MLW Rise of the Renegades Review - June 9, 2022

By Graham "GSM" Matthews

Gino Medina def. Aramis in a Mexican Strap Match

The commentators mentioned the history these two have and how Aramis has wanted this one-on-one match for a while, but how much has the build to this bout played out on Fusion? I honestly don't remember most of it if it has. This was different than your typical Strap match in that there were wrestlers around the ring whipping whoever winded up at ringside. Unfortunately, there was way too much interference for this to be any good. It was more of a mess than anything and it looks like their feud isn't over yet based on what happened afterward.

Caribbean Champion Octagon Jr. def. Matt Cross

What was once referred to as the IWA Caribbean Heavyweight Championship is now simply known as the Caribbean Championship. I don't particularly care about the championship since it doesn't seem to be defended regularly on Fusion, but there's no denying this was a fun match between two skilled athletes. Octagon is always enjoyable to watch and Cross works well with just about everyone. They made the most of their time and the crowd was into it.

Richard Holliday, Mads Krugger and King Muertes def. MLW World Heavyweight Champion Alexander Hammerstone and The Von Erichs

This served as a nice preview of what to expect when Hammerstone and Holliday collide for the MLW World Heavyweight Championship soon with quite a bit of MLW star power mixed in. It started out as a fairly standard six-man tag team affair and this didn't last as long as you'd think it would, but it got better once they picked up the pace down the stretch. It isn't often Hammerstone is pinned, so Holliday pinning him for the win here gives him major momentum heading into their upcoming championship clash.

Overall Show

It was announced that the inaugural MLW Women's World Featherweight Champion will be crowned next week in a match between Holidead and Taya Valkyrie. There's also been plenty of hype for Battle Riot, which will be taped in New York City in two weeks (not sure about the airdate, though). Rise of the Renegades started out rough with that Mexican Strap match, but it improved with the Caribbean Championship defense and the main event effectively furthered the Hammerstone vs. Holliday feud. All in all, a solid show that was more eventful than your average episode of Fusion.

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