Welcome back to MLW and to another title fight night as not one but two championships would be on the line. Firstly, Hustle and Power were getting their next dose of competition as they had to defend their MLW Tag Team Titles against the Von Erichs and former champs 5150. The second was the crowning of the first-ever Women’s Featherweight champion as Holidead, the destroyer of the division looked to assume the throne by taking one more head, that on La Wera Loca, Taya Valkyrie. The only non-title fight of the night also had the Strange Sangre flavour as Gangrel looked to claim another victim by killing everyone’s favourite drunkard, Budd Heavy. It was all to play for this week as history would be made. Let’s get into the action.
Gangrel (w/Strange Sangre) defeated Budd Heavy via Impaler DDT
The first match of the night saw everyone’s favourite underdog, Budd Heavy, as he was looking to fight for his life against the leader of Strange Sangre, Gangrel. Was Budd Heavy going to be able to survive this creature feature or was he going to be destroyed again? Despite showing no fear, despite the menagerie of monsters around the ring, Heavy got wrecked again. He got some jabs and a splash in but was cut off at every turn by Gangrel and ended in rapid fashion by the Impaler DDT. Even when the match was over, he got no reprieve as the rest of Strange Sangre fed on the leftovers and continued the beatdown until the segment ended. It was a very quick match that offered us more Gangrel and makes Strange Sangre look all the more terrifying. Gangrel is still going great and no one seems able to stop the Vampire Warrior.
MLW Tag Team Championships: Hustle & Power (Calvin Tankman & EJ Nduka) defeated 5150 (Danny “Rivera” Limelight & Hernandez) & The Von Erichs (Ross & Marshall) via Spike Tankman Driver on Rivera
Next up we had a three-way tag team dance for the tag team titles. Hustle & Power are one of the biggest teams on the roster and the company had clearly wanted to give them a proper challenge. That meant not one but two challenging teams, 5150 and The Von Erichs. The current champs were going to have to defend against two former champs whilst Los Maximos watched from commentary. It was going to be a mess with 5150 already insulting everyone before the match could even begin. This was pure chaos. It started as a brawl and just never really got past that. I don’t mean that in a bad way either, it was just three teams out to kill each other with Los Maximos becoming unwilling victims as the hurricane raged around them. Hustle & Power seemed to be completely unstoppable as both the Von Erichs and 5150 struggled to stop them. It was just a back-and-forth battle of hard shots, double-team, and brawling. Every team had its time to shine before Rivera was eventually killed off by a Spike Tankman Driver. The champs retained but the Von Erichs had been pivotal in their victory, taking out Hernandez. Post-match, even Los Maximos got in on the action, leading to another brawl as Joel and Jose called their shot. This match didn’t need an essay to describe it, it was just pretty fun to watch and full of action.
Between the matches:
- The episode kicked off with an MLW.com exclusive showing Jacob Fatu and Juicy Finau breaking into Cesar Duran’s office and wrecking the place after sampling his liquors. They left with all the money and valuables they could carry. Duran cleaned up the mess and promised to feed the Samoan Swat Team to the sharks. Alongside that, he conducted a business meeting with Taya Valkyrie, who wanted Strange Sangre out of her title match.
- Next week’s matches were announced as the Weapons of Mass Destruction match between Jacob Fatu and Mads Krügger finally takes place and Myron Reed defends the Middleweight Title against Arez and KC Navarro.
- With the Battle Riot just days away, it was time for another round of competitors to enter the Riot. Dragon Gate’s La Estrella, Mads Krügger, Myron Reed, “Cashflow” Ken Broadway, WARHORSE, and Microman were the newest names announced.
- Davey Richards invited Myron Reed to join Team Ambition. Reed accepted and promised to be there.
- Mads Krügger released another video threatening Fatu ahead of the lethal final chapter next week. He promised to hunt Fatu until he was dead.
- Killer Kross and Scarlett Bordeaux sent another cryptic mass of videos to MLW. Come Battle Riot both will be unleashed on the company.
- Real 1 nZo made an unfortunate discovery as he learned Fatu had hit his car during an interview.
- During a walk in Beverley Hills, Richard Holliday had an MLW camera crew video his phone call with a rival agency. He turned down the agency because he’d already signed with the top and listed out all his present and future accolades, making sure to tell everyone he was the first person to beat Hammerstone in three years.
MLW Women’s Featherweight Championship: Taya Valkyrie defeated Holidead (w/Strange Sangre) via STF
Last but not least, the main event. Taya Valkyrie, the AAA Reina de Reinas Champion was returning to MLW and now had the chance to become a double champion. She could make history here by becoming the first-ever Women’s Featherweight champion. The problem was, that Holidead, the demon of the division was standing in her way. Holidead had massacred everyone in her way and now she looked to trample La Wera Loca too and take the division’s crown. Plus, Strange Sangre’s Dr Dax and Gangrel mobbed the ringside area. It was going to be a tough task for both competitors. This was bloody awesome. Valkyrie started strong, utilising her speed and striking to keep Holidead off-guard and open to shots. Things went outside and that’s where Holidead struck, planting Valkyrie on the apron and the floor. With the ball in her court, Holidead unleashed every mean move and violent action she could on Valkyrie but could never quite find the answer to stopping her. Even a Darkness Falls on the outside and a Killswitch in-ring couldn’t keep Valkyrie from popping back into life. It led to a highly competitive fight where La Wera Loco had to keep tapping into her reserves and experience to find the answer to Holidead. Since she couldn’t stop her with the Road to Valhalla, she instead ended her with a Curb Stomp into a deadly STF. It was a fitting end to the undefeated road of carnage Holidead had cut through the division.
As expected, these two killed it in their match. Holidead has helped establish this foundation and deserves so much credit for making this a high-stakes horror show for Valkyrie to overcome. She may not be the first champion but one day she is going to rule the division. Seeing Strange Sangre flock to her aid but ultimately help her downfall was another fitting moment and a fun reminder that cheaters never prosper. Valkyrie is an excellent choice for the first champion and is going to do wonders for the belt. I hope this isn’t the last we see of these two as this rocked and I want to see it happen again. The division has had a strong start and with a nice selection of heroes and villains to tap into should keep going strong for years to come. Congratulations Taya Valkyrie, you can, you saw and you conquered. Now, time to enjoy your ruling of the division. You saved the company from the dark days Holidead had planned.
All images courtesy of MLW, Video courtesy of MLW YouTube