| Opera Cup (2019) | |||
|---|---|---|---|
 2019 winner Davey Boy Smith Jr. | |||
| Promotion | Major League Wrestling | ||
| Date | December 5, 2019 | ||
| City | Queens, New York City, New York | ||
| Venue | Melrose Ballroom | ||
| Event chronology | |||
| |||
| Opera Cup chronology | |||
| |||
Opera Cup (2019) was a professional wrestling supercard event produced by Major League Wrestling (MLW), which took place on December 5, 2019 at the Melrose Ballroom in Queens, New York City, New York. The event was a set of television tapings for Fusion featuring the inaugural namesake Opera Cup single-elimination tournament.[1]
The main event was the final round of the Opera Cup tournament between Davey Boy Smith Jr. and Brian Pillman Jr., which Smith won. In other prominent matches on the undercard, Myron Reed successfully defended the World Middleweight Championship against El Lindaman, Jimmy Havoc defeated Mance Warner in a Prince of Darkness match, Gino Medina defeated Savio Vega in a New York City Street Fight and Contra Unit defeated Strong Hearts.[2][3]
Production
Background
Opera House Cup was annually held as a professional wrestling tournament for nearly fifty years in various cities in the United States until 1948, when Stu Hart won the tournament and it was discontinued. Hart kept the possession of the Opera Cup trophy since then. On July 21, 2019, Major League Wrestling announced that it would be holding an event on December 5 at the Melrose Ballroom in Queens, New York City, New York which would be a set of television tapings of MLW's television program Fusion.[4] On July 24, it was reported that Stu Hart's grandson and MLW wrestler Teddy Hart would be donating an inherited "family heirloom" to MLW.[5] On July 30, MLW.com announced that the family heirloom was Stu Hart's Opera Cup trophy and MLW would be bringing back the Opera Cup tournament on the December 5 supercard, naming it Opera Cup.[6]
Storylines
The card consisted of matches that resulted from scripted storylines, where wrestlers portrayed 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 television program Fusion.[7]
On November 13, MLW.com announced that the first match in the opening round of the Opera Cup would feature Brian Pillman Jr. against TJP, who would be making his return to MLW since 2004.[8] The following day, it was announced that as per the decision of the Hart family, The Dynasty members MJF and Alexander Hammerstone would be competing against each other in the opening round of the Opera Cup.[9] On November 18, it was announced that the Hart family member Davey Boy Smith Jr. would be taking on Pro Wrestling Zero1 wrestler Shinjiro Otani in the third match of the Opera Cup tournament.[10] However, Otani withdrew from the tournament and was replaced by Low Ki on December 4. On November 21, the final match in the opening round of the Opera Cup was announced pitting Timothy Thatcher against Dynasty member Richard Holliday.[11]
On November 18, MLW.com reported that Contra Unit was involved in an altercation with Japanese wrestlers during MLW's visit to Japan.[12] The following day, Strong Hearts (Cima, El Lindaman and Shigehiro Irie) issued a challenge to Contra Unit for a match, which was made official for Opera Cup, thus marking the MLW debut of Strong Hearts.[13]
At Saturday Night SuperFight, Mance Warner defeated Jimmy Havoc and Bestia 666 in a Stairway to Hell match but Havoc attacked Warner after the match. The feud between Warner and Havoc continued as the two competed in a Falls Count Anywhere match on the November 23 episode of Fusion, which Warner won but Havoc stabbed a fork in Warner's head after the match.[14] On November 25, MLW.com announced that Havoc and Warner would compete against each other in a Prince of Darkness match at Opera Cup.[15]
On November 26, it was announced that the recently debuted mixed martial artist King Mo would compete in a match at Opera Cup.[16]
On the special Thanksgiving episode of Fusion on November 28, Tom Lawlor turned on Ross Von Erich during his MLW World Heavyweight Championship match against Jacob Fatu by hitting Von Erich with the chair, allowing Fatu to win to retain the title.[17] On December 2, MLW.com reported that Lawlor had demanded a match against a member of Von Erich family, which was denied by Ross and Marshall Von Erich, speculating that a new member of the Von Erich family would be competing against Lawlor at the Opera Cup.[18]
Results
| No. | Results | Stipulations | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1D | Dr. Dax defeated Maverick Chris Callaway | Singles match | ||||||
| 2FT | Brian Pillman Jr. defeated TJP | Opera Cup tournament quarter-final (Fusion – December 14)[19] | ||||||
| 3FT | Davey Boy Smith Jr. defeated Low Ki | Opera Cup tournament quarter-final (Fusion – December 21)[20] | ||||||
| 4FT | Timothy Thatcher defeated Richard Holliday via submission | Opera Cup tournament quarter-final (Fusion – December 14)[19] | ||||||
| 5FT | Alexander Hammerstone defeated MJF | Opera Cup tournament quarter-final (Fusion – December 21)[20] | ||||||
| 6FT | Tom Lawlor defeated Rip Von Erich via submission | Singles match (Fusion – January 4)[21] | ||||||
| 7FT | Myron Reed (c) defeated El Lindaman | Singles match for the MLW World Middleweight Championship | ||||||
| 8FT | A. C. H. and King Mo defeated Jordan Oliver and Kotto Brazil | Tag team match (Fusion – December 14)[19] | ||||||
| 9FT | Brian Pillman Jr. defeated Timothy Thatcher | Opera Cup tournament semi-final | ||||||
| 10FT | Davey Boy Smith Jr. defeated Alexander Hammerstone (with Richard Holliday) | Opera Cup tournament semi-final (Fusion – January 4)[21] | ||||||
| 11FT | The Von Erichs (Ross and Marshall) defeated The Spirit Squad (Kenn Doane and Mike Mondo) | Tag team match | ||||||
| 12FT | Jimmy Havoc defeated Mance Warner | Prince of Darkness match (Fusion – December 21)[20] | ||||||
| 13FT | Gino Medina defeated Savio Vega | New York City Street Fight | ||||||
| 14FT | Contra Unit (Jacob Fatu, Ikuro Kwon and Simon Gotch) defeated Strong Hearts (Cima, El Lindaman and Shigehiro Irie) | Six-man tag team match (Fusion – January 4)[21] | ||||||
| 15FT | Davey Boy Smith Jr. defeated Brian Pillman Jr. via submission | Opera Cup tournament final | ||||||
| ||||||||
| Opera Cup (2019) | |
|---|---|
| Venue | Melrose Ballroom |
| Location | Queens, New York, New York |
| Start date | December 5, 2019 |
| Competitors | |
| Champion | |
| Davey Boy Smith Jr. | |
Tournament brackets
| Quarterfinals | Semifinals | Final | ||||||||||||
| Davey Boy Smith Jr. | ||||||||||||||
| Low Ki | ||||||||||||||
| Davey Boy Smith Jr. | ||||||||||||||
| Alexander Hammerstone | ||||||||||||||
| Alexander Hammerstone | ||||||||||||||
| MJF | ||||||||||||||
| Davey Boy Smith Jr. | ||||||||||||||
| Brian Pillman Jr. | ||||||||||||||
| Timothy Thatcher | ||||||||||||||
| Richard Holliday | ||||||||||||||
| Timothy Thatcher | ||||||||||||||
| Brian Pillman Jr. | ||||||||||||||
| Brian Pillman Jr. | ||||||||||||||
| TJP | ||||||||||||||
References
- ↑ Ian Carey (July 30, 2019). "MLW To Host 2019 Opera Cup Tournament". SE Scoops.
- ↑ Daniel Yanofsky (December 5, 2019). "MLW Opera Cup 2019 Results". Wrestling Inc. Retrieved 6 December 2019.
- ↑ Jeremy Thomas (6 December 2019). "Spoilers For MLW Opera Cup, Will Air on MLW: Fusion". 411Mania. Retrieved 6 December 2019.
- ↑ "MLW SETS RETURN TO NYC LATER THIS YEAR". Major League Wrestling. July 21, 2019.
- ↑ "TEDDY HART DONATES FAMILY HEIRLOOM TO MLW". Major League Wrestling. July 24, 2019.
- ↑ "NYC TO HOST FIRST OPERA CUP IN OVER 70 YEARS". Major League Wrestling. July 30, 2019.
- ↑ Grabianowski, Ed (13 January 2006). "How Pro Wrestling Works". HowStuffWorks. Discovery Communications. Archived from the original on November 29, 2013. Retrieved March 5, 2012.
- ↑ "TJP RETURNS TO MLW FOR OPERA CUP; FIGHTS BRIAN PILLMAN JR. IN OPENING ROUND". Major League Wrestling. November 13, 2019.
- ↑ "MJF VS. HAMMERSTONE MEET IN OPERA CUP OPENING ROUND IN NYC". Major League Wrestling. November 14, 2019.
- ↑ "OPERA CUP: SHINJIRO OTANI VS. DAVEY BOY SMITH FOR DEC. 5 IN NYC". Major League Wrestling. November 18, 2019.
- ↑ "TIMOTHY THATCHER ENTERS MLW OPERA CUP; FIGHTS RICHARD HOLLIDAY DEC. 5 IN NYC". Major League Wrestling. November 21, 2019.
- ↑ "CONTRA UNIT INVOLVED IN ALTERCATION OVERSEAS". Major League Wrestling. November 18, 2019.
- ↑ "CIMA AND STRONGHEARTS BATTLE CONTRA UNIT DEC. 5 IN NYC AT OPERA CUP". Major League Wrestling. November 19, 2019.
- ↑ "FUSION RECAP: MARSHALL VON ERICH ATTACKED, HAVOC/WARNER BRAWL ALL OVER ORLANDO AND WOMEN'S DIVISION KICKS OFF". Major League Wrestling. November 23, 2019.
- ↑ "PRINCE OF DARKNESS MATCH! HAVOC VS. WARNER INKED FOR MLW'S DEC. 5 NYC OPERA CUP CARD". Major League Wrestling. November 25, 2019.
- ↑ "KING MO WILL RUMBLE IN NYC NEXT THURSDAY AT MLW FUSION TV TAPING". Major League Wrestling. November 26, 2019.
- ↑ "FUSION RECAP: ROSS VON ERICH CHALLENGES JACOB FATU FOR THE WORLD HEAVYWEIGHT CHAMPIONSHIP ON THANKSGIVING". Major League Wrestling. November 28, 2019. Retrieved 3 December 2019.
- ↑ "TOM LAWLOR VS. VON ERICH FAMILY MEMBER THIS THURSDAY IN NYC". Major League Wrestling. December 2, 2019. Retrieved 3 December 2019.
- 1 2 3 "FUSION RECAP: OPENING ROUNDS COMMENCE OF THE OPERA CUP". Major League Wrestling. December 14, 2019. Retrieved 23 December 2019.
- 1 2 3 "FUSION RECAP: OPERA CUP CONTINUES AS DYNASTY BROTHERS BATTLE & DAVEY BOY SMITH JR. VS. LOW KI". Major League Wrestling. December 21, 2019. Retrieved 23 December 2019.
- 1 2 3 "FUSION RECAP: THE OPERA CUP SEMI-FINALS START & CONTRA COLLIDES WITH #STRONGHEARTS". Major League Wrestling. January 4, 2020. Retrieved 11 January 2020.