War Chamber (2023)
Major League Wrestling event
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War Chamber (2023) was a professional wrestling supercard event produced by Major League Wrestling (MLW), which took place on April 6, 2023, at the Melrose Ballroom in Queens, New York. It was the third event under the War Chamber chronology, and featured the opening of the 2023 Opera Cup.
| War Chamber (2023) | |||
|---|---|---|---|
Promotional poster of the event | |||
| Promotion | Major League Wrestling | ||
| Date | April 6, 2023 (aired April 18, 2023) | ||
| City | Queens, New York | ||
| Venue | Melrose Ballroom | ||
| Event chronology | |||
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| War Chamber chronology | |||
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The event was a television taping for MLW Underground Wrestling, with the main event airing as a special episode on April 18, 2023.
Production
Background
War Chamber is a professional wrestling supercard event produced by Major League Wrestling (MLW). The first War Chamber event was held on September 7, 2019, as replacement for MLW WarGames, which was discontinued after WWE acquired the rights to the name of the namesake WarGames match.[1] On December 2, 2022, MLW announced that War Chamber will take place on April 6, 2023, from the Melrose Ballroom in Queens, New York.[2][3]
Storylines
The card consisted of matches that result from scripted storylines, where wrestlers portray 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 main show, MLW Underground Wrestling, as well as MLW's social media platforms.[4]
Through MLW's "Open Door Policy" several free agents would be signed to compete at the event. Names include former Ring of Honor (ROH) star Mandy León[5] and Japanese wrestler Shigehiro Irie.[6]
War Chamber
For the past several weeks, various members of the MLW roster would be mysteriously assaulted in the backstage area, with the only sign of the attacker(s) being a calling card with the initials "AO." On the February 28 episode of MLW Underground Wrestling, the mysterious attackers would make their first in-person appearance, attacking Lince Dorado, Microman, and Mister Saint Laurent.[7] The following week, a video package aired revealing the identities of the attackers, who would be dubbed "The Calling:" Raven, Rickey Shane Page and Akira.[8] On the March 21 Underground Wrestling, after MLW World Heavyweight Champion Alexander Hammerstone successfully defended his title against Jacob Fatu, he would be ambushed by The Calling, which featured many more masked henchmen. Later that night, while the Second Gear Crew (Mance Warner, Matthew Justice, and 1 Called Manders) were having an interview on the entrance ramp, the Calling's video feed would briefly interrupt them.[9] The week after that, Hammerstone would meet with the Second Gear Crew in a bar, recruiting them to help him battle the Calling (Raven, Page, Akira, and Dr. Cornwallus) in a War Chamber match.[10]
Opera Cup
On March 23, MLW announced on their website that the Opera Cup tournament would return, with the first round taking place at War Chamber.[11] On March 24, MLW announced that former ROH World Television Champions Tony Deppen and Tracy Williams would face off in the first round of the tournament.[12] The next day, the previously announced match between Davey Boy Smith Jr. and Calvin Tankman was promoted to an Opera Cup first round match.[13]