MLW
By no means Say By no means 2023
July 8, 2023
2300 Area
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Watch: FITE

This coming Saturday (July 8), the world of Main League Wrestling (MLW) continues to show as they return to pay-per-view for the primary time in nearly 4 years with By no means Say By no means. Headlining on the 2300 Area in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, is Alexander Hammerstone defending the MLW World Heavyweight Championship in opposition to Alex Kane. 

As issues stand, Saturday’s occasions will encompass a six-match TV taping to begin after which a six-match PPV that can stream dwell on FITE+. Commentary will possible be supplied by Joe Dombrowski and Matt Striker; the previous is nice however the latter jumped the shark for me a very long time in the past. 

MLW is, I feel it’s honest to say, a really unusual promotion. When issues are going properly, they’re a easy, efficient little outfit that executes easy A-to-B reserving and reveals off skills you don’t see a lot of elsewhere. Nonetheless, the shortage of any main reveals to construct in direction of and the large backlog of tapings they’ve managed to pile up during the last yr typically makes the TV product really feel fairly aimless and laborious to speculate in.

For instance, Delmi Exo, AKIRA and Jacob Fatu all gained singles titles on the two taping occasions they ran at the start of April. These title switches didn’t air till the final couple of weeks, so none of them have had a reign that’s had time to breathe coming into this present. Likewise, they’ve already began and completed the 2023 Opera Cup and that’s not made tape but. 

Continually switching TV networks and airing codecs doesn’t assist proceedings and neither does the peculiar selections that Courtroom Bauer makes. Who else, when given their greatest TV spot but, would push nZo and Microman hardest? 

Placing all of that apart, it’s good that there’s one other outlet of an affordable measurement like MLW on the scene and Courtroom is placing the nice work in with this WWE courtroom case. 

This By no means Say By no means card, whereas not blow away by any means on paper, might be fairly respectable and hopefully units the tone for the type of occasions they’ll have extra often transferring ahead. 

Timothy Thatcher vs. Tracy Williams

EVOLVE by no means dies!

Timothy Thatcher is returning to MLW right here for the primary time because the 2019 Opera Cup to sq. off with a man in Tracy Williams that he’s not confronted one-on-one in seven years. 

As Erin Quinn mentioned on her new MLW TV assessment podcast Fusion Dish, if we get an Evolve Timothy Thatcher, this might be the type of grappling that bores you to tears. If we get a extra bodily Thatcher in a match that runs to about 10 minutes, this ought to be a number of enjoyable.

My preliminary intestine intuition right here was that Timothy Thatcher would win given MLW’s relationship with Professional Wrestling NOAH and since I felt like he’d be a powerful first challenger for Alex Kane as World Champion. Nonetheless, I do know that Williams is a part of the as but unaired Opera Cup, so I ponder whether he’s going to sneak out a win right here to provide him some momentum for that. Prediction: Tracy Williams

Nation Whipping Match
Mance Warner vs Sam Adonis

Sam Adonis is a strong sufficient expertise and possibly the type of heel that MLW ought to use. He feels in line for a reset after this present although as he’s the one member of Azteca Lucha left following Taya Valkyrie and John Hennigan’s departures to AEW. 

Adonis and Mance Warner had a Strap Match of the 4 Corners selection on Fusion lately that I fairly loved. With each guys on three corners every, Warner drove Adonis by means of a board within the nook they hadn’t hit, inadvertently gifting Adonis the win. 

That end has led them to run it again right here in what Joe Dombrowski described because the first-ever Nation Whipping Match. By all accounts, it’s a strap match, doubtlessly with a lumberjack element, that has to finish through pinfall. 

All in all it looks like a easy arrange for a crowd-pleasing brawl that sees the heel get his comeuppance from the favored babyface. Get to the pay windah, Ol’ Mancer. Prediction: Mance Warner

MLW Openweight Championship
Jacob Fatu (C) vs. Calvin Tankman

Jacob Fatu has been one in all MLW’s greatest property for a very long time. On expertise alone, he ought to in all probability be showcasing abilities on a much bigger stage. He’s not although and one of many greatest causes for that’s his behaviour outdoors the ring. His newest misdemeanours noticed him skip extra impartial reveals with out discover that he’d been booked on, together with one which was for charity. Not an excellent look but additionally in all probability not sufficient for MLW to vary their use of him.

It was by no means defined on Fusion why Calvin Tankman is getting the shot on this present. He’s a former tag group champion, sure, however he’s 1-2 in televised singles matches this yr and has misplaced his final two. I do know they’re free to ebook how they need however somewhat little bit of logic to those issues wouldn’t go amiss. 

Tankman is somebody that I do know might be good however I’ve been down on for fairly some time now. Fatu is the best type of opponent for a enjoyable match, even when the end result feels set in stone. Prediction: Jacob Fatu

Followers Deliver the Weapons Match for the MLW World Tag Staff Championships
The Samoan Swat Staff (Juicy Finau & Lance Anoa’i) (C) v The Calling (AKIRA & Rickey Shane Web page) (w/Raven & Dr Cornwallus)

I don’t know if Courtroom Bauer watched any of the Impression Wrestling reveals final yr the place Raven made visitor appearances but when he did, I can’t perceive what he noticed or heard there that made him assume ‘sure, I want this man to return in and lead my prime heel faction’. 

Anyway, two of his boys, Rickey Shane Web page and AKIRA, are going for tag group gold right here they usually’re two pickups that I can’t hate on MLW for. RSP is an honest promo and AKIRA is a satisfactory employee however the greatest upside is that they’re two folks you aren’t going to have pinched from underneath you. That in all probability sounds imply however it’s higher for them to focus on folks like that than a Killer Kross or Johnny TV with their present taping schedule because it provides you higher storyline continuity and reserving confidence. 

The hardcore stipulation right here will swimsuit each groups as it should cowl up the collective bodily limitations of all 4 individuals, it’ll get the gang onside and it opens up a bunch of various reserving instructions with potential run-ins and cameos and so forth. Pushing The Calling appears to be MLW’s important focus in the meanwhile, so them going over appears the logical play. Prediction: The Calling

Winner Takes All Match for the MLW World Girls’s Featherweight Championship and the wXw Girls’s Championship
Delmi Exo (C) vs. Ava Everett (C) 

MLW introduced a working relationship with Germany’s wXw earlier within the yr and this title-versus-title bout is one other step to solidifying that. 

Ava Everett is somebody I’ve solely seen a few occasions earlier than and he or she appeared an honest promo and employee. As for Exo, she’s fairly hit or miss for me however largely extra miss than hit. 

Sadly, the reserving of Exo on Fusion has seemingly tipped off the end result right here. Exo gained the title off Taya Valkyrie, who they’ve already taped a rematch with however not aired but. On the go-home present, they introduced that Valkyrie was ‘suspended’ for per week, presumably which means that the rematch will air on an episode of Fusion after this present. As such, that both means Exo is unifying or we get a screwy non-finish. I’ll go for the previous, with Exo possible going over to Germany later within the yr to drop the wXw strap. Prediction: Delmi Exo

MLW World Heavyweight Championship
Alexander Hammerstone (C) vs. Alex Kane (w/Mr Thomas)

One factor MLW has at all times deserved large credit score for is making their huge time World title matches really feel like the most important factor they may ebook at the moment. That has been no extra true than throughout Alexander Hammerstone’s World title reign as he’s confronted off with Jacob Fatu (twice), Davey Richards, Mads Krugger, Richard Holliday, EJ Nduka and now Alex Kane. 

Hammerstone is, with out query, the promotion’s greatest star. He’s received the look, he’s an underrated promo and his matches sometimes ship greater than anybody else’s. He’s been a singles champion of some form or different for greater than 4 years and he’s not misplaced a singles match within the promotion because the 2019 Opera Cup. 

It’s time for that to vary. 

Alex Kane has had the same elevation trajectory to Hammerstone. His first title within the promotion was the Openweight Championship and he then moved into the World title image by profitable the Battle Riot. 

Kane is the undoubted sizzling hand within the firm and as they use this present and the renewal of the Open Draft as a type of gentle reset for the roster, pivoting to him looks like a wise resolution. Bomaye is for the folks, in fact. 

As for the match, it ought to be fairly good. Kane’s performances are normally dictated by the standard of his opponent however his matches with Davey Boy Smith Jnr over-delivered and I’ve received the arrogance that him and Hammerstone can mesh properly for a correct main-event type match.

My important concern is that this background story of the Bomaye Battle Membership’s ‘backer’. It’s a cringy angle and the ‘expose’ items they’ve achieved on Fusion have been horrible (Dixie Carter or Wale, severely?!). What might and can be worse is that if they use that angle as a way to screw Hammerstone out of the title. It’d be utilizing each cliche within the ebook and it might be a horrific technique to finish your first PPV because the pandemic, notably because the backer isn’t going to be some huge or stunning identify (it’s in all probability Dan Lambert).  

I sincerely hope they don’t do this as a result of if Kane goes to win, it must be clear and it actually must be in a means that doubtlessly positions him as a babyface transferring ahead. Prediction: Alex Kane