After dealing with technical difficulties, MLW is back with Lucha Apocalypto. Welcome, everyone! Also, for some reason, Tom Lawlor is at commentary as Joe Dombrowski’s partner tonight… yikes.
Ultimo Guerrero & Hechicero vs. Esfinge & Kevin Knight – Tag Team match
Things haven’t begun and Guerrero already threw a cheap shot to Esfinge’s back. Anyway, Kevin Knight and Hechicero started this match. Hechicero has gained control over Kevin’s body with ease. It took him a while to get out of there.
Ultimo came in and took over the reigns while Knight and Esfinge have been left on the losing side. Cutting the ring in half also cut their energy supply as Kevin tried to kick out every time. There’s been ground-based moves that I can personal appreciate. Hechicero kept trying to encourage Kevin to give them hell, but it became more and more difficult to do so.
Finally, Knight managed to swerve his opponents, so he could tag Esfinge as he evens the unbalanced odds. He was doing just fine until he was caught in the grip of a maneuver called The Conjuring. Ooh, Annabelle movies? Ha!
Hechicero had a great grip on Esfingo, so tightly in fact that their opponent passed out awarding Guerrero and Hechicero.
Winners: Ultimo Guerrero & Hechicero
Backstage, in the Azteca Lucha den, Salina de la Renta was preparing with her family for war knowing Bad Dude Tito will be in a match later this evening. The intimidation game was going well in her favor, but when Jesus Rodriguez came in bearing terrible news that someone abducted Salina’s father, she ordered everyone in that room to find him. Oof, the tables have turned.
Brett Ryan Gosselin vs. Alex Kane – Steel Chain match
Right at the start of the bell, Kane used the chain to clothesline Gosselin the the mouth like a sucker baby. Ha! This is the equivalent to a Strap match made of leather, latched to both competitors.
Brett managed to create some separation, but it was easily overwhelmed by Kane’s power as he used the chain to choke Gosselin and perform numerous suplexes. Brett was losing blood from a cut to his forehead. During the entirety of this match, commentary were wondering where the Four Horsemen were, Gosselin’s friends, the Andersons and Bobby Fish.
Annoyingly so, they showed up to trample on Mr. Thomas and cost Kane the match as Brett surprised him with a sudden roll up. That little prick.
Winner: Brett Ryan Gosselin
Lluvia vs. Persephone vs. Janai Kai (c) – Triple Treat Featherweight Championship match
I suspect that Janai was the dark horse here, so Lluvia and Persephone went after her first before turning their attention towards each other. Persephone had most of the upper hand since Lluvia did get distracted by the showboating of her challenger.
Kai waited for her time to strike as she took out Persephone, then went after Lluvia. She needed them to exert their energy as much as possible, so when she comes back in, they’ll be easy to dispose of. Resistance is an understatement that Kai will have to endure to reach the end with the belt in hand.
Lluvia and Persephone are back in the game as they team up to disable Janai as best they can. Although they worked well together, Lluvia and Persephone need to remember only one can win, despite the effective dual submission move they applied on Kai.
It didn’t take long for the Champion to get back on her feet as she pump kicked Persephone in the chest. Kai tried to apply the Demon Clutch, yet Lluvia did right by herself stopping the attempt. While Persephone and Lluvia were egotistic towards each other, Kai saw that as an opportunity to pounce… with minimal success.
Janai interrupted Lluvia’s venture at covering Persephone. Lluvia was aiming to land on Kai from above, instead she crashed on top of Persephone when the champ jumped ship. Ha! Janai retained her gold with the Demon Clutch on Persephone. Bravo!
While Kai was celebrating, Delmi Exo found it unnecessary. She wasn’t pleased with the fact that she believes that CONTRA Unit kidnapped El Jefe and Kai kept testing her patience, so she challenged Janai. The champ happily accepted… with a twist. One of those Sentai Death Squad members of CONTRA were lying and waiting for Delmi, so she used a chair on them. By the time Exo reached the ring, Janai was actually running away.
If Cesar Duran isn’t returned unharmed, Salina will make sure there will be disastrous consequences for all involved.
Winner: Janai Kai
Bad Dude Tito vs. Matthew Justice – Falls Count Anywhere National Openweight Championship match
Things started off on the main floor when Tito met Justice near the entryway. Given how this can go anywhere it wants, it goes into the crowd until Matthew finally directed his opponent next to the ring. His momentum was on his side, however, the current champ thwarted it with a Death Valley Driver.
Tito went even further to suplex Justice onto a small pile of steel chairs laid on the main floor. Matthew returned fired by performing a painful brainbuster on neatly staged chairs. Just as he was making the climb, Jesus Rodriguez wayward him, so Tito could drive him through the same table her nearly went through using a modified Tequila Driver.
Luckily, Matthew turned things around by falsely leading Tito towards him as he collided with the damn guardrail and fell on the other side. Once again when Justice was doing great, Jesus swoops in like a bothersome mosquitos. Fortunately, that didn’t do much since Matthew became the new MLW National Openweight Champion with heart. Whoo!
Winner: Matthew Justice
What the hell is this, indeed? Joe Dombrowski wanted an interview with Satoshi Kojima about his future plans as Champion, yet we didn’t count on the arrival of Minoru Suzuki and Ikuro Kwon. They knew that Kojima was going to be alone, so they devised a strategy to strike. Luckily, Matt Riddle came to save him by challenging CONTRA for those World Tag Team Championships… right now? Incredibly so, they accept.
Satoshi Kojima & Matt Riddle vs. CONTRA Unit (c) – MLW World Tag Team Championship match
Ikuro Kwon caught Kojima off guard with multiple strikes around the champ’s body. The cover attempt was easy enough, but not sufficient to keep Kojima down. This was so hastily put together despite liking both Kojima and Riddle, but it’s random to me. Matt was tagged in moments ago and at the mercy of Suzuki.
Minoru and Kwon were doubling their efforts on Kojima once Riddle was disposed of somewhere, I imagine. When he got back on the apron, Riddle was seen cheering for Sat0shi. Urgently, Kojima egged Kwon to hit again, naturally, Satoshi stunned him with the Cozy Cutter.
Matt came close to victory with that bridge suplex on Kwon. The same applied for Ikuro. Viciousness didn’t stop there, of course, Suzuki used a sheet of cloth to choke Riddle with. They didn’t care about the match, hence the mist to Satoshi’s eyes, and the constant need to suffocate people.
Winners: No one
Magnus, Felino & Barbaro Cavernario vs. Star Jr., Atlantis & Atlantis Jr. – Trios match
Magnus and Star Jr. started this match off where Junior had the upper half of Magnus’ body in knots to his liking. The wind shifted as both teams tag their respectable groups. Felino and Atlantis were going at it, he also enlisted the help of his companions, so they could stomp on Atlantis’ fallen body.
Atlantis Jr. jumped in as well, but it didn’t take long for him to be easily swept by the opposition. Amazingly, Atlantis Jr. was kicking into second gear as he knocked down everybody. The action was picking up when Star Jr. and Magnus came back into the fold.
The team of Magnus, Barbaro and Felino made sure that Star Jr. was isolated from the rest, so they could inflict some damage seemingly uninterrupted. They had Star surrounded. They loved making themselves bigger by attacking as a unit rather than one person entering the ring at a time.
Atlantis took out Barbaro on the outside, while Star Jr. took care of Magnus and Felino in-ring with a flying crossbody. He performed a beautiful double spring drop kick maneuver against Cavernario.
The bodies are stacking up in favor of Star Jr., Atlantis and Atlantis Jr. Felino went for the flying elbow, yet Atlantis Jr. dodged in time and picked up a win for his team with a frog splash.
Winner: Star Jr., Atlantis & Atlantis Jr.
“We’ve just had a Dijak hijack of Lucha Apocalypto,” What’s left of the World Titan Federation, Mister Saint Laurent and Dijak, made their way to the ring while Los Aztecas were already here, looking for Cesar Duran, I think. They made the mistake to attack Dijak, so he assaulted them back with effect. You can hear the bitterness in Tom Lawlor’s voice that he hasn’t forgotten about his execution from the Federation back at Pit-Fighters. Dijak was being a nuisance more so than Lawlor to my surprise. A brawl ensued between these men because Dijak was bad-mouthing the entire time he was on screen.
Mistico (c) vs. Averno vs. Titan – MLW World Middleweight Championship match
Given how this was the beginning of the match, all three men were evenly matched as they jock for position on one another, trying to find the best weak spots to exploit. The use of speed, experience, vigilance and determination was at an all-time high, and let’s not forget slight anger was shown, too.
The pace started to slow down as Titan played spoiler by grabbing Mistico’s ankle just as he was about to leap after Averno on the other side of arena. Averno and Titan pounce on the champ once they pilled him off the floor only to shove him back. Ha! Despite that, the fans kept chanting Mistico’s name, much to the displeasure of the other participants.
Averno bounced Mistico’s face against the commentary desk, while Dombrowski is heard whining. Anyway, Mistico remained in disarray after getting double stomped in the gut by Titan. It was difficult for Mistico to land any kind of definitive blow because he’s constantly being attacked from both sides, something he never had to deal with until now.
Any time either Averno or Titan make a cover, they found themselves arguing with each other as if this wasn’t bound to happen regardless of what they want. Mistico made a comeback with those quick legs of his, sending his challengers back.
Averno was too close to becoming World Middleweight Champion when he drove Mistico’s face against the mat like that, but Titan intercepted in time to preserve the match for himself. A performance of a suplex and powerbomb combination off the ropes had everyone laid out for a moment. Averno tried to capitalize, but he failed.
Mictico had Titan with La Mistica, yet he saw Averno coming, so he moved just enough for the incoming kick to hit Titan in the face, rolling him out of the ring. Mistico finished the job by initiating La Mistica on Averno, who tapped out. Titan rushed back far too late. They fought so well, but clearly Barbaro Cavernario didn’t care for that since he unmasked Mistico, leaving curled up in a ball, protected by the referee. Barbaro made his point of wanting to face the Middleweight Champion in January.
Winner: Mistico
Following the show, Salina de la Renta was able to liberate her father upon finding him tied-up to a chair backstage with Jesus Rodriguez’s help. However, Salina’s water broke, hence she might be going into labor. That shocked Cesar, just as equally as that note he found in his blazer pocket.
TOP PHOTO: Cavernario holds Mistico’s mask. Courtesy of MLW