Welcome back to MLW and to another special event. An MLW classic was coming back with a new coat of paint. Rise of the Renegades had been a staple of old-school MLW and now, it was being brought back for the new generation. There would be three high-stakes matches to flesh out this monster of a show as Cesar Duran reaped another harvest from the seeds he’d sown. We had Gino Medina and Aramis bringing the Lucha violence in a Mexican Strap Match, Matt Cross getting a shot at the Caribbean Title, and Octagon Jr, and in the main event, a blood feud reaches a new level as Alexander Hammerstone teams up with The Von Erichs against the nightmarish trio of Richard Holliday, Mads Krügger and King Muertes. Plus, there is always more bubbling away beneath the surface so let’s get into the show.

Mexican Strap Match: Gino Medina defeated Aramis via Tights-Pulling Roll-Up

The show kicked in with an intimidating affair. After his brutal, post-match attack during one of the Lucha 6-man bouts, Gino Medina had left Aramis out of action for months. Now, it was time for the Musketeer’s grand return and a spell of vengeance as the pair took part in a Mexican Strap match. This was a nastier take on the lumberjack match as the men on the outside were all armed with leather straps. You left the ring; you were getting a whipping. There was nowhere to run so the pair were going to fight their hearts out. Okay, this was such a tonal whiplash of a match. The in-ring action was very intense with Medina being absolutely merciless in his breaking of Aramis. Any shortcut he could take or any mean tactic he could employ, he would. Both spent time outside the match and felt the wrath of everyone’s straps. It was like watching a war re-enactment without the dresses and handbags as all the lumberjacks chased the fighters to whip them whenever they even stepped on the apron. We had both real and fake cheating as Medina brought in one of the straps and blamed it on Aramis then won the bout with a tights-pulling roll-up. It didn’t even end when the bell rang as Aramis, who was justifiably pissed off, attacked Medina again. Medina stopped that with a nutcracker and left the venue with Aramis’ mask. It had been an exciting if unintentionally hilarious at times match that kept this feud burning and made Medina look like a sadistic badass.

IWA Puerto Rico Caribbean Title: Octagon Jr defeated Matt Cross via Spinning Package Piledriver

Matt Cross had already been in the ring once tonight looking after Aramis following Medina’s heartless unmasking and now, it was time for his own match. After months of consistent quality, he was getting a title shot. The Caribbean Title was on the line and Cross was getting pitted against one of MLW’s new favourites, the Golden Assassin Octagon Jr. This felt like a love letter to classic Lucha Libre. It had equal measures of rapid technicality, continuous chains of counters, brawling, pageantry, and high-flying all melting together into a rapid-fire match. Cross remains one of the best guys at this style and he found an equally innovative partner in Octagon Jr. The pair continued to try and outwork each other, colliding with fists, kicks, locks and flying. It continuously kept the audience on the edge of their seats as everyone seemed hyped for this one. We got some great screen time for Cross and Octagon Jr got another big win over a world-travelled veteran. This match did exactly what it needed to do, highlight an MLW original who can still kick ass and gave Octagon Jr a defence that legitimises him as champ, all while giving us one hell of a spectacle to bite into.

Between the matches:

  • MLW teased the first championship match to crown a Women’s Featherweight champion. We found out the participants, Taya Valkyrie and Holidead. That match happens next week.
  • The Von Hammers gave a pre-match interview outlining their hype for tonight’s main event and production contrasted that by showing some vitriol from the Clout Couple. Nothing showed the conflicting personalities of the former Dynasty quite like this. We also got to see why Krügger was helping Duran. In two weeks, time, he sees the favour returned in a Weapons of Mass Destruction match against Jacob Fatu.
  • Microman was trying to chill out backstage and enjoy some Reese’s Pieces when first, Cesar Duran threatened to hurt him and then Strange Sangre, Holidead, Mini Abismo Negro and Dr Dax tried to sacrifice him. Taya Valkyrie and Lince Dorado came to Microman’s rescue as Taya Valkyrie promised Holidead she’d need more than a sacrifice to beat her next week.
  • KC Navarro turned his win over nZo into an MLW Middleweight Title shot by talking Reed to death.
  • Killer Kross gave MLW another warning video showing just what he’s going to do at Battle Riot. Speaking of, the next control centre played out as nZo, Davey Richards, Little Guido, Ace Romero, Savio Vega and the S.A.T, Los Maximos got announced for the Riot.
  • Jacob Fatu and Juicy Finau talked about their connection as they patrolled the streets. They were going to break anyone that got in their way as the Toko/Uso connection was built strong.
  • Bomaye Fight Club’s Alex Kane and Mr Thomas were out to dish out more info on the club. They teased expansion and new members coming for more divisions.
  • During the main event, it was announced that Cesar Duran’s office had been broken into. No extra details were given, just that it had occurred.

Trios Warfare: Richard Holliday (w/Alicia Atout), Mads Krügger & King Muertes defeated Alexander Hammerstone & The Von Erichs (Ross & Marshall) via 2008 on Hammerstone

Last but not least, the main event. This was going to be a mess. It was another chapter in the Holliday/Hammerstone feud mixed with Duran’s new mercs and the Von Erich’s disenfranchisement with El Jefe. Everyone in this match was pissed off and that fury was going to lead to some in-ring fireworks. It opened with a massive brawl with the villains left to simmer outside until the ref could get everything under control. It settled into a more traditional tag match with Ross Von Erich becoming a punching bag as Krügger and Muertes took full control of the match. It was a mauling as Marshall and Holliday started things on semi-even footing before the villainous side crafted by Duran left Ross in pieces. Holliday of course jumped at the chance to also work over Ross and rub it in Hammerstone’s face. This bit him in the ass as Hammerstone came in like a house on fire and threw everyone around like ragdolls. Hammerstone finally had a chance to beat the hell out of Holliday and took full advantage. He couldn’t hit the Nightmare Pendulum as he was mobbed by Muertes and took another beating from his former foe. Hammerstone shook that off and gave Muertes the Nightmare Pendulum but Alicia Atout had distracted the ref. She sneakily tossed a shoe into the ring and Holliday stabbed the heel right into Hammerstone’s head. That led to the 2008 and Holliday picking up the win. The challenger had pinned the champ once and was not quiet about it. All he needs to do is repeat history in their title match and we could be looking at a new champ. This main did what it needed to do and gave us a nice scrap between six combustible elements. Big things remain to build on the horizon and MLW made sure to remind us that next week we see the crowing of the Women’s Featherweight Champion. There’s a web of intrigue building and a lot of stakes in play. Let’s see what next week brings.

All images courtesy of MLW, video courtesy of MLW YouTube

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