By Jason Powell, Prowrestling.net Editor (@prowrestlingnet)
Major League Wrestling TV (Episode 6)
Taped in Orlando, Florida at GILT Nightclub
Aired May 25, 2018 on beIN Sports
Shane Strickland and Barrington Hughes arrived at the building and were approached by media members. Selina de la Renta showed up and wished him luck in a condescending manner… The MLW Fusion opening aired… Tony Schiavone and Rich Bocchini checked in on commentary and hyped the first MLW Title defense on the Fusion show… The ring announcer was Tim Barr…
1. Santana Garrett vs. Chelsea Green. Green worked as the insane Laurel Van Ness in Impact Wrestling. She abandoned that look and was all smiles and played to the crowd before the match. Garrett and Green shook hands. The frustration for Green built early and she started yelling and her makeup smeared. Bocchini noted that it was a different side of her and said she seemed to be becoming a hot mess. Late in the match, Green went for a double knee press. Garrett rolled to avoid it and actually rolled into the feet of Green. Oops. Garrett performed a DDT and scored the clean pin. After the match, Green hugged Garrett, who sold it by acting uneasy about it…
Santana Garrett beat Chelsea Green.
Bocchini hyped the remainder of the show… [C]
Powell’s POV: I like this version of Green more than the super over the top Laurel Van Ness character she played in Impact. The LVN character had some fun moments and all, but seeing her start out normal and lose it more as the match feels a little more realistic. I’m curious to see if this persona will become predictable in that she will start normal and get weird by the end of each match. I hope she gets creative with it and it doesn’t become formula. In this case, she didn’t go completely insane by the end, so perhaps they are building to that in a rematch. Meanwhile, Garrett is talented and I’m really not sure why she hasn’t caught on as a regular with WWE or Impact Wrestling, but MLW is wise to use her.
Bocchini set up footage of Team Filthy working over Jimmy Havoc at the end of the show two weeks ago… Tom Lawlor delivered a backstage promo in which he insincerely apologized for attacking Havoc…
Team Filthy came to the ring for Simon Gotch’s prize fight challenge. Gotch took the mic and said that if anyone can last five minutes with him then they would be “rewarded handsomely” with $250. The fans laughed and applauded the low amount. Gotch issued the challenge, which was accepted by Danny Santiago…
2. Simon Gotch vs. Danny Santiago in a prize fight challenge. Santiago came to the ring wearing a white karate gi. Gotch offered a handshake, which Santiago accepted. Gotch quickly destroyed Santiago and put him away with a piledriver…
Simon Gotch vs. Danny Santiago in a prize fight challenge.
Powell’s POV: Whew, Team Filthy won’t have to break the bank this week. I’m sure their accountants were sweating bullets watching this match.
Backstage, Joey Janela and Aria were interviewed as he exited the locker room of Maxwell J Friedman. They were asked what they were doing in MJF’s locker room. “Nothing bad,” Janela said before walking away… [C] An ad aired for the June 7 taping in Orlando…
Kaci Lennox interviewed MJF outside of his locker room. He cut it off immediately because he smelled smoke coming out of his locker room. He entered the room and found cigarette butts, beer, and an open condom… A video package focussed on the MLW Championship match… The broadcast team looked at the tale of the tape for the champion and the challenger…
Salina de la Renta headed out and was followed by Pentagon Jr. A mariachi band entered the ring and the crowd was asked to stand for the Mexican national anthem, which the band played along with a female singer. Shane Strickland made his entrance without music…
3. Shane Strickland vs. Pentagon Jr. (w/Salina de la Renta) for the MLW Championship. Both men went after the arms of the opponents. Pentagon controlled the bulk of the offense, but they hit each other with simultaneous kicks and were down going into a commercial break. [C]
Both men were fighting at ringside coming out of the break. Back in the ring, Pentagon hit the Fear Factor for a good near fall. The crowd responded with “swerve” chants in support of Strickland. Pentagon set up a chair in the ring. The referee didn’t seem to mind for some bizarre reason and even Schiavone questioned if he could be disqualified. Boccini said the referee was giving them leeway and assumed you had to actually use the chair in order to be disqualified.
Pentagon and Strickland fought for position on the ropes. Strickland knocked Pentagon off the ropes, and Pentagon ended up sitting on the chair. Strickland went for a top rope move. Pentagon caught him and powerbombed him on the way down. Pentagon hit the Pentagon Driver for another good near fall.
Salina climbed onto the apron and barked at the referee. Pentagon tried to blow mist into the face of Strickland, who moved, causing Pentagon to spray the mist into the face of Salina instead. Strickland performed a top rope double stomp on Pentagon and pinned him to win the match…
Shane Strickland defeated Pentagon Jr. to retain the MLW Championship.
Schiavone quickly wrapped up the show…
Powell’s POV: A good main event. The introduction of the chair and the referee not seeming to care that it was there was definitely awkward, but at least the broadcast team tried to maintain their credibility by acknowledging that it was strange. Overall, a good television show with a solid women’s opener, the silliness of the Gotch open challenge, and a quality main event. It remains disappointing that the MLW Top 10 rankings were introduced on one show and haven’t been shown since. It also felt like there should have been more done on this show to hook viewers for next week’s show. Overall, though, this was an entertaining hour of television.
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