Welcome back to MLW and to another packed hour of action from the crazy world of Cesar Duran. Tonight, was a night of big opportunities but also big consequences. Richard Holliday was going to be put through the wringer after attacking Hammerstone by going one-on-one with Davey Richards, Hustle and Power were giving Budd Heavy and Red Pickins the chance of a lifetime at their tag team titles, and in the main event, Myron Reed was going to find out who had attacked him during the Openweight Title match. The downside was, that he’d had to put his strap on the line to do so. Who was the mystery man and was Reed going to be able to stop him? There was all that and more so let’s get into the action.

Richard Holliday defeated Davey Richards via 2008

Up first tonight was Richard Holliday facing some consequences for his constant interference. He was due a title shot in the near future but after sticking his nose into last week’s title bout, he was being slapped on the wrist with a match against Davey Richards. That’s hardly a punishment and was a great chance for Holliday to get a big win over one of the league’s highest-ranked stars. Christ knows, the Clout Couple did not need something else to brag about. Richards might be one of the best technical wrestlers in the company but he had his hands full with Holliday’s power and technicality crossed with the bonus he had on the outside in Alicia Atout. Between all those advantages, Holliday got to bully Richards for large swathes of the match before being locked down and tied up by Richards, even having his chest caved in by the Wolf’s monstrous kicks. There’s a saying, “break a leg” and that’s just what Richards tried to do with a Trailer Hitch, the Ankle Lock, and Dragon Screw. Richards was piling on the pain but Holliday was strong enough not to quit and come back, bringing out Backbreakers and a stiff as hell lariat. A 2008 later and Holliday had won. The Dynastic one had shown some toughness here and bested one of the indie darlings within MLW. It was certainly a source of bragging rights for Holliday and I told you so to the doubters. Holliday is maniacally set on getting that title and no one is going to stop him. This was further solidified by his interview with his partner, the Interview Queen. He’d started the show by pissing everyone off but no one could complain about his win.

Hustle & Power (Calvin Tankman & EJ Nduka) defeated Budd Heavy & Red Pickins via Powerslam n Splash on Pickins

Next up was an opportunity for Budd Heavy and Red Pickins. These two could go from bottom rung to top of the tag division if they could survive and thrive against the MLW Tag Team Champions, Hustle, and Power. The problem was, they’d have to beat EJ Nduka and Calvin Tankman, two of the biggest men in the company. This was a massacre. Heavy couldn’t even get into the match as Pickins was picked up and thrown around like a ragdoll. Nduka and Tankman pummelled, slammed, and flattened him in about a minute whilst Heavy just looked on in terror. He tried to break the pin but Nduka broke him in half with a spear. It was over just like that with neither champion breaking a sweat. The crowd love them too, as was obvious from the noise generated by their post-match interview.

Between the matches:

• The Von Erichs promised revenge on 5150 for stealing their family’s belt. A reckoning was coming and they would be the ones to bring it. Ironically enough, it would be 5150 that got the last laugh as they ended the show by tossing the World Class Championship into a river.
• Mr. Thomas had approached EJ Nduka and tried to talk him out of teaming with Tankman. He was trying to convince The Judge to switch sides but Nduka had no interest in defecting to the BOMAYE right now.
• Octagon Jr had a video package showing off his journey through wrestling and the battles he has been stuck in against the darker side of Lucha Libre. He’s returning to MLW and will be bringing all the fury and skills of the Golden Assassin. That return occurs next week when he joins a Four-Way Match against El Dragon, El Hijo de LA Park, and King Muertes for the Caribbean Title.
• MLW reminded us that Joel and Jose Maximo, the S.A.T were en route back to MLW for Kings of Colosseum.
• Cesar Duran had more meetings to attend, starting with Richard Holliday and Alicia Atout praising El Jefe about security and what had happened with Fatu. Then came the attacker himself, Bestia 666 had come to get paid. He didn’t want money though, he wanted Fatu. El Jefe was happy to oblige with an Apocalypto match next week.

MLW Middleweight Title: Myron Reed defeated Shane “Swerve” Strickland via Flame On

Last but not least, the main event. Myron Reed had jumped through all the hoops Duran had laid out before him and with a main event title match as the backdrop, was going to find out who had attacked him two weeks ago. Duran came out to make the big reveal and promised Reed he was going to be a Killshot. That’s right, he’d been in touch with a former MLW champion and brought out Shane “Swerve” Strickland. Business just picked up since Reed vs Strickland has epic match written all over it. The fans were definitely happy to hear Chaka Khan. What followed was pure war. These two had swagger but once the bell rang, the chess game began with rapid technicality, and Strickland tried to score an easy win. These two counter-wrestled their way through the opening minutes mixing chain wrestling with a lot of arm-breaking as Swerve picked his target. Reed threw himself into the match and shook off the damage to try and give Swerve a beating, landing a sick rope-assisted DDT.

Reed tried to keep blasting but his arm was compromised and Strickland was showing no signs of leaving it alone, even as he got popped in the mouth. They kept countering each other with both men trading hits and moves, no one staying ahead. The Swerve stomp put Reed on his back and Strickland quickly followed up by continuing to wreck the arm and locking him down after snatching him out of the air. Reed wouldn’t give up and after a roll-up war took out Strickland with Flame On. The champ had retained and given Duran’s plans a bloody nose. This was an awesome main event and brought MLW fans back down memory lane by having a new-age champ beat the first rebooted MLW champion. They meshed incredibly well and could have kept going for so much longer without slowing down. The young G.O.A.T just keeps on burning through whatever challenge is sent his way. Who can stop him?

All images courtesy of MLW, screencaps by FrenchNygma, Video courtesy of MLW YouTube