By Chris Vetter, ProWrestling.net Contributor (@chrisvetter73)
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Deadlock Pro Wrestling “DPW Live 6”
Available via DPWondemand.com
June 16, 2024 in Chicago, Illinois at Logan Square Auditorium
This is North Carolina-based DPW’s second show in Chicago but first time in this venue. I am assuming they picked a return here because the TNA wrestlers were in town for shows Friday and Saturday, as well as Dreamwave held a show Saturday. This is an attractive ballroom that has been used by Freelance Wrestling and recently by Black Label Pro Wrestling. Rich Bocchini and Caprice Coleman provided commentary.
1. “Violence is Forever” Kevin Ku and Dominic Garrini defeated Ichiban and Diego Hill at 14:27. I am a huge fan of Hill and this is a new tag pairing for him. ViF competed roughly an hour west for Dreamwave a night ago. Diego and Ku opened. Ku flipped Diego but Hill landed on his feet. Diego hit some kicks on Garrini. Ichiban tagged in at 2:30 and hit some deep armdrags on Ku. He hit his “one” punches to the head in the corner on Ku. Diego hit an impressive top-rope crossbody block on both opponents. On the floor, ViF slammed the opponents’ backs into each other. (It is a common move they do; they did it a night ago, too.)
Ku hit a Dragonscrew Legwhip on Diego at 5:00 and tied him up on the mat. Diego hit a spin kick to Garrini’s face, then a Rebound Lungblower on Garrini! Nice! Ichiban got a hot tag at 7:00 and hit a handspring-back-elbow on Ku. He hit a top-rope missile dropkick on both opponents, then a tornado DDT on Ku for a nearfall. Garrini hit a uranage-style backbreaker over his knee on Hill, then a back suplex. Ichiban hit a Code Red on Dominic at 9:00. Ichiban and Ku traded forearm strikes and chops. Ku applied an anklelock on Ichiban, while Garrini put Diego in an Octopus stretch. Diego escaped and bodyslammed Garrini onto Ku to break up the anklelock, and all four were down.
Hill and Garrini traded forearm strikes. Diego hit an enzuigiri. Garrini hit a German Suplex. Hill hit a mid-ring Spanish Fly for a believable nearfall at 11:30. Hill and Ichiba hit dropkicks. Garrini nailed a Musclebuster on Diego. Ichiban hit his leaping Flatliner on Garrini! Diego hit a top-rope Phoenix Splash for a nearfall on Garrini. Ku hit a brainbuster on Ichiban on the guardrail at ringside! Diego hit a Stundog Millionaire on Garrini. Hill went for a Lethal Injection, but Garrini kicked him in the back. ViF then hit the Chasing the Dragon/spin kick-and-brainbuster combo for the pin on Diego. That was impressive stuff.
2. Kevin Blackwood defeated Andrew Everett at 4:20. Everett still thinks he’s 7’4″ and he wore his Andre-style one-strap singlet. A feeling-out process early on with standing switches. They traded deep armdrags. Everett hit a huracanrana at 2:00 that sent Blackwood to the floor. Everett hit a springboard splash onto Kevin. HOWEVER, Everett immediately clutched his knee upon landing and I think he’s legit injured. In the ring, they traded forearm strikes, and Blackwood hit a brainbuster for a nearfall. He hit a running knee, then a top-rope doublestomp on the collarbone for the pin. Shockingly short to the point I wonder if Everett is okay. (This was so short I rewatched it and it was more obvious in the way they leaned together and spoke to each other and to the ref that Everett did get hurt there.)
3. Adam Priest defeated Labron Kozone at 14:46. Priest recently appeared in ROH and I always compare this short, scrappy gatekeeper to Jaime Noble. Standing switches and Kozone worked over the smaller Priest’s left arm. He hit a slap that dropped Priest to the mat, then a Rebound Elbow Drop for a nearfall at 4:00. Priest choked Kozone with a T-shirt and was loudly booed, and he kept Kozone grounded. He tied Kozone in an abdominal stretch at 7:00. Kozone hit a swinging bodyslam and fired up. Kozone hit a senton for a nearfall at 8:30. He hit a D’Lo-style Sky High for a nearfall, then a top-rope 450 kneedrop to the chin for a nearfall. Priest clutched his face and I think he was hurt by that 450, too.
They fought on the floor and Priest kicked Kozone into the guardrail. (Priest kept checking his teeth and I don’t think he’s selling either; it looked like he got clocked by that knee.) Kozone got into the ring before the 10-count but Priest hit a piledriver for a believable nearfall at 11:30. Kozone hit a Burning Hammer and a standing powerbomb for a believable nearfall. Priest hit a chop block and applied an STF on the mat and the crowd rallied for Kozone. However, Kozone passed out! The crowd booed this outcome. Good match.
4. Mike Bailey and Jake Something defeated “Sinner & Saint” Judas Icarus and Travis Williams to retain the DPW Tag Team Titles at 15:02. Bocchini noted that Icarus and Williams are the Prestige Wrestling tag champs, but those titles are not on the line here. (Icarus and Williams have done some TNA tapings recently so I wouldn’t be surprised if they had a match at Saturday’s taping.) Bailey and Icarus previously had a STELLAR singles match that was Prestige Wrestling’s “Match of the Year.” Jake hit a running splash into Icarus that popped the crowd and he got a nearfall. Bailey hit a Helluva Kick on Icarus, then a Vader Bomb-style kneedrop to the chest for a nearfall at 1:30.
S&S hit stereo dropkicks on Jake, and they began working Jake over in their corner. Jake hit a forearm that leveled Judas. Bailey got the hot tag at 6:00 and he hit his Speedball kicks to the ribs and thighs of Williams. Mike hit a series of kicks and his running Shooting Star Press for a nearfall. Icarus and Bailey traded some quick offense, and they each hit each other’s bare feet. Icarus nailed a hard clothesline to the back of the head and they were both down at 8:30. Nice. Bailey hit his Triangle Moonsault to the floor. Williams hit a German Suplex, and suddenly all four were down.
Williams hit an Angel’s Wings faceplant on Bailey for a nearfall, but Jake made the save at 12:30. Williams hit a top-rope superplex on Bailey. However, Icarus went for a frogsplash but Bailey got his knees up. This action is really fast-paced. Jake hit a dive over the top rope onto both opponents at 14:30. Bailey hit an Ultima Weapon on Judas as Jake was holding Judas for the pin. That was an absolute blast and every bit as good as I expected.
* Ace Austin walked out of the back, holding a microphone. He said he’s alone and not here to fight. Ace said he told Chris Bey last night that he was going to come here and get a close look at those DPW Tag Title belts. He said he knows they wouldn’t back down from a challenge. Bailey and Jake appeared to accept!
5. Miyuki Takase defeated Dani Luna to retain the DPW Women’s Title at 10:47. Again, presumably Dani was at the TNA taping a day ago, too. She hit a suplex at 1:30 and a sliding clothesline for a nearfall. Takase hit a missile dropkick. Dani clocked her with a forearm strike; she is much taller and thicker than Takase. She hit a dropkick to the chest in the corner and a bodyslam for a nearfall at 3:30. Takase snapped the arm over the top rope and she took control. She hit a top-rope missile dropkick and scored a nearfall. She applied a leg lock around Dani’s neck and kept her grounded. Takase hit a spear for a nearfall at 6:00.
Dani fired back with a running kick to the chest. They hit simultaneous clotheslines, and Takase finally knocked her down with a clothesline for a nearfall. Luna hit her own clothesline and they were both down. Dani hit a brainbuster and a Falcon Arrow for a nearfall at 8:30. Luna nailed a standing powerbomb with a jackknife cover for a believable nearfall. Takase hit a second-rope superplex and a hard clothesline. She hit a second-rope guillotine leg drop for the pin. Good action.
6. Calvin Tankman defeated Alex Shelley to retain the DPW Heavyweight Title at 15:29. Calvin backed him into the corner and chopped him in the first minute. Shelley hit a shoulder block to the kidneys at 1:30 and he began working the left arm. Alex wrapped the arm around the guardrail on the floor and kicked it at 3:30. In the ring, Alex applied a crossarm breaker; he stood up and stomped on the elbow. Tankman nailed a shoulder tackle that sent Alex flying, and he rolled to the floor. Calvin followed him and chopped him against the guardrails at 6:00. In the ring, Calvin hit a back suplex for a nearfall but sold the pain in his arm.
Shelley hit a Dragonscrew Legwhip. Tankman hit a bodyslam but missed a splash to the mat and they were both down at 9:00. Tankman charged at Alex, but Shelley kicked him in the face, then Alex hit a Flatliner into the middle turnbuckle. He applied the Border City Stretch but Calvin reached the ropes. Alex spit in his face! He hit some chops, too, then he snapped the left arm across his shoulder at 11:30. They traded some LOUD chops and it must be warm in there because the sweat was really flying off their chests. Shelley hit a clothesline that dropped Tankman! Calvin hit a pop-up spinning back fist for a believable nearfall at 13:30.
Tankman picked up his title belt but the ref went to take it; Tankman shoved the ref. Alex hit a bodyslam, which is pretty impressive. Of course, he immediately sold pain in his lower back. Shelley hit a German Suplex and a superkick, then a Sliced Bread for a believable nearfall, then he locked in the Border City Stretch. Calvin escaped and hit a spinning back fist. Calvin nearly crashed into the ref. He hit a forearm to the face, then one to the back of the head, then the Tankman Driver (Rikishi Driver) for the clean pin! Wow, that was good. Caprice called it “the biggest win of Tankman’s life.”
Final Thoughts: If you’ve read my reviews, you know I think watching DPW is like watching golden-era early 2000s ROH. Great matches, exceptional commentary, and above average production. I did experience some freezing issues with my screen and that is NOT typical of DPW. I don’t know if it was just my feed or a widespread problem with this show. Again, these were minor glitches and didn’t hurt the ‘watchability’ of the show, but it did happen more than once.
It’s close, but I’ll take Jake/Bailey vs. Icarus/Williams for best match, just ahead of that stellar main event. It’s a close call and both were top-notch matches. Shelley always delivers in the ring; sure I’ve seen him lose on some fluke rollups but this felt like a big deal to have him cleanly pinned by Tankman’s signature spots. Calvin is a beast and so much fun to watch. I’m not sure if and where he would fit in on a major promotion’s roster, but he sure looks great as the flagship of DPW. The show-opening tag takes third, and I remain high on the potential of Hill. The lone drawbacks are those occasional glitches and the injury to Everett. While this show is available for purchase, DPW has a lot of stuff for free on their YouTube page.
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