This was the first live event broadcast for MLW in four years, the last one being MLW Superfight Recap in 2019. MLW was hit really hard by COVID, maybe the worst of all the wrestling companies. They were starting to build some momentum with the Superfight show, and then just a few months later everything was shut down. Even after reopening they’ve had issues maintaining any kind of broadcast presence. So for them to be back on Pay Per View (or in this case Pay Streaming on Fite TV), and to sell out the 2300 Arena in Philly are big deals.
Ok, so how was the show? Let’s see.
Openweight Title Match: Jacob Fatu (c) vs Calvin Tankman
Great opener, this was a hell of a hoss fight to open things up. Fatu has been one of the best wrestlers not signed to WWE or AEW for some time now, and Tankman is pretty damn good in his own right. Both men landed some heavy shots and big moves on each other, and it felt like a big time fight from start to finish. Both men are super agile for their size and displayed everything they were capable of. It got a little indie-riffic towards the end, but given that this was a big, important match I’ll allow it. There were questions about what Fatu would do after losing the World Title but he’s answered well them so far.
Title vs Title: Ava Everett vs Delmi Exo
Everett came in as the WXW Women’s Champion, while Exo wore the MLW Featherweight Title. Good enough match here, Exo hit her finisher to win the match and capture both titles. MLW is making the most of it what it has to work with for a women’s division, they could use a name signing to get some more attention but that doesn’t take away from this match on this show.
Timothy Thatcher vs Tracy ‘Hot Sauce’ Williams
This was good while it lasted. Thatcher, who WWE fans most notably saw in NXT, is a great technician and Williams is a veteran of Ring of Honor, so everything was there to put on a clinic. They were headed in that direction when the match was stopped after Thatcher appeared to have legit gotten concussed. He eventually was able to sit up and walk to the back under his own power. The eight or so minutes we got were pretty good, hopefully they’ll be able to run it back later.
Country whipping match: Sam Adonis vs Mance Warner
Warner is an MLW stalwart and a veteran of Death Match style encounters. This match was the latest in the feud between he and Adonis, who got on the mic and ran down the crowd for being a bunch of bums and Warner for working in front of them regularly while he is busy doing stadium shows in Mexico. Adonis is a good heel who could do well on a bigger stage. Warner is always entertaining, even for a guy like me who is not a big fan of these kind of matches. The two men started out with a strap for a weapon, and they really laid into each other with it. Then came tables, chairs, screwdrivers, you name it. Warner started bleeding, they had several well timed run ins, and then Warner eventually was able to get the win.
I’m no fan of death matches, or matches that devolve into a bunch of nonsensical weaponry use; this could have very easily become that latter but it did not. The weapons they used made sense and were introduced in a logical way, and the run ins all fit into the story that’s going on between the two men. There is very much a place for these kinds of matches when done right, and this was one of those cases.
MLW Tag Team Title Match: The SST (c) vs The Calling
This was a fans bring the weapons match; thankfully, the weapons were brought before the show and not handed out during the match. This match was a bit much for my tastes. Multiple run ins, weapons, you name it. And yes I just raved about that kind of match, but having two of them back to back felt like overkill. Especially since this one wasn’t as good as the first one. It was fine live but when I rewatch this show it’s a skip.
World Title Match: Alex Hammerstone (c) vs Alex Kane
Kane won the Battle Riot, MLW’s version of the Royal Rumble, to get this shot at the title. Kane has been progressing nicely over the past couple of years in MLW and has developed a following along with his faction, the Bombaye Fight Club. Kane went in the heel here, but it being Philadelphia he got cheered like a conquering hero while Hammerstone got booed pretty heavily.
The match was good. Hammerstone has been champion for over two years and has beaten back several challengers; Kane is on the rise and this was his time. What I found surprising was the finish. I expected Kane to win, but tapping out Hammerstone was not what I saw coming. This was a big coronation for Kane, and he looks poised to have a good run as champion. Hammerstone and Fatu, his predecessors, both had their reigns disrupted by COVID, but his path is a bit more clear now.
MLW has a unique space in the wrestling world; they’re not as big as WWE or AEW, don’t have the reputation of ROH or the legendary survivor status of Impact. But they are a place where up and coming talent like Kane can improve or where veteran guys like Fatu and Hammerstone can do well. Having joined the latter two at the top of the roster Kane is now in a position to either carve out a good next few years there or set himself for a move to one of the big boys.
Final Verdict
Good show. Some matches were just ok but nothing was bad. The one thing missing was video packages. If you were tuning because you’d heard of a few people (Hammerstone and Fatu do get a bit of mention on social media) you’d have been totally lost as to the how and why of what was going on. Commentary did explain things as best as they could but not enough to help any first time viewers. Beyond that, though, I give it a thumbs up.
Stroke of Genius 