MLW Blood and Thunder
July 12, 2024
by Doc Allen
Live from The Coliseum from St. Petersburg, Florida. They are touting a sellout. Joe Dombrowski and Christian Cole are on commentary.
Opera Cup Round One:
Atlantis Jr. vs. Okumura
They cautiously lock up, Okumura looks shaken by an armdrag. He recovers with a clothesline, but runs into a snug dropkick. Atlantis delivers a tilt-a-whirl backbreaker outside. He hits the post on a missed clothesline, Okumura smells blood and goes to work on the arm. Atlantis hits a thrust kick, Okumura answers with a COZY Cutter. Atlantis responds with a tope suicida, then a power slam for 2. Tilt-a-whirl backbreaker by Atlantis, Okumura counters into a nearfall. Atlantis dramatically escapes from an armbreaker. He hits a spinning driver and Frog Splash to win at 8:48. Average match built around a simple injury angle, **¼.Winner: Atlantis Jr.
Joe Dombrowski hosts Mr. Thomas and Alex Kane on the stage. Their loyalty is going to be tested when they face off in the Opera Cup. Kane insists that they are the Bomaye FIGHT Club, they like to fight each other all the time! They also have tag team gold on their minds. Mr. Thomas' facial expressions and comments suggest he'd rather win the tournament.
Cesar Duran grabs a word with Salina de la Renta while his goons beat up Jesus Rodriguez.
Earlier today, an ambulance arrived at the venue, anticipating the need to haul either Matthew Justice or Mads Krugger to the hospital.
Opera Cup Round One:
Jake Crist vs. Tom Lawlor (with Saint Laurent)
Crist greets Lawlor with a plancha, then an Asai moonsault. Bell rings, Crist hits a side Russian leg sweep and a headlock. Lawlor quickly escapes and slams Crist onto the frame. Lawlor uses a modified Kimura and draping neckbreaker to target the neck. Crist quickly comes back with a sitout powerbomb. Lawlor attacks the neck again, Crist counters a choke hold but instead gets dropped onto his head. Crist blocks a crossface and nails a springboard cutter for 2. Lawlor delivers an avalanche kimura takedown and holds on for the submission at 6:43. Decent match that got right down to business, **½.Winner: Tom Lawlor
Lawlor gloats on the microphone. He's interrupted by Paul Walter Hauser on the big screen and gets challenged to an MMA fight. Seems like a bad career move by PWH.
CONTRA propaganda video package. Mads Krugger plans on sending Matthew Justice packing on an ambulance ride.
AKIRA (with a frightened shiba inu) vs. Minoru Suzuki (with Ikuro Kwon)
AKIRA's dog looks distraught to be here, but is quickly escorted away. Bell rings, they exchange kicks and submission attempts. They largely keep things on the mat while the fans chant random stuff. Suzuki risks a DQ with a draping armbar, AKIRA blocks a piledriver on the announce table. Kwon interferes, but AKIRA finds enough strength to slug it out with Suzuki. Kwon interferes again, AKIRA neutralizes him with a brutal flapjack. AKIRA unloads forearm strikes that make Suzuki smirk, so he nails a shotgun dropkick. AKIRA awkwardly botches a flying back senton, but he blocks another piledriver attempt. AKIRA absorbs a flurry of strikes and puts his hands behind his back to ask for more. Suzuki is absolutely enjoying himself too much and AKIRA surprises him with a flurry of offense. Suzuki cuts him off with a choke and finally gets the Gotch piledriver for the win at 11:18. Lots of entertaining violence here, hampered by AKIRA's costly botch, **¾.Winner: Minoru Suzuki
CONTRA Unit continues beating AKIRA up until Satoshi Kojima makes the one-man save.
Video package highlighting Salina de la Renta's soap opera history in MLW. Cesar Duran was revealed to be her father and Salina is pregnant.
It's time for Salina de la Renta to reveal who her baby daddy is. Cesar Duran (with a tall masked bodyguard) comes out first and demands to know who the (bleep) the father is. Salina joins him but now isn't interested in sharing her secret. They're interrupted by Bad Dude Tito, he's not the daddy, just nosy. Salina teases that the father could be one of the fat f*cks in the audience, which is a pretty hilarious self-own, if you ask me. Saint Laurent is out next, Cesar almost vomits at the thought of him being the dad. Commentary is skeptical that Saint Laurent even knows how to procreate. Mercifully, he's not the dad, but he knows who it is. The World Titan Federation doesn't just perform wellness testing, but DNA testing, and he's got the results right there. Salina notices it's just a Covid test. Salina claims to be a virgin, it was an immaculate conception. She then points to Duran's bodyguard as the daddy, he unmasks and it's no one we've ever seen, but commentary sure thinks he's handsome. Salina starts making out with the guy, Cesar almost throws up again. Well, that reveal was a big dud. Mediocre sports entertainment.
3 Stages of Destruction Match:
Mads Krule Krugger (with CONTRA Unit) vs. Matthew Justice (with Bill Alfonso)
This is a 2 / 3 falls match with a different wacky stipulation for each fall. First fall is First Blood. Makes sense, they both have “first” in the name, and um, yeah, that's all I got. Justice has revenge on his mind and takes it to Krugger at the bell. Krugger hits a big boot, Justice blocks a chokeslam. Fonzie tosses Justice a chair, but Krugger punches through the chair and nails a slam onto the ring frame. Krugger hits a hard Irish whip into a ladder but then goes through it on a head of steam. Justice has to fend off CONTRA interference but leaps over a goon to hit a spear. Justice unloads with a wired chair, Fonzie helps with a Coast to Coast! Krugger is busted open, Justice wins the first fall at 4:35. This is lots of fun so far. The second fall is a Street Fight, I was hoping for something more outlandish. Justice still has the upper hand and unloads chair shots, at least until Krugger nails a chokeslam. Justice answers with a DVD through a chair! Justice climbs up a giant ladder, Krugger joins him for a SUPERPLEX THROUGH A TABLE! That gives Krugger the pinfall at 11:11. Third fall is Medical Evacuation, which is a cute name for an Ambulance Match. Fans are chanting “This is awesome!” The Sentai Death Squad arrive with a body bag, ready to make quick work of Justice. Fonzie tries to help with a chair shot on Krugger, buying enough time for Justice to come back to life. Justice cleans house but takes a bad landing on a sideways ladder. He's battered but hits a tornado DDT anyway. Krugger gets draped onto a table that breaks under him, Justice hits a big splash from a ladder anyway! Mad respect for saving the spot. Justice and Fonzie wheel Krugger to the parking lot on a flatbed cart. Justice opens the ambulance, but Ikuro Kwon is waiting for an ambush. Krugger powerbombs Justice onto a flaming table! Krugger throws Justice's carcass into the ambulance to win at 19:15. Now THIS is the type of silly sports entertainment I can sink my teeth into, ****.Winner: Mads Krule Krugger
MLW Women's Featherweight Championship:
Janai Kai © vs. Gigi Rey
Janai's overconfidence allows Gigi to deliver an early flurry of offense and gain a nearfall. The picture keeps cutting back to the parking lot for reasons unknown. Kai happily comes back with stiff kicks. Gigi makes a basic comeback and scores an inside cradle for 2. Michinoku Driver by Gigi gets 2. Gigi hits the Money Shot (flying corkscrew senton) for another nearfall. Kai answers with a knee to the face and overhead suplex. Kai hits a KO kick to win at 5:12. Glorified squash match to feature the champ, **.Winner and still Women's Featherweight Champion: Janai Kai
Opera Cup Round One:
Bobby Fish vs. KENTA
KENTA is starting to look his age, which is okay because it's 2024, not 2005. That realization really stings. There's a faint backstory about KENTA once inspiring Fish to become a better pro wrestler. They cautiously feel each other out. KENTA tries an early GTS, Fish slips away. Fish scores a slingshot senton and starts to feel good about himself. KENTA responds with a side Russian leg sweep for 2. Fish answers with a power slam for 2. Both guys look gassed. Chinbreaker by KENTA allows some strong style kicks. KENTA teases a double stomp, only to tap the forehead. Fish makes a desperate comeback and nails a dragon leg rip. Sliding lariat by Fish gets 2. KENTA arbitrarily regains control, leading to a slugfest. They both attempt clotheslines and hit the canvas, crowd misses their cue for an ovation. KENTA revives first and runs wild with a shotgun dropkick. KENTA's double stomp misses, Fish hits something resembling a Samoan drop. Fish prepares to fly, KENTA fights past the referee to hit a superplex. KENTA hits a double stomp for only 2. Fish comes right back with an avalanche Falcon Arrow, straight into a heel hook. KENTA can't gain a rope break, so he reverses into a pinning predicament. Exploder suplex by Fish, he flips off the fans, but KENTA collapses before he can hit a knockout blow. KENTA hits the GTS out of nowhere and wins at 17:15. I didn't find this match to be particularly interesting, it was mostly just Your Turn/My Turn moves. They worked hard and the action looked good, but I found myself staring at the stopwatch more often than not, **½.Winner: KENTA
No Ropes Death Match:
Sami Callihan vs. Matt Riddle
Sami endears himself to the fans with a heel promo before the bell. Riddle flips him off, kicks his face, and scores a nearfall at 0:25. Sami throws powder into Riddle's eyes, then papercuts between his fingers. Sami follows with a wired bat to the head, which I don't find nearly as disturbing as the papercuts. Riddle tries a sunset flip, but Sami staples his chest. Sami then staples Riddle's armpit, and man, he's just ruthless tonight. He staples Riddle's foot and then pours salt on the wound, right before I use that term as a metaphor. Sami smashes a broken bottle into Riddle's skull and hits a Cactus piledriver for only 2. Sami applies the Testicular Claw and hits an atomic drop onto the broken glass. Riddle competes bare footed, in case you forgot. Riddle sacrifices his own back hitting a desperate cutter over the glass. Riddle removes the canvas and padding to expose the wooden beams of the ring. Riddle misses a back senton and goes through a propped door. Sami continues removing the ring padding, Riddle capitalizes with trash can blows. They slug it out until Sami hits a piledriver onto the exposed boards. Riddle kicks out! Riddle hits an RKO out of nowhere onto the broken glass for 2. Riddle wraps a ring rope around Sami's mouth for the submission at 15:00! They worked hard and provided some creative violence that we don't see everyday. Fun main event, ***½.Winner: Matt Riddle
Camera cuts to the parking lot, where the Sentai Death Squad are beating up AKIRA. Sucks to be him.
Final Thoughts: Justice vs. Krugger definitely made my night by making me feel like I was 14 again. Pretty much everything else is Take It or Leave It. The Salina angle was a pretty noteworthy bomb, more like an imitation of a McMahon Family soap opera angle that I'm shocked Vince and co. never attempted. Mild recommendation for the campiness and violence.
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