Hello, MLW fans!
Mr. Thomas vs. Ariel Dominguez vs. Matthew Justice vs. CW Anderson vs. Shigeo Okumura vs. Mads Krugger – Scramble-6 match
The moment Krugger entered the ring, Justice went after him early knowing exactly who the threat was. Everyone saw this as an opportunity as well, yet Mads managed to swat most of them away. Foolishly, Dominguez came in-between Mr. Thomas and Mads demonstrating how tiny he really is compared to these two tall columns.
Just as Thomas and Mads held Ariel up high, they were ambushed by Matthew’s spear. Dominguez landed crookedly. Ha! Ariel was even used as a weapon against the rest of the field minus Okumura and Anderson.
Thomas showed tremendous agility by leaping into the air and crashing on Justice, Dominguez and Krugger. Justice body splashed Ariel for a cover, but Shigeo intercepted as he brawled with Matthew. Ariel was finally showing some light as he took down most of his opponents with drop kicks. Thomas and Matthew team up to take Mads on, yet it was Okumura and Anderson’s arrival into the fold that thwarted the opening.
High above, Anderson planted Dominguez with a superplex, then Mads swooped in to dispose of him as he sent CW face first on the mat for a piled-up win.
Winner: Mads Krugger
Backstage in Duran’s office, he and Salina de la Renta received a written message and a wooden box, inside it had a set of keys that Cesar saw as a means for a trip. I’m not sure what kind of travel plans we’re talking about here, but I’m intrigued nonetheless.
Neon vs. Paul London – 10-minute Lightning match
Pound for pound, London and Neon matched each other very well that it was difficult to get a handle on the opposition long enough to pin them down given this is a Lightning match. Paul tried to hoist Neon for a suplex onto the ramp, but the Luchador blocked the attempt with a kick to the side of London’s face. A shove loosened Neon.
Paul had been doing a great job since that push, yet the moment Neon moved out of the way of a flying opponent, the winning bar went down for London. Luckily, Paul returned the favor in kind. Ouch. He nearly pinned Neon with a side Russian suplex, so Paul placed the Luchador into a submission that didn’t award him the conclusion he wanted. Neon may have slipped in mid-air, but he was able to perform an effective drop kick.
When Neon flew over the ropes and landed on London, that stunned both men, but Paul got the worst of it. A double stomp to the gut of London left him staggered and almost pinned after that splash. Perhaps Paul Walter Hauser’s presence brought a new sense of fight in London since that heel kick came out of nowhere.
60 seconds remained in the match and no one has pinned the other yet. That summersault senton from Neon could have ended this, however, London wisely rolled out of the ring. Because of that, it took a while for Neon to get London back inside, so the match finished with no definitive winner.
Winner: A draw
Bishop Dyer vs. Anthony Greene – Opera Cup Opening Round match
No matter how tough Anthony Greene is, he didn’t anticipate Dyer’s brutal power in the early goings of the match with that forearm to the jaw. A little reediting of his tactics allowed Anthony to send Dyer scrambling outside. Both men tried their best to avoid the guardrails as they attempt to launch the other into it.
Whatever Greene was planning to do up top didn’t pan out since Bishop Dyer had the awareness to dodge an incoming bullet and countered with two clotheslines. Bishop was now controlling the match at his will and did all he pleased. Anthony got back on his feet with a high kick to the side of Dyer’s face. Amazingly so, Bishop almost picked up the win by smacking Greene on the mat.
Later on, Anthony showed some life with a neck breaker to Dyer, plus s running bulldog. A twisted crossbody nearly pinned Dyer, yet he made a comeback with Multiple Revolutions… it wasn’t enough. Due to Anthony wasting time capitalizing on a semi-fallen opponent, Dyer took the opportunity to viciously plant him and move on to the next round.
Winner: Bishop Dyer
Next, we were supposed to have a World Heavyweight Championship match between Matt Riddle and Donovan Dijak, but CONTRA Unit had other plans when Riddle was seen mangled backstage at the hands of Mads Krugger. He wanted to cash-in his briefcase for a title match, yet that stepped on Donovan’s time, so he and Krugger fought on the ramp. Mads went through a table because of that. I guess we’ll have to wait. Duran made the decision to reschedule the match for Fightland, Sept 13.
Satoshi Kojima vs. Bobby Fish – Opera Cup Opening Round match
Surprisingly, Fish was reeling most the time in the early parts of the match, and Satoshi made sure to grab every chance. That went out the window when Bobby started using the intensity of his legs against Kojima’s spine. He was trapped, but Satoshi fought back with those powerful chops to the chest.
Bobby retaliated eventually, which left both men exasperated. Meanwhile, backstage, Krugger and Dijak were still fighting. We’ll get back to that later, I hope. As we return to the ring, Fish dismantled Kojima’s leg with a dragon corkscrew followed by a low clothesline. Bobby’s strong leg strikes were doing well for a brief time until Satoshi turned things around with a Cozy Cutter.
Kojima was looking for that lariat, but Fish intervened with an exploder suplex. Bobby tried to force Kojima to pass out, luckily, Satoshi shifted his weight, sending Fish crashing onto his back. A set of back and forth maneuvers of kicks from Bobby and arm strikes from Kojima ensued mid-ring. Satoshi came close to pinning Fish with that brainbuster. That may have not worked, but the second lariat did.
Winner: Satoshi Kojima
Ava Everett vs. Shotzi
Ava attempted to waste time by addressing Shotzi’s injured forearm and the unfairness that came along with it, but Shotzi didn’t care as she landed the first punch. Despite the casting on her arm, Shotzi was doing a great job nonetheless. Now, Everett decided to focus her attention on the injury and squash it. Ava literally landed on the arm like an elephant sitting down.
Shotzi was looking to fire away the best she could, but the pain in her arm became unavoidable the more Everett aimed for it. She stretched the ligament like Silly Putty. You could hear Shotzi screaming, which reminded me of certain physical pains I had to deal with.
Fortunately, Shotzi countered by driving Ava’s head into the apron as her body spilled onto the floor. As a comeback, Ava used a part of her ring gear to blind Shotzi and force a collision with the post. That only enraged Shotzi to utilize the power in her legs and knees to strike Ava with.
An exploder suplex to Ava was effective, but not conclusive. Shotzi might have been caught up in the corner, hence the reason Everett pounced on her with a backstabber. Nevertheless, Shotzi held her own with a crossface submission, and Ava tapped out. Ah, also, Mads and Donovan were still at it backstage like the animals they are.
Winner: Shotzi
Mistico vs. Ikuro Kwon – Opera Cup Opening Round match
While Mistico was basking in the adoration of the fans, Ikuro took advantage with a massively harsh drop kick. When commentary said that Kwon was emotionless, my response to that was “I like him.” Not because of his lack of profound feeling, but his hyper brutality to get the job done and durability. He also reminded me of Jacob Fatu a little bit, well, Fatu’s current WWE persona anyway.
Mistico was finally showing some spark with a handspring back elbow to the jaw, plus a crossbody. He missed with a backflip, but Mistico readjusted with an arm drag pin that didn’t award the victory. Mistico was on a momentary roll, yet the feeding off the fans cost him according to commentary, specifically Austin Ares.
A German suplex from Ikuro didn’t give him the reward he wanted, but he tried knocking Mistico out with a running knee, the Shiniest Wizard. Both men had the same idea when they performed two sets of stereo kicks. As we kept track of Dijak and Krugger, we were now informed that they were fighting on their way to the rooftop.
Kwon was making his way up the ring, as he favored his ribs, which resulted in the time consumer, Mistico met him there with an assault. A Spanish Fly with amazing height that ended Ikuro for good. Regardless of the loss, Ikuro quickly snatched the Middleweight Championship that doesn’t belong to him and marched towards Mistico, the referee urged him to leave, so Kwon responded with green mist to the eye.
Winner: Mistico
TOP PHOTO: Kwon leaves with the title. Courtesy of MLW
