MLW War Chamber recap (Mar. 29, 2024): Invasion of violence

War Chamber! MLW held the violent event on March 29, 2024 from St. Petersburg, FL. MLW heroes battled the World Titan Federation superstars inside the War Chamber cage, Matt Riddle defended the NJPW World Television Championship in the best match of the evening, Cesar Duran (alias Dario Cueto) made a juicy offer to Salina de la Renta, and more went down at the War Chamber show.

Let’s break down the results from top to bottom.

The main event was the War Chamber match itself. Battle lines were drawn between Major League Wrestling and the World Titan Federation. MLW was represented by Satoshi Kojima, Okumura, Matthew Justice, & 1 Called Manders, while WTF had the studly specimens of Tom Lawlor, Davey Boy Smith Jr., Richard Holliday, & Josh Bishop.

The War Chamber concept is similar to War Games. Two rings were enclosed by a steel cage fence with barbed wire wrapped around the top. Weapons were aplenty. The first two competitors fought for five minutes. Teams had alternating entrances spaced two minutes apart. Once each participant entered the chamber, a finish could be earned through pinfall, submission, or surrender.

WTF won the coin toss for the advantage. Bishop entered first flanked by Mister Saint Laurent. Justice was second with special support from ECW legend Bill Alfonso.

The order from there was third Lawlor, fourth Manders, fifth Davey Boy, sixth Okumura, seventh Holliday, and eighth Kojima. The pattern was steady throughout. WTF controlled the action with the man advantage. MLW was fighting to survive until their next teammate arrived to even the odds. Once Kojima was inside the chamber, a legal finish was in play.

Justice was the star of the match in terms of moments. He climbed the cage for a flying crossbody onto the masses below.

The match reset with teams regrouping for furious fisticuffs. Bishop hit a Death Valley Driver to Justice through a door. Smith suplexed Manders through a door. The focus went to the world heavyweight champion. Holliday executed a cutter on Kojima, then Smith added a sitdown powerbomb. Kojima refused to stay down on the pin.

MLW sparked a rally with another flashy moment from Justice. The Second Gear Crew united for an avalanche doomsday flying DDT from Justice to send Lawlor crashing through tables.

In the end, MSL panicked and shoved Fonzie on his ass. MSL handed Holliday a baggie of white powder. Before Holliday could use the foreign substance, he turned around into a hammering lariat from Kojima. Game, set, match. MLW was victorious.

That wasn’t the end of the violence though.

Earlier in the evening, Mads Krugger threatened to lead Contra in igniting the spark that engulfs MLW. True to his word, Krugger and Contra soldiers stormed the ring to beat up the heroes. Ikuro Kwon made a surprise return to spit mist in Justice’s face. Krugger flashed a fireball in Manders’ face. Contra stood tall with Krugger delivering a knockout blow to Kojima.

The closing image was Contra draping their flag over the War Chamber.

MLW World Middleweight Championship: Mistico defeated Angel de Oro to retain the title. As MLW was setting up the War Chamber cage, they aired a bonus match taped in CMLL on March 12 from Arena Mexico. Mistico survived a superplex and a Michinoku driver to rally for a springboard crossbody. Mistico went into step for La Mistica whirling armbar to submit the challenger.

Cesar Duran’s offer. The man allegedly known as Dario Cueto is building a new temple in Chicago for the Azteca Lucha event on May 11. Duran challenged Salina de la Renta to bring her best luchadores. The promoter who gets the most wins will receive the Matanza key as a prize. That key opens the door to the greatest power in lucha libre.

NJPW World Television Championship: Matt Riddle defeated Kosei Fujita to retain the title. This was the best wrestling match of the evening with back and forth action. Riddle was in trouble from a guillotine choke, but he managed to roll over to escape with a suplex. Fujita upped his game for a dangerous avalanche German suplex. On the pinfall, Riddle grabbed the bottom rope for the break at 2. Riddle was down but not out. The King of Bros thrust a jumping knee to catch Fujita off guard. Riddle pounced for a cradle tombstone piledriver to finish the NJPW prospect. Afterward, Riddle called out Kojima for a world title shot.

Bad Dude Tito defeated Richard Adonis. Squash via tequila screwdriver to win. Tito came to MLW for gold. He called out the champions with a warning that he’s coming to collect.

Mads Krugger defeated Brian Brock. The original opponent was supposed to be Devin Diaz, however, Brock stormed the scene to deliver an ass-kicking. Brock demanded a fight and challenged anyone from the MLW locker room. Enter the Contra Unit leader. Krugger and Brock engaged in a brawl. The cowboy held his own, but Krugger was on a higher plane of toughness. Brock smashed pieces of a wooden door over Krugger’s head to no effect. The iron fist of Contra rose up to goozle a chokeslam and a full nelson slam to win. Contra soldiers collected the corpse to carry to the back.

Final thought about Contra. Their logo flashed on the screen during the opening copyright notice. That made me wonder if Contra soldiers actually subscribed to TrillerTV+ or if MLW is tracking the theft of broadcast from the dregs of society around the world.

AJ Francis defeated Alex Kane. The fix was in for Top Dolla. The match laid out as normal with Francis applying big man offense. Kane’s story was whether or not he could suplex the heavyweight. The Suplex Assassin achieved success rallying for a pair of suplexes. As he went for a German suplex, Francis grabbed the ropes for defense. Mister Saint Laurent interfered to make sure Francis’ grip was tight. As the referee admonished MSL, Francis landed a mule kick to the groin of Kane. Top Dolla closed with a chokeslam for victory. On top of that, the referee did an extra quick three-count as if he was paid off. Kane didn’t kick out anyway after the pin, but it was still clear that the ref was crooked.

That wasn’t the only funny business afoot. In the lead up to the fight, Francis warned of disloyalty within the Bomaye Fight Club. A turning point in the match was Kane’s supporters shoving him into a powerbomb by Francis. At the time, it seemed weird, however, I chalked it up to overzealous energy.

I was wrong. After the match, those dudes saluted Francis to join his cause and betray the Bomaye Fight Club. This crew seemed like general extras, but time will tell if any of them become a steady presence by Francis’ side moving forward.

MLW Women’s World Featherweight Championship: Janai Kai defeated Unagi Sayaka to retain the title. Kai lived up to her Kick Demon nickname with vicious kick offense. Sayaka had a few moments to shine, but she was overmatched by the champ. Kai executed a half nelson takedown then delivered a high kick in the corner. Sayaka went down like a sack of bricks, and Kai earned the pinfall for an impressive victory.

Grade: B-

Even though the War Chamber show maintained attention throughout, it was low on memorable moments. Riddle versus Fujita was the gem of the show. Mistico versus Angel de Oro was another quality contest. Mileage will vary on enjoyment of the War Chamber match itself. I thought the action was solid, however, the story lacked a level of drama worthy of those types of matches. The rest of the show was average in terms of excitement. The multilayered screwjob from Francis was amusing in hindsight. Performances from Kai, Krugger, and Tito were effective in building them up, but lopsided matches can only be graded so high. Overall, War Chamber produced enough satisfaction to make it worthwhile for MLW fans.

The War Chamber replay is available for viewing through the TrillerTV+ subscription.

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