MLW Never Say Never (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- ...
event
Event may refer to:
Gatherings of people
* Ceremony, an event of ritual significance, performed on a special occasion
* Convention (meeting), a gathering of individuals engaged in some common interest
* Event management, the organization of eve ...
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) that took place on July 8, 2023, at the
2300 Arena in
Philadelphia
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 ...
,
Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania, officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a U.S. state, state spanning the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern United States, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes region, Great Lakes regions o ...
. It was the fifth event under the
Never Say Never chronology, MLW's first event to be aired live since 2019, and their first live special produced for
FITE+ subscribers.
In addition to the live broadcast, eleven of the matches on the card were taped for future episodes of ''
MLW Fusion''.
Production
Background
Never Say Never is 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
Event may refer to:
Gatherings of people
* Ceremony, an event of ritual significance, performed on a special occasion
* Convention (meeting), a gathering of individuals engaged in some common interest
* Event management, the organization of eve ...
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) that was first held in 2017 as a television taping for MLW's weekly program, ''
Fusion''.
On the May 2, 2023 episode of ''
MLW Underground Wrestling'', it was announced that the 2023 edition of Never Say Never would take place on July 8, 2023, at the
2300 Arena in
Philadelphia
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 ...
,
Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania, officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a U.S. state, state spanning the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern United States, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes region, Great Lakes regions o ...
.
Also on May 2, 2023, a new partnership between MLW and
FITE was announced, in-which MLW would produce live events for FITE+ subscribers. Never Say Never would be the first event to air as part of this agreement. It will be MLW's first live broadcast since the 2019
Saturday Night SuperFight pay-per-view
Pay-per-view (PPV) is a type of pay television or webcast service that enables a viewer to pay to watch individual events via private telecast.
Events can be purchased through a multichannel television platform using their electronic program ...
event, which was also carried on FITE, and the first to air live.
Storylines
The card will consist of matches that resulted from scripted storylines, where wrestlers portray
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, 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 television programs, ''
Underground Wrestling'' and ''
Fusion'', and the league's social media platforms.
As a part of MLW's "Open Door Policy," several free agents are scheduled to appear at the event. This includes former
WWE
World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) is an American professional wrestling promotion. It is owned and operated by TKO Group Holdings, a majority-owned subsidiary of Endeavor Group Holdings. A global integrated media and entertainment company, ...
wrestler
Gene Snisky,
independent wrestler Ichiban, and the MLW return of
Timothy Thatcher. Additionally, on June 30, MLW announced the return of the
MLW Open Draft, with the first two rounds taking place at Never Say Never.
At
Battle Riot V,
Alex Kane won the
titular match to earn a guaranteed match for the
MLW World Heavyweight Championship
The MLW World Heavyweight Championship is a world heavyweight championship owned and promoted by Major League Wrestling (MLW). It is the promotion's principal championship. The championship was established on June 15, 2002 at the Genesis and was ...
.
A few weeks later on the May 2 season finale of ''Underground Wrestling'', it was announced that Kane would challenge champion
Alexander Hammerstone for the title at Never Say Never.
Since Battle Riot V,
The Samoan SWAT Team (
Jacob Fatu
Jacob Fatu (born April 18, 1992) is an American professional wrestler. He is signed to WWE, where he performs on the SmackDown (WWE brand), SmackDown brand and is the WWE United States Champion in his List of WWE United States Champions, first re ...
,
Lance Anoa'i, and Juicy Finau) began feuding with
The Calling (
Raven
A raven is any of several large-bodied passerine bird species in the genus '' Corvus''. These species do not form a single taxonomic group within the genus. There is no consistent distinction between crows and ravens; the two names are assigne ...
,
Rickey Shane Page, and
Akira), when Fatu eliminated every member of the Calling before he and Page eliminated each other. The two would continue brawling with each other in the back and by the entranceway.
On the May 2 episode of ''Underground Wrestling'', The Calling would attack Fatu as he made his entrance, putting Fatu out of action for some time. On June 1, MLW announced that Anoa'i and Fatu will defend their
MLW World Tag Team Championship against Page and Akira of the Calling in a
Fans Bring the Weapons match.
On June 14, MLW announced that B3cca would have a live concert at Never Say Never.
On June 20,
wXw Women's Champion Ava Everett called out
MLW World Women's Featherweight Champion Delmi Exo to a
title vs. title match in the future. Two days later, MLW announced on their website that Exo and Everett will face off at Never Say Never, with both titles on the line.
On the June 15 episode of ''Fusion'', after
Sam Adonis
Samuel Elias Polinsky (born August 9, 1989) is an American professional wrestler and promoter, performing on the independent circuit and for Lucha Libre AAA Worldwide (AAA) under the ring name Sam Adonis. Adonis formerly worked in Mexico's (CMLL ...
had won his match,
Mance Warner was having an interview on the entrance ramp. Adonis, not fond of his celebration being cut by a live interview, tried demeaning Warner by bringing up their past history in the Battle Riot, to which he was met with beer spat in his face by Warner. From there, Adonis' partner
John Hennigan jumped Warner from behind, dragging him into the ring while Adonis went backstage. Adonis would later emerge with a leather strap, using one of the looped ends to choke Warner across the top rope. Two weeks later, Adonis would defeat Warner in a
Country Strap match. Later in the show, a furious Warner challenged Adonis to a "Country Whipping Match," where both men would be armed with leather straps that they can use to whip their opponent with. Adonis accepted the challenge, and the match was made official for Never Say Never.
The Second Gear Crew (Mance Warner,
Matthew Justice, and 1 Called Manders) also found themselves feuding with The Calling, stemming from when the latter beat the former and Alex Hammerstone at
War Chamber.
Additionally, Justice was supposed to take part in the Battle Riot, but an attack by The Calling forced Manders to take his place.
As a result, MLW announced that The Second Gear Crew (Justice and Manders) will face The Calling's
Delirious
Delirious may refer to:
* A state of delirium
Film and television
* ''Delirious'' (1991 film), an American comedy directed by Tom Mankiewicz, starring John Candy
* ''Delirious'' (2006 film), an American comedy-drama directed by Tom DiCillo, sta ...
and Dr. Cornwallis in a tag team match on July 8.
Results
References
External links
{{MLWPPV, Never Say Never
Major League Wrestling shows
2023 in professional wrestling
July 2023 in the United States
Professional wrestling shows in Philadelphia