Saturday was host to Black Label Pro’s latest double shot, the Turbo Graps 16 tournament. The first show featured round one of the competition. Throughout the show, seven of the eight semi-finalists advanced. This included AJ Gray, Ethan Page, Blake Christian, EFFY, “Filthy” Tom Lawlor, ACH, and Isaias Velasquez. In the main event of the first show, the eighth would triumph. It was also for the BLP Midwest Championship, as Kylie Rae would have to defend her title.
Kylie’s defense was against one half of the current IMPACT Wrestling Tag Team Champions, Alex Shelley. The match started as adorable as it could be, Kylie shared photos of herself on social media when she found out Shelley was her opponent, with the pure joy and tears of happiness evident. Before the match, a fan gave Kylie some flowers and told her it was his birthday. Kylie would then dedicate the match to him. She even presented Shelley with one of her signature hair bows.
After the bell rang though, it was a different story. The smiling and kind Alex Shelley transformed into a cool, calculated, and cocky one. Kylie Rae’s one flaw is the fact that she does care so much and it’s easy to push her buttons. And push is exactly what Shelley did. He walked a fine line, goading her just enough to keep her coming back for more. “C’mon Kylie!” was said on more than a few occasions by the Detroit native as he masterfully wove his strategy. Pushing Kylie past the point of aggression, as shown by a particular nasty knee strike, Shelley switched into another gear.
@IamKylieRae rocks Shelley with a vicious knee strike! #TurboGraps16 pic.twitter.com/YwQ1lxf7M1
— 𝐃𝐫𝐚𝐕𝐞𝐧 (@WrestlingCovers) October 3, 2020
He dominated his much smaller opponent and following an Air Raid Crash, he locked in the patented Border City Stretch. Kylie had no choice to tap, stuck in the middle of the ring. Your winner, advancing in Turbo Graps 16, and NEW Black Label Pro Midwest Champion, Alex Shelley! He ends Rae’s reign at 218 days, as she won it back at Quantum Leap in February. In the second half of the day, Shelley would go on to a four-way match to determine a finalist from their match.
The first four-way match saw plucky Isaias Velasquez best Gray, ACH, and Christian. Shelley would have to deal with Tom Lawlor, EFFY, and Ethan Page. And despite shenanigans from his colorful opponents, deal Shelley did. The Midwest title was on the line here and Shelley defended it successfully. This would send him to the finals of Turbo Graps 16 against Isaias Velasquez. It would also be their rubber match. At Nobody Puts BLP in A Corner, Shelley was victorious. The rematch happened at Erick Stevens Presents Professional Wrestling in which Velasquez came up with the win.
https://twitter.com/HeyyImRob/status/1312544452737728514?s=20
Now with not only the BLP Midwest Championship on the line but the tournament and their rivalry, the stage was set for glory. Both men who had been fighting hard all day somehow found another reserve of energy and toughness. Neither Shelley nor Velasquez was willing to roll over easily in this contest. Shelley had had a plan from his very first match and in the end, it worked out to perfection in his favor. In addition to his new title, he also hoisted the 2020 Turbo Graps 16 trophy.
Stay tuned to 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. If you missed seeing Black Label Pro’s Turbo Graps 16 live, it will be available soon for watching on-demand on IndependentWrestling.TV.
Looking to talk wrestling, pro football, or any number of sports? Head on over to the LWOS Boards to engage in conversation with fellow fans!
