By Jason Powell, ProWrestling.net Editor (@prowrestlingnet)
Major League Wrestling Underground
Taped April 8, 2023 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania at 2300 Arena
Aired May 2, 2023 on Reelz
Underground opened with a recap of Alex Kane winning the 40-man Battle Riot match… The Underground opening aired… The broadcast team was Joe Dombrowski and Matt Striker, and the ring announcer was Mike Falvo. Dombrowski welcomed viewers to the Underground season finale…
Alex Kane made his entrance with Mr. Thomas and unnamed Bomaye Fight Club members. There were loud “Bomaye” chants. A fan yelled that he loved Kane, who told them fan he loved them back. Kane yelled “Bomaye is for…” and the fans filled in “the people” repeatedly. Kane went to ringside and had individual fans yell their part and then a “for the people” chant broke out.
Kane asked if there was anyone who wasn’t for the people. Kane found one fan and said he would beat him up later. Kane returned to the ring and held up a white bag with a “$” logo on it. Kane passed the mic to Thomas.
Thomas started by saying “Bomaye” and then said he’s tired of being overlooked. Thomas said no one backstage could come out and beat him, including Davey Boy Smith Jr., Jacob Fatu, or Alexander Hammerstone.
MLW Heavyweight Champion Alexander Hammerstone made his entrance. Kane said they could do it if Hammerstone wanted the match. The other members of Bomaye Fight Club went after Hammerstone at ringside, but he quickly fought them off and entered the ring…
1. MLW Heavyweight Champion Alexander Hammerstone vs. Mr. Thomas (w/Alex Kane) in a non-title match. Hammerstone nursed the hamstring injury he suffered on a previous show. Thomas had the better of Hammerstone during the opening minute when they cut to a commercial break. [C]
Kane joined the broadcast team coming out of the break. Hammerstone hit his Nightmare Pendulum to win the match quickly.
MLW Heavyweight Champion Alexander Hammerstone beat Mr. Thomas in a non-title match.
Hammerstone clutched his wrapped left hamstring afterward. He also held up the money bag, which he won by defeating Thomas. The Calling’s entrance music played and they walked onto the stage. A couple of henchmen ran to the ring and were quickly knocked off by Hammerstone.
The Samoan Swat Team members Jacob Fatu, Juicy Finau, and Lance Anoa’i ran out and brawled to the back with The Calling members…
Powell’s POV: This was originally scheduled as Hammerstone defending the MLW Heavyweight Championship against Real1, but Real1 announced his departure from the company. This felt like an opportunity to have Kane do more to the idea of cashing in the golden ticket that he won as the prize for Battle Riot, particularly with Hammerstone wounded, but they didn’t really go there. Rather, we got yet another big brawl involving The Calling.
Dombrowski said Court Bauer held a press conference to announce that MLW would go live with the July 8 Never Say Never event that will be available via Fite+. The broadcast team announced the main event as Alex Hammerstone vs. Alex Kane for the MLW Heavyweight Championship. Dombrowski also said they would have more matches to announce when a new season of MLW Fusion kicks off “in a few weeks”…
Powell’s POV: It looks like MLW will be doing dark for a few weeks at least in terms of weekly television. This show marks the end of the company’s contracted run with Reelz and there’s no telling whether they will get another season, but the Reelz deal with Peacock seems to suggest that it’s unlikely. Fusion is expected to stream on YouTube. I’m surprised they didn’t make that clear while still on Reelz, but perhaps they were handcuffed contractually. The pay-per-view is an interesting development, as it’s only the second MLW pay-per-view event in company history.
A Mance Warner promo aired from outside the building. Warner spoke about farm life in Bucksnort, Tennessee and then shifted his focus to fighting Sam Adonis…
Midas Black walked onto the stage and introduced himself as the ring leader. He introduced Jay Lyon, who dove through a hoop that Black held up. The duo headed to the ring for their tag title match, and then the champions made their entrance…
2. “Samoan Swat Team” Juicy Finau and Lance Anoa’i vs. “The Mane Event” Midas Black and Jay Lyon for the MLW Tag Team Titles. Black held up the hoop next to the ropes and then Lyon dove through it and the rope and onto the champions at ringside. The challengers were in offensive control heading into a break. [C]
Finau checked in and put down both opponents with a running crossbody block, which triggered an SST chant. Anoa’i whipped Finau into both challengers on the opposite corner of the ring. A short time later, Finau performed a Cocoa Driver on Lyon, and then Anoa’i executed a Polynesian Plunge (top rope splash) and scored the pin…
“Samoan Swat Team” Juicy Finau and Lance Anoa’i defeated “The Mane Event” Midas Black and Jay Lyon for the MLW Tag Team Titles.
Powell’s POV: I’ll make the same suggestion for MLW that I made for AEW – use more name graphics. They listed the tag team names of both teams prior to the match and yet stopped short of actually listing their individual names. I have no idea what The Mane Event did to earn a tag title match from a storyline standpoint, but the match was enjoyable and the Mane Event duo made a good impression despite taking the loss.
Dombrowski said MLW Fusion will return to beIN Sports on Thursday, May 25 and will feature the beginning of the Opera Cup tournament…
Powell’s POV: Well, there’s the plug for the show airing on beIN Sports, but there was no mention of YouTube or Pro Wrestling TV, so I guess we’ll wait for the official announcement on the streaming side of things.
A Calling video package aired… Brittany Blake vs. B3cca was listed as coming up after the break…
Brittany Blake made her entrance. B3cca came out with a mic in hand and said she had her party hat on. She called for music to play and then sang horribly about being a pop star. When the fans booed, she hung her head low for a moment, then skipped to the ring. Blake climbed onto the apron and said she couldn’t hear the music. She sang her song without the music in the middle of the ring. “Ring the bell, please,” Striker said…
3. Brittany Blake vs. B3cca. B3cca sent Blake to ringside and set up for a suicide dive, but Blake caught her with a punch from the floor. Blake performed weak 609 (her own area code) kick on B3cca, who was on the floor.
Back inside the ring, B3cca regained control and put Blake down with a middle rope missile dropkick. B3cca performed a rolling somersault splash onto Blake at ringside. They returned to the ring where B3cca performed a crossbody block from the ropes for a near fall.
B3cca hoisted up Blake on her back, but Blake slipped out and then threw a kick and a knee strike. B3cca rallied with a release German suplex. B3cca went up top and performed a 450 splash that led to the three count…
B3cca defeated Brittany Blake.
Delmi Exo was interviewed by Sam Laterna in front of the MLW backdrop. She said her one goal is to become the MLW Featherweight Champion…
Powell’s POV: The match was rough at points, but some of the bigger moves looked good, including B3cca’s finisher. The Exo promo was as generic as it gets in that viewers know she wants the title, but they didn’t learn a thing about her personality or whether they are supposed to like or dislike her.
Footage aired of the final four through the end of last week’s Battle Riot match… John Hennigan was shown warming up backstage while Taya Valkyrie stood by… [C]
Footage aired from during the break of Finau and Anoa’i brawling with “The FBI” Little Guido and Ray Jaz…
Dombrowski hyped that the new season of Fusion would start with the Super Series from Tijuana. He also hyped the MLW Never Say Never pay-per-view event… A tale of the tape was listed for the main event…
Jacob Fatu made his entrance for the main event. He was hit from behind by a chair and then The Calling attacked him. Fatu started to fight them off, but he took a chair to the face and was worked over by gas mask henchmen. Akira hit Fatu from behind with a running knee. Raven, Akira, and Rickey Shane Page stood over Fatu and then The Calling headed to the back while MLW crew members checked on Fatu…
A video package aired for MLW Fusion returning with a new season…
Powell’s POV: The Underground run on Reelz concludes with a bait and switch and yet another angle involving The Calling, who continue to get a ton of television time. I’m surprised that MLW didn’t announce that the actual Hennigan vs. Fatu match would take place on the season premiere of Fusion. Perhaps they will make that announcement eventually, but why not use it as a hook while still on Reelz?
The Hennigan vs. Fatu match was the most appealing thing about this show on paper, so I can’t give the overall show a thumbs up. I did like the attention that Alex Kane was given at the start of the show to follow up on his Battle Riot win from last week. I will have more to say about this episode in my weekly audio review for Dot Net Members (including our Patreon patrons).
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