MLW Once Upon a Time in New York Review - March 16, 2024

By Graham "GSM" Matthews

Brett Ryan Gosselin def. Dyln McKay, Ichiban, Marcus Mathers, Cannonball and Love, Doug in a Scramble-6 Match

Salina de la Renta and Cesar Duran exchanged words on the stage beforehand and Gosselin and Zayda were also a part of the segment, leading right into this first match. Not much of note was said, which is why I'm not going to bother devoting its own section/paragraph to it. There wasn't anything at stake in this opener, but it was nicely paced and all six guys had some time to shine. Of the six stars involved, Gosselin was the correct choice to go over.

Bad Dude Tito def. Azteca 66

Apparently Tito is aligned with Renta now. Was that the case when he unsuccessfully challenged Matt Riddle for the NJPW World Television Championship a few weeks ago? Either way, I'm glad we're going to be getting more of time because he could be a quality addition to the roster if he sticks around. This served as a pretty standard showcase for him and he won relatively quickly as he should have.

A.J. Francis def. Mr. Thomas

As I noted in my TNA iMPACT! review from the other day regarding his match with Joe Hendry, wrestling is not Francis' strong suit, so keeping his matches on the shorter side is probably for the best. Plus, he's headed for a match with Alex Kane at War Chamber, so it made sense for him to beat Thomas here and to do so decisively. MLW has been a good fit for Francis so far and he's doing an effective job of garnering heat with every appearance he makes.

Delmi Exo def. Zayda in an MLW World Women's Featherweight Championship No. 1 Contender's Match

Zayda has been getting plenty of focus lately and it looked like she'd be next in line for a shot at the Women's title as a result, but I'm more intrigued by Exo getting a one-on-one rematch with Janai Kai instead, especially now that she's back by Duran. The heel vs. heel dynamic for Kai vs. Zayda would have been weird, anyway. This was a decent match for as long as it lasted.

NJPW World Television Champion Matt Riddle def. MLW World Tag Team Champion Davey Boy Smith Jr. (Non-Title)

This was easily the best bout on the show up to this point. It was very well wrestled and they were given an ample amount of time to do their thing. Nothing was on the line, but there didn't need to be. Riddle continues to roll, but you have to wonder where these wins are leading. Yes, he already holds a New Japan Pro-Wrestling title, but I wouldn't be shocked to see him target the MLW World Championship before long.

Contra Unit Attacked Court Bauer and Others

Baurer was on the stage addressing the audience when Contra emerged and laid him out along with everyone else that came to his aid. We don't see Bauer on MLW programming often, so you had to know this would be some sort of an angle as soon as he showed up. Contra did their thing by wrecking havoc briefly and that was about it. Personally, I don't care about the return of the faction, but this was one way of getting heat on them.

Star Jr. def. Mexican National Tag Team Champion Magnus

The commentators mentioned that both Star Jr. and Magnus are currently champions. They didn't come out with belts, but I looked it up and Magnus is still a title holder in CMLL whereas Star Jr. is not. At any rate, this was a nicely-paced lucha match. CMLL is obviously getting plenty of exposure in AEW these days, so I'm familiar with both of these guys from their recent matches over there. Renta was in the corner of Star Jr., so she got the better of Duran (who was in Magnus' corner) here.

COZYMAX and Alex Kane def. WTF Superstars (Josh Bishop, Richard Holliday and MLW World Tag Team Champion "Filthy" To Lawlor)

Satoshi Kojima and Okumura got to team up again here and had a logical partner in Kane, who has had his own run-ins with The WTF over the last several months. This was a well-worked tag team main event, but there really wasn't anything out of the ordinary about it. Plus, The WTF were again made to look like losers. Chaos ensued afterward ahead of the War Chamber match at the end of the month, but I don't find it very exciting since The WTF can't be taken seriously.

Overall Show

This was a quick watch at only an hour and 45 minutes. I've enjoyed a majority of MLW's extended specials since December (both the live ones and taped ones), but Once Upon a Time in New York was fairly inconsequential. Most of the wrestling didn't stand out and not a single title was defended. It largely served as a setup show for War Chamber at the end of the month and that's fine, but it didn't make this event appointment viewing.

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