Mike Reviews MLW Blood & Thunder

Happy Weekend Everyone!

I caught bits of the last MLW show on YouTube and I quite enjoyed it, so I thought I’d have a look at their recent Blood & Thunder show, as that’s on YouTube also.

I’m not massively up to date with the roster and storylines, so let’s see how well MLW can get newer viewers up to speed.

You can view the card for Blood & Thunder below;

MLW Blood & Thunder 2024 Card

Blood & Thunder is emanating from St. Petersburg, Florida on the 12th of July 2024

Calling the action are Christian Cole, Joe Dombrowski and Saint Laurent

Sadly the show intro is sorely lacking in Powerman 5000

Opening Fight
Opera Cup First Round
Okumura Vs Atlantis Jr.

The Opera Cup was a trophy that was defended all over the world until being retired in the 1940’s, but MLW brought it back for a yearly tournament. Both of these wrestlers do most of their wrestling in Mexico. Interestingly they seem to switch between working the left and right side, which kind of plays into the idea of MLW being a hybrid style of wrestling. Okumura is interesting, in that he walks around like he can barely move, but then he’ll have a quick burst of speed and pull off a really cool looking flashy move before immediately going back to limping around like an 80 year old. Atlantis Jr gets the better of things in the early going, but when the fight moves to the floor, Okumura gets a period of control thanks to being the better brawler. Atlantis Jr is soon fighting back though, as this has been a standard “trading momentum” match as opposed to two folks working the 7 point structure. The crowd either isn’t mic’d that well, the crowd isn’t into this match, there aren’t many in there, or all of the above, because the atmosphere for this one feels quite flat. The wrestling itself hasn’t been bad, but it hasn’t been especially good either. Okumura gets a sloppy cross-arm-breaker on Atlantis Jr. at one stage, but the masked luchador survives that and picks up the win soon after with a Frogsplash.

WINNER: ATLANTIS JR
RATING: *3/4

Thoughts: This was okay, but not much more than that. It had quite a flat atmosphere, and some parts of it were a bit sloppy, but in general it was a watchable outing and Atlantis Jr felt like the right guy to advance, so I can’t argue with the booking

Joe Dombrowski interviews Mr. Thomas and Alex Kane in the entrance way. They are allies, but they will be facing off in a First Round match for the Opera Cup. They confirm that they are used to fighting one another, so wrestling one another in the Cup isn’t going to break up the team. They both seem to believe that too. This was a decent promo segment that planted possible seeds for storyline advancement down the line.

Salina de la Renta is arguing with the former Rodrigo Rodriguez backstage, but then he gets beaten up by the looks of things. Cesar Duran (the former Dario Cueto), Renta’s storyline father, then takes her away for a chat because he wants to know who the father to her baby is.

Earlier today, an ambulance arrives for the 3 stages of destruction match later on.

Second Fight
Opera Cup First Round
Jake Crist Vs “Filthy” Tom Lawlor w/ Saint Laurent

Crist used to be a tag wrestler until his brother was cancelled, so he’s now a singles wrestler instead. Lawlor is a former MMA fighter who now wrestles and also hosts a radio show on Figure Four Online. Crist starts this one hot by diving out onto Lawlor, but Lawlor fights back with submission holds. Laurent has tried to jump on commentary, but you can barely hear him at first. Lawlor takes of his daisy dukes, revealing wrestling attire underneath, and then chokes Crist with them. The winner of this one faces Harry Smith in the next round, who is also managed by Laurent. Crist sells well whilst getting worked over, whilst Lawlor looks good on offence and shows some decent charisma as well. Crist keeps fighting, getting the occasional counter for a near fall, but Lawlor continues to control things. Crist does eventually get a bit of a flurry, but Lawlor gets a very nice Kimura Slam from the top rope before locking in the hold for the pass out victory.

WINNER: TOM LAWLOR
RATING: **1/2

Thoughts: Crist never really got a proper comeback as such, but I think the main purpose of the match was to make Lawlor look strong whilst putting Crist in a scenario to look gutsy, so the match achieved it’s goal on both fronts.

Lawlor’s post-match promo is interrupted by Paul Walter Hauser on the video wall, who then challenges Lawlor to a No Holds Barred Match in an MMA cage. Lawlor accepts, although Saint Laurent will be barred from ringside. I’m not sure that’ll make much of a difference to be honest.

Contra interrupt the feed and threaten destruction.

Third Fight
“Murder Grandpa” Minoru Suzuki w/ Ikuro Kwon Vs “Death Samurai” AKIRA

AKIRA has a very cute dog with him for his entrance, and he’s aligned with Satoshi Kojima, whilst Suzuki is part of Heel faction Contra. Suzuki sadly isn’t using KAZE NI NARE here, I guess because MLW wouldn’t spring for the music rights. We get some nice stuff on the mat to start, with Suzuki having some fun at AKIRA’s expense on a few occasions. Suzki goes Inoki Style with it at points, voluntarily dropping into the guard a few times and befuddling AKIRA at points, although AKIRA doesn’t get disheartened and keeps grappling. Eventually Suzuki turns it into more of a fight, and even tries to give AKIRA a Piledriver out onto the announce table, although AKIRA is able to fend Suzuki off.

However, whilst the ref yells at Suzuki, it allows Kwon to come over with some cheap shots to AKIRA. Suzuki no sells some AKIRA attempts to fight back when they get into the ring, and Kwon tries to get involved again. AKIRA lays out Kwon on the floor though and attempts a comeback on Suzuki, which Suzuki mostly laughs away. because he’s Minoru Suzuki. AKIRA defiantly keeps coming though, getting more over with the crowd despite the fact he’s getting the excrement knocked out of him. AKIRA finally manages a near fall with a German Suplex, but Suzuki replies with a Rear Naked Choke and Gotch Piledriver picks up the win following that.

WINNER: MINORU SUZUKI
RATING: ***

Thoughts: This was classic Suzuki, with AKIRA doing a good job as the gutsy opponent who wouldn’t back down, but ended up playing into the hands of the crazy old man as a result

Kwon and Suzuki do the Heel beatdown on AKIRA following that, which leads to Satoshi Kojima making the save for his buddy.

We get a recap of the storyline between Salina de la Renta and Cesar Duran. Duran revealed that Salina was his daughter, and she fired back by letting him know that he was going to be a grandfather. Tonight we’re to find out who the father is.

Cesar Duran, along with a masked bodyguard, joins us and says that his daughter has refused to let him know who the father is, so he calls her out so we can find out. With that, Salina de la Renta joins us, and says that she won’t reveal who the father is at first. However, after Duran threatens to disown Salina, we get joined by Bad Dude Tito. Tito reveals that he isn’t the father, but he’s here to see who it is. Saint Laurent then joins us, as the teases continue. Duran is of course disgusted at that, but Laurent reveals that he isn’t the father either. Salina then suggests it was an immaculate conception, but that’s not true either, as this segment is starting to drag. Salina finally states that the masked bodyguard who came out with Duran is the father, and he unmasks to reveal an unnamed handsome man. Duran is sickened by this, but the crowd doesn’t know how to react as the masked guy doesn’t appear to be someone they recognise. I guess we’ll learn more about this wrestler as time goes on?

Fourth Fight
3 Stages of Destruction
Mads Krule Krügger Vs Matthew Justice w/ Bill Alfonso

Krügger is a big scary masked due who runs the Contra faction, whilst Justice is a hardcore wrestler that likes using weapons and jumping off high things. Krügger beat the heck out of Fonzie, so Justice is looking for payback here. This is essentially a Three Stages of Heck match, although WWE owns that trademark, so it’s Destruction instead. First fall is First Blood. Second Fall is Street Fight. Third Fall, if needed, will be Ambulance/Medical Evacuation.

First Fall – First Blood

They immediately start flinging chairs at one another, with the commentary team stating that this will need to be a proper flow of blood for it to count, which is why it isn’t ended early on due to Krügger having a bit of a trickle on the top of his head. Krügger is of course at an advantage here due to having a mask covering the majority of his face. Krügger has some masked lackies that try to help him out, but Justice fends them off with a chair and then crushes Krügger with a Van Terminator and follows up with a DISGUSTING unprotected chair shot to the head. That was horrible. The top of Krügger’s head is bleeding even more now (although it’s not like it’s loads more than it already was) but the referee deems that we’ve seen enough claret, so calls for the bell.

Matthew Justice wins the first fall

Second Fall – Street Fight

So they probably had Krügger lose the first fall because it means he doesn’t have to get pinned. Justice buries Krügger under a ladder and a table and just clatters it all with a chair, as I’m guessing that Krügger is going for the whole Kane/Fiend thing with Krügger, where he doesn’t feel pain and you need to just keep killing him in order to have any kind of a chance. This entire fall is basically just Justice hitting Krügger with weapons and hitting big moves, but Krügger shrugs it all off and keeps coming like a movie monster. I didn’t like that when WWE did it with Bray Wyatt and I’m not enjoying it when MLW is doing it here. Justice cleans Krügger’s clock with even MORE chair shots and then puts the monster on a table before climbing a ladder. Krügger’s masked goon attacks again though, which gives Krügger a chance to climb the ladder and suplex Justice through the table to tie things up.

Mads Krule Krügger wins the second fall

Third Fall – Medical Evacuation

Does that sound like an extra strong laxative to anyone else, or is it just me? Two more of Krügger’s masked goons come down to try and put Justice into a body bag so that he can be put in the ambulance, but Fonzie tries to rescue his man with a chair. That goes awry for Fonzie, but it gives Justice a chance to recover and attack all the Heels with a chair. Justice and Fonzie set up the emergency extra big ladder in the aisle way and Justice tries splashing Krügger through a table, but it looks like the legs of the table had already collapsed prior to the splash. Someone get the footage of that to Maffew I guess. Justice tries to take Krügger to the ambulance prior to that, but rolling him onto a lighting cart and then wheeling Krügger to the backstage area where the ambo is waiting. Ikuro Kwon is waiting in the ambulance though, and he spits mist in Justice’s face. Krügger then tries to Powerbomb Justice through a flaming table, but the table doesn’t break properly. Mercifully that’s enough for the match at least, as Krügger sticks Justice in the ambulance to win.

Mads Krule Krügger wins the third fall

WINNER: MADS KRULE KRUGGER
RATING: *

Thoughts: This was the most into the show the crowd had been all night up to this point, so the match had that going for it at least. I personally hated it though, just because it was all built around Krügger being this invincible guy who shrugged off all of the weapon and chair shots in order to win, which just makes every other wrestler who sells that stuff properly look bad by comparison. It was like watching a Fiend match without the lighting or supernatural elements. This actually gave me vibes of Sabu Vs Sandman at November to Remember 97 at points too, especially when some of the spots started going wrong. They definitely need a new tables guy as well, as the tables twice went into business for themselves here. Still, the crowd liked it, so maybe I’m the one in the wrong here?

Fifth Fight
MLW Women’s World Featherweight Title
Champ: Janai Kai Vs Gigi Rey

Kai is another Contra member, and has done Josh Barnett Bloodsport shows in the past. Rey is originally from Canada and trained at Booker T’s place in Texas. Sadly the sound guys butcher her entrance music, as it cuts out a few times. Kai destroys Rey with kicks in the early stages, with Rey selling that well. Rey is clearly being presented as the underdog here, and she does well in that role for the most part, getting the odd pinning hold and attempt at fighting back now and then in order to show that she’s still in the fight. There is a vocal section of the crowd cheering Rey on as well, so that seems to work. There are a few sloppy moments where they don’t look to be on the same page, which drags the match down a bit, but overall each wrestler plays their respective role well, with Kai being the tough scary Champ and Rey being the gutsy challenger looking to pull off the upset. Rey gets a cool fippy doo off the top at one stage for two, but Kai decides that she’s sick of this mother grabbing challenger on this Monday to Friday wrestling event and kicks Rey’s face off to retain her belt.

WINNER AND STILL CHAMPION: JANAI KAI
RATING: **1/4

Thoughts: Decent action there, with the odd moment of sloppiness when they weren’t on the same page dragging it down a bit. Kai looked like a strong Champion but Rey looked gallant in defeat and they could always give Rey some wins and try running this again

Sixth Fight
Opera Cup First Round
KENTA Vs Bobby Fish

Hey, we found The Fish, and he’s went wherever KENTA did go. Both of these guys like their kickboxing, so expect to see feet flying. I’m personally disappointed that we never got to see Fish and CM Punk go at it in a shoot fight because I genuinely could not call that one and I would have been fascinated to see who would win. I’m thinking Punk just because he’s got UFC experience and the size advantage, but who knows how it would actually play out? This one has the classic slow build, as they feel one another out in the early going before gradually picking up the pace as the bout wears on and pulling out bigger moves. It feels like two people actually having a fight, with neither one really playing Heel that much, even though KENTA does show some attitude at points.

KENTA does seem to be the more popular wrestler with the crowd, which makes sense seeing as he’s the import and Fish, despite being a solid wrestler, isn’t really going to excite folk the same way a star of KENTA’s standing can. KENTA might not be as good a wrestler as he used to be due to years of wear and tear, but he still definitely has a star presence to him that someone like Fish, for all his other strengths, doesn’t. KENTA manages to control things for a bit, with Fish selling it well, but Fish eventually starts fighting back and gets a sliding clothesline for two. KENTA replies with a flying clothesline from the top for a two of his own. KENTA starts getting cocky with his kicks, which leads to Fish pulling himself to his feet so that they can have a strike trade, with the crowd seemingly picking KENTA over Fish.

The kicks in particular looking very nice here, as those two clearly do have legitimate credentials in that field. KENTA misses the double stomp off the top, and that leads to Fish getting a slick looking Samoan Drop before heading up top. KENTA pulls the referee in the way in order to prevent whatever attack Fish had planned though. KENTA follows with a Superplex and double stomp, but Fish manages to kick out at two. Fish gets a near fall of his own, with a Falcon Arrow off the top and then goes to a heel hook for the submission tease. KENTA manages to survive that and then plays possum in order to catch Fish with the Go To Sleep for the three count. Fish spitting out his mouth guard once the move hit was a very nice touch and reminded me of playing Super Punch Out! on the SNES back in the day.

WINNER: KENTA
RATING: ***3/4

Thoughts: I thought this was a great match actually, as they built it well and Fish was elevated in defeat due to KENTA getting taken into the deeper water and needing to use underhanded tactics to avoid defeat. It was one of those matches where they started slow but they just kept working and working and working until they were having a heck of a battle at the end. The show has had a bit of a difficult crowd at points, but they managed to drag something out of them here, and I thought the finishing stretch was really well executed. I know KENTA isn’t that popular with the New Japan fan base these days due to how much he’s dropped off compared to his peak years, but he can still work a believable looking match in the right setting, and he does have a genuine charisma to him that can help elevate his matches sometimes.

We run down the upcoming cards and play a video package for the Main Event in order to give the ring crew time to take the ropes down.

Main Event
Luchas de Apuestas
Matt Riddle’s World Title Shot On The Line
No Ropes Death Match
“Death Machine” Sami Callihan Vs “The King of Bros” Matt Riddle

Riddle came back to MLW to try and win the World Title, due to not being able to do it when he was previously in the company. Callihan has not taken kindly to Riddle walking in and trying to take his spot though, so they’ve been feuding ever since. Riddle won the big Royal Rumble styled show that MLW have in order to earn a Title shot, so that shot is on the line here. Callihan throws some kind of powder in Riddle’s face early on, and the brawl is on as a result, with Callihan getting the better of it. Callihan gets a bin full of weapons and starts clocking Riddle with them, as Riddle has barely done anything in this one thus far. Riddle tries fighting back, but Callihan puts a stop to that with a stapler, as Riddle is selling all of this well and Callihan is doing a convincing job of being a violent nut case. Riddle pays the price for not wearing shoes, as Callihan staples one of Riddle’s feet and then literally pours salt into the wounds! A glass bottle is the next weapon to be introduced, followed by a Piledriver, but Riddle is able to kick out at two.

Our next sick spot sees Riddle getting dropped feet first onto the remains of the bottle, as Callihan continues to gurn and find more weapons. The difference between this match and the weapons based one previously is that these aren’t spots you’d expect to end the match such as table bumps and hundreds of chair shots, so Riddle surviving them isn’t as bad. Callihan introduces thumbtacks following that, but Riddle catches Callihan with a Diamond Cutter and then removes the mats to reveal the wooden boards of the ring. Riddle tries to give Callihan a senton through a door at ringside, but Callihan moves and Riddle goes through it instead. The two trade metal bin shots following that before heading into the now exposed ring, where Riddle takes a Piledriver onto the exposed boards for two. Riddle replies with another Diamond Cutter for two onto the tacks from earlier and then chokes Callihan with one of the removed ropes and that’s the submission win for Riddle.

WINNER: MATT RIDDLE
RATING: **3/4

Thoughts: I didn’t hate this, but I didn’t love it either. Riddle surviving all the hardcore spots from his more violent opponent before getting violent himself to win was a decent enough story, and this gave Riddle a hard fought win ahead of a future Title shot. Riddle isn’t an especially sympathetic figure though, so I felt that hurt the drama a bit as a result

In Conclusion

For a free show on YouTube, Blood & Thunder wasn’t too bad. There was some decent wrestling, and the storyline advancement was reasonable as well, although I thought the soap opera with Salina’s baby became tiresome after a certain point and the 3 Stages of Destruction match was a bit of a slog. The promos to advance issues and set up matches down the line were executed well for the most part, and it was nice to see MLW do what they could to combine good matches with some storyline stuff as well, as it helped MLW’s product feel a bit different from other companies that focus only on the matches without any focus on the storylines. Ideally you want a mixture of in-ring and promos/skits, and Blood & Thunder did a decent job at that here.

There were quite a few technical issues though, and the crowd were pretty flat throughout the show, even though the venue itself looked quite nice and the camera operators shot Blood & Thunder well for the most part. Issues with the sound, lighting and things like tables didn’t shine MLW in a good light though, so it would be preferable if they could tighten that sort of stuff up. If you’re already taking in a lot of wrestling, and poor production could likely be a deciding factor in whether you give a different show a chance, Blood & Thunder will score poorly for you on that front. I can live with the odd occasion, but it happened enough on this show for it to become distracting.

MLW feels like it’s trying to fill the hole left by Lucha Underground by going for a more story focused “fight club with hardcore elements” product, which does at least make it feel a bit different to a company like TNA, which is going for a more traditional wrestling product, and AEW, which is going for a more high end indie meets ECW kind of thing with their product. So in that regard, MLW does feel different enough that if you’re looking for an alternative, then it might scratch that itch. If you’re already watching a lot of wrestling though, then I’m not sure MLW has enough going for it that you’ll feel like you HAVE to watch it over the stuff you already do. If the current big promotions aren’t doing it for you though, then knowing there’s some free wrestling on YouTube that you can try is certainly a positive.

Mildly recommended