By Chris Vetter, ProWrestling.net Contributor (@chrisvetter73)
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Black Label Pro: “Grapplers from the Black Lagoon”
Streamed on Independent Pro Wrestling TV
October 29, 2022 in New Albany, Indiana at Our Lady of Perpetual Hops Brewery
The attendance was maybe 150-200. Percy Davis and Val Capone provided commentary. This space is designed like a giant pole barn; I visited the brewery’s website, and they do use this warehouse space for local concerts and other events. The lights are on and its easy to see the action.
1. Levi Everett defeated Crash Jaxon at 7:40. Jaxon is rotund and similar in size to WWE’s Otis. Levi is the Amish fighter, in blue jeans and suspenders. Everett “churns the arm” like a butter churn. Everett nailed a top-rope flying headbutt for the pin.
2. Megabyte Ronnie & Matt Brannigan defeated Joey Gotch & Jacob Gotch and Chuck Stone & Arthur McArthur and Adam Slade & Bradley Prescott in a four-way tag match at 10:48. I don’t know any of these eight guys, and they all looked really green. Brannigan has long curly blond hair and I thought he was Lenny Lane at first glance; the resemblance is scary. Slade and Prescott drank beers on the way to the ring. Joey Gotch hit a springboard dive onto several guys on the floor. Brannigan hit a flip dive onto everyone on the floor.
In the ring, all four teams did ‘chicken fighting,’ with someone on each person’s shoulders. A second ref hit the ring so our main ref also could be on shoulders. Funny silliness. Ronnie, who is tall and muscular, hit a Razor’s Edge overhead powerbomb, with Brannigan catching the opponent’s head into a cutter, to score the pin. Not good, but the right team won.
3. Jake Something defeated Dan the Dad at 9:55. I enjoy Dan’s schtick, even though it is mid-card gimmick. Dan hit some jab punches but Jake hit a bodyslam and just overpowered Dan. Dan hit some clotheslines but couldn’t drop Jake. Dan hit the Thesz Press and a side slam. Dan hit a top-rope crossbody block for a nearfall at 7:30. Jake nailed a sit-out powerbomb for a believable nearfall. Jake hit a DDT as Jake’s feet were tied in the ropes. Jake hit a low blow punt kick, then a Boss Man slam for the pin.
4. Lee Moriarity defeated Adam Priest at 13:29. Former Impact wrestler Rohit Raju joined commentary and put over Priest. Moriarity got a nice pop. Priest is white with short black hair and he’s been on AEW Dark in the past; I’ll compare him to Kyle O’Reilly in size and style. Good mat reversals, and this looks a lot different from the first three matches. The commentators discussed Lee’s upcoming AEW title match against Jon Moxley (which of course he lost.) They brawled to the floor, where Lee hit a backbody drop onto the concrete floor.
In the ring, Lee hit a running European Uppercut. Adam hit a piledriver for a nearfall. They traded hard forearm shots, and Lee switched to open-hand slaps to the face. Lee hit a crossbody block and a northern lights suplex for a nearfall at 11:30. Priest hit a Rude Awakening standing neckbreaker, and he tied up Lee in a submission hold around the neck, but Lee reached the ropes. Lee applied a triangle choke on the mat, and he turned it into an Alex Shelley-style Border City Stretch, and Priest tapped out. That was really, really good.
5. Tre Lemar and “The Bang Brothers” Davey Bang and August Matthews defeated Isaiah Moore, Darren Fly, and Nate Kobain at 12:14. I have seen the Bang Brothers a couple of times, and Lemar has been on AEW Dark. Lemar is a Black man with a splash of blond/brown hair. Early on, Lemar and Moore had a good exchange. Fly and Kobain wear identical blue & black tights, while the Bang brothers were identical red gear. The Bang Brothers worked over Moore. Lots of flips and dives and not a lot of psychology here. Kobain hit an Asai moonsault to the floor.
In the ring, Lemar hit a Pele Kick. Lemar nailed a brainbuster for a nearfall at 11:00. The announcers were going crazy with some of the kicks and kickouts. The Bang Brothers hit a team spear move, then simultaneous 450 Splashes from opposite corners. Lemar then nailed a top-rope elbow drop to score the pin. A fun, chaotic mess-of-a-match, in a good way.
6. Brogan Finlay defeated Billie Starkz in an intergender match at 6:03. Yes, Brogan is the son of Fit Finlay and brother of David Finlay; he is 19 or 20. Starkz, who seemingly competed everywhere this summer, is now a senior in high school. She’s talented, but she is much smaller than her male opponent. He hit a dropkick that sent her to the floor. They brawled on the floor and she rammed his head into the ring post.
In the ring, Finlay hit some forearm shots and a Blue Thunder Bomb for a nearfall at 4:30. Billie hit a German Suplex for a nearfall. With the ref out of position, Billie hit a low blow mule kick and a top-rope Swanton Bomb for a nearfall. Brogan hit a piledriver for the pin. The commentators were somehow shocked that a larger male competitor cleanly beat a smaller teenage woman.
7. Joshua Bishop defeated Cole Radrick in a no-DQ match to retain the BLP Midwest Championship at 8:07. Bishop is the tall, muscular guy with curly blond hair and reminds me of a young Sid Vicious. Radrick is the James Ellsworth-meets-Gomer Pyle dork. Radrick leapt onto Bishop to kickstart the match, and they brawled on the floor and amongst the fans; the lights are on so it’s easy to see as they brawled away from the ring. They finally entered the ring at 4:00. Bishop hit a Death Valley Driver, but he clutched his knee in pain, and the commentators immediately pointed out he has suffered an injury.
Bishop slammed Radrick across two open chairs. Radrick hit a Cloud Cutter. He placed a garbage can over Bishop’s head and slammed it with a chair. Radrick hit a Snow Plow across two open chairs at 7:30. Bishop tossed Radrick through a table set up in the corner and scored the pin. Solid brawl and it didn’t get disgusting; no one bled and no barbed wire or pizza cutters or light tubes.
8. Sawyer Wreck defeated Shazza McKenzie at 7:41. Shazza is Australian and just returned to the United States. I’ve noted this before, but Sawyer is a legit 6’1″ and just towers over all the women she’s in the ring with; she reminds me a lot of Rhea Ripley. Sawyer hit a sideslam early in the match and was quickly in control. She hit a spin kick to the head that sent Shazza to the floor. Shazza hit a chairshot to the back on the floor and they brawled outside the ring.
Back in the ring, Shazza tied her up in the ropes. Sawyer hit a top-rope superplex onto two open chairs for a believable nearfall at 5:00. Ouch! They traded forearm shots. Sawyer hit a clothesline for a nearfall. In a crazy spot, Shazza hit a top-rope crossbody block onto Sawyer, who was seated on a chair. Sawyer hit a chokeslam onto a folded chair for the pin. Hard-hitting match.
9. Calvin Tankman defeated Alec Price to retain the BLP Heavyweight Title at 10:55. I am a big fan of Tankman; he’s so agile for a man of his weight. Price is taller but definitely at a weight disadvantage, and he jawed at fans before the bell. Tankman hit a backbody drop but Price landed on his feet and celebrated. Price hit a huracanrana that sent Tankman to the floor. Price dove through the ropes, but Tankman caught him and powerbombed him onto the ring apron, then into a steel post. In the ring, Tankman backed him in the corner and hit a loud chop, then hiptossed him across the ring. He hit a shoulder tackle that sent Price flying at 4:30.
Price fired back with an enzuigiri and a running kneestrike into the corner. He hit a dive to the floor at 7:00, then a top-rope leg lariat for a nearfall. Price tried to bodyslam Tankman, but they did the Hogan-Andre spot, with Tankman landing on Price. Tankman hit a backbreaker over his knee. Tankman nailed a forearm to the back of the head for a believable nearfall at 10:00. Price went to the top rope, selling a sore back; he dove but Tankman caught him and nailed a sit-out piledriver for the pin. Good match.
Final Thoughts: A fun show. Nothing that is must-see, but an entertaining event. I certainly wish there had been a larger crowd, as having so few fans was a bit distracting.
Tankman is a beast. He’s believably dangerous and I can see why you’d build around him as your champion. I’ll give the main event best match. I really enjoyed Moriarity-Priest mat-based action for second-best. I’ll give the high-flying chaotic six-man tag third best, with Shazza-Sawyer earning honorable mention.
I get that you want a large guy like Jake Something to be the heel, but he shouldn’t have to resort to a low blow to beat Dan the Dad. The four-team tag match wasn’t good but everyone tried. The low point was the commentators overselling that Brogan Finlay’s win was a huge upset, which it definitely was not.
The show clocked in at just over two hours.
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