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| Edwards and Steen are two of the many awesome stars you'll see in Providence Sunday Photo Credit: Scott Finkelstein |
Beyond Wrestling has been known for "workers only" tapings, latching onto other promotions for showcase matches, extensive libraries of free videos on YouTube, and a powerful social media presence. They have made their name creating the next stars on the independent scene from virtual unknowns. They've had guest stars of great magnitude before, but never have they put on an independent dream show laden with the top guys available to them. That will all change Sunday as they invade Fete Music in Providence, RI, for Americanrana. Doors will open at 3:30 PM, and the action will start at 4 PM. The talent collected for booking here is stellar, but what might be the best part is the catering, and for once, the fact that Drew Cordeiro and his mother didn't cook for this show isn't a negative.
But before getting to the chowing down portion, we have to talk about the reason why anyone would want to head into Providence for the show. Six current or former top Champions of the independent scene will appear at Americanrana, with some even facing off against each other: former Ring of Honor and Pro Wrestling Guerrilla Champion Kevin Steen, current Combat Zone Wrestling Champion Masada, current Dragon Gate USA Open the Freedom Gate Champion Johnny Gargano, former NWA World Champion Colt Cabana, former ROH Champion Eddie "Eddie Edwards" Edwards, and current EVOLVE Champion AR Fox. That is a murderer's row, a who's who if you will, of active competitors today.
It'd be one thing just to have them show up, but the main event especially is a feature matchup that I'm not sure any other company could provide. Steen vs. Masada is scheduled as the top-billed match on the show. Masada is no stranger to ultraviolence, as he's the reigning CZW Champion competing on a bum wheel. His feats of gore and sadism include, among other things, sticking skewers into Matthew Palmer's head at Anarchy Championship Wrestling's Guilty by Association 6. While Steen's nickname, "Mr. Wrestling," suggests a more technical flair, the man has been known to get down and dirty brawling in situations both with and without weapons and other extreme accoutrements. Some of his fiercest matches against El Generico would rank among the most violent and blood-soaked contests in CZW history if they had occurred there.
So what does that mean for Fete Music? Should we fear for its structural integrity before the end of that main event? I fear the answer is yes, because if this knee injury hasn't kept Masada out yet, I doubt he'll let up in what may be his highest-profile opponent yet. Beyond is known as a place where the hungriest of the unknowns compete and vie for the attention of their peers and other companies, but neither Masada nor Steen are unknowns at this point. However, I feel like both have reputations that precede them, ones that suggest that no matter what the surrounding, whether at WrestleCon or at a swap meet in West Bumblefuck, PA, that they will go hard to the wall. They fit the profile of Beyond, so I don't expect anything to slow Masada down. I don't expect Steen to hold back. If this match isn't good, it won't be because the two guys in that ring didn't give their all.
The next biggest match and probably the most important one on the show features two wrestlers who aren't contained in that star-studded honor reel listed above. Both Chris Dickinson and Drew Gulak have Beyond Wrestling coursing through their veins, figuratively, of course. I'd imagine that if the company they worked for literally was in their bloodstream, they'd need to be on some kind of statin. Anyway, the two have been fussin' and a feudin' for a good while, and their match at Americanrana is stipulated that it must have a winner. While Gulak is known to the Combat Zone as a man out to clean it up of its excess and brutality, in Beyond, he has a bit of a problem containing his own violent anger. In a no-DQ setting against the maniacal sociopath known as Dickinson, we might be setting up to see some real rage issues get worked out on both sides. Who will stand victorious, and more importantly, how Pyrrhic will the winner's victory be?
Getting back to the YUUUUUUUUUUGE names listed above, they will all be spread apart in their own feature matches against the best Beyond has to offer. Three of them, Fox, Gargano, and Edwards, will be placed in a "Best of New England Challenge" series. Fox will do battle with Anthony Stone in a contest that is sure to set off some pyrotechnics. We all know what Fox can do in the air, but Stone has some ups himself. Gargano's opponent will be JT Dunn, a name I'm not too familiar with, but one I've heard very good things about. Edwards' opponent is the interminably stiff and deliciously bruising Biff Busick. Busick, who also competes as Francis O'Rourke in the Wrestling Is... family of companies, has become somewhat of a rising star in the indies, latching on in Absolute Intense Wrestling in a big way. In some ways, I can see this match being the chippiest on the card, but it will have some steep competition with the main event and the "Must Have a Winner" match.
Cabana's challenge is a uniquely quirky one for him. Billed as the "Bohemian vs. the Brute," he'll face off against Jaka. This is being promoted as a clash of styles, but I have vivid memories of Jaka as Johnny Mangue breaking out some impressive mat wrestling maneuvers and holds. If he shies away from his savage trappings even slightly and is able to engage Cabana in some classic mat stuff, I feel like the match could steal the show.
Other matches on the card the #KOA of Sugar Dunkerton and Aaron Epic taking on Tabarnak de Team, pairing Mathieu St. Jacques and Thomas Dubois out of Quebec. I've heard good things about the latter, and it'll be interesting to see what they're all about. Finally, there will be a four-way "Winner Take All" tag team scramble pitting Team TREMENDOUS (Dan Barry and Bill Carr), Da Hoodz (Davey Cash and Kris Pyro), the M1nute Men (Tommy Trainwreck and Devin Blaze), and EYFBO (Angel Ortiz and Mike Draztik) against each other. All in all, it is shaping up to be one of the most solid cards of the year.
IN addition to the great wrestling, there will be some premium eats available as well. While Beyond Wrestling is famous for having promoter Drew Cordeiro and his mother cater their cards with gourmet-caliber dishes, they're going to be taking the night off, as Championship Melt will be stopping by with their grilled cheese creations. The menu for the show can be found here. I won't lie; all of them look tasty enough to eat two apiece, or at least as many as I could scarf down without getting a bellyache. If I had to choose one though, I might be torn between the Splatterhouse, which is basically poutine between two pieces of bread, and #23, which has BACON on it. I'm an unabashed bacon apologist, and when it's paired with sharp cheeses and tart, green apple, I'm all over it.
But whether you come out to Rhode Island for the wrestling or the food, come out for the show if you can. There aren't many better ways to spend a Sunday afternoon than watching pro wrestling, especially when the talent on the show is balls to the wall and the catering is intense and unique. Beyond Wrestling isn't one of the most critically acclaimed promotions out there because of any kind of false promise or artificial hope. They deliver the goods. This time, they're pulling out all the big guns. If you're within a couple of hours of Providence, you need to go to Fete Music and hit up Americanrana. I feel like this is going to be one of those shows you tell your grandkids about.
But before getting to the chowing down portion, we have to talk about the reason why anyone would want to head into Providence for the show. Six current or former top Champions of the independent scene will appear at Americanrana, with some even facing off against each other: former Ring of Honor and Pro Wrestling Guerrilla Champion Kevin Steen, current Combat Zone Wrestling Champion Masada, current Dragon Gate USA Open the Freedom Gate Champion Johnny Gargano, former NWA World Champion Colt Cabana, former ROH Champion Eddie "Eddie Edwards" Edwards, and current EVOLVE Champion AR Fox. That is a murderer's row, a who's who if you will, of active competitors today.
It'd be one thing just to have them show up, but the main event especially is a feature matchup that I'm not sure any other company could provide. Steen vs. Masada is scheduled as the top-billed match on the show. Masada is no stranger to ultraviolence, as he's the reigning CZW Champion competing on a bum wheel. His feats of gore and sadism include, among other things, sticking skewers into Matthew Palmer's head at Anarchy Championship Wrestling's Guilty by Association 6. While Steen's nickname, "Mr. Wrestling," suggests a more technical flair, the man has been known to get down and dirty brawling in situations both with and without weapons and other extreme accoutrements. Some of his fiercest matches against El Generico would rank among the most violent and blood-soaked contests in CZW history if they had occurred there.
So what does that mean for Fete Music? Should we fear for its structural integrity before the end of that main event? I fear the answer is yes, because if this knee injury hasn't kept Masada out yet, I doubt he'll let up in what may be his highest-profile opponent yet. Beyond is known as a place where the hungriest of the unknowns compete and vie for the attention of their peers and other companies, but neither Masada nor Steen are unknowns at this point. However, I feel like both have reputations that precede them, ones that suggest that no matter what the surrounding, whether at WrestleCon or at a swap meet in West Bumblefuck, PA, that they will go hard to the wall. They fit the profile of Beyond, so I don't expect anything to slow Masada down. I don't expect Steen to hold back. If this match isn't good, it won't be because the two guys in that ring didn't give their all.
The next biggest match and probably the most important one on the show features two wrestlers who aren't contained in that star-studded honor reel listed above. Both Chris Dickinson and Drew Gulak have Beyond Wrestling coursing through their veins, figuratively, of course. I'd imagine that if the company they worked for literally was in their bloodstream, they'd need to be on some kind of statin. Anyway, the two have been fussin' and a feudin' for a good while, and their match at Americanrana is stipulated that it must have a winner. While Gulak is known to the Combat Zone as a man out to clean it up of its excess and brutality, in Beyond, he has a bit of a problem containing his own violent anger. In a no-DQ setting against the maniacal sociopath known as Dickinson, we might be setting up to see some real rage issues get worked out on both sides. Who will stand victorious, and more importantly, how Pyrrhic will the winner's victory be?
Getting back to the YUUUUUUUUUUGE names listed above, they will all be spread apart in their own feature matches against the best Beyond has to offer. Three of them, Fox, Gargano, and Edwards, will be placed in a "Best of New England Challenge" series. Fox will do battle with Anthony Stone in a contest that is sure to set off some pyrotechnics. We all know what Fox can do in the air, but Stone has some ups himself. Gargano's opponent will be JT Dunn, a name I'm not too familiar with, but one I've heard very good things about. Edwards' opponent is the interminably stiff and deliciously bruising Biff Busick. Busick, who also competes as Francis O'Rourke in the Wrestling Is... family of companies, has become somewhat of a rising star in the indies, latching on in Absolute Intense Wrestling in a big way. In some ways, I can see this match being the chippiest on the card, but it will have some steep competition with the main event and the "Must Have a Winner" match.
Cabana's challenge is a uniquely quirky one for him. Billed as the "Bohemian vs. the Brute," he'll face off against Jaka. This is being promoted as a clash of styles, but I have vivid memories of Jaka as Johnny Mangue breaking out some impressive mat wrestling maneuvers and holds. If he shies away from his savage trappings even slightly and is able to engage Cabana in some classic mat stuff, I feel like the match could steal the show.
Other matches on the card the #KOA of Sugar Dunkerton and Aaron Epic taking on Tabarnak de Team, pairing Mathieu St. Jacques and Thomas Dubois out of Quebec. I've heard good things about the latter, and it'll be interesting to see what they're all about. Finally, there will be a four-way "Winner Take All" tag team scramble pitting Team TREMENDOUS (Dan Barry and Bill Carr), Da Hoodz (Davey Cash and Kris Pyro), the M1nute Men (Tommy Trainwreck and Devin Blaze), and EYFBO (Angel Ortiz and Mike Draztik) against each other. All in all, it is shaping up to be one of the most solid cards of the year.
IN addition to the great wrestling, there will be some premium eats available as well. While Beyond Wrestling is famous for having promoter Drew Cordeiro and his mother cater their cards with gourmet-caliber dishes, they're going to be taking the night off, as Championship Melt will be stopping by with their grilled cheese creations. The menu for the show can be found here. I won't lie; all of them look tasty enough to eat two apiece, or at least as many as I could scarf down without getting a bellyache. If I had to choose one though, I might be torn between the Splatterhouse, which is basically poutine between two pieces of bread, and #23, which has BACON on it. I'm an unabashed bacon apologist, and when it's paired with sharp cheeses and tart, green apple, I'm all over it.
But whether you come out to Rhode Island for the wrestling or the food, come out for the show if you can. There aren't many better ways to spend a Sunday afternoon than watching pro wrestling, especially when the talent on the show is balls to the wall and the catering is intense and unique. Beyond Wrestling isn't one of the most critically acclaimed promotions out there because of any kind of false promise or artificial hope. They deliver the goods. This time, they're pulling out all the big guns. If you're within a couple of hours of Providence, you need to go to Fete Music and hit up Americanrana. I feel like this is going to be one of those shows you tell your grandkids about.