By Jason Powell, Prowrestling.net Editor (@prowrestlingnet)
Major League Wrestling TV
Taped in Orlando, Florida at GILT Nightclub
Aired May 11, 2018 on beIN Sports
The title for the episode is “Filthy Fighting”… A Jimmy Havoc promo was re-aired from last week… The MLW opening aired… Tony Schiavone and Rich Bocchini checked in on commentary and recapped angle and then set up the opening match…
1. Tom Lawlor (w/Team Filthy) vs. ACH. ACH was featured in a pre-match promo taped backstage. He spoke about how he thought MMA fighters were supposed to have honor. ACH had his right thigh wrapped again while Lawlor had his right forearm and both fists taped. They took a break early in the match. [C]
An ad aired with promoter Court Bauer, Shane Strickland, and Barrington Hughes promoting the July 19 MLW event in New York at Melrose Ballroom.
Lawlor wore down ACH on the mat. ACH came back and performed a nice backbreaker and a bridging German suplex for a two count. Lawlor came back with a nice suplex of his own. Later, Gotch stood on the apron and was knocked off by ACH. Lawlor removed the padding from his left forewarm and struck ACH with it and then choked him out…
Tom Lawlor beat ACH.
Powell’s POV: It’s been fun to watch the evolution of Lawlor in MLW. Schiavone said this was his first match back from injury, but it’s easy to see how his in-ring confidence has grown from the first MLW taping. He looks less tentative in the ring now than he did then. He seems more sure of himself and it’s made a world of difference. ACH is always good. He’s been more grounded than I remember in the past, which is a good thing because it makes his high spots stand out more. His feud with Lawlor and his crew has made for good television and it was logical to have Lawlor go over in this manner to extend the feud.
Backstage, Salina de la Renta and Shane Strickland had a verbal exchange. She pointed out that Pentagon was standing behind him. Strickland turned around and they glared at one another until Pentagon sprayed mist at his face… The broadcast team spoke about the angle briefly… [C]
Footage aired of Strickland flushing out his eyes with water in a bathroom. The broadcast team stated that emergency services had been called…
2. Maxwell Jacob Friedman vs. Fred Yehi. The broadcast team did a good job of establishing MJF as the heel and talking about how he never knows when to shut up. Schiavone noted that Yehi had a sleeve covering his left arm and he seemed to be favoring the same arm. Yehi performed a nice suplex for a two count.
MJF targeted the bad arm and then heeled it up for the crowd. Bocchini stated that Yehi seemed to be working a counter based wrestling style. Yehi threw a series of knees to the head of MJF. Yehi laid on his back, grabbed the arms of MJF, and delivered rapid fire kicks to the face. Yehi followed up with a dragon suplex and got a two count. MJF hid behind the referee. Yehi moved the ref only to be poked in the eyes by MJF, who rolled him up for the win…
Maxell Jacob Friedman defeated Fred Yehi.
After the match, Andrea Ocampo interviewed MJF, who took a seat on a chair and delivered a promo. He said the fans boo him because they are jealous. He said it’s fine because he’s jealous of the fans too. He said they have it easy and they have no idea who hard it is to be him. He said he has to go home to a perfect 10 and deal with her attitude. He said they’ll never know what it’s like to have a sub-par limo driver. He said that’s the cross he has to bear. “My name is Maxell J Friedman and I’m better than you,” MJF told the crowd…
Powell’s POV: A good match. Friedman and the broadcast team did a nice job of getting his heel persona over during the match. It would have been fun to see him introduced in vignette style, but he got across what he needed to in his post match promo. He’s a snobby heel and reminds me of EC3 in a good way.
The broadcast team spoke as footage aired from the MLW press conference for the NYC show on July 19… Footage aired of Sami Callihan beating MVP last week…
Backstage, Callihan delivered a promo saying that he talks when he wants. He said he is creating an army of likeminded individuals. The new bald man who helped Callihan in his match with MVP showed up and did the “thumbs up, thumbs down” routine with him… The MLW in NYC ad aired again (this is starting to feel like overkill, but it’s better than not promoting it enough)…
Footage aired from earlier in the show of Pentagon spraying mist into the face of Shane Strickland… The broadcast team announced Pentagon vs. Rey Fenix in a double jeopardy, number one contenders match. They also hyped this week’s main event for after the break… [C] An ad aired for the June 7 TV taping in Orlando… Ring entrances for the main event took place…
3. Joey Janela (w/Aria Blake) vs. Jimmy Havoc in a Bogus Adventure match. Schiavone explained that there are no rues and there must be a winner. Havoc pulled a door and three chairs out from underneath the ring. Yes, a door. The door was set up in the corner for later.
Janela brought more chairs and a table into the ring. Havoc ended up stacking up the chairs and went for a Death Valley Driver, but Janela avoided it and performed a package piledriver onto the chairs for a near fall. Janela placed Havoc on a table and went up top. Havoc moved and Janela crashed and burned. Havoc got up and kicked Janela through the door in the corner and put him away with the Acid Rainmaker a short time later…
Jimmy Havoc defeated Joey Janela in a Bogus Adventure match.
After the match, footage aired of Team Filthy attacking Havoc outside the building. They worked him over and left him lying on the grass. “Blood on my outfit, are you kidding me? Come on.” Lawlor said…
Powell’s POV: One of the few negatives to the early MLW Fusion series is that you’re left feeling late to the party if you didn’t watch all of the previous shows from the new era. MLW Fusion viewers have learned about Jimmy Havoc, but all we’ve really seen from Janela is the footage of him brawling with Havoc at WaleMania. I’m certainly aware of him from the independent scene, though I was hoping that MLW would provide a better introduction to his persona. We were basically dropped into his match without a real sense of why they are feuding or which wrestler we should be rooting for. So while it turned out to be a fun brawl, it was hard to feel invested. Hopefully this will feel like less of an issue as the series goes on. Overall, a good television show. I will be back tomorrow with my review of the fifth and latest edition of the show. It will be nice to finally get caught up on the series and then I hope to have my reviews available in a more timely manner going forward.
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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