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Alex Hammerstone will attempt to accomplish a feat in Major League Wrestling (MLW) that 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 repeat of the match in company 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 contestant for Battle Riot VIII, which will take place on January 29th at Osceola Heritage Park in Kissimmee, Florida.
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Alex Hammerstone returned to Major League Wrestling in April 2025 at Battle Riot VII. (MLW)
“The goal is to win,” he told Pakinomist Digital in an interview Monday. “I won it once before, and that was the match that ultimately led to me becoming the MLW World Champion. It was obviously a huge highlight of my career, and when I come back to the company, I don’t want to go back and just hang out in the middle of the pack. I want to rise back to the top, and if Battle Riot is the vehicle to get me there, then all expectations are to win.”
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 audience reaction to his return “very gratifying”.
“In wrestling, there’s always a sense of, ‘What have you done for me lately?’ and ‘You’re only as good as your last fight.’ Especially after having such a period where I was faced with so many struggles, whether it was injuries and surgeries and feeling out, at times, like I wasn’t getting the opportunity to present myself the way I wanted 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 feel that energy, it was very gratifying in that moment.”
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Alex Hammerstone poses on the ropes during a Major League Wrestling match. (MLW)
Hammerstone, 34, has been on the pro wrestling circuit since 2013 and originally started his tenure with MLW in 2019 when he helped form The Dynasty faction with Richard Holliday and Maxwell Jacob Friedman. He then competed in Pro Wrestling Noah in Japan for a short time and had a good year with TNA.
He has had to deal with a few injuries that have stalled some of the momentum he has built. The injuries not only took time away from the ring, but cast a cloud of doubt around his ability to stay healthy.
Hammerstone told Pakinomist Digital how he has fought back to cut through the noise and scrutiny he faces to focus on the task at hand.
“It’s tough. There’s a lot of times over the years where it’s been damn close to breaking me, and maybe at times it’s broken me and I’ve had to pull myself back together,” he said. “I can’t speak for everyone, but I know specifically for me, the things that I’ve done, the things that I’ve given to the business, the things that are effort-wise and the things that I do on a daily basis, there are these moments in my day where I have this realization – I don’t think anyone could possibly give more than me.
“And when you have that kind of belief in your own effort system, it tends to really strengthen the belief that you have in yourself to succeed. So no matter how much outside noise or opinions or whatever might try to break me, just knowing that kind of determination that I’ve continued to maintain for almost 15 years through it all, it really builds a foundation to this day.”
Hammerstone’s belief system combined with his prowess in the ring is why he is ripe to be the next challenger for Mads Krule Krugger’s MLW World Heavyweight Championship.
And conversely, that’s why Hammerstone believes in MLW as a company in the professional wrestling industry.
Alex Hammerstone pushes Matt Riddle to the mat during a Major League Wrestling match. (MLW)
“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 by a billionaire who signed TV deals from day one. We’ve had a number of guys who have struggled and clawed at all different times to carve out a personality and make their own place in the business.
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“I think that’s something that resonates with a lot of fans and that resonates with a lot of wrestlers. So wrestlers have the opportunity to go to different places and MLW is one of them, it’s a place that’s worth being at because, like I said, they’ve been able to weather a storm and carve out their own niche in the business, but not just the most prestigious fans respect that, but not only the most prestigious fans respect that. fight on.”
