MLW held the annual War Chamber in Tampa Florida. This year marks the return of the two ring setup, which is a return to form. Our commentary team is Joe Dombrowski and Christian Cole who run down our card before the first match starts.
MLW Women’s World Featherweight Title Fight
Janai Kai (champion, presented by Salina de la Renta) vs. Unagi Sayaka
Kai has been the Featherweight Champion since October and has been defending the championship primarily against Joshi talent, and tonight is no exception.
Before the match started, we got a promo from Salina de la Renta. She calls Cesar Duran unoriginal and questions what he can offer her when she has everything.
The match is a back-and-forth affair with lots of kicks, which can be expected from Kai. Kai looked to have the match won on several occasions, but the challenger would not stay down. Sayaka makes a comeback and had the champion on the ropes for several minutes before the duo decided to trade kicks. However, this was not a sound strategy, as the “Kick Demon” hit the running roundhouse to a cornered Sayaka to retain the championship.
AJ Franci$ vs. Alex Kane (cornered by Mr. Thomas)
We waste no time going into our next match as Mister Saint Laurant joins the commentary desk. Kane is flanked by members of the Bomaye Fight Club. Franci$ has been calling Kane a disappointment and had dispatched Mr. Thomas at Once Upon a Time in New York last month. The match started hot and heavy with Kane getting the advantage of his much larger opponent…before attempting to suplex the 300lbs Franci$. This was the opening Franci$ needed to work over the former MLW Champion, with Kane trying to fight back, eventually suplexing Franci$. Just as Kane was looking like he may be victorious, MSL left commentary to run interference, allowing Franci$ to hit a low blow and a chokeslam before the referee administered a fast count for Franci$ to steal the victory.
After the match, the Bomaye Fight Club enter the ring and surround Franci$. Proving Franci$’s prophecy of the Bomaye not being loyal, these members raise their fists and leave with Franci$ and MSL. This would have hit harder if they were named members of Bomaye, such as Suge D, J Boujii, or O’Shay Edwards.
Brian Diaz is on his way to the ring. He is making his MLW debut tonight. He is attacked on the way to the ring by Brian Brock. Brock gets the mic and lays out an open challenge. Unfortunately for Brock, it is answered by the Black Hand of Contra, Mads Krugger…
Brian Brock vs. Mads Krugger
Krugger comes to the ring flocked by the Sendai Death Squad, who prepare the ring while Krugger batters Brock outside the ring. Brock is busted open after Krugger wraps a chair around Brock’s head and kicks it. The fight finally moves into the ring, where the Sendai’s had set up a door in the corner and strewn chairs throughout the ring. Brock dodges a tackle into the door and hit Krugger with a lariat. Brock also whacks Krugger with a chunk of door, getting temporarily stuck around Krugger’s head. Krugger no sells this attack, dropping Brock with the full nelson facebuster. After the match, the Sendai Death Squad carry Brock to the back.
Richard Adonis vs. Big Bad Tito (w/ Salina de la Renta)
Adonis is making his MLW debut against de la Renta’s newest signee. Adonis starts as soon as the bell rings, attacking the NJPW star. Tito demands Adonis hit him some more before tossing Adonis around the ring before finishing with the Tequila Screwdriver.
After the match, Tito gets on the mic and let’s us all know that he is going to get gold and threatens Ricky Shane Page and Satoshi Kojima. However, Tito does not choose which title he is going for. At least with tonight’s win, Tito has a winning record in MLW.
Cesar Duran is in his office. He applauds Salina de la Renta on her two victories tonight. Cesar lays down the gauntlet for Azteca Lucha in May. Whomever wins the most matches,will get the key to the most powerful force in Lucha. Spoiler, we do not get to hear Salina’s response tonight.
Mads Krugger hacks the feed and states that he has been hiding and preparing for two years and tonight he will light the spark that will burn MLW down.
As the event goes to intermission to erect the War Chamber cages, we get the full match between MLW Middleweight Champion, Mistico, and Angel del Oro at Arena Mexico.
MLW Middleweight Championship
Angel del Oro vs. Mistico
We go to Arena Mexico as part of MLW’s partnership with CMLL. Lots of Lucha action to be had, as Mistico is still one of the best highflyers in the world. The action is back and forth, showcasing each competitors’ skills. Mistico seemed to have gotten rocked jumping off the top rope to the arena floor but was able to shake off the damage to lock in la mistica to force the submission. We get a show of respect between the two luchadores as we return to Tampa.
War Chamber Match!
Team MLW (Satoshi Kojima, Matthew Justice, 1 Called Manders and Okumura) vs. World Titan Federation Superstars® (Tom Lawlor, Davey Boy Smith Jr., Richard Holliday and Josh Bishop) with Saint Laurent
The feud between members of the Second Gear Crew and Satoshi Kojima and MSL’s World Titan Federation have come to a head as all eight competitors will be locked in a barbed wire cage, let in one at a time until all eight have entered; only then can the match end.
Josh Bishop and Matthew Justice will start the match…brawling around the ring before finally entering the ring. The two clubbed each other with weapons as Tom Lawlor entered the fray. WTF took the advantage of the numbers game before the 1 Called Manders came out to even the odds. Next out is Davey Boy Smith Jr. with MSL’s army helmet. Next out is Okumura, who gets derped, but forgets to sell the offense done to him, but hit a stunner/DDT combo on the WTF group.
Richard Holliday is next, who slams the door on Justice before cleaning house for WTF. Last is Satoshi Kojima, allowing the match to formally begin. CozyMAX and Justice start machine gun chops in the corners…except Manders was late to the party. Justice climbs to the top of the cage, sitting in the barbed wire before jumping onto the crowd. The two sides squared up and started clubbering away on each other throughout the cages.
Bishop sends Justice through a table with a DVD and DBS hits a Northern Lights Suplex through a table on Manders. Holliday grabs Kojima and hits the “Holliday” Cutter before DBS hitting a powerbomb for the first pinfall attempt of the match. Bishop accidently spears DBS through a board while the Second Gear Crew nearly kill Tom Lawlor with an avalanche Steiner DDT through a table. Meanwhile, MSL hands Holliday a bag of powder. Unfortunately, as Holliday readied the powder, Kojima hits the lariat to put Holliday away and secure the victory for Team MLW.
Before Team MLW could celebrate, we get footage of Contra storming various parts of the arena before storming the ringside arena. The Sendai Death Squad surround the ring before Mads Krugger tears the door off, starting the fight between MLW and Contra. Team MLW was beaten down as it was revealed that Ikiro Kwan has returned to MLW with his Contra cohorts. Kwan sprayed Justice with poison mist and Krugger lit a fireball in Manders’ face. The show ends with Contra hanging the black flag across the cage.
MLW has finally left the confines of the Northeast to come to Florida. The crowd was hot, but there were a handful of setbacks, notably the use of unadvertised squash matches, no reaction regarding Cesar Duran’s offer, the continued use of a controversial former UFC/WWE star, and the lackluster end to the War Chamber match itself, prior to the Contra invasion. We are in the middle of another transition phase, as there were a lack of Northeastern talent that have been built up the last year and the shift of focus to May’s lucha show. We will wait and see what is next for MLW as we enter Battle Riot next month.
Rob Kamerer is the host of the MLW Con-Fusion podcast which drops every Friday on most podcasting platforms and is a contributor to the Urban Wrestling Network. He can be found online on social media @thenovaofcass.
Photo Credit; SEScoops,
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