By Chris Vetter, ProWrestling.net Contributor (@chrisvetter73)
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Black Label Pro: “Slamilton Show One”
Streamed on Fite.TV
November 12, 2022 in Crown Point, Indiana at RDS Gym
Black Label Pro held “Slamilton,” which featured 24 announced matches over two shows. This is the review of the first show, which started at 3:30 p.m. CST. Percy Davis and Jason Midas provided commentary. This is a small gym, and the crowd is maybe 200. NOTE: Game Changer Wrestling has a show in Chicago later on this evening, and I know Sawyer Wreck is doing a double-header.
Note: This show is on Fite+ so I’m sure a lot of people are checking out Black Label Pro for the very first time as part of their subscription.
1. Alec Price defeated Blake Christian at 9:41. Quick reversals to start. Price has the height and weight advantage, and the commentators said they are 24 or 25. Blake hit an Asai Moonsault to the floor. Price countered with a rising knee in the corner and a top-rope legdrop. Blake hit the handspring-back-enzuigiri and a Lionsault Press for a nearfall at 5:00.
Price went for a move off the ropes, but Blake caught him with a rising knee strike. Blake hit a mid-ring Spanish Fly for a nearfall at 6:30. They traded forearm shots while on their knees. Blake went for another Lionsault, but Price caught him with a superkick. Price nailed a neckbreaker over his knee for a nearfall. Price nailed a really nice-looking Blockbuster for a believable nearfall at 8:00. Blake nailed his rolling Death Valley Driver and a frogsplash for a believable nearfall. Blake set up for a short-arm clothesline but Price avoided it. Price nailed a mule kick to the back of the head for the surprising pin. That was a great way to start this show.
2. Sawyer Wreck defeated Queen Aminata at 5:10. I think Sawyer is wrestling on the GCW death match show later. I know I say this every time, but she’s a legit 6’1″ or so, and always has the height advantage. I noted this the other day, but Aminata is far better in the ring that you’ve seen in her handful of AEW Dark matches. Sawyer dominated early, and hit a hard chop that dropped Aminata.
Aminata hit a drop-toe-hold into the bottom turnbuckle at 4:00 and a running Facewash in the corner for a nearfall. She hit a fisherman’s swinging neckbreaker for a nearfall. Sawyer hit a two-fisted chokeslam with a jackknife cover for the pin. Solid match, and I wouldn’t have minded if this had gone longer.
3. “The Space Pirates” Shane Sabre and Space Monkey defeated Jordan Oliver and Nick Wayne at 9:37. Space Monkey wore a “Planet of the Apes”-style mask and a tail; I’ve never seen them before. Oliver and Wayne once again are wearing identical gear, and this is a face-face matchup. Oliver started against Sabre, who is of average size with a thick brown beard. Sabre gave his partner a monkey flip — get it? — into the corner on an opponent. Oliver slammed Wayne onto Sabre, and they began working over Sabre.
Sabre hit a Flatliner on Wayne onto the middle turnbuckle. Space Monkey made the hot tag at 6:30 and unloaded a series of kicks on Oliver. Sabre hit an Air Raid Crash for a nearfall on Oliver, but Wayne made the save. Oliver and Wayne hit simultaneous Mafia Kicks. Oliver went for a Cloud Cutter off the ropes, but Sabre caught him, got a schoolboy rollup, and scored the pin. Good action.
4. Dominic Garrini defeated Trik Davis at 7:04. Trik has been wrestling at least 18 years but he still looks like he’s in his 20s. Dominic has certainly had a bigger spotlight with his run in MLW. They traded mat holds early, and Garinni hit a dropkick, then a backbreaker over his knee for a nearfall at 2:30. Trik hit a headscissors takedown. Garinni hit a hard clothesline and a jumping piledriver for a nearfall at 5:30. Trik tied up the arms and hit several blows to the chest. Garrini applied a rear-naked choke on the mat, and Trik tapped out.
5. Erick Stevens defeated Kevin Blackwood at 16:33. Blackwood has blond hair today; two weeks ago, it was a bright purple/pink. Standing switches to start. They switched to stiff forearm shots at 3:30, and Blackwood hit a hard clothesline that dropped Stevens. Blackwood hit a doublestomp to the chest, then hard kicks to the back. Stevens fired back with a belly-to-belly suplex at 6:00. They traded rollup attempts. Stevens hit a running forearm shot in the corner.
They let each other hit hard chops to the chest. Blackwood hit a second-rope missile dropkick. Blackwood hit an Exploder Suplex for a nearfall at 9:00. Stevens tied up the legs in a modified Texas Cloverleaf, but Blackwood reached the ropes at 11:30. They fought on the ring apron, where Blackwood hit a Death Valley Driver, and they both tumbled to the floor at 13:00. This has been really good and hard-hitting.
Back in the ring, Blackwood hit a top-rope doublestomp for a nearfall. Stevens switched to a leglock on the mat. Stevens hit a German suplex with Blackwood landing ungly on his upper neck. Luckily, he hopped up and they traded more stiff forearm shots. Blackwood hit a Death Valley Driver for a believable nearfall. Stevens went for another top-rope move, but Stevens rolled through it and applied another anklelock. Stevens switched to a half-crab, and Blackwood tapped out. Wow, that was really good.
6. Effy defeated Rohit Raju at 6:38. The crowd taunted Raju, who is the heel. I have noted this before, but Effy is deceptively tall and thick, and he’s bigger than Raju. Effy hit a Helluva Kick seconds into the match. He hit a Blockbuster out of the corner. Rohit hit a Steve Austin-style kneedrop with Austin’s mannerisms, earning some boos, and he posed. Raju hit a snap suplex for a nearfall at 3:30, and he slowed it down with a headlock on the mat. Effy bit Raju’s nipple, then a Doink Whoopee Cushion for a nearfall. Raju hit a swinging neckbreaker, then a jumping Flatliner at 6:00, Effy hit a Fame-asser legdrop for the pin. OK match.
7. Calvin Tankman defeated Levi Everett to retain the BLP Title at 13:31. This is an interesting face-face, big-man matchup. Levi is the Amish guy who carries his butter churner to the ring. Levi hit a dropkick in the corner to start the match. He went for a dive through the ropes, but Tankman caught him. Everett got back in the ring, and this time, he dove through the ropes and barreled into Calvin. They brawled on the floor, and Tankman powerbombed him onto the ring apron at 2:30. They got into the ring and brawled. Levi hit some clotheslines that staggered Tankman. Tankman caught him going for another clothesline and hit a backbreaker over his knee at 6:00.
Tankman was now in charge and he whipped Levi across the ring. However, he mmissed a Stinger Splash. Levi hit a flying headbutt at 9:00, and he “churned” the arm. Tankman hit a pumphandle sit-out powerbomb for a believable nearfall. They fought on the ropes in the corner, and Levi hit a top-rope Canadian Destroyer for a believable nearfall at 12:30. Tankman hit a hard clothesline and a Hidden Blade forearm shot to the back of the head, then his Rikishi Driver piledriver for the pin. That was really, really good.
* They shook hands and Tankman turned and celebrated in the corner. However, Levi attacked Tankman and the crowd went nuts for this shocking heel turn. Levi hit him with the butter churn, then repeated chairshots to the back. Levi left the ring, and Tankman was knocked out on the mat.
8. Billie Starkz defeated Calvin Tankman at 0:04 to win the BLP Title. Starkz apparently has the equivalent of a Money In the Bank opportunity. She dragged a ref out of the back, into the ring, and ordered he ring the bell. She then made the cocky one-foot cover to pin the knocked-out champion. Obviously, the crowd booed this, as we headed to an intermission.
9. Isaiah Moore and “Twist & Flip” Darren Fly and Nate Kobain defeated Devon Monroe, Riley Jackson, and Lenny Cruz at 10:20. Monroe is a Black man who has copied Sonny Kiss’ look and style entirely. Monroe’s team came from Minnesota: I saw the white, bald, Riley Jackson have a really good match against Silas Young, and he wrestled on the AEW taping in MN in August, and he’s a good heel. The commentators talked about how these guys drove in from MN today; if that’s the case, they had to have left at 5-6 a.m. Riley started, then he tagged in Devon Monroe at 3:30.
Riley got back in and he worked over the very tiny Nate Kobain. The MN trio took turns working over Kobain. Moore finally made the hot tag at 8:00 and he traded some good offense with Monroe. Monroe hit a top-rope crossbody block for a nearfall. Kobain and Fly hit stereo dives through the ropes. Meanwhile, Devon Moore hit a spin kick to Monroe’s face for the pin.
* Jeffery John hit the ring. He feels disrespected because he doesn’t have a match. He reminds me of Shawn Spears/Tye Dillinger. He sat on a chair and made an open challenge.
10. Joshua Bishop defeated Jeffery John at 2:08. Bishop is the tall, muscular blond guy who looks like a young Sid Vicious. John attacked from behind to start the match but it had almost no effect. Bishop hit a hard clothesline in the corner. John hit an ugly moonsault. Bishop hit a Razor’s Edge-style overhead powerbomb, but dropped him with a lot of force, to score the pin. Fun squash.
11. Kevin Ku defeated Eli Isom at 8:08. Isom’s partner, Garrini, already won an earlier match on the show. Isom, the former ROH rising star, had a good showing this week on AEW TV. They immediately began brawling. Ku applied a leglock on the mat. Isom hit a belly-to-belly overhead release suplex at 3:00. Ku hit some kicks. Isom hit a Rude Awakening neckbreaker, and he applied a Texas Cloverleaf. Ku hit a hard clothesline, and they were both down at 6:00.
They got up and traded more forearm shots. Isom hit a nice delayed German Suplex for a nearfall. Ku nailed a kick that was nearly a low blow, then a fisherman’s buster for the pin. That was really good start, and it just ended abruptly. Ku spoke briefly on the mic, then shook Isom’s hand.
12. Percy Davis defeated Trevor Outlaw at 5:44. I don’t know Outlaw; he’s short and has a long beard, reminding me of Josh Woods. Percy has provided commentary throughout most of this show; he has a big No Way Jose-style hairstyle. They brawled on the floor, and Percy let a little kid in the front row hit a chop on Trevor. They got in the ring and Trevor hit some basic stomps and was in charge. Trevor has the Bang brothers as corner-men, who choked Percy in the ropes. Outlaw hit a powerbomb for a nearfall at 3:00. The ref got bumped. The Bang Brothers tried to interfere, but they accidentally hit a spear on Outlaw. Percy hit a Death Valley Driver for the win. Probably my least-favorite match of the show.
13. Tom Lawlor defeated Carlos Romo at 14:53. I don’t think I’ve seen Romo before, but he has the same haircut style as Kevin Blackwood, with a pink top. Mat wrestling to start. Lawlor hit some chops, and he tied up Lawlor’s arm in the ropes. Lawlor applied a Figure Four Leglock at 5:00. Romo fired up and hit his own chops and a leg lariat. Romo hit a swinging neckbreaker.
Romo hit a stunner. Lawlor hit a chokeslam move for a nearfall at 8:00, and he got a jackknife rollup for a nearfall. Lawlor hit a running boot in the corner, and he paused to jaw at the crowd. Romo snuck up and applied a Dragon Sleeper. Romo hit an awkward-looking piledriver, then a better looking piledriver for a nearfall at 12:00. Romo went for a top-rope moonsault, but Lawlor caught him coming to the mat and he applied a Triangle Choke.
Romo escaped and hit another top-rope moonsault for a nearfall, and they were both down. Romo hit a German Suplex. However, Lawlor applied a sleeper and dropped down to the mat. Lawlor hit his kneestrike to the back of the head, and he again applied a sleeper, and the ref called for the bell. Good match.
Final Thoughts: I am a big fan of Calvin Tankman, and that brawl with Levi Everett was best of the show. A red flag should have gone off in my head when this was so early in the show, but I certainly wouldn’t have guessed teenage girl Billie Starkz was going to walk out of the show with the title.
I’ll go with Blackwood-Stevens for second-best, with Blake Christian-Alec Price for third place. I am always surprised when Blake Christian loses, but I believe Price is more of a regular on the BLP roster, so I guess that makes sense here. Same for Wayne and Oliver losing to a team I hadn’t seen before.
With Black Label Pro moving to Fite+, I hope more people tuned in, because there was a lot to like here. Really, the biggest drawback is a crowd that was so small, as I do find it a bit distracting. Including the 10-minute intermission, the show clocked in at just over three hours.
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