Welcome back to MLW and to a special night as we were going to see one brave challenger step to the Bomaye Fight Club and attempt to claim not only the $20,000 prize put up for survival but also the Openweight Title. The Thrilla in Phila was here; someone would have to spend twenty minutes with the Suplex Assassin, Alex Kane, or perish. Alongside that, Real 1 was being rewarded for his sneak attack on Jacob Fatu by getting another shot at the pay window against the Lucha Lit Lince Dorado. We’d have more twists and turns coming from the crazy world within the company. Monsters were lurking, vengeance was being planned and Duran was licking his lips in anticipation of it all. Let’s get into the action
Real 1 defeated Lince Dorado via Dick Kick n Donezo
The first fight of the night was something of a reward for the Real 1. After his attack on Cesar Duran’s enemy, Jacob Fatu, the matchmaker had left him this match as payment. It was another potential paycheck for the Real 1 if he could get passed the Lucha Lit, Lince Dorado. That would be no easy task but we’ve seen the lengths the Real 1 will go to win so anything was possible. He’d already turned the crowd against him with another tirade against the people of Philadelphia. He also made sure to lay into Fatu. The Real 1 was really sticking his neck out. This was an oddly entertaining fight. It started off with a whole lot of technique and chain wrestling with Dorado forcing the Real 1 to the ropes on countless occasions. Real 1 twanged Dorado’s head off a rope and tried to take advantage but Dorado just picked up the pace, flew at him, and beat that ass. It took Real 1 pushing Dorado off the top and bludgeoning him around ringside, including that evil ring-post Razor’s Edge to give him any advantage in this fight as Dorado cracked his knee and his head on the hard floor. That led to another beatdown sequence but Dorado’s agility brought him back into it and allowed him to drop Real 1 on his head with a Stalling German. From there, it was anyone’s game as Real 1 felt the Lucha heat and tried to combat it. Eventually, he just hid in the ropes and used the ref as a shield so he could dick kick Dorado. A Donezo later and the match was Donezo. Dorado had given the Real 1 the cathartic whipping we’d all wanted to see but dirty tactics had seen the smack-talking scrapper walk away victorious. Real 1 might have won here but I don’t think those tactics are going to work against Fatu. Also, just to note, I hope Lince Dorado sticks around, he’s such a multi-tool wrestler and awesome as hell to watch.
Between the matches:
#MLWFusion
▶️ https://t.co/3nVbWMoM4I pic.twitter.com/8f4iB1cyP7— Major League Wrestling (@MLW) July 8, 2022
- The show opened with a recap of the Real 1’s sneak attack on Jacob Fatu. He’d bottled him after the Samoan SWAT Team squash match and now, a bloodied and bandaged Fatu was out for revenge. Real 1 has pissed off the wrong man.
- David Marquez was backstage interviewing Taya Valkyrie. The new MLW Women’s Featherweight champion was prepared to take the championship around the world and fight the best of the best whilst doing so. La Wera Loca was welcoming all competition.
- Mance Warner is on his way back to MLW. The Southern Psycho is coming back to hit some lariats and light beers then hit the pay window.
- Next week’s episode will see the big season finale for MLW with Kings of Colosseum. That will be bringing us Hammerstone vs Richard Holliday. Alicia Atout gave her soundbite on the situation and warned Hammerstone and the Von Erichs to be ready for anything.
- The final moments of the show were dedicated to showing the health update on Mads Krugger. Following the weapons of mass destruction match, he’d been carted away and treated for whatever caustic substance had eaten away at his face. Alas, the facility he had been treated in looked more akin to a slaughterhouse than surgery and the terrified doctor was not happy with the results. Krugger is now beyond scarred and smashed the mirror he was presented with before ending the show with a mournful scream of pain and rage.
Thrilla in Phila: Alex Kane (w/Mr. Thomas) vs Davey Richards ends in a 20-minute draw
Last but not least, the main event. It was Thrilla time with the Bomaye Fight Club presenting their first-ever prizefight. This was more than your average prizefight though as $20,000 was on the line and to get it all you had to do was survive all the work you could get in 20 minutes from the Suplex Assassin Alex Kane. To make it even more exciting, Kane had even put the MLW Openweight Title on the line too. But who was going to be brave enough to answer the call? According to Kane, no one was going to step up and he spent his time insulting Philly. After hearing that there was a hunt about, the American Wolf, Davey Richards came out to fight. Had Kane just bitten off more than he could chew? He might have been nervous but throughout the opening, you’d have never guessed. I’m not going to BS here; this was 20 minutes of top-tier hybrid wrestling. Richards and Kane just put on an absolute masterclass of a match that made full use of the time on hand. It presented a bit of everything from a swaggering start, to broken backs and broken knees to an all-out battle for dominance and survival. Every time the countdown clock was referenced, the pace picked up. Don’t forget Richards only had to survive the 20 to make his money. Kane was out to break the veteran and embarrass him for all the world to see but as time got on, the mission was no longer submission, it was to survive and win by any means necessary. He didn’t want to lose his title and his money in the first prizefight. Richards was giving him hell and in the final minute of the match, Kane was fighting the urge to tap as Richards tried to tear his legs apart. It was all so captivating and well-paced. The twenty-minute alarm hit and Kane kept his belt but he was down 20 grand and furious at how the match had gone. It was an epic contest but far from the outcome, he’d envisioned for his TBD Victim.
What has gotten into @TheBadReed? Attacking @RichardsWesley and now joining the BOMAYE FIGHT CLUB! #MLWFusion @Alex_kane11 @MochaTraps
▶️ https://t.co/3nVbWMoM4I pic.twitter.com/tFc92vrZiP— Major League Wrestling (@MLW) July 8, 2022
With both men pissed, some tempers were going to flare. Richards realised he’d been in one hell of a match and offered a handshake but Mr. Thomas wasn’t going to stand for that and blindsided Richards. The Bomaye Fight Club continued to break down Richards so Myron Reed came out to make the save since he’d been training with Team Ambition. However, everyone quickly discovered that wasn’t the case. Reed wasn’t saving Richards he was helping to demolish him as he’d thrown away Team Ambition to join Bomaye Fight Club. They punctuated this newfound partnership by breaking Richards’ arm with a chair-trapped double stomp. This new addition means that Bomaye Fight Club now holds two of MLW’s championships. Talk about a deadly unit. They have hybrid superiority and now aerial superiority too through Reed.
All images courtesy of MLW, video courtesy of MLW YouTube