By Chris Vetter, ProWrestling.net Contributor (@chrisvetter73)
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Black Label Pro Wrestling “Family Reunion”
Replay available via TrillerTV+
June 7, 2024 in Chicago, Illinois at Logan Square Auditorium
This was BLP’s debut in this venue. I’ve seen several indies use this ballroom and Deadlock Pro is using it next week. The crowd is maybe 150-200; this promotion always seems to struggle with drawing. Dustin Alberty and Dave Prazak provided commentary. We have 11 matches announced in advance; there aren’t any GCW shows this weekend so several of their top talents are here.
1. Jordan Oliver defeated Rico Gonzalez at 6:04. I still would rank Oliver as the top unsigned indy wrestler over the past two years.Rico is much shorter than him; he’s a regular in the Chicago area. Oliver spoke on the mic and tried to cut a heel promo; the mic wasn’t working well. He vowed he was going to win with a headlock takeover. They locked up and Oliver immediately applied a headlock. (I recall Claudio and Danielson once did an entire match with a headlock applied in PWG; I don’t need to see it again.) They traded headlocks so I guess they want to do the same. They traded some chops at 5:00, then they traded some rollups for nearfalls .. and we went back to headlocks. Oliver poked the ref in the eyes, hit a low blow punt kick on Rico, nailed the headlock turnover and scored the pin.
* “Ha ha! I told you!” Oliver said. (He’s definitely a better babyface than heel.) He called out Trevor Lee (Cameron Grimes!) for a show in July!
2. Janai Kai and Rachel Armstrong defeated Shazza McKenzie and Maggie Lee at 7:20. Again, Maggie is a curly redhead and it must be reiterated she’s a full head taller than everyone else here. Shazza and Maggie attacked from behind. Janai hit a hard Mafia Kick to the chest. Shazza had a TNA match earlier this week, and of course, Janai is the MLW Featherweight Champion. Rachel hit a dive through the ropes onto Shazza, then a top-rope huracanrana on Maggie in the ring. Maggie dropped Rachel throat-first on the top rope at 2:00 and the heels began working Armstrong over.
Shazza peeled up Rachel’s T-shirt so she could chop the bare chest above her wrestling top. Shazza hit a back suplex at 4:30. Maggie hit a running kick to the side of Rachel’s head. Janai finally made the hot tag and she began hitting a variety of kicks on both opponents. She hit the stiff kicks to Shazza’s spine at 6:30. Janai hit a uranage and tagged Rachel back in. Rachel hit a top-rope 450 Splash to pin Shazza. Fun match; that could have gone longer.
3. Lee Moriarty defeated Dominic Garrini at 10:50. A feeling-out process to open. Lee stomped on the left arm, then began twisting the fingers on the left hand. Garrini hit a release German Suplex at 3:30. Dominic hit a hard clothesline but sold the pain in his damaged arm. Lee hit a Flatliner into the middle turnbuckle at 7:30. Garrini hit a discus lariat, then a neckbreaker over his knee for a nearfall. Garrini hit a Tombstone Piledriver for a believable nearfall at 10:00 and we got a “This is awesome!” chant. Garrini went for the Muscle Buster but Lee escaped and hit some running kicks. Lee nailed a running leg lariat for the pin. Good action.
4. Trevor Outlaw and Hayden Backlund defeated Cole Radrick and Alec Price at 9:05. Price and Cole regularly team up in GCW. The heels worked over Radrick early on. Price got the hot tag at 5:30 and hit a half nelson suplex and his running kneestrikes in the corner. The heels hit a team superkick move on Price for a nearfall. Price hit a Rebound Lariat, then a dive to the floor. Radrick hit a Swanton Bomb from one corner on Outlaw, then Price hit his own Swanton Bomb from the opposite corner for a nearfall, but Backlund pulled the ref to the floor. Backlund hit a low blow on Radrick. Outlaw hit a top-rope elbow drop for the tainted pin on Radrick.
5. Dex Royal defeated Dan the Dad, Shane Sabre, and Puf in a four-way at 7:19. Sabre hit an enzuigiri on Puf. Dan hit his jab punches on Shane. Puf and Dan worked together early on, but of course Dan had to pull out some Dad-like hijinx. Sabre hit an Air Raid Crash on Dan at 2:30. Dex hit a springboard clothesline. Dan hit a top-rope crossbody block on Dex and he unbuttoned his shirt, then he hit a spinebuster on Sabre. Puf got back in the ring and he’s still upset at Dan’s hijinx, and he chokeslammed Dan! Puf hit running Stinger Splashes on each opponent at 5:00. Puf did it to the ref in the final corner! Funny.
Dex and Sabre traded some quick offense; a second ref jumped in and made the count for a nearfall. We now have several refs at ringside. Puf hit a Rikishi Driver piledriver on Sabre for a nearfall, but the four refs all stopped counting, angry at Puf for knocking out the first ref! Dex hit a superkick and a frogsplash on Puf for the pin, with four referees all making the identical count (and the first ref still down from that Stinger Splash.) Silliness as expected with Dan and Puf in the match.
6. Kevin Ku defeated Miyu Yamashita in an intergender match to retain the BLP Heavyweight Title at 18:10. I am not a big fan of having the title match at the midpoint of a show. Miyu came out first and was covered in streamers. Ku has both his BLP title and his GCW tag title belt. He has a significant size advantage over her; we got a “holy shit!” chant before they locked up. They worked over each other’s left arm in the opening minute. They traded stiff kicks to the spine. She placed him in the corner and hit a running kick to the side of the head at 3:30. She hit a running Penalty Kick on the ring apron, and they brawled at ringside. She slammed him head-first into the ring post.
Miyu missed a running kick and crashed into rows of empty chairs. In the ring, Ku hit a Dragonscrew Legwhip in the corner and got a nearfall at 6:30. He stomped on her and kept her grounded. She got up and they traded forearm strikes at 9:30 (I find this exchange highly non-believable; her offense should be stick-and-move.) Ku hit a running knee for a nearfall. She put Ku on her shoulders and hit a Death Valley Driver on the ring apron and got a nearfall at 11:30. She hit a running Penalty Kick and a German Suplex for a nearfall and they were both down and we got a “this is awesome!” chant.
Ku got a backslide for a nearfall, then an Orange Crush flipping powerbomb, and he locked in an anklelock at 14:30, but she powered out. She hit a spin kick. They hit simultaneous roundhouse kicks and were both down and this crowd was HOT. Ku hit an Angle Slam and was fired up. He hit some clotheslines in the corner. She hit a spin kick to the back of the head. She hit the Skull Kick to the head, but he rolled to the floor at 17:00 to avoid being pinned. She pulled him back into the ring; he fell to the mat to avoid a second Skull Kick. He jumped up and hit a fisherman’s brainbuster for the pin out of nowhere. Really good action and the crowd was fully into it.
* Ku got on the mic and called out Jinder Mahal (now going by Raj Dhesi) for the July 26 event! We then headed to intermission.
7. Joey Janela defeated Myung-jae Lee at 12:41. A feeling-out process early on, and they traded chops at 2:00. Joey hit a diving European Uppercut. Lee hit a German Suplex. The signal to the building was briefly lost a few times but just for a few seconds. Janela hit a Death Valley Driver for a nearfall at 6:00. He hit a Razor’s Edge powerbomb. Lee hit a brainbuster at 8:30 and they were both down. Joey hit a standing powerbomb with a jackknife cover for a nearfall. Lee hit a modified Cradle Shock for a nearfall. Janela hit a top-rope superplex and they were both down at 10:30. Janela hit a Package Piledriver for a believable nearfall and he was shocked at the kickout. He hit a cradle piledriver, then a top-rope elbow drop for the clean pin. Good match.
8. “Sanity” Axel Tischer and Big Damo defeated “The Highlight Reel” Damon Reel and Damien Reel to retain the Progress Tag Team Titles at 17:51. I still can’t tell these twin brothers apart. Sanity wore identical jackets and T-shirts and got a nice pop and we got a “sexy Damo!” chant that I wouldn’t have anticipated. (And if you were wondering… no, he didn’t shave his back!) The commentators said Damien has started and he has a black bandana, and he faced Axel and they traded mat reversals. Damien hit a flying back elbow for a nearfall. Damon (red headband!) entered at 3:30. Prazak made a “Killer Bees” reference and these two could easily trade headbands and confuse the ref.
The Reels tried to back suplex Damo but he blocked it. He got both men in his arms and hit a fallaway slam-and-Samoan Drop combo at 5:30, then a senton. He applied a Boston Crab, and Axel kicked at the Reel brother. Sanity worked Damien over. Damo hit a slingshot senton at 9:30. Damon finally got the hot tag at 11:00 and he cleared the ring. The Reels hit dives to the floor on opposite sides of the ring. In the ring, a Reel hit a package piledriver. (The headbands are off! I can’t tell them apart now!)
Tischer hit a German Suplex. Damo hit another senton. He slammed a twin for a nearfall. Tischer hit a top-rope diving uppercut. They hit a Magic Killer team slam for a nearfall at 14:30, and they were all down. They all got up and traded forearm strikes. Sanity hit stereo Mafia Kicks. The Highlight Reel hit a team Flapjack on Axel, then a team back suplex on Damo for a nearfall at 16:30. Axel held a Reel brother in place so Damo could hit a Vader Bomb for the pin. Good match; perhaps a bit too long but the Reel brothers are progressing nicely.
9. Matt Makowski defeated Tom Lawlor to retain the BLP Midwest TItle at 15:21. These two have identical shoot fighter styles and this should be intense. Good standing switches and mat reversals early on, and Tom applied a leglock around the neck. They traded kicks to the thighs at 3:00. They brawled to the floor. In the ring, Matt hit a back suplex at 7:30. Lawlor applied a hammerlock and he hit a Buzzsaw kick for a nearfall. Matt applied a crossarm breaker, but Lawlor reached the ropes at 11:00.
They came off the ropes with Matt re-applying the cross-armbreaker. Lawlor nailed his Kamigoye Kneestrike for a nearfall. They got up and traded forearm strikes. Lawlor flipped Matt to the mat and applied a hammerlock, but Matt stood up and slammed Tom to the mat. Both men were down. They traded punches and kicks. Matt nailed an enzuigiri and they were both down. Matt stood up; Tom started to get up but collapsed again at the eight-count, so Matt retained by knockout. A hard-hitting realistic brawl.
10. Billie Starkz defeated Kylie Rae at 16:21. A nice pop for Chicago native Rae, who is in an all yellow one-piece. An intense lockup to open as Prazak talked about when these two met in 2019 and Billie showed her potential! (Quick math check… she was 14 at the time?) Friendly reversals, until Billie slapped her in the face at 4:00 and the crowd reacted in shock, and began a “you f—ed up!” chant. Billie hit some forearms in the corner and a running boot, then a snap suplex. They traded rollups for nearfalls. Billie hit a DDT onto the ring apron for a nearfall. Billie tied Kylie in the Tree of Woe at 7:00 and repeatedly kicked her in the stomach.
Starkz hit a neckbreaker over her knee for a nearfall at 9:00 and remained in control. Billie nailed a Swanton Bomb, crushing Kyle. They hit hair-mares and both crashed to the mat and were down at 10:30. Kylie hit a superkick for a nearfall and she went to a crossface. Billie hit a spin kick to the head for a nearfall. Kylie hit a Russian legs sweep and re-applied the crossface, but Billie reached the ropes. They traded forearm strikes on the ring apron at 14:00 and Billie shoved Kylie head-first into the ring post. Billie put Kylie on her shoulders, but Kylie escaped.
Billie dove through the ropes onto Kylie, then threw her right back into the ring. Starkz went for a second Swanton Bomb, but Kylie got her knees up to block it. Kylie hit an enzuigiri. She got a Victory Roll for a nearfall; Billie reversed it and scored the pin! A very good back-and-forth match, and Prazak noted she avenged that prior loss to Kylie. Billie got on the mic but I really couldn’t understand what she said.
11. “Latinos Most Wanted” Koda Hernandez and Sabin Gauge defeated Davey Bang and August Matthews to win the BLP Tag Team Titles at 24:04. Alberty said these two teams are destined to fight forever. Gauge and Matthews opened with some basic reversals. They sped it up and had a standoff at 2:30. Koda and Bang entered, with Koda hitting some rolling suplexes. Bang hit a flipping senton on Sabin, then an axe kick on the back of Koda’s head at 5:00. Bang and Matthews began working over Koda. We had some freezing issues and the picture was briefly lost at 7:00; the picture has really gotten choppy, which is disappointing.
Sabin made the hot tag and hit a huracanrana on Bang at 8:30, then a pump-handle powerbomb for a nearfall. Matthews hit a slingshot legdrop. He held Koda’s wrists and stomped on his chest at 10:30. Matthews hit a top-rope Blockbuster and everyone was down. Koda and Matthews traded chops. Bang entered and hit a jumping knee to Koda’s chin. Bang tied Sabin in an Octopus Stretch, so Matthews did the same to Koda. Koda hit a double superplex. Sabin hit a Lungblower on Matthews for a nearfall at 15:00. Bang hit a clothesline, and Matthews hit a Shining Wizard.
They hit their team doublestomp on Koda’s back, then on his chest for a nearfall. Bang accidentally hit an enzuigiri on the ref at 17:30! With the ref down, Bang got a chair and was booed! He tossed it to Sabin and did the ‘Eddie Spot’ and collapsed, so Sabin did the same, and so did Matthews. All four were down as the ref finally got up. (Why would LMW want a DQ? They wouldn’t win the belts!) Sabin hit a dive through the ropes to the floor. In the ring, Koda hit a standing powerbomb, and Sabin hit a Swanton Bomb for a believable nearfall on Bang at 20:30.
Bang hit his moonsault to the floor as August hit a dive to the floor. In the ring, Bang nailed the Spears Tower, then a top-rope 450 Splash for a believable nearfall on Koda, and the commentators were in shock at the kickout. Sabin went for a springboard double stunner but they blocked it. Bang and Matthews again went for Spears Tower but Gauge hit a crossbody block. LMW hit their doublestomp-and-Death Valley Driver combo for the pin! New champions! A very good match; it had some miscues but it was entertaining throughout. Prazak said Bang and Matthews had the second-longest title reign in BLP history. They all shook hands as the nearly four-hour show came to a close.
Final Thoughts: A lot to like here with a lot of top-notch indy talent. I really enjoyed Kylie Rae-Billie Starkz and I’ll go with that for best match, as I felt either woman could have won and the crowd was fully into it. I’ll go with Ku-Miyu for second place, ahead of the main event. A really good mat-based Lawlor-Makowski match takes honorable mention, and I wouldn’t argue with anyone who is into that style and thought that was best match.
Only a few complaints — The Highlight Reel haven’t been seen as a top-tier tag team here, so I think their match with Sanity could have been a bit shorter and perhaps a bit more energetic. I love Jordan Oliver, but that match was clearly not designed for him and Rico to go all out. Also, Price and Radrick have been teaming for a while now but they have very few wins to show for it. Luckily, the picture improved for the final few minutes of the main event, but we had a several-minute stretch of frozen screens and lost picture that hampered my enjoyment of that main event.
I have written this before, but I don’t know why Black Label Pro just doesn’t draw better, as they have a good roster. They’ve used the Berwyn Eagles Club and drawn a fraction of what AAW does in that building. I’ve seen Freelance Wrestling pack this auditorium without an empty seat in sight, so it’s jarring to see more than half the chairs on the stage (opposite the hard camera) empty for this show.
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