Friday, November 5, 2021

Wrestling Review //
Beyond Wrestling Uncharted Territory Season 3, Episode 5
11/4/21
@ White Eagle, Worcester, MA



http://beyondwrestlingonline.com/



Upon arriving to the White Eagle and moments before the first match started at 7:45 pm, I (and I think everyone else) learned that Masha Slamovich vs Davienne would be on that pre-show type of feel and I don't know if anyone saw that coming.    In a rematch from Limitless Wrestling, Masha Slamovich vs Davienne has main event feel to it.   For any other promotion and any other card, it might have been but I suppose this just goes to show you how high caliber the rest of these matches were about to be.   It is also a strange feeling to see a match before singing but we did it.   Masha Slamovich and Davienne just had a brawl and if you've been paying attention Davienne picked up the win in Limitless but Masha Slamovich won here so someone needs to strongly consider booking that rubber match.


The fifth episode of the third season of Uncharted Territory opened with Jora Johl taking on Rhett Titus.   Now, I'm not the one who knows the theme music of everyone- I'll admit that- so I didn't recognize the music right away but as soon as I saw Jora Johl come through the curtain I turned to Jess and said "Motherfucker!"   This was because this was our second time seeing Rhett Titus in Beyond Wrestling and this was the second time that he was opening the show rather than being around the fourth or fifth match so that I could make a bathroom break.

One of the less fun things about the internet and social media is that many people take their opinions as fact.   I actually saw a tweet the day of this show praising the hard work and wrestling skills of one Rhett Titus.   Some responded to it, saying they didn't agree, and the original person who posted the tweet was very dismissive of that.  I wanted to reply and ask why if Rhett Titus is so great no one talks about specific matches that he has had- even in ROH- that are just stand out.  If you'd never seen a Rhett Titus match before, what Top 3 or Top 5 would you watch that would make you go "Oh yeah, he is good"?  I wanted to ask that but everything that feels like constructive criticism and has honest intentions gets mistaken for trolling or hating.

I also just think it's funny that Rhett Titus has been in ROH for how many decades and yet no one really says "Yeah, his match with Samoa Joe was legendary" or any of the other wrestlers who came through ROH and went onto TNA, WWE, AEW, etc and you can put together lists of matches that fans should go out of their way to see.  Again, no hate for Rhett Titus, everyone is entitled to their own opinion, but I just haven't seen that match yet that has made me a fan of Rhett Titus and no one seems to be able to point me in the right direction.



Rants aside (I'm just looking for some clarity) Megan Bayne was out next with two man-servants and she took on Ashley Vox.   I still feel like, a part deep inside of me, that Megan Bayne is going to remain undefeated in Beyond Wrestling until that match eventually happens with Trish Adora.   But then again, Ashley Vox came close to winning this match and Megan Bayne has Max the Impaler to look forward to on Sunday so maybe that undefeated streak ends sooner than later.  Masha Slamovich also came out post match as Megan Bayne continued the attack (proving she is a heel) and that is also going to be a tough test for Megan Bayne.



Watching Uncharted Territory on IWTV is one thing but being there live is another experience entirely.   If you're from the area, you should be familiar with Waves And Curls, who have been heavily featured throughout the area in promotions such as Chaotic Wrestling, NEW, Top Rope Pro and more.   Seeing Waves And Curls live for Beyond Wrestling and just the way that the crowd has embraced them is something truly special.   The best way for me to describe the difference between being at home and being in Worcester is like if you're listening to an album at home on your stereo and if you're seeing the artist perform it live.  It just adds a whole other level to it and Waves And Curls has that something special every wrestler should have.

Also, let's hear it for tag team wrestling.  There was a time when I wasn't a fan of tag team wrestling because it seemed to formulaic, but there are a lot of tag teams coming up now that not only provide great matches but just feel like a tag team.   The era of "We have these two wrestlers and don't know what to do with them so let's put them together" seems over (Even though that did bring about the Hollywood Blondes) and tag teams seem more like one person than two, which is how it should be.  




As soon as the music of Alec Price hit next I knew we were in for a war.   Slade dropped Alec Price onto a chair right in front of us and the thud was unreal.   This was the type of match that you knew was going to break down into weapons, but there was still a lot of wrestling in it (even Slade was throwing suplexes) and it didn't become too much of a hardcore match so the times that someone was hit with a chair felt more effective.   Sometimes less is more, and I love death match wrestling, but they could learn something from watching this match for sure.  I also hope this win prepared Alec Price for his upcoming match with RSP.



We knew what the main event was going into the show so by this point in the night we could put together what matches were next based on what was left.   I might be one of the only people concerned about match order but I always think to myself (and sometimes say to Jess) how many matches are left, what they are and what the order could likely be.   This might just be something that I do, but who knows.   YoKai took on the team of Willow Nightingale and Chris Dickinson and seeing Yoya get pounced and just yeeted across the ring was just spectacular.  I realize I've typed a lot over time about how tag teams shouldn't be just thrown together and Willow Nightingale plus Chris Dickinson seem to be that way, *but* I do enjoy their pairing because I think they compliment each other so well.


I feel like YoKai works together so well as a tag team because they are so much alike.  They're smaller, they're faster and they seem to prefer strikes.   But Willow Nightingale brings the fun while Chris Dickinson brings the aggression and then that just seems to influence each other so that Willow Nightingale becomes more aggressive and Chris Dickinson shows a bit more of his fun side.   So this was a fun tag team match but it also then became an aggressive match at times as well and it is a tag team match that is up there with the best of the year.


While Tracy Williams made his return to Beyond Wrestling he was just absolutely cheered by the crowd and in turn Matt Makowski was mostly booed because everyone just seemed to love Tracy Williams so much.   My only complaint with this match is that it was sometimes difficult to tell who was who because both wrestlers have similar hair and wore all black, the only thing really keeping them distinct was the beard of Tracy Williams.  I get it, black is cool and you want to be a badass who just wrestles and submits people but why can't you do that in blue?  There is also the whole thing in other sports (with baseball, for example) where teams typically wear different color uniforms so they can easily be identified so I think wrestlers should talk about that before matches too.  "You wearing black tonight? All right, I'll put on my purple gear".   Again, maybe I'm the only one who thinks this way and that's okay.



The main event was everything that I wanted it to be and more.  As a quick back story, I saw Jordan Blade come out and issue the challenge to Trish Adora- as everyone else who watches Uncharted Territory saw- and I told Jess first that when that match happens, we'd have to go to it live even if it was on a Thursday.  I then also saw Trish Adora at Blitzkrieg! Pro and told her the same thing.    So as soon as the match was officially announced and I saw the match graphic I purchased tickets and knew I had to be a part of this.

The reasons why this match was so important and had such a big fight feel are because Jordan Blade is such a great wrestler.  Jordan Blade is having that year of making waves and just going out and doing what wrestlers should do to get noticed and get those big fights.  I was so happy when I got to see Jordan Blade vs Allie Katch in Pro Wrestling Magic and any time you can see a Jordan Blade match you know it's going to be good.   If anyone was going to potentially take that Championship from Trish Adora, the Vegas betting odds would say that Jordan Blade had the best chance of any active wrestler to do just that.


But then, of course, there is Trish Adora.   Trish Adora is the Pan-Afrikan World Diaspora Wrestling Champion for a reason.   And that Championship she holds, to me, that is the biggest Championship in all of professional wrestling right now and I won't hear otherwise.   Part of that is also because Trish Adora is the best wrestler in the world right now and so holding that title just proves both of those things.   But yes, with every match Trish Adora just goes out there and proves why she is the best at what she does in the world right now and I have yet to find someone who I can say that about otherwise.

My favorite part of this match, personally, was that I love Trish Adora and Jordan Blade so much that if Jordan Blade won this match and became the new Champion I would've still been happy.  Now, the last time I remember seeing this particular Championship defended it was against someone who I didn't want to see win it (Hi Darius Carter!) so this just made the match that much more special and I am willing to go out right now, the day after, less than twenty four hours removed and say that was simply the single best match of 2021 and maybe even more years than that.

There was one moment where Jordan Blade had the ankle locked and Trish Adora was trying and trying but was just too far to reach the ropes (Trish Adora was reaching towards the hard cam side) and in that moment I thought "She's not going to be able to do this.  It's over.  This is it.  New Champion"   But then Trish Adora found the power to roll over onto her back and begin kicking at Jordan Blade until the hold was broken.   This was not just a special moment, it was not just special storytelling, but this match was made up of moments completely like this and it is exactly what I love about professional wrestling.  


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