Beyond Wrestling’s “Miracle Workers” taping was distributed somewhat uniquely. Before the DVD release, five of the best matches from the weekend were released digitally for $5. These five matches are also included with the “Miracle Workers” DVD release. This review will cover both nights of the tapings as well as the 5 matches included in the “5 for $5” collection. Let’s get down to business!
Night 1
The Academy of Anatomy (Mark Angel (+3) & Nick Talent (-2)) & Darius Carter (-3) vs. Doom Patrol (Jonny Mangue (-1), The Pitboss (+1) & Robbie Roller (-11))
Roller is the wrestler formerly known as Zack Novak. Angel takes control of Mangue in the opening moments of the match. Darius Carter takes over for Angel, anxious to take out the Doom Patrol since they hurt his usual tag partner TJ Marconi. Carter does well with Roller, until Roller rakes his eyes. Mangue takes control and tags in the Pitboss. Carter is able to tag in Talent, but Talent is immediately beat down once he comes in. Talent gives Roller a snapmare driver to turn the tide. Unfortunately for Talent, Mangue catches him coming off the ropes with a headbutt to his mid-section. Talent and Roller end up laid on the mat after Talent knee strikes Roller in the head and Roller hits a uranage slam. Angel tags in and lays out the entire Doom Patrol with forearms. The top rope collapses when Angel whips Roller to the corner. He still backdrops Mangue and Roller regardless of the ring falling apart. Pitboos breaks Talent’s pin after he hits Mangue with a Jackhammer. Mangue wears down Angel as the ring is being fixed. Angel German suplexes Pitboss. Carter hits a Code Breaker on Roller but isn’t the legal man so he can’t go for a pin. Talent makes sure Pitboss’ one-handed spinebuster and standing moonsault on Carter don’t end the match. Talent ducks a Stinger splash, sending Pitboss to the floor. Mangue buckle bombs and Finlay rolls Talent. Roller frog splashes Talent and Carter breaks the pin. A few suplexes from Carter and Angel aren’t enough to take Roller out. Everyone ends up on the floor after some dives. The fight on the floor gets to be too much and the match gets thrown out around 14:00. The craziness at the end was quite intense. The personal issues got turned up to a different level and made me want to see these six fight again in some form. The action before the closing sequence was also pretty solid. It’s good to see that the Doom Patrol is able to carry on without Dickinson. **3/4
Josh Thor (-3) vs. Stan Styles (-2) vs. Steve “The Turtle” Weiner (-2) vs. Jack Verville (-1)
A pose and dance off between all four men happens before the match. Styles attacks Turtle with his shake weight. Thor gives Verville a backbreaker. Thor grabbing Styles’ nipples do nothing. Styles takes him out, but then Verville crossbody’s both Thor and Styles. Verville takes out Thor with a neckbreaker. Turtle fights off both Styles and Verville. Thor goes face to face with Turtle as the last two men in the rig. Thor begs for Turtle to give him some forearm strikes. Thor double forearms Turtle in the face when Turtle’s forearms prove worthless. Turtle ducks Off With His Head and gives Thor a Kingdom Hearts spinebuster for two. Verville clocks Turtle with his own shell. Styles palm strikes Turtle on the floor. Verville drives Styles into the mat with a rope assisted piledriver. Styles is too close to the ropes for Verville to get a pin. Styles palm strikes Verville as well. Thor pulls up Styles and hits Off With His Head for the pin at 5:05. Once the match got under way it was solid. I really like that most of these guys are able to be a little goofy but still get it done in the ring. This was just too short to be much of anything for the most part. *1/2
Johnny Cockstrong and Davey Vega, the two guys who top the Beyond leader board, make their way to the ring. Vega says if Cockstrong won’t let him wrestle his match now, he will leave and not allow Cockstrong to wrestle him tomorrow night. Cockstorng allows Vega to have his match, saying when Vega loses and moves down the rankings he will feel less pressured in their match tomorrow.
Davey Vega (+9) vs. Jarek 1:20 (-4)
Vega was supposed to face Jonathan Gresham, but Gresham was unable to make the tapings. Jarek will take his place. Vega slaps Jarek when Jarek tries to get him to participate in a card trick (Jarek is a magician and illusionist). Jarek and Vega trade control on the mat. Jarek is able to maneuver his way around Vega to control his neck in a front facelock. Jarek keeps control with a neckbreaker and forearm in the corner. Jarek drops Vega TKO style on the top rope. Vega falls to the floor and Jarek tope con hilo’s onto him. Jarek looks for a piledriver or powerbomb on the apron. Vega reverses and backdrops Jarek to the floor. Vega gets in a few moves before Jarek catches him with an enzuigiri. Vega dropkicks Jarek. Jarek crucifix pins him for two. Vega clips Jarek with a clothesline to the back of his head. Jarek looks for a double underhook facebuster. Vega turns it into a facebuster for two. Jarek comes back with two spinning back elbows and roundhouse kick. Jarek superkicks Vega after trapping him into the ropes. Jarek drives Vega’s face into the mat with his knees for two. Vega rolls through Jarek’s Canadian Destroyer. Vega hits a discuss clothesline, but his arrogant pin lets Jarek kick out. Jarek trips Vega’s legs to stop his top rope German suplex. Jarek legdrops Vega in a tree of woe position. Jarek and Vega match each other on strikes and boots. Jarek gets two with a half-nelson suplex. Jarek springboards into a tornado DDT. He follows up with a split-legged moonsault for two. Jarek stomps Vega’s face into the mat. Vega hops over Jarek and superkicks him. He delivers a Air Raid Crash. which Jarek kicks out of immediately. Vega superkicks Jarek and boots him in the corner. Vega hits the Yes Way (Air Raid Crash) to pin Jarek at 17:11. I cannot do justice to how awesome Jarek looked in his performance. This is probably the best match he has had in Beyond up to this point. I was convinced he was going to knock Vega off his pedestal many times. He knows just when to bust out his big moves and build the match to a crescendo. Vega using Cockstrong’s own finisher to polish Jarek off was a nice touch. Really good stuff all around. ***1/2
Johnny Cockstrong (+9) vs. Sugar Dunkerton (0)
Cockstrong tells the wrestlers that he is going to wrestle seriously since Vega is now one point ahead of him. This is Dunkerton’s Beyond debut. Dunkerton asks for a “serious” test of strength which of course he doesn’t take seriously at all. Dunkerton uses some interesting foot work to reverse a wristlock. Cockstrong slaps Dunkerton’s arm away when he tries to do a wave with him. The Black Eyed Peas “Time of My Life” begins playing. Dunkerton and the other wrestlers do their best to persuade Cockstrong to dance. Dunkerton turns an invisible wheel on Cockstrong’s back to get him to dance. Dunkerton chops Cockstrong over and over in the chest and face. Dunkerton winds up and shoves Cockstrong down with one finger for two. Dunkerton drives his forearm into Cockstrong’s kindneys from the second rope. He gets two with a double axe handle. Cockstrong puts on a headlock instead of using his usual cock based offense. The wrestlers want the cock based offense, but he opts for traditional moves instead. Dunkerton dribbles Cockstrong into the mat repeatedly. Dunkerton gets two with a senton. Dunkerton clotheslines Cockstrong multiple times in the corner. He hits the Bow Chicka Wow Wow for two. Cockstrong moves out of the way of an elbow. Cockstrong fails to catch Dunkerton with a pin after multiple types of pinning attempts. Cockstrong hangs Dunkerton in a tree of woe. Dunkerton escapes and superplexes Cockstrong for two. Cockstrong fires up from Dunkerston’s strikes. Cockstrong hits the Shining Cock and a couple flying elbows. He gets two with the Pencil Cock. He splashes his cock into Dunkerton’s face. Dunkerton belly-to-belly suplexes Cockstrong for two. Cockstrong delivers an atomic drop. He gives Dunkerton the in the Pants piledriver for the pin at 16:57. This was drastically different in tone from Vega’s match but accomplished the same thing: Cockstrong tied him in the leader boards, put up with a tough opponent, and went to show that as silly as his offense might look, it’s effective and helped him bring him to the top of the leader board. This took a bit of time to get the point, but once it did it was smooth sailing. ***
Vega comes out afterwards. Cockstrong seems game to fight him right now. Vega congratulates Cockstrong and says it’s nice to see he is incapable of wrestling a serious match if his life depended on it. Vega says he will expose Cockstrong as the joke he is tomorrow night in the main event. Cockstrong reveals to Vega that their match tomorrow night will be a Lumberjack Match. This does not make Vega happy, since he had burned many of the Beyond roster members.
Night Two
The Pitboss (+4) vs. Tim Hughes (-6)
Robbie Roller and Jonny Mangue are in Pitboss’ corner. Hughes catches Pitboss off guard at the start. He takes Pitboss over a few times. Hughes’ clothesline has no effect, and Pitboss gets two with a clothesline of his own. Hughes manages to get in a chops in the corner. Pitboss mows him down with another clothesline, but Hughes get his foot on the bottom rope to stop the pin. Pitboss hits a one handed spinebuster to block a tornado DDT. He then hits an elevated reverse DDT and Hughes still manages to kick out. Hughes fights out of Hell Awaits (A gutwrench powerbomb) initially. Pitboss does however hit a variation which turns into a facebuster for the pin at 4:27. This was essentially a glorified squash and possibly the best Pitboss has looked in a singles match. Corvis Fear checks on Time Hughes afterward. *
Pinkie Sanchez (+1) vs. Aaron Epic (+1)
Epic is all business. Sanchez is too, but just is a little more unorthodox in his approach. Epic pulls on Sanchez’s arm. Sanchez rolls out of a wristlock. He shoves Epic, and Epic shoves him back. Sanchez seems frustrated as he rolls to the floor. Epic follows Sanchez to the floor. Sanchez pulls him by the arms face first into the ring post. Sanchez puts Epic on a chair. Inspirational music plays as Sanchez, in slow motion, runs towards Epic. Epic plays along to bait Sanchez into a superkick. Sanchez trips Epic off the apron while Epic is posing. Epic kicks Sanchez in the chest. Epic kicks Sanchez in the chest. Sanchez comes off a ladder that’s in the crowd with a tornado DDT. He puts Epic on a charier. Sanchez doublestomps Epic’s knee. Back in the ring, Sanchez gives Epic the Shining to the back of his head two times. Sanchez’s seated senton only gets him two. Sanchez hurts himself on a standing moonsault, yet still covers Epic for two. Epic fastball punches Sanchez after a savate kick. Sanchez kicks out. A running punch to the side of Sanchez’s head doesn’t do the trick either. Neither does a 2k1 Bomb. Sanchez and Epic fight on the ropes. Sanchez positions Epic in a tree of woe and hits Bootiez 4 Breakfast for two. Sanchez then comes off the top with a seated senton for the pin at 9:35. This was an excellent back and forth contest. Their two different styles meshed very well together and both guys came out looking better than they did going in. Sanchez gives Epic some respect after the match. Shortly after these two (with Sugar Dunkerton) would form the #KOA. **3/4
Corvis Fear (+10) vs. Eddie Graves (-1)
Fear’s match on the 5 for $5 portion of the Miracle Workers taping (the review of that set is later in this review) also set him to be tied with Cockstrong and Vega at the top of the Beyond Wrestling leader board. Fear and Graves exchange wristlocks. Graves takes Fear’s Beyond Wrestling shirt and rubs it on his crotch. Fear gets hot headed, yet cools down to allow a clean break when Graves takes the corner. Graves however cheap shots Fear with a punch when taking Fear to the corner. Fear kicks Graves from the mat. He stomps on Graves’ back. Fear side steps Graves’ attempt to drop the top rope down and to slingshot Fear into the ring. He does however kick the middle rope into Fear’s crotch. Graves comes off the apron with a somersault senton. Graves throws Fear into the ring post, then leg sweeps him back first into a pillar. In the ring, Fear gives Graves multiple atomic drops. He dropkicks Graves’ leg out and crossbody’s him in a seated position across the back. Fear hip tosses Graves into a dropkick. Graves rolls through a sunset flip and delivers a diving clothesline for two. Graves throws Fear face first into the mat. Fear blocks a facebuster. He drives Graves into the mat with a reverse STO for two. Fear and Graves fight on the top rope and end up crotching themselves. Fear goes for an Ace Crusher once they recover. Graves counters with the Edge-O-Matic for two. Fear blocks a kick and hits the Joker Driver for two. Graves drives Fear’s face into his knee for two. He does it again while Fear dangles from the second rope. Fear gets his foot on the rope to break the count. Fear DDT’s Graves out of a torture rack position. Davey Vega distracts the referee so Brett Lauderdale can’t make the count. Fear gets in a verbal argument with Vega, allowing Graves to sneak in from behind to schoolboy Fear and hold his tights for the pin at 11:49. That finish made sense from a storyline perspective, but given then quality of the match up to that point and how long the match was it was pretty unfulfilling. Then again, I’m not taking anything from Graves and Fear who had a pretty good match up until that point. **3/4
Chris Dickinson vs. Nick Talent (-1)
Dickinson blew out his knee at a stateside wXw match. Although the Doom Patrol does not like it, the referee counts and gives Talent a victory bringing him up to 0 points. Talent still wants a match tonight. He turns his attention to his partner Mark Angel. He says that he and Angel have both faced Anthony Stone, a man who gave Talent his blessing to begin teaming with Angel instead of him (Stone). Talent says if he and Angel are going to be partners, they should wrestle each other. The other wrestlers say it should happen, and Angel agrees.
Mark Angel (+3) vs. Nick Talent (0)
Angel and Talent take an amateur style approach in the feeling out process. Talent shoulder blocks Angel, who bounces off the ropes to get back to his feet. A couple back elbows from Talent lead to him driving Angel’s face into the middle turnbuckle. Talent gets two with a Northern Lights suplex. Angel gorilla press slams Talent after whipping him into opposite corners. Angel rolls backwards and up into a standing moonsault for two. Angel looks to superplex Talent to the floor. They each come down face first on the turnbuckle. They throw punches at each other. Talent traps Angel in the corner and boots him in the side of the head. Angel blocks a sunset bomb off the apron. Angel rams Talent’s back into the ring apron. Talent throws Angel into the bottom portion of the ring. Angel throws Talent off when he goes for an assisted Boston Crab. Angel falls to the mat, driving Talent’s neck into his knee. Talent comes to and is not happy with Angel going after his neck. He drives Angel’s face into the mat for two. Angel gives Talent a waterwheel spinebuster for the pin at 8:58. This was a pretty interesting match to watch. Most of these matches look to bring guys together, but Talent certainly seemed peeved that Angel re-aggravated his neck. In the end, Talent and Angel make amends. I really like what I’m seeing out of Angell. He and Talent should definitely be a fun team to watch grow. **1/2
The Doom Patrol and Academy of Anatomy get in a heated verbal argument outside the ring. Some others interject to try and diffuse the situation. Things end up getting a little worse with Corvis Gear being involved in the argument as well.
Chase Burnett (-4) vs. Flip Kendrick (-4) vs. Leon Del Admon (-3) vs. Fredo Majors (+1)
Kendrick and Burnett form an unofficial alliance to dispose of Admon. Majors being larger than both of them is much tougher to take him down. Finally, Kendrick springboard dropkicks Majors to take him down. Kendrick, Admon and Burnett each try for a pin and fail. Burnett and Kendrick take out Admon once again. Majors splashes Admon in the corner. She slaps Kendrick into a German suplex. Burnett sends Majors to the floor. Burnett double knees Majors onto the apron, then corkscrew sentons onto Majors. Kendrick corkscrew moonsaults onto both of them. Admon 450 splashes onto Kendrick and Burnett. As Admon goes to DDT Burnett, Kendrick huracanrana’s Admon which also carries Burnett into that DDT. Majors gives Kendrick the Total Anarchy. He splashes Burnett in the corner and places him up top. Admon sunset bombs Majors off the second rope. Admon flips Burnett off the top rope onto Majors! Kendrick hits a shooting star pres on Admon. Burnett breaks the pin. Burnett moonsaults Kendrick on the second rope for the pin at 7:35. Kendrick and Burnett outshined the other two with their flashy offense, but I saw a lot I liked in Admon. Compared to some of Beyond’s other four ways this wasn’t much to write home about. **1/4
Lumberjack Match
Johnny Cockstrong (+10) vs. Davey Vega (+10)
Interestingly enough, all the wrestlers prevent Vega from entering the ring…except the Doom Patrol. Vega grounds Cockstrong in the beginning. Cockstrong applies a headscissors. Vega escapes and stretches out Cockstrong’s arms behind his back. Vega uses the ropes while putting on an abdominal stretch. The wrestlers pull Vega out of the ring and put the boots to him as punishment for cheating. Back in the ring, Cockstrong delivers a pencil cock. The lumberjacks prevent Vega from rolling to the floor for a breather. Vega backdrops Cockstrong to the floor. The other wrestlers catch Cockstrong and parade him around the ring. They shove Cockstrong cock first into Vega. Cockstrong blocks some kicks but eats an enzuigiri. Vega pins Cockstrong for two. Vega dropkicks Cockstrong in the side of the head for two. Vega pitches Cockstrong out to the Doom Patrol. They put the boots to Cockstrong until some of the other wrestlers save him. Vega stays on Cockstrong, throwing strikes and boots in the corner. Cockstrong reverses , throwing punches to Vega’s mid-section relentlessly. Vega has to rake his eyes to stop his onslaught. Cockstrong small packages Vega after a leaping back elbow for two. Cockstrong Stinger splashes Vega two times. Vega blocks a third and powerbombs Cockstrong for two. Cockstrong kick Vega. Vega turns into a discuss clothesline. Cockstrong gets his foot on the rope to break the pin. Vega yakuza kicks him in the corner for two. Vega uses the Cockstrong own In The Pants Piledrver. Cockstrong kicks out at one and is fired up. The Shining Cock only gets him two. Cockstrong goes for the In The Pants Piledriver. Vega turns it into the Air Raid Crash for two. Cockstrong and Vega go up top. Cockstrong fights his way into giving Vega a top rope Air Raid Crash for the pin at 14:06, ending Vega’s undefeated streak. This was quite the battle, and the one match that put over just how important point rankings in Beyond truly are. They used the Lumberjack stipulation perfectly without overdoing it. The finish was killer and made Cockstrong seem like the top guy in Beyond. This was a fine way to end the DVD. ***1/2
”Miracle Workers: 5 for $5”
Flip Kendrick (-3) vs. Pinkie Sanchez (0)
Sanchez goofs around, crawling under the ring and doing a flip off the ropes. Sanchez grabs the ropes when Kendrick tries a seated abdominal stretch. Sanchez holds onto a side headlock and a headscissors. Kendrick boots Sanchez as he comes off the ropes. Kendrick slingshots into a huracanrana, then dropkicks Sanchez to the floor. Sanchez slams Kendrick’s face into the apron. He superkicks Kendrick while he’s seated on a chair. Sanchez delivers running double knees while Kendrick is seated. Sanchez throws Kendrick and Sugar Dunkerton’s head together (poor Sugar). He re-seats Kendrick in a chair ringside, and comes off the second rope with a double stomp to Kendrick’s crotch. Kendrick avoids Sanchez’s splash in the corner. He gives Kendrick a side package piledriver for two. Kendrick also gets two with a standing shooting star press. Sanchez gives him a chinbreaker. Kendrick dropkicks him for another two count. Kendrick wins a forearm strike. Sanchez clotheslines Kendrick two times and delivers a superkick that sends Kendrick to the floor. Sanchez suicide dives out after him. Kendrick blocks a suplex back in the ring. Sanchez avoids a shooting star press. Kendrick however flips up and drives Sanchez’s face into the mat. He only gets two with a reverse huracanrana. Sanchez avoids the Flip Cutter and superkicks Kendrick twice. He spin kicks Kendrick in the face for two. Sanchez headbutts Kendrick into a tree of woe. Sanchez hits Bootiez 4 Breakfast for two. Sanchez rolls Kendrick from a jack knife position. Kendrick rolls out and delivers an enzuigiri. Sanchez gets his knees up to block a backflip senton. More forearms are thrown. Kendrick finally successfully delivers the Flip Cutter. He hits the backflip senton onto Sanchez’s face for two. Sanchez fires up, delivering Snake’s Revenge (a bodyscissors DDT) for the pin at 17:34. The ending was pretty cool, but this didn’t do a whole lot for me. The wrestlers were unusually quiet which hurt the mood of the bout. Then again there was little to string the big moves together, which is a shame because both men obviously worked really hard. **3/4
Corvis Fear (+9) vs. Ryan Eagles (0)
Eagles focuses his attack on Fear’s arm. Fear elbows Eagles to the floor. Eagles pops Fear upside down on the apron and punches him in the face. Fear superkicks Eagles after avoiding a forearm. Fear rolls him up in the padding on the floor and back sentons onto him. Eagles traps Fear’s foot in the middle rope, allowing him to stomp away. Eagles drops a fist for two. Eagles blocks Fear’s double axe handle. He lariats Fear in the back of his neck for two. Eagles transitions from a sliding clothesline into a neck and arm vice. Fear evades an Ace Crusher. He crossbody’s Eagles as he lay against the ropes. Eagles blocks a boot. He traps Fear’s leg sin the bottom portion of the ring. Eagles lariats him in the back of the head, then dropkicks him to bring him out of his stuck position. Eagles chops Fear on the mat for two. They each throw punches and chops back on their feet. Eagles rakes Fear’s eyes to stop his momentum. Fear pops Eagles into a high angle German suplex for two. Eagles grabs the ropes to block an Oklahoma Roll. Eagles hits a brainbuster for two. Fear catches Eagles going to the top rope. Eagles comes off with a Manhattan Drop. Eagles drops a knee from the second rope for two. Eagles drops Fear on his head with a Satio suplex. The momentum carries Fear to the floor. Eagles then gives him an Air Raid Crash across his knee, then throws him face first into the ring apron! Fear manages to kick out at two once Eagles gets him back in the ring. Fear rolls up Eagles to avoid another Air Raid Crash. Fear squeaks out a Shining Ace Crusher for the pin at 15:10. I really like Eagles’ nuances and him building from one more to the next. Fear’s always been one of the best guys in Beyond, and these two together made for an entertaining bout. ***
Team ISW (Dan Barry (-1) & Frankie Arion (-1)) vs. Doom Patrol (Jonny Mangue (-1) & Robbie Roller (-11))
Mangue is a bit arrogant when getting in the ring with Arion. He’s woken up when Arion almost gets a few fast pins and armdrags on him. Barry takes control of Roller’s arm, frustrating the Pitboss on the floor. Barry bites Roller’s fingers for the hell of it. He hip tosses Roller and dropkicks him in the back of the head. Arion tags back in. He gives Roller an Iconoclam, then rolls him into a low snapmare for two. Roller rakes Arion’s eyes and stomps on his back. He chokes Arion with his shin while distracting the referee. Barry spits water on Roller to get him to stop. Mangue clotheslines Arion from the apron, giving Roller a two count. The Doom Patrol wear down Arion, cheating as much as they can while doing so. Arion finally escapes from their corner by giving Roller a flying crossbody. Barry throws punches at both opponents. He spins Roller out into a facebuster and suplexes Mangue. Barry gives Mangue an inside-out suplex. Roller manages to break the cover. Mangue choke bombs Barry and Roller gives him a frog splash. Arion breaks the pin. He absorbs Mangue’s chops and then trades kicks with him. Arion gets two with a tornado bulldog. Barry turns Roller inside out with a clothesline. Barry powerbombs Roller into a Death Valley Driver. Mangue saves his partner. Pitboss accidentally hits Mangue with a chair from the floor. Barry hits Mangue with the Punch Line. Arion sprays deodorant into Pitsboss’ eyes to ensure he won’t interfere. The Double pit chesty frogsplash gives Team ISW the win at 13:43. It’s not hard to see why Barry would be back in Beyond after this. He and Arion looked terrific and were fantastic protagonists against the easily hated Doom Patrol (who also did well). I’d like to see more of Arion in Beyond if possible. ***
Darius Carter (-3) vs. Jack Verville (-2)
Verville controls Carter’s shoulder and wrist. Carter key locks the legs and slaps the back of Verville’s head. Carter puts on a side headlock which Verville quickly breaks. Verville rolls Carter in a front facelock. Carter drops an elbow and applies a seated abdominal stretch. Carter trips Verville into a jackknife pin for two. Verville rolls to the floor when Carter goes back to his wrist. Back in the ring, Verville breaks the bridge Carter creates out of a double knuckle lock. Verville rolls to the floor again. Verville gets shoulder blocks Carter upon re-entry. Carter clotheslines Verville back to the floor. Verville charges Carter to block his dive. Verville drives Carter with his knees head first into the ring apron. Verville slingshots Carter throat first into the bottom rope for two. Verville begins to use offense that wears down Carter’s neck even more. Carter delivers a chinbreaker. Verville dropkicks his legs out and flips into a cutter for two. Carter comes off the second rope with a European uppercut. Verville spits in Carter’s face while Carter mounts a comeback. Carter brushes it off and keeps throwing strikes. Carter’s butterfly suplex and back suplex get him two. Verville cradles Carter by his neck for two. Carter rolls up for an enzuigiri. Verville knees Carter to the ring apron. Verville tries to drive Carter’s head into the mat. Carter instead backdrops Verville to the floor and suicide dives after him. Once Verville comes back in the ring he musters the strength to exchange strikes. However, Carter catches him coming off the top rope with the Foreclosure (a Code Breaker) for the victory at 16:40. This was a technical showcase that you don’t see very often in Beyond. This is one of those matches I feel like made both men look tremendous and that both have potential to do big things in wrestling. This is one worth seeking out. ***1/4
Jonathan Gresham (-1) vs. Zane Silver (-4)
Gresham headbutts and chops Silver in the chest. He stretches Silver’s arms out behind his back. Silver fires back with some punches. Gresham headbutts and strikes Silver again. He headbutts Silver in the small of his back for two. The two guys fight for a hip toss, reaching the ropes in a stalemate. Silver breaks a lock-up cleanly in the corner, only for Gresham to headbutt him a few times. Both men hit the ropes until Silver lands a hip toss. Gresham throws a few more chops. Silver leg lariats Gresham, who rolls out to the floor angry. Silver throws kicks at Gresham’s chest. He misses and ends up kicking the ring post. Gresham target the othr leg back in the ring. Silver grabs the ropes to break a half crab. Silver throws some kicks but quickly crumples his own body weight. Gresham goes back to work on the leg. Gresham and Silver throw clothesline at each other repeatedly. They end up knocking each other down with stereo running forearms. Silver boots Gresham to block a rolling forearm. He dropkicks Gresham to the floor and then hits a suicide dive. Gresham recovers and German suplexes Silver twice for two. Silver evades an O’Conner Roll. He Dragon suplexes Gresham twice, bridging the second one for a two count. Each man throws some hard strikes mid-ring. Silver backfists Gresham after a flurry of punches. Gresham double sledges Silver in the face. Silver kicks out Gresham’s legs and kicks him in the head. Gresham lariats Silver for two. Silver gives him a Diamond Dust and a stunner. He hits the BSE (Best Senton Ever) for the pin at 16:03. It’s really mind blowing how night and day Gresham is as himself and Hieracon. He was excellent in this match here, as was Silver, except when Silver just stopped selling his legs when it became inconvenient. That one thing really kept this match from reaching another level. As it was, it was still an excellent bout and maybe my favorite of the entire DVD collection. ***1/2
Overall: “Miracle Workers” is a nice package of storyline progression and quality bouts. As someone who’s seen all of Beyond’s releases, it was nice to watch this missing piece of the puzzle. For a three disc set, the time flew by and the dichotomy of the bouts made for an easy watch. There are just so many talented guys who I can see breaking out and doing bigger things elsewhere. Gresham vs. Silver, Vega vs. Cockstrong and many other bouts are ones I recommend checking out. If you’re into the storylines of Beyond, this is an easy pick-up. If you’re looking for strictly quality bouts I’d at least recommend the “5 for $5” collection. You can pick up this 3 disc set for only $15 at Smart Mark Video or for just $12 at Beyond’s website. There you can also buy the DVD and 5 for $5 separately.