By Jason Powell, ProWrestling.net Editor (@prowrestlingnet)
Major League Wrestling Underground
Taped January 7, 2023 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania at 2300 Arena
Aired February 28, 2023 on Reelz
Underground opened with a recap of John Hennigan debuting last week and attacking Davey Richards… Joe Dombrowski and Matt Striker was the broadcast team, and Tim Barr was the ring announcer…
“Bomaye Fight Club” Alex Kane, Myron Reed, and Mr. Thomas stood on the stage. The MLW Underground logo appeared on the screen behind them. Kane said he would take the family legacy of Davey Boy Smith Jr. and the “Billington Bulldogs” Mark Billington and Tom Billington and place it inside the Opera Cup and then burn it. Smith and the Billingtons came out and brawled with the Bomaye Fight Club on the stage… The Underground opening aired…
Dombrowski hyped the main event and then said there would an update on Mance Warner hitting Real1 with his car last week… Delirious and Abismo Negro made their entrance. Dombrowski announced that Alex Hammerstone vs. Jacob Fatu for the MLW Heavyweight Championship will be broadcast on the March 21 edition of Underground.
Mister Saint Laurent (MSL) walked onto the stage and delivered the big buildup for Microman, who made his entrance with Lince Dorado. Dombrowski set up a video package that spotlighted Microman…
1. Microman and Lince Dorado vs. Delirious and Abismo Negro. MSL sat in on commentary and declined to say how mucho of a cut he gets for managing Microman. Dorado performed a standing moonsault on Negro and then kicked him to ringside. Dorado ran the ropes, but Delirious held the top rope down, causing Dorado to fall to the floor. Negro returned to the ring and performed a dive onto Dorado heading into a break. [C]
Dorado hit the heels with a double cutter coming out of the break. The screen flashed to something presumably involving the calling card people. Microman took a hot tag and hit 6.19s on both opponents. Microman ended up rolling Negro into a pin for the three count. A “Microman” chant broke out.
Microman and Lince Dorado defeated Delirious and Abismo Negro.
After the match, the lights went out and then three gas mask attackers (calling card guys) hit the ring and attacked Microman, Dorado, and MSL, who had joined the post match celebration. The masked heels left the babyfaces lying… [C]
Powell’s POV: This match was actually taped at the MLW Fightland taping back on October 30, 2022, so that’s why the MLW Fusion logo was on the big screen. Meanwhile, the opening segment was newer with the Underground logo in the background and Alex Kane actually mentioning the show by name. MLW is obviously taking a bit of a Frankenstein approach when it comes to putting these early Reelz shows together, but that should change once they run out of this older footage from the Fightland and Blood & Thunder tapings. Anyway, this was a solid debut for Microman on Underground. I still think Delirious is a better babyface and would actually be a fun partner for Microman rather than being one of his regular adversaries. For that matter, it would actually make more sense that the deranged Delirious is unable to tell Microman about MSL fleecing him as opposed to Dorado not smartening him up.
Footage aired of one of the gas mask men presenting Alex Hammerstone with a gift box that contained a dead octopus…
Footage aired of a cameraman approaching Alex Hammerstone as he drove up to a hotel. Hammerstone said Calvin Tankman was the first person the gas mask guys targeted. Hammerstone assumed that the Samoan Swat Team was behind the attacks and told Jacob Fatu to do better next time…
Footage aired of Mance Warner getting out of jail while a couple of his buddies were waiting for him. They gave Warner a beer and he said he owed them money for bailing him out of jail. They took delight in Warner being arrested for hitting Real1 with his car…
Entrances for the featherweight division match took place…
2. Billie Starkz vs. Kayla Kassidy. The broadcast team said Kassidy was bothered by Starkz’s debut getting all of the attention when she was also making her MLW debut. Kassidy attacked Starkz to start the match while the broadcast team noted that Starkz is only 18 years-old. They spoke about Starkz’s recent tour of Japan.
Starkz eventually rallied and performed a nice suplex into a bridge for a near fall. Starkz caught Kassidy in Electric Chair position and then slammed her to the mat and got the three count…
Billie Starkz beat Kayla Kassidy.
Sam Laterna interviewed MLW Featherweight Champion Taya Valkyrie on the stage. Valkyrie said that she and her husband John Hennigan would be husband and wife champions in MLW. Starkz made her way to the stage and said she respects Valkyrie for her journey from Mexico to MLW. Valkyrie said of course Starkz is a fan because everyone is. Valkyrie said that based on what she just saw, Starkz needs to keep studying her tapes.
Powell’s POV: This match was taped on January 7 and they had the Underground logo on the screen again, so I guess that’s the best way to tell which matches were taped on which show if you care about that sort of thing. Starkz is an impressive prospect. It’s probably going to be a short run for Starkz unless she opts to work independently despite working matches over the weekend for AEW and ROH at their Universal Studios tapings. Even so, I like that Starkz is being built up for a shot at Taya Valkyrie’s MLW Featherweight Championship. It’s much better than just thrusting someone into that role without any build. It’s also a lot more fun to see Valkyrie playing this heel role than it is to see her as part of the Death Dollz in Impact these days.
A Davey Richards video package aired and then Dombrowski hyped the main event as coming up after the break… [C] Dombrowski promoted MLW’s online gambling partner and then recapped the show opening brawl…
Alex Kane delivered a backstage promo while Mr. Thomas stood behind him. Kane said that Bomaye Fight Club doesn’t fight for free. He said they would do a little community service by giving the Billington Bulldogs a match against Thomas and Myron Reed. Kane said that if the Bulldogs actually win the match, he would give Smith a match…
The following matches were announced for next week’s MLW Underground: The Billington Bulldogs vs. Myron Reed and Mr. Thomas, Alex Hammerstone vs. Lance Anoa’i for the MLW Heavyweight Championship, and Lio Rush vs. Jacob Fatu…
EJ Nduka stood backstage with a chair in hand and called out for Jacob Fatu. Juicy Finau showed up and attacked Nduka, who fought back and was getting the better of the brawl when they cut away…
Tim Barr delivered the introductions for the main event…
3. Davey Richards vs. John Hennigan (w/Cesar Duran, Taya Valkyrie) for the MLW National Openweight Championship. Richards sent Henningan to ringside early in the match. Richards went to the apron for a move, but Valkyrie stood in his way. Hennigan took advantage of the distraction by sweeping the leg of Richards. [C]
Richards put Hennigan down and then howled while standing on the ropes. Richards went for a double stop, but Hennigan avoided it. Hennigan set up for a move, but Richards countered into a trailer hitch. Duran pushed the bottom rope to Hennigan, who grabbed it to break the hold.
Later, Richards threw three running kicks at Hennigan and was unable to knock him off the apron. Richards went for a suplex, but Valkyrie tripped the leg of Richards, so Hennigan fell on top of him and got a near fall. Striker said it was a brilliant move.
Hennigan threw a knee to the head and then performed Starship Pain, but Richards avoided the finishing move. Richards threw a kick at Hennigan and then went up top and howled again before performing a double stop for a near fall. Richards followed up with a brainbuster for another near fall.
Richards put Hennigan in an ankle lock. Hennigan rolled over and then threw kicks at Richards, who caught his leg and countered into a Texas Cloverleaf. Duran climbed onto the apron and distracted the referee while Valkyrie entered the ring and hit Richards with a title belt. Hennigan covered Richards and then the referee turned around and counted the pin.
John Hennigan defeated Davey Richards to win the MLW National Openweight Championship.
The broadcast team narrated highlights of the match and then the heels were shown celebrating. Dombrowski spoke of Hennigan and Valkyrie as a power couple…
Powell’s POV: Hennigan debuted last week and won MLW’s secondary championship this week. I’m not crazy about the finish, in part because Valkyrie hitting Richards over the shoulder with a title belt didn’t seem all that punishing, but I don’t mind the idea of Hennigan and Valkyrie becoming husband and wife champions. Dombrowski does nice work, but Rich Bocchini’s angry reaction to the heels cheating was missed. Dombrowski showed some frustration over the way Hennigan won, but Bocchini became especially good at selling the antics of heels by acting truly outraged by their actions. I guess Striker is a heel commentator because he was marveling over the brilliance of Valkyrie’s interference at one point.
Overall, this was a good episode with the debut of the likable Microman in the opener, a showcase win for Billie Starkz, and a title change in the main event. My weekly MLW Underground audio reviews are available exclusively for Dot Net Members (including our Patreon patrons).
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