Tag: Other Wrestling

Two titles change hands at MLW Blood & Thunder TV taping

Posted on by Josh Nason

The following are spoilers for a future edition of MLW Fusion.

Among several title matches at Saturday’s MLW Blood & Thunder event in Philadelphia, several new champions emerged.

The Samoan SWAT Team’s pursuit of the MLW Tag Team titles came to a conclusion as Juicy Finau & Lance Anoa’i defeated Calvin Tankman & EJ Nduka to win the gold in a street fight.

Part of a faction that also includes former MLW Champion Jacob Fatu, Finau & Anoa’i had made their intentions clear over the past few months of Fusion. Since debuting in May 2022, they won all four of their tag team matches, last defeating The FBI at October’s Fightland.

Tankman & Nduka held the titles for nearly a year, winning the gold in February 2022 with their win over 5150. They had just two successful title defenses before losing them Saturday. In past weeks on TV, there had been some hints of dissention as Nduka has his eyes on a MLW title match instead, along with a new attitude change.

The change comes when a report emerged this week that WWE may have interest in bringing Nduka back into their system as he is now a free agent.

The other title change saw Johnny Fusion (John Morrison) defeat Davey Richards for the MLW Openweight title. 

This was Fusion’s first match for MLW since September 2018 and his sixth appearance for them overall. He had unsuccessfully challenged for the MLW title in 2018 against then-champion Low Ki.

Richards had held the title for nearly 200 days after defeating Alex Kane in June 2002. He had four successful title defenses before Saturday with just one of them coming in an MLW ring. Two of the others took place on NWA pay-per-views while the other was on the NJPW Music City Mayhem pay-per-view.

Cain Velasquez: Daniel Cormier & I have talked about a match for AAA

Posted on by Josh Nason

For the first time since being released on bail for attempted murder, former UFC heavyweight champion Cain Velasquez spoke at length about his recent return for AAA, mentioning the potential for a future wrestling match with Daniel Cormier, and his time working with Brock Lesnar in WWE.

Making an appearance on Konnan’s Keepin’ It 100 podcast, Velasquez said going into his December match for AAA in Tempe, Arizona, it was “probably the worst I have ever felt physically, mentally doing something.” 

“I felt like I was probably in the worst-case scenario for myself that I have ever been in. I put a lot of pressure on myself and I just wanna be ready when I go out there and, you know, compete…,” he explained.

In November, Velasquez was released on $1 million bail for attempted murder stemming from a February incident in California’s Santa Clara County after allegedly chasing down Harry Goularte in his truck and shooting at him, striking Goularte’s stepfather who was also in the vehicle. Goularte was accused of sexually assaulting one of Velasquez’s children in addition to one of a family relative.

After being eventually granted his request to be able to travel to Tempe to work for AAA’s U.S. return, Velasquez worked in a trios match that night. He was non-committal about a return date as he is unable to travel to Mexico but is keeping the door open.

“For me, it’s just doing what I can with it. I really do just have a great time out there. For me, it’s so fun, the whole thing. Working with the guys I have worked with, just doing all the stuff that we do out there. I really do love and enjoy it,” he said.

He also said that former UFC double-division champion, ardent pro wrestling fan and AKA teammate Daniel Cormier came over to his house recently and that they talked about doing a match for AAA which Konnan was all for, throwing in that they have been talking to a network about getting TV in the U.S.

While his wrestling future is up in the air, Velasquez said he may be able to do a competitive off-road race in Las Vegas in March — another passion of his.

He said he hasn’t been watching any fights since being let out and has been spending time with his family instead. They have been watching both AAA and WWE and he’s glad he is getting to bring his family into something other than fighting.

When asked about the Brock Lesnar match at WWE Crown Jewel after having previously fought him in UFC, Velasquez said it was “a little uncomfortable” but that they tried to be professional. He laughed and said, “It was interesting…very different.”

Billie Starkz vs. Kayla Kassidy added to MLW Blood & Thunder

Posted on by Josh Nason

Indie favorite Billie Starkz will make her MLW debut at the company’s first show of 2023.

Starkz will face the debuting Kayla Kassidy at Blood & Thunder, an MLW Fusion TV taping taking place in Philadelphia, PA’s 2300 Arena on Saturday, January 7th.

Both women are entering the company’s women’s featherweight division that currently has Taya Valkyrie as the champion.

The 18-year-old Starkz is coming off her AEW debut as she took on Britt Baker and Red Velvet during last Saturday’s Dark tapings at Universal Studios in Orlando, Florida. She also recently had her first tour of Japan and has been busy on the indies with well over 100 matches this calendar year.

Kassidy has appeared in two NWA matches and primarily has been working in the Midwest indie scene.

The two are both Kentucky natives and have a history together as opponents in both singles and multi-woman matches.

Here’s the updated card for the show:

  • MLW World Heavyweight Champion Alex Hammerstone defends against Yamato
  • MLW Tag Team Champions EJ Nduka & Calvin Tankman defend against The Samoan Swat Team (Lance Anoa’i & Juicy Finau)
  • MLW National Openweight Champion Davey Richards defends against Johnny Fusion
  • Jacob Fatu vs. Ben-K
  • Real1 vs. Microman
  • Billie Starkz vs. Kayla Kassidy

Jacob Fatu vs. Ben-K announced for MLW Blood & Thunder

Posted on by Josh Nason

Former MLW Champion Jacob Fatu has a fresh opponent for MLW’s next event as he takes on Ben-K for the first time ever at January’s Blood & Thunder.

The TV taping for Fusion will take place on Saturday, January 7th at the 2300 Arena in Philadelphia.

The debuting Ben-K will be representing Dragon Gate as part of the partnership between the two companies. He has wrestled once in the U.S. before, losing to Bryan Keith at a West Coast Pro Wrestling event in October.

Fatu won this year’s Battle Riot IV which aired for the first time this month as MLW Fusion returned with new episodes. He is currently feuding with Real 1, (the former nZo) in storyline and competed against Lio Rush at October’s Fightland taping.

The show is headlined by current MLW Champion Alex Hammerstone defending against Dragon Gate’s Yamato and will also feature current Middleweight title holder Shun Skywalker. He won the title in a match that has yet to air.

MLW notes: Dynamite Kid’s nephews sign contracts, Thanksgiving night Fusion

Posted on by Josh Nason

The nephews of Dynamite Kid are now under MLW contract, first revealed on the company’s MLW Insider YouTube show.

Mark and Thomas Billington, known as the Billington Bulldogs, made their debuts at last month’s Fightland TV taping in Philadelphia, PA. They teamed with Davey Boy Smith Jr. against the Bomaye Fight Club’s Alex Kane, Myron Reed and Mr. Thomas in a match that has yet to air.

Per usual, the terms and length of the deal weren’t disclosed.

The trio will be part of MLW’s Blood & Thunder TV taping on January 7th in Philadelphia.

**********

As mentioned on last week’s episode of Fusion, MLW World Champion Alex Hammerstone will defend against Richard Holliday in a falls count anywhere match on the Thanksgiving night edition of Fusion.

It will be a rematch from their Kings of Colosseum clash where Hammerstone successfully defended the title. On the recently aired Battle Riot IV, Holliday attacked Hammerstone with a chair, leaving him with injured ribs. Last week, he was granted the rematch with Hammerstone by the champion’s rival and MLW storyline matchmaker Cesar Duran.

**********

As announced earlier Tuesday, notable indie wrestler Billie Starkz will make her debut at the aforementioned Blood & Thunder TV taping.

MLW Fightland spoilers: Title change, Jacob Fatu vs. Lio Rush

Posted on by Ethan Renner

The following are spoilers for future episodes of MLW Fusion.

MLW held their Fightland 2022 TV taping on Sunday night at the 2300 Arena in Philadelphia. The event included one title change, plus a Jacob Fatu vs. Lio Rush main event.

Here are spoilers courtesy of PW Insider:

      • Jacob Fatu defeated Lio Rush
      • Fatu challenged Hammerstone to a match at Superfight, and Hammerstone entered for a physical angle with Fatu.
      • Alec Price defeated TJ Crawford
      • Trish Adora defeated Gia Scott
      • Micro Man & Lince Dorado defeated Delirious and Mini Abismo Negro
      • Street Fight: NZO defeated Mance Warner
      • Davey Boy Smith Jr. & The Billington Bulldogs defeated Bomaye Fight Club
      • Sam Adonis defeated “Johnny Trash”
      • Last Man Standing match: Alexander Hammerstone defeated EJ Nduka
      • Calvin Tankman defeated Willie Mack
      • MLW Featherweight Championship: Taya Valkyrie defeated Trish Adora to retain the title
      • Lance Anoai & Juicy Finau defeated Little Guido & Raz Jaz
      • MLW Middleweight Championship: Lince Dorado defeated Shun Skywalker to win the title
      • Mance Warner defeated NZO
      • Dr. Dax defeated Vinnie Pacifico

Two former ROH names reportedly join MLW

Posted on by Ethan Renner

Two former members of Ring of Honor’s office staff have joined MLW, according to a report. 

PW Insider reports that long-time ROH promoter Gary Juster, and long-time booker “Delirious” Hunter Johnston, have joined MLW in behind the scenes roles. 

The report states that Juster will serve in an advisory role for the company in many different areas, including promotion. Juster was not present at Sunday’s taping according to the report, but is expected at MLW events going forward.

Johnston, in addition to debuting as a talent for the company at Sunday’s Fightland TV taping, will serve as a producer for MLW. Johnston served as head booker for ROH from 2010 until leaving the promotion following its purchase by Tony Khan earlier this year. 

Wrestling Inc. reported last month that Johnston worked at Impact Wrestling’s September 24 TV taping in a producer’s role. He also worked as a talent for Impact at September’s Victory Road event, losing to “Speedball” Mike Bailey.

Samoan Swat Team vs. FBI announced for MLW Fightland

Posted on by Josh Nason

MLW continues to bolster the card for this month’s Fightland, announcing the Samoan SWAT Team will take on the new-look FBI.

The Sunday, October 30th TV taping will be held at the 2300 Arena in Philadelphia.

Joining former ECW veteran Little Guido in this iteration is “The Grinder” Ray Jaz as the two will take on Juicy Finau & Lance Anoa’i for the first time ever. 

Jaz, a Northeast U.S. wrestler who has appeared on AEW Dark and Dark: Elevation before, will be making his promotional debut. This will be Guido’s second-ever MLW match with his first coming in June’s Battle Riot IV match. Finau, Anoa’i and group leader Jacob Fatu are MLW regulars.

The match is the latest addition to the card that will be taped for future episodes of Fusion:

  • MLW Champion Alex Hammerstone defends against EJ Nduka in a last man standing match
  • Jacob Fatu vs. Lio Rush
  • Willie Mack vs. Calvin Tankman
  • Real 1 (nZo) vs. Mance Warner
  • Billington Bulldogs & Davey Boy Smith Jr. vs. Bomaye Fight Club
  • FBI vs. Samoan SWAT Team

Lio Rush vs. Jacob Fatu set for MLW Fightland

Posted on by Josh Nason

Former MLW World Champion Jacob Fatu will take on former MLW Middleweight Champion Lio Rush in a clash of styles at this month’s Fightland.

This will be the first time they have ever squared off in any match.

The TV taping will take place in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on Sunday, October 30th.

This will be Rush’s first MLW action since the spring of 2021 when he wrestled four matches on Fusion as part of their closed taping era. His last appearance was in a Middleweight title loss to Myron Reed.

Fatu has competed on MLW’s last two TV tapings, but the matches have yet to air anywhere. The company has yet to return to the air after taking a summer hiatus with a Monday PWInsider report claiming they are holding off on a return “pending the finalization of several new deals they are working on.”

Rush announced last Thursday that he was cleared to return to the ring after being out of action since January when he suffered an injury at PWG’s BOLA tournament. He has already been announced for this month’s RevPro British J-Cup.

The match is the second announced for Fightland, joining Calvin Tankman vs. Willie Mack.

MLW Super Series spoilers: Title change, Hammerstone vs. Bandido

Posted on by Josh Nason

This post was updated at 4 PM Eastern.

The following are spoilers for future episodes of MLW Fusion.

MLW debuted in Norcross, Georgia, Saturday for Super Series, a co-promoted event featuring several AAA wrestlers. The show was also a TV taping for future episodes of MLW Fusion.

Following the show, MLW now has a new Middleweight Champion as the debuting Shun Skywalker defeated Myron Reed to win the title. The company formally announced the news on Monday.

The 26-year-old Skywalker is a member of Dragon Gate and was making both his U.S. and MLW debut.

The win ends Reed’s second run with the title. He had regained it in January at Blood & Thunder with his win in a four-way over then-champion Tajiri, Bandido and Matt Cross.

The show was taped for future episodes of Fusion, but the promotion has been on a summer hiatus with no official date for a return.

The company still has footage from June’s Battle Riot IV that has yet to make air that features a Reed title defense against Arez, Lince Dorado and La Estrella.

Here’s the rest of the results, courtesy of PWInsider:

  • Lady Flammer defeated La Hiedra, Lady Shani and Reina Dorada to earn a shot at Featherweight Champion Taya Valkyrie
  • Samoan SWAT Team defeated Mark Davidson & Angel Fashion
  • National Openweight Champion Davey Richards defeated SB KENTo (Dragon Gate) to retain
  • Alex Kane defeated D3 in a Peach State Prize Fight challenge
  • MLW Champion Alex Hammerstone defeated Bandido to retain
  • Featherweight Champion Taya Valkyrie defeated Lady Flammer to retain
  • Mance Warner vs. Mads Krugger went to a no contest
  • EJ Nduka pinned Sultan del Aire
  • Jacob Fatu defeated Willie Mack in a street fight
  • Microman, Komander & Laredo Kid defeated Black Taurus, Gino Media & Mini Abismo Negro

Notes:

  • Former ROH head Gary Juster was in attendance.
  • MLW is expected to return to the region in the early part of 2023.

Jacob Fatu vs. Willie Mack street fight set for MLW Super Series

Posted on by Josh Nason

Former Impact roster member and AAA wrestler Willie Mack will make his MLW debut later this month in a street fight against former champion Jacob Fatu.

The match will take place on Sunday, September 18th in Norcross, Georgia, at the MLW/AAA Super Series event that is also a TV taping for MLW Fusion.

There are currently no new Fusion episodes airing as the company took a summer hiatus. They have yet to announce the official return date, but a company official said it will be announced soon.

The event’s theme is that of interpromotional matches between the two companies. The first one happened in March 2020 in Tijuana, Mexico, before things started shutting down due to the pandemic.

Here’s the current lineup that already features three title matches:

  • MLW World Heavyweight Champion Alex Hammerstone defends against Bandido
  • MLW Middleweight Champion Myron Reed defends against Shun Skywalker
  • MLW National Openweight Champion Davey Richards defends against SB KENTo
  • Jacob Fatu vs. Willie Mack street fight

MLW changes August TV taping to house show

Posted on by Josh Nason

MLW has experienced another change to their 2022 schedule as their Fury Road event in El Paso, Texas, is now a house show instead of a TV taping.

PWInsider first reported the news Friday.

In an email to talent that PWInsider obtained, Jared St. Laurent wanted to inform wrestlers who had planned on being at the Saturday, August 27th show so they could attempt to get bookings elsewhere. 

The reason given for the change, according to St. Laurent, was that the lucha promotion they were doing the show in tandem with wasn’t going to bring in as many talents as they originally promised.

As of now, MLW Champion Alex Hammerstone, Jacob Fatu, Mads Krugger, Microman, and the Samoan SWAT Team are listed as appearing.

St. Laurent also informed any unbooked talents that they would get half of their appearance pay “as a token of our appreciation as I know it’s been very frustrating having the schedule change this summer while we continue to finalize the new TV deal.”

It’s the second schedule change MLW has made in recent months as they canceled a July Chicago event due to the aforementioned tease of something happening with a new TV deal. The outlet(s) and financial significance of said deal is still unknown.

MLW is next scheduled for September 18th in Norcross, Georgia, for the Super Series TV taping with AAA. They are set to begin a new season of MLW Fusion next month as well which will most likely begin with the footage from their late-June Battle Riot IV taping in New York City.

Hammerstone vs. Bandido World title match set for MLW Super Series

Posted on by Josh Nason

The first match for September’s MLW Super Series show was announced Monday as Alex Hammerstone will defend the World title against Bandido.

The event is a co-promoted show with AAA and will take place on September 18th in Norcross, Georgia.

The match was originally scheduled to take place at June’s Battle Riot IV, but Bandido had to pull out due to an injury. Hammerstone faced Richard Holliday in a rematch instead. None of the action from Battle Riot IV has made air yet as the company is on a summer break.

This will be the first time they have ever squared off.

Bandido made his MLW debut in a four-way for the Middleweight title and returned during the WrestleMania weekend tapings with a win over Flamita.

Hammerstone will look to continue his march toward the one-year mark as MLW World Champion as he has held the gold since last October.

MLW’s Atlanta-region debut will also feature MLW Women’s Champion Taya Valkyrie, Jacob Fatu, Samoan SWAT Team, Mance Warner, Alex Kane and more.

MLW announces September Super Series event for Atlanta

Posted on by Josh Nason

Even though MLW is on a late-summer hiatus for their TV product, they are already planning ahead for their fall event schedule with their Atlanta area debut.

The group announced Friday that they will head to the Space Event Center in Norcross, Georgia, on Sunday, September 18th for a TV taping called the Super Series.

The Fusion TV taping is being billed as a “co-promoted supercard” with international promotions being involved. 

Tickets are available now for between $60-$85 for adults.

While matches have yet to be announced, MLW did list some talent that will be on hand that includes MLW Champion Alex Hammerstone, Women’s Champion Taya Valkyrie, Jacob Fatu, Samoan SWAT Team, Mads Krugger, Mance Warner and Alex Kane.

MLW will head out to El Paso, Texas, on August 27th for a TV taping called Fury Road.

Even though they have their recent New York City Battle Riot IV taping done, the promotion is taking the rest of the summer off before they begin airing new episodes of Fusion in September 

MLW to make El Paso, Texas, debut in August with Fury Road

Posted on by Josh Nason

After canceling a planned Chicago event earlier this month, MLW has put their next date on the 2022 calendar.

On Tuesday, the organization announced they will make their El Paso, Texas, debut with Fury Road on Saturday, August 27th for a Fusion TV taping. 

The event will take place at a local high school and will be presented by a local lucha-focused indie promotion.

While talent wasn’t announced, a local poster shows MLW World Champion Alex Hammerstone, Jacob Fatu, Davey Richards, Myron Reed, Aramis, Microman, Daga, Chik Tormenta, Villano III Jr., and more as appearing.

AEW ran at New York City’s Melrose Ballroom last week for their Battle Riot IV taping. Those episodes will start airing after their current run of shows taped at Philadelphia’s 2300 Arena concludes.

The aforementioned Chicago cancelation for July 16th was due to “taping schedule changes” due to some possible developments in their TV deal: 

“The arena and live event division is revamping the 2022 schedule. Expect some change-ups in the calendar… and surprises on the horizon as business is about to pick up on the television end of the league’s operations.”