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Alex Hammerstone will attempt to accomplish a feat in Major League Wrestling (MLW) that only one other person has ever achieved in the promotion’s history: winning 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 emerged victorious. Later that year, he defeated Jacob Fatu for the MLW World Heavyweight Championship.
MLW has announced Hammerstone as the first participant in Battle Riot VIII, which will take place on January 29 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 PK Press Club Digital in an interview Monday. “I’ve won it once before and it was that match that ultimately allowed me to become MLW World Champion. Obviously it was a highlight of my career, and coming back into the company, I don’t want to come back and hang around the middle of the pack. I want to get back to the top and if Battle Riot is the vehicle that gets me there, then all expectations are a win.”
Hammerstone made a surprise return to MLW during this year’s Battle Riot in April after working with TNA Wrestling for a few years.
He called the crowd’s 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 game.” Especially after going through such a period where I was faced with so many difficulties, whether it was injuries, surgeries, being away and sometimes feeling like I didn’t have the opportunity to present myself the way I would have liked, there was a lot of worry that the fans wouldn’t receive me the same way they had when I was there before.
“So to have that reaction and see the enthusiasm and feel that energy, it was very rewarding at 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 professional wrestling circuit since 2013 and initially began his stint with MLW in 2019 when he helped form The Dynasty faction with Richard Holliday and Maxwell Jacob Friedman. He then competed for a short time in Pro Wrestling Noah in Japan and had a good year with TNA.
He had to deal with a few injuries that halted some of the momentum he had been building. The injuries not only took time away from the ring, but also created a cloud of doubt over his ability to stay healthy.
Hammerstone spoke to PK Press Club Digital about how he fought to avoid the noise and scrutiny he faced to focus on the task at hand.
“It’s hard. There have been many times over the years where it almost broke me, and maybe sometimes it broke me, and I had to pull myself together,” he said. “I can’t speak for everyone, but I know for me specifically, the things that I’ve done, the things that I’ve given to the company, the things with effort and the things that I do on a daily basis, there are these moments in my day where I realize – I don’t think anyone can give more than me.
“And when you have that kind of confidence in your own effort system, it tends to really solidify the confidence 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 the kind of determination that I’ve continued to maintain for almost 15 years despite everything, it really builds a foundation that sustains me to this day.”
Hammerstone’s belief system, coupled with his in-ring prowess, is why he is ripe to become the next challenger to Mads Krule Kruger’s MLW World Heavyweight Championship.
And vice versa, this is 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 an underdog promotion. They didn’t come out of the gate backed by a billionaire who was signing TV deals from day one. We had a roster of guys who, at different times, fought and fought to carve out a personality and carve out their own place within the industry.
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“I think it’s something that resonates with a lot of fans and resonates for a lot of wrestlers. So wrestlers having the opportunity to go to different places, and MLW is one of them, it’s a place worth being because, like I said, they’ve managed to weather a storm and carve out their own place in the industry. Not only do the fans respect that, but the wrestlers respect it and it’s still a very prestigious place to wrestle.”
