MLW Underground Wrestling Review - March 14, 2023

By Graham "GSM" Matthews

Rickey Shane Page def. Mance Warner in a Hardcore Match

Page is a member of the new group of masked men led by Raven, though I'm not sure if his pre-match promo also aired for the live crowd and if they're even aware he's with the group. He's notorious for doing hardcore stuff, so that's what this was. It's not my thing, but we don't see matches like this very often in MLW, so that's fine. I believe Warner is also known for hardcore matches, so these were the perfect two people for this stipulation and they made the most of it, even though the crowd didn't seem to care much.

MLW World Middleweight Champion Lince Dorado def. La Estrella

Estrella was introduced by Cesar Duran, but it didn't feel like much of an endorsement because he didn't receive a proper introduction and viewers weren't give a reason to see him as a serious threat to the title. They had a well-wrestled match, but Estrella wasn't over at all and that hurt the match. Even the title being on the line didn't make it that much more interesting. I'm not sure why it wasn't advertised in advance, eiter.

The MLW World Heavyweight Championship Contract Signing Between MLW World Heavyweight Champion Alexander Hammerstone and Jacob Fatu Descended Into Chaos

MLW has done an excellent job of building this up in recent weeks on Underground and making it feel like its the biggest match MLW can do at the moment, which it is. The video packages have been terrific and this contract signing was an effective final sell for it. Of course, it ended in a brawl as most wrestling contract signings do, but it was well done and exactly what it needed to be ahead of next week's huge main event.

Samoan SWAT Team (Juicy Finau and Lance Anoa'i) def. Hustle and Power to Win the MLW World Tag Team Championship

Samoan SWAT Team have been building momentum for a while and it was only logical for them to be the next tag team champs. I'm actually surprised it took this long with EJ Nduka reportedly done with MLW. This was an entertaining affair with the crowd behind Samoan SWAT Team throughout. I thought for a while Nduka might leave MLW without actually dropping the tag titles (he and Calvin Tankman haven't teamed for months), so I appreciate that he did the honors here. It also tells the story that Samoan SWAT Team could have all the gold if Fatu beats Hammerstone next week. My only nitpick was that they used a table at one point and I don't recall this being billed as a No Disqualification match.

Overall Show

Underground has been a much more streamlined show compared to Fusion as far as progressing storylines, advertising matches in advance (and delivering), and not featuring as much filler. Granted, the first two matches on this show felt flat, but I enjoyed the main event and the title change was notable. Above all else, the hype for Hammerstone vs. Fatu II on next week's episode was strong and I was left looking forward to it.

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