| Fightland (2024) | |
| Promotion: | Major League Wrestling |
| Date: | September 14, 2024 |
| Venue: | Center Stage |
| City: | Atlanta, Georgia |
| Liveevent: | Y |
| Lastevent: | Summer of the Beasts |
| Nextevent: | Lucha Apocalypto |
| Event: | Fightland |
| Lastevent2: | 2023 |
Fightland (2024) was a professional wrestling event produced by Major League Wrestling (MLW). It took place on September 14, 2024, at Center Stage in Atlanta, Georgia. It was the sixth event in the Fightland chronology and featured the semi-finals and finals of the 2024 Opera Cup. The event streamed live on MLW's YouTube channel, with additional matches taped for the "Pit Fighters" special; which aired on September 26 on Bein Sports USA and YouTube.[1]
Fightland is a reoccurring event produced by Major League Wrestling (MLW) that was first held in 2018 as a television taping for MLW's weekly program, MLW Fusion.
On June 3, 2024, MLW announced that Fightland would take place on September 14, 2024, at Center Stage in Atlanta, Georgia.[2] [3]
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. Storylines are played out at MLW events, and across the league's social media platforms.[4]
In addition to several freelancers per MLW's "Open Door Policy", wrestlers from partner promotions Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre (CMLL) and New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) would also appear on the event. On September 2, 2024, NJPW's Kevin Knight was announced to face Bobby Fish at the event.[5]
Contra Unit (Mads Krule Krügger, Ikuro Kwon, and later joined by Minoru Suzuki and MLW World Women's Featherweight Champion Janai Kai) have been feuding with CozyMax (MLW World Heavyweight Champion Satoshi Kojima and Shigeo Okumura) over the summer, dating back to former's assault on them at the end of War Chamber.[6] [7] On August 19, MLW announced that Kojima would defend the MLW World Heavyweight Championship against Krügger at Fightland.[8] Suzuki and Kwon would then defeat CozyMax to win the MLW World Tag Team Championships at Summer of the Beasts on August 29.[9]
Delmi Exo had been trying to regain the MLW World Women's Featherweight Championship from current champion Janai Kai since she defeated the former at Slaughterhouse the previous October.[10] Exo had been unsuccessful in recent opportunities at the Fury Road TV special (which was taped at MLW Azteca Lucha) and Battle Riot VI.[11] [12] After defeating Miyu Yamashita at Summer of the Beasts to become the number 1 contender, Exo would call out Kai.[13] On September 10, MLW announced that Exo would face Kai for the title during the TV taping portion of Fightland in a Taekwondo Rules match; a martial art Kai regularly practices and utilizes.[14]
Fightland hosted both the semifinal and final matches of the 2024 Opera Cup tournament. On September 3, MLW officially announced the first semifinal between NJPW wrestlers Kenta (representing Bullet Club) and TJP (representing United Empire).[15] The following day, the second semifinal was made official between MLW World Middleweight Champion Místico (representing Cesar Duran's Azteca Lucha) and MLW National Openweight Champion Bad Dude Tito (representing Salina de la Renta's Promociones Dorado).[16] The winners of both matches would then meet in the finals later in the night.[17]
The live Fightland broadcast received mixed reviews, with the main criticism directed at its booking and several botched spots.[18] [19]