Production
Background
In July 2017, Major League Wrestling 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 beIN Sports for a new program, MLW Fusion , which debuted on April 20, 2018. [5] [6]
On August 27, 2018, MLW owner Court Bauer announced that MLW would be hosting an event at the Melrose Ballroom in Queens, New York City, New York, which would also be a television taping for Fusion on April 4, 2019. [7] On October 5, MLW.com announced that a second card had been added to the April 4 television taping for April 5, which would be Battle Riot II. [8] On January 15, it was announced that the April 4 event would be titled "Rise of the Renegades", marking the return of the event since 2003 and also being the second event in the chronology. [9]
Storylines
The card consisted of matches that resulted from scripted storylines, where wrestlers portrayed 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 program Fusion . [10]
On December 14, it was announced that L. A. Park and the newly debuted Rush would compete in the main event of Rise of the Renegades. [11] However, Rush signed a contract with Ring of Honor in 2019 and was pulled out of the event by ROH. [12] Pentagon Jr. was named Rush's replacement, thus setting up a rematch between Park and Pentagon, as the two had competed in a match on the October 5 episode of Fusion, which was named the Match of the Year by MLW. [9] [13] The duo had also competed against each other in opposing teams on the November 30 episode of Fusion where Lucha Brothers (Pentagon Jr. and Rey Fénix) successfully defended the World Tag Team Championship against Los Parks (L. A. Park and El Hijo de L.A. Park). [14]
On the July 20, 2018 episode of Fusion, Jimmy Havoc defeated Tom Lawlor in an Anything Goes match. [15] Havoc took a hiatus from MLW in October until it was announced on February 25 that he would return to MLW at Rise of the Renegades. [16] It was teased that Havoc wanted a title shot against Lawlor due to being the last person to have beaten him thus far. [17] On March 5, it was announced that Havoc would receive a title shot against Lawlor for the World Heavyweight Championship in a New York City Street Fight at Rise of the Renegades. [18]
On the February 16 episode of Fusion, Teddy Hart successfully defended the World Middleweight Championship against Maxwell Jacob Friedman. [19] Friedman then attacked Hart during a post-match interview along with his new teammate Richard Holliday, thus forming a new team called The Dynasty and began feuding with The Hart Foundation. [20] MJF took exception to Hart Foundation member Brian Pillman Jr. being awarded the 2018 Rookie of the Year by MLW management, which led to a match between the two at Rise of the Renegades. [21] On the March 16 episode of Fusion, Alexander Hammerstone attacked Hart Foundation during their World Tag Team Championship title defense against Dynasty, which led to Hammerstone joining Dynasty. [22] On March 18, MLW.com announced that Hart Foundation and Dynasty would compete in a six-man Tables match at Rise of the Renegades. [23]
On March 7, it was announced that Sami Callihan would return to MLW to take on Mance Warner at Rise of the Renegades. [24]
On March 13, MLW.com announced that Minoru Tanaka would make his MLW debut against Daga at Rise of the Renegades as part of a talent exchange partnership between MLW and Pro Wrestling Noah. [25]
On March 14, a middleweight match was announced between El Hijo de L.A. Park and Gringo Loco to take place at Rise of the Renegades. [26]
On the December 28 episode of Fusion, Ace Romero became the first wrestler to defeat Simon Gotch in the $20,000 Simon Gotch Prize Fight Challenge. [27] This led to a brief feud between the two as they competed in a rematch on the March 9 episode of Fusion, where Gotch was disqualified after his Contra Unit teammates Jacob Fatu and Josef Samael attacked Romero. [28] On March 19, it was announced that Romero would take on Samael at Rise of the Renegades. [29] Contra's attack on Romero led to his friend Barrington Hughes challenging Contra member Jacob Fatu to a match, which was made official by MLW on April 1. [30]
On March 21, it was announced that Rey Horus would take on Ace Austin in a middleweight match at Rise of the Renegades. [31] The next day, another middleweight match was made for Rise of the Renegades between Rey Fénix and Air Wolf. [32]
