By Chris Vetter, ProWrestling.net Contributor (@chrisvetter73)
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Fight Life “Fight Life 20”
Streamed on the TrillerTV+
April 23, 2024 in Rehoboth, Massachusetts at Hillside Country Club
This is a ballroom at a country club with chandeliers hanging from the ceiling; they’ve held shows here before. Attendance is maybe 80-120.
1. Landon Hale defeated Aaron Rourke at 8:03. Rourke is a babyface here, and Hale is always a babyface. (I haven’t seen him as a heel yet!) Friendly reversals early on. Rourke hit a neckbreaker over his knee for a nearfall at 4:00. Hale tossed Rourke head-first onto the middle turnbuckle, then a top-rope clothesline for a nearfall. Rourke went for a Lungblower but Hale was able to hold onto the ropes at 7:00. Rourke applied a crossface on the mat. Hale hit a Lethal Injection, then his modified One-Winged Angel off his shoulders for the pin. Good opener.
2. “Perfect Strangers” Steven Lust and AJP defeated “Counter-Strike” Mark Alexander and Nolan Pierce at 5:14. Lust always strikes me as a shorter Damian Sandow/Aron Stevens, and his team wore black-and-green gear. Nolan has brown hair going past his shoulders; Alexander’s hair is the same length but dark black and they wore fairly identical pink-and-black gear. Alexander and AJP opened. Pierce hit a senton and they worked over AJP early on. Lust got a hot tag at 3:30 and hit some clotheslines. Counter-Strike were thrown into each other. Lust hit a sit-out powerbomb for the pin. Decent, short match.
3. Sammy Diaz defeated DJ Powers at 8:05. I always compare Diaz to TNA’s Trey Miguel, while Powers reminds me of NXT’s Kale Dixon; I believe he is still a teen and just someone you want to boo. Erik Chacha is the special guest referee; he’s Latino but he looks very much like TJP to me and he’s wrestled here before, too. Diaz hit a top-rope crossbody block. DJ Powers hit a snap suplex at 5:00; Diaz hit one, too. Diaz hit a powerslam and a moonsault. DJ Powers hit a German Suplex. Chacha stopped counting and gave Powers the middle finger, so DJ shoved the ref. Diaz hit a running knee, then a Michinoku Driver for the pin. I feel like Chacha made a slightly quicker count on that, too.
* DJ Powers slapped Chacha after the bell, so Chacha hit a running knee.
* The ring announcer and a referee showed off the new Fight Life Tag Team Title belts. The Unit and AJP & Steven Lust have qualified for a four-team tag tournament. The winner of the next match will join them for one of the final slots.
4. Ariel and BMT defeated “The Haven” Jay Onyx and Shawn Knyte at 6:19. Ariel and BMT attacked from behind, as Onyx hadn’t even removed his sweater yet. Knyte has his hair like Kofi Kingston; Onyx is a bit more like Angelo Dawkins. Onyx slammed Knyte onto BMT. Ariel stomped on Knyte on the floor at 2:00. Jay made a hot tag and hit a Mafia Kick on BMT, then a clothesline for a nearfall at 4:00. BMT hit a Lungblower. He hit a fadeaway stunner for a nearfall on Knyte. BMT hit an enzuigiri. Ariel hit a fisherman’s suplex on Knyte for the pin. Okay; I don’t find her offense to be all that believable on bigger, stronger athletic men.
5. Delmi Exo defeated Paris Van Dale at 6:08. Exo shook hands and she’s the babyface tonight. She hit a series of chops in the corner. Paris slapped her in the face. Exo hit a shotgun dropkick at 1:30, then a butterfly suplex for a nearfall. Paris hit a Meteora running knees in the corner for a nearfall, then she did a splits legdrop across Exo’s stomach, and kept Delmi grounded. Delmi hit a superkick, then a fisherman’s suplex for a nearfall at 4:30. Delmi hit a second-rope missile dropkick for a nearfall. Paris hit a Splits Stunner and running knees to the back, then a DDT for a nearfall. Delmi hit a spinning back fist, then she nailed a Package Piledriver for the pin. Solid match; the right person won.
6. Lucas Chase and Rip Byson defeated Ace Romero and Mike Graca in a street fight at 12:08. I always say Rip reminds me of a shorter Brodie Lee. Byson and Chase threw a garbage can into the ring and poured LEGOs all over the mat. All four brawled at the bell. Everyone is wearing blue jeans which I really like; this isn’t a wrestling match. Chase hit a spinebuster at 2:00. Meanwhile, Romero and Byson brawled through the crowd, away from the ring. Chase hit Graca over the head with a cookie sheet.
In the ring, Chase choked Graca with a kendo stick across the throat at 5:30. Romero hit a dive through the ropes to the floor and he ripped off his shirt to show off his 400-pound frame. Lucas threw a garbage can at Ace’s head. Chase hit a low blow kick on Graca, then he took off his own belt and whipped Graca with it at 10:30. Chase hit a double-arm DDT on Graca through a table for the pin. Okay; the crowd loved it but not my style of action. I have watched most Fight Life shows and I don’t know why this level of violence was warranted.
* Intermission was edited out. We return with no LEGOs or debris in the ring.
7. Mortar defeated Dezmond Cole at 12:53. I always describe Mortar as looking like Rhino, but with face paint on half of his face. Basic reversals early and Cole hit a dropkick at 2:00. He dove through the ropes, but Mortar caught him and slammed him back-first on the ring apron. In the ring, Mortar was now in charge and stomped on Cole. He hit a spinebuster for a nearfall at 4:30. Cole hit a Michinoku Driver and Mortar bailed to the floor. Cole hit a flip dive over the top rope onto Mortar at 6:30.
In the ring, Cole hit his rolling guillotine leg drop for a nearfall. Dezmond hit a stunner and a Mafia Kick. Mortar fired back with a knee strike to the chin and a senton. Cole hit a suplex and a spinning heel kick for a believable nearfall at 8:30. Mortar hit a butt splash. He tied Cole in the Tree of Woe and nailed a double stomp to his chest, then his own spinning heel kick and a Lionsault for a believable nearfall at 10:00. Cole hit a Helluva Kick and a German Suplex and a spin kick, then a uranage for a nearfall. Cole went for a Swanton Bomb but Mortar got his knees up. Mortar nailed a discus clothesline, then an F5 Slam for the pin. Really good action and a minor upset in my eyes.
8. “Miracle Generation” Kylon King and Dustin Waller defeated “The Unit” Danny Miles and Trigga The OG to retain the IWTV Tag Team Titles at 12:47. Waller and Miles opened, and Danny immediately hit some European Uppercuts. Kylon hit a double stomp on the left arm. Trigga got in and began beating down Waller. Miles twisted and snapped Waller’s wrist and fingers at 5:00. Miles hit a Bulldog Powerslam for a nearfall. Trigga argued with the ref, allowing Miles to choke Waller.
Kylon finally got the hot tag at 7:30 and hit some exploder suplexes, then a second-rope double missile dropkick, then a tornado DDT, and he was fired up. Miles hit a rolling cannonball on Kylon, and Trigga hit a flying guillotine legdrop for a nearfall. Waller hit a flip dive to the floor, then a Swanton Bomb for a believable nearfall at 10:00. Trigga hit a standing powerbomb on Waller. King hit a knee strike on Miles and suddenly everyone was down. Waller and Trigga got up and traded forearm strikes. The Unit slammed the backs of MG into each other at 12:30. Waller hit a double Lethal Injection. King hit a German Suplex; Waller jumped on Trigga for the pin. A really good match.
9. Richard Holliday defeated Alec Price at 8:11. They immediately tied up on the mat. Holliday dropped him with a shoulder tackle. Price hit a springboard crossbody block at 1:30 and a European Uppercut. Holliday is thicker and he took charge and kept Price grounded. Richard hit a bodyslam at 4:00, and a guillotine legdrop for a nearfall. Price hit a flying stunner and a second-rope leg lariat for a nearfall at 6:30. Price set up for a Surprise Kick but Richard cut it off. Holliday hit a backbreaker over his knee, but Price hit his springboard Blockbuster, and they were both down. Price hit his leaping kneestrikes in the corner. However, Richard ducked a knee strike, rolled up Price, and scored the clean pin out of nowhere! I didn’t see that coming!
* After the match, Holliday hit the 2008 twisting suplex and left Price lying on the mat.
10. Ichiban defeated JT Dunn and Ricky Smokes in a three-way at 8:49. Smokes was flipped to the floor, so Dunn and Ichiban traded quick reversals. Smokes hit a double spear at 1:30. Ichiban hit a springboard double crossbody block. Ichiban hit a tornado DDT on Smokes, then one on Dunn for a nearfall at 5:00. Smokes hit a cave-in for a nearfall. Smokes dove into the ring but Dunn stomped on him. Ichiban hit a missile dropkick. Smokes hit his pop-up stunner at 7:00 and he was fired up. The lights went out!! When they came on, Mortar was in the ring, and he sprayed black mist all over Smokes’ face! Smokes rolled to the floor. Seabass Finn jumped in the ring; he and Mortar fought last show and they brawled out of the ring and to the back. Ichiban hit a Canadian Destroyer and his leaping Flatliner on Dunn for the pin. That was fast-paced but much shorter than I anticipated.
* Richard Holliday got in the ring and stood nose-to-nose with Ichiban, as the commentators said they will square off to become No. 1 contender for Masha Slamovich’s Fight Life title. We saw Smokes being helped to the back to get his eyes rinsed out. Dunn got on the mic and congratulated Ichiban on the win.
Final Thoughts: Mortar-Dezmond Cole was really good and that takes best match. The main event came in shorter than expected but was good for second. Likewise, Price-Holliday was really good for third, but I wish it had gone longer. I have watched a few shows from the New England area in the past couple weeks, and you can see the same top-tier names on each show because they are so much better than others in the region. The hardcore match didn’t do much for me, and I’m not feeling BMT and Ariel, either; I just can’t buy into her offense against men. Perfect Strangers-Counter Strike was acceptable; neither good nor bad. But a lot more good here than bad.
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