Review: Uncharted Territory, Season 1 Episode 16

byThatRoseTattoo •
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Uncharted Territory, Season 1 Episode 16
Original Air Date: July 17, 2019 (Re-aired May 16, 2020)
Episode Venue: White Eagle in Worcester, MA
Available on demand via IWTV.live
The final episodes of Season 1 have some of the best matches of 2019 - not just in the realm of independent wrestling, either. At this point in the season the quality of talent Beyond booked for Uncharted Territory is, in my opinion, on the very same level as what you’d see on mainstream wrestling programming. The best part is the talent just keeps on coming; there’s an established name making their show debut each episode and of course the Discovery Gauntlet (such a damn good idea) introduces us to who we need to keep eyes on for the future.
On Commentary: Paul Crockett and Sidney Bakabella
Match 1: John Silver vs. Leyla Hirsch
This episode’s opening bout is almost like watching a mirror match, the only difference being that the competitor’s opponent is the opposite gender. Leyla Hirsch turns up in this match and delivers one of the most solid competitions Silver’s had yet. I seriously lost count at the amount of savage German suplexes thrown in this one and kicks (those Silver kicks!) too. Since the playing field was so even for this one I thought by the end Leyla would get the upset victory and shock us all, but Silver managed to put her down enough for the three count. He didn’t enjoy his win long, though, because as expected there was Alex Reynolds in his summer casual finest there to attack Silver post-match. The breakup of the Beaver Boys escalated to a fever pitch by the end of the Season 1, leading up to the inevitable and explosive Silver/Reynolds match at Americanrana ‘19.


Match 2: The Butcher And The Blade (Andy Williams & Pepper Parks) vs. American Strong (Jay Freddie & Rory Gulak)
I propose that when wrestling returns to a normal schedule, Jay Freddie holds open auditions to find a new and improved partner for American Strong. I’d like to see this take place on Uncharted Territory, too. Freddie deserves a different tag partner. And once Freddie finds that partner I’d like to see a rematch between American Strong and Butcher and the Blade. As much as I enjoy Parks & Williams, I think Freddie is badass enough to get a singles win on either of them (imagine a singles match between Jay Freddie and Andy Williams!) and with the right tag team specialist he can get that tag team win over the B&B. Such wasn’t the case here, however, despite the best efforts of Freddie and his now former tag partner. The Butcher and the Blade get the victory in the end, but my curiosity is piqued about seeing Freddie/Williams in a singles match...


Match 3: Christian Casanova (w/Cam Zagami) vs. Daniel Garcia (Discovery Gauntlet match)
Red Death came to change this Gauntlet up! Even in his pre-match interview there’s an intensity to Daniel Garcia that we haven’t seen in any of the Discovery Gauntlet competitors so far in Season 1. 


This man isn’t just hungry, he’s ravenous. Meanwhile, Christian Casanova’s association with Cam Zagami hasn’t done any favors in holding on to that edge that the Top Talent had upon first entry into the Gauntlet. It’s as if he’s gotten comfortable with having Cam around, and there’s absolutely no good in that kind of comfort. It’s great for Garcia, though - he saw his opening and took it quickly, using the confusion caused by a dropkick on Cam at the start of the match to throw Casanova off his game. With Cam out of the way and Casanova distracted, Red Death made this one fast, soundly defeating Christian Casanova and taking his spot atop the Gauntlet. There’s a new king in town, and he sure the hell will get your respect!


Match 4: Chris Dickinson vs. Fred Yehi
Where do you find a beast like Fred Yehi, anyway? MLW, yes, Evolve, sure, but where is he best suited? Anywhere he damn well pleases would be the initial response. I say he fits in anywhere you can book him in a match with equal monsters like Chris Dickinson. In my opinion there are very few men in the current wrestling scene who can present the challenge that the Dirty Daddy gives to Yehi. Both men can brawl and they can get technical as well. Honestly, this match looked like the end of Dickinson’s hot streak that’s been ongoing throughout the season. Yehi was just that unstoppable for so much of their time in the ring. Dickinson’s kicks, those kicks that could level anyone else and put them down for good, didn’t seem to affect Yehi; he demanded more and from there these two went to war. It wasn’t until Dickinson was able to finally pull off a huge Pazuzu Bomb on Yehi that he was able to get the three count. After this banger you’d expect Yehi to have earned at least a little respect...but nah. Yehi responded to Dickinson’s post match offer of a handshake with a low blow, letting us know he wasn’t happy at all about being another notch in the post for the Dirty Daddy.


Match 5: Nick Gage & Thomas Santell vs. Kenn Doane & Richard Holliday
Richard Holliday claims he doesn’t remember being in this match, but I think that’s because Doane got most of the well deserved ass-whipping from Gage and Santell. How great is it that Gage and Santell meshed this well as a tag team with such different styles? Really, this speaks to both guys being great at what they do (Santell especially; I’ve said it before how he can adapt to any style). By their second match as a tag team we see that the King and the Nerd are a formidable combination, they get a decisive win over Doane and Holliday, and we have an official name for the team now - Nerder Death Kill!


Match 6: Wheeler Yuta vs. Brandon Thurston
Holy damn, out of another episode full of great matches this one in particular stands out to me. Say what you will about Brandon Thurston and his smug attitude (and I’ve said my share)...but the man is downright deadly with his skills. And then there’s Yuta, who’s awesome in his own right. This was main event quality, even if Yuta wasn’t functioning at 100% with a bad arm that’s been targeted by Chuck O’Neil and subsequently Thurston throughout this match. Even flying on one wing and looking over his good shoulder for Cold Steel at any moment, Yuta stayed in the game enough to get the win on Thurston in just a little over 10 minutes. 


Like clockwork, though, out came Chuck O’Neil to wreck some shit. This time Chuck was able to hit that hard-ass Michinoku Driver on Yuta and cinch that armbar in; it took several ring officials to get Chuck to break the hold and even after that he went on the attack on everyone who came to Yuta’s aid. This feud has intensified from episode to episode; at this point it was time to let these two settle the score before summer’s end.


Match 7: Solo Darling vs. Kris Statlander
Looking at the matches on Episode 17 it seems as if everyone’s been booked in a match against their biggest possible challenge. That’s definitely the case here with Solo Darling and Kris Statlander, who have had no feud or any sort of beef with one another prior to this match. This one was booked purely to see who the better competitor was, and so far Solo Darling’s been on a fiery hot run through her Season 1 competition. All good things come to an end, though, and Solo’s winning streak ended via submitting to the Galaxy’s Greatest Alien. Hell of a match with control going back and forth, but the moments where Statlander dominated took their toll on Solo enough to where Statlander could ensure the victory. 


In her post match promo, Statlander announced that for Americanrana she’d be facing her opponent, Kimber Lee, in a steel cage. This was huge news for the upcoming show; it would ensure that things would get down and dirty and brutal between the ladies, and that’s just what their feud called for.
Match 8: Josh Briggs vs. Anthony Greene (w/the Platinum Hunnies)
Briggs went HAM from the jump here! We were all expecting a friendly showdown, after all Josh and AG are buddies. That is, they’re the best of buds when they’re outside the ring. All bets were off once they were booked against one another. No one was safe from the very beginning of this match, not even the Hunnies. Briggs booted Angel Sinclair out of the ring during AG’s intro and nearly broke Ava Everett in half with a powerbomb after tossing Greene out of the ring...and from there it was on! I loved how absolutely brutal and wild this main event was. Josh didn’t hold a damn thing back from AG, who returned the onslaught with huge hard punches. Seriously, Greene really does throw some of the best punches I’ve ever seen in wrestling. 

The Hunnies get back a bit of their own on Briggs near the end of the match, getting back in the ring and double-teaming (actually triple-teaming with AG involved) Briggs with a sick top rope DDT from Angel Sinclair and Ava went off with a gigantic Destroyer on Briggs that must be seen to be believed. Out of all this, however, Briggs’ biggest motivation this season has been to prove that he’s back for good. A loss to his good friend AG, no matter how strong the friendship was, would be a setback. Briggs would not and did not allow that to happen here, getting the pinfall win on AG in the end. Unlike earlier with Yehi’s show of disrespect towards Dickinson, Briggs made sure we all knew that he still held his friend Anthony in the highest esteem.


For now, that is...
Post-Show Thoughts
The last three episodes (16, 17, and 18) of Uncharted Territory Season 1 wrap up with any loose ends tied into a neat bow, leading us to the beautiful gift that was Americanrana ‘19. It’s very cool to step back a year later and watch each episode unfold like a chapter now that I know where it all led to. I can’t even begin to sing enough praises for Beyond for how much work and obvious love was put into this product by all involved.
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