1/20 MLW TV REPORT: Kruger vs. Bestia, Holliday vs. Pagano, Toto vs. Proximo, more

MLW TV REPORT
JANUARY 20, 2022 (RECORDED)
TIJUANA, MEXICO
AIRED ON YOUTUBE
REPORT BY MARCUS ARIAS, PWTORCH CONTRIBUTOR

Commentators: Rich Bocchini and Joe Dombrowski

-Emilio Sparks waited to get an interview with Cesar Duran, who was walking to the arena with his henchmen. Alexander Hammerstone and Richard Holliday immediately confronted Duran. As Hammerstone lunged for Cesar, Duran dared Hammerstone to hit him. Holliday interjected and told Hammerstone that this was most likely a trap. Duran continued to taunt the MLW champion but did say that IF Hammerstone were to attack Cesar Duran or Cort Bauer, then he would be stripped of the title. Hammerstone said that it may be worth it. Duran told Holliday that if wanted a fight, then he could fight Pagano in a falls-count-anywhere “Barrio Brawl”. Cesar let Hammerstone know that next week, Alexander would be defending the MLW Championship.

-Rich and Joe ran through the night’s card.

(1) 5150 vs. AEROSTAR & DRAGO – MLW Tag Team Championship

As 5150 made their way to the ring, footage of both teams brawling throughout the arena as fans were entering was shown.

Rivera ran down the crowd in Spanish. Slice Boogie reiterated the points in English.

Drago and Aerostar came out to a big pop.

Once the bell rang, the champs rushed the challengers and a beatdown ensued. Commentary made a point to mention the absence of Konnan and how 5150 may have cost Aerostar a championship last week. Aerostar tossed Rivera to the outside and the luchadors double-teamed Slice Boogie, sending him to the outside as well. Rivera tried to sneak back into the ring but was caught, leading to another series of tandem moves including an impressive springboard codebreaker. With both members of 5150 now outside of the ring, Drago took them out with a suicide dive. Drago picked up Rivera and Boogie, allowing for Aerostar to take everyone out with a springboard cannonball senton.

Aerostar was able to get Rivera back into the ring and landed a springboard splash for a near fall. He played to the crowd a little too much though as Rivera was able to gain an advantage long enough to make a tag to Boogie. 5150 got their chance at some double-team moves of their own with a discus forearm/German suplex combination for another near fall. Slice Boogie beat down Aerostar as the crowd loudly booed. Rivera tagged in and took out Drago after being launched into him by Slice. Rivera covered Aerostar for a two-count after a top rope elbow drop from Slice. After a quick tag, Boogie took a few cheap shots on Aerostar, choking him with the bottom rope. Slice picked up Aerostar for a backdrop suplex but Aerostar wiggled free and made the hot tag to Drago. The advantage didn’t last long as Slice was able to overpower Drago. Rivera tagged in and got a two-count after the slingshot splash. Drago fired up and landed a flurry of strikes. Slice tried to get involved but was cut off by Aerostar, who used Rivera as a springboard to land a rolling cutter on Boogie for a near fall. Drago tagged in and used his partner as a base to hit Rivera with a tornado DDT followed by a cover. Slice Boogie was able to break the count. As Aerostar tried to even the odds, Boogie caught him in midair and hit a fallaway slam. Drago tried for a meteora but Slice caught him as well. Aerostar did manage to get a little payback though as he was able to use his speed to hit Boogie with a corkscrew splash from the top rope. Rivera was able to distract Aerostar long enough for Slice to recover and muscle Aerostar up for the 456 Headcrack.

WINNER: 5150 in 8:00.

(Arias’ Analysis: This may have only been eight minutes long, but there was a lot packed into this match. Unlike last week, there were a few moments where I thought that this could have ended with a title change. I wouldn’t mind another match between these teams down the road.)

-Emilio Sparks caught up with Alex Kane and Mr. Thomas and asked what they thought about Alex’s title reign so far. Kane said that business was booming and beating Aerostar led to a new sponsor for the Bomaye Fight Club. Kane revealed a new t-shirt mocking Calvin Tankman. Alex said when he and Calvin eventually fight, he’s going to cripple Tankman.

-A video package of Bestia was shown as commentary talked about the upcoming match between Mads Krugger and Bestia.

-A vignette was shown that featured a TV playing a video of an hourglass running against a background of static. The TV is abruptly shut off.

-Recap of Hammerstone being abducted by Cesar Duran’s henchmen.

-In the locker room, Richard Holliday was concerned about his match with Pagano as Alexander Hammerstone and Alicia Atout tried to calm him down. Alicia suggested that Holliday simply had too much coffee. Hammerstone told Holliday not to worry about any weapons Pagano might use in the match. This made Richard even more worried and he asked Alexander if he could use the MLW Championship. Hammerstone declined and Richard was summoned by one of the henchmen.

(2) TOTO vs. PROXIMO

Toto is the Crash Junior champion but this was not a title match. Toto was sent to the outside almost immediately after a kick from Proximo but quickly recovered and connected with a single leg dropkick. With Proximo now outside of the ring, Toto landed a tope con hilo through the ropes. Toto dragged Proximo back into the ring and made a cover for a two count. After a series of strikes between the two, Toto tried to rebound off the ropes after a handspring and almost fell over entirely. Toto was able to recover and overpower Proximo with a German suplex. That was followed up by a rebound arm drag that sent Proximo back to the outside. Toto played the crowd for a long time until Proximo entered the ring again. A series of drop downs allowed Proximo to do a rebound handspring of his own which he stuck. Both men went outside of the ring and brawled around the entrance ramp. Toto went for a Canadian destroyer that looked like it rocked Proximo. Toto brought Proximo back in and made a cover for a near fall. After an Irish whip, Toto connected with a spear for another near fall. Proximo was able to outmaneuver Toto and finally get a bit of offense in with a hurricanrana. With Toto on the outside again, Proximo landed a tope that had him essentially land in the crowd. Back in the ring, Toto went to the top turnbuckle but Proximo was able to cut him off and catch him with a Spanish fly.

WINNER: PROXIMO in 6:15

(Arias’ Analysis: This was rough. There were a lot of missteps that looked sloppy at times. Commentary tried their best to cover for this by saying that Toto may have a leg injury of some kind but that was a bit of a stretch. The Canadian destroyer spot was genuinely scary and I hope Proximo’s reaction was just a really good sell.)

-A Recap of the mystery attack on Davey Richards is shown. It was announced that Richards will take on Hammerstone for the MLW championship at MLW Superfight.

-The Von Erichs cut a promo on Konnan and 5150, telling them to be ready for the Iron Claw. They tell the city of Dallas to prepare the parade because the Von Erichs are coming home.

-Jacob Fatu talked about his family history and his background. He went in-depth about growing up in the Samoan Dynasty and what brought him into wrestling.

-It was announced that El Hijo Del Vikingo will defend the AAA Mega Championship against Aramis next week.

(3) RICHARD HOLLIDAY vs. PAGANO

Cesar Duran introduced the match that appeared to be taking place at the “underground fight club” from last week. Holliday asked where his opponent was and Pagano snuck in and threw a chair into Richard. Duran watched with a smile as Pagano laid into Holliday with a chair. Pagano went for another chair shot but missed when Holliday ducked, causing Pagano to hit a metal pole instead. Holliday got his hands on the chair and got a few shots in for himself. Pagano got the chair away from Holliday and brought him up to another level of the fight club.

Richard was able to break free and rammed Pagano’s head into a door. Holliday grabbed another chair and tried to take out Duran but was stopped by the referee, who just so happened to be one of the masked henchmen. The masked ref handed Holliday over to Pagano. Pagano clocked Holliday with a punch and made a cover for a very quick three count

WINNER: PAGANO in 5:35

(Arias’ Analysis: This was short. This was sweet. This was…very Lucha Underground. For better or worse, MLW is trying as hard as it can carry on the lost brand. I did think the ending was a little anticlimactic. With this being one of the top storylines at the moment, Pagano won with a punch and with little to no aftermath. Maybe more will come from this later.)

(4) MADS KRUGGER vs. BESTIA 666

Mads Krugger was quick to start things off but Bestia would not back down against his much larger opponent. Krugger was able to keep Bestia in the corner for some time, laying some heavy strikes. Commentary did a great job of establishing the Krugger character, wondering what type of person would want to take on Jacob Fatu voluntarily. Krugger missed with a kick that got him tied up in the ropes. Bestia took advantage of the misstep and sent Mads to the outside.

Bestia went for a suicide dive but Krugger caught him by the throat, setting up for a chokeslam onto the ring apron. Bestia was able to break free and took Krugger out with a hurricanrana to the floor. The two men brawled around the ring and Bestia was definitely in his element as he grabbed a chair from a fan, and hit Krugger. Krugger no-sold a chair shot to the head and took his turn to use the chair on Bestia. Krugger went and muscled Bestia up for a backdrop onto the ring apron. This time, he connected.

Back in the ring, Krugger grabbed a trash can full of plunder. After a few cookie sheet shots, Krugger found a cheese grater. Bestia found the cookie sheet and whacked Krugger until he was able to take the grater away. The grater got some use as Bestia raked it across the chest and back of Krugger. Bestia tried to get one more shot in but got caught by Mads with a choke-breaker.

After a quick break, Bestia was on the outside as Mad readied for a suicide dive. Bestia nailed Mads with a chair to the face. Bestia got some more chair shots in but Mads no-sold those as well. Bestia did manage to drape the chair over Krugger’s head and drive him into the ring post. Finally back in the ring, Mads tried for a high-risk move off the second rope but Bestia found the cheese grater again. Bestia tried for a muscle buster but Krugger was just too big. Krugger caught Bestia with the goozle again and yanked him up to the top rope. Bestia broke free and took Krugger down with a hurricanrana. Bestia got the first two count of the match. After a series of strikes and a brief moment of hope, Bestia was taken down by Mads Krugger with a full nelson face-buster on a chair. Mads Krugger has beaten the Tijuana Gremlin!

WINNER: MADS KRUGGER in 10:11

-Krugger celebrated his win as commentary gave a preview of next week’s show. Alexander Hammerstone will defend his title against Octagon Jr. Krugger posed at the entranceway as the show went off the air.

(Arias’ Analysis: This was a great main event that more than made up for the two matches before it. I was genuinely curious as to how Mads Krugger would do in this type of environment. He did quite well and Bestia was a great opponent that matched up nicely. This match did exactly what it needed to do — it got people excited to see Krugger fight Fatu.)

CATCH-UP: 1/13 MLW TV REPORT: Alex Kane vs. Aerostar, Savio Vega vs. Pagano, Tag Team Championship match, more