MLW Opera Cup

Last updated
Opera Cup
Promotions Major League Wrestling
First event 2019

The Opera Cup tournament is a professional wrestling single-elimination tournament held by Major League Wrestling (MLW). The event is a revival of the Professional Wrestling Opera House Cup, which had been last held in 1948. MLW hosted their first edition in 2019 and it has since become a recurring event for the promotion.

Contents

History

Opera House Cup was annually held as a professional wrestling tournament for nearly fifty years in various cities in the United States until 1948, when Stu Hart won the tournament and it was discontinued. Hart kept the possession of the Opera Cup trophy since then.

On July 21, 2019, Major League Wrestling announced that it would be holding an event on December 5 at the Melrose Ballroom in Queens, New York City, New York which would be a set of television tapings for MLW Fusion . [1] On July 24, it was reported that Stu Hart's grandson and MLW wrestler Teddy Hart would be donating an inherited "family heirloom" to MLW. [2] On July 30, MLW.com announced that the family heirloom was Stu Hart's Opera Cup trophy and MLW would be bringing back the Opera Cup tournament on the December 5 supercard. [3]

List of winners

YearWinnerTimes wonFinals dateRunner-upVenueLocation
2019 Davey Boy Smith Jr. 1December 5, 2019 Brian Pillman Jr. Melrose Ballroom Queens, New York, New York
2020 Tom Lawlor 1December 23, 2020 Low Ki GILT Nightclub Orlando, Florida
2021 Davey Richards 1November 6, 2021 TJP 2300 Arena Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
2023 Davey Boy Smith Jr. 2April 8, 2023 Tracy Williams 2300 Arena Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
2024 Mistico 1September 14, 2024 Kenta Center Stage Atlanta, Georgia

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Teddy Hart</span> Canadian professional wrestler

Edward Ellsworth Annis is a Canadian-American professional wrestler, better known by his ring name Teddy Hart. He currently wrestles on the independent circuit. He wrestled on a National scale for Major League Wrestling (MLW) as the leader of The Hart Foundation, where he held the MLW World Middleweight and MLW Tag Team championships. He has also wrestled for AAA, the short-lived Wrestling Society X, Jersey All Pro Wrestling, and Dragon Gate USA. He operates a wrestling school in Edmonton. He is the son of Georgia Hart of the Hart wrestling family and wrestler B. J. Annis. He is also the nephew of former professional wrestlers, Bret Hart and Owen Hart. Hart achieved an early degree of fame when he became the youngest wrestler to be signed to the World Wrestling Federation. His subsequent release, controversial actions while wrestling on the independent circuit and various legal problems have earned him a measure of infamy.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">MLW World Middleweight Championship</span> Professional wrestling 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 middleweight division by wrestlers at a maximum weight of 205 lb (93 kg). The current champion is Místico, who is in his first reign as champion.

New Era Hart Foundation was a professional wrestling stable in Major League Wrestling, consisting of Teddy Hart, Davey Boy Smith Jr. and Brian Pillman Jr. The group was the latest incarnation of the Hart Foundation which was formed by MLW in 2018. The trio enjoyed success as they are former one-time World Tag Team Champions within the promotion, defending the title under the Freebird rule. In addition, Teddy Hart is a one-time World Middleweight Champion as part of the group. Hart was released by MLW on December 6, 2019 and Smith left the promotion on December 2, 2020, thus ending the group.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">MLW Saturday Night SuperFight</span> 2019 Major League Wrestling pay-per-view event

Saturday Night SuperFight was a professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) event produced by the Major League Wrestling (MLW) promotion, which took place at the Cicero Stadium in Cicero, Illinois on November 2, 2019. It was MLW's first pay-per-view event and the second event under the Superfight chronology. The event aired live on traditional PPV outlets and FITE TV. It would be the last MLW event to be broadcast live until Never Say Never in 2023, and their last event to take place at Cicero Stadium until Azteca Lucha in 2024.

Battle Riot was a professional wrestling event produced by Major League Wrestling (MLW) that took place on July 19, 2018 at the Melrose Ballroom in New York, New York. The event aired as a special episode of MLW's television program, Fusion, on July 27 on beIN Sports. It was the first event under the Battle Riot chronology.

SuperFight (2019) was a professional wrestling event produced by Major League Wrestling (MLW). It took place on February 2, 2019, at the 2300 Arena in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The event aired live on television as a two-hour special episode of Fusion on beIN Sports, and it was the first event under the SuperFight chronology.

Rise of the Renegades (2019) was a professional wrestling supercard event produced by Major League Wrestling (MLW), which took place on April 4, 2019, at the Melrose Ballroom in Queens, New York City, New York. The event was a television taping for MLW Fusion, with Battle Riot II airing as a live Fusion special the following day. It was the second event under the Rise of the Renegades chronology and the first to be held since 2003.

Fury Road (2019) was a supercard event produced by Major League Wrestling (MLW), which took place on June 1, 2019 at the Waukesha County Expo Center in Waukesha, Wisconsin. The event aired as a live special episode of MLW's television program, Fusion, on beIN Sports. It was the second event under the Fury Road chronology.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Dynasty (professional wrestling)</span> Professional wrestling stable

The Dynasty was a professional wrestling faction in Major League Wrestling (MLW), which consisted of Alexander Hammerstone, Grogan, Gino Medina, Maxwell Jacob Friedman and Richard Holliday. It was originally formed as an alliance between MJF, Hammerstone and Holliday and slowly expanded to include MJF's valet Aria Blake, Gino Medina and Grogan. The group enjoyed championship success as Hammerstone held the World Heavyweight Championship and was the inaugural National Openweight Champion. Holliday was a former IWA Caribbean Heavyweight Champion while MJF and Holliday also won the World Tag Team Championship.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Opera Cup (2019)</span> Professional wrestling event

Opera Cup (2019) was a professional wrestling supercard event produced by Major League Wrestling (MLW), which took place on December 5, 2019 at the Melrose Ballroom in Queens, New York City, New York. The event was a set of television tapings for Fusion featuring the inaugural namesake Opera Cup single-elimination tournament.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Opera Cup (2020)</span> 2020 Major League Wrestling tournament

Opera Cup (2020) was a professional wrestling tournament produced by Major League Wrestling (MLW), which took place at the GILT Nightclub in Orlando, Florida. It was the second edition of the MLW Opera Cup. The event was featured in episodes of Fusion that aired between November 25 and December 23, 2020 on Fubo Sports Network and MLW's YouTube channel.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Richard Holliday</span> American professional wrestler

Joe Zimbardi is an American professional wrestler currently signed to Major League Wrestling, where he performs under the ring name Richard Holliday and is a former one-time MLW World Tag Team Champion. Holliday also makes appearances on the independent circuit. He is a former one-time IWA World Heavyweight Champion and one-time IWA Caribbean Heavyweight Champion.

Never Say Never (2019) was a professional wrestling event produced by Major League Wrestling (MLW), which took place on July 25, 2019, at the Melrose Ballroom in New York City, New York. The event was a television taping for future episodes of Fusion on beIN Sports. It was the third event in the Never Say Never chronology.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Opera Cup (2021)</span> 2021 Major League Wrestling tournament

Opera Cup (2021) was the third Opera Cup professional wrestling tournament produced by Major League Wrestling (MLW). The first two rounds were held at Fightland on October 2, 2021, while the finals took place at War Chamber on November 6, 2021.

War Chamber (2021) was a professional wrestling supercard event produced by Major League Wrestling (MLW), which took place on November 6, 2021, at the 2300 Arena in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It was the second event under the War Chamber chronology, and featured the finals of the 2021 Opera Cup.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">War Chamber (2023)</span> Major League Wrestling event

War Chamber (2023) was a professional wrestling supercard event produced by Major League Wrestling (MLW), which took place on April 6, 2023, at the Melrose Ballroom in Queens, New York. It was the third event under the War Chamber chronology, and featured the opening of the 2023 Opera Cup.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Opera Cup (2023)</span> 2023 Major League Wrestling tournament

Opera Cup (2023) was the fourth Opera Cup professional wrestling tournament produced by Major League Wrestling (MLW). The first two rounds were held at War Chamber on April 6, 2023, while the finals took place at Battle Riot V on April 8, 2023. These matches aired on later episodes of Fusion.

Opera Cup (2024) was the fifth Opera Cup professional wrestling tournament produced by Major League Wrestling (MLW). The first round started at Battle Riot VI on June 1, 2024; the matches would air on tape delay as part of the "MLW Anniversary '24" special on June 22. The first round continued on July 12 at Blood & Thunder as well as the "Never Say Never" special which aired on August 10. The quarterfinals were held on August 29 at Summer of the Beasts, and the semifinals and final were held on September 14 at Fightland.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">MLW Summer of the Beasts</span> 2024 Major League Wrestling event

Summer of the Beasts was a professional wrestling event produced by Major League Wrestling (MLW) that took place on August 29, 2024, at the Melrose Ballroom in Queens, New York. The event streamed live on MLW's YouTube channel. A "surprise" streaming special called "Summer of the Beasts: Part 2", featuring unseen dark matches from the event, and the Bobby Fish vs Timothy Thatcher match that was cut from the live broadcast due to technical issues, would be uploaded to YouTube on September 7.

References

  1. "MLW SETS RETURN TO NYC LATER THIS YEAR". Major League Wrestling. July 21, 2019.
  2. "TEDDY HART DONATES FAMILY HEIRLOOM TO MLW". Major League Wrestling. July 24, 2019.
  3. "NYC TO HOST FIRST OPERA CUP IN OVER 70 YEARS". Major League Wrestling. July 30, 2019.