By Jason Powell, Prowrestling.net Editor (@prowrestlingnet)
Major League Wrestling TV (Episode 24)
Taped in Fort Lauderdale, Florida at the War Memorial Auditorium
Aired on September 28, 2018 on beIN Sports
Tony Schiavone narrated highlights of last week’s show. Schiavone was joined on commentary by Rich Bocchini… Jimmy Havoc and Sami Callihan were shown brawling backstage. Havoc tossed Callihan down some steps and then followed him. Callihan slammed Havoc’s head into a cement wall… The MLW opening aired… The broadcast team hyped the matches and then ring announcer Tim Barr introduced the opening match…
1. Myron Reed vs. Jason Cade (w/Rhett Giddons). Cade dropkicked Reed in the corner while the ref was checking his gear. Reed came right back and dumped Cade to the floor. Reed ran the ropes, butt Giddon climbed onto the apron to block him from leaping over the ropes. Cade pulled Reed to ringside and worked him over.
A box popped up and showed Callihan and Havoc were still fighting backstage. In the ring, Cade set up for a powerbomb, but Reed performed a huracanrana that drove Cade into the corner. Reed went on an offensive flurry and got a two count. Cade stuffed a springboard cutter attempt but was rolled up for two. Cade connected with a high knee and got a two count of his own.
Reed came back with some superkicks. Cade stuffed a huracanrana attempt and performed a buckle bomb. Reed came right back with a reverse huracanrana. Reed performed a springboard cutter for a near fall. Cade performed a sit-out powerbomb for two. Reed rolled over to the other ring that was used for the WarGames match and eventually leapt over the ropes of both rings into a cutter. Reed dropkicked Giddons off the apron, then performed a cutter on Cade off the apron and onto Giddons on the floor. Reed went up top, but Giddons cut him off from the floor. Cade performed a backslide driver and scored the pin…
Jason Cade defeated Myron Reed.
After the match, Cade took the mic. Jimmy Yuta ran out and caught him with a missile dropkick… The broadcast team hyped the remainder of the show and plugged the MLW Fury Road event…
Powell’s POV: A decent show opening match. Both wrestlers have upside, but they haven’t quite put it all together yet. I look forward to seeing them get there because both men are very athletic and perform some nice offensive moves. I assume this is leading to Reed teaming with Jimmy Yuta to face Cade and Giddins.
After a break, Yuta said it’s fine if Cade wants to high behind a bodyguard, but he will make Cade pay for what he did by turning on him… Bocchini hyped the MLW Fury Road control center segment and plugged the Maxwell J Friedman vs. Jason Cade vs. Jimmy Yuta elimination match for the MLW Middleweight Championship along with the previously announced matches…
Backstage, Brody King cut a promo about facing Tommy Dreamer at the Fury Road event. He referred to himself as violence personified. He said it would be an honor to stop into the ring with the innovator of violence…
Powell’s POV: I have no desire to hear someone say it would be an honor to face someone in what is sure to be a hardcore match.
The backstage brawl between Havoc and Callihan continued. Both men used a plastic trashcan as a weapon and then fought into a bathroom. Callihan bit the hand of Havoc and then left the room. When Havoc tried to follow, Callihan hit him with the bathroom door…
After a break, an ad aired for Pentagon Jr. vs. LA Park for next week’s show…
The Havoc and Callihan brawl continued and was shown briefly… Shane Strickland delivered a promo about facing Tom Lawlor at Fury Road. Strickland said he’ll get back to the top of the mountain and the MLW Championship soon. He said he is still the ace of MLW and he’ll reassure it when he faces Lawlor…
MJF and Aria tried to interrupt Low Ki’s preparation to talk with Salina de la Renta, but they were stopped at the door…
Cade delivered a promo outside the building while Giddons stood by. Cade complained about Yuta attacking him from behind. He said Yuta pissed off the wrong person and he’ll take out his bad attitude on him…
Highlights of the Callihan and Havoc brawl aired. Court Bauer checked in and said that they were nearly out of television time and they caused a lot of damage to the venue. He said that both men still wanted to fight and they will in the Spin the Wheel, Make the Deal match at Fury Road. He said security was calling and he had to go…
Tom Lawlor delivered an outdoor promo in Las Vegas. He said his match with Shane Strickland at Fury Road will show who is the future and present in MLW. He said he wants the Strickland that beat Pentagon Jr. and held the MLW Title over his head. He said he wants to find out who is the best in MLW…
A video package aired on the main event…
2. Low Ki (w/Salina de la Renta) vs. Fenix (w/Konnan) for the MLW Championship. Fenix performed a summersault suicide dive through the ropes onto Low Ki early and Fenix tumbled over the barricade in the process, which led to a holy shit chant. Low Ki came back and bodyslammed Fenix on the floor. Bocchini noted that Havoc and Callihan were still brawling backstage. Low Ki ended up catapulting Fenix into the ring post.
Later, Low Ki performed a double stomp for a two count. Both men ended up on the top rope. Fenix performed a Spanish Fly for a good near fall. Fenix performed a reverse huracanrana, but Low Ki got up and pushed him into the ropes. Low Ki pulled Fenix’s mask and then Salina pulled it off. Fenix quickly covered up his face. Salina held up the mask while Low Ki performed a top rope double stomp and scored the pin…
Low Ki defeated Fenix to retain the MLW Championship.
The brawl between Havoc and Callihan continued backstage. They were both limping and fought near an exit. Callihan clotheslined Callihan, who ended up at the bottom of some stairs. Havoc picked up a metal pole and jawed at Callihan, who ran away. Havoc ran after him while Schiavone hyped their match for Fury Road…
Powell’s POV: It was disappointing that we didn’t get the advertised Havoc vs. Callihan match on television and it turned out to be a plug for their Fury Road match. There was a ton of Fury Road hype on the show. Obviously, the company needs to promote its live events, but it’s rough on the television audience since they have no way of seeing those events live at this point. That said, I didn’t feel like the victim of a bad bait and switch if only because they showed plenty of Callihan and Havoc brawling throughout the course of the show. Plus, I assume we’ll eventually see their Fury Road match on Fusion.
The main event was more than enough to make up for any disappointment over not getting Havoc vs. Callihan. It was a good match and it was nice to see Low Ki use a stronger finisher than the kick to the back of the head that he’s been using. It was odd that they opted to put the heat on Salina for removing the mask rather than putting it on Low Ki. Speaking of heat, it seemed like the company was using the canned version at times. There was a lot of booing for Low Ki and yet when they showed the crowd most of the fans just seemed to be sitting there. I have no problem with this if they took that approach because the audio mix was solid and it was done in a way where I couldn’t say for sure whether that was the case. If they didn’t use canned heat then I guess the fans in camera view were apparently the quietest fans in the building.
Check below for my one-hour interview with MLW founder Court Bauer from last week’s edition of the Pro Wrestling Boom Podcast with Jason Powell.
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