It’s back to Summit, Illinois as the Turbo Graps 16 tournament suddenly got a little more prestige, thanks to the newly-crowned IWTV champion Erick Stevens…
We’re still at the Summit Park District Building for the “later afternoon” show, which’ll feature two four-way semi-finals and a final. There’s still way too many seats out for the number of people in attendance, which is a depressing sight from some angles.
IWTV Independent Wrestling Championship X Turbo Graps 16 Semi-Final: Jake Something vs. Tom Lawlor vs. Gary Jay vs. Erick Stevens (c)
So, Erick Stevens is defending the title throughout the rest of the tournament…
We open with a tentative stand-off across all four of them, which quickly gives way to chops around the ring, but nobody flinches. Least of all Jake Something. Gary Jay switches it up with a ‘rana to Jake, before he landed a tope to the other two on the outside, before a second ‘rana to Something got turned into a powerbomb that saw Jay caught on the outside, only for him to say “thanks” by cannonballing into Stevens and Lawlor on the floor.
Something decides to fly with a nice plancha, clearing the top rope, before he looked to take over on Jay back inside… but a swinging DDT and a stomp got Jay ahead. Well, until Tom Lawlor rushed in to start a Parade of Moves, as his Figure Four was added to with an ankle lock as Something wandered in. Stevens throws in a crossface for the hell of it as all four men were tied up, before they… just let go?
Stevens and Lawlor look to chop Something, but to no avail as a boot-assisted brainbuster looked to knock Something woozy. A forearm from Jay took Jake outside as we looked to be reduced to a three-way for now, with Steven’s spinning fireman’s carry gutbuster and a German suplex from Lawlor keeping Jay on the back foot. Lawlor helps out, popping up Stevens into the corner with an overhead belly-to-belly on Jay, before the two big lads slugged it out, before Stevens’ suplex/backbreaker combo got the win. An enjoyable, albeit brief outing, as Erick Stevens logged his first defence with little issue. ***¼
Turbo Graps 16 Semi-Final: Warhorse vs. Jody Fleisch vs. Carlos Romo vs. Danny Adams
In a nice touch, Warhorse hasn’t put on new facepaint – which means he’s looking even more like a prototype Powerteam USA member. I don’t mean that in a bad way either.
Warhorse sets us off early as he single-handedly tried to clear the ring, before Jody Fleisch dropkicked him to the outside. Romo has a go, avoiding a monkey flip before Fleisch cartwheeled past him as the pair’s flippy dos led to some rapid-fire two-counts. We switch around as Warhorse and Adams come in to trade chops, before Adams dumped Warhorse on the ropes and kneed him to the floor.
A tope followed, before Romo’s corkscrew plancha took out Adams… with Fleisch’s dive getting cut off by a Warhorse dropkick, as he proceeded to wipe out everyone with a big tope con giro. Fleisch is back, landing a nice top rope Asai moonsault as he rolled back the years. Back in the ring, Fleisch’s dropkicks earn him a hanging Flatliner out of the corner from Adams, as Romo tries to capitalise with a Code Red for a near-fall on Danny. Chops from Romo keep Warhorse restrained, but a half-nelson suplex rocks the Spaniard ahead of a massive powerbomb… only for Warhorse to get caught out by an Awful Waffle from Fleisch.
Jody flies again with a shooting star press, but Warhorse rolls away, only to take a standing Spanish Fly for a near-fall. Fleisch heads up again, but he’s caught with a lariat from Warhorse as a Parade of Moves broke out. There’s a missile dropkick from Warhorse that makes Carlos DDT Adams, before a reverse ‘rana from Jody laid out Warhorse to give us all a breather.
Fleisch and Romo resume with strikes, leading to Jody’s top rope ‘rana taking down Romo. Jody slips on a 720 DDT attempt and stops himself, while Romo decides to dive on Warhorse and Adams on the outside, before returning to land a nice Spiral Tap on Fleisch for a near-fall, with Adams breaking up the cover. Adams adds a tornado DDT and a Falcon arrow to that, before a diving boot from Adams nearly put Carlos away… with Warhorse’s double stomp breaking up the pin as he scored the W over Adams. Some good outings here, with Carlos in particular standing out – even though he doesn’t make the finals. ***¼
Bear Country (Bear Beefcake & Bear Bronson) vs. Violence Is Forever (Dominic Garrini & Kevin Ku)
We start a long run of non-tournament action now, and my God, Kevin Ku is really leaning into the Chris Brookes wardrobe of painted leather jackets with a tonne of pin badges.
Garrini and Bronson start us off, as we have a mix of strength and technical nous. Garrini flips Bronson into a cross armbreaker, forcing the bigger guy into the ropes, as tags brought in Kevin Ku and Bear Bronson. Ku barely lasts before he’s clubbed outside, allowing Bear Country to maul Garrini as all four men headed outside. Bronson throws Garrini into the front row, then into the crowd as they wandered by merch, where Beefcake press slams Ku into the damned wall!
A table comes into play, but it’s a plastic one so it’s probably not gonna break… but it does bend as Bronson cannonballs into it. The legs break before Ku stomped onto Bronson (on the table), as the brawl continued towards the bleachers as Bear Beefcake proceeded to sit down the former SADKAMPF… only to run into a back body drop onto the bleachers. That had to have sucked. Back in the ring, Ku tries to choke out Bear Bronson with a STF, but he loses grip and drives Bronson’s knees into the mat instead. An Earthquake splash from Bronson looked to stem the tide, but Ku and Garrini double-team into an F5 and a wacky high-low for a near-fall… with Beefcake breaking it up in style. Garrini looks for a piledriver, but Beefcake blocks and looks for a powerbomb… catching Kevin Ku too as both men went down at once.
Ku and Garrini get stacked up in the corner next for a piggy back cannonball, but it’s not enough to put away Ku. Beefcake tries for a moonsault, but leaps into a triangle armbar from Garrini, while Ku’s guillotine choke restrained Beefcake momentarily, as a Fire Thunder Driver onto the pile from Bronson broke it up. Good God. Beefcake gets up to wallop away on Ku, but Ku returns, landing an enziguiri before Garrini and Bronson had another exchange, leading to Ku and Garrini Chasing the Dragon on Bronson for the win. This was wacky, and I’m not just talking about Ku’s fake-Schadenfreude jacket. A good brawl-heavy match as Violence is Forever got the win. ***
Ku called himself and Garrini BLP originals, and issued a challenge to any other tag team to try and take “their spot”, before asking for an Iron Man match against the Work Horsemen in November.
Blake Christian vs. Alex Zayne
This could get wild…
We’ve got all the flippy dos early, with Zayne heading outside for a nice Asai moonsault onto Blake… who responded with a dropkick and a low-pe… then a tope… then a flip plancha! Back inside, Blake keeps up the pace, cracking Zayne in the corner with a head kick, only to get hung up for a dropkick as the momentum swung wildly. The pair trade forearms, before Zayne went for a pendulum backbreaker and swung it around into a facebuster. I have no idea what half this stuff is! Christian gets lifted up top before he flips out of a ‘rana… only to get caught with an enziguiri as Zayne runs across the ring for a leaping ‘rana for a near-fall.
A chinbreaker from Christian helps him build momentum, following up with a Randy Orton-like scoop slam and a distinctly not-Orton-like Quebrada. Zayne’s back up top as he has to elbow away Christian, before an aborted 450 off the top led to a standing 450… only to get tripped to the ropes for a bottom rope 619. Christian’s 450 only gets a one-count, as he built up to a big clothesline. We keep going, as Zayne misses the shooting star knees before staggering into the path of Christian’s stomp off the top, also for a two-count.
Christian looks for a Burning Hammer, but ends up settling for a standing Spanish Fly that rolled into a triangle armbar, which Zayne powerbombed his way out of. A goddamned running knee bulldozes through Christian for a near-fall, before Christian hits an inverted Spanish fly… a rolling Burning Hammer and a knee for the win. This felt like a throwback to the early 00s indies – a lot of moves, but with a lot of polishing needed. Impressive and flashy, yes, but coherent… eh, your mileage will vary. Give these guys time and they could grab the US indies by the throat soon. **½
Cue intermission… featuring Eddie Kingston cutting promos on airports… there’s a bit of Kylie Rae too… and a line-dancing Kris Statlander.
Blood Diamond (Jake Lander, Josh Bishop, Kobe Durst & Tre Lamar) vs. Ethan Page, Logan Stunt & The Space Pirates (Shane Sabre & Space Monkey)
This was Blood Diamond against Ethan Page and some mystery partners – to continue a feud that’s been building up steadily in Black Label. Thankfully, the three fans Ethan plucked from the crowd got upgraded…
Things break down at the bell, with Kobe Durst trying to go after Ethan Page early, only to suplex himself and Shane Sabre to the outside. That’s never not going to be a scary move. A Space Monkey flip sends Jake Lander outside, before he and Tre Lamar dive onto the ever growing pile outside. Logan Stunt does so too… but he’s stopped by Page, who decides to press slam him to the pile instead. Josh Bishop hurls Stunt into the ring as the pair exchange slaps and kicks, with Logan edging ahead. Jake Lander tries his luck, but also ends up on the defensive until he looked to hoist up Logan for a powerbomb. Stunt hits back with a headbutt, but can’t capitalise and ends up getting wrecked with a Lamar superkick before he was kicked into a whirlibird neckbreaker by Landers.
Space Monkey makes a save, as a Parade of Moves broke out, leading to Page superkicking Durst… who replies with a flying lungblower off the top. Bishop and Stunt go back in, but Stunt’s wrecked with a chokeslam and a MASSIVE BORDER TOSS. Ethan Page dumps Bishop with an Iconoclasm onto the apron, before a springboard cutter dumps Durst in the ring ahead of… Lamar and Lander bumrushing him. Tags, what are they?
Space Monkey is back with a monkey flip cannonball into the corner, before Lamar superkicks Sabre into a Code Red. Page blocks a whirlibird neckbreaker, then Border Tosses Landers into Lamar before flipping Landers over for the pin. Some good stuff here with Page getting the win… but man, this crowd struggled as much as the sound guy did at times. ***
BLP Midwest Championship: Johnathan Wolf vs. AJ Gray (c)
Wolf started out by trying to restrain Gray with wristlocks and some quick takedowns, including some headscissors before a dropkick sent Gray rolling outside for cover.
Wolf stays on top of Gray, throwing him in quickly for a slingshot senton, but Gray wants his space… and ends up getting leapt on with an Orihara moonsault, which he caught before tossing Wolf into the front row. Back in the ring, a knee drop gets a near-fall for Gray, before the pair traded chops as a slap fight broke out. Gray’s German suplex is elbowed away, but he manages to pop up Wolf into a knee buster ahead of a deadlift German that almost won the match.
An enziguiri from Wolf and a sit-out powerbomb manages to give him a way back in, as he proceeded to Matrix away from AJ’s clothesline, then send the champion outside for a tope con giro. It’s a damn good job that front row’s empty. Back inside, Gray’s legs clip the ropes in a Falcon arrow, but it’s a decent enough landing for another near-fall. Gray responds with an enziguiri and a spinning heel kick into the corner, before hoisting up Wolf for a torture rack gutbuster… then a sit-out powerbomb that almost won it. All the hard hits, eh? Wolf manages to catch AJ on the top rope, bringing him down with a Northern Lights superplex for a two-count, following that up with a senton bomb that Gray barely got up from, before he countered Wolf’s superplex attempt into an avalanche Michinoku driver for the win. A little against the run of play, but this was a nice little match that saw Wolf push Gray, only to get caught out at the end. ***
The BLP sound system really begins to struggle here, with the energetic ring announcer having to replace the mic with his own voice at times…
Swoggle vs. Marko Stunt
Remember when Hornswoggle randomly appeared at ATTACK! that one time? He’s still going strong, on the back of a new autobiography, although BLP seemingly forgot to provide ring steps. C’mon guys…
Marko’s out in a “I support midget violence” tee and a wacky fedora, before the two little guys down what looked to be a shot of whiskey beforehand. Despite hugging Marko, Swoggle gets superkicked, as Stunt continues to heel it up by Flossing. In 2019. Swoggle hits back, kicking Stunt to the outside as we get some more crowd brawling, trading chops all over the place before Swoggle ate another superkick.
At the back of the room, Swoggle’s jabbed with a chair before Marko gave him a seat… and ran the length of the bleachers to cannonball him out of it. Back in the ring, Swoggle has his eyes raked before he sidestepped a dropkick from Stunt… who then took a Cheeky Nandos’ in the middle rope. Other chicken restaurants are available. Swoggle’s back with a powerbomb for a two-count, before Stunt hit the ropes… ate a powerbomb and a cutter, and that’s all. Well, they kept it basic, and it didn’t go long, but this was very much a match that you’d likely already be skipping if you weren’t a fan of either guy. **
IWTV Independent Wrestling Championship X Turbo Graps 16 Final: Warhorse vs. Erick Stevens (c)
We’ve got the obligatory pro wrestling trophy with the triangular frame. Usually those get smashed. The winner of this leaves with the trophy and the IWTV title!
Stevens gets in Warhorse’s face early on and starts with a chop, which of course turned into a strike battle very quickly, with see-saw shoulder tackles leading to Warhorse spilling outside, before he blocked Stevens’ dive with a forearm. Warhorse does a lap of honour around the ring before he dropkicks Stevens out of a chair. They’re back in the ring, with Warhorse charging Stevens into the corner with shoulder charges, before an attempt to block a Northern lights just saw Stevens back in the corner again. Stevens blocks a suplex to the outside, but ends up knocking Warhorse down for a low-pe, following up with a back suplex back inside for a near-fall.
Stevens looks to wrench away on Warhorse with a grounded abdominal stretch, but Warhorse got free and caught Stevens off the rope with a powerslam. They head onto the apron as Stevens clings onto the rope to avoid a half-nelson suplex, but he can’t block it forever as Warhorse sent him down. Back inside, Stevens gets caught with a hanging missile dropkick from Warhorse. A Stinger splash follows, which is apt given my earlier comparisons for him, but Stevens caught the hattrick and countered back with a gutbuster and a lariat. A goddamned brainbuster’s next from Erick, then a Tiger Driver, but the Warhorse isn’t off to the glue factory yet, kicking out in the nick of time.
Warhorse has to block a gutwrench powerbomb, eventually catching Stevens with an Alabama Slam, before following up with a double stomp to the back of the head as Stevens was looking to recuperate. Stevens uses headbutts to catch Warhorse on the top rope, turning him down with an avalanche powerslam for a near-fall. A lariat attempt’s blocked by Warhorse, but he falls at the second attempt as Stevens hits a pop-up chop and a gutwrench powerbomb… but still Warhorse kicks out at two! Warhorse slips out of a suplex and looks to try his own, but Stevens follows in with a flurry of forearms and a discus elbow to try and put him down. Warhorse goes down to a knee, but ducks a lariat and hits a half-nelson suplex… then another… then another as the hattrick had Stevens on jelly legs.
Warhorse looks to go up top to finish off the champion, landing a double stomp to the back, and that’s all folks! They swung for the fences here and left it all behind – and heck, they even got this crowd going by the end! Warhorse wins the IWTV title, as Black Label’s first Turbo Graps tournament ended in hard-hitting fashion. ***½
While the Turbo Graps shows were easy shows to watch, I do have some nagging concerns about Black Label Pro. Sure, they have names here who were getting reactions, but a lot of the “non regulars” were virtually getting crickets. I watch all their shows on IWTV (even if I don’t review most of them), and yes they do have storylines, but I have no idea what they are as a promotion. Piggybacking on the GCW Nick Gage Invitational tournament later in the day must have worked to some extent, but how many of those will be sticking around, other than for when the big names come in?