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| Dickinson got ready for his big Americanrana match with Trashy Tim Photo Credit: Scott Finkelstein |
LAX/EYFBO (Angel Ortiz, Mike Draztik/Santana) vs. Milk Chocolate (Brandon Watts, Randy Summers) and Bear Country (Bear Bronson, Bear Beefcake) vs. Da Hoodz (Chris Pyro, Davey Cash) - I'm grouping these two matches together, because they were both part-and-parcel inclusive of the build for EYFBO vs. Bear Country this Sunday, and also pretty much the same match in layout. The team that was meant to be a warm-up got out of the gates early but was smacked down, and then after a small comeback, the teams that were meant to win won. Granted, one match was better than the others; I'm not sure if Milk Chocolate was ever good, but they were really messy here, but I'm not sure either of these matches were meant to be "good," so to speak. They served their purpose. One other thing to add is that if you're standing far enough away from the television, you'd swear Draztik was actually Eddie Kingston. Draztik looks like a younger Kingston, and they have similar voice and speech cadence. Hopefully, when EYFBO eventually makes it to WWE, they won't ruin that thing going for him.
Leyla Hirsch vs. Alex Reynolds - I thank the Lord Bryan Danielson every day that I get to watch Hirsch wrestle. Every match is something a little different. Here, she was tasked with working a more traditional, less grapplefucky match against Reynolds, who attacked her and John Silver last week after their match. Versatility will help her, because she'll have to have great matches with a wide variety of opponents if she's going to keep the size detractors off her back. Then again, those morons will go in on her regardless because there's no pleasing someone like that. Besides, she maybe like five-foot-nothing, but she's solidly built from head to toe. If you think that her kicking the shit out of someone even as big as Reynolds, you're thicker than a milkshake. Anyway, this match was a really good back and forth that involved some angle-furthering with a John Silver run-in and Hirsch got a semi-clean win out of it. Win-win for everyone.
Nerder Death Kill (Nick Gage, Thomas Santell) vs. Club Cam (Cam Zagami, Christian Casanova) - Did you know Thomas Santell is a repackaged Antonio "The Promise" Thomas of WWE Heartthrobs and Northeast indie fame? I did not, and when I found out, it blew my damn mind. Anyway, the second week in a row, the machinations of Zagami and his ever-growing cadre of underlings foiled any semblance of a complete match here, but again, you gotta build up the feuds, even if Santell and Gage aren't anywhere near Zagami at Americanrana. Ken Doane though, he's such a good henchman type, and he can still kinda work. It's amazing he's stayed with wrestling for this long after WWE released him and no one outside of that odd Dragon Gate USA show really booked him that often.
Daniel Garcia vs. Kevin Blackwood - Something about the Discovery Gauntlet matches I've seen just haven't clicked with me. Garcia showed a lot of promise last week in under two minutes. This week, given a longer time with an opponent he's close to didn't really expand on that promise. There are two kinds of matches, generally — ones that follow a general story that may or may not include limbwork and designed long-term selling, and those that are just a series of spots. Now, I'm not Jim Cornette, and I don't think the latter is bad at all, but the spots have to flow together. This match seemed... blocky or clunky, just no flow whatsoever. It could be the chemistry. It could be their skill level. Or maybe it could be that they're still recuperating from being in a car crash six months ago together. I don't know.
The Butcher and the Blade (Andy Williams, Pepper Parks) vs. Josh Briggs and Anthony Greene - When you advertise a hoss, you might want to make sure they can physically impose over regular-sized wrestlers. For example, WALTER gets a rep as being this massive force of nature, and he's 6'4" and would have Randy Orton looking down on him. However, this tag match had no such problems with Williams and Briggs filling in their roles and slapping around like elephant seals. It's refreshing to see dudes who are big and can use their size for intimidation purposes when some parts of the world can be so bereft of giants that they resort to using Dad Bod Chris Jericho-types as monsters. Anyway, this match was briskly paced and felt like a good palate-cleanser after the prior one. Also, God help the Rock 'n Roll Express Sunday, because I'm not sure that they'll be able to handle Williams.
David Starr vs. Wheeler YUTA - First off, that was the first time I heard Starr's introduction ever (I know, I know, I'm a bad fan), and oh my god it is not only obnoxious as hell, but I can't believe he has the fucking audacity to put "good at Twitter" in there. First off, only two people are good at Twitter, @dril and Jose Canseco. Two, he's actively bad at Twitter, like terrible. Ugh. Thankfully though, the match was outstanding, the best of the night. Starr's reputation precedes him, which made him an excellent dance partner for YUTA, whom I am rapidly buying stock in. HE's been one of the better wrestlers on any card he's been on during his career, but the last few weeks have me convinced he's among the best wrestlers in the world right now. His counters are among the slickest, but he never does them in a way that sterilizes their impact, if that makes sense. This is a match that everyone should try to seek out.
Chris Dickinson vs. Timothy Thatcher - It's so good to see Thatcher back in a Beyond ring. Folks who dug him ushering in grapplefuck into EVOLVE should be advised that he first started doing that thing in Beyond on the East Coast at least. Seeing him not only go up against Dickinson but also physically dominate him at certain portions of the match were both wild to see, and it's also a testament to how good Dickinson has gotten over the years. Beyond has several top-end American indie wrestlers working for them, but that's been their MO all along, even if those wrestlers weren't as recognized. Anyway, the match was great all the way through, and the finish capped off with the full-slide, Toshiaki Kawada-style pin was an incredible visual.
Joey Janela UNCENSORED - Giving Joey Janela a live mic is always part of a recipe for a good time, and this instance was no different. That being said, I'm not sure I wanna see Janela die in the ring, but it adds great importance to his match with Starr, who came out at the end to give a stock e-fed reply, thinking he was the smartest guy in the room. I know at this point it's a collaborative effort, but man, Starr just annoys me.
