We take a look at the first round of action in this year’s Turbo Graps 16 tournament out of Crown Point, Indiana.
Quick Results
Jake Something defeated Calvin Tankman to retain the Black Label Pro Championship in 12:54 (***¼)
Turbo Graps 16 2020 – First Round – AJ Gray pinned Erick Stevens in 11:30 (***)
Turbo Graps 16 2020 – First Round – Ethan Page pinned Dan The Dad in 6:32 (**¾)
Turbo Graps 16 2020 – First Round – Blake Christian pinned Chris Bey in 8:00 (***¼)
Turbo Graps 16 2020 – First Round – Isaias Velazquez pinned A Very Good Professional Wrestler in 10:31 (***½)
Dominic Garrini & Kevin Ku pinned Angel Dorado & Air Wolf in 10:59 (***)
Turbo Graps 16 2020 – First Round – Tom Lawlor submitted Mike Bennett in 11:54 (***)
Turbo Graps 16 2020 – First Round – ACH pinned Christian Casanova in 12:40 (***½)
Turbo Graps 16 2020 – First Round – Effy pinned Brian Myers in 10:44 (**¾)
Turbo Graps 16 2020 – First Round – Alex Shelley submitted Kylie Rae in 15:25 to also win the Black Label Pro Midwest Championship (***½)
Last time we checked in on Black Label Pro was back in August with a double-header of shows that featured Calvin Tankman beating Erick Stevens for the BLP title… only to lose it within seconds to Jake Something. Tankman gets his rematch on this show – as we also get the eight first-round matches in a tournament field that’s been somewhat changed due to withdrawals. We’re at the RDS Gym in Crown Point, Indiana for this show. Black Label are still doing social distancing at their shows, so we’ve got a limited crowd inside the venue. Good! Commentary comes from Percy Davis and Sarah Shockey…
Full disclosure here – I started watching the live version, but the stream was having a hell of a time, buffering and crashing. I threw in the towel for the night when the entire third match was lost, so rather than have an entire review that’s tainted by my rantings over disconnecting streams, I’ve picked up the replay.
Black Label Pro Championship: Calvin Tankman vs. Jake Something (c)
We’ve a jump start as Tankman dives onto Something during his entrance, throwing him into a makeshift photo studio before chopping him into the ring.
In the ring, Tankman lights up Something with chops, sending him outside as the defending champion tried to slow things down. When Something returned to the ring, he managed to catch Tankman with some forearm shots, before he ducked a crossbody that saw Tankman fly across the ring. A body block dumps Tankman to the mat as Jake looked to dictate the pace, following up with more elbows that just seemed to irritate Tankman more than anything else. Calvin replies with a shot of his own, before he got knocked into the ropes as Something struck back. An uppercut dumps Something, as does a back elbow as Tankman tried to strike his way into things… but he’s quickly taken down with a suplex from Something.
Shoulder charges take Tankman into the corner, but Calvin avoids a Black Hole Slam to just bull Something back into the corner. Things descend into a hockey fight as both men came out swinging, but it’s Tankman on top again with a clothesline into the corner before he picked up Something for a backbreaker and a lariat for a two-count. An Irish whip takes Something into the corner, but he rebounds out with clotheslines before a back elbow to the back of the head from Tankman dropped Jake like a stone for a near-fall. Something gets back up to cut off Tankman in the corner… but he’s knocked back down as Calvin scales the ropes and misses on a moonsault. Jake’s back with a Michinoku Driver for a near-fall… then with a diving lariat to the back of the head as he had to struggle to roll over Tankman for another two-count. A Black Hole Slam follows, but it’s still not enough to put away Tankman… and we buffer.
Tankman manages to get to his feet as he headbutts Something in the middle of the ring before we buffer again. By the time I get the stream back, Something’s celebrating having retained his title. Apparently Something won with a low blow. Ah well, it was going good up until then. ***¼
Turbo Graps 16 2020 – First Round: AJ Gray vs. Erick Stevens
We start buffering during the intros… the feed returns as Stevens and Gray are grappling on the mat, with Gray easily flinging Stevens over his shoulder.
Stevens comes in with a chop, but Gray’s just as happy to throw back as the stream is to die on us again. It picks up once more with the pair of them trading chops in the corner before we buffer again. We return with Stevens on the mat with a grounded Octopus, before Gray got free and dropped him with a spinebuster off the ropes. More buffering takes us to Stevens in another submission, but Gray rocks his way free into a pinning attempt, only to get taken down with a leaping knee as he hit the ropes. Yup. Those three dots again. A rear naked choke from Stevens sees him hang up AJ Gray in the corner, but Gray gets free with an enziguiri as the referee ordered a break.
Gray heads up top too, following up with a superplex before the pair traded slaps to get back into the game. Rapid-fire elbows from Stevens just earn him a release German suplex, as the pair just trade off on those throws until Stevens applied another rear naked choke. He’s thrown free, but rolls Gray down to the mat in a cross armbar… but Gray gets up, only for Stevens to float back into another rear naked choke, which Gray turned into a Saito suplex. A lariat from Gray followed, ahead of the Blue Eyes White Dragon (Emerald Fusion) that gets him the win. What I saw as good, but internet issues really hurt it for the live-watchers at home. ***
Turbo Graps 16 2020 – First Round: Dan The Dad vs. Ethan Page
Sorry, “Dan The Wrassler”, because Ethan Page copyrighted it on his vlog. I appreciate the black tape on the shirt to save on needing a new shirt design… Dan, who a lot of people seem to thing is “Arnold Furious: The Wrestler” throws aside his gimmick coffee cup and shirt, then strips down to show he’s a “boots and trunks wrestler.”
We start with a dropdown and leapfrog… until Dan tried to do a dad joke, which just turns into a discus lariat as he took Page outside. He follows Ethan outside via a baseball slide, as he then came in with a suplex to hang him on the ropes, following up with a dropkick from the floor. This is where the live feed messed the proverbial bed, but thankfully they saved a local copy! Dan hits the ring and flies with a crossbody off the top for a two-count, but a waistlock’s elbowed away by Page. He’s then tripped into the ropes as Dan then tried to snatch the belt from referee Brandon Tolle… who’s bullied into doing it. Page attacks Dan from behind as he began to build anew, bouncing Dan into the corner for an elbow.
Page superkicks Dan out of the corner, then charges through him with a shoulder tackle. An elbow drop’s next for a two-count, but Page missed a head kick as Dan begins to Dusty punch his way back in. A chop drops Page, as Dan picked up a new head of steam leading to a piggyback stunner… but Ethan escapes it and ends up taking a full nelson slam for another near-fall. An elevated Flatliner from Dan almost wins the match, before he went up top… and had to leap over an onrushing Page. Ethan’s back with an inside-out slam, before a regular slam dropped Dan… who got back up to stop Ethan on the top rope. Page knocks Dan back down, but can’t avoid a corner dropkick as he had to pull the glasses off of Dan before winning with a roll-up. Ethan steals it, in what was a pretty decent outing among the comedy set-up. **¾
Turbo Graps 16 2020 – First Round: Blake Christian vs. Chris Bey
Blake’s hoping to do better in this tournament than the other one he was involved in this weekend – having exited the New Japan Lion’s Break: Crown tournament in the semis.
“Blake” and “Bey” sound remarkably similar behind masks, as the pair work back-and-forth over wristlocks early, before Christian springboarded to backflip out of the hole, as we get some lucha-leg sweeps and pinning attempts before reaching a stand-off. They shake hands, but Bey tries for a cheapshot and gets thrown onto the apron, where he returns with a misdirection to take out Christian’s leg, then squished him with a back senton. Christian back rolls to avoid Bey, then unloaded with a series of strikes ahead of a reverse Slingblade, which took Bey outside as it was dive time. Except Bey slid back in to trip Christian ahead of a standing moonsault for a near-fall, before he knocked Blake down with a right hand. Christian avoids a back suplex as he punches free, but a clubbing shot to the back eventually led to the back suplex, albeit after a countered handspring from Blake.
Bey does some push ups to show off as Christian got back to his feet, but a backbreaker dumps Blake… as does a gutbuster… but Blake rolls up out of a gutwrench suplex for a near-fall. Christian hangs Bey’s arm on the top rope as he picked up the pace with a diving lariat, following up with a 619 in the ropes. Bey rolls up to avoid a springboard 450, even though Blake clipped him, and gets kicked in mid-air as he went for a handspring back elbow. A handspring enziguiri from Christian lands for a near-fall, before Bey tried to muster a comeback with a jack-knife pin and some strikes. A kick to the jaw from Blake knocks Bey outside, ahead of an eventual tope con giro.
Back inside, Blake leaps and gets caught in a cutter as he looked to be going for a massive splash off the top, but Bey takes too long to make the cover… and gets caught with a crucifix pin for the upset! This came in fits and spurts, but was a pretty fun match for the time they had, with Bey perhaps taking Christian a little too lightly. ***¼
Turbo Graps 16 2020 – First Round: A Very Good Professional Wrestler vs. Isaias Velazquez
This is gonna be a bugger to type! A Very Good Professional Wrestler doesn’t like having his name shortened, even though he’s got Very Good on the front of his trunks. Ah well!
We get going with A Very Good Professional Wrestler going early for a version of a Magistral cradle, rolling Velazquez to the mat for a two-count, before he followed in with a chinlock. Velazquez went for the leg, but A Very Good Professional Wrestler pushes away and comes in with an armbar, but Velazquez gets free and slides under a leapfrog before he got tossed outside. A Very Good Professional Wrestler doesn’t dive though, and instead waits for Velazquez to make his own way back inside. When he does, a punch to the gut stops Isaias briefly, before he returned with a dropkick for a two-count and a modified chinlock of his own. Velazquez ducks a discus lariat, but gets kicked to the outside as he tried to float over his opponent.
Back inside, A Very Good Professional Wrestler lands a snap suplex for a two-count, then again with a body slam, before the pair went back and forth on forearms, only for A Very Good Professional Wrestler to hit a chop block to the shin to spin Velazquez to the mat. That helps get him a two-count, before a missed charge in the corner opened things up for Velazquez, who hits an enziguiri and a running Shiranui for a near-fall. Velazquez heads up top, but misses a stomp as A Very Good Professional Wrestler returned for a powerbomb… but it’s countered into a Code Red for a near-fall as Isaias stayed one step ahead. A Jackhammer from A Very Good Professional Wrestler gets him back in it, before a Ligerbomb got him ever closer. An attempted backslide’s flipped out of as Velazquez counters with an armdrag, before a tope wiped out A Very Good Professional Wrestler on the floor.
On the outside, A Very Good Professional Wrestler nails Velazquez with a Gory bomb onto the edge of the ring. He stomps Velazquez as he tried to roll back inside, before he stacked up a bunch of chairs on the floor… but a suplex onto the chairs is blocked as Velazquez slipped out into a rear naked choke. The referee runs back inside to start the count as A Very Good Professional Wrestler fades… but he manages to power up and throw Isaias back into the ring… only to follow up back inside as a Praying Mantis Bomb put got Velazquez the win. So much for the best (the best, the best…), but this was an enjoyable outing with Velazquez having been scouted by A Very Good Professional Wrestler… only to beat him with a rather unique 1-2 at the end. ***½
Top Flight (Air Wolf & Angel Dorado) vs. Violence Is Forever (Dominic Garrini & Kevin Ku)
Some non-tournament action here, with some wild hair on show. Yeah, I’m jealous…
Wolf and Garrini start us off, with Wolf working a wristlock, only to get tripped to the mat by Garrini. A side headlock from Wolf’s rolled out of as Garrini went for a hold, but they head to the ropes for the break as Wolf then went for a lucha roll-through, eventually backsliding Garrini for a near-fall. Wolf’s kick to the gut rocks Garrini, who came back with a tijeras into a triangle choke, before he scooted over into the corner to tag in Kevin Ku. A leapfrog’s pulled down by Ku, who’s rolled through into a crucifix by Air Wolf before Angel Dorado tagged in to help with some quick double-teams. A roll-through dropkick blasts Ku, then Garrini as Top Flight sent their opponents bailing to the outside.
Back inside, Ku has Wolf in a rear naked choke, and tries to hit a German suplex on Dorado at the same time – but it doesn’t quite come off as Dorado’s caught in a rear naked choke ahead of a pair of rolling elbows on Top Flight. Garrini tags back in to kick through Dorado, before a spinning backbreaker dropped Dorado ahead of a Ku lariat for a near-fall. Sandwich PKs murderise Dorado for a near-fall, before Dorado blasted through Ku with a chop. Kevin just kicks his leg out before a front chancery looked to choke out the flyer. Chops keep Dorado in the corner, before Ku backflipped over him in the corner… Dorado moonsaults onto him ahead of an eventual spinning DDT. Tags bring in Wolf and Garrini again, as Air Wolf looked to clear house… but he’s stopped by a Ku knee before throwing Ku into the corner to trap Garrini for an enziguiri.
Wolf goes for a Code Red out of the corner, but rolls through and hits a second spinning DDT to Ku for a near-fall. Top Flight wangle their way into a bad situation as Dorado was on Wolf’s shoulders… but a Total Elimination brings the pile down as Garrini almost took the win. From there, Wolf slaps Ku with Garrini’s own hand, only for Ku to come back with a hanging armbar in the ropes. Angel Dorado breaks it up en route to a tope con giro onto Garrini on the outside, before throwing Garrini back inside. There’s more double-teaming as Garrini was lifted to the top rope for an assisted dropkick to the head, before Ku broke up a powerbomb pin with a cannonball. He tags himself in as Dorado flew in with a diving uppercut, following up with a back elbow as he lifted Ku up top.
Garrini tags himself back in and boots Dorado as he went for a flying ‘rana on Ku… then spiked the poor sod with a tombstone out of the corner as they then hit Chasing the Dragon for the win. At the risk of sounding like an old man, they packed a LOT in here, but would have been served going a little slower as some stuff looked rough – but my God, that finishing sequence looked BRUTAL. In the good sense. ***
Tom Lawlor comes out next for his match with Levi Everett – complete with Weird Al’s Amish Paradise. Except Levi’s attacked by “Big Beef” Gnarls Garvin in the aisle. There’s the beef! He busts a chair by piledriving Everett onto it… so we need a new opponent for Filthy Tom. I guess he needs a miracle to avoid a forfeit…
Turbo Graps 16 2020 – First Round: Tom Lawlor vs. Mike Bennett
Step forward Mike Bennett, who ring announcer J. Rose found backstage. How fortunate, eh? He gets multiple announcements, by the way…
Lawlor slaps Bennett’s hand at the bell, as the pair scramble to the mat, with Bennett hooking himself in the ropes to force a break. From the restart, he tries to take Lawlor down in a grounded Octopus, but Lawlor headstands his way free as the pair again rough each other up going into the ropes. Lawlor rolls outside, frustrated, then returned to take Bennett into the ropes as this match continued to be very stop/start. A leglock from Lawlor ends with both men rolling onto the apron, then to the outside as they traded forearms and chops around ringside. Punches and chops from Lawlor keep Bennett on the back foot as the crowd had to reposition themselves A LOT to keep their distance.
Chops continue to wear down Bennett on the outside, before they returned to the ring as Lawlor continued to use Bennett as his personal punching bag, following up with kicks and a leg sweep ahead of a sliding lariat for a near-fall. Bennett demands for more, as Lawlor left him laying with a series of mid kicks, before trapping him with a guillotine choke in the middle of the ring. Bennett pushes away and comes back with a superkick, then a spear for a near-fall. A rear naked choke from Lawlor’s thrown away by Bennett, who couldn’t avoid a pair of Exploder suplexes as the former MLW champion came back in. Another T-bone suplex flings Bennett for just a one-count, as Mike reignited the intensity with a series of slaps. Lawlor’s back with more body blows, before a spinning heel kick earned him a dropkick from Bennett in the middle of the ring.
A sit-out death valley driver’s next for a near-fall from Bennett, before a sunset flip was rolled out of. Lawlor rolls through for a pinning attempt, but keeps going as he rolled Bennett into a high-angle Cloverleaf for the quick submission. I’m not sure this landed well with the crowd at first, but both men swinging for the fences sure changed that. A good showing for Lawlor, but I’m just sad we didn’t get the original match. ***
Turbo Graps 16 2020 – First Round: Christian Casanova vs. ACH
Casanova was subbing for Alex Zayne, who had to drop out because of quarantine. I’m pretty sure this is a pretty damn good replacement match.
Commentary tried to put over the sense that ACH may be overlooking Casanova as a “replacement”, and we start with Casanova getting tripped as he went back and forth on a wristlock with ACH. He eventually pulls ACH into an armbar, but they’re right in the ropes for a quick break, as ACH returned with a side headlock, dragging in Casanova before they hit the ropes, with Casanova’s lunge for a waistlock leading to him getting tripped. ACH flips all over into a dropkick into Casanova, as we were getting “old school” ACH here it seemed, and not the surly bully he also works as. Chops light up Casanova, who tried to hit back, eventually landing a Dirty Diana facebuster before a springboard hooking lariat dropped ACH for just a one-count.
Casanova caught ACH with an elbow in the ropes, but ACH is back with a leapfrog/dropkick to take Casanova outside, following up with a plancha that found his man with ease. He takes Casanova into the front row for a series of chops around ringside, before ACH rolled him back inside to pick up a nonchalant one-count. A lariat from ACH has Casanova down again, before he stopped to put in some new gum as he sensed that he had Casanova in place. A chinlock keeps Casanova down in the middle of the ring, before Casanova ate some chops and began to box his way back into things, catching out ACH with a flurry of jabs. A pumphandle uranage drops ACH for a two-count, before he hung ACH in the ropes for a rewind springboard legdrop for a near-fall.
ACH returns with a leg trip, then a dropkick to take Casanova outside for an apron PK. A slingshot cutter back inside almost puts Casanova away, before Casanova hit a double underhook slam as he cradled ACH for another near-fall. A running knee just aggravates ACH, who quickly took a lungblower and a twisting suplex for a near-fall, but ACH dives into the corner to stop Casanova from flying. Casanova pushes him away, but gets chopped… before he pushes ACH away, only to miss a leg lariat as ACH responds with a sheer-drop brainbuster for the win. Even in defeat, this was a hell of an outing for Casanova, who’s long-since been touted as breaking out of the New England scene. Hopefully this is just step one, because there’s some real talent there! ***½
Turbo Graps 16 2020 – First Round: Effy vs. Brian Myers
On social media, Myers didn’t seem to know who Effy was when this match was drawn. At least we’re not getting the double entendres like we did before the Gangrel match though… look, I’ll be honest, I just don’t get the whole Effy thing.
We open up with some visual equivalents as Myers took down Effy in a waistlock takedown, before Effy escaped into a front chancery, slapping Myers’ arse in the process. After some shtick with the crowd, Myers comes in with a side headlock before Effy got free and began to build up a head of steam, taking Myers into the corner before some horse play in the ropes left Myers on the outside with a bruised ego. Myers crawls under the ring, but it’s a ploy as he pulls Effy into the side of the ring, then dropped him on the apron with a back suplex… but Effy rolls back out to avoid being pinned. Myers wants to take a count-out instead. Effy rolls back in and takes a stomping, before Myers locked in a chinlock… that Effy clubs his way out of.
A baseball slide helps Myers trip Effy on the way back outside. Effy runs into an awkward pancake next, before Effy went to give Myers a nipple twister. He then bit them, ahead of a Northern Lights suplex for a near-fall, before a leg lariat to the back of the head left Myers laying. Effy keeps going with a TKO, rolling through into a Dragon sleeper, but Myers eventually drags his way into the ropes for a break. Myers returns with an overhead kick to catch Effy unawares for a near-fall, before a Downward Spiral almost ended the match. Effy ducks a spear and caught Myers in the corner with a leg-hooked DDT… but Myers finds his second wind with a clothesline, before he went for a spear, only for Effy to roll him up for the win. I guess if you’re into the whole Effy thing, you’ll dig this, but you’re not going to love every wrestler you see, eh? **¾
BLP Midwest Championship X Turbo Graps 16 2020 – First Round: Alex Shelley vs. Kylie Rae (c)
This was originally meant to be Shelley vs. Benjamin Carter, but quarantine meant that we needed a new opponent… with Black Label Pro putting Kylie Rae (and her Midwest title) into the spot. I’m not usually a fan of champions being in – and defending their title throughout – a tournament… commentary acted like that was news, but it was on the match graphic!
Once Kylie’s figured out how to get the bunch of roses a fan gave her into her backpack, we got going, with Kylie giving Shelley a bow to put in his hair. It shockingly suited him. They finally lock-up, before Shelley threw Rae away as she went outside to compose herself. She calls for a Test of Strength, and gets an overhead wristlock on briefly, but Shelley just shoved Rae down as she charged back in with kicks and a side headlock. Rae’s taken into the corner, but she rolls away from a front kick as Shelley ended back up in that side headlock. That’s pushed away, but Kylie goes in for headscissors that she turned into an Octopus stretch, only for Shelley to again throw her aside. A back suplex bounces Kylie off the mat, but she’s able to stop Shelley on the top rope, despite being groggy, as Kylie looked for a superplex… only for Shelley to push her down as he bade his time, eventually bodyslamming Kylie off the top rope.
Shelley drops down to the floor as Rae rolled outside… but they head back inside as another bodyslam left Kylie in agony. Wash. Rinse. Repeat. Again, Kylie rolls into the ropes as Shelley seemed to be relishing just how little he was having to do here. Working smart, as the saying goes. Rae tries to throw some forearms to get her back in it, but yet another snap slam dumps Rae, who then got tied up into a cross-legged abdominal stretch as Shelley pulled at her gear for extra leverage. A Cloverleaf follows, but Kylie escapes and manages to boot him out of the corner, before floating over for a clothesline attempt. It barely registers, unlike a roll-through knee strike rocked Shelley into the corner.
Kylie keeps going with a running uppercut, before tripping Shelley for a cannonball. She cues for a dive, but has to boot Shelley off the apron before she baseball slid outside, tripping Alex onto the side of the ring before hitting a low-pe. Back inside, Shelley looked for an Air Raid Crash, but instead switched into Shell Shock as Kylie countered out into a STF. It’s switched into a crossface as Shelley looked to get to the ropes, but Shelley countered with roll-up for a near-fall before Rae superkicked him back down for a near-fall of her own. Shelley shrugs off lariats before hitting one of his own, then a brainbuster for a near-faall, before a swift Shell Shock got a near-fall. He stays on her for an Air Raid Crash, which still doesn’t get it done… so Shelley ragdolls her with a powerbomb before rolling her into a Border City stretch for the submission! The Crown Point crowd fell a little silent for that, as Kylie Rae’s reign as Midwest champion ended on just her second defence. This was an efficient performance from Shelley, who baited Kylie into playing his game – and while the champion did give him several scares, it wasn’t to be as the first Turbo Graps show ended with a new champ. ***½
With ten matches on a show that weighed in at two and a half hours (at least, the edited version did), not much here got what you’d call “a lot of time.” However, on a tournament show like this, that isn’t necessarily a bad thing, with a lot of names having to work twice, and in spite of the length of the card and show, it absolutely breezed by. Just a shame about the live stream!