MLW Roundup: Opera Cup tournament with former ROH champions, German interpromotional title bout, more!

MLW has a double stack of live events next week. War Chamber is scheduled for April 6 in New York City, and Battle Riot is scheduled for April 8 in Philadelphia. Both will be taped for television. While we don’t know the teams for War Chamber yet, MLW did spice up the match announcements with the reveal of the Opera Cup. Stage one of the Opera Cup tournament kicks off at War Chamber, and MLW used their free agent open door policy to bring in two former ROH champions.

Tony Deppen will wrestle Tracy Williams in an Opera Cup stage one matchup. Deppen is a former ROH TV champion, and Williams has held the ROH TV title and ROH tag team title.

Davey Boy Smith Jr. will grapple Calvin Tankman in the other stage one bout at War Chamber. More Opera Cup matchups will be booked in the future.

The Opera Cup is a historic tournament dating back 108 years. Stu Hart had been the last winner in 1948 until MLW resurrected the concept in 2019. Davey Boy Smith Jr., Tom Lawlor, and Davey Richards are past winners under MLW’s watch.

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Another unique matchup added to War Chamber is a battle of man versus man in Microman versus Beastman. The 3-foot tall mini has no fear of standing across the ring from the 394-pound behemoth.

The War Chamber card currently includes:

• MLW National Openweight Championship: John Hennigan (c) vs. Jacob Fatu
• MLW World Middleweight Championship: Lince Dorado (c) vs. Lio Rush
• MLW World Women’s Featherweight Championship: Taya Valkyrie (c) vs. Delmi Exo
• Opera Cup stage one: Davey Boy Smith Jr. vs. Calvin Tankman
• Opera Cup stage one: Tony Deppen vs. Tracy Williams
• NZO vs. Willie Mack
• Alex Kane vs. Shigehiro Irie
• Billie Starkz vs. B3CCA
• Mandy Leon vs. Clara Carreras
• Microman vs. Beastman

On to Battle Riot V.

The Battle Riot match is similar to the Royal Rumble with the winner earning a world title shot. The latest names added to the bunch include Jacob Fatu, Mance Warner, Matthew Justice, Calvin Tankman, Juicy Finau, and Ray Jaz. They join John Hennigan, Jimmy Lloyd, Mr. Thomas, Willie Mack, Shigehiro Irie, Raven, Rickey Shane Page, 1 Called Manders, Sam Adonis, Lance Anoa’i, and Alex Kane already announced for the contest. That makes 17 out of 40 contenders. Good news is that the Battle Riot V match will air April 25 on REELZ.

MLW also announced an interpromotional title fight with WXW (Westside Xtreme Wrestling) from Germany. Shigehiro Irie is bringing the WXW Unified World Wrestling Championship to defend against Calvin Tankman.

The Battle Riot V card currently includes:

• Battle Riot: 40 men enter, one leaves with a world title shot
• MLW World Heavyweight Championship: Alexander Hammerstone (c) vs. NZO
• WXW Unified World Wrestling Championship: Shigehiro Irie (c) vs. Calvin Tankman

Enough of the future, let’s talk the present.

MLW is giving the world a present when NZO wrestles Microman airing Tuesday night (Mar. 28) for MLW Underground on REELZ. The World’s Greatest Wonder aims to shut up the Smacktalker Skywalker.

Also on the theme of silencing loudmouths for MLW Underground, Davey Boy Smith Jr. has his chance to restore family honor by triumphing over Alex Kane in a singles contest. Kane stole the Opera Cup trophy, which is an heirloom of the Hart family.

For the final bit of news, Alicia Atout parted ways with MLW. She was granted her release from the promotion.

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