By Chris Vetter, ProWrestling.net Contributor (@chrisvetter73)
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Black Label Pro Wrestling “Old Habits Die Screaming”
Replay available via TrillerTV+
July 26, 2024 in Chicago, Illinois at Logan Square Auditorium
This show featured indy matches from Trevor Lee (f/k/a Cameron Grimes) and Raj Dhesi (f/k/a Jinder Mahal). The crowd is maybe 150; I really like this ballroom, but I’ll add that other promotions have sold out this venue. Dave Prazak, Dustin Alberty and Jason Midas provided commentary.
* There has been a serious rash of injuries on the indy scene recently; on this show alone, Kevin Ku, Jordan Oliver and Cole Radrick were all booked but are now out of action with injuries. (Other recent injuries include to Brittnie Brooks and Gabby Forza.)
1. Davey Bang defeated August Matthews and Alec Price in a three-way at 7:12. This was supposed to be a tag match, but Cole Radrick is injured and out of action, so they turned it into a three-way. Interesting, because just a week ago, Price was in a three-way against a top tag team (Miracle Generation) in Fight Life in Massachusetts. He got on the mic and just like last week, he complained this isn’t fair because they are going to gang up on him. Bang assured him they all want to win. Matthews superkicked Bang to start the match! Bang and Matthews traded offense. Price slammed Bang onto the ring apron at 1:30, then he dove to the floor on Bang.
In the ring, Price hit a half-nelson suplex on Matthews. Bang hit a dropkick in the corner on Price. Matthews hit a Destino move on Price. Bang and Matthews began shoving each other; Price jumped in there and chopped them both. Bang hit the Spears Tower on Price, but they fought over who would pin Alec. They traded quick reversals, and they both hit kicks to the head and collapsed at 6:00. Price hit a Blockbuster on Bang for a nearfall. Bang hit a spear on Price, then a moonsault to the floor on Matthews, then a top-rope 450 Splash to pin Price. That was all action and a really good choice for opener.
2. “Hot Commodity” Trevor Outlaw and Hayden Backlund defeated Myung-jae Lee and Maggie Lee at 9:50. Outlaw ripped up the sign of a redheaded girl, maybe age 9, and she swore at him and gave him the middle finger. The commentators joked that the Lees aren’t related; Myung-jae is South Korean and Maggie is a tall, white redhead and a former volleyball player. MJ and Hayden opened. Maggie tagged in; the Lees took turns chopping Outlaw. Maggie repeatedly rammed Outlaw’s head into the turnbuckle and she is taller than he is. Maggie went to the floor and let the redhead kids chop Outlaw (same color of hair so maybe related to her?)
The heels began working over MJ. Outlaw hit a snap suplex for a nearfall at 4:30. Maggie finally got the hot tag at 6:30 and she hit a mid-ring buttbump on Backlund. Backlund hit a low blow mule kick on her, which of course she completely no-sold, and she hit a German Suplex on him. Maggie hit a top-rope Swanton Bomb to the floor on the two heels at 8:00. She hit a Helluva Kick in the ring, and MJ hit an Exploder Suplex on Hayden. She hit a top-rope guillotine leg drop for a nearfall, but Outlaw made the save. Maggie accidentally kicked MJ! Backlund hit a top-rope elbow drop on Maggie Lee for the pin. Decent match; she is tall enough she looks like she can compete with the men. The heels taunted the red-headed kids on their way to the back.
3. Myron Reed defeated Rico Gonzalez at 10:24. I’ve seen Rico in promotions from here to Atlanta, and he recently competed in the Scenic City Invitational tournament in Tennessee, and Prazak said he “has a lot of upside.” Myron has been everywhere in recent months too, particularly in GCW and Wrestling Revolver. Quick reversals at the bell and a double clothesline at 1:00. Rico hit a senton and a Lionsault for a nearfall. Reed hit a Mafia Kick for a nearfall at 3:30. More quick reversals and the commentators said this is a first-ever-meeting. Rico hit a flip dive to the floor, and into a huracanrana at 6:00. In the ring, Rico hit a top-rope crossbody block.
Reed put Rico’s feet on the top rope and he hit a Flatliner for a nearfall. Riico hit a spear on the apron at 8:30. In the ring, Rico hit a sit-out piledriver for a nearfall. Rico snapped Myron’s throat over the top rope. Myon hit a superkick, then a stunner across the top rope. Myron hit his stunner over the top rope, with them both crashing into the front row! Myron immediately hit a top-rope 450 Splash for the pin. More fast-paced offense and really good action.
4. “Latinos Most Wanted” Koda Hernandez and Sabin Gauge defeated “Twist & Flip” Darren Fly and Nate Kobain to retain the BLP Tag Team Titles at 13:39. T&F are undersized young white guys who have steadily improved here the past couple of years. The commentators praised Koda’s 2024 and I agree with their assessment. Fly’s hair is more curly but they do look a lot alike. Sabin and Kobain opened. Fly and Koda entered at 3:00, with Koda having the clear size advantage. T&F worked over Gauge in their corner. Fly hit a running Shooting Star Press for a nearfall at 5:00. Koda entered and hit a flying clothesline. Koda hit a uranage. Sabin launched of Koda’s shoulders and hit a senton for a nearfall at 7:00.
Kobain made the hot tag and he hit some forearm strikes and traded offense with Gauge, then he hit a German Suplex on Gauge for a nearfall at 9:00. Fly made a blind tag! Kobain looked confused and they briefly argued! Koda hit an Exploder Suplex on Fly, then a Jay Driller on Fly for a nearfall. Kobain hit a Death Valley Driver for a nearfall, but Koda made the save. All four traded punches. Sabin hit a Pele Kick at 12:00. Kobain suplexed Sabin stomach-first to the mat. LMW hit stereo kicks. Gauge hit a springboard crossbody block on both opponents, then LMW hit stereo dives to the floor. In the ring, Sabin hit a doublestomp on a back for the pin. Good action. LMW went to the back
* The commentators agreed that T&F were “out of synch” and not on the same page. Fly shoved Kobain! He hit a low blow and a superkick on his partner!
5. Trevor Lee defeated Eli Isom at 5:49. Trevor Lee wrestled under that name in PWG and Impact Wrestling and elsewhere before becoming Cameron Grimes. This was supposed to be Lee vs. Jordan Oliver, but Oliver tore his ACL and is out for the rest of 2024. Isom had a nice run at the end of the ROH Sinclair era. Lee has cut his hair really short! It’s definitely a different look for him. An intense lockup and standing switches to open. The commentators talked about how Isom cut his head in the back before the show began. Lee hit a Shining Wizard and the cut began bleeding really bad and his face was completely covered in blood. “He’s leaking badly,” Prazak said. However, Isom fired up and hit some punches. Lee hit the Cave-In running stomp on the collarbone for the pin. I have no doubt they cut this short because of the blood loss.
* Lee got on the mic and put over Isom, saying he hates it ended this way. “I want to absolutely thank every single person in this building. It’s hard, it’s really hard, to achieve a dream of yours, and to be released from that dream, when you did nothing wrong,” Lee said. “It really hurts. And over the past three months, I have doubted myself, in the past three months, I didn’t think I belonged in this business anymore. But coming back to Logan Square, seeing you people … maybe I still got it.” This really came from the heart. The crowd chanted back, “You still got it!”
* Intermission.
6. Dex Royal, Damon Reel, and Damien Reel defeated Teri Yaki and “PME” Philly Collins and Marino Tenaglia at 10:13. The commentators pointed out how much weight Collins has lost in the past year. I cannot tell the Reel twins apart; one wears a red bandana and the other wears a black bandana but they could easily pull off ‘twin magic.’ Yaki and Royal opened, and Dex has a larger size advantage than I guessed, and they traded quick reversals. Marino and a Reel entered at 1:30. One Reel tossed his brother onto Marino for a nearfall. Yaki hit a Falcon Arrow-style slam on a Reed brother at 3:30. Philly entered and hit some flying shoulder tackles on a Reel, then a belly-to-belly suplex for a nearfall.
Dex hit a top-rope crossbody block on all his opponents. Dex’s team hit stereo faceplants at 6:30. Marino hit a dive to the floor on the Reels. Dex hit a flip dive to the floor onto everyone. A Reel went for a dive but Yaki caught him with a stunner. Philly hit a spinning heel kick on Dex Royal for a nearfall at 9:00. Marino hit a spin kick on a Reel. A Reel hit a Lungblower on Marino. Collins hit a uranage. Yaki hit a Code Red out of the ropes! Dex hit a Canadian Destroyer and he pinned Yaki! That was fun and fast-paced, too!
7. Puf defeated Rachel Armstrong to win the Arbo’s Cheese Dip Title at 5:52. Yes, that title belt does exist; Rachel won it last year at a show at a convention hall and she’s defended it since. Puf is the 418-pounder and this might be the biggest weight gap I’ve seen, as I bet she’s listed at just 5’0″ so I’m guessing she’s in the 110-pound range. The bell rang but they did a dance-off. She charged at him but bounced off his belly. She went for a dive to the floor, but he caught her and he rammed her lower back into the ring post at 2:00. On the floor, he ran around the ring and collapsed. (At his size, he really shouldn’t joke like this.)
She also was winded; the redhead 9-year-old girl from the second match tried to fan her down. Philly Collins and Marino Tenaglia helped ‘revive’ Puf. This is meant to be funny but I’m just not chuckling. The Reel brothers and PME were suddenly brawling in the middle of the ring, and that spilled to the floor, leaving just Puf and Rachel in the ring. She tried to hit him with the belt but he blocked it. The ref eventually confiscated the belt. Puf hit a Rikishi Driver piledriver to score the pin. New champion! “Do you believe in miracles!” Prazak said. Cartoonish and it didn’t click for me. He got on the mic and said he’s gone through 27 years of eating cheese to get to this point to win the title.
8. Joshua Bishop defeated Jake Something to become No. 1 contender to the BLP Title at 7:02. Both men are exceptionally tall and strong. An intense lockup to open. They brawled to the floor. The commentators said Bishop won their only prior singles meeting. In the ring, they hit simultaneous clotheslines at 4:00 as the fans chanted “beef!” with each blow. Jake hit his running body block, then a sit-out powerbomb for a nearfall. Bishop hit a release suplex, then a sidewalk slam for a nearfall at 5:30. Bishop hit the Razor’s Edge for the clean pin! Good for the time given.
9. “The Maharaja” Raj Dhesi defeated Dominc Garrini to win the Black Label Pro Title at 12:03. Garrini is defending the title on behalf of his tag-team partner, the injured Kevin Ku. Raj shouted he hated Garrini’s entrance song (“Zombie” by the Cranberries.) He stalled on the floor and the crowd sang it a capella at him! Funny. A feeling-out process and Raj stomped on Garrini. Dominic is big but Raj just towers over him. They traded chops at 3:30 and Raj tied him up on the mat. Raj hit a back suplex and he barked at the crowd.
Garrini hit some Yes Kicks to Dhesi’s chest at 5:30, and he applied a crossarm breaker, but Raj reached the ropes. Raj hit a second-rope superplex for a nearfall. Garrini hit some running clotheslines into the corner at 8:30, then an Exploder for a nearfall. Raj hit a Death Valley Driver for a nearfall, and he switched to a Camel Clutch at 10:00. They brawled to the floor, then back into the ring, where Raj hit a running boot. He applied a Cobra Clutch and slammed Garrini to the mat for the pin. New champion! I did NOT expect that. I presumed outside interference to end the match.
* So, Raj will be back to defend the title against Bishop. Bishop came to the ring and stood across from him but they didn’t throw any blows. Prazak said that match will take place at 2 p.m. Sunday, Aug. 26, at the Berwyn Eagles Club in suburban Chicago, as the show came to a close.
Final Thoughts: An unfortunate injury to Eli Isom in the back. As Prazak explained it, a light fixture fell on him and cut him open. He was checked out and was considered good to go, but obviously the cut was still too fresh, and it didn’t take much for him to become a bloody mess. I would have expected Trevor Lee vs. Isom to steal the show, but with his injury, they didn’t have much of a chance.
So, I’ll go with Rico Gonzalez vs. Myron Reed for best match, the three-way opener for second, and the six-man tag coming out of intermission for third. The main event was fine for what it was. I don’t doubt that Dhesi can be a big draw on the indy scene; he is just so much incredibly bigger than just about everyone he would face. I’m sure he hasn’t worked too many 12-minute singles matches in recent years, but it was fine. The Puf-Armstrong comedy just didn’t click for me. The Bishop-Jake Something match was just too short to be memorable. A decent show overall
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