At Backlash in Puerto Rico, Savio Vega got to take part in a special moment as he returned to WWE.
Vega and Carlito both made cameo appearances during Bad Bunny and Damian Priest’s San Juan street fight at last Saturday’s pay-per-view. While being interviewed by Cultaholic, Vega credited Bad Bunny and Priest for wanting him involved with their match.
“[WWE] got in contact with me because this is the mastermind of Damian Priest and Bad Bunny,” Vega said. “They’re both fans of me and I discovered that when I went to the farewell of The Undertaker. I saw Damian Priest there and I went to him, ‘Hey man, how you doing? I want to take a picture with you.’ He said, ‘No, I want to take a picture with you.’ So I talked to him a little bit there. We don’t talk too much but we keep in touch by phone. This idea was them, more Damian Priest.”
The 58-year-old Vega told Cultaholic that he was “in shock” at the massive reaction he received from the audience when he appeared during a backstage segment at Backlash.
Vega, Carlito, and the LWO fended off interference by the Judgment Day in the Bad Bunny vs. Priest match. That allowed Bad Bunny to get the victory after hitting a Bunny Destroyer.
Vega wrestled for WWE from 1993-1999. He made an appearance for the company in 2020 during The Undertaker’s retirement ceremony at Survivor Series.
With the help of a pair of Puerto Rican wrestling legends, Bad Bunny was victorious at Backlash.
Carlito and Savio Vega both made appearances during Bad Bunny’s street fight against Damian Priest at Saturday night’s pay-per-view in San Juan. Carlito, Vega, and the LWO helped fend off interference by Judgment Day’s Finn Balor and Dominik Mysterio.
As Balor and Dominik were beating down Bad Bunny, Rey Mysterio ran out to make the save. Balor and Dominik were able to fight off Rey, but Carlito’s music then hit. Carlito made his way out to a huge pop from the crowd and then worked with Rey to take out Balor and Dominik.
The roof just blew off for the return of CARLITO in Puerto Rico at #WWEBacklash!!!
Balor and Dominik tried to retreat but were stopped by Vega, who also appeared in a backstage segment earlier in the show. Santos Escobar, Joaquin Wilde, and Cruz Del Toro joined Vega in taking Balor and Dominik out of the equation.
That allowed Bad Bunny to defeat Priest, winning the match with a Bunny Destroyer. There were spots where Bad Bunny used a Figure Four and hit a Sliced Bread #2 leading into the finish.
After his victory, Bad Bunny celebrated in the ring with Carlito, Vega, and the LWO.
What a win for Bad Bunny in the San Juan Street Fight at #WWEBacklash!
This was Bad Bunny’s third time competing for WWE. One of the hottest recording artists in the world, he made his in-ring debut by teaming with Priest against The Miz & John Morrison at WrestleMania 37 in 2021. Bad Bunny’s second match was as a surprise entrant in the 2022 men’s Royal Rumble match.
Former WWE star Savio Vega appeared at Saturday’s WWE Backlash.
During a backstage segment, Rey Mysterio talked to Bad Bunny, who was preparing for his match against Damian Priest in a San Juan Street Fight later in the show. That was when Savio Vega walked in to an enormous reaction. He shook hands with Bunny and handed him a kendo stick with the Puerto Rican flag on it.
Vega was a WWE star from 1993 through 1999. He is most known for being the friend of Razor Ramon, and later was the head of a stable called Los Boricuas. He has spent most of his career in Puerto Rico, first for Carlos Colon’s World Wrestling Council and later in the International Wrestling Association. He had held both of the company’s world titles on three occasions.
Vega was last seen in the WWE back at Survivor Series in 2020, appearing during The Undertaker’s retirement ceremony.
Alexander Hammerstone retained his MLW National Openweight title against the debuting Savio Vega
Contra Unit announced their fourth and newest member, Ikuro Kwan
Bestia 666 picked up his second victory against Rey Horus
Konnan got the upper hand on Salina de la Renta…again
The Opera Cup will return in December
MLW has another partner: The Crash Lucha Libre from Mexico
Full Recap —
Bestia 666 defeated Rey Horus (9:38)
Salina de la Renta was left frustrated by Horus’ Promociones Dorado negotiations so she summoned her devil to take him out.
After an early flourish by Horus, Bestia switched places and took him out with a suicide dive — driving him through the guardrail. A superkick floored Horus inside as the commentators mentioned the notable slower pace to the usual MLW lucha matches.
The pace picked up when Horus sent his opponent to the outside with a spinning headscissors and took to the sky as he ran and dove over the corner ring post, landing a senton on Bestia on the outside.
Back inside, Horus reversed a powerbomb with a sunset flip and then hit a standing Spanish fly for a close two count. Horus’ attack continued as he arm dragged Bestia off the top rope after initially having his spinning victory roll off the top blocked. He followed up with a big satellite DDT that got another close two count.
The finish came after a brief forearm exchange on the top rope. Bestia hit the ropes and crotched Horus, which gave him the time he needed to grab him in the Muscle Buster position but jump down onto his knees, compacting Horus and picking up his second victory in MLW.
– De la Renta took the mic after the match and said that after that performance, it shows she is the best promoter around. She then threatened Konnan to give her her phone back, which brought him out.
Konnan brought up de la Renta’s sketchy contract negotiations with Savio Vega and holding off on his signing bonus. This brought out the Caribbean star who stood on the apron and tore up the contract offer to the delight of Konnan and the crowd.
– This week’s Lifestyles of the Rich and Dynastic featured gifts of gold Rolex watches from MJF which made National Openweight Champion Alexander Hammerstone cry and more jokes and taunts to Teddy Hart courtesy of Richard Holliday.
– H2tv had Teddy Hart showing Brian Pillman Jr. how to backflip on his hotel room bed.
– The Opera Cup was then introduced and announced as returning on December 5. The original concept was an annual multi-day tournament held in various opera houses between Boston and New York. The last champion was Stu Hart in 1948 and Teddy Hart donated the cup to MLW to bring back the tradition and crown a new winner in 2019.
– Contra Unit’s weekly propaganda video featured them introducing their new member who temporarily blinded Marshall Von Erich last week: Ikuro Kwon, a pit fighter who has fought in the slums of Singapore, the tar pits of India, and has burned men with coals.
– Kaci Lennox was then backstage with Ross Von Erich and Tom Lawlor with an update on Marshall’s condition. Ross told us he is in Hawaii with an eye specialist. Lawlor wants more than an eye for an eye, because they are going to war.
– The newest MLW partnership with The Crash Lucha Libre promotion in Mexico was announced.
– Lennox was backstage with Mance Warner and his trusty whiteboard. Lennox wanted to know his game plan, but Warner had her draw trees on the whiteboard and then took a chainsaw to it, telling de la Renta he is going to cut down Promociones Dorado one “tree” at a time.
Josef Samael & Simon Gotch defeated Ariel Dominguez & Jay Sky (:31)
Gotch took out both Dominguez and Sky with big boots before tossing Dominguez across the ring with a suplex. One quick tag later to Samael to lock in his Camel Clutch and this match was over. While caught in the Clutch, Samael brought out the railroad spike and drove it into Dominguez’s mouth. Gotch added insult to injury with a Gotch piledriver.
MLW National Openweight Champion Alexander Hammerstone (with MJF and Richard Holliday) defeated Savio Vega to retain his title (7:40)
The three Dynasty members used their belts to “cheers” each other before the bell. MJF was Ric Flair strutting around ringside to try and rile up the fans. The commentary team talked up Vega’s high profile in Puerto Rico and his history of wrestling in New York in the 90s.
This was a good simple match that played to Vega’s strengths. They kept it simple in the opening exchanges: headlocks, shoulder blocks, and hip tosses. Hammerstone got the advantage after Vega crashed in the corner. A powerslam followed that got the champ a close two count.
MJF and Holliday were riling up the crowd at ringside, audibly shouting “That all you got, fatboy?!” to one in the front row. Inside the ring, Hammerstone floored Vega with a big boot. He went up top but missed a missile dropkick. Vega fired back with chops and a stiff kick to the sternum, but MJF removed a turnbuckle pad as Holliday distracted the referee.
Hammerstone threw Vega into the exposed turnbuckle and then hit the Nightmare Pendulum for the win, crushing Vega’s legs underneath him in the process.
After the bell, Brian Pillman Jr. appeared from the crowd, knocked down Richard Holliday, and ran off with Hammerstone’s red leather jacket. Vega then got helped to the back by medics as MJF and Holliday berated him from the ramp.
Next week —
LA Park vs. Jimmy Havoc in a New York City street fight
Savio Vega is getting a title shot in his MLW debut.
MLW has announced that National Openweight Champion Alexander Hammerstone will defend his title against Vega at next week’s Never Say Never television tapings. Dave Meltzer reported that Vega will be both an agent and a part-time wrestler in MLW and was recommended by Steve Austin.
Hammerstone became the inaugural National Openweight Champion by defeating Brian Pillman Jr. in the finals of a four-wrestler tournament last month. Hammerstone also defeated Gringo Loco in the tournament.
Never Say Never is taking place at the Melrose Ballroom in Queens, New York on Thursday, July 25. Here’s the updated lineup:
MLW World Heavyweight Champion Jacob Fatu defending against Tom Lawlor
LA Park vs. Jimmy Havoc
Davey Boy Smith Jr. vs. Timothy Thatcher
MLW Middleweight Champion Teddy Hart defending against MJF
Austin Aries vs. Ace Austin
Rey Horus vs. Bestia 666
National Openweight Champion Alexander Hammerstone defending against Savio Vega
