By Chris Vetter, ProWrestling.net Contributor (@chrisvetter73)
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Black Label Pro Wrestling “Crowning Glory”
Replay available via YouTube.com
September 4, 2024 in Chicago, Illinois at Logan Square Auditorium
This show streamed live and free on YouTube. Unfortunately, the crowd is maybe 250 and there are empty seats across from the hard camera. Dave Prazak and Brian Zane provided commentary.
* Host Chris Van Vilet came to the ring to open the show. This show apparently has matches and it’s also a “combine.” Mojo Muhtadi (f/k/a Mojo Rawley!) came to the ring; he currently looks like a cheesy 1980s Ukrainian movie villain, with long curly black hair and he’s wearing a green suit and gold chains. Out of the back came wrestling journalist Sean Ross Sapp, who got booed. SRS wants to be in the combine. Mojo hit a Pounce on SRS.
1. Mustafa Ali vs. Sabin Gauge. Gauge is a regular in the Chicago area. They appear to be the same height but Mustafa is thicker/more muscular. Ali immediately hit a deep armdrag and worked the left arm. Sabin hit a head-scissors takedown coming out of the ropes at 3:00, and his own armdrags. Ali hit his rolling stunner for a nearfall, and he applied an STF on the mat, with Sabin reaching the ropes at 5:00. They got up and traded punches. Sabin nailed a Dragon Suplex for a nearfall at 7:00.
Ali hit a superkick. Gauge hit a DDT, then a twisting dive through the ropes onto Ali. In the ring, he hit a top-rope crossbody block for a nearfall, and they traded chops. Gauge hit a second-rope stunner for a nearfall. Gauge hit some chops. Ali nailed a sunset flip powerbomb, and he locked in a Sharpshooter, and Gauge tapped out. Good opener. Ali raised Gauge’s hand and they got a nice pop.
Mustafa Ali defeated Sabin Gauge at 10:14.
Nate Cobain vs. Darren Fly never started. These two were teammates until the last show. Fly jawed at the fans on his way to the ring. Both of these guys are really small and undersized. Fly did a moonsault in the ring before the bell and immediately sold pain in his knee and the female ref checked on Darren. Fly got on the mic and said he just hurt his ankle and “my leg said not today.” Darren said he has a replacement in mind; he was loudly booed. He called out Parker Boudreax!
2. Parker Boudreaux (w/Darren Fly) vs. Nate Cobain. I haven’t seen Parker since he vanished from AEW. Nate charged at Parker, who no-sold a kick. Parker hip-tossed him across the ring. Parker hit a swinging Blue Thunder Bomb and a swinging slam for the pin. Yep, it was that short. Parker got on the mic and noted he just won handily.
Parker Boudreaux defeated Nate Cobain at 1:31.
* The combine began. Mojo is back in the ring; I seriously don’t recognize him with his long curly hair. I can’t pretend to care about this combine stuff. Maven Hoffman is our host for the combine. “It’s a who’s-who tonight,” Prazak said. The participants of the combine came out: Mike Rallis (f/k/a Riddick Moss), Mandy Sacs (f/k/a Mandy Rose), Ash By Elegance, Emma, Xia Zhao (f/k/a Xia Li), Parker Boudreaux, Jake Hager, Moose and Jordynne Grace came out. I recall reading that Emma (Tenille Dashwood) is pregnant but I don’t think she’s “showing” yet; she is there with Rallis but isn’t competing. This first competition is “running the ropes” as quick as possible, and all I can say is everyone is trying. Mike Rallis and Jordynne Grace won this round.
3. “Hot Commodity” Trevor Outlaw and Hayden Backlund vs. Davey Bang and August Matthews. Again, Bang and Matthews wrestled on AEW Collision on Friday. Hot Commodity attacked from behind. Bang and Matthews hit some quick team offense early on. HC hit a team suplex on Matthews for a nearfall at 2:00, and they began working him over in their corner. Bang got the hot tag and hit a top-rope crossbody block on Backlund at 5:00. He tied him in an Octopus Stretch; Matthews put the same move on Outlaw. BandM hit their team doublestomp, then the Spears Tower for a nearfall, but Outlaw again made the save at 7:00.
HC hit a superkick-and-spinebuster combo for a believable nearfall on August. Bang hit his moonsault while August dove through the ropes on the other side of the ring. BandM went for Spears Tower again, but Backlund tripped them. Outlaw got a rollup on Matthews, put his feet on the ropes for leverage, and Backlund grabbed the feet to assist, as they got the tainted pin. Solid match.
Trevor Outlaw and Hayden Backlund defeated Davey Bang and August Matthews at 9:37.
* The second event of the combine is next. Jake Hager vs. Mike Rallis in an arm wrestling match. (Really surprised this seems legit.) Rallis won. Jordynne Grace beat Xia Zhao. Parker Boudreaux beat Moose. This is more entertaining than I imagined, as this sure seems like everyone is trying. Mandy Sacs beat Ash; I would consider this an upset. Parker beat Rallis to win the men’s side. Jordynne easily beat Mandy; that isn’t a surprise.
4. Matt Makowski vs. Damien Reel vs. Damon Reel vs. Eli Isom vs. Rhyx Maddox vs. Davey Vega vs. Myron Reed in a seven-way scramble for the BLP Midwest Title. Prazak can tell the Reel twins apart because of different headbands but I can’t keep track. Isom’s last match here was cut short because he got cut open and bled heavily. I haven’t seen Rhys before; he has a rock star look, with a white leather jacket and Bono-style tinted sunglasses. Congrats to Reed, who announced this week he and Killer Kelly are expecting. Makowski tied up both Reels on the mat early on. Reed hit a superkick on Isom. Makowski hit a back suplex on Myron at 3:00.
Everyone hit superkicks on Makowski! Rhys hit a top-rope summersault splash onto everyone. Matt applied a crossarm breaker on Rhys, but Vega made the save. Vega hit a sit-out powerbomb on Makowski for a nearfall. Isom hit a Flatliner on Reed for a nearfall at 6:30. Isom hit a powerbomb on a Reel. The Reels hit a team neckbreaker on Isom. The Reels began fighting each other! (Every man for himself!) Each Reel brother hit a top-rope moonsault to the floor at 8:30. In the ring, Matt and a Reel hit stereo clotheslines. Reed hit his stunner from in the ring to the floor. Reed hit a springboard 450 and pinned a Reel! New champion! Good energy. Makowski loses the belt without being pinned.
Myron Reed defeated Matt Makowski, Damien Reel, Damon Reel, Eli Isom, Rhyx Maddox, and Davey Vega in a seven-way scramble to win the BLP Midwest Title at 9:19.
* More of the combine. They did lockups (essentially pushing each other backward, instead of a tug of war.) Ash backed Jordynne into the ropes! I would have expected a Jordynne clean sweep. Hager backed Boudreaux into the ropes to win. Xia backed Mandy into the ropes. Moose backed Rallis into the ropes. Ash backed Xia into the ropes to win. Moose backed Hager into the ropes to win the men’s competition. This has been surprisingly amusing.
5. Koda Hernandez vs. Robbie Eagles. I’ve noted that Australian and NJPW star Eagles has been on a whirlwind summer tour of the U.S. Eagles immediately tied up Koda’s left arm. Koda hit a senton and a snap suplex. Eagles hit a sit-out powerbomb for a nearfall at 4:00 and he immediately grapevined the leg; Koda crawled to reach the ropes. Koda fied up and hit a dropkick that sent Eagles to the floor, then he dove through the ropes onto Robbie at 6:00.
Back in the ring, Koda hit an X-Factor faceplant for a nearfall. Robbie hit a running elbow to the back of the head and they were both down. Eagles hit a basement dropkick on the knee, then a running double knees in the corner for a nearfall at 8:00. Koda hit a Razor’s Edge-style powerbomb for a nearfall, but was selling the pain in his knee. Koda got some rollups for nearfalls. Eagles hit the Turbo Backpack stunner, then a top-rope 450 Splash on Koda’s knee. Eagles locked in the Ron Miller Special (Trailer Hitch) leglock, and Koda tapped out. Good match.
Robbie Eagles defeated Koda Hernandez at 10:32.
6. Raj Dhesi (f/k/a Jinder Mahal) vs. Tom Lawlor (w/Brian Zane) for the BLP Heavyweight Title. I was shocked last month when Dhesi won the belt. Needless to say, he has a significant size advantage. They shook hands before locking up. They brawled to the floor in front of the fans. In the ring, Raj hit a jumping knee to the sternum for a nearfall at 6:30. He applied a sleeper. Zane put Lawlor’s foot on the ropes, so Raj punched Zane. Lawlor tied him in a Figure Four Leglock, but Raj reached the ropes at 8:30. Lawlor hit a kneestrike to the chin, then a runnig knee to the back for a nearfall. Raj hit his Cobra Clutch-into-a-slam and pinned Lawlor. Decent. Zane pushed his fingers into Lawlor, angry at the loss, so Lawlor choked him out.
Raj Dhesi defeated Tom Lawlor to retain the BLP Heavyweight Title at 10:05.
* The final event of the combine is next. The four guys stood in the ring and tugged on a tire. Mike Rallis reached a corner and touched it to win. (He looks great, so why hasn’t he been wrestling since his WWE release?) The women got in the ring and did the same tire pull. Unsurprisingly, Jordynne Grace pulled the other three women to her corner and touched the turnbuckle to win.
The women started fighting, and we’re getting an impromptu match. Brian Zane returned to commentary and sold the pain of being choked out by Lawlor.
7. Jake Hager, Maggie Lee, and Xia Zhao vs. Mike Rallis (w/Tenille Dashwood), Shazza McKenzie, and Ash by Elegance. The men started but quickly tagged out. Ash didn’t want to fight Xia, either. Shazza tied up with Xia. Maggie hit a Blockbuster on Shazza at 3:00. Ash stomped on Maggie and was booed. Shazza and Ash argued in their corner as they took turns beating up Maggie. Mandy Sacs (f/k/a Mandy Rose) jumped in the ring and kicked Shazza, then took off! Xia tagged in and hit some clotheslines on Ash. She hit a suplex for a nearfall.
Mike Rallis tagged back in at 7:00; Xia tagged out to Hager. Rallis hesitated in tying up. The crowd chanted “We the people!” Rallis put on the crown he received for winning the combine. He wanted to tag out but the women abandoned him! Hager applied an anklelock in the center of the ring, and Rallis tapped out. Amusing but not much offense. Hager put his signature purple hat back on after he won.
Jake Hager, Maggie Lee, and Xia Zhao defeated Mike Rallis, Shazza McKenzie, and Ash by Elegance at 8:33.
8. Jordynne Grace vs. Rachel Armstrong. Grace has the size advantage, of course, and she easily pushed Rachel into the corner. Jordynne hit a suplex, dropping Rachel stomach-first to the mat, then a spinebuster for a nearfall at 1:30. She set up for a Homicide-style backdrop driver, but Rachel escaped. Rachel hit a running neckbreaker and a shotgun dropkick for a nearfall. They went to the floor, where Grace SLAMMED Rachel’s head against the ring apron at 3:30, then threw her into the ring and got a nearfall. Rachel fired up and hit some spin kicks, then a DDT for a nearfall at 5:00. Jordynne hit a Muscle Buster for a nearfall. Rachel hit a DDT onto the ring apron. However, Grace hit the Juggernaut Driver (pump-handle sit-out powerbomb) for the clean pin. Good, short match.
Jordynne Grace defeated Rachel Armstrong at 6:56.
9. Moose vs. Jake Something. Moose offered a handshake but instead gave Jake a middle finger. An intense tie-up. Jake knocked him down with a shoulder tackle. Moose hit some chops. Jake hit a running splash in the corner and a hip-toss across the ring, and Prazak marveled at someone doing that to Moose. They brawled to the floor, where Moose hit a kick to the face. Jake flipped Moose into rows of chairs at 4:00. In the ring, Moose was in charge and he stomped on Jake. Jake hit more running splashes into the corner, then a spear into the corner at 7:00.
Jake hit a Death Valley Driver for a nearfall. Jake hit a Michinoku Driver for a nearfall. Moose hit a sit-out powerbomb for a nearfall. They fought on the ropes in the corner, and Moose hit a top-rope superplex at 9:30, and they were both down. They got up and traded forearm strikes. Moose hit a headbutt. They hit stereo clotheslines and both went down, popped up, and hit another stereo clothesline, with both men rolling to the floor. They fought on the floor and traded powerbombs onto the ring apron. Jake rolled back into the ring. Moose didn’t get back into the ring, as the ref counted him out.
Jake Something defeated Moose via count-out at 12:49.
Final Thoughts: A fun, free show. I’ll go with Ali-Sabin Gauge for best match, a good big-man main event for second, and the scramble for third. The Grace-Armstrong match was short but satisfying, and Eagles-Koda was really good, too, so a lot to like here. The combine could have been eye-rolling, but it turned out to be fun because it certainly seemed like it was a legit competition.
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