Fightland (2024) was a professional wrestling event produced by Major League Wrestling (MLW). It took place on September 14, 2024, at Center Stage in Atlanta, Georgia. It was the sixth event in the Fightland chronology and featured the semi-finals and finals of the 2024 Opera Cup. The event streamed live on MLW's YouTube channel, with additional matches taped for the "Pit Fighters" special; which aired on September 26 on Bein Sports USA and YouTube.[1]
| Fightland (2024) | |||
|---|---|---|---|
 Promotional poster | |||
| Promotion | Major League Wrestling | ||
| Date | September 14, 2024 | ||
| City | Atlanta, Georgia | ||
| Venue | Center Stage | ||
| Event chronology | |||
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| Fightland chronology | |||
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Production
editBackground
editFightland is a reoccurring event produced by Major League Wrestling (MLW) that was first held in 2018 as a television taping for MLW's weekly program, MLW Fusion.
On June 3, 2024, MLW announced that Fightland would take place on September 14, 2024, at Center Stage in Atlanta, Georgia.[2][3]
Storylines
editThe card will consist of matches that result from scripted storylines, where wrestlers portray villains, heroes, or less distinguishable characters in scripted events that built tension and culminate in a wrestling match or series of matches, with results predetermined by MLW's writers. Storylines are played out at MLW events, and across the league's social media platforms.[4]
In addition to several freelancers per MLW's "Open Door Policy", wrestlers from partner promotions Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre (CMLL) and New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) would also appear on the event. On September 2, 2024, NJPW's Kevin Knight was announced to face Bobby Fish at the event.[5]
Contra Unit (Mads Krule Krügger, Ikuro Kwon, and later joined by Minoru Suzuki and MLW World Women's Featherweight Champion Janai Kai) have been feuding with CozyMax (MLW World Heavyweight Champion Satoshi Kojima and Shigeo Okumura) over the summer, dating back to former's assault on them at the end of War Chamber.[6][7] On August 19, MLW announced that Kojima would defend the MLW World Heavyweight Championship against Krügger at Fightland.[8] Suzuki and Kwon would then defeat CozyMax to win the MLW World Tag Team Championships at Summer of the Beasts on August 29.[9]
Delmi Exo had been trying to regain the MLW World Women's Featherweight Championship from current champion Janai Kai since she defeated the former at Slaughterhouse the previous October.[10] Exo had been unsuccessful in recent opportunities at the Fury Road TV special (which was taped at MLW Azteca Lucha) and Battle Riot VI.[11][12] After defeating Miyu Yamashita at Summer of the Beasts to become the number 1 contender, Exo would call out Kai.[13] On September 10, MLW announced that Exo would face Kai for the title during the TV taping portion of Fightland in a Taekwondo Rules match; a martial art Kai regularly practices and utilizes.[14]
Opera Cup
editFightland hosted both the semifinal and final matches of the 2024 Opera Cup tournament. On September 3, MLW officially announced the first semifinal between NJPW wrestlers Kenta (representing Bullet Club) and TJP (representing United Empire).[15] The following day, the second semifinal was made official between MLW World Middleweight Champion Místico (representing Cesar Duran's Azteca Lucha) and MLW National Openweight Champion Bad Dude Tito (representing Salina de la Renta's Promociones Dorado).[16] The winners of both matches would then meet in the finals later in the night.[17]
Reception
editThe live Fightland broadcast received mixed reviews, with the main criticism directed at its booking and several botched spots.[18][19]
Results
edit| No. | Results[23] | Stipulations | Times[24] | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kenta defeated TJP by pinfall | 2024 Opera Cup tournament semifinal match[15] | 10:23 | ||
| 2 | Místico defeated Bad Dude Tito by pinfall | 2024 Opera Cup tournament semifinal match[16] | 8:03 | ||
| 3 | Donovan Dijak (with Mister Saint Laurent) defeated Timothy Thatcher by pinfall | Singles match[20] | 8:16 | ||
| 4 | The Andersons (C. W. Anderson and Brock Anderson) defeated The Bomaye Fight Club (Alex Kane and Mr. Thomas) by pinfall | Tag team match[21] | 10:44 | ||
| 5 | Shigeo Okumura defeated Adam Priest by pinfall | Singles match[22] | 6:47 | ||
| 6 | Satoshi Kojima (c) defeated Mads Krule Krügger by disqualification | Singles match for the MLW World Heavyweight Championship[8] | 7:07 | ||
| 7 | Místico defeated Kenta by submission | 2024 Opera Cup tournament final[17] | 17:49 | ||
| |||||
| No. | Results | Stipulations | Times[28] | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Bobby Fish (with The Rogue Horsemen (Brett Ryan Gosselin, C. W. Anderson and Brock Anderson)) defeated Kevin Knight by pinfall | Singles match[5] | 4:33 | ||
| 2 | Janai Kai (c) defeated Delmi Exo by referee stoppage | Taekwondo Rules match for the MLW World Women's Featherweight Championship[14] | 4:07 | ||
| 3 | Matthew Justice (with Bill Alfonso) defeated Jesús Rodríguez by pinfall | Barrio Brawl[25] | 9:07 | ||
| 4 | Danny Stratos vs. Randall Royce ended in a no contest | Brazilian jiu-jitsu vs. Boxing match | 2:00 | ||
| 5 | Alex Kane (with Mr. Thomas) defeated Brett Ryan Gosselin by pinfall | Atlanta Street Fight | 8:19 | ||
| 6 | Ikuro Kwon defeated Akira by pinfall | Taipei Deathmatch[26] | 10:34 | ||
| 7 | Matt Riddle defeated Tom Lawlor (with Mister Saint Laurent) by referee stoppage | Vale Tudo Rules match for Riddle's MLW World Heavyweight Championship opportunity[27] | 8:06 | ||
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Opera Cup tournament brackets (2024)
edit| First round MLW Anniversary '24 (June 22) Blood & Thunder (July 12) Never Say Never (August 10) | Quarterfinals Summer of the Beasts (August 29) | Semifinals Fightland (September 14) | Final Fightland (September 14) | ||||||||||||
| Kenta | Pin | ||||||||||||||
| Bobby Fish | 17:11 | ||||||||||||||
| Kenta | Pin | ||||||||||||||
| Akira | 12:11 | ||||||||||||||
| Akira | Pin | ||||||||||||||
| Ikuro Kwon | 5:36 | ||||||||||||||
| Kenta | Pin | ||||||||||||||
| TJP | 10:23 | ||||||||||||||
| Timothy Thatcher | 12:36 | ||||||||||||||
| Davey Boy Smith Jr.1 | Pin | ||||||||||||||
| TJP1 | Pin | ||||||||||||||
| Tom Lawlor | 13:50 | ||||||||||||||
| Tom Lawlor | TKO | ||||||||||||||
| Jake Crist | 6:35 | ||||||||||||||
| Kenta | 17:49 | ||||||||||||||
| Místico | Sub | ||||||||||||||
| Místico | Pin | ||||||||||||||
| Magnus | 14:02 | ||||||||||||||
| Místico | Pin | ||||||||||||||
| Atlantis Jr. | 18:26 | ||||||||||||||
| Shigeo Okumura | 8:26 | ||||||||||||||
| Atlantis Jr. | Pin | ||||||||||||||
| Místico | Pin | ||||||||||||||
| Bad Dude Tito | 8:03 | ||||||||||||||
| Alex Kane | Pin | ||||||||||||||
| Mr. Thomas | 5:51 | ||||||||||||||
| Alex Kane | 8:15 | ||||||||||||||
| Bad Dude Tito | Pin | ||||||||||||||
| Bad Dude Tito | Pin | ||||||||||||||
| Danny Jones | 6:24 | ||||||||||||||
1 ^ Smith was forced to withdraw due to a knee injury, so as an alternate, TJP took his place.
References
edit- ^ "MLW Moving PPVs To YouTube For Paid Members". Fightful. June 1, 2024. Retrieved August 20, 2024.
- ^ Tessier, Colin (June 3, 2024). "MLW Fightland 2024 Announced For September 14 In Atlanta". Fightful. Retrieved August 21, 2024.
- ^ Lee, Joseph (June 3, 2024). "MLW Set To Return To Atlanta in September for Fightland". 411Mania. Retrieved August 21, 2024.
- ^ Grabianowski, Ed (13 January 2006). "How Pro Wrestling Works". HowStuffWorks. Discovery Communications. Archived from the original on November 29, 2013. Retrieved March 5, 2012.
- ^ a b "Bobby Fish vs. Kevin Knight in Atlanta Sept 14". Major League Wrestling. August 19, 2024. Retrieved August 21, 2024.
- ^ Tessier, Colin (March 29, 2024). "MLW War Chamber 2024 Results (3/29/24): Matt Riddle, War Chamber Match, More". Wrestlezone. Retrieved August 21, 2024.
- ^ Vetter, Chris (March 29, 2024). "MLW "War Chamber" results (3/29): Vetter's review of Satoshi Kojima, Matthew Justice, 1 Called Manders, and Okumura vs. Tom Lawlor, Davey Boy Smith Jr., Richard Holliday, and Josh Bishop in a War Chamber match". Pro Wrestling Dot Net. Retrieved August 21, 2024.
- ^ a b "World Title Fight signed for Atlanta Sept 14". Major League Wrestling. August 19, 2024. Retrieved August 21, 2024.
- ^ Vetter, Chris (August 29, 2024). "MLW "Summer of the Beasts" results (8/29): Vetter's review of Místico vs. Atlantis Jr., Kenta vs. Akira, Tom Lawlor vs. TJP, and Alex Kane vs. Tito Escondido in Opera Cup tournament quarterfinal matches". Pro Wrestling Dot Net. Retrieved August 30, 2024.
- ^ Ravens, Andrew (October 15, 2023). "MLW Slaughterhouse 2023 Results: Chamber Of Horrors, World Title Match". Wrestling Headlines. Retrieved September 10, 2024.
- ^ "Fury Road Recap: Battle Of The Lariats Between Kojima & 1 Called Manders". Major League Wrestling. May 19, 2024. Retrieved September 10, 2024.
- ^ Siino, John (June 2, 2024). "MLW Battle Riot VI: 40-Person Battle Riot, Kojima vs. Lawlor, Mark Henry". POST Wrestling. Retrieved June 2, 2024.
- ^ "Summer Of The Beasts Pt. 2 Recap: Fish Faces Off Against Thatcher". Major League Wrestling. September 7, 2024. Retrieved September 10, 2024.
- ^ a b "Taekwondo Rules match signed for Atlanta". Major League Wrestling. September 10, 2024. Retrieved September 10, 2024.
- ^ a b "KENTA vs. TJP at MLW Fightland in Atlanta Sept 14". Major League Wrestling. September 3, 2024. Retrieved September 3, 2024.
- ^ a b "Místico vs. Bad Dude Tito at FIGHTLAND in Atlanta". Major League Wrestling. September 4, 2024. Retrieved September 4, 2024.
- ^ a b "FIGHTLAND to Host Opera Cup Semi-Finals and Finals". Major League Wrestling. September 5, 2024. Retrieved September 5, 2024.
- ^ MLW Fightland Results_ Mistico Wins Opera Cup, JBL appears
- ^ MLW Fightland results (9_14): Vetter's review of Satoshi Kojima vs. Mads Krule Krugger, Donovan Dijak vs. Timothy Thatcher, Opera Cup semifinals and finals - Pro Wrestling Dot Net
- ^ "Dijak vs. Timothy Thatcher signed for Atlanta Sept 14". Major League Wrestling. September 6, 2024. Retrieved September 6, 2024.
- ^ "Andersons vs. Bomaye Fight Club Set for FIGHTLAND". Major League Wrestling. September 5, 2024. Retrieved September 5, 2024.
- ^ "Okumura vs. Adam Priest set for MLW FIGHTLAND in Atlanta". Major League Wrestling. September 7, 2024. Retrieved September 9, 2024.
- ^ DeFelice, Robert (September 14, 2024). "MLW Fightland Stream And Results (9/14): Satoshi Kojima vs. Mads Krule Krugger, Opera Cup Finals". Fightful.
- ^ Vetter, Chris (September 15, 2024). "MLW Fightland results (9/14): Vetter's review of Satoshi Kojima vs. Mads Krule Krugger, Donovan Dijak vs. Timothy Thatcher, Opera Cup semifinals and finals". Pro Wrestling Dot Net. Retrieved September 15, 2024.
- ^ "Barrio Brawl this Saturday in ATL". Major League Wrestling. September 12, 2024. Retrieved September 12, 2024.
- ^ "Taipei Death Match signed for Saturday in Atlanta". Major League Wrestling. September 11, 2024. Retrieved September 11, 2024.
- ^ "Matt Riddle vs. Tom Lawlor: Vale Tudo fight in Atlanta". Major League Wrestling. September 9, 2024. Retrieved September 9, 2024.
- ^ Vetter, Chris (September 26, 2024). "MLW "Pit Fighters" results (9/26): Vetter's review of Matt Riddle vs. Tom Lawlor in a No Holds Barred fight, Akira vs. Ikuro Kwon in a Taipei Death Match, Janai Kai vs. Delmi Exo for the MLW Featherweight Title". Pro Wrestling Dot Net. Retrieved September 27, 2024.