Time to take a look at the finals of the Turbo Graps tournament, as Black Label Pro presented a stacked second show this past Saturday.
Quick Results
Turbo Graps 16 2020 – Semi-Final: Isaias Velazquez pinned Blake Christian, AJ Gray and ACH in 5:30 (**¼)
Turbo Graps 16 2020 – Semi-Final: Alex Shelley pinned Effy, Tom Lawlor and Ethan Page in 12:10, to also retain the Black Label Pro Midwest Championship (***¼)
Deonna Purrazzo submitted Billie Starkz in 7:42 (***)
Big Beef & Mickie Knuckles pinned Boomer Hatfield & Molly McCoy in 9:13 (***)
EC3 submitted Travis Titan in 4:21 (**)
WARHORSE pinned Joshua Bishop in 12:07 to retain the Independent Wrestling Championship (***½)
Tre Lamar pinned Kevin Blackwood in 10:23 (***½)
Mat Fitchett & Davey Vega pinned Colin Delaney & Cheech in 15:46 to retain the Black Label Pro Tag Team Championship (***)
A Very Good Professional Wrestler pinned Elayna Black, Alice Crowley, Megabyte Ronnie, Graham Bell & Aaron Williams in 7:43 (**½)
Turbo Graps 16 2020 – Final: Alex Shelley pinned Isaias Velazquez in 15:25 to win the tournament and also retain the Black Label Pro Midwest Championship (***¾)
We’re at the RDS Gym in Crown Point, Indiana for the second half of the Turbo Graps double-header. Percy Davis and Sarah Shockey are still on commentary, as I’m watching this live on tape…
Turbo Graps 16 2020 – Semi-Final: Blake Christian vs. Isaias Velazquez vs. AJ Gray vs. ACH
The Turbo Graps format means we’ve got two four-way semi finals, with a singles match to crown a tournament winner… and I guess a Midwest champion given that the title’s now on the line throughout the tournament.
Gray and ACH start us off, but it’s ACH who goes in with side headlocks that led to shoulder tackles, with ACH winning out first, before Gray chop blocked ACH’s knee out from under him. A body splash in the corner and a powerslam out of it from Gray gets a two-count, before ACH backflipped past Gray, doipkicking him to the outside… before Blake Christian ran in with headscissors and a dropkick to ACH, sending him outside, as Velazquez tried to roll up Blake for the win. A backslide’s next for a near-fall, before Christian takes a dropkick to the outside. ACH is back… and he tosses Velazquez out as AJ Gray sweeps the leg, dropping ACH onto the apron. Velazquez comes out with a tope, before Blake found his feet with a springboard flip senton into the pile.
Back inside, Christian drops Velazquez with a front suplex, before Gray came in to swing for Christian. He sweeps the leg, then hits a head kick to Christian as ACH returned to slap Gray, following up with a leaping stomp to the back. Velazquez sneaks in with an up kick for a near-fall on ACH, before a double underhook piledriver’s countered out of with a back body drop. ACH superkicks Velazquez into the ropes, then ran into a standing Spanish fly from Christian, who looked to put ACH away with a 450 splash… only for AJ Gray to break it up. He’s taken down with an armdrag, then returned with a chop to Christian and a standing uranage before going up top for a swandive headbutt.
He finds Christian with ease, but ACH superkicks the pin away as he went for Christian… only to get caught with a lariat from Gray. In the end, Velazquez finds a way back in, trapping Christian’s head as he hooked him into the Praying Mantis Bomb… and that’s all folks. Way, way too short at just over five minutes, but at least we got a lot of action for the time. **¼
Black Label Pro Midwest Championship X Turbo Graps 16 2020 – Semi-Final: Tom Lawlor vs. Ethan Page vs. Effy vs. Alex Shelley (c)
So it’s a quick first-defence for Shelley, and if this were WWE you’d be hearing a lot about how “he doesn’t need to be pinned to lose his title!”
They argue over who should start the match, as we eventually open with Lawlor and Effy, with the latter’s knuckle lock getting too cue for Lawlor, who kicked Effy before taking him to the mat. Some headscissors got Effy free, but Lawlor headstands out of it, before Effy countered an armbar by twisting the arm between his legs. Lawlor regains control, rolling Effy down before a shoulder tackle kept him on the mat, until Effy just stopped him in his tracks by… unbuttoning his shorts. Lawlor responds by thrusting his pelvis into Effy’s face, as some boot chokes in the corner followed… and a Bronco buster for good measure.
Clubbing forearms to the back take Effy into the corner, but he’s back with a front kick in the corner before he hooked Lawlor’s head with his leg… only to get himself caught in a Stretch Muffler. Ethan Page distracts the referee in case Effy tapped, then tagged himself in… and demanded Lawlor to tag Shelley in. Wait, this is a tag match now? What happened to that rule in the first match? Page locks up to take Shelley into the corner, but Alex fires back with elbows, before Page cartwheeled over him before they reached an indie stand-off. Page strikes back with some elbows to the back, before Shelley kicked away a back body drop as he return with headscissors and a hiptoss. A low dropkick leaves Page laying, before Shelley decided to do a Lawlor and thrust his way through “All Ego”.
A forearm from Page waffles Shelley, who baseball slides to the outside to trip Page, only to land on his knees when he tried to slingshot back in. Page followed that up with a backbreaker, before a stalling suplex held Shelley upside down before Page nicked a two-count. He tags in Lawlor, who tries to roll Shelley into a Sharpshooter, but traps the arm as well for extra torque, before Shelley managed to free himself and get to the ropes. Some cravat knees from Lawlor wear down Shelley some more as Page tagged back in, while Effy stood disconsolate on the apron as he was kept out of the loop.
Stomps from Page and an elbow knock Shelley back down, while he then held Shelley up for some chops from Lawlor. Page accidentally clocks Lawlor with a head kick as Shelley proceeds to hit a Flatliner/DDT combo on the pair of them… then made the tag to Effy, who was more than happy to get involved. A double-team Blockbuster from Effy lands for a near-fall on Lawlor, before getting close with a powerbomb as Page had to break up the cover. Shelley and Lawlor come in to play a part on a Parade of Strikes, but get themselves knocked down as Page gets caught with a leg lariat from Effy. Lawlor tries to fight out of a TKO, but Effy lands it, then a Dragon sleeper… but Shelley runs in to break it up and pin Effy with a crucifix to book his spot in the final. This was chock full of action, and while the weird way they managed the four-way rules confused me, it this was a good semi-final. ***¼
Billie Starkz vs. Deonna Purrazzo
Starkz grabs Deonna’s ring jacket before the match and tries it on, which just winds up Deonna before the match even starts.
“If the money’s right, I’ll fight a child” – Percy Davis, out of context. We start with Purrazzo taking Starkz into the corner with a lock-up, before Billie caught her unawares with a wristlock. It’s countered out of, with Purrazzo pulling her down into an armbar, only for Starks to get up with a hammerlock… and get floated back down into the same armbar. After breaking in the corner, Starkz is whipped across the ring, where she comes back with a lucha roll-up as she looked for a flash pin on the current Impact Knockouts champion. A sunset flip gets a two-count for Starkz, who hits an up kick from the mat for an additional two-count. Starkz keeps going with elbows, but gets waffled with a return elbow from Purrazzo, who then blocked a hiptoss and returned with a lariat instead.
A short-arm clothesline keeps Billie down, with Starkz then having her eyes raked with Deonna’s boots. Elbows to the shoulders follow, along with crossface punches, before she threw Starkz down by the hair. Billie’s back with a facebuster and a lariat, as she proceeded to boot Purrazzo out of the corner with an enziguiri for another two-count. Starkz tries for a teardrop suplex, then lands a rear spin kick and a German suplex for a near-fall. Billie heads up for a senton bomb, but she whiffs as Purrazzo looked to mount a comeback, catching a lariat and turning it into the Fujiwara armbar for the eventual submission. A pretty decisive win for Purrazzo over the up-and-coming Starkz – keep an eye on that name in the years ahead, as Billie’s getting plenty of shots on the indies. ***
Boomer Hatfield & Molly McCoy vs. Big Beef & Mickie Knuckles
They’re keeping up the CHIKARA storyline as Boomer’s the storyline son of A Very Good Professional Wrestler, while McCoy’s the kayfabe cousin. I find that continuation a little odd, given those who’ve changed ring names and looks since everything that’s gone down with CHIKARA.
Big Beef interrupted Levi Everett before his match earlier in the day, after being disgruntled with being overlooked for Turbo Graps. Apparently this match was already booked, so… here we go. Knuckles and McCoy start us off, but Molly’s in with a wristlock early, only for Mickie to counter out with a side headlock that she clung onto. McCoy gets free and began to throw firsts, and then pulled Mickie’s shirt over her head for some hockey fight punches. Problem was, Mickie got rid of her shirt and fought back with a rolling palm strike before some knee strokes wrecked Molly ahead of a leaping knee. In comes Big Beef, but McCoy rolls away to tag in Boomer, who went for a lock-up and got thrown into the corner. Chops light up Hatfield in the corner, who’s met with a headbutt before he floated over Beef ahead of a missile dropkick to the head.
Tiltawhirl headscissors take Beef into the corner as McCoy traded some quick tags as they keep Beef in the corner for a series of running back elbows and uppercuts. Beef blocks a double snapmare, but gets taken down anyway into a double Fujiwara armbar, before Beef got back up and avalanched McCoy in the ropes. Knuckles tags in to overwhelm McCoy in the corner with chops and shoulder charges, before Beef returned with a chop of his own. That gets Beef a two-count, but McCoy hits a jaw breaker and scoots under him as Hatfield tagged back in, taking Beef into the ropes for a cannonball to the back.
Big Beef rolls outside, but Knuckles stops Boomer in his tracks… only to get shrugged off as Hatfield lands a tope con giro to the outside. Mickie followed, but a Koppo kick from McCoy stops her before she can dive, as Beef returned to the ring for some double-teaming, leading to a suplex to McCoy, with a back senton from Knuckles flattening her. Hatfield is still legal, as he comes in with a Meteora off the top to Beef, before some rapid-fire elbow drops kept him laying. Mickie’s back to catch Hatfield with an uppercut, before she caught a crossbody and followed that up with a spinning side slam. A German suplex throws Boomer into the corner as Big Beef took over with a crossbody through the ropes to Hatfield, resulting in the pin. A decisive win for Big Beef, who’s style makes him stand out from a lot of the pack in Black Label Pro – and a lot of the indies in general. ***
Travis Titan vs. EC3
A change in plans meant that Travis Titan replaced Tre Lamar in this one – but Lamar’s still on the card. EC3 came through the crowd, with music that reminded me a little of Sting’s late-era WCW theme.
Titan strikes first, knocking EC3 into the ropes at the bell, following up with a dropkick and a running shoulder charge into the corner. He keeps going with flying forearms in the corner, but EC3 just sidesteps a springboard crossbody before splatting Titan in the corner with a clothesline. A short-arm lariat leaves Titan on the mat, before an overhead suplex kept Titan on the back foot. EC3 pulls Titan into an Angle Slam next, before Titan elbowed out of a death valley driver attempt. He’s back in with leaping shoulder tackles, before a springboard forearm knocked EC3 down, following up with a Busaiku knee and a frog splash for a near-fall. From the kick-out, Titan transitions into a crossface, but EC3 stands up and breaks the hold, before breaking out a TKO facebuster and a reverse DDT as a modified Bully choke forced Titan to submit. A pretty good showing from Titan, who showed enough as he was blown aside by the more established EC3, in what was apparently only his second match post-WWE. **
IWTV Independent Wrestling Championship: Joshua Bishop vs. WARHORSE (c)
It was last year’s Turbo Graps where WARHORSE won the IWTV title – 378 days later, he’s back for his 41st defence…
Bishop attacks WARHORSE from behind as the referee was holding up the title, as we get going with Bishop taking the champion into the corner. WARHORSE comes back with a German suplex and some chops, before Bishop just threw him across the ring with a back suplex. A double clothesline left both men laying… but they get to their knees as they lay it in with chops. WARHORSE changes it up with elbows, with Bishop throwing back in kind before he was caught in the ropes with a leaping forearm. An enziguiri from WARHORSE catches Bishop out, before he’s taken outside for a flying stomp to the back as WARHORSE hit the floor. Back in the ring, WARHORSE goes for a lariat, but he’s caught with a Black Hole Slam for a near-fall.
A series of lariats in the corner helps WARHORSE get back in it, but a back elbow from Bishop cuts him off as the challenger followed up with some double knees to the back. Bishop followed up with a chokeslam for a near-fall, before he choked WARHORSE in the ropes – leaving him prone for Wes Barkley to help out with some choking behind the ref’s back. Bishop chops WARHORSE again before he could go for an enziguiri, before a running tombstone plants WARHORSE for a near-fall. More chops just rile up WARHORSE, who chops back before landing some clotheslines, then a rolling elbow and an over-the-knee brainbuster. A trip up top follows, with a missile dropkick taking out Bishop before a double stomp to the back of the head got another near-fall.
Another trip up top is stopped by Barkley, which bought Bishop time to go for a superplex… which he then followed up with a brainbuster as the challenger gets a near-fall. A Border Toss is next, but WARHORSE somehow kicks out, then countered a chokeslam with a half-nelson suplex. A Tiger suplex followed for WARHORSE for a near-fall, before some headbanging headbutts wore down Bishop ahead of a piledriver that gets another two-count. From there, WARHORSE goes back up top and lands a top rope elbow… and that’s it. Bishop came extremely close to the win, but in the end it was the head-banging headbutts and the top rope elbow that ensured that WARHORSE’s IWTV title reign continues to extend. ***½
Kevin Blackwood vs. Tre Lamar
Blackwood, a late addition to the card, is noted as having recently been on AEW Dark, and started out on the defensive as Lamar went for a waistlock.
There’s a switch as they head to the mat, with headlocks and headscissors, before Blackwood’s search for an armbar was thwarted. Lamar hits the ropes and slides underneath a kick from Blackwood, but has to kick out of an O’Connor roll before he took Blackwood into the ropes ahead of a back roll/dropkick combo that took Blackwood outside. Lamar followed that up by going for a dive, but an uppercut stops him in his tracks as Blackwood returns to kick away on Lamar, dropping him with a hook kick for a two-count. A kick to the back keeps Tre down, as does a mid kick, which prompts Lamar to fight back… but he’s caught with a back suplex for a near-fall as Blackwood pushed on.
Blackwood keeps up with chops, but he’s caught with a backbreaker then a back cracker from Lamar as he turned it around. A floatover suplex gets Lamar a two-count, but Blackwood’s back as he fakes out a kick to the gut, taking Lamar into the corner for a running boot, before a half nelson suplex dumps Lamar in the middle of the ring. That’s followed with Blackwood taking Lamar onto the apron, but Tre launches in with a high crossbody for a near-fall, before a sheer drop brainbuster and a Falcon arrow drew a near-fall. Stomps from Lamar seem to wake up Blackwood, but Tre catches him in an abdominal stretch. It’s countered out of, but Lamar comes back with a leaping Meteora, rolling through into a half crab after the impact before he was almost upset with an inside cradle. Back-and-forth strikes follow with Lamar cutting him off with an overhead kick… but Blackwood bursts back with a German suplex and a falling powerbomb for a near-fall.
Blackwood lifts up Lamar in a Fireman’s carry, but loses him as he instead went for a hammerlock’d lariat… before a death valley driver plants Lamar for a near-fall. A gamengiri on the apron keeps Blackwood ahead, but he runs into a leaping stomp from Lamar, before a frog splash elbow to end this fun sprint of a match as Lamar picks up another W in Black Label Pro. ***½
Black Label Pro Tag Team Championship: To Infinity And Beyond (Cheech & Colin Delaney) vs. The Besties In The World (Davey Vega & Mat Fitchett) (c)
The Besties won the titles last time out at Black Label Pro, beating Ethan Page and Danhausen.
Fitchett and Cheech start things off, as a lock-up led to the pair going back-and-forth on wristlocks, with Cheech getting taken down and into the ropes. Cheech returned the favour with a headlock takedown, but headscissors get Fitchett free before he pushed Cheech away into the corner. Fitchett and Vega exchange quick tags to keep Cheech in their corner, before some double-teaming left Cheech down after some low dropkicks. A stomp to the arm from Fitchett followed, as Vega tagged in to keep up the pace, whipping Cheech into the corners… but Delaney helps block it as Cheech hits back with a back suplex before tagging out.
A double-team hiptoss and a diving lariat from Delaney almost puts Vega away, as he followed up with chops in the corner before shoving Mat Fitchett – just for the fun of it. Elbows to the back of the head from Delaney keep Vega worn down, before Cheech tagged in and landed a senton atomico. That gets him a two-count, as does a shoulder tackle, before Vega found a way back in with chops. Cheech tries to crawl to the corner for a tag, but Vega rolls him up for a two-count, before Fitchett tagged in and helped tie up Cheech in a double-team Octopus stretch. Unusually, the referee actually turns around and spots it when Colin Delaney called it out, rather than remain distracted, but it doesn’t lead to any immediate change in fortunes.
A slam gets Fitchett a two-count, before he got caught with a jawbreaker… only for he and Cheech to slam into each other with duelling crossbodies. They both roll over as Delaney and Vega tag in to lay into each other with elbows, then chops, before an overhead kick from Vega knocked down Cheech amid a big Parade of Moves that left everyone laying. Things get a little weird as the challengers set up for Go 2 Cheech – a double-team Go to Sleep – but Fitchett dives in just in time to make the save. Vega comes back with an enziguiri and a cannonball, before some double-teaming took Delaney into the corner. There’s a turnaround as Cheech hits a dropkick through the ropes to wipe out both Besties inside and outside the ring, before a stacked up elevated DDT/facebuster combo got some near-falls. I’m sure purists of tag team wrestling will be mid-coronary by now.
All four men hang back to exchange strikes, but it’s the challengers who get caught out with a double overhead kick before Fitchett was thrown with an X-Plex for a pair of cutters on the challengers. Delaney heads up with Vega for a superplex, but Fitchett blocks it with a Koppo kick before hitting a Del Rio stomp to Delaney… a tope follows to Cheech on the outside, before a Ligerbomb on Delaney gets the win. This was fine, but the crowd not reacting much made this feel very spotty. ***
After the match, Dominic Garrini and Kevin Ku hit the ring as Davey Vega threw out some swears about being disrespected. They get a title shot at the BLP show at the Collective next weekend… so that’s the set-up.
Alice Crowley vs. Elayna Black vs. Aaron Williams vs. Megabyte Ronnie vs. Graham Bell vs. A Very Good Professional Wrestler
We’ve a scramble before our main event, with A Very Good Professional Wrestler adding himself to the mix at the bell, which included Graham Bell and his eff-off bazooka.
The ref calls for a second bell that doesn’t come, as Ronnie and A Very Good Professional Wrestler clothesline themselves to the outside. A Very Good Professional Wrestler skins the cat, but gets taken outside by Crowley, whose tope finds them both on the outside. Bell followed with a PK, but it’s caught as he then caught A Very Good Professional Wrestler and Ronnie with kicks ahead of a springboard corkscrew senton to the floor. Elayna Black and Aaron Williams stay in the ring, with Black getting thrown down before a tope con giro from Williams… and then Black added to the pile with a Coffin Drop. Ronnie and Black return to the ring, where lands a slam before unzipping his fanny pack for his hotdog elbow… but A Very Good Professional Wrestler slaps him, then chucked the hot dog into the crowd, before Ronnie used him like Terry Funk used a ladder, helicoptering away everyone else.
The Hotdog Elbow finally lands on A Very Good Professional Wrestler for a near-fall, before Crowley leapt onto Ronnie’s back for a rear naked choke. Graham Bell kicks out the knee and takes her down with a head kick, before a Tiger Driver and a PK dumped Williams. Bell and Black go back-and-forth with strikes, before Elayna’s leg lariat almost won the match. Williams breaks up the pin, then threw Black into Bell before a series of kicks dropped Elayna. A Very Good Professional Wrestler returns to get clotheslined out of the corner, ahead of a knee strike and a modified Falcon Arrow for a near-fall, with Alice Crowley breaking it up. Crowley’s lariat drops Williams, as does a delayed Destroyer, but Black breaks up the pin as a Parade of Strikes broke out.
Williams goes for Black on the top rope, but Crowley helps out as Elayna hit a Doomsday Dropkick that led to some back-and-forth pins as they tried to steal a win. In the end, A Very Good Professional Wrestler kicks away an O’Connor roll from Crowley before pinning Black with a DDT. Now THAT is stealing a win in a scramble that got plenty of stuff in, but will likely be all but forgotten, as scrambles are want to be. **½
Black Label Pro Midwest Championship X Turbo Graps 16 2020 – Final: Isaias Velazquez vs. Alex Shelley (c)
Commentary plays up how Velazquez – who’s engaged to Kylie Rae – may be out for revenge for his fiancée. Yeah.
We start with Shelley taking Velazquez in a front facelock, but Velazquez counters out with a wristlock as they switched between holds. Shelley targets Velazquez’s left arm with uppercuts, before some standing switches led to Shelley running into a dropkick as Velazquez seemed to draw the proverbial first blood… only to dive into the ring post as Shelley sidestepped a charge. Shelley takes Velazquez into the corner and torques the arm against the rope, as he looked to work over that left arm and shoulder. A short Irish whip takes Velazquez into the turnbuckles, then to the outside as a slingshot stomp landed on Velazquez’s arm, with Shelley being rather emotionless throughout all this.
He follows Velazquez outside, but just to throw him back inside to snap the arm between his legs, forcing Velazquez to use his other arm for chops. Shelley knocks him down, then followed up with a Dragon screw-like whip to the arm, before he stomped on the left hand. Shelley stretches Velazquez with an armbar/chinbar combo, then rolled him to the mat in search of a cross armbar that ended in the ropes. Velazquez pushes out of an arm wringer, but Shelley just leaps up to drop a knee onto the arm in the ropes. Some chops from Velazquez sting Shelley, who jabs back… but Velazquez catches Shelley out with a double stomp to the back of the knee in the ropes, as he began to target the knee in much the same way he’d had his arm focused on earlier.
Velazquez works over the left leg, before landing a low dropkick to spin Shelley back to the mat. Shelley goes back to the arm, which stops Velazquez ahead of a battle of elbows, ending with Velazquez kicking out the knee as a thrust kick gets him a near-fall. Hooking himself in the ropes was a bad idea for Shelley, who’s pulled out with a Dragon screw to the bad knee. A Figure Four leg lock ends in the ropes when Shelley rolled there, before he took down Velazquez with a snap Flatliner into the corner. Shelley keeps going with a series of chops, pulling Velazquez into the next ones ahead of a Saito suplex. A rope hung neckbreaker’s next for a near-fall for Shelley, before he punted Velazquez… but he couldn’t lift him up as that knee was shot… so instead Shelley went for a crucifix pin for a near-fall. Velazquez kicks out and goes to an ankle lock, following up by driving Shelley’s knee into the mat… but Alex gets free, using his bad knee, only to get caught with a running Shiranui from Velazquez for a near-fall.
A superkick from Velazquez drops Shelley as he struggled for the Praying Mantis Bomb… but Velazquez broke out Shelley’s Shellshock and Border City Stretch finishers, only to get rolled up by Shelley for a near-fall. Shelley comes back with a standing Shiranui, then one out of the corner, before he went up top with Velazquez for an avalanche Shiranui, completing the hattrick for the win. That hattrick of Shiranuis perhaps fell a little flat, but was a logical answer to “eff you for trying to use my finishers” as Shelley edged out a cracking final that ebbed and flowed. ***¾
Another ten match show made for some very short matches early on, but the main event of this show is totally worth your while. As the indies continue to spin up, I understand why we’re getting shows with a packed midcard – but when most of your card is having matches at or below 15 minutes long, this perhaps is a recipe more geared for casual fans rather than those all about “workrate” and whatnot.