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wrestlingisfake · 2 years ago

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Final Battle preview

Chris Jericho vs. Claudio Castagnoli - This is for the ROH men's world title. Jericho won the belt from Castagnoli in July, and although Claudio has since beaten Jericho in non-title situations, Jericho pinned him last month in a four-way title bout. So to get this one-on-one rematch, Claudio has agreed to join the Jericho Appreciation Society if he loses. Those stakes seem more important given that Claudio's current stable, the Blackpool Combat Club, is at a critical moment following the betrayal of William Regal.

The JAS and BCC have been feuding since May, when BCC's Jon Moxley backed up for his friend Eddie Kingston, whose issues with the group went back to November 2021. I think everyone's hoping this will finally end the saga. However, I'm hard-pressed to think of a "babyface is forced to join a heel group" storyline that ended well. If Claudio joins the JAS, the BCC will look like idiots if they don't try to get him out.

The other big issue is Jericho's current gimmick of dishonoring Ring of Honor by not respecting what the title stands for. So he does basic heel stuff like he always does, except Ian Riccaboni has to tell us "THAT ISN'T ADHERING TO THE CODE OF HONOR!" ROH was doing that lazy formula long before Tony Khan bought the company, and I was hoping Jericho would have a new spin on it, but that hasn't panned out.

Ever since Jericho won the title I expected him to lose it here. But now that the day has come I feel like the story hasn't peaked yet. I'd be fine with getting it over with, but I can't help wondering if there's some bigger name waiting in the wings to fight Jericho in the name of honor. In any event, I'm picking Castagnoli to win just to speak it into existence.

Dax Harwood & Cash Wheeler vs. Jay Briscoe & Mark Briscoe - This is a double dog collar match for the ROH tag team championship. FTR (Dax and Cash) are the defending champions; their AAA and IWGP titles aren't on the line. Each participant will be chained by the neck to one of their opponents. There are no rules and tag partners don't have to tag in and out of the ring. The match ends when one man scores a pinfall or submission on either opponent.

FTR captured the ROH tag title from the Briscoes in April and won a rematch in July, so the Briscoes have a deep hole to climb out of. The stip is clearly meant to favor the Briscoes, even though it'll probably still be a back-and-forth war right up until the last thirty seconds or so. Going 0-3 against FTR would be pretty disastrous for the Briscoes, especially considering they're supposed to be under contract but they can't appear on AEW TV, so being a top ROH tag team is kind of all they have.

It feels like FTR's triple-champ run could be winding down. They failed to capture the AEW tag title on December 7. They're slight underdogs here. On December 28 they defend the AAA title against Dragon Lee & Dralistico. It's widely expected they'll defend the IWGP title on January 4. It'd be a hell of a story if they made it through without dropping any belts, but it might be a better story to recover from an epic collapse.

Daniel Garcia vs. Wheeler YUTA - Garcia is defending the ROH pure title. This is the third match between these two for the title--Yuta beat Garcia to retain on July 23, but Garcia captured the belt on September 7. So this is the rubber match.

The pure title is defended under pure rules. Closed-fist strikes to the head are illegal, but you just get a warning on the first punch, so that one's basically free. Each competitor can only use the ropes to break a pinfall or submission three times; after that, the only way to be out of bounds is to exit the ring altogether. A championship defended under these rules is always award to the winner, even if the match ends by count-out or disqualification.

I could live with either guy winning, but Garcia really doesn't need this belt. It's cute to have a technician like Garcia hold this particular title while doing the whole "it's not pro wrestling, it's sports entertainment" bit. But if there was anything left to do with that, it's been covered by Jericho holding the world title. Whoever loses this match will need to pick himself up and figure out what to do next, and I'd prefer to see Garcia do that for a change.

Mercedes Martinez vs. Athena - Martinez is putting the ROH women's world title at stake. She spent 16 weeks on the shelf due to an undisclosed injury (which I suspect was a concussion). Martinez's big return was to confront Athena when she took liberties with a beaten opponent and also smacked the shit out of referee Aubrey Edwards. I got the feeling Athena was slowly turning heel, but as soon as she hit Aubrey she was basically the devil.

I guess Martinez could retain but that would really kill Athena's momentum, so I think a title change is the best way to go. Only problem with that is you'd have yet another ROH titleholder who has decided honor in wrestling is a joke. But if it means I get to see more of Athena clobberin' everybody then I'm cool with that. Unless she's clobberin' Aubrey. Don't do that.

Samoa Joe vs. Juice Robinson - Juice has challenged Joe for the ROH television title; Joe's AEW TNT title is not at stake. I was expecting Joe to face Wardlow on the show to blow off their feud, so this is an odd detour. But I'm a big fan of Joe and Juice so I'll take it.

Juice's video package where he issued the challenge sounded like a babyface promo, which is kind of weird since he dramatically turned heel a few months ago in New Japan. I'm curious which of these two the fans will side with. I would be shocked if Joe drops the TV title, unless Wardlow does a run-in.

Keith Lee & Swerve Strickland vs. Shane Taylor & JD Griffey - Taylor and Griffey each teamed with Lee back in like 2014-2015; apparently the story is they're mad at him for leaving them behind like he did to Swerve Strickland on November 19. I'm not clear on why Lee is teaming with Swerve here; you'd think he could and would choose literally anyone else to be his partner.

Taylor was a rising force in ROH just before Tony Khan bought it, so it'll be interesting if he's sticking around beyond this one match. But I don't think his team can win unless the story is Strickland walking away at a critical moment to screw over Lee.

Dalton Castle & Brandan Tate & Brent Tate vs. Brian Cage & Bishop Kaun & Toa Liona - Castle and The Boys are defending the ROH trios title. Cage and the Gates of Agony were brought together by Tully Blanchard back in April, but when Prince Nana took over the group in July they became the latest incarnation of The Embassy. I would expect Castle's team to retain unless they're leaving the company, and I don't get the impression they are.

Rush & Dralistico vs. Blake Christian & AR Fox - OK, so Rush created La Faccion Ingobernable after he left CMLL, so he could do the Los Ingobernables gimmick in other promotions. His brothers Dragon Lee and Dralistico joined LFI. Then Rush came to AEW where Andrade El Idolo joined LFI. Then Rush and Andrade turned on Lee on an AEW show in August. Now Rush and Dralistico are teaming up. On December 28 in Mexico, Dralistico is teaming with Lee. So I'm a little confused where Dralistico's loyalties lie. This is probably a squash match for Rush; the only question is whether he beats up his brother and rips his mask off.

Jeff Cobb vs. Mascara Dorada - This is scheduled for the pre-show. You may remember Dorada as Gran Metalik in WWE's Lucha House Party. Cobb has been in Japan a lot lately so I'm surprised to see him popping in here. I hope he sticks around. After he clobbers Dorada, that is.

Trish Adora vs. Willow Nightingale - Another pre-show match. Adora is the pan-Afrikan world diaspora champion but the title is not at stake. Adora is one of those names I mostly hear when people are talking about hot indy acts you need to watch for. I heard the same hype for Willow before she made it on AEW television this year, and she's great. So hopefully now it's Trish's turn. I'd like to see the winner get to challenge the winner of Martinez/Athena, which is probably more doable if it's Willow.

Matt Taven & Mike Bennett vs. Dante Martin & Darius Martin - More pre-show stuff. Taven and Bennett are The Kingdom, returning to ROH after it was shut down one year ago. Dante and Darius are Top Flight, which was heating up on AEW until Darius had a string of injuries, and then Dante got red hot as a solo act. I'm real glad all four of these guys are here and doing okay after their respective hassles. This is probably a showcase for Taven and Bennett, who made a splashy debut in AEW but haven't really done anything since.

Matt Menard & Angelo Parker vs. Eli Isom & Cheeseburger - Even more pre-show action. Menard and Parker are kind of the job guys in the Jericho Appreciation Society, but that still puts them way ahead of the Shinobi Shadow Squad in the pecking order. CB and Isom are here to remind us they exist before they lose.

#roh #ring of honor #final battle #aew #chris jericho #claudio castagnoli #ftr #the briscoes

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wrestlingfaves · 3 months ago

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Royal Rumble Marathon: 1998

The Rumble has made it to 1997.

Warning for past Rumbles.

The undercard:

Goldust (accompanied by Marlena) vs Hunter Hearst Helmsley (accompanied by Curtis Hughes) for the Intercontinental title. Hunter wins via the Pedigree. Hughes is no Chyna.

Rumble hype vignettes form Bret Hart and Mankind.

Farooq (Ron Simmons, accompanied by the Nation of Domination and other individuals) vs Ahmed Johnson. Ahmed wins via DQ and brawls with the Nation afterwards. This was an early version of the Nation of Domination that featured PG-13 and Crush.

Vader vs the Undertaker. Paul Bearer shows up mid-match and gets pushed around by Taker. Taker wins.

Rumble hype vignettes from Steve Austin (no longer the Ringmaster, he is now “Stone Cold”) and Davey Boy Smith who states he’s going to win the Rumble as he is “bizarre”.

A six-man tag team match features the following wrestlers from AAA: Hector Garza, Perro Aguayo, and El Canek vs Jerry Estrada, Heavy Metal, and Fuerza Guerrera. An attempt to counter the luchadors of WCW or an addition due to the pay per view taking place in Texas? The team of Aguayo, Garza, and Canek won. Unsurprisingly, this is the most athletic and fastest-paced match of the undercard.

Once again the Rumble is not the final bout of the pay-per-view. While I would normally agree that the World title match should end the ppv, the Rumble is the exception. The Rumble should always go last.

The entrants in order of appearance:

Crush (accompanied by Clarence Mason)

Ahmed Johnson

Fake Razor Ramon

Phineas Godwinn (accompanied by Hillbilly Jim)

“Stone Cold” Steve Austin

Bart Gunn

Jake Roberts

Davey Boy Smith

Pierroth

The Sultan (Rikishi) (accompanied by the Iron Shiek)

Mil Mascaras

Hunter Hearst Helmsley

Owen Hart (accompanied by his Slammy trophy)

Goldust (accompanied by Marlena)

Cybernetico

Marc Mero (accompanied by Sable)

Latin Lover

Farooq

Savio Vega

Jesse James (aka Road Dog)

Bret Hart (Steve Austin’s “Oh Crap” face when Bret’s music was fantastic

Jerry Lawler

Fake Diesel (aka Kane)

Terry Funk (3 months from now Funk will be headlining ECW’s first ppv – Barely Legal)

Rocky Maivia (pre-the Rock but not yet drowned out by “Rocky Sucks” chants)

Mankind

Flash Funk

Vader

Henry Godwinn (accompanied by Hillbilly Jim)

Undertaker

First-time Rumblers: Ahmed Johnson, Phineas Godwinn

Surprise Entrants: Pierroth, Mil Mascaras, Cybernetico, Latin Lover, Terry Funk

“Oops! I ‘accidentally’ eliminated my friend” spot: Owen eliminates Davey Boy

Commentator joins the Rumble: Jerry Lawler, first time this spot is used in the Rumble

Winner: Steve Austin (though Austin had been eliminated by Bret but the refs didn’t see it). Bret has a hissy and asks Vince when he’s going to do something about it – one of the few references to Vince’s actual role in the company before he adopted the “Mr. McMahon” character.

Most Eliminations: Steve Austin with a total of 10, tying the previous record held by Hulk Hogan.

Quickest Eliminations: Jerry Lawler, Fake Razor Ramon

Highlight of the Rumble: Bret vs Steve (the pair has around 4 minutes to themselves in the ring and then focus on each other for the rest of the Rumble)

Feuds in the Rumble: Bret vs Steve, Mankind vs Terry Funk, Hunter vs Goldust, Ahmed vs the Nation), Vader vs Taker

The Road To Wrestlemania: Bret vs Steve

The WWE’s roster was thin at this point as 5 of the 30 participants were not members of the roster and another 6 participants pulled double-duty on the card.

Shawn Michaels (accompanied by Jose Lothario) vs Psycho Sid for the World championship. Shawn defeats Sid to regain the championship but will forfeit the title soon afterwards due to “losing his smile”.

Wrestlers and others who have passed on: Jacques Rougeau Sr., Crush, Vader, Paul Bearer, Hector Garza, Perro Aguayo, Fake Razor Ramon (Rick Bognar), Davey Boy Smith, Iron Shiek, Owen Hart, Terry Funk, Jose Lothario, Pat Patterson

Total number of deceased individuals: 13 (up 3 from the previous Rumble)

#wwf #wwe #royal rumble #steve austin #bret hart #shawn michaels #aaa

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mayhemproduces · 1 year ago

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Second Gear Crew (c) vs FTR- 2 out of 3 Falls- MPW World Tag Team Championships- MPW: Blood on the Hills

Without further adieu, after weeks of speculation, after weeks of wondering when this would happen, the moment that sent MPW viral after the last PPV, at Hell on Earth 2, when FTR showed up and got in the face of our MPW World Tag Team Champions. Now, it all comes to ahead. FTR. SGC. Two out of three falls. “Our main event this evening is a Two out of Three Falls match, and it is for the MPW World Tag Team Championships! People of the Globe Theater, and those watching around the World… ARE YOU READY FOR A FIGHT?!”

“Introducing first… the challengers. They are the Ring of Honor World Tag Team Champions. The IWGP Heavyweight Tag Team Champions. The AAA World Tag Team Champions, the team of Cash Wheeler and Dax Harwood, Seven Star, F! T! R!”

After tonight… would it be Eight star? “And their opponents… They are your MPW World Tag Team Champions, the team of The Southern Psycho, Mance Warner, and The One Man Militia, The Last Outlaw, Syn, the Second Gear Crew!!!” The crowd was split here, and they were ready for a FIGHT!

The two teams separated into their opposite corners, with Mance Warner and Dax Harwood looking as if they would be starting us off here tonight. The crowd was on their feet and in a frenzy before these two could even touch each other, Mance had his fists balled up, while Dax scanned the Southern Psycho with his eyes. The two finally locked up, collar and elbow, trying to get an advantage over one another, but the men completely stalemate in the middle of the ring, before shoving each other away, and once again staring each other down. The two take their time to catch their breath and think, before going at it again in the collar and elbow, before Mance manages to pull Dax into a headlock, wrenching down on it. Dax tries to pick at Mance’s fingers, before eventually electing just to walk Mance back into the ropes, before shoving him off, and sending Mance off the ropes. Mance charges back at Dax, but Dax drops down, trying to trip up Mance, but Mance jumps over him and hits the ropes again, before taking down Dax Harwood with a HUGE shoulder tackle! The impact echos throughout the arena, and Dax has to roll to his corner and have a brief huddle with Cash, as Mance bounces on the balls of his feet, waiting for Dax to get back up and fight him. Dax gets up and the two circle each other once again. Dax manages to charge Mance and trap him against the ropes for a waist lock, before taking control of his front, and trying to push back on Mance’s face, but Mance shoves Dax back off of him. Mance is quick to charge Dax and take him down with a double leg, before trapping Dax down into a headlock. Dax manages to fight back to his feet, but Mance transitions to the arm, twisting it around, and trapping Dax into a hammerlock. Dax pops Mance with a couple of elbows, getting Mance to let him go, before Dax hits the ropes and takes down Mance with a shoulder tackle! Mance gets back up, and once again the two lock up, but Dax grabs Mance’s arm and rolls backwards, before rolling back up to his feet and taking Mance down with an armdrag takeover!

Dax wrenches back on the arm as Mance tries to free himself, rolling backward, and getting back up to his feet, but Dax wrenches the arm and gets a tag from Cash. Cash gets into the ring and takes over Mance’s arm from Dax, twisting it around and wrenching on it further, before snapping Mance’s arm down over his shoulder, and continuing to wrench down on it. Mance manages to roll forward, taking away some of Cash’s leverage, before managing to take control of Cash’s arm, and taking Cash down! Cash manages to roll through though and traps Mance in a front face lock, taking care to cut Mance off from his tag partner, Syn, in the corner. Cash continues to wrench down on the front facelook, trying to keep Mance down, but Mance, a bull of a man, gets back to his feet, and drives Cash back into the corner, before driving his shoulder into Cash’s gut! Mance presses his forearm into Cash’s face, before going to whip Cash across the ring, Cash turning it around on Mance though, but as Mance hits the corner he goes up and over, and ends up behind Cash who charged in behind him. Mance rolls back, and as Cash tries to charge him, Mance sends Cash head over heels with a huge armdrag! Mance practically puts Cash Wheeler through the mat with that one! Cash tries to get right back up but as he does, Mance BLASTS him with a stiff chop to the chest, which sends Cash stumbling backward! Cash stumbles back and falls into the ropes, as the referee checks on him, and Mance continues to beg Cash to bring it.

Cash gets back up to his feet, and wipes some of the sweat from his brow. So far, the Second Gear boys have hung with FTR every step of the way, and it could even be said that they probably had an early advantage here in this one. Cash, looking a bit frustrated, makes the dag to Dax Harwood. Mance, in response, takes the opportunity to tag in Syn. Now Syn and Dax circle one another, before locking up, Dax getting the better of Syn and trapping him and taking him down with a headlock takeover! Syn tries to escape but Dax continues to wrench back on the headlock, trying to wear Syn down and disorient him here, but Syn manages to roll Dax back onto his shoulders for a pin!

1…. Kickout!

Dax with a quick kickout, and right back to wrenching down on the headlock. Syn fights back to his feet, and tries to fight Dax off, trying to send Dax off the ropes, but Dax holds firm, keeping the headlock on tight. Syn continues to wrestle Dax, fighting him back into the ropes, and forcing the referee to start a count. Dax lets Syn go, but Syn takes the chance to trap Dax into a headlock of his own. Dax manages to shove Syn off and send him off the ropes, but Syn drops Dax with a shoulder tackle on the rebound! Dax gets back up, and Syn hits the ropes again, taking Dax down with another shoulder tackle! Syn hits the ropes for a third time, Dax drops down trying to trip him up, and Syn rolls over Dax, evading him. Dax tries to throw a clothesline, which Syn ducks, before Syn leaps up, wraps his legs around Dax’s head, and throws Dax with a Hurricanrana! A rare move in Syn’s arsenal, but Syn seemingly was pulling out all of the stops here tonight against one of the best tag teams in the world! Dax gets back up, and Syn takes a swing with a back elbow, but Dax ducks before trapping and taking Syn down with a headlock takeover! Syn’s very quick to turn it into a headscissors though, and both men quickly get back up, Dax taking Syn down with a side headlock takeover, but Syn once again counters with a headsisscors! Both men back up, and Dax goes for the headlock again, but Syn lifts Dax up and drives him down with a Back Suplex! Syn hooks the leg!

1….2… Kickout!

Dax Harwood out at two, saving himself the first fall. Dax rolls out of the ring, with Cash jumping down off the apron to check on his partner. Dax is clearly a little discombobulated after that back suplex, and needed a moment to get himself back to normal. Dax gets back into the ring and tags out to Cash, Cash immediately getting back into the ring and going forehead to forehead with Syn, before the two men begin trading chops back and forth with one another! Back and forth these two men trade bombs with one another, back and forth, Syn starting to get the advantage, landing several chops in a row, before Syn turns and hits the ropes, only to turn right around, and eat a shoulder to the gut from Cash Wheeler! Syn clutches at his gut, groaning, and Cash turns around to hit the ropes again, and Mance gets the blind tag into Syn, and as Cash charges back at Syn, he’s surprised by a big boot from Mance! Mance turns to help his partner out of the ring, but Cash attacks from behind before Mance can even turn around, hammering away with a series of shots to the back and midsection that falls Mance to a knee! Cash trapped Mance in the corner, and continued to hammer away at the Southern Psycho, before managing to lift him up, and in an astonishing show of strength, toss Ol’ Mancer to the center of the ring! Mancer held his back as he got back to his feet, and Cash measured, preparing for a big clothesline, but Mancer, in an even more astonishing show of strength than Cash showed off, popped Cash up into the air, and nailed him with a huge Pop-Up Headbutt, Ringing Cash’s bell and sending Cash stumbling into the ropes! Mancer then lifted Cash up and dropped him with a huge spinebuster, before rolling into the cover!

1…2… kickout!

Cash got the shoulder up after a quick two, and quickly rolled out of the ring. Cash leaned against the steel guardrail and tried to catch his breath and regain himself. Dax joined him after tossing Syn over onto the fan’s side of the guardrail, and into a couple of chairs. Dax and Cash stalked Mance from the outside, discussing strategy as Mance stood there, alone, staring both men down. FTR broke their huddle, and Mance waved them into the ring, daring them to bring it on. Cash and Dax nodded to each other, before picking opposite sides of the ring, maximizing the distance that Mance would have to cover, before both hopping up on the apron. Mance went right after Cash, and hit him with a couple of good shots, trying to knock Cash off the apron, before Dax ran in and tossed Mance overhead with a massive German Suplex! Mance was folded inside out, and as he rolled up to a knee, Dax ran in and blasted Mance with a stiff knee right to the face. Mance fell to the mat in a heap, and Dax rolled him over for the cover, before being reminded by the ref that he wasn’t the legal man. Dax turned to Cash, who by this point had gotten himself settled on the apron and had grabbed the tag rope, and pointed to Mance, before telling Cash to switch. Cash rolled into the ring and Dax rolled out and grabbed the tag rope, before Cash grabbed Mance and tagged in Dax. Dax hopped up onto the top rope as Cash sent Mance off the ropes, catching him on the rebound with a tilt-a-whril backbreaker, and holding him there, allowing Dax to drop the elbow across Mance! Cash rolled out of the ring as Dax made the cover!

1….2…. Kickout!

Mance stays alive, keeping the match viable for him and Syn, who had finally made his way back onto this side of the ring and had gotten up on the apron, reaching out for Mance to tag him. This is exactly what FTR wanted to do, turn this into a traditional tag match, control the usual chaos of The Second Gear Crew, and isolate them and pick them apart. Right now the game plan was working to perfection. Dax picked Mance back up and drilled him with a brutal forearm, dropping Mance against the ropes, before lifting Mance back up, trapping him in the corner, and blasting Mance with a chop, before grabbing him and tossing him overhead with a release Belly to Belly! Mance landed hard, and yelled out in agony, trying to reach for his tag partner, but once again he was dragged back away from him by Dax, who dragged Mance back into FTR’s corner and made the tag to Cash as he held onto Mance. Dax lifted Mance back up, and tossed him to Cash, before Cash laid Mance out with a huge powerbomb! Cash covers Mance!

1….2…. Syn breaks it up!

Syn had seen enough and practically dove into the ring and was all over Cash! Syn hammered away at Cash, slugging away and trying to get him off his tag partner and create an opening for Mance. Syn got off of Cash, but turned around right into a big boot from Dax! Syn might as well have had his head kicked into the third row! Syn’s eyes rolled into the back of his head, as Dax lifted Syn up, and Cash hopped up onto the second rope. Dax lifted Syn up into a powerbomb, and Cash drilled him with a top rope clothesline as Dax dropped Syn into a Powerbomb Backbreaker, driving Syn’s spine right down into his knee! The entire crowd gasped at just how disgusting that move looked! Syn rolled out of the ring, clutching at his back, as FTR stood in the ring looking quite proud of themselves. Cash and Dax turned around though, only for Dax to get blasted in the face by a thrown chair from Mance, knocking him out of the ring, and Mance charged right after Cash, hammering away at him with several right hands, before picking him up and dropping him with a scoop slam, before Mance dropped an elbow down on Cash! Cash sat up, clutching at his chest, and Mance measured him from the corner, grabbing at his knee pad.

“Knee Pad Up! Knee Pad Down!”

Mancer did just that, before charging in and blasting Cash with a knee right to the skull, before falling into the cover!

1….2…. Kickout!

Cash kicks out. Mance got back up, and looked to his corner as Syn began to crawl his way back up to the apron. Mance began to climb and crawl his way to the corner. Cash began to drag himself over to the corner as well, both men tagged their partners in at the same time, and now Syn and Dax charged into the ring after each other, and began to hammer away at each other, before Syn ducked a forearm from Dax and hit the ropes, before drilling into Dax with a spear! Dax rolled to the corner clutching his ribs, before Syn charged in and nailing him with a Stinger Splash, dragging him out of the corner, lifting him up, using Dax’s feet to knock Cash off the apron, before dropping Dax with a Death Valley Driver! Syn then climbed up to the top rope, and leaped off, crashing down onto Dax with a big top rope splash! Syn hooked the leg, trying to pick up the win for the Second Gear Crew!

1….2…. Kickout!

Dax stays alive, keeping FTR in this match for the moment. Syn rolled out of the ring and began digging around under it, until he found what he was looking for- a table. “Welcome to my world, motherfuckers!” He called out, before sliding the table into the ring and beginning to set it up, before grabbing Dax and dragging him up onto the table, giving him a few good shots, before once again heading up to the top. Syn started to set his feet, reading to dive out onto Dax again and put him through the table, when Cash snuck up on Mance from behind and pulled him off the apron, before planting Mance with a Spinning Dwayne on the outside! Syn hopped off the apron and tried to go after Cash, but Dax rolled off the table and grabbed Syn, before planting Syn with a brutal spinning Tombstone! Syn’s head was spiked right off the mat! Cash slithered into the ring, as both members of FTR now had Syn caught 2 on 1, and Dax had a door with him. Cash set it up in the corner, and grabbed Syn, as Dax held the door steady, as Cash lifted Syn up for the Horror’s Edge, looking to put Syn through the door, but Syn managed to slip out of Cash’s grip at the last moment, and land behind him. Cash turned around as Syn scooped him up, and Dax tries to block Syn by standing in front of the door, but Syn charges with Cash on his shoulders, and puts both men through the door! Cash with a Death Valley Driver, and Dax by slamming Cash back into him!

Dax rolls out of the ring, as Mance slides into it, and Cash gets back to his feet in the middle of the ring, before Syn and Mance drop Cash with their version of Total Elimination! SGC High-Low’s Cash!

Mance grabs Cash, and lifts him up into an electric chair, as Syn looks to climb up to the top rope, looking to put FTR down for the first fall of this match, but Cash manages to slip off of Mance’s shoulders, and shoves Mance into Syn on the top rope! Mance is knocked out of the ring, and Syn falls off the top rope, down to the mat, as Cash picks Syn up, and sends Syn off the ropes, before Dax lifts Syn up, and Cash drives his knees into Syn’s head, FTR planting Syn with the Big Rig! Cash Wheeler hooks the leg!

1….2….3!

“The winners of the first fall, FTR!”

FTR win the first of the falls, and they only need to win one more to win the MPW World Tag Team Championships. If Syn and Mance wanted to walk out of here champions, they had to win the next two in a row. Things were looking bleak for the MPW World Tag Team Champions, but if we’ve seen them overcome the odds before.

Cash tags out to Dax, who goes to go after Syn, who still hasn’t moved since the Big Rig, and tries to lift Syn back up, but Syn traps Dax in a small package for a pin!

1….2… Kickout!

Dax out at two, but as Dax gets back up, he’s dropped by a HUGE Lariat from Syn, turning Dax inside out! Syn drops down for another cover!

1….2… Kickout!

Dax Harwood out at two again. Syn pulls himself up to a knee, and grabs Dax up with him, before sending Dax into the ropes, only for Dax to stop himself, grabbing hold of the ropes. Syn charges in, but Dax leaps up and catches him with a boot, sending Syn stumbling backward. Dax charges at Syn, and Syn tries to catch him with a clothesline, but Dax ducks it, springboards, and leaps back at Syn, catching him with an Inverted Facebuster! Syn’s head is driven into the mat as now Dax hooks the leg!

1….2… Kickout!

Second Gear keep the belts for the time being. Dax gets back to his feet, and looks to try and pick Syn up too, when Syn suddenly shoves Dax off him and into the ropes. Syn connects with a Bicycle Pump Knee, but when he looks to Mance for a tag, suddenly Cash comes up behind Mance, pulls him off the ring apron, and tosses Mance back into the guardrail! Cutting off Syn from his partner. Syn curses, before ducking another Dax superkick, and grabbing Dax, looking for a ReAnimator DDT, but before he can drop Dax, Cash comes from behind and cracks a chair over Syn’s back!

Dax charges in and catches Syn with an axe handle to the back, and as Syn drops to a knee, Cash follows it up with a kick to the ribs! Dax continues to beat down on Syn as Cash shouts at the booing crowd to shut their mouths. Both Cash and Dax pick Syn back up, and toss him over the ropes and down to the floor, FTR following hiim out there. The two men grab Syn again, pick him up, and the two of them together whip Syn into the steel ringpost, smashing Syn’s head against it and causing Syn to collapse to the floor! Syn might be out cold!

Mance was back on his feet, and tried to go over and help, but Cash lifts him up and charges with him, using Mance as a batting ram and driving his spine into the other ring post! The tide of this match had shifted greatly, and now FTR was in full control, after what was just a brief distraction from FTR. Cash grabs Mance and tosses him back into the ring, this match now in the hands of the FTR. Mance tries to reach out for Syn, as Syn is just barely able to get back to his feet, only for Dax to drop Syn with another axe handle on the outside. Dax then slides back into the ring and picks Mance back up, but Mance catches him with a shot in the gut, before getting back to his feet, catching Dax with a series of right hands, before sending Dax off the ropes, but Dax turns it around on Mance, sends Mance off the ropes, and then nails Mance with a dropkick! Mance is on wobbly legs after that one, but doesn’t go all the way down. Such a big, powerful competitor like Mance, sometimes even your best strike isn’t enough to take him off his feet. It takes a second dropkick to knock Mance down, and Dax grabs his leg, tagging Cash into the ring. Dax wraps up Mance’s leg, as Cash hits the ropes, before leaping up and stomping on Mance’s leg! Cash then transitions to mounting Mance, hammering away with a series of stiff right hands on the Southern Psycho! Once again, Jake Clemons scholds Cash and practically has to pull him off Mance to get him to stop. Cash gives Clemons a small shove and a smirk, carrying an air of “What are you gonna do about it?” with him as he goes back to ignoring the referee.

Mance once again tries to crawl for his empty corner, the camera panning down to Syn, who had just barely started to move on the outside, the One Man Militia now also leaking blood from his forehead. Cash catches Mance with an elbow to the back of the head, keeping him grounded for the time being. Cash lifts Mance up, and tries to lift him up for a Suplex, but Mance blocks it, before rolling Cash into a small package! Shoulders are down, Syn and Mance could steal it here!

1….2… Kickout!

Cash kicks out, but right as he does, he gets back to his feet, just to get leveled with Immortal Corruption from Syn and Mance! Cash Wheeler turned inside out, and Mance Warner makes the cover!

1….2… 3!

“The winners of the second fall, the Second Gear Crew!”

It all came down to this. Tied 1-1, the next fall would leave as the MPW World Tag Team Champions. The fans here in LA were on their feet, chanting FIGHT FOREVER as these two teams had already given everything they had tonight, but in order to leave tag champs tonight, one of these teams would have to give just a little bit more. Syn and Cash are both slow to get back to their feet, Mance having rolled out of the ring out of exhaustion. Syn, from his back, manages to catch Cash with a kick to the face, as Syn tries to push the offense somehow while laying on his back. Syn rolls himself to the apron as Mance manages to roll back into the ring and get to his feet. Cash was very clearly bleeding now too, all four men working through the blood pouring down their faces. Cash gets back to his feet and decides to lead off with a headbutt, and Mance answers with one os his own, as these two men start trading headbutts back and forth! Some men trade forearms or chops, these two psychopaths trade headbutts! The two men switch to fists, throwing right hands back and forth now, before a strong strike from Mance staggers Cash, and Mance follows it up with a chop to the chest. Mance follows it with another, before, before Mance sends Cash off the ropes, Cash stopping himself, trying to drop Mance with a clothesline, but Mance catches him and sends him overhead with a T-Bone suplex! Cash hits the mat and rolls, but rolls right to his corner and gets the tag in to Dax Harwood! Dax tries to charge Mance, as Syn’s still trying to recover on the floor, but Mance catches Dax and sends him overhead with a T-Bone suplex as well! Mance, former World Champ, was holding his own here!

Dax rolls out to the apron, and Mance meets him out there, having to use the ropes to keep himself standing as blood drips from his forehead. Mance grabs Dax and tries for another T-Bone, maybe down to the floor, but Dax grabs and holds on for dear life, trying desperately not to let go, and take a bad, bad fall. Dax shoves Mance back and catches him with a right hand, stunning Mance on the apron. The men begin trading chops on the apron, before Mance surprises Dax Harwood with a throat thrust! Dax falls off the apron and rolls to the floor, after having his head nearly taken off! Mance takes a few steps back before charging, and crashing down onto Dax with a flying spear, taking out both Dax Hardwood and himself on the outside! Syn manages to crawl over to check on his partner, before helping Mance get back into the ring and tags out, letting Mance tag out. Syn gets into the ring, and tries to throw a clothesline, but Dax ducks it, but Syn nails him with superkick on the back side! Dax stumbles into the ropes, and back into Syn, who kicks Dax in the gut and hooks his arms, before planting Dax with a Drunken Driver! Shades of one of Syn’s mentors, and it may have just helped Syn and Mance retain! Syn hooks both legs on Dax, to retain the titles!

1…..2… KICKOUT!

Dax Harwood out at two on the Drunken Driver! Syn looks a little shocked by it, and a little hurt too, like he felt like this was his best chance at winning this one for him and Mance. Syn sits up and brushes his hair out of his face, and huffs in frustration. Syn pulls himself up to his feet, and drags Dax up to his feet, looking for a Drag the Lake on Dax, but Dax manages to fight Syn off, and lift Syn up, looking for a Piledriver, as Cash jumps up onto the top rope, before FTR drives Syn’s head into the mat with a SPIKE PILEDRIVER! FTR may have just ended SGC’s reign! 8 Star FTR Incoming! Dax Harwood hooks both legs!

1….2…. Mance slides into the ring, Cash tries to cut him off, but Mance tackles Cash into Dax, breaking the pin! Mance saves Syn, and saves their titles! Mance drags his partner out of the ring, and does his best to try and revive his partner. “Syn! Syn c’mon get up baby, we gotta win this, c’mon baby!��

Syn can barely even register Mance, let alone do anything to get back up to his feet. Mance kneels next to his partner, trying to revive him. These two men have been through everything together, fought absolute wars together, Mance has fought to save Syn’s career before, and Syn has fought to get Mance championship matches. These two men have been through hell with and against each other, but this is easily their biggest challenge ever together. Dax and Cash both slide out of the ring and each grab a member of the Second Gear Crew, Dax beating down Mance, as they throw both men into the ring. Dax and Cash then go underneath the ring, and pull out a table, setting it up on the outside and leaving it there, before sliding into the ring, grabbing both men. Dax and Cash kick Mance off to the side, before grabbing Syn again, looking to send him off the ropes, looking to finish him off with a Big Rig, but on the rebound, Syn collapses before he can even get to Dax for the set up of the move. Dax and Cash look at each other, wondering just what they’re gonna do. Eventually, Dax and Cash move to set Syn up for the Power and Glory combo, with Cash trying to drag Syn over to the corner, looking for a Superplex, as Dax moves to climb another turnbuckle, setting up for the splash. Before they can finish the set up, though, Mance runs over and knocks Dax with a stiff forearm, stunning him, before charging at Cash, and pulling him off the top rope, onto his shoulders! Set up in the electric chair, Syn manages to get to his feet, and leap off, SGC connect with the Doomsday Device! That’s might be it, Cash Wheeler lands on his head! Mance makes the cover!

1…..2…. BROKEN UP BY DAX HARWOOD, OFF THE TOP ROPE!

Dax Harwood leaps off the top rope, crashing down on Mance, and saving the match for FTR! Dax gets up and starts hammering away at Mance, laying into Mance with fist after first. Mance starts fighting back, the two men hammering away at one another with right hands back and forth, just brawling as their two partners lay practically motionless on the mat. Dax gets up and tries to set Mance up for a Piledriver, but Mance shoves him off, and goes for the Lariat, which Dax ducks, hits the ropes, and tries to come back at Mance with a clothesline of his own, which Mance ducks, and Mance turns and hits the ropes, looking for another Lariat, but he turns right around into Dax lifting him up, and Cash connecting with the knees for the BIG RIG! Dax Harwood hooks the leg, Second Gear may be done!

1…

2……

SYN COMES BACK FROM THE DEAD TO SAVE IT!

Syn just barely manages to break the pin up, saving the titles for his team! At this point, Dax and Cash have to be getting frustrated, wondering just what they’re gona have to do to put the two most resilient men in MPW away! Syn manages to stumble up back to his feet, as Cash Wheeler stares him down, and Dax looks at him with some hesitation. Syn stands, feeling at his jaw a bit, checking to see if it’s broken, before simply just flipping off the two FTR boys, Syn letting them know exactly what he thinks of their brand of big time, TV wrestling. There were perhaps no two different tag teams in the world. By-the-book, strict tag rules, big TV contracts, vs the no-rules, hardcore stylings of the Last Outlaws on the independents. But these teams shared the same heart, the same toughness, and they knew it about each other. These two teams had dragged each other into the deepest waters perhaps either of them have ever seen, and now here we are. Syn drops his one finger salute, and shouts at Cash to bring it on, and the two men start walloping each other with haymakers, back and forth! Both men try to go for a Lariat at the same time, and end up dropping each other with a pair of lariats, both men knocked to the mat! However, with Dax still being up, Dax is able to quickly revive his partner, and tell him to get up to the top rope, as Dax starts to try and lift up Syn.

Dax manages to get Syn up, into an Electric Chair, but as Cash tries to climb the ropes, suddenly, Mance Warner rolls onto the apron and grabs Cash, before falling backwards with him, off the top rope, and through the table that had been set up on the outside! Mance Warner and Cash Wheeler through the table! Leaving just Syn and Dax, and Dax, in his shock, drops Syn to check on Cash! Cash isn’t moving, and neither is Mance, and Dax Harwood is starting to realize he might have to do this one by himself from here on out!

Dax quickly got back into the ring and stays on the offensive, waiting for Syn to start to get up. As Syn pulled himself up to his knees, Dax blasted him in the chest with a stiff kick, the thud of which echoing throughout The Globe Theater. Syn grimaced in pain, before spitting in Dax’s direction, telling him to “Bring it on, Motherfucker!” and in response, Dax caught him with another kick, which caused him to fall down to his hands, and press his forehead into the mat from the pain. Dax was known as a vicious striker, with perhaps some of the hardest kicks, punches, and chops in all of professional wrestling. Dax slipped behind Syn as he was still recovering, and lifted him up, before tossing him overhead with a deadlift German Suplex! Dax made another cover on Syn, bridging over!

1….2…. Kickout!

Syn manages to stay alive again, and Dax curses under his breath, wondering just what it was gonna take to put Syn away this evening. Syn was one of the toughest competitors in MPW, his championship resume along with the wars he’d been in spoke for themselves, and Harwood would have to get creative if he wanted to put away The One Man Milita. Harwood gets back to his feet, and goes to grab at Syn again, when Syn starts to battle back with a series of shots to the gut of Harwood. Syn manages to fight up back to his feet, and catch Harwood with a few stiff shots to the head, staggering Dax as Syn sends him off the ropes, and on the rebound catches Dax in the gut with a Kitchen Sink, sending Dax head over heels and down to the mat, clutching his gut! Syn forgoes anything fancy, instead just charging right at Harwood, blasting Dax in the head with a stiff boot right to the head! Syn floats over into the cover on Harwood!

1….2… Kickout!

Dax just BARELY got the shoulder up there, still fighting to win. Syn was quick to get back to his feet, knowing he had to work quickly if he wanted to keep Harwood down. Syn pulls himself up to his knees, and curses to himself, before grabbing Dax again, and nailing him with a straight right hand to the forehead. Syn tries to get back to his feet, but as he does, his leg is grabbed by Dax Harwood, not wanting Syn to get too far away from him. Syn answers with a stomp, before turning and grabbing Dax, lifting him up, looking for a Death Valley Driver, but Dax wiggles his way onto Syn’s back instead, before locking in a Rear Naked Choke on Syn! Dax Harwood is gonna try to choke Syn unconscious to win the tag titles! Syn struggles for a couple moments, before grabbing Dax’s head, and turning it into a backpack stunner by dropping to his ass, catching Dax on the jaw with his shoulder! Syn lays back into the cover!

1….2… Kickout!

Harwood kicks out, and as he does, he grabs Syn, locking him right back into the rear naked choke! Harwood caught Syn! Harwood locked in the choke tight, trying to put Syn’s lights out!

Harwood kept the hold on for a few moments, before releasing it and quickly transitioning to a standing position, lifting Syn up by his arms and catching him with several brutal, repeated knees to the head, wearing Syn down, before trying to lift Syn up into the Piledriver, only for Syn to push Dax off, hit the ropes, and as Dax Harwood turned around, Syn cut him in half with a spear!

Syn gets up on wobbly legs, before turning and realizing Mance Warner had joined him in the ring, and had a chair in his hands. Mance nods to Syn, and the two share a long, almost tender look with one another, as Mance tells Syn they gotta finish it. Syn nods, and starts heading for the top rope, as Mance grabs Dax Harwood, dragging him into the corner, setting him up against the turnbuckle, before laying that chair in front of Dax’s head. Mance issues the sign of Last Rites as Syn sets his feet on the top rope, before leaping off, a Front Flip Van Terminator CRUSHING The chair into the head of Dax Harwood! Syn rolls backward, clutching at his knee, as Mance practically drags Dax Harwood out of the corner, and has to drag his legal partner on top of Dax for the cover!

1…….2…….3!

THEY DID IT!

“Here are your winners, and STILL MPW World Tag Team Champions, Syn and Mance Warner, The Second Gear Crew!”

Syn and Mance had done it! As the referee runs to present the men their titles, Syn is almost in tears as he grabs for Mance, burying his face in his partner’s neck, the two men sharing an embrace after they just fought the war of a lifetime along side each other. WEEKS of hearing that they stood no chance, WEEKS of hearing they’d practically be squashed by FTR in this one, WEEKS of hearing they weren’t on the level of FTR, maybe even starting to believe it after they lost the first fall, Syn and Mance Warner just stood toe on toe with the best in the world and came out victorious, their tag team championships still in tact.

There were practically tears welling up in Syn’s eyes as the two men stood and were presented with their tag team titles, Syn and Mance holding their belts up high, a message to the world that they should be counted among their elite tag teams.

From all of us here in MPW, thank you for joining us tonight. We’ll see you next week, live from Tokyo!

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reneg661 · 1 year ago

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Is a Canadian professional wrestler, who was most recently signed to WWE as women's trainer and producer. Stock began her career in Canada and moved back and forth across the country, working for various promotions, facing both male and female wrestlers. She then moved to Mexico, where she worked under the ring name Dark Angel for Lucha Libre AAA World Wide (AAA) and later for Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre (CMLL). She is also known for her time in Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA), where, under the ring name Sarita, she became a two-time TNA Knockouts Tag Team Champion, holding the title once with both Taylor Wilde and Rosita. She has also worked in Japan for JDStar and World Wonder Ring Stardom, where she held the Wonder of Stardom Championship.

Sarita (c) TNA Art (c) reneg661

#sarita

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rodshows · 2 years ago

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ROH

Supercard Of Honor

Claudio Castagnoli vs. Eddie Kingston – ROH World Championship

The Lucha Brothers vs. Aussie Open vs. La Faccion Ingobernable vs. The Kingdom vs. Top Flight – Reach for the Sky Ladder Match for the ROH World Tag Team Championship

Samoa Joe vs. Mark Briscoe – ROH Television Championship

El Hijo del Vikingo vs. Kommander – AAA Mega Championship

Athena vs. Yuka Sakazaki – ROH Women’s Championship

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speedandgrace2 · 2 years ago

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Óscar Gutiérrez (born December 11, 1974), better known by his ring name Rey Mysterio, is an American professional wrestler. He is currently signed to WWE, where he performs on the SmackDown brand. Widely regarded as one of the greatest professional wrestlers of all time, Mysterio is credited for popularizing cruiserweight wrestling, and is one of the world's most recognizable lucha libre wrestlers. The nephew of Rey Misterio Sr., Mysterio began his professional wrestling career in 1989, at age 14, on the independent circuit, before signing with Asistencia Asesoría y Administración (AAA) in 1992. In WWE, Mysterio won the Cruiserweight Championship three times, the World Heavyweight Championship, the Intercontinental Championship, and the United States Championship, all of them which he won twice, the WWE Championship once, and the Tag Team Championship four times. Mysterio departed WWE in 2015, and appeared in New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) and AAA, before returning to WWE in 2018, winning the U.S. Championship twice and SmackDown Tag Team Championship once with his son Dominik. #reymysterio #smackdown #oscargutierrez #professionalwrestling #cruiserweight #wwe #SpeedAndGrace #speedandgrace2 #funkoexclusive #amazon #amazonexclusive https://www.instagram.com/p/CngAk9koWmQ/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

#reymysterio #smackdown #oscargutierrez #professionalwrestling #cruiserweight #wwe #speedandgrace #speedandgrace2 #funkoexclusive #amazon #amazonexclusive

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usasportsworld · 2 years ago

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FTR Loses AAA Tag Team Titles

FTR are one of the most successful tag teams in the world today. Dax Harwood and Cash Wheeler have won titles in almost every major promotion around the world. Tonight, the duo dropped their AAA Tag Team Championship in Mexico. FTR put their AAA World Tag Team Championship on the line against Los Hermanos (Dragon Lee and Dralístico) at the AAA Noche de Campeones on December 28, 2022. The closing…

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imvgeswrestling · 11 months ago

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#ftr #dax harwood #cash wheeler #roh #champions: roh #roh world tag team championship #champions: aaa #aaa world tag team championship #in ring #post match #no action #wrestling #ppv show #roh: death before dishonor #male #tag teams #tag team match #*mine #cm punk

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skelltan · 2 years ago

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Indie Promotion Round Up - Edition 1 Part 2 - MLW Fusion

This is a continuation from my last post. Check it out here!

Let’s change the channel. Over on MLW, we’re picking up from the fallout of Battle Riot IV. The Battle Riot is a battle royale with 40 men that operates by elimination via pinfall, submission or over the top rope rules. Whoever wins gets a future title shot at the MLW World Heavyweight Championship. Jacob Fatu won this, so he gets a shot at Alexander Hammerstone some time. From what I understand these two are the faces of the company, the two main guys they build the company around and are in long conracts for MLW. Fatu was the champion prior to Hammerstone from 2019 and held it til 2021. So, without further ado, let’s get to MLW Fusion episode 154.

We start with a recap of Battle Riot. After that, he SATs arrive. These guys were a tag team in early TNA and ROH, I haven’t really seen them before. They try to enter a building, but a guy with a luchador mask is guarding it. He gets hit in the balls by a mini luchador, so the SATs enter.

MLW’s theme song is better than NWA’s. It’s a sort of hip hop instrumental, but it sounds slightly less generic, hence why I think its better. Still generic, just a bit less than NWA’s theme. We’re introduced to the show by the commentary team, Joe Dombrowski and Rich Bocchini.

Ring announcer Tim Barr prepares us for a 4 way title match for the World Middleweight Championship. Lince Dorado makes his way to the ring. He had a stint in Chikara, but was more well known for his stint in Lucha House Party in WWE. He didn’t really win anything major, and I always got him mixed up with his stable mates, so let’s hope he stands out here. Under his name graphic, it says his style is Lucha Libre – so I’m guessing every competitor has their style in their name graphic?

Next up is La Estrella. He’s from Dragon Gate, which I haven’t seen a lot of, but I’ve heard of Estrella. I hope he impresses. Next is Arez. Arez I’ve efinitely heard of, and may have seen, but not enough to remember him. He’s from AAA. Apparently he’s also in a faction with Gangrel. Finally, the champ, Myron Reed. He’s managed by Mr Thomas, who apparently was known as Blaster McMassive in Chikara. Myron himself has been all over the place, but mostly made his name here in MLW as a three time middleweight champ. So I haven’t seen a lot of these guys, so I hope they all impress.

It’s a four way cruiserweight match, so forgive me if my coverage isn’t great. Lince charges Myron, but is dumped outside. Arez and Myron focus on Estrella, landing some nice chops. Estrella jumps off the ropes onto them, though, and hits a nice tope con hiro on the two.

Lince is back in the ring and takes it to Estrella. They have an athletic back and forth that Lince gets the upper hand on. Arez then charges in, bringing the attack to Lince. He lands a powerbomb for a 2 count.

Myron comes back, breaking it up, though. Reed goes for a cover on Lince, but only gets a one count. Arez and Myron stand off, but Lince gets back up to dropkick them both and hits a handspring stunner to Myron. Estrella comes back for a dive, but misses. Arez with a senton and misses. Lince with a splash and misses. Myron with a 360 splash and misses. Lince locks on an armbar while Estrella gets an ankle lock, but Arez is back to break it up.

Arez and Lince square off, ending in Arez going for a submission. Estrella goes to break it up, but gets hit. Myron breaks it up with a slingshot legdrop. Arez and Lince try to figh Myron, but Myron has the upper hand – at least momentarily, bu they hit him with a buckle bomb. Lince and Estrella fight some, Lince hitting a suicide dive to Arez and Myron on the outside respectively. Lince splashes but gets rolled up by Estrella for a 2. Myron with a double cutter for the win.

Jesus. Christ. I’ll give NWA more of a shot, but this just blew that one episode of Powerrr out of the fucking water. I had more fun with this than I did most other matches I’ve seen on weekly tv wrestling lately. All 4 of these men were amazing and I’d love to see more of. Also worth noting is it felt as if commentary felt a lot more engaged and better at calling action than the NWA team, and while the arena is smaller than one WWE or AEW might run, it’s bigger than the one the NWA ran and looks better – not that the NWA one looked terrible. But one match in and I can actually see me watching this show weekly if it keeps this up, unlike the NWA.

Myron has an interview. He claims to be the greatest of all time and calls on all challengers. He also says fuck, which is a plus of being on youtube, I suppose.

We get a recap on the one other match from Battle Riot a week prior, where Hammerstone beats up two luchadores but gets beat down.

We then get a segment with Cesar Duran. Alright. Cesar Duran was known as Dario Cueto in Lucha Underground and was the authority figure who loved violence. He recently showed up in MLW, but because he was only in Lucha Underground as Dario, he didn’t own the rights to the name, so he’s now Cesar. For all intents and purposes, he is the same character, though, and is an authority figure here too. MLW also has Azteca Underground which is their take on a continuation on Lucha Underground. I think it’s a separate show from Fusion, but I’m not sure.

Anyways, Cesar is mid phone call, but hangs up. The luchador from earlier holds a platter with drinks on it but jumscares Cesar, who tells him that he’s creeping him out and to stop that. Richard Holliday and a woman associate of his ask for an apology. Holliday is also one of the main MLW guys from what I can tell. Cesar tells them he’s trying to chill and to fuck off, but they say he owes them gratitude for saving him from Hammerstone. He demands the world title, so Cesar gives him a falls count anywhere match in 2 weeks. Cesar than sings New York, New York. He then tells Holliday that he better not fail. Cesar then instructs the luchador to take out Microman, giving him a chain to do it with.

Ok, let’s unpack this. The camera quality is good, but something about it still feels amateur – the framing or something, I guess? But still, not bad. Cesar flubs his lines a few times, so it gives off the impression they filmed one take, which is not as good. He’s still entertaining, though, so it’s not the end of the world. Holliday looks like a fuckboy and a better Ethan Page, so I hope he lives up to it in the ring.

We get a video package on EJ Nduka. He’s apparently undefeated (not counting Battle Riot) and is one of the tag champs and wants a world title match. That information is relayed to us in mere seconds, which was a bit messy and ideally they give us more time to parse new information like this in the future.

We then cut to the ring, where KC Navarro is mid entrance, which is also a bit awkward. He’s a more recent export from CZW and in 2021 had 8 matches on AEW Dark. Mini Abismo Negro is here, and I thought he would be a mini from that name, but he’s just as big as KC. Apparently the original Abismo Negro was a notable Rudo (heel) in AAA and CMLL.

The match starts with KC taking the action to Abismo, ending with a tope before rolling him back into the ring. He goes to the top rope, but Abismo knocks him and hits a huricanrana for a two count. Abismo has the lead and hits a suplex for a two count. KC then hits a tiltawhirl DDT for another two count. They then exchange strikes. KC gets the lead and wins with a move he calls the Jesus Piece. That felt really sudden. I don’t mind matches ending suddenly, but I feel it works better when theres more impact or it’s a bit longer. It was an alright match, both men got to show off their stuff. Not as impressive as the opener, but more entertaining than any of the NWA matches. It could’ve stood to go a little longer, but like NWA, we have time limit constrictions.

Speaking of said constrictions, the second the match ends, we quickly go to an injury update on Hammerstone after he got attacked at Battle Riot. Apparently he suffered a rib fracture and will impede his movement and power for 2 months, giving us some stakes going into his match with Holliday. I’m sure it has happened before, but I don’t recall the last time I saw kayfabe injuries be used to stack the odds against someone, especially the champ, like this – I like it!

Again, with breakneck speed, we move on to an interview with Mance Warner, who returned recently. Mance made his name in MLW, but also GCW as a part of the Second Gear Crew, and had a match on Rampage against then AEW Champion Jon Moxley. I liked his brawler style, so I look forward to seeing more of him.

Apparently Mance had been gone from MLW for 2 years. He rambles a bit about where he’s been and calls out Mads Krugger. He’s another MLW mainstay and is a huge masked monster in the vein of Kane, no rhyme intended. I’m bad at describing how he’s specifically different from other southern characters, but Mance is a down to Earth southern babyface. I thought his promo package in AEW was good, but he further showed off how entertaining he is here – better than Aron Stevens!

We then again cut to footage from Battle Riot with no warning. Real 1 (I’ll get to him later) attemps to eliminate Kross, but fails. Alright. Elephant in the room. Unlike the NWA, or any promotion, really, MLW tapes their shows MONTHS in advance. This, and all upcoming shows, were all taped back in June. So, here we see Killer Kross. At the time, he had been released from the WWE. Now he’s back there, despite us seeing him from 6 months in the past here. Funny, that.

Anyways, Fatu eliminates Kross and then Real 1 to win. Well, the refs are busy, so they can’t see it, so then Real 1 comes back and try to get the ref to think he won, but before he can get the ref’s attention, Real 1 is eliminated.

We then see a promo from Real 1. Alright, so Real 1 was known as Enzo Amore in WWE and was super over, part of a tag team with a guy now known as W Morrissey who recently had an IMPACT stint, but is now in AEW. They were even more over and people saw more potential in them than the aforementioned Damien Sandow. However, Enzo was released due to attitude problems and made a bit of an ass of himself, but since has been clean as far as I can tell and here in MLW.

This promo was filmed on a phone, which is a bit awkward, but eh, MLW is basically an indie and the camera quality is fine, so I’ll take it. He rapid fires a promo on Jacob Fatu – some of it is entertaining, some of it is cringeworthy – he just keeps rambling, and sometimes he stumbles upon something good, but then he keeps going and trips a bit. He needs to learn a bit of self control, but other than his pitfalls, he was engaging enough. If this is something to judge him off of, I don’t think he’s as amazing as others thought he may have been, but he’s better than most.

Backstage, Lince Dorado is walking wih Savio Vega. They encounter someone (Bud Heavy?) who was found collapsed in a closet with a card with odd symbols on it on top. We have a mystery.

Jacob Fatu talks to Microman, who’s eating some mcnuggets. The luchador from earlier attempts to attack Microman as Jacob walks off, but Jacob comes back and spots him, causing him to run.

Now another match. Here’s Clara Carreras, who is apparently making her debut. She has a sort of Carnivalle thing going on. Now Scarlett Bordeaux, who went back to WWE with Kross. She looks very different than what I’m used to in WWE. Scarlett attacks Clara before the bell rings. Clara gets the upper hand, attacking her back. She looks quite athletic. She gets a headlock, but Scarlett breaks out, whipping her to the corner and hitting her with a splash. She then taunts with her ass and uses ass based offense on Clara.

Scarlett hits “the Scarlett Letter” (it’s like Hangman Adam Page’s Deadeye) for the win. She then licks Clara after the match. C’mon, are these two really a ripoff of Mil Muertes? Anyways, the Featherweight (Women’s) Champ comes down for an interview. Taya says Scarlett is the kind of woman they need in the women’s division. Oops. Brittany Blake attacks Taya, however. She’s got a cool scene look going on. She’s also a former CZW alumni, but has mostly worked Shimmer in recent years, as well as a couple of AEW Dark matches.

The refs break them up. From the way it was shot it felt as if it was right after the last match, but they talk about Scarlett as if she wasn’t there and Scarlet doesn’t do anything so I assume it was filmed at some other point?

Anyways, more Battle Riot recap. Davey Richards got attacked by the Bomaye Fight Squad (Myron Reed’s group). Bomaye Fight Squad then cu a promo on Davey. Alex Kane calls him out for a submission match. Alex is the Openweight champ. Also next week, Killer Kross faces Matt Cross.

We see another promo, this time Jacob firing back on Real 1. Now time for the main event, those two go at it. Jacob makes his entrance, but Real 1 ambushes Fatu from behind with a steel pipe. Real 1 gets a mic and says if Fatu doesn’t face him, he’s soft. So here comes Fatu.

Real 1 charges him in the corner and despite a bit of fight back, Real 1 keeps control, working Fatu’s previously injured leg. Real 1 goes for a dropkick, but Fatu counters with a dropkick of his own. Real 1 hits a low blow for the DQ.

That was a bit of a wet fart, but much like the Powerrr main event, it serves to further a story, and this one feels like the build is a bit better. That’s the end of the show.

Alright, I’ve got mixed feelings. That opening match was genuinely great and I’d love to see more of that, but much like NWA, due to the limited time, MLW doesn’t have a lot of time to show off its full roster. I don’t know how to alleviate this – adding more time is probably costly, and I’m not sure how big their roster is/who they want to focus on.

The only reasonable suggestion I have is to cut back on the backstage segments. I understand they want to balance it with the matches and I enjoyed the little running story with Microman vs the luchador, but other than being vaguely entertaining and letting us know this is a feud that is happening, it didn’t add a lot. Same for the constant replays of footage from Battle Riot. I’d stick to just mentioning relevant info from previous shows on commentary during a match. I’d probably create recap packages for relevant moments and have all those extra interviews and upload them separate to episodes of Fusion. That would then allow you time for 3 decent sized matches per show.

Another issue that came from time management was how much they tried to squeeze into it. Like I said, most, if not every time we finished one segment, the next one just instantly started, giving us little time to process what we just saw or what we’re about to see.

Otherwise, I really enjoyed the first match and the promos had me engaged and interested to see how the stories unfolded, so even if I wasn’t doing this series, I’d definitely want to watch more MLW.

Want to read more? Continue here!

#mlw #mlw fusion #mlw battle riot #mlw battle riot iv #nwa #nwa powerrr #wrestling #pro wrestling #indie wrestling #my reviews

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wrestlingisfake · 6 months ago

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AEW Fake Rankings, 4/30/2024

It's been a while since I've done one of these, so helpful reminder: This is nothing like AEW's official rankings, based on actual stats. I just go by which wrestlers a) are pushed/protected by the promotion, and/or b) get over with the audience. It's an inexact science, but that's only because it's not real.

Men's singles division - babyfaces

Jon Moxley (IWGP world heavyweight champion)

Swerve Strickland (AEW men's world champion)

Adam Copeland (AEW TNT champion)

Will Ospreay

Eddie Kingston (STRONG men's champion)

Claudio Castagnoli

Orange Cassidy

Mark Briscoe (ROH men's world champion)

Kyle O'Reilly

PAC

Men's singles division - heels

Samoa Joe

Kazuchika Okada (AEW continental champion)

Roderick Strong (AEW international champion)

Konosuke Takeshita

Chris Jericho (FTW champion)

Rush

Kyle Fletcher (ROH men's television champion)

Trent Beretta

Big Bill

Zak Knight*

Unranked: Alex Reynolds, Angelico, Angelo Parker, Anthony Ogogo, Billy Gunn, Bryan Keith, Christopher Daniels, Chuck Taylor, Daniel Garcia, Dustin Rhodes, Isiah Kassidy, Jay Lethal, Katsuyori Shibata, Komander (AAA cruiserweight champion), Lee Johnson, Matt Cardona*, Matt Sydal, Penta El Zero Miedo, Rey Fenix, Ricky Starks, Rob Van Dam*, Rocky Romero*, The Beast Mortos*, The Butcher

Jobbers: Christiano Argento*, CJ Esparza*, Encore Moore*, JD Drake*, London Lightning*, Martin Stone*, Trevor Blackwell*

* - Not listed on AEW's roster webpage

These (fake!) rankings seem to go along with the old adage that "the championship doesn't make the wrestler, the wrestler makes the championship." I'm confident Swerve Strickland will become a great world champion, but for now he's clearly still standing in the shadow of AEW's top act, Jon Moxley. "MMA math" would tell you that Mark Briscoe should outrank the man he just beat for the ROH title, but Eddie Kingston is clearly a hotter name and a bigger draw. Semantics suggest that the international title is more prestigious than the continental title, but that won't fool anyone into thinking Roderick Strong is a bigger deal than Kazuchika Okada.

The heel side is so weak that, after I heard Powerhouse Hobbs is injured, I had to stick Zak Knight in there to come up with ten. That will probably change as AEW regroups for the storylines heading into Double or Nothing. Strickland in particular needs a solid lineup of heels to beat over the next six months. So maybe it's just as well that Don Callis and Chris Jericho are recruiting...

Men's tag team division - babyfaces

FTR - Dax Harwood & Cash Wheeler

The Acclaimed - Max Caster & Anthony Bowens

Men's tag team division - heels

The Young Bucks - Matt Jackson & Nick Jackson (AEW tag team champions)

Matt Taven & Mike Bennett (ROH tag team champions)

Shane Taylor & Lee Moriarty

Grizzled Young Vets - James Drake* & Zack Gibson*

* - Not listed on AEW's roster webpage

It's wild to me that the list above is so sparse when AEW just finished a 10-team tournament for the AEW tag title. Some of those teams shifted into ROH or the trios division, others had one man go MIA, and some appear to be split up for good. I assume the plan for Double or Nothing is for the Acclaimed to refocus on two-on-two action and chase the Young Bucks, mostly because I don't see any other challengers on the horizon.

Men's trios division - babyfaces

Dante Martin & Darius Martin & Action Andretti

Men's trios division - heels

Jay White & Austin Gunn & Colten Gunn (AEW/ROH trios champions)

Malakai Black & Brody King & Buddy Matthews

Lance Archer & Vincent Marseglia & Bobby Dutch

The trios division really fell off during the whole "Bang Bang Scissor Gang" saga, when the Acclaimed & Billy Gunn and Bullet Club Gold were squashing every other trio until they met in a unification match. Now White's team has more belts than contenders, and the Acclaimed look to be moving on from the division. You'd think this would lead to a push for the only babyface trio left--Andretti & Top Flight--but I've been expecting that for months with nothing to show for it.

Women's singles division - babyfaces

Willow Nightingale (AEW TBS champion)

Thunder Rosa

Mina Shirakawa*

Leyla Hirsch

AZM*

Yuka Sakazaki

Trish Adora

Red Velvet

Lady Frost*

Women's singles division - heels

Toni Storm (AEW women's world champion)

Athena (ROH women's world champion)

Serena Deeb

Deonna Purrazzo

Mariah May

Skye Blue

Anna Jay

Emi Sakura

* - Not listed on AEW's roster webpage

I'm still not satisfied with the amount of coverage AEW television gives to the women, but I have to give them credit for keeping so many of them on TV at once. In the past month we've seen: 1) Willow, Kris Statlander, Julia Hart, Mercedes Mone, and Skye Blue feuding over the TBS title; 2) the Storm/May/Shirakawa love triangle; 3) the rising tensions between Rosa and Purrazzo; 4) Deeb finally going after the world title. Not to mention 5) the endless Ruby Soho/Saraya feud, which is apparently called on account of pregnancy but still counts! If you also include everything the women are doing in ROH, things are pretty lively, especially when you consider how much smaller the women's locker room is than the men's.

No televised AEW matches since March 30: Aaron Solo, Abadon, AR Fox, Ari Daivari, Bishop Kaun, Brian Cage, Diamante, Evil Uno, Griff Garrison, Hikaru Shida, Johnny TV, John Silver, Josh Woods, Kiera Hogan, Leila Grey, Mercedes Martinez, Nick Comoroto, Nyla Rose, Serpentico, Shawn Dean, Taya Valkyrie, Toa Liona, Tony Nese

Most of these wrestlers seem to be earmarked for Ring of Honor for the long term, forming the backbone of the brand. The ROH weekly shows are fine, and I can more or less squint and pretend it's a continuation of the old ROH. But realistically, it's just AEW Dark with a fresh coat of paint and a $9.99/month subscription fee.

No televised AEW or ROH matches since March 30: Brandon Cutler, Christian Cage, Colt Cabana, Danhausen, Jake Hager, Jeff Jarrett, Killswitch, Kip Sabian, Kris Statlander, Marq Quen, Nick Wayne, Preston Vance, Riho, Saraya, Satnam Singh

The big story here is the Patriarchy (Christian, Killswitch, and Nick Wayne). Cage has been off TV since Adam Copeland, uh, hit him in the nuts with a board covered in nails. Under the circumstances, it makes perfect sense that he'd stay home a good long time to sell the effects of that! Since the rest of the group is defined by their blind obedience to him, it figures that they're benched for as long as he is.

I'm more surprised that Jeff Jarrett's crew has laid low for a long time, but I'm not complaining. (Hope I haven't jinxed it!)

Danhausen's presence on AEW/ROH programming has been almost nonexistant for months, and I wish I knew why. I'm glad he's got the freedom to work indy shows while he's not being used, but that doesn't address why he's not being used in the first place. I have to figure one side or the other isn't happy and is just waiting for his contract to expire.

No televised AEW or ROH matches in 2024: Dralistico, Ethan Page, Harley Cameron, Jack Perry, Luther, Madison Rayne, Marina Shafir, Mark Sterling, Mercedes Mone, Michael Nakazawa, Mother Wayne, Paige Vanzant, Paul Wight, Penelope Ford, Peter Avalon, Prince Nana, Sonjay Dutt, Stokely Hathaway

I'm genuinely not even sure that Cameron, Luther, Rayne, Sterling, Nakazawa, Wight, Nana, Dutt, or Hathaway are supposed to be categorized as full-time active wrestlers. I'm very sure Mother Wayne isn't a wrestler at all, and Vanzant hasn't been around in years. Whoever maintains AEW's website should come up with a better way to organize this information.

Inactive

Adam Cole (left leg - ankle fracture)

Adam Page (personal leave)

Angel Ortiz (right shoulder - pectoralis tear)

Bandido (left arm - wrist fracture)

Britt Baker (unspecified injury)

Bryan Danielson (storyline - head/neck trauma)

Darby Allin (right foot/nose - fractures)

HOOK (storyline - hit in face with baseball bat)

Jamie Hayter (right shoulder - unspecified injury)

Julia Hart (unspecified injury)

Jeff Hardy (nose - fracture)

Juice Robinson (back - unspecified injury)

Keith Lee (unspecified injury)

Kenny Omega (diverticulitis)

Kota Ibushi (right ankle - multiple ligament tears)

Mark Davis (left arm - wrist fracture)

Miro (unspecified injury)

MJF* (left shoulder - labrum tear)

Powerhouse Hobbs (right knee - unspecified injury)

Ruby Soho (pregnancy)

Sammy Guevara (suspension)

Scorpio Sky (unspecified injury)

Tay Melo (maternity leave)

The Blade (back - herniated lumbar discs)

Wheeler Yuta (ROH pure champion; unspecified injury)

* - Not listed on AEW's roster webpage, but dude, c'mon

I think this is the longest list of inactive wrestlers I've ever compiled for one roster. Of course, Adam Cole has all but said he's medically cleared, and Danielson and Hook are working angles. Even so, there's a lot of injured wrestlers on that list.

This serves the talking point that AEW has an injury problem. But since we don't know the nature of many of these injuries, it's hard to say all of them are due to any particular behavior or recklessness in the ring that AEW can curtail. Some of these wrestlers are simply dealing with back problems that are slow to heal after years of trying to gut through it. Others are no doubt in situations where they'd like to avoid surgery, only to find out that it's unavoidable, so they've only prolonged their downtime.

To me this is why AEW's massive roster is a good thing. Although it works against talent that never seems to get room in the spotlight, it also means there are plenty of wrestlers available to fill spots when big names go down. I'm not saying I don't miss Britt Baker or Miro--I do--but I also never feel like their divisions are dead without them around to prop them up.

#aew #fake rankings

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