Blodyxe

DDT4 Round 1: Adam Page & Cliff Compton vs. Best Friends (Chuck Taylor & Trent Beretta) DDT4 Round 1: The Briscoes (Jay Briscoe & Mark Briscoe) vs. The Havana Pitbulls (Rocky Romero & Ricky Reyes) DDT4 Round 1: Golden Lovers (Kenny Omega & Kota Ibushi) vs. TAG (Drew Gulak & Timothy Thatcher) DDT4 Round 1: Cole Steen Cole (Adam Cole & Kevin Steen) vs. Team WillPower (Will Hobbs & Willie Mack) DDT4 Semifinals: Page/Compton or Best Friends vs. The Briscoes or The Havana Pitbulls DDT4 Semifinals: Golden Lovers or TAG vs. Cole Steen Cole or Team WillPower DDT4 Final: Briscoes vs. Cole Steen Cole Ricochet vs. Uhaa Nation Eddie Edwards vs. Johnny Guerrilla vs. Kyle O'Reilly vs. Roderick Strong

Shocking news. Briscoes are one of the best tag teams of this century, legendary performers in my opinion. Life is really unfair.. may he rest in peace

Diamond Dallas Page vs Lex Luger Arn Anderson vs Brad Armstrong Blue Bloods (Taylor & Eaton) vs American Males (c) Sting vs John Tenta Dungeon of Doom (Rogers & Sullivan) vs Lance Storm & Scott Armstrong Alex Wright vs Steve Austin Ice Train & Tom Brandi vs Faces of Fear Ricky Steamboat vs Dean Malenko

Not familiar with AJPW, but will be checking it out! Good luck

MLW Azteca #16 The last Azteca show of 2021 promises to be a big one! Cesar Duran is rubbing his hands together because MLW world heavyweight champion Alexander Hammerstone will be defending his title from ‘The King of Extreme’ Pagano! It is going to be a Falls Count Anywhere match, a stipulation that favors the challenger’s chaotic fighting style. In the undercard, Los Parks will wrestle the team of Aramis and Samuray del Sol, two thirds of the lucha libre dream team, and the next challengers for Azteca Underground trios gold. L.A. Park will be supporting his virile, masculine sons from the sidelines, and expecting them to get all the momentum La Familia Real will need heading into the title match at Superfight. Also, the rivalry between La Rebellion Amarilla and Angelico gets another chapter, as the 'South African Heartthrob' will lock up with ‘The King of Strange Style’ Arez. One could assume we will witness a technical masterclass from two of the most talented grapplers on the Azteca brand! Psycho Clown will also make an appearance to talk about his plans for 2022… You don’t want to miss this show! Prediction Contest 1) Hollywood 13/19 2) Kanegan 12/17 3) MidKnightDreary 9/15 4) Dawn 6/9 5) Wrestling Machine 2/3 6) Old School Fan 1/3 7) CGN91 1/3 Azteca Prediction Key Arez vs. Angelico El Hijo de L.A. Park and L.A. Park Jr. vs. Aramis and Samuray del Sol Pagano vs. Alexander Hammerstone © - Falls Count Anywhere Match for MLW World Heavyweight Championship

I used this image to text tool and then DeepL to get an OK translation from japanese before. Not really sure how much text volume you're working with, but maybe this will help

Rip Rogers looks like a gigachad guy with a blonde wig. No way he's losing that bet if Horner didn't cheat 😠

Sheesh, The Acclaimed are on another level. Their diss track on Lethal and Jarrett is smth else... maybe grilled them too much, actually. Despite Jarrett getting demolished, the most hurtful thing was about Lethal on 1:12 imo. How can you recover after that?

Thanks a lot! Decided to go close to real life events, Davey is a really fitting guy to win the tournament. Apart from Richards, who do you enjoy from MLW's roster?

I didn't mind a lot of similarities with RL SMW, that's a good way to study about the promotion of the past era. Still can't wrap my mind about Bob Holly having kayfabe Hollywood aspirations lol.

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year! Major League Wrestling wants to wish you a very happy holiday season! This was a great year for the league, and 2022 promises to be even better. The next episode of MLW Fusion will feature replays from some of the best matches held this year, but until then, let’s remind ourselves what happened at the Opera Cup mega event! Speaking of the Opera Cup, let's talk about its winner first... Davey Richards Wins The Opera Cup! The biggest news coming out of MLW’s most recent event is the triumph of ‘The American Wolf’! Davey Richards proved his doubters wrong and shut down all his critics by notching three victories in one night on his way to claim the prestigious Opera Cup. Davey needs a week off after 45 minutes of grueling in-ring action, but he will be back in action soon. Richards is delighted with his position in the company. It is safe to say that Davey has worked his way back into the top of the league’s food chain, and would be looking to building on his success in 2022. Richards truly enters his second prime! Loud and Clear Challenge From 5150 Following another tag team title defense by Von Erichs, 5150 let their intention known - they want the belts! Danny Rivera and Slice Boogie have made a lot of waves in 2021, beating Injustice in the War Games match and making life uneasy for Los Parks in a Tijuana Street Fight. The loud and bold unit, backed by an experienced grifter Konnan and veterans like Homicide and Alex Colon have everything to be the next tag team champions, except… Cesar Duran’s approval. Despite that, Von Erichs were quick to accept the challenge. 5150 is dangerous and unpredictable, feuding not with just one team, but everyone who stands in their way. Boogie and Rivera tried to put Marshall on the shelf with a backstage attack to force the titles to be vacant, but Von Erichs are Texas strong and found a smart way to keep the gold. The match will likely take place at the SuperFight event scheduled for early February. Shafir Retains The Gold Again Marina Shafir has been a problem for most people in the league… ‘The Supernova from Moldova’ and MLW Women’s champion is on a path of destruction, snapping the arms of her opponents one by one. The undefeated fighter did not bat an eye to embarrass her former best friend Jessamyn Duke at the Opera Cup. She was also embroiled in the international scandal with AAA following her attack on Lady Flammer, and everyone who stepped in the ring with Shafir ended up getting injured. So far nobody has an answer on how to stop the mean streak of Marina, who has full support of 'El Jefe' Cesar Duran, who enjoys her violent style and demeanor quite a lot. Whoever will challenge for the title next will have a tough time beating Shafir! Dave Prazak was tasked with fighting a challenger for the champ, and if he fails the assignment, Marina could be allowed to find bookings elsewhere... Suplex Assassin vs. Heavyweight Hustle III? A rivalry between Alex Kane and Calvin Tankman is set to spill over into 2022. We have two young, competitive, angry men with a lot to prove here. It is hard to pinpoint when exactly this feud started, but there were a few flashpoints to look back on. First of all, Alex and Calvin imploded in a War Games match, with Kane putting Tank through the ring with a massive suplex. Later that night Alex suplexed six other men and stole the MLW National Openweight title, holding it captive for weeks. Calvin tried to get it back, but got knocked out with the physical title on Fusion #144. They met again at Blood and Thunder, where Calvin won the gold officially. ‘Heavyweight Hustle’ has been a fighting champ, putting the title on the line in every match to get a sweet monetary bonus, which eventually backfield. Alex Kane, the reserve fighter for the Opera Cup, stuck his nose in the semifinal and suplexed Calvin from the stage to cost him the match and possible tournament victory! Kane feels like that title belongs to him, so there’s a very good chance that we will see a third match between them soon...

Lawlor shall be the greatest US champ of all time

TNA World Heavyweight Championship - If Bully Ray doesn't win the World Title, the Aces & Eights must disband AJ Styles (c) vs. Willow vs. Bully Ray Comments: Time to kill off A&8s, I think. Would like AJ to retain, he's Mr. TNA and has to be treated as such Lethal Lockdown match Team Sting (Sting, Kurt Angle, James Storm and Mr. Anderson) vs. Team Aces & Eights (Devon, D.O.C., D'Lo Brown and Garrett Bischoff) Comments: Yeah, I'll pick 4 main eventers Hulk Hogan vs. Jeff Jarrett Comments: Real life TNA would totally call it '13 years in the making' TNA Tag Team Championships Bad Influence (c) vs. Chavo Guerrero and Hernandez vs. Matt Hardy and Abyss vs. The Dirty Heels Comments: Would like Bad Influence to get more promo time over JJ, they were fun at this time TNA X-Division Championship Chris Sabin (c) vs. Jesse Sorensen vs. Sean Waltman Comments: Sabin could deliver on his promise of a 1 year reign, I guess. Sorensen feels like a project, maybe next year TNA Knockouts Championship - 2 out of 3 falls match Gail Kim (c) vs. Mickie James Comments: Gotta be a title change at last Johnny Impact vs. Samoa Joe Comments: Joe loses, but is protected. Johnny has to be in the title picture and feud with AJ, 100% Tara vs. Sarita Comments: I like them both though. If Sarita is often going to Mexico, Tara might be a better choice

MLW Opera Cup 2021 Week 3, December 2021 Live from 2300 Arena, Philadelphia, PA We’re back from intermission, with announcers running through the tournament results. Calvin Tankman defeated Lee Moriarty, and TJP pinned Alex Shelley to set up the first semifinal match of the Opera Cup. Also, we’ll get a dream match between two great fighters - ‘Filthy’ Tom Lawlor and ‘The American Wolf’ Davey Richards, because they have defeated ACH and Richard Holliday respectively! And of course, Marina Shafir has retained her MLW Women’s championship by forcing her former best friend and tag team partner Jessamyn Duke to submit. The leader of ‘Team Filthy’ is sitting in his locker room, and he has a cunning plan on how to hunt down ‘The American Wolf’. “Listen here, boys… I have a genius plan! When I’ll make my entrance, I’ll do it very slowly. This will buy you some time to attack Davey Richards in the Gorilla! Two on one! Simple, right?” Kevin Ku and Dominic Garrini are ‘not feeling’ the plan, everyone could come up with a ploy like that. But they’ll do what’s best for Team Filthy nonetheless. Dan Lambert says he will help Tom waste some time, and encourages the boys to go look for Richards. We’re then heading to ringside, because Calvin Tankman is making an entrance with the MLW National Openweight title on his shoulder. TJP will try to pry that gold away from the sturdy waist of ‘The Indestructible’ and book himself a place in the finals. MLW National Openweight Championship Match, Opera Cup Semifinal TJ Perkins vs. Calvin Tankman © TJ and Calvin couldn’t be more different. Tankman is a young super heavyweight that has a smash mouth fighting style, while TJP is a sly veteran who uses intelligence and athleticism to get the best over his opponents. This is what MLW is all about - a battle of different styles. People are cheering for ‘The Heavyweight Hustle’, who can’t get his hands on TJP. Perkins mocks ‘the fat guy’, saying he’s too slow and dumb to beat him, showing off his agility by getting ‘stuck’ in between the ropes… ‘The Technical Lightning’ antagonizes the crowd, who just want to see someone beat him up. TJ wrestles circles around Tankman and makes a mistake of slapping him on the back of the head in parter position. Calvin slowly rises to his feet and catches TJ coming from the top rope! A Backbreaker followed by a Short Arm Lariat!! Somehow TJP is still alive, and kicks out at two, then rolls to the floor. Tankman uncharacteristically goes for a Suicide Dive!! He touches the second rope with his foot and crashes down hard! From that point TJP targets Tankman’s leg and shows ‘how it’s done’ by nailing Tank in the mush with a Wrecking Ball Dropkick! Perkins has a problem though - Calvin is too heavy, and picking him up on the outside seems like mission impossible. Tankman heroically beats the count! Perkins looks for a TJP Clutch! Tankman uses his free leg to push the middleweight away and hits him with a POUNCE on the rebound!! Calvin breathes heavily, but he’s ready to put TJP to bed with a Tankman Driver… but he’s distracted by the appearance of his archenemy Alex Kane! ‘The Suplex Assassin’ is not too pleased to be left out of the Opera Cup. Kane grabs the National Openweight title from the announce desk and plans to leave with it. Tankman won’t allow it! Calvin smacks Alex on the apron, and the title ends up on the floor. Ref tells Calvin to come back to the ring… ALEX KANE GRABS CALVIN FROM BEHIND AND SUPLEXES HIM FROM THE STAGE AND INTO THE FRONT ROW!! Ref rushes in to check on Tankman, who’s struggling to get up. TJP forces the ref to start another count, and the official obliges. He gets to ‘10’ faster than Calvin can crawl back to the ring! TJ Perkins is the first finalist of Opera Cup 2021! Despite losing here, Calvin keeps the MLW National Openweight title. Championships don’t change hands via DQ or count outs, but Perkins celebrates nonetheless. If anything, he celebrates way too much, given how the match has ended. Lee Moriarty and Alex Shelley watched that match backstage and they did not like the end result. Shelley passes on some knowledge to ‘generation next’ until he’s rudely interrupted by Tom Lawlor, who mocks both for losing in the first round. Lawlor is about to wrestle next, and he is not in a hurry. Then he acts as if he forgot his mouthguard in the locker room! Tom sends Lambert to go get it. The elderly Lambert is jogging down the corridor and gets back with the mouthguard. LAWLOR: Oh no!! Dan, I think forgot about one more thing! LAMBERT: Oh Lord, Tom, what is it? LAWLOR: My cup! Not Opie, my athletic cup… I can’t wrestle Richards without it, I need to protect myself. Everywhere! Dan theatrically wipes the sweat off his forehead and runs down the corridor once more to get the cup. Meanwhile, Richards is making hindu squats to warm up for the semifinal, and Garrini licks his chops to attack the man from behind. He and Kevin Ku are tiptoeing around ‘The American Wolf’, but just as they wind up for a sneak attack, Von Erichs pass by and warn Davey about the danger. MLW World Tag Team champions prevent a sneak attack, Richards is thankful for that. He has a lot of respect for their family, and Von Erichs hope that Davey will kick Tom’s butt and win the Opera Cup! Mutual respect between Richards and the tag team champions. Camera switches back to ringside. Lawlor is arguing with the fans, with the commentators, and finally slowly pulls down his daisy dukes to reveal… another pair of daisy dukes underneath! As ridiculous as it is, Lawlor’s ‘sophisticated plan’ almost comes good, but since nobody attacked Davey, he’s caught with his ‘pants down’. Davey Richards looks fresh! Opera Cup Semifinal Match Tom Lawlor vs. Davey Richards Lawlor can’t even get out of his shorts, with Davey kicking him from pillar to post with heavy kicks! The fans love every second of this, and cheer Richards on. Lawlor rolls out, throws his pants in the crowd, then hides under the ring. Davey circles around the ring, looking to stomp Tom’s head. Dan Lambert is here to cause a distraction… Lawlor jumps out to hit Davey in the back, but Richards side steps and Tom tackles Lambert instead! Richards throws the mixed martial artist back in the ring, and we get some actual wrestling for a change. As goofy as Lawlor might be sometimes, he’s still a killer on the mat. Two grapplers jockey for a dominant position, and Tom almost pins Davey, while holding on to the ropes. Ref catches Lawlor red handed! Tom does everything in his power to keep himself on the back of ‘The American Wolf’. He locks Davey in a good old Guillotine, but Richards grabs Tom's ankle and answers with a hold of his own!! Davey bounces off the corner, trying to pin Lawlor ala Bret Hart, but then also hits Lawlor in the chest with a Double Foot Stomp!! A nice twist to a classical wrestling spot, you love to see it. A howl echoes around the arena, and the former ROH champion spams Tom with stiff Kawada Kicks to the face! Lawlor is groggy, but he denies Richards an easy Roundhouse Kick, and slaps on an Ankle Lock! Tom is tough! Davey is fighting tooth and nail, eventually getting to the ropes. Lawlor tries a German, but Davey answers with three of his own! DR DRIVER!! One, two, Lawlor somehow kicks out! Two world class fighters are trading forearms on their knees, and Lawlor goes crazy, hitting Davey in the face with a Sliding Lariat! One, two… NO! Lawlor signals that this match is about to end, setting Richards up for a Neutralizer. Davey finds something in his tank to Back Body Drop Tom and nail him in the temple with a Roundhouse Kick!! Richards put all his anger into that move, and Lawlor is knocked out! Referee stops the match and awards a victory to a slightly confused ‘American Wolf’!! This fight could definetly pass for a final, what a match! The final is set! TJ Perkins and Davey Richards will do battle once again, this time for the all-important Opera Cup! Perkins will be itching to get a rematch and solidify his place as the top guy in MLW, but Davey Richards is not going to the finals to be a runner up. Tom Lawlor comes to his senses and asks the ref what happened? He can't believe he has lost! “OPIE!!! OPIE!! NOOOOOOOOO!!!!” - screams Lawlor, dragged away by Kevin Ku. Backstage, Calvin Tankman is pissed that he was eliminated from the tournament following an interference from Alex Kane. He still has the title, but ‘The Suplex Assassin’ can’t keep getting away with it. The road agents and backstage workers are getting in between them to stop the fight. A lot of bleeping needed to censor the verbal exchange Alex and Calvin have there, this is surely not the end of their rivalry. They currently have one win apiece over each other, surely a rubber match is on? Up next is the unlikely tag team dream match involving Von Erichs and Mortons! This match feels special simply because Kevin Von Erich and Ricky Morton, two WWE Hall of Famers, will step inside the ring to wrestle once more. Their combined age amounts to 130 years!! Well then... are you ready to rock and roll with the old guard? The challengers make their entrance first. Ricky high fives the fans and his son Kerry, who’s just 21 years old. He undeniably has a lot of spunk in his step. And here come the champions, Von Erichs! Due to Marshall’s injury, Kevin has to step in and use a Freebird Rule. Anything to keep the titles with the greatest family in pro wrestling’s history! Both tag teams shake hands before the match and make a commemorative photo. Will this be a tag team classic? MLW World Tag Team Championship Match Mortons vs. Von Erichs (c) It would be unfair to expect a five star match here, given the age of its participants. It is a solid, old fashioned tag team match that doesn’t overstay its welcome. Ross and Kerry start the match, with the champion introducing the young man to an MLW ring. The youngster might be green as grass, but he has some athleticism and heart, answering with a nice Dropkick. Crossbody connects too! This doesn’t bother Ross at all, who calmly kicks out and takes over the bout once more. A tag is made, Kevin Von Erich is in! The old guard takes the rookie to school, but the youngster finds an opening to slip out and tag his father in! Fans appreciate the legends as they engage in some clean chain wrestling, ending with Ricky almost getting the win and the titles through a roll up! Ross decides that time for pleasantries is over and goes to work on the oldest man in the match, which draws some boos from the crowd. Ricky refuses to give up and sells like only he can, building up to a hot tag! Kerry gets it and runs circles around the champs, but only for a few brief moments, because Von Erichs finish the match with a patented Iron Claw Slam! The reign continues, Marhsall climbs to the ring to celebrate. Mortons are disappointed, but accept a handshake from the champs. This ‘feel good’ moment is interrupted by 5150! SLICE BOOGIE: YO, WHAT WAS THAT? WHO BOOKED DIS CRAP, BRO? DANNY RIVERA: MIII GENTEEEEE! Radioactive Papi is on the line to wake you up, cause that match was a total snoozefest! We beat Marshall Von Erich up, expecting you to fight back. But clearly you boys are too scared to fight us!! KONNAN: Von Erichs, consider this a formal challenge, cause that snake Cesar Duran ain’t gonna give us a title shot. 5150 is the top team in MLW, everyone knows that… but we need those belts to back it up, comprende? Marshall screams that they would love to put one of them no-good street punks in the Iron Claw, and if they want a shot at their title, then be it! Konnan smirks and adds that he didn’t expect anything else from Von Erichs… gullible as always! K-Dawg and 5150 disappear from the screen, while Homicide and Alex Colon jump the rails equipped with steel chairs! They make quick work of the older men, and eventually bash Kerry in the head too! Ross can’t fight the gangsters on his own, as Marshall is still on his crutches. The beatdown is swift and brutal, and the thugs are posing in the ring with the gold, walking over five victims. LAX uses the numbers to their advantage, and there’s nobody to stop them. The announcers feel sick after witnessing that heinous attack on the legends of our sport, but the show must go on. The Opera Cup final, the main event, is mere seconds away! TJ Perkins and Davey Richards get a flash interview with Jared Saint Laurent ahead ot the match. Davey goes first. DAVEY RICHARDS: Getting here wasn’t easy, and I’m not talking only about my matches with Richard Holliday and Tom Lawlor. Returning to pro wrestling after a few years on the sidelines, that was a tough decision to make, and I’ll find out if I made the right decision later tonight. TJ, I beat you once, but I will not underestimate your ability… let the best man win! TJP smirks and acts all cocky, claiming that he knew they would have a chance to wrestle again. TJ PERKINS: Davey, this is MY time. I owe you a beating for what happened between us a few months ago. The revenge will be sweet, but the victory will be so much sweeter. I’m the very best wrestler in all of pro wrestling, better than Shmuldoon, the old farts Harts, or Hackenshmucks. You’ll find out why you made the wrong choice coming back! Both men are about to wrestle their third match of the night, and the wear and tear will certainly affect them, almost as much as the pressure that comes with being in the final of a prestigious tournament. But before the match can begin, we need to see the prize! To present the Opera Cup, MLW has invited a very special man… Ricky ‘The Dragon’ Steamboat! The living legend carries out the trophy and sets it near the ring. Ricky waves to the fans and takes his place near the ring bell, he will be a special guest time keeper. Are you ready? RING THE BELL! Opera Cup Final Davey Richards vs. TJ Perkins This match has all the ingredients to become an instant MLW classic. Fighters start with a tense collar and elbow tie up, trading wrist and head locks in rapid succession. Perkins has the audacity to try a cheeky pinning maneuver, but Davey kicks out at one. TJP had more time to recover after the semifinal. Headscissors Takeover, but Richards cartwheels back onto his feet. Perkins with a deep arm drag, and an Arm Bar, Richards answers with the Headscissors Neck Lock. Somehow Perkins applies The Muta Lock, but Davey Richards grabs the bottom rope, forcing a break. Perkins repeatedly stomps on Davey’s chest and chokes ‘The American Wolf’ with his knee. Fans do not approve, and Ricky is not a fan of TJ’s tactics either. Richards fights from underneath and hits Perkins with a series of knife edge chops! He charges for a big kick, but TJ dropkicks him into the knee, and takes over the match, working over the leg. Perkins slaps on a Figure 4, and tires to slap ‘The American Wolf’, telling him to do what he does best - quit! No way he’s doing that! Davey struggles and takes some time to turn the hold, but TJ grabs the rope almost immediately. It must be really frustrating to wrestle TJP, he’s really good and knows how to act in this sort of match. "How do you even call this move? Matt, Dave, do you have any idea?" - asks Rich Bocchini. Why not call it TJP Special? Now he hits Hilo! Perkins tries to pin Richards, but gets a 2! TJ is growing impatient, and ‘paint brushes’ Davey… who gets all riled up and starts his comeback! Flurry of kicks, strong style is alive and well here in MLW! Davey Richards emulates his idol Toshiaki Kawada and tries to pin TJP after a Triple Crown Powerbomb!! One, two… NO! ‘The American Wolf’ unleashes Kawada kicks on Perkins, who covers up and transitions that attack into a Sharpshooter, putting all the pressure on Davey’s knee! Richards is very close to tapping out, but overcomes the pain and adjusts the hold to ‘stretch’ TJP. Now he has to work for his rope break… and he gets it! He stays on the apron and catches Davey with a Detonation Kick! Perkins slowly climbs the ropes, signaling a Mamba Splash. Richards meets TJ’s gut with an Alarm Clock kick!! Davey picks his rival and drops him hard with a Spike Brainbuster!! Cover. One… two… Perkins kicks out! Davey instantly transitions the cover into an Ankle Lock, with a grapevine! TJP is dead in the middle of the ring! AND HE TAPS OUT!! DAVEY RICHARDS IS THE 2021 OPERA CUP WINNER!!! What a war this was! Davey gave everything he had and got what he wanted. Ricky Steamboat applauds both men and presents ‘The American Wolf’ with the trophy. Confetti falls from the ceiling, and the show ends with Davey Richards howling in joy! He hoists the cup and shakes the hand of 'The Dragon'! Final Rating

Exceptional work, loved the first show Dark Watch Hustle Muvva Frantic Ali Jason Laine Canadian Hardcore Mobstar

Thanks, man. I'll try to write it out sometime soon!

MLW Opera Cup Week 3, December 2021 Live from 2300 Arena, Philadelphia, PA Announce Team: Dave Prazak, Rich Bocchini and Matt Striker The 2021 edition of the Opera Cup is here, and airing live from the legendary 2300 Arena! We get a few words from the announce team, they hype the legacy of the Opera Cup trophy and discuss the promos all eight participants cut before the show. It's a competitive league in the normal setting, let alone a one-night tournament. Whoever wins the prestigious cup will be regarded as one of the top grapplers in the world. Time to start! Opera Cup First Round Match TJ Perkins vs. Alex Shelley What a way to kick off the Opera Cup! Two favorites to win the trophy square off in the first round. This match was teased for a good while, and it certainly sets the bar high for the rest of the card, as we get a wrestling clinic from two exceptional grapplers. This is a very even match that starts out slow, but picks the tempo the longer it goes. Both TJ and Alex are noted high flyers, so the bout naturally has some top rope moves when the situation calls for it. One time TJP looks to hit a vicious Tornado DDT, but the veteran in Alex pulls out a Reverse STO in the corner! Alex preps a Crossbody, but TJ shoots up top and hits a Dragonrana! Mamba Splash next? Shelley rolls out and slaps on a Border City Stretch! TJ uses his leg to reach the rope and take a breather on the outside. PESCADO! Shelley is in the driver's seat, setting up a Shiranui in the ring... Perkins grazes the eyes, so Alex is stuck in the tree of woe! Hesitation Dropkick from Chris Sabin's arsenal, but that's not enough to get the three. Detonation Kick is avoided... Final Cut!! One, two, no!! Shelley smirks, TJ might be a douche, but he's a very good wrestler. Shelley digs in deep to put this to bed with a WA4, but Perkins slithers away and catches Alex with a surprise roll up to take himself into the next round! TJP is proud of himself, and he backs off Shelley as soon as the ring announcer confirms his victory. Alex shakes his head, this wasn't a run he expected from himself. A dissapointing result, but Shelley did well until the finish. Calvin Tankman is power walking to the ring, he has the MLW National Openweight title on his shoulder. 'The Heavyweight Hustle' asked Cesar Duran to defend his title in each round of the Opera Cup in order to prove that he's a fighting champion. Is Calvin spreading himself too thin? Let's find out, because his match is next... MLW National Openweight Championship Match, Opera Cup First Round Lee Moriarty vs. Calvin Tankman (c) It is match number two, and we get to see an open battle between two young and hungry fighters. Calvin puts the Openweight title on the line, so he gets a nice bonus for defending his gold on the premium event. Moriarty chooses a patient style at first, trying to size up the big man, but that strategy doesn't work, as Calvin brutalizes Lee. Moriarty ups the tempo, but bounces off the Heavyweight Hustle after a fancy Crossbody. Finally he gets something to work with when Calvin goes on the attack! Moriarty ducks the shots and hits the champ good - turning Calvin's momentum against him. Lee smells blood and chops the tree down, kick by kick, punch by punch. TAIGA STYLE is on full display here! Moriarty gets too cheeky with his offense, which angers Tank... Overhead Belly to Belly into the ropes! Avalanche in the corner! Tankman Driver incoming? Moriarty with Head Scissors into a Tarantula!! Calvin goes on one knee, Moriarty is ready to lay the killer blow... Tank eats it and smacks Lee with a Backfist! TANKMAN DRIVER! One, two, three!! What a fine fight! Lawlor is kicking the pads in his locker room, and psyches himself up for the night. He has a huge 'DO IT FOR OPIE' poster on the wall, he takes this tournament very seriously. Tom misses the pads one time, and hits Garrini in the nads, ouch. Time out. Dan Lambert, the acting manager of Team Filthy is telling Lawlor that it's showtime! ACH stands no chance! Opera Cup First Round Match Tom Lawlor vs. ACH The winner of the last tournament squares off against a very game 'Human Highlight Reel' ACH in the first round. Although ACH has bulked up, he didn't miss any pace or agility, which helps him press Tom into a corner in the early minutes. Lawlor rolls out of the ring to escape the flurry, baiting ACH for a high risk move. A Baseball Slide is not a death-defying move, but it costs ACH, as Lawlor uses the ring skirt to catch his opponent and lay some nasty punches on the outside. Suplex on the floor, and Tom gets in the ring. He will take a count out, no problem, but ACH comes back. Lawlor has the match under control, torturing ACH in various arm submissions and keeping him grounded. Slick reversal, and Lawlor almost gets caught! ACH gets a second breath and nails Lawlor in the head to set up a 450... but misses! Lawlor immediately goes after the ankle! ACH struggles, but eventually grabs the rope. Tom stomps the limb out of frustration, gets rolled up for two! He quickly fixes his mistake and locks a Kimura on ACH to get the win and progress to the second round! Lawlor's technical superiority snuffs ACH's fire. Tom had to work for his win though, and Team Filthy is helping him to the back, to prepare for his second round bout. Ice, wet towels, foot massage... whatever it takes to make Lawlor fit. Richard Holliday is skipping on the rope backstage, and tells the press to step aside - he only gives interviews to the verified journalists, like Alicia Atout. 'The Airpod God' is channelling his energy and gets a hand signal from staff to enter the ring. Opera Cup First Round Match Davey Richards vs. Richard Holliday An interesting draw, as both men got into the Opera Cup for toppling CONTRA in the War Chamber match. Holliday had to take a charter plane to get to the arena in time, so he was not in the best shape of his life. Davey though spent a good month grinding in the gym to get his fitness levels back, and it clearly shows here. Both look ready to wrestle though! Richards disregards the size disadvantage and treats Holliday like a punching bag. 'The American Wolf' didn't let him have his way until 'The Most Marketable' dropped Davey on the turnbuckles and sent him to the mats with a Superplex. An old school move almost gets Holliday into the second round! Richard locks a Figure 4, but Davey turns on his belly to make Richard suffer too. The former ROH World champion catches his tired opponent with a PK Kick and finishes the match with a Double Foot Stomp! Tough loss for Holliday, who expected to go all the way here. Richard Holliday can't believe that he has crashed out in the first round. His plans of facing Alex are in the bin! Davey gives Holliday a hand, this was a pretty good match. 'The Most Marketable' rolls out of the ring and leaves the scene on his own... Oh well, thinks 'The American Wolf', second round it is. And so the first round matches are over. TJP will face Tankman in the second round, and Davey will wrestle the reigning Opera Cup winner Tom Lawlor after the deeply personal fight between former friend Marina Shafir and Jessamyn Duke! A hype video recaps how the relationship between former stablemates deteriorated. Duke called Marina selfish and miserable, while the reigning champion mocked Jessamyn for her losses and decision to play video games at home. This is going to be spicy! MLW Women's Championship Match Jessamyn Duke vs. Marina Shafir Duke offers Marina a fist bump, but Shafir has no time for any such games. She shoots a double leg takedown and tries to get a dominant position right off the bat! Jessamyn sprawls and covers up, but one wild knee shot catches her in the face. Ref sees a stalemate tells them to stand up. Duke checks her nose and nods, as if saying ‘ok, let’s fight then’. She goes crazy with the shots, and kicks Marina’s leg, trying to disbalance her. She is too eager, and Marina locks her in a quasi Guillotine. Duke’s submission defense is good, but Shafir has more fighting sharpness… she grabs Jessamyn's arm and puts some serious pressure on it. Cross Armbreaker fully locked in, Duke has no other option but to tap out. Dominant performance from Shafir! Even after getting a decisive victory over her friend, Marina is more interested in posing with the title, not helping Duke. It's intermission time. When we're back, TJP and Tankman will fight for the ticket to the finals, as would Lawlor and Davey Richards! Also, a title match between Von Erichs and Mortons, plus the grand finale of the Opera Cup. End of Part One...

Pulp Fusion #5 - Opera Cup Special 'HEAVYWEIGHT HUSTLE' CALVIN TANKMAN "I've been in MLW for about a year now, and I made this place my own - I'm MLW's National Openweight champion. But if you know me, you know this is only the beginning. My eyes are set on the top prize, the top of the card, cause that's where all the money is. My goal is to win the Opera Cup, beat the main champ, and secure that bag for my family! Nobody can stop 'The Heavyweight Hustle'! I also have some news for my opponents in the Opera Cup... I'm putting this beauty up for grabs for each round to get that sweet bonus. But don't get too giddy - this gold is staying with me all the way through!" 'APEX OF COMBAT' LEE MORIARTY "Tank! I respect you, my man. You're as tough as they come, and you set a great example for the locker room. But don't think this will be easy for you. I raised some eyebrows beating King Mo, and I'm ready to show everyone that this win wasn't a fluke! TAIGA STYLE is taking the league by storm, and who knows, maybe I'll be the NEW MLW National Openweight champ coming into 2023? Let the best man win!" 'FILTHY' TOM LAWLOR "How am I only a third seed? I won the tournament last year, hello!? I should have been the first guy and get that cat Moriarty for an easy first round. And unlike Mo, I would totally make that guy tap out in the middle of the ring! Instead I get ACH, who I've beat in the semifinal last year. I'm having a deja vu... but maybe that's not a bad thing, cause I totally see myself winning the tournament again, keeping 'Opie' in the American Top Team trophy room, and reclaiming the world title! Bet your houses on me, nobody will beat me!" 'HUMAN VIDEO GAME HIGHLIGHT' ACH So Tom Lawlor is my opponent again. He feels like an annoying mini-boss I have failed to beat the first time. But here's a fact - I'm not stopping until I get through and 'complete' the game. I'm going to speedrun this tournament and prove my critics wrong. Even if Lawlor gets his lackeys involved, it won't stop me! Remember one thing, and one thing only... ACH is SUPER! 'THE AMERICAN WOLF' DAVEY RICHARDS "Its a huge honor to be involved in the Opera Cup. So many legends have participated in it in the past... George Hackenschmidt, Stu Hart, Leo Pardello. I've returned to prove that I'm still one of the very best wrestlers in the world, and winning the Opera Cup will be a major statement. I have worked on my cardio, I'm getting back into my 'ring shape' wrestling on the independents. 'The American Wolf' might not be young, but he's as hungry as ever. The hunt begins now!" 'THE MOST MARKETABLE' RICHARD HOLLIDAY "I've heard most sales pitches by now, and frankly, they bored me to tears. I deserve, I will win, I trained for this... just stop, ok? Nobody cares, Mowgli. But what consumers and consumerninos do care is the inevitable dream match between RIchard Holliday, the most marketable man in all of sports entertainment, and my good friend, 'The Beef Mountain' Alex Hammerstone. It's written in the stars! I've sent positive affirmations into the space, I've scouted my simpleton opponents, and I'm fueled by the most dynastic coffee, which by the way, you can order on my website. Honestly, I felt bad for my opponents at first, but they are going to get tons of social media impressions after they will go down to The Market Crash... Gotta go, I am a busy man. Order the show for a discount!" 'TECHNICAL LIGHTNING' TJ PERKINS "I shouldn't be making a video explaining why I will win the Opera Cup. It's obvious. I'm the best technical wrestler EVER. Not just in MLW, or US... I'm the best technician on the planet. So yeah, blah-blah-blah, I'm so honored to be involved, yada-yada-yada, blood sweat and tears, for the legends of the past, the greatest tournament in the history of our business... Look at the list of participants and tell me with a straight face that any of them has a chance against TJP. Impossible. I'm winning the damn thing this year, end of story!" 'STUDENT OF THE GAME' ALEX SHELLEY "It's funny that we are meeting with TJP in the first round, and probably the first match of the night... I'm totally cool with it, but TJ? He must be annoyed. He will be much angrier when I turn him into a pretzel and advance to the next round, forcing him to watch the whole tournament from the back. Ok, I'm getting ahead of myself... But it's gonna be a great tourney, and I know a fair bunch about them, since I competed in BOLA, Best of the Super Juniors, X Cup, J Cup, Best of the Best, Ted Petty Invitational, Super 8, Elite 8... you get the point. You have to be a pretty darn good wrestler to even compete in the Opera Cup, so I'm looking forward to mixing it up with the best of them." MLW WORLD TAG TEAM CHAMPIONS, VON ERICHS Kevin Von Erich: Boys, I want to tell you one thing. No matter how many years you have in the business, you can always learn something new from your opponents. We're facing Ricky Morton and his young son Kerry... Ricky is a tag team specialist, a very smart man, and a great competitor. I have no doubts in my mind, he will surprise you with his tricks. And his son is a bit of a wildcard too, we don't know much about him. So no complacency! We must work hard and fight clean, ok? Marshall Von Erich: Yes, sir! I'll be watching them closely from the sidelines, and I'm sure you will impress a few folks too. Ross: Von Erichs, Mortons... It's a dream match. But these titles aren't leaving us anytime soon. Let's make Texas proud! JESSAMYN DUKE "Marina, I thought we were tight. We've been through so much together, but you had to ruin it all. One title victory, and you have lost your head... You act like you are so much better than me, just because I'm enjoying my life doing what I like? I wish you would stop being so miserable. But I know you well enough to understand there's only one way to fix your ego - beat you up... I'm planning to knock you off your high horse this weekend, M. It will be tough to fight you, but I'm all game." 'THE SUPERNOVA FROM MOLDOVA' MARINA SHAFIR "I don't know why MLW rewards you with a title shot, Jess. You've done nothing here to earn this opportunity. You've lost and then sat at home, streaming your stupid games like a total loser. Friendship means nothing in this business, and I will not blink an eye to break your arm. This title stays with me, because I'm the baddest woman in the league and I grind in the gym while you surf the couch. Interview over." Opera Cup Prediction Key QF1: Calvin Tankman vs. Lee Moriarty QF2: TJ Perkins vs. Alex Shelley QF3: Davey Richards vs. Richard Holliday QF4: Tom Lawlor vs. ACH MLW Women’s Championship Match Marina Shafir (с) vs. Jessamyn Duke ###INTERMISSION### SF1: Winner of QF1 vs. Winner of QF2 SF2: Winner of QF3 vs. Winner of QF4 MLW World Tag Team Championship Match Mortons vs. Von Erichs (c) Opera Cup 2021 Final Winner of SF1 vs. Winner of SF2

MLW Opera Cup 2021 Preview 8-Man tournament includes Tom Lawlor, Richard Holliday, Davey Richards, TJ Perkins, Calvin Tankman, Lee Moriarty, ACH and Alex Shelley. Major League Wrestling has announced the first round matches of The 2021 Opera Cup, pro wrestling’s oldest tournament dating back over a century. The one-night tournament will take place on Saturday, Dec. 18th at 2300 Arena in Philadelphia. “For this year’s Opera Cup, MLW assembled an incredibly diverse line-up of fighters and we will witness some of the most explosive match-ups the tournament has seen to date,” said MLW announcer Matt Striker. Upon returning the Opera Cup to the national spotlight, MLW contracted the craftsman behind maintaining the Stanley Cup to meticulously restore the original trophy to its original glory. Now modern Opera Cup winners are immortalized in plaques alongside legends like George Hackenschmidt, Stu Hart, Leo Pardello, William Muldoon and Waldek Zbyszko. The historic event was held annually for nearly 50 years at renowned turn-of-the-century opera houses from New York to Boston, and became an annual tournament hosted exclusively by MLW in 2019. Davey Boy Smith Jr and ‘Filthy’ Tom Lawlor triumphed in the 2019 and 2020 editions of the tournament. The odds on favorite to win the Opera Cup this year is non other than MLW’s National Openweight champion, Calvin Tankman. Opera Cup Prediction Key QF1: Calvin Tankman vs. Lee Moriarty QF2: TJ Perkins vs. Alex Shelley QF3: Davey Richards vs. Richard Holliday QF4: Tom Lawlor vs. ACH MLW Women’s Championship Match Marina Shafir (с) vs. Jessamyn Duke ###INTERMISSION### SF1: Winner of QF1 vs. Winner of QF2 SF2: Winner of QF3 vs. Winner of QF4 MLW World Tag Team Championship Match Mortons vs. Von Erichs (c) Opera Cup 2021 Final Winner of SF1 vs. Winner of SF2

MLW Fusion Episode #150 Taped for Vice TV in Tri State Aired on Week 3, December 2021 Announce Team: Dave Prazak, Rich Bocchini and Jared Saint Laurent The anniversary episode starts with a video involving some of the biggest moments in MLW’s renewed history. It all started in early 2018, with Pentagon Jr. and Rey Fenix wrestling in the first ever Fusion main event. We get to see some of the former stars that also went on to become ‘elite’ talents, like former champs Shane ‘Swerve’ Strickland and Maxwell Jacob Freedman. Video also highlights some of the biggest moments in careers of Low Ki, Tom Lawlor, L.A. Park and Jacob Fatu. The emergence of Alex Hammerstone and Myron Reed, our current champs, neatly rounds off a well put segment. Announcers wish that they’ll get to commentate 150 more episodes of Fusion, then run down the card, hyping the ‘Weapons of Mass Destruction’ main event between Jacob Fatu and Mads Krugger! We will have an official Opera Cup bracket reveal later on, but here's something that happened a few hours before the show. Tom Lawlor is walking through the parking lot only in his daisy dukes, but he has ‘Opie’ (a sentimental nickname given to the Opera Cup) wrapped in scarf and beanie hat that belonged to Kevin Ku and Dominic Garrini a few minutes ago. Lawlor says its flu season, so he can’t let his little friend get sick. A short comedy skit is no laughing matter for Violence Is Forever, who look fed up with Lawlor. Time for the opening match - Jordan Oliver against Alex Colon! Jordan is talking to the camera on his way to the ring, calling himself 'criminally underrated', and then he is jumped from the back by his opponent. It is going to be a hardcore match, but Colon makes the most out of the surroundings before the match can even begin. Lots of weapons thrown in the ring, people in Philly certainly like that. Hardcore Match Alex Colon vs. Jordan Oliver Jordan Oliver is not a traditional babyface, but a vocal part of the crowd does identify themselves with ‘The Sauce God’. He’s young, he’s dumb, and he’s effin broke, very relatable! Oliver fights from underneath and dropkicks the chair into Colon’s face to set up a WALE Driver that gives him a two count. Jordan’s Frog Splash gets nothing but knees, and Alex executes a Colon Driver, or simply a Package Piledriver… but Oliver puts his foot on the rope! He’s a lanky fella. They trade wild punches, Alex misses with a Shuffle Kick, and Jordan catches the vet with a Clout Cutter to get a massive win!! Oliver is looking worse for wear, but he gets a mic and demands to be recognized. Jordan says he was rudely interrupted, but nobody will ever shut him up! Jordan says that that ‘El Jefe’ loves violence, but for some reason he doesn't like him. What's the matter, El Jefe? Jordan then challenges Calvin Tankman to an MLW National Openweight championship match when his fat !&$ is ready to get handled to him by ‘Mr. Big Breakfast’! Jordan and Calvin had a few arguments in the last few weeks, so this will be a heated match for sure. Jordan Oliver is chased out of the ring by Homicide, the man who almost went for Jordan’s eye in the War Chamber match. He’s not really scared, but chooses not to take unnecessary damage and mock the veteran, who helps Colon get up. Backstage Big Damo is looking for Alex Hammerstone. He’s sick and tired of waiting for his shot, and wants to confront the face of MLW right here and right now. He has no idea that Hammer is stuck in Mexico, and bullies smaller guys to ask where Alex is hiding. Damo can’t even find the boss, but continues to confront backstage workers until he walks into the locker room argument between ‘The Ruler of ***’ WARHORSE and ‘The Giant’ Andrew Everett, with both claiming to be super heavyweights… Everett: I’m not scared of you, horsey, I’m a GIANT! A 7’4’’ wonder of the world, can’t you see? WARHORSE: HAHAHA! THAT’S ROOKIE NUMBERS! WARHORSE WEIGHS OVER 4000 POUNDS OF PURE HEAVY METAL! Damo tells them both to cut the crap, and that he can beat both of them at the same time in just a few minutes. WARHORSE and Everett size each other up, then look at Damo... and the challenge is accepted! That match will happen after a pre-recorded message. Shane 'Swerve' Strickland on the line! The former world heavyweight champion says that MLW will always be Swerve's house, and that he digs what he sees on Fusion and Azteca. A lot of exciting talent and familiar faces he would like to mix it up with once again. He adds that he may pay the league a visit in the near future, but only if 'El Jefe' grants him a unique opportunity... Swerve out! The announce team wonders how cool it would be to have Swerve back in MLW, and hypes up tonight’s main event between Jacob Fatu and Mads Krugger. They are going to collide in a ‘Weapons of Mass Destruction’ match, a stipulation Strickland knows about all too well! But right now we’re going to witness an impromptu handicap match between Big Damo and the super alliance of WARHORSE and Andrew Everett. The heavy metal machine and the the 7 foot wonder of the world are taking on the mean irishman... Handicap Match Andrew Everett and WARHORSE vs. Big Damo The makeshift tag team of ‘bigger than life’ personalities gets a nice reaction from the crowd, but not from disgruntled Damo. He runs through them like a tank and uses his superior brawling skills to dominate the contest. The highlight of the match is Damo catching a Crossbody from WARHORSE and then Everett, dropping them both on the mats with authority. A huge Vader Bomb crushes the face-painted rockstar, and Andrew is dispatched with The Ulster Plantation! The updated power rankings confirm that Big Damo is a top contender for Hammerstone’s heavyweight championship, but he won’t get the title shot immediately for one simple reason - Alex Hammerstone stays in Tijuana to have a Falls Count Anywhere match against the psychopathic Pagano. Whoever comes out of that bout with the belt will have to work extra hard to survive the wrath of Damo. MLW AZTECA: ALEXANDER HAMMERSTONE VS. PAGANO - FALLS COUNT ANYWHERE And now it is time for a sit-down interview with MLW Women's champion Marina Shafir, hosted by Dave Prazak. ‘The Supernova from Moldova’ has been harrassed for her 'armbar incident' in Mexico, so she wants to address her critics once again. Marina says that everyone is wishing her bad things simply because those cowards are afraid to step in the ring with her. The calls to strip her off the title are ridiculous, and she has no intension of giving in to this ‘cancel culture’. All those people only who abuse her have no idea who she is… THEY DON’T KNOW HER! But someone else does! Marina is confronted by her tag team partner Jessamyn Duke, who says that she knows Marina, but she doesn’t recognize her. Shafir scoffs at that, and says that if she wanted advice from a Twitch streamer, she would ask someone who is somewhat relevant. ‘The Horsewomen’ are butting heads, and pushes come to shoves. Marina asks if her friend wants to ‘go’, cause if she wants, she can give her a good excuse to sit at home and beg for donations from internet losers. Dave Prazak tries to diffuse the situation, but he needs some help from road agents before things can get ugly between former stablemates. Friendship goes out of the window! Look who’s back! NZO is rocking a signature microphone and does his shuffle shtick wearing some leopard-printed Air Jordans. He is all about that brag life, what else is new? ‘The Real 1’ booked himself for the anniversary show, even though nobody really wanted to see him wrestle. But he doesn’t care what the fans think, he’s a star and he does what he wants. NZO: Imma made man, I don’t need no rub. But I’m feeling generous… and I can make people care about any jabroni for a cuppa coffee. When ya step in the ring with ‘The Real 1’, you get about five minutes of fame before you get knocked out silly, how you doin? Bu Ku Dao, a 5'4'' combatant and a protege of Yoshihiro Tajiri answers the challenge! Big opportunity for the young guy. Singles Match Bu Ku Dao vs. NZO Despite his size, Bu Ku Dao is a gifted fighter, and he has enough talent to pull off an upset. He’s moving fast, he’s striking hard, and he ducks some hands from ‘The Real 1’! NZO talks trash, wastes time, and pushes the ref into the ropes to deny a high flying attack from the underdog. Dao crashes on the mats, and NZO picks up the scraps, finishing his opponent for an Eat Defeat! NZO makes the ref raise his hand, and steps over the fallen Bu Ku Dao like Allen Iverson stepped over Tyronn Lue. A hype video for the upcoming Opera Cup super event precedes the official tournament draw. Eight men will contest for the prestigious trophy in a one night tournament. The field is PACKED with world class talent: Tom Lawlor, Alex Shelley, Davey Richards, ACH, TJ Perkins, Lee Moriarty and MLW National Openweight champ Calvin Tankman. Adjusted power rankings come into play to form a match bracket. CALVIN TANKMAN DAVEY RICHARDS TOM LAWLOR TJ PERKINS ALEX SHELLEY ACH RICHARD HOLLIDAY LEE MORIARTY ALEX KANE YOSHIHIRO TAJIRI Alex Kane and Tajiri are 'emergency' participants, and will not be involved in the tournament if everything goes smoothly. We're closing in on the main event, and Jacob Fatu cuts a little promo alongside his new brothers in arms - Lance Anoa’i and Juicy Finau. Fatu reveals that when your life goes into the gutter, you can always count on your family, and that exactly what he did, uce. Now that someone can look over his back, he can get his hands on that big ol’ goof Mads Krugger in tonight’s ‘Weapons of Mass Destruction’ match and have no worry about those CONTRA goons! Lance and Juicy are very animated during the promo, but don’t get to say a thing... Because the feed is hacked by Josef Samael. He laughs off the threats and calls Jacob an ungrateful swine! The black and yellow cabal of violence will eliminate Fatu tonight, and if he wants his family members to suffer too, he has no problems with that… Mads will annhilate Jacob Fatu and destroy his career for good... HAAAAIIIIL COOOONTRAAAAA!!! Weapons of Mass Destruction Match Mads Krugger vs. Jacob Fatu The arena had been militarized before this chaotic main event! The weapons of mass destruction are ready, and so are the combatants - they want to tear each other apart! A highly anticipated rematch between ‘The Black Hand of CONTRA’ Mads Krügger and ‘The Samoan Werewolf’ Jacob Fatu promises to be a certified slobberknocker. The stipulation states that weapons are legal, there is no time limit, and that the ringside area has countless military crates containing all manner of plunder. Krügger and Fatu are no strangers to the art of hardcore and deathmatch and this one is particularly bloody! It most certainly ups the violence quota from their previous outings and offers a lot of creativity amongst the usual hardcore fare. We saw a whole host of violent actions using batons, war clubs, chairs, tables, barbed wire, and even gasoline. Fatu tried to battle on with one working shoulder after an early match apron Ganso Bomb seemed to go wrong. He kept on swinging as The Sentai Death Squad set up a table and ladder around the giants. But much to Josef Samael’s dismay, this didn’t help Krügger. Juicy Finau and Lance Anoai chased off CONTRA members and helped Fatu turn the match on its head. Mads was brained with a chair and fell through the table standing on the floor. Jacob Fatu then dragged him out of the wreckage and ended him with a Samoan Splash!! Jacob Fatu makes it 1-1 with an emphatic aerial attack, and celebrates a huge victory with his siblings. Final Rating

MLW Fusion #150 The go-home show before Opera Cup 2021 offers us a bunch of intriguing matches. In the main event of the anniversary show, Jacob Fatu will get his rematch against ‘The Black Hand of CONTRA’ Mads Krugger, and it is going to be a ‘Weapons of Mass Destruction’ match! This stipulation comes to MLW straight from Lucha Underground, the former stomping grounds of Cesar Duran. Be sure to check out the battle between Killshot and Marty The Moth to relive the heyday of The Temple and get a feel of what you can expect from Fatu and Krugger. While Cesar Duran’s thirst for violence is second to none, he wasn’t very keen to approve the match between Jordan Oliver and Alex Colon, made by NZO. The former WWE superstar appeared last week as a special guest GM, and had the cheek to use his booking power to pencil himself in for the anniversary show. ‘The Real 1’ will address the MLW locker room, we are going to get some sort of an open challenge. NZO has a tenency to rub people the wrong way, so there might be a lot of eager guys in the back... The show will also feature an official Opera Cup bracket draw, Marina Shafir’s return, plus pre-taped promos from the fighters that helped build the Fusion brand in the last few years. Everyone will try their hardest to make this a memorable show! Prediction Contest 1) Hollywood 12/16 2) Kanegan 11/14 3) Dawn 6/9 4) MidKnightDreary 2/3 5) Wrestling Machine 2/3 6) Old School Fan 1/3 Fusion 150 Prediction Key Jordan Oliver vs. Alex Colon - Hardcore Match NZO vs. ??? Mads Krugger vs. Jacob Fatu - Weapons of Mass Destruction Match

MLW Azteca Episode #15 - "Hammer and Tongs" Taped for El Rey Network in Noroccidente, Mexico Aired on Week 3, December 2021 Announce Team: Konnan and Matt Striker Earlier in the day Bandido is strolling through the streets of Tijuana, money sticking out of his pockets. Kids are following him, either asking for an autograph or cash. ‘The Most Wanted’ luchador is not a greedy man, so he ‘makes it rain’ on his little fans, making them scream even louder. Bandido now enters the arena’s parking lot... *Record scratch* Steve Pain hits Bandido in the head with a wrench and starts looking for some dinero, but finds just a few coins! Bandido stole from El Jefe only to give that dough to the poor. ‘The Mechanic’ spits on the ground and says he will take care of Bandido later tonight! The kids look sad that their favorite luchador is knocked out, and run away after Steve yells at them… Konnan and Matt Striker, who once again fills in for the injured Famous B, welcome us to the show after the intro! Last weeke have witnessed the debut of Psycho Clown, an amazing match between AR Fox and Demonic Flamita, plus main event shenanigans involving The Dynasty, Cesar Duran, Pagano and Bandido. The luchador has robbed 'El Jefe' and escaped the arena unscathed, but that could change today, as Bandido is booked in a tough opening match against Steve Pain. Konnan: Taking money from Cesar is like taking candy from a baby... Too easy, fam. Striker: Either way, you don't want to cross the boss. Melissa, please, take us away! Melissa Santos gives Bandido a loud and enthusiastic introduction. He's holding to a gash on his head, but still claps hands with the fans. Steve looks fresh, hungry and ready to finish his handy work... RING THE BELL! Steve Pain vs. Bandido The opening contest pits an ‘Underrated Superstar’ Steve Pain and the triple champion, ‘The Most Wanted’, Bandido! The masked man starts the match with a few flashy moves, showcasing his talent and agility to those who have not seen him so far. Bandido is so fun to watch, and he picks up the pace, looking to end this match quickly… Swift Lariat from Steve! The impact turns Bandido inside out! ‘The Mechanic’ grabs Bandido by the hair and yeets him across the ring a few times, showing that he has a power advantage over the muscular luchador. He lays some snug clubbing shots to Bandido’s back and combines that rugged style with some lucha libre trickery, looking to pin ‘The Most Wanted’ to the mat out of the blue. Pain hits a Pop Up Cutter on Bandido and gets a very close two count! “This is not the first time they are fighting, and perhaps Steve feels insecure, being overshadowed by Bandido who became such a big star in the last few years?” - wonders Striker. Then Steve zeroes in on Bandido’s back, as if there was a literal ’bull’s eye’. Tilt-a-Whirl Backbreaker always looks fancy, but it feels rough for the fan favorite! People are firmly on the side of Bandido, and their energy helps the triple champion to hit three successive Hurricanranas on Pain, making him dizzy. Sunset Flip Bomb, Steve kicks out! Bandido feels the momentum and catches ‘The Mechanic’ with a Crucifix Bomb!! One, two, NO! The magnificent bandit taunts Steve, and signals that he’s going for the kill… 21 PLEX for 3!! It wasn’t a walk in the park for Bandido, but at the end he stands tall! The graphic shows us that Texano and Alex Hammerstone will take on Black Taurus and Pagano in a tag team match. Richard Holliday goes to Duran who’s chatting with some guy, asking why he wasn’t put in the main event with Hammerstone? He had nothing to do with Bandido’s raid, and wanted the exchange to happen cleanly. Duran doesn’t believe him, and sarcastically assures Holliday that he’s given a night off following the brutal beating he suffered at the hands of Pagano. Holliday tells ‘El Jefe’ to cut the crap and fix the card! Cesar shrugs his shoulders and says the card is official, and if Richard doesn’t want to leave the arena on his own, he will be helped by Detective Ontiveros. Holliday says Duran will hear from his lawyer/father, which makes the main man chuckle. Holliday is taken 'into custody' and will not be a problem for Black Taurus and Pagano! That match is up next! Alex Hammerstone makes his way out of the back first, and he looks much better. But something feels wrong about the dude, he’s missing something. The MLW World Heavyweight title! Alex grabs a mic and addresses Cesar Duran - he knows the title is in Duran’s noodle arms, and he wants to get it back! Texano also has a few words for the boss, but he just swears in Spanish, and he’s bleeped out, with Striker apologizing for the language of ‘Blue Collar Brawler’. Pagano appears with a sick smile on his face, mocking the buff dudes and waiting for his partner to join him. From the literal underground, ‘The Minotaur of Lucha Libre’... Black Taurus! Taurus sees Hammerstone’s red jacket and sprints right into action!! Texano and Alexander Hammerstone vs. Black Taurus and Pagano As expected, this match is not about hammerlocks or scientific mat wrestling. Just four buff dudes slapping meat! Hammersone and Texano are not afraid of the scary duo and throw hands like there's no tomorrow. This is just the type of match where Pagano looks best, and he uses dirty boxing and underhanded tactics to survive the initial portion of the match. It quickly spills out to the outside, and 'The King of Hardcore' takes no time to get some weapons into the match. He smacks Texano with a baseball bat and flings a chair into Alex. Taurus is no slouch too, and he takes out both men with a crazy Tornillo Splash to the outside! A wild flying bull and a violent clown, only in MLW! Pagano now sets up a board across the corner, and tells Taurus to spear Hammerstone through it! Alex anticipates this move and lifts the bull with a Military Press!! CRACK!! The wooden panel breaks underneath the monster, Hammerstone picked Black Taurus as if he was a feather!! Pagano can only look in disbelief and smacks the champ in the back. Cesar Duran shows up on the ramp and verbally berates the referee for not calling a DQ on Hammerstone! Ref says the boss himself talked about ‘relaxed rules’, but those apparently only apply when the rudos are in charge of the match. Pagano throws a chair, hitting Alex in the head, and shows that he didn’t HIT the man… The clown looks for skewers he will drive into Hammer’s forehead, but Alex overpowers him and lariats him over the rope! They spill to the outside, while Texano hits a dazed Taurus with a Leg Lariat! Cover… One, two… Cesar puts the massive foot of Taurus on the bottom rope to save the match! Texano is laughing, he should have seen it coming. He takes his bull rope and tells Duran that he will whip the bull with it… SMACK!! Right across the back! The ref decides he has seen enough and awards Taurus and Pagano a DQ victory. Texano has no care in the world for taking this type of loss, he doesn’t get any money from Duran anyway. He smacks Taurus with a bull rope again and again, and the bull is making a scary growl. Lesser men would run away from the monster, but Texano continues peppering the back of Taurus who finally grabs the rope and looks at it before tearing it in half!! Inhuman strength! Texano finally decides to take a step back, he’s in awe. Meanwhile, Pagano and Hammer are fighting all around the arena, and step behind the curtain still throwing haymakers. Meanwhile Marty ‘The Moth’ is talking to himself in the bathroom mirror. He tries to psyche himself up and use self affirmation to overcome his nerves heading into this match. It’s just another fight, he got through things that were way worse… like childhood. Melissa Martinez is watching over her half-brother behind the door and giggles about the last remark. Moth: You!! You said peeping on others wasn’t nice, and now you’re listening in on me! Hypocrite! Melissa: Oh dear Marty… I’m not listening to your ramblings because you interest me. I’m just keeping an eye on you so nobody will get hurt. Huge difference, dummy! Moth: Don’t… call me… dummy! You’re going to watch my match too, sis? Scared for what I’m going to do to Muertes!? Melissa: No, not really. I hope he teaches you a lesson, and makes you suffer. Marty punches the wall and tells Melissa to leave him alone then! He will prove everyone wrong tonight! And if she doesn’t want to be helpful, he might acquire the services of Salina de la Renta. Melissa starts laughing and leaves, leaving Marty dumbfounded. Not that far away Alicia Atout walks into Cesar’s office to find out about the whereabouts of Richard Holliday. ‘El Jefe’ is not in place, but his chair is occupied by a sultry woman clad in black colors. Catrina… Alicia: What are you doing here? Catrina: Not very polite from you. I recommend you watch your tone next time... Or King Muertes will break your boyfriend in two. Alicia: He’s not my boyfriend! This is where Cesar Duran comes in, and he looks excited to see two women argue. Cesar: Aha! Two beautiful women fighting for my affection! Calm down, girls, there’s enough of ‘El Jefe’ for both of you… Ms. Atout, since you don’t have a boyfriend, maybe we could spend an evening together? Don’t say no, you will regret it. Alicia: Ew… you make me sick. This will never happen. Cesar: Oh, what a shame. I guess you don’t want to find out where Richard Holliday spent his last night, and where he will spend this one. Maybe it’s for the better, you wouldn’t like it. Duran calls over his stooges and tells them to escort Atout out of his office, he has a business meeting with a much more beautiful woman. Catrina smiles, but doesn’t say anything. We go back to the ringside! Salina de la Renta is walking to the ring using her cane, and she has a lot of things she wants to get off her chest. She’s very unhappy with a lot of things in MLW, and people that run it behind the scenes. Cesar Duran, and that snake that is sitting behind the desk! Konnan. Salina: I thought we could put our differences aside to achieve common goals, but clearly, your ego is too big, Konnan. Konnan is not bothered, and he ignores Salina. Matt Striker tries to instigate something, but an unexpected guy steps out on the ramp with a mic. Amazing Red is here! Red: Miss, I am not here to bicker, but… you made a match that ended the life of my mentor, Savio Vega. If it wasn’t for you, he would still be here, and the fact Low Ki possesses the title that belongs to Savio is a disgrace. That’s why I’m challenging him to a title match! Salina laughs in Red’s face and tells him to leave while the grown ups are talking. Red doesn’t back down, and this infuriates de la Renta. Finally, she gives in, and says Red will regret his decision, because he will be executed by ‘The Professional’... next week! A stare down is interrupted by the arrival of King Muertes, who hates Konnan, Salina, and now probably Red, as he wants to win the title that ‘The Man of 1000 Deaths’ had around his waist. Marty The Moth is out next and he waves over to Salina, who is glad to manipulate this sicko for her own benefit. The battleground is set, and our main event of the night is on. RING THE BE--!! Wait a minute, the boss wants something to say. Since the last match ended in a non-decisive fashion, and the thief wasn’t punished in the opener, he will make sure Marty will not slither away. Don’t ever cross the boss, Marty… and this main event is now a HARDCORE MATCH! Marty ‘The Moth’ vs. King Muertes As soon as the bell rings both Marty and Muertes start an ugly brawl that resembles a hockey fight! Moth might be an underdog on paper, but he is not a small guy, so he can take and dish out some big boy shots! What's even worse for Muertes - Moth enjoys this punishment... He's an all around sick guy. "The Man of 1000 Deaths" wastes no time and lariats Moth out of the ring. Marty is on all fours and at Catrina's feet. He gets choked with a cord and launched into ring steps! Mil looks for weapons under the ring and smacks the slob with a cooking sheet and a trash can! Muertes is in total control and now he charges for The Reaper's Trident... stopped by a Bicycle Kick! Marty giggles, antagonizes Muertes and gives Catrina an air kiss in his own creepy style. She's not having any of that, so Moth decides to hit a Curb Stomp on the exposed floor. One, two, no! Moth now goes for the mask and tries to bite Muertes on the forehead! Even Salina, who wants to see her ex-accomplice suffer, looks away. Catrina raises the mysterious stone, giving her confidant a second breath! Powerslam! He mounts Moth and bashes his head on the mat, then goes up top and nails a rare Splash! Only for two! Now Salina interferes, talking trash to Muertes! Low blow!! Moth picks up the chair where de la Renta sat, kisses it and bashes his opponent in the skull a few times!! He is ready to finish the match with a Butterfly DDT on the chair, but Catrina steps on the apron to stop him. Distracted Marty demands to be licked... but he gets nothing but a hellacious Spear through the table!! Mil sets up a chair and puts this one to bed, hitting Moth with a Flatliner!! No standing up after that! Muertes brutalizes Marty and threatens to do the same to Low Ki! He points at Salina and tells her to step into the ring, but understandably, de la Renta says ‘no’. Konnan calls over his dogs! 5150 slide into the ring and attack Muertes three on one! Homicide, Slice Boogie and Danny Rivera are brushed aside at the beginning, but eventually they overwhelm ‘The Man of 1000 Deaths’ and stomp them into the mats with Catrina looking helplessly! And that's not all, folks. Low Ki comes out and circles around the ring, looking to strike Muertes with Double Foot Stomp... But 5150 attack him too! "You're either with us, or you are against us, capiche?? Toss my salad and peel my potatoes, ORALE!!" - screams Konnan. Low Ki and King Muertes, two blood sworn enemies are laying side to side on the mats, with K-Dawg and his gang closing the show. The show is over, but we get a vignette with Famous B on the sofa. He’s in the cast, a neck protector, and in a lot of pain. There's a Stephen P. New commercial is playing on his screen too, and he tries to call Steve to take Cesar Duran and Black Taurus to court. Alas, the line is busy. “MAAAAA!! DROP THE PHONE! AND MAKE ME SOME TENDIES!!” No luck, Famous B gets no answers. Frustrated, he says ‘fine, I’ll do it myself!’ and slowly picks himself up only to fall back on his ass when he sees a few familiar faces barging into his living room. Beautiful Brenda greets B with her high-pitched voice… “DID SOMEONE CALL A DOCTOR!!!???? HEHEHEHEH!” A grizzled man crosses the arms on his chest, and looks over his former business partner. “BIEN-BIEN-BIEN!” Final Rating 57

MLW Azteca #15 Azteca shows are always wild and unpredictable, but this week promises to be extra chaotic! Last week we went off air after Bandido stole ransom money for Hammerstone from Cesar Duran. ‘El Jefe’ had a temper tantrum in the middle of the ring and said that Bandido will pay for crossing him over. The boss also didn’t forget about Alex Hammerstone and Texano, who both escaped from the underground confinement. Duran’s ‘s---list’ is growing with each episode, and that’s why we can expect even more violence and turmoil inside ‘The Temple’ than usual. That's why MLW’s second brand lines up three PPV-caliber matches! Let's get down to the business then, what do we have in store this time? Steve Pain vs. Bandido Steve Pain Bandido 5’10″ Height 5' 7" 202 lbs Weight 183 lbs Los Angeles, California, USA Hometown Torreon, Coahuila, Mexico Power Wrestler Style Lucha Libre Pain Killer Signature Move 21 Plex After stealing from the main man, ‘The Most Wanted’ faces one of El Jefe’s bootlickers. Steve is a tough son of a gun, always wielding a trusty wrench in his dirty hands. Steve can expect a nice bonus if he ‘roughs up’ the triple champion, but that’s a tough ask, as Bandido is possibly the most talented luchador in the world right now. Let’s see how good he really is! Texano and Alexander Hammerstone vs. Black Taurus and Pagano Texano Alexander Hammerstone Black Taurus Pagano 5' 9" 6’2″ Height 5' 10" 6' 3" 220 lbs 251 lbs Weight 210 lbs 233 lbs Mexicali, Baja California Phoenix, AZ Hometown Parts Unknown Ciudad Juárez, Chihuahua, Mexico Brawler Power Wrestler Style Luchador Psychopath Powerbomb Nightmare Pendulum Signature Move Taurus Driver Air Raid Crash And how do you like this match? Four fierce powerhouses with decent brawling abilities and tons of pent up aggression all going into battle! Hammer and Texano were forced to spend some time together in a cell, right across the bellowing Taurus, so they might have some chemistry. Duran’s resident monster Taurus looked unstoppable so far, and Pagano has the wildcard factor to make an upset! Marty ‘The Moth’ vs. King Muertes Marty ‘The Moth’ King Muertes 6' 2" Height 6' 0" 218 lbs Weight 244 lbs La Jolla, California, USA Hometown Mexico City, Mexico Psychopath Style Powerhouse Curb Stomp Signature Move Flatliner This match has been brewing for a few weeks now, with Marty dying to meet ‘The Man of 1000 Deaths’, no pun intended! Moth stole Piedra Immortal from Muertes and kept it in his ‘special place’ until the former IWA Caribbean champion unleashed hell on Marty to get it back and bring Catrina back to life! Muertes and Moth have never met each other in a singles match, so this will be a huge hit among Lucha Underground fans. Something tells us that this main event will be unhinged, just like its participants. Azteca Prediction Key Bandido vs. Steve Pain Hammerstone and Texano vs. Pagano and Black Taurus King Muertes vs. Marty ‘The Moth’ Prediction Contest 1) Hollywood 9/13 2) Kanegan 9/13 3) Dawn 4/6 4) Wrestling Machine 2/3 5) Old School Fan 1/3 It’s been some time! Lots of power outages at my place, and when the lights are on, I don’t always feel like writing. But we’re here now, and I’ll start working on this Azteca episode soon. Thanks for dropping by, see you in a bit.

Salvatore Sincere Vs. "The Blue Chipper" Rocky Maivia "The King Of Harts" Owen Hart Vs. Savio Vega "Stone Cold" Steve Austin Vs. "The Mighty" Yokozuna The New Rockers Vs. Candido and Credible Vs. The Godwinns Vs. The Smokin' Gunns (c) "The Connecticut Blue Blood" Hunter Hearst-Helmsley Vs. Rob Van Dam The British Bulldog Vs. "The Master And Ruler Of The World" Sycho Sid Marlena Vs. Sunny Vs. Sable "The Bizarre One" Goldust Vs. "Wild Man" Marc Mero "The Deranged" Mankind Vs. "The Man From The Darkside" The Undertaker "The Mastodon" Vader Vs. "The Heart Break Kid" Shawn Michaels (c)

MLW Fusion Episode #149 Taped for Vice TV in Tri State Aired on Week 2, December 2021 Announce Team: Dave Prazak, Rich Bocchini and Jared Saint Laurent The show starts with a recap of last week’s Fusion results. ACH, Lee Moriarty and TJ Perkins qualified for the Opera Cup by beating KC Navarro, King Mo and Matt Cross respectively. We then get to see the highlights from the tournaments held in the past years. ‘Filthy’ Tom Lawlor is the current holder of the prestigious trophy and would have to do something miraculous to defend the cup. It is going to be a one night tournament, a real test for every participant… After the cold opening and Fusion intro, we are greeted by the announce team of Rich Bocchini and Jared Saint Laurent. They hype up tonight’s matches and wonder who is in charge of tonight’s show. Backstage workers have seen a black Cadillac rolling into the arena earlier today, and the number plates suggest that it is not ‘El Jefe’. The commentators are interrupted by the arrival of Jordan Oliver! ‘The Clout Cutter’ comes out to the ring in an orange robe, carrying a huge sign that says ‘Criminally Underrated #Injustice’... Oliver snatches the mic from the ring announcer and starts whining about being denied a match on Fusion. He thought ‘El Jefe’ loved violence, and he could bring it in spades if booked against Alex Colon! Next week it’s going to be Fusion #150, and he wants to be booked for it. He will sit in the middle of this ring until he gets the match. He doesn’t care if that means some people will have no air time, he is essentially hijacking the show. He sits there for a solid minute, being booed by the fans, and out comes the MLW National Openweight champion, Calvin Tankman! ‘The Heavyweight Hustle’ is scheduled to defend his title tonight, and he doesn’t appreciate Jordan stealing everyone’s time, as well as putting the whole show in jeopardy. “Listen, you’re starting to get on my nerves. At first you were just annoying, but after you mocked me for being a young father, I wanted to slap your mouth! Luckily for you, Myron was there to stop me. Now there’s no Reed, and no boss. So you better get the hell out!” Oliver mimics Scott Hall’s finger wiggling, as if he was scared of Tankman’s threats. But Calvin wasn’t bluffing, he throws a Backfist at Jordan, who ducks and hits Tank with an Enzughiri! Calvin concedes a Superkick and Oliver signals for the Springboard Cutter… but Calvin catches him with an elbow!! Oliver rolls out of the ring and backs away from Tankman, but his escape route is blocked by… NZO!? He's running back and forth on the ramp, getting a good reaction from the crowd. Tankman and Oliver are both surprised by the arrival of the former WWE Superstar. “BADA BOOM, REALEST GUY IN THE ROOM! To those living under a rock, my name is nZo. I’m a Certified G, and a Bonafide Stud… but you can call me simply ‘The Real 1’! I grew up a block away from hell, and my pop-pop was a chef in Hell's Kitchen. We’re open 24/7, and I'm cooking on the stove aaaaall day, how you doin?! I never tried to be the next Hulk Hogan. I was always trying to be the next Vince McMahon. So now I put the ‘G’ in ‘GM’!” Is nZo really our General Manager? Jordan wants to say something, but he’s hushed down. “My mans, I like your first name, but if you ain’t talking money, then your talking don’t matter, capiche? Luckily for you, I can smell some money in the match you ‘ave suggested. MLW Fusion 150, Colon vs. Oliver, hardcore rules! Consider it done. And when it comes to the champ, look what I have ova here… the last golden ticket to the Opera Cup! I don’t need it, Imma made guy, so how ‘bout a ‘Beat The Clock Challenge’ between you and ‘The Suplex Assassin’, Alex Kane? Should you both win, the man who does it faster will get the paper!” Calvin says ‘let’s do it’ and nZo sends out his opponent - Andrew Everett. The debutant steps over the ropes as if he was an actual giant, and yells about how he is going to win the Openweight title, get the ticket to the Opera Cup, and beat everyone for that trophy! Ok, big man… bring it! MLW National Openweight Title Match Andrew Everett vs. Calvin Tankman (c) ‘The Giant’ offers Tank a test of strength and somehow loses it. Isn’t he supposed to be 528 pounds? Andrew doesn’t let that start embarrass him, and picks up the pace, ducking Calvin’s shots and prepping a big move… but he gets POUNCED out of the ring! Tankman is not playing around. A few nasty chops make Everett’s chest red, but he has some fighting spirit and answers with a few punches. Andrew gets back in the ring and hits a Suicide Dive, but the champ barely moves. The high flying giant bounces off him like a rubber ball from the wall! They are back in the ring, and Tank manhandles Everett with a few Biel Throws. Andrew hits the advancing Calvin with a Gamengiri and launches himself into the air… BUT GETS ROCKED WITH A ROLLING BACK ELBOW! SHORT ARM LARIAT MAKES THE GIANT DO A BACKFLIP!! Сalvin covers the guy… but he kicks out at two!? How did he do that? Everett is on wobbly feet, throwing elbows at a puzzled champion. Out of desperation, Andrew goes for a high risk Springboard Moonsault! TANKMAN DRIVER! Calvin catches the giant in the air and plants him with his finishing maneuver! ‘The Heavyweight Hustle’ retains his title and sets a solid time! Alex Kane will have to bring his A game to snatch the Opera Cup ticket from Calvin Tankman… Champ says he’s coming for the trophy, everyday he’s hustlin! Tankman’s celebration is interrupted by CONTRA! Josef Samael is in a great mood, licking his chops at the prospect of invading a leader-less Fusion. He dedicates most of his speech to Davey Richards! “Davey Richards... You made a big mistake when you entered the War Chamber. TYPICAL AMERICAN BEHAVIOR!! Tonight you will regret returning to professional wrestling and stepping foot on our territory... ‘The Black Hand of CONTRA’ has choked the life out of ‘The Samoan Werewolf’ Jacob Fatu. And tonight Simon Gotch will open a hunting season on ‘The American Wolf’!! We will SHOOT you down and beat you into submission until you say… HAAAAIIIL COOOOONTRAAAAA!!” Big words from Josef Samael! Coming up next though, is the trios match in the MLW’s women’s division. Team Sea Stars and Willow Nightingale have had an up-and-down time in the standings so far, and will be looking to get a victory over Zoey Skye and Top Dogs, who reside at the bottom of the power rankings. Dave Prazak joins the commentary for this match! Trios Match Team Sea Stars & Willow Nightingale vs. Top Dogs & Zoey Skye The fans are firmly on the side of the bubbly trio, who start the match with a lot of energy. Zoey Skye uses her experience and agility to catch Willow off guard, but she doesn’t have the power to pin her down. Top Dogs demand a tag and double team Ashley Vox, who fights from underneath. She might not be the biggest, but she has a big heart! Dave Prazak takes his time to talk about the division as a whole, saying that Marina Shafir’s behavior is disappointing, and her attack on Chik Tormenta is currently under investigation. Prazak also adds that Holidead can be considered the main contender for the title, especially if Willow and Sea Stars would lose tonight. He said those words just at the time when Ashley ducked the lariat and gave a hot tag to her sister! Delmi comes in hot, hitting everyone with rapid strikes and nails a Tornado DDT on Zoey Skye! Tag to Willow, Sea Stars nod to each other and hit Stereo Plancha Suicidas on Top Dogs! Willow climbs up top and hits a Moonsault on Zoey to get the three and the victory! This should improve Willow’s positioning in the rankings! Zoey Skye was crushed by that Moonsault and looks like Top Dogs will beat her up for costing them a match… but they change their minds when Holidead crawls from under the ring! She circles around Skye, but Willow overcomes her fear of the darkness and steps up to protect the woman she beat a few minutes ago. Holidead cackles and goes for a sucker punch, but Nightingale catches her with a Fisherman Suplex!! Way to go! Holidead slithers out of the ring and Sea Stars raise the arms of Willow, who’s stock in the business is rising day by day. Meanwhile Alex Kane is warming up for his match with WARHORSE, who’s listening to rock and roll on full volume. Kane tells the little man to turn that s--- off, but WARHORSE doesn’t hear him. Alex then jumps the ‘Ruler of A$$’ from behind and trashes his audio system. This is a smart strategy for the ‘Beat The Clock’ challenge! Their match is next, and Kane just gave himself a massive advantage. But before we get to this match we see a promo from Von Erichs! Marshall is still recovering after he was attacked by 5150, so Ross will team up with his father Kevin Von Erich. His Iron Claw is still able to crash an apple! All three are excited to at the Opera Cup supershow. They just found they will defend their titles against another wrestling family, as Ricky Morton of the Rock N’ Roll Express joins forces with his son, Kerry Morton. Von Erichs welcome Mortons in MLW, and reveal that they’re coming to Charlotte not only with MLW world tag team titles! Stay tuned. When we’re back, Alex Kane is already standing in the ring, goading for WARHORSE to hurry his scrawny a*s up. Perhaps ‘The Suplex Assassin’ overdone his pre-match prep and made the indy sensation unavailable for this bout? A minute passes by, and finally the little viking stumbles out from the back. He’s a lot of things, but quitters isn’t one of them! Ring the bell! ‘Beat The Clock’ Challenge Alex Kane vs. WARHORSE As you could expect, Alex goes to work right off the bat. He grabs WARHORSE and throws him around the ring! An Overhead Belly-to-Belly Suplex is a thing of beauty, and the underdog is writhing in pain as things go to the beat of Alex Kane. He’s signaling for his finishing move, the Ripcord Olympic Slam, but WARHORSE spins out of it and attempts a German Suplex! Alex easily stuffs it and shows WARHORSE how it’s done with a Spinout Suplex! One… two… three… four German Suplexes! Kane is showing off, and that may cost him. He puts down his straps and says it’s over, but WARHORSE holds on to the ropes like his life depends on it! He hits his head in the turnbuckles for the psyche up and jumps up when Alex tries to hit him with a corner shoulder block! Huge miss may cost him! WARHORSE with a Double Foot Stomp to the back of Kane, and he covers him! One… two… NO! So close, and yet no luck. WARHORSE looks at the timer and goes on the top rope for a Diving Elbow… but Kane follows him there and hits the guy with a MASSIVE OLYMPIC SLAM! WARHORSE flew over so far that Kane had to crawl in order to pin him, and that cost him valuable seconds. One-two-three, but it’s not enough! Calvin gets the last ticket and will take part in the Opera Cup. Realizing that he was just seconds away from participating in the most prestigious tournament in MLW, Kane starts yelling at the ref, blaming him for the slow count. The graphic appears on screen, confirming all eight contestants. Tom Lawlor, Richard Holliday, TJP, ACH, Alex Shelley, Lee Moriarty, Calvin Tankman and Davey Richards, who will compete in tonight’s main event. The brackets will be revealed next week, on Fusion #150! Speaking of that show, Alex Colon and Jordan Oliver will have a hardcore match, Marina Shafir will make her return from suspension, nZo will make his debut, and Jacob Fatu will get a rematch against Mads Krugger… and now it is time for the main event! It’s Gotch versus Davey Richards, and nZo will be a special guest announcer for this fight. ‘The Real 1’ likes to run his mouth, and he does just that, throwing shade at Simon Gotch. “Simon Gotch STILL has a pair of titties like a 65 year old woman… how you doin?” Just as he drops this line, the CONTRA fighter is making his entrance. He’s not wearing a singlet anymore, God bless him, and he jaw jacks with ‘The Real 1’ before entering the ring. The wolf howls, and Davey Richards makes his way, determined to get a victory heading into the Opera Cup. No black and yellow soldiers in the ring right now, could we can expect some clean wrestling here? Singles Match Davey Richards vs. Simon Gotch Davey and Simon have a lock up, and engage in a good old trade of holds. Gotch has a bit more size, and he uses it to his advantage, but Richards has the intensity, and he escapes the hold, answering with some kicks. It’s a snug fight, and the kicks get stronger. Gotch blocks one of them and attempts a double leg takedown, but Richards transitions it into a pin. The mat wrestling is top notch from these two, they are matched pretty evenly. Davey uses his pace and athleticism to turn the match in his favor, hitting Simon with a Missile Dropkick! Gotch rolls out of the ring to recover, and is distracted by nZo. Not the time to let the eyes off Richards, he hits Simon with a Suicide Dive! Davey throws Gotch in the ring and howls, looking for a Double Foot Stomp… Simon gets back on his feet and stops the top rope move. Superplex, old school as you like! Richards lands awkwardly on his arm, and Gotch works over it for a few minutes. He’s relentless and focused, even with nZo talking mad trash behind the commentator’s table. Armbar is locked in Davey, but he gets to the rope to break it up… Cobra Clutch! Richards uses his legs to push himself out of the corner and try to pin Gotch a la Bret Hart! Simon pulls his shoulder from the mat. Davey puts him in the Ankle Lock, Gotch pushes him away, but Davey returns with a PK! BAM! Richards unloads Kawada Kicks on his opponent!! He picks Gotch and nails him with a Brainbuster!! One, two, Simon puts his foot on the rope. Davey smells blood and grabs that leg, locking Gotch in the Ankle Lock! He’s in deep trouble, and nZo mocks Gotch, telling him to tap out like a lil bish he is. HERE COMES CONTRA! Mads Krugger, Ikuro Kwon, Daivari and Josef Samael crash the scene and throw the main event out, stomping Davey Richards into the ground. The fans wanted to see a clean finish, so they’re naturally upset. Josef Samel mocks nZo, saying he won’t be able to do JACK---! ‘The Bonafide Stud’ holds his hands up, admitting that he won’t be able to take on CONTRA… but someone else would! JACOB FATU IS HERE, AND HE HAS SOME BACKUP!! ‘The Samoan Werewolf’ is flanked by two other men that look like they could be related to the former MLW world champion! Fatu has those crazy eyes and jumps into the ring to have an all out brawl with his former partners in crime! Fatu headbutts Krugger, while his guys dump Kwon and Daivari out of the ring. Samael escapes the field of battle, and Davey Richards gets a modicum of revenge, hitting Creeping Death on Gotch! Fatu tells CONTRA to bring it, but the shady group has other plans. Jacob doesn't hold back in his words as we go off air! Final Rating 40