MLW Battle Riot VI Review - June 1, 2024

By Graham "GSM" Matthews

MLW World Women's Featherweight Champion Janai Kai def. Delmi Exo

Exo has been chasing a one-on-one opportunity with Kai for the MLW World Women's Featherweight Championship for a while now and finally got it here. Unfortunately for her, she was once again screwed by interference, so her chase for the title continues. They didn't get a ton of time, but the match was decent while it lasted and the lame finish is fine if the idea is for them to run it back at some point.

Alex Kane def. A.J. Francis in Ritual Combat

I wasn't sure what the rules were until it got underway. Evidently, the only way to win was by sitting on the throne on the stage for a certain amount of time. I found it to be a lame stipulation and thought it caused the match to drag, but oh well. They did what they could with it. The excessive amount of brawling wasn't very interesting, but I understand you need the smoke and mirrors with Francis because he isn't a wrestling technician by any means. At least Kane winning (hopefully) means the feud is over and the appearances of Teddy Long and Mark Henry beforehand were cool surprises.

MLW World Champion and MLW World Tag Team Champion Satoshi Kojima def. "Filthy" Tom Lawlor

I'm not sure what Lawlor did to earn the opportunity, but Lawlor made more sense as a challenger than most given his history with Kojima. It's well documented they work well together and they had another good match here. I still have no idea why Kojima won the MLW World Tag Team Championship if his focus has been (and should be) on the MLW World Heavyweight Championship. The division must really be depleted.

Cesar Duran Revealed He Is Salina de la Renta's Father

Well, this was quite the development. On one hand, I appreciate that the constant television time that has been devoted to these two actually amounted to something. They've had so many interactions on these shows and a majority of their segments have blended together. That said, the acting here was awful and I don't know where you go with them. It felt like this was done out of shock value and nothing more.

Matt Riddle Won Battle Riot to Earn an MLW World Heavyweight Championship Opportunity

The 40-man format is a tad excessive, even with the quick entrant times, but this was as enjoyable as other installments of Battle Riot that I've seen. A number of names were announced in advance to where didn't think there would be many surprise entrants, but we ended up getting CW Anderson, Scotty Riggs and others. Are they massive names in 2024? Not at all, but that's what these Royal Rumble-esque matches are all about. Even Paul Walter Hauser did well I thought. Lawlor getting his Mankind/Dude Love/Cactus Jack moment by entering three times was fun and the final stretch was solid. Riddle winning was the most logical choice as he's had his sights set on the MLW World Championship since returning earlier this year.

Overall Show

This wasn't one of MLW's stronger shows (though a noticeable improvement over other events they've done in recent months), but it was carried by the Battle Riot main event and that delivered, so that's really all that matters. The other three matches didn't do much for me and the stuff with Duran and Renta was whatever, but Battle Riot made this show worthwhile and the surprise appearance of Mark Henry days removed from his AEW departure was notable.

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