By Chris Vetter, ProWrestling.net Contributor (@chrisvetter73)
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Beyond Wrestling “RSP’s Death Day”
Replay available via IndependentWrestling.TV
March 1, 2025 in Cambridge, Massachusetts at Sonia
This show has some death matches that don’t interest me, but some intriguing ones, too. Yes, it is Rickey Shane Page’s birthday, so this show is built around his love of death matches. Lighting is good, and this is a sellout with maybe 300 fans.
1. Krule vs. Donovan Dijak in a U-Haul match. Yes, you have to throw your opponent into the back of a moving truck. An intense lockup, and Krule hit a bodyslam at 3:00, then a chokeslam. They fought to the floor; Krule is a bit taller and I’m sure that is an unusual position for Dijak to be in. Krule chokeslammed him into the apron at 6:00. He picked up Dijak and slammed him back-first against the apron, then he tossed him onto the empty chairs. They fought outside and into the back of the U-Haul, and Krule tossed him toward the front of the truck. (I’m not sure if the fans in the building can see this; they are reacting so there must be a screen for them to watch.)
Dijak slammed Krule onto a bundle of light tubes at 11:30; he tried to shut the U-Haul door, but Krule got his head out and his arms up to block it. Dijak hit Krule with another bundle of light tubes and slammed the door shut to win the match.
Donovan Dijak defeated Krule in a U-Haul match at 12:16.
* The back of the truck re-opened, and Krule had a chainsaw! He chased Dijak back through the building and they got a “that was awesome!” chant.
2. Dan Barry, Jake Gray, Bobby Orlando, and Gabriel Skye vs. Gabby Forza, Little Mean Kathleen, Spike Nishimura, and Davienne in a ‘bring your own weapon’ match. Orlando carried a basketball backboard to the ring; what is he going to do with that? It’s been a few months since I’ve seen Davienne, and I believe Barry had an injury that sidelined him; everyone else has been fairly active lately. It goes without saying that the women are much smaller. Orlando and LMK opened with some comedy as they fought over a chair, which ricocheted and hit Bobby’s stupid stuffed goat… yeah it’s gonna be that sort of match. Bobby was angry and bodyslammed her. Spike got in and hit some forearm strikes.
Jake got in at 2:00 and fought Davienne; she looks like she is thicker/stronger, and she hit an Electric Chair death-drop on him. Gabby got in at 3:30 and hit a delayed vertical suplex on Barry, and that popped the crowd. Skye entered and hit a shogun dropkick on Gabby. Spike and Gabby hit a team hip-toss on Skye. Spike hit some roundhouse kicks. Gabriel began working ove Spike’s left leg, and the men’s team began working Nishimura over. Nishimura hit a DDT on Barry at 8:30 and they were both down. Suddenly all eight were brawling; the women each backed a guy into a corner and worked him over. Gabby dumped a container of toys in the ring. LMK grabbed Skye in the groin, and Gabby powerslammed Skye, then hit a senton at 11:00.
Barry got in and hit some kicks on each of the women. Davienne gave him a backbody drop onto the toys, which look like tiny gnome hats. Davienne scooped protein powder into Barry’s mouth! Jake threw a toy truck at three women and was booed! However, Gabby bodyslammed Jake onto the toy truck! Bobby got his basketball backboard and hit the women with it. A board covered with mouse traps was slid into the ring at 13:30. Davienne and LMK suplexed Barry onto the mouse traps! Jake dropkicked Kathleen. Spike tied up Jake’s arms, put a crowbar in his mouth, and Gray tapped out! A fun match that never felt too violent toward the women.
Gabby Forza, Little Mean Kathleen, Spike Nishimura, and Davienne defeated Dan Barry, Jake Gray, Bobby Orlando, and Gabriel Skye at 15:24.
3. Matt Makowski vs. TJ Crawford in a ‘thumbtack kick pad match.” I actually think this is the first time I’ve seen the short shootfighter Makowski in 2025; he just hasn’t been on the shows I’ve watched. He came out first and has a backpack with two kendo sticks in it, looking a bit like Deadpool. They immediately began hitting each other with kendo sticks. Matt choked TJ with a kendo stick. TJ went to a bucket and rubbed a handful of tacks onto his glue-covered kick pads. Matt hit a loud spin kick to the chest at 5:00. Matt tried to push TJ’s head into the bucket of thumbtacks. TJ hit a low blow and rolled him up for a cheap pin out of nowhere. Solid match.
TJ Crawford defeated Matt Makowski at 9:14.
4. Love, Doug vs. Slade in an “I Love You To Death” match. I always say that Slade looks like every scary, bald white inmate in every prison movie you’ve ever seen. “He’s deeply unwell,” a commentator said. Doug had a chain around his neck. Okay they are being connected at the wrist by a 15-foot chain, and Slade kept pulling Doug in, who hit a punch and tried to escape. “Slade has been spending the last few months making prison wine in a toilet,” a commentator said. Funny. Doug got a chair and hit Slade with it at 3:30, and he stomped on Slade and kept him grounded. Doug hit him with a bouquet of roses at 5:30 and he wrapped the chain around Slade’s throat. Slade chokeslammed him onto two open chairs and got the pin. Decent.
Slade defeated Love, Doug at 8:16.
5. Marcus Mathers vs. Alex Colon in a hardcore match for the IWTV Title. A ladder, a table, and several chairs were already set up in the ring. WWE ID prospect Mathers hit a dropkick at 2:00. He hit another one that sent Colon to the floor, then he dove onto him at 3:30. In the ring, Colon was bleeding from his forehead, and he stabbed Mathers in the forehead with scissors. Colon put a ladder against Mathers’ groin and hit it with a chair at 7:30, and Alex jabbed him with the chair. Colon whipped Marcus into a table in the corner and made a cocky cover for a nearfall at 10:00.
Mathers hit a top-rope crossbody block and some clotheslines, then a stunner. He tied Colon in the Tree of Woe and threw a chair at Alex, then he nailed a Blue Thunder Bomb for a nearfall. Colon hit a tornado DDT onto a door bridge, and they were both down at 15:00. They got up and traded forearm strikes. Mathers hit a dropkick that shattered a door shard in Colon’s hands. Colon hit a clothesline for a nearfall at 17:30. Mathers hit a Tombstone Piledriver for a believable nearfall at 19:30; we even had a bell, but the ref said it was a two-count. Colon hit a frogsplash for a nearfall. Mathers hit a sit-out powerbomb for a nearfall. Mathers hit a superplex onto a pile of debris that included knives and scored the pin. A decent death match; they bled but it didn’t get too gross, either.
Marcus Mathers defeated Alex Colon to retain the IWTV World Title at 23:08.
6. Rickey Shane Page vs. Shlak in a “20,000 thumbtacks pits of hell” match. RSP came out first and the fans chanted “happy death day!” at him. Shlak is tattoo-covered and so massive; he’s a cross between Jake Something and Braun Strowman but much, much shorter. I’ve only seen him a few times because I generally don’t watch death matches. Shlak started to lead the crowd in a singing of ‘Happy Birthday’ but then he attacked, stabbed RSP with a spike, and Rickey was quickly bleeding. He pushed RSP’s face into a tray of thumbtacks. The commentators pointed out that Gina the ref was wearing goggles, and I don’t blame her. I tuned this out as the match just became them going back and forth, pushing each other’s bodies into thumbtacks. Shlak tied him up, and Page tapped out.
Shlak defeated Rickey Shane Page in a “20,000 thumbtacks pits of hell” match at 9:38.
* A LONG break between matches to clean up, probably longer than the match itself. I would have cut this out in the edit. The ring apron was removed so they will be fighting on the bare wood boards.
7. Nick Gage vs. Drew Gulak in a “Squared Circle of Fear” match. Gage did his usual pre-match mic work. These two had a match at the end of 2024 that led to this hardcore match. They brawled at the bell, and Gage got a bundle of light tubes, but Gulak grabbed them and hit Nick with them. Drew bodyslammed Gage, and Nick was bleeding from his head. Drew put a cinder block on Gage’s back, sat down on it, and applied a half crab. They fought on the floor. Back in the ring, Gage hit a superplex onto the bare boards for a nearfall at 8:30; the commentators pointed out all the shards of glass on the wood.
Drew took control, kept Gage grounded, and he moved the boards to expose the steel frame. Drew hit a piledriver onto the bare boards at 13:30. Gage got a weed wacker and pushed it into Drew’s stomach. Gage hit a second-rope fallaway slam at 15:30. Drew applied a crossface on the mat, but Drew pulled out a pizza cutter and used it to escape. Gage hit a piledriver for the pin.
Nick Gage defeated Drew Gulak in a “Squared Circle of Fear” match at 17:50.
Final Thoughts: Death matches aren’t my thing, but I watched because I like some of the wrestlers here a lot, particularly Mathers and Dijak. I like a good big-man brawl, so the Dijak-Krule opener earns the best match from me. These fans got what they came to see. If you like death matches, this is a show for you.
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