By Chris Vetter, ProWrestling.net Contributor (@chrisvetter73)
MLW “Fightland”
Atlanta, Georgia at Center Stage
Streamed live September 14, 2024 on the MLW YouTube Page
The lighting was good and the crowd was maybe 400-500. Joe Dombrowski and Christian Cole provided commentary; these two really collaborate well. We are down to the Final Four of the Opera Cup tournament.
1. TJP vs. Kenta in an Opera Cup semifinal match. TJP wore his United Empire gear. The camera focused on the Cup, on display on the stage. Kenta attacked from behind to open and they brawled to the floor. I have to believe these guys have fought before, at least in multi-man matches. Kenta whipped TJP face-first into the ring post at 3:00. They got in the ring and Kenta was in charge and kept TJP grounded. TJP snapped Kenta’s left arm backward at 6:00. TJP hit a series of snap suplexes.
TJP hit a Facewash kick in the corner. He went for a Mamba Splash, but Kenta got his knees up to block it. Kenta nailed a top-rope doublestomp to the chest for a nearfall at 8:30. Kenta hit a Mafia Kick. TJP hit an inverted DDT move and they were both down. These guys are having a really good match. TJP hit a tornado DDT out of the corner, but he missed the Mamba Splash. They traded rollups. Kenta hit a low blow mule kick while the ref was out of position, then the Go To Sleep pop-up kneestrike for the tainted pin. Good match.
Kenta defeated TJP to advance to the Opera Cup tournament finals at 10:23.
2. Bad Dude Tito vs. Mistico in an Opera Cup semifinal match. Mistico wore his MLW Middleweight Title. Tito has a significant height and muscle mass advantage. Mistico hit some spin kicks to the thighs early on, and he hit a dive to the floor at 1:00. In the ring, Tito hit a short-arm clothesline for a nearfall, then an Exploder Suplex at 3:00 and he made a cocky one-footed cover. Tito hit a snap suplex for a nearfall and kept Mistico grounded. He paused to jaw at fans, and he hit another Exploder Suplex for a nearfall. He applied a Camel Clutch at 5:30.
Mistico hit a head0scissors takedown and was fired up. He hit an enzuigiri and a top-rope head0scissors takedown, then a springboard crossbody block for a nearfall at 7:00. Tito hit a standing powerbomb for a nearfall. Mistico got a Crucifix Driver out of nowhere for the pin; I truly didn’t see that coming.
Mistico defeated Bad Dude Tito to advance to the Opera Cup tournament finals at 8:03.
* Outside, Brett Ryan Gosselin, Bobby Fish, CW Anderson and Brock Anderson were hanging out on the roof of a building and drinking. They are confident they will win their matches later.
* A video montage aired saying Kevin Knight is headed to MLW.
3. Donovan Dijak (w/Saint Laurent) vs. Timothy Thatcher. An intense lockup to open; Dijak appears to be taller but not by much. Thatcher hit some European Uppercuts early on. Dijak grounded him and hit a backbreaker over his knee at 3:00. He went for a splash but Thatcher got his knees up to block it. Dijak tossed Thatcher across the ring and got a nearfall. Thatcher hit a snap suplex for a nearfall at 5:00 and more European Uppercuts. Dijak flipped him over the ropes to the floor. Dijak hit a Foley-style elbow drop from the apron to the floor. In the ring, Thatcher hit a back suplex for a nearfall at 7:00, and he locked in a Fujiwara Armbar. Dijak nailed a superkick, then his discus Mafia Kick. He nailed the Feast Your Eyes kneestrike and scored the pin. Good match.
Donovan Dijak defeated Timothy Thatcher at 8:16.
Saint Laurent got on the mic and put over Dijak, saying he’ll take on anybody. He showed off several “open contract” papers in his hand. Dijak got on the mic and reiterated “any time, anywhere.” He listed off Lawlor, Suzuki, Kojima and a few others, calling them “shit fighters.”
* Brett Ryan Gosselin and Bobby Fish joined Dombrowski on commentary. They both were wearing suits.
4. CW Anderson and Brock Anderson vs. Alex Kane and Mr. Thomas. Kane and CW opened. Kane hit a running splash on Brock for a nearfall at 2:30. The Andersons began working over Kane in their corner. Kane entered and hit some clotheslines and Stinger Splashes at 5:30. CW kicked out Thomas’ knee and tied him up on the mat. Kane got in and hit some Exploder Suplexes. Kane accidentally splashed the ref. He hit a back suplex on Brock, and Thomas hit a frogsplash for a visual pin, but the ref was down. Fish and BRG hopped in the ring and stomped on Kane and Mr. Thomas. BRG hit a chairshot to Kane’s back. Out of the back came Kevin Knight! He leapt off the stage onto Fish and BRG. JBL came out of the back. “Has hell frozen over? What the hell is this?” Dombrowski said. JBL hit Mr. Thomas! He hit a short-arm clothesline. Joe asked, “Why the hell is John Layfield in Major League Wrestling?” JBL whispered into Brock’s ear and he left. Brock covered the prone Mr. Thomas and scored the pin.
CW Anderson and Brock Anderson defeated Alex Kane and Mr. Thomas at 10:44.
* Gosselin got on the mic and he berated the crowd. “You imbeciles are witnessing history. Just when you think you have us beat, we have another ace up our sleeve.” He said they are a “championship franchise in the making.” CW got on the mic and called them the “Rogue Horsemen.”
* Backstage, Tito was upset. He ran into Matthew Justice and they began shoving each other.
5. Okumura vs. Adam Priest. I’ve always compared the short mat-based gatekeeper Priest to Jaime Noble, and they immediately worked over each other’s left arm. Priest hit a second-rope missile dropkick at 3:00. They went to the floor and brawled at ringside. In the ring, Priest hit a snap suplex for a nearfall. Okumura hit a backbreaker over his knee at 5:30, then a stunner out of the corner for a nearfall. Okumura hit a fisherman’s brainbuster for the pin. Solid.
Okumura defeated Adam Priest at 6:47.
* Ikuro Kwon and two guys in masks came out and stood on the stage and glared at Okumura. However, Akira ran up behind them and hit them with a kendo stick.
* Backstage, Matt Riddle walked up to Satoshi Kojima. He said he had to leave to take of some business in California. Saint Laurent and Tom Lawlor walked up to Riddle. Laurent taunted Riddle, saying he should put up his title shot against Lawlor. Riddle agreed to fight Lawlor! Riddle again stressed he had to leave. (So, he won’t be around to help Kojima?)
6. Satoshi Kojima vs. Mads “Krule” Krugger for the MLW Heavyweight Title. Krule attacked from behind before Kojima had removed his robe. They traded chops. They went to the floor, where Krugger pushed Kojima into the ring post. In the ring, Kule missed a Stinger Splash at 3:00, and Kojima immediately hit his rapid-fire chops in the corner. Kojima hit a DDT, then another. Krule hit a back suplex for a nearfall. Satoshi hit a Koji-cutter for a nearfall at 6:00. Krule hit a chokeslam. Kojima hit a clothesline and they were both down. Kojima went for a cover but Janai Kai ran into the ring and broke it up. Cameras panned backstage, where Akira and Okumura fought Minoru Suzuki. Meanwhile, in the ring, Krule threw a fireball across the ring at Kojima (it did not look good at all! It seriously landed at his feet, coming nowhere close to his face.) and the ref called for the bell. (Why didn’t he call for the bell when Janai interfered?) The action in this match honestly wasn’t all that good.
Satoshi Kojima defeated Mads Krugger via DQ to retain the title at 7:07.
* Krule was getting a body bag, but Matt Riddle appeared on the stage! He hadn’t left yet after all! Riddle brawled with Kwon, while Akira brawled with Krule. Dombrowski and Cole sold that Kojima was “badly burned.” They didn’t show replays because the fireball landed at Kojima’s feet and it’s just not believable he was “badly burned.”
7. Mistico vs. Kenta in the Opera Cup Finals. Cole called this a “dream match.” The bell rang but Kenta went to the apron to stall, and they finally locked up for the first time at 2:00. Mistico hit a handspring-back-elbow, then a flying head0scissors takedown. He then dove through the ropes onto Kenta, and they were both down on the floor. Kenta shoved Mistico off the apron to the floor, and Mistico was down. Kenta stomped on him and threw him shoulder-first into the ring post at 5:00. In the ring, Mistico hit a series of chops. Kenta fired back with his own series of chops. Kenta hit a swinging neckbreaker for a nearfall at 8:00. Mistico nailed a 619 and that popped the crowd. He hit a springboard missile dropkick that sent Kenta to the floor at 9:30, so Mistico hit a twisting plancha to the floor.
Mistico missed a moonsault but landed on his feet. He got a rollup for a believable nearfall. Mistico went for a handspring move but Kenta hit a basement dropkick to the face at 12:00! Kenta hit a DDT out of the ropes and they were both down. Kenta hit a dropkick into the corner, then a top-rope doublestomp to the chest for a nearfall at 13:30. He made the Go To Sleep hand gesture. Kenta pushed Mistico into the ref! Kenta hit a DDT. Kenta got a chair, but Mistico ducked being hit, and Mistico hit a dropkick, and they were both down. Kenta hit a low blow and a running knee for a believable nearfall at 16:30. Mistico hit a springboard crossbody block, then he hit the flying Mistica into the Fujiwara Armbar, and Kenta tapped out.
Mistico defeated Kenta to win the Opera Cup tournament at 17:49.
Final Thoughts: I’ll go with the show-opener TJP-Kenta for best match, with Kenta-Mistico in the finals for second. So, some really good action to bookend this show. I’ll go with Thatcher-Dijak for third. Kenta-Tito was fine for honorable mention.
The rest of the show admittedly didn’t do much for me, though. The Andersons shouldn’t be on TV at all at this point; CW is thinner now but clearly old, and Brock just isn’t TV-ready. Kojima-Krule was flat and a bad fireball throw doesn’t help. Priest is so good but he shouldn’t be losing to the elderly Okumura at this point. And no women’s match?
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