Battle Riot VII

Battle Riot is an annual event produced by Major League Wrestling that was first held in 2018 as a television taping for MLW Fusion. The event is named after the Battle Riot match, a multi-competitor match type in which wrestlers are eliminated until one is left and declared winner. The match begins with a number of participants in the ring, who are then eliminated by either pin, submission, or going over the top rope and having both feet touch the venue floor. The declared winner of the Battle Riot match receives a "golden ticket", which they can redeem for a future MLW World Heavyweight Championship title shot anytime and anywhere, however in this year, World Heavyweight Championship will be on the line in this Battle Riot.

On December 2, 2024, it was announced that Battle Riot VII would take place on April 5, 2025, at the Commerce Casino & Hotel in Commerce, California.^[1] On March 21, 2025, MLW decided to move the event to larger Thunder Studios Arena in Long Beach, California.^[2]

The card will consist of matches that result from scripted storylines, where wrestlers portray villains, heroes, or less distinguishable characters in scripted events that built tension and culminate in a wrestling match or series of matches, with results predetermined by MLW's writers.^[3]

At SuperFight 6, after Matt Riddle defended the MLW World Heavyweight Championship against Satoshi Kojima and Alex Kane, he was confronted by the executive producer for the night Eric Bischoff on the video wall.^[4] Bischoff was unhappy with Riddle, who went over Bischoff and made the match himself; Bischoff had previously fired Kane at One Shot the past December, but Riddle circumvented that decision by bringing Kane back through MLW's "Open Door" policy. As such, Bischoff retaliated by declaring that, for the first time, Riddle would defend the MLW World Heavyweight Championship at Battle Riot VII in the titular match.^[5]

At SuperFight 6, MLW announced that Tokyo Joshi Pro-Wrestling (TJPW) wrestler Shoko Nakajima would make her MLW debut at Battle Riot VII.^[6] A few weeks later on MLW's website, the company confirmed that Nakajima would challenge Delmi Exo for the MLW World Women's Featherweight Championship at the event.^[7]

At SuperFight 6, MLW World Middleweight Champion Místico teamed with Máscara Dorada to face Templario and Esfinge. The match ended with the latter team victorious, with Templario pinning Místico. This marked the first time Místico had ever been pinned in MLW.^[4] Immediately after, Cesar Duran came out to speak with Templario, who put out a challenge to Místico for the MLW World Middleweight Championship. Duran proposed the match for Battle Riot VII, which Místico accepted. The match was made official via MLW's website on March 4.^[8] On May 4, however, MLW announced that the match would be cancelled due to Místico sustaining an injury. A three-way match between Templario, Esfinge, and Hechicero would replace the title match, with Místico still appearing at the event for a live interview.^[9]