Coming to us live on YouTube from St. Petersburg Florida, MLW returns with Blood & Thunder. We look forward to more opening round Opera Cup action and feuds to be settled as our commentary team of Joe Dombrowski & Christian Cole welcome us to the show and give us the lineup for tonight’s card. 

Opera Cup Round 1: Okumura vs. Atlantis Jr. 

Okumura is one half of the MLW Tag Team Champions and Atlantis Jr. is the current Ring of Honor Television Champion (not that it was mentioned…but it’s kinda a big deal). Respect was shown between the legend and the younger competitor. Okumura was the aggressor and was finally allowed to show off in singles competition, which had been lacking in Okumura’s MLW career. Lucha action at its best to fire up the crowd. However, it was Atlantis that advanced, putting away the tag champion with a frog splash. 

Joe Dombrowski brings out Alex Kane & Mr. Thomas regarding facing each other in the first round of the Opera Cup. Kane notes that him and Thomas fight all the time and they still love each other. Regardless of outcome the Cup is coming home with Bomaye. 

Salina de la Renta and Jesus Rodriguez are backstage. Jesus is sent to get the father of Salina’s child. Salina is stopped by Cesar Duran…as he saw trap Contra laid. The camera pans to see Contra laying waste to Jesus. Cesar tells Salina that the family needs to unite to defeat Contra. 

We see the ambulance coming to the arena for tonight’s three stages of destruction match. 

Opera Cup Round 1: “Filthy” Tom Lawlor vs. Jake Crist 

Tom Lawlor is a former Opera Cup holder. Crist starts things hot with a tope and an Asai moonsault. Mister Saint Laurant joins on commentary…but his mic is not working for a bit. Crist makes the mistake of trying to play the ground game with the former UFC star. Jake tries to mount a comeback, but Lawlor catches Jake on the top rope with a kimura lock superplex rolled into a kimura lock. Jake has no choice but to tap. Major match of the night candidate right here. Lawlor now will face Davey Boy Smith Jr. in the second round of the Opera Cup. 

Tom gets a microphone and tells the crowd he does not care what they think. Paul Walter Hauser appears on the big screen and complains about Lawlor attacking him from behind like a coward. PWH challenges Lawlor to an MMA cage match with Mister Saint Laurant barred from the building. Lawlor accepts. PWH states that Lawlor will be playing the role of PWH’s bitch…complete to definition card. 

A Mads Krugger promo is played, where he promises to put Matthew Justice in a grave. 

Minoru Suzuki w/Ikuro Kwon vs. AKIRA 

AKIRA takes the fight to Suzuki, matching strike for strike and hold for hold. This does appear to please Suzuki. It would take a bit, but Kwon would make his presence known and interjectd himself into the match, giving Suzuki the advantage. AKIRA displayed a never say die attitude and at various times goaded Suzuki to strike him. This may not have been the best strategy as Suzuki locked in a sleeper hold and before the ref called the match, transitioned into a stalling Gotch piledriver to put AKIRA away. 

Cesar Duran is out with his Azteca henchmen. He demands that Salina come out and reveal who the father of her child is. Salina comes out…but the inquiry is interrupted by Mr. .667 Bad Dude Tito. Cesar questioned if Tito was the father. Tito is just here for the show. Mister Saint Laurant enters. He shills a scam for a DNA test. Finally, Salina points to the father, as he is in the ring right now! No. Not Cesar. The Azteca henchman! The henchman removes his mask to reveal the most beautiful man in the world and proceeds to make out with Salina as Cesar feigns a heart attack. That was anticlimactic.  

3 Stages of Destruction Match: Matt Justice (managed by Bill Alfonso) vs. Mads “Krule” Krugger 

Three stages of destruction are three matches in one. The first match is a first blood match. The second is a street fight. The third, if needed, is an ambulance match. Krugger gets cut early in the match, yet the match continues. Commentary tries to cover for it. Weapons galore enter the match, but it was a barbed wire wrapped chair that further cuts Krugger, giving Justice a 1-0 lead. Fall two commences right away and they are clubberin’, Tony. Clubberin’ with chairs mostly. Krugger evens things up with a superplex from the ladder through a table placed in ring. Now we go to the ambulance match. You need to put your opponent in the ambulance out back and shut the doors to win. The two brawl to the entrance way. Krugger is placed on a table that broke under his weight, and the crazy bastard Justice still did a diving splash from the ladder anyway. Krugger is carted to the back. Justice goes to open the ambulance doors when a wild Ikuro Kwon appears and sprays mist into Justice’s eye. Krugger awakens and lights the nearby table on fire, before powerbombing Justice through it. Justice is then tossed into the ambulance giving Krugger the win. 

MLW Women’s World Featherweight Title Fight: Janai Kai (champion) vs. Gigi Rey 

This is Rey’s MLW debut and is already getting a title match. Funny how that works. I demand a title opportunity. I’m pretty sure Tito wants to beat me up, let him kill me. Anyway. Strong showing for the debuting Rey, even hitting her Money Shot twisting senton on Kai, but it was not enough. Despite the back and forth, Kai hits her running kick in the corner to put away Rey and retain the championship. 

Opera Cup Round 1: KENTA vs. Bobby Fish 

This is Kenta’s debut for MLW. Fish is looking for a strong showing in the Opera Cup tournament. A literal back and forth contest, which neither competitor held the advantage for long. They did this for twenty plus minutes, which tested the endurance of the competitors…and the viewers. Kenta finally suckers Fish in for a Go 2 Sleep after feigning being knocked out to pick up the win and advance to the quarter finals. 

No Ropes Death Match: Matt Riddle vs. Sami Callihan 

This match is for Riddle’s Battle Riot contract. The ropes have been removed for this match and there are no rules. The ref is just there to count the pin or hear the submission. These two literally tore the ring apart, exposing the ring boards. Callihan got all his gnarly spots in, paper cuts, thumb tacks, etc. Callihan was no match for Riddle and Riddle’s ability to kick out of thirty-seven piledrivers, causing the old man in me to vomit in rage. Riddle locked in a crossface with a ring rope pulling across Callihan’s mouth to force Callihan to submit, ending the show. 

MLW’s next show is August tenth on YouTube. However, this show left a lot to be desired. Everything prior to the revelation of Salina de la Renta’s baby-daddy was top tier. However, after that, the show was a slog to get through apart from the Featherweight title fight. 

Rob Kamerer is the host of MLW Con-Fusion, and a contributor to the Urban Wrestling Network. He can be found on most social media @thenovaofcass. MLW Con-Fusion can be found on Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts.

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