By Chris Vetter, ProWrestling.net Contributor (@chrisvetter73)
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Fight Life “Squared Circle Seance 2”
Replay available via FITE+
October 22, 2023 in Rehoboth, Massachusetts at Hillside Country Club
Google Maps shows this is just east of Providence, R.I., so it’s far south ouf Boston. Reginald Kensington (think Lord Alfred Hayes) provided commentary. The venue is a ballroom with a low ceiling and chandeliers. It’s a small room so this crowd of 100-150 is making it loud in there. Also, this ring is really low to the ground, maybe 18 inches tall, so it could impact anyone’s dive to the floor.
1. “The Broken Unit” Danny Miles and Trigger OG defeated “MSP” Aiden Aggro and DangerKid at 12:57. MSP wrestle all over the Northeast and I’m more familiar with them, and they hit some team moves early on. TBU worked over DangerKid in their corner. (The red-headed DangerKid always strikes me as a better heel than babyface.) DangerKid hit a running penalty kick, but Aggro was yanked off the ring apron and wasn’t there for the tag.
Aggro finally made the hot tag at 10:00 and he hit a double Helluva Kick and a hard clothesline on Trigger OG for a nearfall. MSP hit a flipping faceplant for a nearfall on Trigger OG. Miles hit a Chaos Theory rolling German Suplex on DangerKid, and Trigger followed with faceplant for a nearfall. The Broken Unit hit a team slam to pin Aggro. Solid opener.
2. Shannon Levangie defeated Allie Katch at 10:28. I’ve said it before, but with her long, straight black hair, Levangie looks like a younger, less muscular Rachael Ellering. I can’t unsee it. Standing switches to open. Shannon hit a second-rope crossbody block at 3:30. Allie tied her in the Tree of Woe and hit a running buttbump, then a Stinger Splash for a nearfall. Shannon hit a belly-to-belly Bubba Bomb for a nearfall at 6:00, then a shotgun dropkick and a standing neckbreaker for a nearfall. Katch hit a hard clothesline for a nearfall at 8:00, then several bodyslams and a Michinoku Driver for a nearfall. Shannon hit a stunner and a Samoan Drop, then her top-rope twisting frogsplash for the clean pin. Good action.
* The promoter hit the ring and announced there will be a tag team titles in 2024. The next match is starting as three-on-three. The winning team will go into a three-way elimination match. The winner gets a “call your shot” contract for any tiitle. The two teams were ‘randomly selected.’
3a. Ariel and BMT and Marcus Mathers defeated Mark Alexander and Nolan Pierce and Paris Van Dale at 5:53. Alexander and Pierce are regular teammates so it is ‘shocking’ they wound up on the same team here. Likewise, Ariel and BMT are regular teammates, and on this night, they are wearing each other’s gear. (Wrong names written on the trunks.) At the last show, Shannon Levangie attacked teammate Marcus Mathers. PVD hit an X-Factor faceplant on Mathers. Kensington explained that Ariel and BMT wanted to lose because they didn’t want to fight each other. Mathers’ team worked over Nolan Pierce early on. Dale entered at 4:30 and battled Ariel (no requirements here that women only fight women. Quite the opposite, actually.) Dale hit a kneedrop to Ariel’s stomach for a nearfall. Alexander accidentally struck Pierce! Ariel immediately hit a stunner on Alexander for the pin
3b. Marcus Mathers defeated Ariel and BMT in a three-way elimination match at 7:53. Kensington pointed out that the husband-and-wife team are now opponents, but of course, they worked over Mathers at the bell. Mathers hit a dropkick on BMT. Ariel hit a German Suplex for a nearfall at 2:00. Mathers forced Ariel and BMT to collide and they argued. Mathers hit a top-rope double crossbody block and everyone was down. Mathers hit a stunner on BMT for a nearfall. Ariel hit a stunner on Marcus, who rolled to the floor to avoid being pinned. BMT rolled up Ariel for a nearfall at 5:00! She yelled at him, but she hit an Exploder Suplex into the corner for a nearfall. BMT hit a top-rope stunner to pin Ariel at 5:53. Mathers immediately hit a superkick. BMT hit a huracanrana for a nearfall. They traded chops. BMT hit an enzuigiri. Ariel tried to interfere, so Mathers hit a superkick on her. Mathers hit a sit-out powerbomb for the pin. Fun stuff, and Mathers was clearly the right choice to win here.
* Shannon Levangie got in the ring and hugged Mathers. “A beautiful reconcillation!” Kensington said.
4. Brad Cashew and Ricky Smokes and Mortar defeated Ichiban and “Miracle Generation” Dustin Waller and Kylon King at 11:27. I don’t think I’ve seen Cashew before; he looks similar to NJPW’s Clark Connors and he wrestles in red underwear; I haven’t trunks that small since a young Tyler Black in IWA-Mid South. Mortar is the Rhino clone but he paints half his face, like Thunder Rosa does. Cashew and Ichiban opened with mat reversals. The babyfaces worked over Cashew early on. Ichiban hit a superkick on Smokes at 2:30. Mortar began working over Kylon King, and the heels took turns beating down King in their corner. You can really tell that these guys are working 3-4 matches every week.
King hit an enzuigiri and he made the hot tag to Ichiban at 7:00. Ichiban beat up former teammate Mortar and hit a series of punches in the corner, with the crowd chanting “one!” with each blow. Waller hit a running Shooting Star Press for a nearfall at 9:00, then a stunner on Mortar. Smokes hit his flipping stunner. Ichiban hit his leaping Flatliner. King hit a brainbuster. Mortar hit an F5 on King for a believable nearfall, but Waller made the save. Mortar hit a superkick. Waller missed the Mamba Splash frogsplash. Mortar hit a low blow uppercut on Waller when the ref was out of position for the cheap pin. That was really good action; these guys clearly all know each other well.
* At the Nov. 8 “season finale” show, it will be Mortar vs. Ichiban in a no rules-anything goes match, plus Kylon King vs. Kevin Blackwood in a first-time-ever matchup.
5. Jordan Oliver vs. Alec Price ended in a time-limit draw at 18:06. This match is entirely why I watched this show; the fact it isn’t headlining makes me expect a screwjob finish, though. Oliver wore his JCW Heavyweight Title belt while Price had his IWTV title. Kensington said they have faced each other five times this year. An intense lockup to open and this crowd is HOT for both competitors. Price grounded him early on. He hit a tornado DDT, then a dive over the top rope at 4:30; again, dives are a bit weird here because the ring is so low. In the ring, Price hit his top-rope flying leg lariat for a nearfall. Oliver hit a plancha to the floor at 7:00. In the ring, Oliver hit a sit-out powerbomb for a nearfall.
Price hit a half-nelson suplex and his running kneestrike. Oliver hit a Helluva Kick and an Acid Kick. Price hit a rebound clothesline for a nearfall and they were both down at 9:30, with the crowd chanting, “this is awesome!” Price hit an enzuigiri. Oliver hit a Dragon Suplex for a nearfall. Oliver hit a German Suplex for a nearfall at 11:30, then a superkick, a Helluva Kick, and the Acid Bomb for a nearfall. They fought on the ropes in the corner, and Price nailed a second-rope superplex, and they were both down at 14:00. The bell rang? Why? The time limit expired at 14:02? The crowd loudly booed and chanted “five more minutes!”
Oliver got on the said he wants five more minutes, Price agreed, so the match restarted! Price hit a basement dropkick. Oliver applied a Figure Four Leglock but Price reversed it. At the 2:00 mark of ‘overtime,’ we’re told only two minutes remain. Oliver hit the Clout Cutter stunner for a believable nearfall. They traded rollups. Oliver applied a Sharpshooter. They got up and traded punches. Oliver applied a Boston Crab but Price refused to tap out and the “5 minutes of overtime” expired at 4:06. (18:08 running time at this point.) Now it was Price who grabbed the mic and he started to demand the match be restarted!
* However, two masked men hit the ring and beat them up. They removed their masks, revealing they are Trigga OG and Danny Miles, from the first match. They beat down the exhausted Price and Oliver. The crowd chanted “F— the Unit!” The ring announcer ruled the match was “a draw.”
* Intermission included footage of Masha Slamovich vs. Janai Kai from a prior Fight Life show.
6. Mike Graca defeated Jimmy Lloyd at 8:58. I’ve seen Graca here before; he wears a scary mask to the ring and he’s a Darby Allin-style daredevil. Lloyd is certainly thicker and has more experience across the country (and world now.) They started by sitting on chairs and trading punches. Graca hit a top-rope dive to the floor and they brawled at ringside. Lloyd hit a bodyslam onto a folded chair at 3:00. Lloyd hit him with a door. In the ring, Lloyd hit a Flatliner for a nearfall. He hit a trash can lid over Graca’s head, so Mike grabbed the lid and hit Lloyd with it. Graca dumped out a bag of LEGOs all over the ring at 6:00.
Graca hit a powerbomb move onto the LEGOs for a nearfall. Lloyd hit a second-rope superplex onto the LEGOS, then a piledriver across an open chair for a believable nearfall. Graca hit a Death Valley Driver onto a door bridge at 8:30, but Lloyd rolled away. Graca immediately hit a basement dropkick onto a chair over Lloyd’s face for the pin. Decent hardcore brawl with LEGOs instead of glass or thumbtacks, and no one bled. I approve.
7. “Young Dumb N Broke” Charlie Tiger and Ellis Taylor defeated Steven Lust and AJP at 8:46. Lust and AJP shook hands with all the fans. They both have beards and long, wet brown hair. Lust and Tiger started, but Tiger stalled at the bell; he’s putting some pounds on around the middle. Lust has a passing resemblance to PAC. AJP is younger and has a passing resemblance to Matt Sydal but with longer hair. AJP hit some armdrags on Ellis at 2:00. YDNB began working over AJP. Tiger hit a superkick for a nearfall at 6:30 and the crowd rallied for AJP. Lust made the hot tag; he’s every bit as short as PAC, too. Lust hit a backbody drop. Lust and AJP hit a team powerbomb move for a nearfall at 8:00. Tiger hit a Death Valley Driver to pin Lust. Pretty basic.
* AJP was interviewed in the ring. AJP said he and Lust would be going for the tag team titles. (That sure would have sounded better if they hadn’t just lost a tag team match!)
* The next match is an open challenge!
8. Erik Chacha defeated Dino the Dino at 1:26. I’ve neveer seen Chacha before; he was announced as being from Ecuador, and he has dark features and short black hair. Dino the Dino (think a human in a sports mascot outfit) answered the open challenge. This should be dumb humor. “This is about to go viral,” Kensington said. Part of this outfit appears to be inflatable so the person inside is entirely immobile. Chacha hit a running knee for the pin. At least it was blessedly short. I feel bad for everyone involved. Chacha for having to fight an inflatable, and the announcers for having to pretend it was entertaining. Because it certainly was not.
9. JT Dunn defeated Effy at 23:38. Effy got on the mic and said this would be fought under “Effy rules!” (which is no rules). I always compare indy vet Dunn to Tony Nese; he just fought NOAH’s Kaito Kiyomiya in Wrestling Revolver two weeks ago. Dunn tied up the let arm at the bell. Effy, who is taller and thicker than you’d think, traded shoulder tackles with neither man going down. Dunn finally hit a leaping shoulder tackle to drop Effy at 2:30. We had some gay humor. Effy hit a Helluva Kick and he choked JT with his leg around the throat. JT took control and worked over Effy. Effy hit a back suplex at 6:00. JT hit an inverted DDT for a nearfall.
JT tied Effy in the Tree of Woe and hit a doublestomp to the chest for a nearfall at 8:00. Effy hit another Helluva Kick and got a nearfall. Kensington noted that Fight Life champ Masha Slamovich is at Impact Wrestling and he wondered if the winner here would be No. 1 contender. JT set up for his rolling elbow but Effy blocked it. Effy nailed his second-rope Blockbuster at 10:30. Effy nailed a spear for a believable nearfall. Effy hit his roughrider flying legdrop for a nearfall, then a splash to the back. Effy went under the ring (oh yeah, it’s anything goes!). He got a chair and he jabbed Dunn in the ribs with it at 13:00. JT hit a drop-toe-hold, sending Effy throat-first across the top of the open chair.
JT hit a second-rope tombstone piledriver across an open chair for a believable nearfall at 15:00. (It is absurd that anyone kicks out of that.) JT left the ring, he’s limping. He grabbed a door leaning against a wall and he set it up in the corner of the ring. Effy bit Dunn’s nipple, then he got a Northern Lights Suplex, then a Whoopee Cushion buttdrop for a nearfall. Effy nailed a Stomp but got just a one-count at 17:30. Effy hit a TKO and he applied a Stretch Plum submission hold, but Dunn rolled out. Dunn hit a Death Valley Driver through the door in the corner, and both men were down. They just got to their feet at 19:00 when Trigger and Miles hit the ring and glared at Dunn. Trigger and Miles jumped in the ring and all four brawled. (This is anything goes, so the match didn’t end.)
The heels slammed door shards over the heads of Effy and Dunn. Allie Katch ran in from behind and she attacked Miles and Trigger! Miles hit a hard clothesline on Katch. Shannon Levangie hopped in the ring, but Trigger hit a leg lariat on her. This brought out Jordan Oliver and Alec Price, who helped Shannon and Allie beat up Miles and Trigger. They all fought to the floor and to the back. Meanwhile, Dunn and Effy crawled back into the ring at 22:00! They began trading open hand slaps to the face. Dunn nailed his Death By Elbow rolling elbow for a believable nearfall. Effy kissed Dunn on the lips, shocking Dunn. JT hit a second Death By Elbow, then a third elbow strike, for the pin. That was entertaining.
* Dunn got on the mic and said that Effy is the fourth man he’s kissed this year. He acknowledged it was a heckuva match. “You Effy, are the real f—ing deal,” Dunn said. He asked Effy to “please come back!” which got the crowd chanting that. Dunn suggested they have a rematch. However, Marcus Mathers hit the ring and he wants a match with Dunn! He said Dunn has been “disrepecting him, left and right.” Dunn agreed to the match in November. Effy got on the mic and put over Dunn and Fight Life.
Final Thoughts: On a indy level, I guess I can see how it would be difficult to book a finish between Alec Price and Jordan Oliver at this point with them each holding a title belt, so I wasn’t terribly surprised with a non-pin outcome. Despite the lack of finish (and their inability to set a stopwatch to record the length of the match) it was really good and earned best match. (As I noted before it began, the fact it wasn’t headlining was a ‘big tell’ that a screwy finish was coming. The six-man tag was really strong for second-best, with the main event earning third.
There were some good undercard matches here, too, with Allie and Shannon having a strong match. I just find most of Allie’s matches to be absurd as she beats up taller, bigger men. Marcus Mathers was far superior in in-ring talent than the five others in his match, so it was a bit predictable he was going to win that, and there’s nothing wrong with going with the predictable outcome.
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