Major League Wrestling’s episode of Fusion on 12/9 featured a double main-event. Richard Holliday would face Low-Ki in the semi-finals of the 2020 Opera Cup and The Von Erichs would defend the tag belts against Contra Unit.

The full show can be viewed in the player below:

MLW Fusion Results 12/9:

1. Calvin Tankman defeated Zenshi
2. Violence is Forever (Dominic Garrini & Kevin Ku) defeated Jason Dugan & Robert Martyr
3. Opera Cup 2020 Semi-Final
   Low-Ki defeated Richard Holliday
4. MLW Tag Team Championships
   The Von Erichs (Ross & Marshall) vs Contra Unit (Jacob Fatu & Simon Gotch) – No Contest

Here are 8 takeaways from MLW Fusion 12/9:

Tag Title Match Ends In Chaos

The Von Erichs are about as true blue of babyfaces as there can be. On the opposite side of the spectrum is Contra Unit. Whenever these two units collide it is a little reminiscent of when the Von Erichs would clash with wrestlers like the Great Kabuki and his manager Gary Hart in WCCW.

The match pretty much started once the Von Erichs came out. A wild brawl took place early and the referee had trouble controlling it. Eventually, a traditional tag match did take place, but things would devolve again before the end of the show. Marshall and Gotch found themselves on the outside and the barefooted Von Erich gave his opponent a claw-slam through a ring board. Then, for reasons which will likely be explained later, Team Filthy hit the ring and caused a no-contest. Jordan Oliver was out there as well attacking people and utter chaos ensued to close the show.

Low-Ki Advances To Opera Cup Semi-Finals

The 1st of MLW’s double main event this week saw Richard Holliday take on Low-Ki in the semi-finals of the Opera Cup. King Mo and American Top Team have been complaining that Low-Ki shouldn’t even be in the tournament, however. They are urging MLW officials to review Low-Ki’s medical charts, as they believe King Mo gave him some type of neurological injury.

Low-Ki wrestled really smart against Holiday, however. He peppered the Dynasty member’s quads with leg kicks that would play a factor in the outcome of the match. Holiday looked like he was going to suplex his opponent but was seen clutching at his leg as Low-Ki fought out of it. Low-Ki then hit a dropkick followed by a double foot stomp from the top for the win.

After the match, Low-Ki paraded around with Holiday’s Caribbean Championship belt for a little bit. He’ll face the winner of Tom Lawlor vs ACH in the finals.

Hammerstone Challenges The Black Hand Of Contra For Kings of the Colosseum

National Openweight Champion Alexander Hammerstone was interviewed by Alicia Atout this week. Hammerstone said he’s never been hit as hard as Contra Unit’s Mads Krugger hit him with a chair on the 1st Fusion back since the restart. He also announced that he’s cleared to wrestle and wants to face Krugger at Kings of the Colosseum.

Salina de la Renta Summons Pascal Mendoza

Recently on Fusion, Salina de la Renta said she was traveling to Mexico to take care of some business. She also said that Konnan wouldn’t like what she was up to. This week, Salina was in Mexico and spoke about summoning someone named Pascal Mendoza. This person was a little boy of 7 years old when the 1985 Mexico City Earthquake hit. This person lost everything and developed a hate for the world at the time. Now this person is wandering around Earth with an unquenchable desire for revenge.

Lucha Underground fans might have an idea as to who Salina is talking about. Mil Muertes’ backstory on that show was that he was a boy named Pascal Mendoza during the 1985 Mexico City Earthquake. Does that mean Ricky Banderas is on his way to MLW? Or does Salina have someone else in mind?

Lio Rush Responds To Myron Reed

Previously on Fusion, we’ve seen MLW Middleweight Champion, Myron Reed, issue a challenge to the newly signed Lio Rush. This week, cameras caught up with Lio while he was on his way to the recording studio. Rush said he’ll face Myron Reed, but he’ll do so when he wants to, and that will be at January’s Kings of the Colosseum event.

Violence Is Forever Debuts In Tag Division

Last week, Tom Lawlor cut a promo saying Team Filthy was entering the tag division. This week, he introduced the debuting Kevin Ku along with Dominic Garrini. The duo took on Jason Dugan & Robert Martyr who offered little in the way of competition for the team dubbed “Violence is Forever.” A brainbuster superkick combo would pick up the win for the new team in under 2 minutes.

Calvin Tankman Picks Up Another Win

Zenshi was in tough this week as he took on Calvin Tankman in the opening match. The Chilean fighter attempted to work the big man’s legs but it was to no avail. Tankman caught him with a back elbow as he came off the top rope and then hit the Tankman Driver for the win.

Coming Up in MLW

• Opera Cup 2020 Semi Final #2
  ACH vs Tom Lawlor

Booked for Kings of the Colosseum:

• MLW Middleweight Championship
  Myron Reed (c) vs Lio Rush

WWE Hall of Famer and co-host of SiriusXM’s Busted Open Radio Mark Henry recently discussed the working partnership between IMPACT Wrestling and AEW. With those two names working together for the time being, Henry would discuss WWE and the potential for them to work with outside brands.

Triple H recently stated that WWE are “open for business” is it is the “right opportunity,” saying that there’s an incorrect perception that WWE won’t work with outside companies. WWE seemingly has working relationships with British promotions PROGRESS, ICW, Irish promotion OTT and Pro Wrestling NOAH in Japan.

Mark Henry on WWE Partnerships

“The right opportunity” Mark Henry began on Busted Open Radio, discussing what Triple H revealed. “Not every opportunity. He didn’t say ‘we’re gonna jump in the bed with anybody and everybody.’ Because if you sleep with dogs? You’re gonna get fleas.”

Henry would then reveal the company he believes WWE should be working with. “I think that the biggest one would be MLW, because you got family and lineage already. The Von Erichs, you’ve got Brian Pillman, Jr, although I have seen him at AEW. So, the guys or girls ‘moving’ around right now? They are allowed to [within MLW], so they are, they got to go where they can make money.”

• CM Punk On What He Misses About Wrestling, WWE Backstage & More

Mark Henry would finish by saying that Jacob Fatu is also a name he wants to see in WWE. With the ongoing Samoan Family storyline with Roman Reigns and Jey Uso, Henry believes that Fatu would be a major asset for WWE as part of that feud.

• WWE RAW Results (12/7): The Fiend Attacks Randy Orton, Drew McIntyre & Sheamus

Do you agree with Mark Henry? Who do you think WWE should work with, if anyone? Let us know in the comments

MLW boss Court Bauer is teasing that a “world war” of sorts could be brewing that would have far reaching effects across the entire wrestling industry.

MLW worked with AAA earlier this year and recently announced a partnership with IWA Puerto Rico. In a tweet sent out on 11/28, Bauer teased that he just got off the phone with another major international promotion.

During a media call held earlier this week, Court Bauer teased that MLW is in talks with more than one promotion about working together. He mentioned a ‘world war’ brewing and says we should know more about this before the year is over.

“In all seriousness, I think we all see a world war of sorts brewing,” said Bauer. “I can’t say anything right now but hope to be able to say a lot more before the end of the year. We’ll see.”

This news comes as AEW has established a working relationship with Impact Wrestling. Even WWE sounds more open to partnering with other promotions, the biggest indication yet that the landscape is shifting before our very eyes.

• Triple H On Promotional Relationships: WWE Is ‘Open For Business’

Major League Wrestling presented another episode of Fusion on December 2nd, 2020. This week’s show featured two matches in the Opera Cup tournament and the debut of the “Black Hand of Contra.”

MLW Fusion 12/2 Quick results:

1. Opera Cup 2020 (1st Round)
   ACH defeated Laredo Kid
2. Mads Krugger defeated Ariel Dominguez
3. Opera Cup 2020 (1st Round)
   Low-Ki defeated Davey Boy Smith Jr.

ACH Advances To Opera Cup Semi-Finals

MLW Fusion kicked off this week with ACH and Laredo Kid vying for the right to advance to the 2020 Opera Cup semi-finals. These two battled for close to 15-minutes in what was an even match up until the finish. Laredo Kid went to the top rope but was caught with a kick by ACH who then landed the Spirit Bomb (brainbuster) for the win. He’ll meet Tom Lawlor in the semi-finals.

Team Filthy To Enter The Tag Team Division

After ACH defeated Laredo Kid, we saw a backstage promo from ACH’s next opponent, Tom Lawlor. The former MLW World Champion announced that his Team Filthy stablemate, Dominic Garrini, has found a new tag partner in Kevin Ku and they will wrestle next week.

The Von Erichs To Face Contra Unit Next Week

The Von Erichs cut a promo this week from Hawaii. The brothers took offense to Contra Unit’s calling them out and vowed to go after the stable. It was later announced that Marshall and Ross will defend the tag titles next week against Jacob Fatu and Simon Gotch next week.

The Black Hand of Contra Debuts

Recently on Fusion, a large man known only as the Black Hand of Contra debuted and attacked Alexander Hammerstone. This week, we learned the man’s name is Mads Krugger. He faced the much smaller Ariel Dominguez in singles action this week. Krugger manhandled his opponent and finished him off with a front-facing slam in under 2-minutes. Masked members of the Sentai Death Squad came out after the match and put Dominguez in a body bag.

Low-Ki Defeats Davey Boy Smith Jr. To Advance To Opera Cup Semi-Finals

Last year’s Opera Cup winner, Davey Boy Smith Jr. faced former MLW World Champion, Low-Ki, in this week’s main event. These two met in the 1st round of last year’s tournament, with Smith coming out the winner.

The finish of their match from last year’s tournament would factor into the finish of their match in this year’s tournament. After battling back and forth for 20-minutes, Smith attempted his running power slam but it was countered by Low-Ki into a choke. Smith attempted to turn the choke into a pinning combination as he did last year but Low-Ki reversed it into a pinning combination of his own and got the win.

With the win, Low-Ki moves on to face Richard Holliday in the semi-finals.

Next Week On MLW Fusion

The following matches are on tap for MLW Fusion next week:

• Calvin Tankman in action
• MLW Tag Team Championships
  The Von Erichs (Ross & Marshall) (c) vs Jacob Fatu & Simon Gotch (Contra Unit)
• Opera Cup Semi-Final #1
  Richard Holliday vs Low Ki

Also on Fusion this week:

• Salina de la Renta is in Mexico City. She cut a promo saying she had some business to take care of and she doesn’t think Konnan will like it.
• Richard Holliday cut a promo saying he’s dedicating his performance in the Opera Cup tournament to his injured stablemate, Alexander Hammerstone. Holliday was involved in an altercation with former Dynasty stable member, Gino Medina, last week.

Davey Boy Smith Jr. has finished up with Major League Wrestling.

Smith participated in this year’s Opera Cup Tournament, but was eliminated in the opening round after losing against Low Ki. Smith won the tournament last year.

MLW President Court Bauer held a media call after this week’s episode of Fusion and confirmed the news of Smith’s departure.

“Davey Boy’s exit in the opening round of the Opera Cup marks the end of this chapter for DBS in MLW,” said Bauer. “I have immense gratitude for (Davey) and his contributions inside the MLW ring over the past 2 ½ years. The MLW system was a great fit for him.”

In addition to winning the 2019 Opera Cup, Smith is a former MLW Tag Team Champion along with Brian Pillman Jr.

Bauer called Davey Boy Smith the real deal and a certified beast. He will be missed on the MLW roster, but the company already has a big name lined up to fill that role.

“With Davey’s spot on the roster opening up, there will be a familiar face arriving soon to fill it. I’m a little surprised it hasn’t leaked yet. This one is a big surprise.”

MLW Fusion 11/25 featured the start of the 2020 Opera Cup tournament. Two opening round matches took place as well as the promotional debut of Calvin Tankman.

MLW Fusion 11/25 Quick Results:

1. Opera Cup 2020 (Opening Round)
   Richard Holliday defeated TJP
2. Calvin Tankman defeated Robert Martyr
3. Opera Cup 2020 (Opening Round)
   “Filthy” Tom Lawlor defeated Rocky Romero

Here are 6 key takeaways from MLW Fusion 11/25

Tension Between Richard Holliday and Gino Medina

Before he made his way into the arena, cameras caught up with Richard Holliday. The Dynasty member gave a quick update on Hammerstone, who was attacked last week by a mysterious new member of Contra Unit. Holliday said Hammerstone will be fine and that who attacked him isn’t what’s important right now. He then walked past former Dynasty member, Gino Medina, who was talking on his phone. Holliday stopped as he heard Medina insult him in Spanish. The two then got into a debate over whether Medina was fired from the Dynasty by Holliday or if he quit. It seems some tension is building between the two former stablemates.

Richard Holliday Advances In The Opera Cup By Defeating TJP

Holliday insisted the referee hold up the Caribbean Championship before the bell despite the fact it was not a title match and Holliday isn’t even the rightful holder of the belt. During the match, TJP demonstrating some impressive looking submission moves but it would ultimately be Holliday who would pick up the win and advance. The finish of the match came when TJP missed a Swanton and Holliday capitalized with a spinebuster and the 2008 Market Crash for the win.

Salina de la Renta Is Out For Revenge

Salina de la Renta was recently revealed to have been in cahoots with Contra Unit regarding the stable’s takeover of MLW offices. The league may end up terminating her contract for this but she is still scheduled to produce the January 6th show. If MLW hasn’t taken action by then, Salina will likely be out for revenge that night. She called out Konnan (who exposed her association with Contra) and threatened to sue the league.

Calvin Tankman Impresses In League Debut

Calvin Tankman didn’t need much time at all to put away Robert Martyr. He first demonstrated that he is an agile 355lbs big man by doing leapfrogs and other impressive looking feats. He quickly put away his opponent with the Tankman Driver for the win.

After the match, Tankman cut a promo in the back and said he’s coming for the MLW World Heavyweight Championship.

Injury Update On Hammerstone

Following the attack last week by Contra Unit, we got an injury update on Alexander Hammerstone. The National Openweight Champion revealed he suffered bruised ribs, whiplash, and tranverse mylelitis (spinal inflammation). Hammerstone was promising to get revenge on Contra Unit when the line was taken over by Josef Samael. The Contra Unit member told Hammerstone he put a target on his back when he referred to himself as “Contra Hunter.” This led Samael to hire the Black Hand of Contra to attack Hammerstone.

“Filthy” Tom Lawlor Defeats Rocky Romero, Advances In Opera Cup

We had a veteran of New Japan Pro Wrestling against a veteran of the UFC and former MLW World Champion, Tom Lawlor in the main event this week. It was a highly competitive match and in the end neither wrestler would really prove dominance but one would come away with the victory. The finish of the match came when Lawlor was in the process of locking in a rear-naked choke but just when Rocky had fought out of the move, Lawlor responded by wrapping Romero up in a pinning combination for a 3-count.

After the match, Lawlor cut a promo expressing his frustration with not being booked in the tournament last year. He said that soon the names on the trophy like Stu Hart and George Hackenschmidt will be joined by his.

Other Notes:

• American Top Team’s Dan Gable and King Mo are irate with MLW officials for not including Mo in the Opera Cup. They believe that Low Ki should not be medically cleared for the tournament. As of this report, Low Ki is scheduled to face Davey Boy Smith Jr. in the first round.
• Lio Rush vs Myron Reed has been booked for December 23rd’s “Kings of the Colosseum” event.
• Next week’s show will have the final 2 opening round matches of the Opera Cup: ACH vs Laredo Kid, and Davey Boy Smith Jr. vs Low-Ki.

Major League Wrestling returns tonight with an all-new edition of MLW Fusion.

The following items are confirmed for this week’s over-sized Thanksgiving episode, which drops at 7PM EST on the MLW YouTube Channel:

The 2020 MLW Opera Cup begins with two opening round matches:

• Former MLW World Champion “Filthy” Tom Lawlor takes on Rocky Romero, representing New Japan Pro Wrestling.

• Caribbean Champion and Dynasty member Richard Holiday vs. TJP.

At the conclusion of last week’s Fusion, National Openweight Champion Alex Hammerstone came to ringside and confronted MLW World Champion Jacob Fatu. He was then laid out by The Black Hand of Contra Unit. MLW will provide an update on Hammerstone’s condition.

Plus, we’ll see the MLW debut of heavyweight star Calvin Tankman, who recently signed a multi-year deal with the fight league. Learn more about Calvin Tanman.

Full Episode & Our Takeaways From Last Week’s MLW Fusion

MLW has announced the official brackets for the 2020 Opera Cup Tournament.

This year’s competitors include former MLW World Champion “Filthy” Tom Lawlor, 2019 Opera Cup winner Davey Boy Smith Jr., NJPW star Rocky Romero, Laredo Kid, ACH, Low Ki, Richard Holiday of Dynasty and TJP.

Here’s a look at the brackets:

The opening round of the 2020 Opera Cup kicks off net week on a special Thanksgiving edition of MLW Fusion.

Below you can see MLW’s hype video for the Opera Cup, including the storied history of the prestigious event.

MLW Fusion is back. After a seven month hiatus due to the Covid-19 pandemic, #TheRestart is finally upon us.

A new episode of MLW Fusion premieres tonight on MLW’s YouTube Channel with a double main event featuring some of the league’s top fighters. We will see:

• MLW World Heavyweight Champion Jacob Fatu vs. Davey Boy Smith Jr.
• World Middleweight Champion Myron Reed vs Brian Pillman Jr.
• National Openweight Champion Alex Hammerstone in action

Plus, we’ll get first details of the 2020 Opera Cup tournament.

MLW has release the ‘Cold Open’ video package for tonight’s Fusion. The video includes some classic MLW footage and a recap of the Contra Unit storyline that leads up to The Restart.

MLW Fusion premieres at 7PM EST before replaying this weekend on beIN Sports. Click here for more information on how you can watch.

Multiple Former WWE Stars Worked MLW’s Recent Tapings

MLW is set to return to new programming tomorrow night. A new episode of Fusion will air for the first time since the spring. The show will be headlined by Jacob Fatu defending the MLW World Championship against Davey Boy Smith Jr.

Alexander Hammerstone is MLW’s reigning National Openweight Champion. He is part of the Dynasty along with Richard Holiday as well. Hammerstone recently spoke with Chris Van Vliet about how he almost gave up on wrestling after a frustrating experience stemming from a WWE tryout.

Hammerstone’s WWE Experience

As it turns out, WWE contacted Hammerstone in November of 2017 and implied that he was going to be brought into the company.

“It ended up being like ‘Hey, well I think we want to bring you in. We’re going to start the hiring process’. And I remember, I was on the toilet at work when I read that email and I had to read it four times over and then I started crying because I was like ‘Holy crap! Dream come true! It’s happening.’ And then I literally burst out of the bathroom and knocked on my boss’s office. It was just like an involuntary reaction, I was like ‘Jeff, read this!’ and he was like ‘Oh my God!’ and he legitimately called a staff meeting to tell everybody what had just happened and everyone congratulated me,” Hammerstone said.

He continued to talk about how he was getting ready to start his WWE career. Despite what they had told him earlier, however, WWE decided against bringing him in.

“The next step is my whole medical test and it’s not happening, it’s not happening, it’s not happening. And then I start pestering them to see what’s going on. Then in April, and keep in mind in my head I’m moving there in May, so in April they say ‘Sorry to inform you but we’re just way too full right now, we hired too many people this year and we can’t bring you in’. And it doesn’t say like ‘Give us three months’ or ‘Give us this’ it just says ‘We can’t bring you in’. And that was it. And I was like what?”

Similar Stories From Other Wrestlers

Hammerstone’s story is similar to ones told by other wrestlers in the past. Willie Mack once detailed being hired by WWE only to be released before actually reporting to the PC. Taya Valkyrie has told a similar story about WWE reneging on an offer that had been promised to her. This was before Taya started performing with AAA in Mexico.

“A little unknown fact is that about seven months before I went to Mexico, I was offered a contract by WWE. And I went through all the steps, I was waiting to get all my medical tests done, and they decided to not take me, so needless to say I wasn’t given an explanation and to this day I don’t really know what happened,” Taya said on Talk is Jericho in 2017.

Almost Quitting Wrestling

Hammerstone continued to talk about how the experience with WWE almost led to him quitting wrestling.

“And for the next couple of months someone every once in a while would be like ‘Hey, when are you going to Florida?’ and I’d have to explain the whole thing to them. I had to explain this so many times and every time it was like a punch in the gut, you know? So it was rough, man. It was a rough time and literally that experience almost made me quit wrestling. I was very close.”

• Multiple Former WWE Stars Worked MLW’s Recent Tapings

Hammerstone goes into detail on a range of other topics as well during the interview. It can be viewed in its entirety below:

MLW Fusion returns next Wednesday, November 18th, for the first time since the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic earlier this year.

The main event will see MLW World Champion Jacob Fatu defend against 2019 Opera Cup winner Davey Boy Smith Jr.

On Tuesday, MLW announced the second half of the double main event. MLW World Middleweight Champion Myron Reed will defend against Brian Pillman Jr.

Below is an updated chart showing how you can watch MLW Fusion each week starting November 18th:

MLW returns after an 8-month hiatus on November 18th, 2020. That is when the first new episode of Fusion since the pandemic will air on YouTube and Fubo Sports. The promotion has booked Davey Boy Smith Jr. to challenge Jacob Fatu for the MLW World Championship on the show.

“This is a dream match we originally slated for Pay-Per-View this past summer and felt it was the perfect match to give the fans as a thank you for hanging tight and supporting us through #TheRestart,” said MLW CEO Court Bauer. 

In storyline, Fatu’s Contra Unit took control of the promotion by raiding the corporate head offices. During the raid, Smith was left injured, apparently with a broken back. MLW has since revealed he has been cleared to compete. Smith also won last year’s Opera Cup tournament, making him a top-ranked wrestler in the promotion.

MLW World Title History

Fatu has held the MLW World Championship for a record 492 days at this point. Granted, much of the was during the pandemic period when the league wasn’t running. In total, 8 wrestlers have held the title. No wrestler has won the belt more than once.

MLW World Champions:

1. Satoshi Kojima (267 days) (7 title defenses)
2. Low Ki (205 days) (7 title defenses)
3. Jacob Fatu (492 days) (5 title defenses)
4. “Filthy” Tom Lawor (154 days) (3 title defenses)
5. Steve Corino (235 days) (2 title defenses)
6. Shane “Swerve” Strickland (91 days) (1 title defense)
7. Shane Douglas (90 days) (0 title defenses)
8. Mike Awesome (1 day) (0 title defenses)

• MLW Fusion To Premiere Wednesday Nights On YouTube

New episodes of MLW Fusion will premiere Wednesday nights on MLW’s YouTube channel at 7pm ET starting November 18th.

In statement issued over the weekend, MLW CEO Court Bauer said that the decision to drop new episodes of Fusion on YouTube each week was due to overwhelming interest from fans.

“Fans have been blowing up my Twitter for months asking that we keep MLW’s presence on YouTube, so we’re going to do just that,” said Bauer. “YouTube has enabled us to grow and we will continue to enrich the platform with more quality content from MLW.”

The fight card for the November 18th #TheRestart premiere will be announced shortly.

MLW will be moving much of its programming to Wednesday nights, while its flagship series will air nationwide on cable and satellite Saturday nights at 10pm on beIN SPORTS in the United States.

Below is an updated chart showing how you can watch MLW Fusion

Major League Wrestling is gearing up for its restart scheduled for November 18th. That is the date new episodes of Fusion are expected to air. Davey Boy Smith Jr. is expected to play a large role in MLW’s return.

According to a report from the Wrestling Observer, however, Smith only has a few weeks left on his MLW contract and several other promotions are interested in his services.

“He was at Chris Jericho’s Halloween party this past week and spoke to Tony Khan but they aren’t talking any business until after his MLW deal is up,” said Dave Meltzer.

The report also stated that Smith’s MLW contract is up on December 18th, 2020. Several promotions, including WWE, Impact, and All-Japan are also interested in his services. He does not appear to be leaning to any one promotion, it seems.

“He’s had interest from WWE, Khan expressed interest, and there is interest from All Japan, Impact, and MLW and has no favorite or leaning past saying this decision will be made based on offer and whatever makes the most sense business-wise,” Meltzer continued to say of Smith’s free agency options.

The 35-year-old is a 2x WWE tag-team champion along with Tyson Kidd. He’s a 3x IWGP Heavyweight tag team champion along with Lance Archer as well. In MLW, he’s held the tag-team titles along with Teddy Hart & Brian Pillman Jr. and won the company’s Opera Cup tournament in 2019.

• Davey Boy Smith Jr. Free Agency Update

AAA World Cruiserweight champion Laredo Kid is joining Major League Wrestling (MLW) for #TheRestart.

Laredo Kid is one of the top luchadores in all of pro wrestling. He is interested in unifying AAA’s Cruiserweight title with the MLW World Middleweight championship, currently held by Myron Reed.

SEScoops can confirm that an inter-promotional unification match is currently in the works and likely to happen in the months ahead.

Laredo Kid made his debut for MLW last year. He’s made a few appearances on MLW programming, including a match against Hammerstone during the MLW vs. AAA Super Series event that took place earlier this year.

In addition to wrestling for AAA and MLW, Laredo Kid has wrestled for Impact Wrestling, AEW and even had a WWE tryout back in 2015, when he wrestled without a mask and teamed up with Sammy Guevara in a losing effort to Los Matadores (Primo and Epico).

MLW returns Wednesday, November 18th with the premiere of MLW Fusion on Fubo Sports and YouTube. The Wednesday episodes replay (and premiere on national television) Saturday nights at 10pm ET on beIN SPORTS.

Multiple Former WWE Stars Worked MLW’s Recent Tapings

Major League Wrestling’s #TheRestart campaign has come to a head. In a video released Thursday night, it was revealed that MLW Fusion is returning Wednesday, November 18th.

Fusion has been on hiatus for several months out of caution due to the coronavirus pandemic. MLW was set to make an announcement during the Youtube premiere of the latest MLW Pulp Fusion digital series. That feed was hijacked by Contra Unit, the heel faction that has seized control of MLW.

A video was then shown of MLW’s roster ambushing Contra Unit and taking back control. The teaser for the return of MLW Fusion promises reloaded roster, rivals unleashed, championship title fights, interpromotional dream matches and a new breed of fighting athletes.

• MLW & beIN Sports Extend TV Partnership

Check out the official MLW #TheRestart reveal video below:

Major League Wrestling (MLW) has signed a new television contract with beIN Sports. Alfred Konuwa was first to break the story for Forbes.

MLW Fusion, the fight league’s flagship show, will continue to air on beIN Sports Saturday nights at 10pm.

MLW CEO Court Bauer told Forbes, “We are excited to continue to be a cornerstone of beIN Sports’ portfolio of world-class sports content. beIN’s dual language reach will help further entrench MLW as a thriving sports league.”

According to the report, the beIN deal is just one of a series of deals set to be announced by MLW in the months ahead. The league is currently in talks with some of cable television’s biggest networks about additional programming, similar to WWE’s relationship with NBCUniversal (USA Network) and FOX.

MLW is currently gearing up for #TheRestart – a return to promoting live events. The league took a self-imposed hiatus out of an abundance of caution related to the COVID-19 pandemic.

• MLW Announces Partnership With IWA Puerto Rico
• MLW Partners With WAVE.tv For Social Media Content Distribution
• MLW Signs Streaming Deal With Digital Original Entertainment
• MLW Signs Streaming Deal With DAZN

Major League Wrestling (MLW) has entered into another strategic partnership with an international promotion. This latest alliance is with IWA Puerto Rico.

According to a press release sent out on Tuesday, the deal will see IWA Puerto Rico wrestlers competing in MLW, as well as MLW fighters being showcased on IWA shows.

MLW CEO Court Bauer touted the benefits of the two companies working together. “We will share resources with the aim of helping each other on the fight and business sides of our two leagues,” said Bauer. “Our goal is to promote the sport and help athletes and fans live their dreams with big fights in both organizations and collectively grow the global awareness of MLW and AAA.”

For more on this story, visit MLW.com.

MLW is currently gearing up for their return to live events, which they’ve dubbed #TheRestart. Details surrounding the official return date are still unknown, but it’s been reported that MLW recently held the first round of TV tapings for the new ‘season’ of MLW Fusion.

• Salina de la Renta Revealed As Contra Unit’s Spy

Major League Wrestling is coming back soon. New episodes of Fusion are expected to begin airing next month. Storylines for the promotion’s restart have been taking shape on episodes of MLW Pulp Fusion. One storyline involves Salina de la Renta being exposed as a spy operating on behalf of Contra Unit.

“For nearly two years the league, fans and athletes have all speculated and theorized on who could be enabling CONTRA to gain access to arenas with heavy security as well as access to MLW’s headquarters and production trucks.  Now, all evidence points towards Salina de la Renta,” reads an MLW press release.

Salina de la Renta In MLW Storylines

In MLW storyline, Contra Unit is a faction that has taken over the company. The last episode before the pandemic featured members of the faction taking over MLW offices in New York. On a recent episode of Pulp Fusion, Konnan revealed that he discovered Salina has been working with the faction.

It appears that Salina de la Renta’s Promociones Dorado was struggling financially. Salina is believed to have owed a significant amount of money to the “wrong people” which may have led to her aligning with Contra Unit.

The 23-year-old from Puerto Rico now lives in the Orlando area.

“All options are on the table, including suspending her license to promote in MLW,” said Court Bauer.  

Last year, Salina spoke with SI.com about being the first Latina to serve as an executive producer on a wrestling show.

“This is a sign of change. Not only for women, but for Latinos as a whole. We are often not in a position of power or influence in American wrestling. For MLW to encourage me, and others, to break barriers is important and yes, historic. It is a huge honor to be able to be the first-ever at something.”

• Multiple Former WWE Stars Worked MLW’s Recent Tapings

Major League Wrestling returned to taping shows this past week. Their latest tapings featured a number of former WWE stars, according to a report by Wrestling Inc.

MLW taped a total of 16 weeks of TV content at the GILT nightclub in Orlando from this past Sunday to Tuesday.

What’s interesting to note here is that the tapings saw not one but at least three former WWE stars taking part in the shows including names such as Lio Rush, Shawn Daivari and ACH.

Out of these three, Daivari reportedly worked both as a talent and a producer. Though it’s not a big surprise as he had been working as a producer for WWE since January 2019 before getting released during the pandemic.

Lio Rush was also released from the company during the budget cuts this past April. He had been in the promotion since 2017 and Rush has only worked a handful of matches since his release.

ACH on the other hand was released from WWE after a bit of controversy. He originally signed with the company back in February 2019 and debuted with the ring name Jordan Myles.

He was released from the promotion in November last year after accusing WWE of racism over a T-shirt design which some felt had a resemblance to blackface.

• Chris Jericho Discusses Not Getting Royalties For Matches On WWE Network

Major League Wrestling is coming back. The promotion announced today plans to film new content in October that will begin airing in November. MLW’s Court Bauer spoke to SI.com about the news.

“The hibernation is over,” said Bauer. “We’ll air in November on a weeknight in primetime on Fubo Sports Network, and our content will also be available on DAZN, which includes exclusive content, and Saturday nights on beIN. As for the filming, we’re not going to publicly announce our location. If fans were to show up, it would just cause a wave of complications with the COVID protocol, but we are very excited to return for our fans.”

Bauer also outlined a strict COVID-19 testing protocol for all tapings. The company has hired a COVID-19 compliance officer to oversee the operations. Talent will be tested before traveling to the tapings, once they arrive, and then again before actually participating in the tapings. That is 3 tests each talent will take before actually getting in a ring.

MLW Restarting This Fall

Bauer also noted the name of the show might be changing from MLW: Fusion to MLW: Underground, the name of the promotion’s TV show from its original run. Replays of MLW: Underground have been airing in place of new episodes of Fusion in recent months.

In terms of how the returning show will look, Bauer teased the matches may have a “Raging Bull” feel to them.

“We’re going to have more of a Raging Bull setting,” said Bauer. “We’ve had the luxury to see what works in this era.”

“We spent the whole summer building our business to emerge from the pandemic ready to run on a larger scale,” said Bauer. “It’s now the right time for us to safely get back to work, and our talent is going to put on a great show in our return.”

• MLW Partners With WAVE.tv For Social Media Content Distribution

The promotion posted the below teaser video for its restart:

Major League Wrestling’s Head of Wrestling Operations, Jared St. Laurent, issued a statement recently regarding Davey Boy Smith Jr. The statement is in response to recent reports that Smith was unable to work for Impact Wrestling due to his contact status with MLW.

“(Smith) had an offer from Impact to do a program with Ken Shamrock but his MLW contract prevented it, which is tough because it’s a contract where he’s not getting paid a regular salary, just per appearance,” wrote Dave Meltzer in the most recent edition of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter. The report would continue to say that Smith has drawn interest from both AEW and WWE.

Smith’s MLW contract is believed to be up in December.

MLW Responds To Report Regarding Davey Boy Smith Jr.

MLW then posted the following comments from St. Laurent on Smith’s status with MLW.

“I want to address some misinformation put out there. I had talks with Impact about Davey Boy possibly crossing over and doing some dates. We had a very positive conversation with Impact. Scott D’Amore and Impact were great to deal with and we were absolutely open to it. We gave Davey several options for how we could make this work as well as help him out financially during the pandemic. Davey opted to do nothing, unfortunately. It could’ve been a win/win for all 3 parties. It’s a shame but that is the full story,” the statement reads.

“On a personal level, I’ve known Davey for almost 2 decades. It’s sad to see him elect to end his tenure with yet another company on such a sour note.”

It was also reported recently that MLW sent WWE a cease and desist letter in regards to Smith appearing on an episode of the Bump.

“MLW also sent a cease-and-desist to WWE after Smith appeared on “The Bump.” Smith is scheduled to at least make a WWE appearance inducting his father into the Hall of Fame, but that may be some time off,” Meltzer wrote.

• Update On MLW Resuming Live Events

Major League Wrestling hasn’t run an event since March. Court Bauer has been adamant that the promotion would not run any events until it was safe to do so. The company recently posted an article on its website which suggests the league has been looking at how to run events safely.

“I’ve been very encouraged by how the UFC, NBA, the NHL, Top Rank Boxing and DAZN Match Room boxing have managed operations as they restart,” said Bauer. “We’re also seeing TV and film start back up in certain regions in a cautious manner and that’s the mindset you need to operate with during this moment in time: caution.”

Bauer would continue to say that the league has consulted with medical professionals. They have also spoken with NJPW, who recently returned to live events as well. MLW’s Tom Lawlor has been competing on NJPW USA shows as of late.

“We are speaking with some of the sharpest minds at Johns Hopkins University & Medicine on a restart and talked with New Japan’s people on how they’ve approached it – and they’ve done an incredible job… we also engaged some of our athletes who have competed outside of MLW during the pandemic to see what worked, what didn’t, and what could be improved upon.” 

In storyline, MLW’s shut down occurred after a takeover by Contra Unit. They have been airing old episodes of MLW Underground in place of new episodes of Fusion.

• MLW Teasing Return Of Live Events

Brian Pillman Jr. is hoping to be released from his MLW contract. The 26-year-old holds no ill-will to the promotion but as MLW isn’t holding any shows right now, Pillman is hoping they can reach a deal for his release. Pillman spoke to the WINCLY podcast regarding the situation.

“I’ve been actively trying to request my release and free myself of the obligations of MLW,” he said. “Again, no hard feelings but they have obligations towards me too. They have to have so many shows take place in order for my end of the contract to be valid too. So, I think that would also free them up of some responsibility. I think it would be a win-win situation if they released me.”

Pillman’s contract with MLW only restricts him from working shows for WWE or NXT. He was adamant during the interview that he loves MLW but the situation is what it is.

“As far as I’m concerned, there’s not any guarantee on any shows happening. I understand it’s a pandemic and it’s just business. There’s no hard feelings and I absolutely love that company and wrestling has been nothing but good to me for my whole career.”

MLW has not run any shows since March. Court Bauer has stated that they will not until they are certain it is safe to do so.

Pillman has recently been performing on episodes of AEW Dark. This week on the show, he teamed with Griff Garrison in a match against FTR. He’s also wrestled Shawn Spears and Brian Cage in AEW. Additionally, Pillman has been wrestling for Al Snow’s OVW promotion. Earlier this week he participated in TV tapings from Jefferson, Indiana for the company.

• Brian Pillman Jr. Talks What Legends Have Helped His Career Thus Far

Pillman’s comments can be heard in the podcast player below:

Major League Wrestling (MLW) could be gearing up to get back to running live events again.

It’s no secret that the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has delivered a huge blow to the professional wrestling industry, along with the rest of the world. Several promotions have been forced to hold off on hosting events, MLW included. The company hasn’t put on a show since March, when the pandemic began to get out of control.

However, that could all change very soon. MLW’s official Twitter account Tweeted out a photo of their production set, captioning it with a ticking clock. This has led many to believe that MLW is teasing the return of live shows soon.

Promotions such as WWE and AEW have been running empty arena shows for the past several months. They have also used their own talents to serve as audience members, placing them in the crowd where fans would usually be in an attempt to liven the shows up a bit.

• MLW Partners With WAVE.tv For Social Media Content Distribution

Now would be a great time for MLW to get back to work. Especially with the recent news of the promotion partnering up with WAVE.tv for social media content distribution. The partnership will allow for more of MLW’s content to be seen by the likes of Gen Z and Millennial sports fans through WAVE.tv’s combat sports media brand “HAYMAKERS.”