MLW Underground results & video: A Court Bauer favorite

The Big Takeaways:

• Christopher Daniels picked up the win for his team in a superb six-man tag main event that featured an excellent Dick Togo, Ikuto Hidaka, Los Maximos, and Quiet Storm. 
• CW Anderson and Crowbar battled in a very solid match with Anderson picking up the win after a spinebuster on a steel chair.

Show Review:

We opened with Daniels cutting a promo backstage, flanked by his partners for the night, Ikuto Hidaka and Dick Togo. He said just when you think MLW can stack the deck against him, he pulls out an ace from the pack: The Far East Connection.

Joey Styles then welcomed us to the Manhattan Center in New York City as he ran down the card for the night. 

CW Anderson defeated Devon “Crowbar” Storm (7:52)

The ring announcer called him Devon Storm, his graphic named him Crowbar, and Styles told us he would be known by his given name Chris Ford. Whatever you choose to call him, the former WCW Hardcore, Cruiserweight and Tag Team champion looked the part here against the no-nonsense Anderson.

Crowbar, as I will call him due to another “Storm” appearing later in the night, suplexed Anderson out of a wristlock to end a smooth chain sequence in the early going. He then came off the second rope with a clothesline, hit a springboard middle rope crossbody followed by a “sky high” pop-up powerbomb and a slingshot somersault legdrop that only got a two count. A baseball slide dropkick through the ropes followed as Anderson tried to take a breather from the early onslaught.

Crowbar then sat Anderson on a chair at ringside before flattening both he and the chair with a pescado from the ring. After a short commercial break, Anderson waffled Storm in the top of the head with two unprotected chair shots. The referee grabbed the chair and stopped Anderson from going further which gave Crowbar the opening to get a shot in and fire up. Crowbar hit a belly-to-back suplex and a slingshot splash before a middle rope moonsault that got another close two count.

Anderson hit a desperation superkick out of nowhere to stop Crowbar in his tracks and went to use the chair again, but Crowbar caught him with a low blow before using the chair and hitting a northern lights suplex. Anderson still kicked out at two. Crowbar then lay the chair flat in the middle of the ring, but it was he who felt the full force of an Anderson spinebuster on the chair, taking him out of the game and giving the victory to the Extreme Horseman member.

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– We then caught up with Steve Corino, fresh off a loss to Terry Funk at the previously well-advertised May 9th match from Taboo in Orlando. He said he was overconfident, but is now angry and determined. He challenged Funk to bring Dusty Rhodes, Steve Williams or any legend on June 20th. It doesn’t matter to him, he wants a legend, and he is taking one out.

– Anderson and Simon Diamond told us they had predicted they would win the MLW tag titles many months ago. With only Steve Williams and PJ Friedman in their way, they will become the franchise of the tag division. They named the Rock’n’Roll Express, Midnight Express and the Andersons, but said they were the best tag team in history.

– Another tag team were up next:, the Samoan Island Tribe: Samu and Mana. They were very upbeat and shouted a lot about coming for the tag team titles. 

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Christopher Daniels, Dick Togo and Ikuto Hidaka defeated Los Maximos & Quiet Storm (22:34)

This was a great 20+ minute six-man tag featuring some action that wouldn’t look out of place on AEW Dynamite. The action was quick, heavy, and action packed throughout.

Togo was lightning quick, something I didn’t see in his late 90s WWF run. Daniels was excellent, as he was in 2003, and looked like a star and was treated as such by the New York crowd. For the few times we have seen them in recent weeks, the Maximos looked like a very underrated tag team that didn’t get the exposure they deserved, possibly breaking in just a year or two too late to have a proper mainstream run.

The Maximos locked on Maximo Impact (a pancake submission combination of a camel clutch and Boston crab) on Daniels and Togo while Storm locked in a cross armbreaker on Hidaka. Togo showed his worth for his team with a perfect tornado DDT and senton bomb off the top rope. It was then Daniels’ turn to showcase his athleticism with a springboard middle rope moonsault and an enzuigiri. Hidaka then launched himself in with a springboard somersault senton as the heels were in full control. Styles summed up my thoughts, saying “Dick Togo is just fantastic.”

As the match broke down at the 15-minute mark, Storm took out Daniels at ringside with a huge tope con hilo. This started a train of dives. Next was Togo with a baseball slide tornado DDT, then Jose Maximo assisted by his brother who then was low bridged out by Daniels who followed with an Arabian press. That left Hidaka to take everyone out.

Hidaka hit a German and smoothly transitioned into a cross knee breaker on Storm who quickly recovered to hit a Gory Special moments later. A northern lights suplex followed but Hidaka hit a spinning heel kick. Daniels and Joel Maximo came in next for a 100 mph sequence, culminating in a triple jump moonsault by Daniels but Jose broke up the pinfall for his brother. Jose hit a frog splash on Daniels and it was Togo’s turn to make the save. The former Kaientai member hit a powerslam and a reverse rolling snapmare but ate a german suplex and a sit-out powerbomb for a pair of close two counts.

Daniels and Togo hit a flapjack into an X-Factor, but the Maximos fought back and hit Togo with a top rope double Spanish fly with one of the Maximos crushing and probably breaking Togo’s ankle as he landed right on top of it on impact with the ring.

Joel then took out Togo while Hidaka took out Jose with dives to the outside, which left Daniels and Storm in the ring together. It was a look at the current day SCU veteran version as he caught Storm with a dragon sleeper into a rolling DDT to pick up the win. 

– We closed with Raven backstage saying that Vampiro has felt the Raven Effect for the first time, but probably not the last time. Vampiro will feel Raven’s pain and he will stop irritating him, aggravating him, tormenting him, and bothering him. If he has to, he will hit the Raven Effect again and again, and again, and again. “Quote the Raven nevermore.”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JnAiCbjVarU