Indiana’s Black Label Pro continues a fantastic 2019 season with their hometown return to Crown Point, after a series of shows in Illinois of late. Slamilton 2 is this Saturday, live on IWTV, and continues BLP’s strong booking that has seen some of the best names in the Midwest scene going face to face with national and international names. Here’s the rundown of Saturday’s huge card. It airs live on IndieWrestling.tv this Saturday at 4:30pm CT or 5:30pm EST.
Space Pirates (Shane Sabre & Space Monkey) vs. #NoNewFriends (Danny Adams & Keith Lee Davidson)
The Canadian duo of Shane Sabre and Space Monkey have been battling for months to reclaim their BLP Tag Team titles from Blood Diamond, in a lengthy feud. Now they have to fight their way back into title contention and on Saturday will be facing a reunited duo. #NoNewFriends has been a stable throughout the Midwest since 2017, when Danny Adams united with Keith Lee Davidson and then Mike Outlaw. Davidson went down to injury early in the year, leaving Adams and Outlaw to do the fighting, but Davidson has recently returned, with he and Adams capturing the Glory Pro United Glory (Tag Team) titles this past October. Both teams are now determined to get back in the conversation for a tag team title match and this match will go a long way to determining who’s next.
Stephan Bonnar vs. Logan James
Former UFC star Stephan Bonnar is the latest fighter from the MMA world to have transitioned to a career in pro wrestling. After going 15-9 throughout a 13-year career in MMA, Bonnar appeared with IMPACT Wrestling in 2017 for an angle with Moose. Last year, he made the big jump into pro wrestling full time, appearing again for IMPACT, as well as starting indie dates, including PCW ULTRA in June of 2018. On Saturday, he faces 3x IWA Mid South Junior Heavyweight Champion Logan James. A product of Ohio Valley Wrestling (OVW), the 4-year Kentucky pro is emerging as one of the tough new stars out of the Midwest and Southern indies.
Kylie Rae vs. Billie Starkz
Kylie Rae took a sabbatical from pro wrestling after departing All Elite Wrestling (AEW) this summer but returned this past September and has stayed within her native Chicago scene with Freelance Wrestling and area shows from IMPACT and RISE. She officially hits the road again on Saturday, as she heads back to BLP for her first match back since June’s There’s Something About Barry where she defeated Shazza McKenzie. On Saturday, she goes from veteran to rising star, as she faces off against Indiana’s own Billie Starkz. Still in her first year in the business, Starkz has impressed many out of the gate, as she’s worked the Midwest with Grindhouse Wrestling, St. Louis Anarchy, IWA Mid South, and more.
Ren Narita vs. Isaias Velazquez
An exciting opportunity for New Japan fans, as NJPW Young Lion Ren Narita begins his US excursion on Saturday night. One of New Japan’s most exciting young stars from a bumper crop of Young Lions, he was a standout in this year’s NJPW Young Lions Cup and took part in his first Best of the Super Juniors before heading to New Japan’s LA Dojo and begin his American journey. He’s facing off against a Midwest veteran in former 2x Freelance World Champion Isaias Velazquez. Velazquez is a multi-faceted vet of the ring and will be a great pairing for a young student looking to learn.
Brett Ison vs. “Filthy” Tom Lawlor
Nashville’s Brett Ison has been waiting to explode in 2019 and this could be his most high profile fight yet. The rugged Nashville native has worked with IWA Mid South, but he really honed his American Strong Style with hometown Southern Underground Pro (SUP). He was the SUP Bonestorm Champion for 336-days and recently made his Game Changer Wrestling (GCW) debut at Lights Out in June against Mance Warner. On Saturday, he faces former Major League Wrestling (MLW) World Champion and former UFC star “Filthy” Tom Lawlor. Lawlor has made a fantastic transition from MMA to pro wrestling and has become one of the best tacticians in the US indies.
Black Label Pro Midwest Championship: AJ Gray (c) vs. Gary Jay
Indiana belongs to AJ Gray and the Midwest star is ready to break out nationally in 2020, so get on the train now. Aside from being the reigning BLP Midwest Champion, he’s also the reigning Paradigm Pro Wrestling (PPW) Champion in nearby Jefferson. He started his domination of the Midwest scene by adding a third title, winning the Glory Pro Crown of Glory Championship in September. He’s already got a big spring planned, as he hosts GCW’s For The Culture event during WrestleMania Week. On Saturday, he puts his Midwest title on the line against a man who has embodied the Southeast style for years, in 16-year veteran Gary Jay. Jay has been a staple with St. Louis Anarchy and Anarchy Championship Wrestling (ACW) in Texas for years, but he’s finally getting his due appearing in big matches for the likes of BLP, GCW, Combat Zone Wrestling (CZW), IWA Mid South, and ACTION Wrestling. He’s also set for his Beyond Wrestling debut next week. Two tough men who are riding momentum, this will be a war for the belt.
Black Label Pro Tag Team Championship: Blood Diamond (Jake Lander & Tre LeMar) (c) vs. Ethan Page
Blood Diamond‘s Jake Lander & Tre LeMar have been pawns in the battle between their leader, BLP Champion Kobe Durst and his mentor, “All Ego” Ethan Page. Page, a former BLP Champion himself, is looking to strike Blood Diamond down chip by chip, and is determined to tag the first of their gold, the BLP Tag Team titles, even if it means facing the duo by himself. There’s a sure bet that Durst will insert himself in some way, so will Page come with back-up? His IMPACT World Tag Team Champion teammate Josh Alexander of The North is on the card, so he’s definitely got some muscle of his own.
Jake Something vs. Jake Atlas
Crown Point isn’t Chinatown, but they’ve got tale of Two Jakes happening on Saturday. Jake Something has been one of the top indie wrestlers to emerge from the Detroit scene over the past few years, going on to become a regular with AAW, Glory Pro, and Rockstar Pro, where he’s a former Crown of Glory Champion and the reigning AAW Heritage Champion. He’s also part of The Deaners tag team with IMPACT. He’s facing off against one of the most exciting prospects to come out of the West Coast in the past few years in “Superstar” Jake Atlas. Atlas is finishing up on the indies as he prepares to join NXT, but the high flyer is returning to BLP on Saturday night to face off against one of the Midwest’s best big men.
Erick Stevens vs. Josh Alexander
Two warriors and veterans of the North American indie circuit collide. Erick Stevens was a regular with Ring of Honor during its early days before leaving the business for 10 years. He made his return earlier this year and has reclaimed his spot in the scene, looking better than ever. He’s facing off against “The Walking Weapon”, Josh Alexander, a long-time veteran of the US and Canadian indies who is one half of the IMPACT Tag Team Champions The North with Ethan Page. Two tough men who have ridden a lot of roads, this will be a fight.
IWTV Independent Wrestling Championship: WARHORSE (c) vs. Tony Deppen
Ever since winning the IWTV Independent Wrestling Championship at the end of September, WARHORSE has been on a monstrous streak of title defenses. In only 53-days, he’s already defended the title 10 times, against the likes of Orange Cassidy, Matthew Justice, AJ Gray, Curt Stallion, Gary Jay, and Wheeler YUTA. He returns to BLP on Saturday – where he’s a former BLP Midwest Champion – to face one of the breakout stars of the US indies in 2019, Tony Deppen. Deppen has been a model of consistency with his work with Beyond Wrestling, GCW, and CHIKARA this year, as well as debuting in Pro Wrestling Guerrilla‘s Battle of Los Angeles this year. This will be an incredibly fun match, with MOTN potential.
30-Minute Iron Man Match: Violence is Forever (Kevin Ku & Dominic Garrini) vs. The Work Horsemen (JD Drake & Anthony Henry)
Two teams that have helped define tag team wrestling in the East in 2019, Violence is Forever (formerly Sadkampf) and Work Horsemen have been feuding since the beginning of the year in BLP. VIF picked up the win in their first encounter in February at BLP Unplugged, while the Horsemen evened the score at BLP Dropkicks & Dragons in July. Now the two teams are back for a rubber match that will be a 30-minute Iron Match match to settle this war once and for all.
Black Label Pro Championship: Kobe Durst (c) vs. Blake Christian
Blood Diamond has controlled BLP for months now, with Kobe Durst holding the BLP Championship and Jake Lander & Tre LeMar wearing tag team gold. The Canadian indie star has exploded in the US Midwest over the past two years, also winning the BLP Midwest Champion, while competing with Glory Pro, Freelance Wrestling, Beyond Wrestling, GCW and more in the process. He’s still dominating the Canadian indies as well, where he’s the reigning Alpha-1 Alpha Male Champion in Hamilton and wears tag team gold in Ottawa with Capitol City Championship Combat (C4). In his 220+ days as BLP Champion, he’s fended off challenges from WARHORSE, Ethan Page, and Jordynne Grace, but on Saturday he faces another of the breakout stars of 2019. Nashville’s Blake Christian became a viral sensation following his GCW debut this year and has since stunned crowds with PWG, IMPACT Wrestling, IWA Mid South and more. He gets a big chance to add some singles gold to his trophy case and can help stop Blood Diamond’s stranglehold of BLP.
Stay tuned to the Last Word on Pro Wrestling for more on this and other stories from around the world of wrestling, as they develop. You can always count on LWOPW to be on top of the major news in the wrestling world, as well as to provide you with analysis, previews, videos, interviews, and editorials on the wrestling world. You can watch BLP Slamilton 2 live on IndieWrestling.tv.
