MLW to crown Middleweight Champion at Battle Riot show
MLW will be crowning a Middleweight Champion at their Battle Riot show in Queens, New York next month.
The promotion announced today that Joey Ryan will face Maxwell J. Friedman (MJF) at the Melrose Ballroom on July 19 to decide the inaugural champion. This will be MLW’s third active title, joining their World Heavyweight and Tag Team Championships. Those are currently held by Shane Strickland and Pentagon Jr. & Fenix, respectively.
A two-hour special of the Battle Riot show will air on beIN Sports on July 27. It will be headlined by a 40-man, no disqualification Battle Riot match, where the rules are that a new participant enters every minute, and eliminations can occur via pinfall, submission, or being thrown over the top rope. The winner will receive a World Heavyweight title shot whenever they want it.
Twenty of the wrestlers for the Battle Riot match have now been announced, with Fenix as the most recent addition. Here’s the updated lineup:
- John Hennigan
- Pentagon Jr.
- ACH
- Kevin Sullivan
- Davey Boy Smith Jr.
- Teddy Hart
- Rich Swann
- Barrington Hughes
- Jake Hager
- Jimmy Yuta
- PCO
- Lance Anoa’i
- Swoggle
- Konnan
- Sami Callihan
- Joey Ryan
- Jason Cade
- Tom Lawlor
- Kotto Brazil
- Fenix
Joseph Currier is the lead editor of F4WOnline.com, directing daily news coverage and writing articles on professional wrestling. He is a graduate of the University of Massachusetts, obtaining a journalism degree in 2016. Joseph joined F4W during his time at UMass and has now been writing about the industry for nearly a decade.
In addition to his work with F4W, Joseph has previously contributed to Sports Illustrated's wrestling coverage. He lives in Massachusetts and is a diehard fan of the Boston sports teams and Liverpool Football Club.