Blood and Thunder (2023) was a

professional wrestling Professional wrestling, often shortened to either pro wrestling or wrestling,The term "wrestling" is most often widely used to specifically refer to modern scripted professional wrestling, though it is also used to refer to Real life, real- ...

supercard event produced by

Major League Wrestling Major League Wrestling (MLW) is an American professional wrestling promotion based in New Rochelle, New York. The promotion was founded in 2002 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, by former WWE writer Court Bauer. The promotion markets its product as ...

(MLW), which took place on January 7, 2023 at the

2300 Arena 2300 Arena is a multipurpose indoor arena in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, used primarily for professional wrestling, boxing, mixed martial arts, and concert events. Originally known as Viking Hall, the venue has since been named XPW Arena, New A ...

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

. It was the third event under the

MLW Blood and Thunder Blood and Thunder is a professional wrestling supercard event produced by Major League Wrestling Major League Wrestling (MLW) is an American professional wrestling promotion based in New Rochelle, New York. The promotion was founded in 2002 in ...

chronology, and also featured wrestlers from the Dragon Gate promotion. Originally a television taping for '' MLW Fusion'', matches and segments from the event would also air on the promotion's new flagship series, '' MLW Underground Wrestling'', which premiered on February 7, 2023.

Production

Background

On November 2, 2022, MLW announced that Blood and Thunder took place on January 7, 2023 at the 2300 Arena in Philadelphia.

Storylines

The supercard consists of matches that result from scripted storylines, where wrestlers portrayed

villains A villain (also known as a " black hat", "bad guy" or "baddy"; The New Oxford Dictionary of English (1998) – p.126 "baddy (also baddie) noun (pl. -ies) ''informal'' a villain or criminal in a book, film, etc.". the feminine form is villai ...

heroes Heroes or Héroes may refer to: * Hero, one who displays courage and self-sacrifice for the greater good Film * ''Heroes'' (1977 film), an American drama * ''Heroes'' (2008 film), an Indian Hindi film Gaming * ''Heroes of Might and Magic'' ...

, 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 are played out on MLW's weekly series, '' Fusion'' and '' Azteca'', as well as the league's social media platforms. Through MLW's "Open Door Policy", several free agents have been signed on for the event. This includes

Game Changer Wrestling Game Changer Wrestling (GCW), formerly known as Jersey Championship Wrestling (JCW), is an American Independent circuit, independent professional wrestling professional wrestling promotion, promotion based in New Jersey. The promotion was original ...

mainstays Billie Starkz and Rickey Shane Page, as well as the MLW return of Johnny Fusion (formerly known by his real name of John Hennigan). Several names from MLW's partner Dragon Gate will also be featured, including

Ben-K is a Japanese professional wrestler currently signed to Dragon Gate under the ring name Ben-K. Professional wrestling career Dragon Gate Debut and early career (2016–2017) Nakamura attended both Chiba Prefectural High School and Yamanashi ...

, La Estrella, and

Yamato was originally the area around today's Sakurai, Nara, Sakurai City in Nara Prefecture of Japan, which became Yamato Province and by extension a Names of Japan, name for the whole of Japan. Yamato is also the dynastic name of the ruling Imperial ...

. On the January 13, 2022 episode of ''MLW Azteca'', 2021 Opera Cup winner

Davey Richards Wesley David Richards (born March 1, 1983), best known under the ring name Davey Richards, is a retired American Professional wrestling, professional wrestler. Best known for his time in Impact Wrestling, TNA Wrestling and Ring of Honor, and for ...

was found to be attacked, with the Opera Cup Trophy haven been stolen from his possession. For much of the year, speculation rose about who stole the trophy. At

Fightland Fightland is a website covering mixed martial arts (MMA). Launched in September 2012, it is part of Vice Media, Inc. network channels. Vice Media states that ''Fightland'' is a joint venture with the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). ''The ...

, 2019 Opera Cup winner Davey Boy Smith Jr. - making his return to MLW after nearly two years - teamed with his cousins

The Billington Bulldogs The Billington Bulldogs are a British professional wrestling tag team consisting of real-life brothers Mark Billington and Tommy Billington, Thomas Billington, the nephews of Dynamite Kid, one-half of the tag team the British Bulldogs. They are cu ...

(

Thomas Thomas may refer to: People * List of people with given name Thomas * Thomas (name) * Thomas (surname) * Saint Thomas (disambiguation) * Thomas Aquinas (1225–1274) Italian Dominican friar, philosopher, and Doctor of the Church * Thomas the A ...

and Mark Billington) to defeat The Bomaye Fight Club (

Alex Kane Alex Kane (born October 21, 1993) is an American professional wrestler, currently signed to Major League Wrestling where he is a former MLW World Heavyweight Champion and a former MLW National Openweight Champion. Professional wrestling care ...

, Myron Reed, and Mr. Thomas). After the match, Smith cut a promo accusing Kane of having stolen the Opera Cup Trophy, while promising to make Kane submit the next time they wrestle. That was proven true when it was revealed that Kane now possessed the trophy on the December 2 episode of ''Fusion''. The trophy, now with visible damage, had been renamed the "Bomaye Cup of the Gods" by Kane; and stated that even if MLW were to hold the Opera Cup tournament again, he would still keep the trophy. On December 14, MLW announced on their website that Kane and Smith will face each other at Blood and Thunder. Additionally, MLW announced on December 27 that The Billington Bulldogs will face The BFC's Reed and Thomas in a tag team match.

Results

References

{{MLWPPV, Blood and Thunder 2023 in Philadelphia 2023 in professional wrestling Major League Wrestling shows January 2023 sports events in the United States Professional wrestling shows in Philadelphia