MLW Battle Riot VII Review - April 5, 2025

By Graham "GSM" Matthews

Atlantis, Atlantis Jr. and Star Jr. def. Magnus, Barbaro Cavernario and Ultimo Guerrero

I felt like I was watching a ROH TV main event while watching this match because of all the exposure CMLL has gotten in Ring of Honor in the last few months. To be fair to MLW, though, they've been using CMLL guys much more consistently for years now. The biggest thing I don't like about these matches is that they lack story, but at least it was well worked and the crowd seemed to enjoy the action.

Janai Kai def. Himawari

Kai lost the MLW World Women's Featherweight Championship not too long ago, so it would've been easy to book this as a straightforward squash for her so she could regain some of her momentum. I actually appreciated that wasn't the case and that it was a competitive contest instead. Kai winning was virtually a foregone conclusion, but Himawari scored an ample amount of offense and they had a nice match in the time they were allotted.

Mister Saint Laurent, Donovan Dijak and Bishop Dyer Attacked The Filthy Bros

I thought this was going to be one of those segments that I'd immediately disregard because of Filthy Bros' "comedy," but this turned out to be quite the pleasant surprise for the MLW debut of Bishop Dyer, the former Baron Corbin from WWE. I love the idea of him and Dijak forming a powerhouse tag team, especially since both guys had untapped potential on WWE's main roster following their awesome redemption runs in NXT. Give them the MLW World Tag Team Championship and let them dominate.

Templario def. Hechicero and Esfinge in a Three-Way Match

Mistico was originally scheduled to defend the MLW World Middleweight Championship on this show against Templario, but the bout had to be changed when he wasn't cleared to compete due to injury. The three-way we got instead was very fun, even if there wasn't anything on the line. Templario winning was logical. Plus, I've become a big fan of Hechicero from the appearances he's made in AEW and ROH in the last year, so his involvement was a treat.

Shoko Nakajima def. Delmi Exo to Win the MLW World Women's Featherweight Championship

First of all, kudos to MLW for featuring two women's matches on the same show for a change. Secondly, I assumed the outcome to this was as obvious as it was for Kai vs. Himawari earlier, so Nakajima taking the title was a cool moment. They also had a hell of a match despite not being given a ton of time, but they maximized their minutes. Exo wasn't champ for very long, but I have no issue with switching things up once in a while, including in unexpected ways.

MLW World Heavyweight Champion Matt Riddle Won Battle Riot

Let this serve as a reminder that Royal Rumble-esque matches that have more than 30 participants rarely work, if ever. This was not the exception. Personally, I felt like this would never end, and it's not as if MLW's roster depth warrants the need for more combatants. Sure, there were plenty of surprises (Alexander Hammerstone being back was sweet along with Rob Van Dam coming in at the end), but most of this blended together for me, at least until the final stretch or so. The crowd booed Riddle eliminating RVD to retain the title and I don't blame them. Hopefully they get the hint and turn him heel, otherwise the execution of the finish sucked when he could have thrown out a heel to win instead.

Overall Show

The Battle Riot main event ate up a ton of time (a little too much time), but that was the main attraction of this event, so it's understandable. On the whole, this was a newsworthy night with all of the notable names who showed up, not to mention the MLW World Women's Featherweight Championship shockingly changing hands. The CMLL matches were random as always, but there was nothing wrong with the wrestling itself. This was one of MLW's better shows in recent memory.

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