MLW is bringing the ruckus for Blood & Thunder on Friday night (July 12, 2024). The event from St. Petersburg, FL includes a No Ropes Death Match, 3 Stages of Destruction, three Opera Cup tournament contests with the debut of Kenta, the reveal of Salina de la Renta’s baby daddy, and more!
Blood & Thunder airs live at 9 pm ET for free viewing through MLW’s YouTube channel (also embedded above). Catch up on the storylines with the preview of the card.
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Joe Dombrowski and Christian Cole were on commentary to open the show. Tim Barr handled ring announcer duties.
Opera Cup opening round: Atlantis Jr. defeated Okumura. Atlantis Jr. snatched victory by lifting his opponent off the turnbuckles for a torture rack spinning slam, then the masked luchador closed with a frog splash.
Salina de la Renta was plotting revenge with Jesus (Ricardo) Rodriguez. As Rodriguez exited in a rush, Cesar Duran’s goon grabbed Salina. Cesar protected her from Contra Unit soldiers around the corner beating up Rodriguez. Cesar and Salina don’t trust each other, but family is family. They will need each other to battle Contra.
Opera Cup opening round: Tom Lawlor defeated Jake Crist. Crist started strong with a dive to the outside before the opening bell. That set the tone as Lawlor scrambled to recover. Filthy Tom turned the tide by ducking a kick to counter for a suplex. Lawlor softened Crist to finish with a flipping kimura submission.
Paul Walter Hauser speaks. After the match, Hauser interrupted Lawlor’s celebration with a message from the big screen. Hauser challenged Lawlor to a No Holds Barred match inside an MMA cage, but Mister Saint Laurent must be banned from ringside. Lawlor accepted with laughter. (Full details here.)
Minoru Suzuki defeated Akira. Suzuki put Akira through the ringer of pain. Ikuro Kwon added cheap shots on the outside. Akira was tough, but his body couldn’t take the beating. Suzuki clobbered the Death Fighter with strikes. A sleeper paved the way for a piledriver to win. Afterward, Contra continued the assault on Akira. Satoshi Kojima ran in for the save to clear the ring. (Full details here.)
Who is Salina’s baby daddy? Cesar Duran demanded to know the truth. Salina milked the drama with Bad Dude Tito and Mister Saint Laurent. Neither were the daddy. Salina finally revealed the news. It was the Cesar’s #1 masked henchman. The papa pulled off his mask to show his face. I’m pretty sure it is Salina’s real boyfriend, who isn’t a wrestler. Cesar fainted at the betrayal of his most trusted man. (Full details here.)
3 Stages of Destruction: Mads Kruger defeated Matthew Justice. Stage 1 was First Blood. Bill Alfonso held a chair for the Coast to Coast dropkick from Justice. Justice hit Krugger in the head with a barbed wire chair to draw blood. Stage 2 was Street Fight. Krugger executed a superplex off a tall ladder through a table. Krugger was slightly on top for the pin. Stage 3 was Medical Evacuation, which is an ambulance match. Justice had Krugger down outside. When he opened the doors, Ikuro Kwon spit red mist. Krugger lit a table on fire for a powerbomb. Contra loaded Justice into the ambulance and slammed the door sh*t for victory. Fun match with crazy spots driving the crowd into a frenzy. Unfortunately, the finishes were ugly. Krugger was barely bleeding for First Blood. Krugger’s arm was slightly on top of Justice for the pin in the Street Fight. On the Medical Evacuation stage, Krugger struggled to lift Justice for the fiery powerbomb. There were other moments when a ladder or table would not cooperate. It’s like there was a curse hanging overhead. Despite that, the highlight reel will be sizzling.
MLW World Featherweight Championship: Janai Kai defeated Gigi Rey to retain the title. The challenger came hard with a Michinoku driver and a corkscrew moonsault. Kai kicked out from both maneuvers. Rey was eager to finish, and she ran head-first into a knee strike. Kai pounced for a suplex. Rey still showed life, so Kai put her lights out with a head kick.
Opera Cup opening round: Kenta defeated Bobby Fish. Very good match, especially down the stretch. Fish kicked out of a flying stomp. Kenta kicked out of an avalanche Falcon Arrow. Fish transitioned to a heel hook. After much pain, Kenta escaped by stacking on top for a pin. Reset to strikes. Fish won that exchange, and Kenta crumbled to the mat. Kenta played possum to surprise Fish with a GTS to win. (Full Opera Cup details.)
No Ropes Death Match: Matt Riddle defeated Sami Callihan. Riddle’s world title shot was on the line. Callihan fought dirty as allowed by the rules. The Death Machine used powder to the eyes, a barbed wire baseball bat, a trashcan, a stapler, squeezed lime and poured salt into wounds, and a glass bottle to crack over Riddle’s head. In the end, Callihan nailed a piledriver onto exposed ring boards. Riddle kicked out, so Callihan set up a piledriver onto broken glass. Riddle escaped to counter for a cutter. The King of Bros used the loose ring ropes to wrap around Callihan’s face for a sort of crossface submission to win.
The closing scene was Contra violently beating up Akira and Kojima outside in the darkness.
Blood & Thunder had some good highs and a few hiccups along the way in execution and production. The wrestling matches showcased slick skills, while the hardcore fights delivered hardcore moments. Overall, the rowdy show was solid enough to satisfy MLW fans.
