North Andover, MA – 11.19 & 11.20.2011

Johnny Cockstrong (+12) vs. AR Fox (-2)

Fox has control early on. Cockstrong sticks his crotch up in a crab walk to back Fox off. Fox avoids an early In-the-Pants piledriver. Fox boots Cockstrong after breaking a precarious abdominal stretch. Fox clotheslines Cockstrong, then skins the cat into a dropkick. Cockstrong is hung in a tree of woe. As Fox runs in, Cockstrong uses his boot to send Fox’s face into his crotch, then falls off the corner cock first into Fox’s face. Cockstrong seats Fox in an office chair and jumps onto him with a Shining cock. Fox suicide dives onto Cockstrong since Fox was able to get back in the ring first. There’s a second ring in the facility, which Fox tope con hilo’s out of to catch Cockstrong off guard. Fox blocks a 619. He jumps off the second ring into a leg drop on the apron of the second ring. Fox goes for a frogsplash. Cockstrong gets his knees up to block. Fox superkicks Cockstrong to block his super Schweing. Cockstrong blocks the Lo Mein Pain. He delivers the In-the-Pants Piledriver for the pin at 7:42. That was a hot way to open the show. Cockstrong and Fox went back and forth and kept escalating the action as the bout progressed. I love how Cockstrong was able to be put on the same level as Fox. So much to love about this opener. **3/4

Nick Talent (+1) vs. Doug Summers (0)

Mark Angel is in Talent’s corner. A wristlock exchange starts things off. Summers controls Talent’s arm on the mat. Talent escapes a few times but Summers is able to go back to the arms each time. Talent grabs the ropes to escape. Summers is not happy that Talent lands a cheap forearm. He bails to the floor when Summers charges him. Summers goes after him but gets caught throat first on the top rope. Summers shrugs off a dropkick on the floor. He puts on a sleeper, but Talent drives Summers face first into the ring post. Talent dives off the apron and drives Summers’ face into the floor. Talent hangs Summers in the ropes. Talent takes his time, allowing Summers to escape. Talent however still manages to hit a DDT. Talent drives his knees into Summers’ mid-section. Talent gets two with a Northern Lights suplex. Talent misses double knees, allowing Summers to hit a running legdrop. Summers lights up Talent with strikes befre snapmaring him into a stomp. Summers suplexes Talent for two. Talent rakes Summers’ eyes behind the referee’s back. A spin-out facebuster gets Talent the win at 10:08. Really impressed by what I saw out of Summers’ here, moreso than the CHIKARA ten men showcase he was a part of. Talent has skill, but really needs some kind of edge to make him more interesting. We’re on a roll so far. **3/4

Brian Fury (0) vs. Julian Starr (0)

Fury is actually Starr’s teacher, so we have another classic teacher vs. student battle. Both men trade control on the mat. Starr hip tosses Fury and armdrags him across the ring twice. Starr lands a dropkick for two. Starr headstands in the corner so he can headscissors Fury. Fury superkicks Starr to stop his momentum. Fury slams Starr on the floor. Fury boots Starr in the side of the head before bringing him back in the ring. Fury holds Starr up for a few seconds before dropping him chest first onto the top rope. Fury dropkicks Starr once he’s back in the ring for two. Starr fights out of a side headlock and hits a backcracker. Starr fires up after hitting a leaping back elbow. The IED leads to a top rope dropkick, getting Starr a two count. Starr huracanrana’s Fury. Fury blocks a clothesline and hits a Black Tornado Slam for two. Starr is able to come back with a tornado DDT for two. Starr kicks Fury, which causes Fury to immediately hit an enzuigiri. Fury back elbows Starr to the apron. Starr hits a gamengiri. He tries for a quebrada, but Fury gets his knees up. It doesn’t matter, because Starr is able to pick up the victory with a Blue Thunder Bomb at 13:39. This is a case where two unknowns come in and blow everyone away. I’m sure the fact that they know each other helped a lot, but I was very impressed with both men. These two showed a lot of ability and that they could easily fit in with most independent companies. Very good stuff. ***

Drew Gulak (-2) vs. Mark Angel (+10)

Gulak takes Angel over with a headlock. Angel shoves Gulak off the ropes and does the same. Gulak switches out into a wristlock. Angel breaks a full nelson and puts on the headlock again. He shoulder blocks Gulak to the mat. Gulak hip tosses him to the corner. Gulak sends Angel to the floor to break a hammerlock. Back in the ring, Angel controls Gulak by his wrist. They actually do a Lucha sequence, ending with Gulak dropkicking Angel in the chest. Gulak gets two with a hip toss. Angel shoulder blocks Gulak multiple times in the corner. Gulak drills him with a clothesline. Gulak backdrops Angel for two. Angel boots and dropkicks Gulak to stop Gulak from damaging his neck. Angel forearms Gulak in the neck for two. Angel chops Gulak on the floor. He misses a chop and hits the ring post. Gulak chops Angel and delivers a rolling lariat. Gulak stomps away back in the ring and gets two with a suplex. Gulak clotheslines Angel in the chest and the back for two. Gulak locks Angel’s arm around his leg while tying up Angel’s legs for a submission. Angel small packages Gulak for two. Angel avoids a clothesline in the corner. Gulak overhead suplexes Gulak for two. Angel brings Gulak to the top rope. Gulak shoves Angel to the mat and follows with a diving clothesline. A forearm exchange fires both guys up. Gulak German suplexes and slinghot suplexes Angel. Somehow, Angel kicks out of Gulak’s jackknife pin at two. Angel pops up Gulak into a big spinebuster for the pin at 17:37. For those of you have only seen Gulak in CZW, I strongly suggest seeking this match out. I have always been a Gulak fan but was never more impressed with him than in this match. He really got to show just how proficient he is in the ring and that he carries himself like a true star. Speaking of impressive, Mark Angel might be the most underrated guy in Beyond right now. He has all the tools to make it in wresting and I ig everything he does. This was truly something special. ***1/2

Elimination Match
Johnny Cockstrong (+13) vs. Steve “The Turtle” Weiner (-3) vs. Anthony Stone (-3) vs. JT Dunn (+1)

As the points leader, Cockstrong used his power to make this match to get some of the New England talent a chance to be showcased. A lot of lock-up combinations starts us off. Stone and Dunn fight while standing on Cockstrong and Weiner’s backs as Weiner and Cockstrong thumb wrestle. Weiner uses Cockstrong’s cock to take Dunn and Stone down. Everyone hits Weiner with a move, causing him to be pinned at 2:37. Cockstrong and Stone’s modified Total Elimination is what took him out. The remaining three each go for a pin on one another. Cockstrong Shining cocks both Stone and Dunn in the corner. Dunn lands a dropkick on Cockstrong for two. Dunn superkicks Stone and kicks Cockstrong in the side of the head. Stone dives off Dunn’s back so he can give Cockstrong a tornado DDT. Dunn thrusts Stone in the throat. Dunn lawn darts Stone into the second turnbuckle. A jump-up neckbreaker from Dunn gets Cockstrong a two count. Dunn rolls Cockstrong into a kick to the head. Dunn goes to lawn dart Cockstrong. Cockstrong stops, whips Dunn to the corner where Stone meets him with double knees of the top. Stone pins Dunn to eliminate him at 6:41. Stone gives Cockstrong a neckbreaker across his knee. Stone blocks a Shining Cock and puts on a guillotine. Cockstrong escapes. Stone shoves Cockstrong to the ropes. Cockstrong hits another Shining Cock for two. Stone fights off the top rope. Cockstrong avoids double knees and hits the Go 2 Cock. Suddenly, RD Evans’ music plays. Cockstrong becomes distracted waiting for Evans to enter. The distraction allows Stone to take him down with charging double knees for the pin at 9:34. Some good stuff out of everyone, but no one truly got the chance to stand out. More of this was to advance the issue between Cockstrong and RD Evans which I am totally fine with. **1/2

#KOA (Sugar Dunkerton (+2), Pinkie Sanchez (+3) & Aaron Epic (+7)) vs. Academy of Anatomy (Mark Angel (+11), Nick Talent (+2) & Anthony Stone (-1))

Angel and Sanchez evade everything the other throws at the other. They shake hands to show respect before tagging in Stone and Epic respectively. Stone kicks at Epic’s chest while holding on a wristlock. Stone rolls Epic into a submission. Epic goes for a cross armbreaker. Stone turns out into a front facelock. Stone twists on the leg some more and stops when Epic gets the ropes. Talent and Dunkerton tag in. Dunkerton doesn’t like that he and Talent are going through the usual sequence that always happens. Because of it, he monkey flips Talent. Dunkerton trips Talent. He asks for a handshake but Talent shoves him back instead. The two teams get in the ring to diffuse Dunkerton and Talent. All that does is get all the participants angry. All six men brawl on the floor after Talent makes an off-color remark. Epic and Stone end up in the ring. Stone Japanese armdrags him, dropkicks him in the corner, then Tiger suplexes him into a butterfly hold. The #KOA manage to isolate and wear down Stone in their corner. Stone is able to kick Epic and Sanchez off the apron before giving Dunkerton a bulldog. Finally, Stone tags out to Angel. Angel cleans house on all the #KOA. Epic gives him a jawbreaker and Dunkerton lariats him from behind. Sanchez and Epic land stereo superkicks for two. Epic’s Sliding D gets him another two count. Angel gives Epic a Death Valley Driver. Dunkerton hits Angel with the Bow Chicka Wow Wow for two. Angel gives him an exploder suplex in response. Sanchez hits the Shining, bringing in Talent who gives Sanchez an Angle slam for two. Sanchez dropkicks Talent on the top rope. Stone comes off the ropes with double knees to Sanchez for the pin at 18:31, but that accidentally knocked Talent off the top rope. Really like what the #KOA is doing and hope that they’re able to do more as unit outside of Beyond. I have nothing but good things to say about Angel. Stone and Talent are also quite good, but lack something to make them stand out. I’m hoping they can get on Angel’s level and become and even better unit with him. ***

Mikaze (+1) vs. Mark Shurman (+1)

You may remember Mikaze as Kid Mikaze from Ring of Honor back in late 2005/early 2006. Shurman’s larger size makes him not take Mikaze seriously. That proves to be a mistake, as Mikaze schools him in the early going. Shurgman goes to the floor for a breather. When Mikaze pescado’s after him, Shurman catches Mikaze and throws him into a pillar. Shurman takes control back in the ring. On the floor, Mikaze uses a nearby refrigerator to his advantage by slamming the freezer and fridge door into Shurman. Mikaze uses the pillar to hit a spin kick. Shurman brings Mikaze back in the ring but gets caught with a tornado kick. Another kick gets him a two count. Shurman drops Mikaze with a reverse elevated DDT for two. Mikaze drives his knees into Shurman. Mikaze comes off the top with an imploding senton for the pin at 4:50. Mikaze stood out head and shoulders above Shurman who will have a tough time shaking the typical big meat head look but he has promise. **

Drew Gulak (-3) vs. Darius Carter (-4)

The bout takes to the mat quite quickly. Gulak focuses on Carter’s leg, which gets Carter to the ropes when he worries about an ankle lock. Carter starts flinching at Gulak’s movements towards him. Gulak sits down on a half crab. Carter turns over to relieve the pain and grab the ropes. Darius rolls out of Gulak’s wristlock, again taking cover in the corner. Carter pokes Gulak in the eyes to break another wristlock. Carter tries to choke Gulak on the ropes too. A beautiful dropkick gets Carter a two count. Carter boots Gulak in the forehead for two. Carter stretches out Gulak’s back in the ropes and on the mat. When Gulak begins to fight back, Carter delivers a vicious kick to Gulak’s face and kicks the ropes into his throat. Gulak whips Carter into the pillar on the floor. Gulak picks up the aggression with multiple boots and forearms thrown. Gulak twists up Carter’s leg. Carter kicks his way free and puts on a sleeper hold. Gulak escapes from that. He powerbombs Carter for two. Gulak forearms Carter from the apron. Carter enzuigiri’s Gulak off the top rope and back into the ring. He gives Gulak a uranage backbreaker for two. Gulak and Carter reverse the momentum in a small package cradle each looking for the pin. Carter hits the Foreclosure (a Code Breaker type move) for the pin at 15:45. I put over Gulak enough earlier, but he was just as good in this match as his match with Angel. Carter may have been an even better opponent since he was such a good counterpart. Gulak so clearly outwrestle Carter that he had to resort to cheap tactics to even stand a chance. Really good wrestling with a really good story. ***1/2

Pinkie Sanchez (+2) vs. Taka Suzuki (-1)

Suzuki kicks away Sanchez’s handshake attempt. On the mat they reach a stalemate. Suzuki forearms Sanchez to break a wristlock. A bit of shoving leads to Suzuki buzzsaw kicking Sanchez in the head for two. Suzuki pitches Sanchez to the floor and chops him up. He throws Sanchez into a nearby trashcan. Sanchez dragonscrew leg whips Suzuki into a chair. He sits Suzuki in a chair ringside and jumps off the apron onto Suzuki’s head! Both guys trade forearms back in the ring. Suzuki fires up and lands a dropkick for two. Suzuki misses double knees in the corner. Sanchez dives off the middle rope to dropkick Suzuki’s knee out. Sanchez rubs his groin before putting on a Muta Lock. Gross. Suzuki grabs the ropes to break. Sanchez keeps on Suzuki’s leg, even when Suzuki would slap him from the apron. Suzuki hits a corner dropkick but grabs his knee to show he’s still hurting. Suzuki slams Sanchez into the corner. Suzuki lands a low dropkick for two. Sanchez and Suzuki trade slaps until Suzuki turns Sanchez inside out with a clothesline. Sanchez catches a kick and delivers an inverted dragonscrew. Suzuki escapes a figure four by driving Sanchez’s face into Sanchez’s own knee. Suzuki spins out Sanchez into a face first slam for two. Sanchez is able to springboard into a tornado DDT. Sanchez hits the Shining which fires Suzuki up. Sanchez hits it to the back of Suzuki’s head for two. Sanchez moonsaults onto Suzuki for the pin at 11:56. Call this Taka Suzuki’s coming out party. I had seen very little of Suzuki before this, but he and Sanchez had a heck of a contest. This was a match that both helped legitimize Sanchez as a great in-ring talent and introduce Taka Suzuki to the Beyond universe. ***1/4
Sanchez was so impressed with Suzuki that he makes Suzuki an honorary member of the #KOA. Wise move by Sanchez.

ACH (+1) vs. Jonny Mangue (-1)

Both guys are very careful in their opening interactions. ACH kicks Mangue in the side of the head. ACH blocks and evades a few of Mangue’s punches, and both men simultaneously kick each other. Mangue steps on ACH’s foot after avoiding a kick and chops him. ACH throws a flurry of chops and headscissors Mangue across the ring. ACH catches him with a tilt-a-whirl backbreaker for two. Mangue headbutts and kicks ACH when he’s trapped in the ropes. ACH bicycle kicks Mangue to the floor. He follows with an Arabian Press. Back in the ring ACH throws some of his own headbutts at Mangue’s body. Mangue headbutts ACH in the top of his head. ACH’s beautiful dropkick gets him two. ACH hops off Mangue’s back and lands with a legdrop. Mangue jackknife pins ACH for two. Mangue blocks a clothesline with a uranage. Mangue’s sweet rolling headbutt gets him two. They bring the fight to the ring apron. Mangue forearms ACH, sending ACH head first into a pillar. Mangue fights ACH to his knees with shots to the mid-section. ACH throws a trashcan lid which Mangue ducks. ACH runs up the wall to hit a clothesline on Mangue. ACH kicks Mangue off to prevent being put in the Jaws of the Jaguar. ACH hits a kick for two. Mangue is able to get the Jaws of the Jaguar on, so ACH turns into a pinning attempt for two. Mangue blocks a flash kick and slingshots ACH to the corner. A double handed choke bomb gets Mangue a two count. ACH rolls Mangue down. A couple running knees to the head get ACH a two count. ACH flips up but gets tagged by Mangue’s superkick. ACH dropkicks the ropes to crotch Mangue. ACH hits a backflip kick. He delivers a rope-assisted version of the Roll of the Dice for two. Mangue catches him with a Finlay roll. ACH backflip kicks Mangue off the top rope. Mangue blocks another Roll of the Dice. ACH gets caught in the Jaws of the Jaguar. ACH tries to power out but ends up passing out at 13:45. What can I say about ACH that hasn’t been said already? Dude’s incredible, an absolute showman and athlete if I have ever seen one. This was almost as good as ACH’s best performance in the Tournament for Tomorrow which is really saying something. Mangue is a guy that doesn’t get the love he deserves, but I think once people see this match they may start singing his tune as well. ***1/2

Overall: I was very impressed with how much quality wrestling this show brought to the table. I’d match this up with some of the best shows in Beyond’s history. Everyone from the regulars to the special guests stepped their game up. It shows through the hard work and creative pursuits each person took in their matches. I’d highly recommend picking this show up with “About Time” and “Back In Flesh” to truly get yourself initiated into Beyond Wrestling. You can buy this show on DVD from Beyond’s Official Store. The show is also available On Demand through SMVOD and YouTube for a reduced price.

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