MLW Fightland Review - September 14, 2024

By Graham "GSM" Matthews

KENTA def. TJP in an Opera Cup Semifinal Match

Say what you will about TJP, but the bloody face paint he wore here looked awesome. He was a replacement for Davey Boy Smith Jr. in the quarterfinals, so I'm glad KENTA was the one to advance because he's been in the Opera Cup since the beginning. Unsurprisingly, given the level of talent involved, they had the very good match they were capable of and were given an ample amount of time.

MLW World Middleweight Champion Mistico def. MLW National Openweight Champion Bad Dude Tito Escondido in an Opera Cup Semifinal Match (Non-Title)

It was a clash of champions without either title being on the line. Both of these guys have momentum at the moment, but Mistico was the better choice to advance to the finals with KENTA being a heel. This didn't last as long as the opener and the finish felt a tad abrupt, but they maximized their minutes and had an enjoyable outing. It was smart to have the Opera Cup semifinals start the show with the finals taking place in the main event.

Donovan Dijak def. Timothy Thatcher

Thatcher was the perfect first opponent for Dijak in MLW because of how similar they are. Both are hard-hitting and wrestle a very physical style. I know this was supposed to serve as a showcase for Dijak, and maybe giving him a short squash would've been better for his first MLW match, but I'm not complaining about this being a competitive contest. Dijak put the rest of the roster on notice in a post-match promo. I'm really excited for what he'll bring to MLW.

The Andersons def. Bomaye Fight Club (Mr. Thomas and Alex Kane)

Although this was a well-worked tag team match, it didn't have my interest, personally. Bomaye Fight Club are floundering right now and The Andersons aren't the flashiest team. There wasn't anything wrong with this, but there wasn't anything out of the ordinary about it, either, at least until JBL showed up and attacked Bomaye Fight Club. JBL continues to make random appearances across wrestling promotions for some reason. In a post-match promo, the group of Brett Ryan Gosselin, Bobby Fish and The Andersons declared themselves The Rogue Horsemen. Uhm, okay.

Shigeo Okumura def. Adam Priest

Okumura just lost the MLW World Tag Team Championship with Satoshi Kojima a few weeks ago, so I'm honestly not sure why he's sticking around in MLW. Nothing against the guy, but I don't think MLW viewers have been given a reason to care about him. The same goes for Priest, so this felt like a random match that lasted longer than it needed to. CONTRA Unit nearly attacked Okumura afterward before AKIRA made the save.

MLW World Heavyweight Champion Satoshi Kojima def. Mads Krule Krugger by Disqualification

I can't believe it's September and Kojima is still the world champ. He's obviously very skilled and experienced, but this should've ended a while ago, especially since this reign has been subpar in terms of quality and direction. This match was proof of that because it was pretty boring and had a terrible finish. Matt Riddle and AKIRA made the save for Kojima afterward. Say what you will about Riddle, but I think he'd be a much better choice as champ at this point.

MLW World Middleweight Champion Mistico def. KENTA in the Finals of the 2024 Opera Cup (Non-Title)

Thankfully, they saved the best for last. This was a blast. Mistico and KENTA killed it throughout the tournament and had strong chemistry with each other. This went way longer than anything else on the show (as it should have), adding to the importance of the Opera Cup. Mistico has gotten over as a big fan favorite this year and it'd be nice for this victory to catapult him up the card. He's also done a lot to make the MLW World Middleweight Championship feel prestigious, too.

Overall Show

I can't call this a great show after that extremely dull stretch of three matches right before the main event, but with a runtime of two hours and 15 minutes, Fightland was entertaining enough. The Opera Cup stuff and Dijak's in-ring debut delivered, so combined with the other stuff, it was a mixed bag on the whole. They've moved away from the terrible authority figure nonsense because Salina de la Renta legitimately got pregnant, but the renewed focus on CONTRA has done more to take away from the product than add to it in my opinion. Everything else on these specials is largely solid, though.

SEE MORE: MLW Reviews