Battle Riot (sequentially known as Battle Riot I) was a

professional wrestling Professional wrestling is a form of theater that revolves around staged wrestling matches. The mock combat is performed in a ring similar to the kind used in boxing, and the dramatic aspects of pro wrestling may be performed both in the ring o ...

event Event may refer to: Gatherings of people * Ceremony, an event of ritual significance, performed on a special occasion * Convention (meeting), a gathering of individuals engaged in some common interest * Event management, the organization of e ...

produced by

Major League Wrestling Major League Wrestling (MLW), is an American professional wrestling promotion based in New Rochelle, New York. The promotion was founded in 2002 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania by former WWE writer Court Bauer. The promotion markets its product as ...

(MLW) that took place on July 19, 2018 at the Melrose Ballroom in

New York, New York New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Uni ...

. The event aired as a special episode of MLW's television program, ''

Fusion Fusion, or synthesis, is the process of combining two or more distinct entities into a new whole. Fusion may also refer to: Science and technology Physics *Nuclear fusion, multiple atomic nuclei combining to form one or more different atomic nucl ...

'', on July 27 on

beIN Sports beIN Sports ( ) is a global network of sports channels owned and operated by the Qatari media group beIN. It has played a major role in the increased commercialization of Qatari sports. Its chairman is Nasser Al-Khelaifi, and its CEO is Yousef O ...

. It was the first event under the

Battle Riot Battle Riot is a professional wrestling event produced by Major League Wrestling Major League Wrestling (MLW), is an American professional wrestling promotion based in New Rochelle, New York. The promotion was founded in 2002 in Philadelphia, P ...

chronology. Eleven matches took place at the event with three matches airing at the Battle Riot special on July 27 while other matches were taped for future episodes of ''Fusion''. The

main event In sports, a card lists the matches taking place in a title match combat-sport event. Cards include a main event match and the undercard listing the rest of the matches. The undercard may be divided into a midcard and a lower card, according to ...

was the first-ever 40-man Battle Riot match, with the winner earning a future title shot for the World Heavyweight Championship.

Tom Lawlor Thomas Joseph Lawlor (born May 15, 1983) is an American professional wrestler, retired mixed martial artist and podcast host. He is best known for his time in Major League Wrestling (MLW), where he was a former one-time MLW World Heavyweight Cham ...

won the match. The event also featured a match between

Maxwell Jacob Friedman Maxwell T. Friedman (born March 15, 1996), better known by his ring name Maxwell Jacob Friedman (often abbreviated to MJF), is an American professional wrestler. He is currently signed with All Elite Wrestling (AEW), where he is the current AE ...

and Joey Ryan to determine the inaugural

World Middleweight Championship In its most general sense, the term "world" refers to the totality of entities, to the whole of reality or to everything that is. The nature of the world has been conceptualized differently in different fields. Some conceptions see the worl ...

Production

Background

In July 2017,

resumed promoting events for the first time since the promotion's original closure in 2004. The success of these events lead MLW to secure a television deal with

for a new program, ''

MLW Fusion ''MLW Fusion'' is a professional wrestling television program produced by Major League Wrestling (MLW) that originally premiered on April 20, 2018 on beIN Sports USA. On November 10, 2022, the series began streaming on Pro Wrestling TV. A thir ...

'', which debuted on April 20, 2018. On May 7, 2018, MLW announced that it would hold an event at the Melrose Ballroom in

on July 19 which would be a television taping of ''Fusion'', marking the return of MLW to New York after 2002. On May 31, MLW announced that the first-ever 40-man Battle Riot match would take place. The eponymous Battle Riot match is based on

WWE World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc., d/b/a as WWE, is an American professional wrestling promotion. A global integrated media and entertainment company, WWE has also branched out into other fields, including film, American football, and vario ...

Royal Rumble match The Royal Rumble match is a professional wrestling match based on the classic Battle Royal match in which a number of wrestlers (traditionally 30) aim at eliminating their competitors by tossing them over the top rope, with both feet touching the ...

, where 40 participants participate and a new participant enters the match at every 60 seconds. Eliminations occur by pinfall, submission or being thrown over the top rope. The winner will be awarded a

MLW World Heavyweight Championship The MLW World Heavyweight Championship is a world heavyweight championship owned and promoted by Major League Wrestling (MLW). It is the promotion's principal championship. The championship was established on September 26, 2002 during the MLW Re ...

opportunity at any place and time of his choosing. It was announced that Battle Riot would air as MLW's first two-hour television special on July 27 on beIN Sports.

Storylines

The card consisted of matches that resulted from scripted storylines, where wrestlers portrayed

villains A villain (also known as a "black hat" or "bad guy"; the feminine form is villainess) is a stock character, whether based on a historical narrative or one of literary fiction. ''Random House Unabridged Dictionary'' defines such a character a ...

heroes Heroes or Héroes may refer to: * Hero, one who displays courage and self-sacrifice for the greater good Film * ''Heroes'' (1977 film), an American drama * ''Heroes'' (2008 film), an Indian Hindi film Gaming * ''Heroes of Might and Magic'' ...

, 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 program ''

''. On June 12, MLW announced that the first-ever Battle Riot match would take place at the namesake event on July 19 and John Hennigan, Kevin Sullivan,

A. C. H. Albert Christian Hardie Jr. (born December 7, 1987), is an American Professional wrestling, professional wrestler, currently known by his ring name A. C. H. He has wrestled for several American promotions, like Ring of Honor, Ring of Honor Wrestl ...

and

Davey Boy Smith David Smith (27 November 1962 – 18 May 2002) was an English professional wrestler. Born in Golborne, Lancashire, Smith is best known for his appearances in the United States with the World Wrestling Federation under the ring names Davey Bo ...

were announced as the first four participants of the match. In the upcoming weeks, more participants were added into the match including Pentagon, Jr., Barrington Hughes,

Jake Hager Donald Jacob Hager Jr. (born March 24, 1982) is an American professional wrestler and mixed martial artist, currently signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW) under the ring name Jake Hager, where he is a member of the Jericho Appreciation Society st ...

, Jimmy Yuta, PCO,

Lance Anoa'i Lance Anoa'i is a professional wrestler who currently wrestles for Major League Wrestling (MLW) under his real name, and is the current MLW World Tag Team Champion, in his first reign. He is a member of the Anoaʻi family. Early life His fath ...

, Swoggle,

Konnan Charles Ashenoff (born Carlos Santiago Espada Moises; January 6, 1964),''Wrestling Observer Newsletter'', Dave Meltzer, ed., May 10, 2010, issue.Sims, Steve"Pro Wrestling Hall of Fame/Founded by Dave Meltzer - Konnan". Accessed August 1, 2016. O ...

Sami Callihan Samuel Alton Johnston (born September 1, 1987) is an American professional wrestler and promoter, better known by the ring name Sami Callihan, currently signed with Impact Wrestling and is a former Impact World Champion. He also wrestled for Luch ...

, Joey Ryan, Jason Cade,

Jimmy Havoc James McAhren (born 19 March 1984) is a British former professional wrestler best known under the ring name Jimmy Havoc. He is known for his work with Progress Wrestling, Defiant Wrestling, Insane Championship Wrestling (ICW), Major League Wr ...

Brody King Nathan Troy Blauvelt (born March 17, 1987), better known by his ring name Brody King, is an American professional wrestler and musician signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW), where he is a member of The House of Black. King was previously signed t ...

Low Ki Brandon Silvestry (born September 6, 1979) is an American professional wrestler of Italian and Puerto Rican descent, better known by his ring name Low Ki. He is known for his time with Impact Wrestling, Ring of Honor and Major League Wrestlin ...

, Headshrinker Samu,

Rey Fenix Rey may refer to: *Rey (given name), a given name *Rey (surname), a surname * Rey (''Star Wars''), a character in the ''Star Wars'' films *Rey, Iran, a city in Iran * Ray County, in Tehran Province of Iran * ''Rey'' (film), a 2015 Indian film *The ...

Homicide Homicide occurs when a person kills another person. A homicide requires only a volitional act or omission that causes the death of another, and thus a homicide may result from accidental, reckless, or negligent acts even if there is no inten ...

Simon Gotch Seth Lesser (born October 18, 1982) is an American professional wrestler better known by the ring name Simon Gotch. He is best known for his time in WWE, where he held the NXT Tag Team Championship as one-half of The Vaudevillains along with A ...

, Vandal Ortagun, Leo Brien and Michael Patrick. On June 28, MLW announced that the first-ever World Middleweight Champion would be crowned in a match between

and Joey Ryan at Battle Riot. On July 16, MLW announced that Myron Reed would be making his MLW debut at Battle Riot against Kotto Brazil.

Event

The first match that aired at Battle Riot took place between Kotto Brazil and Myron Reed. Brazil executed a running backflip three-quarter facelock inverted DDT for the win. Next,

and Joey Ryan competed in a match for the new

MLW World Middleweight Championship The MLW World Middleweight Championship is a professional wrestling championship created and promoted by the American professional wrestling promotion Major League Wrestling (MLW). The title was unveiled on July 18, 2018, it is contested in MLW's ...

. MJF poked Ryan in the eyes and nailed a shoulderbreaker to win the match and become the inaugural World Middleweight Champion. The main event was the inaugural 40-man Battle Riot match, where eliminations would occur by pinfall, submission or tossing the competitor over the top rope and the winner would be earning a future

opportunity. Pentagon, Jr. and

competed as the first two entrants of the match.

entered the match last at #40.

(#5),

(#30),

(#38) and John Hennigan (#40) were the last four participants. Lawlor choked out Callihan to eliminate him and Hager tossed Morrison over the top rope which led to Lawlor and Hager becoming the final two participants of the match. Lawlor eliminated Hager by tossing him over the top rope to win the Battle Riot.

Aftermath

The feud between

Team Filthy ''Team Filthy'' is a professional wrestling stable, performing in New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) and previously Major League Wrestling (MLW) . The group was formed on October 5, 2017 during One Shot by "Filthy" Tom Lawlor. History Major League ...

and Stud Stable which had begun before Battle Riot escalated due to Tom Lawlor's elimination of Jake Hager to win the Battle Riot. Hager defeated Team Filthy member Simon Gotch on the August 3 episode of ''Fusion''. On the August 17 episode of ''Fusion'', Lawlor challenged Hager to a match in the Jungle MMA Gym but Stud Stable manager Col. Robert Parker instead put Parrow in the match, whom Lawlor defeated. On the August 31 episode of ''Fusion'', Lawlor defeated Hager to end the feud. As a result of winning the Battle Riot, Lawlor announced on the October 19 episode of ''Fusion'' that he would cash in for his World Heavyweight Championship title shot against Low Ki at SuperFight on February 2, 2019, which Lawlor would win. The feud between MJF and Joey Ryan continued after Battle Riot as the team of MJF and Aria Blake defeated Ryan and the debuting

Taya Valkyrie Kira Renée Magnin-Forster (born October 22, 1983) is a Canadian professional wrestler, fitness competitor, and model better known by the ring name Taya Valkyrie. She is currently appearing for Impact Wrestling, where she is a current two-time ...

in a

mixed tag team match Much like the singles match, tag team professional wrestling matches can and have taken many forms. Just about any singles or melee match type can be adapted to tag teams; for example, hardcore tag team matches are commonplace. Tag team ladder ma ...

on the September 21 episode of ''Fusion''.

Results

Battle Riot match entrances and eliminations

References

External links

Battle Riot I at CagematchBattle Riot 2018
at

{{MLWPPV, Battle Riot Battle Riot 2018 in professional wrestling July 2018 events in the United States Professional wrestling in New York City 2018 American television episodes 2010s American television specials Events in New York City