During Round One of the inaugural MLW Open Draft, a few news broke. Two weeks ago, the mastermind of Azteca Underground, “El Jefe” revealed himself to MLW. It was reported that he is currently going by the alias of Cesar Duran. It’s unknown as to whether the alias is purely just a cover-up for his checkered past, but one matter is for certain, Duran will be in attendance for when MLW makes its live return to Philadelphia on July 10.
We then learnt that Marshall & Ross Von Erich, Gino Medina and King Muertes are still with MLW, but also that Davey Richards is coming to Major League Wrestling. Richards, who will be returning to the squared circle after a several-year sabbatical, took some time to express his enthusiasm for making his league debut come July 10. Richards happened to sign months ago with the company, but he’ll finally be locking up in a place he’s all too familiar with the 2300 Arena in Philadelphia where Richards has put on several wrestling classics.
Davey stated that he chose MLW because it is best in line with how he believes pro wrestling is in its purest form. “They have the best competition. They have a very steep hill to climb. I want to help this brand grow.” After 12 years straight of wrestling, Richards noted he needed to recharge his batteries and guess what? Those batteries are recharged. His title aspirations? The World Heavyweight gold. Richards closed out the conversation with two simple words: “I’m back.”
Davey Richards is best known for his time in Ring of Honor and IMPACT Wrestling. While he’s a former five-time TNA World Tag Team Champion with Eddie Edwards, he achieved considerable success in ROH, winning their World Championship once and their World Tag Team Championship three times. He is also a former 2-time IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Champion with Rocky Romero. We could also add the gold he won in CZW and PWG.
This doesn’t even begin to cover his work across various independent organizations, including Pro Wrestling Guerrilla, where he is a one-time World Champion. Simply put, wherever Richards has been, he has been able to generate success for himself. In 2017, Richards stepped away from professional wrestling to not only focus on his studies and his paramedic work but heal from knee injuries. This past March, it was announced that he would be returning to the squared circle. Given the experience and the skills he brings to the table, you can expect him to become a major player in MLW.
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