By Chris Vetter, ProWrestling.net Contributor (@chrisvetter73)
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Fight Life “No Love Lost”
Streamed on the TrillerTV+
February 18, 2024 in Rehoboth, Massachusetts at Hillside Country Club
The venue is a ballroom with chandeliers hanging from the ceiling, and it’s packed with maybe 350 fans. People lined the back wall because all seats are full. Veda Scott and Jordan Castle provided commentary.
1. Mortar defeated Jimmy Lloyd, Landon Hale, Sammy Diaz and Ricky Smokes in a five-way scramble to earn a contract for a shot at the Fight Life Championship at 8:36. Lloyd and Diaz started fighting before everyone even got in the ring! I’m familiar with all these guys. My quick summary: Hale is like Matt Taven, Smokes is like Sammy Guevara, Diaz is like Myron Reed and Mortar is like Rhino. Hale hit an impressive dive to the floor at 2:00. Mortar hit a standing moonsault. Hale hit a corkscrew dive onto everyone on the floor at 5:00. Diaz hit a second-rope moonsault to the floor on everyone. Lloyd put Mortar on his shoulders and hit a One-Winged Angel. Diaz hit a Canadian Destroyer on Lloyd at 7:00, then a Pele Kick on Hale, then a stunner on Lloyd. Mortar and Smokes were working together. However, Mortar hit a stunner, shoved Smokes to the floor, and pinned Hale. That was a sprint. Smokes was clearly upset at Mortar, but Mortar indicated he has a plan for later…
2. DJ Powers defeated Eric Chacha at 5:32. I don’t think I’ve seen these two. Chacha is from Ecuador but at first glance I’ll compare him to TJP (who is Filipino.) This is Powers’ Fight Life debut; he’s white with shoulder length hair and reminds me of NXT’s Kale Dixon. Powers draped Eric over the top rope and slammed into him, knocking him to the floor. He suplexed Eric back into the ring. He suplexed Chacha into the corner for a nearfall at 3:00. Chacha fired up and hit some dropkicks and a clothesline in the corner. Eric hit a running knee. They traded rollups, and DJ got a clean pin. Much better than I expected.
3. JT Dunn defeated Dezmond Cole at 13:38. Again, my usual comparisons are Dunn is like Tony Nese and Dezmond is like Ricochet. This crowd is hot and split. Quick standing switches to open. Cole hit a stunner at 3:00 and Dunn fell backward hard into the ref. (NOT a planned ref bump; the ref was okay but I’ve seen worse ref bumps than this.) Cole hit a huracanrana and a dropkick for a nearfall. Dunn hit an enziguiri at 6:00, then a doublestomp for a nearfall. Cole hit an enzuigiri at 8:00 and a suplex, then a Rolling Thunder guillotine legdrop for a nearfall.
They traded forearm strikes. Dunn hit a stunner for a nearfall. Cole hit an enzuigiri. He trapped Dunn’s head in the corner and kicked him in the face. Cole hit a Shining Wizard for a believable nearfall at 10:30 and we got a “This is awesome!” chant. They fought on the top rope and JT pushed Cole to the floor. Dezmond dove into the ring before being counted out; Dunn hit a frogsplash for a believable nearfall. These guys are working HARD. Dezmond blocked the rolling elbow and hit a Poison Rana, then a rolling cannonball in the corner. However, he missed a frogsplash; Cole got to his feet but was clocked by a Death By Elbow, and Dunn scored the pin. That was really, really good stuff.
* JT Dunn got on the mic and asked Dezmond to “please come back,” which got the crowd chanting that. Dunn then said at the next show, “I want Mustafa Ali!” That show is March 26.
4. Lucas Chase defeated Seabass Finn at 7:02. Seabass wears his fisherman’s vest and gear; I’ve seen him here before. Chase is muscular and reminds me a bit of the Uso twins; he has a clear size advantage. Quick reversals to open and Finn hit a dropkick that sent Chase to the floor. Finn then hit a dive through the ropes onto Chase at 1:30. In the ring, Chase hit a Bubba Bomb, then a snap suplex for a nearfall. Finn hit a second-rope flying back elbow at 5:30. He nailed a fisherman’s brainbuster for a believable nearfall. Chase hit a sit-out piledriver for the pin. Good match; Finn got just enough hope spots, but Chase is just so much more muscular and more polished.
* Chase got on the mic and was loudly booed. He said “there are a lot of things scarier in the dark than monsters.” He then hit a Jay Driller on the prone Finn.
5. Masha Slamovich defeated Delmi Exo to retain the Fight Life Championship at 9:25. This is the main Fight Life title; this is NOT a women’s-only belt. Masha competed in the Dallas area only about 20 hours earlier. Exo was on the (taped) MLW episode a night ago as well. Basic mat reversals at the bell, and Masha worked the left arm. She hit a snap suplex for a nearfall at 2:00. Delmi hit a Lungblower for a nearfall, and she hit some kneestrikes into the spine for a nearfall. Delmi hit a backbreaker over her knee for a nearfall; she has a height advantage on Masha. Veda referenced Masha’s match against Marina Shafir just 20ish hours ago, saying she might not be on top of her game because of her schedule and travel.
Delmi hit a snap suplex and tied up Masha on the mat. Masha hit some forearm strikes and a roundhouse kick to the head for a nearfall at 6:00. She hit a kneestrike in the corner, a Helluva Kick and a forward roll kick for a nearfall. Delmi hit a running stunner for a nearfall at 7:30. Delmi hit a fisherman’s suplex for a nearfall. Masha hit another roundhouse kick and a White Knight Driver for the pin. Good action.
* Mortar attacked Masha! His “contract” he won in the first match is like a money in the bank title shot and he’s cashing in right now!
6. Mortar (w/Ricky Smokes) defeated Masha Slamovich to win the Fight Life Championship at 1:19. Mortar attacked her at the bell. Smokes distracted the referee, allowing Mortar to hit Masha in the head with the title belt to win the title.
* A Fight Lifte executive came to the ring and ordered that the match be restarted!
6b. Masha Slamovich defeated Mortar to retain the Fight Life Championship at 0:04. Mortar shoved Ricky Smokes for no apparent reason, so Smokes shoved him back. Slamovich hit her rolling kick at the bell, covered Mortar and took back her title. I’ll leave it to others to decide if she lost and regained the title, or if she never lost it at all. Mortar beat up Smokes after the bell and hit an F5 Slam.
* Intermission with highlights of Masha Slamovich winning the title from a prior show.
7. “Perfect Strangers” Steven Lust & AJP won a tag team Royal Rumble at 24:26. Teams are not eliminated until BOTH members have been tossed to the floor. “The Unit” Danny Miles & Trigger the OG are team No. 1. “Waves & Curls” Traevon Jordan & Jaylen Brandyn are No. 2. I don’t know if they’ve announced how many teams will be in the match. We are having a THIRD team start, so out came “The Mane Event” Midas Black & Jay Lyon at No. 3. W&C and TME both beat up on The Unit. Armoni Chaos and Brother Milo are No. 4 at 3:00: i don’t know them. One is Black and one is white. Brother Milo was quickly eliminated, and Armoni was tossed seconds after Milo. “Memory Museum” Joe Krule & Abed Arroniz are No. 5; I’ve seen them a couple of times.
Lyon hit a moonsault. Steven Lust & AJP are No. 6 at 8:00. Waves & Curls forced other teams to dance. Marcus Mathers & Shannon Levangie are No. 7 at 10:00. Marcus and Levangie quickly eliminated Memory Museum. Devon Justice & Riley O’Neal are No. 8; I don’t know these two. They were eliminated within seconds! Jordan Castle said here that we have 10 teams in this match. BMT & Ariel are No. 9 at 13:30 and they were billed as a “power couple,” and they quickly fought Shannon and Marcus. Ariel hit a German Suplex on Shannon. Marcus hit a Shotgun Dropkick on Ariel. Jay Lyon hit a brainbuster at 16:00. Shannon hit a top-rope crossbody block onto both TME.
The 10th and final team are “Miracle Generation” Kylon King & Dustin Waller at 17:30. Kylon hit a suplex on Ariel. Waller hit a Lethal Injection on BMT. Ariel was tossed at 19:00. Steven Lust was eliminated just seconds later. Jaylen Brandyn was tossed. Dustin accidentally eliminated Kylon! TME tossed Dustin at 20:30. The commentators were shocked that the Miracle Generation were already gone. Jordan tossed Lyon, then he chokeslammed Midas onto Lyon! The Unit worked together and tossed Jordan, and we’re down to four in the ring. (I think BMT is still in but the commentators don’t realize it?)
Marcus & Shannon brawled with Miles & Trigga. Miles and Trigga picked up Marcus and shoved him onto Shannon to eliminate her at 23:30; we have three in the ring. Miles and Trigga tossed Marcus and they celebrated, thinking they won. (The ring announcer said Marcus’ team were eliminated but he didn’t say that the Unit had won.) AJP hopped into the ring and tossed Miles and Trigga! BMT (I was right!) then jumped in the ring and tried to toss AJP, but AJP tossed BMT and was the sole survivor. Okay action; the unknown teams were quickly tossed. I personally hate the “hide on the floor and come in at the last second” trick. The pacing of the match was clunky, and Miracle Generation were criminally underused.
8. Rip Byson defeated Mike Graca at 9:54. Byson is a shorter Brodie Lee. Graca held his scary Halloweenish mask in his hand and set it in the corner; he’s not wearing it tonight. Graca is somewhat Jeff Hardy, somewhat MLW’s Akira, somewhat Darby Allin. They brawled immediately. They went to the floor and brawled around the floor. Byson hit the softest bodyslam on the floor I’ve seen in ages, then he hit an elbow drop from the apron to the floor on Graca at 3:00. Veda just made a Bruiser Brody comparison for Byson. Lucas Chase sat on a chair by the curtain and watched the match, and the commentators speculated on why he was there.
They got back in the ring and traded chops. Graca hit a Dragon Suplex for a nearfall at 5:30. Byson hit a stunner and a Falcon Arrow for a nearfall. Rip put Graca on his shoulders, but Graca’s foot accidentally hit and knocked out the ref. Graca had a visual pin at 9:00 but we had no referee. Lucas Chase got on the ring apron and he flipped a chair into the ring. Graca looked unsure of whether to pick it up and use it. He tossed it out of the ring and he shoved Lucas off the apron. However, Rip grabbed Graca and hit a spinebuster, then a Rainmaker clothesline for the pin. Decent brawl.
* Lucas Chase hit a DDT on Graca. Veda said Chase looked disappointed in Graca. He kept beating up Graca until officials jumped in and intervened.
9. Ichiban defeated Mike Bailey at 25:50. Veda said this is a first-time-ever singles match, and of course, this was the match to tune in for. Like Masha Slamovich, Bailey competed in the Dallas area less than 24 hours earlier. This crowd is hot and split. Quick reversals at the bell, double dropkick attempts and a standoff, and we got a “Both these guys!” chant. Bailey twisted the left arm, and he unloaded a series of hard chops. Ichiban nailed a flip dive to the floor on Bailey at 4:00. They brawled over to a bar, far from ringside. They got back into the ring at 6:30, but Bailey immediately hit a Triangle Moonsault to the floor. Bailey hit flying double knees to Ichiban’s back as Ichiban was draped over the top rope.
Bailey hit another double kneedrop to the chest for a nearfall at 8:30. He hit a hard chop that dropped Ichiban. They traded chops. Ichiban nailed a satellite DDT and they were both down at 11:00. Ichiban nailed a stunner and a second-rope missile dropkick. Bailey hit his Speedball kicks to the ribs and thighs. Bailey hit a series of kicks and a running Shooting Star Press for a nearfall at 13:00. They got up and traded forearm strikes for a good 30 seconds and this crowd was hot as this exchange went on, chanting, “Fight forever!” They avoided each other’s big moves, then they hit simultaneous kicks to the head and both were down at 15:00. They traded Mafia Kicks.
They hit simultaneous Mafia Kicks, both fell and rolled to the floor. They hit simultaneous kicks on the floor. Ichiban hit a Flatliner on the apron and they both fell to the floor. (No countouts?) Right on cue, Veda said we might have a double count-out. They got back in the ring before the count-out. Bailey hit the moonsault kneedrop to the chest as Ichiban was on the floor at 19:00. Bailey celebrated in the ring, thinking he’s won, as the ref slowly counted Ichiban, but Ichiban dove back in before being counted out. Bailey set up for a Flamingo Driver but Ichiban blocked it. Bailey kissed him and hit a top-rope Frankensteiner at 20:30. Bailey missed the Ultima Weapon.
Ichiban nailed a Canadian Destroyer and a kick to the chin for a believable nearfall. Bailey hit a superkick, then the Flamingo Driver for a believable nearfall at 22:00 and everyone was shocked at the kickout. He set up for the Ultima Weapon but Ichiban blocked it. Bailey mounted Ichiban and hit a series of punches, and Mike yelled at the ref! Ichiban got a rollup for a nearfall, then another Canadian Destroyer. Bailey hit a moonsault kneedrop at 25:00, then a superkick to the jaw. He nailed the Tornado Kick in the corner. He set up for the Ultima Weapon but Ichiban caught Mike’s head and hit a stunner. Ichiban immediately hit his leaping Flatliner for the pin. That was really entertaining. Fans again chanted “both these guys!”
* Mike Bailey got Ichiban to say “Fight Life” which popped the crowd as he almost never says anything.
Final Thoughts: A stellar main event. I refuse to believe any fan would consider any other match for best of this night. Bailey’s matches just look so crisp, and Ichiban is a great babyface. Worth reiterating that Bailey put in a lengthy, excellent match against Elijah (WWE’s Elias) a day earlier, flew cross-country, and put this type of match together the next day. JT Dunn and Dezmond Cole had a really good match for second, ahead of Masha-Delmi for third. The show-opening five-way was nonstop action and is good for honorable mention.
I love a well-booked Royal Rumble. This was not a well-booked Royal Rumble. I really like Waves & Curls, Mane Event, Marcus Mathers and Miracle Generation. This match didn’t help enough guys stand out. The guys in the Rumble I didn’t mention in this paragraph… they aren’t bad, but they haven’t stood out yet, either.
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