Clips from TJP vs. Danny Limelight aired from last week’s episode. Limelight lost to TJP in his NJPW debut.
Karl Fredericks and Clark Connors defeated The DKC and Misterioso
This was Misterioso’s Lion’s Break Collision debut.
Good match. Fredericks and DKC started things off for their teams. The two pummeled themselves into the ropes for a break. Fredericks slapped DKC hard, then tagged out to Connors. DKC landed a high kick and tagged out to Misterioso, who tore through a series of high flying moves, finishing with an Asai Moonsault to the floor.
Connors countered later with a powerslam and followed up with some loud chops. The small studio setting for this show really shines in that it lets the audience hear a lot more of the details coming from the ring.
DKC fired up and at one point took out both Connors and Fredericks. He landed his version of La Mistica on Fredericks for a submission attempt, but couldn’t put Fredericks away.
Fredericks eventually got the win by locking in a sleeper, then planted DKC with an implant DDT.
When he and Connors were celebrating their win, Jeff Cobb ran out and planted Fredericks with a German suplex, a little revenge for what happened in the first episode.
Cobb then cut a backstage promo on Fredericks explaining his actions. He showed a lot more energy here than usual.
Fredericks and Connors were next up for promos. Karl walked off without saying anything. Connors said he didn’t have anything to do with what happened just now, referring to Fredericks and Cobb.
Tom Lawlor defeated Rocky Romero
Good technical matches like this actually benefit from no audience. There was a lot of hold-for-hold grappling in the beginning, lots of hard low kicks exchanged. Romero locked in a cobra twist midway through.
Lawlor caught Romero later in a choke sleeper. Rocky was able to break free and fight on for a few more minutes, but Lawlor went back to the sleeper one more time. He used Romero’s right arm to choke while grapevining his left. Romero had no choice but to tap out.
Lawlor masked up in the post-match interview, then explained how Rocky Romero was ”one of many” who thought they could hang in the ring with him. Lawlor said he’ll be the only survivor once this is all done because he’s the filthiest.
Final thoughts:
Another solid show. The opener was short, but good. The Karl Fredericks/Jeff Cobb build is working because of how simple and well executed it is. Both Romero and Lawlor looked excellent in the main event. I’m sure anyone who watched this will immediately start fantasy booking “Filthy” Tom against whomever is available from NJPW later this year. I can get behind that.
Next week Lion’s Break Collision: Tom Lawor vs. Alex Coughlin and Misterioso vs. Danny Limelight.
This week’s Left My Wallet is back with another watchalong as “Filthy” Tom Lawlor and I check out the first ever MTV Rock N’Jock B-Ball Jam from 1991.
Join us as we hop into the wayback machine for this this star-studded game featuring coaches Magic Johnson and “Coach” Craig T. Nelson’s Bricklayers and Violators.
The game featured Will Smith when he was in the first season of Fresh Prince of Bel Air; 90210’s Luke Perry aka the father of Jungle Boy; Mark Wahlberg when he was simply known as Marky Mark, Flea before the Red Hot Chili Peppers became household names, Jaleel White aka Steve Urkel exhibiting his killer crossover, and Morris Chestnut duking it out with NBA Hall-of-Famer Reggie Miller for MVP honors.
There’s also a dunk contest with Wahlberg, Flea, and Perry, a game of HORSE on actual horses, and Wahlberg using every chance he could to show off his Calvin Klein boxer briefs.
It’s our third watchalong and an extremely fun 30 minute rewind to the summer of ’91.
Recorded live from our mighty Twitch channel, future PFL strongman and former Mongolian Stomper of the UFC, “Filthy” Tom Lawlor joined me for our EXTRA PROFESSIONAL UFC on ESPN 11 post show party…which Josh Roshkopf is not invited to.
“Filthy” fills us in on a few more details about the New Japan Lions Break Collision shows. Plus, we get into the unfortunate wrestling news that seems to breaking by the minute with Tom not shying away from sharing a very personal experience of his own.
Here’s all the details on how you can watch Wrestling Observer Live and other shows every day free on our Twitch stream.
Timestamps:
UFC on ESPN 11 review, as well as conjectal tactical barbell certifications (00:00-56:20)
New Japan Young Lion’s Break Collision talk!(28:03-29:05) (56:20-1:04:00)
Talk about the really real world sh*t taking place in pro wrestling and a personal story from Tom (1:04:00-1:21:41)
The beach at the ocean vs. the beach at the lake, Calvin Tankman, spiders, and abrupt goodbyes. (1:21:41-1:26:09)
NJPW has announced a new show featuring up and coming talent facing established stars starting in July.
The show will be called Lion’s Break Collision, and will start airing July 3rd at 10 pm Eastern, running at the same time WWE 205 Live airs on the WWE Network. The show is slated to air throughout the month.
The announcement noted that former MLW Heavyweight champion and radio host for this website Tom Lawlor will appear on the shows.
The card for the July 3 event will feature Alex Coughlin vs. Clark Connors and Jeff Cobb & Rocky Romero vs. TJP & Karl Fredericks. Other wrestlers scheduled to appear on the shows include Misterioso, Rust Taylor, Danny Limelight, and The DKC.
Lion’s Break is the name of shows under the NJPW banner that feature up and coming talent from NJPW’s LA Dojo. A show was slated for WrestleMania weekend featuring Hiroshi Tanahashi, The Guerillas of Destiny, and other NJPW talent, but the event was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
New Japan has reportedly taped matches featuring LA Dojo talent.
PWInsider is reporting that a TV taping was held Saturday called “Lion’s Break Collision”. Lion’s Break shows typically feature those training at NJPW’s LA Dojo. PWInsider listed Jeff Cobb, TJP, Rocky Romero, Clark Connors, Alex Coughlin, Karl Fredericks, and Misterioso among those who worked the taping.
Another name that reportedly worked the tapings is Tom Lawlor, who is a frequent radio show guest on this website. He is also a former MLW World champion.
It isn’t known when this content will be aired. 9-10 matches were reportedly taped in front of a closed set that had social distancing requirements.
NJPW will return on Monday morning with a live show held in Japan, featuring a card that won’t be announced until start time. The New Japan Cup will be held the following day, running through July 11 at Osaka-jo Hall. The winner of the tournament will face IWGP Heavyweight and Intercontinental champion Tetsuya Naito for both titles at Dominion the following day, also at Osaka-jo Hall.
Many of you might have seen clips of Dusty Rhodes draining three pointers, but we have the whole game, fresh with our very own commentary. Join us as we react to Barry Windham, Lex Luger, Road Warrior Hawk, Sting, Brad Armstrong and his amazing sunglasses, David Crockett, and many of the top stars of Crockett Promotions battle the Charlotte PAL. We also do a mini review of “The Last Dance’ and give our thoughts on Michael Jordan and the 1990s era Chicago Bulls.
It’s a fun and unique show that will show some of your favorite stars from the ’80’s as you’ve never seen them. Head to YouTube, sync up our show, and enjoy the game!
Filthy Four Daily with Bryan Alvarez and ‘Filthy’ Tom Lawlor is back with tons to talk about including the postponement of the PFL affecting Tom’s livelihood, Smackdown from Friday night with the good and the bad of WWE, and, yes, DARK SIDE OF THE RING on Brawl for All. A fun show as always so check it out~!
More than a year after he competed in Oscar De La Hoya’s one-and-done MMA promotional outing, former UFC light heavyweight “Filthy” Tom Lawlor will return to mixed martial arts in 2020, signing a deal with the Professional Fighters League where he’ll compete to win $1 million.
Announcing the news in an interview with Ariel Helwani Wednesday, the 36-year-old said he views the opportunity as a golden lottery ticket. Lawlor is currently signed to a deal with MLW and also works indies around the country which is expected to continue.
The former World Series of Fighting relaunched as the PFL and held their inaugural season under their new format in 2018. Fighters in six different weight classes compete in two fights earlier in the year to make their version of the playoffs in the fall. That consists of eight person, single elimination tournaments where fighters compete twice in a night in order to advance to the finals. If they win the finals scheduled for New Year’s Eve, they take home $1 million.
Lawlor, the co-host of the weekly Filthy Four Daily podcast on this website, doesn’t have a date or opponent for his first yet, but the PFL season runs from May through August. They have not announced their schedule as of yet.
Lawlor was suspended by USADA in November 2016 for two years for testing positive for ostarine. While he claimed his innocence throughout, his requests to be released were denied until the UFC randomly released him two months before that suspension was up. As more fighters tested positive for ostarine that earned significantly shorter sentences, USADA released a statement to MMA Fighting in April 2019 saying that Lawlor could have challenged the claim with an independent arbitrator and been eligible for a shorter suspension had the case happened in 2019.
Lawlor (10-7-0-1) last fought in the UFC in March 2016, losing a close decision to Corey Anderson. In the aforementioned De La Hoya event, he lost to current UFC middleweight Deron Winn.
Team Filthy gained a new member as Erick Stevens helped Tom Lawlor and Dominic Garrini get another one over the Von Erich brothers. Stevens debuted and defeated Douglas James earlier in the night.
Logan Creed and King Mo dispatched Moonshine Mantell and Dr Dax quickly in singles action.
The tension continued to build between both Mance Warner and the Dynasty, and Injustice and Brian Pillman Jr.
***Full Review***
We saw a video recap from Thanksgiving night 2019 when “Filthy” Tom Lawlor turned his back on the Von Erich family, screweing Ross out of the MLW World title in his match against Jacob Fatu.
Logan Creed defeated Moonshine Mantell by pinfall (3:29)
The former Grogan has left the Dynasty and made short work of his opponent tonight. Creed had an in-set promo during his entrance, calling the Dynasty rich, entitled pricks and said his name isn’t Grogan or Gorgan as they have been calling him: it is Logan Creed. He added that thanks to Mance Warner, the heathen has been unleashed. For the first time, the commentators picked up on the confusion surrounding Creed’s name.
Mantell tried early chops and right hands, but Creed floored him with a shoulderblock and went to work. He went for a full nelson, but Mantell reversed it and fired up again…but not for long as Creed gave him a chokeslam backbreaker and a big boot that sent him to the outside. The 300-pound giant than ran and dove over the top rope to the floor landing a massive tope dive. Back inside, Creed quickly put him away with a powerbomb for the pin and win.
— Lifestyles of the Rich and Dynastic was next and this week we had Hammerstone, Holliday, and Medina arguing about Logan Creed. Hammerstone said he got him as a present from Giants ‘R’ Us at a discount price. They turned their attention to Mance Warner and agreed to take him out.
— We then got the PWI rankings for the top ten MLW World title contenders: 10. Dominic Garrini, 9. Low Ki, 8. Jimmy Havoc, 7. Richard Holliday, 6. “Filthy” Tom Lawlor, 5. Mance Warner, 4. Brian Pillman Jr., 3. Myron Reed, 2. Alexander Hammerstone, 1. Davey Boy Smith Jr.
— The cameras then caught up with Erick Stevens backstage as he called out Davey Boy Smith and called him the toughest competitor in MLW.
Erick Stevens defeated Douglas James by pinfall (8:32)
Stevens was successful in his debut, but James made him work for it and looked really good in the process. James got Stevens to the floor early on and gave him a condescending slap to the head. He continued to outwrestle him with speed and agility and come close to picking up the win after a sunset flip bomb. James tried a suicide dive through the middle and bottom rope, but Stevens caught him on the outside and slammed him on the ring apron. Stevens took over and pummelled James in the corner, flooring him with a back elbow.
They exchanged slaps to the face and James hit a hurricanrana followed by kicks to the leg. Stevens caught one of the kicks and hit a big chokeslam for a two count. Stevens then fishhooked James while getting a surfboard locked in as we went to a commercial break.
Back from the break, James fired up again. He hit a high knee to the cheek and a superkick to the jaw that was followed up by a meteora for a close two count. James then hit a series of kicks to the chest and added in one to the head, followed by a stiff forearm. Stevens fired back himself, dropping him gut first onto his knees. A strong lariat was followed up by a northern lights brainbuster with Stevens pickeing up a hard-fought win in his debut match for MLW.
— We saw a video from the Dynasty meeting Mance Warner earlier in the day. The meeting was unnaturally well mannered. Hammer was nursing his hands and we soon found out why. Warner turned the corner and found his uncle lying on the ground having just been beaten up.
— CONTRA’s propaganda video had Samael letting us know Ikiro Kwon has been sent to Japan to sort out CIMA while Fatu put out a warning to all the luchadors from AAA.
— The cameras caught up with Tom Lawlor earlier in the day. He was asked about Davey Boy Smith Jr. and the Von Erichs teaming up. He said both families had better times in the past, and that is where they should stay. He warned Smith that he will lose more than an eye if he continues teaming with them.
— Injustice had their video promo package for this week. They talked about Brian Pillman Jr. and his failed shot at the MLW World title two weeks ago. Kotto Brazil hinted at why they wanted Pillman in the Opera Cup and title match and not he or Myron Reed. But, he then said it didn’t matter because in the end, they will get their justice.
— Jimmy Havoc and Priscilla Kelly said their war with Mance Warner is over. But now, Havoc is going to regroup and whoever is next for the ultraviolence should be scared.
King Mo (w/ Dan Lambert) defeated Doctor Dax by submission (1:09)
Before the entrances, we saw a recap of the simmering tension between Mo and Low Ki after they clashed during a recent interview. The commentary team continued to hype this potential clash after the match as well. Dax jumped Mo before the bell and hit a big overhead double chop to the chest. Mo fired back with right hands and tried to lift the huge Dax with a high crotch lift but was unsuccessful. Dax then easily scooped up Mo, but Mo slipped out the back and locked in a rear naked choke for the tapout.
Ross Von Erich defeated “Filthy” Tom Lawlor (with his cornerman) by disqualification (7:05)
Lawlor came out with a cowbell and cowboy hat while his Team Filthy cornerman had a hobby horse to continue riling up the Dallas crowd. Ross got a good ovation from his home state crowd and he went straight to work at the opening bell. He launched himself at Lawlor and hit right hands and kicks to the gut. He threw Lawlor chest first into the corner and kicked him out the ring. On the outside, he rammed Lawlor into the ring post and the guard rail, dropping him back first on the apron.
Lawlor caught him coming in the ring and slammed him, but Ross quickly recovered with a slingshot elbow for a two count. Lawlor then faked being thumbed in the eye and with the referee attended to the “injured” Lawlor, the cornerman tripped Ross’ leg and the suddenly ok Lawlor jumped up and knocked Ross to the ground. He choked Ross with his shin behind the referee’s back and kicked him square in the chest time and time again as Ross tried to fight to his feet.
On the final kick, Ross rolled through and fired up to his feet. He hit Lawlor with a dropkick, a big running boot to the face, and a stalling dropkick in the corner. Ross then dumped Lawlor on his head with a huge impaler DDT/brainbuster for a two count and then a falcon arrow for another two count. Ross called for the claw as he knocked the cornerman off the apron, but before he could lock it in, Dominic Garrini ran in for the disqualification.
Ross’ brother Marshall flew in and saved his brother from the 2-on-1 attack. The Von Erichs singled out Lawlor and were about to hit him with the claw assisted slam but out of nowhere, Erick Stevens jumped into the ring and knocked both brothers down. Lawlor and Garrini got to their feet and it was now a 3-on-2 beatdown in favour of Team Filthy. Lawlor choked Marshall with the cowbell and Stevens choked Ross with Garrini’s purple belt, spitting and blowing his nose on the Texas flag before stomping on it in the middle of the ring.
You could feel the fans were at a fever pitch and ready to explode as a trash can was launched into the ring from the crowd. Stevens and Garrini used the trashcan on the Von Erichs before Stevens himself finished off the insult by dropping the Texas flag into it as he, Lawlor, and Garrini were lucky to escape Texas unscathed.
***Next Week***
Los Parks (LA Park and El Hijo Del LA Park) vs. CONTRA Unit (Simon Gotch and Josef Samael) in a lumberjack match
Injustice (Kotto Brazil & Jordan Oliver) vs. Laredo Kid and Zenshi
Filthy Four Daily with Bryan Alvarez and ‘Filthy’ Tom Lawlor is back with plenty to talk about including last Friday’s WWE SmackDown from Friday night, Saturday’s UFC 247 show featuring Jon Jones, the build towards both WrestleMania and Saudi Arabia, and the usual random topics.
Filthy Four Daily with Bryan Alvarez and MLW superstar ‘Filthy’ Tom Lawlor is back today with tons to talk about including THIS SUPER SMACKDOWN on Friday with a title change and dog food stipulation, the MALE BAG, and tons more. A fun show as always so check it out~!
MLW announced today that Kross will make his debut for the promotion against Tom Lawlor at their Fightland set of television tapings. The show is taking place at the 2300 Arena in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania on Saturday, February 1.
Kross was announced for Fightland on December 19, which was the day after it was revealed that he was granted his release from Impact Wrestling. Kross is currently a free agent.
After turning heel against the Von Erichs, Lawlor faced Ross Von Erich at MLW’s Zero Hour tapings this past weekend.
MLW’s Court Bauer hyped up Kross vs. Lawlor: “Fightland wouldn’t be Fightland without a dream match like Lawlor-Kross. The 2300 Arena has seen some scraps but given the rep of these two, this one is going to be on a different level.”
MLW World Heavyweight Champion Jacob Fatu defending his title against CIMA, Davey Boy Smith Jr. vs. Erick Stevens, and Brian Pillman Jr. vs. Jimmy Havoc (w/ Priscilla Kelly) are also set for Fightland.
Before they face off next month in Philadelphia, CIMA and Jacob Fatu captained opposing teams as CONTRA Unit took on Strong Hearts in an action-packed 6 man tag main event.
Davey Boy Smith Jr. made his way to the final of the Opera Cup at the expense of the Dynasty’s Alexander Hammerstone.
“Filthy” Tom Lawlor made a mockery of the Von Erich family when he choked out “Rip” Von Erich in his own special exhibition and later challenged Ross and Marshall to put their belts on the line next week on Fusion.
** Full Review **
— Mance Warner opened this week’s episode of MLW Fusion with a message for Jimmy Havoc. He recapped their rivalry and focused on his busted open forehead. He warned Havoc about their upcoming no rope barbed wire match in Texas and that he would be hitting the pay window this time.
— Rich Bocchini and AJ Kirsch welcomed us to the first Fusion of the decade and hyped up the Opera Cup and tonight’s semifinal between Davey Boy Smith Jr. and Alexander Hammerstone.
“Filthy” Tom Lawlor defeated Rip Von Erich in an exhibition match (3:20)
This was announced as an unsanctioned match as Lawlor came to the ring with a Von Erich t-shirt. He took the mic before “Rip” entered the arena and said everyone just wants to talk to him about the Von Erichs and called them all dumbasses. He didn’t think Marshall and Ross are real members of the family anyway. He announced his opponent as “from the loins of Lance Von Erich” to which the announcers correctly reminded us that Lance was not a real Von Erich.
Lawlor outpowered and weighed much more than his much smaller opponent. He got him in an airplane spin and choked him out with a chin lock paired with an Iron Claw to the forehead for good measure. Lawlor acted relieved his match was finally over and called for the ring announcer, who he called Joe Rogan, to give him a mic. He told “Rogan” to go do his podcast as he snatched the mic and told us he was undefeated against the Von Erichs and called them Hawaiian hillbillies.
This brought out Marshall and Ross but before they could get their hands on Lawlor, the Spirit Squad ran down and jumped them from behind. Lawlor took Marshall’s cowboy hat and paraded around the ring with it on. The Team Filthy cornerman also got involved in the beatdown.
— We saw a recap from two weeks ago when the Strong Hearts were attacked by CONTRA Unit during their interview.
— Richard Holliday and Alexander Hammerstone were backstage earlier in the day talking about how Gino Medina could become the newest member of the Dynasty. Salina de la Renta then joined them and said there was nothing they could give Gino that she couldn’t. Hammerstone told her to stop cockblocking them.
— Alicia Atout then interviewed Davey Boy Smith Jr. and asked him who the true power in MLW was between him and Hammerstone. Smith said he shines in the technical and submission wrestling division, and that when the fatigue sets in, he will lock in a submission and make Hammerstone tap like the bitch that he is.
In a non-title match, Davey Boy Smith Jr. defeated MLW National Openweight Champion Alexander Hammerstone (w/Richard Holliday) in the semifinals of the Opera Cup (8:56)
MJF was on commentary and brilliant throughout. They hyped this match as two powerhouses but they started chain wrestling and sizing each other up. Hammerstone hit a back elbow behind the ref’s back but then ate one himself moments later. Holliday then grabbed Smith’s ankle and distracted him so Hammerstone could hit him with a bicycle kick to the face. Hammerstone hit a belly to back suplex on the outside guardrail and got a two count back inside.
Hammerstone then started beating down Smith. Holliday shouted that the ref should ask Smith in Canadian “if he gives up, eh?” and MJF called Hammerstone a bald eagle as he flew through the air to connect with a dropkick. MJF asked Kirsch on commentary if he thought that dropkick was “tough enough”.
Smith Hulked up and hit the ten punches in the corner, a big back body drop, a big boot and the leg drop of doom but Hammerstone amazingly kicked out. Smith then hit three rolling Germans for another close near fall.
Hammerstone landed on his feet off a back suplex and went for the Nightmare Pendulum but Smith reversed it into a crossface. Holliday distracted Smith and got up on the apron, but Hammerstone accidentally knocked him off when he missed a big boot. Smith then hit a running powerslam and a diving headbutt to pick up the win.
Smith will face the winner of next week’s Timothy Thatcher vs. Brian Pillman Jr. Opera Cup semifinal. Smith offered a handshake after the match and it looked like Hammerstone was going for it, but Holliday pulled him away and sent him to the back.
— Pillman Jr. was then interviewed by Atout about his Opera Cup match against Thatcher, but was interrupted by Kotto Brazil. Brazil was fed up with everything being about the Hart Foundation in MLW. He said Injustice were undefeated and warned Pillman that he might not make it to next week’s semifinal.
— We then got a CONTRA Unit propaganda video. Josef Samael warned everyone that you never see them coming. They called out the Hart Foundation and said Strong Hearts will also find out that they should not mess with the global dealers in violence.
— They ran the debut hype video for Erick Stevens.
CONTRA Unit (MLW Champion Jacob Fatu, Simon Gotch and Josef Samael) defeated Strong Hearts (CIMA, Shingehiro Irie and El Lindaman) (11:00)
CIMA and Gotch met with a chopfest to kick us off. They started at 100 mph and the Strong Hearts quickly had Gotch in the corner eating a dropkick to the back. CONTRA fought back and singled out Lindaman after a quick flurry by the 5’3” OWE star.
Fatu hit Lindaman with a superkick to the temple but Lindaman fired up and got Fatu off his feet with a slam attempt. But, the MLW champion’s size powered him over and he flattened Lindaman into the mat.
Irie tagged in and hit Gotch with a splash after springing back first off the top rope. He then reversed a Gotch piledriver and instead piledrove Samael on top of Gotch. Fatu came in and they met with double clotheslines but neither budged. They then collided with double crossbodies but Fatu got to his feet almost immediately as Irie writhed in pain on the ground. Fatu hit his handspring moonsault but CIMA broke up the pinfall attempt.
The action then broke down into a six-way brawl on the outside. Fatu chopped a ring post and was sent to the guardrail before he and Irie traded suicide dives onto each other. All three Strong Hearts then teamed up and got Fatu back inside. They chopped him but Fatu fought back with right hands. CIMA hit him with double knees from the top, Irie hit a rolling senton while he was draped on the middle rope, and Lindaman hit a bridging delayed German suplex for the close near fall only to be broken up by Gotch.
Lindaman then took out Samael with a somersault plancha to the outside. Back inside, Fatu caught CIMA with a pop-up Samoan drop and a 300-pound top rope moonsault to pick up the pin and the victory for his team.
Before we went off the air, Lawlor had a message for the Von Erichs. He said they were too dumb, stupid, and idiotic to see what is coming next. He challenged them to face his two star students next week with their tag team titles on the line.
** Next Week **
Timothy Thatcher vs. Brian Pillman Jr. in the second Opera Cup semifinal.
Tom Lawlor’s open challenge to the Von Erichs for their MLW tag team titles against two of Team Filthy’s top students.
Submitted by E.A. Krol from the Marian Catholic High School gym
Warrior Wrestling put on its seventh show Friday in Chicago Heights, IL, about 30 miles south of downtown Chicago. This was the first time for the promotion on Fite TV and it was one of the biggest independent events of the year in the U.S.
Danhausen def. Reilly Maguire (pre-show)
Danhausen prevailed over a student of Michael Elgin’s in a comedy match.
Templario def. Jake Lander
Templario won with a face first reverse duplex off the second rope in a bonus match that went about 15 minutes. The crowd was into this. Lander also trains at Elgin’s school in St. Louis.
Savanna Stone def. Holidead
Stone won in about nine minutes with a spear.
Impact X Division champion Ace Austin def. Blake Christian and Carlos Romo in a three-way to retain
To explain why he did not have his belt with him, Austin did a promo before the match poking fun at WALTER for getting the NXT UK belt stolen in Chicago. The crowd chanted “you forgot it!” In response. They took turns resting on the outside at the start before Romo (from White Wolf Wrestling in Spain) won a slap battle. At the end, each got to hit a finisher off the top with the third guy breaking up a pin attempt on the other two. Austin retained over Christian in about 11 minutes.
Robert Anthony (w/Frank the Clown) def. Jake Atlas
Frank did a pre-match promo telling the crowd it was the holiday season and he had a gift for the crowd: himself. His gift to Atlas was his best friend, Robert “Ego” Anthony, who came out to Queen’s “Can’t Stop Me Now”.
Early on, Anthony stalled and the crowd chanted “You’re a baby!” and Atlas got in the fetal position in the corner in a nice touch. Atlas called for quiet before chopping Anthony loudly a couple times. He missed a third and Anthony took over. Atlas hit a flipping top rope DDT but Frank put Anthony’s foot on the rope. In the end, Frank grabbed Atlas’ leg while the ref was tending to Anthony, who rolled up Atlas for the win in about 11 minutes.
Michael Elgin and Sam Adonis went to a draw
Adonis told the crowd to shut up about his brother (WWE announcer Corey Graves). He turned 33 today and the crowd wished him a happy one. Elgin won a chop battle and told the ringside fans he “really liked chops” before pasting Adonis, who soon after hit a tope. Elgin barely beat the 10-count back in. Elgin eventually hit a sitdown power bomb for two. Elgin hit a Samoan drop on the apron and Adonis missed a flip dive off the top, Elgin hit a lariat and a last ride sitdown power bomb for two.
Then, we got a double lariat and the bell rang for a 20-minute draw which fans booed. Afterward, Elgin said his relationship with Chicago has been a little rocky, but tonight was his birthday, and he’ll be damned if he’s gonna go to a draw. He called for five more minutes and the crowd chanted for it. Adonis declined and said they could do a no-time-limit rematch in Feb. 15 at Warrior Wrestling 8. Elgin brought in a little kid and told him a secret. He didn’t want to lose on his birthday. Elgin rolled up the ref and the kid counted three.
Black Taurus def. Drago, Aerostar, Rey Horus and El Gringo Loco in a five-way scramble
This was non-stop action as you would expect. Horus dove over the top rope and hit a rana outside. Taurus hit the pop up Samoan drop on Horus like Jacob Fatu does. Loco, a local who also appears for MLW, dove over the top onto everyone but Horus as they made the local guy look good. Taurus and Aerostar spit at each other. Taurus and Loco botched a spot near the finish, which was Taurus hitting a spinning slam on Loco for the win in nine minutes. They bumped fists and posed for pictures after the well-received match. A few fans threw money in the ring.
Kurt Angle made an appearance and was greeted with the “you suck” chant. He did a short promo and noted John Cena’s first match was against him in Chicago and said he took on Randy Orton (and Rey Mysterious) at WrestleMania 22 here as well.
Lance Archer def. Brian Pillman Jr.
New Japan’s U.S. champ had a tune-up match before he takes on AEW’s Jon Moxley at Wrestle Kingdom. Archer took a lot of the match and no sold Pillman’s chops. Archer hit the EBD claw to win in about 12 minutes. Fans were really into it when they went to the near falls.
Minoru Suzuki def. “Filthy” Tom Lawlor
Lawlor came out wearing a yellow vest to a New Kids on the Block song, waving his arm. Suzuki got the biggest pop so far with a good portion of the crowd here to scream “Kaze ni Nare”. This was mat wrestling at first, followed by outside brawling and a chop/strike battle. Suzuki got the better of the exchange. They tried to choke each other out and reversed each other. Suzuki hit the Gotch piledriver about 14 minutes in for the win. Afterward, he left all the fans attempting high-fives hanging. On his way out, he teased putting a move on the kid who counted Elgin’s pin on the ref earlier in the evening.
Warrior Wrestling Champion Brian Cage def. El Phantasmo to retain
El-P took a couple hats off fans who tried to ‘Too Sweet’ him and tossed them into the crowd. He grabbed the mic from the ring announcer and said “I’ve been waiting a long, long time to say this: CM Punk sucks.” He also said Colt Cabana sucked, Chicago deep dish pizza sucked, and the Cubs sucked. The last one got cheers because the event was in White Sox territory. Cage clotheslined him for his troubles.
This was a speed vs. power match. They brawled in the crowd. Cage kicked El-P while he had a plastic trash can over his head. El-P took over with a dive through the ropes onto Cage. El-P did his rope walk spot. El-P got a handful of tights for two and somehow got Cage up for the airplane spin. Cage hit a buckle bomb and back breaker and the ref counted to three, but it wasn’t the finish. Oops.
Cage suplexed El-P back into the ring from the second rope. El-P hit a destroyer that Cage no sold, who then hit him with a big lariat for a spin bump and hit his finisher for the win in about 17 minutes.
The main event of the evening pitted the New Japan faction against the Impact team. Rocky and Wentz started off with some comedy and Red and Xavier were next. They were super fast. Ospreay was really into the match on the apron. He got the tag amid soccer chants of his name. This had the most sustained heat of the night even four hours in. Miguel got tied to the tree of woe and CHAOS each slide kicked him.
The Rascalz got heat on Romweo, who hit a double rana and hot tagged Red. Ospreay hit a standing twisting moonsault for two, then Pip Pip Cheerio. Ospreay went for an Os cutter but was pushed over the top rope instead.
There was a series of dives to the outside, topped by a Red monkey flip to one of the Rascalz off the top to the outside, landing on everyone else. Ospreay got the storm breaker on Xavier for the win in 24 minutes.
Both teams got on their knees and hugged after the match. Ospreay did the show-ending speech, singing “Sweet Home Chicago”.
Tom Lawlor will face off with a Von Erich brother when MLW makes its return to the Dallas area next month.
MLW announced today that Lawlor vs. Ross Von Erich is set for their Zero Hour television tapings in North Richland Hills, Texas on Saturday, January 11. The tapings are taking place at the NYTEX Sports Centre.
The match comes after an angle where Lawlor turned heel against the Von Erichs by costing Ross his match against MLW World Heavyweight Champion Jacob Fatu. That title match aired on MLW Fusion’s Thanksgiving special, with Lawlor hitting Ross with a steel chair and then saying “F*ck CONTRA” and “F*ck the Von Erichs” after.
Ross & Marshall Von Erich are the current MLW Tag Team Champions. They won the titles from The Dynasty (MJF & Richard Holliday) at last month’s Saturday Night SuperFight pay-per-view.
The Zero Hour tapings will also feature a no ropes barbed wire match between Jimmy Havoc and Mance Warner.
