Japanese wrestling legend Minoru Suzuki is now a champion in MLW.
At Summer of the Beasts in New York City on Thursday night, Suzuki and his Contra Unit partner Ikuro Kwon defeated Satoshi Kojima & Okumura to win the MLW Tag Team titles. After Kwon blinded Okumura with mist, Suzuki pinned him with a Gotch-style piledriver.
Contra Unit’s Mads Krugger and Janai Kai joined Suzuki and Kwon as they laid out Kojima in a post-match angle. Krugger will challenge Kojima for the MLW World Heavyweight Championship next month at Fightland.
Kai also holds MLW gold as the Women’s Featherweight Champion.
Since debuting for the promotion in October 2023, Suzuki has made regular appearances for MLW. He’s currently working as a freelancer in Japan and the United States.
Summer of the Beasts saw former WWE wrestler Donovan Dijak make his MLW debut, promising to bring destruction and devastation. He mentioned Kojima, Suzuki, Matt Riddle, and Timothy Thatcher as targets and vowed to become the next MLW World Heavyweight Champion.
Matt Riddle says he is in “a way different place” now that it’s been nearly a year since his WWE release.
Riddle was let go by the company in September 2023. Since then, he’s wrestled for NJPW, MLW, AAA, The Crash, REVOLVER, and several other promotions.
Riddle was interviewed by the New York Post recently and said that his personal life deteriorated during his WWE run.
“Even though I was making great money, my family life deteriorated, I got divorced and other things and then on top of that just being able to see the kids, then just taking care of responsibilities,” Riddle said. “When I’m flying to a different city or driving to a different city every day and wrestling and memorizing promos and all these things, a lot of other things fell to the side.”
Riddle said in an interview with MuscleManMalcolm earlier this summer that he still speaks with Randy Orton frequently. He says Orton asks him if he’s interested in coming back to WWE but Riddle says that with a kid on his way, it’s not the right time.
“I’m in a way different place,” Riddle continued. “I feel way better. It’s hard to explain because most people think, ‘Oh you’re there, it must be great.’ Professionally my life was awesome. Personally, my life was in shambles. You lose your family. You lose this, that and you’re trying to rebuild anything and you don’t have time to.”
Riddle also addressed having stated publicly that he could beat Roman Reigns in a fight, similar to previous comments he made about Goldberg.
“This isn’t a flex, this is the truth,” Riddle said. “If I didn’t think I could I wouldn’t say it. You don’t hear me saying I can beat up Bobby Lashley, you know maybe on a good day. Or a Brock Lesnar, maybe on a good day.”
However, Riddle says that things between him and Roman Reigns are good.
“I think when he saw how professional I am in the ring and I also explained why things were said and I wasn’t just trying to call you out,” he continued. “I know my place in WWE but when someone tells me to cut a promo on you, I’m gonna cut a promo on you. I think he understood that. Still wasn’t happy about it, but understood. Me and Roman, we’re good.”
Up next for Riddle is a match against Matthew Justice at MLW Summer of the Beasts in New York’s Melrose Ballroom on Thursday.
MLW Summer of the Beasts lineup for Thursday, August 29, 2024 —
Opera Cup 2024 quarterfinals: Mistico vs. Atlantis Jr.
Opera Cup 2024 quarterfinals: KENTA vs. AKIRA
Opera Cup 2024 quarterfinals: Tom Lawlor vs. TJP
Opera Cup 2024 quarterfinals: Alex Kane vs. Bad Dude Tito
MLW World Tag Team Champions Satoshi Kojima & Okumura defend against Contra Unit’s Minoru Suzuki & Ikuro Kwon
Miya Yamashita vs. Delmi Exo
Matt Riddle vs. Matthew Justice w/Bill Alfonso
MLW World Featherweight Champion Janai Kai defends against HANAKO
Bobby Fish vs. Timothy Thatcher
Brock Anderson & CW Anderson vs. Jay Lyon & Love, Doug
Paul London vs. Brett Ryan Gosselin
Little Guido vs. LSG vs. Nolo Kitano vs. Jimmy Lloyd in a scramble match
In hindsight, Brock Anderson doesn’t feel he was ready for his role in AEW.
Anderson joined AEW as a rookie in 2021 and was with the company until his contract was not renewed in 2023. The son of wrestling legend Arn Anderson, Brock was trained by former WCW wrestler Lodi and then trained at the Nightmare Factory with QT Marshall.
While appearing on the Under the Ring podcast, the 27-year-old Brock looked back at his time in AEW and explained why he doesn’t think he was ready for the promotion. Brock said that, with AEW being “basically just TV,” there wasn’t a setup for younger wrestlers to develop.
“When I was at AEW, hindsight’s 20/20, you can look back and see that things weren’t going to be the way they were,” he said. “But I didn’t know — it was a new company, I didn’t know what was going to happen. But I don’t think looking back now I was ready for that. Because for young guys, there is no setup to really learn and grasp the business. It’s basically just TV.”
Brock was a regular on AEW Dark during his stint with the promotion, but AEW Dark and Dark: Elevation both ended in April 2023.
Since departing AEW, Brock has wrestled on the indies and is now set to make his MLW debut at Summer of the Beasts in New York City this Thursday (August 29). He’ll be part of a tag team with former ECW wrestler CW Anderson.
Paul Walter Hauser and Tom Lawlor are going to meet inside a steel cage.
After Lawlor defeated Jake Crist in the Opera Cup opening round at MLW Blood and Thunder, the actor-turned-wrestler appeared via video. He challenged Lawlor to a no holds barred MMA cage match where Lawlor’s manager, Mister Saint Laurent, would be barred from ringside. Lawlor said it was on.
At MLW’s Battle Riot event, Hauser eliminated Lawlor from the battle royal, which was ultimately won by Matt Riddle. Later in the month at MLW’s anniversary show, Hauser laid out Saint Laurent following a series of insults, leading to Lawlor attacking Hauser with a steel chair.
The Golden Globe and Emmy award-winning actor made his debut in professional wrestling earlier last fall, defeating Matthew Palmer at a Pro Wrestling Revolver event. He defeated Sami Callihan in a Philadelphia Street Fight at the WrestleCon SuperShow during WrestleMania weekend, and most recently went to a no content with Danhausen.
The 49-year-old Benjamin still feels he has a lot to offer as a wrestler following his release from WWE in September 2023. Benjamin said he had a brief conversation with AEW during free agency. That conversation hasn’t resulted in anything yet, but he’s still open to it. Benjamin noted that he hasn’t spoken with TNA Wrestling but knows MLW has reached out to him.
“I’ve got tons left in the tank, it’s just a matter of whether or not anyone wants to use it. Like I said, I’m always going to be synonymous with WWE. But I’m open to be anywhere,” Benjamin said.
“I had a brief conversation with AEW. That hasn’t really bore any fruit yet, but I’m still open. TNA, I haven’t spoken with yet. I’m more than willing to work with them. I haven’t talked to them. I know MLW has reached out. So, you know, I’ve been presented with options. I just haven’t found something that I’m satisfied with.”
Benjamin’s release from WWE happened during a round of roster cuts the company made after officially being acquired by Endeavor last year. Benjamin told Van Vliet that he would go back to WWE if they made the right offer for him to return.
Van Vliet asked Benjamin if there was ever any talk about making Benjamin a producer or working behind the scenes when he was with WWE.
“There was talk of me possibly becoming a trainer at some point. I don’t think that door has closed, I just haven’t pursued it yet,” Benjamin responded.
Benjamin said he loves training people and teaching, but he still has some more things he wants to accomplish as a wrestler.
“I love training people. I love teaching. And that comes from my amateur wrestling background, but at this point, I still think a little selfishly,” Benjamin said. “I feel like I have a few more things that I’d like to do, that I’d like to accomplish. So while yes, I definitely am interested. I have to put aside my own ambitions to really be able to do that job correctly. And right now, at least today, I’m not ready to not think a little selfishly.”
After holding Battle Riot VI in the city, MLW has announced a return date for Atlanta.
MLW will be back at Center Stage on Saturday, September 14 for Fightland 2024. The event will feature both a live streaming special and matches taped for MLW television. Tickets are going on sale this Wednesday (June 5) at 10 a.m. Eastern time.
Center Stage also hosted Battle Riot VI this past Saturday. At the event, Matt Riddle won the 40-man Battle Riot match to earn a future MLW World Heavyweight Championship shot. Satoshi Kojima, the current champion, retained his title against Tom Lawlor. MLW hasn’t announced when Riddle will be getting his title shot.
Battle Riot was MLW’s Atlanta debut.
Going forward, MLW’s special events (including Fightland) will air live on YouTube for those who subscribe as a paid member to the MLW YouTube channel. The events previously aired on TrillerTV+.
Riddle, Kojima, Lawlor, Alex Kane, Mistico, AKIRA, Sami Callihan, Jake Crist, Delmi Exo, Cesar Duran, Salina de la Renta, and Contra Unit (Mads Krugger, Minoru Suzuki, Janai Kai & Ikuro Kwon) are advertised for Fightland.
Here’s a look at MLW’s upcoming event schedule:
Blood & Thunder: Friday, July 12 at The Coliseum in St. Petersburg, Florida
Summer of the Beasts: Thursday, August 29 at the Melrose Ballroom in New York City
Fightland: Saturday, September 14 at Center Stage in Atlanta
Lucha Apocalypto: Saturday, November 9 at Cicero Stadium in Cicero, Illinois
Matt Riddle is the winner of the sixth Battle Riot.
Riddle won the battle royal at Saturday’s MLW event in Atlanta. The final four in the match were Riddle, Sami Callihan, Davey Boy Smith Jr., and Timothy Thatcher. The finish had all four men tumble over the top rope. Thatcher and Smith eliminated each other while Riddle held onto the ropes, sending Callihan to the floor. As a result, Riddle has now earned a future MLW World Championship match.
The forty-man battle royal also featured the likes of Minoru Suzuki, Tom Lawlor (who entered three different times), Paul Walter Hauser, Violent J, Earnest “The Cat” Miller, Scotty Riggs, and Mistico.
Riddle has made regular appearances in MLW since being released by WWE last year. He also briefly held the New Japan World Television Championship before losing to Zack Sabre Jr. in April.
Other matches at Battle Riot VI saw MLW World Heavyweight Champion Satoshi Kojima defeat Lawlor to retain the title, Alex Kane defeating AJ Francis in a ritual combat match, and Janai Kai defeating Delmi Exo to retain the MLW Featherweight title.
Mark Henry made his first post-AEW appearance at MLW’s Battle Riot VI event on Saturday in Atlanta.
Henry appeared alongside Teddy Long ahead of the Ritual Combat match between Alex Kane and AJ Francis (Top Dolla), which Kane ended up winning. It marked Henry’s first appearance since his contract with AEW expired at the end of May.
Henry announced on Busted Open Radio that he wouldn’t be re-signing, instead choosing to focus on other projects.
“And I am not gonna be renewing my deal. And I think that, you know, it’s a mutual thing,” he said. “If I can’t dedicate 100 percent of myself, then it’s only fair for both parties to end the relationship on a positive note. And, like I said, it’s been nothing but positive.”
In the top matches of Battle Riot VI, Satoshi Kojima defeated Tom Lawlor to retain the MLW Heavyweight Championship. Matt Riddle ended up winning the Battle Riot battle royal, last eliminating Sami Callihan.
Mikey Ruckus on X paid tribute to Susie Monk Johnson, who sang Toni Storm’s original AEW, following her passing: “I am saddened to learn that Susie Monk Johnson (aka Suzie Mojo), singer on Toni Storm’s Theme “Watch What’s Next”, has passed away. Humble & kind, she was a local musician from my area. She leaves behind a husband & 2 daughters. My heartfelt condolences.”
“Filthy” Tom Lawlor is getting a chance to dethrone Satoshi Kojima for the MLW World Heavyweight Championship.
MLW has announced that Kojima will defend his World title against Lawlor at Battle Riot VI on Saturday, June 1. The show is being held at Center Stage in Atlanta and will air live on YouTube for free.
Kojima is a double champion in MLW, currently holding the World Heavyweight Championship and Tag Team titles. There was a storyline last month where Lawlor & Davey Boy Smith Jr. vacated the MLW Tag Team titles after Lawlor was taken out in an attack by Contra Unit. Kojima & Okumura then won the vacant belts.
There have been two singles matches between Kojima and Lawlor before. Kojima defeated Lawlor at an MLW event in December 2023. In 2021, Lawlor beat Kojima at a show for NJPW.
Kojima has been MLW World Heavyweight Champion since February. Lawlor previously held the title for five months in 2019.
The Battle Riot event is being headlined by MLW’s Battle Riot match, which is a 40-man battle royal where the winner receives a future World title shot. Matt Riddle, Sami Callihan, Mistico, Timothy Thatcher, Ernest “The Cat” Miller, Davey Boy Smith Jr., Bobby Fish, and actor Paul Walter Hauser are among the entrants that have been confirmed.
MLW Battle Riot VI (Saturday, June 1) —
40-man Battle Riot match
MLW World Heavyweight Champion Satoshi Kojima defends against Tom Lawlor
Battle Riot VI will include the MLW debut of an Emmy award-winning actor.
Paul Walter Hauser, a wrestling fan and occasional in-ring competitor, will debut for MLW as an entrant in the Battle Riot match on Saturday, June 1. It’s a 40-man battle royal where the winner receives a future shot at the MLW World Heavyweight Championship. The title is currently held by Satoshi Kojima.
For his role in the 2022 Apple TV+ mini-series “Black Bird,” Hauser won awards at the Emmys, Golden Globes, and Critics Choice Awards. His Emmys victory speech included multiple wrestling references, including mentioning Matt Cardona and Kota Ibushi.
Hauser made his in-ring debut last November and has wrestled in four indie matches. He’s competed for Wrestling Revolver, at the 2024 WrestleCon Supershow, and for Southern Honor Wrestling. Hauser has also made appearances for AEW and ROH.
Battle Riot VI is taking place from Center Stage in Atlanta on June 1. MLW has announced that the event will stream live for free on YouTube
“The ‘content is king’ era is over. The creator economy is here and it’s powered by YouTube,” MLW’s Court Bauer said in a press release. “Direct to consumer is the future for sports leagues. We are going right to the fans that watch us and giving them MLW’s biggest signature event of the year for free.”
Matt Riddle, Mistico, Bobby Fish, Sami Callihan, Ernest “The Cat” Miller, Matthew Justice, Timothy Thatcher, Davey Boy Smith Jr., Mads Krugger, Alex Kane, and AJ Francis will be among the other entrants in Battle Riot VI.
The Battle Riot match made its debut in 2018. Tom Lawlor, LA Park, Alex Hammerstone, Jacob Fatu, and Alex Kane are past winners of the match.
Satoshi Kojima & Okumura vs. Second Gear Crew (Matthew Justice & 1 Called Manders) for the MLW Tag Team titles will take place at the promotion’s Azteca Lucha event in Cicero, Illinois on Saturday, May 11. The show is being held at Cicero Stadium and will air live on TrillerTV+.
The MLW Tag Team titles were declared vacant this week following an angle where champions Tom Lawlor & Davey Boy Smith Jr. were attacked by Contra Unit. MLW said that the attack “left Tom Lawlor hospitalized and Davey Boy Smith Jr. unable to compete, resulting in the championship committee declaring the titles vacant.”
A Lawlor & Smith vs. Kojima & Okumura match was being set up prior to Lawlor & Smith vacating the tag titles.
Kojima & Okumura is a pairing of NJPW and CMLL veterans. In MLW, Kojima is the promotion’s current World Heavyweight Champion.
Second Gear Crew are former MLW tag champs, holding the titles from November 2023 until February of this year.
Here’s the updated Azteca Lucha card:
MLW Middleweight Champion Mistico defends against Barbaro Cavernario
Atlantis Jr. vs. Ultimo Guerrero
Satoshi Kojima & Okumura vs. Second Gear Crew for the vacant MLW Tag Team titles
—Bryan and I will be back tonight with Wrestling Observer Radio, talking Raw, Bill Goldberg, Von Wagner and the rest of the news. If you’ve got questions, we should have time for them tonight and you can send to [email protected]
—We’re looking for reports from Raw tonight in Columbus, OH, with the Main Event results and any off-the-air news. We’re still looking for reports from Birmingham and Cardiff on he European tour as well to [email protected]
—Raw had just under 9,000 tickets out earlier today so this isn’t going to be sold out. Montreal wasn’t sold out last week either so the streak has been broken, but the streak of strong crowds continues. There will be a Battle Royal to crown a world’s women’s champion, the belt Rhea Ripley vacated, plus Miz & R-Truthy defend the tag titles against DIY and Ricochet & Andrade vs. Dominik Mysterio & JD McDonagh.
—Due to the NHL playoffs, Raw tonight and Smackdown Friday will air on OLN and not the usual Sportsnet in Canada.
—Raw has tough competition tonight with three NBA playoff games. Orlando vs Cleveland is at 7 p.m. Eastern on NBA TV, Philadelphia vs. New York Knicks is at 7:30 p.m. on TNT and TruTV and Los Angeles Lakers vs. Denver is at 10 p.m. on TNT and TruTV. TNT and Tru have single games tomorrow going against NXT and Wednesday against AEW. There are also NHL playoffs with Boston vs. Toronto at 7 on ESPN, Carolina vs .New York Islanders at 7:30 p.m. on ESPN 2, Las Vegas vs. Dallas at 9:30 p.m. on ESPN and Edmonton vs. Los Angeles at 10 p.m. on ESPN 2.
—We’re looking for your thoughts on AEW Dynasty and TNA Rebellion, thumbs up, down or middle, along with a best and worst match for each show to [email protected]
—Smackdown on Friday against more competition than usual did 2,333,000 viewers and a 0.63 in 18-49.
—The most expensive tickets for the Conor McGregor vs. Michael Chandler fight on 6/29 at the T Mobile Arena are priced at $12,000, which includes in venue hospitality, a post weigh-in reception and VIP entrance. There are also seats at $11,500. With those prices, this will be one of if not the biggest gate in UFC history.
—Lots of Raw talent will be at Smackdown on Friday and Smackdown talent on Raw next week for the draft. The talent for the most part doesn’t know if they’ll be moved to another brand ahead of time. The top talent may know but for most it is kept a secret until the announcement is made. Baron Corbin will be at both shows so there’s a strong chance he’ll wind up back on one of the main rosters
—MLW announced an 8/29 show at the Melrose Ballroom in Long Island City, NY.
—The PFL announced the next show in its European tournament will be on 6/8 in Newcastle. It features the debut of women’s boxing champion Savannah Marshall. The European tournament is like a European developmental league with tournaments with $100,000 first prizes to the winner.
—The MLW tag team titles are vacant due to an angle shot where Tom Lawlor, who held the titles with Davey Boy Smith Jr., was injured in a television angle that aired over the weekend. There will be a match for the vacant titles on the 5/11 show in Chicago.
—Aero Star debuts for House of Glory Wrestling on 5/5 at the NYC Arena in New York.
—The PFL announced the signing of Cedric Doumbe, who will fight on the 5/17 Bellator show in Paris, France. That show airs on MAX in the U.S. and DAZN in the U.K. and France with Doumbe vs. Derek Anderson ad a main event of Patchy Mix defending the bantamweight title against Magomed Magomedov
—CSW on Friday night in Franklin Park, IL had a main event where Kyle Fletcher wrestled against girlfriend Skye Blue will Will Ospeay as referee (thanks to Stanely Joseph).
At MLW War Chamber, Matt Riddle will put his NJPW World Television Championship up for grabs.
Riddle vs. Kosei Fujita for the NJPW World TV title is now set for MLW War Chamber in St. Petersburg, Florida on Friday, March 29. The 21-year-old Fujita, an NJPW wrestler, is making his MLW debut in the match.
It was previously announced that Riddle would face Timothy Thatcher in a non-title match at War Chamber. That match will still be happening in St. Petersburg on March 29, but it will instead be part of the MLW television taping portion of the War Chamber event. Riddle vs. Fujita will be airing live on the War Chamber broadcast on TrillerTV+.
In storyline, Riddle decided to have two matches at War Chamber as part of his quest to earn an MLW World Heavyweight Championship shot. Satoshi Kojima currently holds that title.
Riddle won the NJPW World TV title from Hiroshi Tanahashi this February. His first title defense was in MLW against Bad Dude Tito.
Here’s the updated War Chamber card:
Triller TV+ live broadcast —
War Chamber match: Team MLW (Satoshi Kojima, Okumura, Matthew Justice & 1 Called Manders) vs. World Titan Federation (Tom Lawlor, Davey Boy Smith Jr., Richard Holliday & Josh Bishop)
NJPW World Television Champion Matt Riddle defends against Kosei Fujita
MLW Women’s Featherweight Champion Janai Kai defends against Unagi Sayaka
AJ Francis vs. Alex Kane
Mads Krugger goes to war against MLW
TV taping —
War Chamber match: The Calling (Sami Callihan, Rickey Shane Page, Cannonball & Talon) vs. Raven, AKIRA, Jimmy Lloyd & Jake Crist
Matt Riddle and Timothy Thatcher are renewing their rivalry in MLW.
It was announced today that Riddle vs. Thatcher will take place at MLW War Chamber 2024 on Friday, March 29. The show is being held at The Coliseum in St. Petersburg, Florida.
Riddle and Thatcher have been opponents dating back to their time in EVOLVE. Their rivalry later carried over into NXT, including Thatcher defeating Riddle in the first-ever Fight Pit match in 2020.
After being released by WWE in September 2023, Riddle returned to MLW this January. He was previously part of MLW’s roster in 2017-2018.
“With his sights set on cleaning out the division and capturing the coveted MLW World Heavyweight Title, Riddle is prepared to confront any obstacle in his path, and Timothy Thatcher is no exception,” MLW wrote.
This is Thatcher’s first match for MLW since July 2023.
War Chamber 2024 will air live on TrillerTV+ on March 29. Here’s what’s been announced for the broadcast so far:
War Chamber match: Team MLW (MLW World Heavyweight Champion Satoshi Kojima, Okumura, Matthew Justice & 1 Called Manders) vs. World Titan Federation (Tom Lawlor, Davey Boy Smith Jr., Richard Holliday & Josh Bishop)
