By Chris Vetter, ProWrestling.net Contributor (@chrisvetter73)
Major League Wrestling “Eric Bischoff’s One Shot”
December 5, 2024 in Queens, New York at Melrose Ballroom
Streamed on MLW YouTube
Joe Dombrowski and Christian Cole provided commentary; I’m glad to hear Cole back as he was missed at the Chicago tapings. Lighting is good and the crowd is maybe 500.
* The show opened with a video package, including Paul Walter Hauser basically inviting Bischoff to come to MLW.
* Eric Bischoff came to the ring and got a big pop. “I’ve missed you guys,” he said, and he pointed out a fan in an NWO shirt. The crowd chanted, “thank you, Eric!” Tom Lawlor and Matt Riddle came to the ring together; Riddle has been training with Lawlor ahead of his title match against Satoshi Kojima. Lawlor pointed out that Bischoff “was in Orlando on Tuesday” and that got boos. “What’s your goal, to bankrupt this place like the last couple of companies you’ve been in?” Lawlor asked him, and that drew a reaction. Eric said that if Riddle loses and Dijak wins… Dijak gets Riddle’s title shot! Riddle just looked amused by Bischoff’s decree. He and Lawlor left; Matt was not looking like he’s taking this seriously. (Shouldn’t he have expressed at least a bit of concern he could lose his title shot?)
Krule came to the ring. He got on the mic and said MLW belongs to Contra and “you have no power here.” Bischoff said he came with backup, and he debuted Babathunder (last known in WWE as Gen. Azeez)!!!!!
1. Babathunder vs. Mads “Krule” Krugger. They traded punches. Dombrowski said “you may have seen him on another station in a silly outfit.” They brawled to the floor. In the ring, Babathunder hit a sideslam at 2:00. Krule hit a second-rope superplex and they were both down. They got up and traded chops; Babathunder is taller! Krule tried a sleeper, but Babathunder leapt and fell backward with his weight splashing onto Krule. However, Krule held on and choked him out!
Mads “Krule” Krugger defeated Babathunder at 4:14.
“Contra Unit” Minoru Suzuki, Ikuro Kwon and Janai Kai got in the ring, too. Krule got on the mic and invited Babathunder to join the faction. He replied with a “Hail Contra!” line. The faction just got a LOT bigger!
* Bischoff joined Dombrowski and Cole on commentary! Bischoff said he’s changed… then he gave away the results of the main event of TNA’s taped show. Funny.
* Backstage, Paul Walter Hauser, Brock Anderson and CW Anderson spoke. Here are three guys that MLW just doesn’t need. Bischoff walked up to Hauser and shook his hand, then he shook hands with the Andersons. Bischoff made a match with CW vs. Matthew Justice later. Alex Kane and Mr. Thomas walked up and spoke to Bischoff. Kane doesn’t like or trust Bischoff, and said Eric is here to tear down MLW. “You are the past; Bomaye is the future,” Kane said.
2. Ava Everett vs. Delmi Exo (w/Cesar Duran). Ava wore black with gold trim. Exo wore her tiara and mostly pink gear. Delmi hit a superkick at the bell and was in charge. They traded forearm strikes. Exo hit another superkick and a fisherman’s suplex for a nearfall at 2:30. Exo hit a second-rope back suplex and they were both down. Ava hit a superkick. Delmi hit a clothesline, then a package piledriver for the pin. Good for the time given.
Delmi Exo defeated Ava Everett at 4:39.
* Cesar Duran got on the mic. He said he knows how to make money, “unlike some executive producers that bankrupt every company they touch.” Delmi said that Janai has unleashed her wrath. She challenged Janai to a hair-vs.-title match!
* Backstage, Saint Laurent and Donovan Dijak spoke. Saint Laurent handed him something and told him not to lose it. “What’s that all about?” Dombrowski said.
* We then saw Duran and Bischoff speaking backstage, and Duran asked him if we wanted to see some HLA tonight… some hot LUCHA action!
3. Bobby Fish vs. Alex Kane (w/Mr. Thomas). This match can only end by submission, knockout or ref stoppage, and not by pinfall. There is a point system, and suplexes earn more points. Dombrowski explained these are rules of the UWFI, which was apparently a Japanese promotion, and Big Van Vader had wrestled there. The more Dombrowski spoke, the worse this got… too convoluted of rules. Kane hit a suplex. (How many points was that? No one knows! It wasn’t displayed on the screen, either. These rules are dumb.) Kane hit a spinning back fist at 4:30. Fish applied a rear-naked choke; Kane rushed backward into the corner to break the hold.
Fish backed him into a corner and hit several body-blows. Kane hit a suplex, then a standing powerbomb, then a brainbuster at 7:30. Fish couldn’t get back to his feet before the 10-count, so the ref awarded the win to Kane. (Why not just call it a match with no pins. They made this so confusing by trying to explain points for certain moves, and deducting points for grabbing the ropes.)
Alex Kane defeated Bobby Fish at 8:25.
* Kane got on the mic and said he’s tired of people “trying to f— with us.” Bischoff appeared on the screen; he’s now in the production truck. He said he feels like being in charge and wants to fire somebody. He fired Kane! Several security guards got in the ring, presumably to escort him out, but Kane hit suplexes on them and beat them up.
* Akira spoke backstage to Satoshi Kojima and Okumura. It was really quiet and I have no idea what they said. We had an ad for the Kings of Coliseum show on Jan. 11 in Texas.
4. Mistico vs. Trevor Lee for the MLW Middleweight Title. Mistico’s mask is also on the line. It feels like he’s been teased to debut here for ages now. Quick reversals on the mat to open, and Lee worked the left arm. Mistico walked the ropes and hit an armdrag. Lee trapped Mistico in the skirt of the ring at 4:00 and hit a penalty kick. He slammed Mistico back-first on the apron. In the ring, Lee kept Mistico grounded. They got up and traded forearm strikes at 9:00. Mistico hit a handspring-back-elbow, then a top-rope crossbody block. Lee dropped him ‘snake-eyes,’ then hit a Shining Wizard for a nearfall at 11:00. Mistico hit a moonsault. Lee hit a mid-ring Spanish Fly for a nearfall at 13:30, then a Crucifix Driver for a nearfall. They got up and traded forearm strikes. Mistico hit a superkick. Mistico hit a top-rope Spanish Fly for the pin. Good match, but the mask stipulation guaranteed Mistico was winning here, so why have that stipulation?
Mistico defeated Trevor Lee to retain the MLW Middleweight Title at 15:25.
* Cesar Duran walked to the ring and celebrated with Mistico, as Mistico hoisted up a Mexican flag. Duran said Bischoff failed in an attempt “to break us.”
* The next MLW show will be released on Dec. 24, presumably with matches being recorded on this show.
5. Donovan Dijak (w/Saint Laurent) vs. Matt Riddle. Dijak came out first; he got on the mic and told Riddle “to put the edibles down” and come out and fight. Dijak easily pushed him to the mat at the bell. Riddle went for a Triangle Choke, but Dijak brushed it off. Riddle jumped on his back, but Dijak again pushed Riddle off and to the mat. Riddle hit some flying forearms into the corner. Dijak suplexed him across the ring and got a nearfall at 4:30. Dijak hit a superkick into the corner as Riddle was seated on the turnbuckles. Dijak nailed a second-rope superplex at 6:00. Riddle hit a jumping knee and a flying forearm, then a T-Bone suplex and a senton. He hit a standing powerbomb and another jumping knee to the chin for a believable nearfall.
Dijak nailed his Discus Mafia Kick for a nearfall. Riddle avoided a chokeslam, and he hit another jumping knee, then a moonsault senton for a believable nearfall at 8:30; I thought that was it. Riddle hit a series of Yes Kicks to the chest. Dijak went for Feast Your Eyes, but Riddle blocked it, hooked the leg and applied a submission hold on the mat. Saint Laurent pulled the ref from the ring at 9:30. Dijak hit a superkick on Riddle. The bell rang so I guess we have a DQ. Dijak set up for Feast Your Eyes, but Tom Lawlor ran to the ring to make the save. Really good action while it lasted.
Matt Riddle defeated Donovan Dijak via DQ at 10:17.
* Next up is “Easy E’s Roulette.”
6. CW Anderson and Brock Anderson (w/Bobby Fish, Brett Ryan Gosselin) vs. Matthew Justice and Paul Walter Hauser. Justice carried his MLW National Title and a chair to the ring. David Arquette, I mean Shane-O-Mac, I mean Hauser, just needs to go away at this point. A roulette wheel appeared on the screen. (Hey, that can be easily rigged!) It settled on the stipulation that this is a “NY City Street Fight.” All four brawled at the bell and it spilled to the floor. CW hit a chair shot on Hauser’s back at 5:30 (did that turn him babyface?) He hit Justice over the head with a cookie sheet. They hit a spinebuster on Hauser for a nearfall. Hauser hit a Russian Legsweep on CW then a flying headbutt. Justice hit a spear on Brock at 7:30. Justice went for a dive but he crashed through a table at ringside. Super Shane, I mean Hauser, hit a Death Valley Driver on CW through a table in the ring. Hauser charged into a corner but his head struck a metal ring and he fell to the mat, and Brock covered him for the pin. Yes, this was bad.
Brock Anderson and CW Anderson defeated Paul Walter Hauser and Matthew Justice at 9:21.
* Backstage, Akira battled the Contra Unit.
7. “Contra Unit” Ikuro Kwon and Minoru Suzuki vs. Okumura and Satoshi Kojima for the MLW Tag Team Titles. Kwon and Okumura opened, but Satoshi and Minoru entered in the first minute and traded chops. Suzuki tied Okumura in a cross-armbreaker in the ropes at 2:00. Kwon and Kojima fought at ringside. Contra Unit worked over Okumura on the mat. Suzuki got in at 5:00 and hit his rapid-fire chops in the corner first on Kwon, then on Suzuki. Satoshi hit a Koji Cutter on Minoru. CU hit stereo forearm strikes on Okumura for a nearfall. Okumura hit a running stunner on Kwon for a nearfall. Satoshi hit a clothesline on Kwon. Dombrowski said Kwon may have swallowed the mist he tried to spew. Okumura pinned Kwon, and they regained the tag team titles. Fans pelted the ring with bread slices. Decent; I wouldn’t say bad, but I wouldn’t say good, either.
Minoru Suzuki and Okumura defeated Ikuro Kwon and Minoru Suzuki to win the MLW Tag Team Titles at 8:35.
* Outside, Bischoff was reading some MLW documents and was on the phone. We heard him say he’ll “guard it with his life.” What is he up to?
Final Thoughts: I really enjoyed Dijak-Riddle and Mistico-Lee, but the stipulations for each match removed any mystery over who was winning. There was just no way that Mistico was going to lose his mask on an MLW show, especially when that stipulation hadn’t been widely announced. So why do it? Likewise, MLW has been building to Riddle-Kojima for months, so there was just no reason to believe that Dijak was going to swoop in and steal the title match. Lee-Mistico started a bit slow but they really built that nicely.
I was starting to wonder if we were ever going to see Gen. Azeez again. He’s so big, I can see why any promotion would want him… as long as his matches are kept to seven minutes or less. Bischoff was all over this show, as advertised. I just don’t think we needed all the stipulations he brought. Listening to Dombrowski describe the Kane-Fish rules was bad comedy.
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