Major League Wrestling: The Revival

[CakeWalker]

Champion​	Date​	Event​	Reign​	Days​	Notes​
5th: Satoshi Kojima​	7th April [aired 26th April]​	Zero Hour​	2nd​	71​	defeated Jeff Cobb in Heavyweight Tournament Final​

Champion​	Date​	Event​	Reign​	Days​	Notes​
2nd: The Midnight Triggermen [ACH & Trey Miguel]​	16th June​	Intimidation Games​	1st​	0​	defeated Filthy Factory in Tag Tournament Final​

Champion​	Date​	Event​	Reign​	Days​	Notes​
1st: Vacant​	1st September​	All In​	1st​	0​	​

MEN'S DIVISION
ACH, Bandido, Brian Pillman, Jr. Brody King, Darby Allin, Davey Boy Smith, Jr., Donovan Dijak, Flamita, Fred Yehi, Jack Evans, Jason Cade, Jeff Cobb, Jimmy Yuta, Jonathan Gresham, Joey Janela, Johnny Fusion, Juice Robinson, Leo Brien, Matt Riddle, Matt Taven, Maxwell Jacob Friedman, Michael Patrick, Mike Parrow, MVP, Pentagon, Jr., Rey Fenix, Ricochet, Sami Callihan, Satoshi Kojima, Seth Petruzelli, Shane Strickland, Silas Young, Simon Gotch, Sonjay Dutt, Tama Tonga, Ted DiBiase, Jr., Teddy Hart, Trey Miguel, Tom Lawlor & Tyler Bateman

TAG DIVISION
Chosen Bros (Jeff Cobb & Matt Riddle)
Dirty Blondes (Leo Brien & Michael Patrick)
Filthy Factory (Simon Gotch & Silas Young)
GT Force (Jonathan Gresham & Matt Taven)
Hart Foundation (Jack Evans & Ted DiBiase, Jr.)
Team Janelope (Joey Janela & Penelope Ford)
Lucha Bros (Rey Fenix & Pentagon, Jr.)
MexaBlood (Bandido & Flamita)
Team TBD (Jimmy Yuta & Jason Cade)
The Midnight Triggermen (ACH & Trey Miguel)
Rookie Rebellion (MJF & Darby Allin)
Violence Unlimited (Brody King & Tyler Bateman)
Yehzelli (Fred Yehi & Seth Petruzelli)

WOMEN'S DIVISION
Chelsea Green, Diana Dahlgren, Jenny Rose, Kelly Klien, Leva Bates, Mia Yim, Penelope Ford, Priscilla Kelly, Santina Garrett, Stella Grey, Sumie Sakai, Taya Valkyrie Tenille Dashwood & Zheda Zhang

UNITS
Stud Stable (Mike Parrow, Leo Brien, Michael Patrick & Colonel Robert Parker)
Team Filthy (Tom Lawlor, Fred Yehi, Seth Petruzelli, Simon Gotch & Silas Young)
New Era Hart Foundation (Teddy Hart, Jack Evans, Ted DiBiase, Jr., Brian Pillman, Jr. & Davey Boy Smith, Jr.)
Violence Unlimited (Brody King, Jonathan Gresham, Matt Taven & Tyler Bateman)​

 

[CakeWalker]

Act One: Part One
One-Shot (4th January 2018) would being the revival event for Major League Wrestling, with it being a total of fourteen years since the last aired show MLW Underground #30. Promotion owner Court Bauer would have made his intentions known that for any wrestling promotion to carry any relevance it was important that they were represented by a champion and would reveal that at the live show a selection of first round matches to crown a new MLW World Heavyweight Champion would take place - with it being confirmed that a total of thirty-two wrestlers would feature in the bracket. Bauer would go on to confirm that the remainder of the first round and subsequent round would be aired on MLW’s new weekly episodic Fusion that would be streamed on YouTube every week (sixty minute episodes). It would also be revealed that after all first round matches were complete, matches in the last sixteen would be drawn out of the hat featuring a special guest master of ceremonies.

A total of seven matches would be featured on the Supercard, with six of these contests being First Round matches in the Heavyweight Tournament. On the lower end of the card MVP would defeat Donovan Dijak, Silas Young claimed a win over Mike Parrow and in a battle of two young guns Fred Yehi would be victorious in an epic battle with Sammy Guevara. In the only non-tournament contest of the evening, Mia Yim and Santana Garrett would feature in a great bout with Yim picking up the W.

Satoshi Kojima would be the only former champion to be featured in the tournament and the wily veteran would be given a hero's welcome at the Gilt Nightclub with the five-time world champion claiming a comprehensive win over rookie Jimmy Yuta. Shane Strickland and Simon Gotch would feature in a much rougher contest, with the contest almost being sold as shoot fight with heavy bumps and a lot of stiff shots that would certainly thrill the fans and almost be seen as borderline hardcore match and very match a throwback to the previos version of MLW prior to their revival, with Strickland being the man to advance to the next round. The show’s main-event would be an epic encounter between two men who had been setting the Mexican scene on fire as of late with Pentagon, Jr. and Johnny Fusion (Hennigan) treating the fans to thirty plus minute epic spot fest with both men holding nothing back and onlookers surprised that such a big match was featured in the first round of the tournament. The match would be littered with near falls and submission attempts, but it would be Penta forcing Johnny to tap out via The Sacrifice (Grounded hammerlock & inverted armbreaker) that would see him claim the big victory and round off the evening.

MVP def. Donovan Dijak | Silas Young def. Mike Parrow | Fred Yehi def. Sammy Guevara | Mia Yim def. Santana Garrett | Satoshi Kojima def. Jimmy Yuta | Shane Strickland def. Simon Gotch | Pentagon, Jr. def Johnny Fusion

The first handful of episodes of Fusion would feature the remainder of the first round matches in the tournament (with it being clear from the live crowd in attendance, that these episodes had been filmed during the same evening as One-Shot had been aired live live.)

Episode #1 [aired 11th Jan]
Tom Lawlor def. Maxwell Jacob Friedman | Matt Riddle def. Jason Cade | ACH def. Joey Janela

Episode #2 [aired 18th Jan]
Sami Callihan def. Homicide | Jonathan Gresham def. Chuck Taylor | Matt Taven def. Ricochet

Episode #3 [aired 25th]
Tama Tonga def. Sonjay Dutt | Jeff Cobb def. Darby Allin

Episode #4 [aired 1st February]
Juice Robinson def. Trey Miguel | Rey Fenix def. Brody King

After the contest between Fenix and King that would see Rey claim the final spot in the next round of the tournament, Court Bauer would make his way out from the back and be joined in the ring by former MLW World Heavyweight Champion and now retired wrestler Steve Corino. Corino would express his wishes about looking forward to finding out who the next man in the lineage would become the face of MLW and that this tournament was already proving itself as a must watch and that he was very proud to be part of the drawing the names out of the hat this evening that would determine the bracket for the remainder of the tournament.

The tournament would continue over the next episodes over Fusion - with the tournament continuing to gauge interest and view counts going up that would cause the “Wrestling Community” to start taking more serious notice of Major League Wrestling.

Episode #5 [aired 8th February]
Juice Robinson def. MVP | Sami Callihan def. Matt Riddle | Satoshi Kojima def. Fred Yehi

Episode #6 [aired 15th February]
Silas Young def. Tama Tonga | Jonathan Gresham def. Pentagon, Jr.

Episode #7 [aired 22nd February]
Shane Strickland def. Tom Lawlor | Jeff Cobb def. ACH | Matt Taven def. Rey Fenix

With eight men remaining in the contest - it would be confirmed by Court Bauer that at the ‘Zero Hour’ SuperShow that the first MLW World Heavyweight Champion would be crowned - as well as a #1 contender’s match that would take place between whichever two wrestlers lost in the semi finals matches of the bracket. Bauer would confirm that with six weeks to go until the SuperShow there would be one tournament match a week, in order to allow for other matches to be booked for what he hoped would be a memorable event that would help establish Major League Wrestling as a legitimate promotion within the American indie scene.

Episode #8 [aired 1st March]
Jeff Cobb def. Silas Young

Episode #9 [aired 8th March]
Jonathan Gresham def. Sami Callihan

Episode #10 [aired 15th March]
Satoshi Kojima def. Shane Strickland

Episode #11 [aired 22nd March]
Matt Taven def. Juice Robinson

With the semi finals set with Matt Taven taking on Satoshi Kojima and Jeff Cobb against Jonathan Gresham a certain level of online interest had been drawn to the company, with a number of other promotions considering Major League Wrestling as a legitimate player and the promotion seemed to be captivating a decent audience both during the live streams, but also by way of replays.

Episode #12 [aired 29th March]
Satoshi Kojima def. Matt Taven

Episode #13 [aired 5th April]
Jeff Cobb def. Jonathan Gresham

It would be confirmed that at Zero Hour that Jeff Cobb would take on Satoshi Kojima with the winner set to be crowned as the new MLW World Heavyweight Champion, whilst Matt Taven would be booked to face Jonathan Gresham in a Number One Contender’s Match.

MLW World Heavyweight Championship
Satoshi Kojima vs. Jeff Cobb

MLW World Heavyweight Championship #1 Contender’s Match
Matt Taven vs. Jonathan Gresham ​

 

[CakeWalker]

Act One: Part Two

Following the lone women’s contest between Mia Yim and Santana Garrett at One-Shot, it seemed evident that Court Bauer had intentions for Major League Wrestling to have women’s wrestling be a key feature of his revival of the MLW brand. For the first few episodes of Fusion a number of women’s matches would be sprinkled in between the World Championship Heavyweight Tournament matches, as shown below:

Chelsea Green def. Stella Grey [Episode #3]

Tenille Dashwood def. Kelly Klien [Episode #4]

Leva Bates def. Zheda Zhang [Episode #6]

Upon the commencement of the Quarter Final matches [Episode #8], Priscilla Kelly would cut an a fierce promo backstage in which she would name drop Chelsea Green and make a point that Green had embarrassed herself by wasting her opportunity on Tough Enough and then to make matters even worse had been given a second chance by Impact Wrestling, only to have her second shot at glory flushed down the toilet due to her sub par performance as a wrestler and would claim that if she had been given the same opportunities she would never have wasted them. Priscilla would proceed to introduce former Tough Enough contestant Dianna Dahlgren and challenge Chelsea ‘Hot Mess’ Green to face Dianna on next week’s show. On the same evening, Sumie Sakai would claim a win over Jenny Rose with the twenty year veteran looking wholly impressive on her MLW debut.

On the following week’s show [Episode #9], Chelsea Green would obliterate Dianna Dahlgren in under a minute in a complete squash match, but it was clear that Dahlgren had been nothing more than a distraction because as soon as the bell was rung Priscilla Kelly would direct traffic from ringside and send two women wearing ski masks to slide into the ring and jump Green in a two-on-one assault, whilst Priscilla would clap her hands and enjoy the spectacle of Chelsea being handed her ass on a plate. Chelsea would get unexpected aid from Lacey Lane and Leva Bates with the pair clearing the ring and standing shoulder to shoulder with Green clearly having her back.

A fortnight later [Episode #11] Chelsea Green would cut a promo where she would be joined by Bates and Zhang, with Green stating that she had no idea what Priscilla problem with her was or her two masked cronies were - but that she had dispatched Dahlgren without any problem at all and that Leva and Zeda would enjoy nothing less than coming for her two masked cronies next week in tag-team action.

The match would be a story of the match that never happened [Episode #12] as whilst Zhang and Bates were waiting for Kelly’s two masked cronies - footage would emerge backstage of the masked women and Priscilla Kelly jumping Chelsea backstage with all three aggressors beating down on Green with wooden baseball bats. The women would remove their mask and reveal their identities as fellow ‘Tough Enough’ contestants Raquel (Gabi Castrovinci) & GiGi (Giorgia Piscina) with Priscilla explaining to Chelsea that these were just an example of some of the women she had stolen the spotlight from, but that when she was finished with her there would be no more chapter written in the story of Chelsea Green.

On the go-home show [Episode #13] before Zero Hour - in a recorded segment Court Bauer would book two matches for the SuperShow featuring members of the Women’s Division. The first would see Bauer re-book the tag team match that was meant to have taken place the previous week between Leva Bates & Zheda Zhang against Raquel & GiGi. In the second booking Bauer would set Priscilla Kelly to face Chelsea Green - and reveal that the winner of the contest would be awarded the first “Star Token” and that over the next few months various members of the division would be able to win these tokens to earn entry into the an eventual match to crown an inaugural MLW Women’s Champion. Bauer would recognize that there was little love between both women and that the match would be fought under No Disqualification rules.

Star Token | No Disqualification Rules
Priscilla Kelly vs. Chelsea Green

Tag Team Match
Raquel & GiGi vs. Zheda Zhang & Leva Bates​

 

[CakeWalker]

Act One: Part Three

Upon the commencement of the Quarter Final matches, various levels of bad blood and rivalries would begin to become more apparent on episodes of Fusion.

One of these feuds would be centered around Pentagon, Jr. & Rey Fenix (The Lucha Brothers) with the pair of siblings having both been eliminated from the tournament in the second round. The pair would be approached by The Dirty Blondes (Leo Brien & Michael Patrick) with Michael Patrick trying to claim a position of authority that the Blondes were a legitimate tag team rather than Penta and Fenix were just two singles competitors that had failed to make the cut and by doing so had lost all relevance and were trying to hide their failures by presenting themselves as a tag team and demand the Mexican siblings face them in the ring this evening [Episode #8] on Fusion. The contest would be a good watch and really showcase to an American view base them as a potential team of the future with the Lucha Bros picking up a win over The Dirty Blondes. A second tag-team match would also take place during the show with the combination of Jason Cade & Jimmy Yuta (Team TBD) falling short and losing to the unique pairing of Fred Yehi & Seth Petruzelli.

On the next episode of Fusion [Episode #9] Tom Lawlor would join Yehi & Petruzelli backstage and introduce the duo as the first members of his new faction ‘Team Filthy’ and that he would be looking to recruit other talented individuals to join the first “real stable” in MLW and that with trusted advisors and loyalists surrounding him he would be able to bury his loss to Shane Strickland and make his way back up the mountain and become the MLW Word Heavyweight Championship as soon as humanly possible. That evening, now under the banner of Team Filthy (Yehi & Petruzelli) would pick up a victory over The Dirty Blondes.

The following week [Episode #10] Brody King would feature in a tag team contest alongside his indie partner Tyler Bateman as ‘Violence Unlimited’ and the duo would pick up a win over Team TBD. After the contest, Brody King would grab a microphone and name drop Rey Fenix, but wanted to make it known that he wasn’t carrying personal grudges around and that he was planning to personally target Rey Fenix to claim a degree of revenge. King would state that rather he and Bateman had their eyes on the entire division and that once tag team belts were dusted and pulled out of the retirement cabinet then he and Tyler fully intended on violence being unlimited in the tag division. King’s personal words seemed to have no bearing on the actual booking of matches though as the following week [Episode #11] Brody would face the Pentagon, Jr. (Fenix’s brother) in singles competition. The match would be an exciting contest with the fans warming up to it and the direction of the match very much in the balance - that was until two men wearing Hockey goalie masks and Team Filthy Hockey jersey would slide into the ring wielding steel chairs and slam them both in the back with the match immediately ending as a No Contest. The masked assailants would be quick to flee, as Fenix and Bateman would emerge from the back and chase them off.

The next week [Episode #12] in what was claimed as being filmed ‘on location’ at Team Filthy’s private compound - but looked more like the interior of a camper van. Lawlor would be joined by Yehi, Seth and the two masked assailants who had attacked Brody and Rey the previous week. Lawlor would say he had been impressed with the manner in which the two newest members of his faction had introduced themselves to the world as they would remove their mask and be revealed as Simon Gotch and Silas Young. Lawlor would send a direct message to both the Lucha Bros and Team Filthy that they needed to stay in their lane and make way for the only legitimate group in MLW.

On the go-home show [Episode #13] Violence Unlimited and the Lucha Brothers with Salina de la Renta would stand in the middle of the ring - with Salina introducing herself as the voice and personal assistant for the Lucha Brothers from this point onwards. Salina would talk about the importance of a common language, but in regards to both tag teams in the ring she hadn’t been brought in to help the four men effectively communicate with each other - but rather help Rey and Penta be able to form a strong bond with the fans. Salina would confirm that both teams did share a common language though - that of violence and that they had agreed for a temporary basis to come together and work as one this weekend and after speaking personally with Court Bauer earlier in the Lucha Unlimited (Brody King, Tyler Bateman, Pentagon, Jr. & Rey Fenix) would take on Team Filthy’s Yehi, Petruzelli, Gotch and Young at the Zero Hour SuperShow.

Eight-Man Tag Team Match
Lucha Unlimited (Brody King, Tyler Bateman, Pentagon, Jr. & Rey Fenix) w/ Salina de le Renta vs. Team Filthy w/ Tom Lawlor ​

 

[CakeWalker]

Act One: Part Four

Upon the commencement of the Quarter Final matches, various levels of bad blood and rivalries would begin to become more apparent on episodes of Fusion. The matches below would be added to Zero Hour - following the build up presented:

After claiming an opening contest victory over Donovan Dijak [Episode #10], Darby would name drop Joey Janela and talk about the fact that they had both previously faced each other twice in singles action with a win each to their names, but that it had bothered him as soon as he had spotted Joey backstage to know they were level at one match apiece and that for his own personal growth he needed to know who the better man was and so would suggest that at Zero Hour they lock it up and find out who the better man really is. A fortnight later [Episode #12] Janela would accept the challenge and that despite the fact he was the biggest heart throb in the indies was willing to take time out of his busy schedule to kick Darby’s ass.

With no buildup whatsoever during the go-home show [Episode #13] a six-man tag team contest would be booked pitting The Stud Stables (Mike Parrow, Leo Brien & Michael Patrick) would take on the randomly put together trio of ACH, Ricochet & Trey Miguel with it quite clear that this match was put together to fill the card and likely being on the evening’s opening matches.

Johnny Fusion would make his first MLW Fusion appearance [Episode #11] and do so by picking up a singles win over Maxwell Jacob Friedman. Fusion would reflect on his loss to Pentagon, Jr. at One-Shot and make the case that neither he nor Penta should have been booked to face each other in the first round and it was just a ploy by Mr. Bauer to get asses on seats and draw in an audience. Fusion would make his intentions known that he intended on reminding the wrestling world that he was ‘Mayor of Slamtown’ and was offering a one time ticket for one lucky soul to face him at Zero Hour. It would be announced using a video package that on next week’s show - Matt Riddle would face Shane Strickland with the winner of that contest facing Johnny at Zero Hour. The match [Episode #12] would be a great match for Fusion, with Strickland winning the match and booking himself a place on the SuperShow.

On the go-hone show [Episode #13] it would be announced that NJPW Hirooki Goto would be making a special appearance in a free week’s time on Major League Wrestling and would be defending his NEVER Openweight Championship and that during this evening show two matches would take place - and the winners of these matches would face off at Zero Hour, and the winner of the match at the SuperShow would challenge Goto for his belt down the road. The first contest would see Sami Callihan claim a victory over Tama Tonga, whilst Juice Robison would defeat MVP booking himself into the contender's contest. Rich Bocchini on commentary would confirm Court Bauer was seeking to form a partnership with New Japan going forward with the intention of being an American base for potentially touring talent.

Singles Match
Darby Allin vs. Joey Janela

NEVER Openweight Championship #1 Contender’s Match
Sami Callihan vs. Juice Robinson [Never Openweight Championship]

Singles Match
Johnny Fusion vs. Shane Strickland

Six-Man Tag Team Match
Stud Stable [Mike Parrow & The Dirty Blondes] vs. ACH, Ricochet & Trey Miguel ​

 

[CakeWalker]

7th April 2018

Lucha Unlimited (Brody King, Tyler Bateman, Pentagon, Jr. & Rey Fenix) vs. Team Filthy (Simon Gotch, Fred Yehi, Seth Petruzelli & Silas Young)

[Predictions welcomed - winner will get to influence the pool of indie wrestlers that appear on MLW]​

 

[CakeWalker]

UPDATE
Major League Wrestling would confirm that despite Zero Hour being filmed on the 7th April - the show would be broadcast between three episodes of Fusion [Episode #14 - 12th April, Episode #15 - 19th April & Episode #16 - 26th April] and would confirm that it would simply be the SuperShow in order - but cut into three separate parts. It was confirmed that this was being done in order to maintain relations with other indie promotions and offer the best product to the fans moving forward.​

 

[CakeWalker]

Act One: Part Five

Episode #14 - Zero Hour Part 1 [aired 12th April]

- Zero Hour would officially get underway with a live musical performance by Bad Wolves who performed the song ‘Zombie’ and would be informed it would be one of three live performances taking place during the course of this evening.




- Commentary pairing Schiavone and Bocchini would welcome the viewers to the broadcast and make the point that One-Shot had been the first step of MLW’s revival, but that Zero Hour would be the event that would be first crowning jewel of what the pair both knew would show the rest of the world why Major League Wrestling had a bright future ahead of it and had the potential to be one of the top American indies of this generation. Both men would agree that tonight’s main-event to crown a new MLW World Heavyweight Champion was the match that everyone was looking forward too, but that there were a number of matches featured on tonight’s card that had led to #ZeroHour trending on social media.

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- The opening contest of the evening would see ACH, Ricochet and Trey Miguel teaming up for the first time - although what would be noticed was that rather than come out as three individuals, ACH & Miguel would emerge from the back under the same entrance music and would be introduced as “The Midnight Triggermen” and that the two men had confirmed their interest in involving themselves in the tag division moving forward. In the early portions of the match, it was clear the two men had great chemistry and also seemed well tuned into what Ricochet was able to bring to the table. The Stud Stable would also look fierce with special guest Col. Robert Parker made a special appearance and walked out with the three men that had adopted the stable name of the group that had been present. in WCW in the mid-nineties.

- The match would prove to be a decent means to warm up the crowd, with it being evident that the match’s purpose was to introduce the MLW to “The Midnight Triggermen” and put over Ricochet at the same time - with the Stud Stable offering a comedy element and very much taking on the role of jobbers and would be on the receiving on of the majority of the big moves. The match would finish with ACH and Miguel performing double knee smashes into Michael Patrick in a movie that Tony Schiavone would reveal to be called ‘The Trigger Trap’ with Miguel making the cover, as ACH would prevent Leo Brien from breaking the count.

Winners: The Midnight Triggermen (ACH & Trey Miguel) & Ricochet

- The Midnight Triggermen would celebrate the victory in the ring, whilst Leo Brien would attend to Michael Patrick. Outside of the ring Col. Robert Parker would taunt Ricochet, before Mike Parrow and Ricochet and would touch their heads together and have an intense stare-down before the pair would be separated by a group of MLW referees and sent to the back.

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- The match would very much be nothing more than a squash match, with Raquel & GiGi very much be outclassed and outmaneuvered in every single moment of the contest with Zhang and Bates making lightwork of Priscilla Kelly’s stooges (with it being noted that Kelly was nowhere to be seen) seemingly having used the pair and no longer having a need for the two former Tough Enough contestants. The match would be over in a number of minutes with GiGi being thrown around the ring like a ragdoll and finished off by Leva Bates who would wipe her out with the Superhero Kick.

Winners: Leva Bates & Zheda Zhang

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- The clash between Janela and Allin would be the first real intense battle of the evening, with both men showing no personal regard for their own bodies and in doing so would take some nasty bumps in the contest and both men seemed intent on really do some serious damage to each other, with this being the furthest thing from a friendly contest. In particular there would be two extra gnarly spots that would really stand out in the contest.

- Joey Janela would have smashed a heavy forearm into Darby’s chin, and would place Allin onto one of the seats on the front row before picking up another chair and hanging it unfolded around Darby’s neck. Janela would then slide back into the ring and spring off the ropes before leaping through the ropes with a Tope Suicida crashing into Darby and sending both men tumbling two or three rows back, as the fans would disperse to avoid suffering from collateral damage.

- Darby would disappear to the back before returning with a steel ladder and would set it up in the middle of the ring - and it would remain there for some time as both men would battle outside the ring. Eventually though, Allin would catch Janela with a Front Dropkick before climbing up the ladder and with a menacing look on his face would dive off backwards and land down heavy on top of Joey with a hellacious Coffin Drop! Both men would eventually push themselves back up to their feet, and make their way back into the ring.

- Joey would look shaky on his legs and it looked as if Darby was on the edge of claiming a glorious win, after he would proceed to bust himself and Janela open at the same time by headbutting him repeatedly as he trapped him in the corner. Penelope Ford would emerge from underneath the ring apron and climb up onto the ring and proceed to distract the referee, as Janela would strike Allin with a low blow before rolling him over in the schoolboy to claim the pinfall victory.

Winner: Joey Janela

- Janela would be quick to exit the ring, where he would be handed a towel by Penelope to mop up the blood that was still freshly flowing, with Rich Bocchini informing viewers that it look like Janelope was officially part of Major League Wrestling - before reminding fans to tune in to Fusion next week for Part Two of Zero Hour.​

 

[Finishline]

Liking the concept right now! MLW has a lot of potential. Of all the people who were in the tournament, Cobb and Kojima were the last ones I expected to be in the finals for the title. I'd see this being the crowning moment for Cobb. Expecting Kelly and Robinson to win gold too.

Excited what you cook up!

 

[CakeWalker]

Liking the concept right now! MLW has a lot of potential. Of all the people who were in the tournament, Cobb and Kojima were the last ones I expected to be in the finals for the title. I'd see this being the crowning moment for Cobb. Expecting Kelly and Robinson to win gold too.

Excited what you cook up!

Thanks for the comments - I hope to provide you with many more tasty recipes expected and unexpected

 

[CakeWalker]

Act One: Part Six

Episode #15 - Zero Hour Part 2 [aired 19th April]

- The second part of Zero Part would resume with Schiavone and Bocchini welcoming viewers to the second of three scheduled episodes of Fusion that would have coverage of Zero Hour before introducing the Bad Wolves for the second time that evening - with the band this time performing ‘Mama I’m Coming Home’.




- After the performance, it would be confirmed by Schiavone that the first match this episode would be the contest between Callihan & Robinson - with the winner earning themselves a future shot at the Never Openweight Championship, which would take place on future Major League Wrestling programming.

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- The clash with Callihan and Robinson would certainly be a must watch contest and would draw more attention due to the roll on effects it would have concerning a New Japan Pro Wrestling championship belt that would certainly cause MLW to gain more exposure on a global scale on the merit that Goto would be present at a future event. And it was clear that a number of fans were clearly thrilled at getting to watch a contest with big time promotion ramifications.

- Both men would have a clean contest with a Puroresu/Strong style very much being portrayed from the get go, with commentary actually being impressed at Callihan’s approach to the match and it was clear that he was raising the bar and really pushing to get past Robinson and earn a big time title shot and would almost get the opportunity after he would lay Juice out with the Cactus Special '97 (Stump piledriver) with Robinson managing to kick out at the last possible moment. The nearfall proved to be a key moment of the contest - that seemed to motivate Robisnson and put his head back into the contest. Robinson would really put the pressure on Sami and end the contest by connecting with Pulp Friction (Jumping sitout inverted double underhook facebuster) and then hook Callihan’s leg over to claim the W.

Winner: Juice Robinson

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- Col. Robert Parker would be joined by Mike Parrow backstage with the veteran manager cutting a promo in the interview area. The Colonel would let it be known that he had been embarrassed by the manner in Ricochet had carried himself earlier in the evening, and that it was clear that in Major League Wrestling the difference between a stud like Parrow and a dude like Ricochet - whom in his opinion would be better suited wearing a mask and pretending to be some royal fool on another promotion instead. Parker would inform the fans that Parrow was one of the most underrated men in professional wrestling and that the face of the Stud Stable was going to make a name for himself - by putting Ricochet on the shelf for good.

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- The contest between Strickland and Fusion prove to be a real standout contest for the evening and with nothing on the line other than the respect and the privilege of having your hand raised by the referee at the end of the contest - it was hard to believe this fact watching on as Strickland and Fusion seemed to be treating the match as if their own career were on the line. It would be a barn burning spotfest with both men looking phenomenal and clearly selling themselves as prospective challengers in the future for the Heavyweight title with the fans standing on their feet in awe for the majority of the contest. The difference seemed to be stamina, with Johnny seeming to be the fresher man (likely to Strickland having advanced further in the tournament - but also having wrestled only a few days earlier) and would take advantage in this war of attrition before hitting the Starship Pain from the turnbuckle to close the contest and pick up his maiden MLW victory.

Winner: Johnny Fusion

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Team Janelope would pose backstage, as Joey would clearly be enjoying his victory over Darby Allin (irrespective of the cheap means by which it was obtained). “The Bad Girl” would take the microphone and cut a promo in which she would state her intentions and Joey’s as being very much aligned and that after speaking with Mr. Bauer confirmed that Janelope was officially part of the MLW’s tag division and that the intergender tag team would be eligible to challenge for future tag team titles in the future. Penelope would finish by stating that there were some impressive ladies on the roster - but she was the 'Baddest Girl on the Planet' and that the girls would be wise to stay out of her way.

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- Taven and Gresham had both impressed in the tournament - so this match was very much a second chance for both men involved knowing that the winner of the bout would face the winner of Cobb/Kojima later down the road. The match would prove to be a thrilling contest - with both men pushing the other to the limit and really helping raise the stock of MLW in what was proving to be the most watched episode of MLW Fusion to date with the first one-on-one contest between both men really elevating both men’s statuses in the promotion.

- The lights would start to flicker in the arena - as ‘Heavy Metal’ by Justice would start to blast with the Taven and Gresh breaking apart as they would look towards the back.




- Suddenly five masked men wearing pink balaclavas would slide into the ring and proceed to wipe out Taven and Gresham with the match immediately being called off as the referee would throw out the contest.

Result: No Contest

- A skull-like logo would start to flash on the LED screens. An ensemble of referees and backstage workers would attempt to come into the ring to prevent the beatdown taking place, but the masked men would prevent them from stopping it - as one of the men would grab a microphone and inform the fans that this was the start of a new era for the Hart Foundation, as the episode of MLW fusion would fade to black.​

 

[CakeWalker]

Act One: Part Seven

Episode #16 - Zero Hour Part 3 [aired 26th April]

- The final part of Zero Hero would resume with Schiavone and Bocchini welcoming viewers back to the third of the three scheduled episodes of Fusion that would have coverage of Zero Hour before introducing the Bad Wolves for the final time that evening - with the band this time performing ‘Learn To Live’.




- After the performance, Rich Bocchini would announce that the first match of this episode Fusion would be the eight-man tag team contested between Team Filthy and the one night only pairing Lucha Unlimited.

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Eight-Man Tag Team Match
Lucha Unlimited (Brody King, Tyler Bateman, Pentagon, Jr. & Rey Fenix) w/ Salina de la Renta vs. Team Filthy w/ Tom Lawlor

- The tag team would be fast paced and hard hitting, with everyone getting a moment to shine as Lawlor and Salina de la Renta who stand at ringside and direct both team’s forward - with the pair breaking out into a fully heated argument whilst the match continued in the ring. Seth Petruzelli would have a standout performance, with the least experienced pro wrestler showing the level of raw potential Seth brought to the table.

- One thing that was clear during the contest was the chemistry of the two teams. Team Filthy were very much a compatible unit and despite not having been together for very long, it was clear that work had gone in ahead of time most likely under Lawlor’s direction and tutelage. On the other hand, Lucha Unlimited was very much two very different pairings coming together for a contest and it was clear that neither team were on the same page and really seemed to struggle to get on the same page and work effectively with each other. And it would be this reason that would lead to Lucha Unlimited’s undoing.

- The match would end following a miscommunication between Tyler Bateman and Pentagon, Jr. as during a tag they would clash heads and as Pentagon stumbled backwards he would be take hold of by Silas Young and thrown down to the mat with Misery (Fireman's carry cutter), whilst Lawlor would bark a command and the rest of Team Filthy would sprint across the ring and form a protective wall as the referee would make the count to give the unit the victory.

Winners: Team Filthy w/ Tom Lawlor

- Tom Lawlor and Team Filthy would soak up the victory in the ring, whilst the Lucha Brothers and Violence Unlimited would noticeably having a heated exchange - with it clear that neither tag team was willing to accept the blame of the loss with Salina doing her best to take on the role of peacemaker.

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- Following his win over Strickland on the last episode of Fusion, Johnny Dynamite would share his thoughts on his future with Major League Wrestling. Fusion would confirm that he some commitments south of the border, but when he returned to MLW in a few months time he was expecting to feature in another high caliber match and thank Shane Strickland for the opportunity to work with him in this marquee MLW event.

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- Going into the contest, both Green and Kelly knew that the winner would leave with the first ‘Star Token’, not that either women needed any motivation going into the match which had no restriction and would allow them to break all the rules in order to get the result they were looking for. Below are detailed some of the most memorable moments that took place in the contest:

- With Kelly trapped in the corner, Chelsea would beat her down before washing her face against the ropes. With Priscilla sat down and seeing stars, Green would exit the ring and pull a stop sign from underneath the ring before propping it up against Kelly - only to bounce off the ropes and crash into Kelly with a hellacious baseball slide.

- Priscilla would show she wasn’t afraid of getting her hands and would lock Chelsea in a crossface, before proceeding to clamp her jaws and attach herself to Green’s left ear and draw blood in truly awful bite that would earn her a lot of heat from onlooking fans.

- Both women would battle on top of the turnbuckle, but both would refuse to give up their position and instead the pair would tumble from the top of the corner and crash onto a table that had been setup at ringside earlier in the contest.

- The match would end with Green looking to finish off Kelly with a Curb Stomp, but Priscilla had been playing possum and instead would check Chelsea in the gut with an uppercut before sending Green down to the mat with a Cradle DDT.

Winner: Priscilla Green

- After the contest, the match official would present Priscilla with the first ‘Star Token’ that would guarantee Kelly involvement in the first championship match for the yet to be unveiled women’s title.

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- Rich Bocchini would announce that the next MLW SuperCard would be called “Intimidation Games” and the main-event for the show would be the final of the MLW Tag Tournament that would crown the 2nd MLW World Tag Team Champion - with Rich reminding fans that in the first era of MLW there had previously only been one team fortunate enough to have held the belts and that being the combination of C.W. Anderson & Simon Diamond ‘The Extreme Horsemen’. Rich would make the point that as of yet no teams had been confirmed on the bracket - but these details would be announced in the coming episodes of Fusion.

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- The match for the World Heavyweight title would certainly prove to be the best contest of the night, with the young and upcoming talent Cobb going face to face with the former MLW World Champion Satoshi Kojima - with it clear that both men were massively determined to end the night with the belt very much in their possession, although it was clear that larger percentage of fans were hoping for a Kojima win and you couldn’t blame them considering the proven veteran status of ‘The Strong Arm’.

- The match itself would be the longest of the affair, but every single moment would be high intensity and filled with memorable impact moments. Whether it be Cobb connecting with elbow smashes, knife edge chops and various suplexes to Kojima nailing Cobb with brainbuster, DDT combinations and numerous Machine gun chops.

-The contest would end with Cobb taking gold of Kojima and laying him out with Tour of the Islands (Reverse-spin scoop powerslam) and Cobb would begin to showboat as if he had already won the match and would even proceed to lean over the ropes and be cheered for by his tag team partner (The Chosen Bros) Matt Riddle. Satoshi though would show how tough he was, and creep around the ring and launch himself off the top rope and take out an unsuspecting Cobb with the Kojima Cutter before hooking his legs over to achieve the three count.

Winner: Satoshi Kojima

- Zero Hour would end with Satoshi being presented the MLW World Heavyweight Championship as he would become a two-time champion.​

 

[CakeWalker]

Act One: Epilogue

- Following a thirty-two man tournament bracket, the new era of Major League Wrestling would see its first MLW World Heavyweight Champion - with Satoshi Kojima winning the belt by defeating Jeff Cobb in the main-event of Zero Hour. Originally it had been conceived that Kojima’s first defense would be against the winner of Matt Taven versus Jonathan Gresham, but after that contest had ended in a no contest due to unsanctioned attack by a group claiming to be the Hart Foundation. Who Kojima’s first challenger is now unknown, but with a stacked roster Court Bauer is going to have a real headache singling it down to just one man.

- Although the date has yet to be confirmed NJPW’s Hirooki Goto is now set to defend his Never Openweight Championship on future MLW programming. No long details have been confirmed, but a working relationship with New Japan will no doubt be a massive benefit for Major League Wrestling moving forward.

- A feud between Priscilla Kelly and Chelsea Green led to the creation of ‘Star Tokens’ with Court Bauer confirming that the holder of various tokens would be involved in a future contest to crown an inaugural Women’s Champion. With Kelly claiming the victory - she currently is the only member of the roster who is provisionally confirmed to be challenge for the belt in the future.

- A number of tag teams and units have made themselves known over the last four months, including the most recent arrival of a group calling themselves the new era of the Hart Foundation. With it now being confirmed that new MLW World Tag Team Champions will be crowned at ‘Intimidation Games’ it is now apparent that the next act of Major League Wrestling will focus on a tournament bracket to set up a championship match at MLW’s next SuperCard event.​

 

[CakeWalker]

Act Two: Part One

- With Zero Hour done and dusted, the nex focus for Major League Wrestling would be the confirmation of the bracket for the MLW Tag Team Championship tournament. It would be announced [aired 3rd May] that it would be a twelve team bracket - and that the four highest ranked teams in the tournament would be given a first round bye with the four teams in question being Yehzelli (Fred Yehi & Seth Petruzelli), Lucha Bros (Rey Fenix & Pentagon, Jr.), Violence Unlimited (Brody King & Tyler Bateman) and The Midnight Triggermen (ACH & Trey Miguel).

- A complete list of entrants would be confirmed - so there was no confusion in regards to who was part of what team and that the first set of matches would take place on the following episode of Fusion.

​

Left Side of Bracket​	Right Side of Bracket​
Yehzelli (Fred Yehi & Seth Petruzelli) Team Janelope (Janela & Penelope Ford) Rookie Rebellion (Darby Allin & MJF) GT Force (Gresham & Taven) Hart Foundation (? & ?) Midnight Triggermen (ACH & Miguel)​	Violence Unlimited (Brody King & Bateman) TBD (Jimmy Yuta & Jason Cade) Chosen Bros (Jeff Cobb & Matt Riddle) Dirty Blondes (Leo Brien & Michael Patrick) Filthy Factory (Simon Gotch & Silas Young) Lucha Bros (Rey Fenix & Pentagon, Jr.)​

- The first match in the Tag Team Tournament - would see Filthy Factory (Gotch & Young) representing ‘Team Filthy’ take on the Dirty Blondes (The Stud Stable) on Episode 18 [aired 10th May]. Ahead of the contest, Mike Parrow and Colonel Robert Parker would join the Blondes in the middle of the ring. Parrow would state he saw no benefit in playing a waiting game and would lay down a challenge for Ricochet to face him in the ring on the next episode of Fusion. Brien and Patrick would continue to hold their role as very much talent enhancement, with Silas Young & Simon Gotch showing real chemistry and despite it being a heel versus heel encounter ‘Filthy Factory’ seemed to be more popular, despite be more dirty in their tactics and more willing to bend the rules to their advantage.

- Jeff Cobb would put his loss to Satoshi Kojima very much in his past as he would team up with his indie tag team partner Matt Riddle, with the ‘Chosen Bros’ claiming a fairly convincing win over Jimmy Yuta & Jason Cade (TBD). The results would mean that on the right side of the bracket, the Chosen Bros were now set to face Violence Unlimited, whilst Filthy Factory would be facing the Lucha Bros and it would be announced that both these matches would take place on the next episode of Fusion.

- Episode 19th [aired 17th May] would see the first two quarter final matches take place - although it would prove to be an episode filled with complete carnage within the tournament bracket. Violence Unlimited and the Chosen Bros would feature in a great contest with both team’s pushing the other to their limit, however the result of the contest would be marred when Salina de la Renta would appear from emerge from the audience and start to scream at Brody King, with the pair having a full on heated argument at ringside. With King distracted, Bateman would be left vulnerable and would be wiped out by the Tour of the Islands by Cobb before Riddle would splash down from the ropes with a Springboard Bro-ton to claim the first semi final spot.

- Ahead of the match between Filthy Factory and the Lucha Bros, Tom Lawlor would cut a promo and remind the fans that Team Filthy already had claimed a victory as a unit over a team featuring both Penta and Rey and that he would be watching the match at ringside with a bag of popcorn and would enjoy the show, because he was fully expecting for some special guests to upset the balance considering the action of a certain luchadora earlier on in the show and that if Brody King and Tyler Bateman had any balls they wouldn’t allow her actions to go unpunished. And Lawlor’s predictions would become a reality, as Violence Unlimited would interrupt the match early on - but would do so with a very smart approach. The pair would choose to attack Young & Gotch - with the match ending immediately and result in Filthy Factory winning the contest via disqualification, in a high IQ play to remove Lucha Bros from the tournament.

- As expected this would lead to massive brawl taking place between the Lucha Bros and Violence Unlimited, as Lawlor, Silas and Gotch would just watch on from the entrance ramp and be clearly enjoying the show as a team of referees and backstage officials would surge from the back and do their best to separate both teams, but both pairings were intent on beating the crap out of each other and would end up dropping the intervening staff like flies with the mass brawl continue as the stream for Fusion would go off air.

- The first semi final match was now locked in with the Chosen Bros and Filthy Factory set to face each other at a future date - with the winner of that match guaranteed a place in the championship match at Intimidation Games. ​

 

[CakeWalker]

Act Two: Part Two

- The 20th episode of Fusion (aired 24th May) would see the first round matches on the left side of the bracket take place - with both matches involving teams that already had interactions that had taken place at the Zero Hour SuperShow. Darby Allin had lost his singles to Joey Janela via a low blow after Penelope Ford had distracted the referee, so there was a noticeable degree of bad blood present. MJF would be partnered with Allin, although on paper Maxwell had the lowest amount of motivation going into the contest. The match would get really intense as soon as Darby and Joey were the two legal men that match, with the fans being treated to another great encounter between both men and it was clear that the fans would very much get behind another singles encounter between both men. MJF would prove to be the difference maker though, and would catch Penelope out with a discus elbow before rolling her into a schoolboy to get the pinfall victory and advance to the second round setting up a match against Yehzelli.

- The contest between GT Force and Hart Foundation would have had a high volume of build up that had taken place on previous episodes of Fusion. On the episode immediately following Zero Hour Episode 17 [aired 3rd May] the Hart Foundation would cut a promo backstage, with all five members of the group continuing to wear pink balaclavas with their identities remaining a secret. One of the men would step forward and with a muffled voice, disguised by some sort of voice changing technology they would gloat about having disrupted the match between Gresham and Taven and would make the point that never man had been worthy of becoming the number one contender - and that in this business losers shouldn’t be given second chances and they were thankful that the match bookers had pitted them against GT Force because the Hart Foundation were more than happy to take out the trash once again.

- The following week [Episode 18 - aired 10th May] the five representatives would cut a promo in the ring and once again the assumed voice of the group would step forward, only to rip off their hood and reveal themselves as none other than Teddy Hart. Teddy would inform the fans and everyone in back - that this was the New Era of the Hart Foundation and they intended on being the top unit in Major League Wrestling and the first step in claiming that spot would come about by winning tag team gold. Hart would point at two of the men behind him and inform the fans that these two men would be the two men that would represent the Hart Foundation in the Tag Team Tournament.

- Gresham and Taven would offer a response on the following week’s episode [Episode 19 - aired 17th May] with the pair making it clear that as they saw things they were the only two men on the roster that should even be considered as getting the next title shot at Kojima, but that they had agreed to team up with the sole purpose of watching each other’s back and that as long as these punks were calling themselves the Hart Foundation they need to have protection. Taven would add an additional point that he understood why the matchmakers had booked this match and himself and Gresham were very much looking forward to bursting the Hart Foundation’s pink bubble next week.

- The match itself would be contested cleanly, despite the fact that Teddy Hart and the two other members of the Hart Foundation spectating at ringside. The competition would be intense, although it was apparent that Gresham and Taven were looking to expose the identities of their opponents at every opportunity and would manage to achieve this towards the end of the match, revealing one of the competitors as Jacks Evans. However, during the shock factor of the reveal the other member of the Hart Foundation would nail Taven with a Running Knee Strike and claim a pinfall victory to advance the Hart Foundation into the next round of the tournament leaving Gresham and Taven looking annoyed and frustrated once again.

- The second round matches on the left side of bracket would take place on Episode 21 of Fusion [aired 31st May] with the first contest being a very one-sided contest with the combination of Fred Yehi & Seth Petruzelli coming off as much more fluid and dynamic team and just worked so much better together with Allin and MJF just looking like two individuals working together with it being noted once again that Petruzelli was really showing that he belonged in the pro wrestling scene and it now meant that both teams representing Team Filthy still had a place on the tournament bracket and had the potential of even facing each other in the championship decider.

- The final second round would prove to be the best match of the tournament with The Hart Foundation and The Midnight Triggermen and the fans would be left impressed in a complete spotfest with all four men really stepping up to the plate with the identity of Jack Evans partner still a mystery. It would be a close encounter with numerous near falls, but once again the Hart Foundation other three members would watch on and not get involved. ACH and Trey Miguel would continue to impress the fans and with some excellent double team moves would achieve victory and advance to the semi finals.

- It was announced that both semi final matches would take place on Episode 22, and that Episode 23 would be the go-home show before Intimidation Game would take place on the 16th June, but that unlike Zero Hour the SuperShow would be available on Livestream on FITE TV for an affordable price of $4.99 and be available to all International markets.​