By Chris Vetter, ProWrestling.net Contributor (@chrisvetter73)
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MLW “Blood and Thunder”
St. Petersburg, Florida at The Coliseum
Streamed live July 12, 2024 on the MLW YouTube Page
This show features several Opera Cup tournament matches. Christian Cole and Joe Dombrowski provided commentary. This appears to be a fieldhouse and I’m fairly certain MLW used this space for their recent double-cage show, and the commentators said a few times during the show it was sold out. There are maybe 500 fans in attendance.
1. Atlantis Jr. defeated Okumura in an Opera Cup first-round match at 8:33. Okumura carried his MLW Tag Team Title belt. A feeling-out process early on, and Atlantis Jr. hit some loud chops. He hit a dropkick. On the floor, he hit a tilt-a-whirl backbreaker over his knee at 2:00. Okumura shoved him shoulder-first into the ring apron and he began targeting the left arm. In the ring, Atlantis Jr. hit a top-rope crossbody block and a superkick. Okumura hit a running stunner for a nearfall at 4:30.
Okumura hit a Michinoku Driver for a nearfall. Atlantis Jr. dove through the ropes and they were both down on the floor. In the ring, Atlantis Jr. hit a powerslam for a nearfall at 6:30. Okumura applied a cross-armbreaker, but Atlantis Jr. reached the ropes. Atlantis Jr. put Okumura on his shoulders and spun him to the mat, then Atlantis Jr. hit a frogsplash for the pin. Decent opener.
* Dombrowski interviewed Alex Kane and Mr. Thomas, as they are among the participants in the 16-man Opera Cup field. He asked them if fighting each other will “tear the Bomaye Fight Club apart.” Kane said no.
* Backstage Janai Kai and masked goons beat up Jesus Rodriguez. Cesar Duran confronted Salina De La Renta, who is legitimately pregnant and it is more noticeable here than the last taping. Dombrowski wondered “who is Salina’s baby daddy?” I just can’t pretend to care.
* We saw an ambulance pull up to the building, as it may be needed for the main event!
2. Tom Lawlor defeated Jake Crist in an Opera Cup first-round match at 7:09. Lawlor won the Cup in 2020. Jake leapt onto Lawlor to start the match, and he hit an Asai Moonsault. They got in the ring and the bell ang at 0:30. Jake hit a crossbody block and tied up Lawlor on the mat. Lawlor hit a uranage onto the ring apron and he tied up Crist. Saint Laurent joined commentary and complained. Lawlor removed a pair of shorts (he had another pair on underneath) and he choked Crist with them at 3:00. He hit some European Uppercuts. It must really be warm in there as you can really see both men are sweating.
Crist hit a second-rope flying forearm and a pop-up powerbomb for a nearfall at 5:00. Lawlor hit a modified brainbuster move for a nearfall, and he applied a rear-naked choke, and hit a head-capture suplex. Crist hit a springboard stunner for a nearfall. Lawlor hit a top–rope superplex and tied Crist in a hammerlock upon landing, and Jake tapped out. Good match. This means that Saint Laurent’s men — Lawlor and Davey Boy Smith — will square off in the next round.
* Paul Walter Hauser appeared on the screen. He made fun of Lawlor and reminded Tom that he eliminated him in the Battle Riot. Hauser challenged Lawlor to a cage match! Also, Laurent will be barred from the building. Lawlor accepted the match.
* Mads “Krule” Krugger gave a pre-taped backstage promo, with Janai Kai and Minoru Suzuki standing by his side.
3. Minoru Suzuki (w/Kwon) defeated Akira at 11:18. I initially thought this was a tournament match; Akira already advanced to the second round. Akira came out with a dog on a leash. (Why?) Joe said the dog has become a mascot for him. Suzuki came out to the generic Contra music, depriving fans of a sing-along. Good to see Minoru is here, as he apparently had a health scare recently. Akira immediately tied him up on the mat. Suzuki twisted the left arm, then he switched to tying up Akira’s legs. Akira has a full head of blue hair today; it’s not in a narrow mohawk. Minoru tied him in an armbar in the ropes at 4:00. They rolled to the floor and Minoru went for a piledriver on a table, but Akira escaped. Kwon attacked Akira while Minoru distracted the ref!!
In the ring, Akira hit some chops that Minoru no-sold. Minoru again tied up Akira on the mat. Kwon tried again to interfere but Akira slammed him onto the thin mat at ringside. Back in the ring, Akira hit a series of forearm strikes that had no effect, so he hit a shotgun dropkick at 7:30. He hit a top-rope senton splash that didn’t quite fully connect. Minoru set up for the Gotch-style Piledriver again, but Akira escaped. Akira put his hands behind his back and dared Minoru to hit him. Bad idea! Minoru dropped him with just one forearm strike. The crowd chanted “one more time!” Akira hit a Flatliner, then a German Suplex for a nearfall at 10:30. Minoru locked in a sleeper, then he hit the Gotch-style Piledriver for the pin. Good match.
* Kwon and Suzuki kept beating up Akira after the match until Satoshi Kojima ran to the ring (please, don’t make him run! It hurts to watch him try!), and Kojima helped fight off the heels.
* It’s time to find out who is Salina’s ‘baby daddy.’ Cole called this “the ongoing novela of MLW,” which is unfortunately spot-on accurate. Duran came out first and called her to the ring. She teased, asking the crowd if they wanted to know. Duran got impatient and demanded to know, or “I’ll disown you.” Bad Dude Tito came to the ring, dressed in a button-down shirt and is NOT dressed to wrestle; he has his belt over his shoulder. He isn’t the dad; he wants to know, too! Saint Laurent came to the ring. “There is no way he’s allowed to procreate!” Dombrowski shouted. He got on the mic and also said he’s not the father, but he knows who is.
Duran is still impatient. Salina pointed to a masked henchmen who snuck into the ring. He removed the mask and the crowd was dead silent as NO ONE knows who this guy is. Salina and the guy passionately kissed. This is the biggest DUD of a reveal ever. The announcers didn’t say his name because no one knows who he is. Salina and the baby daddy went to the back. Dombrowski said Duran was betrayed by his closest confidant. What a colossal waste of time.
* Another view package aired for Mads “Krule” Krugger and highlighted the “Three Stages of Destruction” match with Matthew Justice. The first stage is a first blood match. The second stage is a street fight. The third stage is an ambulance match
4. Mads “Krule” Krugger defeated Matthew Justice (w/Bill Alfonso) in a “Three Stages of Destruction” match at 19:18. They brawled at the bell, and rolled to the floor at 1:00 and they whacked each other with chairshots to the back. In the ring, Justice hit a chairshot onto a ladder over Krule’s head. He beat up a masked Contra guy, too. Justice hit a coast-to-coast missile dropkick at 4:00 then a LOUD chairshot across an unprotected head, and the ref called for the bell at 4:39, as Krule was bleeding on the top of his head. (See the rules above.) The match continued without a break, and Justice buried Krule under chairs and weapons.
Krule got up and repeatedly punched Justice. Justice hit a Blue Thunder Bomb onto an open chair for a nearfall at 8:30. Justice climbed a ladder, but a masked goon cut him off. Krule climbed the ladder and fought Justice on the top of it, and Mads superplexed Justice off the ladder and through a table for a pin at 11:08. This was a pretty impressive bump. We got a “this is awesome!” chant. Krule went to put Justice in a body bag, but Alfonso stopped him. Justice clotheslined them both to the floor, and Matthew landed awkwardly on a ladder but it appears he’s okay.
They brawled up the entryway. Justice leapt off a ladder onto Krugger on the floor at 16:30. They brawled out the back of the arena and into the alley, next to the ambulance. Justice opened the ambulance’s rear door but was attacked by Kwon! Krule set a table on fire and powerbombed Justice onto the flaming table. (It really is amazing how quickly it goes out.) Krule shoved Justice into the ambulance and slammed the door to win the match. Okay brawl with the big bump on that suplex off the ladder for the second fall.
* An ad aired for “Never Say Never,” which was taped along with this show and will air on YouTube on Aug. 10. Never Say Never features the Alex Kane-Mr. Thomas and Mistico-Magnus and Bad Dude Tito-Danny Jones first-round Opera Cup matches. Dombrowski also listed the matches for “Fantastica Mania,” which takes place Saturday in San Jose, Calif.
5. Janai Kai defeated Gigi Rey to retain the MLW Featherweight Title at 5:11. I don’t think I’ve seen Gigi and she appears to be of average size; Dombrowski said she trained under Booker T’s Reality of Wrestling and has toured Japan with Marvelous. They twisted each other’s left arm. Kai hit a series of kicks and kept Gigi grounded, hitting some stiff kicks to the spine. Gigi hit some clotheslines and an enzuigiri at 3:30, then a Michinoku Driver for a nearfall. This crowd is not here for them. Gigi hit a top-rope corkscrew moonsault for a nearfall. Gigi set up for a spear but Janai caught her with a knee to the face! Kai hit a stiff kick in the corner for the pin. Good action; the crowd was down after that brawl in the prior match, which is too bad.
6. Kenta defeated Bobby Fish in an Opera Cup first-round match at 17:15. They circled each other before finally locking up. Fish is looking eerily like Tomasso Ciampa these days. An extended feeling-out process as they barely did anything in the opening minutes. Kenta hit a shoulder tackle at 3:00 that dropped Fish. He hit a Russian Leg Sweep for a nearfall. Fish hit a back suplex for a nearfall at 6:00. Kenta hit some kneedrops on the forehead. Fish hit a Dragonscrew Legwhip and he grounded Kenta. Kenta nailed a top-rope flying clothesline for a nearfall at 9:30. They got up and finally traded stiff forearm strikes as business was picking up. They traded kicks and hit simultaneous clotheslines and were both down.
Kenta missed a top-rope doublestomp and Fish immediately hit a Samoan Drop at 12:30. Kenta pushed Fish, causing Bobby to get crotched in the corner. Kenta nailed a top-rope superplex and they were both down. He hit a top-rope doublestomp to the chest for a believable nearfall. Fish hit another Dragonscrew Legwhip and Kenta collapsed in pain. Fish nailed a top-rope Falcon Arrow for a believable nearfall, and he switched to a heel hook at 15:00! Kenta finally got a rollup for a nearfall to escape the ankle lock. They got up and Kenta hit his open-hand slaps to the face. Fish hit a suplex. Kenta nailed the Go To Sleep knee strike out of nowhere for the pin. That started slow but built nicely.
* A video package aired to set up our main event!
7. Matt Riddle defeated Sami Callihan in a no-ropes death match at 14:54. The crowd chanted “Bro!” which made Sami livid. Sami tossed powder into Riddle’s eyes in the first minute. He got a barbed wire bat and ran it across Riddle’s hair on the side of his head. Sami got a staple gun and used it on Riddle’s chest at 3:30 and got a “you sick f—!” chant. He used it in Matt’s armpit, too. He bit into a lemon and pushed the fruit onto the cut from a staple. “He’s a hideous human being!” Dombrowski said. He stapled Riddle’s bare toes! He poured salt on the wounds on Matt’s feet. Sami shattered glass on Matt’s forehead, then hit a piledriver for a nearfall at 6:30. Sami dumped glass on the mat and he dropped Matt feet-first onto the pile of glass.
Sami got a tool box and brought it into the ring. He dumped nuts and bolts on the ring. Riddle jumped up and hit a stunner at 9:00, but Matt landed in the debris, too. They brawled to the floor. Matt began removing the cables that connect the canvas to the ring. He peeled back the canvas and foam to reveal the wood boards. They continued to brawl at ringside, and Sami also peeled back the canvas. Sami applied a sleeper at 12:30 but Riddle escaped. They got in the ring and traded blows while standing on the wood boards, and Sami hit a Cactus Driver piledriver for a nearfall at 14:00. Riddle hit an RKO out of nowhere for a nearfall! He pushed a rope into Sami’s mouth, pulled back on it as he cranked on the head, and Sami tapped out. Decent brawl.
* We saw Kwon and the masked goons beating up Akia and Satoshi Kojima outside! The end credits rolled.
Final Thoughts: A solid show. I’ll go with Kenta-Fish for best match, even though it took a while for them to get going. I never felt, even for a second, that Fish was going to win, which hurt the match a bit. Likewise, Suzuki-Akira takes second-place, even though I never thought Minoru was losing. Fans of hardcore matches probably really will like both Justice-Krule and Riddle-Callihan; I can do without all those weapons, and the unprotected blows to the head. I don’t know what else I could say about the Salina “baby daddy reveal.” The crowd reaction was just complete silence; they didn’t even care enough to bother chanting “who are you?” Please, please, please, make the Duran-Selina stuff end. It is hands-down the worst part of MLW shows in 2024.
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