War Chamber (2023)

War Chamber (2023)
Promotional poster of the event
Promotion	Major League Wrestling
Date	April 6, 2023 (aired April 18, 2023)
City	Queens, New York
Venue	Melrose Ballroom
Event chronology
← Previous Super Series Next → Battle Riot V
War Chamber chronology
← Previous 2021 Next → 2024

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.

The event was a television taping for MLW Underground Wrestling , with the main event airing as a special episode on April 18, 2023.

Production

Background

War Chamber is a professional wrestling supercard event produced by Major League Wrestling (MLW). The first War Chamber event was held on September 7, 2019, as replacement for MLW WarGames, which was discontinued after WWE acquired the rights to the name of the namesake WarGames match. ^[1] On December 2, 2022, MLW announced that War Chamber will take place on April 6, 2023, from the Melrose Ballroom in Queens, New York. ^{[2] [3]}

Storylines

The card consisted of matches that result from scripted storylines, where wrestlers portray 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 main show, MLW Underground Wrestling , as well as MLW's social media platforms. ^[4]

Through MLW's "Open Door Policy" several free agents would be signed to compete at the event. Names include former Ring of Honor (ROH) star Mandy León ^[5] and Japanese wrestler Shigehiro Irie. ^[6]

War Chamber

For the past several weeks, various members of the MLW roster would be mysteriously assaulted in the backstage area, with the only sign of the attacker(s) being a calling card with the initials "AO." On the February 28 episode of MLW Underground Wrestling, the mysterious attackers would make their first in-person appearance, attacking Lince Dorado, Microman, and Mister Saint Laurent. ^[7] The following week, a video package aired revealing the identities of the attackers, who would be dubbed "The Calling:" Raven, Rickey Shane Page and Akira. ^[8] On the March 21 Underground Wrestling, after MLW World Heavyweight Champion Alexander Hammerstone successfully defended his title against Jacob Fatu, he would be ambushed by The Calling, which featured many more masked henchmen. Later that night, while the Second Gear Crew (Mance Warner, Matthew Justice, and 1 Called Manders) were having an interview on the entrance ramp, the Calling's video feed would briefly interrupt them. ^[9] The week after that, Hammerstone would meet with the Second Gear Crew in a bar, recruiting them to help him battle the Calling (Raven, Page, Akira, and Dr. Cornwallus) in a War Chamber match. ^[10]

Opera Cup

Main article: Opera Cup (2023)

On March 23, MLW announced on their website that the Opera Cup tournament would return, with the first round taking place at War Chamber. ^[11] On March 24, MLW announced that former ROH World Television Champions Tony Deppen and Tracy Williams would face off in the first round of the tournament. ^[12] The next day, the previously announced match between Davey Boy Smith Jr. and Calvin Tankman was promoted to an Opera Cup first round match. ^[13]

Results

No.	Results [14]	Stipulations	Times
1	Akira (with Raven) defeated Lince Dorado (c) and Lio Rush	Three-way match for the MLW World Middleweight Championship [15]	6:11
2	The Samoan SWAT Team (Lance Anoa'i and Juicy Finau) (c) (with Jacob Fatu) defeated The FBI (Little Guido and Ray Jaz) and The Mane Event (Jay Lyons and Midas Black)	Three-way tag team match for the MLW World Tag Team Championship [16]	5:48
3	Ken Broadway defeated TJ Crawford	Singles match [17]	6:00
4	Davey Boy Smith Jr. defeated Calvin Tankman	2023 Opera Cup Tournament First Round match [13]	10:29
5	Delmi Exo defeated Taya Valkyrie (c) (with John Hennigan)	Singles match for the MLW World Women's Featherweight Championship [18]	8:43
6	Sam Adonis (with John Hennigan) defeated Willie Mack	Singles match [19]	5:38
7	Billie Starkz defeated B3cca	Singles match [20]	8:38
8	Jacob Fatu defeated John Hennigan (c) (with Taya Valkyrie)	Singles match for the MLW National Openweight Championship [21]	14:13
9	Mandy León (with Raven) defeated Clara Carreras	Singles match [22]	4:21
10	Alex Kane (with Mr. Thomas) defeated Shigehiro Irie	Singles match [6]	7:16
11	Tracy Williams defeated Tony Deppen	2023 Opera Cup Tournament First Round match [12]	11:42
12	Microman (with Mister Saint Laurent) defeated The Beastman (with Kim Chee)	Singles match [23]	2:23
13	The Calling (Rickey Shane Page, Delirious, Akira, and Dr. Cornwallus) (with Raven) defeated Alexander Hammerstone and The Second Gear Crew (Mance Warner, Matthew Justice, and 1 Called Manders)	War Chamber match [10]	27:30
(c)  – the champion(s) heading into the match

References

1. Mike Johnson (February 15, 2019). "WWE ACQUIRES RIGHTS, TRADEMARK TO WARGAMES FROM MLW". Pro Wrestling Insider. Retrieved 3 December 2019.
2. "NYC to host War Chamber April 6". Major League Wrestling. December 2, 2022. Archived from the original on June 19, 2022. Retrieved December 23, 2022.
3. Russell, Skyler (December 2, 2022). "MLW Returning To New York City In April 2023 For War Chamber Event". Fightful. Archived from the original on June 19, 2022. Retrieved December 23, 2022.
4. Grabianowski, Ed (13 January 2006). "How Pro Wrestling Works". HowStuffWorks. Discovery Communications. Archived from the original on November 29, 2013. Retrieved March 5, 2012.
5. "Mandy León debuts April 6 in NYC". Major League Wrestling. March 5, 2023. Archived from the original on June 19, 2022. Retrieved March 5, 2023.
6. "Kane vs. Shigehiro Irie signed for April 6 NYC". Major League Wrestling. March 9, 2023. Archived from the original on June 19, 2022. Retrieved March 9, 2023.
7. "Underground Recap: Hennigan Hunts Davey Richards For National Openweight Gold". Major League Wrestling. February 28, 2023. Archived from the original on June 19, 2022. Retrieved March 29, 2023.
8. "Calling Card Attackers finally REVEALED". Major League Wrestling. March 8, 2023. Archived from the original on June 19, 2022. Retrieved March 29, 2023.
9. "Underground Recap: Alex Hammerstone vs. Jacob Fatu 2, Billie Starkz Battles Taya Valkyrie". Major League Wrestling. March 21, 2023. Archived from the original on June 19, 2022. Retrieved March 29, 2023.
10. "War Chamber match signed for NYC". Major League Wrestling. March 28, 2023. Archived from the original on June 19, 2022. Retrieved March 29, 2023.
11. "Opera Cup kicks off in NYC April 6". Major League Wrestling. March 23, 2023. Archived from the original on June 19, 2022. Retrieved March 23, 2023.
12. "Tracy Williams vs Tony Deppen NYC April 6". Major League Wrestling. March 24, 2023. Archived from the original on June 19, 2022. Retrieved March 24, 2023.
13. "DBS vs Tankman now Opera Cup stage 1 bout". Major League Wrestling. March 25, 2023. Archived from the original on June 19, 2022. Retrieved March 25, 2023.
14. Oliver, Iain (April 19, 2023). "MLW Underground results: War Chamber". f4wonline.com. Retrieved May 31, 2024.
15. "Lio Rush vs. Lince Dorado signed for NYC April 6". Major League Wrestling. March 15, 2023. Archived from the original on June 19, 2022. Retrieved March 15, 2023.
16. "SST vs FBI vs Mane Event signed for Thurs in NYC". Major League Wrestling. March 31, 2023. Archived from the original on June 19, 2022. Retrieved March 31, 2023.
17. "SST vs FBI vs Mane Event signed for Thurs in NYC". Major League Wrestling. April 4, 2023. Archived from the original on June 19, 2022. Retrieved April 4, 2023.
18. "Taya Valkyrie vs. Delmi Exo signed for April 6 in NYC". Major League Wrestling. March 3, 2023. Archived from the original on June 19, 2022. Retrieved March 3, 2023.
19. "Willie Mack vs. Sam Adonis signed for Thursday NYC return". Major League Wrestling. April 3, 2023. Archived from the original on June 19, 2022. Retrieved April 3, 2023.
20. "Billie Starkz vs B3CCA signed for NYC April 6". Major League Wrestling. March 13, 2023. Archived from the original on June 19, 2022. Retrieved March 13, 2023.
21. "John Hennigan vs. Fatu title fight signed for 4/6 NYC". Major League Wrestling. March 5, 2023. Archived from the original on June 19, 2022. Retrieved March 5, 2023.
22. "Mandy León vs. Clara Carreras April 6 in NYC". Major League Wrestling. March 20, 2023. Archived from the original on June 19, 2022. Retrieved March 20, 2023.
23. "BEASTMAN vs. Microman in NYC April 6". Major League Wrestling. March 28, 2023. Archived from the original on June 19, 2022. Retrieved March 28, 2023.