By Jason Powell, ProWrestling.net Editor (@prowrestlingnet)
Major League Wrestling Azteca (Episode 5)
Taped December 3, 2021 in Tijuana, Mexico at Fausto Gutierrez Auditorium
Streamed February 3, 2022 on the MLW’s YouTube Page and FITE.TV
The show opened with Alexander Hammerstone and Richard Holliday tanning at night. Holliday was freezing. Holliday said Hammerstone told him he would get a Hogan tan. Hammerstone said Holliday had to break through the discomfort and spoke about turning his skin into a hard leather shell. Holliday brought up Valentine’s Day. Hammerstone asked him what his plan is. Holliday said he just wants to be pumped for it. Holliday got a phone call. Hammerstone wondered if it was Alica Atout. Holliday said it was someone else and dismissed himself…
The Azteca opening aired and then the broadcast team of Rich Bocchini and Joe Dombrowski checked in from ringside…
1. EJ Nduka vs. Adrian Quest. The entrance of Quest was not televised. He started the match with a dropkick once the bell rang and then threw forearms in the corner. Quest performed a springboard dropkick. Nduka came back with a few shoulder blocks in the corner. Quest rallied and performed a moonsault onto a standing Nduka, who caught him and then put him away with a running powerslam…
EJ Nduka defeated Adrian Quest.
Powell’s POV: A solid spotlight win for Nduka.
A Davey Richards video package aired. Richards said he hears about how he influences people wherever he goes. He said it’s never been about money, fame, or recognition. He said the only thing he cares about is the world title because whoever holds it is the best. Richards said Alexander Hammerstone earned the MLW Heavyweight Championship at a time when things are handed to people. He said he respects Hammerstone, but he won’t hold back when he faces him…
The broadcast team hyped the upcoming six-man tag match…
Richard Holliday was shown on the phone “two hours up the road in Beverly Hills.” Holliday spoke on the phone and said he was doing some shopping for somebody special. A fan approached him and got a selfie, then asked if Alexander Hammerstone was around. Holliday got rid of the fan by saying that Hammerstone was right up the block. Holliday told the person he was on the phone with that he would call them back…
An hourglass was shown on a television set or computer monitor that was outdoors. Suddenly, it was shot by a gun… A video package aired for the MLW SuperFight taping on February 26 in Charlotte…
Powell’s POV: I assume the video is for Killer Kross, who worked an MLW taping two years ago this month before he started in NXT a couple month later.
A video showed that the Von Erichs were placed on the medical reserve list and would not be able to challenge for the MLW Tag Titles in Dallas (the volume cut out briefly). They also showed the 5150 team of Rivera and Slice Boogie winning the IWA Puerto Rico Tag Titles…
A 5150 video aired with Rivera and Boogie showing off their MLW and IWA Puerto Rico Tag Titles…
Mecha Wolf made his entrance, but the feed was taken over by Mads Krugger, who said Contra made him a monster. He said Jacob Fatu was given the kingdom. He said Fatu betrayed Contra and labeled him a Judas. Krugger said Fatu is now his purpose. They cut back to the entrance of Extreme Tiger…
2. Extreme Tiger vs. Mecha Wolf. They fought to ringside early. Wolf dumped Tiger into the front row and then performed a running dive onto him heading into a commercial break. Later, Wolf went for a suicide dive that Tiger sidestepped before shoving Wolf in mid-air into the barricade. Back in the ring, Tiger picked up a near fall, but Wolf came back by slamming him to the mat and then drilled him with a knee to the head. Wolf tossed Tiger in the air and kicked his back on the way down before pinning him. The wrestlers shook hands afterward…
Mecha Wolf defeated Extreme Tiger.
Powell’s POV: It’s usually tough to invest in matches involving two wrestlers who don’t normally appear on MLW shows, but this was pretty entertaining. I could have done without the post match handshake after the violent encounter, but I also don’t know what their current storylines are in The Crash promotion.
The MLW SuperFight control center segment aired. The Hammerstone vs. Richards match as spotlighted, along with the special appearance of Ricky Steamboat for the February 26 taping in Charlotte…
A Los Parks video aired with the trio speaking from home. They challenged 5150 to a rematch. LA Park said his crew is the best tag team in the world… Bocchini hyped the main event heading into a break…
The second “all access” look at Jacob Fatu aired. He said he saw the good, bad, and ugly of pro wrestling and decided to give it a shot. He said his uncle and Gangrel pulled him into an office and asked about his commitment. Fatu recalled his uncle asking him if he was better than the other trainees. Fatu said he had a big head and said yes, but his uncle brought him back to reality. He said the first two weeks of training were hard. He said it made him break down at one point because he realized what his family members put themselves through. Fatu said you can’t just have one foot in the industry and he feels like that was his problem before he signed with MLW.
The upcoming fight schedule listed the return of MLW Fusion for next week, MLW SuperFight in Charlotte, and MLW Azteca on March 31 and April 1 at Gilley’s in Dallas… Entrances for the main event took place…
3. El Hijo Del Vikingo, Laredo Kid, and Octagon Jr. vs. Alex Kane (w/Mr. Thomas), Rey Horus, and Villano III Jr. Kane upset his own tag team partners early on. He told them that it’s all about him. Vikingo tried to go after them, but they all worked him over while Bocchini questioned why the referee was allowing three teammates in the ring at once. Kane upset his teammates again by not letting them hit Vikingo with a move, opting to instead toss him to ringside.
Vikingo’s team took offensive control and tossed Kane inside the ring where Kid hit him with a running forearm. Kid ran the ropes for another move, but Kane followed him and clotheslined him. Kid came back with a superkick. Kane chased Kid, who lowered the ropes, which led to Kane ending up on the floor. There was a series of rapid fire spots involving all six entrants.
Vikingo got a near fall on Kane, then ran the ropes and hit him with a suicide dive. Kid and Octagon performed a double suicide dive on Mr. Thomas. Kane and Thomas stood up and decided to leave, abandoning Horus and Villano. A short time later, Villano performed a spinning lung blower on Vikingo for a near fall. Vikingo rallied and performed a Poison Rana from the top rope for a near fall. Vikingo followed up with a wild spring board move for another near fall. Vikingo delivered double knees to the head of Villano, then followed up with an inverted 450 splash and scored the pin…
El Hijo Del Vikingo, Laredo Kid, and Octagon Jr. defeated Alex Kane, Rey Horus, and Villano III Jr.
The broadcast team hyped the return of MLW Fusion for next week…
Emilio Sparks approached Alicia Atout in a parking area and asked about her boyfriend. She denied that Holliday is her boyfriend. A vehicle arrived. One of Cesar Duran’s masked henchmen pushed Holliday out of the vehicle before it sped away. Atout and Sparks checked on Holliday. Sparks picked up a note and said that it listed Alexander Hammerstone vs. Pagano, and Richard Holliday vs. King Muertes. Holliday remained down as the show concluded…
Powell’s POV: The main event was a fun match with some basic storytelling involving Kane and Thomas, and some great athleticism from the luchadores. Farewell, MLW Azteca. I won’t miss you. It wasn’t all bad. And they are doing two more Azteca tapings in Dallas, but those should be more along the lines of what MLW normally does since they won’t be held in Mexico with The Crash promotion. It’s a treat to see Vikingo and some of the other luchadores, but MLW is more appealing to me when they focus on their own talent and storylines. That said, I remain hopeful that MLW can have some of the Crash wrestlers at their tapings more often so that they can establish their characters with the MLW audience, and then those wrestlers won’t be so unfamiliar to viewers if MLW tapes future shows with The Crash in Mexico. My audio review of this episode will be available later today for Dot Net Members.
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