Major League Wrestling taped its latest television episodes on May 9 in Chattanooga, Tennessee, with several title matches, storyline developments, and notable appearances taking place throughout the night.

The tapings featured a major championship change as The Good Brothers captured the MLW Tag Team Championships, while Killer Kross successfully defended the MLW World Heavyweight Championship in the main event.

The evening opened with Jumbo winning a battle royal before tensions escalated involving Killer Kross. During a confrontation segment, Kross came face-to-face with Josh Bishop, Bishop Dyer, and Donovan Dijak, leading to a match between Kross and Bishop being announced for Kings of Colosseum.

Later in the show, Joe Coffey defeated LaBron Kozone in singles competition.

The Good Brothers Win MLW Tag Team Titles

One of the biggest moments of the tapings saw Doc Gallows and Karl Anderson defeat Donovan Dijak and Bishop Dyer to capture the MLW Tag Team Championships.

Doc Gallows and Karl Anderson ended the Skyscrapers’ reign after defeating the champions in tag team action.

Additional championship matches also took place during the tapings. ZAMAYA defeated Angélica Risk in a Lightning Mask match, while Trevor Lee retained the MLW Southern Crown Championship against KUSHIDA.

After Lee’s match, Contra Unit launched an attack before Brick Savage made his debut appearance.

The MLW National Openweight Championship was also defended as Austin Aries retained against Averno and Mistico in a triple threat match.

Elsewhere on the card, Shotzi defeated Jazzy Yang before being confronted by Lady Frost. The rivalry continued later in the tapings when Lady Frost defeated Corinne Joy, only for Shotzi to run her off afterward.

Brick Savage later picked up a victory over Flip Sequoyah in his in-ring debut.

Matt Riddle defeated Bishop Dyer via disqualification after interference from Donovan Dijak. Killer Kross attempted to help Riddle after the match, but Josh Bishop attacked Kross to continue their feud heading into Kings of Colosseum.

Killer Kross Retains In Main Event

The MLW Middleweight Championship changed hands as Templario defeated Diego Hill to capture the title.

Big Damo also scored a victory over Andrew Everett before the night concluded with the main event.

In the final match of the tapings, Killer Kross retained the MLW World Heavyweight Championship by defeating Josh Bishop in a No Disqualification match.

MLW TV Spoilers From Tennessee (Taped On 5/9)

• Jumbo won a battle royal
• Killer Kross confronted Josh Bishop, Bishop Dyer, and Donovan Dijak
• Joe Coffey defeated LaBron Kozone
• MLW Tag Team Championships: The Good Brothers defeated Skyscrapers to win the titles
• ZAMAYA defeated Angélica Risk in a Lightning Mask match
• MLW Southern Crown Championship: Trevor Lee retained against KUSHIDA
• Contra Unit attacked Trevor Lee
• Brick Savage debuted
• MLW National Openweight Championship: Austin Aries retained against Averno and Mistico
• Shotzi defeated Jazzy Yang
• Lady Frost confronted Shotzi
• Brick Savage defeated Flip Sequoyah
• Matt Riddle defeated Bishop Dyer via DQ
• Killer Kross was attacked by Josh Bishop
• MLW Middleweight Championship: Templario defeated Diego Hill
• Lady Frost defeated Corinne Joy
• Shotzi ran off Lady Frost
• Big Damo defeated Andrew Everett
• MLW World Heavyweight Championship No DQ Match: Killer Kross defeated Josh Bishop

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WWE Hall of Famer Tito Santana reflected on the old-school WWF system during a recent appearance on the In The Front Row podcast, revealing that wrestlers rarely practiced matches ahead of time and instead relied on instinct, crowd reactions, and veteran leadership inside the ring.

Santana credited Mr. Fuji as one of the key figures who helped him understand wrestling psychology and how to connect with an audience during matches.

Tito Santana Says WWF Wrestlers Never Rehearsed Matches

According to Santana, the WWF schedule left little time for rehearsals or planning matches in advance because talent spent most of their days traveling from city to city.

“Believe it or not, we never practiced, you know, we were traveling. We’d fly into a different city. We get there, we check into the hotel, eat, go to the gym, get a couple hours of rest. We had to be the arena an hour before the matches started, so the fans were already in. So, you know, we didn’t have a preview to go in and practice any moves. But we didn’t need to, because everybody back then was so good.”

Santana explained that Fuji taught him one of the most important lessons of his career — paying attention to the crowd and adjusting accordingly.

“Mr. Fuji taught me this. It says, listen to the people, the people tell you what they want. And I think to myself, What do you mean? Listen to the people, they tell you what they want. And before you know it, it’s true.”

He then detailed how Fuji would communicate with him throughout matches while they were in holds together inside the ring.

“I remember Fuji had me in a hold, you know, and all of a sudden he says, okay, Tito son, put your arm up a little bit and start shaking. Start shaking, and listen to the crowd. And the more you shook the hand, the more the people went crazy. Said, Okay, get on your knees. You know they would call. They were so good, they would call all the spots for me.”

Santana admitted that during the early years of his career, nearly everyone he wrestled was more experienced than he was, which forced him to improve quickly.

“You learn every time for the first five years, every time I stepped into the ring, everybody that I was wrestling against was better than me. So I was learning every night I would just listen, you know, and I became a good follower. It’s like a guy leading a woman on a dance. It’s the same thing, you know, I was the girl, you know, the heels would lead me, and I was a good follower. And people loved working with me, because when it time for me to fight back, I had a lot of fire, and they loved that.”

Tito Santana Explains Old WWF Match Structure

Santana also described how little was actually planned before matches in that era. Wrestlers were often only told who would win and how the finish would happen.

“The only thing we knew, the agents that read the shows, they say, okay, Tito, you’re going over tonight. This is how you’re going to go over. Everything else we would put together, you know, we didn’t discuss in the locker room. We didn’t do anything. We just go in there and we listen to the people and we, you know, we did it.”

He then broke down the traditional babyface formula that was commonly used during WWF matches.

“A baby face would always out-wrestle the heel. The heel would have to cheat to stop you. You know, the baby face would do stuff to look good. The heel would have to do stop you, poke your eyes, do something behind the referee. Now that the heel is getting heat on you and you fighting back, but they stop you again. Fighting back. Stop you again. But when it came time to make your final comeback. When we’re going home, we say, going home, you know, nobody’s stopping you. Then you go, boom, boom, boom. You make your comeback. You either go over you beat the guy, or the guy would cheat and beat you.”

Santana also shared concerns about today’s wrestling business, saying modern talent often lacks the same opportunities to develop naturally in the ring.

“The wrestling these guys that are wrestling now don’t have anybody to teach them in the first place, but they don’t have that much time in the ring. Most of their wrestling is our interviews in the middle of the ring nowadays, they don’t. There’s no way they could ever learn the business like, like I learned it.”

He also criticized the rising costs associated with attending WWE events, particularly WrestleMania.

“I went to WrestleMania last year in Vegas. I didn’t want to go this year. I don’t want to overdo my presence. But I understand that a lot of the tickets are not sold, you know. So, you know, I understand that they’re struggling to draw, but they’re so expensive, you know, how can anybody afford to pay $1,000 you know, for your kids to you and your kids to sit in the match. You know, it’s, uh, I think they’re out pricing themselves.”

Mr. Fuji, born Harry Fujiwara, passed away in 2016 at the age of 82 and was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame in 2007. Santana retired from full-time teaching in 2023 after working for 26 years as a Spanish teacher and basketball coach in New Jersey.

Tito Santana Recalls How Mr. Fuji Taught Him Wrestling Psychology

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