This recap was originally written on MLW.com by SEScoops’ Dominic DeAngelo.
Major League Wrestling is back in the notorious Coliseum in St. Petersburg, FL and its a stacked card and a main event with high stakes between Matt Riddle and Sami Callihan. We kick it off with a unique clash that features the opening round of The Opera Cup.
MATCH 1
Opera Cup Round 1
Atlantis Jr. vs. Shigeo Okumura
It’s a youngster vs. a veteran in this first round fight and Okumura was ready to unleash some tough love on Atlantis Jr. Okumura slowed the pace down to keep Atlantis underwater. However, the innovative generational talent got Okumura off-his-game with an airplane blue thunder bomb. Although Okumura kicked out Atlantis quickly followed up with a frog splash for the 1-2-3.
WINNER & ADVANCING: Atlantis Jr.
Post-match, both fighters paid one another respect. Can Atlantis go the distance and become the first CMLL star to capture The Opera Cup?
Alex Kane nor does Mr. Thomas plan for that not to happen, but they actually have to go through one another in their own opening round match. If you thought their match between could cause a rift with each other, think again. Both Kane and Thomas know it’s called the BOMAYE “FIGHT” Club!
MATCH 2
Opera Cup Round 1
Tom Lawlor vs. Jake Crist
Lawlor is a former Opera Cup winner and Crist was well-aware of that. The Ohio-born boy wasted no time in taking it to Filthy Tom, not even letting him get to the ring before starting the fight. The two used all elements of the ring in attempt to keep one another down, but it actually took Lawlor a superplex turned to Kimura Lock to cause Crist to pass out.
WINNER & ADVANCING: Tom Lawlor
Post-fight, Lawlor got on the mic to talk trash to Tampa, but up on the screen popped Paul Walter Hauser who issued a major challenge to Lawlor – an MMA cage fight! MSL banned from the building! Lawlor accepted!
RELATED: Paul Walter Hauser ‘Excited’ After Being Added To MLW Roster
MATCH 3
AKIRA (with Kota) vs. Minoru Suzuki
It’s Suzuki’s first match as a CONTRA soldier and joining the ranks may have even furthered his sadism. AKIRA, however, was game for the battle. Some intense shots were traded as AKIRA found it hard to shake Suzuki, but the Death Fighter kept bringing it. However, a Gotch Piledriver was good enough for Suzuki to ultimately get the 1-2-3.
WINNER: Minoru Suzuki
Post-fight, there was no respect shown as Minoru and Ikuro Kwon went on to further attack AKIRA devastatingly laying him out with more diabolical ideas in mind. Minoru was going for another Gotch when MLW World Champ Satoshi Kojima ran down to clear the evil out!
A concerned Cesar Duran saunters down to the ring to demand to see who Salina de la Renta’s baby daddy is after she revealed she has a bun in the oven. Well Salina showed up, but she was not without her mind games to her estranged daddy. Before making the reveal, she teased that the father was Bad Dude Tito and EVEN MSL but it was a surprise that made Duran literally sick: one of his own AZTECA henchman. The mysterious man pulled off the mask, revealing a Rudolph Valentino face with an even stronger libido as he and Salina started making out! Duran couldn’t take the discuss and fainted in the ring!
MATCH 4
Three Stages Of Destruction (First Blood + Street Fight + Medical Evacuation)
Mads Krule Krugger vs. Matthew Justice (Bill Alfonso)
Matthew Justice was not only ready to roll for this intense battle, but so was Fonzie who certainly has had his issues with CONTRA. Do both bring it to Krugger in the First Blood round of the fight as plenty of plunder is used. Justice gets Krugger off his feet with the indirect help of his own CONTRA soldier as he leapt off the back of a downed man to spear Krugger! Fonzie then tossed Justice a chair with barbed wire as he cracked Krugger HARD with it. Then Justice had some Mr. PPV plans as Fonzie held the chair for Justice to leap all the way across the ring for a Van TERMINATOR!! A few more cracks with the chair had the ref call for the bell noting that Krugger has poured enough crimson!
WINNER of STAGE 1: Matthew Justice
Next stage was a street fight and Justice continued to keep at his business of violence. He even showed his strength by hoisting the monster Mads up for a Death Valley Driver onto a chair! A massive ladder gets set up and Justice has to fight off a CONTRA soldier, allowing Mads to climb up and superplex Matt through a table! Krugger does drape an arm over Matt for the 1-2-3!
WINNER of STAGE 2: Mads Krugger
Someone will now be leaving in an ambulance. The two begin to brawl on the entryway as another ladder is presented. Justice gets Krugger on a table for his own plans of retribution, but the table collapses under the weight of Krugger. That doesn’t stop Justice who still decides to splash on top of Mads! Justice has a gameplan in mind as he gets a dolly. Both he and Fonzie get Krugger on it and push the massive man to the back! Fonzie hydrates Matt as they get Krugger to the ambulance, but when he opens the door to the back Ikuro Kwon is there to spray mist into Matt’s eyes! The fix was in! Kwon and Krugger gang up on Matt, set up a table, light it aflame and powerbomb Justice through it! Krugger tosses Matt in the ambulance and the match is over.
WINNER: Mads Krule Krugger
MATCH 5
MLW World Featherweight Championship
Gigi Ray vs. Janai Kai (c)
The Kick Demon Kai aimed to keep the momentum moving for CONTRA against Gigi Ray who definitely showed up ready for battle. Ray received plenty of kicks in this fight, but she had her own share of offense in this fight. However, Kai caught Ray with a roundhouse thrust in the corner and it was good to keep Ray down for the pinfall.
WINNER and STILL MLW World Featherweight Champion: Janai Kai
MATCH 6
Opera Cup Round 1
Bobby Fish vs. KENTA
Fish is ready to unleash “beautiful violence” onto KENTA who is making his Major League debut tonight. KENTA had an off-the-beaten path gameplan against Bobby as he was very disrespectful to the squared circle veteran, basically treating him like a young boy in the ring. Both men delivered in this battle though and Fish got his fair share of strikes in, but KENTA did take the mouthpiece out of Bobby with a GTS and it was good enough to advance in the Opera Cup.
WINNER & ADVANCING: KENTA
MAIN EVENT
No Ropes, No Hold Barred
Sami Callihan vs. Matt Riddle
The stakes are high in this brutal battle as if Riddle loses, he forgoes his future World Title shot to Callihan, the right he won at Battle Riot VI.
Tampa was all behind The Super King Of Bros and Callihan was less than pleased, getting on the mic to say he’s going to beat Riddle in less than five second. That didn’t happen as Riddle rocked him with a foot to the face. Despite that, Callihan had some nasty plans in mind.
Sami pulled out all types of violent ideas including paper cuts, lemon zest and staple gun tags. He got Riddle right in the foot with one but before that, wrapped Matt’s hair around a barbed wire bat! A broken beer bottle was introduced and its remaining chards became a factor.
The ring was ripped up, boards were broken and literal nuts and bolts became a bed of brutalitiy. Despite all that, Riddle persevered and caused Callihan to submit when he crossfaced Sami with loose ring ropes!
WINNER and STILL #1 Contender: Matt Riddle
RELATED: MLW Appoints David Marquez As The Head Of Production
