By Chris Vetter, ProWrestling.net Contributor (@chrisvetter73)
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Fight Life “Still Standing”
Streamed on the TrillerTV+
June 23, 2024 in Rehoboth, Massachusetts at Hillside Country Club
This is a regular venue for Fight Life. It’s a small ballroom — there are chandeliers but none directly over the ring — and the crowd was maybe 150.
1. Mortar defeated Ricky Smokes at 10:17. I always compare Mortar to Rhino, and he wears paint on half his face, much like Thunder Rosa. Smokes (think Sammy Guevara) is a babyface here; I’m used to seeing him as a heel. Smokes jumped in the ring and they immediately brawled, and Ricky hit a dive through the ropes onto Mortar. They brawled at ringside. In the ring, Smokes hit a dropkick at 1:30. Mortar nailed a spinebuster and a senton for a nearfall, and he took control of the offense.
Smokes hit a running kick to the head, then he leapt through the ropes and hit a spear for a nearfall at 6:00. Smokes hit a backbreaker over his knee and a clothesline for a nearfall. Mortar hit a Tiger Driver/butterfly powerbomb for a nearfall at 8:00. Smokes hit a top-rope double stomp to the collarbone on a standing Mortar. Mortar hit a low blow uppercut with the ref out of position, then a double stomp as Smokes tied in the Tree of Woe. Mortar immediately hit a discus clothesline for the tainted pin. A really good opener.
2. DJ Powers defeated Kellen Thomas at 9:16. Powers is the talented teen I’ve compared to NXT’s Kale Dixon. Thomas is a bit thicker and has a bushy beard. Basic reversals early on, and Kellen hit some deep armdrags and a dropkick for a nearfall at 3:30. DJ took control of the action and stomped on Kellen. DJ hit a DDT for a nearfall at 7:00. Kellen fired up and hit a series of kicks and a bulldog. Kellen hit a pump-handle Bulldog Powerslam for a nearfall. DJ got a rollup, grabbed the ropes for leverage, and scored the tainted pin.
* Powers beat up Thomas some more after the bell, until Eric Chacha ran down to make the save.
3. Eric Chacha won a battle royal at 6:29. I do not recognize nearly everyone in this match, and I’ve seen most (not all!) of the Fight Life shows. We have at least four women plus maybe eight men; no on-screen graphics. DJ Powers was in this, but a woman eliminated him in the first minute. A woman who is the size and look of Jessicka Havok hit a double chokeslam, but then the guys tossed her and we were suddenly down to three men. Eric Chacha hit a double stunner at 5:30. Chacha superkicked one off the apron to the floor, then clotheslined the other over the top rope to the floor. I truly did not catch the name of a single other competitor in this match.
4. Ichiban defeated KC Navarro at 12:56. This appears to be a babyface matchup; good — I think KC is a far better plucky babyface as he’s just too undersized as a heel. Quick reversals at the bell, and KC is immediately acting heelish; I ‘wrote’ too soon. KC hit a head-scissors takedown and a deep armdrag, and now it was Ichiban’s turn to back away into the corner and refuse a handshake. More quick reversals, they both went for dropkicks, and we have a standoff at 3:00. They shook hands but then KC kicked him in the gut. Ichiban hit a Stinger Splash and his “One!” punches in the corner, then a dropkick. KC hit a Sling Blade clothesline for a nearfall at 5:00 and a dropkick to the face.
Navarro nailed a sit-out powerbomb for a nearfall and he jawed at the ref. Ichiban hit a top-rope missile dropkick at 9:00 and fired up the crowd. KC hit a superkick and a spinning buzzsaw kick, then his 619. This has been really good. KC hit a tornado DDT for a nearfall and a decapitating clothesline. Ichiban dropped him snake-eyes on the top rope and hit a Canadian Destroyer and his jumping Flatliner for the pin. I always assumed Ichiban was winning here, but this was a fine, competitive indy match and both men looked good.
* Weapons were set up at ringside, and this was a “fans bring the weapons” AND last man standing match…
5. Mike Graca defeated Lucas Chase (w/Rip Byson) in a fans bring the weapons AND last man standing match at 22:00 even. Lucas sent Rip to the back before the bell! Graca always makes me think of Jimmy Havoc from AEW’s early days. Graca has some green in his hair and he immediately struck Chase with a cookie sheet. Both men are wearing jeans and T-shirts; I like this as it sends the message they are in a street fight and not a regular wrestling match. They immediately brawled to the floor. In the ring, Chase slammed him through a door bridge at 3:00.
They brawled out the ring and out the door! Yes, they have fought onto a patio outside the building! This might be the worst camera work I’ve seen; a very shaky handheld camera can’t find the wrestlers and can’t even hold still. From a production standpoint, this is a disaster. Graca re-entered the building, grabbed a bag of tacks, and went right back outside and dumped them on the cement patio. However, Chase bodyslammed Graca onto the tacks on the cement floor at 7:30! Ouch!
They finally returned to the ring. Chase pulled Graca to the ground and Mike landed HARD on the wood floor at 10:30. Chase choked him with a chain in the ring. Graca cracked a pinata, filled with LEGOs, over Chase’s head at 13:30. Chase hit a running Samoan Drop onto a pile of debris at 17:00. Chase hit him repeatedly with a chair but Graca refused to stay down. Rip Byson returned to the ring and barked at Chase! Chase shoved Byson! Byson chokeslammed Chase! Graca hit a Death Valley Driver through a board in the corner at 21:30. Graca pulled himself up by using the ropes but Chase never moved. Good brawl and too bad the cameras weren’t prepared for that brawl going outside.
* Intermission wasn’t edited out. No match shown during break so those who watched this live stared at ads.
6. JT Dunn defeated Sammy Diaz at 10:52. Again, I know these descriptions aren’t 100 percent spot-on, but I often compare JT to Tony Nese and Diaz to Trey Miguel, and both of these guys are fairly talented. Diaz hit a huracarana, so JT hit one. They traded deep armdrags and had a standoff, all in the first minute. Diaz hit a dropkick. Dunn hit a dive through the rope at 3:30. In the ring, Diaz hit a sit-out powerbomb for a nearfall. He hit a running boot for a nearfall. Diaz hit a frogsplash for a nearfall at 8:30.
They traded forearm strikes and Diaz hit a powerslam. He went for a moonsault but Dunn got his knees up. Dunn nailed a stunner for a nearfall. Diaz avoided Death By Elbow. Diaz leapt backwards off the ropes, but Dunn caught him with a Death By Elbow to the base of the neck for the pin. That was a really strong match to come out of break with.
* Dunn got on the mic. He said he may not be the Fight Life champion, but he’s here to be the best. They shook hands.
7. “The Unit” Trigga & Danny Miles defeated “Miracle Generation” Dustin Waller & Kylon King and Ariel & BMT and “Perfect Strangers” Steven Lust & AJP in a four-way elimination match to become the inaugural Fight Life Tag Team Champions at 11:33. Again, Ariel and BMT are married and I just don’t find Ariel’s offense believable against bigger, stronger men. Lust and AJP came out last and got a huge babyface pop. Waller hit a plancha to the floor at 2:00, and Kylon dove through the ropes. However, AJP rolled up Kylon to pin him at 3:15! Kylon was shocked.
Ariel hit a German Suplex on AJP. The Unit hopped in the ring and stomped on AJP, too. Lust got a hot tag and hit a senton on Ariel at 6:30. Lust caught BMT flying off the ropes and pinned him at 7:32. The Unit immediately began beating down Lust. AJP finally got a hot tag at 10:00 and hit some clotheslines on the heels. Lust accidentally superkicked AJP! The heels hit a team neckbreaker, and Miles pinned Lust! New champions have been crowned!
8. Richard Holliday defeated Masha Slamovich to win the Fight Life Title at 18:29. Masha probably has the most believable intergender matches of any woman, but wow, Richard is a lot taller and thicker than her. He easily tied up her left arm as they traded standing switches. She hit a clothesline at 4:30 that he no-sold, and he hit a swinging sideslam for a nearfall. She hit a double stomp to his chest for a nearfall at 7:00. Holliday repeatedly bodyslammed her and hit a clothesline for a nearfall at 8:30. She hit a rolling Koppo Kick for a nearfall. This crowd was hot for this action. She nailed a spin kick to his jaw at 10:30; she put Richard on her shoulders and hit an Air Raid Crash into the corner for a nearfall.
Masha hit a rolling dive through the ropes. He hit a low blow uppercut, which of course, she completely no-sold. He hit a stunner for a nearfall. She hit a German Suplex and a running knee for a nearfall at 14:00. She applied a sleeper and dragged him to the mat and he flailed his arms; he eventually stood up and rammed her back-first into the corner. He hit a second-rope twisting suplex on her and they were both down at 16:30. Masha applied a hammerlock and switched to a sleeper, then switched to a front guillotine choke. She hit a spin kick to his shoulder, then another to his jaw. Richard pushed the ref into her! Richard nailed a standing powerbomb and the 2008 swinging suplex for the pin. New champion!
* Richard Holliday got on the mic and berated her. She walked over and gave a ‘hawk tuoh’ spit on the belt and left; the crowd chanted “hawk tuoh.” He ignored them and demanded the fans “give him his flowers.”
Final Thoughts: These shows always have great action, and that was the case here in front of a small-but-vocal crowd that was into what they saw. Despite my objections to intergender matches, Masha-Holliday was best match. Masha gets it; she doesn’t stand there and trade blows toe-for-toe with him when it just wouldn’t be believable. Ichiban-Navarro was really good for second, and Dunn-Diaz was really good for third. That show-opener Mortar-Smokes definitely deserves honorable mention. The Chase-Graca brawl was fine for what it was, and my biggest complaint there was the shaky and unprepared camera work. The battle royal was the lone match that really didn’t work for me, but I acknowledge new wrestlers need to start somewhere. The tag title match came in a bit below expectations, largely because I didn’t anticipate Miracle Generation getting eliminated so early.
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