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.
Along with a new World Champion and the inaugural Women’s TV Champion being crowned in controversial fashion, Friday’s ROH Supercard of Honor also had some additional news with some debuts, returns, and the like.
After defeating Sami Callihan in a street fight at Friday’s WrestleCon Supershow, Paul Walter Hauser made a surprise appearance as one of Dalton Castle’s Boys, helping him during his Fight Without Honor over Johnny TV.
Paul Walter Hauser was disguised as one of The Boys!
ROH Women’s World Champion Athena extended her successful title defense streak to 20 with her victory over former AEW Women’s Champion Hikaru Shida.
Kyle Fletcher successfully defended the ROH Men’s TV title in a victory over Lee Johnson while ROH Tag Team Champions The Undisputed Kingdom (Matt Taven & Mike Bennett) kept their titles with a victory over The Infantry (Carlie Bravo & Shawn Dean).
ROH Six-Man Tag Team Champions Bang Bang Gang (Jay White & The Gunns) successfully retained their titles over Monster Sauce (Alex Zayne & Lance Archer) and surprise partner Minoru Suzuki.
It was Suzuki’s first ROH appearance since 2022’s Supercard of Honor and Zayne’s second ROH match since the summer of 2002.
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Black Taurus made his return to ROH but under his new name of The Beast Mortos, picking up a win over Blake Christian on the Zero Hour portion of the show.
In January, it was reported that Mortos had signed a deal with AEW and ROH but couldn’t take his longtime name with him. This was his first match for either company since December.
The annual Wrestlecon Mark Hitchcock Memorial Supershow as part of WrestleMania weekend returns with its usual array of interesting first-time matches.
Two tremendous athletes from two generations will clash for the first time as Rob Van Dam will battle “Speedball” Mike Bailey.
In a Philadelphia street fight against Sami Callihan, award-winning actor Paul Walter Hauser will look to remain undefeated in his third-ever match.
Multi-promotional champion Nic Nemeth will take on Joey Janela while former TNA World Champion Josh Alexander will battle Masato Tanaka.
RevPro undisputed British heavyweight champion Michael Oku will defend against Titan.
In an eight-man tag team match, The FBI (Little Guido, Tommy Rich & Tony Mamaluke) will team with a mystery partner against Los Boricuas (Huracan Castillo Jr., Jose Estrada, Miguel Perez Jr. & Savio Vega).
Averno, Cavernario, Mistico, Star Jr. & Villano III Jr. will take on Ben-K, Dragon Kid, Kota Minoura, Shun Skywalker & YAMATO in a ten-man match.
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Show Report —
The show started with a photo slideshow featuring the show’s namesake, the late Mark Hitchcock.
Kevin Gill & Veda Scott were on the call.
Nic Nemeth defeated Joey Janela
Janela dominated early on. Nemeth started a comeback but was dropped with a dragon suplex. They started trading big moves, including back-and-forth superkicks for the double down. Janela nailed Nemeth with a Death Valley driver on the apron.
Back in the ring, Nemeth avoided a diving stomp and hit a jumping DDT for two. Janela blocked the Famouser and turned it into a powerbomb, following it up with a package piledriver for a near fall. Nemeth came back with the Famouser and the Danger Zone for the win.
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– Former ECW referee Jim Molineaux came out to officiate the following match.
The FBI (Little Guido & Tommy Rich) and Deonna Purrazzo (w/ Tony Mamaluke) defeated Los Boricuas (Miguel Perez Jr., Nathalya Perez, & Savio Vega) (w/ Huracan Castillo Jr. & Jose Estrada)
The Virtuosa joined the Full Blooded Italians for one night.
This was obviously more for novelty and fun than anything else. Los Boricuas were good heel foils for the FBI. Guido can still go! Molineaux sent the rest of the Boricuas to the back midway through.
The best actual wrestling in the match was between Purrazzo and Nathalya. Eventually, it was Purrazzo getting the submission victory with the Fujiwara armbar.
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Rob Van Dam (w/ Bill Alfonso) defeated “Speedball” Mike Bailey – with special guest referee Jerry Lynn
RVD was super over, he got by far the biggest reaction of anyone on the show to this point. They started with some back-and-forth chain wrestling, leading to a couple standoffs. RVD got the upper hand on the outside, landing a spinning kick to a prone Speedball. Speedball fired back and landed an Asai moonsault to the floor.
After an extended control segment, RVD put together a comeback. Fonzy entered the ring but was sent packing by Lynn. Speedball landed his rapid-fire kicks and avoided Rolling Thunder, earning enough breathing room to hit a missile dropkick. RVD avoided the Ultimate Weapon.
Fonzy tossed RVD a chair and distracted the official, allowing RVD to kick the chair into Speedball’s face. The Five-Star Frog Splash followed for the win.
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RevPro Undisputed British Heavyweight Championship: Michael Oku (c) defeated Titán
After the opening exchange, they went right into trading chops. Oku sent Titán to the outside after a headscissor takeover, but Titán countered the follow-up and landed a tope suicida. After that, it was Titán in control for a while.
Oku came back with a Fosbury Flop and a diving crossbody for two. Titán nailed a superkick and a diving double stomp but missed another before getting the knees up on an Oku moonsault. Oku fired back with a running knee and a lionsault before locking on a half Boston crab. Titán fought his way to the ropes.
Titán hit a psycho driver for two. Oku returned fire with a superkick, but Titán fought back with his through-the-ropes clothesline. Titán stuck the diving double stomp but was too slow on the cover. He immediately applied an inverted Figure Four leglock, but Oku escaped and put on the half crab. Titán nearly made it to the ropes, but Oku dragged him back into the center of the ring and bridged back, forcing the tap.
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Mustafa Ali & Matt Riddle defeated The Rascalz (Zachary Wentz & Trey Miguel)
This match was unadvertised. Riddle and Wentz went back-and-forth at the start, then their partners did the same. Riddle & Ali hit some tandem offense with Riddle holding the ropes open for an Ali suicide dive, but the Rascalz cut them off for a heat segment.
Riddle eventually reached Ali for the hot tag, getting a near fall. The Rascalz returned fire with a strike combination for two. Riddle strung together some offense with a ripcord knee, an exploder suplex, and a Bro-ton to both Rascalz. Riddle hit a double RKO on both Rascalz before nailing Miguel with the Bro Derek for the win.
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Josh Alexander defeated Masato Tanaka
This was a hard-hitting heavyweight battle in the early portions. Alexander held the control sections, continuing to beat Tanaka down until Tanaka fought back with a brainbuster. Alexander hit three consecutive German suplexes, bridging into a kickout at 2.
Tanaka hit a big superplex, but Alexander popped up and slapped on the ankle lock. Tanaka was bleeding from the forehead. Alexander landed a nasty car crash crossbody for a near fall.
They had a really cool back-and-forth fight towards the end that fired up the crowd. We got the cursory forearm exchange before simultaneous clotheslines led to the double down. Tanaka hit Diamond Dust, but Alexander avoided the Sliding D and hit a powerbomb onto a knee before the C4 got him the win.
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Team CMLL (Místico, Cavernario, Averno, Star Jr., & Villano III Jr.) defeated Team Dragongate (Shun Skywalker, YAMATO, Kzy, Kota Minoura, & Dragon Kid)
Cavernario vs. Dragon Kid to start. The participants in the match each paired off early on in this order: YAMATO vs. Averno, Shun vs. Místico, Kzy vs. Star, and Minoura vs. Villano.
It was pretty messy in the early portions. Interestingly enough the Dragongate team leaned into being heels even though Shun is the only true heel on the team. Minoura even went for Místico’s mask at one point.
It was Místico who was the catalyst for Team CMLL’s comeback. Star Jr. landed a running tornillo to the outside, followed by Místico hitting a diving crossbody into the front row. The other CMLL wrestlers took turns hitting big moves on Dragon Kid in the ring. Averno hit a double-tap powerbomb on Shun, but Dragon Kid ran in to break it up.
YAMATO hit Go To Hospital 2 on Averno, allowing Dragon Kid to hit the elevated top-rope Frankensteiner, which Kzy followed up with a frog splash. Cavernario broke up the pin and hit a splash on Dragon Kid for two. Villano landed a corkscrew splash for two of his own.
We got the parade of big moves until a Místico vs. Kzy face-off in the middle of the ring. Shun cut his own partner off, trying to steal all the glory, before just booting Kzy. Místico capitalized on the infighting, allowing Star to lock on a wacky submission. Meanwhile, Místico applied La Mística to Kzy for the win.
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Philadelphia Street Fight: Paul Walter Hauser defeated Sami Callihan
Hauser is an actor known for roles in films like Richard Jewell and I, Tonya. He’s also made a couple of AEW appearances.
The actor teased a dive at the start, but Callihan cut him off with a shot from a trash can lid. Callihan cut between Hauser’s fingers and squeezed lemon juice on the wounds. He then pulled out a pizza cutter and ran it over Hauser’s forehead. Hauser donned the crimson mask.
Hauser tossed powder in Callihan’s face before nailing a big boot on the outside. Callihan didn’t stay down for long, but Hauser moving out of the way led to Callihan chopping the ring post. Back inside, Hauser smacked Callihan with a chair. He propped Callihan up against a door, but Callihan rolled out of the way, sending Hauser crashing through it.
The two men each acquired staplers and took turns stapling each other. A falling headbutt from Hauser got two. Hauser then planted Callihan on some thumbtacks with a Samoan Drop. He tried to follow it up with a diving elbow drop, but Callihan moved out of the way.
Callihan powerbombed Hauser through a table for a near fall. He attacked the official. Bill Alfonso came out, and Callihan took him out too. The lights then went out, Enter Sandman played, and The Sandman appeared.
Sandman attacked Callihan with a kendo stick. He handed the kendo to Hauser, who hit a cane-assisted side Russian leg sweep onto tacks for the win.
Paul Walter Hauser won his second-ever pro wrestling match.
The Emmy-award winning actor defeated Matt Cardona at Saturday’s Wrestling Revolver Ready or Not event. The match involved both Bully Ray and Cardona’s manager, Steph De Lander. The finish of the match had Ray come to the aid of Hauser, putting Cardona through a flaming table that allowed Hauser to score the win.
After the match, Hauser cut a promo saying he may work in Hollywood but he comes from the pro wrestling fans of this world. He then asked Bully Ray if he could hold his own against Sami Callihan. As Ray was answering, Callihan came out and angrily accepted Hauser’s challenge for a match that will take place during WrestleMania weekend in Philadelphia.
Hauser in the last year has won both a Golden Globe and Emmy award for his role in Black Bird. Hauser went as far as to mention Cardona during his Emmys acceptance speech. In November, he competed in his first-ever wrestling match, defeating Matthew Palmer at another Wrestling Revolver event.
DDP, Matt Cardona, and Kota Ibushi all got name drops at the Emmys.
Actor Paul Walter Hauser won an Emmy for Best Supporting Actor – Limited or Anthology Series or Movie at Monday’s ceremony for his role in Black Bird. During his acceptance speech, Hauser did a rap and claimed he was “about to beat Matt Cardona”, as the two will face one another at a Pro Wrestling Revolver event on March 16. Hauser also mentioned the Wolfpac, Kota Ibushi, and “getting the tables” during his speech. In a text box, DDP was also thanked.
Paul Walter Hauser wins the award for Supporting Actor – Limited Anthology Series or Movie at the #Emmyspic.twitter.com/tjRLaXe6tv
Hauser, who also won a Golden Globe for his role in Black Bird, appeared on AEW Rampage in January of last year where he was attacked by Jeff Jarrett, Jay Lethal, and Sonjay Dutt. In the weeks following the attack, Jarrett and Lethal carried what was supposedly Hauser’s Golden Globe award to the ring during matches.
Back in November, Hauser made his in-ring debut at a Wrestling Revolver event in Los Angeles, where he defeated Matthew Palmer.
Actor Paul Walter Hauser will have his first pro wrestling match later this month.
Hauser will face Matthew Palmer in a match that will take place at Wrestling Revolver’s Unreal event on November 16. It will air live on Fite TV and take place at the Homenten Glendale Ararat in Los Angeles.
[BREAKING]
Yes this is actually happening!
Signed for 11/16#RevolverUNREAL Los Angeles, CA LIVE on @FiteTV+
"GOLDEN GLOBE WINNER & EMMY NOMINATED ACTOR" Paul Walter Hauser Vs. Matthew Palmer!
Ronda Rousey will make her return to wrestling on the same card, teaming with Marina Shafir against Athena and Billie Starks. Other matches announces include Gringo Loco vs. Rey Horus, Mike Bailey vs. Bryan Keith, and Jon Moxley will team with Sami Callihan against The Rascalz (Trey Miguel and Zachary Wentz).
Back in January, Hauser appeared on both AEW Dynamite and AEW Rampage. During an interview on Rampage, Jeff Jarrett, Jay Lethal, and Sonjay Dutt interrupted the segment and after some back and forth, Jarrett smashed Hauser over the head with a guitar. The Best Friends came out for the save, but Jarrett and company had already stolen what was called Hauser’s Golden Globe award, which they carried for weeks following the angle.
Hauser earned an Academy Award nomination for his portrayal as the title character in the film Richard Jewell. For his role as convicted murderer Larry Hall in the 2022 miniseries Black Bird, he won a Golden Globe and was nominated for a Primetime Emmy Award.
