MLW brings in one of Matt Riddle’s oldest rivals for War Chamber

MLW’s next live event will be War Chamber on March 29 in St. Petersburg, FL. The eponymous matches have previously been announced, and now the card has two more bouts. The identity of Matt Riddle’s opponent has been revealed, and the challenger for the MLW Women’s World Featherweight Championship is coming from Japan.

Get ready for a grapple fight when Riddle competes against Timothy Thatcher.

Riddle and Thatcher will renew their rivalry that spanned across the indies and into NXT. Thatcher finished their series in Evolve with a No Holds Barred victory in 2016. Riddle put up a few wins across other promotions culminating with a WWN Championship win and defense over Thatcher in 2017. The pair were put together as a unit in NXT and won the tag titles in 2020. After dropping the belts and an inevitable split, Thatcher had the last laugh with a TKO victory in Fight Pit. Now, this rivalry comes to MLW.

Janai Kai stands strong with the MLW Women’s World Featherweight Championship under the leadership of Salina de la Renta. The next challenger for the Kick Demon comes from Japan. Enter Unagi Sayaka.

Sayaka is a veteran of Tokyo Joshi Pro Wrestling and World Wonder Ring Stardom, where she won two championships.

Salina de la Renta commented about the bout, “This title fight transcends borders, captivating a global audience as two of the sport’s finest collide. Janai Kai’s dominance has reshaped the landscape of the division, leaving women fearing the Kick Demon coast-to-coast. She looks forward to putting Unagi’s name on a tombstone HAHAHAHAHA!”

The War Chamber PPV on March 29 will be available for streaming through TrillerTV+. The card currently includes:

• War Chamber: MLW (Satoshi Kojima, Okumura, Matthew Justice, & 1 Called Manders) vs. WTF (Tom Lawlor, Davey Boy Smith Jr., Richard Holliday, & Josh Bishop) (match details)
• MLW Women’s World Featherweight Championship: Janai Kai (c) vs. Unagi Sayaka
• Matt Riddle vs. Timothy Thatcher
• Kosei Fujita (NJPW) debut
• Star Jr. (CMLL) in action

The TV taping portion of the event (to be aired at a later date) includes:

• War Chamber: Raven, Akira, Jake Crist, & Jimmy Lloyd vs. Rickey Shane Page, Sami Callihan, Cannonball, & Talon (match details)

Share your thoughts on the newly announced bouts for War Chamber.