By Jason Powell, Prowrestling.net Editor (@prowrestlingnet)
Major League Wrestling TV
Taped in Orlando, Florida at GILT Nightclub
Aired May 4, 2018 on beIN Sports
The show is titled “Rise of the Worldwide Desperado”… Tony Schiavone and Rich Bocchini checked in on commentary…
Jimmy Havoc made his entrance. Footage aired of Havoc’s brawl with Joey Janela at the WaleMania event in New Orleans during WrestleMania weekend. Havoc stood in the ring and challenged Janela to fight him. Janela answered the call and fought with Havoc in the ring. They fought into the crowd and disappeared.
Low Ki made his entrance. Schiavone set up footage of Low Ki hitting “one of the matchmakers” MSL while trying to get to MVP. Low Ki complained in the ring about the suspension and said the company wants to rescind the management license of Black Friday Management. He said the group always collects on their debts and asked, “Isn’t that right, MVP?”
MVP came out and tried to get through security. Sami Callihan attacked MVP from behind and then went backstage. MVP recovered and headed backstage to go after him… The MLW opening aired…
Powell’s POV: A good opening with plenty of star power. It is unfortunate that it feels like we’ve been dropped into this world and it hasn’t felt like the TV series was the beginning of the era.
Schiavone and Bocchini checked in from the studio and hyped MVP vs. Callihan as the main event while questioning whether MVP would be 100 percent for the match…
Tom Lawlor headed to the ring and was accompanied by Simon Gotch and another member of Team Filthy. Lawlor said he was still injured and was unable to compete, so ACH would face Gotch instead. ACH made his entrance…
1. ACH vs. Simon Gotch (w/Tom Lawlor). ACH had his right hamstring wrapped. Gotch was on the offensive early and was in control heading into a commercial break. [C] ACH came back with and got a roll through victory.
ACH defeated Simon Gotch.
Afterward, Lawlor and his sidekick attacked ACH. Gotch joined in and they left him lying while Bocchini pointed out that Lawlor appeared to be just fine…
Lawlor and Gotch interviewed on the stage by Andrea Ocampo. He said he heard the crowd chanting, “Go, go ACH.” Gotch said the only place ACH was going was the ICU…
Powell’s POV: A simple and effective way to put heat on Lawlor and Gotch for future matches with ACH.
The broadcast team set up the top ten list: 10: Barrington Hughes. 9. Joey Janela. 8. Jeff Cobb. 7. Rey Fenix. 6. Sami Callihan. 5. Tom Lawlor. 4. Low Ki. 3. MVP. 2. Jimmy Havoc. 1. Pentagon.
A Shane Strickland video package aired and focussed on him in and out of the ring… Schiavone hyped MVP vs. Callihan… [C]
Powell’s POV: Wait, the top ten list isn’t a popularity contest determined by the wrestlers like it is on Smackdown? Then what good is the MLW top ten list? All kidding aside, I love the idea of top ten rankings and I really hope MLW is one of the few promotions that actually bothers to stick with them and make them count.
2. Mike Parrow vs. Vandal Ortagun. Parrow dominated the match to start. Col. Rob Parker walked onto the stage and watched the match. Ortagun got a hope spot before Parrow put him away. The broadcast team questioned what it would take for Parrow to sign a deal with Parker. Parrow walked to the stage and shook hands with Parker and they headed backstage together…
Mike Parrow defeated Vandal Ortagun.
Andrea Ocampo interviewed Salina de la Renta, who left the interview to speak with Shane Strickland. She told him not to get too comfortable with the title around his waist… Schiavone hyped the main event… [C]
A Jimmy Havoc promo aired. He said he and Joey Janela bring out the best and the worst in each other. He said he learns something new about himself whenever they fight. Havoc vowed that there would be blood. He said he’s licked it off him and enjoy it… Schiavone hyped Havoc vs. Janela as next week’s main event…
Ocampo knocked on Lawlor’s locker room door and informed him that he’d been medically cleared to wrestle. Lawlor took offense and asked if she was questioning the legitimacy of his injury. Gotch told her to take her yellow journalism outside the locker room…
Sami Callihan delivered a promo and said he belongs in a raking system that he can climb and become the world champion. He said he does that wherever he goes. Callihan said he wants to win because with it comes power. He said MVP wants to climb the ranking system for his son (and mocked him for it). Callihan said MVP will have to go to his son and tell him that he’s a failure. Callihan said he doesn’t care anymore. He said he’s the most hated man in pro wrestling and if he becomes champion then people have to listen… Ring entrances for the main event took place…
3. MVP vs. Sami Callihan. The wrestlers brawled in and around the ring to start the match. MVP ended up driving Callihan’s face into a chair at ringside. Callihan came back and gouged the eyes of MVP. Bocchini stated that MVP and Callihan are tied in the rankings. [C]
Powell’s POV: Well, it didn’t take long for there to be a contradiction with the top 10 rankings. I assume that Bocchini was told to say the wrestlers were tied in the rankings when this match was taped and then company officials simply forgot about that line once they put the rankings together for this show. A regrettable mistake, but hopefully it won’t become a regular issue.
Callihan picked up his bat and tried to hit MVP with it, but MVP ducked it and then caught it when Callihan gave a second swing. MVP hit some of his signatures moves. A big bald guy with a beard came out and chokeslammed MVP. Schiavone asked who the mystery man was. The man placed Callihan on top of MVP, which led to a two count. MVP came back with an F5. Callihan low blowed MVP while the referee was distracted and picked up the in moments later. The big man carried a smiling Callihan to the back…
Sami Callihan defeated MVP.
Powell’s POV: It makes sense to have MVP fight from underneath to start. I was surprised to see him ranked so high in the rankings. The story they are telling is that he’s fighting for redemption and for his son, so it makes sense to place some obstacles in front of him, which this match did.
Footage aired from WaleMania of the Janela and Havoc brawl. The broadcast team hyped their match as next week’s main event and said it would be an anything goes match. They also hyped Tom Lawlor vs. ACH for next week…
Backstage, Strickland was interviewed by Ocampo in a hallway. He expressed confidence and said his title belt is going nowhere. He entered a room, turned, and looked surprised. The camera entered the room and found a voodoo shrine that included a bunch of his pictures, some of which were torn. There was a book on Wicca amongst the objects…
Powell’s POV: A good show closing angle from an episodic standpoint. It was a little campy in terms of how it came together, but at least an effort was made to explain why the camera was there. It’s a nice cliffhanger that gives viewers a reason to check back to find out who is after Strickland. In general, the show is starting to feel more episodic, which is a major plus in my book. I still don’t feel a connection to Strickland after watching the first three episodes so hopefully that will develop. I should be by with a review of episode four this weekend and hope to be caught up with the new episode that debuted last night by Monday.
Check out my interview below with MLW promoter Court Bauer on the Pro Wrestling Boom Podcast that was recorded days before the series premiere of the MLW Fusion television series.
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