The day after their Greatest Rivals Round Robin Tournament, Beyond Wrestling makes their debut in a new venue in Somerville, MA. The headlining match sees a battle of high flyers as Ricochet battles Shynron in a first time ever dream match.
1) Donovan Dijak vs. Andrew Everett
Donovan Dijak is officially my pick for Beyond Wrestler of the Year and definitely one of my favorites overall this year. He kills it every single time out and this was another example. It doesn't matter the scenario, Dijak delivers. This was the best possible opener you could ask for from these two and it was honestly better than even I expected. The vast size difference combined with the obvious stylistic difference made me wonder if this would mesh well, but man, it was perfect. The crowd was on fire for their hometown guy in Dijak despite all the vile things he's done in Beyond this year so all the spots got the proper pop. Speaking of spots and moments to remember, there were plenty of them including Dijak hitting a moonsault off the apron only to land on his feet, Everett countering out of Feast Your Eyes after kicking out of the first variation of the move, and the finish..oh..the finish. Dijak is a beast, that's all I will say. You have to see how he hoisted Everett into position for the second Feast Your Eyes. This ruled.
Match rating - ***3/4
2) Trevor Lee vs. Brian Fury
Everett & Dijak got into a scuffle after the match which led to Trevor Lee making the save. This leads to the Lee/Fury match that was scheduled for later on. Fury is Dijak's trainer and Lee is Everett's partner so this was a good sequel for the opening match. Lee & Fury put together a solid match although it couldn't match the fiery opener. In the end, Fury would put away the Carolina Caveman and walk away with the victory. Fun little match here.
Match rating - **3/4
3) Tessa Blanchard vs. Alexxis Nevaeh
First time appearance in Beyond for Tessa Blanchard here. I've been watching Beyond for a year and this is the first time I've seen one on one women's action so it was interesting. I'd say this was a good way to start what I'm hoping will be a new tradition. Both men women impressed with Alexxis showing off her explosiveness early on before Tessa would take control. After a few minutes on top, the aformentioned explosiveness that started off the match would earn Alexxis the win as she turned the tables almost immediately.
4) EYFBO & Pinkie Sanchez vs. Can-AM Connection & Travis Gordon
I'm completely lost as to who the babyface team is. EYFBO & Pinkie Sanchez are, of course, a part of the villanious Team Pazuzu that has ran roughshod over Beyond in 2015. Their opponents come from Canada as they main evented a C4 show the night before this. Being unfamilar with them slightly decreased my interest in this, but they would soon get me heavily into the match. EYFBO & Pinkie controlled the early portion until Gordon got the hot tag and this turned into quite the trios match. Extremely fun finishing run to a match that was better than I expected it to be considering I had no clue what to expect.
Match rating - ***
5) War Machine (Hanson & Rowe) vs. Chris Dickinson & Jaka
These guys absolutely killed each other. Sometimes matches like this can be underwhelming, but this undoubtedly delivered for me. It never got dull however it also wasn't overkill nor a cluster fuck. Epic interactions, hard hitting exchanges, and a pretty great finishing run with big moves & nearfalls. Dickinson & Jaka surprisingly agree to the Code of Honor post match and shake War Machine's hands.
Match rating - ***1/2
7) Timothy Thatcher vs. Darius Carter
Of the four men involved in the Round Robin tournament the previous night, Tim Thatcher is the only one competing here at Powder Keg. He's issued an Open Challenge and Crusade for Change's own Darius Carter answers it, followed to the ring by his cohorts. Carter tried to play into Thatcher's game at first only to fail and resort to being his usual sly, sneaky self. The entire match was worked in Thatcher fashion however so it was no surprise when he locked in a crossface out of nowhere and forced Darius to tap. Decent little exhibition, nothing special though.
Match rating - **1/2
Team Tremendous hits the ring after the match and confronts Darius Carter. This brings out the Minute Men, Devin Blaze & Tommy Trainwreck which leads to our next match.
8) Team Tremendous vs. The Minute Men
The brawl ensues and the bell rings! Dan Barry with a moonsault to the floor and a bunch of other stuff until things finally settle down. Barry ends up being the guy to get isolated by the Minute Men, but everyone's favorite big man Bill Carr would save the day when he got the hot tag. Things got wild once again at that point with Team Tremendous and The Minute Men busting out one hell of a final few moments. The crowd was on fire for the finishing sequence and it was extremely enjoyable. Team Tremendous gets the win in fantastic fashion.
Match rating - **3/4
Post match, Crusade for Change member TJ Marconi jumps the Tremendous investigators. It leads to an out numbered beatdown. Somehow, the dynamic duo of Barry & Carr find a way to fight back and actually end up on top of things when all is said and done.
9) David Starr vs. John Silver
Starr cuts a promo before the match much like he did the previous night. This go round he calls John Silver a midget and it certainly came back to bite him once the bell rang. These two are both good at what they do in the ring so this was a ton of fun to watch. Smooth and well worked. Silver showed some baby face fire, Starr was a dick, and both displayed a number of flashy moves. In the end, Starr puts out the fire that Silver had going with a stiff shot to the back of the head followed by his signature strait jacket german.
Match rating - ***
10) Chris Hero & JT Dunn vs. Matt Taven & Mike Bennett
The Kingdom is in the house and fucksake, Maria. I don't even know what to say. Anyway, this starts with a bang as JT Dunn interrupts an extended period of showing off from Taven with a stinging elbow to the back of the head. The action didn't slow down often here and they kinda kept it straight to the point which was fine with me. There were a few near falls down the stretch plus elbows, superkicks, funny antics and yeah. Bennett steals the win from Hero in cheap, vintage Kingdom fashion.
Match rating - ***1/4
11) Ricochet vs. Shynron
The night before this, Ricochet made his first appearance for Beyond in a match against JT Dunn that was fun, but not your blowaway Ricochet performance. Here, he faces Shynron in another dream match, this time in the main event. With that in mind, Ricochet took it up a notch and we got a very competitive match without it going too far into false finish oblivion. There were false finishes though and they were awesome. Shynron looked good and right at home in there with The King, to the point that it felt like he was going to win at some points. Particularly when he did things like countering the Benadryller into a reverserana followed by the coast to coast drop kick. Super fun main event that will deliver if you're a fan of these two.
Match rating - ***1/2
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