The MLW Battle Riot IV event was taped on Thursday night in front of a sold-out crowd at the Melrose Ballroom in New York City.
These matches will air in the coming weeks as MLW Fusion episodes, as well as the special Battle Riot IV episode.
Below are full spoilers from the taping, courtesy of correspondent Vikram Chakrabarty:
* It was announced that The Von Erichs and Bandido were off the show due to injuries
* Cesar Duran opened the show and said the Battle Riot IV winner won’t be facing MLW World Heavyweight Champion Alexander Hammerstone, they will be facing his luchadores instead. Hammerstone interrupted and brawled with Duran’s crew. Richard Holliday attacked Hammerstone from behind with a steel chair to save Duran from a beatdown
Holliday beat Hammerstone up some more and then posed with the title belt while making out with Alicia Atout. Duran took the mic and yelled at Hammerstone, then announced that tonight’s Holliday vs. Hammerstone match will be under Falls Count Anywhere rules
* KC Navarro defeated Mini Abismo Negro
* Jacob Fatu defeated Real 1 (nZo) by DQ. Real 1 attacked Fatu during his entrance and said if he’s not S-A-W-F-T then he will fight. The match ended when Real 1 kicked Fatu below the belt and the referee saw it
After the match, Real 1 kicked the referee below the belt as well. Atlas Security got involved and Fatu went to dive out of the ring onto Real 1 at ringside, but it looked like Real 1 escaped and avoided Fatu taking him out
* Davey Richards defeated Alex Kane to become the new MLW National Openweight Champion in a really good match. Richards hit a double Stomp from the top, a Brainbuster and a Gotch Piledriver for the win. He received a standing ovation after the match
* Scarlett Bordeaux defeated Clara Carreras. This was Scarlett’s MLW debut. She got the pin after a DDT and a back-to-belly piledriver
* MLW Women’s World Featherweight Champion Taya Valkyrie was interviewed on the stage. She was previously announced to defend against Brittany Blake, but Blake attacked from behind and beat her down. Dave Prazak and other officials came to break it up, pushing Blake to the back. Taya finally got up and sold the attack but walked away on her own
* MLW World Tag Team Champion EJ Nduka came to ringside to scout the next match
* MLW World Heavyweight Champion Alexander Hammerstone retained over Richard Holliday in a Falls Count Anywhere match. They fought to the entrance and the stage, at ringside, back to the stage and to the backstage area. The finish included an intense exchange of punches, a big lariat from Hammerstone, and then the Torture Rack to win
After the match, Sal Leterna interviewed Hammerstone about what’s next. MLW World Tag Team Champion EJ Nduka, without his partner Calvin Tankman, interrupted and said he deserves the next title shot, billing it as Champion vs. Champion, Titan vs. Titan. Hammerstone agreed and said he never turns down a fight. Nduka turned to leave but attacked Hammerstone instead, hitting him with a belt shot. Nduka continued beating on Hammerstone and choking him. He also tried putting Hammerstone through a table with a Spinebuster but it didn’t break
* MLW World Middleweight Champion Myron Reed retained over Lince Dorado, La Estrella and Arez in a Fatal 4 Way. Reed hit a double Cutter and pinned Estrella to retain. Fans gave another big applause after this one
Reed spoke after the match and issued an open challenge to anyone, including wrestlers from AAA or Dragon Gate. Estrella represented Dragon Gate here, while Arez represented AAA
* The Samoan SWAT Team (Lance Anoa’i, Juicy Finau) defeated Los Maximos (Joel Maximo, Wil Maximo). New York City loved both teams. The finish saw Juicy hit a double Samoan Drop on his opponents, then Lance hit a Superfly Splash for the pin
* Killer Kross defeated Matt Cross with a big suplex for the pin. This match went just under 5 minutes but Kross dominated
* MLW Women’s World Featherweight Champion Taya Valkyrie retained over Brittany Blake by submission
After the match, AAA’s Sexy Star II appeared on the big screen to interrupt Taya’s interview. Star said she’s coming to MLW to take the title from Taya. Taya, who also holds the AAA Reina de Reinas Title, said she will be waiting for Star
* Jacob Fatu won the 40-man Battle Riot IV match to earn a future MLW World Heavyweight Title shot at any place and time he chooses. This was a very long match with entrances, eliminations were done by pinfall, submission or over-the-top
The former Harland of WWE NXT, Parker Boudreaux, entered at #40 and was a big surprise for the crowd but they chanted “Fake Brock Lesnar” at him. Homicide was also a surprise and being from NYC he got a huge pop. Rickey Shane Page came out with a bunch of weapons. The match featured Kwang The Ninja, Savio Vega’s old gimmick from WWE, but Vega was also in as himself. Little Guido tried to eliminate a referee at one point. The biggest heel coming out of the match was Real 1. There were a lot of big spots and in usual Royal Rumble fashion, it’s somewhat of a must see
The match started with MLW World Tag Team Champions EJ Nduka and Calvin Tankman, and at first they faced off but didn’t fight. Nduka later accidentally eliminated Tankman and Mr. Thomas at the same time. He tried to apologize to Tankman but he was eliminated by Lince Dorado and Arez. MLW World Women’s Featherweight Champion Taya Valkyrie entered at #39 and Parker entered at #40. Taya fought with Vega, Killer Kross, and Sami Callihan (who got a huge pop as a surprise entrant), while Parker destroyed about everyone in the ring, then eliminated Taya. Parker then faced off with Kross and they began brawling. It then came down to Fatu, Parker, Kross, Real 1, Callihan, Mads Krugger, and Mance Warner. Kross and Callihan eliminated Parker, then Krugger was eliminated. The final four were Fatu, Real 1, Kross, and Callihan. Fatu last eliminated Real 1 to win, just before the 50 minute mark. After the match, Fatu celebrated with The Samoan SWAT Team by having a beer, and then gave a babyface promo, thanking fans for coming and for supporting MLW
The order of entrants went like this:
#1: MLW World Tag Team Champion EJ Nduka
#2: MLW World Tag Team Champion Calvin Tankman
#3: Mr. Thomas
#4: Lince Dorado
#5: Arez
#6: Microman
#7: Mini Abismo Negro
#8: La Estrella
#9: KC Navarro
#10: Kim Chee (surprise entrant)
#11: Joel Maximo
#12: Killer Kross
#13: Sami Callihan (surprise entrant)
#14: Real 1
#15: Gangrel
#16: Kwang The Ninja (surprise entrant, Savio Vega’s WWE gimmick)
#17: Budd Heavy
#18: Little Guido
#19: Wil Maximo
#20: MLW National Openweight Champion Davey Richards
#21: Lance Anoa’i
#22: Ken Broadway
#23: Homicide (surprise entrant)
#24: Rickey Shane Page (surprise entrant)
#25: Juicy Finau
#26: Cesar Duran soldier (surprise entrant)
#27: Dr. Dax
#28: Jacob Fatu
#29: Mads Krugger
#30: Wil Maximo
#31: Warhorse
#32: MLW World Middleweight Champion Myron Reed
#33: Cesar Duran soldier (surprise entrant)
#34: Cesar Duran soldier (surprise entrant)
#35: Matt Cross
#36: Mance Warner (surprise entrant)
#37: Alex Kane
#38: Savio Vega
#39: MLW World Women’s Featherweight Champion Taya Valkyrie (surprise entrant)
#40: Parker Boudreaux (surprise entrant)
(H/T to WrestlingHeadlines.com and Vikram Chakrabarty)
