Opera Cup (2025)
| Opera Cup (2025) | |
|---|---|
The 2025 winner Místico | |
| Venue | First Round: Melrose Ballroom (June 26) NYTEX Sports Centre (September 13) Quarterfinals: Thunder Studios Arena (October 4) Semifinals: Thunder Studios Arena (October 4) Finals: Charleston Music Hall (November 20) |
| Location | First Round: Queens, New York (June 26) North Richland Hills, Texas (September 13) Quarterfinals: Long Beach, California (October 4) Semifinals: Long Beach, California (October 4) Finals: Charleston, South Carolina (November 20) |
| Start date | June 26, 2025 |
| End date | November 20, 2025 |
| Competitors | |
| Champion | |
| Místico | |
Opera Cup (2025) is the fifth Opera Cup professional wrestling tournament produced by Major League Wrestling (MLW). The first round started on June 26, 2025, at Summer of the Beasts, which aired on tape delay on August 9 as part of Blood and Thunder. The first round would continue on September 13 at Fightland and Fury Road, which aired on September 27. The quarterfinals and semifinals were held at Slaughterhouse and Symphony of Horrors, both of which took place on October 4; the latter show was taped and aired on October 25. The finals were held at MLW x Don Gato Tequila: Lucha de los Muertos on November 20.
Production
Background
The Opera House Cup was annually held as a professional wrestling tournament for nearly fifty years in various cities in the United States until its discontinuation in 1948. Stu Hart won the final tournament and kept possession of the Opera Cup trophy since then. On July 21, 2019, Major League Wrestling announced that it would be holding an event on December 5 at the Melrose Ballroom in Queens, New York City, New York which would be a set of television tapings of MLW's television program Fusion.[1] On July 24, it was reported that Stu Hart's grandson and MLW wrestler Teddy Hart would be donating an inherited "family heirloom" to MLW.[2] On July 30, MLW.com announced that the family heirloom was Stu Hart's Opera Cup trophy and MLW would be bringing back the Opera Cup tournament on the December 5 supercard, naming it Opera Cup.[3]
At Summer of the Beasts, the brackets for the Opera Cup were revealed, featuring sixteen participants, much like the previous year. The first round would be taped that same night and later aired on August 9 as part of Blood and Thunder.
Results
| No. | Results[4] | Stipulations | Times |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Bishop Dyer (with Saint Laurent) defeated Anthony Greene by pinfall | Singles match | 7:43 |
| 2 | Satoshi Kojima defeated Bobby Fish by pinfall | Singles match | 8:50 |
| 3 | Místico defeated Ikuro Kwon by pinfall | Singles match | 7:47 |
| No. | Results[5] | Stipulations | Times |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Último Guerrero defeated Esfinge by pinfall | Singles match | 11:05 |
| 2 | Zandokan Jr. (with El Galeón Fantasma (Barboza and Difunto)) defeated Blue Panther Jr. by pinfall | Singles match | 6:11 |
| No. | Results[6] | Stipulations | Times |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Paul London defeated Okumura (with Satoshi Kojima) | Singles match | 4:29 |
| 2 | Volador Jr. defeated Titán by pinfall | Singles match | 15:57 |
| 3 | Austin Aries defeated Kushida by pinfall | Singles match | 12:28 |
| No. | Results[7] | Stipulations | Times |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Volador Jr. (with Magnus and Rugido) defeated Star Jr. by pinfall | Singles match | 6:21 |
| 2 | Satoshi Kojima (with Okumura) defeated Bishop Dyer (with Donovan Dijak) by pinfall | Singles match | 11:06 |
| 3 | Austin Aries defeated Paul London by pinfall | Singles match | 9:07 |
| 4 | Místico defeated Último Guerrero by submission | Singles match | 10:11 |
| No. | Results[8] | Stipulations | Times |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Volador Jr. (with Los Depredadores (Magnus and Rugido)) defeated Satoshi Kojima (with Okumura) by pinfall | Singles match | 6:53 |
| 2 | Místico defeated Austin Aries by pinfall | Singles match | 15:57 |
| No. | Results[9] | Stipulations | Times |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Místico defeated Volador Jr. by submission | Singles match | 10:53 |
Tournament brackets
| First round Blood and Thunder (August 9) Fightland (September 13) Fury Road (September 27) | Quarterfinals Slaughterhouse (October 4) | Semifinals Symphony of Horrors (October 25) | Final MLW x Don Gato Tequila: Lucha de los Muertos (November 20) | ||||||||||||
| Místico | Pin | ||||||||||||||
| Ikuro Kwon | 7:47[4] | ||||||||||||||
| Místico | Sub | ||||||||||||||
| Último Guerrero | 10:11[7] | ||||||||||||||
| Último Guerrero | Pin | ||||||||||||||
| Esfinge | 11:05[5] | ||||||||||||||
| Místico | Pin | ||||||||||||||
| Austin Aries | 15:57[8] | ||||||||||||||
| Austin Aries | Pin | ||||||||||||||
| Kushida | 12:28[6] | ||||||||||||||
| Austin Aries | Pin | ||||||||||||||
| Paul London | 9:07[7] | ||||||||||||||
| Paul London | Pin | ||||||||||||||
| Okumura | 4:29[6] | ||||||||||||||
| Místico | Sub | ||||||||||||||
| Volador Jr. | 10:53[9] | ||||||||||||||
| Volador Jr. | Pin | ||||||||||||||
| Titán | 15:57[6] | ||||||||||||||
| Volador Jr. | Pin | ||||||||||||||
| Star Jr.1 | 6:21[7] | ||||||||||||||
| Blue Panther Jr. | 6:11[5] | ||||||||||||||
| Zandokan Jr.1 | Pin | ||||||||||||||
| Volador Jr. | Pin | ||||||||||||||
| Satoshi Kojima | 6:53[8] | ||||||||||||||
| Satoshi Kojima | Pin | ||||||||||||||
| Bobby Fish | 8:50[4] | ||||||||||||||
| Satoshi Kojima | Pin | ||||||||||||||
| Bishop Dyer | 11:06[7] | ||||||||||||||
| Bishop Dyer | Pin | ||||||||||||||
| Anthony Greene | 7:43[4] | ||||||||||||||
1 ^ Zandokan Jr. was forced to withdraw due to a knee injury, so as an alternate, Star Jr. took his place.
References
- ^ "MLW SETS RETURN TO NYC LATER THIS YEAR". Major League Wrestling. July 21, 2019.
- ^ "TEDDY HART DONATES FAMILY HEIRLOOM TO MLW". Major League Wrestling. July 24, 2019.
- ^ "NYC TO HOST FIRST OPERA CUP IN OVER 70 YEARS". Major League Wrestling. July 30, 2019.
- ^ a b c d Vetter, Chris (August 10, 2025). "MLW "Blood & Thunder" results (8/9): Vetter's review of Matt Riddle vs. Donovan Dijak for the MLW Championship, Opera Cup matches with Mistico vs. Ikuro Kwon, Bishop Dyer vs. Anthony Greene". Pro Wrestling Dot Net. Retrieved August 10, 2025.
- ^ a b c Vetter, Chris (September 14, 2025). "MLW Fightland results (9/13): Vetter's review of Matt Riddle vs. Donovan Dijak for the MLW Championship, Matthew Justice vs. Alex Hammerstone in a Texas Deathmatch". Pro Wrestling Dot Net. Retrieved September 14, 2025.
- ^ a b c d Vetter, Chris (September 28, 2025). "MLW "Fury Road" results (9/27): Vetter's review of Austin Aries vs. Kushida in an Opera Cup tournament match, MLW Champion Mads Krule Krugger vs. Bishop Dyer in a non-title match". Pro Wrestling Dot Net. Retrieved September 28, 2025.
- ^ a b c d e Vetter, Chris (October 5, 2025). "MLW "Slaughterhouse" results (10/4): Vetter's review of Mistico vs. Ultimo Guerrero, Volador Jr. vs. Star. Jr., Satoshi Kojima vs. Bishop Dyer, Austin Aries vs. Paul London in Opera Cup quarterfinal matches". Pro Wrestling Dot Net. Retrieved October 5, 2025.
- ^ a b c Vetter, Chris (October 26, 2025). "MLW "Symphony of Horrors" results (10/25): Vetter's review of Mistico vs. Austin Aries, and Satoshi Kojima vs. Volador Jr. in the Opera Cup tournament semifinals". Pro Wrestling Dot Net. Retrieved November 1, 2025.
- ^ a b Vetter, Chris (November 20, 2025). "MLW "MLW x Don Gato Live Wrestling Special" results (11/20): Vetter's review of Killer Kross vs. Matt Riddle, Mads Krule Krugger vs. Brock Anderson in a Bunkhouse Match for the MLW Championship". Pro Wrestling Dot Net. Retrieved November 20, 2025.