By Chris Vetter, ProWrestling.net Contributor (@chrisvetter73)
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Black Label Pro: “2 Cold 2 Hold”
Streamed on Fite.TV
April 29, 2023 in Berwyn, Illinois at the Berwyn Eagles Club
The venue is the home venue of AAW and Shimmer, and I’ve seen maybe five shows in this building. This show began at 1 p.m. CST, and I assume it was an afternoon show so fans could go to Impact Wrestling later in the day. Attendance was perhaps 150-200 (this building can’t really hold much more than this). This show streamed live on Fite+.
1. Dan the Dad defeated Trik Davis at 7:49. Trik is replacing Steph De Lander. Dan did his juvenile antics, tripping Trik. Dan hit a spinebuster for a nearfall at 5:00. Dan took off his belt and hit Trik on his butt. Dan then hit a backpack stunner for the pin. Cartoonish.
2. Cole Radrick vs. Alec Price went to a draw at 3:35. Price has appeared in MLW and he’s a rising star, while Radrick is the James Ellsworth-meets-Gomer Pyle dork who is beloved beyond my understanding. They did some basic wrestling reversals in the ring and rolled to the floor. Out of nowhere, a deranged-looking Billie Starkz attacked Radrick, causing the match stoppage.
* A matchmaker came out and said that Radrick and Price would be added to the main event later, which made Starkz livid!
3. Joshua Bishop defeated Shigehiro Irie to retain the BLP Midwest Title at 9:12. I thought this was going to be the main event, so I’m surprised it is going on here. Again, Bishop is the Sid Vicious clone with great size and short, curly blond hair. An intense lockup to open. We briefly lost the signal from the building; this happened a few times now. They traded forearm shots. We lost the signal for nearly a minute. Grrrrrr. Bishop hit a DDT at 7:00. Irie nailed a hard clothesline for a nearfall. Bishop hit a Death Valley Driver and a sitdown Razors Edge overhead powerbomb for the pin. Disappointing we had some of the match blacked out but I sense we really didn’t miss much, either.
4. “Twist and Flip” Darren Fly and Nate Kobain defeated “Latinos Most Wanted” Hernandez and Gage at 8:57. LMW are mystery opponents. More lost signal from the venue and this is very frustrating. When the video returned, T&F were working over Hernandez in their corner. Kobain hit a Lungblower for a nearfall at 7:30.. and the signal was lost again. One of LMW hit a Swanton for a nearfall. Twist and Flip hit simultaneous Superkicks. Kobain flipped Fly onto an opponent for the pin. Decent action from the youngsters.
5. Lee Moriarty defeated Shazza McKenzie in an intergender match at 12:23. Shazza is the blonde Australian who just moved to the St. Louis area. I am admittedly not a fan of intergender matches, as Shazza cannot believably take down Moriarty. They traded mat holds early on. Lee hit a European Uppercut at 3:00. She kicked at his legs. Lee hit a big shoulder tackle that dropped her hard. He focused on her left arm. He bit her fingers at 7:00 and was in complete control.
Shazza hit a series of kicks while Lee was tied in the ropes. She nailed a top-rope crossbody block for a nearfall at 9:00. She dove through the ropes but he more-or-less caught her. Back in the ring, she hit a standing powerbomb with a jackknife cover for a nearfall. Lee hit a short-arm clothesline for a nearfall at 11:00. Lee hit a spin kick to her head and a DDT. He applied a crossface and she immediately tapped out. Decent action.
6. Isaiah Moore, Tre Lemar, and 2 Cold Scorpio defeated Jordan Oliver and “The Bang Bros” Davey Bang and August Matthews at 11:32. A hero’s welcome for Scorpio, who opened against Oliver with some intense reversals. Bang and Lemar entered at 3:00 and sped it up. Moore and Matthews then got in and traded blows. The Bang Bros began working over Moore. Scorpio made the hot tag at 8:30 and beat up the Bang Bros. Moore hit a top-rope frogsplash. Scorpio hit a top-rope frogsplash, spinning his body in mid-air, for a nearfall.
Oliver got in and hit superkicks on each opponent and he was fired up. Davey Bang hit his Ride the Bus team spear move for a nearfall. All six fought in the ring. Tre hit a brainbuster on Bang. Moore hit a Swanton Bomb. Scorpio hit a top-rope flipping legdrop, and Lemar hit a Froggy Bow elbow drop and covered Bang for the pin. That was fun.
* Trevor Outlaw hit the ring immediately after the pin, and he appears livid with his Bang Bro teammates. He began arguing with 2 Cold Scorpio! Scorpio and his teammates hit triple Superkicks on Outlaw, earning a nice pop. The Fite+ connection kept flickering in and out, just a few seconds at a time.
7. Crash Jaxon defeated Trevor Outlaw at 2:11. Crash punched Outlaw on the floor to start the match; they hadn’t gotten in the ring yet. Crash hit some hard chops in front of the fans. They got in the ring; Outlaw’s chops had no effect. Jaxon hit a standing powerbomb for the pin. The Fite+ feed was a disaster, going in and out frequently.
8. Rachel Armstrong defeated Sandra Moone at 9:14. Moone is a rising West Coast talent. I saw Rachel for the first time last month; she reminds me of Marti Belle. Rachel hit a dive through the ropes at 2:00. In the ring, Armstrong hit a swinging neckbreaker for a nearfall, and a Sliced Bread out of the corner for a nearfall at 7:30. Moone hit a Falcon Arrow for a nearfall. Armstrong hit an ugly-looking 619. Amstrong hit an impressive 450 Splash for the pin. Decent match; the crowd was into it.
* Alice Crowley immediately attacked Armstrong after the match. Joining Crowley was her teammate Levi Everett. That brought out Calvin Tankman, who brawled with Everett at ringside.
9. Levi Everett (w/Crowley, Frank the Clown) defeated Calvin Tankman at 15:26. All three heels were beating up Tankman on the floor. Tankman picked up Levi on the ring apron and appeared set to hit a Death Valley Driver, but Frank grabbed Tankman’s ankle to stop him. In the ring, Tankman hit a chairshot across the back at 7:00. Levi got a crutch and hit Calvin with it. We lost the signal briefly.
Armstrong returned to ringside and brawled with Crowley, and they vanished. Levi leapt off the top rope and splashed onto a pile of chairs that covered Tankman for a nearfall at 10:30. Frank got in the ring and hit Calvin with a chair, but Tankman no-sold it, and Frank took off to the back. Calvin hit a powerbomb onto a metal garbage can for a believable nearfall at 12:30. They fought on the top rope and they crashed onto a double-decker door bridge, with Levi landing on top for the pin. OK brawl; it just wasn’t my tastes.
* The Naturday Saints hit the ring. Frank the Clown told them they are under-appreciated. The Saints joined in with the other heels in putting boots to Tankman.
10. Brogan Finlay defeated Matt Brannigan at 5:02. Brannigan is the muscular guy who looks like 1999-era Lenny Lane, and he comes to the ring to “Touch Myself” by The Divinyls. Funny. Brannigan hit a Doctor Bomb for a nearfall at 3:30. Brogan hit a tombstone piledriver for the pin. Good but shockingly short.
11. Cole Radrick defeated Skye Blue, Alec Price, and Billie Starkz in a four-way to win the BLP Title at 9:26. Again, Billie was the champion coming into this match, but she has missed several shows recently, including last month when she got booked on a live AEW Rampage. Price speared Radrick seconds into the match. Radrick punched Skye in the jaw and celebrated. Billie hit a German Suplex on Radrick at 2:00. Skye hit a Code Red on Price. The women fought alone in the ring, with Billie stomping on Skye. They rolled to the floor, where Billie powerbombed her onto an open chair at 5:00.
The guys got in the ring and traded quick reversals. Billie hit a low blow mule kick on Radrick and got a nearfall. Radrick hit a springboard stunner on Price for a nearfall at 8:00, but Billie hit a Swanton to break it up. Billie hit a modified One-Winged Angel on Skye on the ring apron! Ouch! In the ring, Price hit a stunner on Radrick. However, Radrick hit the Little Sebastian’s Curse/pump-handle powerbomb to pin Price! New champion! Billie was not pinned in losing her title.
Final Thoughts: That was a really good use of 2 Cold Scorpio. He was put in the ring with five high-flyers, and outside of the opening two-minutes, he was in and out quickly. The match was fast-paced and fun, and Scorpio got to hit some decent-looking mid-air moves, and I’ll give that best match. With that said … If I were the promoter and looked at this collection of wrestlers, I’d probably have booked Lee Moriarty vs. Jordan Oliver to headline the show. It’s certainly the match that would have drawn buzz.
I’ve made it clear I’m just not a fan of Cole Radrick. He’s done a lot of hardcore matches that has shown he’s willing to take a beating. But he has a terrible look (has he been in a gym?) and comes across as a nerd and a dork, and not someone I personally want to cheer for. I’m sure that BLP felt they had to take the title off of the increasingly busy Billie Starkz, who probably won’t be able to be a regular on this tiny Indiana-based promotion much longer.
Bishop-Irie was a strong big-man matchup and earned second place. Despite my reservations on intergender matches, I’ll give the main event third-best. The biggest problem on this day was the constant loss of the signal from the building. The longest it was down was maybe 30 or so seconds, but it really disrupts the flow of the show, and when the signal went down, you had to wonder if it was coming back.
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