By Chris Vetter, ProWrestling.net Contributor (@chrisvetter73)
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MLW “Pit Fighters”
Taped September 14, 2024 in Atlanta, Georgia at Center Stage
Streamed September 26, 2024 on the MLW YouTube Page
Joe Dombrowski and Christian Cole provided commentary.
* The “Rogue Horsemen” (Brett Ryan Gosselin, Bobby Fish, Brock Anderson, CW Anderson) hit the ring to open the show. BRG got on the mic; the crowd booed him. He said the fans should be cheering for them, not the Bomaye Fight Club.
1. Kevin Knight vs. Bobby Fish. Knight is a NJPW graduate and has made sporadic appearances in TNA. Knight hit some armdrags early on, and Fish rolled to the floor to regroup. Knight got tripped on the ring apron and sold pain in his left arm from the fall. Knight hit some clotheslines and his picture-perfect dropkick at 3:00, then a springboard clothesline for a nearfall, but Fish got a foot on the ropes. He nailed his jump-up Frankensteiner. Knight hit a plancha to the floor on the Andersons. However, Fish hit a running back elbow on Knight as Kevin got back into the ring, and Fish scored the pin.
Bobby Fish defeated Kevin Knight at 4:33.
* The Rogue Horsemen kept beating up Knight after the match, which brought out Alex Kane and Mr. Thomas for the save.
* Backstage, Tom Lawlor and Saint Laurent were ready for Lawlor’s match later against Matt Riddle. Tom said he’s not screwing around playing video games; he’s in the gym. He vowed Riddle is getting a beat-down.
* In a different backstage segment, Akira called out Ikuro Kwon. They are having a Taipei Death Match. He began gluing his wrist tape and dipped them in a bowl of glass.
2. Janai Kai vs. Delmi Exo for the MLW Featherweight Title. Delmi came out first and wore a white karate-style robe. Kai wore a black karate robe, and they bowed to each other. Kai immediately hit some spin kicks at Delmi’s left elbow. Exo hit a hard knee to the chin and some chops. They brawled on the floor at 3:00. Back in the ring, Kai stomped on Exo while also twisting the damaged left arm. The ref called for the bell and pulled Kai off of Exo. Surprisingly one-sided, considering how they have built up Delmi at recent show.
Janai Kai defeated Delmi Exo to retain the MLW Featherweight Title at 4:07.
* A video segment aired with Mistico talking about lucha. This segment had subtitles and was really well done.
* We saw Ultimo Guerrero challenge Satoshi Kojima for a title match!
3. Matthew Justice vs. Jesus Rodriguez. Rodriguez came out first; Justice attacked him on the stage, and they immediately brawled into the crowd, and I started my stopwatch at first contact. They brawled to ringside, and Rodriguez suplexed him onto the ring apron at 2:00. Justice hit a summersault dive from the apron onto Rodriguez on the floor. Justice threw some chairs and doors into the ring and he dropped a door onto Rodriguez. Rodriguez hit him a couple times with a ‘slapjack’ (a weight in a sock.) He hit Justice over the head with a street sign and got a nearfall at 6:00.
Rodriguez fell off the ring apron and he crashed through a table on the floor. Justice leapt off a platform in the risers and crashed onto Rodriguez, who was lying on a table, at 8:00. They got back into the ring, where Justice hit a Death Valley Driver through a door in the corner. Justice then hit a coast-to-coast missile dropkick onto a chair over Rodriguez’s face, and he scored the pin. Decent brawl, but it also was pretty one-sided (which was far more expected than the one-sided women’s match.)
Matthew Justice defeated Jesus Rodriguez at 9:07.
* Bad Dude Tito jumped in the ring and beat up Justice, hitting a brainbuster onto an open chair. Tito jumped on Justice and hit repeated punches.
* A video package says Trevor Lee is coming to MLW!
4. Randall Royce vs. Danny Stratos. Royce looks older and wore a blue karate robe. Danny is bald and wore a black, boxing robe. I am unclear, as this begins, if this is a worked fight between a boxer and a karate fighter, and quite frankly, I don’t know why this is even happening. OKAY, Donovan Dijak (w/Saint Laurent) turned babyface by saving us from this disaster. He strolled to the ring at 2:00 and began kicking both of them. He beat up any security who also got into the ring, too. Laurent got on the mic and put over Dijak. Dijak continued to beat down these guys. “Pit fighters? More like bitch fighters,” Dijak said. He proclaimed he is the only real fighter in all of MLW, and he called himself a “cold-blooded killer.”
Randall Royce vs. Danny Stratos went to a no-finish at 2:00.
* Footage from the last MLW event aired, including JBL coming to the ring. We then saw new footage of JBL walking through a parking garage. He walked out onto the street and ignored questions shouted in his direction.
* Paul Walter Hauser spoke in a video from inside his trailer at a movie set. He said he misses pro wrestling. He said he was surprised to see JBL return and said he was disrespectful. He said if JBL interferes, he will knock JBL to the ground. (Good lord, are they going to feed JBL to Hauser???) I am SO OVER Hauser’s role in MLW…
5. Alex Kane vs. Brett Ryan Gosselin. Kane hit an Exploder Suplex in the first minute, then a German Suplex then a pump-handle suplex, and BRG rolled to the floor at 1:30. Kane hit BRG with a cookie sheet as they fought at ringside. He slammed Brett onto the ring apron and splashed onto him at 3:30. BRG took control in the ring and pushed a chair into Kane’s throat. Kane put a garbage can over BRG’s head and repeatedly struck it with a weapon at 6:00. Brett hit Kane with a gold brick and got a nearfall. Kane threw the garbage can at his head, then hit a fisherman’s suplex for the pin. Decent brawl.
Alex Kane defeated Brett Ryan Gosselin at 8:19.
* The Rogue Horsemen beat up Mr. Thomas.
6. Akira vs. Ikuro Kwon in a Taipei Death Match. Both men pushed their glue-covered wrists into bowls of glass and they started to brawl. Akira jabbed a fork into Kwon’s forehead at 2:00 and Kwon was bleeding, earning a “you sick f—!” chant. Kwon hit an enzuigiri, then a uranage for a nearfall at 4:00. Akira hit an enzuigiri and a basement dropkick in the corner. He is heavily bleeding, too. Akira hit a German Suplex for a nearfall. Akira hit a powerbomb for a nearfall at 6:30. Kwon hit a frogsplash, but Akira stabbed him in the chest with a fork. Akira tied him in a crossface; Kwon raked the eyes to escape. Kwon hit a brainbuster for a nearfall at 8:30. They fought on the ropes and Akira stabbed him some more with the fork. Akira hit a Burning Hammer for a believable nearfall. Akira stabbed him some more. Kwon sprayed green mist in his eyes! Kwon hit a Shining Wizard for the tainted pin. Too bloody for my tastes.
Ikuro Kwon defeated Akira at 10:34.
* Ernest “The Cat” Miller came out of the back and got in the ring. He is a judge for the main event.
7. Matt Riddle vs. Tom Lawlor in a no holds barred fight. No pinfalls in this match. Riddle’s hair is in tight cornrows and braids. They traded some slaps and attempted kicks with neither man really able to land a blow, and a feeling-out process early on. Riddle applied a front guillotine choke. Riddle hit some gut-wrench suplexes at 3:00, so Lawlor hit one, too. Riddle went for a crossarm breaker. They went to the floor, where Lawlor whipped Riddle into the guardrail at 5:30. Back in the ring, Lawlor applied a rear-naked choke as they were on the top turnbuckle. Riddle hit his piledriver and they were both down. They began trading open-hand slaps. Riddle hit a German Suplex, so Lawlor hit one as well. Riddle nailed two hard knee strikes to the jaw. He mounted Lawlor and hit some punches to the face, and the ref basically tackled Riddle to get him off Lawlor, as the ref determined Lawlor was knocked out.
Matt Riddle defeated Tom Lawlor via knockout at 8:06.
* Saint Laurent got in the ring and was upset at Lawlor for losing. He said he had bet a lot of money on him. Laurent fired Lawlor! Lawlor grabbed Laurent. Dijak returned to the ring and attacked Lawlor. Dijak nailed the Feast Your Eyes knee strike on Lawlor, and he celebrated with Saint Laurent as the show came to a close.
Final Thoughts: A decent main event; it felt authentic and believable, but yet it also felt like they just scratched the surface of what they can do. I feel like Lawlor and Riddle have an even better match between them. A merely okay show; Fish and Knight started out really hot but then it abruptly ended. Kane-BRG was solid but nothing must-see, either. Dijak continues to be a highlight wherever he goes. I expected Janai Kai to win but I didn’t expect such a one-sided fight there.
Rodriguez is decent in the ring but was clearly here to lose. I have previously voiced my displeasure at watching Hauser go toe-to-toe with Lawlor and beat him; I really don’t want to see him wrestle anymore. He’s going into the ‘Scream’ actor territory of putting himself too much above the talent. The Taipei Death Match was just too gross for my tastes. For the second straight show, no sign of Cesar Duran or Salina De La Renta, which also is great news.
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