The promotion announced on Monday that Nemeth will wrestle Matt Cardona at GCW The Coldest Winter 2. The event takes place on Saturday, February 3 at the Ukrainian Cultural Center in Los Angeles.
It makes me sick to my stomach that all these ex-WWE guys are coming over to the indies and they’re trying to leech off companies like GCW to get buzz, who would do something like that?
He continued:
Let me remind you Nic, I’m the man that beat you to become the WWE United States Champion and I fully intend to beat you again.
ICYMI
Matt Cardona wasn't able to make it to #GCWCompadre on Friday in Chicago, but that didn't stop him from checking in "LIVE VIA SATELLITE" from his home in Orlando.
The Indie God challenged @NicTNemeth to a match on February 3rd at GCW in Los Angeles…
Matt Cardona has challenged Nic Nemeth to a match in GCW.
Cardona called the former Dolph Ziggler out in a video promo aired during Friday night’s GCW No Compadre event. Cardona noted that he defeated Nemeth to become the United States Champion in their time together in WWE, and stated that he planned to beat Nemeth again at any time, in any place.
Nemeth made his NJPW debut at Wrestle Kingdom 18 in Tokyo Dome on January 4, and will challenge David Finlay for the IWGP Global Championship at The New Beginning in Sapporo on February 23. Prior to that, Nemeth will wrestle for the first time since leaving WWE in Puerto Rico at WWC Euphoria on Saturday, January 20 as he takes on Ray Gonzalez.
Cardona’s promo at No Compadre was delivered “via satellite” in a video after his scheduled flight to the GCW event was cancelled due to weather issues.
Cardona left WWE in 2020 after a 15-year stint with the company and has since established his “Indy God” character in working for a variety of promotions around the globe.
Nemeth was with WWE from 2004 until being released from the company in September 2023. He released a “Wanted Man” video on the day of his NJPW debut to establish a new character for himself as he embarks on his post-WWE run.
Cardona also made mention of both Mustafa Ali and AJ Francis in his promo, but focused the majority of his comments on Nemeth. Ali debuted at No Comprade with a win over Gringo Loco, while AJ Francis is set to debut with GCW on January 26.
Matt Cardona will have a chance to win back the NWA World Heavyweight Championship next month.
The 38-year-old has challenged champion EC3 to a death match at NWA Paranoia on January 13, 2024, in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.
Cardona says in the video:
I’m going to keep this short and sweet. EC3, me and you, January 13, Fort Lauderdale, Florida, NWA Paranoia, I have an idea. We settle this once and for all in the middle of that ring.
Now listen, we have a lot in common, we are evenly matched, we both have chips on our shoulder, we’re both hungry, we both have something to prove. You’re the Over Man, I’m the Indie God. You’re something that I’m not, and I’m something that you’re not. You’re the NWA Worlds Heavyweight Champion but I am the death match king. So how about this? Me and you, Paranoia, NWA Worlds Heavyweight title on the line in a death match
EC3 later posted to his Instagram stories that he has accepted Cardona’s challenge. No other matches are confirmed for the show thus far.
The NWA will hold two shows on January 13. The other event, Viva Revolution, will be in collaboration with Coastal Championship Wrestling. Both shows are scheduled to take place at Revolution Live in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.
This week’s matches were taped at the famous 2300 Arena in Philadelphia last month. Joe Dombrowski and Matt Striker were on commentary.
After the shocking end to Fightland when Alex Hammerstone returned to MLW as part of the World Titan Federation, Hammerstone opened the episode by explaining that Court Bauer stopped taking his calls regarding his contract status so he aired his dirty laundry online. He said Saint Laurent did start taking his calls and ever since he started listening to him people are desperate to know what he is going to do next. He told us to wait and see.
TJ Crawford defeated Nolo Kitano
Crawford is in a storyline with Tony Deppen and Kevin Blackwood where Deppen is suspended for when he and Crawford attacked and injured Blackwood.
Kitano is without a win in MLW but has been impressive in the Middleweight division so far. This is only his second one-on-one contest.
Kitano flipped into the ring and hit a nice hurricanrana but was then distracted by a masked man who was more than likely the suspended Tony Deppen.
Crawford got the upper hand with a Codebreaker as Kitano hung over the middle rope but Nolo fought back with a shotgun dropkick, running double knees in the corner, a backbreaker and a heel kick. But when it looked like Kitano may pick up his first win in MLW, Griffin McCoy interfered which led to Crawford hitting his Silver Bullet spin kick to pick up the win.
– After the match, Crawford, McCoy and the masked man all celebrated on the ramp.
– After picking up a win at Fightland, we heard from Mascarada Dorada. He challenged Rocky Romero for the MLW Middleweight title at One Shot. Later in the night, Romero accepted.
– The leader of the World Titan Federation, Mister Saint Laurent, wished all the fans of WTF a happy Thanksgiving. He hyped up tonight’s main event and predicted that when Cardona beats Kane to win the world title at One Shot, he will christen it the WTF World Title.
– We then cut to Promotiones Dorado members Rocky Romero, Jesus Rodriguez and Janai Kai beating up Ichiban. Salina de la Renta entered and slapped Ichiban and said to him, “What did I tell you about interrupting me… bitch!”.
– The Calling (minus AKIRA after he and Ricky Shane Page split at Fightland) had a message for AKIRA saying that we all do dumb things when we are young.
Tiara James defeated Notorious Mimi
Mimi looked good here in her debut but James is on the rise and got the win after a sit-out facebuster.
James is wracking up some wins in the Featherweight division and could soon be placed among the top contenders to Janai Kai. Speaking of Kai, the commentators mentioned the upcoming women’s matches at One Shot: Miyu Yamashita vs. Delmi Exo, and Janai Kai vs. Maki Itoh.
James hit an early middle rope dropkick but Mimi soon got the heat by drapping James’ arm over the top rope. Mimi focused her attack on James’ arm but missed a crossbody which let James back into the match.
James made her comeback with an over-the-shoulder gut buster and an X-factor facebuster to pick up the pinfall win.
– After the match, Sam Laterna interviewed James and talked about her rise up the rankings. She asked the crowd how a title shot sounded, so it looks like she is being lined up for one.
– We saw a recap of the Love Doug and B3CCA storyline where B3CCA had continuously knocked back Doug’s attempts to woo her. That was until a few weeks ago when Doug received a paper invitation for a date on Thanksgiving night. Later in the show, Doug was ready for his date, he entered the room but was met by Brett Ryan Gosling who told Doug he was B3CCA’s boyfriend before jumping him with a crowbar.
– Saint Laurent was then questioned on Hammerstone’s contract status, and he said there was no tampering in the negotiations and told us to wait and see what is next.
– Saint Laurent then bumped into Manders and tried to sweeten him up with a hotdog and a handshake before offering him Japan “Hansen money” as well as some Japanese girls in exchange for joining the WTF. Manders didn’t say yes or no, only left saying he is not a hotdog and handshake guy… interesting.
– Satoshi Kojima will return to MLW when he faces “Filthy” Tom Lawlor at One Shot.
– Sam Laterna interviewed Alex Kane who said he can’t wait to get his hands on the WTF and called it Suplex Season.
– After losing a Loser Leaves MLW match to Matt Cardona at Fightland, Mance Warner had his big farewell by having a parking lot beer with 1 Called Manders. He said the Second Gear Crew helped build MLW but now that Manders and Matthew Justice have the tag titles (they won them at Fightland) they don’t need Warner, they showed what they can do, and no one can stand up to them in a fight. Warner said that Cardona and Saint Laurent will get what is coming to them and also said that his friend “Masked good brother #3” is coming and will get on fine with Manders and Justice.
The World Titan Federation (Matt Cardona & Tom Lawlor w/ Saint Laurent) defeated The Bomaye Fight Club (Alex Kane & Mr. Thomas w/ J Boujii)
Alex Kane was on fire early on hitting Germans to both Cardona and Lawlor but unfortunately, Kane was storyline injured during a suplex and the referee held up the “X” sign.
The match continued with Thomas fighting 1-on-2 on behalf of the Bomaye Fight Club. Lawlor flaunted his team’s dominance given the numbers advantage by elaborately removing his shorts to reveal his skin-tight denim shorts as he taunted Thomas and flexed in front of him.
Lawlor dropkicked Thomas’ knee and Cardona pummelled him in the corner but Thomas fought back and after he hit a suplex, that was the call for Alex Kane to make a triumphant return and give his opponents some more suplexes.
It looked like Kane injured himself again as he rolled out of the ring. Behind the referee’s back, Lawlor hit him with a chair as Cardona hit Radio Silence to Thomas in the ring to pick up the win for their team.
Alex Hammerstone is back in MLW, although not in storyline.
After publicly requesting his release from the promotion last month, Hammerstone appeared at the end of MLW Fightland on Saturday night at Philadelphia’s 2300 Arena.
In storyline, MLW granted Hammerstone’s release, allowing him to sign with Mister Saint Laurent’s World Titan Federation (WTF), a faction of “Superstars” looking to re-brand MLW.
Following the show’s main event, WTF members Matt Cardona, Steph de Lander, and our own Tom Lawlor hit the ring to attack Alex Kane and a brawl with the Bomaye Fight Club ensued. The lights went out and when they came back on, Hammerstone was in the ring wearing a WTF tank top. Hammerstone then attacked Kane and Fatu.
The show closed with WTF standing tall in the ring and Cardona holding up the MLW World Heavyweight title belt.
“MLW.com can confirm that Hammer was in fact granted his release from MLW this week… but no one expected him to sign instantly with Saint Laurent’s World Titan Federation and return tonight to crash FIGHTLAND,” reads an MLW press release.
The Second Gear Crew beat The Calling to win the MLW Tag titles in a ladder match. AKIRA accidentally hit Rickey Shane Page with a chair while all four wrestlers were climbing the ladders. This eventually led to 1 Called Manders pulling down the belts.
After the match, RSP and AKIRA ended up brawling and then two masked members of The Calling came in and helped RSP beat down AKIRA.
Steph de Lander made her MLW debut. After it was teased that she was romantically involved with Mance Warner, de Lander then speared Warner through a table and helped Matt Cardona pick up the win in a Loser Leaves MLW match.
Alex Kane successfully retained his MLW World Heavyweight Championship after choking out Jacob Fatu in a match that went 48 minutes.
MLW FIghtland 2023 results:
The Second Gear Crew (1 Called Manders & Matthew Justice) defeated The Calling (AKIRA & Rickey Shane Page) in a ladder match to win the MLW World Tag Team Championships
Matt Cardona w/Mister Saint Laurent & Steph de Lander defeated Mance Warner in a Loser Leaves MLW match
Ichiban & Mascara Dorada defeated Promociones Dorado (Rocky Romero & El Barbaro Cavernario) w/Salina de la Renta
MLW World Heavyweight Champion Alex Kane defeated Jacob Fatu to retain his title
This week’s matches were taped in October at the famous 2300 Arena in Philadelphia. Joe Dombrowski and Matt Striker announced the matches.
– Dombrowski and Striker announced that The Calling (Ricky Shane Page & AKIRA) will defend the tag titles against The Second Gear Crew (1 Called Manders & Matthew Justice) in a tag team ladder match at Fightland. These two teams ended last week’s episode brawling all over ringside, a brawl that led to this rematch being announced.
Griffin McCoy defeated Tracy Williams
McCoy got his MLW career off to a winning start against the 2023 Opera Cup competitor. Williams started strong keeping McCoy on the mat and hitting a variety of suplexes, but the debutant eased his way into the mat with some kicks and strikes.
McCoy hit one strike too many as it inspired Williams’ comeback, which consisted of a hard slap, suplex, a face-first drop onto the top turnbuckle, and an STF.
McCoy fought back and went for his Sunset Kick (springboard kick) but Williams caught it into an ankle lock. Williams went for a piledriver but McCoy accidentally kicked the referee.
With the official down, McCoy hit Williams with a low blow, a half-and-half suplex, and his Sunset Kick to pick up the shock win.
– Last week Jacob Fatu stole Matt Cardona’s new car while Alex Kane was confronting him, a car gifted to him by the World Titan Federation leader Mister Saint Laurent. This week Saint Laurent delivered a “State of the Fed” address where he unveiled the new WTF logo and gave his vision of sports entertainment.
MLW Featherweight Champion Janai Kai w/Salina de la Renta defeated Riley Krowe
Another debutee Riley Krowe came up against a tough challenge in Janai Kai. Kai recently defeated Delmi Exo at Slaughterhouse and took no time to take out Krowe here. Straight from the bell Kai ran and hit a strong big boot to knock her out and win via KO.
After the match, Salina took the mic from Sam Laterna and hyped up Kai on the stage while the champion simply stared at the camera and said…“Kick Demon”.
– We then heard from The Calling where they again teased some tension between Ricky Shane Page and AKIRA. Joe Dombrowski and Matt Striker suggested the same which brought out Page to confront the commentary duo, but that brought out Manders and Justice from SGC for an impromptu brawl.
– We heard that if Cardona loses his Loser Leaves MLW match with Mance Warner at Fightland on November 18 then another “superstar” from the World Titan Federation will get the guaranteed title shot at One Shot in December.
– Sam Laterna then interviewed Rocky Romero who talked about his Fightland opponents Mascarada Dorada and Ichiban, calling Dorada a credible challenger but playing down the skills of Ichiban.
– Don King then quickly hyped up the Kane vs. Fatu title fight saying that Bomaye is for the people.
– Ricky Shane Page vs. Jimmy Lloyd for the National Openweight title was signed for One Shot in New York City on December 7.
– “Filthy” Tom Lawlor then announced that he and Cardona will take on Kane and Mr. Thomas in two weeks on Thanksgiving Night Fusion.
The Bomaye Fight Club (Mr. Thomas & O’Shay Edwards) defeated The Mane Events (Jay Lyon & Midas Black)
This was quick and was used to give Thomas and Edwards a strong win on their way up the tag team ranks.
Edwards and Lyon started by taking turns with running shoulder blocks. This developed into a taunt exchange followed by Lyon leaping through his circus hoop with a swift rolling senton to the floor.
The Mane Event’s upperhand did not last long. Edwards tagged in Thomas who hit a big Bossman slam on Lyon and put Black away with a powerbomb.
– Backstage we saw Mance Warner and 1 Called Manders talking tactics ahead of the Second Gear Crew’s ladder match with The Calling. Warner called for gold and violence followed by busting AKIRA open and hitting the pay window for the tag titles. Their tactic talk was interrupted by AKIRA and Ricky Shane Page for another backstage brawl.
Alex Kane vs. Jacob Fatu contract signing for Fightland
Court Bauer attempted to host the contract signing but as soon as both appeared the insults started and they had to be pulled apart. Saint Laurent and Cardona appeared and got in between the pair which only escalated the tension in the room. Fatu and Kane began swinging at each other and again had to be pulled apart. Fatu broke free and got a few more shots in as officials and Bomaye Fight Club members were only semi-successful in keeping them apart. The camera caught Saint Laurent laughing from the side of the room as his plan worked out perfectly.
This week’s episode was taped in October at the famous 2300 Arena in Philadelphia. Joe Dombrowski and Matt Striker announced the matches.
– Ahead of the main event, we opened with a long video package highlighting The Second Gear Crew vs The Calling feud, followed by Saint Laurent announcing that the winner of the upcoming Alex Kane vs Jacob Fatu title match at Fightland on November 18th will face Matt Cardona at MLW One Shot on December 7th. I guess the outcome of the Loser Leaves MLW match on November 18th between Cardona and Mance Warner that was announced earlier in the week has been spoiled?
– On the topic of spoilers, just moments later they showed a graphic for One Shot advertising Kane vs. Cardona as the title match!
– Continuity was all over the place as next the commentators announced that a Fatu vs Mr. Thomas match was happening “Next”, just before Talon made his way to the ring for his match with Mance Warner…
Mance Warner defeated Talon
Another chapter in The Second Gear Crew vs The Calling feud here and it was a decisive win for Warner ahead of his Loser Leaves MLW match with Cardona at Fightland on November 18th.
Warner shook off Talon’s early offense, hit a Bionic Elbow, hard lariat, and a Knee Pad-up, Knee Pad-down running knee to pick up a quick straight forward victory.
– Tony Deppen is currently serving a suspension for not paying a fine for attacking Kevin Blackwood. This week we heard that his suspension has been extended after he took his frustrations to Twitter.
– In the parking lot Saint Laurent met with Cardona to let him know he is the next contender for the world title. He also presented him with a new beautiful BMW car.
– The same Fatu vs Mr. Thomas graphic was shown again as being “Next”.
– Kane then told Fatu that Kane is the new generation before he was interrupted and told to run to the parking lot where Mr. Thomas was lying in a heap of cardboard boxes after being on the end of a mystery attack. The commentary team said they were scrambling to change the card as apparently, Mr Thomas is unable to compete now.
– We saw a highlight package of all the accomplishments of the latest World Titan Federation member “Filthy” Tom Lawlor before we cut to live footage from Saint Laurent’s office where he and Lawlor talked up Filthy’s 5-star podcasting abilities, phenomenal singing skills, and set Lawlor as the new figurehead who will lead the charge for the WTF.
– The Calling then told us that The Second Gear Crew and the weak will be made examples of.
– Sam Laterna met with Fatu in a pre-taped conversation. They mentioned Salina de la Renta who booked his world title match with Kane but also put Fatu on notice for his previous runnings with Salina and Promociones Dorado. Saint Laurent interrupted, failed to befriend Fatu, and unintentionally told Fatu that Cardona has a new car in the parking lot… Fatu’s wheels started moving in his head as he conjured up a plan involving Cardona and the car.
– Sam Laterna then switched to a live interview with Matt Cardona. Cardona thanked Saint Laurent for bringing him to MLW and bigged himself up saying no one else has come back as many times as he and he promised to win the world title at One Shot in his hometown New York.
– Matt Cardona vs Mance Warner in their Loser Leaves MLW match was officially announced for Fightland on November 18th.
Brett Ryan Gosselin defeated J Boujii w/O’Shay Edwards
This was advertised as the replacement for the Fatu vs Thomas match that can no longer take place due to the attack on Thomas.
Gosselin was making his MLW debut and has a very cocky character. He made a quick start after jumping Boujii as he was taking his shirt off.
Gosselin looked quite good as we heard he was trained by Matt Taven and Mike Bennett but was on the receiving end of a German suplex and a running neckbreaker for a close two count.
Boujii looked to be in control until Gosselin held onto the ropes during a Boujii sunset flip and picked up a shocking and underhanded victory in his debut match.
– Outside of the 2300 Arena Love Doug was camped out in a tent waiting for B3CCA. He mistakenly jumped out at a passerby and was slapped for scaring her. Enter Minoru Suzuki who took one look at Doug and gave him another slap for his trouble.
– Backstage an irate Kane was on the lookout for who attacked Thomas. A backstage worker told Kane he had footage showing it was Fatu, so Kane stormed away looking for Fatu. Seconds later Saint Laurent appeared and paid the backstage worker for giving Kane that incorrect information.
– Last week Salina de la Renta hosted the episode of Fusion and during the episode, she exchanged papers with Saint Laurent that supposedly exposed some secrets from when MSL was an MLW Executive. This week Salina announced that Janai Kai will be in action next week.
– After being fed the wrong information, we saw the inevitable confrontation between Kane and Fatu, only to be corrected by a Bomaye Fight Club member who correctly identified Cardona and Lawlor as Thomas’ attackers. Kane again stormed off to “beat these hoes’ asses”.
The Calling (AKIRA & Ricky Shane Page) vs The Second Gear Crew (1 Called Manders & Matthew Justice) went to a no contest in a tag team title tables match.
The second Calling vs SGC match of the night ended in a no-contest as both AKIRA and Justice crashed through tables at the same time.
AKIRA was hinting at dissension within The Calling from the beginning as he looked disinterested in choosing a weapon from The Calling’s selection they have available for every match.
The other Calling masked goons attacked SGC as they made their way to the ring, but as quickly as they attacked they were pushed to the side for Manders and Justice to focus on the main players in Raven’s heel stable.
Later once The Calling were in control Page grabbed AKIRA’s face to tell him something, but you could tell from the way AKIRA stared at Page that he was not too impressed with the way Page grabbed him. Again later they argued over where a table should be placed and had some miscommunication throwing chairs at their opponents.
Cannonball entered the action and squashed The SGC in the corner. Page nearly took Justice’s head off when he threw a chair at him. Manders and Page then ended up going through tables in quick succession.
In the ring AKIRA went to the top rope, Justice joined him but AKIRA locked in an Octopus hold and both fell off the top and went through a table at the same time. The referee called the match a draw and no contest due to both going through at the same time.
Cannonball re-joined the match and the brawl continued after the match. Mance Warner joined in too which brought out security to try and keep these two teams from destroying each other.
On the mic, Warner set up Justice to challenge The Calling to a match with the belts hanging above the ring. They didn’t mention a ladder match but I can only imagine it will be a TLC match of sorts.
– Backstage in the parking lot Matt Cardona was not too pleased to see his new car being stolen by Jacob Fatu as Fusion went off the air.
Next week:
MLW World Featherweight champion Janai Kai will be in action.
Don King will speak on the Alex Kane vs Jacob Fatu match.
This week’s matches were taped in September and October at the famous 2300 Arena in Philadelphia. Joe Dombrowski and Matt Striker announced the matches.
We opened with a Slaughterhouse recap video package. Highlights included:
The Calling’s Talon being electrocuted inside the Chamber of Horrors at the hands of Mance Warner and Matthew Justice.
Rocky Romero defeating AKIRA to win the MLW Middleweight title.
Janai Kai (making her MLW debut) defeating Delmi Exo to win the MLW Featherweight title.
Salina de la Renta now controlling three titles worldwide (including Romero’s CMLL World Historic Welterweight title).
AKIRA and Ricky Shane Page having a miscommunication during RSP’s match with 1 Called Manders.
Minoru Suzuki defeating Jacob Fatu.
Alex Kane successfully defending his title against Tom Lawlor then Matt Cardona calling out the champion and ending the show with a brawl.
We were told security had been tripled for this show following the brawl that took place to close out Slaughterhouse.
Ichiban defeated Love Doug
MLW interviewer Sam Laterna interviewed Doug earlier in the day. Doug said things with B3CCA were not going so well, but he had a treat for her tonight. Doug has been smitten with B3CCA since joining MLW but the International Pop Sensation has knocked back his advances every time.
This was a number one contender match for the Middleweight title, currently held by Rocky Romero. Doug showed some smooth groundwork as he rolled Ichiban up in some different pinfall attempts, showing he can wrestle as well as play his loveable, loving character well during his matches.
We had an early “Both These Guys” chant for this babyface match as they went non-stop and from spot to spot. Doug got out of a Boston crab attempt by throwing rose petals into Ichiban’s eyes.
Ichiban fought back with a jawbreaker and a jumping downward spiral to get the pinfall win. He’s now the top contender for Rocky Romero’s title. This was good and made Love Doug look good despite losing.
– After the match Sam Laterna interviewed Doug, who looked disappointed, that was until a B3CCA background dancer delivered him a letter telling Doug she would come to one of his matches.
– Sam Laterna then caught up with Tom Lawlor. Lawlor returned to MLW at Slaughterhouse last weekend in a losing effort to Alex Kane. This week he questioned the Slaughterhouse referee before turning his attention to Don King. He called him worse than the biggest scumbags on the planet. He announced he has joined Saint Laurent’s World Titan Federation (WTF) in the image of Sports Entertainment.
– Tony Deppen and TJ Crawford then plotted to attack someone else after they put Kevin Blackwood on the shelf recently. But we were then told that Tony Deppen has been suspended for refusing to pay his fines for attacking Blackwood.
– The Second Gear Crew drank some beers and told Matt Cardona he was getting a cowboy ass-whoopin’ tonight.
– We had a promotional video for the upcoming debut of Miyu Yamashita, the Ace of Tokyo Joshi Pro-Wrestling, and the current TJPW Princess of Princess Championship holder.
– Saint Laurent then told Sam Laterna that 1 Called Manders refusing to join the WTF was the biggest mistake of his life.
Bomaye Fight Club (J Boujii & Mr. Thomas) defeated The Mane Event (Jay Lyon & Midas Black)
The Mane Event have great double team chemistry, using their circus hoop to bring a new edge to their double team dives to the outside. Lyon and Black isolated J Boujii, the latest member of the Bomaye Fight Club, and had to dig deep to kick out of a double team neckbreaker uranage combination.
Boujii fought back with a tornado DDT, Mr. Thomas got the hot tag and booted and slammed The Mane Event before coming very close with a bossman slam.
Black speared Thomas to stop the big man in his tracks, if only momentarily, with some slingshot help from Lyons but Boujii saved his partner and floored his opponents with a big impressive springboard double cutter. Thomas then launched Boujii over the top rope onto his opponents and hit Lyons with a pop-up spinebuster to pick up the win.
– We heard from MLW World Heavyweight Champion Alex Kane after he successfully defended his title at Slaughterhouse against Lawlor. Kane said that this is not Sports Entertainment, he will not tolerate the WTF’s disrespect, and told them to keep sending them for him to suplex and tap out.
– We saw a buzzed Mance Warner in the parking lot looking for some weapons. He found a screwdriver and promised some violence.
– Coming off of a successful Slaughterhouse show, Salina de la Renta told us that she holds three titles in two different promotions and that she will be next week’s Executive Producer of Fusion.
Matt Cardona (w/ Saint Laurent) defeated 1 Called Manders
After beating Manders’ SGC stablemate Mance Warner in a Kiss My Foot match at Fury Road in September, Cardona took on another member of the Second Gear Crew with Saint Laurent on commentary.
The story on commentary was Manders knocking back Saint Laurent’s WTF in favor of staying with the Second Gear Crew. This was a good solid back-and-forth match, with Manders looking strong and Cardona always trying to take the easy way out, even using his shirt to choke Manders.
Manders built good momentum and floored Cardona with a strong lariat for a close two-count. Manders missed a shoulder charge but still had the wherewithal to backdrop Cardona out of the ring when he went for his famous Broski Boot.
Upon re-entering the ring, Saint Laurent and Cardona must have thought they had the match won when MSL distracted Manders, Cardona kicked the middle rope into Manders’ lower region and set up to hit his Radio Silence finisher, but Manders caught him and hit a sit-out powerbomb for another close two count.
Cardona pulled the ref in front of Manders as he went for his big lariat finisher, and in the small moment of distraction, Cardona hit Radio Silence to get the pinfall win.
Cardona then grabbed the mic from Sam Laterna as she tried to interview him after the match. He announced he was still undefeated and mentioned Warner by name, who gleefully appeared and beat up Cardona.
This match was recorded before Slaughterhouse so there was no mention of Cardona being in line for the next world title shot against Alex Kane, or that Filthy Tom Lawlor had joined the WTF earlier in the night, but it did extend the WTF vs Second Gear Crew feud with the appearance from Mance Warner to close the show with another brawl.
Next week:
– Salina de la Renta will be the Executive Producer.
MLW announced a partnership with New Japan Pro Wrestling at the end of August. KUSHIDA wrestling on last night’s show kickstarted talent-sharing between the two companies. KUSHIDA defeated Tony Deppen in his first MLW match at Fury Road.
Salina de la Renta is back in MLW. She was revealed as the mystery guest during Sessions By Saint Laurent on Saturday’s show. The 26-year-old has been gone from the promotion since May 2021 after being written off television in an angle with Dario Cueto. Her Promociones Dorado stable will be starting back up as well.
“Salina de La Renta is the founder of Promociones Dorado, an organization that acts as a pipeline to the stars of Latin America for sports leagues, TV and film in the United States and abroad,” reads an MLW press release.
“In 2021, Salina brokered a deal with Cesar Duran. One which costs her dearly. For the past 2 years her whereabouts have been uncertain, but many believe “El Jefe” had something to do with it… until he himself was ruthlessly removed from power by an unknown assailant. Was it Salina? Only time will tell.”
A title change kicked off MLW Fury Road 2023 as well. Rickey Shane Page is the new MLW National Openweight Champion after defeating Jacob Fatu for the belt. RSP becomes the sixth wrestler to win the title since its inception in 2019. Fatu’s reign comes to an end after two successful defenses and 150 days spent with the title.
Also on the show, Matt Cardona won his promotional debut against Mance Warner. B3CCA has earned a shot at Delmi Exo’s World Featherweight Championship after she defeated Maki Itoh. In Saturday’s main event, the Bomaye Fight Club’s Alex Kane retained his MLW World Heavyweight Championship against Willie Mack.
MLW Fury Road 2023 results:
Rickey Shane Page defeated Jacob Fatu to win the MLW National Openweight Championship
B3CCA defeated Maki Itoh to become the #1 Contender to the MLW Featherweight Championship
Matt Cardona w/Mister Saint Laurent defeated Mance Warner
Ichiban defeated Tracy Williams
KUSHIDA defeated Tony Deppen
MLW World Heavyweight Champion Alex Kane w/Mr. Thomas defeated Willie Mack to retain his title
MLW held Fusion tapings following the show. Spoilers for the show are below, via Cagematch.net.
The Second Gear Crew (Matthew Justice & 1 Called Manders) defeated The Calling (Talon & Cannonball)
Love Doug defeated Little Guido
MLW Middleweight Champion AKIRA defeated Jimmy Lloyd in a street fight to retain his title
Matt Cardona defeated 1 Called Manders
Ichiban defeated Nolo Kitana
Alex Kane defeated Snitsky
Tiara James defeated Zayda Steel
TJ Crawford defeated Alec Price and Kevin Blackwood in a triple-threat match
Bomaye Fight Club (J Boujii & Mr. Thomas) defeated The Mane Event (Jay Lyon & Midas Black)
Matt Cardona’s MLW debut will be in a Kiss My Foot match.
It was announced today that the former Zack Ryder will face Mance Warner in a Kiss My Foot match at MLW Fury Road on Sunday, September 3. The match will also have a no holds barred stipulation. The loser of the match must kiss the winner’s foot.
MLW revealed last month that Cardona would be debuting for the promotion at Fury Road. Cardona and Kevin Blackwood were the first two wrestlers to be selected in the 2023 MLW Open Draft.
The announcement of the match comes after Warner accepted an open challenge to face Cardona. Mister Saint Laurent, who is aligned with Cardona, was recently attacked by Warner and Microman on MLW Fusion. Saint Laurent then challenged any member of the Second Gear Crew to face Cardona at Fury Road.
Fury Road is taking place at the 2300 Arena in Philadelphia and will air live on Fite+. Here’s the updated card for the show:
MLW Fury Road (Sunday, September 3) —
MLW World Heavyweight Champion Alex Kane defends against Willie Mack
Kiss My Foot match: Matt Cardona vs. Mance Warner
Maki Itoh vs. B3CCA (winner becomes number one contender to MLW Women’s Featherweight Champion Delmi Exo)
This week’s NWA Power came from the recent Highland Park, IL, taping with Joe Galli and Tim Storm on the call.
Colby Corino defeated Alex Taylor (w/ Danny Dealz)
This was Corino’s first singles match in the NWA since last summer which was the story of the match. This was also deemed a Junior Heavyweight title eliminator match.
Taylor went on the offensive after some competitive work early and really didn’t look good at all. He almost dropped Corino on his head a number of times. Corino then turned it around and when Taylor went for a sunset flip, Corino rolled out and hit a rising knee. He followed it up with a short-arm clothesline and DDT for the win.
Thom Latimer defeated Mario Pardua (w/ C-Red) to retain the NWA men’s TV Title
This was contested under the standard TV title rules with a 6:05 time limit. There was a lot of sportsmanship to start — something you don’t see in wrestling. Latimer pretty much dominated this, destroying Pardua with a big Alabama Slam and a clothesline. Pardua started to fight back, but Latimer caught him with a pop-up power bomb and then locked in the crossface for the win.
– May Valentine was in the back with Kylie and Kenzie Paige. This was just a promo to hype up Kenzie’s Women’s TV title defense later on. They talked about how well they know Samantha Starr and how easy it will be to beat her.
Daisy Kill & Talos defeated Magic Inc. (Cody James & Jake Dumas) (w/ CJ) in the semifinals of the NWA United States Tag Team title eliminator tournament
Kill and Talos were already in the ring before this match with Kill even starting to sing a song that had to be muted because of copyright. The winners of tonight’s two tag team matches will face off at night one of NWA 75 with the winner of that match getting a U.S. Tag Team title shot at night two.
They went back and forth getting each of their moves in, but eventually, it moved to the outside where Magic Inc. threatened to use Kill’s ukulele. CJ ended up using it a couple of times which is when everything kind of fell apart. James was beaten on the outside by Talos and back in the ring, he hit him with a chokeslam for the win.
– This week’s DLZ teased a Kamille NWA Women’s title defense against one of the Paige sisters and previewed next week’s match Mims vs. Blake Troop match.
– Angelina Love was in the back with Aron Stevens and BFT. He cut a promo on La Rebelion and emphasized how they take on La Rebelion on night 1 of NWA 75 for the NWA Tag Team Titles and how Stevens is out for revenge.
The Fixers (Jay Bradley & Wrecking Ball Legursky) (w/Matt Vine) defeated The Spectaculars (Brady Pierce & Rush Freeman) in the semifinals of the NWA United States Tag Team title eliminator tournament
The Spectaculars used a lot of double team moves early and had control of the match for a little bit, but Legursky was quick to put a stop to this. They even threw Pierce at Freeman’s groin area. They were dominant after the initial offense, ending the match with a sandwich of Freeman for the win.
The Fixers now take on Daisy Kill and Talos on night 1 of NWA 75 for a chance at the NWA U.S. Tag Team titles.
– Vampiro was with May Valentine who was there to put over La Rebelion after Stevens said his piece earlier. All he really said was that he believes in his team and that BFT “sounds like a sandwich.”
Matt Cardona returns
Cardona was at what looked like his house. He was outside by the pool with a cigar and said it’s been six months since he has been in an NWA ring. He apologized for this to the fans, to Billy Corgan, to the locker room, and to everyone. He reminded everyone how he was the NWA World Champion and how he got injured and returned at NWA 74 just to lose to Rolando Freeman. He then lost to Tyrus and was turned on by all his stablemates. He announced his plan for NWA 75: a Matt Cardona open challenge. He finished by calling this his second chapter and that he will save the NWA.
Kenzie Paige defeated Samantha Starr to retain the NWA women’s TV title
Paige was actually by herself, surprisingly as her sister didn’t come out and she didn’t have anyone else with her. This was also under the same 6:05 time limit as the men’s TV title match. Starr went to shake her hand to start, but the champ kicked it away. Starr kept going for handshakes over and over again and not a single one worked which was a little bit insane.
Paige used one of these handshakes to get the advantage with an eye poke. She was a great heel, yelling at the referee and fans alike to shut up and doing everything she could to get advantages in the match. At around the 2:30 mark, Starr fought out of a sleeper and caught a superkick for a near fall. Her own Samoan Drop also got a near fall.
They traded pinning combinations and Paige hit the Kenzie Cutter out of nowhere to get the pin and successful title defense.
MLW has announced two new additions to its roster.
Matt Cardona and Kevin Blackwood were selected in the promotion’s open draft held at Never Say Never on Saturday in Philadelphia.
Mister Saint Laurent announced that Cardona will become the newest member of his World Titan Federation. Cardona then appeared via video and revealed he’ll debut for the promotion at Fury Road on September 3.
Blackwood being drafted was announced earlier on the show. It’s not clear when the 32-year-old will make his MLW debut but he wrote on Twitter that it will be “soon.”
Blackwood and AEW’s Daniel Garcia are long-time tag partners and opponents. They wrestled as The Buffalo Brothers on the independents and a set of AEW Dark tapings in September 2020. They wrestled each other on an episode of Dark in January 2023 as well. They’ve also teamed together and faced each other in PWG. Blackwood frequently performs for promotions such as GCW, PWG, C4, BLP and took part in four NJPW Strong tapings in 2022.
Matt Cardona is done with Impact Wrestling for now, according to Fightful.
The outlet reported Friday that Impact had wanted to formalize a deal with Cardona for guaranteed dates vs. the handshake deal he had been working on the past two years. That wasn’t made an option as Impact has “been a little more adamant in signing deals,” the report stated.
They said there’s no drama between the two sides and Cardona is open to return but only if it’s a handshake deal.
Cardona hasn’t wrestled for Impact since January when he lost a TV match to Digital Media Champion Joe Hendry.
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Impact announced a new trios match for this month’s Under Siege streaming special in London, Ontario, Canada: The Design’s Deaner, Kon and Angels vs. Sami Callihan and two mystery partners.
After weeks of posing as if he was joining the group, Callihan turned on The Design at last month’s Rebellion. Callihan and Deaner had a confrontation on Thursday’s Impact on AXS after Callihan’s win over Kon that saw him attacked by Deaner’s minions afterward.
Here’s the current card for the Friday, May 26th event:
Impact World Champion Steve Maclin defends against PCO
Knockouts Champion Deonna Purrazzo defends against Jordynne Grace
X-Division Champion Trey Miguel defends against Chris Sabin
No. 1 contender’s six-way: Eddie Edwards vs. Moose vs. Jonathan Gresham vs. Yuya Uemura vs. Frankie Kazarian vs. Alex Shelley
Sami Callihan & TBA vs. The Design (Deaner, Kon & Angels)
This week’s show featured not just one but two NWA Women’s Tag Team title matches in addition to a NWA National title match.
Mims & Dak Draper defeated Blunt Force Trauma (Carnage & Damage) (w/ Aron Stevens) via DQ
What a horrific finish. A DQ finish can work sometimes, but there was no reason for this. The announcers at least asked why Stevens would use a loaded glove right in front of the referee. It seems like they are trying to tell a story with Stevens being insane or something.
Damage and Carnage immediately got the heat on Mims to the joy of Stevens on the floor. Carnage did most of the work here as Damage (aka Rodney Mack) is limited to the occasional power move being in his 50s. Stevens punched Mims in the face with his loaded glove right in front of the referee for the DQ and terrible finish.
– NWA TV Champion Thom Latimer and NWA World Champion Tyrus were backstage, talking about working together against EC3 and BLK Jeez.
Kerry Morton segment
NWA Junior Heavyweight Champion Kerry Morton was with Kyle Davis at the podium and he talked about how he got into an argument with his dad (Ricky Morton), but that happens with families. They took a loss in the Champions Series as a team, but they are back on the same page again.
Jamie Stanley walked out and challenged Morton tonight for a shot at the title on behalf of Joe Alonzo. Morton said he would give him a shot if Alonzo beats a person of his choosing. That is typically a heel gimmick, but it made sense here — just not from the babyface making him jump through hoops. Typically, the heel does that to prevent the match from happening like the whole Bryan Danielson/MJF feud.
NWA National Heavyweight Champion Cyon (w/ Austin Idol) & Kratos went to a time limit draw
If they actually worked a match here rather than stalling with Cyon’s slower offense, this could have been a good one even with the draw finish. This was a long ten minutes as opposed to the very fast 27 minutes of Mercedes Mone vs. KAIRI at NJPW Battle in the Valley. I don’t really blame Kratos as Cyon can be good when he wants to be, but this was a nothing match.
Kratos and Cyon are both heels, so the crowd wasn’t sure who to get behind. This seems to be a weekly thing. Kratos is awesome though, nonetheless, and hit a great stalling vertical suplex. Cyon rolled to the floor and Kratos followed. The champion drove Kratos face-first into the ring post, targeting the wound Kratos got at the Nuff Said PPV.
Cyon got the heat with some rather boring offense. Kratos started to make a comeback and the bell rang as time expired
– Thrillbilly Silas was backstage with James Mitchell, who apparently has not left the company. Silas claimed he was going to beat Judias next week.
Matt Cardona defeated Odinson
This is probably the best match on the show. The YouTube chat was confused about Odinson now being a babyface when he was a heel a few weeks ago, so I am glad I wasn’t the only one.
Odinson used his power to throw Cardona around in the early going. He went for a shoulder tackle in the corner and Cardona moved, so Odinson crashed into the ring post. Cardona then sent him into the ring steps, continuing to attack the shoulder. Cardona hit a neckbreaker for a two count. Odinson hit a running uppercut for a two count and then went for an F10, but Cardona countered into an armbreaker to target the shoulder.
Cardona hit the Reboot for a two count. Cardona sent Odinson to the ropes, but he responded with the pounce. However, Cardona got his feet on the ropes on the subsequent pin attempt. Cardona took advantage of Odinson moving the ref out of the way and hit him with the Purpose Canister to knock him out and get the win.
Cardona then called out Bully Ray, saying any time, any place, they can fight. Ray came out and Cardona said, “Well, not right now,” which was funny. Cardona said Ray could face him if he went through Mike Knox. Ray said that he would beat him now, but he’ll beat Knox a second time if he had to.
– Pretty Empowered and NWA Women’s Tag Team Champions The Renegade Twins cut promos on each other. Envy claimed they weren’t real twins, which was amusing as they are fraternal twins, not identical.
– BLK Jeez and EC3 have united for The Church’s Money Entertainment, working with CYN. At least Jeez was charismatic in his promo, but much of this made zero sense. EC3 said things that didn’t make sense, other than him wanting to use Jeez to market himself, I think. EC3 then noted he was going after Cyon, so yet another heel vs. heel match. Galli noted that there was an affiliation between Jeez and Cyon through Austin Idol, but EC3 said he was controlling his narrative. Okay.
Pretty Empowered 2.0 (Ella Envy & Roxy) defeated the Renegade Twins (Charlette & Robyn Renegade) to win the NWA Women’s Tag Team titles
This was fine but nothing great. However, the crowd was into it.
Roxy and Envy took it right to both of the Renegade Twins, beating them around ringside before Roxy hit a neck snap on Charlette. Roxy choked her against the ropes and tagged out to Envy. Charlette hit some hard chops on Roxy, but was soon double teamed again.
Envy went for a cannonball in the corner, but Charlette dodged and tagged out to Robyn. Robyn stood in the middle of the ring waiting for Roxy, who was on the apron. Roxy is still green, folks.
Robyn hit double knees in the corner and a low dropkick for a pin attempt that was broken up by Envy. Roxy countered an O’Connor roll from Robyn and pulled the tights to get the pin and the title win.
Kenzie and Kylie Paige came out to celebrate as it looks like Kenzie’s younger sister is officially in Pretty Empowered as well. Missa Kate and Madi immediately came out with a referee and cashed in Madi’s Champions Series title shot.
Missa Kate & Madi defeated Pretty Empowered 2.0 (Ella Envy & Roxy) to win the NWA Women’s Tag Team titles
This was quick. Kate hit the Kick Filet on Roxy followed by Madi hitting the Reality Check scissor kick to get the pin and title change. Weren’t Missa Kate and Madi not getting along recently? In fact, didn’t they break up? What a weird finish.
Final Thoughts:
They tried to make this episode noteworthy with the title changes, but the Champions Series is still one of the worst ways to do it. Having a Money in the Bank-esque option for so many people on the roster is dumb and while it can create surprise title changes, that really isn’t the key to good booking or storytelling as evidenced by Kate and Madi not getting along recently.
The first-ever NWA Nuff Said pay-per-view takes place Saturday from the sold-out Shrine Center in Tampa, Florida, with Tyrus gunning for his first-ever title defense as he battles former champion Matt Cardona.
Recent Impact World title challenger and NWA competitor Bully Ray will be on commentary for the match. Everyone else is banned from ringside.
NWA Women’s Champion Kamille will defend her title against Angelina Love in a no DQ match, NWA National Champion Cyon defends against Homicide, and NWA Junior Heavyweight Champion Kerry Morton defends against Alex Taylor.
NWA Tag Team Champions La Rebelion defend against Blunt Force Trauma while NWA Women’s Tag Team Champions Pretty Empowered defend against The Renegade Twins.
The debuting Kevin Kiley (fka WWE’s Alex Riley) will face EC3, former NWA World Champion Trevor Murdoch battles Chris Adonis, and Thom Latimer challenges Fodder in a Singapore cane match to round out the main card.
Four matches will be part of the pre-show.
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NWA Nuff Said Preshow
Unlike past preshows of NWA PPVs, this one started on time and not during the middle of a match. An improvement!
La Rosa Negra defeated Missa Kate
Kate and Rosa exchanged some technical wrestling to start, and the counters continued throughout the first few minutes of the match. Rosa powered up off the mat into an airplane spin on Kate that was followed with an elbow for a 2-count. Rosa went to the top ropes but was cut off by Kate. Kate blocked a strike and smashed Rosa Negra’s face into the turnbuckle. Rosa Negra dropped Kate and then hit a frog splash for the win.
Mims & Dak Draper defeated Jax Dane & Blake Troop (w/ Chris Silvio, Esq.)
Troop and Dane argued after the match but ended up leaving together. Given this was the first time we saw them teaming, I’m not sure why we would care about them arguing.
Dane and Troop attacked Mims and Draper from behind and immediately isolated Mims. Draper tagged in but missed a springboard back elbow, and then Dane popped the trunk and hit a lariat. For some reason this didn’t finish the match, and Dane went to a stretch and then a German suplex.
Troop tagged in and immediately started suplexing Draper. Draper showed some power against Troop, but it didn’t last long before Troop hit another suplex. Dane tagged in and Draper hit a German suplex. Mims tagged in and hit an awesome clothesline before dumping Dane to the floor. Silvio tried to get involved, but he accidentally hit Troop, leading to Draper being able to cradle Troop for the pin.
–May Valentine interviewed EC3, who claimed he was over. He was wrong. He also said he was bringing CYN to the NWA and he was going to help people around the industry recover their passion, or something like that, as he faces Kevin Kiley.
Odinson defeated Joe Alonzo
Odinson is very confusing as he has turned babyface, then heel, then babyface, then heel, and then babyface again in the last year, I think. I like Odinson, but his booking has been very inconsistent. Him and Alonzo had a good match here though.
On his way to the ring, Joe Alonzo challenged Tim Storm, who chuckled. Odinson hit a uranage right away and then dominated the next few minutes. Alonzo was able to get an attack in after pulling Odinson into the ring post, attacking the “crown jewels of Asgard” as Joe Galli put it. Alonzo worked over the knee, but Odinson used the purpose spray to hype himself up before hitting another uranage for a 2-count. Odinson dodged a lionsault and then hit a pounce before hitting the F10 for the win.
–Thrillbilly Silas was with May Valentine and claimed he was going to suck the air out of the arena when beating Kratos. You know, I think that may kill the fans. It will stop Kratos though. This was a perfect 80s style nonsense promo.
Natalia Markova & Mercurio defeated Jennacide & Max the Impaler (w/ Amy Rose)
This was fine. Not sure what the point is of introducing Amy Rose and then having her team lose, but this is the NWA where the booking rarely makes sense.
Father James Mitchell was noticeably missing from Max’s corner, but Amy Rose came out managing Max. Mercurio started the match with Jennacide and tried to romance her. It didn’t work. Jennacide then hit a neckbreaker type move on Markova before tagging out to Max. Markova and Mercurio struggled individually against Max, but were able to hit a few moves when they teamed up. Markova hit a running knee strike on Max, but Jennacide came in and hit a proto-plex. Mercurio yanked the hair of Jennacide in the corner before Markova hit a double armed DDT for the win.
–Magic Jake Dumas made his return from injury after the match to confront Mercurio and Markova. The crowd made no noise. Last I checked Dumas was a heel, so they’re setting up a heel vs. heel feud with CJ and Dumas against Markova and Mercurio. I can hear the old F4W No Buys anthem. Also, still waiting for Dumas to do a magic trick. He never has. Unless the injury was actually a disappearing act?
Main Show
Thom Latimer wasted no time at the start of the show, running down to the ring to confront Fodder.
Thom Latimer defeated Fodder in a Singapore Cane match
Well, the match delivered on the stipulation by having the kendo sticks used a lot.
Latimer sent fodder crashing into the steps at ringside before grabbing a kendo stick, but as he jumped off the top rope, Fodder hit Latimer in the stomach. Fodder broke a kendo stick over the back of Latimer. He violently beat Latimer down with it before continuing his assault to Latimer’s back in the corner with Irish whips. Fodder tried to hit Latimer with the kendo stick again, but Latimer caught it, then broke it over the back of Fodder before locking on the crossface with the kendo stick for the submission.
NWA World Jr. Heavyweight Champion Kerry Morton (w/ Ricky Morton) defeated Alex Taylor (w/ Danny Dealz) to retain
Good match from Taylor and Morton. Morton is turning into a really solid worker, and Alex Taylor is quite underrated.
Taylor kept slowing the speed of Morton down every time Morton tried to pick up the pace. Eventually the ended up exchanging chops and forearms on the apron, ending with Alex Taylor taking an implant DDT on the apron. Danny Dealz exclaimed “He almost killed him! There is no way that is legal!” before grabbing the foot of Kerry Morton, which is not legal.
Alex Taylor did a suicide dive through the corner to the floor to nail Morton, who violently swore when Taylor drove him into the guardrail. Morton managed to hit a twisting neckbreaker back in the ring before doing a monkey flip. Danny Dealz tried to pull a garbage can out from under the ring, but Ricky Morton dropped him. Alex Taylor hit a cradle shock for a 2-count. Morton hit a running knee, the Kiss Her Goodbye, for a 2-count. Taylor hit a superkick on Morton before going for a fireman’s carry. Morton slipped out and hit a GTR for the pinfall.
Thrillbilly Silas (w/ Pollo Del Mar) defeated Kratos
This was a mean guy match, but the blood on Kratos was horrifying at the end. He was very badly busted open. I hope they have a doctor on hand to check him.
Kratos used hard strikes to rock Silas early in the match before hitting a back suplex on the apron. Kratos suplexed Silas across the ring, and mocked the crowd by clapping. The crowd clapped, showing they don’t realize he is a heel. Kratos ripped the turnbuckle pad off, which clued them in, so they booed. Kratos, a good worker.
Kratos took Silas’ head off with a lariat. The crowd started chanting for Silas soon thereafter, and Kratos tried to drive him face first into the exposed buckle, but he blocked it. Kratos kicked Silas’ leg out of his leg instead. Kratos missed a few elbow drops and Silas got a crazy look in his eyes and fired up before hitting a few punches and a running power slam.
Silas hit a lariat of his own that nearly dropped Kratos on his head. Silas hit a massive powerbomb on Kratos, which was very impressive. Kratos caught Silas on a crossbody attempt and lifted him into a brainbuster. That was incredible. Silas responded with a thrill ride, but Kratos kicked out. Kratos tried to send Silas into the exposed turnbuckle, but Kratos crashed face first into it and was busted open hard say. Silas then locked on a submission for ref stoppage. Silas then rubbed the blood on his face, which was disgusting.
–Angelina Love was with May Valentine and talked about how she wasn’t scared of Kamille and was going to end her reign.
The Renegade Twins (Robyn & Charlette Renegade) defeated Pretty Empowered (Kenzie Paige & Ella Envy) to win the NWA Women’s Tag Team Championship
Paige continues to be awesome, throwing a forearm to drop Charlette Renegade off the apron before tagging out to Robyn. Charlette and Robyn were able to get the advantage on Envy for a bit, which caused her to flee to Paige and tag out. Paige took the advantage again, giving Envy time to recover and they got the heat on the twins.
Robyn tried to fight back, but Paige with respond with even harder forearms before locking on a sleeper. Charlette hit a fisherman’s suplex on Envy, but Paige broke it up with a senton. The Twins went for the Renegade’s Revenge, but Paige saved Envy again. Robyn pulled Paige from the ring, finally getting Envy alone, and Charlette rolled up Envy for the flash pinfall.
EC3 defeated Kevin Kiley Jr.
The best worker in this match was Kevin Kiley, and he struggled throughout. I don’t blame him, as he hasn’t been wrestling frequently for so long. I imagine he’ll be fine once he gets a few more matches under his belt to knock off the ring rust. I hope he is okay after that horrible crash to the floor.
EC3 was announced as being from “The Narrative in His Mind” and with his new nickname, The Overman, because he’s over, man. Gah. I cringed writing that. The announcers told us that Kevin Kiley received a call from EC3 and that is why he was here for this match. Kiley decided to come back, but looked a bit lost coming out, which may have been by design with EC3 saying he wanted to bring the best out of him.
This was Kiley’s first match in 6 years, and you could tell. Kiley hit two splashes in the corner before hitting a flying forearm, but as he charged the corner, EC3 hit a stun gun on the corner to drop Kiley. EC3 beat on him with plodding offence before locking on a camel clutch and yelling that no one wanted Kiley. EC3 kicked him in the gut and ran the ropes, but Kiley hit a few strikes and a neckbreaker before hitting a spinebuster.
EC3 rolled to the floor and Kiley tried to jump over the ropes to the floor on EC3, but his foot caught the ropes and he crashed face first to the floor. I hope he is okay, because that looked brutal. EC3 brought him into the ring and locked on the purpose (which is not to be confused with the purpose that Odinson sprays in his own face to hype himself up) for the submission.
NWA World Tag Team Champions La Rebelion (Bestia 666 & Mecha Wolf) defeated Blunt Force Trauma (Damage & Carnage) (w/ ‘A Game’ Aron Stevens) via DQ
A terrible DQ finish in a poor match. La Rebelion looked good until the finish, and this team of Blunt Force Trauma is not over at all. Whatever they are doing with them and Stevens is obviously not working, but they persist.
Apparently Aron Stevens’ nickname is now ‘A Game.’ Not to be confused with The Game. Damage (Rodney Mack) beat on Bestia in the early parts of the match. Bestia countered a knee strike with a cradle, but Carnage (Marshe Rockett) kicked out. Mecha Wolf tagged in and hit a springboard crossbody on Damage. Mecha Wolf then hit a moonsault off the top rope onto both Damage and Carnage.
La Rebelion hit stereo enziguris before sending Carnage to the floor with some fast double team offence and suplexing Damage. Damage and Carnage both ended up on the floor and La Rebelion hit a series of dives onto both men. Aron Stevens had a conniption on the floor but ended up getting caught hitting Bestia with a loaded glove.
Chris Adonis defeated Trevor Murdoch
The recap of this match would seem to indicate otherwise, but this was actually a good match. This is the only time this comparison will happen, but Adonis worked this match like a babyface Randy Savage, selling and selling until the finish. Not bad at all.
Murdoch worked the arm of Adonis throughout the early parts of this match, attempting to limit the usage of the master lock. Every time Adonis tried to strike back, Murdoch would hit a hard clothesline to drop him. Murdoch hit a giant pop up spinebuster but did not go for the pin. He decided to go for the top rope bulldog, but Adonis caught him and put on the master lock and Murdoch passed out for the referee stoppage.
NWA World Women’s Champion Kamille defeated Angelina Love in a No DQ match to retain
Both women worked hard in this one, with the right finish. Love bumped like crazy for Kamille, and Kamille showed some great selling, which she doesn’t do often. She really has improved dramatically since she won the title and has really come into the role, being champion for nearly 2 years now.
Kamille didn’t wait for Love to finish her entrance before running in and attacking. Love, however, managed to drive Kamille into the ring post shoulder first and then into the ring post on the on outside again. Love sent Kamille into the ring steps and the guardrail. Love put Kamille in a crossface using Kamille’s own hair to complete the choke.
After a few more minutes of heat from Love, Kamille picked Love up into a torture rack and hit a torture rack bomb for the 2-count. Kamille set Angelina Love in the corner and put a garbage can against her face. Kamille then went coast to coast, hitting a dropkick into the can. This should be the finish, but Love kicked out after 2.
Kamille pulled a table out from under the ring and propped it up against the turnbuckle. Love threw the trash can into the arms of Kamille before hitting the Botox injection for a 2-count. Love tried to hit Kamille with the title belt, but Kamille ducked and hit a spear through the table on Love for the win.
–May Valentine was with Tyrus and BLK Jeez, and he cut a promo on “internet trolls” who mocked him, saying there were only 1500 of them, and that he had the support of millions of people that watch him. Of course, they watch him on Fox, and it has translated to nothing for the NWA other then making their fans upset.
NWA National Heavyweight Champion Cyon (w/ Austin Idol) defeated Homicide to retain
This went way too long given that both were heels. Homicide’s mild babyface turn part way through the match couldn’t save it, despite the work being really solid at a fundamental level. The crowd was dead though.
Austin Idol cut a promo about his own history in wrestling in Tampa, and that he really wanted to say he was happy to be back there, but he would be lying, because Tampa sucked. Idol called Tampa Bay a cesspool, saying it was polluted, and that he was glad to get out of there as early as he did. I laughed.
Unfortunately, as entertaining as that was, the crowd did not want to cheer Cyon after that. Homicide is a heel, Cyon is a heel, Austin Idol is a heel, and the promotion is a heel. There is no one to root for in this. The crowd, predictably, responded with silence. The fundamentals of booking really escape Mr. Corgan.
Cyon asked for a mic and said that Homicide should apologize to all the stuff he said to Austin Idol. Cyon claimed that the fans didn’t even know Homicide’s name. Homicide turned slightly babyface by cussing Idol out while in a chinlock. The fans sort of got into the match despite Homicide working the first half as a heel offering a few claps and cheers for Homicide.
Homicide hit a tornado DDT for a 2-count. Homicide then got claps for doing the 3 Amigos while yelling “This is for you Eddy Guerrero” and I guess Homicide is a babyface fully now. Homicide went for the frog splash, but Cyon cut him off and hit a superplex. Cyon hit a Death Valley Driver soon thereafter for the win.
–Bully Ray made his entrance for commentary and told the fans that he was happy to be back in Tampa, before going to the table. “I never go into business for myself, right Tim?” Storm agreed. Ray then paused as he was sitting down midway, looked at Storm, and then laughed.
NWA Worlds Heavyweight Champion Tyrus defeated Matt Cardona to retain
Goodness, this match sucked. Cardona tried his best, and even with all the smoke and mirrors there was nothing he could do to make this anything more then a negative star match.
Matt Cardona got a far bigger reaction of both boos and cheers than Tyrus. Tyrus was mildly booed with a few smatterings of cheers. Cardona was given a main event reaction. That should tell you who should be in this match and who shouldn’t. Tyrus did an arm drag and looked gassed.
Matt Cardona rolled to the outside and yelled at Bully Ray, claiming he was going to get involved. Tyrus headbutt Cardona, but made it so slowly back to the ring that Cardona kicked the middle ropes to low blow Tyrus. Cardona hit a dropkick to the knee of Tyrus and Tyrus went down and proceeded to stay there for the next few minutes as Cardona worked over the knee.
Cardona put on a figure four leglock. Tyrus tried to roll over. Tried being the key word. He got halfway and Cardona just let go. Cardona jumped off the middle ropes into Tyrus, who supposedly swatted him, but he just stood there and Cardona hit him and fell to the mat. Cardona dodged a corner charge and Tyrus walked into the corner. Cardona hit a the reboot on Tyrus 3 times.
Tyrus kicked out of a pinfall attempt. Cardona grabbed the NWA title and brought it back to the ring. This made no sense since Tyrus was basically dead on the mat. He went to hit Tyrus, but Tyrus somehow got to him first and went for a clothesline, but Cardona ducked and took out the referee. Tyrus hit an exploder and walking elbow but the referee was down.
Rorlando Freeman ran down and hit Tyrus with a chair. Tyrus no sold it, stood up, and hit an exploder on Freeman. Cardona hit Tyrus with a chair and the title belt for a 2-count. Cardona grabbed the referee and protested, and Tyrus charged the corner. Cardona moved and Tyrus crushed the referee. Mike Knox ran down and hit a crossbody on Tyrus.
Bully Ray stopped Knox from using the ring bell, and threw Knox into the ring steps. Tyrus slowly rose to his feet and put the Tongan death grip on Cardona, slamming him down for the pin.
–Bully Ray grabbed a mic after the match, and said that he respected Tyrus because he was champion, and decided to do the right thing. Bully Ray put him over as much as he could and said you had to respect him. A few of the fans chanted for Tyrus. Are they trying to turn him babyface? Oh no.
Tyrus thanked Bully Ray and said that no one in the locker would come out to help him, as they feared him. Yes, locker. Not locker room. That is what he said. Tyrus said he would give Bully Ray a title shot any time he wanted, but they are not friends. Oh no.
Final Thoughts
This was not a good show. There were some good elements on it, with Kamille and Angelina Love probably having the hottest match of the night. Kerry Morton and Alex Taylor was probably the best from an in ring perspective.
I can’t seem to escape Bully Ray in a main event position on the shows I recap here for F4W, as he’s now in the NWA title picture after losing to Josh Alexander in Impact. That said, I would take Bully Ray as champion long before I’d take Tyrus, if that means anything.
The top two matches being heel vs. heel did not help this show at all, and they should have learned by now that Kamille is probably going to have the hottest match on the card despite how little build this one got. She should have closed it and sent the fans home happy, rather then the nonsense we got after it. That said, Tyrus and Bully Ray is not a feud I needed, but it is likely what is next. Oh no.
