MLW Underground recap: Rickey Shane Page with creative hardcore finish

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War Chamber is set for April 6 in New York City. Alexander Hammerstone will lead the Second Gear Crew against Raven’s warriors in The Calling. We were treated to a preview of violence when 1 Called Manders battled Rickey Shane Page in a hardcore match on the latest episode of MLW Underground (Apr. 4, 2023). Plus, the show featured two title fights.

Raven was joined by Akira and other masked goons ringside to watch the joy of pain. The Calling were content to let RSP handle his business without interfering. First blood came from Manders when falling into a chair on a drop toehold. Manders kept trucking for a spinebuster on thumbtacks and a running powerslam through a wooden board in the corner.

Later, Manders smashed Page in the head with a cowbell and crushed a lariat. That wasn’t enough to keep RSP down. The brutes fought for position in the corner. Page threw a chair at Manders, which caused the cowboy to fall under a table. RSP followed for a flying senton crashing through the table on top of Manders. That unique maneuver earned the win for The Calling.

Afterward, Manders and Page brawled some more.

Bring on War Chamber! MLW’s version of War Games will air on April 18 on REELZ.

That wasn’t the only segment on MLW Underground with the War Chamber participants. The Calling had a vignette explaining how Raven wants everyone to feel his pain. War is a test of the mind to push to the breaking point. Trust in Raven.

Mance Warner and Matthew Justice had their fun tormenting NZO. Real1 ran his mouth hyping a fatal four-way elimination dumpster match for next week. After insulting Microman, NZO turned his focus to Warner. Ole Mancer entered with a chainsaw. NZO tried to escape from the Southern Psychopath, but Justice stepped out on stage with a chair to block the exit. Warner and Justice surrounded NZO. Real1 managed to slip through to grab a kendo stick out of a trashcan. The kendo stick was harder to pull out than anticipated. It turned out that Microman was hiding inside the receptacle with his hands on the weapon. NZO panicked and ran away.

The main event of the evening was Lince Dorado defending the MLW World Middleweight Championship against Delirious. The gibberish man focused on damaging the back of the champ. Dorado rallied for a handspring stunner and a flying crossbody to the outside. On the turnbuckles, Dorado slipped under to powerbomb Delirious out of the corner. The champ followed with a shooting star press to retain.

Lio Rush invited himself to scout that title bout on commentary. He entered the ring to hand over the spoils of combat. It was clear that Rush wanted the next shot at Dorado. The Bad Child made it even clearer by attacking Dorado from behind. Rush left with the belt on his shoulder.

MLW also booked an interpromotional title bout on the show. Natural Vibes (Kzy & Big Boss Shimizu) arrived from Dragon Gate to defend the Open The Twin Gate Championship against the FBI (Little Guido & Ray Jaz). The Full Blooded Italians were tough, but the champions were better. Shimizu caught Jaz for a goozle chokeslam, then Kzy landed a frog splash for victory.

On the promo tip, the Battle Riot V match will air on April 25 on REELZ. Alex Kane and Mr. Thomas picked their numbers from the tumbler. Kane did not look pleased. Later, Bomaye was seen knocking out the teeth of Thomas Billington. That’s how the show closed to promote the bad blood between Kane and Davey Boy Smith Jr. for a ‘no ropes catch wrestling’ match next week.

This was one of those episodes that is building to the larger picture. The hardcore match was effective in setting up toward War Chamber. It also did well to showcase the personalities of 1 Called Manders and Rickey Shane Page. Both were unknown commodities to many viewers. I had heard their names before but never watched them on the indie scene. MLW introduced them over the past few weeks so that the characters were clear. Manders and RSP fought hard to earn new fans. Manders has that babyface no-quit brawling style. Page’s creativity was on display for the finishing table senton. That move was a cool visual. Manders and Page left me wanting more.

Lince Dorado and Delirious had a good match in the main event. There was no build here, so there was no expectation for an upset. Lio Rush brought the intrigue with his devious post-match attack. Dorado versus Rush is a match I want to see. Both are so quick and so smooth in the ring.

Kzy & Big Boss Shimizu were fun to watch. Their charisma was evident when pumping up the crowd with a rap. This was a good example of the talent trading concept. Natural Vibes gave us a taste. If they return for a bigger match, then the pump is primed to get in the groove.

The opening segment with NZO, Mance Warner, Matthew Justice, and Microman was a hoot. That chaos is an example of MLW at its best bringing crazy characters for a wild time. The dumpster match itself is suspect. It’s odd that NZO is basically fighting at a 1-on-3 disadvantage. MLW needs to sweeten the deal with a prize to justify any babyface-on-babyface fighting.

Share your reactions to the latest episode of MLW Underground.

MLW Underground airs Tuesdays at 10 pm ET on REELZ.

 

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