Fury Road (2023)
| Fury Road (2023) | |||
|---|---|---|---|
 Promotional poster of the event | |||
| Promotion | Major League Wrestling | ||
| Date | September 3, 2023 | ||
| City | Philadelphia, Pennsylvania | ||
| Venue | 2300 Arena | ||
| Event chronology | |||
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| Fury Road chronology | |||
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Fury Road (2023) was a professional wrestling event produced by Major League Wrestling (MLW) that took place on September 3, 2023, at the 2300 Arena in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It was the fourth event under the Fury Road chronology and streamed live on FITE, with additional matches being taped for future episodes of MLW Fusion.
The event marked the beginning of a partnership with New Japan Pro Wrestling, with Kushida set to appear at the event.[1] The event also featured the MLW in-ring debut of Matt Cardona on the live broadcast, who was announced to be signed with the promotion at Never Say Never in July.
Production
[edit]Background
[edit]MLW Fury Road was first held in 2018 as a television taping for MLW's weekly program, Fusion, with the second event airing as a special live episode on June 1, 2019.
On May 2, 2023, a new partnership between MLW and FITE was announced, in-which the promotion would produce live events for FITE+ subscribers. MLW would subsequently announce four upcoming FITE+ specials on July 8, 2023, with Fury Road announced to be taking place on September 3 from the 2300 Arena in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.[2]
Storylines
[edit]The card consisted of matches that resulted from scripted storylines, where wrestlers portray villains, heroes, or less distinguishable characters in scripted events that built tension and culminated in a wrestling match or series of matches, with results predetermined by MLW's writers. Storylines were played out on MLW's television programs, Underground Wrestling and Fusion, and the league's social media platforms.[3]
At Never Say Never, the first two rounds of the 2023 MLW Open Draft were held, with Kevin Blackwood and Matt Cardona being drafted. Both men would later be announced to be making their MLW debuts at Fury Road.[4][5]
On the July 20 episode of Fusion, Mister Saint Laurent, Cardona's new manager, was attacked by Mance Warner, in-retaliation for Laurent's betrayal of his former charge Microman.[6] The following week, Laurent challenged Warner to a match at Fury Road on Cardona's behalf, which Warner accepted. The match was later made official on August 1 as a No Holds Barred Kiss My Foot match.[7] Additionally, on August 9, MLW announced the debut of Laurent's new talk show, "Sessions by Saint Laurant," with a mystery guest to be revealed at Fury Road.[8]
On the August 24 episode of Fusion, MLW announced a new partnership with New Japan Pro Wrestling. As part of this partnership, an inter-promotional match between Tony Deppen and New Japan representative KUSHIDA will take place at Fury Road.[1]
Through MLW's "Open Door Policy", Japanese star Maki Itoh will also be appearing at Fury Road.[9]
For the past couple of months, The Samoan SWAT Team (Jacob Fatu, Lance Anoa'i, and Juicy Finau) had been feuding with The Calling (Raven, Akira, and Rickey Shane Page). At Battle Riot V, seen on the April 25, 2023 episode of MLW Underground Wrestling on Reelz, Fatu would eliminate every member of The Calling in the titular match before eliminating himself alongside Page, where the two would continue to brawl with each other.[10] On the August 17 episode of Fusion, Fatu defended the MLW National Openweight Championship against Page, only for the match to be declared a no contest after Page shoved the referee. The two would continue to brawl after the match.[11] Following this altercation, it was announced that Fatu would once again defend the title against Page in a Weapons of Mass Destruction match.[12][13]
Results
[edit]| No. | Results | Stipulations | Times[25] | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1FT | The Second Gear Crew (Matthew Justice and 1 Called Manders) defeated The Calling (Cannonball and Talon) | Tornado tag team match[14] | 4:59 | ||||
| 2FT | Love, Doug defeated Little Guido | Singles match[15] | 4:26 | ||||
| 3FT | Akira (c) defeated Jimmy Lloyd | Street Fight for the MLW World Middleweight Championship[16] | 8:58 | ||||
| 4FT | Matt Cardona (with Mr. Saint Laurent) defeated 1 Called Manders | Singles match[17] | 5:02 | ||||
| 5FT | Ichiban defeated Nolo Katana | Singles match[17] | 6:10 | ||||
| 6FT | Alex Kane defeated Snisky (with Mister Saint Laurent) | Singles match[18] | 4:32 | ||||
| 7FT | Tiara James defeated Zayda Steel | Singles match[19] | 3:12 | ||||
| 8FT | TJ Crawford defeated Kevin Blackwood and Alec Price | Three-way match[20] | 6:30 | ||||
| 9FT | The Bomaye Fight Club (J Boujji and Mr. Thomas) defeated The Mane Event (Jay Lyon and Midas Black) | Tag team match[21] | 6:09 | ||||
| 10FT | Akira vs. Matthew Justice ended in a no contest | Singles match[17] | 5:16 | ||||
| 11 | Rickey Shane Page defeated Jacob Fatu (c) | Weapons of Mass Destruction match for the MLW National Openweight Championship[13] | 15:21 | ||||
| 12 | B3cca defeated Maki Itoh | Singles match to determine the #1 contender to the MLW World Women's Featherweight Championship[9] | 7:42 | ||||
| 13 | Matt Cardona (with Mister Saint Laurent) defeated Mance Warner | No Holds Barred Kiss My Foot match[7] | 8:57 | ||||
| 14 | Ichiban defeated Tracy Williams | Singles match[22] | 9:51 | ||||
| 15 | Kushida defeated Tony Deppen | Singles match[23] | 12:18 | ||||
| 16 | Alex Kane (c) (with Mr. Thomas) defeated Willie Mack | Singles match for the MLW World Heavyweight Championship[24] | 17:56 | ||||
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References
[edit]- ^ a b Black, Matt (August 24, 2023). "Major League Wrestling Announces New Partnership With NJPW". Wrestlezone. Retrieved September 2, 2023.
- ^ Lambert, Jeremy (July 8, 2023). "MLW Announces Four FITE+ Specials". Fightful. Retrieved August 3, 2023.
- ^ Grabianowski, Ed (13 January 2006). "How Pro Wrestling Works". HowStuffWorks. Discovery Communications. Archived from the original on November 29, 2013. Retrieved March 5, 2012.
- ^ "Blackwood debuts Sept 3 at FURY ROAD in Philly". Major League Wrestling. July 19, 2023. Retrieved July 26, 2023.
- ^ "Blackwood debuts Sept 3 at FURY ROAD in Philly". Major League Wrestling. July 18, 2023. Retrieved August 3, 2023.
- ^ "Fusion Recap: 2023 Opera Cup Begins With Davey Boy Smith Jr. vs. Calvin Tankman". Major League Wrestling. July 20, 2023. Retrieved August 3, 2023.
- ^ a b "Kiss My Foot Match🦶Cardona vs Mancer". Major League Wrestling. August 1, 2023. Retrieved August 1, 2023.
- ^ "Who is the Mystery Guest? Find out LIVE Sept 3". Major League Wrestling. August 9, 2023. Retrieved August 10, 2023.
- ^ a b "Maki Itoh vs B3CCA at FURY ROAD in Philly". Major League Wrestling. July 31, 2023. Retrieved July 31, 2023.
- ^ "Battle Riot V Recap: Alex Kane Goes The Distance". Major League Wrestling. April 26, 2023. Archived from the original on June 19, 2022. Retrieved May 14, 2023.
- ^ "Fusion Recap: Fatu vs. RSP, Tracy Williams vs. Davey Boy Smith Jr. In Opera Cup Finals". Major League Wrestling. August 17, 2023. Retrieved August 18, 2023.
- ^ Jeremy Lambert (August 17, 2023). "Weapons Of Mass Destruction Bout Added To MLW Fury Road". Fightful. Retrieved August 18, 2023.
- ^ a b "Double Main Event SIGNED for Fury Road". Major League Wrestling. August 28, 2023. Retrieved August 28, 2023.
- ^ "Texas Tornado Match signed for Sept 3". Major League Wrestling. August 24, 2023. Retrieved August 27, 2023.
- ^ "Love, Doug vs Guido signed for Sept 3". Major League Wrestling. August 8, 2023. Retrieved August 8, 2023.
- ^ "AKIRA vs Jimmy Lloyd: STREET FIGHT! Sept 3 in Philly". Major League Wrestling. August 3, 2023. Retrieved August 3, 2023.
- ^ a b c "9/3 MLW FUSION TV SPOILERS FROM PHILADELPHIA, PA". PWInsider.
- ^ "Snisky fights Sept 3 in Philly". Major League Wrestling. August 22, 2023. Retrieved August 27, 2023.
- ^ "Triple Threat signed for Sept 3 in Philly". Major League Wrestling. August 14, 2023. Retrieved August 14, 2023.
- ^ "Tiara James vs. debuting Zayda Steel signed". Major League Wrestling. August 16, 2023. Retrieved August 16, 2023.
- ^ "Tag Match added to Sunday's Philly card". Major League Wrestling. August 29, 2023. Retrieved August 29, 2023.
- ^ "Ichiban vs Hot Sauce signed for Sept 3". Major League Wrestling. August 10, 2023. Retrieved August 10, 2023.
- ^ "Kushida vs. Tony Deppen LIVE at Fury Road". Major League Wrestling. August 25, 2023. Retrieved August 27, 2023.
- ^ "Kane vs. Willie Mack Sept 3 at FURY ROAD". Major League Wrestling. July 17, 2023. Retrieved July 26, 2023.
- ^ Powell, Jason (September 3, 2023). "MLW "Fury Road" results: Powell's review of Alex Kane vs. Willie Mack for the MLW Heavyweight Championship, Jacob Fatu vs. Rickey Shane Page in a Weapons of Mass Destruction match for the MLW National Openweight Title". prowrestling.net. Retrieved September 4, 2023.