Bridgewater, MA – 7.27.2012
ACH (0) vs. Brian Fury (+2)
Fury refuses to shake hands. They exchange wristlocks on the mat and come to a stalemate. ACH catches him with an atomic drop. Fury back elbows him to the apron. ACH scissor kicks him in the ropes, bringing him to the floor. A split-legged Arabian Press follows. Back in the ring, Fury catches him with a superkick. Fury keeps him grounded, mostly with foot related offense (stomps, dropkicks, etc.) ACH ducks a clothesline and hits two of his own. He gets two with a leg lariat. Fury delivers a chinbreaker to slow him down, as well as a Rydeen Bomb for two. He turns ACH over into a Boston Crab. ACH makes the ropes to escape. ACH throws a barrage of kicks to the face and stomach. He rocks him with a forearm to the back of the head, then drops him with the Cram For the Exam for the pin at 11:21. The match was good when ACH on offense and quite dull otherwise. I think it was one of those times where the styles clash between the two competitors did not work out. The crowd loved ACH and the match was solid enough, but not the typical awe inspiring affair ACH usually provides. **1/4
Jaka (+1) vs. Matt Taven (-1)
For those unaware, Jaka is the former Jonny Mangue. His transformation to Jaka is his way to embrace the savage side of his “Smooth Savage” moniker. He has also taken a vow of silence until he is the Wins leader in Beyond Wrestling. When Taven can’t keep Jaka grounded, he bails to the floor. When Jaka over powers him back in the ring, Taven claims his hair was pulled. Jaka headbutts Taven in the chest causing him to once again hit the floor. Jaka hits him in the stomach and throws him to the floor, following him out with a pescado. Jaka lays in some headbutts and some back rakes for good measure. He focuses his attack on the throat and neck back in the ring. A rolling headbutt gets him two. Taven’s female manager distracts Jaka, allowing Taven to give him an enzuigiri from the apron and to get a two count from a missile dropkick. A couple backbreakers can’t keep Jaka down either. Jaka makes a comeback and takes down Taven in the corner. His manager gets involved again, but this time Jaka thwarts Taven’s attack and gives him a belly-to-belly suplex. She grabs Jaka’s foot. Taven dropkicks him in the back of his head and comes off the second rope with a knee strike for two. He gives Jaka a rope-assisted Roll of the Dice for two. Jaka blocks a quebrada and puts on a triangle choke. Taven makes it to the ropes. Taven pulls the referee out of the ring. Even then, his female manager fails to hit her superkick and almost nails Taven. Jaka hits his own superkick and gets the pin at 14:14. Jaka has mastered his “new” character. He and Taven wrestled a very smart match, showing that they became more familiar with each other as the match progressed and had to use different offense to pick up the win. I wasn’t sure what to expect when I saw this on paper, but ended up really enjoying myself. ***
Tag Team Gauntlet
Professional Revolution (JT Dunn (+1) & Mark Shurman (0)) w/ Jon Harder & Vernon Somoza vs. Steve “ The Turtle” Weiner (-4) & Tim Hughes (-11)
Weiner chases Dunn around the ring after becoming enraged by Dunn’s slap. He gets in a few strikes before splashing Dunn for a two count. Dunn chops Hughes up when he tags in. A swift kick to the head from Dunn gets Shurman a two count. The Revolution double team Hughes in their corner. When Hughes begins to make a comeback, Harder clocks him with a foreign object. Dunn lays in an elbow. Shurman drops him with a spinebuster for the pin at 4:14.
Professional Revolution (JT Dunn (+1) & Mark Shurman (0)) w/ Jon Harder & Vernon Somoza vs. Julian Starr (+1) & Elia Markopoulos (-1)
After sending Shurman out, Markopoulos gets two on Dunn with a beauty of an Ace Crusher. Starr snapmares Shurman on the floor and kicks his back. Starr gamengiri’s Dunn from the apron. Markopoulos gives him a TKO, and Starr comes in with a missile dropkick. Shurman is there to make the save. Starr bounces off the ropes into a back splash onto Shurman on the floor. Markopoulos and Starr set up Dunn for a Doomsday Device. A distraction from Somoza allows Dunn to slip out and give Markopoulos a Tiger Driver and brainbuster for the pin at 9:22.
Professional Revolution (JT Dunn (+1) & Mark Shurman (0)) w/ Jon Harder & Vernon Somoza vs. DUI (Anthony Stone (+1) & Kellan Thomas (0))
Thomas has Dunn in a side headlock. He supelxes Dunn but misses an elbow drop. Dunn throws some kicks at his arm. Shurman snapmares him, throws some kicks, then drops a leg for two. Stone comes in with some armdrags. He knocks Shurman off the paron before dropkicking Dunn in the corner. He misses a splash, allowing Dunn to give him a Saito suplex. The Revolution isolates Stone in their corner. They have some awesome double team stuff, like a lungblower into a clothesline and buckle bumb/enzuigiri combo. Stone is able to shove them into the corner for a moment so he can fall back and tag in Thomas. Thomas strings a boot and an enzuigiri on Dunn for two. Stone/Thomas put down Dunn with a modified Doomsday Device (knees instead of a clothesline), but again Shurman breaks the count. Somoza gets on the aprone after Stone gives Dunn a gut buster. The referee throws him and Harder out from ringside. Dunn rolls Stone into a Tiger Driver. Shurman nastily drops him with a powerbomb to get the pin and the victory at 23:45. This tag gauntlet told a really good story. The Revolution made it past the first two pins thanks to interference, but then were able to prove in the end that even without that (sort of) they were able to get a victory. The wrestling also got better as the match progressed, so that helps too. ***1/4
Eric Corvis comes up to Sugar Dunkerton, who is serving as ring announcer tonight. Corvis did the same thing a couple shows ago. He says he was really irked that he did not wrestle on that show and bets Dunkerton has the same feeling. Corvis propositions that they meet in a singles bout after intermission. Dunkerton gets the approval of the fans, so he accepts the challenge.
The next match was supposed to be Mark Angel vs. Biff Busick. Before the match though,Angel comes out with AJ Evers and Nick Talent. He pulls Evers out of his match with Drew Gulak and pulls himself out of this match to reunite them (and Nick Talent) for a trios match tonight against The Batiri. So, Gulak and Busick will now face each other since their original opponents are in a different match.
Drew Gulak (-1) vs. Biff Busick (-1)
Both men look for control on the mat. Busick rolls out of a side headlock. Gulak snaps back on his leg. He applies the spinning toe hold before applying a modified Trailer Hitch. He falls back to apply more pressure to Busick’s tied up legs. Busick snaps off an armdrag and controls the arm. He and Gulak each try to take the guard on the mat. Busick eventually takes a side headlock, then trades nearfalls with Gulak. Busick chops him to the corner. Busick blocks a prawn hold and nails a short-arm lariat for two. Gulak headbutts him in the stomach. He gets two with a German suplex, then again with an overhead suplex. Busick throws some chops, but its Gulak who gets the better of him by chopping him to the corner. Gulak O’Conner Rolls him into a Dragon Sleeper. Busick taps out at 11:48. Really good back and forth wrestling from both guys. Gulak has got to be one of the most sound technicians in wrestling today, and Busick matched up with him perfectly. It’s always nice to see a match like this on a card. It’s a nice change of pace, especially when done well. ***
After the bout, “Mr. Touchdown” Mark Angelosetti makes his way out. Gulak ends up with his football. He wonders why Mark Angel is dressed up like a football player. Angelosetti has no clue what he’s talking about. Gulak calls him delusional and tells him that he does not play football. Busick makes fun of Angelosetti’s “package.” Gulak says that Angel owes him a rematch since Nick Talent interjected during their bout at “Double Trouble.” We don’t get a definitive answer to whether the rematch will occur. Gulak puts over Busick for giving him a hell of a fight, even though they weren’t prepared for one another.
Captain’s Match
Team Cockstrong (Johnny Cockstrong, Dan Barry, Ken Scampi & Bill Carr) vs. Team Evans (RD Evans & The Submission Squad (Pierre Abernathy, Evan Gelistico & Gary Jay))
The only way this match can end is whether Cockstrong or Evans, the team captains, are pinned. However, any wrestler can pin another teammate, which will in turn take the loser of the fall down one point and give the victor of the fall one point. A wrestler could collect a number of pinfalls before the match officially ends.
Evans charges Cockstrong to his teams corner where they can all gang up on him. Cockstrong dropkicks Jay and tags in Barry. He flips Jay onto his stomach with a suplex. Gelestico kicks Barry in the head. Scampi monkey flips him out of the corner. Abernathy drops him with a stunner. Carr lariats Abernathy. The Submission Squad gets sent to the floor, leaving Evans alone with all four opponents in the ring. He gets volleyed by strikes from all four men. He takes the In the Pants Driver, but the Squad pull the referee out before he can count the pin. A brawl between the Squad and Cockstrong’s partners ensues on the floor. From behind Gelestico suplexes Cockstrong and Evans’ team takes control. Evans misses a top rope headbutt, giving Cockstrong a little time to tag in Barry. He hip tosses everybody. A string of submissions forms in the ring. When that is over, Evans spins Cockstrong out of a crucifix position. Carr gives Evans the Boss Man Slam. Jay breaks the pin and elbow drops Carr across the back of his neck. Barry breaks his pin. Barry and Scampi hit a Doomsday Shiranui on Jay, but Gelestico and Abernathy are there to break the cover. Barry and Scampi help Cockstrong when Gelestico and Abernathy put him in a double submission. After two pescados, Evans and Cockstrong are left alone again. Evans seems cocky after hitting a leg lariat. Cockstrong cradles Evans for the pin at 10:37. I like these Captain’s Falls matches and that guys like the Squad, Team Tremendous and Carr get a chance to shine as part of a bigger feud. This was shorter than expected, but fun and easy to watch. ***
Sugar Dunkerton (+2) vs. Eric Corvis (+10)
Dunkerton gets the ropes when Corvis wins an wristlock exchange. Dunkerton stubbornly has another wristlock exchange. He slides thorugh Corvis’ legs and kicks him in the buttocks. Corvis makes a comment about black dudes like white asses. Dunkerton then dribbles his head into the mat. Corvis trips him and lays in forearms from the floor. He back splashes Dunkerton and goes through the ropes. He dropkicks Dunkerton in the side of the head for two. Dunkerton bicyce kicks him to the corner and misses a back splash. Dunkerton catches Corvis trying to slingshot in and drives him head first into the canvas. The Kiss My Converse dropkick gets him two. Corvis knocks him down and hits a frogsplash. Even though they’re booth loopy, they manage to trade forearms. Corvis drops him with a modified Shellshock for two. Dunkerton blocks a punch and gives Corvis a Regal Plex. The Shot Clock gets him the pin at 9:25. This show is on quite a roll when it comes to quality wrestling. I really like Corvis’ Steam Punk get-up, but his personality needs slight tweaking if he really wants to make it work. He’s a great wrestler, and if he gets the character down, he could go places. Dunkerton has been doing well since coming back from injury. **3/4
TJ Marconi (-4) vs. Darius Carter (-3)
Both of these men were part of the “Lifestyles of the Rich & Famous” tag team, but have since split. Carter stomps on Marconi the moment he slides into the ring. Marconi gets control with elbows in the corner. The referee backs him up and Carter boots him right in the face. Marconi throws him to the floor. Marconi misses a boot, hitting the ring post instead of Carter. Carter rams his back into the ring apron multiple times. Marconi throws him into a crowd of chairs. Carter heads outside, but is brought back in and thrown into the wall. Marconi gives him a DDT on the ring apron. Carter is able to side step a big boot and dropkick Marconi in his lower back. Carter puts on a Camel Clutch. Marconi backs him to the corner to break it. He gets two with a side slam. Carter hip tosses him off the top rope. Marconi is nursing his back in the corner wher Carter charges. Marconi manages to catch him with a bicycle kick for two. His back buckles when he goes for a powerbomb. He is in such pain that Carter is able to make the cover and pin him at 8:27. I think I may be bigger fans of these guys as singles competitors, and I really enjoyed them as a team. Carter is so easy to hate and Marconi is so fun to watch that it makes it easy for them to play their respective parts. Carter working over the back and playing a coward simultaneously worked out so well, and Marconi knows exactly how to use his size to his advantage. I hope we see a rematch later on. ***1/4
The Batiri (Obariyon (0), Kodama (0) & Kobald (-1)) vs. The Academy of Anatomy (Mark Angel (+15), Nick Talent (+2) & AJ Evers (-5))
The usual pre-match toilet paper shower The Batiri experience results in Angel being pelted in the dick with a roll of it. I hope it was soft. Talent brings Obariyon to the mat by his arm and throws headbutts at it. Obariyon picks his leg, causing Talent to grab the ropes. Angel slaps him in the back which pisses Obariyon off. He snaps off an armdrag, a hip toss, and a dropkick before tagging in Kodama. He gives Evers a Gord buster and a spinwheel kick. Angel gorilla presses all three Batiri members separately. Obariyon and Kodama kick out his legs when he has Kobald overhead. Talent and Evers charge Kobald to stop his dive. Kobald sends them to the floor with Angel. Obariyon and Kodama suicide dive onto them. Angel gives Kobald a spinebuster to prevent him from diving. The Academy beat down on Kobald for a long while. Angel’s arrogance gets the best of him, and he allows Kobald to recover. He dropkicks Angel and tags in Obariyon. He knocks down Angel with a flying forearm. Kodama slingshots in with a huracanrana. They hit a springboard dropkick/basement dropkick combo. Evers and Talent break the pin. Evers eats The Rapture (knee strike/drop toe hold combo) while Kobald crossbody’s onto Talent on the floor. Kodama gets the pin on Evers at 11:51 with a spinebuster. The Batiri has grown immensely as a trio in CHIKARA and they continued to show that growth here. It makes sense that Evers, who is the least cohesive member of the Anatomy would be the one to take the fall. The toilet paper stuff was a lot of fun too. Talent and Angel get in a bit of a verbal tiff after the match. **3/4
3 out of 5 Falls
Aaron Epic (+9) vs. Dave Cole (-4)
Epic goes for a quick pin with the Fastball Punch. Cole evades it. After he and Epic lock-up and go to the mat, he slaps Epic in the face. Epic slaps him back. Cole takes him down in the corner. Epic uses forearms and punches to fight his way out. He drives his knee into Cole’s head. Cole trips Epic and puts his feet on the ropes to score the first pin at 4:40. Cole is too busy celebrating on the floor to notice Epic’s suicide dive. Epic comes off the apron with a knee strike. He kicks Cole while he’s seated in a chair. They fight for control on the ring apron. Cole seats Epic on the second turnbuckle and double stomps him into the ring frame! Epic makes it back in the ring just in time to stop the ten count. Cole immediately gives him a Tiger Driver with a clothesline on the way down to pick up his second pin at 9:59. One more pin and Cole takes the match. Epic cradles him for two. Cole suplexes Epic onto a chair outside. Epic misses a Fastball Punch and hits the ring post. Epic kicks his hand as he’s resting against the ring. Cole puts on a few submissions back in the ring with no luck. He does however get two with a Killswitch. Epic goes for a sunset flip. Cole is ready to blow a snot rocket in his face. Epic notices, spits in Cole’s face first, and completes the sunset flip for a pin at 13:51. Cole drops an elbow and nails a corner boot. Epic hip tosses him into a knee strike to block an oncoming charge. That’s enough to get him a second fall tying the match up at 2 falls each at 16:27. Chops are thrown by both men. Epic knocks Cole off his feet with an elbow. Epic drops him with a running STO for two. Cole ducks a running knee and rolls Epic into a crossface. Epic grabs the bottom rope. They fight on the ropes. Cole gives Epic a super Tiger Driver! Epic kicks out! Cole’s running kick to the side of the head only gets him two also. Epic kicks out his knee and delivers two superkicks. The Fast Ball Punch gets Epic his third fall and the win at 20:45. This match was pretty awesome. I cannot tell you how much I love Epic going for the Fast Ball Punch right away when the match began and then winning the bout with that very move. It’s put over just how good the move is and it had us, the viewers, looking out for it all match. The arrogant Cole snuck in his couple of pins early on and Epic’s will power and skill that ended up getting him the win. Both guys did a great job and put on a memorable main event. ***3/4
Overall: This show hit all the right notes to give it an easy recommendation; the action was good, the stories in the matches were told super effectively, and all storylines progressed in such a manner that I want to see what happens next. Beyond is really growing into itself and had a more solid roster and better storylines than it did a couple years ago. Whether you are a long time Beyond fan or somebody looking to get into the product, this is a show I recommend giving a look.
You can purchase “Swamp Sessions” on DVD from either Beyond Wrestling’s store or Smart Mark Video. The show is also available as an mp4 download or streaming at Smart Mark Video. Be sure to check out Beyond Wrestling’s website for more information on the company, and their YouTube page which offers tons of free content, including full, exclusive matches.