Alex Hammerstone will try to accomplish a feat in Major League Wrestling (MLW) only one other person has ever done in the history of the promotion – win the Battle Riot match twice.
Hammerstone won the 41-man event in 2021. It was the third iteration of the match in the company’s history. He entered the ring as the 35th competitor and came out on top. Later that year, he defeated Jacob Fatu for the MLW World Heavyweight Championship.
MLW announced Hammerstone as the first participant for Battle Riot VIII, which will take place on Jan. 29 at Osceola Heritage Park in Kissimmee, Florida.
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"The goal is to win," he told Fox News Digital in an interview on Monday. "I won it once before and that was the match that ultimately led to me becoming MLW world champion. Obviously, that was a huge highlight of my career, and coming back to the company, I don’t want to come back and just hang out in the middle of the pack. I want to raise back up to the top and if the Battle Riot is the vehicle to get me there, then all expectations are winning."
Hammerstone made a surprise return to MLW at this year’s Battle Riot back in April after being with TNA Wrestling for a few years.
He called the crowd reaction to his return "very gratifying."
"In wrestling, there’s always a feeling of, ‘What have you done for me lately?’ and ‘You’re only as good as your last match.’ Especially after having such a period of time where I was faced with so many struggles whether it was injuries and surgeries and being out and feeling, at times, like I didn’t get the opportunity to present myself the way I would have liked to, there was a lot of concern that fans wouldn’t receive me the same way they did when I was there before.
"So, to get that reaction and to see the excitement and to feel that energy, it was very gratifying in that moment."
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Hammerstone, 34, has been on the pro wrestling circuit since 2013 and initially started his stint with MLW in 2019 when he helped form The Dynasty faction with Richard Holliday and Maxwell Jacob Friedman. He then competed at Pro Wrestling Noah in Japan for a short time and had a good year with TNA.
He’s had to deal with a few injuries that have halted some of the momentum he’s built. The injuries not only took time away from the ring, but created a cloud of doubt around his ability to stay healthy.
Hammerstone told Fox News Digital how he’s battled back to cut through the noise and the scrutiny he’s faced to focus on the task at hand.
"It’s hard. There’s a lot of times over the years where it’s damn near broke me, and maybe at times it has broken me, and I’ve had to put myself back together," he said. "I can’t speak for everybody, but I know for me specifically, the things that I’ve done, the things that I’ve given to the business, the things effort wise and the things I do on a daily basis, there’s these moments in my day where I have this realization – I don’t think anyone could possibly be giving more than me.
"And when you have that kind of belief in your own effort system, that tends to really solidify the belief you have in yourself to be successful. So, no matter how much outside noise or opinions or whatever it is that might try to break me, just knowing the kind of resolve that I’ve continued to maintain for nearly 15 years despite it all, it really builds a foundation that holds me up to this day."
Hammerstone’s belief system coupled with his in-ring prowess is why he’s ripe to become the next challenger for Mads Krule Krugger’s MLW World Heavyweight Championship.
And vice versa, it’s why Hammerstone believes in MLW as a company in the pro wrestling industry.
"It wouldn’t be out of the question to call them something of an underdog promotion. They didn’t come out of the gate backed with a billionaire who was signing TV deals from day one. We’ve had a roster of guys, who at all different times who have fought and clawed to carve out a personality and carve out its own place within the industry.
"I think that’s something that resonates with a lot of fans and that resonates for a lot of wrestlers. So, wrestlers do have the opportunity to go to different places, and MLW is one of them, it’s a spot worth being at because, like I said, they’ve managed to weather a storm and carve out their own niche in the industry. Not only fans respect that but wrestlers respect that and it’s still a very prestigious spot to wrestle at."
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