By Chris Vetter, ProWrestling.net Contributor (@chrisvetter73)
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Black Label Pro: “All My Friends Are Enemies”
Streamed on Fite.TV
February 18, 2023 in Crown Point, Indiana at RDS Gym
It appears the crowd is in the 100-150 range. This is in a gym; you can see the basketball hoop and scoreboard in the background. Percy Davis and Jason Midas provided commentary. BLP did this a few months ago, having an afternoon show and an evening show, with almost no wrestlers pulling double-duty. So, each event has eight slated matches. This is a review of the evening show.
1. “Twist & Flip” Darren Fly and Nate Kobain defeated “Hog & Dog” Matt Brannigan and Megabyte Ronnie at 10:19. Brannigan is the guy who looks like a Lenny Lane clone and he has a great physique. His partner, Ronnie, is thick with a mustache and some chest hair and reminds me of New Japan’s Mark Davis. In comparison, “Twist & Flip” are short, scrawny kids. The larger Brannigan and Ronnie dominated the entire match except a few hope spots. Ronnie was going for a Razor’s Edge, when suddenly the kids got a rollup on him and covered him together to get the pin. Brannigan and Ronnie have some promise, just on their body size alone.
2. Calvin Tankman defeated 1 Called Manders at 9:45. I would have expected this to be co-main event, so suprrised this is on here. This should be a Jim Ross ‘hoss fight.’ Tankman was recently their champion. They immediately traded hard chops and forearms. Manders clotheslined both of them to the floor at 1:30, and they brawled in front of the fans. Tankman powerbomed Manders onto the ring apron. In the ring, Tankman sat down hard on Manders’ lower back and stayed focused on the back. Manders hit a second-rope flying shoulder tackle at 5:30, then a DDT, and they were both down.
Manders dove through the ropes, and they both landed among the empty chairs. In the ring, Manders hit a Saito Suplex on his 350+ pound opponent, getting a pop. Tankman fired back with a backbreaker over his knee and a clothesline for a nearfall at 8:00. Tankman missed a top-rope moonsault. Manders tried a left-armed lariat but Tankman didn’t go down. Tankman nailed a pop-up spinning back fist, then the Rikishi Driver/sit-out piledriver for the pin. That was great.
3. Eli Isom defeated Aero Star at 7:25. The commentary team put over Aero Star as a great lucha star, and this is is BLP debut. Isom, of course, had a nice run in ROH. Quick reversals at the bell. Aero Star hit a 619 and a top-rope twisting press, then a huracanrana and a dive through the ropes at 2:00. In the ring, Isom hit a dropkick, then a flip dive to the floor. In the ring, he hit a top-rope frogsplash for a nearfall. Aero Star hit a springboard splash for a nearfall. Isoh hit a backbreaker over his knee for a nearfall at 4:30.
Aero Star hit a stunner for a nearfall. Isom hit an Exploder Suplex and a spear into the corner. Aero Star spiked Isom’s head into the mat and got a nearfall. Isom hit a clothesline at 7:00 then a brainbuster for the pin. They clearly knew they had a short timeframe to work with and they just had a heckuva sprint of a match.
4. “Naturday Saints” Adam Slade, Bradley Prescott IV, and Alice Crowley defeated Matt Knicks, “Pick & Pop” Darius Latrell, and Koda Hernandez in a six-person tag at 8:26. Latrell is a Black man and the commentary team say “he’s a shoot 6’8” and I believe that. The Naturday Saints are the party guys who just want to drink beer. Lots of bad comedy here. Alice Crowley entered and hit some bodyslams.
Latrell hit a big clothesline; he’s built like a basketball player. Koda is much shorter and also wears a basketball jersey, and he doesn’t look like a wrestler. Slade hit a 619 on Latrell. Koda forced Bradley to drink a beer, but it was like giving spinach to Popeye, as Bradley hit a powerbomb for a nearfall. Crowley bodyslammed Latrell. She then slammed Koda for the pin. Meh. The crowd liked the humor.
5. Crash Jaxon defeated Vinny Pacifico at 7:29. The short, hefty Jaxon (think WWE’s Otis!) was recently in a multi-man match on AEW Dark, and just had a good match against Steve Maclin in Pro Wrestling Revolver. Pacifico also has appeared in AEW and on a recent MLW episode. Pacifico has short black hair and is giving up a lot of weight. Vinny hit a flip dive off the apron to the floor on Jaxon. They brawled on the floor, and Jaxon slammed Vinny onto the ring apron.
In the ring, Crash hit a clothesline for a nearfall, then a Bulldog Slam for a nearfall at 3:00. They traded hard forearms. Vinny tried but couldn’t lift Jaxon. Jaxon slammed Vinny for a believable nearfall. Vinny hit a Nigel-style Tower of London stunner for a nearfall at 6:00. Vinny hit an Angle Slam for a nearfall! Crash lifted Vinny up in the air and nailed a sit-out powerbomb for the pin. Good action.
* Intermission. Like in the afternoon show, we return with an advertised ‘bonus match.’
6. Isaiah Broner and Joseline Navarro defeated “The Haven” Jay Onyx and Shawn Knyte at 13:30. Broner, a bald Black man with a bandana around his forehead, wore a Philadelphia Eagles jersey; he’s muscular and gives me Ahmed Johnson vibes. Joseline, who also is Black, has greenish-lime wig. The Haven are both smaller Black men. Knyte has short black hair and looks like a young Kofi. Joseline started and she is likely heavier than her scrawnier male opponent Knyte. Broner entered at 3:00 and squared off with Onyx, who wore a black T-shirt. Onyx hit a dropkick on Broner, and The Haven made quick tags, trying to work over Broner.
Broner hit a belly-to-belly overhead release suplex. Joseline entered and slowed Knyte down with a headlock. Broner hit a fallway slam on Knyte for a nearfall at 8:30. Onyx entered and hit a Mafia KIck on Joseline, then a Michinoku Driver on her for a nearfall. Onyx hit a Shining Wizard on her for a nearfall. She hit a DDT for a nearfall. Broner tagged in and hit a decapitating clothesline for the pin. This was good when Broner was in the ring and really bad when Joseline was in the ring, and that’s not meant as a knock on intergender action.
7. KZY defeated Tre Lemar at 11:02. KZY (pronounced ‘Kay Zee‘) is the party-loving NOAH wrestler who is currently touring the U.S. Lemar, a Black man with a splash of light brown hair on his head, has been on AEW Dark in the past. They shook hands as they both babyfaces. They opened with standing switches with Lemar working the left arm, but KZY did a S2Hotty Worm to escape. Tre dove between the ropes at 2:30. In the ring, Lemar hit a rolling splash (think RVD) for a nearfall.
KZY fired back with a running overhead faceplant (think Ace Austin’s “The Fold) at 6:00. Tre hit a running knee and a clothesline in the corner, then a top-rope twisting crossbody block for a nearfall at 7:30. Lemar hit a superkick to the back of the head. Lemar hit a brainbuster for a believable nearfall at 10:00. KZY hit a Moxley-style double-arm DDT and a flying elbow for a believable nearfall. KZY nailed a frogsplash for the pin. A really good match, and a nice ‘palate cleanser’ after the last match.
8. Aaron Williams and Gary Jay defeated “The Miracle Generation” Kylon King and Dustin Waller at 8:08. The MG wore Bushwhacker-style camo gear; Waller and Williams wore identical red pants; Williams is bald and with his crazy red hair and big bald spot, Jay reminds me of Necro Butcher. Waller and King are younger and smaller, and they hit some quick moves to take an early advantage. Kylon has short black hair; Waller has longer black hair. The heels began working over Waller. King entered and hit a Death Valley Driver and a superkick for a nearfall. Wiliams hit a series of kicks, and suddenly everyone was down at 6:30. Williams hit a superkick and a piledriver for the pin. An entertaining match that topped my expectations.
* Backstory: The massive Calvin Tankman was champion, but he got knocked out after retaining his title a few months ago. Billie Starkz, the talented female teen, had essentially a “money in the bank” title shot. She ran in, cashed it in, and beat the prone, knocked out Tankman to win the BLP title.
9. Billie Starkz defeated Brogan Finlay to retain the BLP Title at 10:16. Starkz is 18; Brogan (son of Fit Finlay, brother of David) is 20, and he’s still pretty slender. That said, it is absurd to think she could beat him in a real fight. She slapped him to start the match. He hit a dropkick, and they immediately brawled to the floor. He nailed her with a kendo stick to the back. She got a chair and cracked it across his back. They rolled into the ring, where she continued to hit him with chairs. She hit a drop-toe-hold sending him crashing onto an open chair at 3:00. She hit a curbstomp onto the folded chair for a nearfall.
Starks stayed in charge, hitting a snap suplex and a hard kick to the spine; Brogan is selling like a pro. She applied a Camel Clutch and ripped at his mouth. Brogan finally hit a brainbuster for a nearfall at 6:00. She hit a Gory Bomb with the kendo stick across his throat for a nearfall. Nice. Brogan hit a twisting Angle Slam off the second rope for a nearfall at 8:00. They traded forearm shots on the ring apron, and he hit a Death Valley Driver, with Billie rolling to the floor. Brogan got a garbage can; he missed a top-rope elbow drop. She hit a Swanton Bomb for a nearfall at 10:00. She hit him with the title belt, then a jumping tombstone piledriver for the pin. Decent intergender match.
Final Thoughts: Repeating my thoughts from the afternoon show that I previously reviewed, but I just don’t know how BLP pays wrestlers for 18 matches over two shows, plus rent for the building, with such a small fan base. There were no wrestlers who pulled double-duty, either.
The Tankman-Manders hoss fight delivered for me, and that’s my pick for best match. In a completely separate style, I’ll take Isom-Aero Star’s high-flying match for second best, with KZY-Lemar third. The main event earns honorable mention, but as I noted, Brogan may be slender compared to his brother and dad, but he still towers over her in height and overall muscle mass, and it was just hard to get into a match where she utterly dominated him — even though she used weapons throughout to keep him at bey.
I enjoy these shows, but I am amazed at how they have matches who are so good with such polished wrestlers, back-to-back with matches featuring wrestlers who look like they are new to the ring.
KZY is a Dragongate wrestler, he just appears in NOAH semi-regularly.