wrestling / TV Reports
Winfree’s MLW War Chamber Review 11.17.21
Loading...Hey there people, it’s time for MLW’s War Chamber event. Tonight could be the last stand for Contra Unit as Jacob Fatu, Mads Krugger, Ikuro Kwon, and a couple of Sentai Death Squad goons will take on MLW World champion Alexander Hammerstone, EJ Nduka, Richard Holliday, Savio Vega, and a mystery man. All signs have pointed to the mystery man being Jeff Cobb back in his Matanza gimmick, though it might wind up renamed here. Either way we should be in for a war. We’re in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania for this event.
We open with a video highlights for Contra and their path of destruction through MLW, then move to Hammerstone’s victory over Fatu and how we’ve arrived at tonight. Cesar Duran shows up to open the show, he tonight is the final battle of Contra Unit against MLW and he promises the fans the War Chamber. He’s got some news though, he met with Court Bauer and he and Bauer plan on aggressive expansion for MLW in 2022 and they’ll be having some shows in Mexico. He drops the mic and walks off.
A 5150 video follows that, and they call out Los Parks, Rivera winds up mocking Hijo de LA Park for his mask being stolen. I’m still not sold on the production of those promos, I get what they’re going for but the video is too chaotic to actually follow anything.
A reminder that next week will be Fusion on Thanksgiving with the Opera Cup finals in two weeks. A Contra video cuts into the schedule, Mads Krugger plans to lead his soldiers into battle, his most loyal soldier Jacob Fatu broke Hammerstone’s ankle and tonight they’ll break his spirit then end MLW forever.
We get a little highlight of the War Chamber construction and both teams preparing. The usual rule summary follows, we start one on one for five minutes before the next entrant comes down, then every two minutes another man enters, the match can only be won once everyone is in the chamber and you can win by pinfall, submission, or surrender. Per usual, the heels will have the man advantage and Contra chooses Jacob Fatu to be their first man in while Hammerstone counters with a similarly destructive force, Matanza Duran. I imagine the original lineup had Matanza coming out to anchor, but with Hammerstone’s ankle injury they had to call an audible. Matanza removes his mask on the entrance ramp, revealing the darker side of jolly island buddah Jeff Cobb.
Match #1 – War Chamber: Hammerheads (MLW World Heavyweight champion Alexander Hammerstone, Richard Holliday, EJ Nduka, Savio Vega, and Jeff Cobb) vs. Contra Unit (Jacob Fatu, Mads Krugger, Ikuro Kwon, Sentai Goon #1, and Sentai Goon #2)
Cobb went with his usual attire instead of the Michael Meyers coverall. Fatu and Cobb got face to face right away and then start brawling. The camera work here is shaky given that there’s a camera man in the ring inside the chamber. As if that ring wasn’t small enough already. Cobb and Fatu run into each other over and over again before Cobb lands a drop kick then tosses Fatu into the cage. Fatu shoulder blocks Cobb down and takes over with strikes and sends Cobb into the corner a few times. Cobb avoids a corner attack and sets him on the top rope then hits a drop kick before tossing Fatu across the ring. Some corner attacks from Cobb then he lays in strikes. They trade headbutts for a bit before Goon 1 shows up.
Cobb runs into a Black Hole slam from Goon 1. Goon 1 lays into Cobb for a bit, then Fatu starts driving shoulder blocks to the abdomen. Cobb tries to fight back but gets punched down by Fatu. Fatu gets the Contra flag he brought into the ring and waves it around a bit to usher in Savio Vega from the Hammerheads.
Vega brings his kendo stick with him and goes wild with it on both Goon 1 and Fatu. He brains Fatu a few times with it, then several for Goon 1. Cobb regains his feet and goes after Fatu while Vega chokes Goon 1. Goon 1 takes abuse from Cobb now as Vega has moved over to choking Fatu with the kendo stick. The good guys run up against it as here comes Ikuro Kwon.
Kwon avoids some kendo stick shots and super kicks Vega down, then hits a striking combination on Cobb. Fatu with his handspring moonsault onto Cobb, props to him making that work given the logistics involved. Goon 1 gets the kendo stick and lays into Vega with it, but mostly there’s a lot of choking going on but here comes Richard Holliday to even the odds.
Holliday takes out Kwon with a double underhook backbreaker then tosses Goon 1 into the cage and drills him with a back suplex but he gets smacked by Fatu. Fatu misses a pop up move, but catches Holliday on the top rope then follows him up but it looks like Holliday counters his superplex with a second rope Market Crash. Holliday starts going after Kwon with chop as Cobb takes down Goon 1 and hits a double stomp. Here comes Goon 2 to give Contra the edge again.
Goon 2 starts stomping on Vega and Cobb right away, Contra starts going after the leg of Holliday as EJ Nduka comes down to start wrecking house. EJ lays out everyone with clotheslines and drills Goon 1 with The Verdict then a stalling suplex. Goon 2 gets launched into the cage a few times but Fatu cuts him off with a right hand. Both Goons are out of the Chamber for a bit as EJ and Fatu start trading hands in the middle of the ring. EJ lands a big boot to Fatu but here comes Mads Krugger.
Krugger has another Goon with him, who just stands outside the Chamber. Krugger and EJ go face to face, we get dueling chokes before they trade kicks, then shoulder blocks but neither gets an edge. EJ lays in strikes to get Krugger backing up but Kwon cuts him off with an eznsiguri. EJ drills Kwon with a Verdict but Krugger lays out Cobb with a big boot then climbs up top and drops EJ with a top rope clothesline. Holliday tries to fight back but eats a hip attack from Fatu then a drop kick from Kwon. Here comes the last man, Alexander Hammerstone.
Hammerstone takes out Goon 1 and uses a pipe against him, then he drills the other Goons and heads into the ring. Time for Hammerstone to run wild, he takes a chokeslam from Krugger though and that cuts him off. Krugger goes for a full nelson but Hammerstone fights free and kills Krugger with a Nightmare Pendulum. Fatu and Hammerstone square up and start trading punches. Fatu avoids a pump kick and grabs an ankle lock on Hammerstone. Holliday tries to save Hammerstone but Fatu basically ignores him. Kwon lays in kicks to EJ, but Hammerstone sends Fatu into Krugger to break the hold. They tease tension between Krugger and Fatu, they get over it but Hammerstone avoids a Fatu attack then Fatu goes for a Whisper in the Wind but hits Krugger. Hammerstone pump kicks Kwon down, then puts him in the Torture Rack and Kwon gives it up.
OFFICIAL RESULT: The Hammerheads won in 23:11 shown
Rating: 3.5 stars
Given the logistical concerns here, smaller ring and not quite the polished production values you might otherwise get, this turned out alright. Not quite the bloody brawls we’ve seen this kind of match deliver in the past, but all in all this was pretty good.
Team Hammerstone celebrates the demise of Contra Unit. They head up the ramp as Fatu tries to process the loss in the ring. Fatu and Krugger display more tension as they stalk around the ring. The crowd definitely prefers Fatu to Krugger. Krugger isn’t letting this go though, Kwon tries to play peacemaker but Krugger pie faces Fatu. Fatu has had enough of that and brawls with Krugger, Kwon gets involved and eats a pop up Samoan drop. Krugger tosses Fatu out of the Chamber, but Fatu slams the Chamber door into his face. Fatu gets a chair and abuses a ton of Goons with a chair, he’s on a rampage destroying the Contra Goons. Krugger comes out of the Chamber and we’ve got a brawl between Fatu, Kwon, and Krugger. The Goons and security try to break this up but we just get a slow moving brawl around the ringside area. Eventually everyone gets separated but we’ve definitely seen the end of Contra Unit as a faction in MLW.
Cesar Duran celebrates in the back with Karlee Perez who’s now opted for a very short haircut. They reminisce about old times, and both see a future painted in red for MLW. Duran shows off some designs for a ring set up, he calls it a cathedral of violence, and Perez seems pleased that it’s all theirs.
