Words & Photos by Matthew Widdis
Maxwell Jacob Friedman vs Brian Pillman Jr
Our first match of the evening is prelude. MJF, representing The Dynasty, spends much of the match working over Pillman’s left arm, only to get small packaged out of nowhere. An incredulous MJF gets on the mic and insists to the crowd that the win was a fluke. Brian Pillman Jr. has loads of charisma and a good share of his late father’s look, style, and swagger. The crowd cheers for him throughout the match and calls for him throughout the evening.
Jacob Fatu vs Barrington Hughes
Brian Pillman Jr. is only one of numerous legacy wrestlers on hand. Jacob Fatu of the brutal Contra Unit is the son of Tonga Kid (of Highlander and Bodyslam: The Movie fame.) Hughes appears to be well over the 400 lb. mark but Fatu is able to bring him down with numerous head shots and a front flip senton from the top rope to make short work of him. Afterwards, his stablemates join in putting the boots to “The Caramel Colossus.”
Ace Austin vs Rey Horus
Ace Austin is established as the heel in this match when he has trouble shaking hands after he’s bested in an early exchange. About halfway through, he attempts to unmask Rey Horus and actually succeeds in doing so for a split second. Both men work an athletic and high-risk style but much of Austin’s offense takes place in the corners. Rey Horus picks up the win with an inverted sunset flip maneuver off the top turnbuckle.
Ricky Martinez & Low-Ki (Salina de la Rente) vs local talent
Promociones Dorado waste no time as Low-Ki rushes their opponents while the referee is giving instructions. A few double team moves and Low-Ki executes his Warrior’s Way flying stomp, catching enough height that seemingly could have gotten to the ballroom’s second level. After the three count, Contra Unit returns to decimate Low-Ki, draping their flag over his still form in their vicious victory.
Lance Anoa’i & Jimmy Yuta vs Rich Swann & Myron Reed
Another Anoa’i appears! Lance is the son of Samu and grandson of Afa. More fan friendly than his Contra Unit cousin, Lance and his partner get a warm reception. Former WWE Cruiserweight and current Impact X Division champ, Rich Swann, and his partner come to the ring with tape over their mouths with “JUSTICE” written on it. Swann and Reed employ some comedy in their selling, including when Anoa’i performs a combo Samoan Drop/dropkick on both men at once. In the end, the smaller team picks up the win with consecutive 450 splashes to Anoa’i.
Daga vs Minoru Tanaka
The crowd is hot for both competitors because they know what they’re in for: a strong style slugfest reminiscent of the old UWF or RINGS in Japan. We see some high flying as Daga attempts a corkscrew plancha early on but Tanaka slows it down, nearly submitting him with a leg lock and hitting a low dropkick to the left knee immediately afterwards. Tanaka takes to the air himself but ultimately picks up the win with an inside spladle straight out of high school folk-style. The crowd gives it up for Daga nearly as much as the victor on their way out.
The Dynasty vs The New Era Heart Foundation in a Six-Man Tables Match
MJF is back out with his stablemates, Richard Holliday and Alexander Hammerstone. MLW tag champs Davey Boy Smith Jr. and Teddy Hart come out to stand up for their injured brother-in-arms, Pillman. Been a while since I’ve seen Teddy live and I’m left wondering when he began incorporating his cat-breeding business ventures into his ring entrance. As the numbers game stacks against the clan from Calgary and some highly dubious-in-quality tables are produced, the fans chant for Pillman and eventually he doth appear, taped up from shoulder to elbow. Hammerstone, the muscle of his group (and looking ever so much like Chris Jericho and Chris Benoit managed to reproduce,) even plays a round of “dueling vertical suplexes” with Davey Jr, hoisting Teddy up and encouraging him to do the same with MJF. Teddy gets his revenge, though, with a few Canadian Destroyers, including one off of Hammerstone’s back and onto MJF held by Davey on his shoulders, a la Steiners/LOD. It’s ultimately Hammerstone who picks up the win for his team by powerbombing Pillman through a table in the corner.
Ace Romero vs Josef Sammael
Ace Romero is another super heavyweight. He’s pretty mobile and even attempts a top rope move. This leads to his down fall, though, as he is thrown from the turnbuckles and caught with a head kick that gets Samael the win. Contra Unit comes out again for their prerequisite boot party but Barrington Hughes comes out to make the save. Unfortunately, it’s too little, too late, and the villains leave both men lying on the mats for an extended time until trainers and other staff could get them out of the ring area.
Gringo Loko vs Puma King
Gringo Loco has some of the best entrance music on the roster and it really fits the character. Puma King takes his “King of Cats” gimmick to a dramatic degree. “Grin-go Lo-co!” chants are met with a response of “Pu-ma King!” They’re evenly matched but there has to be a winner and it’s Gringo Loko following a classic Tiger Driver.
Sami Callihan vs Mance Warner
After hitting each other with fans’ beverages (and even consuming a few,) these two brawlers introduce a chair… which has the referee calling for the bell. Both competitors share a confused look and advise the official that there’s no other way they’d prefer to fight! Sami puts Mance into a steel chair pillory and, when Mance gets up from it, he wears the chair like a necklace until Sami hits a drop toehold Raven-style. Mance spears Sami through a table. Sami hits a tombstone on the open chair and unzips his vest for a measure of fairness as they go shot-for-shot across the chest. The fans chant “Fight for-ev-er!” and it sounds like a good idea. The match ends up breaking down when Promociones Dorado resume beef with Mance but Sami doesn’t take too kindly to the interference. “The Draw” and “The Southern Psycho” send them packing.
Air Wolf vs Rey Fenix
>Rey Fenix is one of the best around in the lucha libre style and Air Wolf is worthy of his buzz in the pro wrestling media. They’re in a tough spot on the card but entertain throughout with great technical wrestling and well executed planchas. Air Wolf picks up the win by reversing a Michinoku Driver-like move into a roll up pin.
Jimmy Havoc vs “Filthy” Tom Lawlor in a NYC Street Fight for the MLW Heavyweight Championship
We open with a video package in which Londoner, Jimmy Havoc, dumps on “this country” and pledges himself to defeat the champion. Jimmy gets in plenty of offense, traditional and hardcore. This includes a Death Valley Driver out of the corner, tangling the champ up in chairs, and making liberal use of a staple gun. UFC veteran, Lawlor, can take the heat, though. He manages to send Jimmy through multiple tables. After a one knee strike through a chair isn’t enough to finish Jimmy, he’s defiant to the last, holding up a middle finger to the champ before being finished with a second one.
LA Park (w/Salina de la Renta) vs Pentagon Jr
It’s a darkside yesterday vs today. The one-time “Chairman of WCW” vs the man with “Cero Miedo.” Sometimes, it’s sad to see wrestlers in their 40s, 50s, and beyond get into the ring. LA Park is not one of those guys. Unavoidably older and noticeably heavier, the man can still do it all. The strut? Por supuesto! The tope suicida? Ay mi dios! He goes bottom level on it and does the dive better than most lacing up the boots these days. He beats Pentagon with his belt like an angry nun. Penta manages to stave off interference from Salina by catching her in a kiss and she responds with a spit take that blows three feet into the air. The distraction is all it takes and LA Park picks up the win off of a wicked spear.
Salina de la Renta announces that she detests being in New York and around “you people.” She then leads LA Park over to a large box to make friendly with the promotion’s sponsors but Mance Warner surprises them when he pops out and takes the fight to Promociones Dorado and into the back.
Final thoughts:
On the independent scene, the talent goes all over, fulfilling dates for multiple promotions in a month, week, or even a night (as evident by multiple wrestlers on the card appearing on Impact’s United We Stand, immediately afterwards.) The difference between these promotions is seeming held all in the booking and Major League Wrestling is doing a bang up job of it. Rey Fenix and Air Wolf could easily have blown the crowd away with their aerial acumen… but that wasn’t their job. They kept the show going between two wild brawls and reminded us that “This! Is! Wrest-ling!”
