Biggest News and Takeaways From MLW’s Battle Riot V

With MLW Battle Riot V now completed, we’ll look back at the biggest stories and news coming out of this event. The event took place on April 8th at the 2300 Arena in Philadelphia.

*Review assisted by Randall Strapman*

Alex Hammerstone wrestles but does appear injured: After what appeared to be a legitimate injury at War Chamber, Hammerstone did appear at Battle Riot with his left leg wrapped.

Mr Thomas called out Alex Hammerstone for a match and Hammerstone answered the call. Hammerstone got the win easily in a quick match, as well as the Thrilla in Philly money.

Raven’s Calling comes out after the lights go dark and are standing at the ramp when Jacob Fatu and the Samoan SWAT Team attacks them. A brawl ensues as Hammerstone watches from ring, clearly hurt.

Another thing to note here is the crowd gave a huge reaction for Alex Kane. Kane looks as he’s about to turn face saying “BOMAYE is for the people!”

2 Big Heel Turns: We saw a heel turn for both Davey Boy Smith Jr & Mister Saint Laurent at Battle Riot!

The set up was started when Microman along with MSL came out to a nice ovation from the crowd. MSL makes a huge announcement, declaring it MICROMAN DAY in Philadelphia.

This was interrupted by Davey Boy Smith Jr who kicks Microman and then performs a running power slam! MSL & Smith Jr embrace each other and then throw Microman out of the ring. The 2 new heels have appeared to form a partnership which generated major heat from the fans.

Alex Kane wins Battle Riot as a Babyface: The biggest headline coming out of this event is Alex Kane winning the Battle Riot tournament, as he switches to Babyface.

Kane came out to a nice ovation from the crowd. He was the first entrant in the Riot. Alex Kane and Willie Mack would start off the match.

The final two left standing were Alex Kane as the new babyface and Davey Boy Smith Jr as the new heel. Kane taps out Smith Jr to win the Battle Riot!

Final Thoughts: With the crowd reactions to both Alex Kane and Davey Boy Smith Jr lately, it makes sense turning both of them. The fans have clearly been much more behind Kane than Smith in their recent feud.

It also appears Kane is being primed for a big push going forward for the rest of this year! It will be interesting to see where MLW goes with this and how it plays out. Especially if Alex Hammerstone is injured, which has still not been confirmed by MLW or Hammerstone himself.