MLW Slaughterhouse Review - October 4, 2025

By Graham "GSM" Matthews

MLW World Heavyweight Champion Mads Krule Krugger def. CW Anderson, Brock Anderson, Mr. Thomas and Chris Adonis and Matthew Justice in a War Chamber Match

It's been a bit since I last saw Adonis, so it was cool to see him involved here. Unfortunately, the match was a mess. ​I don't know why they insist on using this stipulation. It's like something you would've seen during one of WCW's creative lulls. It's almost as if they put it in the opener just to get it out of the way. At least it didn't last longer than it needed to.

Volador Jr. def. Star Jr. in an Opera Cup Quarterfinal Match

Zandokan Jr. originally advanced to the quarterfinals but was replaced with Star Jr. after suffering a knee injury. I didn't care who advanced here with both guys being equally talented, but it was a good match, nonetheless. It didn't last very long, but they made the most of the time they had by delivering a fun sprint. Volador Jr. will now face Kojima in the semifinals.

Satoshi Kojima def. MLW World Tag Team Champion Bishop Dyer in an Opera Cup Quarterfinal Match

I've been enjoying a lot of Dyer's work in MLW, mostly because it's been refreshing to see him mix it up with some fresh faces (at least compared to everyone he was working with in WWE), but I didn't find this to be one of his better bouts. I was actually bored for a majority of it. It was hardly a bad match, but Kojima is older and Dyer wasn't the most dynamic or exciting opponent for him. Honestly, I would've preferred to see Dyer move forward.

Austin Aries def. Paul London in an Opera Cup Quarterfinal Match

This was similar to Kojima vs. Dyer in that because both guys are older, it wasn't as strong as it could have been five or 10 years ago. Nonetheless, it was a nice match for the amount of time they were allotted. London has been showing more heel tendencies lately, so Paul Walter Hauser called him out afterward. I'm sorry but a match between them doesn't interest me in the slightest.

Matt Riddle def. Alex Hammerstone

I was curious how the negative crowd reaction to Riddle (the boos have only gotten louder with each show he's been on) would affect this match, especially with Hammerstone being a heel as well, but that question was answered at the end with Riddle cheating to win. I'd totally be in favor of this being a double turn. The match itself was entertaining. Turning Riddle was absolutely the right call.

MLW Women’s World Featherweight Champion Shoko Nakajima def. HIMAWARI

The MLW Women's World Featherweight Championship matches have been carrying these MLW events for the last little while. I know nothing about Nakajima outside of what I've seen from her in the ring, but she has worked well with every one of her opponents thus far and the matches have been above-average. This was no exception. I just wish there was more of a build-up for these title defenses beforehand.

Mistico def. Ultimo Guerrero in an Opera Cup Quarterfinal Match

Yes, it does seem strange on paper that they closed with an Opera Cup quarterfinal match, but it's not that strange when you consider that Mistico has been the best part about MLW for the last year or so. These crowds adore him and treat him like he's the world champion (which he is in CMLL and probably should be in MLW eventually). This wasn't a banger by any means, but it was solid enough. Post-match, Aries attacked Mistico ahead of their semifinal match.

Overall Show

The Opera Cup moved forward as we now know what the semifinals will look like, and I assume we get both of those bouts at MLW's next event later this month (I believe it was taped the same night as this). The rest of the show was perfectly acceptable aside from that stupid cage match. Most notably, we found out Priscilla Kelly and Killer Kross will be back soon. The tombstones with the names of wrestling journalists on them was also an odd choice, but I appreciated the Halloween theme otherwise.

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