A YouTube Event by MLW

I have fallen woefully behind on watching MLW as of late, but with this event and the eventual release of Battle Riot IV, I figured this was a decent time to jump back in. As with all of their big shows, MLW makes a special episode with some of the bigger matches from a taping, then uses the rest of the card to generate weekly “TV” episodes for the next few weeks. I somewhat wish they would do long-form events, but with some of the issues the company has been having, I’m not certain they have the sort of income they need to do that. These shows are generally pretty good, so I was happy to finally watch it!

The Card:

• Brittany Blake defeated Zoey Skye via submission.
• Matt Cross defeated ACH via pinfall.
• MLW World Heavyweight Champion Alexander Hammerstone retained against Richard Holliday.

My Thoughts:

As I’ve stated before, my methodology for this is to avoid giving arbitrary star ratings or anything resembling the typical ratings people give in wrestling reviews. I usually go through the show and pull a half-dozen or so things that I thought were significant or that I liked. You might think some of my choices are dumb and that’s okay – we all like different things!

Wish the Undercard was Longer:

For this being an event that is supposed to be comparable to a pay-per-view or “premium event” from the other guys, they sure did put it together like just any other episode of MLW Fusion. Aside from the main event, the two other matches appear to just be random matches that hold little to no significance. I especially thought the match between Brittany Blake and Zoey Skye could have been longer, as MLW’s Women’s division is in dire need of some kind of buzz, and a short AEW Dark-ish match is not the way to do it.

Both Underrated:

Like a lot of folks on the MLW roster, ACH was sort of cast out of wrestling for a while after he infamously left WWE years ago amid allegations racism on their part. Matt Cross has likewise never been given the credit he deserves in a lot of ways, with his peak being his inclusion to the roster of Lucha Underground as Son of Havoc. Both are solid in the ring, and have gone to show that they are valuable parts of any roster. Not an incredible match here on this show, but solid nonetheless.

Richard Holliday:

Ever since he turned on Hammerstone months ago, Holliday has been laying the sleaze on heavy running into this match. Wearing a jacket emblazoned in Hammerstone’s own blood, and engaging in constant acts of PDA with his girlfriend Alicia Atout, it was only a matter of time before he got his comeuppance. He’s a solid heel that you just want to get knocked out, and I have no idea how people bought him as anything else when he was a “babyface” a while back.

The Pillar of MLW:

I know most will disagree with me, but I feel that Alexander Hammerstone basically IS MLW right now, and if he ever chooses to leave it will be pretty bad for the company. He’s booked as the “second coming of Hulk Hogan” for good reason – the dude exudes charisma and has “the look” that a classical “wrestling champion” would have. I just hope they keep him happy.

Conclusion:

I’m going to be honest – I was somewhat underwhelmed by this event. The main event was good, but did not have the oomph of Hammerstone vs Fatu from last year. Holliday is great on the mic, but needs somebody to work with that can really push his strengths, and for some reason it just didn’t click here for me. The undercard was bland, and at only three matches, this was basically just another MLW Fusion episode. Here’s hoping the next big title picture feud gets some good build, I’d even settle for Fatu to get back in the mix. Fingers crossed that happens at Battle Riot IV!