. Delaney’s back, but Verna kicks away what could have been a Magic Killer and tags in Lawless, who flew in with a senton atomico. A big splash is next, as is a Finlay roll before Verna returned to help pancake Cheech ahead of a deadlift bucklebomb.
A forearm knocks Delaney off the apron before Verna took too long on a rebound suplex and lost Cheech… in comes Delaney to chop away at Lawless, who then got caught in the ropes ahead of a baseball slide German suplex. Someone in the crowd screams about that scary bottom rope, as Lawless caught Delaney with a choke bomb back into the ring for a near-fall.
Verna’s back with a running forearm into the corner, and then the feed drops again. It un-freezes as Verna had a Fisherman suplex broken up, while Delaney hit a standing Spanish fly to Lawless… then tope’s Verna off the apron as Cheech nearly picked up the win. A flying stunner from Delaney doesn’t hit Lawless, who then takes some double-team boots for a near-fall as Verna was just getting back to his feet.
Lawless stops Cheech in his tracks with a spear, but he’s caught in the corner with a dropkick to the arse before a tornado DDT and a double-team Go 2 Sleep almost took the win. Verna’s in to show off his strength with a Hart Attack’d powerbomb/slam combo, but it’s still not enough as Cheech gets an assisted crucifix pin to turn things around. Tags become a novelty as Lawless tried to fight back, before Verna’s in to roll up Cheech for the win. This one had a lot of action, but it threatened to fall apart at the end as the referee lost control. **¾
Richard Holliday vs. Bullet Joe
Holliday’s still rocking the Airpods, but with MLW having been on hiatus, any replacements will likely need to be from Wish…
Bullet Joe’s back having been in the earlier Discovery Gauntlet tournament, and because of his size, Holliday’s taking the piss from the off. Holliday takes out the Airpods, while Bullet Joe does the Alex Wright dance… we finally get going with Holliday repeatedly shoving down Joe. Holliday drops to his knees “to make it equal”, but he’s caught with a pair of superkicks, then an enziguiri as Joe finally struck.
Holliday kicks out before a one-count is made, then clung onto the ropes before he shot Joe into the ropes… but tiltawhirl headscissors take Holliday down! Joe’s lifted onto the apron, but comes back with a leap off the top rope that’s caught… he counters into a crucifix for a enar-fall, before he ducked a big boot and jacked the knee instead.
A jawbreaker’s next from Joe, who hauls up Holliday… but ends up getting taken into the ropes for a vicious pop-up powerbomb. It gets Holliday a two-count, before he Beeled Joe across the ring ahead of some mudhole stomping in the corner. Backbreakers and a ragdoll toss has Joe back down for a two-count, but Holliday misses an elbow drop moments later as Joe tries to fight back.
Joe kicks Holliday away, but another flying crossbody is caught as Holliday countered a crucifix attempt into an Air Raid Crash for a near-fall. Chops follow in the corner, before Holliday began to play around with Joe some more. He pulls up the shoulder on a pinning attempt, then took Joe back into the corner as an Irish whip almost sent Joe through the middle and bottom ropes. That was damn scary.
Holliday takes him up top for a superplex as we see some people trying to set up sun loungers in the background. Evidently it distracts Holliday who’s shoved down, before Joe slipped off the top rope. He’s quickly met with a snap suplex for a near-fall, before he dropkicked away a pop-up powerbomb . Elbows in the corner follow as Holliday’s pulled down for a through-the-ropes dropkick, before Joe went back up top for a double stomp for a near-fall.
Joe keeps going with a tornado DDT, before a Code Red lands for another two-count. More chops from Joe looked to get him ahead, before he slipped out of a suplex and dropped Holliday with a German suplex… a guillotine choke followed, but Holliday eventually powers out with a twister suplex for the emphatic win. Joe looked pretty good here as the undersized babyface-in-peril, in spite of some slips, while Holliday played the hateful bad guy to a tee. ***
The Rep (Nate Carter & Dave McCall) vs. Milk Chocolate (Brandon Watts & Randy Summers)
It’s been a while since I’ve seen the Rep – their match against Bear Country earlier this year was an absolute hoot.
Summers and Watts jump the Rep before the bell, taking them into the corner as they criss-cross the ring with forearms, even accidentally running into each other before the Rep caught them… and powerbombed them into each other. Ow.
Nate Carter squats with Summers in a butterfly suplex, before tagging in McCall to hit a dropkick for a near-fall. Knees from McCall rock Summers, before he stopped to boot away Watts as he flew into the ring. Chops take Summers off the ropes, but he ducks a big boot then came in with a superkick to McCall in the corner as Milk Chocolate hit some quick double-teams, leading to a flying legdrop to the back of the head from Watts for a near-fall.
Summers is back to stomp away on McCall, but Dave elbows Randy away… only to get caught with a chop block as he went for a tag. Watts returns as Milk Chocolate keep McCall in their corner, exchanging tags as they busted out all kinds of cheating. An eye rake on the ropes from Summers just pissed off McCall, but his dropkick is caught and turned into a double-team Boston crab that Nate Carter wandered in to break up.
The referee randomly stops it as Summers punches McCall from the mount. A chinlock keeps McCall down, but he’s back with a leaping double knees to the back of Summers that left both men down. Watts’ interference backfires as Carter comes in ahouse afire, landing a pop-up headbutt and a wild lariat to Summers for a near-fall, before a wrist-clutch fallaway slam dumped Watts into the corner.
Running back elbows follow, before Watts hit an enziguiri and a tornado DDT out of the corner. McCall returns to go for a leaping leg lariat, which misses… Watts replies with a back cracker for a two-count, before Watts got popped up into a back suplex as the Rep almost took the win. Summers is back as McCall tried to kick his way ahead, but Summers jacks the knee… and misses a tag out to Carter.
Milk Chocolate take advantage with a load of double-teams, as a clothesline nearly puts McCall away thanks to some ineffective refereeing… before a double-team over-the-knee brainbuster got yet another near-fall. Carter’s back in with a leaping tombstone to lay out Watts, but doesn’t go for a cover as he instead wanted McCall to make the pin – at least someone remembers who’s legal!
From there, another chop block from Summers took out McCall’s legs, and with the referee distracted by Randy, he misses a low blow as Watts stole the pin on Carter. This was a wild tag match, but man, this referee isn’t having much luck with tags, eh? ***
Robo the Punjabi Lion vs. Max Caster
Robo’s back for the first time since the Beyond Championship Wrestling show that some are still trying to repress…
Caster was a late sub in for Aaron Rourke, something he raps about… and it pisses off Robo into jump starting the match as he pounded Caster into the corner with chops and right hands. Robo goes for a side headlock, but Caster gets free and takes him down with a wristlock, before Robo got whipped into the corner. He floats over Caster ahead of a leapfrog and a dropkick, but Caster’s able to return, throwing Robo into the corner shoulder-first.
He yanks the arm repeatedly, then tied it up ahead of a snap back for just a one-count. Caster misses a Mic Drop elbow drop off the middle rope, but was able to pull Robo into a backbreaker for before an overhead wristlock – much like Zack Gibson’s Shankly Gates – almost forced the submission.
Robo’s able to back into the ropes for a save, before he launched back in with a lungblower to Caster. An overhead belly-to-belly is next, then a powerslam for a near-fall, before Caster countered out of a Cradleshock… only to get rolled down for another two-count. Caster hits the ropes for a cutter, but it’s not enough as he took Robo to the top rope for a Tower of London cutter that gets yet another near-fall.
Back-and-forth strikes end with Caster poking the eye, but Robo’s in with a headbutt and a bicycle knee strike before a Cradleshock gets the win. Short, but action packed, with both guys looking good for the time they got. ***
Nouveau Aesthetic (Still Life & BLANK) vs. The Bird & The Bee (Willow Nightingale & Solo Darling)
Nightingale and Darling subbed for Puf and Megabyte Ronnie here against the former (?) CHIKARA pair. I do dig how both Still Life and BLANK’s masks cover their nose and mouths – ahead of the curve in 2020!
Officer Magnum is out with Solo Darling, complete with a new doggie coat. The Nouveau Aesthetic seem to be a little unnerved by the doggo, with Still Life in particular looking unsure. I guess she’s not a dog person?
Denver Colorado’s had enough of the lack of tags here, so they make this a lucha rules match. BLANK and Solo start, with BLANK taking Darling down with a waistlock takedown in the opening seconds. Solo goes for the leg, muscling BLANK to the mat for an early submission attempt as she went for a toe hold, complete with BLANK unzipping his mask to scream at her. I dig that.
After getting the ropes, BLANK returns by grabbing Solo’s hair, then an armbar… but it’s kicked away as Solo again went back to the legs, folding BLANK for a pinning attempt ahead of a Sharp Stinger attempt that she switches into a leg grapevine. BLANK gets free, but toying with Solo was a bad idea as she hits a low dropkick before she unloaded some mid kicks and a bulldog for a two-count.
Nightingale tags in as she and Solo roll BLANK to the mat ahead of a big splash for a two-count. BLANK demands silence so he could go for a shoulder tackle… but to no avail, as he ends up getting dropkicked to the outside by Nightingale, who dragged him back in by the bask. A hot shot hangs her up in the ropes though, before a back body drop almost ended badly.
Still Life tags in as she tries to take over with a Test of Strength, but she’s outmuscled by Willow, only to turn her into a wacky strait-jacket submission. Willow trips her, but Still Life is back with a sunset flip into the corner before another wacky pin drew a two-count. Nightingale replies with snap suplexes, then a Fisherman suplex for a near-fall, before some double-teaming led to Willow clotheslining Still Life as Solo went for a Sharp Stinger.
BLANK is in to break it up, and he’s now legal per lucha rules, so he and Solo launch in with strikes before the Honey Steamer tornado suplex out of the corner from Solo was met with a snap German suplex. BLANK takes over, but it’s Still Life who caught out Solo with a misdirection ahead of a bulldog for a near-fall, before she stretched Solo on the mat.
A tag brings back BLANK as the Nouveau Aesthetic worked over Solo in their corner, before a big backbreaker left her laying in the middle of the ring. BLANK goes in for a full nelson on the mat, but Solo powers out only to get her eyes raked. A dropkick takes Solo back down, as Still Life tagged back in… only to get pulled into BLANK before BLANK accidentally slapped his own partner.
Willow runs in to clear house with clotheslines, but BLANK trips her up and pulls her outside into the ring post. That left Still Life in there with Solo, who went for a Sharp Stinger… BLANK broke it up in time for Still Life to trap Solo in an Indian deathlock, but Willow stomps it apart before tossing Still Life outside. A spinebuster awaited for a rushing-in BLANK, before the Honey Steamer lands from Solo.
BLANK’s back to shove Willow into Solo again, as my feed pauses once more. It’s back with Still Life being launched into Solo, who was in a Tree of Woe, before the Deathlock submission was reapplied… but Willow dumps BLANK onto her to break the hold once more. From there, Solo manipulates her way into a Sharp Stinger, and that forces Still Life to tap. The lucha rules helped make this feel less wonky than earlier tag matches, as Solo Darling picked up the win to keep her towards the top of the pecking order. ***
Matt Makowski vs. Chris Dickinson
Originally this was Daniel Garcia vs. Makowski, but plans change as Beyond have real bad luck with putting that match on.
We’ve a measured start here as they tie-up and roll into the ropes, with a break eventually being forced. Makowski takes down Dickinson as he grabbed a waistlock, but it ends in the ropes with another break as Dickinson then slowly looked to take control. A side headlock takedown is quickly escaped, as Makowsi instead looked for a key lock, rolling Dickinson to the mat before he looked to transition into a cross armbreaker.
Makowski tries to switch into another hold, but Dickinson switches out into a roll-up before they headed to the ropes for a break. They go back-and-forth on side headlocks before Dickinson busts out the La Magistral cradle for a two-count. They waited all show for this! A Dragon screw spins Makowski to the mat, before he lit up Makowski with a chop, then pulled him down for a submission attempt as he rolled Makowski into a Trailer Hitch.
The hold turns into a half crab, but Makowski crawls to the ropes for a break, before he looked to fight back with some shots to the midsection. Dickinson replied with elbows, before Makowski floated over the ropes as he rolled back in to look for a cross armbreaker… but Dickinson slides out and traps him in a STF instead. Once more, the ropes save Makowski, who’s quickly caught in a Figure Four in the middle of the ring, but once again Makowski drags himself to the rope.
Makowski looks to make a comeback with some mid kicks, but Dickinson returns the favour, throwing in kicks and chops until a backfist and a Fisherman buster spiked Dickinson for a near-fall. Christ! Knees to the gut from Makowski keep Dickinson down, before a butterfly suplex gets a near-fall as he goes back to the cross armbreaker.
Another roll-up from Dickinson breaks the hold, before he ran into a rear kick as a Burning Hammer set-up spun Dickinson back into the cross armbar. Dickinson manages to get to the ropes, but he’s met with a German suplex, before Dickinson returned with a running death valley driver and a Figure Four in as Makowski tries to club his way free. Instead, Makowski rolls over to reverse the hold, forcing Dickinson into the ropes.
Dickinson gets up to kick Makowski’s leg out of his leg, before Makowski pulled him into a triangle armbar. Dickinson tries to roll it into a pin, but then powers up to try and powerbomb his way free, eventually doing so! Makowski pushes off a Figure Four attempt and tries to come back with a Chaos Theory, but Dickinson rolls through, going back into a STF-style choke for the submission. A wonderful scrap between one of the indie scene’s biggest names – and a guy who’s pivot away from MMA should really begin to bear fruit any day now. ***½
The show ends with Milk Chocolate interrupting Matt Makowski’s speech… but the Rep pull them off the apron, and yes… THEY END UP IN THE LAKE!
