Two members of the MLW roster are headed for free agency.
Lance Anoa’i & Juicy Finau, two-thirds of the Samoan SWAT Team, have been granted their MLW releases. Both announced the moves on social media on Sunday.
Anoa’i & Finau are former MLW Tag Team Champions as part of the Samoan SWAT Team stable, dropping those titles at Never Say Never in July. Neither has wrestled for the company since that event.
Anoa’i posted:
As Of TODAY! I have been granted my @MLW Release! I wanna thank MLW! Wanna give a big shout out to my USOs @JuicyFinau and @SAMOANWEREWOLF Thank you for everything! Love you guys! #SST
Finau posted:
As of today I’ve been released from @MLW Just want to thank everyone I’ve crossed paths with while I was there. Extremely thankful to MLW for the opportunities! Especially wanna thank my brothers @SAMOANWEREWOLF & @lanceanoai IM NOW A FREE AGENT TOKO OUT! OFAS
It is worth noting that Anoa’i & Finau have announced that MLW has in fact granted them releases, while Fightful Select reports that the promotion does not intend to grant the release request of its former World Heavyweight Champion Alex Hammerstone.
Hammerstone posted on Sunday that he has asked for his release from the company and has been removed from the promotion’s roster page, but his release has not been confirmed.
Anoa’i is the son of Samu, a former WWF Tag Team Champion, and a cousin to Roman Reigns & The Usos. He has done work for WWE in the past as enhancement talent, most recently in 2019 in a match against Shane McMahon on Raw as part of angle involving Reigns.
Jacob Fatu, another of Anoa’i’s cousins and the third member of the MLW iteration of the Samoan SWAT Team with Anoa’i & Finau, is challenging for MLW’s World title at Fightland on November 18.
As Of TODAY! I have been granted my @MLW Release! I wanna thank MLW!
This week’s MLW Underground was taped in Philadelphia with Joe Dombrowski and Matt Striker on the call.
On tap this week: two title matches, an MLW title contract signing, and a hardcore match to kick off the show.
Before our opening match, Real1 was wheeled out to ringside in his wheelchair after being on the receiving end of a hit-and-run by Mance Warner a few weeks ago. He threatened Warner that he called the cops which brought out the “Southern Psycho.” But, as soon as Warner got on the mic and went to confront Real1, the Calling Card Attackers’ music hit and Ricky Shane Page made his way out.
Ricky Shane Page defeated Mance Warner in a hardcore match
This was a gruesome bloodbath with weapon shots from the opening seconds as Page took weapons from an operating table as he entered. Warner was busted open early on, but fought back and threw multiple steel chairs, garbage cans and wooden boards into the ring.
Warner hit a neckbreaker onto a seated chair and then speared Page through a wooden board for a two count. Moments later Page got his revenge and threw Warner through another board. Three pairs of chairs were then set up facing each other as both fighters found themselves on the top rope where Warner superplexed Page onto the chairs.
The bloody action silenced Real1 on commentary as Warner came close with a lariat and then went face-first into an exposed turnbuckle corner. Warner was able to shake that off and hit a DDT off the apron through another wooden board at ringside.
As Warner was struggling to get into the ring, Real1 popped up from ringside showing no ill effects from the hit and run and smacked Warner with his crutch. This allowed Page to grab him and hit a modified chokebreaker (a knee to the back of the head instead of a backbreaker) to win the match for Raven’s newly formed stable.
– Backstage, Billie Starkz’s photoshoot was interrupted by Taya Valkyrie, John Hennigan and Sam Adonis who, after a few insults, agreed to a featherweight title match, later announced for next week.
MLW Middleweight Champion Lince Dorado defeated La Estrella (w/ Cesar Duran) to retain
Cesar Duran came out to introduce “the next MLW Middleweight champion” in Estrella.
The story of the match was that Estrella left Dorado and Microman high and dry a few weeks ago in a trios match, opting to take Duran’s money and join his Azteca Lucha stable instead.
If Warner vs. Page was the hardcore checkbox of the night, this was the high-flying lucha libre checkbox. Estrella took the champion out early with a twisting Fosbury Flop through the middle rope, but Dorado came back to hit a series of hurricanranas, superkicks and his handspring cutter for a two count.
Dorado then hit a top rope hurricanrana to the apron, sending Estrella to the floor. They hit a mirror image handspring twisting kick spot that left Dorado’s arm draped over Estrella for another two count. Dorado then hit a trifecta of moonsaults on each rope, but Estrella got his legs up on the third.
Estrella hit a sliding German suplex, a missile dropkick, and a poisonrana for a close near fall of his own.
Dorado hit a standing super hurricanrana from the top rope, but Duran interrupted what would have been the match-winning pinfall. Microman then appeared from under the ring to help Dorado and he took out a Duran henchman with a dive from the apron.
Microman then threatened Duran with a Singapore cane which prevented him from interfering again. Dorado reversed a suplex with a power bomb before making his way to the top rope to hit his shooting star press to pick up the win.
– Alex Kane announced backstage that in two weeks, he will take on Davey Boy Smith Jr.
– MLW owner Court Bauer hosted the Hammerstone vs. Fatu contract signing. During the signing, we had a cut-in from Raven’s Calling Card Attackers with a short video clip. Live in the arena, the signing finished with another pull-apart brawl.
– Backstage, Duran was kidnapped by two of his so-called henchmen. They grabbed him and put a sack over his head before dragging him away.
Samoan SWAT Team defeated Hustle and Power to win the MLW Tag Team titles
Calvin Tankman and EJ Nduka jumped Juicy Finau and Lance Anoa’i as they made their entrance. This kicked off the brawl-filled, hard-hitting title match that eventually saw Anoa’i picking up the title-winning pinfall on Nduka after hitting his top rope splash.
Both teams brawled around ringside before the bell rang, so they used chairs and the guardrail legally to hammer each other. Nduka flipped off the apron onto Finau before Anoa’i took everyone out with a tope con hilo.
The match officially began with a table set up in the corner of the ring that Anoa’i went through via a Nduka spinebuster.
After a break, Anoa’i made a comeback and Finau got the hot tag to run wild and squash the champions in the corner with an avalanche and a hip attack. Finau then hit a running double crossbody before defying gravity with a dive through the middle rope to the floor. Anoa’i then hit a top rope splash on Tankman for a very close near fall.
Finau teased a top rope splash, but Nduka pushed him off the top. Tankman pounced Anoa’i before the champions hit a double team spinning suplex/neckbreaker combination, but only for a two count as Anoa’i heroically kicked out.
Nduka then tried to take the easy road out and bring powder into the match, but Anoa’i kicked it out of his hands, Finau hit a Samoan drop and Anoa’i hit another top rope splash on Nduka to get the three count and pick up both the win and the titles for the Samoan SWAT Team.
Having Tankman kick out of the splash and Nduka take the loss was smart given Nduka’s future lies away from MLW.
Jacob Fatu, Samu (Lance’s father) and other members of the family came into the ring to celebrate with the new champions as the announcers hyped up next week’s Fatu vs. Hammerstone title match, suggesting it could be the second Anoa’i family title win within two weeks.
Next week:
MLW Champion Alex Hammerstone defends against Jacob Fatu
MLW Featherweight Champion Taya Valkyrie defends against Billie Starkz
A Tag Team title match has been made official for MLW’s first television tapings of 2023.
It was announced today that EJ Nduka & Calvin Tankman will defend their MLW Tag Team titles against The Samoan Swat Team (Lance Anoa’i & Juicy Finau) at MLW Blood & Thunder on Saturday, January 7. The event is a TV taping for MLW Fusion.
Nduka & Tankman have held the MLW Tag Team titles since defeating 5150 (Danny “Limelight” Rivera & Slice Boogie) this February.
Anoa’i & Finau are part of a new-era Samoan Swat Team in MLW alongside Jacob Fatu. Fatu is facing Dragon Gate wrestler Ben-K at Blood & Thunder.
MLW is billing the Nduka & Tankman vs. Samoan Swat Team title bout as a matchup between two undefeated teams.
Blood & Thunder is taking place at the 2300 Arena in Philadelphia. The updated card for the tapings is listed below:
MLW World Heavyweight Champion Alex Hammerstone defends against Yamato
MLW Tag Team Champions EJ Nduka & Calvin Tankman defend against Lance Anoa’i & Juicy Finau
Jacob Fatu vs. Ben-K
Johnny Fusion (the former John Morrison) returns to MLW
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
The new-generation Von Erichs and Samoan Swat Team will clash at MLW Battle Riot IV.
MLW has announced that The Von Erichs (Ross & Marshall Von Erich) will take on The Samoan Swat Team in a tag team match at Battle Riot IV on Thursday, June 23. The show, which is a television taping for MLW Fusion, is being held at the Melrose Ballroom in New York City.
The Samoan Swat Team consists of Jacob Fatu, Lance Anoa’i, and Juicy Finau. MLW hasn’t announce which two team members will be in the match.
Anoa’i and Finau have recently signed contracts with MLW. In their first time teaming together, Anoa’i & Finau defeated Los Aztecas (Uno & Cinco) at May’s Kings of Colosseum tapings.
Ross Von Erich, Marshall Von Erich, Fatu, Anoa’i, and Finau have also all been announced as entrants for the 40-man Battle Riot match at MLW Battle Riot IV. The winner of the Battle Riot will receive an MLW World Heavyweight Championship shot whenever they want it.
Here’s the updated lineup for the tapings:
40-man Battle Riot match
MLW World Heavyweight Champion Alex Hammerstone defends against Bandido
A new-era version of the Samoan Swat Team is set to debut in MLW.
MLW has announced that Jacob Fatu is forming a new incarnation of his family’s Samoan Swat Team faction. The group will consist of Fatu, Lance Anoa’i, and Juicy Finau.
Anoa’i & Finau will team together at MLW’s Kings of Colosseum television tapings this Friday, taking on the masked Uno & Cinco of Los Aztecas.
A new faction arrives in Major League Wrestling this Friday.
The Samoan Swat Team ravaged the tag team circuit in the 1980s and 90s with Samu and Fatu warring with the likes of the Steiner Bros., Von Erichs, Freebirds and countless others as they took the world by storm.
Now, the next generation of one of wrestling’s great tag teams will unite and debut on Friday, May 13 in Philadelphia.
Recently, Fatu and Cesar Duran have been quarreling. After a vicious attack at the hands of Bestia 666, Cesar Duran and his considerable influence and never-ending army of luchadores have only escalated in their attacks and games. It’s clear Jacob Fatu is fighting a one man war. So, ‘The Samoan Werewolf’ is countering by forming his own swat team!
In addition to Fatu, the swat team features a powerful combo of speed, power and force in Lance Anoa’i and Juicy Finau.
Lance Anoa’i, the son of Samoan Swat Team founding member Samu, grandson of Afa and cousin of The Rock, is a blend of agility and innovation. Teaming with Jacob Fatu over the years, Lance and Fatu are as close as it gets in and away from the ring.
And while Tongans and Samoans have at times been engulfed in their own wars, including possibly a king being eaten during a contentious island conflict, Tongan Juicy Finau is family to Fatu. Super heavyweight Finau and Fatu represent the west coast of the Polynesian family. A proud Tongan with a devastating arsenal that defies and quite possibly breaks gravity, Finau rounds out what could be this decade’s most dangerous and promising team.
Cesar Duran has welcomed Fatu’s swat team to MLW… by signing a bout sheet for their debut as the SST in Philadelphia against Cesar Duran’s Los Azteca Uno y Cinco.
Will Duran’s duo dash the debut of Fatu’s SST or will Fatu’s swat team wreck shop? Find out LIVE Friday night, May 13 in Philadelphia at MLW Kings of Colosseum!
Fatu will also be in action at Kings of Colosseum. He’s facing Mads Krugger in a “Weapons of Mass Destruction” match. The ring and ringside perimeter “”will be militarized with weaponry all around it and inside of it” for that match.
Kings of Colosseum is being held at the 2300 Arena in Philadelphia. The updated lineup for the tapings is listed below.
MLW Kings of Colosseum (Friday, May 13) —
MLW World Heavyweight Champion Alex Hammerstone defends against Richard Holliday (w/ Alicia Atout)
Taya Valkyrie vs. Holidead to crown the inaugural MLW Women’s Featherweight Champion
Weapons of Mass Destruction match: Jacob Fatu vs. Mads Krugger
nZo vs. Lince Dorado
MLW Tag Team Champions Hustle & Power (EJ Nduka & Calvin Tankman) defend against The Von Erichs (Ross & Marshall Von Erich) and 5150 (Slice Boogie & Danny Rivera) in a triple threat match