Major League Wrestling has announced the lineup for tonight’s Fusion premiere.
The show will air at 6:05 p.m. Eastern for free on YouTube and VEEPS. It will also air at 10 p.m. Eastern on beIN Sports.
There will be a press conference segment with MLW World Champion Killer Kross and Scarlett on tonight’s two-hour show.
Matches announced include Hammerstone vs. Bishop Dyer, The Good Brothers’ Karl Anderson and Doc Gallows vs. Joe and Mark Coffey, Diego Hill vs. Adam Brooks, Austin Aries vs. Trevor Lee, Shotzi vs. Priscilla Kelly, and Scarlett Bordeaux vs. Aleah James.
Also scheduled for the episode, Zamaya debuts, Shoko Nakajima will address Shotzi Blackheart, and we will learn more about Don Gato’s legendary origins.
MLW Fusion premiere lineup for May 30, 2026
MLW World Champion Killer Kross and Scarlett press conference
Hammerstone vs. Bishop Dyer
The Good Brothers (Karl Anderson & Doc Gallows) vs. Joe & Mark Coffey
MLW Fusion has announced its return date, and it will air in a time slot MLW CEO Court Bauer refers to as “sacred ground.”
MLW Fusion will return on Saturday, May 30, 2026, at 6:05 p.m. on YouTube and 10 p.m. on beIN Sports. It will be the first episode of the show to air since December 14, 2023.
“6:05 is sacred ground,” said Bauer in a press release. “That time slot belongs to the history of this sport as made famous by legendary Ted Turner. We’re not just bringing back a weekly show — we’re planting our flag and celebrating wrestling’s southern soul. MLW Fusion is back, it’s free, and it’s built for the fans who remember what Saturday night wrestling felt like.”
Fightful Select reported last week that Fusion was set to return, but a date was not revealed.
MLW has unaired 2026 tapings
MLW has taped multiple events in 2026 that have yet to air, which could potentially be used for new episodes of Fusion. These events include one held at Center Stage in Atlanta on March 14, as well as one taped from The Signal in Chattanooga, Tennessee, on May 9.
Up next, MLW will run three nights in a row from June 11 to June 13, with the June 11 event taking place at the Melrose Ballroom in New York City, and the June 12 and 13 events taking place at the 2300 Arena in Philadelphia.
The last time MLW aired an episode of the show was December 14, 2023, on YouTube.
On Thursday, Fightful Select reported that a new season of the show is on its way and that details regarding a premiere date are said to be “imminent.”
MLW recent events
MLW has primarily been running full shows on YouTube since episodes of Fusion stopped airing.
The promotion is coming off a joint show with CMLL at Arena Mexico on Friday, May 1.
MLW also held an event on March 14 at Center Stage in Atlanta that has yet to air. The promotion recently taped a show from The Signal in Chattanooga, Tennessee, on May 9, that also has not aired.
MLW’s upcoming schedule includes an event at the Melrose Ballroom in New York City on June 11, followed by events at the 2300 Arena in Philadelphia on June 12 and 13.
MLW has confirmed the broadcast team for the revival of its weekly television series.
When MLW Fusion makes its return, Joe Dombrowski and “Filthy” Tom Lawlor will serve as the commentators for the show. Rich Bocchini — who has done commentary for MLW and WWE NXT in the past — will make his MLW return in a new role. He’ll be the broadcast’s “MLW Insider” who is tasked with delivering “breaking news, exclusive scoops, and unfiltered insight from inside Major League Wrestling.”
Bocchini was known as Rich Brennan while with WWE and did play-by-play during the early days of NXT.
MLW wrote about his new role:
Bocchini will operate across every layer of MLW — embedded backstage, stationed at ringside, and tracking developments as they unfold in real time. His mission: deliver the news, context, and inside information driving the biggest fights in the sport.
A return date for MLW Fusion has not been announced yet, but the promotion held a TV taping for the show in Atlanta this past weekend. It went on hiatus toward the end of 2023 and has aired on beIN Sports and YouTube.
The next event on MLW’s calendar is Fantastica Mania USA in Charleston, South Carolina on April 12. Taking place in collaboration with NJPW and CMLL, the event is a taping for Fusion. MLW also has upcoming stops in Chattanooga (Tennessee), New York City, and Philadelphia over the next few months.
After a two-year absence, MLW is bringing back its Fusion television series.
The promotion released a teaser today hyping that Fusion will return in 2026. The show has been on hiatus since the end of 2023, with MLW instead opting to present regular specials instead of weekly TV. A return date has not been announced, but MLW says the show will be coming back soon.
“You waited. You demanded. Soon it returns. MLW Fusion 2026,” the teaser says.
Fusion debuted in 2018 and has served as MLW’s primary TV show. It aired on MLW’s YouTube channel and beIN Sports before the series went away in December 2023.
The next event on MLW’s calendar is Battle Riot VIII in Kissimmee, Florida on January 29. It’s being headlined by the annual Battle Riot match, where Mads Krule Krugger is putting his MLW World Heavyweight Championship on the line against 39 other challengers. The show will be broadcast live on YouTube.
This week’s matches were taped at the famous 2300 Arena in Philadelphia earlier this month. Joe Dombrowski and Matt Striker announced the matches.
– Matt Cardona with Steph de Lander told us that he is going to walk out of his city, New York City, the MLW World Heavyweight champion because he is a man and Alex Kane is a little boy. He questioned what Kane could possibly do to him since he survived being thrown off the stage by Kane all those years ago.
Jimmy Lloyd defeated Cannonball in a Thumbtack Pit of Deathmatch
The thumbtack pit was set at the side of the ring similar to a casket match but we were not told how someone wins this match type. I’m guessing being thrown into the tack pit?
Cannonball used a flier to papercut Lloyd’s fingers and mouth before being on the end of a double knees to the face. Cannonball then pushed Lloyd’s forehead into the tacks, followed by rubbing a handful across the forehead and shoving a fistful into his mouth.
Lloyd reversed Cannonball and forced the masked man’s hand into the tack pit before hitting him and another Calling henchman with a dive.
They brawled to the back where Ricky Shane Page attacked Lloyd but AKIRA, who had recently split from Page and The Calling, came in to even the odds.
After a break, they brawled back to the ring where Cannonball absorbed four chair shots before falling off the apron and through the thumbtack pit to give the win to Lloyd. Lloyd will face The Calling’s Ricky Shane Page for the MLW National Openweight title at One Shot.
– After Mance Warner cut his farewell promo last week following his loss in a Loser Leaves MLW match at Fightland, 1 Called Manders was cutting an emotional promo about his lost friend when “Masked Good Brother #3” from last week came into the shot to cheer up Manders. MGB#3 was, of course, Mance Warner under a mask and is he still in MLW, phew!
Wasted Youth (Dylin McKay & Marcus Mathers) defeated The Mane Event (Jay Lyons & Midas Black) and Austin Luke & Lucky 13 in a Three Way Tag Team match.
Wasted Youth had the hometown advantage in this tornado tag rules match and they started strong hitting a great moonsault to Jay Lyons.
Luke and 13 were in next where 13 hit a nice jumping knee to get a close nearfall. The action was non-stop and full of tag team combinations, especially when The Mane Event were involved. Their attack culminated in Lyons hitting his circus hoop dive to all four opponents.
Luke hit a nice German suplex on Lyon and 13 came close to winning with a combo kick to the face of Midas Black.
Wasted Youth came back in with a double dropkick and double superkick. They then picked up the impressive debut by finishing off 13 with a Fireman’s carry roll, a top rope moonsault – followed immediately by a dive to the floor ala Rey Fenix- and a top rope 450 splash.
– After the match, Joe Dombrowski interviewed the winning pair. McKay said they have found the place with the hottest tag team division and where they will treat them with respect.
– We heard more details of Alex Hammerstone’s “release” from MLW and his joining the World Titan Federation before the WTF cut a ’90s WWF-style group promo in front of a green screen. Lawlor introduced Josh Bishop who told the Bomaye Fight Club to bow down to the man who rules the wrestling world. Hammerstone said that Bomaye is bogus marketing “BS” manufactured by MLW.
– Ahead of the One Shot match between Mascarada Dorada and Rocky Romero for the MLW Middleweight title, Salina de la Renta and Romero told us that Mascarada will need all the help they can get.
– Tony Deppen returned from suspension for attacking Kevin Blackwood weeks ago. Deppen will face Nolo Kitano in two weeks.
Zayda Steel defeated Gia Scott
After an equal opening exchange, Zayda raked the eyes to gain the advantage. Gia Scott came back with some strikes and a big kick to the face followed by a Book End ura nage for a close two count.
Zayda slipped out of a power slam and quickly used a single-leg takedown, jumped on top, and put her feet on the ropes to pick up the flash pinfall win.
Joe Dombrowski tried to interview Zayda Steel but Saint Laurent interrupted and made it a “Sessions by Saint Laurent”. Steel ended up receiving a WTF contract after Saint Laurent called her a Diva and a 10.
– Alex Kane responded to Matt Cardona ahead of their title match at One Shot. Kane said Cardona has been messing with his family for too long and will give Cardona a receipt for busting him open at Fightland. Kane said he will take Steph de Lander to Hoe Island, MSL to Fat Camp, and Cardona to Suplex Island.
– Our own “Filthy” Tom Lawlor will face Satoshi Kojima at One Shot in NYC on December 7, this week he told us that some people think Kojima is the best MLW world champion, but Lawlor told us all that he is the greatest champion in the company’s history and will send Kojima back home in a pine box.
– Saint Laurent then continued his homage to Vince McMahon by announcing the “Bodies by Saint Laurent” bodybuilding contest at One Shot with a special guest singing America the Beautiful before the competition.
World Titan Federation (Alex Hammerstone, Josh Bishop & Tom Lawlor w/Saint Laurent) defeated The Bomaye Fight Club (J Boujii, Mr Thomas & O’Shay Edwards)
Alex Kane was injured in last week’s main event so that explained why he was absent from the Bomaye Fight Club team this week.
Bomaye shone first by singling out Lawlor who was on the receiving end of Mr Thomas’ Bossman slam. Filthy quickly came back into the match and locked in a Sharpshooter before tagging in Bishop and Hammerstone who beat down J Boujii.
Hammerstone easily launched Boujii into the air with a press slam. Lawlor then wrenched the arm and whipped Boujii into Bishop who hit his own Bossman slam. Quick tags continued as Lawlor hit a hard right forearm to floor Boujii followed by a Bronco Buster.
Boujii came back with a German on Lawlor and a momentum-shifting DDT.
Mr. Thomas got the hot tag and launched his large frame off the apron on top of Bishop, clotheslined Lawlor out the ring, and hit a top rope flip dive to the floor onto everyone.
Back from the break, Boujii hit a springboard cutter to Lawlor and Thomas launched Boujii off the top with a rocket launcher. However, Bishop pushed Thomas into the pin to break it up.
Hammerstone then ran over Boujii before suplexing Thomas out of the ring. Lawlor and Bishop hit a double chokeslam to Boujii but Edwards made the save.
Bishop and Edwards brawled to the floor, leaving Boujii and Hammerstone in the ring. Hammer hit his pump kick and Nightmare Pendulum but let Lawlor sneak in to complete the pinfall victory for the World Titan Federation.
– After the match, the WTF put the boots to the Bomaye Fight Club as referees and officials tried to stop the attack. Alex Kane’s music hit for possibly the only man able to stop the attack but before he could make it to the ring, Cardona jumped Kane from behind and rammed him into the ring post. Bomaye Fight Club members tried to help but they were also knocked down and out of the ring.
– As Fusion was planning to go off the air the Bomaye Fight Club had one last fight in them and they launched a final attack as a team. They got the better of the WTF and Kane hit Cardona with a suplex to stand tall at the end of the show.
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.
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 was a special edition of Fusion as Salina de la Renta was in charge. The matches were taped in October at the famous 2300 Arena in Philadelphia, plus a special showing of Volador Jr. vs. Rocky Romero from CMLL NJPW Fantastica Mania from June this year. Joe Dombrowski and Matt Striker announced the matches.
Jesus Rodriguez, the master of ceremonies for the night, introduced Salina but she was quickly interrupted by Ichiban and his interpreter looking for a shot at Romero and the MLW Middleweight title. Instead of Romero, Ichiban was forced to face Rodriguez immediately.
Ichiban defeated Jesus Rodriguez w/Salina de la Renta
Ichiban continued his quest for the heavily hinted Middleweight title shot by extending his undefeated streak to four wins. He previously put away Tracy Williams, Nolo Kitano and Love Doug, and took little time to put away Rodriguez here.
To give him credit, Jesus did keep Ichiban floored initially by using his size advantage to slow the pace. Salina also got her shots in from ringside when she could. She distracted Ichiban with powder and then choked him on the ropes behind the referee’s back.
Ichiban made a brief comeback with a jawbreaker and missile dropkick but Rodriguez floored him again. Rodriguez missed a middle rope moonsault, which let Ichiban come back again with a bulldog and his face-first finisher to pick up the pinfall win.
– After the match Romero and Janai Kai jumped Ichiban and Romero dropped him back first onto a seated chair.
– Salina had some big news about the upcoming MLW Fightland show. She announced that Romero would team with CMLL Light Heavyweight champion Barbaro Cavernario to take on Mascarada Dorada 2.0 and Ichiban. Plus she later announced that Jacob Fatu would challenge Alex Kane for the MLW World title at Fightland.
Highlights of Rocky Romero defeating Volador Jr to retain the CMLL World Historic Welterweight title (taped in Arena Mexico in June 2023 at CMLL NJPW Fantastica Mania).
– Salina introduced the new MLW Featherweight champion “Kick Demon” Janai Kai, fresh from defeating Delmi Exo for the title at MLW Slaughterhouse. We saw a highlight video of Kai’s array of kicks and strikes.
– Delmi Exo then confronted Salina backstage and said she will get her rematch. The cameras followed Salina where she then met Mister Saint Laurent as they brokered a deal: Salina got exclusive documents from when MSL was MLW Vice President, and MSL got a guaranteed title shot for a member of his World Titan Federation whenever he wanted.
– Mance Warner and 1 Called Manders were drinking beers in the parking lot and talking about their title shot next week. Salina interrupted but she was then interrupted by Jacob Fatu who ended up getting a future dream match in Mexico against Mistico.
– MLW World Heavyweight champion Alex Kane met with Salina for the big Fightland announcement. Salina brought out Kane’s next challenger, Jacob Fatu. The two went face-to-face as the crowd chanted “Holy Sh*t” and Fusion went off the air.
Next week:
– The Second Gear Crew (Matthew Justice and 1 Called Manders) will challenge The Calling (AKIRA and Ricky Shane Page) for the MLW Tag Team Titles in a tag team tables 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.
This week’s MLW Fusion was taped in Philadelphia at the famous 2300 Arena earlier this month with Joe Dombrowski and Matt Striker on the call.
The Second Gear Crew (1 Called Manders & Matthew Justice) w/ Mance Warner defeated The Calling (Cannonball & Talon) in a Texas Tornado match
This week’s continuation of the SGC vs. Calling feud was a tag team weapons-filled brawl. The Calling had chairs thrown at their unprotected heads in the early going, and the chairs had a strong presence throughout the opening.
The SGC came back into the match when Talon went crashing through a seated chair with a missed senton. Manders then powerslammed Talon into Cannonball, squashing him in the corner.
The massive Cannonball broke up a double pin by splashing and crushing everyone, coming after Justice and Manders had taken Talon out with a spear and clothesline at the same time.
Cannonball dropped Manders on his head with an underhook piledriver. Justice then took out Cannonball with a senton dive to the floor followed by Manders flooring Talon with a clothesline. Justice got the win after a top rope splash.
– Love, Doug continued his quest to win the heart of featherweight title no. 1 contender B3CCA this week by practicing singing her a song backstage.
– TJ Crawford and Tony Deppen both attacked and injured MLW newbie Kevin Blackwood last week. This week, Deppen said he is only here for money, but he saw a younger version of himself in Crawford and they are both there to take over MLW.
– After being on the end of an “expose” last week that hinted at him breaking away from MLW to form his own organization, Mr. Saint Laurent responded by calling it slander and preposterous.
Shane Strickland defeated Ricochet (2017)
– We had a special match from October 2017 when MLW returned with MLW One Shot where Strickland defeated Ricochet. There was a video package that introduced a “This Week in MLW” segment where we saw MJF, Darby Allin, MVP, Sami Callihan, and others perform on the show. But it was Strickland and Ricochet that had their main event match shown in its entirety. Tony Schiavone helped call the action, which was really good as you would imagine.
The match, perhaps surprisingly, started slow and involved Ricochet playing heel while mat wrestling Strickland to the ground, but they were pacing themselves as they ended up going over 30 minutes with crisp great action. They incorporated some strong strikes in between a great showing of athleticism and innovative feints and dodges.
Ricochet burst out a poisonrana, a rolling Northern Lights suplex into a brainbuster, and a springboard 450 splash but it was Strickland who got the submission win with an armbar. I would highly recommend checking this out.
– We heard from MLW Champion Alex Kane who called his mystery opponent tonight a ho, saying he will send him to Ho Island because it doesn’t matter who it is.
– After announcing Rocky Romero as part of her stable last week, Salina de la Renta strongly hinted this week that she is behind the new CMLL partnership. She said the deal would come at a price and that she would see us at Slaughterhouse.
– AKIRA responded to the announcement of his match vs. Rocky Romero at Slaughterhouse. He said Romero will need his eyepatch for real after he is finished with him.
MLW World Champion Alex Kane defeated Snisky in a non-title match
Saint Laurent’s mystery opponent for Kane was the muscle man from his World Titan Federation, Snisky. The former WWE wrestler brought out a gurney with him, but it played no part in the match.
The commentators questioned how Kane would be able to suplex Snisky given the size difference between the two, but we found out almost immediately as Kane hit him with a normal suplex and then two Germans.
Snisky slowed it down with a big boot, a series of elbow drops, and a body slam, but when he went up to the top rope, you knew it would be trouble. Snisky missed a somersault senton which gave Kane the opening to take his back, lock in the rear naked choke, and pick up the submission victory to close the show.
This week’s matches were taped in Philadelphia at the famous 2300 Arena earlier this month. Joe Dombrowski and Matt Striker announced the matches.
We had a new opening video package highlighting the latest MLW collaboration between not only New Japan Pro Wrestling but also CMLL.
Tiara James defeated Zayda Steel
This was Steel’s debut in MLW and she is playing a rich and spoiled character, being billed from “a place you couldn’t possibly afford”. James joined MLW as part of the 2023 Open Draft and lost her opening match in the promotion to B3CCA, but got the win here after a double underhook DDT.
This was quick, simple, and effective in giving James a solid win in the Featherweight division.
– We saw The Calling officially indoctrinate Cannonball into their fold, and in the same recorded promo they also put a warning out to 1 Called Manders.
– Salina de la Renta returned to MLW recently and has been sending out warnings to various members of the locker room: Microman, Jacob Fatu, and Cesar Duran in particular. Last week, we saw Sam Adonis, a supporter of Duran, be kidnapped in a very similar way we saw ‘El Jefe’ Duran a few months ago.
– This week de la Renta announced her first luchador for her new version of the Promociones Dorado stable, Rocky Romero. Romero vs. AKIRA was then announced for MLW Slaughterhouse on October 14th.
TJ Crawford defeated Alec Price and Kevin Blackwood in a Triple Threat Match.
A second MLW debut this week as Blackwood had his first match for the promotion here. It was another opening match defeat as Crawford got the win over Blackwood in a very exciting triple-threat match.
We saw a recap from Crawford’s last match where he was approached by a hooded figure who whispered something in his ear. It seems this may be a developing story for Crawford.
Speaking of Crawford, the last time we saw the third competitor, Alec Price, he defeated TJ Crawford in singles action, so this match had a little history to it. Price is a great high flyer and was the first to take to the sky with a springboard crossbody and DDT.
Blackwood and Crawford are more grounded with strikes and suplexes so they were a good base for Price to fly around and land on. Blackwood brought out some German suplexes and throws before dropping Crawford with a Death Valley Driver for a two-count.
Crawford hit a nice combo ending in a Falcon Arrow but Blackwood quickly grabbed an arm bar after he kicked out. Price then sprung back into the action and hit a top rope springboard neckbreaker while Crawford powered out of the armbar with Blackwood on his shoulders.
As Price then flew to the floor onto Blackwood, we saw the supposed same hooded figure from last week return to take Price out at ringside. Inside the ring Crawford caught Blackwood coming off the ropes with a standing spinning kick to the jaw called the Silver Bullet to pick up the win.
After the match, the hooded figure returned again and attacked Blackwood with Crawford helping in a two-on-one attack. The figure Pillmanized Blackwood’s ankle and then revealed himself to be Tony Deppen.
– We also heard from Ichiban for the first time since he started his impressive unbeaten run in MLW. He said, through his interpreter, he is here to be the best in the world. His goal is to dominate the Middleweight division and be number one.
– We saw a report speculating if Mister Saint Laurent is creating a rival faction within MLW and mentioned the 2000 AJPW exodus that created NOAH, plus ROH’s All In helping create AEW as examples.
– Matt Cardona was live streaming on MLW’s YouTube channel and we saw run-ins by Maki Itoh and Mance Warner as he was hosting. Itoh distracted Cardona long enough for Warner to jump him and give him a few right hands.
– New matches were announced for MLW Slaughterhouse on October 14th on Fite+. Ricky Shane Page will defend the Openweight title against 1 Called Manders in a Spin the Wheel Make the Deal match, Mance Warner will team with Matthew Justice to take on The Calling’s Anvil and Cannonball in a Chamber of Horrors match, and B3CCA will get her shot against Delmi Exo for the Featherweight title.
– Minoru Suzuki vs. Jacob Fatu and Alex Kane vs. Davey Boy Smith Jr. have previously been announced for the show.
AKIRA defeated Jimmy Lloyd to retain the MLW Middleweight title in a Street Fight
In the latest chapter of the Second Gear Crew vs. Calling feud we had AKIRA pick up the win in what was described as a street fight but more resembled a hardcore or weapons match.
Lloyd dove onto AKIRA to start things off. AKIRA’s back was badly scarred, showing he is one of the top deathmatch fighters in the world at the moment. Lloyd added insult to injury by driving a screwdriver into his scarred back.
Lloyd started a “Terry” chant in homage to Terry Funk in the old ECW arena as he spun around with a ladder on his head to take out AKIRA. The champion responded by throwing Lloyd into the ladder in the corner, crushing it in the process.
AKIRA hit a tiger feint kick and then attempted to cut Lloyd’s finger off with a knife he had at ringside. He later drove the knife into Lloyd’s forehead busting him open, then sucked the bloody knife clean which, of course, received another lovely chant from the Philadelphia crowd. The knife was then used in Lloyd’s cheek and mouth as AKIRA held it there for a Side Russian Legsweep.
Multiple chairs were brought into the ring, which helped Lloyd during his comeback. Lloyd hit a falcon arrow onto a chair but was then suplexed into some thumbtacks.
AKIRA hit a poison rana to get out of crashing into a set of seated chairs and locked on an armbar. Lloyd powered out of the armbar and side-walk slammed AKIRA into the tacks.
Ricky Shane Page and Matthew Justice came out to ringside and distracted AKIRA to let Lloyd hit a package piledriver onto the tacks for a two count.
AKIRA fought back and ended up DDT’ing Lloyd through multiple seated chairs to pick up the win and retain his title.
– Ahead of the world title match at Slaughterhouse on October 14 between champion Alex Kane and challenger Davey Boy Smith Jr, we heard from Saint Laurent who guaranteed Smith will pin Kane because he has submitted him and knocked him out previously. He also said that next week on Fusion the World Titan Federation (WTF) has a mystery opponent for Kane, “and it is a big one”.
Next week:
Alex Kane vs. a mystery opponent picked by Saint Laurent.
This week’s matches were taped in Philadelphia at the famous 2300 Arena earlier this month. Joe Dombrowski and Matt Striker announced the matches.
– We opened with Mance Warner, 1 Called Manders, and their latest ally Jimmy Lloyd. Lloyd called out AKIRA and said he was there to take his Middleweight title.
Ichiban defeated Nolo Kitano
Ichiban continued his undefeated start in MLW with another solid and impressive performance. The commentary team was speculating about a potential Middleweight title shot in the future for Ichiban if he continues his winning ways.
Kitano’s gimmick is a samurai warrior crossed with a more modern street fighter, and his style suits this Middleweight division well. He hit a nice torneo dive to the floor and had Ichiban on the ropes by reversing a top rope crossbody for a close nearfall.
This started with a fast pace and flowed into a striking battle. Towards the end, Kitano walked the top rope before hitting a fantastic moonsault into a DDT.
Ichiban evaded a top rope frogsplash, hit a superkick, ate a Pele kick and a spin kick to the back of his head in response, but was able to shake that off to catch Kitano in mid-air and hit his face first finisher to pick up the hard-fought win.
– We learned of Matt Cardona’s next plans in MLW after he beat Mance Warner in a Kiss My Foot match at Fury Road. This week, Cardona told us all that he is here for gold.
– We saw a recap of the Microman and Sam Adonis feud but the camera cut to live footage of a desperate Sam Adonis. He tells the camera he knows where Cesar Duran is before some masked henchmen, the same masked men who kidnapped Duran, attacked him, and took him away. Could Salina de la Renta be behind this latest kidnapping?
– The number one contender to the Featherweight title, B3CCA, was a guest on Sessions by Saint Laurent, where she revealed some “scandalous” information on Featherweight champion, Delmi Exo. B3CCA said it is unfortunate Exo is “injured” and can’t compete against her.
– Don King, the financial backer of Alex Kane’s Bomaye Fight Club, announced that Kane will defend his MLW World Heavyweight title against Davey Boy Smith Jr. at the upcoming Slaughterhouse show on Fite+ on October 14th.
– Mance Warner has requested a Chamber of Horrors match for Slaughterhouse. He blindsided Court Bauer with blueprints of his drunken imaginative ideas.
– We also learned that Microman missed a scheduled autograph session and is missing. In recent weeks, The Second Gear Crew and The Mane Event have helped Microman avoid attacks by Snitsky and Sam Adonis, could they be behind his disappearance?
Love Doug defeated Little Guido
B3CCA had a quick outfit change to be part of the commentary team and she was greeted by her heartthrob Love Doug who had a heart-shaped cake for her.
On paper, this may look like a comedy match, and they did break out a test of strength that turned into a ballroom dancing routine, but the match got a little more aggressive when Guido took Doug down with a hard clothesline.
Doug’s overarching story at the moment is his obsession with B3CCA, who keeps turning him down or often just ignoring him completely. But our persistent Lothario still tried to show off and impress his love interest and even used a B3CCA-inspired guitar that Guido brought into the ring to help him get the win.
There was a cake brought to ringside, so of course Doug ended up going face-first into it as B3CCA rejected him once again.
– Last week Salina de la Renta sent several warnings out to the MLW locker room, especially Jacob Fatu, but this week she was in her new backstage office with a zipped bag making muffled noises. Salina said she was sending “this sack of sh*t back to Mexico, bye-bye Microman”. So it was Salina, and not Mister Saint Laurent and the Titan Wrestling Federation, who was behind the disappearance of Microman.
MLW Middleweight Champion AKIRA went to a No Contest with Matthew Justice
The Second Gear Crew and The Calling have clashed in various combinations recently and this was the latest in their ongoing faction war. This was quite quick but was a weapons-filled match with some risky bumps onto chairs.
The weapons came out early as Justice used a chair on the outside, rammed AKIRA face-first into it inside the ring then dropped him back first onto a seated chair with a brutal-looking Death Valley driver.
After the break, AKIRA got his revenge with a sunset flip powerbomb from the corner onto another seated chair. The masked Calling men distracted Justice on the outside to let AKIRA come off the top to the floor with a chair. This brought out Jimmy Lloyd, Cannonball, Ricky Shane Page, and finally Mance Warner and 1 Called Manders to save the day. The referee called for the bell as the chaos unraveled.
Ricky Shane Page and 1 Called Manders brawled to the back where Ricky Shane Page leaped off a ladder and put Manders through a table as Fusion went off the air.
This week’s MLW Fusion was taped at Philadelphia’s 2300 Arena with Joe Dombrowski and Matt Striker on the call.
Ichiban defeated TJ Crawford
This was Ichiban’s first match on Fusion after making his debut at Fury Road by defeating Tracy Williams. Crawford has made a few appearances for MLW so far, all losing efforts. This was a good match to showcase the ability of both and give Ichiban a solid win.
Ichiban is crisp and has a good rapport with the fans. Crawford got the heat by faking an eye injury to delay Ichiban on the top rope, followed by him then crotching the high-flying striker. He hit a nice double underhook sit-down slam but arrogantly went for a cover that Ichiban easily kicked out of.
Ichiban fought back with a stunner, handspring elbow and springboard dropkick. His momentum was stopped, but only momentarily, as he got a close nearfall after a crossbody.
They exchanged strikes until Ichiban hit a long satellite DDT before getting the crowd to chant “one” (Ichiban is Japanese for number one) as he leapt and hit his jumping downward spiral to pick up the win.
As Crawford was leaving, a hooded figure came out and whispered something in his ear before walking off together.
– Backstage, Mance Warner and the Second Gear Crew hyped up Microman and gave him their favorite weapons to use against Sam Adonis. After the match, Warner promised Coronas and “bonitas mamacitas.”
Sam Leterna then interviewed Adonis who called himself Mexico’s top box office attraction and Mexico’s top draw. He says he is going to teach Microman some respect.
B3CCA defeated Tiara James
B3CCA defeated Maki Itoh at Fury Road to become the number 1 contender to Delmi Exo’s MLW Featherweight title. Love Doug, who is smitten with B3CCA, joined the commentary team with roses for her but she brushed him off each time he tried to get her attention.
James looked good here with a crossbody, gut buster and a running senton. Later, a spinebuster got her a close two count.
B3CCA took advantage and hit a middle rope dropkick and a running big boot in the corner. Her arrogance nearly got the better of her as James was able to sneak in a schoolgirl but she came back with an eye rake and her impressive top rope 450 splash to pick up the win.
After the match, she wanted the camera to follow her and not show Love Doug as he tried to get her attention.
– Salina de la Renta returned to MLW at Fury Road and tonight, we heard from The Empresaria. She told Leterna, who she thought was former MLW interviewer Alicia Atout, that she was behind the disappearance of Cesar Duran, Taya Valkyrie and John Hennigan. She promised to continue dropping bombshells.
– Leterna was earning her keep tonight as she then interviewed Jacob Fatu about his upcoming match with Minoru Suzuki at MLW Slaughterhouse on October 14th. De la Renta interrupted and threatened Fatu after what he did to her at 2020’s SuperFight in his match against LA Park.
Microman vs. Sam Adonis went to a no contest
This had the usual Microman comedy spots with Adonis making fun of his height, plus the usual heat spots with Adonis bullying and teasing to tear off the mask.
Adonis got the heat with a big boot and brought a chair into the ring to repeat what he did last week. Instead, Microman dropped Adonis with a drop toe hold onto the chair and was closing in on victory when Snisky (the former Snitksy) ran out and pulled the referee out for the disqualification.
Snisky backed Microman into the corner and threatened to punt Microman but the Second Gear Crew ran out to save Microman for the second week in a row. They hoisted Microman to the top rope and he splashed Adonis for good measure. They all then shared a beer to celebrate getting one over MSL and his World Titan Federation.
– MLW Champion Alex Kane held a press conference where he questioned who his next opponent was, saying Tom Lawlor ignored his offer to cash in his automatic rematch clause. MSL then interrupted and Kane said he would choke out Davey Boy Smith Jr. again if he had to.
– The Calling were in the house and as Fusion was going off the air, we saw them brawling backstage with the Second Gear Crew who had a little help from Jimmy Lloyd.
This week’s MLW Fusion was taped at Philadelphia’s famous 2300 Arena in July with Joe Dombrowski and Matt Striker on the call.
At the end of the Kiss My Foot match at Fury Road, Mance Warner bit MSL’s foot instead of kissing it and tonight, MSL promised revenge against the entire Second Gear Crew at the hands of Matt Cardona.
Snisky defeated Yoscifer El
MSL introduced former WWE wrestler Snitsky, now going by Snisky, as the latest member of his World Titan Federation and he took no time to destroy El. A clothesline and a chokeslam was enough to put him away, but the focus was on Snisky joining forces with MSL. As EL was being stretchered out, MSL instructed his new charge to attack him again and give him another beating.
– The next big event on the MLW calendar is Slaughterhouse on October 14th which will feature the MLW debut of Minoru Suzuki. Now that New Japan talent is free to appear in MLW, Jacob Fatu called him out.
The Mane Event (Jay Lyon & Midas Black) and Microman defeated Jesus Rodriguez and The FBI (Little Guido & Ray Jazz)
The FBI and Rodriguez interrupted Matt Striker before the match to introduce themselves and to get some easy heat before the faces came out to a nice ovation from the Philadelphia crowd.
Rodriguez is the latest foe of Microman, taking umbrage at being shown up in this year’s Battle Riot. FBI had some comedy spots double-teaming Microman, but it was always Rodriguez who came in to get the real heat by flooring Microman with stiff kicks.
Black got the hot tag and both the action, and quality, increased tenfold. Black hit a spin kick and a tiger feint kick on Jazz and Lyon hit a middle rope springboard moonsault for a close two count.
Black saved Lyon from an FBI attack and then hit a 3D into an X-Factor on Guido before Microman hit a middle rope Vader bomb through a circus hoop to pick up the pinfall.
After the match, Sam Adonis came out and distracted Microman by accusing him of things from when they were both in Mexico together. But the distraction was used to bring Snisky out who chokeslammed The Mane Event, punted some dolls into the crowd and threatened to punt Microman too. The Second Gear Crew then ran out to make the save and send Adonis, Snisky and MSL (who had come out with Snisky) to the back. Adonis will take on Microman next week.
– We saw a special All Access look at the MLW Champion Alex Kane who was out of character talking through his rough childhood, emotionally talking through his earlier suicidal thoughts and telling us that wrestling saved him. His recent popularity swing was highlighted and if any doubts were remaining, this video cemented that Kane is now a babyface.
wXw Unified World Wrestling Champion Shigehiro Irie defeated Calvin Tankman to retain the title
Earlier in the night, Tankman called himself one of the biggest, baddest and heaviest hitters in MLW but he is still looking for his first singles championship.
This got some time and built to a good finish that had the crowd growing with interest throughout. I felt it had similarities to the Miro vs. Powerhouse Hobbs AEW All Out match with two big men hitting each other hard.
The hard-hitting chops and strikes began early as the action spilled to the outside. Tankman caught the champion and hit a nice powerslam on the apron as Irie had draped him backfirst across the middle rope. A big splash followed for a two count.
Irie got a boot up which seemed to rock Tankman. The match broke down into a striking battle that finished with Irie dropping a clobbering hammer first on a fallen Tankman. Tankman later found himself sitting on the apron and Irie came running and took them both to the floor with a sliding elbow.
Tankman came back with a spinning elbow and a pump handle slam to bring the momentum back in his favor. After shrugging off a rear choke attempt, Tankman hit a pop-up back elbow and a power bomb for a two-count. Tankman quickly hit his hard back elbow to the back of Irie’s head, but the champion had enough left to block a Tankman Driver.
Irie used the momentary opening to hit a hard clothesline to the back of the head, a somersault senton as Tankman was draped on the middle rope and two Beast Bomber clotheslines to put Tankman down and retain his title. Both eventually shook hands after they had recovered from the brutal match.
